Chapter 1: Cover Art by thefruitloop-chan
Chapter Text
Cover art I commissioned from thefruitloop-chan from Tumblr! Well worth the money I would say, this is something I got to celebrate my first TvTrope page which is possibly one of the biggst highlights of my fanfiction career. Thank you all for reading and supporting this story.
Chapter 2: And Then There Was Luz Pt 1
Chapter Text
“Just ignore him, mija.” Camila says, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice and drown out the voice outside their house as they ate their breakfast, “The cops will be here soon.”
Luz looked at her mum unimpressed, as she looked back at the window where that crazed curator was again with his sign, “Not like they can do much. What is this the third time? The worst they gave him was putting him in a holding cell for a full day!”
“We’ll get a restraining order after this. Other than that there isn’t anything else we can do, unless you want to prove him right.” Camilla sighs as the two continue eating, trying to ignore the crazed conspiracy theorist, “Kevin? You don’t mind dropping off Luz at school again do you?”
“Course not, Ms. Noceda.” Kevin says as he walks into the kitchen and pours himself another cup of coffee before glancing at the crazed curator outside their window, “He’s still at it?”
“Ever since we woke up.” Luz nods, “It’s been two hours…”
Kevin looks somewhat amazed, “You know, that would actually be impressive if he puts his talent into opera.”
“I’m surprised you even know what opera is.” Luz snarks but holds out an empty cup towards her friend for a refill.
“Keep running that mouth and we’ll see if you like walking to school instead.” Kevin flicks a finger at the back of her head but pours her a cup anyway.
“Thanks Kevin, I’m sorry to bother you but work has been a hassle lately.” Camila sighs, sounding exhausted.
“It’s no problem, ma’am.” Kevin assures as he finishes up his coffee before placing his dirty mug in the sink, “I’ll go get the car ready then-”
Kevin was cut off when suddenly something shatters against the walls outside and he mutters a curse before running out, “HEY! The heck are you doing out there?!”
Camila scowls outside the window, “Honestly, the nerve of that jerk! You save the world and this is how they repay you? Exposing your identity and harassing us non-stop.”
“I’m sorry mom.” Luz apologises, “I should’ve been more careful.”
Camila places a hand on her daughter’s shoulder comfortingly, “You have nothing to blame yourself for, mija. You did it all to save the galaxy, are you saying that it was better to not have done that?”
“No, but I sure as hell could’ve been more careful.” Luz says glumly, “Then we wouldn’t have to deal with this everyday.”
“You didn’t know it would have led to this.” Camila reminds, “Sometimes, we just don’t know the full consequences of our actions until they’re staring at us in the face. I hope you know that nevertheless your father and I are proud of you.”
“...Speaking of which, has dad responded yet?” Luz asks hopefully but her mother shook her head.
“No, you know how it is in space. Messages take time to get sent, or some space storm’s disrupting satellites.” Camila says, “But I’m sure your father is fine. He’s probably saving another planet from alien invaders, defusing solar system-destroying bombs in the nick of time. Usual Plumber things.”
She says with a smile on her face but Luz could tell her mother felt the same anxiety she did. It’s been three months since her father left Earth again for his tour as a Plumber. She wishes he could spend more than two weeks leave on Earth with them, but she also knows the responsibilities he has as a Magistrate which leaves little time to call home.
“I should probably go before Kevin gets thrown in jail again.” Luz jokes as she rises and hugs her mother, “Love you mom, I’ll see you later.”
Her mother returns the hug and both begin to pack up for their trip to school and work respectively. Luz exits her house to find Kevin arguing with the town’s local curator and conspiracy nut. She turns and facepalm at the sight of a broken bottle laying on the lawn, having shattered against the wall and staining it.
“I swear, if you try that one more time!” Kevin threatens, waving a fist at the curator who only shouted back louder.
“Look! They’re going to use their evil alien powers on me!” He cries while holding a cheap sign that says ‘No Aliens’ with the sketch of a stereotypical green alien crossed out in a red circle.
“No, I’ll just use my normal hands and shove that sign up your-!” Kevin was about to make good on his promise before Luz got in front of him.
“Kevin!” she admonishes, “Come on, you want people to see you do that?”
“I’m very tempted.” he mutters as Luz turns to face the curator.
“And you! We already called the cops so get out while you still can, you’re disturbing the whole neighbourhood with that racket.” she admonishes.
“See?! She’s cooperating with the shadow government to silence me!” The curator shouts but backs off anyways back to whatever sewer he slithered from, “One day you’ll all see I was right!”
“Let’s hope that’s the most interesting thing that’s gonna happen today.” Kevin grumbles as he unlocks his car and the two start to get in before they hear someone call out for them.
“Excuse me, Luz Noceda?” a woman calls out while holding her son’s hand.
“Oh, hi Darlene.” Luz smiles at her new neighbour who moved in only a few days ago, “What’s up?”
“I just want to ask if you can give my boy an autograph from a famous hero?” she asks as the boy comes forward eagerly holding up a notebook and pen.
“Sure, I’ll be glad to.” Luz accepts the notebook and flips to a blank page, “It’s Rodney, was it?”
The boy eagerly nods, “Can you draw Heatblast as well? That’s my favourite alien.”
“Sure, anything for a fan.” Luz hums as she quickly doodles her first alien before handing it back, “Have a good day, Rodney.”
“Can you transform into Heatblast?” the boy eagerly pleads with her, “Please, please, please!”
“Er, well I can’t.” she says apologetically, “Might need it later to fight some bad guys and save the day, you know?”
“Aw, really?” the boy asks disappointedly, “Come on, you don’t fight that many bad guys nowadays do you?”
Luz bites her tongue not wanting to make a snarky comment on how the televised fights were only barely 30% of what she really does.
“Come on, it would make my son’s day if you do that.” Darlene insists, “Oh, and his birthday is coming up this month! Can you spare the time to drop by?”
“Well I-” she continued trying to speak up but again she was interrupted.
“Come now, surely you have the time. We don’t see you on TV much, surely you can spend a few hours at my son’s birthday party.” Darlene says.
Luz’s eyes twitch at that. Was that what people honestly thought? She had the complete opposite of free time! Everyday was always one crisis after the other, invasions from tyrannic alien despots, settling peace treaties between entire star empires, preventing wars, saving the occasional planet from droughts, floods, earthquakes, their own damn sun from going supernova, and so many other things! The stuff they saw on TV were the things the Plumbers allowed to be shown to the public to avoid mass panic, low-level local street thugs with the occasional alien weapon or super power.
Just last night she spent nine days (but only a few hours on Earth thanks to relativity) stopping two planets from declaring war on each other because of a god damn video game!
“Sure.” she says with a strained smile and slightly higher pitch voice, “I’ll make some time in my very empty schedule to come over.”
The woman smiles oblivious to her sarcasm and they say their goodbyes before she and Kevin get into his car. Once the doors close Luz lets out an exhausted scream as Kevin looks on with pity.
“You know you could have just said no.” he points out.
“I’m sure I can find some time.” she growls. As annoyed as she was she couldn’t upset that cheerful looking boy who looked at her with eyes full of hope.
“Just add that to the list.” she grumbles as she pulls out her phone and jots that date given to her by Darlene. If it goes without complication she should squeeze that birthday party after the peace talks and oversee that treaty getting signed. Spend a couple minutes shaking hands before running off.
“You already got your plate full with the Deputy Plumber business.” Keving reminds, “I’m surprised you even have time to sleep.”
“So am I.” Luz sighs and sinks into her seat, “Just take me to school before another Incursean war fleet parks near what’s left of Pluto and I have to go stop them again.”
“You got it.” Kevin nods and backs up the car before something materialises out of thin air directly behind the car and they slam into it.
“Are you kidding me?!” Luz exclaims and Kevin immediately yells, “That was not my fault this time! That guy came out of nowhere! You all saw that!”
“What is going on out here?” Camila exclaims as she rushes out of the house and sees an alien with pale white skin and blue eyes, dressed in robes come out from beneath Kevin’s car rubbing a bruised head.
“Mother of moons, what was that?” he asks, dazed and confused, “Did my teleportation pad glitch?”
“Er, yeah, definitely.” Kevin says trying to look casual like it wasn’t his fault, “Those things happen with older models, might wanna get that checked out.”
“What’s going on?” Luz asks in alarm and worry. Please someone tell her this wasn’t another crisis…
The alien clears his throat before prostrating himself to Luz, still in the car with the window rolled down, “Luz Noceda, saviour of the galaxy and hero of the Highbreed War! I have come to offer you this, the Asterian Golden Flower.”
He presents her an impressive looking flower that appears to be naturally golden and shiny, placed within a wreath of other similarly impressive looking flowers.
“This is the highest honour we can bestow to those not part of the Asterian Military.” the alien continued, “As well as the title of Guardian of Life. I also come with an offer, if you so desire an estate has been prepared for the arrival of you and your family. The finest location was selected, overlooking Asteria’s famous mountain ranges.”
Oh, it was another one of those people. She could already guess what was going to come next,
“...And as a sign of recognition of your compassion and power, we are prepared to give you citizenship in Asteria along with your entire family as well as a high-ranking position in our armed forces similar to Captain in your world!”
Luz could only force a smile and nod with enthusiasm she wasn’t feeling as Camila took the bouquet appearing to be flustered, “Oh my, that is a very gracious offer. Please give us time to think about this will you?”
“We eagerly await your decision. Farewell Luz Noceda.” the alien bows before teleporting away as Camila dropped the “honoured and flustered” act looking similarly exhausted as her daughter.
“I’ll put these with the rest?” Camila asks and Luz nods, “At this point I’ll have to put an order for a fifth trophy case.”
Ever since the Highbreed War she’s gotten countless rewards from hundreds of planets as well as a similar amount of citizenship offers, all wanting to have the “Savior of the Galaxy and Wielder of the Omnitrix” guard their planet from future threats. Almost ten times a day they come to her house with those offers and it was getting annoying. Even when she had them go through the Plumbers first, they are still somehow able to get past them and give their proposal wherever and whenever they wanted.
Whether she be napping in the living room, taking a test in school, going to the freaking bathroom! Not a moment of peace with her already extremely busy schedule of being a hero.
Who would know that being a hero would be this stressful? Nothing like this was covered in the Good Witch Azura books!
“So…” Kevin begins but Luz rolls her eyes and guesses what he wants this time.
“No, you can’t melt my medals down and sell them.” Luz guesses his plan and he shrugs, “They put a lot of time and effort delivering them across lightyears, so that would be rude.”
“What? You don’t like them anyways, might as well do some good with them.” Kevin says before turning serious, “But really, I was going to say I think you need a vacation.”
“What?” Luz looks at Kevin surprised.
“Look, ever since the Highbreed Invasion, ever since your identity got exposed, it’s one crisis another that apparently only you can solve. You’re stressed. Take a break and let them solve their own stuff, or call the Plumbers if they need to.”
“In case you forgot, I am a Plumber.” Luz reminds.
“Deputy Plumber. And you’re more of a volunteer than anything.” Kevin says, “Are you even getting paid for this?”
“It’s not about the money Kevin, it’s about helping people.” Luz answers firmly and Kevin sighs.
“Yeah, yeah, you and your bleeding heart of gold.” he mutters, “Doesn’t change the fact you’re practically working yourself to death. Even your dad takes breaks now and then!”
“Not all civilisations sign the accords that let Plumbers operate in their space.” Luz says as she taps the device wrapped around her wrist, “And I’m the wielder of the Omnitrix! That means I have a responsibility to help them if they ask for it.”
“Wow, really? Don’t remember that written down in any lawbook. Must be a new thing.” Kevin scoffs, “It was you who decided that. I know you’re terrible at it, but take my advice and take a break before you break.”
“Where’s this coming from?” Luz asks with a hint of suspicion at his sudden irregular behaviour. Kevin just sighs, not looking at her almost sheepishly.
“...Look, your parents have been good to me ever since you plucked me out of New York five years ago. And any normal couple would’ve ditched me at some orphanage, say something about how much of a lost cause I am, but they kept me around.” Kevin mutters before turning to face her, “Your mom’s worried about you, and if your dad knows what's going on I’m sure he’ll be too. Remember last week?”
Luz winces and rubs her left shoulder where a plasma bolt had glanced off it. If it wasn’t for the Plumber’s advanced medical science she would have to amputate it, losing her entire arm from shoulder down.
“It was a minor slip up.” Luz weakly protests.
“If it had been just a few inches to the right, and a little bit higher, you would’ve died!” Kevin scolds, “If you keep going like this, sooner or later you’re gonna slip up and some grunt is gonna get lucky! I don’t want to have to tell them that their only daughter got killed because she was dumb enough to not take a break when she obviously needs one”
Luz could only remain quiet as Kevin sighs, “Not asking you to quit the hero business, just take a damn break. Summer vacation’s starting soon, you should be doing whatever kids do at our age. Go to beaches, or some camping trip! And once you’ve finished relaxing you can get back to solving everybody’s problems before your next break.”
“...Guess there’s a heart under that armour after all.” Luz teases and playfully elbows him as Kevin rolls his eyes.
“Tell anyone about that and you’re walking from now on. No more free rides.” he teases back.
***
You would think school would have been one of the few places where she could relax and be normal (well, relatively normal) but it was just as bad as in the streets.
Once upon a time she was Luz the weirdo, who was picked on for liking a children’s book series, for being easily excitable and dramatic, called ‘wild and unruly’ by her teachers, along with many other things.
But now she was Luz the hero, and all of a sudden those that picked on her were desperate to get her attention and befriend her. Those that mocked her favourite book series suddenly became fans overnight. Students from different classes she’s never seen before suddenly walking up to her and acting like they were lifelong friends. Teachers began showering her with flattery.
They didn’t care about Luz Noceda, all they cared about was the fame being friends with Luz the Hero could grant them. It almost made her wish they were back to bullying or ignoring her, at least back then they were honest.
“And that’s the end of my book report!” Luz finishes with a smile. Really she was hoping to have added more flair to the report with the use of snakes and fireworks, but she left both in Kevin’s car only realising after he had driven off.
Hopefully the snake’s container was locked properly. The constant messages and calls she was getting probably had nothing to do with that. Right?
“So are there any questions?” she eagerly asked her classmates who have appeared to be listening to her report closely, paying rapt attention. One of them raises their hands and she eagerly asked what their question was,
“So this is unrelated,” they said and Luz immediately dreads the question, recognising what her classmate was going to ask about, “But are the Highbreeds really gone, how do we know there aren’t any DNAliens among us?”
Luz sighs and facepalm. Of course instead of paying attention to the report she worked hard on, they were going to ask the same question they had for the past few months.
“No, I keep telling you there’s no more DNAliens, they’re a galactic war crime now!” Luz explains for the umpteenth time, “And I keep telling you all this, the Highbreed Fleet has been mostly disarmed and decommissioned! A quarter of their remaining ships were scrapped and sold to help with reparations across the galaxy, including Earth!”
Another raised their hand but didn’t wait for permission to ask, sounding genuinely confused, “Why didn’t you just kill them all again?”
“Oh yeah, solve a problem with genocide , that’s a great idea!” Luz says sarcastically. These were just the same questions she’s been hearing since the war ended. Questions she had answered a number of times, all on live television even, and she was sick of it, “No, they won’t attack again. Yes, we’re keeping a close eye on them. No, there isn’t some secret Highbreed purist rebel group planning to usurp and start the war again! And no, I will not be transforming into an alien for you! Now are there any questions about my book report?”
“...Not even Greymatter?” a student in the back asks.
Luckily before she can snap, their teacher interrupts.
“Well she’s right, this is about your projects after all.” their teacher chuckles nervously, “And yes that was a perfect book report, you get an A+.”
“...Just like that?” Luz asks dumbfounded, “Come on, even I could tell that it wasn’t that good! That’s like a B+ at most and a C- at worst!”
“...Do you want either of those grades instead?” her teacher asks and Luz’s jaw just drops.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she exclaims. She had worked hard on this report, doing this in what free time she had between diplomatic peace talks between empires, planets and star systems, and all the other hero business! Now she was just getting a straight success without consideration, making it all felt insulting, like her efforts and passion were meaningless, “Were you even paying attention to my report? Was anyone?”
The sheepish faces on everyone told her what she needed to know and all she could do was sigh in disappointment as she sulked back to her seat, “Great, this has been a colossal waste of my time.”
***
One day of normality, was that really so much to ask?
“Luz Noceda of Earth! Wielder of the Omnimatrix! I have come to challenge you to personal combat, the prize shall be that weapon!”
Luz could only look up from her lunch in exhaustion as all her classmates screamed and fled from the cafeteria.
“Do we really have to do this?” she asks but the laser gun with a barrel bigger than her entire body glowed with energy as it was pointed at her, “Right. Can I at least finish my yoghurt first?”
“We duel at once!” the giant alien robot says, “Now stand and face me! Choose your strongest form so we can battle at both our full might!”
Luz only groans in annoyance, putting down the yoghurt cup she was enjoying and wiping her mouth with a napkin before standing up.
“Right, if you’re so insistent on a real fight, pick your poison.” she taps the Omnitrix and it glows purple, before she starts cycling through her aliens.
“Go with Humungousaur!” a fellow student shouted from outside the cafeteria as she gave him an incredulous look.
“Really? What part of this…!” she gestures to the giant robot alien that had crashed through the ceiling and had to kneel to squeeze into the cafeteria, “...Makes you think you should still be here?! Get out of the school now!”
“Your To'Kustar form will be sufficient!”, the robot alien declares.
“Are you kidding? Turn into Way Big in the middle of a school?!” she argues before selecting one of her primary combat forms, “Look, what about Heatblast? That good enough for you?”
“The Pyronite? Barely a worthy foe!” her foe disagreed, “My suit is built to withstand a volcano! Do you look down on me that much?”
“Buddy, I just met you.” she mutters before selecting Heatblast, “Now let’s just get this over with.”
***
“Rough day at school?” Camila asks as she looks at the GPD load up the defeated and melting robot for transport, likely to hand it to the Plumbers.
Luz just shrugs evidently not in the mood for chit chat. Before they could do anything else, a swarm of reporters arrived, pushing her back and surrounding her daughter.
“Luz! Luz Noceda, do you consider yourself a danger to the public with the numerous threats against your life? Parents are asking how they can send their children to the same school as you without endangering them!”
“Luz Noceda, do you have anything to say about your latest victory against this alien menace?!”
“It is well known that the US Military is seeking access to your Omnitrix, offering huge sums of money for it as well as training and place within their ranks! Do you have a comment on that?”
“HEY!” Camila pushes through the crowd of reporters to reach her daughter, seeing the stress in her face, “Can’t you see you’re disturbing her? Buzz off you vultures!”
She would have chosen some less-polite words if they weren’t live on television, but the ferocity in her tone was enough to have a few back away, but some still persisted and hounded her with questions as she helped Luz to her car to drive her back home.
“You’re not hurt, are you Luz?” Camila asks as they both buckle their seat belts, “I can call the Plumbers and they’ll have a look over you if needed.”
“I’m fine mom.” Luz responded half-heartedly, “I’m just…tired I guess.”
“...Is there something you want to tell me, Luz?” Camila asks in concern, placing a comforting hand on Luz’s shoulder, “You can talk to me.”
Luz was silent for a while and Camila relented, starting the car and preparing to drive home but then she heard her daughter mutter something.
“I wish we could go back to five years ago…”
“Pardon?” Camila asks not understanding what she meant, surprised to see some tears in her daughter’s eyes.
“I thought everything would get back to normal once the war was over.” Luz says louder and clearer, “But no, it just got more and more complicated. I want to help people, but they just keep asking for more and more! Sometimes it’s not even because they need help, sometimes they just want to see me as damn entertainment!”
Tears were flowing from her eyes and her voice cracked but Luz didn’t care at that point and all the stress she had built up over the months came flowing out, “I miss when things were easier, when no one knew! I miss when they didn’t need me to solve every single problem in the galaxy! I miss getting more than five hours of sleep at most! I miss it when people didn’t pretend to like me because I was a famous hero! I miss it when I was a hero and not some damn celebrity!”
Camila moves to embrace her daughter as she cries from the stress.
“I’m so sorry mija.” she apologises, “I…should have seen this coming.You always looked so strong, so brave and stubborn like your father. I forgot you’re still just a kid. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be, mom.” Luz sniffs and wipes the tears from her eyes as she leaned into the embrace, “I didn’t want you to worry. You already have enough, worrying about dad while he’s in space.”
“...You know, there’s something your father and I have been talking about recently.” Camila speaks up after a moment of silence, “We were hoping to surprise you but I suppose you’ll want to hear about this.”
She opens the compartment in the car and fishes out a pamphlet before handing it to Luz who looked at it curiously.
“Top 50 attractions in Europe 2023?” Luz asks confusedly before realising, “You mean-?”
“Correct, we’re going on a road trip.” Camila says with a smile, “It’ll be another trip just like when you were ten years old. With hopefully less life-threatening scenarios.”
She half jokes and got a chuckle out of Luz who was sharing a similar smile. Back then were some of the best moments of her life, back when it was more simple than now. Just a trip with her family, meeting friends on the way, fighting the occasional bad guy if they come across them, not being hounded by reporters, swarms of fans, and everything else she had to deal with once her identity was exposed.
“But what about being a hero?” Luz realises, “I can’t just laze around in a beach while-”
“Your father and I made plans for that.” Camila assures, “The Plumbers have been saving the world before you were born, and stopping galactic wars as well. And there’s plenty of heroes on Earth and in space, the galaxy can survive three months without Luz Noceda. So what do you think? After everything you deserve a break more than anyone. It’ll be like the old days, just us Nocedas against the world.”
Luz’s smile returns as she flips through the pamphlet, “Well…a few months in Europe does sound nice. Oh my god they’re gonna have a Azura-Con in London?! Maybe we can drop by if we’re in the UK. Oh! And there’s a couple cool authentic castles in the countryside we can check out! And-”
Luz continues gushing about things they can do on their trip and Camila smiles at the sight, glad that look of true joy was returning to her daughter’s eyes.
***
“Yeah, yeah, tell him I know that his lazy ass is slacking off by handing out missions to my daughter. Missions might I remind you that are far beyond the normal responsibilities of a Deputy Plumber agent” Manny shouts down his cellphone, “Delegate my ass, a Deputy’s job isn't to do diplomatic missions, we have a goddamn Diplomatic Corps for a reason! You tell him I’m onto him, and if he doesn’t shape up I’m reporting this to the Plumber High-Command! Magistrate Noceda, out!”
Manny Noceda sighs as he pockets his phone before turning to face his daughter, “Sorry about that, I just got off the phone with Earth’s Magistrate. Don’t worry, once vacation’s over I’ll get someone in High Command to reassign someone actually competent.”
“That’ll be great, dad. Thanks.” Luz sighs in relief as her father hugs her.
“You should have told me if you were getting missions way above your paygrade, Luz.” he admonished as he hugged her.
“I figured that the whole ‘Savior of the Galaxy’ and ‘Defeater of Highbreeds’ thing would make those missions easier.” Luz says sheepishly, “And I’m the wielder of the Omnitrix, Azmuth trusted me to use this for the good of the people. I have responsibilities.”
“Responsibilities or not, you’re still my kid.” Manny says, “I’m so proud my daughter’s done more than an entire team of diplomats have done in years, but at the same time you shouldn’t have the weight of the galaxy crushing your shoulders. I’m sorry I wasn’t around to-”
“Dad, I get it.” she gives her father an understanding smile, “You’re protecting law and order across an entire sector of the galaxy, if what I’m doing is just a quarter of what you’ve been doing, then I’m surprised you even have time for this.”
“I’ve accumulated a lot of vacation days, kid.” he ruffled her hair, “Now, let’s all forget about that for now, we have a trip to look forward to! Noceda Family Road Trip 2: Europe Edition!”
Her father cheered as Luz giggled, “That sounds like a sequel to a movie I’d watch.”
“If it’s a sequel then it means this is going to be an even better road trip!” Manny says before realising, “Wait, would that mean the third road trip we’ll do will be underwhelming or even disappointing? Will all future road trips not live up to the greatness of the second and we’re stuck longing for better days, drunk on nostalgia as-”
”Let’s not think too much about this.” Luz pats her dad on his shoulder to snap him out of his spiralling thoughts.
“Ah, summer.” Kevin gazes into the sky with sunglasses on as he carries two large trunks out of the house, “Brings back old memories doesn’t it?”
“Yeah it does, but it’s too bad we can’t bring the Rustbucket to Europe.” Luz says somewhat disappointed but Kevin was unfazed.
“Yes, I’ll miss the clogged air conditioner and toilet that doesn’t work half the time.” Kevin says sarcastically before dropping a suitcase into the trunk of the car and whipping out a ticket from his pockets, “But check this out, I’ll be flying in style!”
“Is that first class?!” Luz exclaims, “I thought we were taking economy?”
“Economy?” Kevin scoffs, “We saved the galaxy for crying out loud, don’t you think we deserve some luxury? How do you think I was able to get this at half-price?”
“I’m actually surprised they recognised you.” Luz admits considering how most of the media world-wide focused on her.
“Oh they didn’t, but once I brought up I was with you, showed a couple pics as proof, they were more than willing to give me an instant 50% off.” Kevin says proudly, “Finally putting that hero rep to good use.”
“I used that ‘hero rep’ to stop wars.” Luz reminds.
“Exactly. Anyways while you’re sitting squeezed between some overweight dude and a baby that’ll cry for the entire flight, I’ll be sitting next to some semi-famous person that I’ll recognise from somewhere eating high class peanuts.”
“Play nice you two.” Manny warns as the two seemed ready to bicker, “Now we still have a lot to pack up, then we’ll be fetching your mother from work. Kevin, come help me with the rest.”
“Come on, I’m pretty sure Luz can just go XLR8 or Wildvine, and we’ll be finished in less than a minute.” Kevin complained.
“Actually, no.” Luz shook her head sternly, “For this whole vacation, I’m planning to use the Omnitrix as little as possible. No goofing around, no using to quickly finish up chores, or anything less than supervillains or emergencies.”
“...Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” Kevin replies faux-horrified before heading back in with Manny to help with the rest of the luggage.
Luz leaned against the hood of the car as she glanced up to the sky. It had been almost a week since she went without using her Omnitrix and honestly not having to transform every few hours for some crisis just felt relaxing.
They had Plumber cadets on standby for any alien threats, and while that may be concerning at first glance Luz had fought with many of them in the Highbreed Invasion and knew their capabilities. If anything does require them, Cooper would immediately call Manny and have them teleported to the scene with minutes to spare.
She had been nervous all week, pacing during her supposed ‘break’ and sometimes almost transformed when she heard about the newest supervillain attack, but it was all for naught. Each time they were either taken down by local police or Plumber agents. Honestly, for the first time in forever, she could feel at peace.
“Hoot.”
“Huh?” Luz glanced down and found a strange looking owl on the car staring at the face of her Omnitrix. It pecks it curiously and she chuckles.
“Aw, hey little guy. Like what you see.” she lets it peck at the device curiously and giggled at the sight, “Yeah I guess it’s pretty shiny. You’re a brave little guy aren’t you? Coming close to some big scary human? Are you a pet or something?”
She didn’t know much about owls but this owl was behaving weirdly for a wild bird. She looked for any signs like a name tag or something, she didn’t recall anyone owning an owl in the neighbourhood.
She stared into its eyes as it stared back and she felt like there was a speck of intelligence behind them.
“You’re not an alien are you?” she asks as it blinks at her and hoots in confusion, “Right, I don’t really speak owl…Hoot once if you’re a normal owl, and twice if you’re not.”
“...Hoot?”
“Right, obviously.” she laughs at herself for thinking otherwise, “Sorry, just really paranoid these days. Everything’s going pretty well, I’m taking a vacation in who knows how long? But somehow I just feel like something’s going to mess it up. You know what I mean, little guy?”
“...Hoot?”
“Yeah, I’d think I’m a crazy person as well.” Luz nods in agreement before searching in her pocket, “Hey, you hungry little guy? I think I got a cereal bar you can have.”
She turns around and searches her back pocket. But as she was doing this her carry-on bag slipped from her shoulders and she felt it get snatched.
“What the-?!” she exclaims as she sees the owl fly off with her bag, “What the heck man?! You don’t like cereal bars or something? Because if so this is a major overreaction! Come back here you thieving little rat!”
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 3: And Then There was Luz Pt 2
Chapter Text
Luz dashes through the woods to catch up with the flying thief. If only she had her hoverboard on her then she’d already caught it by now, but it was folded up in the very same bag that the owl was stealing.
“You better stop right now!” Luz ordered as she pointed at her Omnitrix threateningly, “I haven’t used this thing in a week straight, it’s been a very good streak, so you better not make me use it for this!”
The thieving owl doesn’t give so much as a hoot as it flew expertly through the forest, weaving between the trees and leaving its human pursuer struggling to keep up.
She sees it fly up to the old shack near their house before vanishing in a flash of light. Blinking rapidly, she finds herself staring at a doorway that was most definitely not there yesterday. Inside the door was a swirl of energy that was almost blinding.
“Oh, this is fantastic.” Luz mutters to herself as she adjusts the beanie on her head, “Here we go again.”
Without hesitation she throws herself through the portal, vanishing in a flash of light. She shakes her head to recover from that disorienting feeling, which reminded her of teleportation, and finds herself in some sort of tent with shelves full of strange trinkets and nicknacks, reminding her of some weird pawn shop her family saw a couple times back in Summer vacation when she was ten years old.
“The heck is this?” she mutters to herself as she took slow and quiet steps forward. It was obvious the owl was stealing things for someone but for what reason?
“Now let’s see what you got this time.” a woman’s voice from in front of the tent and Luz snuck behind a box of items and peeks her head out.
A woman with pale skin and a red dress, wearing a bandana around her head was looking through her bag, brought by the owl.
Luz tensed as the woman pulled out her Plumber’s badge, the things she could do with her access codes would be disastrous, but to her surprise the woman just tossed it behind her, coincidentally landing next to Luz.
“Junk.” the woman dismisses before pulling out her hoverboard in its collapsed form. After a few knocks and attempting to figure out what it was, she tossed it away as well.
“More junk.” she throws it behind her again, with Luz barely catching it. What was this woman thinking? Throwing away a Plumber’s badge? Understandable as it’ll be risky and easy to get caught. But that was a combat-grade hoverboard! What kind of thief did she just got robbed by?
“Huh, and this?” Luz’s eyes widen at the woman pulling out her copy of the 5th book in the Good Witch Azura series. For a moment she thought she was going to throw it away again and dismiss it as junk but to her horror, she held it over a candle.
“Eh, I suppose it’ll make good kindling.” she shrugs and Luz dashes forward to rescue her favourite book. She threw the hoverboard in front of her, unfolding it and riding it forward, tackling the woman, knocking her over and grabbing her book before it burns.
“Hands off! That thing's a limited edition you know!” she yells at the woman before checking it for any permanent damage. Thankfully there weren’t any and she sighs in relief before looking at the woman recovering from the sudden blow.
“You’re lucky I’m on vacation right now, otherwise it's the holding cell for you,” Luz grumbles as the woman looks at her in surprise. Before she could retaliate, Luz flew past her straight to the portal that brought her here, hoping to at the very least put this whole incident behind her, when suddenly the portal collapses on itself into some suitcase.
The sight of a portable portal like that surprised her, and with the speed she was going, she couldn’t stop in time before she collided with a tall stack of boxes behind the portal, falling and rolling out of the tent.
“Ugh, dad was right.” she grumbled as she stood up, dazed from the rough landing, “Those things really should come with hel…mets…”
She trails off as she fully registers the sight before her. If she hadn’t seen half the things she’s seen then she would be freaking out at the sight of the gigantic carcass in front of her with a skull that was bigger than Mount Everest, and were they inside its freaking chest cavity or something?!
“...Great, of course.” she says to herself before shouting at the sky in annoyance, “I get it! One week’s more than enough of a break, I’m getting the messaging universe! But you could’ve at least told me without all this?!”
***
“Luz?! We’re going to be late!” Kevin shouted for his friend as he wandered through the woods where he spotted her running towards him for some reason. He swears, if this was another villain attack and they miss their flight he was going to break something. He spent good money on his first-class seat and he was going to enjoy every last benefit it offers.
“Luz, if I don’t find you in the next ten seconds I’m rearranging your entire Azura merchandise collection!” he braces for immediate retaliation, as there was no way Luz would shrug off a threat like that. When it comes to a nerd’s merchandise collection he knows it was deadly serious.
He was expecting a flash of purple and getting mauled by Wildmutt, but instead, he hears the bush in front of him rustle and Luz stumbles out of it.
“Sorry, sorry, no need to shout, Luz is here now!” she says quickly and somewhat nervously, “Hello fellow fleshling, skin sure is weird right?”
Kevin raises an eyebrow, pausing for a moment before shrugging off the weirdness, “...Honestly, that isn’t the strangest thing I’ve ever heard you say. I’m not sure whether that says more about you or me. Anyways, we’re going to be late, the flight’s in a few hours and it’ll take an hour to get there.”
“Flight? Right, flying.” she laughed weirdly, “Can’t wait to go flying.”
“...Right,” Kevin says as he walks back to the car with Luz behind him. Was it just him or did Luz feel weirder than usual? She hasn’t been like this ever since they were ten. Eh, maybe it was just nerves because she’s going on vacation. Knowing her, she’s probably fretting over the fact she isn’t helping cats off trees or old ladies cross the road.
“Hey, chin up. You’ll get back in the hero gig in no-” he slaps her on the shoulder only for her to get startled and leap aside in surprise, “-time?”
She’s never flinched like that from his touch before, not even after the times they fought when he was mutated from absorbing her Omnitrix. It would actually be a bit hurtful if something didn’t feel wrong.
“Is something wrong Luz?” he tries asking, “I know I’m not the best at this stuff, but you can talk to me you know?”
“Something wrong with me?” Luz laughs loudly and fakely, “Whatever are you talking about?”
“...Right,” he says unconvinced. Maybe it was just paranoia but his gut feeling told him Luz was acting weirder than usual. This definitely wasn’t another Albedo situation, that prick could never stop acting like a pompous know-it-all to save his life. He had to find a way to make sure, something that won’t immediately tip off this maybe-imposter, and he knows just how to do it.
“Say, did you hear they’re releasing a fourth live-action Azura movie next week?” he slyly mentions, “Maybe you, Hope and I can get some tickets and check it out. Just like the old days.”
“Oh, that sounds fun.” Luz smiles at him, “We can do that.”
And that was all Kevin needed to hear. First of all, just mentioning the live-action films will get Luz on an hour-long rant about how terrible the adaptation was and how it was only a quick cash-grab scheme. Second, the trilogy never made enough money to justify a fourth film. Three, Hope was still in jail with probation a couple years away.
“Glad to hear it.” he says with fake happiness as he pockets his hands and grabs some spare change just in case he needed his powers, before calling out to Manny Noceda who they could see getting into the car, “Hey! Mr Noceda, remember we need to stop at the office. The plumbing emergency, remember?”
The Magistrate looks at him confused, before reading his body language and facial expression, and then eyed the imposter that took Luz’s shape. After a second he seemed to get the signal and puts on a fake smile,
“Of course, thanks for reminding me Kevin.” he nods, “Let’s hope that it isn’t that big of an emergency.”
Knowing his luck, it would be that big of an emergency. All Kevin could do was sigh at the wasted first-class seat. The things he does for Luz.
***
“Who the heck are you?!” Luz exclaims, pointing an accusatory finger at the woman who was likely responsible for her predicament, “Where am I?”
“Cool your jets human.” the albino woman says as she rubs the back of her head, “Hot damn, that was one heck of a blow. Now can you explain why you just attacked a little old harmless shopkeeper like me?”
“Innocent? Your pet owl stole my stuff!” she points at the owl now resting on her shoulder, “Mind explaining that Ms ‘Innocent Shopkeeper’?”
“Owlbert.” the woman glares at her pet owl like a parent would a child when they messed up bad, “What did I tell you about taking stuff right off people? This is why we go for their trash. I mean, you could’ve at least not gotten caught.”
The owl hoots apologetically to its owner and they seemed to be having some silent conversation as Eda hums and rubs her chin in thought,
“You did that to bring her here? Well you are right, we do need a human.” the woman mutters and Luz barely caught that.
“Hey!” she shouts, catching her attention again, “I don’t know what you guys have planned, but I’m really not in the mood. You guys picked the wrong human to mess with, and unless you wanna have a taste of this I suggest you bring me home right now!”
She pulls up the sleeve of her olive green jacket to flash her Omnitrix, but to her surprise, the woman just looks unimpressed.
“Yeah? What’s that going to do, tell us the time?” she laughs at her own joke and Luz stares at her in stunned silence.
“You…you don’t know who I am?” Luz asks in shock, “Luz Noceda? Wielder of the Omnitrix?”
“Never heard of you.” the woman shrugs, “What, you’re some big deal back in the Human Realm or something?”
That was honestly more shocking to Luz than getting struck by lightning. And she’s been through that several times, albeit while transformed. But while she was stunned, a voice came from behind the woman.
“Eda the Owl Lady! You are under arrest for magical misuse and demonic misdemeanours!” a group of men in white cloaks armed with spears stood behind the woman, spears pointed at them warningly.
“Ah crud, it’s the cops.” the woman, Eda if she heard correctly. With a wave of her hand, a glowing circle appeared in front of her, blasting a gust of wind that kicked up dust and blinded the men in white. While they were distracted, the woman snapped her fingers and suddenly the tent that made up her shop collapsed on itself, folding into a bindle around a wooden staff that the owl on her shoulder latches onto.
“You coming kid?” the woman asks as she climbs onto the floating staff like a witch on a broom, “If not they’re gonna arrest you no matter what. And I ain’t got time to waste busting you out of jail.”
Luz looks between the possible criminal and the men in white cloaks. On one hand, someone wanted by the local authorities, on the other hand, a group of law enforcers. Then again she has no idea about the laws of this place, and if this planet isn’t developed enough to be part of the galactic community then her Plumber status held no authority here. But going with the criminal that lured her here in the first place felt illogical. But then again as far as she knew, the criminal was her only way home.
Like her dad and Kevin always said, if she doesn’t know what to do she should follow her guts, and so she did.
“...I better not regret this,” Luz says and climbs onto her hoverboard. The woman looks at the device with some curiosity but nods and flies off beckoning for Luz to follow her as the men in white cloaks recover and curse at the sight of them fleeing.
“Nice, I didn’t know you humans had anything like that.” the woman notes as they flew side by side, “Though it was just some weird black disc. Don’t suppose it’s for sale?”
“Absolutely not!” Luz says as she tries to remain balanced before giving up and getting on all four limbs on the hoverboard. Five years of gathering dust in the closet have really rusted her skills, and she had been hoping to get some practice during Summer vacation, “Now can you tell me where the heck am I? Because this is definitely not Earth!”
“Well aren’t you perceptive.” the woman says sarcastically, “Welcome to the Demon Realm, kiddo. I’m sure you have plenty of questions.”
“You think?” Luz asks, “Who are you anyway?”
“Eda Clawthorne, but around here people call me the Owl Lady.” the woman flew directly next to her and extends a hand to shake.
Luz reluctantly shakes it and reintroduces herself, “Luz Noceda. Now why did you bring me here?”
“Wasn’t really my plan.” Eda shrugs, “Well, long story short I have a little plan for something and I was gonna do that without a human, but having one now means that I’ll be saving a lot of time and effort. Didn’t plan to bring a human through the portal, this guy just took initiative.”
Eda pats the owl creature as Luz watches in confusion.
“Oh yeah, back to where you are, this is what we call the Boiling Isles.” Eda gestures in front of her at the giant carcass they were in, “Might be hard for you to wrap your head around this, but pretty much every little myth you humans came up with originated from here.”
“Every myth?” Luz asks doubtfully. She knows that some aliens arriving on Earth spark the beginning of rumours such as a lost Necrofriggian that strayed when looking for solar plasma to consume, giving rise to the Mothman rumour before the Plumbers returned them to their native planet. Or the Kraken she encountered back when she was ten which arrived thanks to alien smugglers being forced to dump eggs of the creature, with one eventually hatching and growing to the Kraken that she fought.
“Yeah sometimes some local demons get lost and wind up in your Human Realm.” the woman shrugs, “Everything from gryphons, giraffes, magic-”
“Giraffes aren’t local to Earth?” Luz asks confused about how the heck the Plumbers missed that.
“Yeah, bunch of weirdos.” Eda shudders, “Last I heard was that witches banished them to your place a long time ago. Anyways, land that flying board of yours down there.”
Eda pointed at an area in the forest beneath them before flying downwards through the treetops as Luz followed. As they punch through the layer of leaves and branches she now sees a house in the middle of a clearing, about the size of her own back home in Gravesfield.
“Welcome to the Owl House.” Eda says as she landed and got on her feet, “A place where I hide from the pressures of modern life, cops and a couple of ex-boyfriends.”
“God, I wish I had someplace like this back home,” Luz says as she folds her hoverboard back into its compact form.
“Ooh? Criminal record or bad heartbreak? Or is it both?” Eda teases as Luz scowls.
“None of your business.” she mutters not wanting to get into the mess her social life was back home, “You sure this place is safe from those cops?”
If she was in charge she’d sent a couple scouts to trail them, which won’t be hard considering they flew in one straight direction. Finding this place would be a piece of cake even without her transformations.
“That’s why I have the state-of-the-art defence system,” Eda says as she knocks on the door. To her surprise, the owl-shaped carving on the door blinked and stretched out in some strange, furry/feathery tube creature.
“Eda! You’re back!” it exclaimed in a nasally voice, “Did you bring any bugs?”
“Can it Hooty, or you’ll scare the kid,” Eda warns only for Luz to approach Hooty with a look of curiosity.
“Wait, are you like the entire house?” she asks, her curiosity about alien life taking over for a moment, “Are the walls like your skin and body? Or just the door? Do you have organs inside?”
“Oh, well that’s-” Hooty was about to answer before Eda bonks him in the head lightly with her staff.
“Let’s not waste time anymore. The sooner we can discuss this, the sooner you can go back home, doing whatever you humans do.” Eda interrupts.
“Alright, alright.” Hooty says, “No need to be so pushy, hoot.”
The door then swings open and both of them entered, Luz takes a look behind the door and is surprised to find nothing connecting Hooty to anything. Well, if the Owl Lady did magic, then she supposes this makes sense.
“You’re taking all this rather well,” Eda notes and Luz shrugs.
“Honestly, I’ve seen way worse when I was ten years old.” Luz says before turning to face Eda, “Now, you were saying you need me for some big plan of yours and then I’ll go home?”
“Yep.” Eda says as she lights the candles scattered across the room with a snap of her fingers, “Take a seat, before we start discussing this we need one more person here. KING!”
Suddenly loud stomps can be heard from above and Luz has her hand ready to activate the Omnitrix on reflex. From the sound of the heavy footsteps, she’d want to be one of her heavy hitters like Four Arms, Humungousaur, Diamondhead or Heatblast to rival.
A large shadow looms from a corridor with a bellowing voice,
“Who dares to intrude upon I,” it roars and Luz tenses but suddenly the shadow shrinks and the voice’s volume lower until a small dog-like creature with a skull for the head appears wearing a towel around his waist and holding a rubber duck, “The King of Demons?”
“...Oh my god.” Luz freezes at the sight of the creature.
“Who are you?” the so-called King of Demons ask, “Another worshipper to shower me with-?”
He was interrupted as Luz suddenly picked him up excitedly without warning, “He’s so adorable! Look at those widdle hands holding that widdle rubber ducky! Who’s the most adorable dog thing I’ve ever met? You are!”
“AH! Eda help me! Who is this monster?!” he exclaims as he struggles out of Luz’s grip, to which she reluctantly let go once his uncomfortableness was known.
“Sorry, sorry, you were just too adorable.” she chuckles before clearing her throat and returning to business mode to face Eda who looked on with an amused expression, “Now, what we were talking about?”
“Well first of all King, this is Luz.” Eda introduces her to the dog creature, “And Luz, this is King. You’re going to help us out with a situation of ours.”
“She is? Yay!” King’s mood turned a 180 quickly as Luz looked at her with suspicion.
“Yeah, but what exactly is this situation of yours?” Luz asks suspiciously as Eda begins drawing a glowing circle in front of her.
“Well let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Once upon a time, there was a mighty King of Demons, but one day his Crown of Power was stolen by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away in the Conformatorium behind a magical barrier that blocks out all forms of magic, meaning only someone without magic can get through. Case in point, a human.”
As she tells this story, a mural of all these events appears in the magic circle like a form of a magical slideshow. Once she was finished, Eda waves it away and speaks to Luz.
“So…what do you say? Help King and I get his crown back, and we’ll send you home as soon as it's done. Deal?”
“So let me get this straight. This one was a powerful, giant demon…” she points to King chasing his own tail, “And this crown that gave him his powers is now taken by this world’s cops and kept as contraband. And you want me to infiltrate this prison to steal it back for you so he can go back to being an all-powerful demon?”
“Well of course we’re not going to let you go by yourself.” Eda chuckles, “I’ll be doing the heavy lifting, getting you there in the first place, but your only job is to grab the crown and hand it over. Easy as pie.”
“...Yeah, I’m out.” Luz bluntly says before turning her back to exit the Owl House, “Thanks but stealing powerful weapons confiscated by the local government isn’t exactly what I do.”
“Hmph, coward.” King crosses his arms and huffs disappointedly, “We’ll just find another human then, right Eda?”
Eda ignores King and just follows Luz befuddled, “Wait, I don’t think you’re getting this, because I’m the only one with a portal in the entire Boiling Isles. You’re free to spend the next few months checking every inch of the Isles but I swear you’ll never find anything like my portal.”
“Then I’ll find another way out.” Luz insists as she pushes open the door and marches out with her hoverboard under her arm, “I’m not going to get people hurt to get home. I have enough things to lose sleep over.”
She turns and faces the Owl Lady with a hand over her Omnitrix ready to activate it, “And if you try to force me to do this, then you better be ready for the fight of your life.”
Eda looks at the determination in her eyes and sighs, closing the door before speaking in a hushed tone,
“Alright, fine, I can respect that but please just listen. The crown doesn’t do anything.”
“What?” Luz could only ask, confused as Eda continued in whispers.
“King believes it does, but he’s just a kid! You know how kids are.” She explains, “He was out playing one day when one of the Warden’s goons tried taking him, but they only managed to get his crown before he ran off and we escaped.”
“Why would some cops steal some kids' toys?” Luz asks half disbelief and incredulous about who could do such a thing.
Eda shrugs, “Maybe they just want to get to me? I admit I’m a bit on their most wanted list, and King’s always with me so he’s technically an accomplice, but what matters is that they took his crown. He’s been upset ever since then, no matter what I do, I can’t cheer him up without that crown. King and I don’t have much in this world, we’re all we got, and I want him to be as happy as he can be. So can you please help an old gal make that kid smile again?”
Luz pauses in thought, glancing through the windows to see King sitting on the floor playing with what looks to be a stuffed rabbit, with a grumpy look on his face trying not to look as if his hopes were crushed.
Her heart aches at the sight and she turns to face the Owl Lady. She’s heard the same thing from many others, and a few times she was tricked by someone playing on her sympathy. But the way she said it sounded very genuine…
“...Do I have your word that this won’t hurt anyone?” Luz asks, staring at her straight in her eyes, “That this crown really does nothing, that you’re only going to take the crown and nothing else, that this is all to make a little boy happy?”
“Swear on my life.” Eda nods equally serious and Luz softens, reaching out with a hand.
“Then we have a deal.” she says before looking apologetic, “Sorry, but I had to make sure.”
“Eh, I honestly would be like that too.” Eda shrugs it off, “Being suspicious just means you got a good head on your shoulders. As long as we get that crown, you can forget about it.”
***
“So this is the Conformatorium?” Luz asks as she peeks around the corner of a wall, peering at a large tower with dark clouds hanging over it.
“Yep, where the Emperor and his goons send those unsuitable for society.” Eda answers, “They’ve been trying to get me in a cell here for a while, but they can’t cause we’re too slippery.”
“Literally.” King pipes in, “Try catching me when I’m covered in grease.”
He climbs off the Owl Lady’s shoulder, pointing at the top of the tower, “That’s where the Warden probably keeps my crown!! Is there a more fitting place to hold the strongest artefact on the Boiling Isles than the tower’s very top?”
“Uh-huh, right.” Luz plays along, knowing the crown did nothing, at least according to the Owl Lady. She believed her but still from what she learnt, one can’t be too prepared.
She wonders which of her transformations should she use to scale the tower? Stinkfly was an obvious choice, but Heatblast was one as well in case they ran into any trouble with the prison guards, then again they weren’t very stealthy. One could smell Stinkfly’s stench from a mile away and trying to hide Heatblast was impossible. Grey Matter was an option for stealth but scaling a tower of that size would cause the Omnitrix’s charge to deplete before even halfway.
The Owl Lady hops on her staff and began to fly towards the tower in a different direction, “I’ll be causing a distraction so Warden Wrath and his goons don’t interrupt. Can you get up there on your own?”
Luz glances down at the hoverboard in her arm and nods, “I’ll be in and out.”
She activates the board and hops on with King on her shoulder,
“Onward minion!” King shouts next to her ear as they climbed on, “Fly us to my crown!”
Luz rolled her eyes at King’s antics and focuses on piloting the hoverboard.
Anyone who had used a combat-grade hoverboard would tell you it isn’t an easy feat. Compared to commercial-grade they weren’t just fancy high-tech skateboards, but could be used as a flying platform in full three dimensions instead of just propelling off the floor a couple inches. You needed to use your feet to apply the right pressure pads at the right angle to get where you wanted which took a lot of coordination.
Luckily for her, like with bikes, you don’t just forget how to ride a hoverboard and soon they arrived at the top floor of the tower, quietly sneaking in through a window once she was sure there were no guards in sight.
“My crown is here, I can feel it!” King squeals giddily as Luz raises a finger to her lips and shushes.
“Let’s try to keep a low profile, alright?” she asks, “We don’t want to lure in any guards do we?”
King nods a bit more quietly and they traverse through the corridor, occasionally stopping to look around corners for guards before continuing. As they did this, Luz started to ask King questions.
“So…you live with the Owl Lady?” Luz asks.
“Ah, Eda has been allowing me to live with her ever since I lost my powers. But when I rejoin with my crown I’ll be at full power once more and rule the Isles as King of Demons!”
He shouts the last part and Luz covers King’s mouth before looking around, worried anyone may have heard before releasing.
“A bit quieter, will ya?” she warns before they continue, “But she’s not your mom or anything right? Where are your parents?”
“Er, well…” King scratches the back of his skull before answering, “I really don’t know, but they’re definitely powerful rulers of demon-kind before me, so I’m destined to follow their footsteps and be King of Demons!”
“Well, there are worse things to aspire to be.” Luz shrugs, “But so Eda’s been taking care of you then?”
“Yeah, I guess so. She cooks for me, gets me lots of minions for my army, and lots of other stuff. She’s a loyal minion that shall be rewarded when I get my powers back.” King says enthusiastically.
Luz nods along with that. Unless the two were very great liars this was what Eda had explained to her. King was just an excitable kid playing out some fantasy, and she just wants to keep him happy. They were close enough that she was going to risk breaking into prison to steal back a toy of his.
Again, what kind of cops steal a kid’s toy? Unless there was more than what Eda was telling her about the crown, then it must be someone that holds a huge enough grudge to take it out on a child.
“Don’t worry, King.” she pats him on the head, “We’ll get your crown back in no time.”
“Thanks, Luz. You’re pretty cool for a human, my army would definitely benefit from one like you in their ranks.”
“Sorry buddy, I already have a full-time job.” she apologises.
They reach the end of the corridor and Luz’s eyes widen at the sheer number of cells in the Conformatorium, with pretty much every cell appearing to be empty. There was one large spiral staircase through the tower but besides that, it was like the only type of room within the tower were jail cells. If they all weren’t empty, Luz would be very concerned about the crime levels to justify keeping a jail like this operational.
“Psst, how did you get out?”
Luz turns around startled by the voice but calms down when she sees it was someone in the cell instead of a guard. It was a dark-skinned woman in a purple dress and pointed ears like Eda, beside her in neighbouring cells was some strange blue humanoid covered in holes like Swiss cheese with a couple eyes, and a tiny white creature with red hair and a gigantic nose.
“Er, not really a prisoner here, sorry.” Luz explains, “Just here to grab some stuff from the contraband room, can you not tell the guards we were here?”
She asks slightly nervous they’ll just rat her and King out but the woman just shrugs unfazed,
“Sure, not like the guards come up here often. They only come to give us food when it’s time to eat.” she says as she leaned against her cell’s walls, “Contraband room’s just down that hall.”
“Huh, you’re…awfully friendly for a criminal.” Luz can’t help but notice, “What did you do to get here?”
“I wrote fanfiction about food falling in love.” the woman says and Luz snorts.
“Hah! Sorry, that was a good one.” she stifled a laugh before looking at the woman’s fall tells her she was being completely serious, “Wait, you can’t be serious?”
“Nope, definitely am.” she pulls out a thick book from behind her and shows Luz its contents, “Showed it to the wrong person, they told the Emperor’s scouts about me, and you can guess how that went.”
“What?! But that’s just fluffy slice-of-life stuff!” Luz says after reading a short passage in her book, “I’ve written way worse! If fanfiction like that’s the bare minimum for jail, I’d have gotten a life sentence back home!”
“And those two next to me?” she gestures to her neighbours, “He’s here for eating his own eyes, and she’s just a major conspiracy nut.”
“I just can’t help it?” the blue guy shrugs as he proceeds to swallow his own eye, only for it to reappear in one of the many holes across his body.
“The world is a triangle!” the tiny nose creature shouts, “We are all being watched by invisible agents! It is all a simulation!”
“...That’s what got you all in prison?!” Luz asks in shock, confusion and disgust at the abuse of power, “Not hurting anyone, not destroying public property, not for drugs, or anything? Where’s the justice in that? What kind of system allows for that?!”
“You gotta ask Warden Wrath on that.” the woman says bitterly, “If he doesn’t like how you act, it’s straight to the Conformatorium for you. And you stay as long as he wants until he thinks you're fit to be a member of society once more.”
“...” Luz could only stare in shock. She’s met plenty of tyrants but compared to them, this was just ridiculous.
“Luz, come on!” King urges and pulls at her pants, “My crown’s close! Let’s get it now!”
“...Not yet,” Luz says as she reaches for a nearby lever, likely what is keeping the cell doors locked, and tries to lift it up. She puts all her weight against it to force it, but it just remained still.
“It’s no use.” the woman says, “Only Wrath could use that lever, that’s why he has it so close to us. We can reach out and grab it but none of us can lift it and let us out. Hope’s damn cruel isn’t it?”
“Just leave us.” the eye-eating creature sighs with defeat, “Enjoy freedom for us, that’s the most you can do for us.”
The other two of the ‘criminals’ murmur in agreement and it just serves to enrage Luz. Not at their defeatism, but at what they’ve been through to crush their hope like this. If she gets her hands on this Wrath guy, she was going to have words.
She activates her hoverboard and aims the thrusters at the lever, “No! I’m getting you out, you just need-!”
A footstep of a large creature echoes through the hall and she stops as the three prisoners freeze in fear.
“It’s him!” the woman warns, “Hide!”
Luz decides to listen to her, finding a nearby open and empty cell to hide in. Until she knows what she’s dealing with she needs to remain hidden.
“Now just what are you whispering about?” a deep and guttural voice asks as the stomping stops at the cell next to hers, “I warned you all, if you don’t want another day in solitary confinement, you stay as silent as a statue. Unless you’re all so eager to become the first in fifty years to be petrified.”
She hears the prisoners whimper in fear and she clenches her hoverboard tight.
“Wait a minute…” she hears Wrath growl as she hears footsteps approach her, “I could have sworn I locked all these cells.”
She readies herself to slam this Wrath guy with the full force of her hoverboard when suddenly a voice speaks up,
“Fight against the oppressor! We will resist! We will conquer! We will never be afraid of you, you old creep!”
Luz’s jaw drop in confusion and surprise at the voice of the tiny nose conspiracy theorist speaking up, and the footsteps halt and move back, and the sound of gears grinding and something being lifted was heard.
“A glutton for punishment, eh? Let this be a lesson to you all.” Wrath says, “There is no place in society where you can fit in. Until you do, you’re stuck here. You only have yourself to blame.”
Luz charges out of her cell and confronts the man, “Hey, ugly!”
A large, towering humanoid in a coat and a plague doctor get-up and turn to face her with confusion with the tiny nose creature firmly in his grip.
“A hu-?” he looks at her in surprise before Luz slams the hoverboard at his guts, activating the pressure pads just in time to release a thrust strong enough to knock back Warden Wrath, releasing the conspiracy theorist.
On the other hand, the recoil also sends her flying backwards and landing on her back.
“Luz!” King came running out of the cell, “That was awesome! That flying board is a weapon as well? I want one!”
“We’ll get you a kid’s version when we get out of this.” Luz groans as she rubs the back of her head. As she recovers, Warden Wrath does the same and pushes himself up.
“Kid, run! You can’t win, just run!” The woman prisoner warns her but she stares at the Warden determined.
“I don’t know what you’re doing here human, but assaulting someone like me just earns you a life sentence here.” he growls and one of his arms shapes itself to form a mallet, “Get in a cell, and I’ll let you off without a beating.”
“Honestly, I was hoping to go at least a few weeks without using this but a week’s already a record by itself.” Luz pulls up her sleeve, revealing her Omnitrix and presses the activation button to prime it for transformation, a hologram of a familiar four-armed alien appears, “And fighting against you is a tad bit unfair. So let’s even the odds!”
She slams her Omnitrix, expecting a flash of purple before the familiar sensation of her DNA being spliced with a Tetramand, but instead;
“Error. Error. Connection with Primus severed. Cause: Unknown. Please restore connection and try again.”
“....What?” Luz looks down at her watch dumbstruck as a spinning circle hologram appears instead of Four Arms, she presses the activation button again and slams it once more but the message repeats itself.
“Error. Error. Connection with Primus severed. Cause: Unknown. Please restore connection and try again.”
She continues fiddling with the watch in a slight panic. What the heck was Primus? Where were Four Arms?! She looks up and smiles weakly at the approaching Warden Wrath,
“Er…time out?” she asks nervously, backing up a bit. The Warden ignores her and brings his hammer-shaped fist down as Luz grabs King and rolls away.
“What’s going on? You were going to fight him!” King says disappointed by the lack of bloodshed as Luz carried him towards the contraband room.
“Change of plans! First, we find Eda!” Luz exclaims as she uses her hoverboard to deflect a blow from the Warden, who elongated his arm to throw it at her like a flail.
“Hey Luz, you’re-?” Eda comes through one of the windows on her staff and widens her eyes at the sight of Warden Wrath hot on their tails.
“Other way, other way!” Luz warns. Eda quickly steps off her staff and drew a large circle, blasting the walls and ceiling to rubble and shaping them to block the door leading to the contraband room once they were through.
“That should hold him for a while.” Eda says before turning to Luz, “What the heck happened?”
“I saw him about to hurt some prisoners, which might I add are imprisoned for really stupid things, and I couldn’t sit by doing nothing.”
“Well great, now everyone knows we’re here.” Eda says sarcastically, “Just get the crown already and then we’ll figure out our next step.”
Luz faces the giant glowing pillar of energy in the centre of the room as King scrambles onto his feet and tries breaching it, only to be repelled each time.
She stops King before he manages to injure himself and taps the energy shield experimentally. Instead of making contact her entire hand just passes through without issue.
“Right, what does the crown look like?” she asks King hurriedly before she passes through.
“You’ll know when you find it!” King says with barely contained excitement, “Just bring it back to me quick!”
Luz nods and pushes herself into the energy field. For a contraband room, this place surprisingly lacked much contraband. Where were the weapons? The illegal technology? The mountains of narcotics? All that was around her was junk.
She searches through the piles of trash, hoping to get a glimpse of this crown that they were looking for. But so far nothing came from it and she could only search faster in desperation before something caught her eye.
“You’re kidding me.” Luz’s jaw drops as she picks up a paper Burger Shack crown. As much shock as she was feeling from this reveal, she is forced to shake it off and run out of the field, waving it in the air.
“I got the crown!” she yells to the Owl Lady, “Let’s bail!”
“My crown!” King cries in joy as Luz throws it at him, “I can feel the power returning!”
“Please tell me you were lying to me and that crown really does give him some powers?” Luz asks hopefully as the makeshift barrier blocking the door begins shaking from impact.
Eda unfortunately shook her head, “Nope, one of the few times I was telling the truth. It’s just a piece of cardboard.”
“Dang it.” Luz mutters as the barricade breaks and showers them with dust and debris, as Warden Wrath and his guards enter and block their only exit.
“Eda the Owl Lady.” Warden Wrath says as his guards surround them, “At last. I knew taking that child’s toy would draw you in. And it appears I was right.”
“Have no fear!” King exclaims with his crown on, “I shall defeat him with my regained awesome might! Charge!”
Luz grabs his arm and stops him from charging directly at the man far larger than him, “Yeah, I don’t think so. Why don’t you sit this one out, buddy?”
“What do you want Wrath?” Eda asks, pointing her staff at him threateningly, “I don’t remember breaking any of your stupid laws…In front of you at least.”
“What do I want?” Warden Wrath repeats and reaches for behind him, “What I want is one simple thing…”
Luz braces herself for him to draw a weapon but her jaw drops when instead he pulls out a bouquet of flowers and gets on one knee, “...For you to date me, Eda the Owl Lady.”
“...What?” both Luz and Eda ask at the same time.
“Go boss!” one of the guards cheer as Wrath flashes him a quick thumbs up.
“Think about it, Eda. You and I together, we will be the strongest power couple in the entire Boiling Isles. Position, power, wealth, what more can you ask for?”
“No! I keep telling you the answer’s no!” Eda shouts exasperated as Luz tries to pipe in.
“So, seeing as this is a private affair between the two of you, I guess the rest of us can-?” she tries but Wrath silences her.
“No, because the only way any of you are leaving is if Eda agrees to this.” he yells and the guards take a step closer with their spears pointed at them.
“Look, if you want to date someone then just ask someone without threatening their lives!” Luz exclaims annoyed, “And you wonder why you’re not getting any ladies like this?”
“I have enough of your insolence child!” he roars and gestures to one of his guards, “Restrain her and the pet.”
“Lay a finger on either of them, and you’ll have to eat through a straw.” Eda threatens as the guards close in regardless.
“Come on, come on.” Luz mutters as she rapidly taps the face of the Omnitrix and whacks it, King trying to growl and look intimidating to the guards as they advance.
“Error. Error. Connection with Primus severed. Cause: Unknown. Please restore connection and try again.”
“Connection error, what are you a cellphone?!” she screams at the Omnitrix to the confusion of everyone around her.
“Is…she alright?” one of the guards asked confused.
“I don’t know, I just met her.” Eda grumbles back before yelling at Luz, “Kid, the moment you see an opening make a break for it with King, got it?”
She ignores the which and continues whacking her Omnitrix, “Most advanced tech in five galaxies my butt! Azmuth if I die I’m haunting you, you cranky little frog! There’s no offline mode for this?!”
Whatever she did or said seemed to trigger something as the Omnitrix spoke again,
“Connection with Primus severed. Enable offline mode and connect with local databanks?”
“Yes, yes, for the love of Azura just transform already!” she yells frantically as she taps the faceplate of the watch.
“Enough of this.” Wrath mutters having tired of the nonsense before him and readies to signal for his guards to take them down now before suddenly a flash of purple blinds them.
“Wha-?” One of the guards recovers quick and barely had time to raise his spear before a clawed hand smashes him away into a wall, along with his partner.
All eyes in the contraband room widen in shock as suddenly, in place of a teenage human, was a towering wolf-like humanoid the size of Wrath. She wore some kind of purple and white uniform and had glowing indigo eyes, a circular emblem of an hourglass-like shape adorned to her chest, howling into the air.
“Blitzwolfer?!” the wolf-girl asks out loud to no one in particular, “I forgot I even have this guy. Well, beggars can’t be choosers!”
“Luz?!” Eda and King look in shock at the sight of her, “Is that you?”
“Who else?” she asks sarcastically.
“A shapeshifter…It’s a basilisk, it has to be!” Wrath declares, “Capture it at once, Emperor Belos shall reward those that present him with one of the escaped basilisks!”
“Basilisk?” Blitzwolfer mutters in confusion, “Never been called that before.”
The guards took nervous steps towards her but were then blasted away with a magic blast from Eda,
“Kid, I got plenty of questions, but it’ll have to wait. Can you keep King safe while I deal with these chucklenuts?”
Blutzwolfer nods and cracks her knuckles, “Leave it to me, Owl Lady.”
“Hey, I can take care of myself!” King pouts, “I’m the King of Demons!”
“And a king needs strong bodyguards to take care of trash beneath him right?” Blitzwolfer asks playing on the kid’s obsession with benign a monarch.
King rubs his chin in thought, “Hm, you may be right minion. In which case, attack! Bring me their heads!”
“Sorry guys, you heard him.” Blitzwolfer says as she leaps upon them, sending everyone flying with a single strike, dodging every stab and magic blast with her enhanced agility, none were a match for her.
“Warden Wrath! You need to help us!” one of the scouts cries out and tries to flee but Blitzwolfer grabbed him by the cloak and threw him at another scout.
“Fools, can’t you take care of a single enemy by yourselves?!” Wrath cries out in anger as he tries to slash at the Owl Lady with his hand now in the shape of an axe but she was too quick and dodges around his slow attacks with ease.
But then she miscalculates, and Wrath was able to grab her staff while she was using it to fly circles around him, swinging it and sending her flying into a wall and leaving her dazed from the impact.
He morphs his hand into a hammer and brings it down quickly, hoping to knock her out so he only has to focus on the shapeshifter.
“NO!” Blitzwolfer cries out, with her snout splitting into four separate pieces and separate, releasing a concentrated sonic blast that sends the Warden flying and smashing into a wall.
“You…wretched basilisk.” Wrath growls as he tries to recover, his head still spinning from both the impact and sonic attack.
“Not sure what you’re going on about pal.” Blitzwolfer says as she strolls up to him, “I may not look like it, but I’m human.”
“A human can’t do all this…You’re a monster!” he throws a punch at her but Blitzwolfer raises both hands to block it, barely doing so.
“Jeez, you’re as strong as you look.” Blitzwolfer admits, “And about that monster comment if I’m one what does that make you?”
He tries to use his other hand to create a blade and stab her but Blitzwolfer leaps back in time as he slashed wildly in front of him. Roaring with anger, he tears off his mask, revealing a large mouth and no eyes, with enough teeth to make Wildmutt envious.
It releases a torrent of flames from his mouth, but a huge gust of wind from a magic circle drawn by Eda quickly extinguished it.
Blitzwolfer nods her head quickly in thanks before returning to fighting Wrath.
“You lock up innocent people for the most ridiculous reasons.” she says as she dodges under a swing and slashes at his side with her claws, the wounds however quickly regenerating, “Writing fanfiction? Conspiracy theories? Eating their own eyeballs? …Okay maybe the last one is a bit concerning but he’s not hurting himself or anyone!”
She yells as she delivers an uppercut with both her hands, causing Wrath to stumble backwards.
“I do what I do because they disrupt our society! Without what I do, keeping order and peace, the isles would be covered with freaks like them!” The Warden argues, “Think of how the children will be affected, how they will grow into worse freaks! My own son lives on these isles and I will make sure children like him grow to be perfect members of society!”
“Oh shut up!” Blitzwolfer decks him right in the guts, and while he keeled over from the blow she grabbed his head and slammed it against a rising knee right in his face, “That doesn’t excuse abusing your authority like that to torment the people you’re supposed to protect! Cops like you give us all a bad name!”
“You…don’t know what it’s like to have responsibilities like mine, kid!” Wrath continues to defend himself but at this point, Blitzwolfer is tired of debating with him.
“You have no idea what responsibilities I have. People like us are supposed to help the innocent, not force them to conform to our own personal standards of what’s perfect.” she growls and her mouth splits open once more, “I hope you remember that when you wake up.”
She finishes him off with a sonic blast at point-blank range, the impact and the accumulated damage were more than enough to knock him unconscious. Once she makes sure he was down, she slams the Omnitrix emblem to return back to her human form.
“Well damn, kid.” Eda says as she approaches her with a look of amazement and surprise, “Didn’t think any humans could shapeshift like that, neat trick you got there.”
She surprised Luz by grabbing her hand with the Omnitrix for a closer look, “Is this what did it? Saw you tapping at it and shouting before you transformed. What is it, some magic watch?”
Suddenly the watch flashed yellow, “Uncatalogued DNA detected. Beginning DNA acquisition.”
Without warning it sent a pulse of yellow light surprising everyone as it scanned Eda, King and the unconscious Warden Wrath.
“Hey, what was that for?” Eda ask confused as Luz looked at her watch.
“When you made contact with the Omnitrix, I guessed whatever you are wasn’t catalogued by it before and triggered its automatic DNA acquisition.” Luz says, as surprised as Eda was, “But three new forms in one day? That’s very weird.”
She starts to scroll through her Omnitrix to find the new forms but gasps in shock at what she saw. Besides the three she just scanned, there were only five aliens.
Blitzwolfer, Frankenstrike, Snare-Oh, Buzzshock and…
She flinches at the sight of a familiar alien within her watch. She thought she had locked it away? She instantly skips over Ghostfreak, not wanting to accidentally select him as she tries to figure out what was wrong with the device.
Her Omnitrix had mentioned a local database. These were all aliens she personally scanned and captured DNA from five years ago. She doesn’t recall the Omnitrix ever scanning another alien since then which may explain why there were only five aliens.
The rest must have been saved in some database away from the Omnitrix, like some Bluetooth device. Was that what Primus was? Some off-site data cache of alien DNA?
“DNA what?” Eda asks, scratching the back of her head, “You have to start explaining better, kid.”
“It’s a very long story.” Luz says, “We better get out first before reinforcements arrive.”
“Yeah, hopefully, it’s an entertaining story.” She says before turning to look for King who was kicking an unconscious Coven scout, “Hey King, you done? We’re leaving now.”
“Actually, there is one more thing I have to do.” Luz pipes in remembering something, “Is that fine?”
“Huh? Sure, as long as you’re back before we leave.” Eda says as she went to King, “Alright King, that’s enough, you can stop kicking them while they’re down.”
Luz rushes out of the contraband room back to the cells, expecting to find that tiny nose creature helping her fellow inmates escape but what she saw shocked her.
“What are you doing?” Luz asks bewildered at the sight of Tiny Nose still sitting in her unlocked cell. All three prisoners jump at the sound of her voice and widen their eyes at the sight of her.
“What? But we saw Warden Wrath chasing you.” the fanfiction writer says surprised, “Did you beat him?”
The prisoners look in disbelief as she nods her head, “Yeah, so you don’t need to worry about him anymore. You can get out now.”
She primes her Omnitrix and selects Frankenstrike for its overwhelming strength before slamming it. In a flash of purple, a hulking patchwork of flesh and metal with two electric pylons protruding from its back steps towards them with glowing eyes and an Omnitrix emblem on its belt.
The prisoners almost leap back in fear as Frankenstrike reaches out and pushes the lever up, opening up the remaining two cell doors and freeing them all.
Or at least that’s what was supposed to happen because the three still stood in their cells looking fearful and unsure.
“Guys, it’s still me.” Frankenstrike assures, “I’m not going to hurt you, you can-”
“Where would we go?” the writer asks in a defeated tone, “We’re all just a bunch of weirdos, we’ll end up back here eventually. The Warden will just catch us when he gets back up.”
All the prisoners shudder in fear at the mention of him.
“So you’re just going to stay here because you’re too scared of Wrath? Too scared to be yourself?” Frankenstrike asks, “No one should be intimidated into being who they aren’t. So what if you don’t fit in? So what if you have a different way of doing things? It all makes you all wonderful and unique individuals. So what if Wrath doesn’t see it that way? Somewhere out there are people who’ll support you and love you for those unique traits.”
“How do you know that?” the blue humanoid asks doubtfully.
“Because I’m a weirdo too.” she says and gestures to herself, “A lot of people back home treat me differently. Maybe not the same way you’re treated, but I’m still different. But I have friends and family that see who I really am, and they love me, weirdness and all.”
She reaches out a hand for one of them to accept, looking to the writer, “You’ll find someone that loves your writing, or someone to hang out with without judging your weird habits, or someone who can listen to you talk all day about conspiracies. I know that out there is a scary and frightening place, but it is also so full of wonderful people. You just have to be brave enough to find them. Are you?”
There was some hesitation and for a moment she doubts she had gotten through but then the writer steps forward. Emboldened by this the other prisoners step out of their cells with nervous but determined looks on their faces as Frankenstrike smiles at them.
“...I guess we’re willing to try.” the writer says before shaking her hand, “I”m Katya by the way.”
Frankenstrike slams her emblem and morphs back to her human form before shaking it, “Luz Noceda.”
They said their goodbyes as the three prisoners went on to find their way out, as Eda walks up to her with King, having witnessed their interaction.
“Nice speech kid.” she says, “Real heart of gold you got, but now that you’re done how about we blow this popsicle stand?”
***
“So this watch of yours,”
“Omnitrix.” Luz corrects Eda as they sat in the Owl House’s living room.
“It transforms into buncha different type of demons?”
Luz shrugs, “Well if by ‘demon’ you mean ‘aliens’ then yes. What are these ‘demons’ anyways?”
“Well, they’re just folks and animals that’ve been around since the Titan died.” Eda answers, “Legends say that when the big guy keeled over and died, the first demons and witches emerged from the sludge of decomposed flesh.”
“...That is so gnarly,” Luz mutters amazed. “So the flesh is like your primordial ooze? I’m sure Azmuth would kill to get a sample of that.”
“Who?”
“Oh, he’s the creator of the Omnitrix.” Luz explains, “He’s a bit of a cranky old frog but deep down he’s a pretty cool dude.”
“So back to that Omni-whatever, a while ago it turned yellow and did something.” Eda remembers, “What was that about?”
“That’s the automatic DNA acquisition.” she explains, “When it comes across DNA not seen before it’ll scan it and allow me to turn into them. See?”
She primes the Omnitrix and selects one of her new forms, a hologram of a humanoid figure with sharp ears appears on its face.
“So you can turn into me now?” Eda asks not knowing how to feel about that.
“Oh not an exact copy.” Luz assures, “It just takes some of your witch DNA and splice it with my own meaning I become a whole new witch. Besides that, it has this nifty trick that ensures every form I pick is the peak of the species for its age. Meaning I’ll turn into the physical peak of a witch at fifteen years old.”
“Huh, I’d love to see that.” Eda reaches over to slam it but Lujz de-primes the Omnitrix before she can.
“Sorry, but it has charges and I had my full of transforming today.” she says as she gets up, “It’s been a real pleasure meeting you Eda, but my parents are probably freaking over where I am back home.”
“Ah right, our deal.” Eda snaps her fingers and pulls out a strange key before clicking it, and the suitcase unfolds and morphs itself into a portal. As she does this her Omnitrix suddenly flashes purple,
“Connection with Primus restored. Functionality returned to full capacity.”
“Oh, now you work.” Luz mutters as she searches her Omnitrix to find it’s full gallery back where they were supposed to be, before staring at the strange porta. It was strange how it lost connection when she got on the world when it worked perfectly fine back in places like the Null Void and Ledgerdomain. Questions for the experts back home she supposes.
“How does a Tech Level 1 planet make a portal to another planet?” Luz asks as she observes the advanced piece of tech.
“Eh, some powerful witch probably made it during the Savage Age.” Eda shrugs, “Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to kid.”
“Well, it’s been a pleasure.” she extends a hand to Eda, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Eda the Owl Lady. I hope we meet again one day, and if you ever find your way to Earth let me know, we can catch up then.”
“Likewise kid.” Eda shakes it, “And if you ever come across Owlbert out there, you’re free to follow him back to the Isles. I may need a shapeshifter every now and then for some shenanigans.”
“As long as they’re nothing too illegal.” Luz chuckles. She prepares to leave when she felt something tug at her pants and looks down to see King with his Burger Shack crown.
“You’re leaving already?” he looked kinda disappointed, “I liked having a cool werewolf bodyguard.”
“Aw, and I liked bodyguarding a ferocious little monarch.” she kneels down and boops his nose.
“Well…you might not be here for when I become King of Demons again so here.” he hands her a sheet of parchment, “A reward for your services, my loyal and awesome bodyguard.”
It was a childish doodle of her as Blitzwolfer fighting Wrath with King on her back with a fancy, golden crown.
“You adorable sweetheart.” Luz can’t help but hug the small creature and surprisingly this time he hugged back.
She parts from him and reaches inside her bag, digging something out. It was an old figurine of Azura that she’s had since ten years old, it was aged and worn but it’s been something of a good luck charm for her, but she supposes she can part with a bit of it.
She plucks the tiara off the miniature’s head and hands it to King, “Here, for until you get a crown worthy of a king. And something to remember me by. Keep it safe for me King.”
King takes off his paper crown and puts on the small plastic gold crown, “...It will suffice.”
“I’m sure it will.” Luz says as she gets up to leave when suddenly her phone vibrates. It vibrates a lot actually and she pulls it out to see a large stream of texts and missed calls from her family.
“Oh man, I’m in so much trouble,” she mutters to herself as she realises how long she’s been gone. They were probably going to miss their flight and Kevin was going to strangle her for making him waste his first-class seat.
But then her eyes widen when she reads one of the messages.
SlammerFan4Life: LUZ PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE! IMPOSTER OVER HERE! SAYS SHES A BASILISK FROM SOMEWHERE CALLED DEMON REALM! REALLY HOPE THAT SHE’S NOT TALKING ABOUT HELL. SOMETHING ABOUT MAGIC TOO SO WE’RE GOING TO GET HOPE TO HELP FIND YOU! CALL BACK NOW IF YOU CAN YOUR MOM IS FREAKING OUT!”
“Eda…” she looks back to the old witch, “I think you’re going to have to come with me.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter Text
It all started so well, she was hiding in the market looking for any scraps to feed on to stave off her hunger when she saw a bright flash from one of the tents. It looked like someone, a human, had just leapt out of a glowing doorway.
She had heard of humans, beings that look a lot like witches but without magic that live in a completely new world with only their artefacts and items making their way to the isles for mysterious reasons.
A whole new world unreachable by the Emperor’s Coven? It sounded like a fantasy, but what if that door could lead to said fantasy? Somewhere where she doesn’t have to fear being captured by the Emperor’s Coven, experimented on. Somewhere where she doesn’t have to dig through trash just to survive.
She took the chance, when both the human and the stall owner had their backs turned she leaps straight through the portal, using what magic energy she had left to transform into a copy of the human girl.
How would she have known it would lead her to another prison cell?
“Please!” she begs them still in the shape of the human she transformed into, “Just let me go, you won’t hear from me again!”
“Yeah, let you run off back to your friends that kidnapped my friend?” the teen that helped captured her, Kevin she heard his name was, sarcastically says as he leans on the wall opposite of her cell, “Talk and make things simple, where is Luz?”
“I don’t know!” she cries out, “I swear on Titan I don’t know! I didn’t do anything to her!”
“Oh, so you just happened to try to infiltrate us looking exactly like Luz the moment she disappeared off the face of the galaxy?” Kevin asks rhetorically, “We can’t track her by her Plumber’s badge, or her normal trackers, or even the Omnitrix itself. For all intents and purposes, she’s gone missing, and you just happen to show up at the exact moment?”
She stammers as she tries to explain herself, hoping to find the right words so they can let her out.
“Y-yes! I didn’t do anything to her, you have to believe me!” she cries out as her breathing accelerated, the walls of her cell feeling cramped. At this point her fear was overwhelming her focus and the form she was taking dispelled the intense emotions, revealing her true basilisk form underneath.
“Please…just let me go…not again…” she pleads as memories of her experience in the Emperor’s Coven cell return.
***
“What do you mean you can’t find her?!” Camila asks in shock and horror.
“I mean all our trackers on her suddenly stopped working.” Manny explains as calmly as he could, gesturing to the screen in Gravesfield’s Plumber outpost, “Remember that old abandoned shack near our home? Our trackers just stopped working simultaneously the moment she steps foot into it. I have a team of Plumbers combing the area now but our best guess is that she teleported somewhere.”
“Is…is she…” Camila feels sick at the thought but Manny quickly interrupts her, placing his hands on her shoulder supportingly.
“Our daughter is alive.” he assures with confidence, “Have faith in her and us. I swear to you that we are doing everything we can to find her.”
Camila shakily nods and tries to calm her breathing, “Alright…you also said you found someone pretending to be her? Do they know anything?”
“I haven’t had the chance to question her yet, I was busy deploying our agents and getting our satellites to search her last known position..” Manny shakes his head, “Kevin put her in one of our holding cells, and I think-”
He was interrupted by a steady beeping as both parents turn to find a console making the noise.
“What is that?” Camila asks as Manny takes a look in concern.
“That’s the console monitoring the holding cells.” Manny says as he taps and analyses the data, “Something’s wrong. Kevin, is anything wrong on your end?”
He asks through his Plumber’s badge and gets a worried response from Kevin,
“Yeah, I don’t know but she looks like she’s having a panic attack I think?” he answers worried and there was the sound of snapping fingers, “Hey, uh, focus on my voice? I don’t know how this work, can I get some backup?”
Manny was about to instruct him on what to do when he heard the automatic doors open as his wife rushes out.
***
“Hey, hey, take a deep breath.” Kevin suddenly says, looking concerned at her suddenly curling up and hyperventilating, “Look, I need you to talk to me if you want me to help you because I have no clue-”
“Open the cell.” Camila surprises him as she rushes down the hall.
“Ms Noceda, we can’t-” Kevin protests but Camila wasn’t having it.
“Kevin Ethan Levin!” she shouts in a commanding tone, “You open that cell right now, young man.”
“Yes ma’am.” Kevin reflexively obeys and types in the release code, opening the cell door and Camila enters, kneeling down next to the curled-up snake-girl.
“Can you hear me?” Camila says softly and calmingly, “I want you to focus on my voice, is that alright? Count to five and inhale. Count to five and exhale.”
The snake girl obeys and does so, continuing this for a few minutes as Camila waits patiently for her to calm herself down. Slowly the girl peeks her eyes out from under the cover of her arms as Camila gives a small smile.
“Neat trick, isn’t it?” she asks, “My daughter uses the same trick when things get too much.”
“Please…: the snake girl begs, “I really didn’t do anything to her, you have to believe me.”
“I want to believe you.” Camila says, “But my daughter is missing, we can’t find or come into contact with her, so if you can please explain to us everything I’ll do everything I can to help you. You have my word. My name is Camila Noceda, and the boy behind me is Kevin. What do we call you?”
“...My name is Vee.”
***
They decide to change locations to a more spacious room, in one of the empty offices. Thanks to the relatively low amount of alien activity in Gravesfield the outpost is empty most days with only a skeleton crew maintaining it, most of which are aboveground investigating the disappearance of Luz.
“I come from a place called the Boiling Isles, in a world called Demon Realm.” Vee explains as an autonomous drone records the impromptu interrogation, “I’m a basilisk, a shapeshifting demon that feeds on magic.”
“Demon Realm?” Manny Noceda asks as he jots down his own personal notes, “I am unfamiliar with that name. Do you mean the Ledgerdomain?”
The Ledgerdomain was a realm connecting the multiverse, the source of all magic in the universe that is inhabited by all sorts of races from across the infinite realms all adept in magic in some way or another.
“The what?” Vee asks with a confused look on her face, “I’m sorry but I haven't heard of that before.”
“It’s fine.” Manny says as he continues asking questions, “So why did you arrive on Earth disguised as our daughter? It was around the same time she disappeared and I can’t believe in coincidences.”
Vee flinches and grips the blanket wrapped around her tighter, as Camila places a comforting hand on her shoulder,
“Vee, you can tell us.” Camila assures, “If you did nothing to our daughter then nothing’s wrong.”
Vee nods, “I…I saw her exit some kind of portal, she was arguing with some old lady. While they were distracted, I took my chance and got through the portal. I figured if I looked like a human then it would make getting away easier.”
“Get away from what?” inquires Manny.
Vee shudders, “The Emperor’s Coven. They’re the strongest magic users in the Boiling Isles, led by Emperor Belos. I saw the chance to get away from him, to somewhere he’ll never reach, and I took it.”
“What did he do to you?” Camila mutters to herself, horrified at the implications of what she went through, and whether her daughter will experience the same if found by this ‘Emperor’s Coven’.
“They…” Vee remembers the daily experiments, poking and prodding with needles and electricity. Forcing her to absorb magic and transform into different demons and witches. All for a goal she doesn’t understand, a reason she doesn’t know.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to talk about it.” Manny assures, “Take a breath, if you don’t want to continue it’s fine.”
“No…I’m fine.” she takes a breath and exhales after a count of five, repeating it like Camila says to clear her head, “I’m fine.”
“Alright. Then can you tell us more of what you saw when you fled this Demon Realm?” he asks, “Did Luz appear to be in any danger? Can you describe this woman she was speaking with?”
“Well, she was tall, wore a red dress, pale skin and very bushy white hair. Like this.” she uses some of her stockpiled magic to temporarily shape herself to look like the woman she saw, “I’ve seen her around town actually, on wanted posters. She’s called Eda the Owl Lady.”
“Not someone we fought before.” Kevin says from the corner of the room, where he had been silently watching and listening, not wanting to accidentally frighten Vee, “If this woman’s involved she’s a new player.”
“I’ll have to look through the Plumber records.” Manny says as he had the drone snaps a picture before standing up, “Thank you for your help, Vee. We really appreciate your assistance.”
“Are you going to put me back in the cell?” she asks frightened.
Manny looks at her surprised before shaking his head, “Oh no, god no. Not after that panic attack of yours. Besides there’s no reason, you’re not a criminal or anything. Dear, do you mind bringing Vee back to our place? She can stay there until we figure out what to do.”
“Of course.” she nods and puts a hand on Vee’s shoulder, “Do you want to? I won’t force you to go if you don’t want to.”
“No, I want to.” Vee nods her head, “I don’t have anywhere else to go after all.”
Camila winces having forgotten that “Right, I’m sorry. I can cook up a meal too, you must be starving after being on the run for so long.”
“Actually, we might have to stop somewhere before we get that meal.” Kevin speaks up, “This is magic business after all, so if we want to get Luz back as quick as possible then we’d need a master magician. We need Charmcaster.”
***
They met five years ago, back when he and Luz were still eleven and ten years old. They were what you’d call enemies, meeting every now and then during their Summer road trip, sending her to juvie each time.
And then three years later, she came to Luz begging for her help. Talked about her story, where she really came from and what her plan was. Turns out that she and her uncle Hex were from some magic dimension called the Ledgerdomain, an entire realm of magic users of all species throughout the universe.
Talked about how the times they had caught her and Hex stealing magic items were just their efforts to grow stronger and get revenge on an ancient sorcerer that has enslaved the Ledgerdomain. A Geochelone Aerio by the name of Addwaitya.
All of them tried to talk Luz out of it. He remembers telling her it was a trap, and that Charmcaster was lying to her. But Luz, gods know why, decided to help her anyway.
And true enough, it was a trap, just not how Kevin had seen it. It was a gruelling battle but they took down the overgrown magic turtle, but it was then Charmcaster sprung her trap. Using the Alpha Rune, one of the universe’s strongest magical artefacts, she took the souls Addwaitya had enslaved and used them in a ritual to bring back her dead father.
Luz tried to stop the spell and she died in the effort. He saw red and tried to kill Charmcaster to stop the spell, and maybe bring back Luz, but she killed him as well. Both their souls added to the ritual.
But then they weren’t dead. He could only guess what happened but judging from Charmcaster’s horrified and tear-stricken face, her dead old dad was horrified by what she did to bring him back and reversed the spell at the cost of his life.
She didn’t even resist when they brought her back to Earth and arrested her for attempted manslaughter of sixty-thousand souls including theirs. She just looked dead inside.
But what shocked and confounded him to this day was that when they were brought back to life, Luz’s first reaction was to wrap her jacket around the sobbing Charmcaster, not even allowing Kevin to put cuffs on her as they dragged her back to Earth. When he confronted her about it later, pointed out that she betrayed them and killed them, that if it wasn’t for sheer luck they would be dead right now.
She listened to him scream and rant, and after he was done she told him;
“I know how you feel… you have no idea how angry, hurt and betrayed I felt when she did what she did.” she says with barely restrained emotions, taking a breath to calm down before continuing, “It’s like you said, we both died because I trusted her, and we’re still here because of dumb luck.”
“So why the hell are you still visiting her every week?” Kevin asks, nearly tearing his hair out from the frustration, “Why are you still talking to little miss mass murderer?!”
“Did you forget what happened when we first met?” she shouts back, shocking him out of his rage, “When you absorbed the Omnitrix, and you tried to kill me and steal it?”
The memory of that still fills him with shame and guilt, and he quietly argues, “...This is different, she killed us and sixty-thousand souls, Luz.”
“I know. And she’ll spend the rest of her life paying for that.” Luz says looking exhausted, “But she didn’t have anyone besides Hex raising her. Look at you, can you say that you’d be who you are if my dad didn’t run and catch up with you, talk you into coming with us? If my mom and I didn't give you a second chance?”
“That’s not fair, Luz.” Kevin mutters, “We’re not the same.!”
“You were a kid with too much power and pain, with no one to help him. And so is she, the difference was that she dedicated all her life to getting revenge and bringing back her dad. She needs to pay for what she’s done, that much I agree. But she also needs someone to help her like we did for you, to show her there’s more to her life than revenge. When we woke up and I saw her, the first thing that came to my mind was that she looked like someone who needed help. That’s what I’m doing.”
He relented after that, letting her do as she pleased. Camila took it as well as you’d expect and reacted just as bad as he did, but she came around and started visiting Charmcaster, or Hope as they began using her real name. It started out frosty for months but he saw she was slowly warmed up to her.
Then the DNAlien conspiracy came along, and Luz needed a team to help her fight against them. Hope was top of the list, and she was eager to start paying back Luz for her compassion and to balance her scales.
They fought with each other for many months against DNAliens, Highbreeds, Forever Knights and the miscellaneous villains along the way and while he might not be as friendly or trusting with Hope as Luz was, he does trust her magical capabilities. If they needed some magical help there was no better person than her.
The hydraulically sealed door to her maximum security cell hissed as it opened, revealing a moderately sized room with bookshelves, a desk, an office chair, and a cot. Hope sat in the chair, reading a book in her hands, dressed in a bright orange prison jumpsuit and her silver hair in a ponytail.
“Kevin.” Hope acknowledges without looking up from her book, “I recognise that stench of car oil and brake fluid anywhere.”
“Very funny.” he rolls his eyes before taking a quick sniff just in case, “You can’t really smell it, right? This is a new shirt.”
“And when was the last time you did laundry?” she asks and his silence was answered enough, “I rest my case. Now why are you here? You only ever visit if it’s with Luz, and I don’t see her anywhere.”
“It’s actually because of Luz I’m here.” he says in a serious tone, “She’s missing and we can’t track her.”
She suddenly perks up, closing her book and giving him her full attention.
“What happened?” she asks, concerned.
“We don’t know, but we do know it has something to do with magic,” he answers.
“If you think I have anything to do with this-” she says sounding angry but Kevin cuts her off.
“Actually, no. We just needed a magician’s help and you’re one of the few we know.” he explains, “And between you and your uncle, better the devil I know and all.”
She calms down, “Tell me everything.”
“It’s better to hear it from someone who was there.” Kevin steps to his side and reveals Vee who had been standing behind him nervously. Hope raises a brow and approaches her,
“You reek of mana, but it’s different somehow.” she mutters as she paces around Vee, “If you were from the Ledgerdomain I’d have sensed it. An alien then?”
“B-basilisk actually.” Vee says quietly and nervously, “I’m from the Demon Realm, the place where your friend is stuck at.”
She proceeds to tell Hope everything she knew, like she did with the Nocedas at the Plumber outpost. Kevin leaned in the corner patiently as she did this, before starting to toy with the drinking bird on Hope’s desk while he waited.
“A realm of witches and demons living in a giant corpse?” Hope mutters to herself as she slaps away Kevin’s hand from toying with the desk toy, “It actually sounds familiar.”
“So you know where it is?” Kevin asks excitedly, “Can you take us there?”
“Hold your horses.” she says raising a hand, “I just said it sounds familiar. Before my father’s death, he would tell me stories, and since the Ledgerdomain was the centre of magic across the Universe there was never a short supply of stories for him to learn and tell me. One night he spoke to me of a legend he heard from a travelling witch, a realm of corpses, each a titan of humongous size. They say that at their peak these Titans could move moons, imprison stars, shift entire continents and master time itself. But somehow they all went extinct, and an unknown force wiped them off the face of their world. From there life sprang forth from their corpses. The creatures that came from their dead flesh built entire cities within these carcasses and soon learnt to master magic of their own.”
“...Those were your childhood stories?” Kevin asks, sounding grossed out, “That explains a lot actually.”
Hope ignores him and focuses on Vee, “I never gave it much thought, it was just a story my father told me.”
“That sounds about right.” Vee nods, “The Boiling Isles is just like that, it’s built on a Titan like you said.”
“I don’t suppose dear old dad left some journals or something? Maybe a map?” Kevin asks hopefully but Hope shook her head.
“No, any notes or journals he had were hoarded by Addwaitya when he enslaved my people and took control over Ledgerdomain. I’d assume when he finished memorising them he destroyed all physical copies to hoard that knowledge.”
“Great.” Kevin says sarcastically, “So you’re saying you can’t help us?”
“Not exactly.” she points to Vee, “I’ll need a sample of your magical signature, and maybe I can use it to help locate the dimension where Luz's at. With luck, I’ll be able to decipher the realm’s true name and the Door to Anywhere may be able to take us there.”
“Door to what?” Vee asks and Kevin answers,
“It’s a magic door that brought us to the Ledgerdomain years ago.” he replies before looking to Hope, “Won’t it just bring us there.”
“It has the word ‘anywhere’ in its name.” Hope reminds, “As long as the true name is known, the Door to Anywhere can bring us there. I just have to find it.”
“Which requires letting you out.” Kevin mutters, “And letting you have full access to said Door to Anywhere.”
“You think I’ll make a break for it?” Hope scoffs.
“Remind me why you’re in jail in the first place?” he challenges, “Do you blame me?”
Hope looks down in shame, “...You’re right, but if there was any other way you wouldn’t have come here in the first place will you?”
Kevin was silent as Hope continued, “I did terrible things to a lot of people, including you and Luz, but despite it all, she still tries to help me. Despite everything I’ve done, she still takes the time off her week to come to visit, and talk to me, even when I try pushing her away.”
“...Yeah, that’s how she is.” Kevin mutters remembering how she treated him even after he tried to kill her as kids, “She’s a freaking saint.”
“She’s the only friend I have in the world.” Hope continues, “You might not like me, but you can trust that I’ll do everything in my power to save Luz. On my father’s name, I promise you that’s all I want.”
Vee could only wait as the two stared at each other in silence, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Just as she was about to speak up and say something, Kevin spoke first.
“I’ll make the arrangements.” Kevin says reluctantly and starts to leave, “We’ll wait in my car. Don’t take too long.”
***
“Any progress?” Kevin asks, looking over Hope’s shoulder as she meditated within an arcane circle drawn with chalk. Lit candles encircled her as she floated a few inches off the floor, concentrating on her spell.
“If I did manage to make any progress you’d be the first to know.” She says starting to get annoyed with his frequent question, “Trying to pierce through the veils between entire realms is much harder than you think it is.”
“You’ve been sitting there for hours, how is it you haven’t found anything yet?” Kevin asks, getting frustrated at their lack of progress.
“Every time I try to lock onto Luz’s position something is clouding my vision. A powerful magic aura of sorts” she explains, “Think of it as trying to find a ship in the middle of the ocean while you’re on a faraway port, with thick fog blocking your sights and a heavy storm pouring on you.”
“How strong are we talking about?” Kevin asks concerned, worried that whatever Hope was sensing belonged to whoever was keeping Luz imprisoned.
“You recall one of Luz’s aliens, Way Big?” she asks, “Comparing our sizes will give you an approximate of how much magic I’m sensing.”
“So you’re saying we might need backup?” Kevin asks worried.
“I’m saying I’d want Professor Paradox in front of me before I even think of challenging something with this much magic,” she replies grimly.
Kevin was silent at that. He always knew Hope to be prideful when it comes to her skills in magic so her having to admit she was at a disadvantage meant things were serious.
“So what are our odds if we just grab Luz, in and out?” he asks trying to come up with a plan to avoid fighting, which if you ask Luz would be one of his weakest traits, “Can you make us invisible or something?”
“If whoever this is has this much magic, we assume they have the skill to wield it.” Hope says, “In which case, worst comes to worst, I’ll distract it the best I can while you two make a run for it. Even something as strong as this might not be able to ignore the full might of a master magician targeting it”
“...Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Kevin mutters.
“Is that concern I hear?” she smiles wryly, “Has hell frozen over without me noticing? A flock of pigs pass by?”
“Don’t take it the wrong way.” he says, “We don’t want Luz to feel responsible when you die. She already has enough on her shoulder.”
Hope was about to throw back a witty remark when suddenly she sensed something.
“Something’s coming.” she warns, feeling some sort of magic piercing the veil between worlds. She gets on her feet, her hands glowing with mana as Kevin reaches for a steel bar he had prepared beforehand, coating his arms in metal as they stood ready for what was to come.
To their confusion, what appears to be a wooden door unfolds out of nowhere. It was decoratively engraved and had a yellow eye in its centre. It wasn’t the type of portal Hope had been expecting, but she could feel powerful raw magic emanating from it that makes her tense up.
Kevin braces himself, ready to strike the first thing that comes out of that door with his armoured hands. If Charmcaster was right, whoever was behind this portal was going to be a tough guy to beat. Soon enough they see movement and he lunges forward, striking forward with a left hook.
“You’re going to love it here, you’ll-!” a familiar voice came from the portal as the figure exited the door portal. Kevin could only widen his eyes in horror as his momentum carried him forward and his armoured fist decked Luz across the face.
“Luz?!” he cries out in confusion and panic as his friend lands on the wooden floor unconscious. He looks back at a similarly aghast Hope.
“I thought you said there’s some kinda magic monster coming?!” he asked confused and she looked at him like he was an idiot.
“What?! I just said that something was coming!” she argues, “Just because I mentioned I felt some overwhelmingly powerful magic and that something was coming, doesn’t mean that the first thing that comes is going to be some magic monster! I didn’t even use the word magic monster!”
“You looked like you were getting ready to fight! What was I supposed to think?!” he argues back.
“I was expecting you to think logically, you brute!” she shot back and the two continue bickering when a third voice interrupts them.
“Hey Luz, you got cut off, what were you say-?” a grown woman with bushy white hair and pale skin in a red dress steps out of the portal door holding a wooden staff with an owl carving on it. She pauses and takes in the scene before speaking,
“...What the heck is going on here?”
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
So I'm sure those that watched Ultimate Alien may think "Hey isn't this a combination of the episodes 'Where the Magic Happens' and 'Enemy of My Frenemy?"
In which case you are correct. This is just an AU where the events of those two episodes happen at once. I hope you all don't mind how I wrote Charmcaster/Hope's characterisation. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments, thanks for reading my work.
Chapter 5: Unpleasant Returns
Chapter Text
Luz groans, feeling a terrible headache as she drowsily opened her eyes, surprised to see Hope holding a glowing hand above her face.
“Luz? Hey, easy there, you had a fractured orbit and a slight concussion. I may have fixed you up but you may still feel some slight pain.” she explains as she holds up two fingers, “Can you see clearly? Vision blurry? How many fingers am I holding up?”
“Two…What are you doing here, Hope?” she asks, dazed and rubbing her sore eye as she tries to sit up, “Please don’t tell me I was in a coma for ten years and you’re on probation now? And what happened to me, it feels like I got hit in the face.”
“No, it’s just that a certain dullard dragged me out of my cell.” Hope says as she glanced back at an embarrassed-looking Kevin, “Do you mind explaining how Luz fell unconscious?”
‘“How should I know?” Kevin says unable to meet their eyes and his voice cracking, a telltale sign that he was lying.
“He thought you were some magic monster and punched you.” Hope says smugly as Kevin blushed in embarrassment.
“Hey, with a mug like yours who wouldn’t make that mistake?” He smirks as he tries to make light of the situation.
“I’d say something witty but my head hurts too much, so just imagine I said something devastatingly clever.” Luz groans and sits up, realising she was in her room, “Wait, where’s Eda and King?”
“Oh, that witch and her adorable dog creature?” Hope asks and gestures to her door, “They’re chatting with your parents and Vee right now downstairs.”
“Vee?” she asks.
“Yeah, it’s a long story.” Kevin says, “Your folks will explain it all when you get downstairs.”
Luz looks confused but gets out of her bed to head down. As she approaches the living room she can hear some conversation going on there,
“So you’re saying you essentially blackmailed my child to help you commit a felony?” her father deadpans with an unimpressed face, crossing his arms sternly.
Eda was sitting opposite him and looked a bit nervous, “Alright I can see how that sounds like a dick move, but I wasn’t actually planning to strand her if she didn’t want to help, I’m not a monster. If she really insisted and I couldn’t talk her into it, I’d send her back to the Human Realm. And hey it all worked out in the end didn’t it?”
Meanwhile, in the dining room, she could see King scarfing down on a plate,
“Ah, finally, treated like how a true king should be. A feast worthy of the King of Demons!” King says before holding out his plate to her mom, “More offerings, please?”
“Aw, aren’t you the most polite and adorable little guy?” her mother coos and puts more food on his plate, “Eat up, there’s more than enough to go around. How about you Vee, do you need any seconds?”
“No, I’m fine, thank you.” an unfamiliar voice says and Luz’s eyes widen in surprise to see some sort of snake-girl at the table.
“Mom, Dad!” Luz calls out as she climbs down the stairs.
“Luz?” her father turns his glare away from Eda and rushes to hug her as she climbs down the stairs, “Oh thank goodness, Eda was just catching me up on what you’ve been doing while away.”
“Oh kid, you’re finally awake.” Eda says relieved, “Your dad’s been up my butt since I got here. Mind telling him I really didn’t kidnap you or something?”
“Oh forgive me for being cautious around someone who blackmailed my daughter with her only way back home.” her dad emphasises before turning to Luz, “All your trackers and Omnitrix suddenly went offline and we had no idea where you were.”
“Yeah, where I ended up probably had some terrible connection.” Luz says as she returns the hug.
“Young lady, we’ve been telling you this since you were ten years old, you know what we’ve said about leaping into random portals that could lead anywhere.” Camila tries to sound stern but fails and joins the hug, “Oh but I’m so glad you’re alright. When Vee told me about those horrible Coven people I was so scared.”
“Coven people?” Luz asks, not remembering that term, “And speaking of, who’s Vee? Kevin mentioned them upstairs.”
“Oh that’s right, you haven’t met her yet.” Manny mutters before turning to the dining room, “Vee, why don’t you come over?”
The snake girl at the table looked nervous as she slithered her way to the living room before introducing herself, “Um…hi? I’m Vee.”
“So you’re the one who snuck through my portal?” Eda asks, “Could’ve just asked, you know.”
“I’m sorry.” Vee apologises looking down, “And I’m sorry for disguising myself as you, Luz. I just needed to look like a human and you’re the only one I’ve seen.”
“Hey, it’s all cool.” Luz assures with a laugh, “Honestly when I first got that message from Kevin I thought you were gonna be some evil shapeshifter and I’d have to fight and throw you back through the portal. That’s why I brought Eda here.”
“Yeah, but since that’s not the case, we can head back to the Demon Realm whenever you’re ready.” Eda offers but to her and Luz’s surprise, Vee suddenly freezes and shakes.
“Please…please don’t send me back.” Vee pleads as Camila reaches for her hand in comfort.
“Luz, you best listen to what she has to say.” Camila requests and Luz nods in concern.
Vee begins to recount her story, about how there was the Emperor’s Coven that ruled the Boiling Isles and how she and other basilisks escaped from captivity after brutal experiments were performed on them for years. Both Kevin and Hope had joined them, and judging from their and her parent’s faces, they’d heard this story before.
“Well crap…” Eda mutters softly, “I mean, I know the Emperor’s Coven were a bunch of jerks but experiments like that? Titan, I didn’t think it would be that bad. Now I feel terrible for asking if you wanted to go back.”
“...How many others were there?” Luz asks, horrified by what she’s just heard.
“Including me, there were five.” Vee answers, “When I escaped it was with two others, but we split up soon.”
“Huh, five? V? That’s how you got your name?” Kevin asks.
“We didn’t have anything else to call ourselves.” Vee says, “We were just numbers to them.”
“This…this is just a crime on sentient lifeforms.” Luz exclaims outraged as she turns to her father, “We can’t just let this go unanswered! They’re experimenting on innocent people, they’re locking up civilians for the most absurd reasons, we need to stop them!”
“She’s right.” Camila tells her husband, “Is there anything the Plumbers can do?”
Manny rubs his chin in thought, “We can’t exactly dismantle a sovereign government, the Plumbers are a peacekeeping task force that only operates on worlds of members of the galactic community that sign the accords. If we start forcing worlds that aren’t even Tech Level 2 to obey our laws we’ll be seen as unjust invaders.”
“So there’s nothing we can-?” Luz shouts but her father raises a hand to stop her.
“I didn’t say that.” he says calmly, “We might not be able to do anything about the government, but we can rescue these basilisks. Offer them sanctuary on Earth or planets with Plumber authority.”
“You’d do that?” Vee asks, surprised. These people were willing to go to a different world and risk conflict with some of the strongest witches to help them? Even Eda looks surprised at that.
“It’s the least we can do, Vee.” Manny nods, “I’m just sorry we can’t do much more than that. But you’ll get a new life away from this Emperor.”
“That’s more than enough. Thank you.” Vee says gratefully.
“A cop that actually wants to help? Colour me surprised.” Eda mutters, “Guess we know where the kid gets it from.”
“I’d like to think she’d turn out fine even without me.” Manny says as he smiles at his daughter proudly before turning back to Eda, “And listen, Miss Clawthorne-”
“Please, Miss Clawthorne was my mother, call me Eda.” she says casually.
“Eda,” Manny corrects himself, “If the rescue team is going to operate efficiently it’ll be best if it has a base of operations, someone familiar with the Boiling Isles and an expert at avoiding this Emperor’s Coven.”
“Oh, so you’re hiring me?” Eda smiles, “Well my rates are quite high for work like this. But I’ll throw in a first-timer discount, add another for messing with the Emperor’s goons and another because I owe your kid.”
“I’m sure we can work something out.” Manny says, “But can we ask you to delay your leave until we can assemble a team? After all, we don’t have a way of communicating with you so-”
“I volunteer!” Luz quickly raises a hand and starts explaining before anyone can interrupt her, “We need to get these basilisks out as soon as possible. The more time we take the more of a chance they might get captured by the Emperor.”
“What happened to vacation?” Kevin reminds, “Look I feel bad for these guys, but come on, this is just a rescue op. Your average Plumber agent can take care of this.”
“They might, but I can’t just sit at a beach not thinking about this. I’ve seen this Emperor’s Coven firsthand and I don’t even want to think about what these basilisks will go through if they get caught.” Luz pleads with him, “They need help, and I’m going to help.”
“...Goodbye first-class.” Kevin mourns before sighing, “I was gonna spend the flight with hot face towels and eating top-grade peanuts and whatever they have in first-class. But if you’re going then it means I have no choice. I’ll go pack my gear.”
“Come on, we can still think of this as a vacation!” Luz tries to cheer him up, “Think of it as going to Summer Camp. We’ll be sleeping in a cabin in the woods, eating local cuisine, maybe a couple campfire stories, and we’re liberating a couple escaped prisoners from an evil emperor while we’re at it.”
“You and I have very different perspectives on what a vacation is.” Kevin deadpans.
“Come on, it actually sounds like something from Cosmic Frontier. Only it’s fantasy instead of sci-fi. Really envy you, kids. You won’t be stuck doing paperwork and bureaucracy needed for this mission.” Manny jokes as he slings his arm around the two’s shoulders, “Unless one of you wants to switch with me?”
“Oh god…” Kevin moans at the mere thought of paperwork.
“How could you suggest putting your own daughter through such hardship?” Luz asks with a similar frightened look to Kevin. If there was one foe that not a single one of her aliens could defeat, it was the wheels of bureaucracy.
Hope watches their interaction with amusement before piping in, “Well, in that case, I wish you luck. I suppose I’ll be heading back to my cell before the end of the day. Make sure you bring back something nice for me from this Demon Realm.”
However, she was surprised when Luz rushes to her and grabs her hands, “What are you talking about? You’re coming with us!”
“What?” she asks confused and so did Kevin.
“Come on!” she glances between the two of them, “Remember what we were able to do against the Highbreeds and DNAliens? It was because we worked together! And don’t tell me you don’t want to see what this Demon Realm’s about?”
“Well…I am curious. I would like to see what kind of magic they use compared to those in Ledgerdomain.” Hope admits, “But-”
“No buts!” she interrupts before looking to her father, “Come on Dad, think of this as community service or something. We’re going to a magic world, might as well bring someone good at magic with us. Pretty please, Dad?”
Her father sighs fondly at his daughter, he hasn’t seen her this happy in some time, “Well that’s going to be more paperwork for me, but I’ll make the arrangements.”
“Yes!” she hugs her two friends who glanced at each other uncomfortable with their proximity, “The team’s back together.”
“Hooray.” Kevin says without any enthusiasm.
“I’m as joyous to be with you again as you are,” Hope says dryly to Kevin.
“Oh! We can sleep over in my room, and Vee you can join us!” She offers the basilisk.
“What?” Vee looks surprised and embarrassed at the offer, “I- I can sleep on the couch, I don’t mind.”
“Nonsense.” Camila says, “When was the last time you slept on a real bed? Besides, Luz has a spare bed in her room. You can use it for as long as you’d like.”
“Really?” Vee asks unsure but Luz nods in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s been empty because someone would rather sleep in the garage than a real room.” Luz says with a glance towards Kevin.
“Hey, the garage is my room.” he argues, “It’s roomy, I can work on my car if I can’t sleep, what’s not to like about it?”
“You are a strange, sad man and you have my pity.” Hope mutters before receiving a punch in the shoulder from Kevin, “Hey!.”
“Says the one living in a cramped prison cell.” he shot back
“Says the man more obsessed with his car than basic hygiene.” she shoves him lightly.
Luz sighs as the two begin bickering once more, “Yep. Just like the old days.”
“Should we…stop them?” Vee asks worriedly as Manny Noceda tries to get between the two, Kevin reaching for the nearest surface to absorb and Hope lighting her hand with purple flames.
“Nah, let them work it out of their system.” she says as she drags Vee to her room, “Let’s give you the tour.
***
“Here you go.” Luz leads Eda to the guest room they had in the house. It was relatively plain with only a spare bed, empty closet and desk, “Sorry it isn’t much but this is all we have.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it, kid.” Eda waves it off as she throws herself on the bed, “It’s a nice place ya got. And nice folks but between you and me, your dad’s a bit of a hardass.”
“Well, you did try blackmailing me with my way home.” Luz reminds without malice.
“And again, I’d have sent you back if you insisted.” Eda defends, “But yeah, I see your point.”
“It’s not a problem, anything to help this cute little guy.” Luz coos as she picks up King.
“I’m not cute.” he huffs, “I’m the terrifying King of Demons!”
Eda snorts, “Yeah right, and you know your mom was just as pissed, if not more than your dad was. But the moment she saw King she caved in immediately.”
“She merely recognised the presence of a true monarch and addressed him as he should be!” King squeals and stomps his feet to look intimidating but it just made him look adorable.
“By the way, you never told me you were famous.” Eda say as Luz laughed at the sight, pulling out a magazine from her hair with Luz’s face plastered on the cover, “Look at this, Top 10 facts you didn’t know about Luz Noceda. How many of them are true?”
“Great.” Luz says sarcastically, blushing with embarrassment as she tries to snatch the magazine, “That’s probably Kevin’s. He loves buying those things to tease me. And for the record, they’re all fake news. Tabloids and whatnot.”
“So you didn’t move from this Bellwood place because of a bad breakup?” Eda asks as she flips through it.
“Wha-Of course not!” Luz exclaims a bit too quickly and returns to trying to snatch it, “Just stop reading that!”
“Alright, alright.” Eda relents at the look of anger and embarrassment on Luz’s face, throwing it at her, “Still, what exactly did you do to get this famous? Are you some celebrity or something? Been in a couple movies?”
“Are you a great warrior and conqueror? Do you rule as a queen?” King asks enthusiastically.
Luz grimaces, “I’m not a celebrity by choice. It’s just hard to not get attention after you’ve been a hero for five years.”
“Five years?” Eda mutters, realising something, “Wait you wouldn’t have been more than what, ten years old? Or do humans age differently?”
“Nah, you’d be right.” she taps the Omnitrix’s faceplate, “I got this thing back when I was ten years old, and ever since I got that I’ve been what people call a superhero.”
“How’d you get a thing like that anyways?” Eda asks, “I doubt it's just something you can buy from a store. Unless…”
“Definitely not.” Luz chuckles, “Far as I know it, there’s only one Omnitrix that exists and I have it. Funnily enough, it was actually meant for my dad to use.
“If it’s meant for your dad then how’d you get it?” Eda leans forward intrigued, “Maybe you stole it from him while he wasn’t looking?”
“Did you earn it by fighting him for it?” King asks excitedly.
“None of those things.” Luz laughs imagining her ten-year-old self trying to steal or fight her dad for the Omnitrix, “It was just a series of sheer dumb luck. Besides, it’s a pretty long story anyways.”
“Hey, I don’t mind, this kid usually needs his story time before he sleeps.” Eda nudges King playfully as he stutters out in anger, “Besides, you and I are gonna be working together for the days to come. And that thing’s got my curiosity piqued.”
“Well, if you all don’t mind.” Luz shrugs and begins recounting from her memory, “It all started back in the Summer of 2008…”
***
“Alright people, dinner is served!” Manny happily declares as he places a bowl of still living worms on the table.
“Ooh, are we eating worms?” a ten-year-old Luz exclaims with childish curiosity as her mother looked partially grossed out.
“Mealworms to be exact.” Manny nods before turning to his wife, “Don’t worry dear, they’re perfectly edible and a delicacy once we roast them. I figured if we want to make this trip as exciting as possible, what better than to try out an all-natural exotic diet. It’ll be like in Cosmic Frontier, in that episode where they had to survive off the local wildlife on an uncharted world.”
“So that’s why you bought those sheep tongues.” Camila realises as she pokes a still wiggling mealworm, “But I’m glad your stomach’s recovered to experiment with new food.”
“Haha, yeah. Funny how well those new meds and treatments have been working out.” Manny laughed weirdly after almost choking on a worm as he pats his stomach, “It’s a miracle isn’t it?”
Camila looked at him strangely, she had lived with this man long enough to know his tells when lying and this was one of them, “Is…something wrong dear?”
“Why would something be wrong?”
“...Well, I suppose it’s nothing then.” Camila says unconvinced before sniffing, “Wait, do you smell that?”
Manny pales, “Oh no, the sheep tongue…”
He rushes back into the rusty RV he borrowed for the duration of their trip and Camila sighs fondly,
“This reminds me of back in college, the number of times he’d almost burn down his dorms trying to cook.” she chuckles before getting up, “I’ll be back in a moment Luz.”
Luz nods as her mother follows him into the RV, leaving Luz at the table they set up. She was happy that her dad was feeling better, ever since he was placed in the hospital for being sick both her mother and her were terrified he may not get better, especially after his condition became worse.
But after he went to that hospital in Bellwood, he recovered. Enough that he organised a road trip through the entire United States for the entire Summer. She hopes that the trip will make her mom happier, she’s been down ever since they got the news that he was sick, even after he’s been cured, so maybe this will cheer her up.
As she was about to dig into her very fresh dinner, she suddenly notices something out of the corner of her eye. A faint and weak glow of light at the edge of the clearing they were camping at.
Fireflies? She remembers pestering her dad about catching some fireflies but he said they wouldn’t find anywhere they were camping on their first day. Was he wrong then? She wanted to catch one and show her dad, maybe keep them as pets in the Rustbucket.
However, she was a child with no net and jar, fueled by rash childish ambition and chased the faint lights deep into the forest. As long as she doesn’t go far from the campsite she was sure her parents won’t mind.
***
“Mom! Dad!” a young Luz cries out as she nervously walks through the dark forest, covering her head to shield herself from the heavy rain as much as possible. She followed the lights deeper into the forest than intended, and when she was about to turn back she realised she could no longer see their camp. She tries screaming for her parents, but to make things worse, a storm passes by and the heavy rainfall drowns out her voice even as she shouts enough to strain her lungs.
She sobs in fear, the darkness surrounding her made her fear for any animals hiding in them. Her father had said there weren't any wolves but he was wrong about the fireflies.
“Mom!” she tries again, shouting her throat sore, “Dad!”
There was no response once more, if there was one she couldn’t hear it over the heavy rain. As she was starting to feel hopeless, she noticed a faint glow in the sky.
“A shooting star?” Luz asks, amazed at the luck, for a moment forgetting her situation, beginning to wish very hard.
“I wish to find my mom and dad right now please!” she hastily wished before quickly adding, “Oh! And I also wish my dad won’t get sick from now on because otherwise, my mom will be sad. Oh, oh, one more! And I wish that the Good Witch Azura gets its own movie! It’s a really good book and I think that-”
Luz trails off as out of nowhere, the shooting star’s trajectory suddenly shifts and starts heading directly for her.
“...Too many wishes?” she asks nervously before making a run for it, trying to put as much distance between her and the falling star as much as possible. The star smashes through trees like they were paper, and slams into the earth, the shockwave launching her forward and tripping, falling flat on her face.
She gets up back on her feet, covered head to toe in cold, wet mud. She should have started running back to find her family, but something compelled her to check the strange object that landed and nearly crushed her.
Moving close to the edge of the crate, her mouth opens in awe as she finds a strange metal ball the size of a basketball, glowing orange with heat.
“Is that a satellite?” she asks herself before starting to back up. Maybe she should find her dad before trying to touch whatever that was. But as she gets up, she slips on mud and falls into the crater with a shout of surprise.
She skids to a stop next to the strange metal ball as it suddenly opens up, and a purple glow could be seen from within. A curious device that looked vaguely similar to a watch was visible with a soft purple glow.
“A watch?” she mutters to herself, “What’s a watch doing in outer space?”
She reaches out to grab it, maybe her dad would know something? He and mom were pretty smart, maybe they know why it was in space and what it was? But as her hand inches closer, the watch suddenly leaps at her like it was a living being, latching onto her wrist.
“Ah! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!” Luz screams in terror as she felt her wrist feel strangely warm when the watch-thing latches onto her. She falls on her back in her panic to get the watch off, grabbing a nearby broken piece of wood to stab at it and pry it off.
After a few minutes of panicking, she calms down enough to start searching the watch for some sort of latch or button to remove it, eventually finding a single button next to the dial. With no other option, she decides to press it and suddenly it springs up, glowing with purple lights as a strange silhouette appears on the watch’s face.
“What are you?” she asks out loud, before curiously touching the dial and pressing it down, a flash of purple light engulfing her.
***
“And that’s how I got this thing.” Luz smiles as she recounts her story, “After that we travelled through the country, fighting the occasional alien criminal and learning how to use the Omnitrix. Honestly, it’s still hard to believe that was five years ago, but still, that was the greatest Summer I ever had.”
She smiles at the Omnitrix wistfully as King, who had been listening with the most enthusiasm, leapt up.
“So you’ve been fighting for a few years then? You must be really strong. Who was your most dangerous foe?”
He asks excitedly but Luz’s reaction was the opposite of his, wincing at the phantom pain that flared through her body at the thought of him.
“Yeah! Who was the toughest guy you’ve ever fought? How strong were they?” King continues obliviously.
“Luz?” Eda asks, concerned at her reaction.
“It’s nothing.” she waves off before continuing, “It’s not a game, King. I might have an easier time fighting some villains compared to others, and they’re not all on the same scale of evil. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that most times they’re trying to kill me and usually are capable of doing so.”
“Oh.” King scratches the back of his skull in embarrassment, “Sorry then.”
“It’s fine.” she waves off, having dealt with similar questions from more obnoxious fans, “But there definitely was someone who was the most dangerous I’ve ever fought. Nothing I did so much as laid a scratch on him, and most times all I could do was run from him. It took one of my strongest aliens, Way Big, to finally beat him. No one ever came as close as he did, not Animo, Zombozo, or the Highbreeds. His name was Vilgax.”
Her voice took a more serious tone as she said that name. Even if it had been five years since his defeat and death, the memory of the alien conqueror holding her family hostage, taking every single blow all her aliens could dish out, will be stuck with her forever.
“He’s a warlord from a system the Plumbers call the Shadow Realm.” she explains, “Any info we get is very limited, but from what we gather Vilgax was exiled from his home planet centuries ago for being too ambitious after a failed coup on his government. He was one of the galaxy’s worst war criminals, leaving millions dead if planets don’t submit and pay tribute.”
“And you fought this guy when you were ten?” Eda asks, incredulous and horrified at the thought of someone that young fighting a monster like that. She doesn’t understand half the words she was using like galaxy or system or planet, but she could tell they were big from Luz's facial expression.
“I met him three times over that Summer.” Luz nods, “First time we met, nothing I did scratch him and we got lucky because my dad set his ship to self-destruct with him on it. The second time wasn’t much better and I had to keep running again but we forced him into the Null Void, basically an inescapable prison.”
“Like the Conformatorium?” Eda asks but Luz shakes her head.
“No, worse. Imagine an entire Realm like the Human or Demon Realm, with the sole purpose of being a prison where you can throw the worst criminals to ever exist. Somewhere to lock them, throw away the key and forget they exist. Only two things happen once you get in the Null Void, you either get eaten by one of the natives, killed by another prisoner or spend the rest of your life running and hiding.”
“...Jeez, that makes me almost grateful all the Emperor had was the Conformatorium.” Eda tries joking to lighten the mood, “But I’m guessing that isn't a problem solved right?”
“Somehow he escaped.” Luz says grimly, “It was during the last days of Summer vacation. He got back to his fleet and chased us down once again. It was three days of running from him, and I nearly lost Kevin during the chase. But I unlocked a new transformation, and I used it to throw him into space.”
“Space?” King asks, wondering where that was as Luz pointed to the sky above.
“Way beyond the clouds, no air to breathe and you’ll be frozen solid in the vacuum. Or implode if you try holding your breath.” she explains, remembering how the alien felt in her hands when she was Way Big, “As far as I know, his corpse is still floating in space since I threw him there five years ago.”
“So wait, if you beat the strongest warrior doesn’t that mean you’re the strongest?” King asks in excitement at the story and Luz shrugged.
“Not really, it wasn’t Luz Noceda that beat Vilgax, it was Way Big.” Luz says as she fidgets the Omnitrix, “If I didn’t have Way Big, I wouldn’t have beaten Vilgax. If I didn’t have the Omnitrix I wouldn’t have Way Big. You could say I only won because of this thing. Sometimes it keeps me up at night, thinking what if I didn’t have Way Big.”
She mutters the last part more to herself, unintentionally out loud, staring at the reflection in the face of the Omnitrix.
Eda snaps her out of her thoughts with a slap on the back, “Well, on the bright side, this should be a walk in the park for you then. Compared to this Vilgax guy, it sounds like the Emperor’s an annoying skin-eating fairy in comparison.”
“Yeah, too bad this is only a rescue mission because I’d like to give this Emperor guy a piece of my mind.” Luz says, pushing away the memories before realising what Eda just said, “Wait, what about fairies?”
“Oh yeah, you haven’t seen one yet.” Eda realises, “Word of advice, when you live in the Demon Realm always make sure your windows and doors are shut when you sleep, otherwise you might wake up with missing patches of skin. And maybe search your room just in case, those little critters can get everywhere.”
“...Well that’s another thing to keep me awake at night.” Luz shudders at the thought.
“Wait, wait.” King exclaims, “So you’re saying you haven’t found this Vilgax’s body right? Do you think he’s still out there, plotting his revenge?”
He asks if one would discuss a theory on a storybook villain instead of a real villainous war criminal.
“...I like to think he’s orbiting some dead planet or got pulled into a star.” Luz admits after a moment of silence, “But he’s survived three times when I thought him dead. Four times if you count the time my dad blew him up with a bomb. But it’s been five years since he last showed up, someone like him wouldn’t be able to stay hidden without notice. The Plumbers would find some trace of him by now. As far as I’m concerned, Vilgax is dead.”
***
Hunter approaches the heavy steel doors guarded by two full squads of Coven scouts daily. The squads hastily stood to attention, he saw a couple hiding the Hexes Hold Em deck they were using behind their cloaks as they saluted.
He pretends he doesn’t see them, after all with the prisoner they were guarding there wasn’t really any need for more than a couple guards, let alone twenty. The two magically infused metal doors were made by the finest witches in the Construction Coven and near impossible to break through, and inside the malnourished prisoner too weak to even move without a wheelchair, was chained up with chains made of the same material.
All this was quite overkill, one of the free things both he and Lilith Clawthorne agree on. But nevertheless, it was a personal decree of the Emperor to impose such extreme measures on this one prisoner so they didn’t argue.
After the lengthy unlocking procedure, Hunter finds the prisoner where he always was. A malnourished, stick-thin man with green skin and a beard that appeared to be made of tentacles from his head. He wore a black robe with a hood that did nothing to conceal his red eyes, focused on parchment filled with blueprints and research notes in a near-obsessive manner.
“Unless you are here with my monthly meal, I am sure I did not request your presence, Golden Guard.” the prisoner says in a raspy tone without even turning.
“I bring word from the Emperor.” Hunter says, ignoring his remark, “From the report of Warden Wrath, the Conformatorium has been broken into by a shapeshifter in the guise of a human. And the human had a device like mine.”
He flashes a mechanical gauntlet on his left arm, covering it from his elbow downwards. It was connected to a pack-like device strapped to his back via a cable and the most noteworthy was that there was a strange dial on the back of his palm. A dial with an hourglass symbol coloured red.
This got a reaction from the prisoner, parchment crunches under his hands as he gripped them hard, his body shaking with rage.
“And why have you come to me, Golden Guard?” the prisoner asks with barely restrained emotions, “If I recall from our conversations with your Emperor, your main goal is the retrieval of the escaped basilisk subjects. I need their material to continue my work on your weapon after all.”
“Rest assured, you’ll get your materials.” Hunter says as he picks up a stray piece of parchment, analysing it before returning it to the workbench, “But I’ve asked my liege if I should hunt down this human and retrieve her weapon. But he told me the same, to focus on the basilisk.”
“So you are daring to disobey him?” the prisoner asks but Hunter scoffs.
“No, I’m merely preparing in case I encounter this human.” he says, “It’s just…from what I know the original weapon that mine was based on, the one the Emperor built and you improved upon, was copied from the original that is wielded by a human. What if this is the same human? What if the weapon she has is the original? Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the Emperor’s Coven to retrieve it instead of focusing on the basilisk? It may even help us cure the curse ailing him! I just don’t understand why he won’t allow me to search for this human and capture her.”
“Truly our Emperor works in mysterious ways that we mere peasants cannot comprehend.” the prisoner says with a tone of sarcasm.
“Watch your tongue.” Hunter warns towering over the wheelchair-bound man, “Saying things like that about our Emperor usually means punishment.”
“Then ask for what you came here for.” the prisoner growls, “Do not waste any more of my time.”
Hunter nods, “Even if you did lose, you may have advice on the target. Tell me what I should do on the chance that I somehow encounter this human.”
“In that case, I will tell you the same thing I’ve told that Clawthorne woman.” the prisoner says as he returns to his research, “No advice I can give will help you. That wretched human is unpredictable. No matter how strong you are, or how the odds stack in your favour, it does not help you win when your opponent has a habit of flipping the table.”
Hunter looks at him with annoyance and starts to leave, “This was a waste of time. What did I expect coming to someone for advice, when he lost against a mere human child?”
Without warning the prisoner suddenly lashes out with speed he has never seen before, grabbing the hem of his cloak and pulling him to eye level, staring into those red eyes full of fury and hatred that sends shivers down his spine.
“There is nothing ‘mere’ about that human.” he roars, “I had an entire fleet at my command once, entire civilisations bowed unless they wished for death. I have killed more people than there are in your entire little corpse island and enslaved twice that number, little boy. And yet this human girl reduced that to nothing in months. Instead of wondering how weak you think I was too loose to a child, perhaps you should be wondering instead how strong a child must be to do such things. Underestimate Luz Noceda at your own peril, that is my advice.”
Before Hunter could respond, the prisoner threw him on the floor with unexpected force.
“Get out of my cell, little boy .” he mocks, “Do as your Emperor demands like the good little soldier you are and leave me to my research.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Hunter says angrily as he got up and rearranged his cloak and mask, “Enjoy a month without food again, Vilgax.”
He storms up trying to cover up the humiliation and fear he felt. That moment he stared into his hate-filled eyes reminded him of times his uncle was enraged. But worse somehow.
As he storms off, Vilgax returns to his notes where the blueprints of the Omnitrix were. When he first captured Luz Noceda five years ago he had scanned the device just in case, and while they were mostly destroyed when his ship exploded he still had enough scraps to piece together a working prototype by combining it with the strange magic of this world, and the materials of these basilisk creatures.
It pales in comparison to the true Omnitrix of course, but it was enough to satisfy the Emperor and make him think that he was a useful, a subservient if somewhat upstart pet to keep around. How foolish that man was.
“Listen up Vilgax.” he remembers her taunting voice as a To'Kustar as clear as day when he was in her grasp at her mercy. The feared warlord, Vilgax, at the mercy of a child, “I am Luz Noceda, Wielder of the Omnitrix, Warrior of Peace! Now eat this, sucka!”
For four years he was stuck as a slave to that fool. An entire year he spent floating in the vacuum of space with only himself to keep him company, his augments weakening and breaking, his muscles suffering from atrophy until he became the cripple he is now. Five years of humiliation brought on by that damnable child. Her words echo in his sleep, taunting him, mocking him. But it also fueld him with anger to sustain his life, and drive to plan his vengeance.
“Soon, Luz…” he crushes his notes in rage at the memory, “Soon.”
Chapter 6: Introducing Luzura
Chapter Text
“So this is the Owl House?” Hope asks after stepping through the portal and glancing around, dressed in her usual purple robe instead of her orange prison jumpsuit, “This new realm…the magic is strong here, and far older than I’ve initially expected. I can feel it.”
“I can smell it.” Kevin snarks as he covers his nose, “What is that smell?”
“Whoops. That must’ve been some of my potions going bad, meant to throw them out last night.” she shrugs as lastly, Luz entered the portal before she closed it, “But yeah, welcome to the Demon Realm.”
The first thing Luz did was to check her Omnitrix and sure enough, a familiar robotic voice plays as she tries activating it;
“Error. Error. Connection with Primus severed. Cause: Unknown. Please restore connection and try again.”
“So it wasn’t just a glitch.” she mutters to herself disappointed. The fact that she lost access to all of her top-tier aliens while in the Demon Realm was definitely a huge blow, but she was sure she can work with what she had. Her current playlist might not have been often used by her but they were all fairly balanced in abilities. Frankenstrike wasn’t as strong as Four Arms or Humongosaur but it had some cool electromagnetic powers, Snare-Oh wasn’t as versatile as Wildvine but it was still similar, Buzzshock was quick and nimble, and Blitzwolfer was pretty balanced in all aspects of combat. It would be like how she first started and when the Omnitrix recalibrated.
“Hey, let me see that.” Kevin holds out his hand and Luz gives him her wrist to investigate the Omnitrix, “That shouldn’t happen.”
“It keeps talking about something called Primus and being disconnected.” Luz explains as Kevin gives it a look over, “What do you think?”
“Honestly that sounds weird. It can’t be because of distance or something, the dang thing worked in the Ledgerdomain and Null Void didn’t it?” Kevin mutters before releasing his grip on the Omnitrix, “And it’s probably not a hardware or software error either. Wish we’d asked Azmuth before we left.”
“What are the chances of him returning our calls again?” Luz asks, remembering how hard it was just to get into contact with the recluse scientist.
Kevin shrugs, “Sorry, but it looks like you have to work with what you have.”
“Don’t I always?” Luz jokes remembering all the times the Omnitrix would give her the wrong aliens for the scenario.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Eda snaps her fingers and goes for the front door, “You two should meet Hooty.”
“Who-?” Hope was about to ask before the bird-tube creature stretched from the open front door to directly in front of her face.
“HOOT HOOT! HELLO NEW FRIEND!” the bird-tube screeches in its nasally voice.
Hope leaps back in shock and surprise, blasting out a mana bolt out of reflex as Kevin lets out an uncharacteristic scream.
“What the hell is that?” Kevin and Hope both ask in disgust as Hooty coughs out some soot after taking a mana bolt to the face.
“Hey, I was just trying to be polite. Hoot.” the bird tube complains before returning to the door and Eda closes it shut.
“What was that thing?!” Hope asks, very disturbed, “That voice…it was so nasally.”
“Oh, that was Hooty.” Luz explains, “From what Eda told me he’s basically the house.”
“We’re living in that thing?!” Kevin asks similarly disturbed, his voice cracking as he realises something, “Wait, are those walls breathing?!”
“You get used to it.” Eda shrugs before gesturing to the staircase leading upstairs, “Anyways you’ll find some spare rooms upstairs, I mostly use them to keep some leftover junk I haven’t sold yet. Just clean them out and make yourselves at home I guess, I need to go set up shop for today as well so I’ll be heading out in about an hour.”
She went upstairs, whistling a tune as King walks up to Luz holding what looks like a child-sized version of her hoverboard, black and it had a couple skulls and flame stickers on it.
“Luz, can you teach me how to use this thing now?” he asks giddily as he shows her the hoverboard her dad got him, “A King must learn to ride his new mighty steed to show the peasants in the playground why he’s superior!”
“Aw, of course.” Luz smiles as she drops a duffel bag on the couch and follows him out, “I’ll unpack later, you guys can go ahead first.”
The two could only stare at the walls surrounding them in concern and disturbance as the only sound they heard was very soft and faint breathing as the walls ever so slightly contracted and expand as lungs would.
“...I suppose it’s too late to get back to my cell?” Hope asks half-heartedly, inching away from the walls.
“Take me with you.” Kevin pleads completely serious as he holds his bag tightly for comfort.
***
“Well, it isn’t first-class but at least it’s not in the stomach of a literal owl house.” Kevin mutters as he sets up a sleeping bag on the ground floor of the tower connected to the Owl House, “Damn it, she could’ve warned us she was being literal when she said we were going to live in an Owl House. And what are you doing here anyway? I called dibs on the tower already.”
He asks Hope who was busy directing a few rock monsters to carry her luggage to the top of the tower,
“I’m making myself at home, as the Owl Lady suggested.” Hope says, “I reckon that the top of the tower would be the best place for a master magician such as myself to conduct her research without any…distractions.”
She shudders in disgust at the memory of the creature known as Hooty. By the runes, why would such a creature like that exist?
Kevin shudders at the thought of Hooty as well, remembering his nasally voice.
“...Alright, fine.” he relents, “You don’t bother me, I don’t bother you. That means no magic stuff in my part of the tower. That sounds good?”
“If you keep your tools in your territory, your truce is acceptable.” Hope agreed before shaking his hand.
As they come to terms with their new living arrangement, the Owl Lady walks into the tower.
“Glad to see the two of you getting comfy.” she says as she whistles at the sight of the rock monsters, “I heard from Luz that you could do magic but it’s still surprising to see. Those Abominations or something?”
“That’s one way of seeing them.” Kevin mutters as Hope elbows him.
“Ignore the brute, those are simply native creatures of the Ledgerdomain.'' She explains as one of them picks up a chest to carry it to the top floor, “Rock and stone in the Ledgerdomain can absorb mana in enough quantities that they gain sentience. I simply mimic the phenomena and create my own creatures to obey my will.”
“Impressive.” Eda muses as she watches the rock monsters act, “Hey, you think you can teach a fellow witch a thing or two then?”
Hope shrugs, “Perhaps, if you have the talent for it.”
“Talent?” Eda scoffs, “Well I’m practically the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles. I like to think I’m talented enough.”
“Passion and power do not equate to talent with magic. Look to Luz for example.” Hope explains as she gestures out of a window to Luz teaching King to balance on a hoverboard, “She is the strongest human I know and yet her talent for the arcane arts is abysmal, such as during New Jersey-”
“What happens in New Jersey, stays in New Jersey!” Kevin quickly cuts in with a traumatised look on his face, “We never talk about New Jersey.”
“...It was a disturbing incident.” Hope nods before turning to Eda, “But if you are insistent then I do have a couple volumes of instructional material, when we are free I can begin tutoring in memorising basic incantations-”
“Right, you had me until you mentioned books tutoring and memorising.” Eda cuts her off quickly, “That sounds like magic school stuff.”
“It’s the way my father and uncle taught me.” Hope shrugs.
“Ugh, boring.” Eda groans, “And here I thought a fellow criminal witch would be wilder than that. Speaking of which, what exactly did you do to get in prison anyways?”
“Attempted mass murder.” Hope responds deadpan with a tint of guilt in her voice. Eda drops her demeanour once she realises from the look on Hope’s face she was serious.
“...You’re not kidding,” Eda mutters in realisation and Kevin nods.
“Yeah, I can testify to that.” Kevin grumbles as he subconsciously rubs his throat, remembering how it felt for his soul to be forcefully dragged out of his body, “Both me and Luz can.”
“Does that bother you, Owl Lady?” Hope asks in a neutral tone as Eda thinks in silence.
“...Well that’s definitely not what I was expecting.” Eda admits before shrugging, “But hey, attempted means you didn’t succeed. And you’re pretty friendly with those two for someone that tried to kill them, Luz even begged for you to be here, so something tells me you’re not that bad.”
“Luz has a weird habit of forgiving those that wronged her.” Hope smiles warmly, “I even believe if she were to spend enough time with my uncle, she may even convince him to give her a hug or crack a genuine smile.”
Eda doesn’t get that, but it was probably a sort of inside joke as Kevin guffaws at the thought of that image.
“Well, anyways I’m gonna head to the market soon to set up shop.” Eda explains, “Honestly, I don’t know much about basilisk myself but there’s probably a tonne of books in the local library that could tell you about them.”
“That does sound like a good place to start.” Hope nods in agreement, “The more we know the better.”
Before they could add anything else, the window shatters as a black hoverboard smashes through it surprising all three of them.
“My room!” Kevin cries out at the sight of his broken window and the board embedding itself into a wall.
Suddenly Luz and King came rushing in through the tower’s front door, “Sorry, sorry! King got a little overexcited and put too much power on the thrusters.”
“So it can serve as a projectile weapon? Excellent!” King exclaims from her shoulders, “Truly this is the greatest vehicle ever conceived by mortal minds.”
“You’re lucky that wasn’t my car you little rat!” Kevin warns before muttering, “Thank god we didn’t bring it from Earth.”
“Hey, don’t be mad at him.” Luz says defensively, “I recall you breaking your fair share of windows trying to learn with a hoverboard the first time.”
Kevin just grumbles before attempting to pry off the hoverboard firmly embedded within the walls.
“You know that’s coming out of your rent. Cough it up.” Eda says holding out a palm. Kevin grumbles again before pulling two taydens and dropping them in her hand, “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Luz had to bite her tongue at that, knowing that Kevin had somehow persuaded the Owl Lady to rent her place to them for five taydens a week. Maybe she should probably tell the Owl Lady how galactic economy works, and that a single Tayden was just enough for a really good alien smoothie or an ice cream.
“Anyways, what’s going on?” Luz asks, trying to change the topic, “Are we ready to move out yet?”
“Just about.” Hope nods, “The local library should provide us with a starting point to begin locating these basilisks. If we can find their average behaviour and preferred environments, we can know where to start looking.”
“I’ll hit the streets then.” Kevin offers, “We might have a better chance if we can track the Emperor Coven’s movement, I can check if any locals know anything, maybe hear a few rumours on shapeshifters.”
“Got some contacts that might help you out in Bonesborought.” Eda suggests before picking up King by the collar, “Here, take him with you. He knows his way around town.”
“Weh?” King utters confused before being dropped in Kevin’s arms and begins crawling onto his shoulder, “Well, in that case, I’ll point and you carry steed!”
“...You’re walking,” Kevin says bluntly as he picks up King from his shoulder and drops him onto his feet.
“What about you?” Luz asks the Owl Lady, “What will you be doing while we’re out?”
“Me? Selling some human junk in the market of course.” Eda says it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Girl’s gotta earn a living somehow. When you’re done with whatever needs doing, just drop by my stall. You remember the place don’t you?”
“Of course.” Luz nods before turning to her friends, “Well you guys know what to do, so let’s move out team!”
“Hold for a moment.” Hope raises her hands, “Shouldn’t we be taking precautions?”
“Huh?” The rest of the group looks at her confused before she clarifies.
“I mean, Luz you were involved in a prison break.” she reminds, “There’s bound to be local law enforcement after you, and they might suspect any humans for being affiliated with you. We should take precautions just in case.”
To demonstrate she waves her hand in front of her own ears and in a flash of magenta her ears suddenly become sharper like those of a local witch.
Luz points finger guns at Hope, “Don’t worry, I’m way ahead of you on that. Been meaning to try this out since I first got it.”
She primes her Omnitrix and slams it, a bright purple light engulfing the room before it dissipates and reveals Luz with her red beanie missing, replaced with longer hair that had to be put in a ponytail with a grey streak running through it, her ears sharper and her height grew a full foot taller. Her clothes change as well, from a dark green jacket over a striped purple and white shirt, to a long robe similar to Hope’s but made of white material and a purple cloak fastened around her neck with an Omnitrix symbol.
“Wow, I am rocking this new look.” Luz says as she opens her eyes, revealing purple irises as she glances at a nearby mirror to admire her transformation.
“Huh, so that’s how you look like as a witch?” Eda asks before looking at her hair, “Wait, what’s with that grey streak?”
“Hm, this? It actually looks a bit like yours.” Luz plays at her hair in the mirror before shrugging, “Eh, it’s probably just some aesthetic thing the Omnitrix came up with. Sometimes I swear it has a mind of its own, definitely a twisted sense of humour as well.”
“...If you say so.” Eda mutters with an unreadable expression on her face.
Luz shrugs at the strange behaviour and continues explaining the backstory she spent all night thinking about, “Right…Anyway, say hello to Luzura! Wandering witch from beyond the Boiling Isles, a runaway child with a thirst for adventure. And you, Hope, are my childhood best friend, we both-”
“We’ll just say the two of us are visitors from some outskirt settlement on the Isles” Hope cuts off and Kevin nods in agreement, “I doubt a world on this tech level is connected with the entire world just yet so we don’t have to come up with any complex backstories.”
“What?” Luzura asks disappointedly, “But I spent all night coming up with a cool intertwined backstory for all three of us!”
“Do these backstories have enough words to fill a novel?” Kevin asks knowingly and Luz blushes in embarrassment.
“No!” she says before quietly admitting, “...It’s just 80 pages each.”
“My point exactly.” Hope says, “Nobody can double-check if your story is true if we say we’re just visitors from outside of the city on errands or something. We don’t need to overcomplicate matters.”
Eda nods, “Yeah, there’s always a couple weirdos that live outside of cities even with the number of wild demons. People won’t think much of it when you say you’re from out of town.”
“...Fine.” Luzura says glumly, she supposes she’ll have to shelf that idea for the meantime, “But what about Kevin then? He doesn’t have a disguise.”
“Hmm.” Hope rubs her chin in thought, “Well I’m certainly not following him everywhere just to keep an illusion on him, and I don’t want to waste any items on him if I don’t have to.”
“Or…” Kevin takes a grey hoodie from his duffel bag and puts it on with the hood over his head and covers his ears, “I can just do this.”
Hope stays silent, likely not wanting to admit to not thinking of such a simple solution, to which Kevin snickered.
“Shut it.” she scolds, “Unlike you, my disguise won’t completely fall apart the moment a piece of clothing falls off or gets displaced.”
“Hey at least my disguise won’t fall apart the moment I lose concentration, or hit a ten-minute timer.” he shoots back before turning to Luz, “But seriously, how are you going to last like that when you time out after ten minutes?”
“Easy.” Luz taps her Omnitrix emblem on her and recites the code she discovered some time ago, “Omnitrix Command Code 1-8-1.”
“Code accepted. Life Form Lock authorised.”
“What's that?” Eda ask as both Kevin and Hope looked at it curiously.
“Life Form Lock, exactly as it says. It locks me in a single alien form for a long time.” Luz explains.
“Really? Surprised you don’t use it more often then.” Kevin remarks.
“Yeah, unfortunately, it’s not that good. I can’t use Life Form Lock for more than an hour and whether I turn back to human early or it times out, the Omnitrix shuts down for an hour afterwards. Not much use when most of our fights don’t last more than ten minutes or if I need to change aliens on the fly.”
“Well if an hour’s all you got then we better make the most of it.” she whips out her staff, “Right, Owlber can only carry three at a time, one of them has to be me so one of you is walking the way to Bonesborough.”
Kevin, Hope and Luz look between themselves,
“...Draw straws then?” Kevin suggests.
***
“My car always gets wrecked, you know.” Kevin complains as he treks through the forest, slicing through branches a steel-coated arm that was shaped into the form of a machete, occasionally he would misjudge and end with a branch smacking back into his unarmoured face instead “So when I heard we’re going to another dimension full of magic, I think to myself ‘Right, I’m definitely not bringing my car to this place’, that way no one’s going to wreck my car and make me spend three weeks patching it up. I even pat myself on the back for thinking smart like that. Now I’m half tempted to ask if the Owl Lady’s portal can widen enough to fit my car through it.”
“What’s a car?” King asks while riding his newly gifted hoverboard, with training wheels mode activated this time.
“...I hate this place.”
***
“Fascinating, truly fascinating.” Hope mutters as she observes the streets of Bonesborough with barely contained curiosity, especially at the corpse of the Titan, “To think this was the magical presence I had sensed. To think even dead, the lingering magic of the Titan is this powerful. I’d love to see such a creature in its prime.”
“Yeah, it’s even bigger than Way Big.” Luzura notes as they walk through the streets of Bonesborough alone, Eda had left them a while ago to man her stall while giving them directions to the nearest library, “What do you think of this place? Does it remind you of the Ledgerdomain?”
Hope’s smile suddenly turned to a frown, “...It’s filthier, the streets of my father’s kingdom were far cleaner. There also wasn’t whatever putrid smell we are currently smelling, it wasn’t as humid, and feats of magic were all too common. Children would be experimenting with new spells, homemade runes and charms sold by local merchants, and races of all kinds throughout the universe would be seen together in peace. Or at least that was how I remembered it, before…”
Hope trails off and Luzura puts a comforting hand on her shoulder looking apologetic.
“I’m sorry, I forgot that it’s a tough topic.” she apologises, “...You know I can talk Dad into letting you visit Ledgerdomain? Maybe transfer you there for some sort of house arrest.”
“What, getting tired of me already?” Hope smiles wryly, “I doubt the people will be happy to see their former heir to the throne who attempted to sacrifice them all for her selfish desires. Too bad, but you’re stuck with me, Luz.”
“Uh-uh.” she wags her finger, “It’s Luzura remember? When I’m in this form, that’s my name.”
“Just combining your name with that of your favourite fictional character?” Hope rolls her eyes fondly, “Very well, Luzura. Speaking of which, how does it feel to be a witch? The form of yours is very similar to your human one after all.”
“I mean, I do feel lighter and flexible. A bit stronger as well I guess.” she explains as she flexes her arms, feeling the muscle underneath the robes her Omnitrix generated from her own clothes using nanomachines, “Could probably do some impressive gymnastics like this. Something off about my heart though, almost like there are a couple more internal organs. Do you think I might be able to cast magic?”
Luzura asks hopefully and Hope shrugs.
“Their magic is probably different from the one I learnt, judging by what I hear from the Owl Lady. You’ll have to ask her for more on that, but there is a possibility. Just try not to create another New Jersey incident, I doubt Kevin’s mind can handle seeing another one.”
Luzura blushes and covers her face, “I keep telling you it’s an accident! I just wanted to help that poor bird!”
“It wasn’t bad on your first try.” Hope admits, “The spell did work, just not the way you intended. Perhaps you will have better luck with the magic of this realm.”
“You really think so?” Luzura asks, looking at her own hands with hope.
“You will only know if you try. Just be careful around Kevin, I doubt his mind can handle another incident like that.” Hope says with a chuckle.
Luzura chuckles embarrassed, “Yeah I’ll be more careful this time.”
They both quiet down as they approach the library, it was fairly large and bigger than the one back in Gravesfield. Luz looks giddy as she enters, followed by a less impressed Hope who had seen grander structures in the Ledgerdomain before it fell.
“Welcome.” intone a bored-sounding voice coming from the receptionist, “How may I help you today?”
Before Hope could open her mouth, Luzura leaps ahead of her. She instantly dreads what was about to happen and braces herself for second-hand embarrassment.
“Greetings, wise librarian of Bonesboroguh.'' She starts speaking in a flowery tone reminiscent of those characters in those three terrible Good Witch Azura movies Luz had forced them to watch, each time Luz had been carrying the hope that the next film would solve the problems of the previous. It was honestly quite sad.
“We came in search of tomes on shapeshifting beasts called basilisks to help us in a noble quest.” she continues with a bow as Hope facepalm at the sight.
“...What?” the librarian deadpans, looking at Luzura confused and probably thinking if he was even paid enough for this. Hope jumps in hoping to salvage the situation,
“Forgive my over-excited friend.” she quickly says, “We came looking for books regarding basilisks, do you mind pointing us in the right direction?”
“...Beast Keeping section.” he points in a direction and Hope leave, dragging Luzura by the cloak, as the librarian shakes his head and mutters about weird kids.
“I very much doubt the average inhabitant of this realm talks like that.” Hope snarks as Luzura looks embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry, just got too into the act you know.” she says with barely restrained glee, “I mean, I’m disguising myself as a witch in a magic world full of witches and demons on a quest to save magical creatures from an evil emperor. I know, I know, we’re supposed to be serious but this is something out of the Azura books!”
“That explains why you look happier than usual.” Hope notes as Luzura sighs.
“Yeah, but there’s another thing. Here, watch!” she waves at a bunch of library patrons, “How do you do, fellow witches and demons?”
She was immediately shushed by every nearby patron and Luzura turns back to Hope with an undaunted smile.
“See?” she whispers, “If this was back home, nobody would do that. Heck everyone would be pulling out their phones and recording me! We’d have to force our way through an entire mob of fans and reporters to get here! We’d have to fight maybe one or two villains with a grudge against us, or an alien ambassador beamed down to ask us to save his planet or something!”
She takes a deep breath and exhales with a smile, “It just feels so freeing, you get me? It’s just you, Kevin and I against the world like the old days.”
Hope smiles at that, “It’s good that you’re enjoying yourself. But it’s only been months, not exactly ‘old days’ as you put it.”
“It’s been months but it feels like years.” Luzura explains, “But enough about that, we got books to find! Can’t let Kevin show us up can we?”
“We’d never hear the end of that.” Hope nods in agreement.
They both split up to explore the library and Luzura gasped at the sights within. Flying books moved from one place to another, patrons using crystal balls, creatures of all kinds reading books, scrolls and tomes large enough to substitute for doorstoppers. It was like a magical academy straight out of the books.
“Oh my god…” Luz mutters in awe as she thanks all her lucky stars that aligned to let her have a mission in a magical realm. Sure the Ledgerdomain was a magic realm but it was also a bit of a mess at best and hellscape at worst, and really it looked like what she thinks a drug trip would be.
But this? This was a bonafide fantasy world! There was a magic library, magic crystal balls, flying books, demons and creatures of all kinds and-
Her thoughts were cut off as suddenly she slams into something, blinking in surprise as she turns and sees a similarly surprised girl trip backwards from the sudden collision. Instantly she reaches forward and grabs her hands before she falls. As she thought, the witch transformation she now has was quite faster than her human form.
“Whoops!” she exclaims as she pulls her back up on her feet, “Sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going.”
Luzura chuckles but it trails off as she gets a full look at the girl. In her transformation, she was taller by a foot but she doesn’t doubt they’d be around the same height if she returned to human form. She had shoulder-length hair tied up in a small ponytail, dyed aquamarine. She recognises it wasn’t natural because of the barely visible brown roots.
She wore a grey tunic with a dark grey belt and boots with a shoulder-length cape that has a pulled-down hood almost like Luzura’s but grey instead of purple. Besides that, she had magenta-coloured sleeves and pants.
What caught Luzura’s attention the most were her eyes, bright golden pupils. She doesn’t know why but at that moment all words failed her as her mind tries to construct a response, but the girl beats her to the chase.
“W-well in that case, pay more attention next time.'' The girl scolds, flushing red with anger or embarrassment, pulling her hand from Luzura’s grip and kneeling to grab the books she dropped when they collide as Luzura bends down to help.
“I’m really sorry!” Luzura exclaims as she bends down and helps the girl pick up her books, one of their covers catching her eye, “Huh? Is this-?”
“None of your business!” the girl snarls as she snatched the book from her hands but it was too late as she recognised it.
“The Good Witch Azura Book 4?” Luzura whispers excitedly.
“No! I-This was for kids! I was reading to kids!”” the girl quickly says with a slight stammer to her tone.
“Hey, hey, I’m not judging.” Luzura quickly assures, “I just never seen anyone with those books before! I’ve never met a fellow fan before!”
“What?” The girl looks at her surprised and confused.
“Which part are you on? Oh, I remember that time when I read it, the part where Hecate and Gildersnake-! Oh wait no, spoilers!” Luzura scolds and smacks herself in the head for almost spoiling the book, “Sorry, but I’ve never met anyone who read the books back home!”
The green-haired girl just looks at her flustered and confused before clearing her throat, “W-well like I said, I was reading this to children in the Kid’s Corner. So it doesn’t-”
“Miss Amity!” A gruff and deep voice came from behind the girl as some kind of child version of Warden Wrath’s species walks up to the green-haired girl and hands her a book, “You left this at the Kid’s Corner. Thank you so much for reading it to us again!”
“...Thank you, Braxas.” The girl, Amity, if she heard correctly, reluctantly accepts the book and sends the boy off with a pat on the head before looking at a smug Luzura.
“What do you want?” Amity snarls at her once the child is out of sight.
“Nothing, just really excited to meet another Azura fan.” Luzura says giddily, “What’s your favourite book? Have you read all of them yet? Oh! Oh! What about ships do you-”
“Enough!” she whispers harshly to silence Luzura, quickly looking around in worry before returning to glare up at her, “You better keep this quiet. I have a reputation to maintain and I’m not going to have you ruin it by letting everyone know that I read a book like that, understand?”
The girl steps closer in an attempt to intimidate her but was a bit shorter and had to look up to glare at Luzura. Still, even if she was in her human form, Luzura doubts she’d be intimated much. She’s fought worse after all.
“But it’s just a book.” Luz points out, confused, “Who’s going to care if you’re reading it?”
“It’s- That’s none of your business!.” the girl says flustered, “Just don’t tell anyone, understand me?”
“Alright, alright, I won’t.” Luzura assures calmly.
“Thanks…I appreciate it.” The girl exhales in relief, her glare momentarily softening before returning, “Now if you’ll excuse me?”
“Huh? Oh right, sorry.” Luzura hastily apologises again and hands her the rest of the books she picked up.
“Just…watch where you’re going next time.” the girl sighs as she accepts the books and moves on. Just as Luzura was about to leave, disappointed that even when meeting another Azura fan she failed to make a friend, she noticed one of the books the girl was carrying.
“Hey, wait a moment.” she exclaimed and the girl looked at her frustrated.
“What is it now?” she asks, annoyed.
“I’m really sorry but I just need some help.” Luzura says pointing to the book titled Beast Keeping 101 in her arms, “Is that book about all kinds of different beasts?”
“So?” Amity asks, suddenly defensive and hiding the book behind her back, “I’m not actually studying another track, this is just extracurricular.”
Luzura doesn’t know if there was some cultural thing she was missing but decides to ask that later and focus on her task, “No, it’s just I really need help looking for some books on Beast Keeping. About basilisks specifically!”
The girl raises a brow, “Basilisks? But they’re all extinct. Is this some project or something?”
“Something like that.” Luz nods before clasping her hands in front of her to beg, “Please it’s a matter of life and death.”
The girl stares at her, seemingly contemplating something before sighing in defeat,
“Fine, fine, you don’t have to be so dramatic.” she says before walking off and beckoning Luzura to follow her, “Follow me.”
Luzura nods and follows with a smile on her face, “Thanks! You’re a real lifesaver.”
“I work at this library part-time anyways.” The girl waves off her thanks, “I’m just doing my job.”
“Still I really appreciate you helping.” Luzura says gratefully before offering a hand, “I didn’t introduce myself, you can call me Luzura.”
This got a reaction out of Amity who up to the point had been serious, almost guffawed at that but covered her mouth in time, barely hiding a snicker before looking at Luzura, “Really? Did your parents really call you that or did you just change your name because of Azura?”
“Well, I guess that’s more of a nickname than anything.” she chuckles in embarrassment, “Call me Luz then. Luz Noceda.”
“Amity Blight.” the girl introduces herself but doesn’t shake her hand, looking forward instead and gesturing to a bookshelf, “Here’s the Beast Keeping section, you wanted ones that talk about basilisk, is that correct?”
“Yep. Anything that would talk about behaviour, where they might live, and those sorts of things.” Luzura nods as Amity places her books at a nearby table before picking out books from the shelves.
“You’d want one on extinct beast demons then.” Amity says as she takes a few of them from the shelves.
“Beast demons?” Luzura asks and Amity looks at her oddly.
“Shouldn’t you know this for being in the Beast Keeping track?” She asks raising a brow as Luzura shook her head.
“No idea what that means. You can say I’m from out of town.” Luzura explains but Amity just looked at her oddly.
“Wait, so you don’t even go to school?” she asks incredulously, “Why are you asking for these books then?”
“It’s…for a personal project.” Luzura hastily comes up with. It wasn’t technically a lie and in her experience, half-truths were the best way of dealing with situations like this.
“...Whatever, it’s none of my business.” Amity shrugs off as she continues looking at the bookshelf, “Let’s see, you’d want Ancient History of the Isles, they have a detailed section regarding extinct demons. As well as The Official Bestiary of the Boiling Isles, and a few other books.”
“You’ve read all these books and memorised them?” Luzura asks amazed as Amity nods, “You must be pretty smart, those books are as thick as my arms!”
“It doesn’t hurt to start preparing.” Amity dismisses her compliment, “Even if I’m in the Abomination Track, my mentor insists on making sure I become prepared when I graduate.”
“What do all these tracks mean?” Luzura asks out of curiosity.
“Titan, you really aren’t from around here, are you? Were your parents wild witches or something?” Amity looks at her dumbfounded but explains anyways, “A long time ago, magic was mixed and chaotic, bringing chaos and death in a time known as the Savage Ages. To prevent such things from happening again magic was divided into these groups called Covens. There’s the Abomination, Beast Keeping, Illusion, Healing, Potions, Oracle, Construction, and Plants Coven. Each of them specialises in one form of magic to prevent mixing magic that brought so much death and destruction. In school, you’ll pick a track to learn that specific magic and once you graduate you will join one of the Covens.”
“Jeez, that Save Ages sounds like they were rough times.” Luzura mutters thinking how bad it must have been before realising something, “But wait these Covens…isn’t there something called the Emperor’s Coven?”
“I’m surprised you actually know of them given your lack of knowledge.” Amity says before suddenly looking with a prideful smile, “They’re the greatest magic wielders in the whole Boiling Isles. They’re the only ones skilled enough and trusted with the responsibility to wield all types of magic. I happen to be under the tutelage of the Coven Head herself and with luck I’ll be joining them upon graduation.”
“...” Luzura resists letting her jaw drop in surprise. Obviously, she knows the cruelties of the Emperor’s Coven and she doubts the civilians of the Boiling Isles actually know how deep their corruption went. And she doubts this girl will believe her very serious accusations at the Emperor’s Coven without physical proof.
“Really?” Luzura asks, trying to sound casual and curious, “Why do you want to join them?”
“Do you really have to ask that?” Amity scoffs, “They’re the strongest witches in the Isles, joining them just means that you’re part of the elite of the elite. The best of the best. If you’re selected to become one of them you have enough opportunities to be set for life.”
Luzura stays silent as she listens to Amity’s little speech. There was undeniably passion in those words but something was missing, there was pride but little excitement. And the way she went on about the opportunities felt like she was repeating something rather than coming from the heart.
“So you just want to become strong?” Luzura asks, “What happens when you finally join the Emperor’s Coven?”
“Well…the next step would be to become Coven Head of the Emperor’s Coven,” Amity says after a pause, almost like she was caught off-guard by the question.
“So become the big boss? What’ll you do with all that power then? Make some changes to the Coven? What’s next for Coven Head Amity Blight?” Being head of a lawn enforcement organisation obviously meant a lot of power, she’d know with what knowledge of the Plumbers she has. Being the leader of the Plumbers for example gets you a seat in the Galactic senate with plenty of political pull to move planets, so she was pretty sure the same was for Coven Heads, only at a smaller scale, “I’ve heard plenty of bad stuff of the Emperor’s Coven, like how they would imprison people indefinitely for stuff like writing fanfics, eating their own eyes, or spouting conspiracy theories. That’s not an organisation I’d want to join if they view stuff like that as worthy of a life sentence..”
“...There is plenty of criticism towards the Emperor’s Coven for its strict adherence to law and some unnecessary brutality, that much I will admit” she agreed after an uncomfortable pause, “Perhaps that’s what I’ll do. Perhaps clean up the Emperor’s Coven of those that abuse their power.”
“...Do you want to?” Luzura asks, sensing her hesitation, “I mean, that’s a good goal but it sounds like you’re just thinking about why you need to join the Emperor’s Coven. What about what you want to do?”
“Like I said, I want to join the Emperor’s Coven that’s all.” Amity insists before turning the question back on Luzura, “What about you? What do you want to be? Or are you content with living in the forests like a wild witch without going to school? What about your future?”
She expected Luzura to stumble for an answer but instead, she instantly answered.
“I just want to help people.” she responds seriously, “Travelling from place to place, learning about new cultures, making friends along the way? That’s something I can get behind with.”
“Just like Azura?” Amity asks in recognition.
“Well, I mean that is partially why.” Luzura chuckles to herself, “Next to my parents, Azura’s one of my biggest inspirations ever. Growing up all I ever wanted is to be like them, helping people for the sake of it.”
Amity pauses as she looks at Luzura, and to her surprise she feels that the witch in front of her was being genuine when she says that.
“It sounds childish honestly.” She says disapprovingly, “The real world isn’t like the books, besides it’s not like you can earn a living like that.”
“I know that.” she says with a bitter smile surprising Amity, “I might not be from here but I’ve been out there. My family’s done its fair share of travelling since I was young and believe me when I say I’ve seen how bad people can be. And as for earning a living? You’re probably right, but it's what I want to do. If you’re happy doing what you want, does anything else matter?”
“...We’ll agree to disagree, Luz Noceda.” Amity says after a pause as if she was contemplating her words, as she hands her the books she requested, “As requested, books on basilisk behaviour patterns.”
“Thanks so much!” Luzura cheers as she gratefully accepts the books, smiling at the aquamarine-haired girl, “These are just the books Hope and I needed.”
“Hope?” Amity asks looking at Luzura confused who realised what she just said.
“Oh, right. Hope’s a friend of mine, she actually came to the library with me to help look for the books.” she explains, “Hey you might actually get along with each other, I can-”
Suddenly a scream interrupts them as the two looked to see a flash of magenta light and some angry screaming coming from a couple shelves away.
“What the Titan is that?!” Amity asks in surprise and anger that someone would carelessly cast spells in the library as Luzura pales in recognition of those particular lights.
They both immediately rush to the area where the two find Hope, covered in something reminiscent of spit, engaged in a battle against what appears to be a sentient filing cabinet.
“Do you know who I am, creature?! You dare refuse to grant me the information I seek? You dare try to consume me like lunch?!” she bellows with magical energy swirling around her hands, “I am the daughter of Spellbinder, a master magician and heir apparent of Ledgerdomain, and I-”
“SHHH!” the patrons in the area reprimands and Hope just looks at them in confusion and shock before the sentient cabinet chucks a drawer full of files at her head that she barely deflects in time. The sentient filing cabinet makes a sort of wet gurgling chuckle like it was mocking her, causing Hope’s eyes to flare magenta in anger.
“You…!” she growls before Amity steps in. Before either could react she scratches the side of the sentient filing cabinet like one would do for a cat, and suddenly the creature seems to fall instantly asleep from the action. Once this was done both Luzura and Hope look at the creature in confusion, as Amity sighs in relief before turning to Hope.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She whispers angrily, “You’re destroying library property!”
“Destroying-? This thing attacked me while I was trying to pry it open and get the information within it!” Hope argues only for the patrons nearby to shush her again to her annoyance, “What kind of thing is that?!”
“Hope, calm down. Remember anger management classes!” Luzura quickly placed a calming hand on Hope’s shoulders to hold her back, “Tell us what happened.”
“Like I said, I was looking for information and I thought since this was a library surely it would have something similar to the system used by the ones we are familiar with. But clearly this ‘Demon Decimal System’ works differently than it did back home.” she grumbles pointing at the Demon Decimal Cabinet, “That thing is a hazard, why would something like that be out here?!”
“It sounds like you haven’t visited any libraries before.” Amity snorts before turning to Luzura, “Is this the friend you were talking about?”
“Yeah, she is.” Luzura got between the two as they glared at each other, “Hope, meet Amity Blight.”
“Charmed.” Hope says drily, “And for your information, Amity Blight, I’ve visited plenty of libraries. Grander ones might I add, with tomes that would befuddle minds like yours and ones that certainly don’t have sentient creatures for shelves!”
“Deep breaths, Hope!” Luz reminds before looking at Amity apologetically, “I’m very sorry, you just caught her in a bad mood, maybe it was something she ate.”
“More like it was something that tried to eat me!” she glares at the sleeping Demon Decimal Cabinet.
“If you are having problems opening a simple cabinet, perhaps you can request the help of the staff next time Miss ‘Master Magician’.” Amity scoffs which serves to infuriate Hope even more.
“You little-!” Luzura immediately covers Hope’s mouth before she can say something that will get the two of them kicked out.
“Let’s all calm down, Hope.” Luzura chuckles nervously, “Amity’s been a big help, she’s helped us find some books to help us with that project of ours.”
“What?” Hope looks at her shocked, “So you’re saying I almost got eaten by that thing for nothing?”
“Well, I’m sure you learnt a valuable lesson about treating public property with respect.” Amity snarks.
Hope simply growls back at her wanting to say something equally sarcastic but reigns herself in, crossing her arms and looking to Luz, “Well if you have what we need I suppose it’s time for us to be off. We don’t want to be late do we?”
Hope taps below her neck inconspicuously before Luzura realised she was gesturing to her Omnitrix emblem, and she remembers they only had an hour of transformation time. Most of which was spent on the ride to Bonesborough, trying to find the library with Eda’s vague directions and after losing track of time talking with Amity Luz no longer remembers how many more minutes she has left. It was best to get out while they still can. She didn’t want to transform back in the middle of the city.
“Right, almost forgot about that.” she nods before turning back to Amity, “Sorry, but I forgot we really have to get going by now. It was nice meeting you, Amity.”
“Meeting you has been…an experience, Noceda.” Amity says neutrally so she wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but she smiles instead and takes it as the former.
“You work in the library, right? Maybe next time I can bring my copy of the fifth book and lend it to you?” she suggests taking Amity by surprise as she raises a brow in suspicion.
“Why on Titan would you do that?”
“You’re practically the only other person my age I know that even read the books, let alone a fan of it, and something tells me you don’t have a copy of the fifth book if you’re asking that question.” Luzura says smugly as Amity looks away embarrassed at how easily she found out, “Besides, I’d like to get to know you more.”
Amity’s face suddenly had a red tinge and for a moment Luzura was worried she may have said something wrong before Amity gave her reply.
“That…won’t be a terrible idea.” she says, “I’m almost finished with the fourth book anyways.”
“Great, maybe we can-” Luzura was interrupted when Hope coughs louder and taps her wrist like there was a watch there, “Right, right, gotta go now. See you!”
Luzura waves as Hope drags her out by the arm and Amity awkwardly waved back. Part of her was content to put this day behind her like she normally would have done, but a part of her actually felt like she was looking forward to seeing her again. The girl was strange no doubt, but she was nice. Weird in a good way, she supposes.
***
“Wait a minute, so while I was fighting a magic cannibalistic squid, and Hope almost got eaten by a filing cabinet,” Kevin says incredulously as he wiped the slime from him with a towel, “You were busy flirting?”
“Just because I was having a friendly conversation with someone else doesn’t mean it’s flirting.” Luz replies looking green before gagging and emptying her stomach into a nearby bucket, “Ugh, now I remember why I don’t use Lifeform Lock. Why would Azmuth make that a thing?”
“And yet you were open to meeting up again sometime in the future.” Hope reminds as she flips through the books they had retrieved from the library, “I don’t get what you see in that girl, she’s rude and has an ego.”
“Reminds me of a certain someone.” Kevin mutters before Hope set off a spark of flames on his sneakers in retaliation, “Hey! I’m just being honest!”
“Yeah I get she can be a bit rude, she even called me a wild witch whatever that meant.” Luz agreed, “But I don’t think she’s that bad! From what I saw she’s pretty friendly with kids and reads to them!”
“She works there, she’s paid to do that.” Hope points out, “And might I remind you she wishes to join the Emperor’s Coven? The same coven that experiments, tortures and dishes out indefinite prison sentences without trial like hotcakes going out of business?”
“Hey, I doubt pay in a library’s good enough to justify spending hours reading kiddie books to a bunch of brats. It’s probably genuine” Kevin suggests and raises a brow as the two look at him in surprise, “What? I’m just saying, if she’s nice go for it. Plus she likes those same books as you, when was the last time you found someone your age that liked them?”
“Besides it’s not like she knows about what the Emperor’s Coven does to those basilisks.” Luz argues as she ignores Kevin, “How would you react when I tell you our government is secretly bringing back dinosaurs to life and experimenting on them?”
“I’d say ‘Wow, Dr Animo got hired by the government? Took them long enough.’.” Kevin chuckles at his own joke, “But yeah, I’d laugh at your face as well.”
“Exactly.” Luz sighs, “Maybe one day the truth will come out and they change things up in this Emperor’s Coven. I hope it changes before she joins, she seems nice and I’d hate for her to join a government that experiments on innocents.”
“Speaking of which.” Hope glances at Kevin, “What information did you get from Eda’s sources?”
“Not much honestly.” Kevin shrugs, “I heard rumours of witches getting attacked and knocked unconscious before waking up elsewhere feeling exhausted. Most of them don’t take place in Bonesborough, which is obvious, if I broke out of jail I’d stay far away from the guy who locked me up. But I also hit the jackpot when I found this weird wizard who offered to sell me a map that leads to what I was looking for and even called me a chosen one.”
Hope bursts out laughing, “And you believed him?”
Kevin chuckles, “Of course not. I know a con when I see it, so I beat him up and got him to spill what he knows. He knew nothing about the basilisk but this squid wizard thing had ears in the right places. Said something about how there’s a deployment of scouts to the Titan’s stomach.”
“The stomach?” Hope asks.
“Yeah I know.” Kevin gags in disgust, “Can you imagine what it must smell like?”
“According to these books, the Titan’s stomach region is home to dangerous swamps that could melt a witch if they set foot in the acid lakes.” Hope reads out loud as an already sick Luz gags even more, “Some of the most dangerous demons are said to live there, bloodsucking faeries that can fit in your palm, multi-headed snakes that nest in mangroves, maggots and slugs the size of child witches, and basilisk in the ancient times. Stories tell that they would strike out from the swamps to prey on witches that live in nearby towns to drain their magic, or failing that, consume the magical essence of lesser demons to satisfy their hunger.”
“...This place really is hell.” Kevin mutters before sighing, “I’ll see if we pack any environmental suits.”
“That’s great.” Luz says drowsily as she stumbles to her feet, “Alright, team! Let's get a move-”
She puts a hand to her mouth as the sudden motion has her suddenly feel dizzy and bile rise up her throat again, rushing to the nearest open container to expel her lunch to Kevin’s horror.
“Wait, no! Not the tech, not the tech!”
***
“I can still smell your lunch in this thing." Kevin complains as he trudges through the acidic swamp in a Level 10 Advanced Environmental Hazard Gear. It was a relatively thin suit of nanomachines that was designed for the most hazardous environments including direct exposure to Corrodium ore. So compared to that, a trek through an acidic swarm was a relative breeze if it didn’t stink from the inside.
“I’m sorry.” Luz weakly apologises as she trudges alongside him in a similar suit except it didn’t completely cover the Omnitrix.
“You know we don’t need those suits.” Hope says smugly as she levitates next to them on a platform of mana with a magenta aura surrounding her, “From where I’m standing, its smells of fresh grass. It just needs a simple spell.”
Kevin scoffs, “Right. Let you cast a spell on me. Remind me how that went last time?”
Hope’s smug smirk turns to a frown as Kevin marches forward.
Luz sighs at this, “Come on Kevin, we fought the Highbreeds and DNAliens together, cut her some slack will ya?”
“What’s his problem?” Eda asks as she hovers next to Hope on her staff.
“Kevin doesn’t trust magic.” Hope explains, “Or at least not my magic. You should’ve seen that time I used a spell to stop him from drowning, he thought I was trying to kill him. Again.”
“...Yeah it’s got me curious but why did you try to kill those two?” Eda asks, glancing at Kevin marching ahead at a faster pace as Luz tries to talk with him.
Hope lets out a heavy sigh, “Because I was a fool, Eda the Owl Lady. A selfish, stupid, fool.”
She tells the Owl Lady her entire story. From her time in the Ledgerdomain, to seeing it fall to Addwaitya, to seeing her father’s death, her conflict with both Luz and Kevin and how she manipulated them to their deaths to bring back her father.
“...Wow.” Eda says after a pause to register, “You really tried killing that many people?”
“I make no excuses for what I have tried to do.” Hope says, “But at the moment when I first discovered the spell…Sixty-thousand strangers for my father? It was a ridiculously cheap price. Or at least that was what I thought at the time.”
“But hey, it worked out in the end.” Eda says trying to find the silver lining, “Those two and everyone else are still alive. Let bygones be bygones I say. Do you know how many customers I’d lose if I cut them off after an attempted murder or two? I won't have enough to pay the bills.”
“Were it so easy.” Hope mutters wistfully as suddenly they heard Luz waving from ahead of them.
“Hey! I think we’re close!”
“Well, would you look at that, we better catch up.” Eda notes and starts flying at a faster pace.
“Yes, we should.” Hope says, shaking her head to clear her mind, “Let’s-?”
She pauses as she sensed something in the air. Eda notices her pausing and looks at the human magician confused,
“Hey, everything alright?” she asks concerned as Hope’s eyes widen in realisation at what she was sensing.
“Oh no…”
***
“You see that?” Luz whispers to Kevin as the charm Hope had given them tugged forward, “We’re close.”
“And no sign of those Coven scouts yet?” Kevin mutters, “Either they’re lost or it takes a heck of a long time to mobilise them.”
They both hide behind the roots of a mangrove-like tree as they peered over to find a reptilian creature hunched over the unconscious body of some local demon, inhaling and sucking out some sort of blue energy.
“Is that them?” Luz mutters as she glances at the charm, “It’s pointing us at them.”
“Right, good luck then.” Kevin says as he gives her a light shove forward.
“Me?!” Luz whispers and Kevin shrugged.
“Hey, you’re the one they’re giving medals to for stopping wars.” he reminds and Luz grumbles before slowly stepping out from behind cover with her arms raised.
“Er, hi?” she speaks loudly causing the basilisk to turn around startled, “I come in peace.”
However, the basilisk hisses at her and inhales deeply, causing Luz to brace herself in anticipation…only for nothing to happen.
“Huh?” she looks at the confused and frightened basilisk who backs up in fear.
“That’s impossible, if you had any magic I’d…you’re not a witch are you?” the basilisk hisses.
“Nope, I’m a human.” Luz assures as she takes a single step closer, “You’ve heard of humans before right? You can relax, I’m here to help.”
“Help?” they glare at her suspiciously, “Why would you help? What are you really here for?!”
It demands looking increasingly aggravated as Luz hastily tries to diffuse the situation, “Wait, I’ve met one of you, her name’s Vee! You know, Number Five?”
“Five?” this gets a reaction from the basilisk who now instead of aggravated looks suspicious, “How do you know her. Did you capture her?!”
“No, no!” Luz quickly assures, “She’s safe! She came to the Human Realm, she’s living with my mother right now.”
“...What?” the basilisk asks confused.
“My name is Luz Noceda.” she slowly introduces herself, “I work for a group called the Plumbers, we help people like you and Vee.”
“You help basilisks?” they ask doubtfully.
“Not just basilisk, we help any sentient lifeforms we can.” she explains, “Vee told us how much you all went through, how much danger you all are from the Emperor’s Coven. We can help you, they’ll never find a way to the Human Realm so it’s the safest place you can possibly be.”
The basilisk looks to be debating with themselves, thinking on her offer and her eyes scanning the area in case they needed to flee. Luz was going to wait for as long as the basilisk needed when suddenly she hears Hope calling her from behind,
“Luz!” she turns to see Hope running to her on floating mana platforms with Eda flying alongside her, “Get out of there now!”
“Who is that?!” the basilisk demands almost in a panic as Luz quickly assures them.
“It’s just a friend!” Luz tells them before turning to face Hope, “I’m talking to them there’s no need to-?”
“It’s a trap!” Hope shouts as she casts a spell, “Revelate Ostendo!”
Her voice reverberates as a wave of mana washes over all of them. Kevin blinks rapidly to clear his eyes before glancing up at the roots he was hiding behind and seeing an equally surprised Coven Scout with a spear pointed at his face.
“Wha-?” the Coven Scout looks confused at the loss of his invisibility as Kevin takes advantage, grabbing the spear and smacking him across the face with the shaft, knocking him unconscious.
All around them, Coven Scouts start appearing on the treetops each similarly confused and surprised by their invisibility loss. The basilisk seeing this panics at the sight,
“You’re working with them!” they cry out fearful, “I knew it! I knew it!”
“Wait, no I can ex-!” Luz cries out only for the basilisk to slither away as fast as she can in the opposite direction. But before she could do anything, something crashes into the acid lake, stopping them as they freeze in terror at the sight.
A figure in a white cloak, somehow staying clean despite the earlier entrance, wearing a gold mask with a strange mechanical staff stood in their way.
“Human, Owl Lady, basilisk.” he greets politely with a tip of his hood, “What’s about to happen should be relatively painless…If you do what we say of course.”
Chapter Text
“Human, Owl Lady, basilisk.” he greets politely with a tip of his hood, “What’s about to happen should be relatively painless…If you do what we say of course.”
Luz, her allies and the basilisk tense eyeing the scouts in the trees above them and at the gold figure in front of them.
“There doesn’t have to be any violence,” Luz says calmly.
“Oh on that we disagree.” the gold mask figure chuckles, “You have things that the Emperor needs and I doubt you’ll give them up. How about you hand over the basilisk and we’ll give you say…a five-minute head start before I hunt you down?”
“Not going to happen. This basilisk is under Plumber protection.” Luz defaults to using the organisation’s name forgetting their authority and respect doesn’t extend this far.
“Plumbers? Hah!” the figure bursts out laughing, “What’re you gonna do? Fix our toilets?”
The scouts above on the trees laugh at what she assumes was their leader.
“Keep laughing, see what happens to everyone who said that joke.” Kevin warned as he glanced around trying to find material to absorb for armour.
“Here’s what is going to happen.” The gold mask figure says, “You want to end this without violence? Fine by me, just hand over the basilisk and the weapon of yours, and I’ll be happy to tell the Emperor that you all just happened to get away before I could capture you.”
“Weapon?” Luz asks in confusion before realising what he must be meaning, glancing at her Omnitrix still red indicating it's on cooldown mode.
“You’ll have better luck trying that when you are cold carcases.” Hope threatens as she readies a spell, “But rendering us as such would be borderline impossible for troops of your quality.”
“A human with magic?” the golden mask figure mutters as he notices her ears before shrugging, “I’d like to ask how that’s possible but we’re wasting enough of the Emperor’s time. I’m the Golden Guard, second-in-command of the Emperor’s Coven and I didn’t get that spot for no reason. I’ve personally arrested and dealt with dozens of wild witches and demons. Above me are a whole platoon, fifty of the best witches in the Coven that I personally handpicked for their skills and magical capabilities.”
“Elite of the Emperor’s Coven? That isn’t saying much.” Eda taunts, “I’ve beat your grunts time and time again, so why don’t you save us all some time and go home?”
“That’s entirely up to you.” the Golden Guard tells the basilisk, “Don’t make this harder than it has to be Number 2. Come home, we left your cell exactly as you left it.”
This causes the basilisk to tense up, shuddering as their hand reaches for a brand of the Roman numeral II on their shoulder, before roaring defiantly.
“I’m not going back!!” They scream before suddenly their shape morphs into a smaller frog-like demon, leaping away in great bounds in a zigzag pattern to throw off the aim of the surprised scouts as they fire crossbows bolts at her.
“Welp, can’t say I didn’t try.” the Golden Guard shrugs and points his staff at the tiny creature only to instead use it to block a magic blast from Hope instead, “Hard way it is. Open fire!”
The scouts waiting above unleash a hail of magic bolts as Eda quickly draws a circle with her staff, creating an orange energy shield encompassing the area above and protecting them.
“You won’t touch them under our watch.” Hope declares as she casts another spell, creating tendrils of mana that lash out wildly at the Golden Guard in an effort to grasp him. However, he deflects them with a spin of his mechanical staff before a red aura encompasses him and he vanishes in a blur.
“Wha-?” Hope could only blink in surprise before she hears shouting from Luz and turns behind in time to create a shield to block the strike of the Golden Guard.
“Nice moves human, but I’ve been training ever since I could hold a staff.” he taunts before Hope retaliates with a magical shockwave that he barely dodges in time.
“Since you could hold a staff?” Hope snorts dismissively, “My father taught me my first spell the moment I could coherently utter words. My bloodline is composed of the greatest magicians in my realm.”
“Really? From how weak you are, they're probably disappointed in you.” the Golden Guard taunts, “Ooh, what’s with that glare? Struck a nerve did I?”
Hope roars in anger as she slashes her hand at him, creating a magical blade that tore through entire mangroves as he dodged with insulting ease.
“Luz! You get the basilisk, I’ll handle this upstart!” Hope roars as she duels the Golden Guard.
“I’m not going to leave you guys!” Luz argues as she sees the Coven Scouts begin climbing down the trees to get around Eda’s shield.
“We’ll be fine! Someone needs to get them before they either get away or the Coven gets them first!” Kevin shouts back as one of the scouts tries stabbing at him with his spear. He catches the spear as it tears through the thin environmental suit allowing his hands to make contact and absorb the spear’s steel, before dishing out a left hook with a steel fist.
“If you think we’ll have trouble against these guys, don’t.” Eda assures as she keeps the shield up despite the strain, “I’ve been doing this sorta thing ever since I was your age.”
Luz glances back at the basilisk that was almost disappearing from her sight before charging after them, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Sending her off alone? Not something I would’ve done.” he criticised as he continued dodging Hope’s magic, “Are you even trying to hit me?”
“If you hold still I will.” Hope growls as she reaches for her bag and throws a cluster of charms at the Golden Guard, detonating in magenta explosions.
The Golden Guard dodged that in time with another scoff but then realises her plan as smoke expands and covers his vision. A twirl of his staff enhanced with magic clears it just in time to be blasted point blank, sending him hurtling down into the acid lakes which would have burnt him if it wasn’t for magical protection.
“Heh, you’re smart I’ll give you that.” he compliments as he wipes some of the acid sludge off his mask, “Slow but your magic’s probably as strong as our Coven Head. Ever thought about switching careers? The Emperor’s Coven could use a witch like you, even if you’re a human.”
“I’d sooner eat my own spellbook.” she scowls as she snaps her fingers, surprising him when he sees a purple glow under the swamp and realises they were more charms she had dropped during the smokescreen. Arms made of rock with purple veins reach out and grab him.
“...Alright, I admit. You’re pretty good.” he admits as the rock arms hold him tightly, causing him to drop his staff, “Never seen magic like this before.”
“And unless you call off your men, you never will ever again.” She threatens as she tightens her grip, “Now!”
“I’m afraid I must decline.” The Golden Guard says confidently despite his predicament, “Much as I’d love to finish wiping the floor with you, I have a job to do.”
He twists his hand with a gauntlet, attached to his back with a cable, and Hope’s eyes widen at the familiar symbol on the back of his palm. Using his other hand, the Golden Guard quickly presses a button to prime it, twist and slam it.
A flash of red blinds Hope and she could barely react when instead a squid-like creature slides out of the grips of her rock bindings with laughable ease, grabbing his fallen staff. Eda sees this and spares one of her hands to cast a spell, sending multiple homing projectiles to strike at the squid creature but it instead dives into the swamp to avoid them, swimming through it with such speeds that the only thing that could indicate its presence was a red glow speeding underneath the murky acid before it appears outside of Eda’s overhead shield.
The creature was yellow with orange blemishes across its skin, roughly taller than the Golden Guard had been, standing on six thin tentacles with two larger ones for arms that had suction cups on their end. A metallic chest piece was worn on his chest looking a similar design to the gauntlet the Golden Guard wore with a red hourglass symbol on the chest piece.
“Boys, take care of this, I want them in cuffs by the time I’m back.” it orders in a gurgly voice as five Coven Scouts leap down from the treetops.
“You…you coward!” Hope shouts at him, “What kind of magic wielder worth their salt runs from a duel?”
“One whose salt is worth more than you.” the Golden Guard says mockingly as the five Scouts created a joint spell to manifest a gigantic Abomination made from the swamp, “It’s been fun, human but I got a job to do. Byeeeee!”
With that, the colour of its skin changes to blend itself with the environment as it all but vanishes from sight. Hope can only scowl in anger before readying a spell to fight that giant, murky abomination the scouts summoned. She can only hope that Luz can take care of another Omnitrix wielder without help.
***
“Please! Wait!” Luz pleads as she tries running through the acid muck that made up the swamp. At this point the basilisk transforms into a fairy-type demon for added mobility, zipping through the air and forcing Luz to trudge faster to keep up, “Just listen!”
“No! I won’t let you take me back!” the basilisk-fairy screeches at her before zipping straight into a cave, and with little choice Luz follows her into it. It was dark and dimly lit forcing her to activate the flashlight mounted on the hazard suit’s chest to give her a little bit of light and guide her. The charm Hope had given her was still tugging forward so she followed it.
“You have to believe me, I’m not one of them!” she shouts into the darkness as she travels deeper into the cave, leading downwards, “I know you don’t trust me…”
“You think?!” the voice echoes around the cave system, full of twists and turns like a maze as Luz struggles to follow the direction the charm was pulling her at.
“But I really am on your side.” she continues, “Think about it! My friend didn’t have to reveal that trap if we were working for the Coven. She didn’t have to save you from the Golden Guard! I would’ve stopped acting and just focused on capturing you instead of convincing you if I was part of the Coven.”
The basilisk audibly hesitates before snarling, “You just want to use me! To find the other basilisk and trick them! I won’t fall for your lies!”
The charm suddenly tugs behind her rapidly and Luz barely turns around in time to see the basilisk in its true form lunge at her, mouth open to chomp on her. Luz raises her arm with the Omnitrix in time, using it as a sort of improvised shield as the basilisk, Number Two, chews on it as they try slashing her with their claws.
The slashing tore at her environmental suit, having been designed solely against exposure and vacuum and not direct physical attacks. Luz winces in pain as the basilisk drew blood,
“We…just…want…to…help you!” Luz screams as she holds back the crazed basilisk before kicking them off to avoid further injury.
“I’m doing fine on my own!” the basilisk screams at her as it recovers from her kick, “You just want to experiment on me like the Coven did!”
“Vee is worried about you!” Luz shouts, shocking the basilisk out of their rage, “Number Five, she was worried about you. When I told her about how I broke into the Conformatorium the first thing she asked was if I saw any basilisk captured. She’s in the Human Realm waiting for you, safe and sound.”
Number Two pauses, the rage fading from her eyes but caution still remaining, “...If what you say is true…What do you want then? Why would you bother with all this? What do you want with us?”
“A lot of reasons.” Luz replied honestly as she puts a hand over her bleeding scratches, they weren’t deep but still stung, “Because I heard what you went through and want to help. Because Vee wants to see all of you safe. Because it’s just the right thing to do. I have the power to help you all, and I’d never forgive myself if I don’t at least try.”
She offers a hand towards the basilisk who looks at her hesitantly.
“If we can get to Eda she can use her portal right away to bring you to the Human Realm.” Luz continues, “You won’t have to keep looking over your shoulder for the Emperor’s Coven, they won’t touch you there.”
Number Two stares at her before at her offered hand and slowly reaches forward to Luz’s pleasant surprise. But before they could make contact, a red electric bolt struck Number Two in the back, making her scream as Luz dashed forward to catch her before she fell.
“Two? TWO!” she shouts in worry and fear as she holds the basilisk in her arm trying to figure out how she could take a pulse from a basilisk before a voice interrupts her.
“Oh relax, human.” the Golden Guard says as he steps forward with staff in hand, “They’re just stunned. It wouldn’t have worked if they saw me coming, they’d just suck the spell. Thanks for distracting them.”
Luz turns and glares at the Golden Guard through the environmental suit’s visor, “Leave her alone. What do you even want with them?! The basilisks were extinct but you all brought them back somehow to experiment on. Why?!”
“Why? For this of course.” the Golden Guard shows his gauntlet and Luz’s eyes widen in horror at the sight of a familiar symbol on the back of his palm, “Familiar isn’t it?”
“You…you have an Omnitrix?” Luz asks in shock.
The Golden Guard shrugs, “Emperor Belos calls it the ‘Demonitrix’, it allows me to transform into most demonic species across the Demon Realm. It is created using the biological material of a basilisk. Their blood’s a key component to getting this thing to work.”
As he says that an empty glass vial is ejected from the gauntlet’s forearm and the Golden Guard casually inserts a fresh vial full of blood-red liquid into his ‘Demonitrix’. Luz glares at him,
“Where did you get that?” She asks as she slowly sets Number Two’s body down, “There’s no way…did Albedo give it to you?”
She demands as the Golden Guard tilts his head and rubs his chin confused, “No idea who that is. All I know is that the Emperor’s been working on this weapon for a long time before some crusty octopus helped finish it up.”
“Octopus?” Luz mutters confused before putting herself in front of Number Two’s unconscious body. As much as she’d like to transform, the Omnitrix was still recharging from Life Form Lock. But she knows that it was almost an hour since then so she just has to buy a bit more time for it to fully recharge.
The Golden Guard shrugs, “None of your business. Now, my job is to retrieve basilisks and it sounds like you know where another one is. In the Human Realm was it?”
“So? You want me to just give Vee to you?” she scoffs, “If you want to get to any of them you’re going to have to go through me.”
“That can be arranged.” The Golden Guard smirks under his mask before priming his Demonitrix and slamming it, blinding Luz with a bright flash of red before she feels something sticky slam into her left hand, launching her backwards and pinning her into the cavern’s wall.
A creature that resembles Wildmutt, but slightly larger with thicker forelegs, white fur and small red eyes growls as it slowly approaches her, a chest piece strapped to its chest with the red emblem of the Demonitrix and the Golden Guard’s staff grasped between its teeth.
“This is the human he was scared about?” a synthetic voice asks coming from the chest piece, “I knew he was pathetic but this just goes beyond my expectations.”
“Why do you want the Omnitrix that bad?” Luz asks quickly as she tries to pry the sticky goo that was wrapping over her Omnitrix and pinning her to the wall, “You already have one of your own!”
“It’s just a pale imitation according to the Emperor and its creator.” the synthetic voice scoffs, “Apparently the real deal that you’re wearing has even more features, including the ability to heal someone.”
“Heal?” Luz mutters confused as she racks her mind thinking about what he could be talking about, “You mean the DNA restoration function?”
“Whatever it’s called, I bet it can help my uncle.” despite being synthetic, Luz could almost feel the voice become more serious, “But despite that, for some Titan-damned reason, he still refuses to even put out an order for your arrest, let alone put your face on a wanted poster! It’s just…mind-boggling.”
“What?” Luz mutters upon hearing the last part, equally as confused as the Golden Guard.
The creature lets out a sigh, “Eh, who cares. I’ll find out why after I deliver the Omnitrix to him. Don’t move too much, I don’t want to kill you by accident. I’ll close your wounds after I get your hand off so you don’t bleed out, don’t worry.”
Luz tears at the thick goo covering her arm in a panic just as the Golden Guard’s beast transformation raises his sharp claws ready to cut her hand off like promised before the Omnitrix glows purple indicating it’s back to its full charge.
Before the claw could touch her, Luz primes and smashes it through the goop without caring what alien she was transforming to because any on her playlist was better than nothing. The Golden Guard was blinded by purple light as his claw fell and cuts through something, but before he could feel satisfaction in completing his mission, a large fist slammed right into his face, launching him backwards.
He blinks quickly to recover his vision and finds instead of a human girl there was now a tall humanoid creature that appears to be made of purple tendrils with a white cloak and hood wrapped around her, as well as boots. Her face was an entire mouth with large canines and no visible eyes.
Luz looks to herself in surprise and then at her missing hand, surprisingly feeling only a little pain as it starts regenerating with purple tendrils wrapping together to form a brand new fist.
“This is new,” she mutters in a deep and gravelly but audibly female voice. She looks with surprise as she flexes her newly constructed fingers composed of tendrils before mimicking the motion of cracking her knuckles despite lacking them, “But I can get used to this as I kick your ass.”
“You can turn into one of Wrath’s kind?” the Golden Guard growls at her like a beast as he picks up his staff with his teeth, “So can I. Had to beat him hand to hand without my staff to get a sample from him. But can you use it?”
“Let’s find out!” she roars as she leaps at the Golden Guard whose staff glows red and suddenly vanishes in a blur just as she was about to land a punch, “Wha-?”
She roars in pain as she feels something slash at her back and spins to deliver an uppercut only to barely see a red blur before the same happens again. The savagery of the attacks reminded her of her own whenever she transformed into Wildmutt.
“Too slow.” the Golden Guard slashes at her back, avoiding a heavy kick from Luz as he blasts her with a magical bolt from the staff between his teeth, “You mustn’t have much practice with this one yet, human.”
“No, I don’t.” she growls back as she gets back up before charging again and delivering a downward strike only for the Golden Guard to once again appear behind her. But before he could attack, tendrils break through the ground beneath him and wrap him up, as well as snatching the staff from his jaws.
“But I’ve got plenty with Wildvine and Swampfire.” she smirks as she holds the Golden Guard in place. She had used her missed attack to hide what her next attack was, and thanks to the Golden Guard’s overconfidence it worked.
“And don’t call me human when I’m like this,” she says quickly thinking up a name for this new transformation of hers. She recalls Wrath had firing breathing and the tendrils were a lot like tentacles…
“Call me… Tentadrake!” she declares confidently as the fire builds up within her jaws and exhales a ball of flames directly at the Golden Guard. There was an explosion that covers the entire area with smoke. Tentadrake had aimed for the fireball to incapacitate with explosive force, rather than kill so she wasn’t worried about the Golden Guard’s safety, especially with how thick its hide and fur looked, along with that metal chest plate. She’d had enough practice with Swampfire and Heatblast to manipulate flames to ensure that.
As expected, the fireball didn’t do much as she sees a flash of red through the smoke and then a rocky yellow fist punches through the smoke at her face. She barely raises her fists in time to block the blow, but a shockwave from the blow sent her skidding backwards.
“You name your transformations? Adorable.” a deep and gravelly voice that sounded like rocks grinding against each other taunts her. From the smoke steps out a humanoid creature about the height of Tentadrake’s shoulders, made up of yellow rocks with the Demonitrix symbol strapped to its chest with metallic cables wrapping around its chest. In his free hand, the Golden Guard’s rock transformation spins his staff playfully.
“What, you don’t?” Tentadrake asks, trying to sound carefree as she rubs her arms. The shockwave from the blow she blocked was still reverberating through her arms and that worries her, “I find it strikes fear in the hearts of my enemies.”
“Wow, you have me shaking in my boots.” he says, quivering mockingly. However, Tentadrake realises something is off as the Golden Guard’s body starts vibrating before stabbing his staff into the earth in front of him, “Or maybe it’s just you!”
His transformation generates a shockwave through his arm, channelling it into his staff and focusing it directly into Tentadrake, desperately blocking by turning her tendril arms into a solid shield in front of her.
The vibrations travel through the tendrils making up her shield, up her arms and weakening their grip on each other, loosening until the shield became a crumpled mess of tendrils shaking on the floor. Before she had time, the Golden Guard zips forward in a red blur, turning his entire body into a projectile as it slams into Tentadrake at high speeds, launching her backwards.
“This is the warrior that I was supposed to be scared of?” he mocks as he approaches, a red aura covering his staff as roots sprout from above them, wrapping all over Tentadrake. She tried to break out but the vibrations that hit her arms were weakening the tendril’s ability to bind together properly.
She tries to use her fire breath to force him to drop whatever magic he was using to defend himself but instead, the Golden Guard just stood there, bathing in the fire as he smirks.
“Please, this type of rock demon’s found near Mount Right Eye, that’s the hottest volcano on the isles. Just getting close can be hot enough to burn your skin off, and these things settle as close as possible to drink lava for breakfast.” he brags as he steps forward with an arm outstretch to grab the Omnitrix emblem on her chest, “I’ll be taking that.”
His fingers graze the Omnitrix emblem but then he was instantly warry when Tentadrake gives him a smile, wondering what could the human be possibly smiling at when suddenly a purple flash blinds him.
“You really shouldn’t be touching things you don’t understand.” a high-pitched voice cackles as his vision recovers and his eyes widen to see a small creature that would barely go up to his knee in his original form, it slipped out of its constraints and was crackling with purple electricity with a barrel-shaped head and glowing eyes. “Wipe that shocked look off your face…You know, on second thought I’ll do it for you!”
It zips behind Golden Guard who spins and raises his staff to block a blast of electricity from Buzzshock who continues cackling.
“I think this is your most annoying voice out of all your transformations so far.” The Golden Guard scowls as he swings his staff, still crackling with the electric energy and enhanced with vibrations, A solid blade of magical energy, vibrating and cleaving the creature in half.
His eyes widened at that, he was thinking the human would dodge or perhaps block the attack allowing for some counterattack But the cackling didn’t stop and the two halves reformed to create two copies.
“Oh come on, that was so rude!” they both cackle, “Didn’t your mommy ever teach you any manners?”
The two zip around, blasting him with bolts of electricity to which he only grunts in frustration, “I don’t have one…”
He said it so softly that Buzzshock paused for a moment, wondering if they heard it right when the Golden Guard raised his staff above his head again.
“My family was lost to wild magic! My uncle’s all I have left!” he roars as his staff glowed before the electricity drains from the Buzzshocks, towards his staff, leaving them drained and rejoining before a flash of purple light once more that forces them back into the form of Luz Noceda as part of its safety mechanism to disengage if sufficient damage was taken.
The Golden Guard holds his staff to her face, “That weapon of yours is the only thing that can help him. So hand it over, and I won’t kill you. Last chance.”
But instead of fear at the threat of death, the look on Luz’s face was instead that of sympathy.
“...My father was sick once as well.” she says, “We didn’t know what it was, something hereditary we thought because his uncle and grandfather had it as well. It’s scary and it makes you feel helpless doesn’t it?”
“Then you know what I’m feeling.” he growls as he placed the tip of his staff under her chin but she doesn’t flinch, “And know what I will do to make sure he's safe. He’s the only family I have left. Give me the weapon.”
“It’s not a weapon, it’s a gadget.” she corrects without fear, “It wasn’t made to fight, even if you can use it to. It wasn’t used to hurt or kill, but it can if you’re not careful. It was made for diplomacy, to heal and preserve.”
“If you’re going to waste my time…” he starts but Luz interrupts.
“I’m not done yet.” she says, staring right into his red eyes, “I’ll help but if you want me to help your uncle, your Emperor, tell him to give up hunting the basilisk. Then we can talk about fixing whatever’s wrong with him. My world’s healing technology is lightyears ahead of yours, we can-”
“Or I can take it from you right this instant.” he threatens.
“You won’t because you know that if my Omnitrix is anything like yours then it’s stuck to your wrist, bound to you to allow you to transform.” She guessed and judging from the frustrated look on his face she was right, “I’m not giving you the Omnitrix, so if you want your uncle fixed you listen to my terms.”
“...Or maybe I’ll just cut your hand off.” he says coldly, raising his staff to do that, “I’ll figure out how later, we have an expert back in the castle.”
But then just as the staff swings down, crackling with red magical energy, Luz raises the Omnitrix to meet it, surprising the Golden Guard and he tries to shift the staff midswing to miss the Omnitrix but it was too late and it makes contact.
Purple energy crackles from the device as suddenly an explosive force of indigo energy launches the Golden Guard backwards, smashing into the cave’s walls. Luz coughs from the dust kicked up by the Omnitrix’s self-defence mechanism,
“You probably don’t have that in your ‘Demonitrix’, do you?” she asks rhetorically as she primes her Omnitrix once more, trying to think what kind of form would be suited against this rock monster when she spots a transformation that wasn’t there before.
“You…” He coughs as he pulls himself out of the wall he was embedded in, “You’re dead meat human!”
She slams it and is engulfed in a purple flash just as the Golden Guard zips forward in a red blur, but midway he stops, the magic ripped from around him and he was sent stumbling and rolling. He tries to get moving but every rocky muscle in his body starts to ache and he finds it difficult to even stand.
“You…a basilisk?!” he roars at the sight of a snake-like creature in front of him with purple and white scales, indigo eyes and an Omnitrix emblem plastered on her chest.
Luz ignores and continues inhaling like she saw Number Two try on her. It was actually reinvigorating, consuming the magic she was stealing from the Golden Guard. It tasted delicious, like the best smoothie she ever had mixed with an electrifying flavour of sorts. It was actually a familiar sensation.
The Golden Guard collapses, his body engulfed in red light as he returns to his normal form as a witch with a white cloak over gold armour and a mask. He tries to force himself to stand with his staff but he falls face first, his skin looking pale.
Part of he doesn’t want to stop, part of her was still hungry and wanted to drain him dry partially to satiate her hunger and anger over how he would have eagerly thrown Number Two, Vee and the other basilisk back into their torture without regrets. But the moment he falls face first she forces herself to stop despite her nature protesting within her. The feeling of magic sucked down her throat and swirling inside her was almost addictive, wanting more than what she got.
She slaps the Omnitrix on her chest, turning back into her human form and pants in exhaustion with the rapid transformations taking their toll on her. A quick glance at the Omnitrix revealed that the combination of her earlier use of Life Form Lock and the recent battle has run its charge out quickly. She then hears a soft groan and turns to stare at the near-unconscious Golden Guard.
“Not…done yet.” he gasps raspily as he tries reaching for his staff but Luz picks it up. It was strange looking more like it was a piece of tech than a magic staff that Eda used.
“What…waiting for…human?” he scowls.
“You think I'm going to kill you?” she asks with a frown, throwing the staff behind her, “Not my style.”
“What…?” he mutters, sounding surprised as Luz turned her back to pick up the still unconscious Number Two.
“You’re beaten, I don’t need or want to kill you.” she explains with a sigh turning back to him, “I meant what I said, you know? If the Emperor agrees to talk I’ll look into helping him, make sure to pass that message to him when you crawl yourself back to him.”
“Why…?” he asks dumbfounded as Luz shrugged.
“As you said, I know what it’s like to see someone you care about being sick and not being able to do anything.” she says before walking off to exit the cave, leaving the Golden Guard behind, “I don’t wish that on anyone.”
***
Kevin grunts in annoyance as another spear stabs him in the face, deflecting off his armour and allowing him to close in and grapple the unfortunate scout before using him as a club to slam away another approaching scout. They were fighting on a small patch of mud scattered across the acid swamp, above him was Eda the Owl Lady, preventing the scouts that remain on treetops from mowing them down with magical blasts, taking the occasional guard with a free hand.
Then there was Hope engaged with the more magical proficient scouts that summoned everything from monsters made up of acidic mud and local wildlife, devastating them with a chaotic rain of magic and her own group of stone creatures. Half the area around them was lit with magenta flames, pillars of rune-inscribed stone and solid arrows of mana. Sometimes he forgets how strong she can be, he supposed that was one of the reasons why Luz asked for her help with the Highbreeds and DNAliens.
“Hey, watch it!” Kevin shouts above as a mana bomb took out a swarm of flies the size of his head, nearly blowing him up.
“Well stop letting them get close to you!” Hope retorts as she creates a barrier to block a blast of magic from a scout that got under Eda’s shield, “How are you holding up?”
“Oh just peachy.” he shouts as he cuts a scout’s spear in half before kicking him away and smashing another with a mallet-shaped hand, “I’ve taken out about twelve!.”
“Truly?” she asks mockingly as she sicks a swarm of rock creatures at a pair of scouts summoning abominations, “I must have thirty by now.”
“Demons or abominations they summon don’t count!” Kevin argues as he chokes out a scout.
“I’m doing fine, thanks for asking.” Eda pipes in with a strained voice, “Maybe I’m getting old but this isn’t as easy as the old days! Where the heck is Luz?”
“Speak of the human, and she shall appear!”
All heads, even the Emperor’s Coven scouts, turned to a hill where they find the human in question standing with a basilisk in her arms and no Golden Guard in sight.
“This little skirmish is over.” she says with a commanding tone towards the Coven scouts before raising her hand with the Omnitirx, “You all recognise what this is, don’t you? So unless you want a taste of what I can do, you’ll do the smart thing and run.”
The scouts seem to freeze at that, and despite their masks, Kevin could tell they had a tinge of fear. He on the other hand was pretty worried because he knew Luz was bluffing since the Omnitrix was now coloured red instead of the usual purple indicating it had timed out.
However the scouts don’t seem to know that, but one of them who appears to be in charge, shouts at her.
“What did you do with the Golden Guard?!” he asks, pointing his spear at her.
Luz points behind her, “In a cave, some distance over there. You might want to hurry, I spotted a couple demons headed to where I left him unconscious.”
It was a total bluff and anyone who knows Luz truly knows that she would never leave anyone to die if she can help it. If Luz would help the Highbreeds despite their attempted genocide, she’d help pretty much everybody.
However she was a good liar, you pick stuff up spending time with both Kevin and Hope, which was evidently enough to convince the lead scout. After some thinking and glancing back, he must’ve realised that if he doesn’t have the numbers left to split up and rescue their boss while at the same time fighting for the basilisk, especially against someone wielding the Omnitrix.
“...Squad 10, 12, 15 regroup and set off to search for the Golden Guard.” the lead scout mutters in defeat, “The rest of you, get our injured out of this swamp as soon as possible. We’re leaving.”
“Sir?!” one of the scouts looks at him in shock.
“We don’t have the numbers anymore, and they’re stronger than expected.” he explains to his underling before looking back at Luz, “You will allow us to withdraw from the Stomach Swamp safely without pursuit?”
“You have my word.” Luz nods, as the scouts begin picking up their wounded to retreat and three squads of them go off towards the direction the Golden Guard was at. As this happens, Luz rushes towards her friends to rejoin them, with basilisk in her arms.
“I take it he’s beaten?” Hope asks in a hushed tone and a slight smile, “It was a shame I wasn’t there when you wiped the floor with him.”
“He definitely wasn’t weak.” Luz whispers before nervously glancing back at the retreating coven scouts, “Now how about we scram before they wise up and realise I was bluffing?”
“That was a bluff?” Eda asks and whistles impressed, “Remind me never to play cards with you.”
“I learned from the best.” she nudges Kevin and Hope.
“Alright then, no playing cards with any of you crazy kids.” she says as she pulls the portal key from her hair, “Now let’s blow this pop-”
She suddenly trips up, covering her mouth as she coughed heavily, almost dropping the key into the acid swamp if it wasn’t for Kevin’s reflexes.
“Hey, you alright?” he asks concerned as the Owl Lady continues coughing heavily with Luz and Hope approaches her worriedly.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” she holds out a hand stopping them from approaching as she breathes heavily, before standing straight with a confident and assuring smile, “Just a bit of overusing magic. Not as spry as I used to be. Were it back in my younger days I would’ve crushed them all single-handedly.”
“...How old are you again?” Kevin asks before Eda whacks him in the head with her staff.
“Didn’t your mother teach you not to ask a woman that type of question?” she admonishes before taking the key from his hands and pressing it, causing the portal to manifest in front of them, “Come on, the swamp isn’t doing me any favours for my complexion.”
“On that, we agree.” Kevin mutters as he follows her through the portal, followed by Hope.
Luz was the last, trying to comprehend what she just saw, specifically that swirl of black in the gem on Eda’s chest that definitely wasn’t there before.
Before she could give it much thought, Hope looks back at her confused, “Luz? You coming? Don’t tell me you want to stay in the acidic, poisonous swamp?”
“Uh, right!” Luz snaps out of her thoughts, “Just taking in the horrifying surreal sight! Let’s go home now.”
***
“First day and we’ve already found one.” Kevin smiles as the two watch Number Two get treated by Camila inside the Plumber outpost’s med-bay with Vee at her side to calm down the other basilisk. While they were evidently mistrustful, the presence of Vee seemed to calm her down enough to talk with and treat.
“At this rate, we’ll be done by the weekends.” Kevin says cheerfully but realises Luz wasn’t sharing his optimism, “Hey, we won didn’t we?”
“They’ll remember it.” Luz says looking through the window, “What they went through in the Emperor’s Coven, I mean. They tried to kill me thinking I was one of them.”
Kevin sighs, “Civilians panic you know, it’s one of the first things they taught us at the Academy.”
“I just wish I can do more for them,” she mutters as Kevin put a hand on her shoulder.
“You did what you can, and that’s enough.” he assures, “The Emperor’s Coven can’t touch them, they’ll be relocated to wherever on Earth she wants with Plumber protection. That’s the best we can do for them. And hey, I heard you’ve been racking up new aliens, or rather demons, again. You’re on a roll.”
He tries to take her mind off things with mentions of her new forms but this seems to actually worsen her mood as she fidgets with the faceplate.
“When I turned into a basilisk and drained the Golden Guard’s magic…it felt good. Almost addictive.” she says, “It was just like when I used to have her… Before Malware.”
Kevin instantly silences himself as he realises what she was talking about. About that alien, she lost. Even if it was four years ago, it looked like she still wasn’t over that loss despite how well she hides it.
Before he could say anything, a voice interrupted them from behind. An alien with blue fur and black marking on his face wearing blue and black combat armour with a strange device strapped to his shoulder approached them.
“Deputy Agent Luz Noceda? Deputy Agent Kevin Levin?” he asks before saluting by holding an arm across his chest horizontally and introducing himself, “Agent Rook Blonko, Plumber Special Forces.”
“Special Forces?” Luz asks, snapping out of her funk before reflexively returning the salute, “What’s Special Forces doing on Earth?”
“Magister Noceda requested reinforcements to make up for the lack of agents on Earth.” he explains, “I am the one chosen to fill out your usual patrol routes on Earth while you are on Operation: Demon Realm.”
“All her patrol routes?” Kevin raises a brow before glancing back at Luz, “You have my sympathies.”
“Sorry you have to deal with the work I’m missing” she apologises but Rook waves it off.
“Do not be, it is a great honour to be chosen to take your place temporarily,” he says genuinely.
“You must be pretty good to be her replacement.” Kevin says looking at Rook up and down, “That what they give to Special Forces these days? Not exactly standard issue.”
“In fact, these are fresh off the factory line.” Rook explains tapping his armour, “Proto-Tech Armour assigned for field testing, capable of safely protecting the wearer from blows even from Tetramands as well as various other hazards and dangers. The Tech Department hopes that it will eventually become standard issue for all Plumber agents once they cut the costs down.”
Kevin whistles impressive, “Does it come in black?”
“Proto-Tech Armour is designed to be highly customisable to the user’s preference, so I believe so.” Rook nods, “It is possible for you two to put in a requisition for it.”
“Really?” Kevin asks surprised, “We’re just Deputy Agents, right?”
Now it was Rook’s turn to look surprised, “You all are regarded as living legends for stopping the Highbreed Invasion, I doubt anyone would reject your requisition request. Deputy Agent Luz, for example, you are renowned for stopping entire wars and capturing criminals that dedicated Plumber tasks force couldn't for years..”
“It was nothing.” Luz says bashfully, embarrassed by her deeds being brought up like that, “I just cleared the way for the Plumber Diplomatic Corps to do the rest of the heavy lifting.”
“Nevertheless, those negotiations would not have been initiated if not for you.” Rook says, “It will be a great honour working with you in the future, I believe I have much to learn from working with you.”
“Working with me?” Luz asks before Rook explains.
“I was originally assigned here to be your partner on Earth.” he says, surprising her and Kevin, “Your father has often reported to High Command that Earth’s Plumber branch was understaffed, even after the Highbreed War. Once your operation in this Demon Realm is finished and you return to your normal duty on Earth, I will be assigned to work alongside you and your squad.”
“Really?” Luz asks pleasantly surprised, “I look forward to working with you, Rook.”
“Likewise, Deputy Agent Noceda.” he agreed.
“Lay off the Deputy Agent thing.” Luz chides lightheartedly, “It’s just Luz, dude.”
“Alright…Luzdude.” Rook says with a straight face that had Kevin breaking into laughter to his confusion.
“...Yeah, we’ll have to work that out.” Luz mutters, “Is that all you came here to say?”
“No, I also have to meet with Number Two. Living arrangements must be discussed as well as citizenship on Earth.” Rook says turning to the med-bay, “Will I be able to visit?”
Luz nods and moves away for him to enter, “Go ahead, just knock first and try not to scare them. Number Two’s still pretty jumpy even with Vee.”
“Copy that, Luzdude.” Rook salutes before doing as she says and entering.
“I like him already.” Kevin smirks, “We’ll definitely be needing a third member for the squad when Hope goes back to jail.”
“He seems cool, I wonder what she’ll think of him.” Luz muses before thinking, “Speaking of which, where is she?”
“Mentioned something about calling her uncle for advice.” Kevin shrugged, “There’s a Plumber agent monitoring the call.”
“Wait, if Hope’s calling her uncle, you’re over here and so am I…” Luz counts on her fingers before realising, “Where’s Eda?”
Before Kevin could say something, the intercom buzzes with an exhausted and annoyed voice,
“Can Deputy Agent Luz Noceda please report to the holding cells?” he asks, “ Also, can a Biohazard Containment Squad report to the Contraband Room. Someone set off a Gastrosapien nerve gas grenade.”
“...Eda?” Luz guesses feeling a migraine.
“Eda.” Kevin nods, he may only know the woman for a day but that sounded like it was her.
***
“So…you not only failed to retrieve the basilisk but you also engaged with the human.” Emperor Belos says from his throne as Hunter knelt to him with fear behind his mask, “The human with the Omnitrix, which might I remind you, someone, I explicitly told you was not to interfere with.”
“I-I saw an opportunity milord!” Hunter says on his knees, “A chance to kill two faeries with one spell. I thought-”
“No, you didn’t.” Belos interrupts, “If you did you would not have disobeyed my wishes!”
“...I’m sorry, milord.” Hunter bows down so low his forehead and almost touches the floor, “I’ll do better next time. I swear!”
“See that you don’t.” Emperor Belos snarls before taking a deep breath and calming down, “There will be opportunities in the future for you to earn your forgiveness. I want to see you training twice as hard for days to come. Dismissed, Golden Guard.”
“Of course, milord,” Hunter says and rises to leave, but hesitates.
“Did you have something else to tell me?” Belos asks.
“...The human, she wanted to pass on a message to you.” Hunter slowly says.
“And you waited until now to tell me?” Belos scoffs before waving, “Very well, deliver it.”
“She…I told her about how ill you were.” he rapidly says and continues hoping to quell the anger he knew was coming, “It was in the heat of the moment, and I wanted to explain to her the urgency of why I needed her weapon! She said that if you give up hunting the basilisk she promises to help you however she can!”
His uncle was silent and he took it as a good sign and continues, “The basilisks have served their purpose! We have enough leftover material to easily replicate a constant supply for research and fueling the Demonitrix! But you are getting sicker and sicker, the squid produces no results in perfecting the Demotirix, and we’ll run out of Palismen eventually! We stand to gain your health in exchange for nothing!”
His uncle stares at him silently, through his mask, before standing up and approaching him.
“You told an enemy…about the state of my health?” he asks softly without a trace of emotion and just as Hunter registered the words he was slapped hard enough to knock off his golden mask. It was all Hunter could do to not fall flat from the blow.
“Foolish boy!” he hisses, “Now they know a weakness of mine, you have endangered me!”
“I- I just wanted to help!” Hunter says fearfully, rubbing where he was struck.
“You think she would have helped?” he hisses, “Listen close, Golden Guard, she will say whatever they wish to get her way. You were foolish enough to fall for her lies.”
“But-” Hunter tries but was cut off.
“Do you wish for my death that much, Hunter?”
“No!” Hunter panicky says before kneeling, “I swear, uncle I just wanted to help! I’ll do everything in my power to make things right!”
“See that you do.” Belos says, picking up his mask and handing it back, before taking on a softer tone, “Do not mistake my action for malice, Hunter. You are the last of my family, the only son of my dead brother. I do this because I care for you, my nephew. You have much to learn, I do not wish to see you be taken advantage of for your naiveness. Put her words out of your mind, do you understand?”
“...Of course, milord.”
“We will discuss your punishment at a later time.” Belos sighs and dismisses him, turning his back on him, “Continue with your training.”
“I will, milord. Thank you for your guidance.” he bows before leaving the Emperor’s throne room, sighing with relief once he was sure the Emperor wouldn’t have heard him. It went better than expected, now he can only hope his uncle calms down the next time they meet. Perhaps he can show his dedication by showing improvements in techniques with the Demonitirx combining it with his artificial magic skills.
As he was thinking this, he suddenly stops to lean on one of the corridor’s walls, taking off his mask and coughing into his hand to try and muffle the noise. After a long coughing fit he wipes something wet on his mouth and widens his eyes upon seeing blood.
Perhaps the human did worse damage to him than expected? Did he catch some illness somehow? Both don’t seem likely and he thinks of going to the healer’s office for a checkup but shakes his head, he has already done enough to disappoint the Emperor, he shouldn’t worry about something inconsequential like this.
Notes:
Here's the confrontation between the wielder of the Omnitrix and the Demonitirx. Hope it was good enough to satisfy you, and in case some of you were wondering, two aliens that Hunter transformed into were based off Rocks and Squidstrictor, two aliens from a theatre production of questionable canonicity. Needed to come up with Demons for Hunter to use and figured I could use them. If any of you have potential ideas for demons, feel free to suggest them and I'll consider them.
Thanks for reading. Please leave your thoughts in the comments down below. Have a good day.
Chapter Text
“I’m sorry, but even with my efforts to restore our libraries a vast majority of the contents are still irrecoverable.” Hex says regretfully to his niece over the screen, “The last records of visitors from this Demon Realm were in myths and legends.”
“Weren’t you the one that taught me there was always a truth within myths and legends, uncle?” Hope reminds and Hex concedes to that.
“A fair point, but it doesn’t change the fact that even with reparation having begun three years ago I barely have enough writing of this Demon Realm to make a pamphlet, much less a tome.” Hex sighs in sadness, “The Grand Library…it used to be a literal city of books. Addwaitya’s greed has cost us more than our people’s freedom and my brother, it stole from us our history as well.”
“At least he’s paid for it.” Hope mutters bitterly, “But what were you able to get from what little remained?”
“Not much.” he shakes his head, “They came from days before there were kingdoms, back when the Ledgerdomain was instead filled with circles of mages, nomadic tribes led by shamans and the like. From what I read there was trade between the Demon Realm and one circle of wizards through the use of strange gateways that created a hole through the separate dimensions.”
“Separate dimensions? Like the Null Void?” Hope asks but her uncle shook his head.
“I would assume so.” Hex says, “But I wouldn’t know. The last of these gates are relics of ages old, no longer functioning either from age or a shift in their magical nature. I’m surprised you were able to find a working gateway to this realm.”
“You have to ask the Owl Lady if you want any details, but something tells me she barely knows anything besides how to turn that thing on and off.” Hope says, “So we know next to nothing about this realm?”
“Perhaps we once knew all there was to know, but now? I’d say so.” he says, upset at the loss of such knowledge, “But if it piques your interest, there is one relatively intact passage that speaks of these Titans.”
“Oh?” Hope leans forward, her curiosity piqued. Hex digs around his office before picking up and unwrapping a thick stone rectangle covered in parchment.
“There it is.'' He blows the dust off it and clears his throat, “It was found in the study of an ancient and mad chronomancer that used rituals to peer through time and record history. It speaks of the Age of Ancients, before the first wizard arrived in the Ledgerdomain, when the Ancients ruled and protected it. It doesn’t name them, but the chronomancer saw creatures the size of countries with horned skulls for heads. It’s vague ramblings of a madman, but what little historians have been able to decipher was that the Titans attempted to seize the Ledgerdomain, a brief war sparked between the Ancients and these Titans before the latter was pushed back to the realm they came from.”
“...So was that why they went extinct?” Hope asks deep in thought.
“No, that much is clear.” Hex says, “From the writings, it appears as if there were little to no deaths on either side. Less of a great war and more of a great skirmish I suppose. If the translations are correct it lasted for only five hours before the last Titans were pushed back. But the most fascinating I think is wondering why these Titans tried attacking the Ledgerdomain? Could it be they were envious of the Ancient’s mastery of mana? Could it be the Ancients provoked them in the first place? Or perhaps the Titans came to the Ledgerdomain to flee from something, only for our Ancients to literally slam the door in their faces. It is a curious thing to ponder on.”
“Fleeing? What would they have to flee from?” Hope asks, wondering if it had something to do with their sudden extinction. If the power she sensed from the centuries-dead corpse was enough to be felt through dimensions, then when they were living surely they must have been near unstoppable.
“We may never know.” Hex shrugs, “The record spoke that these creatures fought with desperation like men would if they had nothing left to lose. That implies many things. If they were fleeing from death, then I dread to think what might creatures of such scale be running from in such desperation.”
He stares off lost in thought before snapping back to reality, “Ah, forgive me. Just ramblings of an old man.”
“It’s fine uncle.” she says with a slight smile, “I… miss this. Lessons with you that didn’t involve our vengeance in some way or another.”
Hex looks at her with guilt in his eyes. During their days on Earth when they fled the Ledgerdomain, he was overcome with vengeance and instilled his hate into Hope, training her to make her as strong as possible so the two of them can get their revenge. To say his methods were cruel was… an understatement.
“...Is it meaningless to apologise?” he asks quietly.
“...I’m sure Luz would say something about how it isn’t.” Hope says after a pause, “And I’d agree.”
“Your father would be proud of you.” Hex says wistfully, “The things you’ve done, the things you’re doing? He’d be overjoyed at the woman you’ve become. If only he could see you now.”
“If only…” Hope repeats softly, remembering the disappointment in her father’s eyes when she told him the cost of bringing him back. They were disappointed but at the same time there was compassion and care behind them, “He and Luz would’ve gotten along, don’t you think?”
“They likely would.” Hex chuckles at the imagery before turning sombre, “I have a lot of things to make up for. I can only hope that I can one day be someone you and my brother would be proud to call family.”
Hope smiles in response, “It’s nice catching up with you, uncle.”
“As with you, my dear niece.” Hex bows before hesitating, “...Far be it for me to ask, but you are happy, yes? They have you in a cell, only letting you out for doing their bidding when they please, and I don’t believe it’s where the heir to the Ledgerdomain, let alone my niece, deserves to be.”
He leaves the implications for Hope to pick up, and possibly the agent monitoring their call must have tensed from hearing that, but they were worried for nothing. In a way, she was touched that her uncle would wage war against the Plumbers for her sake, but it would be unnecessary.
She had lived in a cell for the past three years, for crimes she deserved death for. Any moments she spends outside of it were with a dullard more obsessed with a vehicle than his personal hygiene, and someone too nice for her own good. Both she would once deride for being beneath her and a waste of time to interact with.
As she thinks this she hears a muffled argument from outside the room she was in.
“-a Gastrosapien nerve grenade! Made by a race of walking war crimes! One of the galaxy’s deadliest nerve agents!”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know it was dangerous? Really if you didn’t want anyone touching them don’t leave them in the open.”
“Because it was in the contraband room!” yells a familiar exasperated voice, “They had warning signs with pictures!”
“Hey, you’ve seen what the Conformatorium considered contraband. Thought I could make a quick buck from a side hustle with some stuff you won’t miss.”
“This is a Plumber outpost, not some psycho’s private jail! The contraband is full of dangerous alien tech and narcotics! You were planning to sell evidence! Never mind that, some of the tech can destroy entire blocks! The narcotics might start a species-wide plague if the wrong lifeform consumes them!”
“Well now you know you need better security against magic.” a guilt-free voice casually says, “I’m happy to offer my consulting services for a small cost.”
Hope rolls her eyes fondly before looking back at her uncle.
“...Yeah, I’m happy.” she says honestly, “Weirdly happy.”
***
“Can you turn down that infernal racket?!” Hope yells as she storms down towards the lower ground of the tower where obnoxiously loud music was playing. There Kevin was, using a soldering iron on some sort of large device the size of a desk with radars attached to it.
However either he didn’t hear her or he didn’t care, he continued working on his machine making Hope’s anger flare and snapping her fingers causing his soldering iron to short out.
Muttering a curse he glances up at her annoyed, taking off his safety goggles before turning off his music player.
“What? Not happy with the music?” he asks annoyed at the interruption,
“No, not happy!” she shouts at him, “Very much displeased . Possibly maddened! I was in the middle of research when your infernal music distracted me, I almost burnt my books!”
“That’s what you get for still using candles!” he shouts back as he goes to grab a spare soldering iron, “Seriously, we don’t need to use them anymore! We have lightbulbs! You witches need to modernise.”
“ Magician!” she corrects with a sneer, “And I can say the same for you! You should use these wonderful inventions, recently created, called headphones!”
“Can’t.” he shrugs and gestures to his pair of dismantled headphones on his workbench, “Had a part I need for this thing.”
“You couldn’t have asked the Owl Lady to bring you back to Earth to get the part?” Hope asks through gritted teeth as Kevin shrugs.
“Eh, that’ll take too long. It’s faster this way, I’ll just get another pair of headphones the next time she opens up the portal, which is this Friday for our weekly report. So until then…”
Kevin switches back on his absurdly loud music as Hope takes deep breaths, counting to five before exhaling as her anger management classes taught her. Without a word she snaps her fingers again as she went back to her room on the tower’s top floor, blocking the exit and windows with layers of thick mana that block out the sound. Now she could research in peace.
And just in time too. From the looks of the clouds, it looked like there was a large storm coming.
***
“And…Fireball!” Luz points at a patch of ground while straining, but the only thing that came out of her fingers was a slight leak of magical energy. She was currently in the form of Luzura, growling in annoyance as she tries to repeat the gesture again and again.
“Come on, I’ve seen Eda and those Coven guys do it.” she mutters to herself. She definitely felt something in her heart flicker on, a sort of warmth, but nothing was happening.
“Maybe you just don’t have any talent in magic?” King suggests as he toys with his new hoverboard, going around in circles trying to keep his balance.
“Says the one that needs kiddie wheels for his hoverboard.” Luzura snarks back as she tries to cast another spell, “It doesn’t make sense, the Omnitrix is supposed to turn me into the peak witch for my age. I should be able to cast magic as they do. Unless witches don’t get magic at my age?”
“Oh no, I’ve seen little kids cast light spells.” King snorts, “Some ‘peak’ witch.”
“Laugh it up, I just need to figure out how this magic stuff works then I’ll probably be on Eda’s level.” Luzura declares as she stares at her hands. She always wanted to be able to cast magic since she was a child, even after finding the Omnitrix and experiencing its near-miraculous abilities, it hasn’t changed. That was why she ‘borrowed’ Hope’s spellbook, or as she was known at the time Charmcaster. Which led to said New Jersey incident and Kevin’s newfound mild discomfort around chickens.
And now here she was with a literal witch alien! She can finally achieve her childhood dream if she can figure out how it works in the first place.
“Heh, who needs all that fancy magic if you got the King of Demons teaching you?” King asks as he hops off his hoverboard, “Well today’s your lucky day, loyal subject, I happen to be an expert on demonology and have the rest of the day to spare.
Luzura hums in thought. She wasn’t making that much progress with magic and was planning to ask Eda for help, but the witch was out in the market so she wouldn’t be back in a while. She might as well spend her time learning potentially useful info especially with a possible rematch with the Golden Guard in the future.
“Might as well.” she shrugs, “Lay it on me, King.”
“Yes!” he cheer excitedly, “With my knowledge and your weapon combined, you’ll be able to turn into the fiercest creatures of the realm, becoming an even greater enforcer for my will!”
“As his majesty wills it.” Luzura snickers at his adorable demeanour as he rushes back into the Owl House with her following.
He quickly searches for something amongst a pile of books as Luzura takes a seat, taking a notebook and pen from her bag.
“There we go!” King exclaims as he pulls out a thick tome, “Welcome to Demonology 101, Luz!”
“I eagerly await your lecture, Professor King.” she says with a slightly teasing tone.
“Let’s start with the basics first.” he shows her a page with a multitude of demons, “To first learn about demons, you must understand what we are. Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulphur and bone.”
“Like you?” she suppresses a chuckle.
“Yes, fearsome and mighty we are!” he declares confidently before flipping a page, “And worst of us, is the mighty Snaggleback!”
The page displays a fearsome-looking picture of a creature with pink scales covered in a spiky shell.
“Sounds terrifying.” she jots it down, “What’s so bad about it?”
“They are ferocious carnivores of immense size and power, jaws strong enough to punch through iron with ease.” King points at the pages, “And the shell they have allows them to withstand even the gravest punishment and fearsome magic.”
“Hope’s been reading through a lot of the books we borrowed in the library. You’d think she’d tell us there’s something like that prowling around.” Luzura notes but King scoffs.
“Bah, maybe your witch isn’t as smart as she thinks she is,” he says dismissively.
“Yeah, make sure she doesn’t catch you saying that.” She warns knowing that despite her growth, Hope still prides herself in being one of the strongest magicians of her time.
Before King could say something, a soft crack of thunder interrupts him.
“Uh-oh, looks like it's gonna rain soon,” King notes as Luzura got excited.
“Ooh, really? I love the rain.” she says as she stands up to dash out before remembering her Plumber survival training on alien worlds, “Quick question, your rain’s not dangerous is it?”
King pauses in thought before asking, “Do you consider boiling rain hot enough to melt flesh via prolonged exposure dangerous?”
“Boiling what?” Luzura asks before she spots through the window a drop of water land on a nearby flower, instantly killing it, “What?!”
“Boiling rain! Everyone in the house now!”
Luzura spots Eda running from the forest, making a mad dash towards the Owl House with a hand over her head before managing to throw herself through it just as the downpour begins.
“Whew, that was a close one.” Eda sighs in relief before glancing up at Luzura, “Oh hey, you’re still here. Thought you’d be out there rescuing endangered demons.”
“We would but Hope’s still researching basilisks for more info, and Kevin’s trying to hook up communications with Earth without the portal. And unless you heard something new from your sources…” Luzura asks and Eda shook her head.
“No dice kid.” Eda says, “From what I’m hearing they haven’t heard of any movement from the Emperor’s Coven.”
Luzura nods disappointed but looks outside the window still in surprise at the phenomena, “Boiling rain on the Boiling Isles. Is that how it got its name?”
“Well, there is the literal boiling ocean. Some parts of the coast are hot enough to cause third-degree burns.” Eda explains as she picks up her staff, “Welp, no time to waste. Gonna need to get that forcefield to spell up for Hooty.”
“Hoot, hurry up!” the house demon/creature/tube/thing demands from the front door, “This rain is getting closer to my precious stucco.”
“Alright, alright. Just give me a moment.” Eda mutters before Luzura gets in front of her.
“Hey, maybe I can help?” she offers, “I’m basically the strongest teenage witch. I think I can help out.”
“Really?” Eda looks at her, “But I don’t think you don’t know any spells right?”
“Well…no.” Luzura admits weakly, “But I like to think I’m a quick learner.”
“Hmm.” Eda rubs her chin in thought, “I suppose you can still help out, come with me.”
Without warning Eda grabs Luzura’s hand and drags her out of the Owl House, but not before drawing a circle above them to create a small translucent orange shield.
“Right, I just need you to help out with a variation of a joint spell, I’ll do the actual spellcasting but you’ll be helping me by supplying your magic.” Eda explains, “Nothing complex, just give me one big orb of magic.”
“Right…how do I do that?” Luzura asks.
“Oh, right, you don’t know how this works.” Eda mutters before gesturing to her hands, “Just draw a circle with your fingers, you figure out how to activate your bile sac yet?”
“My what?” Luzura asks but Eda cuts her off.
“Just think magic thoughts and draw a circle, dang it. Chop chop.” Eda demands and Luzura hurriedly tries to perform what Eda had told her to do. She repeats what she attempted to do earlier, but this time drawing a circle, and the magic flowing from her fingers creates a yellow circle.
“Is that me?” Luzura asks excitedly as the magic circle wobbles and Eda gestures her to continue,
“Keep circling those fingers.” Eda orders and Luz does just that and the circle stabilises, “That's it…That’s a lot of magic for a kid your age, must be a strong bile sac you got there.”
“What bile sac? Is that something witches have?” Luzura asks and the circle wobbles again so Eda lightly taps her head with her staff.
“Focus.” Eda says, “But yeah, that’s how it works. Where do you think magic comes from?”
“Mana?” Luzura guesses remembering what Hope told her, “It’s the lifeforce of every living being or something. That’s what Hope told me at least.”
Eda shrugs, “Maybe that’s how you human magicians cast magic, but not us. We, witches, need a bile sac that pumps out magic for us to use. That magic comes out of our body, we draw a spell circle, think of a spell, and presto! You got magic!”
To exemplify this, Eda uses her staff to snag the orb of raw magical power Luzura had been generating before drawing her own spell circle, passing the orb through it before slamming her staff on the ground, creating an orange bubble surrounding the Owl House before it conforms and wraps around it.
“Wow… I did that?” Luzura asks, amazed before Eda pats her on the back.
“Well technically I did. Convert that raw magic of yours into a real spell, but not bad for someone who’s only been a witch for less than a day.” she stretches herself and yawns, “Still, it’s been a long day of scamming and running from cops, so I’m tuckered out for the day.”
“About time, hoot,” Hooty complains as they walk by him into the Owl House.
“Sorry, Hooty.” Luzura apologises, “We’ll be quicker next time.”
“You better, I’d hate to see what the boiling rain did to my roof.” Hooty whines as Eda shuts the door.
“Welp, I’m taking the rest of the day off.” Eda yawns, “Try not to wreck my house will ya?”
“Waitwaitwait!” Luzura blocks her way, “Can you teach me a spell? Just one! The most basic you can think of!”
“What’s the rush?” Eda asks curious about the girl’s excited behaviour.
“Yeah, I thought we were going to learn about demons!” King argues holding up his book of Demonology.
Luzura looks to King apologetically, “Yeah…but magic! I’ve been wanting to use magic since the moment I heard it exist, just ask Hope!”
“Why’re you that interested? Don’t you have a watch that turns you into a bunch of magical creatures?” Eda asks, “And you did say you had more of them back in the Human Realm, I bet they can do a lot of things magic can.”
“Aliens.” Luzura corrects, “And that’s different! Those things are all weird biological functions they have! This is magic ! I’ve been a big fan of magic even before I got the Omnitrix! Before Kevin and Hope, books on magic, witches and fantasy worlds were my best friends! And now I get the chance to learn literal magic?! If I don’t learn at least one spell I’m 100% sure my future selves will show up with Paradox to punch me in the face!”
Eda rubs a finger on her chin in thought. Part of her thought about having the kid pay upfront for some magic lessons, and maybe earn a bit from this side gig, but something about her eyes stopped her from doing that. Maybe it was because she saw the same type, full of curiosity and desire to learn magic, somewhere in the mirror before.
“Alright, alright, I’ll teach you a spell.” Eda sighs as Luzura squeals and hugs the older witch but was quickly stopped, “No touching.”
“Right, right, sorry.” Luzura quickly apologises, “Got really excited there.”
Some moments later Luzura grabbed her phone to begin recording the lesson as Eda prepares.
“Right, let's get this over with.” Eda cracks her knuckles, “You already know how it works right?”
“Yeah, draw a magic circle to get magic.” Luzura nods remembering the explanation Eda gave her.
“Right, now you’ll learn how to generate a spell for that magical energy to do something. For example, a light spell.” Eda draws a circle with her hands and a soft glowing yellow orb appears, hovering over her palm, “Should be simple. Even babies know them.”
“Alright, starting small, nothing fancy, but that’s fine.” Luzura rubs her hands excitedly, “How do I do that?”
“Well…try the same thing you did back there but instead think bright thoughts?” Eda suggests before shrugging at Luzura’s unimpressed look, “Hey it was what worked for me. Besides, I've never tried any teaching gigs before.”
Shrugging, Luzura puts down her phone and decides to try as Eda suggested, creating a single spell circle in front of her before concentrating on the same orb of light she saw Eda create. After a moment of straining a spark of light, similar to that of a flickering lightbulb, manifested from the spell circle.
“I-I’m doing it!” Luzura exclaims excitedly but then it was dashed when all of a sudden her Omnitrix began beeping a familiar tone and flashing red before a flash of light transformed her back into Luz Noceda.
“Aw man.” Luz complains looking at her empty palms with disappointment. She had been so close.
“Hey chin up kid, for someone who never got a bile sac her whole life you did pretty good.” Eda says, “You’ll get it next time.”
“Yeah, but for now you get to continue our Demonology lessons!” King says cheerfully.
“Just give me a moment King.” Luz urges before turning back to Eda, “Isn’t there some way for humans to cast magic? Without a need for a bile sac? I want to keep trying that spell.”
“Unfortunately I don’t think that's possible.” Eda says bluntly, “You humans don’t have bile sacs right?”
“Not since the last time I checked,” Luz mutters in disappointment.
Eda thinks hard, “Well I did hear that ancient witches use to do magic differently than modern witches but I’ve never looked into it much. Not like there’s much to look into, ever since the Emperor banned wild magic .”
“Wild magic?” Luz mutters at the familiarity of those words before remembering where she heard them before, “The Golden Guard…he mentioned his family was killed by wild magic.”
“He did?” Eda looks surprised.
“Yeah, and he said the Emperor’s his uncle and the only family he has left… Do you think that’s why the Emperor banned wild magic? Because it killed his family?” Luz wonders, sounding sympathetic for the man.
“Don’t know about that, nobody really knows anything about the guy.” Eda shrugs, “Heck I didn’t even know the Golden Guard was his nephew, he keeps his private life private I suppose. It might explain why he doesn’t like anything associated with wild magic, but I wouldn’t put it past the Emperor’s Coven to come up with lies like that.”
“I’m not sure about that. It didn’t sound like a lie.” Luz mutters remembering the emotion in the Golden Guard’s voice when he declared his intentions to save his uncle, “So what’s wild magic then? Is it something dangerous? Or is it something that helps people?”
“I’m the wrong person to ask, but in my opinion, how bad can it be?” Eda asks as she drew two circles with each hand, each summoning an orb of fire and water respectively, “See? The Emperor also said that mixing magic was evil and dangerous but I’ve been doing it ever since I was your age. I don’t know much about wild magic, but my best guess is that at the end of the day, whether magic’s dangerous or not is up to the person using it.”
Luz thinks upon Eda’s words as the latter yawns in exhaustion.
“Damn, all that teaching’s getting me exhausted.” she says before heading upstairs, “I’ll be in my nest, try to keep the noise down if you’re planning to practise any magic with that witch transformation you got.”
***
“Looks like I got a talent for this teaching gig.” Eda pats herself on the back as she changes into her pyjamas, “It ain’t as hard as Bump makes it out to be. Shows what he knows.”
She scoffs as she gets ready for bed before remembering something.
“Oh yeah, can’t forget about that.” she opens her drawer for her daily dose of elixir and grabs the familiar round bottle only for her eyes to widen in horror. The bottle was empty.
That should be impossible, she was always careful to restock so how could she have forgotten? And then she realises, the day she was supposed to restock had been yesterday but with those three humans dragging her along on their rescue mission she never had the chance to, and she’d forgotten
“No...Oh no,” she mutters to herself in worry before searching her entire room hoping to find at least one stray bottle of elixir, but it was all for nought, there was none left.
She tries to keep herself calm, maybe she can wait it out until tomorrow? Sure she used plenty of magic today even with Luz’s help with the forcefield, but she might be able to hold out. She’s done it plenty of times when she was younger.
However, she buckles over, feeling a sharp burn in her bile sac.
‘No…not now!” she tells herself as she reaches for her staff hoping to at least lock herself in her room before she turns but it was too late as she spots feathers sprouting from her arms at an alarming pace.
***
“So another type of magic and I can’t learn it?” Luz sighs as she watches the recording play again on her phone, “Think the universe is sending me a message or something that I shouldn’t learn magic.”
“Why do you want to learn magic anyways?” King asks, “You really like magic that much?”
“...Well, that’s one of the reasons.” Luz admits reluctantly as she fidgets with the Omnitrix dial still red from running out of time, “Sure half the things I turn into with the Omnitrix are practically magic but I’m not the one actually doing those things. When I control fire it's with Heatblast, not Luz Noceda. When I absorb and redirect energy it’s Chromastone, not Luz Noceda. Everything cool I do is with one of the aliens in this watch, not as myself. Sure the aliens are a part of me and all but… I just want something that Luz Noceda can do, something besides picking an alien to do for her, you get it?”
Luz shakes herself out of it, “I’m probably not making any sense, but that’s not important. We’re here on business not pleasure, can’t let myself get distracted by these things right?”
She says putting a smile on her face as King watches her. With a sigh, he crosses his arms,
“If I help you learn to use that spell can we finish our lesson?” he asks as Luz’s eyes widen in surprise.
“You can do magic?” she asks.
“No, but I might know how you can.” King explains, “Eda says magic has to come from somewhere right? Well, every day I see her sneaking sips of this elixir thing to get a quick energy boost. What if a human takes it?”
Luz immediately looks concerned, “That sounds risky. Literally one of the first things you learn as a Plumber is to not consume products made for another species unless a professional says otherwise.”
“Eh, you witches and humans look similar enough. How bad can it be?” King shrugs.
“I once ate an alien fruit from Undertown, and I had to be quarantined for an entire week.” she shudders at the memory of several plastic tubes shoved down her throat, “Besides if Eda knew that would help me, I think she’d point that out. I’ll just ask her about it when she wakes up.”
As she says this a clap of thunder startles them, nearly throwing Luz and King off the couch and shaking the entire Owl House.
“Are all thunderstorms that bad in the Boiling Isles?” Luz wonders out loud as suddenly all the lamps were extinguished. Instantly she tensed up but King was quick to assure her.
“Relax, Hooty controls the lights. This means he’s probably asleep or something.” King says just as a loud crash interrupts him and the front door was sent flying inside the Owl House.
“Hooty!” Luz looks at the house demon in worry before turning back to the doorway where she spots a black silhouette prowling outside. Reacting on reflex she primes her Omnitrix and slams it, only to hear the familiar whine of its cooldown mode.
“Of all the times!” she yells as she slaps the Omnitrix futilely, thinking about what she should do the creature takes a step into the Owl House with a growl. The lack of light and the dark clouds made it impossible for her to decipher any features of the wild demon as she racks her head to think what to do.
“Easy there…” she tries but it growls in response, “King…you’re the demon expert. Any ideas?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen this demon before.” King says, sounding weirdly excited, “This is a fantastic learning opportunity! Turn into something and fight it already!”
“Oh gee, why didn’t I think of that?!” she whispers back irritated as the beast suddenly roars at her. With little time to react, she grabbed King from the couch and dived for cover just as it leapt over them, tackling the couch and mauling it.
“On second thought we can learn from it as we run!” King declares in fear as Luz picks him up and dashes down one of the hallways of the Owl House. The beast roars in anger at its lost prey and was about to pursue it when it suddenly hears a faint racket coming from elsewhere.
***
“And…done!” Kevin declares as he takes off his safety goggles and admires the modified communication uplink. Since their only method of communicating with Earth was through the portal he thought it’d be a good idea to try to establish methods of communicating without it, in case something bad happens but without any idea where the ‘Demon Realm’ was meant communicating with Earth was easier said than done.
But hopefully with this new uplink modified with Sonorosian broadcasters and tachyon sensors would be able to do the job. But before he could pat himself on the back he hears a noise muffled from his music and turns to the door leading into the Owl House from the tower.
Then there was muffled scratching and then a loud slam against the door.
“Hey, hey, what the heck is going on out there?” he storms over to the door and unlocks it, swinging it open ready to confront who was making the noise when he comes face to face with a black eyes creature covered in feathers looking like one of Dr Animo’s creations.
“...Not a big fan of rock?” he asks with an awkward smile, “I’ll turn it down.”
He slowly closes the door and locks it back, but then the door was smashed open with large force, knocking him back and straight into his modified uplink, causing it to tip over and crack open.
“Hey I spent all night on that!” he complains and touches the stone wall that he was thrown against to absorb it, creating a stone shell over him.
The creature roars back and charges as Kevin shapes one of his hands into a mallet, ducking under its claws before slamming it against its face with all his might. All this does was stagger it and as he goes for another swing it swats him away with one of its wings.
Kevin groans as he slammed against the walls and before he could push himself up he gets stomped on hard by one of the creature’s paws, and then picked up and placed between its jaws. He cries out in pain as the jaws clamp shut, cracking his armour as he delivered a blow directly into the creature’s eye causing it to roar in pain and release him.
“What the heck are you?” he asks out loud as he raises both his arms to transform them into shields to block a strong slash, “Luz?! I could use some help!”
He shouts but receives no response as the creature tries stabbing at him with its claws but he rolls under it in time. He tries reaching for his duffle bag full of Plumber gear, hoping to get a blaster or some other device but could only stare in exasperation as the creature stomps hard on it, causing the tech to spark beneath its claws.
“Luz?! Owl Lady?!” he cries out slowly getting desperate as he barely avoids getting smacked away with wings again, “HOPE?! You there?! I’m sorry for annoying you but I could use a little help now!”
***
“Finally.” Hope smiles in bliss as she takes a sip from a cup of tea before holding the empty cup out for a rock monster to refill, besides her was a magically constructed fireplace that made the room just the right level of warmth, “A warm drink, cosy fireplace, a book in hand and no racket? It can’t get any better than this can it?”
She asks her rock monster rhetorically who shrugs in response before placing the kettle back on her desk. She nods in thanks to it before taking another sip just as she feels the tower slightly shake, rolling her eyes.
“Great, it appears Kevin has moved on to experimenting with explosives or something,” she grumbles before reinforcing the noise cancellation spell that separated her room from the rest of the tower.
***
“Why isn’t it chasing us?” King wonders just as they hear the scream of a familiar voice and the crunching of stone.
“It probably found Kevin, but he’ll be fine.” Luz assures as she winces, hearing another scream and louder smashing, “I think.”
“Then where are we going?” King asks as Luz climbed the stairs to the second floor.
“Eda. I don’t know how she’s sleeping through all this but we need to wake her up and get her to deal with this thing.” Luz explains as they finally come across the door to her room and not wasting any time, Luz kicks it in.
“Eda!” she yells out as she barges in, “Wake up! We need you-?”
She trails off as she finds the state of the room, claw marks everywhere and furniture torn up with feathers everywhere and no sign of the Owl Lady.
“Eda?” she calls out worriedly, looking around, “Are you alright?”
Both of them look in worry and fear at the thought of what happened. Judging from the broken window and the torn-up room, a terrible image fills their mind but no one wants to say it. Before anything can happen, the closet door creaks and the two spin towards it.
“Eda?” Luz asks with hope but then she sees the silhouette in the closet was too small to be the Owl Lady.
“Sorry, sorry, I just needed somewhere to hide from the rain.” a pink-skinned creature in a spiked shell comes out of the closet slowly.
“Waitaminute, are you a Snaggleback?” King asks in surprise, “You’re a lot shorter in person.”
“Did you see a really tall and pale lady?” Luz interrupts King.
“I didn’t see anyone.” the Snaggleback timidly responds, “The whole place was like this when I got here, I climbed through the broken windows to get somewhere away from the rain.”
“Wait…the windows were already broken?” Luz asks before going to check. Sure enough, she finds that the windows were broken from the inside with glass shards outside of the Owl House and muddy tracks of a large creature pointing outwards not inwards,
“But that means that thing came from inside?” Luz mutters in confusion as King calls for her attention.
“Uh, Luz?” He says with worry, “I think I know where it came from.”
He hands her an empty glass bottle with a tag on it,
“An elixir a day, keeps the curse away?” Luz reads the tag out loud in confusion before realising, “Eda was cursed? Does that mean…?”
“Eda’s that owl beast-thing? Probably.” King says similarly nervous and fearful, “What are we going to do? If she had any elixir in the Owl House she’d probably have drank it! But if she doesn’t then does it mean she’s stuck like that forever?”
He looked scared at the thought of that and Luz’s instincts kick in, kneeling down to his eye level and placing a hand on his shoulder
“Hey, listen to me, little buddy.” Luz says as calmly and assuringly as she could, “Eda’s not going to be stuck like that forever, we’re going to help her alright. You, me, Kevin and Hope.”
“But how? You can’t even transform!” King points to her still-red Omnitrix but she gives him a confident smile.
“Who needs an Omnitrix when I got the king of demons with me?” she asks, trying to give him a boost in confidence, “You know demons more than anyone else, that means you know their weaknesses as well. So what do you say? Why don’t we finish our lesson?”
This seems to boost King’s spirits as he immediately starts thinking, “Wel…I only got a brief look at it but it was covered in feathers and had black eyes. Demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to bright light. What about your human rectangle thing?”
“My phone?” Luz reaches into her pocket and pulls it out only to curse, “Damn it, the camera’s busted. It must’ve broke when I pushed you away from the Owl Beast.”
“Well…what about a light spell?” King suggests desperately, “We can wait until you turn into a witch and bam!”
A loud scream and even louder smashing interrupt them as they both wince.
“I don’t think Kevin’s got that much time. And where the heck is Hope?!” Luz cries out in frustration as she opens up her cracked phone, “Maybe I can set the screen’s light to the max? Will that be enough?”
The phone opens her most recent tap and to her annoyance, an accidental tap plays the video of Eda’s spell, and she was just about to close it when a flicker of something catches her eye. For a moment it appeared as if a shape was formed within the spell circle Eda drew.
“Wait, did you just see that?” she asks King who looks over confused.
“See what?” he asks as Luz began scratching it on the floorboard with one of the large feathers scattered across the room, using its sharp end to draw what appeared to be a triangle with a circle and cone on top of it, a line running downwards with two smaller lines running across it.
“This, it’s like a symbol in the spell circle.” She taps on it for emphasis but to both their surprise the symbol begins glowing a faint light as it disappears, forming into a small orb of light that was barely as bright as a light bulb.
“Is this…Did I…” Luz breathes quickly in disbelief, fearing her eyes were misleading her but judging from King’s reaction it wasn’t, “I just did magic!”
“But we can’t stop that thing with something that small!” King exclaims.
“No, we can’t.” Luz agreed but her smile doesn’t dampen, “But I have a plan, and it needs your help, little buddy.”
***
“Okay…okay…” Kevin pants after he was thrown from the tower back into the Owl House and crashed into a ruined couch, “We’re both exhausted by now…how about a time-out?”
The beast roars in response, both in pain and anger, as it was covered in multiple bruises and cuts, torn patches of feathers littered the floor, and a bruised eye. Still, Kevin was on the worse end of the stick, with his armour shell practically in ruins and exhausted from the long, drawn-out brawl.
He touches the floor and absorbs it for a new wooden shell just as the beast approaches and slams a claw on his chest, crushing him. He screams in pain but rallies himself to ball up both his fist and slam them hard on the creature’s ankle, hearing a satisfying crack and a screech.
His satisfaction was short-lived however as it started bringing its jaws down on him, trying to crack him open like a nut as he desperately tried to resist. Just where the hell was everyone?!
“HEY!” a familiar voice shouts as something was thrown against the creature’s head, bouncing off with little effect other than drawing its attention. Both the beast and Kevin turn to find Luz a few feet away and he sighs in relief.
“Finally!” he cries out as the beast stops trying to maul him, “Hero time was a while ago, so turn into something already! Frankenstrike’s good, or Blitzwolfer, I don’t care!”
“Oh it is hero time, and I’ve already clocked in.” Luz says confidently pointing a thumb at herself, “Let’s see what you got Owl Beast.”
“...You gotta be kidding me.” Kevin groans upon realising both her plan and the fact that the Omnitrix on her wrist was glowing red. Nevertheless, he was too weak to protest as the Owl Beast removes its claw from his chest and begins prowling towards a seemingly defenceless Luz, but at this point, he’s learnt to trust whatever crazy scheme she has planned and decided to lie down in pain and exhaustion was his best choice for now.
“That’s it ugly.” she taunts as the beast steps forward, “Fresh delicious human here, one that isn’t covered in gross wood and stone.”
She suddenly turns and breaks into a sprint, the beast roaring before trying its best to pounce at her despite its injuries. Despite its wounded leg, it was still able to almost outpace Luz before they got into a smaller hallway forcing it to slow down and squeeze itself through as it followed its prey up a flight of stairs.
Just as it turns a corner to follow her, Luz throws her jacket right in its face, blinding it as it thrashes around trying to pull it off.
“King! Are you done yet?” she calls out narrowly avoiding a wild claw that would have decapitated her. Meanwhile, King was standing on a stack of books doing his best to copy the glyph she had instructed him on.
He finishes the last part of the glyph by drawing two lines striking across its midsection and nods to Luz, just as the Owl Beast finishes tearing her jacket to shreds.
“Sorry Eda but this is for your own good.” she apologises quickly before shouting to King, “Now!”
With a grunt, King slams hard against the giant glyph that was drawn on the wall, engulfing the entire corridor with bright light as the Owl Beast screeches, desperately holding its hands in front of its face to shield its eyes.
***
“There we go.” Kevin pants as it finishes putting cuffs around the Owl Beast’s limbs. They were strong enough to hold even a Tetramand and he doubts the Owl Beast would be able to break out if it awakes, “Now we just need to figure out what to do with her.”
“We can wait until the storm stops.” Luz suggests as she sits on the ground, comforting King who looks at Eda’s mutated owl form with worry, “We’ll look around the market, see if anyone sells the elixir she buys.”
“Or maybe your Omnitrix can figure something out?” Kevin suggests, “It fixed the DNAliens, maybe it can fix whatever’s wrong with the Owl Lady?”
“Hm, maybe.” Luz says, unsure seeing as the whole ‘curse’ was probably something magic, and the Omnitrix wasn’t exactly good with magic. Still, she sets down King and approaches the unconscious Owl Beast with her Omnitrix stretched out.
“Omnitrix, initiate full biometric scan.” she orders as it flashes yellow before a beam of light scans the creature.
“Uncatalogued DNA detected.” it pipes up before flashing orange, “Error. Error. Error. Unable to catalogue. Severe genetic damage detected. Genetic code splicing error. Initiate repairs?”
“Affirmative.” Luz confirms as she placed her hand with the Omnitrix on Eda’s cursed form with the dial glowing purple at a rapid pace. A flash of light surrounds the Owl Beast, energy crackling as the Omnitrix repairs whatever was done to Eda.
The feathers fall off and disintegrate into ash almost instantly as the body shrinks, the appendages returning to humanoid sizes and shapes until all that remained was Eda lying unconscious on the floor in her red dress. Not even the wounds she had as the Owl Beast were present on her.
Everyone smiles in relief at the sight but then the Omnitrix broke the mood,
“Error. Error. Error. Genetic repairs incomplete. Cause: Unknown.”
“What? But she looks fine.” King points out confused.
“It means whatever Eda’s cursed with is probably still there,” Luz responds sadly.
Suddenly Eda begins coughing and everyone tenses as she woke up, but relax slightly once they see her eyes were normal instead of pitch black this time.
“Ugh, that's the worst hangover I ever had in my life.” she groans as she rubs her head, pushing herself off the floor before realising where she was. Once she realised she wasn’t in her room she looks around confused to find Luz, Kevin and King staring at her in a ruined living room with Hooty’s door haphazardly placed back on its hinges.
“Did I…do all this?” Eda asks, fearing the answer. Luz was about to break the news to her gently but Kevin, ever brash and confrontational, spoke first.
“Yeah, you mind explaining to us why our landlord’s secretly a giant were-owl?” he asks crossing his arms in front of him as Luz elbows him, “What? We’re all thinking it.”
Eda sighs, “Well, I guess you all deserve an explanation don’t you?”
Luz nods, “Kevin got pretty hurt when you turned into that Owl Beast. So yeah, we do need an explanation after what’s happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” King asks, sounding hurt, “I mean, I’ve known you for as long as I can remember, and I don’t remember you telling me anything about this.”
“Because I didn’t want to make you worried, kid.” Eda says as she affectionately rubs King on the skull, “It all started back when I was around your age, Luz. Somehow and for whatever reason, I got cursed. I don’t know much about anything involving it, but I do know that if I don’t take some elixir…Well, that’s why people call me the Owl Lady.”
Eda explains as she realises something, “Speaking of which, how’d I return to normal? I remember running out of elixir. Did one of you run to the market and grab some?”
“You have Luz to thank over here.” Kevin nudges her, “She found a way to stop your Owl Beast-thing, something about magic or something, and then used her Omnitrix to fix you up.”
“...Alright I’m not sure what to be more surprised about.” Eda mutters impressed, “That your little doohickey fixed my curse or you somehow learnt magic? Unless I misheard that?”
“Nope! You definitely heard right!” Luz exclaims excitedly as she hastily takes out a notepad and begins drawing the light glyph on a blank page before tapping it, causing it to crumple up and float in the air as an orb of light.
She gently pushes it to Eda who gently catches it and looks at it amazed, “Well damn, you really did it. How’d you figure it out?”
“Your spell circle.” Luz explains, “There was something inside the circle, and when I drew it out and tap it, it made the spell. Isn’t it amazing?”
“As long as this isn’t another New Jersey thing,” Kevin says looking at the orb of light with uncertainty.
“It’s certainly impressive, kid.” Eda agreed with her before turning serious, “But back to the topic, what exactly did your watch do?”
“The Omnitrix detected some DNA splicing damage in you.” Luz explains as she fiddles with the dial and taps it before a holographic display of Eda’s DNA chromosomes appears with some of the gene codes coloured red, “See? That’s your DNA mixed in with some unknown creatures. The Omnitrix then tried to repair it the best it can, but it looks like some of the damage is very stubborn. I’m sorry, but it looks like you’re still cursed.”
Eda sighs, “Well I suppose another miracle’s too much to hope for. That’s my curse for ya, stubborn as a ratworm.”
“Maybe we can bring you back to Earth?” Luz suggests, “The Plumbers got the best medical tech in the entire galaxy! Heck, we might even get Azmuth to take a look!”
“I won’t get my hopes up.” Eda says jadedly, “I spent the better part of thirty years trying to find a cure for this damn thing. Not even the Healing or Beast Keeping Coven could figure something out and I doubt whatever fancy stuff you got can put a dent in this curse. But with the right steps and elixirs, I’ll make it manageable.”
“Well, they haven’t met the greatest mind in three, maybe five, galaxies.” Luz says confidently, “We’ll find a way to help you, Eda. I promise that.”
“Surprise that you still wanna stay under the same roof as me.” Eda smiles despite herself, “Most people wouldn’t want to stay under the roof with someone who can turn into a monster.”
“Well, most people aren’t this knucklehead.” Kevin jokes as he ruffles Luz’s hair before turning to Eda seriously, “I was in a similar spot like yours once. Similar but pretty different, I lost control and turned into a monster, attacking Luz and her family. And yet those guys still tried to help me after all I did, I wouldn't be here if it wasn’t for them. I know what it’s like to lose your mind, become something else. You got my word, we'll help as much as we can, Owl Lady.”
“Kinda same here once.” Luz meekly raised her hand, “One of my old transformations, Ghostfreak, possessed me and made me almost hurt my family. We got experience with this kinda stuff Eda, we know some version of what you’re going through, and we’re gonna help you through it.”
“...You guys are the weirdest kids I’ve ever met.” Eda chokes back some tears, touched by this as Luz playfully punches her shoulder.
“We’re weirdos, we gotta stick together,” Luz says.
Before Eda could respond, a familiar voice was heard from the other side of the room.
“What in the realms happened here?” Hope exclaims in surprise as she surveys the wreck of a living room.
“Finally!” Kevin exclaims annoyed, “Where were you? We really could’ve used your help ten minutes ago!”
“I was in my room doing research.” Hope explains as she looks around confused at the destruction, “Your racket was disturbing me so I soundproofed it. And then this happened while I was gone? Why didn’t you try calling me?”
“I did.” Kevin notes sourly, “I was literally screaming for you as that Owl Beast smashed my head in.”
“No, I mean call me on my badge,” Hope explains as she pulls out a Plumber’s badge surprising both Luz and Kevin.
“Er…” Kevin struggled to come up with an explanation before realising he had none, turning to a similarly surprised Luz for help.
“We…didn’t know you had a badge,” Luz says confused.
“Your father gave it to me, and declared me a deputised agent of the Plumbers before we left.” Hope explains as she repockets it, “Next time, how about you try using that head you dunce?”
“W-well, how about you not soundproof your room. That’s really unsafe given what just happened.” Kevin stutters back trying to save face.
“How about you not make a racket?” Hope shot back.
“How about you put on some earplugs?”
They both began another round of bickering as Luz sighs at the display.
“Well, what made you come out then?” Luz pipes in hoping to distract the two of them, “Did you notice something wrong?”
“Well, not exactly. I was using the crystal ball Eda lent me when I came across something interesting. Watch.” Hope says as she taps it and a news clipping appeared on it with the title; ‘Mysterious Attack at St Epiderm’.
“Students and staff were found unconscious all over the school.” Hope explains, “Drained of all their magic.”
Notes:
Sorry for the late chapter I suddenly got sick with a cold as well as fact I had projects to do and exams to prepare for. Hope you all find this chapter satisfactory, please leave your thoughts down in the comments below.
Chapter 9: 100 Kudos QnA
Chapter Text
So with a 100 kudos milestone reached I feel I should do something special especially since this is my first fanfic with a TvTropes page. I figured why not do a QnA type of thing? Seen that a few times in a couple other fanfics. Feel free to drop questions down in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them as long as they're nothing too spoiler-ish. Can't give too much of my plans away but feel free to ask whatever comes to mind, maybe if you want to ask about how Luz's adventure on Earth was compared to Ben's or something. Thank you all for supporting this story and I hope you will all keep enjoying it.
Chapter 10: I Was a Teenage Witch
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“So you didn’t see where it slithered away or something?” Kevin asks as he jots down the notes in a notepad he brought along. He wore a grey hoodie to cover up his lack of pointy ears, pretending to be some independent journalist to get answers from one of the staff members of St Epiderm.
“No, most of the school and staff were at the assembly hall preparing for inspection by an Emperor’s Coven member.” a frustrated witch explains, “Then the ‘inspector’ turned out to be some strange demon that sucked out our magic. We all blacked out from exhaustion, and by the time we woke up all our security crystals with their footage were destroyed. Not even the Emperor’s Coven and our Oracle Track educators were able to salvage it.”
After a few more questions that led nowhere, Kevin thanked the teacher for his time and walked off to meet the rest outside of St Epiderm in a nearby town. There were still Emperor’s Coven scouts in the area performing their own investigation and he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.
He approached an alley where Hope was waiting for him, flipping and catching a charm.
“Whoever this basilisk was, they were careful. Their magic cameras, or whatever, were all destroyed before they left so no one saw them leaving or what direction they went.” he reports, annoyed at his lack of progress, “Anything on your end?”
“Nothing, this basilisk is definitely more careful than the last one.” Hope says fidgeting with the charm, “I tried using the same tracking spell but the trail is covered up. So nothing on my end as well.”
As she finishes, they hear the sound of something clambering down from the roof to the alleyway, scaling down the walls gracefully before landing on all fours. Blitzwolfer looks up to them with a shake of her head,
“Can’t get a scent, I think the basilisk used the magic absorbed to hide her scent. It’s like trying to find a specific candle in a scented candle factory by smell.” she growls before slamming her Omnitrix and returning to human, “I take it that it's the same for you guys.”
“Great, so we got a ninja basilisk on our hands.” Kevin says half-jokingly and half-annoyed, “What’s our next step?”
“I think it’s obvious.” Luz says surprisingly excited, “We can’t find the basilisk, but we do know where it’s going to be. A magic school.”
“Just because it attacked one magic school doesn’t mean it’ll attack another.” Hope points out but Kevin shrugged.
“Well, where else would you find a place full of magic that’s relatively easy to break into with a lot of magic?” he asks, “I talked to the teachers and they went down quick and easy. All the basilisk had to do was disguise as some Emperor’s Coven officer, call for an inspection, gather them up in one room, and wham! All-you-can-eat buffet.”
“So you suggest we stake out at the other two magic schools?” Hope asks but Luz surprisingly shakes her head.
“No, not a stakeout.” she says ecstatically, “We’re going undercover!”
***
“You want to do what?” Eda asks, hoping she misheard.
“You heard me.” Luz nods, “Undercover at a magic school! Think about it, if the basilisk is gonna target magic schools the best way to catch them before the Emperor’s Coven is to wait there undercover then when they gather up the students for lunch we reveal ourselves and bring them back to Earth.”
“Yeah I get that, but why do you have to be a student? Just camp outside of a school and wait for one.” Eda suggests.
“It’s so we can react faster, so we won’t be too late if someone gets hurt!” Luz explains, “It’s for the good of the people.”
“She just really wants to study at a magic school.” Kevin explains tiredly having run out of energy trying to convince Luz, “It’s her fantasy and the one thing she wishes for every birthday.”
“I can live out my childhood fantasy while helping people,” Luz says with a blush of embarrassment.
“Oh, it’s not as cranked up as you think it is.” Eda says rolling her eyes, “All they do in school is have you learn magic the ‘proper way’. There isn’t a right way to do magic, it’s wild and unpredictable which is why it's so beautiful. Besides, look at me, I didn’t finish magic school and I turned out just fine.”
Eda says while standing on a giant, dead trash slug that is overflowing with junk and trash slime with a scent that would make even a Lepidopterran gag. Luz and Hope decide to not make a comment, but Kevin couldn’t help himself.
“Truly, you are what every child should strive to be.” he says sarcastically, “What are you even doing? Those things sell well on the black market or something?”
“Oh no, trashslugs flesh is inedible and basically worthless.” Eda says as she digs into it with a pickaxe, “The real goods are what’s inside them. Sometimes your human trash would end up in the ocean, these guys eat them up and once they’re all fat and bloated up, they get beached and I earn my paycheck.”
The trash spills from the wounds created by Eda and nearly splatters on the trio who back away in disgust, until Kevin’s eyes widen at something coming out of the trash slug.
“Wait a minute… is that a dark matter afterburner?!” he exclaims as he wads through the trash and starts digging through with his bare hands and picking up a strange device that looks like a miniaturised jet engine with purple circuitry, “These things are banned in official GRC races. Look at this, custom circuitry, it must’ve been from some illegal asteroid belt racer.”
“That’s what that is?” Eda looks down curiously, “I’ve actually sold plenty of those. Thought they were just some weird human modern art project.”
“This isn’t human tech, this is alien tech!” Kevin says in amazement as Luz realised the implications.
“But wait, how is that possible?” she turns to Eda, “You have the only portal out of the Demon Realm right? So how did stuff like this get here?”
“Oh, every now and then the layers between the Human and Demon Realm get thin enough that stuff gets through into our ocean.” Eda shrugs, “Never tried looking into the how, probably some leftover magic from the big guy.”
“Well wherever it came from, I know where it’s going!” Kevin says as he grabs a bag from the pile of trash and stuffs the piece of tech inside before digging through the pile of trash again with his bare hands.
“Kevin, come on, we got work to do.” Luz groans, “Eda, you said you went to a magic school, right? Can’t you just introduce me so I can study there or something?”
“I think you’re forgetting something, kid.” Eda points at her Omnitrix, “Without that watch, you only know a single light spell. Even then you got an hour at most to cast magic, and school lasts for much longer than an hour. And aren’t you worried the Emperor’s Coven might spot you studying at one of their schools?”
“Er…well…” Luz struggles to think of an argument before turning to Hope, “Help me out here?”
“Well, I do have some illusion charms that may assist you with disguises. You might be able to excuse yourself and transform into your Luzura form if you need to cast magic.” Hope suggests and Kevin chuckles.
“Oh, you need me to do some magic? Sure, I just need to go to the bathroom first. Ignore the bright purple lights.” Kevin says sarcastically mimicking her voice as he continues to dig through junk hoping to find more alien tech.
“I hate to say it but the dunce has a point.” Hope admits, “It seems like a lot of effort and trouble just to go undercover. If you want to attend this magic school, maybe you can do it after the mission if we have time?”
“Yeah, but we don’t know how long the mission’s going to take.” Luz complains, “We might have to spend the whole Summer vacation here at worst, and then we’ll have to get back to our jobs on Earth with boring, normal school! I want to at least spend a day at a magic school before that. It’ll just be until we catch the basilisk targeting the schools. Pretty please.”
Hope pauses to think. She knows the stress that Luz goes through and knows that once this is over she may not have time to visit the Boiling Isles again until the next vacation or break she has. And she knows how much Luz loves magic, denying her this chance seems cruel.
She sighs, “Fine. I’ll loan you one of my charms, but I won’t guarantee anything.”
“Yes!” Luz exclaims and starts hugging Hope, almost crushing her ribs as she frantically thanked the magician, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
Eda sighs seeing this, Luz’s excitement and joy was contagious, and she supposes she does owe the Omnitrix wielder for helping her out during the Owl Beast incident yesterday.
“I guess I can spare the time to bring you to Hexside.” she shrugs, “But only because I want you to see how bad these schools really are. The Principal’s an old friend, I’ll talk with him and he might let you in.”
“YES!” Luz jumps in the air cheering, “YesyesyesyesyesyesYES! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DAY EVER!”
***
“So…this is the witch that would join my school?”
A tall figure in a blue robe, with some sort of demonic-looking hat worn over the upper half of his face, looks at Luz neutrally. She had an illusion charm worn over her neck that made it so she appeared to be in her Luzura form, complete with an Omnitrix emblem over her chest.
“If we’re going to get this started, you might as well remove that illusion.” he says surprising her, “Don’t give me that look, I haven’t survived being principal without knowing how to see through a basic illusion.”
Luz looks nervously towards Eda who just casually shrugs, “Eh, might as well. Didn’t think we were gonna slip this past him anyways.”
Luz nods and reaches through the illusion and takes off the charm, revealing her human form underneath it. Bump’s eyes failed to contain their surprise as they widen at the sight,
“A human? Now that is unexpected.” he admits stroking his chin in curiosity, “What’s a human doing on the isles? Let alone wanting to study at my school.”
“Well, that is a very long story for the first question.” Luz chuckles awkwardly before clearing her throat, “But I’ve really wanted to learn magic for a long time, it’s been one of my biggest dreams! And now I have the chance to do it by learning at your school.”
“...I’m not sure if Eda’s told you this yet, but humans can’t learn magic.” Principal Bump says as gently but bluntly as he can, with a slight glare at Eda but Luz smirks, “I suppose she forgot to inform you that since humans don’t possess bilesacs, they are unable to do magic like a normal witch. I regret to inform you that-”
“Oh I know about that.” Luz interrupts before pulling out a notepad, “Unfortunately for reality, I reject them and substitute it with my own!”
She draws a light glyph and slams it on the desk, creating a small orb of light that floats up, surprising Bump.
“Is this another illusion?” he mutters in shock as he hovers his hand above the orb to feel its warmth, “It feels real enough, and I can even sense the magic from it.”
“Oh it is real.” Eda smiles with pride, “You’re looking at the first human on the isles that can use wild magic like witches used to back in the old days. But that’s not all, right Luz?”
“Nope.” she smiles and primes her Omnitrix, “This thing on my wrist is called the Omnitrix, it’s a device that I can use to transform into everything. Case in point…”
She selects Luzura and slams on the device, a bright flash of purple momentarily blinding Bump and Eda before they clear their eyes and see the witch in front of them.
“...I can become Luzura!” she says holding out her hand, “Real, 100% genuine witch. Not an illusion this time.”
To demonstrate she draws a spell circle in front of her before throwing it into the air, creating a small swarm of light orbs the size of snowflakes that gently fall over them and dissipate upon contact. Bump can only stare in silence at the sight as Luz continued,
“But if that isn’t enough to impress you?” Luzura slams the Omnitrix on her chest and morphs into Buzzshock, zipping onto Bump’s shoulder in a flash of purple lightning, “How about something more electrifying ? Too small for your liking?”
She flies off his shoulder and slams her Omnitrix again, transforming into a towering amalgamation of flesh and metal, wearing a black tank top with the Omnitrix on her belt, two tesla coils protruding from her back and her black hair tied in a ponytail.
“I got buncha others on the Omnitrix, a whopping total of eleven different forms while I’m on the isles. And when I’m back in the Human Realm you can double that number and more.” Frankenstrike brags by slamming a fist against an open palm, creating a crackle of purple electricity. With the demonstration done, she slaps her Omnitrix on her belt and transforms back to Luz Noceda, “So what do you say, Principal Bump?”
“...” the Principal stares at her before blinking and turning to Eda, “I think we can work something out.”
“Yes!” Luz cheers and Eda rolls her eyes at her excitement, “So when do I get my uniform? Do I get a magic wand? Or staff?”
“Now just one moment.” Principal Bump insists, “I still have many questions of my own. If you can become a witch, why did you come into my office in an illusion?”
“Well, I can only last ten minutes to an hour in a transformation.” Luz explains embarrassed before hastily continuing, “But even without them, you can see how I cast magic as a human! …And there may be a slight problem where I may have messed with the Emperor’s Coven. But technically I’m not a wanted criminal or anything, they haven’t exactly put out a call for my arrest or wanted posters or anything!”
She quickly assures as Bump looks to Eda unimpressed, “Well, I suppose such things are inevitable when one is acquainted with Edalyn Clawthorne. She’s a troublemaker on a scale unlike any other you know? Which brings us to another point…”
He reaches under his desk and whips out a large stack of files and paper, dropping it on his desk with a loud thud.
“These are the list of “pranks” that Edalyn left when she studied here.” Bump explains with a glare, “Ghosts in the girl’s bathroom, permanent magical graffiti on the lockers, an entire potions lab barred from entry for thirty years !”
“...You guys still haven’t got around to fixing that?” was the only thing Eda could say as she stared at the stack of papers, “Honestly, I remembered it was bigger.”
“I took the liberty of removing the more minor infractions the last principal imposed.” Bump mutters as Eda grinned, “Imagine my disappointment that there were still enough infractions to act as a doorstopper to Hexside’s main entrance despite my best attempts.”
“Aw, you really do care Bumpykins.” she teases but was silenced with another glare from Bump before he turned to Luz,
“I admit your ability to cast magic as a human is impressive, as much as your strange shapeshifting abilities. But if you want to study here, I must insist that Edalyn fix all of her ‘pranks’ throughout the school.” he says, “If she can do that, I’ll allow you a place within our halls like any other students. And while maintaining your disguise as a witch is up to you, you can also be assured that whether human or witch, the Emperor’s Coven won’t touch you.”
“You can do that?” Luz asks surprised, “Aren’t they like your government or something.”
Bump smirks, “Child, I am older than the Emperor’s Coven, our school predates them by centuries. We have a lot of political pull as a result, and you can be assured if I give the word they won’t be able to touch you within these halls. Until Edalyn cleans up though, you may take the time and tour the school grounds and perhaps decide on a track.”
“Ugh.” Eda moans and glances at Luz, “You’re lucky I owe you one. Better appreciate this, kiddo.”
“Oh I will! This is going to be the best day ever!” Luz cheers before putting back on her illusion charm, creating the visage of Luzura over her. Before she can dash out, Bump stops her.
“As much as I appreciate youthful enthusiasm, I would like to assign you a tour guide. You still are acquainted with Edalyn and forgive me, but I would like to make sure you don’t cause any trouble.” he says with a side glance towards Eda before pressing the intercom button, “Can Amity Blight please report to the principal’s office?”
***
“Amity! I can’t believe you study here!” Luz exclaims as she follows the green-haired witch who wore a passive look on her face, “How long has it been? Two days? Man, it's a small world isn’t it?”
“It certainly was…unexpected to see you here.” she admits as they walk down the school’s hallways, “I should be surprised that you didn’t recognise I studied at Hexside because of my uniform, but considering your upbringing I’m not. And I see your friend isn’t with you?”
“Heh, no Hope didn’t wanna come.” Luz chuckles awkwardly, “Said something about how someone her level doesn’t need some magic school to teach her how she should use her magic.”
Amity scoffs dismissively, “So she’s a wild witch as well? At least you’re smart enough to see the error of your ways, someone like her is just going to get herself or others hurt eventually. Mark my words.”
“...Those are some really backhanded compliments.” Luz admits but tries not to let that dampen her mood, “Sure I get a lot of people are scared of wild magic after the Savage Ages, but Hope’s not like that. Sure she can be rough around the edges but she’s not that careless. She’d put a hex on you for suggesting that.”
Amity sighs, “Sorry if I offended you but it’s just the way things work. If a wild witch is left to their own devices they’ll end up hurting someone eventually, that’s what we all learn in class. You should try talking her into joining a school, maybe if she gets that attitude of hers straight she’ll join a coven one day.”
“Come on, I’m sure if you two just get to know each other you’ll become great friends.” Luz says as she puts an arm around Amity, “Both of you are a lot alike. Cool, mysterious magicians and witches, wear some shade of pink and purple, and I bet beneath this sour lemon drop is a sweet centre as well.”
Amity blushes before removing Luz’s arms, “Blights only associate themselves with the best, so far your friend has yet to prove that after getting into a fight with library equipment.”
“I haven’t exactly proven myself as well, but here we are.” Luz points out Amity seems silent in thought before moving forward.
“Let’s just continue this tour, you’re fortunate Principal Bump offered me extra credit in compensation for missing class,” she mutters and Luz only sighs before following her. Amity and Hope were definitely alike.
“To give you a brief summary, Hexside was once the location of a rival school, but like tradition was at the time of its founding, Hexside was conquered by some of the first students and built on top of the rubble of the last,” Amity explains gesturing to a glass trophy case where the picture of what appears to be a younger Principal Bump was standing on top of rubble with a flag planted.
“Well…that’s some gnarly history.” Luz admits before looking around the trophy case and pointing a picture over a golden cup, a group of students dressed in uniforms similar to those worn in American rugby, “Winners of last year’s Grudgy tournament, the Hexside Banshees led by…Captain Amity Blight? You do sports?”
“...I used to,” Amity says not making eye contact, appearing uncomfortable.
“Why did you stop?” Luz asks but Amity shot down her question.
“Nothing to concern yourself with.” she says coldly before walking on, “If you want to study at Hexside you’ll need to pick a Track. Have you decided on one already?”
“You mentioned something about that.” Luz recalls, “I can only pick one of them right?”
“Of course.” Amity nods, “That’s how the system works, always has been.”
Luz sighs, “It’s just really constricting you know, there are so many options and they all sound so cool! I don’t even know what half of them do.”
“Well fortunately for you, you have the brightest witch in her year helping you pick one.” Amity smirks cockily before beckoning her to follow.
***
What followed was a tour of the major sites across campus relevant to each individual track, such as the Beast Keeping pens, the Healing hall, Potion labs, Oracle divination rooms, the Bards music room and more. Each time Luz’s excitement fails to diminish, and only grows stronger with each passing moment.
“That was so beautiful.” Luz whisper-cheers as they watch a group of Bard students practise their craft in the music room, “Even without magic, I’d kill to learn how to play my guitar like that!”
“I didn’t know you played.” Amity admits and Luz shrugs.
“Eh, only a few strings really. My dad teaches me some stuff whenever he has the time, and I think I can play a song or two but not as well as he can.” Luz says with a smile, “I’m not a good player judging by Kevin’s reaction, but I’m just happy to be spending time with my dad.”
“...You’re close with your father then?” Amity asks with a tone Luz couldn’t decipher.
“Yeah, he’s busy a lot. Ever since we were ten he would have to leave his job for months before coming back for two weeks at most.” Luz says with a sad smile, “I know why he can’t visit often, it’s important work and I understand so I just have to treasure every second we have together, make those moments count no matter how small they are. You get me?”
“Not really.” Amity admits after a pause, “My father always keeps himself busy with work, I can’t remember the last time I saw him out of his workshop for anything not related to work.”
“Jeez, a bit of a workaholic isn’t he?” Luz chuckles awkwardly before Amity glanced at her confused, “Oh it’s a play of words, like the word alcoholic means someone addicted to alcohol right? Well replace that with work, and you get someone addicted to work.”
“...That’s an apt description for my father.” Amity mutters, “What does yours have to say about the tracks you should join? And your mother, does she want you to join any particular one?”
“Well…not really,” Luz says after a moment of hesitation. It wasn’t like she told them she was planning to go undercover at a magic school, but she guess they’ll know once they send their weekly report, “I haven’t exactly told them I’m joining Hexside yet, we’re not living together at the moment. But they’re pretty cool people, I can guess that if they’re here now my mom and dad would be vague, telling me they won’t care what I choose as long as I’m happy, and they’ll support my choice no matter what. I guess I can understand where they’re coming from after having kids of my own but come on, help a girl make up her mind, am I right?”
“Wait, what?!” Amity asks, taken by surprise at Luz's comment who shrugged it off casually.
“Yeah, mother of fourteen. It’s a very, very long story, I'll tell it to you sometimes.” Luz chuckles before asking, “Anyways, when will I get my own wand or staff? Right off the bat or is that some graduation thing?”
“...I don’t know why you’d get one from a bat, but if you want a training wand you can just buy it from your normal student supply shop,” Amity explains before seeing the look of confusion on Luz’s face.
“Wands are only for training?” she asks and Amity rolls her eyes,
“Titan, you really are wild.” she says, “Come on, I’ll show you.”
They travel to another part of the school where a row of living, breathing lockers were snoring away in sleep. Luz tries to keep the lock of surprise off her face as Amity scratches one before its mouth opens up and she reaches inside it.
“Here.” Amity pulls out a book with a wand between its pages as a sort of bookmark, “A wand’s used when a witch wants to learn a new spell. It works like how you would cast a normal spell, except it magically corrects the form and circle to generate the intended spell without draining on your bilesac. It runs out of power quick though, so most just use it for practice and training. If you do get one I recommend not relying on it too much, it can be a crutch.”
“That’s so cool.” Luz looks at it in awe, “Show me a spell, come on just one!”
Amity looks unsure but upon seeing the pleading and excited look on Luz’s face she sighs in defeat, “Not here, there’s the training hall for a reason. I can show you there.”
Amity brought Luz to an empty room with several training dummies. She sheets up one and gets a few feet away from the target before drawing a spell circle with her wand. In a flash, a fireball the size of a basketball launched forward and blew the target apart.
“Satisfied?” she asks as Luz claps, impressed.
“That was awesome!” she cheers, “Can you teach me? I want to give it a try!”
Amity looked at Luz amused, “I suppose you can try.”
She hands the wand to Luz before walking her through the basic steps and wand safety (such as keeping it pointed away from yourself at all times), before setting up another target dummy for her.
“It’s quite an advanced spell for someone our year.” Amity says as Luz got into position, “Even with a training wand you may find it hard to get the spell right. Don’t be too hard on yourself when that happens.”
It sounded a bit condescending in Luz’s opinion but she shrugs it off and focuses on her wand. The instructions Amity gave her was to basically let her thoughts focus on the spell’s effects and channel it through the wand which will use a form of artificial bile to create it for her. Thankfully that meant no need to make some half-baked excuse to use her Omnitrix.
She takes a breath and focuses on fiery thoughts like Heatblast. She remembers how it first felt when she transformed into her, her skin turned to dark red stone with fire crackling inside her and spewing out through the seams, a barely contained fire. She remembers how she was able to direct the flames from her, control and shape that near uncontrollable fire into something to help people like her father trained her to.
With the thoughts clearly in mind she draws an orange spell circle with the wand. But instead of creating a simple exploding ball of fire, she creates a concentrated stream of flames instead that turned the dummy to ashes, surprising Amity Blight.
Luz winces when she sees the charge on the hilt of the wand run out before sheepishly handing it back to Amity, “Sorry, I think I burnt it out.”
“...You made it expel too much magic at once. Practice wands weren’t exactly made for spells of that calibre.” Amity mutters reluctantly, impressed as she takes it back before clearing her throat, “You have experience with fire spells?”
“I guess you can say that.” Luz chuckles and scratches the back of her head, “You can say it’s the first I’ve ever learnt.”
Both Luz and Amity wince as the smell of the smoke hits them,
“We should probably clean that up, and open a window or two.” she coughs into her elbow before moving to do so as Luz approached the smouldering ashes thinking of putting them out in case it accidentally starts a fire by accident.
But just as she was about to step on it, her eyes widen at something within the ashes and bends down to observe closer, shocked to find a glyph within them. It was a different design than the light glyph, a circle with a triangle on it, and a smaller one stacked on top. It looked similar to that of a burning candle wick.
She hastily brings out her notebook and scribbles it down just as Amity approaches her with brooms in hand, just in time to see Luz tap the glyph and a ball of fire erupts into existence between her hands.
“What?” Amity blinks in surprise before dropping the brooms and kneeling next to Luz, “What did you just do? I didn’t even see you cast a spell circle!”
“Well…this is something I discovered a while ago.” Luz explains as she shows her the small orb of fire, “There are these glyphs, and when I tap on them they let me use magic with them.”
To demonstrate she extinguishes the ball of fire and draws another glyph on her notepad, tapping it and showing Amity the light spell she learnt yesterday, “See?”
Amity looks at the orb of light with interest but then recovers from her surprise and returned to a calm and collected expression, “W-well that is certainly surprising to see. I’ve never seen or heard of magic being used without spell circles before. But how does it work?”
She asks, trying to look composed but Luz could see a glint of wild curiosity behind her eyes, eager to learn, and she chuckles in response before replying.
“Hope and I got some theories, but she’s saying maybe the glyphs are a sort of language that translates the ambient magic surrounding the Boiling Isles into spells I can use. It’s amazing isn’t it?” Luz asks with a proud smile.
“It’s certainly unique.” Amity admits before looking from the orb of light to Luz, “But what about your skills with real magic?”
“Real magic? This is magic.” Luz points out waving the orb of light in her hands.
“Well it is, but I’m talking about the magic you use with your bile.” Amity explains, “I showed you a spell, even if it's with a wand, what about you? Surely you must have learned a few unique spells from…wherever you lived.”
There was a bit of a challenging tone with Amity and Luz laughs awkwardly trying to figure out how she should respond to that and not blow her cover, “Well the thing is…I can’t really use magic. Not for more than ten minutes at a time, sometimes an hour if I really stretch it out, but I’ll get sick afterwards.”
Amity widens her eyes in surprise at that, “Oh…I didn’t know you had a…disability like that.”
Luz tries not to wince, so this was the equivalent of pretending you have a disability? Oh god, she was going to the bad place for this, wasn’t she?
“I don’t really think of it as a disability, it’s just how I was born and all.” she gives an awkward laugh hoping that would cover things up.
“...It’ll be hard for you, school doesn’t end just after an hour, let alone ten minutes.” Amity points out and Luz sighs.
“Yeah, I know I’m probably gonna have a harder time learning magic compared to everyone else. I love magic but I used to think I couldn’t become a witch, since I couldn’t use magic and all.” She admits with the orb of light still in her hand, smiling at it, “But until yesterday, I couldn’t do this, and today I was able to learn a fire spell thanks to you. Imagine what could happen tomorrow, and the day after that? It’ll be harder but I definitely want to try.”
“...You know the minimum number of spells for Hexside is two, so you just barely fit in.” Amity points out but before Luz could sigh and make some witty retort she continues, “That said, I’ve never seen someone cast a spell like you did before. If you really are serious about this, then I’m sure it shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
“Aw, are you going soft on me Blight?” Luz teases, feeling warm at the green-haired witch’s encouragement.
Amity smirks at her good-naturedly, “In your dreams, Noceda.”
Suddenly a loud screaming interrupts them and Luz nearly jumps but Amity doesn’t appear fazed.
“What the heck was that?” Luz asks, landing on her back and barely avoiding reaching for her Omnitrix dial on reflex.
“That’s just the bell, it means that it’s time for lunch.” Amity replies calmly and gets up, holding out a hand for a flustered Luz who accepts it, “Let’s go, we’ll want to get seats before the cafeteria gets too packed. And there are some friends I want to introduce you to.”
***
The cafeteria reminded Luz of the one at school back home, rows upon rows of tables and benches with students gathered around each of them in their own friend groups, chatting and making a ruckus as they ate.
The only difference was the food, as she lines up she resists gagging at the sight and smell, her diplomatic training from the Plumber’s academy kicking in. One of the many rules you learned was that you don’t empty your guts at the sight of something from an alien world unless it's appropriate to do so culturally. It was reasonable but she was sure whoever wrote that rule never tried some of the more ‘exotic’ dishes she’s seen in her career.
Plus she didn’t even know what most of the food could do to a normal human like her. Another rule was to do research beforehand and find out if you’re incapable of eating anything before a diplomatic mission. Which she didn’t.
So when Amity asked if she was eating she politely made up an excuse that she was stuffed. She barely gave it a thought before shrugging, pointing her to a specific empty table in the middle of the cafeteria, and asking her to wait there for her.
“My friends will be here soon, it usually takes them a while to get here considering Boscha’s constantly updating her Penstagram profile every second.” Amity mutters that last part before turning to Luz seriously, “Try to make a good first impression. I’m a Blight, and I can only associate with the best.”
“Relax, Amity, I can act prim and proper if you want me to.” Luz assures with a chuckle, thinking of how that sounded like something Hope would say in the old days, before clearing her throat and straightening her back, speaking in the poshest accent possible, “Good day, dear sir or madam, allow me to introduce myself in the most superlative manner possible.”
Amity doe her best not to smirk at that but fails before turning serious again, “Just try not to mess this up, around here you need connections to get far. If they ask you why you’re sitting there, just tell them I sent you.”
“Copy that, Blight.” Luz gives a two-fingered salute before moving to the empty table in the middle of the cafeteria, taking a seat. However, the moment she does she notices a shift in the atmosphere.
There was still noise and people chatting everywhere, but a handful of students that saw her take a seat widened their eyes in shock, and when she turned to face them upon noticing they instantly averted their eyes in fear. She expected this to be some kind of table for the elite of the school or something if what Amity said about associating with the best was true, but why did everyone look so horrified and befuddled like they just witnessed a man jumping into a pool of acid willingly?
Something didn’t feel right.
Suddenly she caught something at the edge of her peripheral vision and spun around to see a girl with curly navy-blue hair and round glasses, her uniform matches that of Amity Blight’s making her a member of the Abomination Track.
To her disgust, two students in similar uniforms were at a table behind her, taking turns using straws to launch spitballs, visibly snickering whenever they hit her hair. This wasn’t going unnoticed as the girl clenched her fist but didn't do anything, besides looking at her uneaten lunch looking like she was holding back tears.
The more things change, the more they stay the same she supposes. Without a moment of hesitation, she stands right up and approaches the two spitballers from the side without giving her presence away until she snatched the straw from one of them
“Hey-!” the one who lost their straw starts but falters at the sight of Luz standing over them with a glare.
“Is this funny to you? Is this how kids our age should be acting? I’m just going to assume you’re too blind to notice that she’s not finding this funny at all!” she says in a loud tone, not enough to be considered yelling or shouting, but enough to command presence.
“H-hey, we’re not hurting her or anything.” the second spitaballer protests before her glare fell on them causing them to stutter, “B-besides, it’s her fault! S-she’s why we’re getting extra homework when we don't need to! If she just did her project like the rest of us-!”
“Oh so doing this will make you have less work to complete?” she says sarcastically before snatching the other straw from the second spitballer, taking a breath before trying in a gentler and understanding but firm tone, “Look, stuff like this happens and it can be frustrating but it’s no excuse to pick on her because of that. I doubt she wanted extra homework as well, so she’s suffering like all of you. Maybe worse considering she failed whatever this project is. So apologise to her, and continue your lunch or whatever you want to do.”
“...W-whatever, why do you care you’re not even a student here. What are you even doing here?” the first one says, trying to sound tough and having the audacity to reach for another straw while she was still standing there. Instantly she reaches out and grabs them by the earlobes, pulling hard and getting them to scream as the second spitballer pales a bit.
“Aargh! What are you doing?!” they yell in pain as she twists their ear.
“Act like a child, get treated like a child. Is this how your parents raised you?” she responds before looking at the second one who raised their hands in surrender, “Are you deaf or do you want me to repeat myself?”
“N-no, ma’am!” the second spitballer makes a mad dash to the girl with glasses, who had been watching in stunned silence ever since she intervened, “I-I’m really sorry for doing that, Willow! Please forgive me!”
“And you?” Luz demands as she drags the first one to the glasses girl, apparently named Willow.
“I’m sorry!” they squealed out as they struggled against her grip, “I won’t do that again! I’m really sorry!”
Luz looks to Willow with a brow raised, as if silently asking her if she was satisfied with the apology before wordlessly nodding quickly.
Satisfied, Luz released them from her grip before glaring, “I’ll be studying here for the future, and if I ever see you try anything like that…”
She leaves her threat unsaid as the two frantically nodded their heads before making a mad dash towards the nearest exit, leaving their lunch uneaten.
With a sigh, Luz turns to the girl before smiling gently, “I hope you don’t mind but I just didn’t like to see people get picked on.”
“...Thank you,” Willow mutters softly before reaching for behind her hair to pick out the wads of spit-covered paper. Luz looks sympathetically before sitting down to help her clean her hair, to which she accepts her help wordlessly.
“...So if you don’t mind me asking, why were they so mad at you?” Luz asks as she plucks the spit wads from her hair as carefully as possible only for Willow to wince.
“You heard what they said, I failed a project and our professor punished us by giving us extra homework.” she answers looking down ashamed, “I guess I can’t blame them. Everyone hates Professor Hermonculus’ homework for a good reason.”
“Hey, hey.” Luz puts a hand on her shoulder and made her look eye to eye, “From what I’m hearing, it’s this professor’s fault not yours. Who the heck punishes an entire class just before someone fails a single project.”
“It’s worth 30% of our grade. My dads’ are going to be so disappointed.” Willow adds looking disappointed at herself, but Luz wasn’t having it.
“Hey, sure you didn’t make it this time but that’s just today.” She assures Willow, “You get knocked down, you get back up. Again and again, until you make it to the end of the line, wherever that is for you. That’s called life.”
“I don’t know if I can get back from this. I failed my other project because it was a group one and nobody wanted me on their team. Even if I somehow ace my exams, I wouldn’t be able to get a passing grade anyways! I’m not going to graduate, or get into a Coven because I’m such a failure!”
She rants looking close to tears as her eyes suddenly flicker green, similar to how Hope’s eyes would whenever she was using particularly strong magic. A few feet away someone in a green uniform who was holding a potted plant suddenly found the plant growing longer and lashing at him as he desperately hold it away from his face to avoid getting mauled by his own plant.
She wasn’t sure if that was correlated but instantly she reaches out and pulls the girl into a hug.
“It’s not the end of the world.” she assures, “I know it doesn’t seem that way to you now, but you’ll get through this. Maybe you have to take some make-up tests, or maybe some extra classes, or maybe even retake the whole year. So what? It might not sound like the most ideal choice but you’ll get through this all the same.”
“How do you know that?” Willow asks after breaking off from the hug, the green light in her eyes flickering.
“Call it a gut feeling.” Luz says tapping her guts with a clenched fist, “Only been wrong a few times, but I don't think this is one of them. We all move at different paces, what if some of us take longer to reach the finish line? I would’ve been held back myself if it wasn't for circumstance and I have a friend who doesn’t even go to school but he’s happy about it, so don’t be ashamed.”
The glow in her eyes flicker as behind her the student with the green uniform stares at his plant, now returned to normal, in utter confusion before moving on to find a seat. With the crisis averted, Luz sighs in relief before offering a hand to Willow.
“Luz Noceda.”
“Willow Park.” she introduces herself before looking at Luz and fully registering her appearance. You're not wearing a uniform. Are you a visitor?”
“Yeah, kinda touring the grounds. I’ll hopefully be studying here.” Luz explains before gesturing to the empty table, “What about you come with me? I got a friend who invited me to join her for lunch with her friends. Should be better than sitting alone.”
However, upon pointing out to the table Willow’s eyes widen to her confusion.
“...Your friend?” she asks carefully and Luz nods confused and concerned.
“Yeah, Amity Blight. Do you know her? She’s probably in the same class as you.” Luz explains as suddenly a voice interrupts them.
“Oh Willow, are you trying to start a new trend?” An obnoxiously mean voice interrupts them and Luz turns to see a pink-skinned three-eyed witch approaching, wearing darker pink hair in a ponytail followed by an assortment of other girls, “Wearing spit in your hair? That’s bold even for you.”
“I...I have to go.” Willow suddenly says, standing up from the table and walking away as fast as she could, surprising Luz who could only watch the girl run off before turning to the pink tri-clops in anger.
“What the heck’s your problem?” Luz stands to her feet to look at the witch who only smirks at her.
“Trying to help your social life, new girl. Overheard your little talk, and fortunately for you, I decided to grace you with my presence and stop you from committing social suicide before you even start your first day. Take my advice, you don’t want to ruin your social life this early.” she says with that annoying smirk and Luz glares at her furious.
“I would rather take social advice from an Appoplexian.” Luz shot back, and the girl frowns at the strange phrasing but shrugs it off.
“Hmph, see what I get for being nice?” she asks her posse before looking back at Luz, “Hope you enjoy being at the bottom of the pecking order then, new kid.”
“I’ve survived worse,” Luz says confidently. After the Vilgax, Animo, the Incurseans, Highbreeds and DNAliens, a plethora of cosmic horrors, and Bellwood High’s bullies, a bunch of mean girls were not even on her list of things to worry about.
Before things can escalate, a voice interrupts them.
“What in Titan’s name is going on here?”
Amity Blight steps between them looking between the two in confusion and Luz sighs in relief. Amity seems like she’s probably a top dog around school with how confident she acts, so maybe-
“Just educating the new kid on how Hexside works, Ams.” the pink-haired witch says, “Apparently she doesn’t appreciate my lessons.”
“She was making fun of some girl who got bullied!” Luz explains outraged to Amity, “And how do you know each other?”
Amity sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose before turning to the witch, “I’ll handle this, just meet me at our table.”
The witch scoffs but obliges, “Whatever you say, Ams. Come on girls.”
Her posse follows her to the single unoccupied table where Luz was sitting just now and then it clicks in her head, just as Amity forcefully drags her out of the cafeteria by her arm to an isolated corridor.
“What are you doing?” Amity asks frustrated, “I asked you to do one thing, and you messed up that bad?”
“They just came out of nowhere picking on a girl!” Luz yells confused and angered, “She’s already had a bad day and your pal just made it worse! What’s up with that?!”
“Look, I understand Boscha can be a bit harsh, but if you want to make it through this school you need connections!” Amity explains as patiently as she can before sighing, “Alright, this shouldn’t be hard to fix. Just follow my lead, you’ll have to apologise but-”
“Apologise…” Luz’s jaw drops in disbelief, “You want me to apologise to someone who thinks helping and hanging out with someone who I saw getting bullied is social suicide. And then befriend her?”
“You don’t have to be friends.” Amity explains slowly losing her patience, “Just hang out with her, nod and go along with whatever she says, laughing at her jokes, follow her on Penstagram if you have a Scroll. Just mingle around us and you’ll never get into any trouble for the rest of your school life. I’m trying to help you! You can’t just throw away your social life for some witch you’ve never met before.”
Luz just stares at Amity in stunned silence and disappointment. This was the girl she’s been befriending? Someone who looks away when people get hurt? Someone who befriends people that do the hurting?
“...Her name is Willow Park.” Luz says softly, “She’s a member of the Abomination Track, she has two dads, and she’s going through some trouble with her grades thanks to failing some project. Now I know her, but even if I didn’t it wouldn’t matter! You don’t just stand by when you see someone get hurt, not an option, never an option. Not when you can do something about it.”
“Willow?” Amity asks with recognition in her eyes and Luz latches onto that with desperation.
“Yes, Willow Park! Do you know her? She’s probably a classmate of yours.” she tries hoping to get some sense into Amity only to be disappointed.
“You shouldn’t hang out with her, Luz!” Amity exclaims, “She’s Half-a-Witch Willow, she’ll only drag you down.”
“...If she’s ‘half-a-witch’, what does that make me?” she asks, pointing to herself, “Someone who can only use magic for ten minutes. I saw the way she looked when I mentioned your name…Amity, what happened between the two of you? Something tells me you didn’t just look away, did you?”
She asks, pleading that she was misreading the situation but then she sees a flash of guilt behind Amity’s eyes and her stuttering, trying to find something to counter her rationale, confirmed her suspicion and it broke her heart.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re not her. You can do things she can’t, like those glyphs of yours.” Amity quickly says, reaching and offering a hand, “You’re a strong witch! I’m asking you as a friend, and I don’t use that word lightly, to trust me and let me help you.”
Luz stares at the offered hand before looking at Amity with sad eyes, reaching for the charm around her neck and yanking it off, dispelling the illusion. Amity gasps at the sight of Luz turning from a witch to a human her size, wearing a green jacket and a striped shirt, a red beanie over her head and the Omnitrix on her wrist.
“Surprise.” she says with a sad smile before becoming serious, “I’m not a witch, Amity. Or at least not all the time. Whenever I can’t use magic, I’m like this. A magicless human. So if you treat Willow like that just for being Half-a-Witch, how will you treat someone who’s not a witch?”
“You..you’re a human?” she asks stunned before focusing and realising something, “You’ve been lying to me? Ever since we met?!”
She asks in outrage and Luz sighs,
“I prefer the word ‘selective disinformation’ as a friend of mine would say.” she mutters before reaching for her Omnitrix and priming it, a hologram of Luzura appearing, “And it wasn’t a complete lie.”
She slams on it, transforming into Luzura as Amity’s jaw drop. To prove this wasn’t an illusion this time she draws a spell circle and creates an orb of light between her hands before transforming back into a human where the light still remained.
“...What are you? A human or one of us?”
“I’m one of everyone .” Luz explains, “I can transform into any species for ten minutes, including witches. That’s what I meant when I said I can only use magic for ten minutes.”
Amity was silent and Luz took it as a sign to continue,
“You don’t belong with them. I’ve seen the way you act, you’ve read stories to kids at the library, you’re a bit mean but not bullying-mean, you’re a good person.” Luz points out remembering how she acted, it wasn’t that of a typical bully, “Talk to me Amity, we can work something out. Whatever you did to Willow, you need to apologise. It’s not too late. It’s never too late to apologise.”
”...Apologise?” Amity mutters and just as Luz hoped she was getting through, her expression shifts from soft to stern, “...I’m a Blight. We only associate ourselves with the best, and certainly not liars like you.”
“Amity-” Luz tries to say something only for the green-haired witch to cut her off, turning her back.
“We don’t apologise to those beneath us.” she says in a monotone voice as if trying to contain emotions, Luz could tell that from the way her shoulders were subtly shaking but for what reason she doesn’t know, “I thought you were strong enough to stand with us. I was wrong.”
“If you really mean that, then how come I don’t believe you?” Luz asks but Amity answers with silence before walking off.
“Stay out of my way from now on, Noceda. I won’t be as amicable next time.” she mutters as she leaves, “Enjoy your social life, Noceda.”
Luz can only sigh as she watches Amity walk off. There goes the first friend she’s made in the Boiling Isles. All that talk of school politics made her feel bitter at this place despite its magical nature.
She supposes the more things change, the more they stay the same.
***
Luz kicks a stray can down the hallway to vent her frustration, before sighing and picking it up to throw in the nearest bin, so much for this being the best day ever. Maybe she should find Eda? See if she was done so they can apply for her spot in the school and then go home? If not maybe she can help her out if possible.
Just as she was thinking that she passes through an Abomination lab and pauses, backtracking to look through a window on the door.
“Come on Willow, at least let me help clean your hair.” an unfamiliar boy with dark skin and spiky hair in a uniform with blue sleeves pleaded with Willow who seem to be mixing some ingredients in a large boiling pot.
“It’s fine, Augustus.” Willow assures as she continues mixing the pot, “I have to get this done before school ends, then Professor Hermonculus said he’ll give me a passing grade at least. Now hand me that bottle over there, the green triangular one.”
The boy, Augustus, complies and hands it over to Willow who pours its contents into the pot. But suddenly the concoction starts bubbling and judging from Willow’s face it wasn’t supposed to be that way, but before she could do anything a giant purple slime monster bursts from the cauldron, crawling out of it and roaring, causing the two students to scream and fall back in fear.
Before their backs touched the floor, Luz was already halfway through the room, barging in through the door and activating her Omnitrix. In a flash of purple light, she transforms into Frankenstrike and brings down two of her fists, smashing the slime monster with twin electrified fists causing it to splatter and stain her hands.
“You two alright?” she asks the two frightened teens before realising a patchwork of grey flesh and metal cybernetics wasn’t the most comforting sight and transforms back to her human form and offers a hand, “Sorry if I scared you, I figured you needed some help, Willow.”
“It…it’s fine.” Willow accepts her hand and pulls herself up in shock before realising, “How did you know my name?”
“Oh right, you probably don’t recognise me.” Luz chuckles before reaching into her pocket for Hope’s charm and putting it on, creating the illusion of Luzura. When Willow’s eyes widen in recognition she takes it back off removing the illusion.
“Luz?” Willow mutters in surprise, “You’re a human?”
“Pretty much. I hope you don’t mind that I kinda lied to you about that.” she chuckles awkwardly.
“Well, you just saved us from my failed project so I think we’re even.” Willow mutters before looking at the remains worriedly, “I must’ve used too much of an ingredient somewhere. Now I have to start all over again.”
“Sorry about that, maybe I could’ve taken it down without splattering it.” Luz apologises before turning to the other student still on his back, his jaw dropping in shock, “You alright, buddy?”
“His name is Augustus Porter, I think he’s just surprised to see you.” Willow explains, “He’s a really big human enthusiast and you’re the first human we’ve ever seen.”
“Augustus, huh? I knew an Augustus back in Bellwood, we were on the same soccer team. Everyone called him Gus for short.” Luz says as she offers him a hand, “You mind if I call you that?”
The boy just stares at her hand before releasing a high pitch squeal and instantly Luz had a bad feeling when he immediately leaps up and shakes her hand frantically.
“Oh my Titan, oh my Titan! A human nickname? Call me whatever you want! You’re a human!” he exclaims, “And not just any human…I’ve seen you before!”
“Wait, what?” Luz asks confused about how he could’ve seen her before as he pulls out something from his bag and shows it to her, a torn-up magazine with a barely visible cover with her on it. She remembers it was from some fashion magazine she had to do some photoshoots at, the money went to charity but it was still embarrassing, and she instantly cringes at the sight, “Oh…”
“You’re the human in this magazine! And some of the other books I have as well!” Augustus squeals, “You’re not just a human, you’re a famous human from the Human Realm, aren’t you?! How did you transform into that weird demon?!”
“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” Luz scratches the back of her head awkwardly, she had been expecting to avoid meeting fans during this mission so this was a surprise, “As for transforming? Well, it’s from this thing.”
She shows him the Omnitrix, “Long story short, but just think of it as a magic wristwatch that turns me into an alien for ten minutes.”
“Is that why you’re a famous human?” he asks giddily, “Is that some super rare and unique magical artefact from Earth?”
“More or less.” Luz shrugs before he just keeps staring at her with those wide-open eyes, “I suppose you want an autograph or something?”
“Can I?!” Gus asks looking excited as he hands Luz a pen as she scribbles a quick signature on the magazine, “An autograph from a famous human…be still my beating heart.”
Willow smiles at Gus enjoying himself but turns to the spilled cauldron and sighs trying to think how she can start over again. Luz noticed this and approached while Gus gushed over his new human collectable.
“Something wrong?” Luz asks and Willow sighs.
“Just accepting my failures I guess.” she mutters, “I can’t even get a single abomination right when everyone in class can do that. I really am just half-a-witch.”
Luz remembers that Willow was called that by Amity and frowns, “Just because you can’t do something they can, doesn’t mean squat. It’s like judging a Piscciss Volann by its ability to fly! I’m sure there’s something you can do that they can’t.”
“Yeah, Willow’s very smart when it comes to plants.” Gus joins in before looking at Willow, “What’s the average requirement of fertiliser for an acre of drake-corn?”
“Six ounces per square foot.” Willow instantly answers, “But if you plant it near the Stomach, the amount can be cut down by a quarter due to how fertile the land already is and the fact that drake-corn can be enchanted with plant magic to make it inedible to local wildlife makes damage from them negligible.”
“See?” Gus says proudly, “She knows all that plant stuff better than a lot of those in the Plant Track.”
“It’s just basic stuff, anyone can know that if they crack open a book or two.” Willow says embarrassed, “And well, the Abomination Coven has the most minor covens under them. If you graduate the Abomination Track you’re guaranteed to get into at least one of them which means more job opportunities.”
“...Do you even want to be in the Abomination Track?” Luz asks, “It might mean more opportunities, but does it make you happy?”
“...” Willow was silent but on the other hand, Gus wasn’t.
“Their teacher’s terrible, everyone says Professor Hermonculus is the worst and they’re not even from the Abomination Track! He loves making examples out of kids, making fun of them in front of the class if they fail his classes.” Gus rants and Luz’s disgust at this teacher grew.
“Besides, he doesn’t like it if people leave his class. If I do, he'll make a big deal out of it and humiliate me in front of the class, like that one guy who tried to mix Plant magic with Abominations.” Willow says bitterly and Luz rubs her chin in thought, a plan forming in her head.
“What if he was too happy to care?” she suggests confusing them before explaining, “We get him in a good enough mood he’ll agree to anything you say?”
“He’d have to be in the greatest mood.” Willow sighs, “And the only thing he cares about is abominations.”
A lightbulb went off above Luz’s head as she snaps her fingers, “Abominations are just purple goo, right?”
“Well, I guess that’s a simplistic way of seeing them.” Willow shrugs.
“Then I got just the one to help us out.” Luz smiles, flashing her Omnitrix,
***
“I can’t believe it!” Professor Hermonculus exclaims in awe as he observes the abomination before him, perfectly manoeuvring and mimicking the normal movements of a witch or bipedal demon, “And in such a short amount of time? Marvellous, truly marvellous.”
“It is all thanks to your instructions Professor Hermonculus.” Willow says with a proud smile, “I finally applied myself properly according to your teachings.”
“Yes, I am very happy to hear that you’ve finally started applying yourself.” Hermonculus pats himself on the back, looking proud of himself, “What else should I have expected from one of my students. I give this Abomination a B+ for its incredible lifelikeness, mostly because you failed your first try. I look forward to seeing your future work, Miss Park.”
“...There is something I want to ask.” Willow says, “During my work on this project, I realise that I am unsuited for your class. I don’t deserve a wonderful teacher like yourself and believe it would be best for me to transfer somewhere more suitable like the Plants Track.”
“What? But this is an excellent abomination, one of the best in your year!” Hermonculus exclaims half surprised and half furious that someone would drop his class. Did she think herself above the Abomination Track?
“No sir, I just think that there could be someone else who can benefit from your illustrious teachings.” Willow quickly says, “I don’t think I possess the talent to succeed in your class, and I’m undeserving of that.”
Professor Hermonculus sighs in disappointment, but he didn’t feel as mad as he should be, “Truly it is a shame but I suppose you were already failing in my class. I’d hope for better but it appears not. I’ll have your Track change request approved and sent to Principal Bumb. Good day, Miss Park.”
He leaves, carried by his pink abomination. Just as it was clear he was out of earshot the ‘abomination’ quickly morphs into a purple-scaled reptile with the emblem of the Omnitrix on her chest and white fur protruding from behind her ears.
“Jeez, what a jerk.” she hisses as she turns to ‘Willow’ who disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and was replaced by Gus, “Nice trick, Gus.”
“Thanks.” he sighs in exhaustion before turning to one of the cauldrons in the room, “It’s clear now Willow, you can come out now!”
“Alright…” Willow groans in similar exhaustion as she crawls out of the cauldron.
Snakeshifter winces at the sight of Willow being exhausted, “Sorry, but I needed magic to shapeshift into that abomination. Hope it wasn’t too much?”
“I’m fine, just give me a minute.” she says as she takes multiple deep breaths before the colour returns to her face, “So I guess it's done?”
“Yep.” Snakeshifter nods as she turns back into Luz Noceda in a flash of purple light, “He was a prick about it, but a little flattery gets you anywhere with people like him. Sorry, I had you say stuff like that.”
She apologises to Gus and Willow who shrugged it off.
“It’s fine, at least he didn’t drag me to his class and shout my ear off.” Willow says satisfied before looking worried, “And now I have to tell my dads that I’m changing courses…”
“Hey, if they’re anything like you I doubt they’ll be mad as long as you’re happy.” Luz comforts with a pat on the back, “And if you want I can follow you home, take the heat off you if your dads really are pissed.”
“....No, I don’t think they will.” Willow admits but still looks nervous, “You think I can make it in the Plant Track? What if it ends up like Abominations again?”
“But you don’t like abominations, you love plants!” Gus argues and Luz agreed.
“Willow, I’ve seen you do plant stuff.” she says confusing Willow, “Back in the cafeteria, you might not have noticed but the plants went crazy around you.”
“That happened?” Willow asks horrified but Luz quickly calms her down.
“Nobody was hurt, but that was a lot of power from someone who isn’t in a special track for plants. If that’s without practice, imagine what you could do with real practice.” Luz says as she lightly bumps a fist at Willow’s shoulder, “You’re not just going to graduate, you’re going to ace the whole class.”
Before Willow could respond to this the doors to the room opened and just as they were worrying Professor Hermonculus came abc to change his mind, they relax when they see it wasn’t.
“There you are, kid.” Eda exclaims exhausted, “We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Finally got it all done, any pranks that were still leftover from my time here are completely gone.”
“Yes, and I predict a 5% more available funding now that we do not have to worry about them constantly.” Principal Bump smiles satisfied before realising, “Wait a minute, I thought I assigned Amity Blight to you?”
Both Gus and Willow look at her, and Luz winces.
“Well…she had some emergency and we parted ways. But then I found these guys.” she lies after a bit of hesitation and Bump looks at her suspiciously before shrugging.
“Well, I hope it was nothing serious. In any case, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Hexside’s School of Magic and Demonics, Luz Noceda.”
“Wait, you’ll be studying here?” Gus exclaims in shock as Luz smirks.
“Course I am, this place is too cool not to study at,” she says ruffling Gus’ hair goodnaturedly as Willow steps up to Bump.
“Um, excuse me, Principal Bump?” she asks nervously, “I hope it's not an issue, but I requested a Track exchange from Professor Hermonculus who approved it. Would I be able to try for the Plants Track?”
“You requested it from him?” Bump looks surprised, “You would think he’d make a big deal of it enough that the whole school would have heard by now.”
“He was…surprisingly reasonable,” Luz says as she fidgets with her Omnitrix dial.
Bump shrugs, “Well, in any case, I believe there are open spots in the Plant Track to allow for this shift. Be sure to have your parents book an appointment with my assistant so we can work out this arrangement. Speaking of arrangements, we’ll need you to sign paperwork for Luz’s study at Hexside, Edalyn.”
“Ugggh, more work?” Eda complains, “You’re really lucky I owe you one, kiddo.”
The two adults left, leaving the kids in the room with questions.
“Luz, you mentioned you were…friends…with Amity.” Willow slowly says, “What happened?”
Luz sighs recalling their argument, “Let’s just say she and I got into a bad disagreement after Boscha and I had a little chat.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.” Willow apologises as Luz looks at her confused.
“Why the heck are you sorry about? Boscha was a jerk to you, someone should tell her where to shove her ‘advice’.” Luz says firmly.
“It’s just that you probably made an enemy out of them thanks to me,” Willow says guiltily but Luz wasn’t having it.
“Nope, not true at all.” Luz insists, “I made my own choice when I stood up to Boscha. I would’ve done the same thing if I saw her messing with anyone. So don’t go feeling guilty about something you had no control over.”
Willow doesn’t say anything at that so Luz slings an arm over her shoulder and Gus’, “Hey, I haven’t got much of a chance to explore Bonesborough yet. You guys know this place better than I do, and I haven’t eaten lunch yet. Do you know any good places to grab a bite?”
“Yeah, there’s a good sandwich place we visit after school sometimes.” Gus suggests also wanting to cheer Willow up, “Why don’t we head there?”
“Well…” Willow was interrupted by her stomach growling, “...I guess I can use a bite as well. I remember skipping lunch.”
***
She was lied to, that was what Amity tries to focus on. She was lied to by that human which made anything she said untrustworthy, everything she said was wrong. But as much as she tried to get the human’s words out of her head she can’t, they continue echoing inside her mind.
“You don’t just stand by when you see someone get hurt, not an option, never an option. Not when you can do something about it.”
How many times had she watched Boscha mistreat Willow and look away, in fact, how many times had she mistreated Willow? It was all for her own good, she tells herself that, it was to push her away so she can become better. The teasing was to motivate her to work harder.
That’s what she tells herself ever since the worst birthday she ever had. And now after the argument with Luz Noceda, if that even was her real name, had the excuse threatening to pull apart by its seams.
There was no choice in what she had to do, to maintain her reputation and to protect Willow’s future from her mother. If it made her the bad guy in Willow’s eyes, then so be it.
And that human…or whatever she is…she knows that deep down she’s not mad about her lying she was a witch. Maybe she had a reason? Maybe she wanted to fit in? But when Luz kept demanding an explanation, pleading for Amity to tell her that she was wrong, she had to put her foot down. She was a Blight, and a Blight couldn’t show any weakness. A Blight must never apologise. It was the code her mother lives by, and one ingrained into her since a child.
She hated it. She thought that it would be different with Luz. She was nice, capable, and passionate about magic. She even reads the Azura books! She thought she could have at least one real friend after Willow, if she could convince her “friends” to allow in another member she’d have at least someone she can talk to, but it looks like the Titan had different plans.
She was about to leave school when the bell rang, but just as she was heading out of the main entrance she spots a familiar figure in the crowd of students. It was hard to miss someone like her.
There was Luz in the form of a human, wearing the same green jacket and red beanie. She hesitates at the sight of her. What does she do? A part of her regrets how the argument went, and she doesn’t want another incident like Willow's to occur again.
…Can she just apologise? Walk up to her and just say sorry? The thought of it was shocking to her by itself. She’s never thought like that before, not with her mother constantly drilling into her what it means to be a perfect Blight, the perfect heir. The mantra of Blights never apologising echoes in her head but was overwhelmed by another voice.
“It’s never too late to apologise.”
That was what the human said after all? But if she tries she’d have to confront Willow. Can she really do that? She’ll never forgive her for how she’s been treated after so long, and she doesn’t want to endanger her future if news got back to her mother that she was associating with Willow. What would she even say? What could she even say?
But then before she could do anything, she sees Luz laughing with someone and realises it was Willow, laughing with her as well. Besides them was that boy Willow was friends with, Augustus. The three appeared to be chatting amongst each other, laughing at some joke.
Whatever she was about to do, she stops and stares at them. They were happy. Luz was happy, the most she’s ever seen by far, and so was Willow. There always seemed to be a weight on Willow’s shoulders, but now it appeared to be missing.
She can immediately guess that it has something to do with Luz. She may only have known her for two days, but from that time she could tell she was the type to help people no matter what happens to her. Unlike herself.
Before she could do anything she hears a voice come from behind her.
“Oh, hey Ams.” Boscha greets surprisingly not on her Scroll, “You got here before us? Dang, you must be really pissed as well.”
“Pardon?” Amity asks confused as Boscha gestures behind her at Luz, Willow and Gus.
“That human, been hearing some rumours that she’s actually that new girl we met. Some sort of shapeshifter or something.” Boscha says as she pulls out a round bottle from a pocket, “Couldn’t find her anywhere so it must be true. I’m thinking of a little payback, to show her who exactly she’s messing with.”
It would be so simple to back off and let it happen, to not care as she always did. But when she was about to do that, Luz’s words echo in her mind again,
“Not an option, never an option. Not when you can do something about it.”
Just as Boscha was about to throw the bottle of whatever potion it was, Amity grabs her hand and stops her.
“What?” Boscha looks at Amity in shock and confusion.
“We don’t have time for this, it’ll be too much of a hassle to pick a fight.” she says as she released the grip on Boscha’s arm, “Let’s just go.”
“What?” Boscha asks confused, “Amity, she’s basically thrown herself down the bottom of the pecking order, and if we don’t show them their place it means we’re showing weakness! We can’t-!”
“We’ll deal with anyone who’s dumb enough to try anything against us.” Amity says in a tone that leaves no room for argument, “I don’t have time for this, am I clear?”
“...Fine.” Boscha sighs and pockets the potion, “Let’s bail then, the gang’s waiting for us at a cafe. Don’t want to keep our friends waiting too long do we?”
“No, we don’t,” she says before glancing back one last time. She would only ruin the mood. They don’t need her or anything, it was best to just leave them be. They were happier without her being involved.
Notes:
And finally this chapter is done! Probably the longest by far, sure as hell felt like it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter with the character interactions, and apologise I couldn't show more between the Alien Force gang but didn't felt right putting them in and didn't have much time for that.
Let me know down in the comments what did you think of the latest chapter. Thanks for reading my work.
Chapter 11: Omni-nake #1: How Luz beats Albedo without an alien
Notes:
Welcome to a new addition to the story called Omni-make (get it? Omni and omake? It's clever) where I post short passages and stories about Luz's adventures before the events of Ten Times the Witch. If you have any episodes or events you wish to see, feel free to suggest them. But do be warned they will not be as long as full chapters and won't be spanning multiple chapters. Enjoy.
Chapter Text
“I have been stuck in this smelly, hairy, sweaty, bleeding body ever since!” Albedo gags and shudders, “Do you know how long it took until I discovered you humans had those pads for this? I was begging everyone on the streets but they all ran away disturbed!”
“You did that with my face?!” Luz looks mortified before covering her face with her hands, “Damn it! Why on earth would you go around shouting that in public?!”
“I was bleeding in places that I suspect were inappropriate!” Albedo says defensively, “Excuse me for panicking when I start leaking blood like any sane sentient being would! In the name of the Ancient Machines, what would cause you humans to evolve such a trait?!”
“...This is either the saddest villain we ever fought or the most hilarious,” Kevin whispers to Hope as they two stay in the back, observing with varying thoughts on the situation.
“For once, we agree on that.” Hope nods.
“Look, as much as I want to punch you in the face for doing that, I think we can help you.” Luz groans frustrated at her alter, “But I’m not giving you the Omnitrix, not until you give me some concrete proof that you actually made it and not Azmuth.”
“I do not need to explain myself to you! The Omnitrix is rightfully mine, and if you will not give it to me then I will take it by force!” Albedo roars, the pain and humiliation he had been through was driving him mad and running his patience thin. He primes his own Omnitrix and slams it, transforming into Humongosaur.
“Go ahead and try!” Luz retorts and activates her own Omnitrix, transforming into an Aerophibian and roaring her name, “ Jetray !”
The two begin charging prepared to strike before both collapse at the same time, screaming in agony.
“Why?!” Albedo as Humongosaur roars, “Why do the cramps persist?! Oh, why am I forsaken like this?!”
“I don’t know!!” Jetray curls up in similar pain, “How does this feel worse?!”
“I don’t know, alright?!” Albedo cries, completely giving up on the ruse, “I didn’t make the damned thing! Why would Azmuth allow this in his device?!”
“I knew it!” Jetray cries out vindicated before feeling another spasm of pain, “Oh god how is this worse! It hurts so much!”
They both curl up and cry in equally agonising pain as Hope and Kevin watch.
“...I don’t know whether to laugh or help,” Kevin says completely serious and Hope wordlessly nods.
“Aaah! Oh my god!” Luz cries as they both return to human form at the same time still curled up, “I know a place! Somewhere that can help! Truce?”
“Truce!” Albedo cries out in agreement.
***
“Slow down, you’re going to give yourself a brain freeze.” Luz chides as she drinks her own grasshopper-flavoured smoothie. It was a weird flavour but once you taste it a couple times, there was quite an appeal although both Hope and Kevin disagreed. Wimps.
Albedo ignores her warning and sucks the straw harder only to stop and wince.
“Gah! At least it’s better than the cramps.” he exhales in relief before looking at his smoothie cup in awe, “This medicine is working wonders. And it’s a delicacy as well!”
“Yeah I know, but some people hate it.” Luz agreed, glancing at Hope and Kevin waiting by his car, “Buncha wimps.”
“Their taste buds must be unevolved.” Albedo mutters in agreement before glaring at Luz, “I hope you don’t think this means I give up on the Omnitrix.”
“Really?” Luz looks at him unimpressed, “You still wanna go at it?”
“I have sacrificed much to get here!” Albedo stands to his feet and points threateningly at Luz with his cup, “I will not leave until I return to my Galvan form with the Omnitrix! Relinquish at once or I shall-!”
He was interrupted when Luz suddenly grabs the smoothie from his hands, and before he can react she chucks it far away beyond his reach as he watches with horror.
“You…you monster!” he grabs the collar of her jacket and shakes her, “How could you do such a thing?!”
Luz ignores and taps her Omnitrix, “Period cramps should be kicking in any moment now, and I had my fill of smoothie.”
Albedo looks horrified and rushes towards the counter of Mr Smoothie, shoving aside a customer who just got his smoothie.
“I demand a smoothie!” he yells urgently at the surprised brown-haired cashier, “Any flavour! Just make me one that is quickest and easiest!”
“What? But-” he was about to say something but Albedo grabs him by the collar and shook.
“NOW!” he roars. Moments later the cashier brings back a smoothie for him, where he was curling up on the floor screaming profanities in Galvan.
“Er, here you go then.” the cashier holds it out and suddenly reinvigorated, Albedo snatches it and starts chugging without care as Luz approaches for a refill, having finished her smoothie. She was about to kick Albedo’s cup but then recognises the label on it.
“Wait, is that a classic fruits and milk smoothie?” she asks as Albedo looks at her confused, using his body to shield the cup protectively.
“Why does that matter?” he asks suspiciously as Luz looks at him with sympathy.
“Bathrooms down that way.” she points to the nearest gas station across the road, “Be careful, it’s a real mess.”
“What are you blabbering-?” he demands but then his eyes widen as his stomach begins to gurgle.
“Lactose intolerance.” Luz explains as she accepts a new smoothie from the cashier who looks at them with confused green eyes, “It can be a real pain.”
***
A while later, a beam of light shoots down near them, Azmuth materialising out of thin air.
“Luz Noceda.” he looks to her gravely, “I bring you a warning. A spare Omnimatrix core has been stolen from my personal lab by my assistant, Albedo. I fear that he may-”
“Yeah, we’ve already taken care of him.” Luz nods before pointing a thumb at a nearby portapotty where someone was screaming their lungs out and crying. Kevin and Hope were waiting nearby and looked disturbed at the portapotty.
“...I’m not even going to ask how.” he mutters before looking back at Luz, “I shall take him away once he…concludes his business. His Omnimatrix copy will be taken and disposed of as well, there can only be one Omnitmatrix in this universe.”
“Right.” Luz nods, “Are you going to leave him like that by the way?”
“Of course I am. Stealing and copying creations is one of the worst crimes in Galvan law.” Azmuth says with a growl, “Nevermind the fact he was my trusted assistant and student for years. Remaining in his human form will be punishment for his betrayal.”
Suddenly the screaming stops and they hear Albedo attempt to flush, “What? Why isn’t this- By the Ancient Machines, was that from inside of me?! Why?!”
He starts trying to open the door but Kevin was leaning against it with a heavy metal sheet around him, weighing it down.
“LET ME OUT! I’LL GO BACK TO AZMUTH! I’LL CONFESS! JUST GET ME OUT OF THIS HUMAN BODY!” he pleads as he slams against the blocked door, “BY THE MACHINES, JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE! I’M BEGGING- AARGH! THE CRAMPS!”
Luz winces almost sympathetically as Albedo has a breakdown, “...Yeah I think he’s been punished enough.”
Chapter 12: Covention Complication Pt 1
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“So you can use that watch to transform into demons?” Gus asks in awe as he writes it down in a notebook. The trio were currently at a sandwich shop that Willow and Gus frequent, and Luz gobbles down a sandwich that her Omnitrix scanned as safe for her to consume. She’s still surprised by the number of gimmicks that thing had.
“I didn’t know that the Human Realm had something like that!” Gus exclaims as Luz chuckles.
“No, we're pretty far from being close to making something like this.” she says, “It was made by a Galvan by the name of Azmuth. Smartest being in three galaxies, possibly five, but who’s counting? They’re aliens from Galvan Prime, or Galvan Mark II if you want to be specific. Those guys literally treat rebuilt their home planet like they were updating old tech.”
“Galaxies? Planets?” Gus asks, “What’s that?”
Luz almost chokes on her sandwich as she wipes the crumbs from her mouth, “Jeez, you guys have magic cellphones and crystal balls, but no idea what about that? Well, that’s a bit of a story…”
She grabs a salt shaker from the table and holds it up, “Right you guys know your sun? Think this shaker as the sun and this pepper shaker is where we are, the Demon Realm.”
She demonstrates circling the pepper shaker around the salt shaker which remains still, “The Demon Realm moves around your sun because it’s pulled by gravity. That’s what we call a star system. And far, far away, light years away, there’s another star with another pepper shaker circling it. That pepper shaker is probably full of people that are so completely different from you, like a demon race you will never find around here, with their own society and culture that is unique to them, that’s what we call aliens. Every star you see? Imagine each of them are pepper shakers. Now imagine this table as an infinite and bigger growing table, with enough pepper and salt shakers to cover it and more. That’s what we call a galaxy.”
Both Willow and Gus pause at that, their eyes widening at the news and Gus subconsciously drops his pen.
“That’s…very big.” Willow was to first to recover, rapidly blinking as she tried wrapping her head around that scale.
Luz winces, “Yeah, probably should have broken you into things a bit better. Technically I never really did any training for first-contact missions, did I? But hey, you know what they say about ripping off band-aids. How about we change topics?”
“Huh?” Gus says, snapping out of his shock before excitedly picking up his pen again, “Oh! Right, what exactly made you so famous Luz? How did you get that watch in the first place?”
Luz fidgets with the dial, she really didn’t want to tell them the scale of what she’s really done like with the Highbreed War, she doesn’t want to freak them out too early they were freaked enough with just finding out the scale of the galaxy, “Well, it’s nothing impressive, just the occasional good deeds with it. Stopped a couple criminals, the occasional robbery, helped some people out in the neighbourhood, a couple charity events there and there.”
“Cool, so you’re like the Emperor’s Coven?” Gus asks excitedly as Luz bites her lip at the comparison, “Is there anything similar to them in the Human Realm?”
“I guess you can say that I worked for the equivalent. They call themselves the Plumbers.” Luz answers as both Willow and Gus blink at her before snickering, “Haha, laugh it up, we’ve definitely never heard that joke before.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Gus apologises as he recovers, “It’s just…why Plumbers? Doesn’t that word mean someone fixing toilets?”
Luz rolls her eyes, “Yeah, but it’s metaphorical. Think of society as some complex pipeline that will have the occasional leaks and breakdowns, but when there are any there’ll be the Plumber’s there to fix it up…At least that’s what my dad said was the reason behind the name. Never really thought much about it honestly, I just thought it was a cool misleading name, like; ‘Oh it’s the Plumbers! Ha, how bad can they be- Oh no, they’re kicking our butts! Bleh!’”
Both Willow and Gus chuckle at her exaggerated bad-guy voice and performance.
“So you’re our age and already part of your version of the Emperor’s Coven? How do they do what they do, like humans don’t have any magic.” Gus asks.
“Well, for one, Plumbers aren’t just humans they’re made up of aliens as well. As for how they protect the galaxy and beyond? We do it with tech, ingenuity and lots of courage.” Luz explains with pride, “Plumber training is some of the toughest in the galaxy, I’d only have to go through a few weeks course since I’m only a Deputy Agent, but average time in a Plumbers Academy can be up to three years! They combed the entire galaxy for the best training techniques and filter it all together to create the best training course that turns anyone that goes through it into a certified butt-kicking super agent.”
“So a lot of them fight without magic? That must be so cool!” Gus gushes.
“What’s a Deputy Agent?” Willow asks, “Is that like a rank?”
“Eh, I guess you can say that.” Luz looks embarrassed, “Technically I’m not even a cadet, but basically Deputy Agents act as full agents, going out and helping in arrests, except they’re done with explicit permission from a Magistrate. That’s basically a very high rank in the Plumbers, like a Captain. Not really a common practice actually, and most Deputy Agents don’t work for as long as I do but for me, I’m a bit of a special circumstance with my Omnitrix. My friend Kevin’s actually planning to enlist next year, and wants to be a full-on Plumber like his old man.”
“Kevin?”
“Oh yeah, a couple of my friends came along with me to the Boiling Isles.” Luz explains, “Kevin and Hope, they’re humans like me.”
“There are more humans on the Isle?!” Gus asks in shock and joy, “Oh I can’t wait to tell the rest of the HAS in our next meeting!”
“It’s a club Gus is the president of.” Willow explains before Luz could ask, “They spend their time talking about human culture, or at least what they think human culture is.”
“I’d love to visit and tell you more about human culture.” Luz offers to Gus’ joy, “Being a Plumber means more than just fighting bad guys, promoting interspecies collaboration’s a big thing as well. Learning and sharing culture’s an important part of that.”
“Well, if you want to learn more about the Boiling Isle’s culture, maybe you can visit the Covention.” Willow suggests confusing Luz, “It’s a thing where a bunch of representatives from different covens gather and show kids what they’ll expect to do when they graduate. Everyone from the minor Covens, to the main nine and the Emperor’s Coven, will be there as well!”
“So this is a job fair for witches?” Luz mutters before realising what Willow just said, “Wait, the Emperor’s Coven?”
“Yeah, they say there’s going to be a special guest this Covention!” Gus explains, “They say it could be the leader of the Emperor’s Coven!”
“The Emperor?!” Luz exclaims in shock but her friends laugh.
“No, not him. It’s only the Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven.” Willow says, “All of the nine Covens and the Emperor’s Coven is led by a Head Witch, while the Emperor leads the Head Witches to run the isles.”
“That a fact?” Luz mutters in thought, rubbing her chin, “So they’re basically second in command to the Emperor?”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at things.” Willow nods, wondering just what Luz was thinking about.
***
“You want to do what? ” Hope asks incredulously for clarification.
“A high-ranking member of the Emperor’s Coven is going to make an appearance at the local Covention tomorrow. They’re the Coven Head of the Emperor’s Coven so they’re probably privy to a lot of data, including but not limited to the progress of recapturing the three remaining basilisk.” Luz explains as she drew on a whiteboard a doodle of the Emperor’s Coven sigil and then an arrow pointed towards a building, “Classes will be put on hold for the day, to my disappointment, but a bunch of kids will be present to look around and find a Coven they want to join once they graduate. That involves the Coven Head mingling with said students. One of which, will be your’s truly, which is when we’ll strike!”
“Yes! An assassination to show the Emperor you mean business!” King exclaims and Luz chuckles,
“Not exactly, little guy. This is a little more complicated.” She doodles a quick cartoon of herself transforming, then a purple explosion to signify a transformation and then the form of one of her aliens, a goat-like bipedal with glowing purple shoulder pads and an Omnitrix emblem on her chest.
“Once we find them, get them alone somewhere, Soulcatcher will walk up to them and pretend to be another student or fan and shake their hand which will let me steal her memories and lifeforce, not enough to kill her of course but enough to put her out of commission. Once we get the info we need, we give them back their energy and skedaddle before they wake up. In and out, quick and simple. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”
“...Okay, first of all, what is a Soulcatcher?” Hope asks.
“Oh yeah, you went back to jail before we found out.” Luz remembered, “Remember the Omnitrix reset and gave me new aliens after I used it to cure the Highbreeds? Well, Soulcatcher’s one of the new ones. She can steal memories and life force to boost her power, but in this case, it’ll help us with our investigations.
“Right, makes sense, now second, I thought you can’t use any of your transformations except the scanned ones?”
“That’s where Eda comes in.” Luz glances at the old witch only to find her asleep, “Eda!”
She shouts annoyed and the witch yawns and stretches,
“Alright, alright, I’m awake.” she rubs her eyes, “Forgive me for being tuckered out after I clean an entire school and filled mountains of paperwork. You’re welcome by the way.”
“And I am eternally grateful.” Luz nods, “But anyways we’re going to need you to have your portal opened nearby and hidden. We know whatever this ‘Primus’ is, the Omnitrix’s connected to it and allows me to transform into most of my other forms. Therefore we need it open somewhere without anybody seeing it. Once you do that, I transform, steal memories, look for what I need, give back memories, make a run for it, blamo!”
“...Okay but what about, and hear me out here…” King hops off the couch and grabs a red pen before writing the word ‘SLAUGHTER’ in bold, capital red letters, “Eh? Eh?”
He looks proudly as Hope rolls her eyes, and Luz gently pats him on the head, “Yeah…why not we consider that a plan for when things, as unlikely as they may be, go completely wrong in the worst ways possible.”
“Hmph. Everyone doesn’t listen to my plans, no matter how good they are.” King huffs and cross his arms.
“I still don’t know, this is possibly the strongest witch next to the Emperor himself.” Hope says but Eda coughs undignified before she corrects herself, “Next to the Emperor and Eda, taking them by surprise may not even work.”
“I won’t be too sure about that.” Eda pipes in, “I happen to know who we’re gonna be hitting, I think chances are good if you can get her by surprise. She’s never been really good with surprises.”
“You know each other?” Luz asks in surprise, “This won’t be a problem, will it? We can’t risk it if there’s a personal vendetta-”
“Oh relax.” Eda says, “I ain’t gonna start something if she doesn’t. Besides, she could always use a little humbling. Got too much of an ego if you ask me.”
“...Alright, let's hope that won’t be a problem. Don’t worry, chances are you’ll be hidden away with the portal open away from sight.” Luz says, “Hope, I want you to survey the area and be ready to distract and misdirect any guards this Coven Head may have to let me get closer undetected.”
“What about me?” King pouts.
“Uh…” Luz struggles to think before pointing at Hope, “You’ll be helping Hope out with distractions! I’m sure someone as ador- I mean, ferocious, as you will distract a couple.”
“Hmm…” King rubs his chin in thought, “Very well, I shall agree to your plan, loyal minion.”
“And last, but definitely not least,” Luz says as Hope mutters the word ‘debatable’ under her breath, “Kevin Ethan Levin, you’ll be-!”
She trails off as she glances around trying to find the Osmonian-hybrid. Both Hope and Eda do so as well but find him nowhere.
“Wait, where is Kevin?” Luz asks, realising she hasn’t seen him since she returned to the Owl House.
“I don’t know…If this were Earth I’d say he was working on his car, but it isn’t.” Hope mutters.
“Huh, last I saw him he was on the beach scavenging junk.” Eda recalls before realising just what she felt had been missing all day, “...Oh no.”
***
“Ha!” Kevin cheers as he picks up an orb-like device the size of a basketball from the guts of a Trash Slug, “Look at this! Miniaturised Prypiatosian fusion engine, that’s Andromeda tech! Look at the markings, the star date, this thing’s ancient! Pre-War maybe, you know how rare those are? Practically impossible to get in the Milky Way, the import alone would cost hundreds of thousands of Taydens! They used these things to power fighter jets in the Prypiatosian Navy back when they had actually had-”
He trails off as he realises no one was listening to him, turning around to find himself all alone on the beach full of Trash Slug corpses. Where did the sun go? Did he really spend the entire day scavenging through junk? Well, who could blame him? There was plenty of rare tech in these things that weren’t even sold on the market anymore! He just needs to find the way back to the Owl House.
…Where was the Owl House again? As he tries to figure that out he hears a roar come from somewhere in the nearby woods.
***
“I can’t believe you all forgot about me!” Kevin says undignified as they approached the event hall where the Covention was taking place, “I spent a night in a Trash Slug’s guts to keep away from the literal boiling rain that nobody warned me about! I woke up with faeries trying to bite through my armour! I had to wear armour to sleep, you know how uncomfortable, hard and cold it is?”
“Says the one dumb enough to lose track of time scavenging for junk.” Hope shot back, as the two began bickering. Like always, Luz got between the two, pulling them together with arms around their shoulders.
“Guys, guys, let’s just all admit we all made a bunch of stupid mistakes and move on.” She says with a smile, “We all have a mission to work on, so let’s focus alright?”
“...Fine.” Kevin mutters before turning to the event hall, “Of all your ideas, this is one of your more crazy ones but somehow not the most.”
“You know me, I love to keep my enemies guessing.” Luz smiles before she turns back to Eda and King following them, the latter on his hoverboard, “Now I want you to remember…”
“Yeah, yeah, try not to cause any trouble or draw any attention.” King rolls his eyes at the repeated warning as Luz looks at Eda in particular,
“What?” she asks, slightly offended, “I can be subtle as well. I’m a master criminal.”
“You open up a store in the same market every day for five days a week.” Kevin points out, “It’s not you’re a master criminal, it’s just the guards are that incompe-”
Kevin is interrupted when the hoodie he wore wraps and tightened around his face, blinding him and causing him to stumble while screaming in surprise in a muffled tone. After a few moments of stumbling the Owl Lady released the spell with a snap of her finger.
“Say that again and you might find a hex for you the next time you try to get a couple winks,” Eda warns as Hope smiles and whispers to Luz.
“You know, I wasn’t sure at first, but she’s definitely starting to grow on me.” Hope whispers as Luz tries to suppress a chuckle at the sight before she sets eyes at the entrance of the Covention event hall and beams at the sight of her friends.
“And there they are!” she rushes forward to meet Gus and Willow who waved at her, “Guys! Glad to see you made it on time, I can’t wait to introduce you to the rest of my friends.”
“And I can’t wait to meet more humans!” Gus says before gasping and pointing behind her, “Is that them?”
“Yep.” Luz nods and before she can react, Gus dashes forward without warning and instantly took Kevin’s hand to shake it.
“My name is Gus! Gus Porter! And you’re a human? It is such an honour to meet you! Are you a Plumber like Luz?”
“Er, yeah. Deputised Agent just like her. Kevin Levin.” he shakes Gus’ hand back before smiling, “But I’m sure you already recognised me.”
“...Actually I don’t.” Gus says looking apologetic as Kevin’s smile falls flat, “Are you famous in the Human Realm as well?”
“Come on, you recognise her but not me? That really hurts a man’s pride, you know.” Kevin says but sounds more joking than serious as he smirks at Luz, “Guess you really are famous everywhere now, Luz. First the entire galaxy, now entire dimensions? What’s next, another universe? The rest of the multiverse?”
Before any of them could ask what those words meant, Hope extended a hand towards Gus politely, “Pleasure to meet you as well Gus Porter, and Willow Park was it? I’ve heard much about you two from Luz, she wouldn’t stop talking about the friends she made from Hexside.”
She shakes hands with the illusionist before doing the same for the bespectacled girl.
“It’s nice to meet you…” Willow trails off realising she didn’t get a name.
“Just call me Hope,” she answers.
“No last name?” Gus asks curiously as Hope shook her head.
“No, my culture doesn’t use last names like yours or humans from the Human Realm as you call it.” Hope explains, “We have two types of names. Private names we use for families and close friends, as well as public names that usually signify where our talents, skill and profession lies. My public name’s Charmcaster…but I’ve been doing my best to try and distance myself from it, despite the magical risk it involves.”
She says the last part quietly and Gus barely caught that before his mind fully registers her words, comprehends them and realises what she just said,
“Magic?” Gus asks confused, “Wait, you said you weren’t from the Human Realm? But you’re human? You’re a human not from the Human Realm?!”
Hope smirks and snaps her fingers, creating a magenta flame within her palm, “I came from a realm called the Ledgerdomain. My ancestors migrated from Great Britain to the Ledgerdomain, a realm of magic not unlike yours, around the 5th century and we’ve been there ever since.”
“Wait a minute, so you’re British?” Kevin looks at her surprised at the news, “I’ve never heard an accent.”
“I’m British as you Americans are.” Hope rolls her eyes, “Besides, do you think my ancestors would’ve kept the same accent for sixteen centuries? Would you sound like your ancestors from the 5th century?”
“So there’s more than one realm with humans? And they can use magic?” Willow asks surprised as well. She may not share the same level of fascination with the Human Realm as Gus but even she can’t deny this was surprising, “What about you Luz, which one are you from? Can you use magic as well?”
“I’m from Earth, the Human Realm like Kevin is.” Luz explains putting a hand on his shoulder, “And as for magic, I got a few tricks literally up my sleeve. I’ll show them to you sometimes. Anyway, this is Eda and King, they’re letting us stay with them for while we’re on the Demon Realm.”
“Sup?” Eda waves from the back casually as King commands them to bow down to him.
Gus instantly lit up in recognition, “The Owl Lady? Do you remember me? I come to your stall every week to buy some human artefacts.”
Eda scratches her chin in thought before snapping her fingers, “Ah right, that guy, Goops was it?”
“Gus.” he corrects.
“Wait, as in the wild witch Owl Lady?” Willow asks in surprise, “What are you doing here at the Covention? Are you here to join a Coven?”
“Ha! As if. Who needs Coven when you’re me?” Eda laughs like she just heard a hilarious joke before gesturing to Luz, “Nah this kid just bugged me into bringing them here.”
“I’m just really curious about what these Covens are all about, especially the Emperor’s Coven,” Luz explains, and it technically wasn’t a lie, she’s just leaving out the part where she was planning to steal memories from essentially the second-in-command of the entire government.
…Sheesh, this was going to be a pain in the back to fill out their reports. She hopes she can bribe Kevin to do hers again, was he still accepting rare Sumo Slammer cards as payment? Which ones did he not have again? The holographic Black-Silver 50th Anniversary card from the “Kenko’s Revenge” set was still months from release, but maybe she can pull some strings with her “Hero of Ten Thousand Worlds” reputation to get it for him
“Well, this is where we part.” Eda announces, surprising them, “What? I can’t exactly go in through the front door, they'll arrest me the moment I try. Nah I’ll find another way in, and meet you kids, inside.”
“Alright, just make sure you don’t be late , Eda.” Luz says with emphasis, tapping her Omnitrix discreetly as a reminder. The older witch nods and gives a wave before flying off on her staff leaving the group to enter through the entrance, and as soon as the doors swing upon Luz was greeted by a surprising sight.
“Welcome to the Covention. I hope you are all ready for a day of magic and excitement as we explore the benefits of joining a Coven.” intoned a dry and bored voice from a golden-masked individual sitting at a desk writing something on some paper with a stack of pamphlets beside him and a cardboard cutout of him pointing a finger forward with the words ‘The Titan Wants You to Join a Coven!’
He trails off as he looks up and meets eyes with Luz and she could feel his eyes widen beneath the mask as he yells, “You?!”
***
“What are you talking about?!” Hunter asks, offended and angered, “There’s no way my uncle authorised this, let me speak with him at once!”
“Are you sure about that, young one?” Lilith asks mockingly, “He seemed rather cross with you. His exact words were to teach you discipline so you won’t fail him the next time. You must have angered him much very recently, did it have anything to do with the human you tried and failed to catch?”
Hunter grits his teeth at remembering his failure and Lilith smirks.
“It’s one thing to disobey orders but come back with success and results, but disobeying them and coming back with only failure? You really are slipping, has that gauntlet of yours made you overconfident and careless?”
“That human got lucky! Had I known she was able to transform into a basilisk I would have taken extra precaution!” Hunter roars enraged by her taunting, “The Emperor chose me to wield the Demonitrix, the strongest magical artefact in the entire Demon Realm, for a reason! I don’t need training from you of all people! I’m the youngest to ever gain the title of Golden Guard, whereas when you were my age you were still a struggling Coven Scout!”
“It is because I started as a Scout that you should listen.” Lilith spoke with authority, “I have climbed the ranks by pure merit and earned my place as Coven Head while you got your rank because of your uncle. I also have experience, training dozens of children like you to become future members of our Coven. You would do well to listen.”
Hunter growls at this, enraged at this woman looking down on his abilities, did she really think it was an easy road to become the Golden Guard? The training he had to go through was easy? He grips his left arm and the Demonitrix responds, priming itself as he reaches to slam it before he could touch it, a blue magic aura surrounds his hand and stops it before he could slam its dial.
“Wha-?” he could only mutter before he was yanked up by his right arm with Lilith’s magic, who does this by merely pointing her staff at him and raising it. He struggles against the magical pull and reaches for his staff only to realise he has dropped it when he was pulled up.
“You’ve grown too accustomed and dependent on that artefact ever since you received it. A witch’s staff is a lifeline in battle, especially for one who isn’t able to wield magic without it.” Lilith lectures before lightly slamming him against the castle walls and grinding him against it as she swings him down on the floor and then spinning him against the floor all while holding him by his right arm. It was a humiliating display of their difference in skill and power.
Despite this, Hunter swings his gauntlet and slams the dial using the floor. Lilith was temporarily blinded by the bright red flash of light, but when she recovers she finds him gone with an empty vial where he had been. But instantly her mind filters the reports she received on what kind of demonic forms were locked and then smiles once she guesses the most appropriate one.
“A Shadow Lurker demon? Clever, the castle is quite dark with plenty of shadows to hide in, making the perfect terrain for that particular demon.” she compliments his choice before pacing around calmly, “But now you gained some breathing room what will you do? Reclaim your staff and wait for the opportune time or strike me now while I still guess your location? Choose quickly.”
Before he could even make the choice, a bright glow emits from Lilith’s staff creating something akin to a miniature sun and banishing all shadows in the hall, knocking the Shadow Lurker out of its invisibility and blinding it since his eyes were now adjusted to have keen night vision.
“You hesitated.” she chides as she taps the butt of her staff, glowing blue with magical energy, on the Shadow Lurker’s Demonitrix emblem on its left paw. Instantly the Shadow Lurker was returned to the form of Hunter who was sprawled on the ground and blinking rapidly to recover his eyesight.
Lilith patiently waits for him to recover before he looks up at her tense, once she was sure she had his attention she spoke.
“The magic of witches and the overwhelming physical might of wild demons, someone with that combination should rightfully be unstoppable but the day you received that gauntlet a year ago, you’ve been neglecting your training in favour of it.” she says as she used magic to bring his staff towards her, “That will be amended, you will remember my lessons even after your tenure with me, understood?”
“...Crystal,” he mutters begrudgingly as he accepts his staff. But as he takes that he suddenly turns his head and covers his mouth before coughing heavily into his elbow. Immediately changing her tune, Lilith knelt down to his level and for a moment he thought she looked concerned.
“You are not injured, are you? I do not believe I did that much damage during our little improvised session.” Lilith mutters before extending a hand to draw a spell circle to check him for any damage before he stops her and pushes himself up.
“Just a dry throat.” he says wiping his mouth, hiding the small specks of blood, “If that is all, may I take my leave Miss Clawthorne?”
“...Very well.” Lilith says reluctantly, “But I expect you to get as much rest as you can, you’ll need it for your training tomorrow.”
“What will we be doing?” Hunter asks, trying to keep the slight tinge of excitement out of his tone. Sure he dislikes this witch but she was one of the strongest, mastering all forms of magic. Someone like that teaching him will mean the next time they meet, the humans were toast.
“First, I think you should experience some humility.” Lilith says with a smirk that he didn’t like, “Something that will put you to good use and benefit the Coven, while at the same time teaching you that humility.”
***
“You?!” the Golden Guard exclaims at the same time Luz did as they both primed their Omnitrix and Demonitrix respectively, but before they could slam Kevin got between the two of them and raised his hands.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, cool your jets.” he tells the two of them as they hesitate, “We really want to do this in front of civvies?”
Luz glances backwards to Willow and Gus who look at them in confusion, surprise and worry, and Hope’s hand reached close to the pouch on her.
Reluctantly Luz relaxes and de-primes her Omnitirx, surprisingly followed by the Golden Guard who did the same.
“Luz, do you know the Golden Guard?” Willow asks and Luz laughs awkwardly.
“Yeah, I guess so. We just had a…pretty bad first encounter you could say. Left on pretty bad terms.” Luz says as she glanced back at the Golden Guard to see his reaction. She would guess that without his mask she’d be seeing a glare and scowl underneath it.
“You can say that.” Golden Guard says through gritted teeth, “You’re lucky I don’t arrest you after what happened, human.”
No mention of the basilisks, it appears he wants to keep this under wraps as much as they wanted to.
“Look, it’s clear that none of us are exactly wanted criminals, otherwise we’d be arrested walking down the streets or pass the couple precincts and guards on the way here. So why don’t you just give my friends and I some tickets into the Covention and we can all get along our merry way?”
Luz asks and the Golden Guard growls before reaching under his table and handing them each a tag on a lanyard, “Here. Enjoy your magical day exploring the wonders of our Coven system. Please take a pamphlet listing all the events that will be occurring on this fine day.”
He recites the line through gritted teeth as Kevin and Hope fought back a snicker, but Willow leans forward and takes a pamphlet at his recommendation with a quick thanks.
“You guys go on ahead. I got some words with the Golden Guard.” Luz says. Kevin and Hope look a bit concerned but nod, nudging along confused Willow and Gus as they exited beyond earshot.
“What do you want, human?” The Golden Guard asks as he leans back against his foldable chair, “Hoping to leave some taunting remarks? Enjoy your freedom while you still can, the moment my uncle calls for me to bring down the full force of the law on you, I’ll relish the chance.”
“Just curious, why’s someone of your rank doing…this?” she gestures to the desk, pamphlets and cardboard cutout.
The Golden Guard scoffs, “Punishment for disobeying orders and trying to steal your Omnitrix. Our orders were to ‘observe only’ and not ‘cut out your hand and present it on a silver platter’.”
“Did your Emperor make you write that a hundred times on the blackboard?” Luz can’t help but crack a joke.
“...No, but our Coven Head did.” Golden Guard mutters before mimicking some female voice, “Oh you only wrote it ninety-nine times? How on Titan did you get this high in the ranks? Do another fifty will you?”
“Ah, one of those.” Luz nods her head in sympathy remembering the times her teachers would pull that on her when she made trouble in class. At least before her fame.
“Well you better prepare yourself.” the Golden Guard says, “I’ll be training with her as part of my punishment, and I’ll be learning new tricks. If and when the time comes, you won’t be able to cheat your way out of this again.”
“Just because I have a transformation that’s pretty much a hard counter to you, doesn’t mean I’m cheating.” Luz says, crossing her arms.
“...It’s still cheap.” the Golden Guard mutters bitterly, sounding almost like he was whining before changing topics, “Why are you here anyways? Gonna gloat about your cheap victory?”
“I just want to check, did the Emperor get my message?” Luz asks.
The Golden Guard went silent before answering, “Enough playing nice, we both know that your offer is just a trick to get close to the Emperor and…do whatever you want with him while he’s weak. I was stupid to give away tactical information like that, and it won’t happen again.”
He mutters angrily but Luz also recognised bits of shame in his voice. It was something she was familiar with and she looked at him sympathetically.
“Look, I was serious when I made that offer. Your uncle did some bad things to innocent people and the way he’s managing things isn’t the best. But I’ll help on the condition he agrees to meet with me on a truce and call off his basilisk hunt. You have my word that I won’t lay a finger on your uncle.”
She repeats her offer, trying to sound as genuine and honest as possible, and she notices a shift in the Golden Guard’s body language as he responds, “You have better luck trying to convince him yourself. I tried everything to talk him into trying out new ways to help him, but he just won’t listen.”
“I guess stubbornness runs in the family?” Luz asks as the Golden Guard flinches before she remembers a detail in his backstory, “Sorry, I forgot…If you don’t mind me asking, how did they pass?”
“As I said, they died from Wild Magic. My uncle doesn’t tell me anything else, but you can be sure that if I did know there’s no way I’m revealing that to an enemy.” the Golden Guard scowls, “Beat it, human. Before I change my mind.”
Luz sighs, “My name’s not human, it’s Luz Noceda. You can maybe give me a name so I don’t have to keep calling you ‘the Golden Guard’ in my head.”
“My rank’s all you’re getting from me, human.” the Golden Guard says, “I’ve fraternised enough with the enemy already. Buzz off.”
“...We don’t have to be enemies, you know?” Luz asks sadly as she picks up a pamphlet, “All this unnecessary violence and people getting hurt can stop if we just sit down and talk. We can just find ways to get what we want without fighting. Think about that, will you?”
She leaves him to do just that, opening the pamphlet to get a look at the events as she approaches where her friends were waiting.
“Luz, is everything alright?” Willow asks with worry but Luz just shrugged it off.
“Yeah, it’s just a little talk between acquaintances you know?” Luz laughs it off with an awkward chuckle, “Nothing to worry about.”
“Well, if you say so,” Willow says sounding unconvinced but not about to dig further for the truth. It hurts to lie to them about this but it’s for their own safety, there’s no need to drag them into the mission.
“Hey, if you know the Golden Guard do you think you can get me his autograph?” Gus asks.
Luz snorts, “Nah, like you saw we’re not exactly on friendly terms. What’s so impressive about him anyways?”
“They say he’s the youngest witch to ever become a Golden Guard.” Willow explains with somewhat equal excitement as Gus, “Anyone with that rank is one of the best witches and field agents of the Emperor’s Coven! Did you hear that he once made an expedition to Mount Right Eye to fight off an invasion of Rock Demons single-handedly?”
“I heard he once took down a nest of Shadow Lurkers infesting the town Latissa!” Gus pipes in as Hope scoffs.
“He sounds like a bratty upstart who thinks knowing a couple tricks are enough to call himself a master magician.” she says dismissively before gesturing to Luz, “Those feats of his aren’t that impressive if Luz over here beat him in a one on one fight.”
As she says this both Luz and Kevin desperately tried gesturing her subtly to shut up but it was too late and both Willow and Gus’ eyes widen in surprise as they turn to Luz,
“You fought the Golden Guard?!” they both exclaim and Luz shushes them.
“Yeah, but he started it.” Luz says in a hushed tone.
‘But you won? How did you do it? Did you use your watch to turn into something and fight him?” Gus asks excitedly, “Tell me everything!”
“Er, well…Oh, that’s Eda and King over there! Let’s go!” Luz says happily accepting the distraction as she drags her friends to them.
“Sorry for the wait.” Eda grunts as she tries to stuff her large hair under a hood which was barely contained, “Have to find a way to keep a low presence, my wanted posters aren’t for petty theft.”
She explains as suddenly numerous small objects, trinkets and knick-knacks fall out of her hood only for her to stuff them back.
“And here I thought I was a kleptomaniac.” Kevin remarks, “What’s the big deal anyways? How exactly did you become the most wanted criminal?”
“I refused to join a Coven.” Eda scoffs, “It’s pretty much the law to join a Coven once you graduate or reach a certain age, if not you’d be thrown to jail for being a wild witch.”
“That’s a crime?” Hope asks befuddled, “It seems…ridiculous. Covens exist in the Ledgerdomain, as well as Wizard Circles, Shaman Tribes and more, but it’s not a crime to not join one of them.”
“Aren’t you worried that your wild witches will lose control of their magic without regulation?” Willow asks but Hope scoffs.
“Please, the only way to ‘lose control’ over our magic is to completely and intentionally ignore the disciplines and lessons instilled within a magician since they first begin their training, at great expense of their physical and mental health. There are just no benefits from doing so.” Hope explains, “The equivalent would be trying to dive deep underwater while consciously choosing not to put on proper equipment, and staying there even if you’re out of breath, it would take the most colossal and death-seeking fool to try that.”
“See? She agrees with me.” Eda says, smirking.
“Only partially. I still wonder why you don't choose to join a Coven? If all it takes to no longer be a wanted criminal is to join one, then what’s the problem?”
Eda frowns and points behind them at a stand where witches in blue uniforms like Gus’ were, one of them seems nervous as another older witch draws a spell circle using some type of glove. The nervous witch winces as if momentarily in pain, a sigil appearing on his wrist with glowing blue veins before it fades and he pants, looking a bit pale.
“See that kids? From now on, that guy can only cast Illusion spells for the rest of his life.” Eda explains, “It’s the same for every coven from the main nine to the hundred smaller ones. You need to get a Coven brand which restricts all your magic to one of the main nine no matter what. Would you still wanna join one if you were a witch?”
“Of course not.” Hope exclaims upon hearing this, “I understand specialisation but locking away one’s magic? What kind of self-respecting magician would do that to themselves?”
“Is it because of the issue with wild magic?” Luz inquires to Eda, “The Emperor’s scared it’ll be like the Savage Ages and that’s why he’s restricting magic?”
“Got it in one, kid.” Eda nods, “Never understood what the fuss over that is, I mean look at me! I’ve been a wild witch for thirty years, and I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone that deserves it.”
Kevin clears his throat loudly at that before gesturing to himself, “I had a few broken bones days ago that says otherwise.”
“Intentionally with my magic.” Eda corrects, “That didn’t count.”
“What about the Emperor’s Coven?” Gus asks, “They’re allowed to use all the nine types of magic. Why don’t you sign up with them?”
Everyone but the two teen witches knew what the Emperor’s Coven was really like, but the three humans and King were surprised to see Eda freeze up at that, instead of laughing it off even harder than before. In fact, she looked quite shocked.
“Wait…did you want to join the Emperor’s Coven at some point?” Luz inquires and Eda looks away avoiding eye contact.
“Didn’t you guys wanna explore the Covention?” Eda asks, ignoring the question, “Go on and do whatever kids your age do at places like this.”
“But-” Luz tries but Eda cuts her off.
“Look Luz, you’re a nice kid, but I keep my life story private, you don’t see me trying to dig through every little dark secret of yours do you?” she asks, sounding tired before walking off, “I’ll meet you back in time for that little Emperor’s Coven talk show. There are probably some loose pockets in this dang place to entertain myself with in the meantime. Make sure King doesn’t run off by himself.”
“Huh, she seems really grumpy,” Willow notes and Luz shrugs. She supposes it must be a somewhat sensitive topic for her, maybe she really did want to join the Emperor’s Coven at some point, as Kevin said, but for some reason didn’t.
“Well, she is right about one thing. We should explore as much as we can before the Emperor’s Coven panel. It should start in a while shouldn’t it?” Hope asks before gesturing back to the Golden Guard at the entrance, “Unless our plans have changed?”
She asks, putting emphasis on the word and Luz bites her lip in thought. They could, but they might not get another chance. This would hopefully just be a minor complication,
“I’m sure it won’t be much of a problem, wouldn’t it, Kevin?” she asks her friend who caught her meaning.
“If it does, will you take care of it?”
Kevin nods, “Nah, don’t think it will be.”
Translation: “I’ll watch over him.”
“Then I suppose we’ll meet back soon.” Hope says before Kevin clears his throat, “What’s wrong?”
“The Owl Lady says not to let the kid wander off.” he says as he pulls up King by the collar and gently tosses him to Hope’s arms with a small ‘weh’, “I was on babysitting duty the last time, now it’s your turn.”
Hope looks at King in her arms unsure before glancing at Luz hoping she would take him off her hands,
“Come on, Kevin spent time with him, I spent time with him, now it’s your turn.” Luz says, “Can you say no to that adorable little face?”
“I’m not adorable!” King insists, crossing his arms, “I am a fearsome creature from nightmares!”
He shakes his hands while being held by Hope who tries not to smile at how cute he was.
“Very well, I suppose I can let him accompany me.” she sighs as she drops him on his feet, “Stay with me at all times, try not to wander off.”
“The King of Demons has better things to do than-” King says in defiance before Hope reaches into her pouch and brings out a fairly large lollipop, “...Very well, your advice shall be heeded.”
“You know you shouldn’t bribe a child, right?” Luz calls out as the two walk off in a direction, “It perpetuates the cycle of bad behaviour. It’s parenting 101! I’d know because I did my research!”
“Come on, Luz.” Gus starts dragging her by the hand, “You said you haven’t picked a Track out yet, right? Here’s your chance to learn more about them!”
***
Hope watches a duo of guards pass by chatting with each other, pretending to bump into them lightly amongst the crowd and slip on two of her charms on each of them, now granting her constant knowledge of their whereabouts.
“This is boring.” King moans beside her as he tries punching buttons on his hoverboard while the lollipop was in his mouth to free his hands. After an incident where the board literally decapitated Eda, Luz figured it was best to un-jailbreak the thing and restore the multiple safeties for now, to his disappointment, “When was the last time you guys ever did anything exciting?”
“Not every mission has to have excitement, King.” Hope says as they continue walking, her eyes searching for more guards not yet tagged, “But if it eases your boredom, you can tell me where your interests in monarchy stemmed from.”
It was a half-hearted attempt to distract the child but one that worked.
“Why else? I’m the former King of Demons trapped in this body of mine, seeking to one day return to power!” he declares and Hope looks amused.
“Wasn’t that what you said regarding that ‘crown’ of yours?” she asks with a smirk, “Luz told me all about it.”
Now King looked a bit flustered, “W-well that must mean my method of returning to power is not connected to my royal crown, but out there somewhere! And once I return to my full might I will reign over the Boiling Isles in an age of blood and fire!”
Luz might have been amused by his declarations but Hope didn’t think so, immediately bad memories of Addwaitya and his ‘rule’ over the Ledgerdomain returned.
“A true king does not rule with an iron fist. If one rules with such the only thing they can do with it is force their populace to command them, and if they refuse, the only thing they can do is squeeze them more and more until eventually few would slip from their grip.” Hope lectures as she barely missed another pair of guards to tag, “The few may fear you at first, but that fear will lead to anger, and anger will lead to hate. Do not underestimate what people with nothing but hate can do.”
She knows from experience what they can do, what she could do when there was nothing but hate driving her.
“Right, Kevin mentioned that you were some kind of princess or something.” King remembers the small talk they had when they were finding Eda’s contacts in Bonesborough, “What was it like in your magic Human Realm? Were your family the greatest warlord in the entire realm? What kind of armies did you raise? What fearsome warriors were amongst your ranks? What terrible magic of mass destruction did-”
Something about his words triggered something within her, the questions he asked each brought up memories she rather not have as well as besmirching her father, turned to face King with anger on her face, “My father was a scholar! He was nothing so lowly as a warlord! He earned his rule as Spellbinder through skill, charisma and genuine love for peace and cooperation between the kingdoms! The Ledgerdomain was a realm to study, learn and share knowledge amongst peers! We had guards, but never had armies because we were beyond something as ignoble as war! We were better than that!”
And then look at her, someone who used that ‘peaceful’ knowledge to harm, to try and kill the very people that she once sought to save. To hurt innocents like the Nocedas. How long did she waste on petty revenge? Sought them out to repay perceived slights against her?
“We...they were better than that...than I was…” she trails off in thought before taking breaths to clear her mind, trying to ignore the looks thrown her way from her outburst before apologising to a frightened King, “I’m sorry, thoughts about home, and the way you thought about it, they…It brings up something bitter in me. You did not deserve that.”
“No…it’s fine.” King says slowly before apologising, “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. You didn’t know, and I should have been more patient. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on.” She says before they continue their walk, pausing before speaking again, “A true monarch must care for those that they rule. Noblesse oblige, I believe, is what humans from Earth called it. Those that rule must fulfil their social responsibilities to the people, to help them in ways that extend beyond mere responsibility. A good ruler, a long-lived one, the types immortalised within legends cherish their people. A warlord is quickly forgotten and abandoned the moment the first opportunity comes. Do you understand?”
“...I think I do.” King mutters before looking up at her admiringly, “You know a lot about ruling.”
“My father taught me many things about it, I was to be his successor after all.” Hope says with a fond smile, “If you spend time in court with all those protocols, I can imagine you wouldn’t want to spend another day in it. I had to recite twelve different ways to bow and greet officials from the various kingdoms and clans. And that, my father said, was just the easy part. There were also the correct forks to use in dining as well.”
“Bleh, that sounds boring,” King admits and Hope chuckles.
“I said the same thing.” she says before looking down at King, “Straighten your posture, always stand proud and strong. If you really want to be a monarch one day, you can start by acting like it. Real ones don’t have to announce themselves, people simply just know who they are from just a glance. You must have that aura of authority they possess.”
King thinks about her advice and tries standing taller, puffing his chest to look bigger and stronger.
“A good attempt.” she pats him on the head, “Maybe it’ll be more effective when you grow up one day.”
“Hmph, then when I become the King of Demons again, and people recognise my awesome might, I shall have you next to me as an advisor! Or maybe once you rule your own kingdom we can create an alliance!” King declares as she chuckles again, amused.
“I look forward to that day then, your highness,” she replies jokingly.
***
“So if Luz can transform into demons, or aliens, whatever they are, and that other human can use magic, what can you do?” Gus asks Kevin as they strolled through the Covention.
Kevin smirks, “Well, don’t tell Hope 'cause she’d argue against it, but I’m the brains of the operations. If they need anything that involves alien tech, I’m there. Repairing them, deactivating them, figuring out what they do, they come to me when they need help with it, which is pretty much all the time back home. And out of all of them, I’m the best shot with a multi-blaster. Then there’s this…”
He grabs Gus’ pen and squeezes it, absorbing the material and forming a thin shell over the hand gripping it, much to his surprise.
“Osmosian biology.” he explains as he hands back the pen and the shell fades away, “From my dad's side of the family, it lets me absorb matter, energy, and DNA. It means I’m only half human.”
As Gus gushes over this new info, both Willow and Luz watch from behind them.
“And here I thought Gus was excited when he first met you.” Willow says, “It’s really weird to think you humans have your own version of demons.”
“To me, you witches and your demon realm are even weirder, like how you have all these different species of demons living on the same planet.” Luz notes, “Now while the boys are busy chatting away, how about we look around these stands and see what Track I should join in Hexside?”
As she says this they all heard a ruckus and turn in time to see a witch dressed like a construction worker grabs a pile of building material before haphazardly throwing them all in the air. Luz was about to turn into Tentadrake to catch the falling debris when suddenly they all started glowing with orange magic, before landing perfectly, constructing a fully built shack within seconds.
“What was that?” Luz asks, amazed.
“That’s the Construction Coven, “Like you saw, they use magic to help with building and maintenance all over the Boiling Isles.”
“And here I thought the housing fabricators the Plumbers had were quick.” Kevin mutters in similar awe as Luz, “Those guys did all that in a fraction of the time a fabricator would have done, without a bit of tech on them.”
“They do that with those power sigils.” Gus points out to one of the construction witches handing out free samples, “They use stored bile to increase your physical abilities.”
“So they’re giving out free power boosters essentially? Sign me up!” Kevin says eagerly as he starts pushing his way through the crowd eager to get a free sample.
“Well, I admit, that really is impressive.” Luz nods before thinking to herself, “I wonder what happens if Four Arms uses one of them? Heck, what if you put a dozen on her?”
As she ponders on this, another stand catches her eye, one with purple heraldry and a bipedal demon with a crescent-shaped head and a single eye manning the stall looking over a crystal ball. Curiosity overtook her as she began wandering to the stand, her friends still distracted by the Construction Coven display.
“Ah, another lost soul comes to the Oracle Coven for guidance?” the crescent-head cyclops looks up from the crystal ball, “Pray tell, what have you- Oh, it’s you!”
“Huh?” Luz looks confused at the sudden shift of tone from a mysterious figure to an excited teenager, “Do I know you?”
“No, but I have heard of you.” the girl says, “They say that there was a human in Hexside, a shapeshifting one that looked like a witch. I saw you in the cafeteria and then when you exited Hexside after classes were over.”
“W-well how did you know it was me?” Luz asks surprised there were already rumours about that. Maybe she should have been more subtle?
The girl taps her eyes, “You learn a few things as part of the Oracle Track, what were you doing in Hexside? Actually, what are you doing here as well?”
“Well I’m actually a new student at Hexside, but I’m still figuring out what Track I should take.” Luz explains before offering a hand, “Luz Noceda.”
“Pleasure to meet you, call me Celine.” the girl shakes her hand before gesturing to her crystal ball, “If you don’t mind I can give you plenty of reasons to join the Oracle Track. We specialise in maintaining communications across the isles, like creating the crystal balls you’ve probably seen across the isles, and there are plenty of minor Covens that value Oracle witches with the things we can do. There’s also fortune telling using spirits, which is probably my favourite thing!”
“That’s a thing?” Luz asks, amazed, “That sounds amazing, can you show me?”
“Sure, reading a human’s fortune will definitely be a new experience. Take a seat, please.” she gestures to one of the stools by the stall and Luz does so, as the crystal ball began swirling with indigo smoke inside it.
“We use special spirits to peer into the future for us, they can be a bit vague but deciphering them is part of being an Oracle witch,” Celine explains as Luz realised what she just said.
“Wait, spirits?” Luz asks with a hint of fear as suddenly, purple flames emerge from the crystal orb and a translucent purple spirit wrapped in bandages emerges with a glowing yellow eye. Luz instantly falls back from her seat, Omnitrix primed as Celine hurriedly assures her.
“Don’t worry, they’re harmless.” Celine says, “As long as I don’t tell it to attack you, it can’t do anything to hurt you.”
“Well…if you say so.” Luz says as she slowly pushes herself up from the floor and de-primes her Omnitrix, “So what’s it supposed to do?”
Celine clears her throat, “Spirit beyond the living realms, tell us what the future holds for this human!”
The spirit peers into her eyes, bringing its face close enough they were almost touching as Luz leaned back a bit creeped out by the similarities of this spirit and a certain alien on her Omnitrix. And then it started chuckling,
“Future? But this one has already seen what the future holds for her, hasn't she?” it chuckles creepily as Luz felt intimidated, how did this thing know about that, “Your’s is in a constant flux, who can say the future I foretell will hold? I believe you will hope that it won’t.”
“What are you talking about?” Luz asks as the spirit holds out a hand, “Huh?”
“Your left hand…allow me, please?” it asks and Luz looks to Celine in worry, who shrugs equally as confused as she was. That didn’t spell confidence to her but Luz relents and holds her left hand out with the Omnitrix on it. Celine did say it won’t do anything unless she tells it to.
It wraps a hand around the Omnitrix but not roughly and kinda purrs at it strokes it with another clawed hand.
“Uhh…” she starts but the spirit speaks first.
“Ah…I sense him, imprisoned, a brother in undeath.” it purrs.
“What?!” Luz asks, alarmed and instantly worried.
“I can hear him.” the spirit breaks into a grin, “He screams from within, howling for freedom he will never have…at least not for the moment…”
“For the moment?” Luz starts to worry, “What are you talking about?”
“Heed my warnings Luz Noceda, or do not, that is your choice.” it declares as its singular eye glows a familiar shade of purple with a single black iris its voice turning into a familiar hiss,
“The captive shall break free at night,
Released by the keeper's own plight,
On the eve when the moon is thin and new,
And darkness threatens to swallow the view,
The prisoner shall walk out into the gloom,
Bringing forth a drearier doom.”
As Luz looks at it stunned, it chuckles as it slowly fades back into the crystal ball, “That is what I have to say to you, Luz Noceda. Think of it however you will…”
“Wait! I still have questions, come back!” she cries out as it fades back inside and she looks to a confused Celine, “Bring him back!”
“I can’t, every spirit brought from beyond is always different, getting the same one is a rarity.” Celine looks at the orb in amazement before back at Luz, “What was it talking about? I’ve never seen a spirit react like that! What did you think it meant?”
Luz can only look at the crystal ball with a haunted look on her face, her right hand covering her Omnitirx in fear. Before she could answer, a voice interrupts her from behind.
“Luz?”
She screams in surprise and quickly turns, before sighing in relief at the sigh of Kevin.
“You alright, you looked like you just saw a ghost,” Kevin says, looking concerned.
“Well, technically she just did.” Celine shrugs as Luz wordlessly nods in agreement.
“...Alright?” Kevin looks unsure before pointing behind him, “It’s time for that Emperor’s Coven thing, Gus and Willow are already reserving our seats so we should get there already. Are you coming or what?”
“...Yeah.” Luz mutters as she stares at the face of the Omnitrix at her own reflection warily, “Yeah I’m coming.”
***
“Sorry, was distracted at that Oracle Coven stand.” Luz apologises as she sat down next to her friends.
“Oh? Did they try enticing you with some vague prophecies of the future?” Willow asks and Luz shrugs nervously, “I wouldn’t buy much into them if I were you, from what I hear Oracle prophecies are very vague and most times don’t often come true?”
“Yeah, I once paid someone from the Oracle Track to foretell the right answers for my next quiz, but I still ended up failing.” Gus complained, “I wasted an entire month’s allowance on that.”
“Seeing the future is a rather difficult feat, where I come from the few magicians capable of performing such feats are so mad that they’re unable to effectively explain what they saw.” Hope jumps in the conversation as she walks up to them with King in tow, “It’s quite common for time magic to be equated to madness in my realm.”
“So whatever prophecy she gave could be wrong?” Luz asks hopefully, “That spirit she used could be completely off their rockers?”
“Spirit?” Hope asks and Luz elaborates.
“Something these Oracle guys apparently use to tell the future. “
Willow shrugs, “None of us are actually Oracle Track students so we don’t know for sure, but from their track record the Oracle Coven doesn’t really have a good track record of accurate prophecies. I heard they were really good once, like back in the Savage Ages they used to be able to accurately tell whenever disasters could happen until they went too far with wild magic, and all their best Oracles were wiped out during some kind of mass ritual.”
“Yeah, and nowadays you’re lucky if you can even tell what the weather it’ll be like.” Eda scoffs, “The reason the Oracle Coven’s still around and funded is they practically make all the crystal balls and fix them if they have any issues.”
“So they basically turned from fortune tellers to tech support? That’s a shame, they could’ve been really useful back on Earth.” Kevin mutters, “Imagine the lottery tickets…”
“Shh, they’re about to start.” Gus hushes as the lights begin to dim.
They all quiet down in anticipation of what was to happen. Suddenly a spiral of green magic emerges from the stage in front of them and out steps Principal Bump, the crowd began cheering as he summons a mic from a magic circle.
“Hello Bonesborough!” he calls out, “Students ask me this all the time; ‘Principal Bump, what is the height of magical achievement?’”
“Is it this?!” a student yells as he drew a spell circle around his head which suddenly enlarges to such size he had difficulty keeping upright, causing him to fall sideways and crush those sitting next to him.
“...Wow, I have failed you as a principal.” Bump says genuinely guilty before continuing his speech, “No, it is being selected to join the best of the best. And there are none better than the jewel of the Coven system, the enforcers of his will, the Emperor’s Coven!”
On cue three Emperor Coven scouts materialised in front of him in flashes of white light, as the crowd goes wild, except for the humans, King and Eda who stared unimpressed, Luz only clapping to be polite.
“Feast your eyes on this elite force, each member handpicked to help usher in a new age of controlled magic!” Bump continues his shower of praise as the three scouts drew spell circles, firing a jet of fire, water and lightning in the air that combined and create fireworks, before raining the audience in confetti.
“Elite force? When do they get here?” Eda chuckles at her own joke as Kevin joins in.
“How many did we take down back in that swamp?” he snickers.
“Members of the Emperor’s Coven have access to all forms of magic, but only the best can ascend these ranks. Some day that could be one of you!” he points to the crowd. It may have been a coincidence but Luz’s eyes widen at the sight of a figure that Bump was pointing at,
“Amity?” she whispers to herself at the sight of the green-haired witch. Why was she here? Wait, no, this was a job fair for witches of course she would show up. For a moment her heart races, what if she somehow compromised the mission by recognising her?
“And now I’m pleased to introduce you to our mystery guest, I’m sure rumours have already been spreading about her and allow me to confirm them. Please welcome the leader of the Emperor’s Coven, you know her, you love her, Lilith Clawthorne!”
“Clawthorne?!” Luz, Kevin and Hope exclaim in surprise as they turn to Eda who seemed to ignore them in favour of glaring at the stage, where a translucent blue raven lands on the stage, vanishing in a burst of light before revealing a humanoid figure at the centre of the stage, wearing a white cloak with a mask on that was quickly ditched upon landing.
The audience applauds and cheers at the spectacle as a middle-aged woman with smooth long, dark-navy hair and flawless ivory skin that in any other circumstances would have Luz gawking with jaw dropped, and she was pretty sure Kevin agreed on that judging by the look on his face.
“Lilith Clawthorne…Eda Clawthorne…is she your younger sister?” Luz asks only to receive a magical hand slapping the back of her head in annoyance.
“Older sister actually,” Eda grumbles as Kevin whistles impressed.
“Damn, she must have gotten all the good genes.” he mutters to himself but was still audible enough for Eda to pick up and received another slap to the back of the head, “Ow! I’m just saying what we’re all thinking!”
“Thank you all.” Lilith says to the crowd, “It wasn’t easy to rise through the ranks until I reached the top. I too came from humble beginnings like all of you. Now I have the highest honour of enforcing the Emperor’s will! Be more! The Emperor’s Coven awaits you!”
She creates that illusion of a raven once again, spreading its wings before breaking apart into a shower of falling light orbs, as Eda continues glaring at her.
***
“Right, you never told us that the Coven Leader, the one we’re supposed to be ambushing, was your sister!” Luz says to Eda as they returned to the main Covention hall, both Willow and Gus were still lining up for an autograph from the Emperor’s Coven scouts, “Where was this during yesterday’s meeting?”
“Like I told you, I knew the Coven Leader.” Eda retorts.
“But not that you’re related!” Luz says frustrated, “How are we supposed to make proper plans if we don’t have all the info?”
“Well, what does this change exactly?” Eda asks, “We’re still gonna go through with whatever you have planned, right?”
“Yeah but now we have to make extra sure that you don’t get spotted!” Luz sighs rubbing the bridge of her nose, “But you’re right, this changes nothing. We carry on like planned, you all got your roles?”
“Yes, the guards and scouts are tagged.” Hope says as she rips a page from her spellbook, ink lines began materialising on them and forming a map with moving purple dots on them, “Here are their movements, I’ve marked potential places we can lure Lilith Clawthorne to ambush her.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the Golden Guard, make sure he doesn’t get wise to our intentions.” Kevin says, cracking his knuckles, “And if he does, I’ll deal with him.”
“And I’ll find a place to get the portal ready so you can transform and prepare our exit in case things get messy.” Eda nods.
Luz nods as she taps her Omnitrix’s dial and sets it to time-piece mode showing a digital clock, “Alright then, we all know our parts so let’s move out! Everyone sync your watches and stay on comms at all times.”
“...I don’t use a watch.” Hope points out.
“Mine’s analogue.” Kevin reminds as he shows the infinitum-titanium alloy plated watch Luz’s father had gotten for his thirteenth birthday.
“What does that mean?” Eda asks, unfamiliar with the term of synching watches.
“...Alright in that case everyone just stay on comms.” Luz backpedals before pumping her fist, “Come on then, Team Alien Force move out!”
They immediately split up with Luz moving to an isolated corner of the Covention to prepare for her transformation, checking the Omnitrix’s System Setting to prepare for the incoming connection to Primus.
“Error. Error. Connection with Primus severed. Cause: Unknown. Please restore connection and try again.”
“Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that,” Luz mutters annoyed as she keeps tapping the refresh option and waiting for the connection. After a few minutes of waiting it did,
“Connection with Primus restored. Functionality returned to full capacity.”
“Alright!” she cheers to herself as she scrolls through her Playlist options, selecting Detective Playlist where her aliens most suited for information gathering was.
Of course, choosing that option triggers the automatic Uniform Mode, and a coat of nanomachines covers her in black substance and purple circuitry before solidifying and morphing her clothes to form a sleek black trench coat that stretches down to her knees with bits of neon purple lining at the edges, a full white bodysuit underneath it for temperature regulation, and a lightweight protective vest with several pouches full of detective tools with her Plumber’s badge pinned to the left side of her chest. She and Kevin had been really leaning into the cyberpunk theme when designing this particular uniform.
“Damn it, really should turn off the auto-Uniform Mode.” she mutters to herself hoping no one noticed that brief glow of purple before priming her Omnitrix again and selecting Soulcatcher, the alien’s holographic form appearing on the dial, “Hopefully no one notices this as well. It’s hero time!”
She raises her palm to slam it when suddenly a voice interrupts her from behind,
“There you are.”
“Gah!” Luz stumbles and misses the Omnitrix, quickly turning around and hiding the still primed Omnitrix behind her back, before realising who was speaking to her, “Amity?!”
“I’ve been looking for you, human.” Amity Blight says with a cold look on her face, arms crossed before she took in what Luz was wearing, “What are you wearing?”
“Er, clothes?” Luz says, sounding confused as she pats her coat, using the opportunity to tap her Plumber’s badge pinned to her chest, activating the comms conspicuously, “They’re not that bad are they? Kevin worked hard designing these.”
Amity looks her up and down, for a moment she swore she saw a red tint on her face before she shakes her head for some reason, “That doesn’t matter, I’ve come because someone wants to talk with you.”
“Me? Who wants to talk with me?” Luz asks confused, hoping the badge comms were sensitive enough to pick things up and spread the word to the rest of the team.
“My mentor, Lilith Clawthorne.” Amity says, surprising Luz.
***
“That was a wonderful speech, Miss Clawthorne.” Amity praises her as she met her mentor outside of the stadium.
“Thank you, Amity.” she says with a fond smile at her apprentice, “I’m glad you were able to make it, there’s actually someone I want to introduce you to. Another student of mine, recently acquired actually, someone who will be studying with you.”
“Really? Another student?” Amity asks in surprise. The notion her mentor was taking in another student doesn’t surprise her, more the fact she was going to share the same schedule as this mysterious student. It made her feel a pang of jealousy, she had thought of herself as her mentor’s best student deserving her full undivided attention.
Lilith notices this and puts a hand on her shoulder gently, “Don’t worry, you’re still my favourite student. But I feel that this one would learn much from you, and hopefully lose that rotten attitude of his.”
She looks up and notices someone approaching and smirks, “And speak of the demon, he shall appear.”
Amity turns and widens her eyes in surprise as the renowned Golden Guard sprint towards them before slowing down and panting.
“I remember ordering you to stay at the entrance for the rest of the day,” Lilith says sounding stern.
“I’m on my break. I came to inform you, the humans are in the Covention.” the Golden Guard warns as Lilith and Amity’s eyes widen in surprise for different reasons.
“The human? Including the one with the Omnitrix?” Lilith asks, trying to sound neutral and calm, with a glint in her eyes that the Golden Guard notices.
“Luz?” Amity mutters in recognition and suddenly the Golden Guard shifts his glance from Lilith to her.
“You know this human?” he demands as he brings up a gauntlet with a familiar symbol on it,, “Are you collaborating with enemies of the Emperor’s Coven?!”
Amity tries to sputter out something as she felt a sudden panic before Lilith steps in front of her protectively, glaring at the Golden Guard,
“That is my student you’re talking to, and your senior while you are under my tutelage, I recommend you change the tone of your voice.” Lilith orders, “And besides, the Emperor himself has declared they are not enemies of the Coven, so she has committed no crime.”
The Golden Guard growls before sighing, “Very well…”
Amity lets out a soft sigh in relief before Lilith turns to her, kneeling to get on eye level. Normally she’d appreciate that, she always thought it meant that Lilith was talking to her seriously as equals, but this time she sees a glint in her eyes that reminded Amity of her mother.
“Amity, how well do you know this human?” she asks politely and Amity looks nervous, remembering how their last encounter went.
“We…were acquaintances when she was at Hexside. I showed her around and we talked, but we got into a big argument.” she replied as honestly as she can, “She said she was a shapeshifter with that weird magic watch of hers.”
“Yes, the Omnitrix, or so I’ve heard.” Lilith mutters before smiling, “Amity, you always wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven, right? To become one of the best?”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted.” Amity declares excitedly as Lilith smirks, realising she took the bait.
“And what if I tell you that with a few strings pulled I can get you there right away? Without needing to graduate, a direct internship under myself. I’ve been meaning to find an assistant for my historical research.”
Amity gasps in shock, this sounded too good to be true, “Yes! I’ll accept of course!”
Lilith holds out a hand to calm her down, “Now, now, you need to do something first. To prove that you’re truly worthy of standing amongst the best.”
“Anything!” Amity declares. Her mother would kill her if she lets a once in a lifetime chance like this pass.
Lilith smirks, “Bring the human to me. I wish to have a talk with her.”
***
“Me?” Luz asks as they walk, “Why me?”
“That’s between you and Miss Clawthorne,” Amity says as she avoids looking at Luz and looks straight ahead. They both continued walking in silence, Amity occasionally glancing back at Luz before she speaks up.
“So how-?”/”What are-”
Both spoke at the same time, talking over each other before they realised their mistake.
“Sorry, you go first.” Luz insists.
“...I wanted to ask, what’s a human doing in the Covention?” Amity asks, still avoiding eye contact, “This place is for witches in training.”
“Well, technically as a student of Hexside, I am a witch in training.” Luz responds with a smirk, “I may not have chosen my Track yet, but that’s why I’m here. To figure things out.”
“...At least you’re putting in effort.” Amity comments and hesitates before asking, “I’ve seen you with Willow and her illusionist friend…”
“Are you going to talk about how being friends with them is going to ruin my social life,” Luz asks crossing her arms.
“No.” Amity says, “I’ve heard you’re the reason why she made a transfer to the Plants Track. I was surprised that Professor Hermonculus didn’t make a big deal out of it, but since it happens around the same time you showed, I assume you had something to do with it?”
Luz can’t help but smile proudly at that, “Yeah, you’d be surprised at how the right choice of words can influence someone. No offence but that Professor of yours has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore.”
A hint of a smirk appears on Amity’s face, “I have no idea what that is, but disrespecting a teacher of your future school is inadvisable. But it’s good to hear that Willow dropped Abominations, it was never her thing. She’ll be better off in the Plants Track where her talents lie.”
“How do you know she’s good with plants?” Luz asks as Amity’s eyes widen at her slip of the tongue, “...The way you reacted when I said her name yesterday, and the way she reacted with you, I thought you were just a plain old bully messing with her. The only other person who knew Willow had a talent with plants was Gus, someone who’s a close friend of hers…Amity, were the two of you friends?”
She guesses but apparently, it hits the mark as Amity looks like the air was knocked right out of her, and she became silent.
“...That’s none of your business, Noceda.” she says, returning to a cold and serious voice, “I don’t divulge personal information to liars like you.”
Luz sighs, “It wasn’t personal. I just had some trouble with the Emperor’s Coven and wanted to keep a low profile. Not that I’m a wanted criminal or anything-”
“I’m aware, Miss Clawthorne told me already.” Amity mutters before pointing into the stadium where she first saw Lilith, “In there, she’ll be meeting with us inside.”
Luz walks in with Amity following her and tenses as she spots Lilith Clawthorne right next to the Golden Guard. However, a quick glance at her Omnitrix reveals the connection to still be holding, meaning she has access to her heavy hitters which gave her some comfort.
“There’s no need to be so serious, Luz Noceda.” Lilith Clawthorne says as she gestures to the Golden Guard beside her, “Do not mind the Golden Guard here, he may be bitter after his defeat at your hands but he’s under strict orders not to attack you. I confiscated his staff just in case.”
Amity widens her eyes upon hearing that and glances at Luz in surprise, who focused her attention on the Golden Guard.
“But left on the Demonitrix.” Luz says as she notices the gauntlet still attached to him.
“Yes, but between you and me, I think someone who has been a shapeshifter for five years would be better than someone who had it only for one year,” Lilith says as she smirks at the Golden Guard who gripped his hands tightly in anger.
“He’s got a good grasp on things for someone with a year. Some neat combos.” Luz admits staring at Lilith, “But that’s not what we’re here to talk about is it? Why am I here?”
“I think it should be obvious, everyone in the Emperor’s Coven knows that our lord has a…fascination with your device. Ever since he was informed of its existence it was obvious he desired it.”
“And you want to take it from me?” she scoffs, “Why don’t you ask your lackey how well that went last time? And those were without my heavy hitters, which I have now.”
She primes her Omnitrix warningly with Soulcatcher preselected. If she gets into a fight her first move should be immediately stealing her memories and hightailing it, but she would have to be fast. But then she glanced back at Amity who was looking at them with concerned confusion and hesitation, not wanting to drag her into their mess.
Golden Guard primes his Demonitrix as well but Lilith only chuckles, “Please, I’m not a brute like our Golden Guard. I want to do things diplomatically. And from his reports, you prefer to do that as well don’t you?”
Luz pauses before she de-primes her Omnitrix, “What do you want? To make a deal?”
“Exactly.” Lilith nods, “I’m sure someone of your skills will rise through our ranks quickly, and who knows? With how much he’s disappointed our Emperor, there may be a future position as the Golden Guard open for the taking. Prestige, power and payment, that’s what I’m offering you”
The Golden Guard tenses at that and Luz spots fear in his body language.
She shakes her head, “No dice, ma’am. I already got a job, a good one at that, fulfilling as well and one that lets me go to bed at night with a sound conscience.” she taps her badge, “I’ve sworn an oath to protect and serve, something I don’t think you people do. I’ve seen how you treat your civilians in the Conformatorium.”
“What Wrath does in his private prison is none of our concern.” Lilith waves off, “But if it troubles you, someone like you can easily replace him in months, maybe even weeks if the Emperor sees value in you.”
“No chance,” she says firmly and Lilith sighs.
“Then how about you hear my second offer,” Lilith says but Luz was already turning to leave.
“Nothing you say can get me to work with you or give up the Omnitrix.” she declares as she begins walking off.
“Not even information about the basilisks you’re tracking down?”
Luz freezes in surprise as Amity looks confused,
“Basilisks? What are you talking about, Miss Clawthorne?”
“A while ago, the Emperor’s Coven was able to come across a pack of wild basilisks and managed to capture them before any harm was done to civilians,” Lilith explains as Luz turns to face her in anger.
“They’re innocent creatures that your people kept and tortured!” she roars but Lilith remains unfazed, “You didn’t even find them, your people were the ones to bring them back from the dead.”
“I have no idea where you heard such ridiculous rumours.” Lilith says neutrally, “They are ancient predators of witchkind. We were doing our duty and containing threats to the civilian populace. But we are not here to argue semantics, I want to offer a proposal.”
Luz gestures for her to continue as the older witch smiles,
“One-on-one witches duel. You win, and you will get all the information I have on the basilisk. But if you lose, you relinquish your Omnitrix.”
Luz bites her lip as she weighs the pros and cons of such a deal. If she lost then it would be disastrous.
“Unless you think these three basilisks just aren’t worth it. In which case, you are free to leave.”
“...I accept.” Luz says after a moment of hesitation and primes her Omnitrix, “Why don’t you make this easy for yourself and tell me what I want to know right now? It’ll save you a lot on hospital bills.”
“Actually you won’t be fighting me.” she smirks, “Instead you will be challenging my apprentice, Amity Blight.”
“What?!” both teenagers exclaim in surprise.
“This is your chance to prove you belonged with the best of the best, Amity Blight.” Lilith tells her apprentice, “All you need to do is win against this human, present her Omnitrix to Emperor Belos, and your status will be guaranteed. You might even replace our friend over here.”
She gestures to the Golden Guard with her staff, who for the moment was stewing in anger behind her, desperately wanting to say something but evidently couldn’t.
“What say you, Amity? Will you rise to the occasion?” she asks Amity who was in deep thought, an almost conflicted expression on her face.
“Amity…” Luz tries to say something before her face hardens and turns to Luz coldly.
“I will.” she says pointing at Luz, “Luz Noceda of the Human Realm, I challenge you to a witches' duel!”
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
Well as you can see I'm not even bothering to be subtle with who's gonna show up eventually. Maybe you can guess when he'll show up from the prophecy alone? I can tell you that it's gonna happen on a canon Owl House episode. Let me know down in the comments your thoughts about that as well as what you think of the first half of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, sorry for cutting it in half but the chapter was already getting long in my opinion. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good day.
Chapter 13: Covention Complication Pt 2
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Amity?!” Luz asks in shock before holding her hands out placatingly, “Look, you don’t want to do this…”
“Don’t I?” Amity asks challengingly, “I have a chance to advance my future. As a Blight, it’s my duty to do so the moment opportunity comes.”
“The challenge has been issued, will the challenged accept?” Lilith asks with a smirk as Luz glared at her.
“Why her? She has nothing to do with this!” Luz yells at Lilith.
“What was it you humans say? Two birds with one stone?” Lilith asks rhetorically, “I get the Omnitrix and help my apprentice. After all, it will be unfair to you if you were to challenge me, I figured this should be a fairer fight.”
Luz grits her teeth. Lilith was expecting that she’d be hesitant to fight someone who’s uninvolved in the whole mess, that she’ll hold back fighting Amity, and as much as she hates to say it the witch was correct.
But there was no other choice. With a sigh she relents,
“What are the rules and how do I know you’ll keep your word?” Luz asks.
“Simple, a standard witches duel between you and Amity Blight, with standards rule applying. Normally no equipment besides a witch’s staff is allowed, but you are allowed to bring your Omnitrix for the duel. We don’t want to make things unfair, but in the name of fairness, you’ll only be able to choose one transformation and remain in it for the remainder of the duel. Breaking that rule will mean forfeiting the match.” Lilith announces as Luz thinks it over.
Only one transformation? That wasn’t as limiting as she thinks it would be, back when she was ten she had to fight like that all the time and she hasn’t forgotten how to. She nods and then Lilith draws a spell circle before putting her hand through, offering it to Luz.
“Then we’ll shake on it.” she says, “An Unbreakable Oath to prevent either of us from backing out. If you win, you will receive all the information I have. If Amity wins, you will relinquish your Omnitrix.”
“...I accept,” she grumbles as she shakes her hand and the spell circle glows before fading.
“Then the Oath is sealed.” Lilith says with a smile, “We will reconvene in an hour at this exact stadium. Goodluck human, Amity is the greatest witch under my tutelage, you better be at your best.”
***
“You did WHAT?!”
Kevin roars as soon as they regrouped, making Luz flinch from the sheer volume.
“Alright, I can see why you’re mad-” Luz tries to speak but Kevin cuts her off.
“You made a deal that might end up with you losing your Omnitrix?!” he exclaims, “Not only that you swore some magical unbreakable oath?! What were you thinking?!”
“That this could be a chance to get some leads instead of sitting around waiting for the next basilisk attack!” Luz argues.
“Luz, if she’s making a deal like that then there’s a chance she won’t be playing fair.” Hope warns, “You can’t trust her. She may try to sabotage your match in Blight’s favour.”
“Well, I never knew my sister to be one for cheating.” Eda shrugs as she joins the conversation, “But if you already shook her hand and swore that oath then there’s no other choice but to go with it. And luckily for you, I know how to guarantee your win.”
Eda pulls out something from her hair, a strange suitcase.
“What’s that?” Luz asks in suspicion as Eda smirks.
“Buncha magical booby traps and hexes.” Eda says, giving the suitcase a pat, “Plant a couple of them out in the field, and we can say that it’s one of your weird aliens that did it. Little princess steps on one and she’s done for.”
“That’s cheating!” Luz exclaims horrified, “And booby traps? Hexes? Done for? Are you trying to kill her or something?”
“Titan no, just a bit of maiming, nothing too serious.” Eda waves off casually, “You know, explosive fireballs, spike traps, those sorta things.”
“Spikes?!” Luz asks exasperatedly before face palming, “She’s someone dragged into this because of your sister, we’re not trying to terribly injure her or something!”
“There’s a nearby Healing Coven stand.” Eda reminds, “Lilith won’t let anything permanent happen to some precious prodigy of hers. She’ll be fine as long as the healers get to her on time, which they will.”
“She is definitely going to cheat.” Kevin says in agreement, “If she’s going after the Omnitrix we have to assume she’s gonna use every available means to get to it. Which means we have to use every available means to make sure she doesn’t get it.”
Luz looks to Hope for help who seems to be pondering the issue deeply,
“...Do you think you win fighting clean while your opponent potentially fights dirty?” she asks.
“Amity isn’t the type to cheat.” Luz says, “She hates liars, and I bet she hates cheaters as well. I’m going to fight this duel following their rules because if we get caught it’ll give Lilith an excuse to back out of our deal.”
“Then we’ll trust your judgement. If you think fighting cleanly is the best way, then go for it.” Hope says despite Kevin’s protest, “I’ll pray this doesn’t come to bite us in the back.”
“Trust me.” Luz smirks, “I’ve fought galactic bounty hunters, alien zombie plagues, Vilgax, Highbreeds, DNAliens and buncha other wild stuff. I think I can handle a teenage witch.”
“Abomination, rise!”
They all turn to find both Amity and Lilith at the other side of the Covention hall, the former summoning an abomination the size of an adult, with arms thicker than the average body. The teen witch then orders the abomination to tear off parts of itself and throw it at a couple of practice targets, the slime solidifies mid-flight turning them into a sort of improvised buckshot, completely obliterating three targets in one volley.
Lilith pretends to just notice them and smirks at them confident in her victory.
“She’s just trying to intimidate us.” Hope says, “We can win this.”
As if on cue, both Willow and Gus came running up to them.
“Luz! Did you hear? Someone challenged Amity Blight to a fight!” Willow says in surprise, “There’s going to be a witch's duel in an hour between them! Can you believe it?”
“Yeah, whoever did that must be a colossal idiot!” Gus agreed, “Amity’s the strongest student in her year! She’s trained under the literal Coven Head of the Emperor’s Coven! Who would be dumb enough to try that?!”
***
“Well done, Amity.” Lilith compliments as Amity beamed, “Your fine control over Abominations has improved since the last time.”
The Golden Guard scoffs, “I can do stronger stuff like that with my staff.”
“Ignore him. Either way, I am proud of your progress, you’ll certainly be more than a match for the human.” Lilith says as she puts a hand on Amity’s shoulder, “And once you win and deliver to Emperor Belos the Omnitrix, you will stand with me side by side as a colleague in the Emperor’s Coven.”
To say Amity’s smile was blinding would be an understatement. This was all she’s ever wanted and now she will finally have that chance, but then her eyes catch a glance of Luz preparing with her friends and her smile falters.
“Amity? What’s wrong?” Lilith asks, noticing this.
“It’s just…what’s going on between you and Luz?” she asks hesitantly, “That talk about the basilisks…were they true? And what is this Omnitrix? Why does the Emperor want Luz’s watch?”
Lilith was silent for a moment, thinking over her answer before giving Amity a reassuring smile, “Amity, do you trust me?”
“Of course I do!” Amity answers shocked that Lilith would even ask that.
“Then believe me when I say this, those basilisks we captured were for the greater good. That poor girl just doesn’t know what she’s doing, letting them run wild would only cause further harm. Her misguided efforts will only result in the harm of innocent witches, you don’t want that do you?”
“Of course not! But Luz…she’s not the type of person to let innocent people get hurt.” Amity mutters confused.
“I believe you, but sometimes we just don’t know where good intentions take us.” Lilith explains, “She may think it’s the right thing to do but she hasn’t considered what the consequences of her actions are. Don’t you agree?”
“...I get it.” Amity says understandingly, “But then her watch-”
“Is a dangerous magical device.” Lilith answered, “Something that a child like her shouldn’t possess lest she misuses it.”
“But the Golden Guard has one.” Amity says, glancing back at the Golden Guard leaning against the wall looking uninterested, “Those two share the same symbol, and they both sounded the same. And you said that Luz had it longer than he did.”
“The Golden Guard is a highly trained operative of the Emperor’s Coven, despite how he acts.” Lilith explains ignoring the Golden Guard’s undignified ‘Hey!’, “And so far she’s been lucky, but who’s to say that there isn’t irreparable harm she caused back in the Human Realm? Who’s to say that it won’t happen sooner or later? It needs to be in the hands of professionals like us. For both her safety and for others, do you understand me?”
“...I do, Miss Clawthorne.” Amity answers with a determined nod of her head. Lilith smiles and pats her behind the back,
“That’s good, Amity.” she says, “Why don’t we practise further away from prying eyes in the arena, not that you’ll need it, I have confidence in your victory. No matter what form she takes, I have no doubts.”
“Thank you, Miss Clawthorne,” Amity says as she heads to the arena and Lilith was about to follow when the Golden Guard speaks up.
“So this is the famous Coven Head of the Emperor’s Coven. Can’t say that I’m impressed.” he says once he made sure Amity was out of earshot, “Not exactly what your reputation precedes you to be. Lying to your apprentice, is that something I’m supposed to learn?”
Lilith sighs, “It pains me to mislead her in such a way, but they aren’t exactly complete lies either. The basilisks are clearly retaliating with their attack at St Epiderm, and obviously, a child like that human would be careless with her device. It is better off in our hands.”
“Your hands you mean?” the Golden Guard scoffs.
“After the Emperor finishes with whatever he has planned with it, and replicates the device, of course. Who is better suited than his most trusted subordinate? Certainly not you, you little maverick, punished for disobeying his direct orders.”
“Says the one disobeying him as we speak.” The Golden Guard retorts, “This goes far beyond just observing.”
“Unlike your failed attempt, mine will generate results.” she waves him off, “That’s the difference between you and me, little maverick. Now why don’t you go sulk in a corner somewhere, don’t worry I’ll be sure to invite you to the feast celebrating my success.”
“...Say what you want about the human, at least she was honourable.” the Golden Guard mutters to himself, glaring at Lilith as she leaves. He had seen what she did to Amity when she patted her on the back, it was subtle and well hidden but it didn’t fool his eyes.
His eyes wandered back to the human working with her other human friends and the criminal Owl Lady, and the other two teen witches. Suddenly a plan began forming in his head.
***
“Citizens of Bonesborough!” Lilith’s magically amplified voice echoes through the crowded stadium surrounding the arena, “The Emperor’s Coven brings you this improvised demonstration on the sort of witches we’re looking for. On one corner we have Amity Blight, a member of the Abomination Track.”
The crowd cheers for her, many were Hexside students that have seen her magical skills in person before. Amity basks in the cheers with a confident smile, waving back at the crowd.
“And in the other corner, we have…some human girl.”
There Luz stands, in her standard outfit with a green jacket and beanie on her head, the coat she wore when using her Detective Playlist returned inside the Omnitrix. She waves at the crowd who immediately silenced themselves,
“Ugh, a human?”
“Humans can’t even use magic!”
“Boo!”
Being on the opposite end of the spectrum was weird but not unwelcome. She’d be happy to show these punks how a human like her would do magic.
“Don’t let them get you down.” Kevin whispers to her as he massages her shoulders, hyping her up, “You’ve kicked Highbreed butt, you can take some high school magic diva.”
“Of course, I can.” Luz says but takes a few deep breaths to steady her nerves anyways, “Thing is, she’s better with magic than I am, so that’s a disadvantage for me.”
“Who cares?” he scoffs, “She’s not going to last a second against Frankenstrike, or Blitzwolfer, or half the aliens you got on that watch. You got this in the bag!’
“Actually, I’m not planning to use my Omnitrix,” she answers.
“You’re WHAT?!” Kevin screams directly in her ear causing her to stumble forward dazed, “Are you serious?!”
“She challenged Luz Noceda to a witch’s duel!” Luz argues back, rubbing her ears, “That’s me. I can’t use my Omnitrix.”
“Of course, you can!” Kevin exclaims as he grabs her left hand, “Here! I’ll even help you pick one if you can’t!”
She snatches her hand from his grip, “No thanks, if they’re thinking so bad about us plain old humans, then I want to show them what we’re made of. Besides, going hero on Amity’s is just plain overkill! She’s a strong witch but I don’t want to accidentally hurt her or something.”
Kevin groans and facepalms, “Your honour crap’s going to be the death of us someday. I’d try stopping you but I’ll be wasting my time, right?”
“Are the contestants ready?” Lilith calls out, interrupting them.
“Ready!” she answers back before turning back to Kevin, “Wish me luck, Kevin.”
“Luck.” he mutters weakly as she leaves, sighing before returning to where the rest were watching the fight from, “Glad I didn’t put any money on her.”
***
The bell rings, signalling the start of the fight, as both Luz and Amity approach each other until they are roughly fifteen feet apart.
“It doesn’t have to be like this Amity.” Luz insists calmly, “Just walk away from this fight.”
“Funny, that’s what I was going to say.” Amity says with a determined look on her face, “Lilith told me everything. You’re a danger to a lot of people Luz, especially with that thing on your wrist.”
“Seriously?” Luz sighs frustrated, “You’re a smart person, Amity. Can’t you see that she’s using you?”
“...All I know is that she’s my mentor and I trust her!” Amity growls at her as she draws a spell circle, “That’s more than I can say about a liar like you!”
To her surprise, the abomination summoned was three times the size of the last one she saw. Towering over her like it was Humongosaur, and making her take a step back subconsciously.
“Wow…you’re a big fella aren’t ya?” Luz asks nervously as it roars in her face.
“I did that?” Amity mutters to herself in awe, barely audible over the roar before confidence surged in her, “Well then human if you’re not backing out of this fight then you better be ready for what happens next.”
It brings down a giant fist but Luz leaps to the side in time, bringing up one of her pre-drawn fire glyphs that created a burst of flames to launch her away.
“Thing about giant bodies is, you’re pretty slow so you need to choose your actions wisely or else it’ll leave you open.” She lectures as she throws another fire glyph at Amity, a low-yield one to avoid burning her too badly.
However, the giant abomination rotates itself unnaturally thanks to its slime-based body, slamming down another arm to shield Amity from the blow as the fireball dissipates on it.
“Come on, Amity. You don’t know what you’re doing!” Luz continues trying to talk her out as she avoids the abomination throwing an elongated arm to snatch her, reaching into her pockets for more glyphs
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what they’re doing!” Amity shot back, “I’m the one trying to help people!”
“Not like this you aren’t!” she slaps the two glyphs together and shot a concentrated stream of fire out as the abomination meets it with another elongated arm. The goo that makes up the abomination starts hardening and being pushed back from the flames, but in the end, the glyphs ran out of juice first and Luz rolls out of the way in time to avoid the blow that smashes into the wall of the arena.
“Come on, that always worked with Heatblast!” Luz complained as she got to her feet, running away from the elongated arm that was turned into an improvised flail, leaping up to dodge a swipe.
“Think, think, you’re not Heatblast idiot!” she smacks her head thinking how she should act, “Your flames are weaker and in short bursts, you’re fighting a giant monster! You need to get out of its range!”
Grabbing another handful of Glyphs and throwing them beneath her, channelling the fire to launch her into the air. This takes Amity by surprise as she gapes at the sight of Luz suddenly launched into the air with smoke trailing behind her, throwing a handful of glyphs that turn into a rain of fireballs.
She hurriedly rushes to take cover behind her abomination as it was pelted with fire. Commanding it, the abomination tears off a portion of its body before throwing it at Luz.
Luz sees this and uses her fire glyphs to launch herself downwards faster, before another one to slow her fall as she was sent rolling on the arena’s floor, kicking up sand from her impact. As she gets up dazed, she widens her eyes at the abomination preparing another volley of goo, throwing up glyphs to create a quick burst of fire to intercept them.
“You’re one tough witch, I’ll give you that.” Luz pants, “But why don’t you try fighting me for real instead of sending your lackey to do it for you?”
“If you’re challenging me to hand to hand you must be pretty confident. Forgive me for staying where I am, I much prefer it this way.” Amity apologises sarcastically as the abomination took two handfuls of itself and throws it at her.
Luz throws up more fire glyphs in response, burning them away before they can even touch her.
“You’re quick I’ll give you that, and pretty good with a spell you only learned a day ago.” she complimented reluctantly, “But I know your tricks, your magic needs those papers to work. How many do you have? What happens when you run out?”
“Why don’t you let me worry about that?!” Luz shouts back as she runs to avoid the volley of goop.
***
“What’s going on? I thought Luz was a fierce warrior!” King asks from the bleachers.
“She’s not using her Omnitrix, what is she thinking?” Hope mutters in confusion as well.
“Because she wants this to be a fair fight.” Kevin grumbles, “Guess we better start planning how to steal back the Omnitrix. Maybe we can just take it back, and snatch it from Lilith’s hand the moment she touches it? Technically it’ll still be fulfilling the oath, she still gets the Omnitrix but nobody says for how long.”
“We’d have to get out of there quick if you wanna pull that stunt. Maybe when she’s heading back to the Emperor’s castle we can snatch it from her when her guard is down?” Eda suggests also believing it won’t be long if Luz decides to keep not using the Omnitrix.
Willow winces as she sees Luz’s foot get snagged by one of the abomination goop projectiles and stuck, “I don’t think she’s doing too well.”
Fortunately, Luz was able to loosen her shoe in time to avoid another blob of goo before she continued running around her foe in circles.
“She’s never had a chance to practise with magic in a fight.” Hope mutters, “But it can still go both ways. Luz has been through worse odds.”
“True, she’s certainly unpredictable. I'll give her that.”
Everyone almost jumps in surprise at the voice behind them, turning to find the Golden Guard approaching them.
“What are you doing here?” Kevin asks suspiciously, “If you’re here to gloat, save it. It ain’t over til the fat lady sings.”
“...I don’t know why an obese lady needs to sing, but I’m not here for that.” the Golden Guard says as he hands them a pamphlet, “I’m just here doing my civic duty to hand this pamphlet along with a complimentary pen, to remind citizens to learn more about the Coven system.”
“But we already have pamphlets.” Willow reminds showing the one she took from him at the entrance.
“I insist . It can provide a very enlightening experience.” he says through gritted teeth, holding it closer to them and Kevin takes it slightly suspiciously, “Thank you. We hope you enjoy your day at the Covention. Enjoy the demonstration, hopefully, it doesn’t end with someone losing their neck .”
He withdraws afterwards leaving everyone confused as Kevin opens the pamphlet to read through it, starting with the page where the pen was stuffed between.
“What was that all about?” Gus asks confused before his attention returns to the fight, “Wait, what’s Luz doing?”
Hope squints her eyes to get a better look, “Is she…doing origami?”
***
“Please work, please work, please work!” Luz mutters to herself as she folds one of her glyphs into a boomerang shape before throwing it.
Amity looks at the strange thing that Luz threw, completely missing her abomination and herself by a long shot before it starts curving directly for her.
“Abomination, stop that!” she commands and it does so, stretching out with one of its hands and slapping it out of the way. But before Amity can celebrate that, she felt something hit her behind the head lightly and turns in surprise to find another paper boomerang.
“Another tip, you should always be aware of your surroundings,” Luz says as the paper boomerang glowed and exploded, not into a ball of fire as expected, but into a bright flash of light that blinds both her and the abomination.
“Abomination, stop her!” she cries as the abomination swings its arms wildly and blindly, none hitting Luz at all.
“Now for my next trick!” Luz says as she claps two fire glyphs together before throwing the generated flames around her, creating a circle of flames around the abomination and Amity, before throwing more glyphs to complete her plan.
Amity blinks rapidly, clearing her vision in time to see a circle of fire hovering around them before growling at Luz, “You think this can hold me? You think I’m scared of a little fire?!”
“This little old thing? Of course not.” Luz replies with a smirk, “But wouldn’t anyone be scared by an absurd amount of fire?”
Amity’s eyes widen in realisation as she notices the other circle of flames that combined together to form one large fire glyph that she was right in the middle of.
“You wouldn’t…” Amity mutters already thinking how strong the flames were going to be with a circle that big.
“Wouldn’t I?” Luz responds with a wider smirk as she slams her foot on the giant fire glyph, Amity’s eyes widening as she commands her abomination to cover her in a giant dome, exactly as planned. Obviously, she wasn’t going to roast her alive, the tornado of fire she made with the glyph was meant to bake the abomination, drying it up and solidifying it.
Once she assumes enough time has passed, the tornado of flames dissipated and reveals a solid dome of abomination goo, crackling and crumbling from the heat sucking out all of its moisture.
Amity came crawling out of the crumbling dome of dried abomination goop, coughing and in a daze which is when Luz took her chance and charged directly at her. Before Amity can even draw a spell circle she found her dominant arm restrained behind her back, followed by the other, Luz puts both her wrists put in a lock using one arm that prevents her from using her fingers.
“Ah! Let me go!” she cries out before Luz pins her to the ground with her other arm.
“I really don’t want to hurt you Amity.” Luz says with regret, “Call the match, you can’t use any magic!”
“I…won’t…give up!” Amity roars as she slams her head behind her with a surprising amount of force, stunning Luz and forcing her to let go of the wristlock enough for Amity to free a hand and elbow her at the side, knocking Luz off her.
Luz coughs and breathes deeply after the blow, feeling the air get knocked out of her. Then she feels her nose ache and groans in pain, quickly resetting it before getting back up. That amount of force should be impossible for a girl her size, it felt like getting hit by Kevin while he had steel armour on!
“My future depends on this, I’m not going to let you win!” Amity roars as she draws another spell circle, however instead of one giant abomination it was two this time, each roughly half the size of the first, “Abomination! Seize her!”
Luz reaches for her pockets but curses when she finds she ran out of glyphs, ducking under the swing of an abomination before punching back on reflex, only to remember they were creatures made of mostly liquid and her hand just gets stuck inside it. Then the other one approached and grabbed her flailing hand, wrapping itself around her Omnitrix and effectively restraining her as Amity smirked.
“It’s my victory Luz.” she says confidently, “No more glyphs, no more magic watch, and you can’t move. Give up.”
Luz wracks her mind thinking as she continues to struggle against the abominations before a gamble came to mind. She starts pulling hard with her left hand as the abomination holds on to her by the Omnitrix.
“You can’t win. You’re not stronger than an abomination.” Amity says with a sigh at her stubborn refusal to give up, only for Luz to smirk.
“No, but I’m strong enough to make the Omnitrix think something’s trying to remove it,” she yells as she pulls harder against the abomination tugging on her left arm. Then she smiles as purple electricity crackles around the Omnitrix, it's automatic failsafe kicking in once sufficient force was applied.
A large pulse of energy erupted from the Omnitrix, the abomination wrapping its arms around it was reduced to a purple stain on the floor, walls and Luz herself, along with the second abomination. Amity was launched back by the pulse of energy as well but managed to soften her landing with a layer of abomination goo.
“You’re pretty strong Amity, thanks for showing me that. It shows me that I have a long way to go with magic. I’m sorry for thinking you weren’t going to be much of a threat.” Luz says, wiping the abomination goo off her face, “But now I know you’re strong enough to take things to another level. Say hello to one of my favourite aliens…”
She says as she primes her Omnitrix and smiles at her playlist, thankful that Eda had left the portal open for the connection. Amity sees this and panics, drawing a spell circle that shoots out a stream of abomination goo to stop Luz, but it was too late as her hand was already swinging down.
But the split second before it could touch the dial, the abomination goo slams into her shoulder, causing the dial to twist as Luz slams the primed Omnitrix.
A bright flash of purple light blinded Amity and the crowd, when they recovered their eyes widened at the transformation Luz had chosen as her voice echoed through the stadium.
“Chromastone!”
***
In the stands, Willow looks at the form she chose in surprise,
“Is that-?” she asks as Gus looks at her in similar surprise.
“I think it is.”
Hope facepalms and sighs, “I thought that stopped happening after it recalibrated?”
Kevin shrugs, having stopped paying attention to the battle as he reads the pamphlet thoroughly.
“That’s-” Eda says in realisation.
“Me?!” King exclaims.
***
“Chromastone!”
Luz calls out her transformation name, feeling a rush of confidence before she realised the voice that bellowed didn’t sound like Chromastone and looked down at her own body in shock.
Instead of a Crystalsapien, she finds her body now covered in greyish-black fur with light armour made of some white metal that protected her chest that had two shoulder guards, with the purple Omnitrix emblem right in the centre. She had three claws for each hand, two claws for each foot, as well as a bushy tail long enough to wrap around her. She felt more movement behind her, connected to her back and reached behind surprised to find a pair of small leathery wings barely longer than her arms. A quick pat to her head also reveals a hard shell around it as well as two horns.
“Er…I mean that I’m…who is this guy?” Luz mutters in confusion before looking back to the stands where her friends were sitting upon realising, “Wait a minute, I’m King?!”
Before she could question, her now sensitive ears picked up something and she ducks in time to avoid getting hit by an abomination’s fist.
“I don’t know what you turned yourself into, and I don’t care.” Amity growls, “Human or not, I’ll still take you down.”
Not wanting to engage in close quarters without knowing more of this form’s strengths, Luz leaps backwards quickly and was momentarily surprised at the distance gained. Add slightly enhanced physical abilities to sensitive hearing, now what else could this thing do?
She tries flapping her wings mid-jump to get more distance but was disappointed when she only hovered for a moment before falling back down. She guesses whatever those wings are for, they haven’t fully grown yet to support flight for her species.
She mutters another curse as the abomination grabs one of her legs mid-fall and slams her to the ground like a sack of potatoes before bringing her in close for a punch to the head.
“Get back!” she shouts in frustration and annoyance but something echoes and reverberates through her throat as purple shockwaves launch out of her mouth, turning the upper half of the giant abomination into paste splattered across the arena.
“What?!” Amity cries out in surprise as Luz laughs out loud.
“Hah! This guy’s basically Blitzwolfer-lite with wings!” she says in realisation, plans on how to use her new alien or rather demon, form began forming in her head. She spreads her wings and starts running forward, before jumping and shouting below her with all her strength.
The resulting shockwaves echoed back into her wings, propelling her and allowing her to ride the sound waves letting her fly in a sense. She speeds towards Amity before releasing another shout attack, forcing her to create a shield made of abomination goo.
However, the attack causes it to burst instantly and the shockwave knocks her to the ground. Getting up she scowls at Luz who lands a few feet away from her, skidding to a halt.
“You’ve been holding back all this time?” she asks, outraged, “You weren’t taking me seriously?”
Luz shrugs, “No offence intended, I thought if I went hero early I’d accidentally hurt you badly. But you were stronger than I thought so I couldn’t play around anymore.”
“Play? Is this some game to you?!" She roars with injured pride as she creates another spell circle, slamming it into the floor and generating a large, spiked fist that rockets towards Luz.
“Believe me, a game’s the last thing I see this as,” Luz says before fixing her feet into a stance similar to the one she used with Echo Echo to keep her balance, taking a deep breath before roaring and blasting the fist with a short burst of sound, shooting back the goop directly at Amity.
“That mentor of yours is promising me info that will save a lot of people! I just didn’t want to hurt you too badly to get it.” Luz says as she approaches Amity who was struggling to get the goop off her, “Whatever she’s told you isn’t true, they’re hunting down innocent creatures to experiment on.”
“Well, she’s telling me that you don’t know what you’re doing, that you’ll get people hurt by letting those creatures roam around freely! They used to eat witches alive for Titan’s sake! Didn’t you read the books you asked for?”
Amity shot back as she rips the sticky goo off her and drew a spell circle but Luz was quicker and shoots a quick sound wave that disrupted the spell circle and sent her stumbling backwards.
“I did, and I’ve met two basilisks. Heck I even became one!” Luz argues back, “One of them lives with my mom for crying out loud! Do you think I’d leave a cannibalistic monster with my mom? She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever met next to King, she’s also someone that was hurt by your Emperor’s Coven, someone so scared she ran all the way to another realm just so she could hide from them! They literally brand them and only gave them numbers, not names, numbers!”
“...You’re lying. They wouldn’t do anything like that!” Amity argues but there was a waver in her voice, it was doubt, just a small tinge of it, “You’re just trying to mess with my head!”
“I wish I can have more time to talk you out of this.” Luz says with a sigh, “You’re a good person, Amity. If you really want to help people, then just stop this and give up!”
She roars the last part, purple soundwaves launching forward as Amity tried to draw a spell circle to create another shield but she wasn’t faster than sound. The sound waves smash into her but instead of flinging her backwards, layers of ice wrap around her everywhere except her head, preventing her from moving to her shock.
“Freezing shouting powers? Dang King, you’re gonna grow into one tough demon.” Luz mutters to herself as she looks up to a stunned Lilith, “She can’t move. She’s done for. Call the match.”
Lilith was hesitant to do so, turning to Amity, “Amity Blight, can you still move?”
She struggles against the ice, but the cold sapped her energy and made her unable to move a muscle, let alone try to break free. With shame, she shook her head and admitted defeat,
“No…I surrender,” she says, her voice full of shame on letting down her mentor. With that declared Luz immediately made a soft-pitch screech that shattered the ice without harming Amity causing her to fall on her knees as she rushed forward, slapping the Omnitrix and returning to human form, taking off her jacket and wrapping it around Amity.
“W-what are you doing?” she asks with a shiver, confused but not refusing the jacket.
“You looked cold.” Luz replies simply with an apologetic smile, “Also don’t say something about ‘we Blights don’t accept help from filthy peasants’ or anything, because I’ll just take it back.”
Amity chuckles despite her condition, “D-don’t worry…I’m t-too co-cold to say anything like that.”
“The winner is declared.” Lilith announces, “After much thought, there can certainly be only one winner for this witch’s duel.”
“Much thought?” Luz asked, confused at that part and getting a bad feeling, which is soon confirmed.
“The winner is Amity Blight.” Lilith says as both contestants gasp in shock and the crowd breaks out in confused mutterings, “Congratulations, Miss Blight.”
“WHAT THE FLARK IS THIS?!” Luz barely restrains herself from cursing out loud in front of everyone, “She literally surrendered! After I froze her!”
Even Amity was in agreement, struggling to her feet with Luz’s jacket still wrapped around her, “Miss Clawthorne, I obviously lost! What are you talking about?”
“After much deliberation, it became clear that the human Luz Noceda was using wild magic in the opening of their fight with those strange glyphs.” Lilith announces with a smirk, “That was clearly wild magic, and clearly against the rules of an official witch’s duel. Therefore the winner by default is Amity Blight!”
“You didn’t have a problem throughout the entire match!” Luz roars in anger, “You’re only crying about it now because you lost!”
“And there’s no rule saying wild magic can’t be used in a witch’s duel!” Amity argues. No matter what Luz said, whether her claims were lies or true, she knew that this wasn’t how she wanted to win. Not like this.
“As Coven Head of the Emperor’s Coven and referee of the match, my word is the law regarding this.” Lilith says strictly, “Luz Noceda, you have lost. Now relinquish your device as promised.”
Before Luz can even think of doing anything, a familiar voice shouts out,
“So if going against the rules means an automatic failure, what does that say about her?!”
All eyes are on Kevin Levin as he leaps down into the arena, storming forward to both Luz and Amity.
“Kevin, what are you talking about?” Luz asks but he shoves right past her and grabs Amity by the shoulder.
“Hey!” she cries out alarmed only to hear a ripping sound and suddenly immense fatigue courses through her body as she turns and finds a Construction Coven power sigil in Kevin’s hands.
He raises it up high and shows it to the crowd along with a Covention pamphlet, “A power sigil! This little thing boosts your magical abilities by almost 50% and physical abilities by 15% according to this little pamphlet. That’s why her abomination was bigger than normal! And according to it, power sigils are banned in any official tournaments requiring physical activities such as, but not exclusive to, a duel between witches.”
He throws the pamphlet and sigil to Lilith’s feet before raising Luz’s arm, “Amity Blight had that power sigil on from before the beginning of her fight! Way before Luz started using a spell! Meaning that by cheating first she lost and by default, the winner is, as we all expected, Luz Noceda!”
Everyone in the crowd began muttering in agreement,
“He’s right, that human really is the winner then.”
“After that fight? Of course! You’d be blind to think otherwise.”
“Amity Blight cheated?”
Amity looks in horror at that before realising what must have happened, when Lilith had patted her on the back before the fight, turning to face her mentor who looked panicked.
“...you made me cheat?” she whispers in disbelief and pain, “Why?”
“I only meant to-” Lilith tries to defend herself but then Amity ran off out of the arena, “Amity!”
“You lost Lilith, everyone knows it.” Kevin says storming up to her, “Now it’s time to uphold your end of the bargain. Info on the basilisks, as promised.”
“...Well played, human.” she glares at Kevin before sighing, “What information do we have on the basilisk? Is that they may be planning to attack one of the magical schools on the Boiling Isles.”
“...And?” Luz presses, “We already know that! Anyone with a TV, I mean crystal ball, could tell that!”
“That’s it.” Lilith shrugs as both Kevin and Luz’s jaw drop, “In that case we have no information on them at all that will be useful to you.”
“...You’re lying!” Kevin says, “Tell us now or we beat it out of you!”
Lilith scoffs, “Oh please, the Unbreakable Oath would prevent me from lying to you. I promised you information, but I didn’t promise it was information that you’ve never heard of before or information that could be of use to you. Rule number one of making deals child, sacrifice as little as possible.”
“You…utter…witch!” Luz grits her teeth in frustration before storming off, “Great! This has been a colossal waste of time then! Kevin deal with this! I’m going after Amity!”
“With pleasure,” he says, cracking his knuckles.
“Are you really planning to fight me, boy?” she scoffs, “Choose your actions carefully. I am the Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven.”
Kevin smirks, “I’ve met bad guys with more impressive titles. But no, you see her mom taught me the value of solving problems with my words instead of my fists. So I’ll just say this lady, you are a colossal-!”
***
Luz searches the Covention hall, desperately searching for Amity when she hears a sniff in one corner behind a couple empty stands. Most of the Covention attendants were at the arena anyways so it was just the two of them.
Carefully she steps towards the source of the noise to find Amity sitting with her jacket wrapped around her.
“Hey…” Luz says softly, startling Amity who glanced at her in surprise.
“Oh, it’s you.” Amity says before returning to her sulking, “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to check on how you’re doing.” Luz says as she sits next to Amity, “So…I’m guessing you didn’t know about that?”
“No, she didn’t tell me what she was planning…” Amity mutters bitterly, wrapping her arms around her knees, “So much for having faith in me. She forced me to cheat! In front of everyone!”
“It can’t be that bad.” Luz tries to calm her down, “People will forget about it in a week tops.”
“Oh, you think so?” Amity asks sarcastically, turning to face Luz in anger, “Do you know what it’s like to be a Blight? It means having expectations to uphold! From my family, from my school, from everyone! It means preserving my image that just got shattered in front of everyone the moment they found out I cheated!”
She takes a breath after that spiel, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes, “...She made me cheat…I thought that, out of everybody, she was the one person I could trust. Someone I know would never lie to me, never try to use me for their own goals, someone I can depend on, someone that actually cared about me!”
She yells while trying to choke back her tears before she felt something nudge her lightly and turns to see Luz holding out a handkerchief to her, a look of understanding on her face.
Amity wordlessly accepts it and cleans her face as Luz speaks, “I know a lot about that actually. Having that much pressure on your shoulders, being lied to by someone you thought you could trust.”
Amity can’t help but scoff and say sarcastically, “Really? Oh good, so you know exactly what I’m going through.”
“No, maybe not exactly, but I do know some part of what you’re feeling. You meet someone that makes you feel cared for, or that you can relate to, or makes you feel nice and happy, then you start trusting them and you thought they felt the same. Only it turns out they just want to use you for whatever reasons.” Luz smiles to herself bitterly, remembering the people she trusted only to backstab her like Michael and Simian, “Honestly, I stopped keeping track of how much that happens. Getting lied to hurts and it sucks.
“...” Amity pauses upon hearing the pain and bitterness in Luz’s voice, it felt genuine and like how she was feeling at the moment. Maybe she really does know but there was still something she can’t figure out.
“Why are you doing this?” she asks genuinely confused, “We’re not exactly friends.”
“You looked like you needed help. And I help anyone who needs it.” Luz says, giving Amity a warm smile. A red tint appears on Amity’s face as she quickly turned away.
“...Anyone who needs it? Like those basilisks, you were talking about?” Amity asks remembering what she said, “It’s really true?”
Luz nods sadly, “I wish it wasn’t. Here.”
She reaches into her pocket and opens her collection of photos and shows Amity one that her mother sent her a few days ago regarding Number Two’s progress. The photo had Number Two working in a store in Bellwood, one of the few places on Earth that was open to accepting aliens, with both Camila and Vee visiting and the basilisks were all in their normal reptilian forms. Vee looked more nervous, Camila was smiling brightly and Two looked annoyed.
“They don’t really look like witch-eating predators.” Amity mumbles and Luz nods.
“Sure Two can be a bit rough around the edges, but they’re all just people like you and me, wanting a better life for themselves. But not all of them have that choice, some of them are still stuck on the Boiling Isles hunted by the Emperor’s Coven.” Luz reports sadly as she pockets her phone, “It’s why we were fighting, I thought Lilith had some info we could use. Turns out she was lying about that as well.”
She mutters bitterly and Amity scoffs, “Yeah, turns out she lies a lot.”
They were quiet again, each in thought before Amity breaks the silence,
“So going around exploring and helping people…You really are like Azura,” she says with a weak smile as Luz chuckles.
“Yeah I try to be.” she agrees before remembering something and reaching for her pocket, “That reminds me, there’s something I wanted to give you.”
She takes out a puck-shaped device and hands it to Amity who looks at it confused, “Er…thanks?”
“It’s what we humans call a holo-puck.” Luz explains before she presses a button to activate it, “We use it to store stuff like video recordings and whatnot. But we can also store things like books.”
Amity’s eyes widens in surprise as the cover page for the fifth Azura book appeared in front of her in some strange projection. To demonstrate, Luz taps the floating page and swipes it, flipping to the next page.
“This is the fifth book?” Amity asks in surprise and Luz nods.
“Not just that, but all the main books in the series as well.” Luz explains with a smile, “I also included all the cartoons, animated movies, even the Hectate spin-off comic.”
“There’s a spin-off with Hectate?!” Amity asks in shock and Luz excitedly nods.
“Yep, it takes place right after the fifth book so don’t read it unless you want spoilers.” Luz says, “And there’s also a reading order list I made if you wanna check which stuff comes first and which part contains spoilers.”
“Why are you doing this for me?” Amity asks, still in disbelief, “I wasn’t exactly the friendliest witch.”
Now it was Luz’s turn to be embarrassed, “Yeah, well, I wanted to give it to you as an apology. You know, for the whole lying about being a witch thing. And…I hoped that it would let me talk to you, and we can figure out the thing between you and Willow.
Amity’s mood turned a complete 180 at the mention of that. She turns off the holo-puck and tries returning it to Luz,
“Luz…it’s too late for that.” She apologises but Luz stops her and pushes the puck back in her hands.
“So you think it’s too late, not because you don’t want to. I think that says a lot of things.” she says with a smile, “Keep it Ams, think of it as me having faith in you. Besides, after what happened I guess your day hasn’t been the best. From personal experience, a good book can help.”
Amity stares at Luz and before she could say anything, something interrupts them.
“I can’t believe you said that to her face!” Hope says in disbelief as they all walk quickly, with Eda following them and cackling like a madwoman, “Those words should not exist!”
“Did you see her face?!” Eda cackles before slapping Kevin on the shoulder, “You’re my new favourite kid now, you know that?”
“You learn a lot of creative words arresting alien criminals.” Kevin shrugs, proud of himself.
“What did he say? Hope was covering my ears when that happened.” King asks as Hope pats him on the skull.
“Let’s just say it isn’t something someone your age should hear.” she shudders before noticing the two, “Ah, Luz…and Blight.”
She says the last part with less enthusiasm as Luz stands back up.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” she asks as Hope scowls at Kevin.
“Kevin ‘handled’ things with his words.” she answered, “Now I recommend we get out of here before she changes her mind about not killing us. I’ve never seen such a furious woman in my life.”
“It’s a talent.” Kevin shrugs proudly, “Now are you ready to blow this popsicle joint?”
Luz winces, “Yeah we better get out of here quick. You got the portal?”
“Of course I do,” Eda says holding it up and showing her.
“Great.” she turns to Amity regretfully, “Sorry, but I gotta go now. I’ll see you at school?”
“Yeah, school.” Amity mutters as they left before remembering something, “Wait! You forgot your jacket!”
Amity reminds as she starts taking it off but Luz stops her.
“Hey, you’re probably still freezing, and I have to go now. You should keep it on.” Luz advised, “Besides I got dozens of those, don’t worry about it.”
Amity went silent, a small blush appearing on her cheeks that Luz didn’t notice as she hurries to join her friends.
“So…” Kevin was the first to speak, “You and Amity?”
“Huh? What about her?” Luz asks and before Kevin could clarify, King leaps onto her shoulders.
“Who cares about that?” he asks, “I want to know what else I can do! I grow wings when I grow up? And can freeze people by shouting at them?!”
“As far as I know, yeah.” Luz nods as she tries to avoid tripping over from the sudden weight on her shoulder, “But we’re just scratching the surface with what we know.”
“Will I get fire breath? I hope I get fire breath!” King says excitedly, “What are you gonna call that one?”
“I don’t know, this is gonna be a tough one.” Luz admits, “Got any suggestions buddy?”
King hums in thought, “Maybe…Howl Dog?”
“Eh, pass.” Luz shrugs.
“Queen Scream?”
“Hard pass.”
“Skullhowl?”
“Hm, that’s a maybe.”
“Houndwing?”
“Getting warmer.”
“Baron Bone!”
“And we’re right back to cold.”
King shrugs, “Well whatever the name’s gonna be, it’s going to be the most awesome fearsome name the Boiling Isles has ever heard! Fitting for your strongest transformation.”
Luz chuckles at his excitement, “Remind me not to tell you about Alien X then.”
“What’s an Alien X?” Eda asks and Luz groans.
“Now that’s a story for another time.” Luz says before sighing, “Now we get back to staking out for the basilisks. Sorry for wasting our time guys, I thought she’d know something.”
Eda shrugs, “Eh, there’s always a few heists or jobs that go wrong. Don’t sweat it, kid. We didn’t really loos anything and I get to see little miss prissy Lilith get down on my level!”
“You’re really enjoying this.” Hope notes.
“Of course I am!” Eda exclaims, “After all her talk about being perfect because she joined a Coven? Hah! Welcome down to my level!”
“There’s still something that bothers me, about the basilisks I mean.” Hope mutters in thought, “They can live off little amounts of magic, easily gathered by hunting local wildlife. But this basilisk risked taking on an entire school to absorb an entire buffet of magic.”
“You’re thinking this wasn’t just some basilisk going hungry?” Luz asks and Eda hums in agreement.
“I can see your point, you don’t take that huge of a risk of being captured unless there’s a payoff worth the risk.” Eda says, “But what would be worth that for a basilisk?”
***
“How are they?” Number Four asks, slithering up close to the large nest made of branches and leaves where another basilisk laid exhausted, curling around a cluster of eggs.
Number Three looks up at Four and smiles tiredly, “Healthy. There’s enough magic that with luck, they’ll be hatching soon.”
Four doesn’t believe he’ll ever feel more joy upon hearing that. A new generation of basilisks, a new beginning for their people. But deep down a part of him still worries, and Three recognises that.
“Dear, what’s wrong?” she asks and he sighs.
“This magic…I think we both know where One is getting it from.” he whispers to her, “And I heard her say she’s going out to hunt again soon.”
Three’s mood dampens as well, “Talk to her then. It’s more magic than we need, I don’t want to risk it. If she gets caught…”
She doesn’t finish, and her tail wraps around her clutch of eggs in fear. Four nods, knowing what she was thinking.
“I’ll talk to her.” Four comforts and assures Three before slithering off to find One, in the main cave overlooking the entrance as always. Her large figure and rough demeanour usually intimidate him but he swallows his fear and confronts her,
“One…we have to talk.”
The greater basilisk’s eyes shift to him and he shudders in fear,
“Are the eggs in danger?” she hisses and he shakes his head, “I thought the magic I harvested was enough to last weeks?”
“No, they’re safe and it is.” he nods, “It’s just…me and Three have been talking…about where you’ve been getting this magic. It’s from witches, isn’t it?”
One didn’t reply or meet his eye, “Is that what you’ve been worrying about?”
“That much magic would need to come from a lot of witches, enough to get the Emperor’s attention!” Four says with fear, “If they capture you-”
“They won’t. Never again.” One insists with a growl but Four insists.
“We have enough magic to last until the eggs hatch! If we hunt smaller prey and absorb from the Source, we can sustain ourselves!” Four says gesturing to a set of large iron doors. They were never able to penetrate it, but they could all feed on the excess magic leaking through its cracks. Whatever was behind the door, it was powerful magically.
One roars and turns to face him, and Four flinches in fear,
“So you think you can do things better than I?” she challenges, “You’re free to leave if that’s the case, to fend for yourself. Three can follow if she wants to, but the eggs stay with me.”
“This isn’t just about keeping us fed anymore, is it.” Four asks but fears the answer, “You want revenge.”
“Of course I do!” One roars loud enough to shake the save, “Their experiments…their torture…don’t tell me you don’t want revenge as well? You don’t want to hurt those witches that tortured us? When our numbers grow we can strike back, and make those witches remember why they once feared us. Don’t tell me you don’t want that?”
“No!” Four shouts, “I don’t! I just want peace! And we have peace! The Emperor’s Coven won’t find us here! We can live the rest of our lives here in peace!”
One growls, “I can’t. Leave if you want to, but the eggs stay with me. You won’t be able to care for them, let alone yourself. How long before you begin starving out there without me feeding you? How long before they find you and question you? How long before you break and tell them where we hide? You know the answer, and so do I. The only place you can remain safe is here with me.”
Four grits his teeth but doesn’t respond, because deep down he knows that One was right. Once she saw he was sufficiently cowed she growls,
“I will leave tonight to scout out the next hunting grounds, I’ll be back the next night with enough magic for the rest of the month, and I’ll be making those witches pay as well,” she says before slithering away.
“Where are you going?” Four can’t help but ask and One grins in response.
“I’ll hit them again where every creature hurts the most, their children.” she says and Four pales, “Another one of their famous magic schools, Hexside.”
Notes:
And here's the second half of the chapter. Hope you all enjoy the appearance of Luz's Titan transformation and I'm still figuring out the name for it, sorry. If you got any suggestions I'm happy to hear them in comments.
Hope it wasn't too bad or rushed. Thanks for reading.
Chapter 14: What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong Pt 1
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“I can’t believe this.” Luz squeals as Eda flew her to Hexside’s entrance, “My first day in Hexside, my first day in my first magic school! ”
“Kid, you gotta relax, you’ve been to school before haven’t you?” Eda asks, “And that little academy you went to.”
“Well, duh, but this is different! Normal school’s boring! And it got worse especially after I got famous!” Luz complains, “And between me and Kevin, he enjoyed the Plumber’s academy more than I did. Especially the parts about weapons and alien tech. I love the Plumbers and what they do, but having to memorise a hundred and twenty thousand pages of galactic law, the bare minimum for a deputy agent, is mind-numbing.”
“And here I thought the Hexside textbooks were door stoppers.” Eda shudders at the thought of that many pages.
Luz agreed with a similar shudder, “Yeah, and if it wasn’t for data-to-memory modules I’d still be trying to memorise them. But this isn’t anything like that! I get to learn something I’ve been dying to learn ever since my dad gave me my first Azura book for my tenth birthday! Something I’ve been trying to learn ever since I found out magic exists, which was only months after my tenth birthday!”
“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point.” Eda says as they landed at Hexside’s entrance, “Well, if you want advice you should establish dominance by punching the first person you see in class. It worked for me back in the old days.”
Luz rolls her eyes and smiles, “Thanks Eda, but I doubt this is anything like an Incarcecon prison.”
“Not too late to back out now.” Eda smirks, “We can start a coven of our own, with your magician friend, and we’ll call it the Bad Girl Coven. I even got ideas for badges we can earn, for example, the Quitter’s Badge! Because quitting? It’s trying but easier. And it’s a badge you can earn right this second.”
“Appreciate the offer Eda, but this girl’s no quitter.” Luz points to herself as she gets off the staff, in her grey Hexside uniform and backpack slung around her shoulders, “This girl’s going to be the first human to add witch in her resume!”
“Wouldn’t that be Hope?”
“The first human born on Earth.” Luz corrects herself, “And she prefers the word magician anyways. But you get my point.”
“Yeah, I do.” Eda sighs, “Try not to let school chew up your individuality and spit out what’s left.”
“Hey, that’s some genuinely good advice right there.” Luz chuckles, “Maybe you should try being a teacher.”
Eda laughs, “Me? A teacher? The boiling ocean will freeze over before that happens. I’ll see ya back at the Owl House kid, good luck with school.”
With that Eda flew through the air with Owlbert leaving Luz to take a deep breath and calm her nerves before advancing to the entrance of Hexside with a banner hanging over it that announces ‘Welcome to a New Semester’ and notices someone amongst the crowd of students arriving and entering the school.
“Amity?” Luz exclaims before rushing towards the green-haired witch with an abomination next to her helping to carry her books.
“Luz!” Amity exclaims in surprise as she turns to face the human, “You’re here! I mean, of course, you are, this is school! And you come here now! Because you’re a student!”
She says rapidly before becoming flustered, “...Sorry, forget that will you?”
“Hey it’s fine, I ramble a lot every now and then.” Luz waves off her apology, “How are you?”
“I’ve been…well, I suppose.” Amity says hesitantly and Luz notices this, raising a brow. Amity sighs and explains, “My mother’s reaction to our little incident yesterday, and the fact that I’ve cancelled my apprenticeship with Ms Clawthorne was…let’s just say furious would be understating it.”
Luz immediately feels guilty, “Wait, you cancelled your apprenticeship with her? But why? Isn’t that important to you? I thought you wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven?”
“After what you’ve told me, and after what Ms Clawthorne did? I think it’s best if I reconsider my career choices.” Amity says, “It took a while for my mother to calm down and agree, mostly after Ms Clawthorne’s cheating was exposed.”
“I’m really sorry for dragging you into this.” Luz apologises, “It got you into a lot of trouble with your family, I should’ve tried harder to convince you.”
“It’s not your fault Luz, I made my own choice.” Amity says with a sigh, “I was too blinded with the opportunity Ms Clawthorne was offering me, and…I was willing to hurt you to get what I wanted. I should be the one apologising.”
“We make mistakes all the time. As long as we learn from them, then all’s well.” Luz assures, “Besides, you’re hardly the first friend I’ve made that’s tried to fight or kill me. You wouldn’t believe how I first met Kevin, Hope, Manny and Helen. Did you know the last two tried to throw me into what they thought was a disintegrator the first time we met? But it turns out it was just a portal to a literal prison dimension that housed the worst criminals in the universe. Haha...Wow, I have a lot of friends that tried to kill me, don’t I?”
Luz says in realisation as Amity looks at her in concern before clearing her throat awkwardly.
“Anyways…have you thought of which track you’re going to join? I think you’ll do very well if you join the Abomination Track.” Amity was with a slight blush, “You might have the talent for it. And since you seem like you love purple, and our uniforms are purple, well actually they’re more pink than purple, but abominations are purple, not sure why our uniforms aren’t purple but I guess the Oracles took purple first and…I’m rambling again aren’t I?”
Luz laughs, “Don’t worry, I think it’s cute when you ramble.”
Amity’s slight blush intensified and for a moment Luz worried she accidentally angered or embarrassed Amity when she quickly said, “Oh! Would you look at the time, I should be at class right now! I’ll see you at lunch!”
Before Luz can apologise she ran off with her abomination looking between the two of them, shrugging and following its master at a slower pace.
“...I hope that didn’t sound too weird,” Luz mutters to herself before continuing towards the entrance of Hexside where she spots another two familiar figures.
“Gus! Willow!” Luz exclaims as she rushes up to them.
“Luz! It’s great to see you.” Willow greets her, “Are you excited for your first day in Hexside?”
“Duh, of course I am!” Luz pumps her fist, “Bring on the witchcraft and wizardry!”
“How does it feel to be the first human in Hexside?” Gus asks, pointing a pen at her mimicking a microphone while the other hand held a notepad.
“Absolutely stoked.” Luz grinned.
“And what about your other friends? Where’s Hope and Kevin?” Willow asks.
“Well, they’re not as stoked as I was about magic school. Buncha losers.” Luz says, “Right now they’re back at the Owl House doing whatever it is they're doing.”
***
“But I want conquest! It’s way easier if I just invade the neighbouring kingdom for food!” King argues as he overlooks a board game laid out on the table. A traditional board game found in the Ledgerdomain that those in the nobility used to simulate the management of kingdoms and open warfare. Sure they were a peaceful society with next to no armies but it was expected for those in nobility to know the theory of war at least. Hope sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose.
“Your neighbours are on a far higher magic level than you are because they balanced their time with studying and building their economy instead of just focusing solely on expanding their army despite the fact you started off with a plague penalty that halved your grain production capabilities.” Hope explains, “I heavily recommend you reconsider.”
“But I outnumber them three-to-one! I demand my conquest!” he whines and Hope sighs.
“Very well, roll a four-sided die will you?” she asks as King picks up the triangular die and starts shaking as hard as he could, “Don’t do that or you’ll-”
She warns but King throws the dice before she could finish the dice then bounced off the table, ricocheting off the wall before skidding to a halt on the floor in front of Kevin’s path, with his arms full of alien tech harvested the day before. He whistles to himself unaware as he walks towards his room with only his socks protecting his feet, the moment he steps on the dice he yelps in pain,
“My foot!” he exclaims in pain as he accidentally drops some of the tech that shattered on impact, “My tech!”
***
“I hope they don’t burn down the Owl House before Eda gets back home.” Luz shudders before turning back to her friends, “But for once, I’m not going to worry about them, now instead I’ll be worrying about whether or not I’m ready for this.”
“You managed to hold your own against Amity Blight with just a few spells, and that’s before you transformed and beat her!” Willow reminds, “I think you got this.”
“Wish me luck then.” she says nervously before ascending the stairs to the entrance, “See you on the other side, friends.”
“Good luck, Luz!” Gus exclaims as he throws up one of the many illusions he had prepared, only for blue words in capital letters to spell out above him; REST IN PEACE.
“Oh.” Gus chuckles awkwardly in realisation as Willow glared at him, “Yeah, I remember now, I made that yesterday before their duel. Heh.”
Willow glares at him unamused as he sheepishly rubs the back of his head.
“I’ll just erase them.”
***
“Princy B!” Luz points finger guns at the old principal as she walks into his office, “Can I call you that?”
“Absolutely not.” Principal Bump says sternly, “I’m actually glad you’re here because we need to discuss something. We’re going to have a visitor today from the Emperor’s Coven. You’re an apprentice of Eda’s, and knowing her I want to make sure that you won’t be causing any mischief to embarrass me in front of the inspector, which means it’s a priority that you pick a Coven track today right this moment.”
“An inspection? Today?” Luz asks surprised as she remembers vaguely what Kevin had told them during their investigation at St Epiderm.
“Yes, an inspection to determine whether we deserve a raise in our budget.” Bump nods, “And to make sure we do, I can’t have a student running around with no track yet.”
“Well, I was hoping I could take all of them. See I wrote up a schedule of classes I can take and-”
“Not an option.” Principal Bump shook his head, “That would be flagrantly against the rules set by the Emperor’s Coven. A witch needs to focus on a singular track so you’ll have to pick only one.”
Luz sighs in disappointment, “But they’re all so cool…Do you happen to have an enchanted piece of clothing that’ll choose the perfect track for me by reading my soul or something?”
Principal Bump cringes, “Well…we did have that at one point but-”
A roar interrupts them as the cupboard next to him burst open and a brown, pointed hat came charging out with teeth decorating its brim. Luz shrieks as it tries to hug her face and she falls backwards desperately holding it back.
“Now I feed!” it roars before a green glow surrounds it and Principal Bump flings it back into the cupboard before wrapping a chain made of abomination goo around it.
“Well you can see why.” Principal Bump says as Luz gets back up, dusting off her clothes.
“Yeah. That was nothing like what the books say.” Luz mutters before thinking something up, How about I try out every track in school. I’m not technically taking them all, I’m just experiencing them for a bit before I make my final decision by the end of the day. It’ll help me figure out what I’m looking for.”
Principal Bump rubs his chin, “...It’s not unexpected for children to change tracks. And I can spin this to the inspector as us being very considerate with our students’ choices and future…Very well, but mark my words that you’ll be on thin ice. I don’t want any shenanigans that may jeopardise the inspection.”
He draws a spell circle and suddenly the colours on Luz’s sleeves and leggings changed from grey to red.
“There, we’ll start from the Bard track and work our way through the rest.” he suggests, “Now scram, I have an inspection to prepare for.”
“You got it Princy B.” Luz cheers only for Bump to glare at her which she ignores, “No shenanigans, promise you that.”
Suddenly as she exits she bumps into a vase causing it to fall and shatter as she smiles sheepishly at an annoyed Bump.
“...Starting now?”
She awkwardly excuses herself and once out of earshot she pulls out her Plumber’s badge and whispers to it,
“Kevin? Do you read me?”
A short pause before she heard the badge crackles and a response come through,
“-dices, watch where you’re throwing them.” he mutters probably to someone else she can’t see, “Yeah I read you, what’s up? Having a nervous breakdown at school already? Need an extraction?”
He teases as she growls, “No, I’m not at that stage yet. I got news from Bump that there’s going to be an inspection from the Emperor’s Coven today. Remember what that teacher at St Epiderm said a few days ago?”
Kevin pauses in realisation before answering, “I’ll get the gear ready, Hope and I will meet you outside of Hexside?”
“Just stay out of sight and be ready.” she orders, “We don’t know if this will be legit or not, but we better be ready just in case.”
“Copy that, boss. Over and out.”
Luz nods as she repeats that and turns off the badge before pocketing it. She was really hoping for a normal day at magic school today, but she guesses not. On the bright side the inspector won’t be here for a while so she needs to enjoy it as best she can.
***
“Welcome, welcome, I hope you are all ready for an exciting new semester.” their Bard teacher, a blue reptilian humanoid with an outfit resembling that of Mozart complete with a powder wig, paces in front of the classroom, “For this lesson why don’t we start off with something simple, basic warm-ups and practices with your instruments? Everyone partner up with those sitting beside you and let’s start playing some music!”
The entire class gets up and does as their teacher says and Luz introduces herself to the person next to her, a dark-skinned witch with silver hair in a ponytail.
“Hey, I’m Luz Noceda.” she greets as the silver-haired looks up from her phone-like device, a Scroll if she recalls, and widens her eyes at her.
“Hey, you’re that shape-shifting human.” she says in recognition before realising something, “Didn’t you visit Hexside looking like a witch?”
“Yeah, I did.” Luz shrugs before recognising her, “Wait, weren’t you with Boscha?”
Instantly the girl’s attitude shifted trying to look dismissive, crossing her arms and looking away, “W-well, yeah. But she really doesn’t like you, so she told everyone we can’t talk to you, especially since you’re way at the bottom. Sorry.”
Luz sighs, even another dimension away, bullies peer pressuring people into ignoring victims was still a thing. But she shrugs it off,
“Well you’re the only one without a partner now.” she gestures to everyone else in the class having split off to different corners of the room to practise with their respective instruments, “So how about it?”
She looks around and ponders, probably worrying if this would make Boscha angry before shrugging reluctantly, “Well, fine, but only because there’s no one else.”
They both find a corner where the girl surprised Luz by drawing a spell circle and pulling out a harp.
“Wow, did you make that with your magic?” she asks excitedly.
“Oh, no I’m not that good with magic yet.” the silver-haired witch explains as she strums it experimentally, “Lots of bards can summon an instrument we bond with if it's nearby.”
“Really? So what’s so special about that harp to you?” Luz asks, curious.
“Oh, well it’s the same one my mother used when she was in the Bard Track.” she explains suddenly forgetting about her earlier promise to Boscha, “I know it probably sounds like a lame hand me down-”
“Well I don’t think so.” Luz says honestly looking at the harp with excitement, “Just because something’s a hand-me-down doesn’t make it any less cool. It’s like a cool family heirloom isn’t it?”
“Exactly!” the girl smiles, “Do you have an instrument then? Is it something special to the Human Realm?”
She asks with genuine curiosity and Luz shrugs embarrassed, “Not really. I have a guitar back home but I didn’t bring it with me. Is there a spare I can borrow around here?”
“Sure, there are always spare instruments to borrow.” she points to a rack in the classroom containing a mix-and-match of various instruments but one specifically catches her eye.
“Wait, is that an electric guitar?” she asks in surprise as she points to one and the girl looks at her confused.
“That thing? Yeah, one of our seniors bought it from the Owl Lady but we’ve never been able to figure out how it works. Probably a scam.” she says with a shrug as Luz approaches it, picking it up from the rack.
There was still a cord attached to it and it looked to be in relatively good condition. Immediately a thought comes into her mind and the primes her Omnitrix before pressing down the dial,
“Frankenstrike!” she says in a burst of purple light, drawing attention from the rest of the class as she plugs the cord into one of the many universal sockets that were around Frankenstrike’s body. Instantly the sockets morphed using in-built micromachines and adapt to the cord, and strums the guitar hearing a riff echo and emit through her body.
“Kevin never let me use his, but I think I learnt a thing or two watching him play,” Frankenstrike mutters to herself as she begins strumming a song she heard Kevin play many times in the garage.
“Let’s see, how did that song go again? …So make way to start the revolution. Make way we’re gonna have fun tonight…” she mutters to herself trying to remember how the song went before strumming it on the electric guitar. She gets the rhythm down quickly, partly thanks to her own near-photographic memory and Frankenstrike’s enhanced processing ability.
Soon her heavy guitar riffs drew the attention of every Bard student in the room, and even the teacher was watching her with curiosity as no one had ever heard sounds like that from an instrument before. It was only after she finished the song that she realised the attention was drawn to her.
“Er…sorry.” she apologises awkwardly but the Bard teacher just looked impressed.
“I’ve never heard anything like that in all my career.” he says in awe, “Is that something from the Human Realm?”
“Yeah, a little something we like to call rock and roll.”
Instantly Bard students began crowding her and reaching for the guitar.
“Let me give it a try!”
“No, I’m a better guitar player than him! Let me!”
“I was here first!”
“Hey, hey, one at a time!” Frankenstrike orders, “Let’s all line up, everybody should get a turn.”
The first one in line was the girl she was partnered with, who approaches with a look of both awe and nervousness.
“Oh wow…you’re really tall now,” she mutters looking up at Frankenstrike with a slight red tint on her cheeks.
“Yeah, comes with the territory of shapeshifting.” she shrugs and hands over the guitar, “Alright, so what you want to do first is learn the chords…”
***
“So how’s the Plant Track been treating you, Willow?” Luz asks, now dressed in a green Hexside uniform, as she and the bespectacled witch perform their exercise, examining a flower to identify for signs of infections or parasites.
“It’s actually been pretty good.” Willow says with a smile, “Everyone’s been so nice, and I’m not having as many problems with Plants as I did with Abominations. Everything’s so much easier to understand, it's like I’ve finally found people that speak my language.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Luz says, “Nobody’s been bothering you since? Has Amity been a problem?”
She asks carefully, hoping it wasn’t the case. To her relief, Willow seems to pause in thought before answering,
“Actually, no. She hasn’t been talking to me ever since I switched from the Abomination Track.” she said, sounding confused, “In fact, earlier this morning Boscha was bothering me, teasing me for dropping out of Abominations, when suddenly Amity told her to stop bothering me and got her to move along. It’s weird, it’s never happened before.”
“Maybe she’s changing?” Luz suggests with a hopeful smile but Willow didn’t share her thoughts on that.
“I don’t know, she’s been making fun of me for years now.” Willow says looking sad, “Why would she change now all of a sudden?”
“Maybe it’s her way of trying to apologise?” Luz subtly suggests but Willow just looks down bitter.
“Apologise? Amity Blight?” she scoffs, “Maybe when the boiling ocean freezes overnight.”
Luz sighs, it looks like things weren’t going to be as simple as she thought. It was better if she lets it happen naturally, and let Amity take her time to work things out with Willow. With that she returns to their exercise, holding a magnifying glass over the flower before she realises something.
“Hey…Willow, what does that look like?” she holds out the magnifying glass to her as Willow takes a look.
“Huh, it looks like some sort of drawing on the petals.” she mutters confused, “I’ve never seen anything like that on flowers before. Someone probably messed with this before we use it.”
But Luz wasn’t convinced. That drawing was very similar to the other two glyphs she saw before. In a rush, she quickly grabs her notebook and scribbles out the glyph before tapping it, lighting up when she finds out her hunch was right.
“What is that?” Willow asks in surprise when a flower grows from Luz’s notebook.
“It’s a glyph!” Luz says excitedly, “Like the magic I used during my duel with Amity. I’ve been finding them all over the place, like in a spell or its after-effects. This is the first time I found one naturally like this!”
“It’s amazing.” Willow mutters before turning confused, “But I’ve seen plenty of flowers before, and never saw something like that. I don’t think anyone has otherwise it’d be everywhere by now. How is that possible?”
Luz looks at the glyph and flower in her notebook, thinking over Willow’s words. It was definitely strange that no one had heard of magic like this before, could it be the Emperor actively suppressing the so-called Wild Magic? It was definitely another mystery for another time.
***
“So first you found a light glyph in a light spell, then a fire glyph from ashes that was made with a fire spell, and now you found a plant glyph from a plant?” Amity asks as she stirs a cauldron of abomination goo, Luz sitting next to her in a magenta Hexside uniform.
“Yeah, so there’s probably more glyphs to find out there both in spells and nature.” Luz says excitedly, “But I just wonder why isn’t it more well-known?”
“Well, you said the Owl Lady thinks it's some ancient form of magic right?” Amity asks, “Maybe that’s why. Since we witches can cast magic by ourselves we don’t need glyphs anymore, right? So we probably outgrew them and they became outdated.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs, “You think the library can give us any answers?”
“Well, I work there so I can probably help you find some books about glyphs if there are any.” Amity suggests bashfully. For some reason she couldn’t comprehend, the idea of both Luz and her alone together in the library made her heart flutter. Why on Titan was she thinking like that?
“That’s a great idea, Ams.” Luz smiles thankfully, “You don’t mind if I call you that.”
“No problem!” Amity says likely louder than she intended, “I mean, sure, call me whatever you like. We’re friends now…right?”
She asks nervously and unsure as Luz laughs, “Of course we are. Why did you think otherwise?”
Before Amity can answer, an idea pops into Luz’s head.
“Wait…if glyphs can be found in both spells and nature…do you think I can find an abomination glyph if I look inside this cauldron?” she wonders out loud as Amity looks alarmed.
“What? Why would you do that? What makes you think you can find a glyph inside this?” she asks, pointing to their cauldron.
Luz shrugs, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Amity opens her mouth to explain why, before thinking about this. They both have next to no idea about glyphs, for all they knew there certainly could be one inside. There wasn’t exactly a solid reason why not, and judging from Luz’s face she was gonna try no matter what Amity said. And she would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious as well…
“...I’ll get the safety goggles.”
***
“You know, except for nearly drowning in a cauldron of abomination goo, I’d say this is possibly the best day ever!” Luz exclaims as she wipes the goop off her hair with a towel, “Is that all of it?”
“Yep.” Amity nods, “I’ll have to see you later. I’m one of the students selected to show off their magical skills to the inspector later, so I have to get ready when they show up.”
Luz tenses up upon the mention of that, thinking on it for a moment before grabbing Amity by the arm.
“Do you think we can talk somewhere private before that?” she asks.
Amity looks surprised but goes along with it, following Luz to an empty classroom out of earshot.
“What’s going on?” Amity asks as Luz checks if they were alone before speaking.
“Alright, remember that demon attack on St Epiderm? A bunch of students were attacked by a demon that sucked all their magic?”
“Yes, it was all over the news.” Amity nods before realising, “Wait…are you saying it was a basilisk? I thought you said they weren’t witch-eating predators?”
“Chances are that it is.” Luz says sheepish, “And I only said not all of them were witch-eating predators, I’ve only known two and this is the first one I know of that’s attacking other witches. The rest were content with staying hidden but for some reason not this one.”
“Do we call the Emperor’s Coven?” Amity asks worriedly but Luz shakes her head.
“Well for once, calling the cops when there’s danger is a terrible idea. If they get to the basilisk first they’ll bring it back to torture and experiment on. I’ve heard from Vee what it was like and I don’t wish that on anyone.” Luz sighs before giving Amity a confident smile, “But hey, this could just be me being paranoid. For all we know this could be a completely normal inspection.”
“And if it isn’t?” Amity asks worriedly before Luz puts a hand on her shoulder.
“Then I’ll take care of it.” she flashes her Omnitrix, “You have my word, no one’s going to get hurt.”
“...Alright then, let’s hope there really is nothing wrong.” Amity says, “And until we know otherwise, I still have to make my preparations for the inspection.”
“Go ahead, sorry for bothering you with this.” Luz apologises, “I didn’t want to lie to you again, even if it's a lie by omission.”
“I appreciate it, Luz.” Amity smiles at her before taking her leave. With that done Luz heads out of the room, ready to head to her next class when suddenly she spots a group of Oracle Track students approach a shelf and place their crystal balls in them.
A thought comes into Luz's mind, specifically about that vague prophecy the spirit from the Covention told her. Despite her friends telling her it could very much be nothing, something inside her says otherwise.
She shakes her head, she shouldn’t mess with those crystal balls yet. She was on thin ice with Bump as he said, so she’ll just wait for her Oracle class…which would be at the end of the day.
…A little peek won’t hurt, will it?
Before she knows it she was next to the shelf grabbing a crystal ball off it carefully. Before she can even think about figuring out how to use it, it glows purple and a bandaged spirit flies out of it, almost causing her to drop it.
“You will be in trouble very soon…” it says in a low hiss as Luz immediately felt a bit of panic at the news.
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?” she presses, “What’s going to happen? Answer me!”
“Ahem.”
She yelps in surprise from the voice behind her, dropping the crystal ball. Now here was the part where her instinct should kick in, achieved from her years of training and combat experience, and stop the fragile crystal ball from touching the floor and shattering into a million pieces.
She immediately reaches out to stop it with her foot… before realising how bad of a plan that was.
As expected she kicks the crystal ball instead of catching it, causing it to smash through a window before landing outside and smashing to pieces. With bated breath, she turns around to see a very unimpressed Principal Bump.
“Hehe…” Luz laughs awkwardly, “I can explain…”
He waits patiently for her explanation, “Go on.”
“...yeah I got nothing.” Luz sighs, giving up, “Detention?”
“Detention.” he nods as he gestures for her to follow him.
“You know what? Completely fair.” Luz acknowledges as she follows him, “So how long will this be? Do I go there after school?”
“No, you’ll be going to detention immediately.” he says sternly, “For the rest of the semester.”
“What?!” Luz exclaims in shock, “You can’t do that! How am I supposed to learn?”
“You’ll learn again after the semester, once you learned your lesson of trying to mix magic. You’re currently on Abomination Track, and your next lesson is going to be in the Potions Track, therefore you have no business tampering with Oracle Track business.” he explains, “If you’d like to plead your case, speak with me after school once the inspection is over.”
He draws a spell circle and Luz’s sleeve and leggings turn black. With a sigh, she accepts that and hopes she can argue for a lesser punishment once the day was over. They approach a room where Principal Bump gestures for her to enter,
“Welcome to the Detention Track, enjoy your stay,” he says as he slams the door behind her. Nervously she looks over the room, a six-eyed and blue-skinned humanoid with three pairs of red-tinted glasses sat at the front of the room disinterested, appearing content to scroll through his Scroll.
The students in the Detention Track looked equally bored. Two of them were human-like witches while the last one appears to be a normal dog with weird hair and glasses in a uniform. It wasn’t the most bizarre thing but it still surprised her.
“Uh, hi fellow Detentioners?” she waves at them only for them to stare blankly at her, “Got any room for one more?”
“Hey, quiet.” the teacher snaps, “Unless you all want to scrub the entire classroom again.”
The students flinch at the threat but Luz doesn’t,
“Hey, don’t blame it all on them, I'm the only one talking here.”
“Oh good, we have a hero,” he says sarcastically as he draws a spell circle and forms a bucket and broom in both of Luz’s hands.
She holds back from saying something clever, instead priming her Omnitrix and slamming it, transforming in a flash of purple.
“Snare-Oh, reporting for duty.” a towering mummy-like creature with glowing purple light coming from beneath her bandages as she also grabs multiple brooms from behind the classroom before stretching each individual broom on each tendril of bandages to work across the entire room.
By herself, she was making incredible progress, with all the tendrils she was doing the work of five students. If there were more brooms she’d be making even faster progress. As she was using her bandaged hands to wipe the dust off the windows she spots two familiar figures outside below her.
“Guys?” she hisses quietly as she opens the window. Immediately the two look up in surprise and confusion.
“Er, sorry, do we know you, ma’am?” Willow asks politely.
“It’s me! Luz!” she whispers as she twists her body to show the Omnitrix emblem on her shoulder.
“Luz? What’s going on?” Gus asks as Luz lowered her headpiece with bandages to speak with them closer.
“I’m stuck in the Detention Track for mixing magic.” she explains, “You gotta tell me, what are my chances of getting out of here by the end of the day?”
“You’re in the Detention Track?” Gus exclaims, “But you learn less than you did before.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone able to convince Bump to let them out of Detention Track early,” Willow admits.
“I know! Maybe I can show him I’m really sorry.” Snare-Oh suggests, “There’s gonna be a broken crystal ball somewhere outside school. Can you find it and bring all the pieces to me? I gotta have an alien that can fix it or something.”
“That was you? I think it almost landed on Boscha.” Gus asks, before shaking his head, “Never mind, don’t worry Luz! We’ll get you out there or die trying!”
“...Preferably without the dying part,” Willow adds before the two went off to search for the pieces. She smiles at them, glad to have found friends like them before she feels a tap on her shoulders.
“Coming,” she calls out as her bandages pull her head back up and look in surprise to see the brown-haired ponytail witch with fish-hook earrings greet her.
“Hey, mummy-girl,” she whispers.
“Snare-Oh.” she corrects.
The girl looks at her weirdly but shrugs, “Right, be quiet and follow me.”
The girl moves past the sleeping detention teacher and uses a piece of chalk to draw a square with a keyhole on the blackboard. Suddenly the square swings open and the witch climbs through.
Curious, Snare-Oh follows the witch. The square was too small for her to fit through so she just manoeuvre her bandages to fit inside before squeezing her headpiece through.
“What is this place?” she asks in surprise as they enter a hallway behind the wall. Suddenly the witch spins around and looks into her eyes with dead seriousness.
“The last place you’ll ever see.”
In a flash, Snare-Oh throws a hand at her, wrapping her with bandages before slamming her into the nearest wall.
“You should really watch who you’re making threats to,” Snare-Oh warns.
“Woah, woah, woah!” the girl says panickedly, “I was just kidding around, I wasn’t gonna hurt you or anything.”
“What?” Snare-Oh asks looking confused before she hears a growl coming from the other end of the hallway and sees some sort of pigeon-griffin thing bark at her, charging towards her in anger.
“Puddles! Down, girl!” the witch orders, ad the pigeon-griffin looks at her confused before reluctantly complying, as she looks back at Snare-Oh, “See? Harmless!”
Snare-Oh unwraps her bandages and drops the girl, “Oh…sorry about that, it’s just that after you hear the same threat a dozen times you learn to punch first, ask questions later.”
The witch coughs, “It’s fine, sorry about that. Thought it would be funny. I’m Viney, by the way.”
Snare-Oh slaps the Omnitrix emblem on her shoulder, transforming herself back into Luz Noceda as she offers Viney a hand up, “I’m Luz. Luz Noceda.”
“Nice to meet you.” Viney shakes her hand, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest. First off, this is Puddles. Come say hi.”
She gestures for Puddles to come over and it cautiously approaches Luz.
“Hey there girl.” Luz coos as she holds out a hand for her to shake. To her delight, the griffin actually does so.
“Aw, aren’t you a little cutie?” she says as she scratches the griffin’s neck like she would a dog before turning back to Viney, “When yous aid the others, you mean the other detention kids know about this place?”
“Yeah, everyone who’s ever been part of the Detention Track knows about this.” Viney guides her to the room the hallway leads to, which appears to be a massive spiral ramp upwards lined with doors of all shapes and sizes.
“Wow, where are we?” she asks as Viney shouts upwards.
“Hey guys, you can come out now!” she yells as the two figures she saw from the detention room come out from a door.
“How do we know we can trust her? She might rat us out.” the tall, lanky boy says suspiciously.
The dog-like creature barks at the boy who seemed to understand him clearly.
“Barcus says that your spirit is like that of a campfire.” the boy says, “Warm and friendly, but also strong when you want to be. I guess that’s a good thing?”
He asks the dog, Barcus, who barks in acknowledgement and with a smile.
“In that case, welcome aboard!” the boy says as both he and Barcus climb down, “I’m Jerbo, and you can guess that this is Barcus. Welcome aboard, fellow detentioner.”
“Luz Noceda.” she introduces herself before looking around impressed, “What is this place? Some kind of secret room? Always a big fan of them, I actually tried building my own back home but almost wrecked the house by accident.”
“It is a secret room, but there’s also a neat twist to it.” Viney explains, “See all these doors? They all connect to every room across Hexside. There’s also a really cool illusion spell on each door that stops anyone from noticing unless they know what they’re looking for or something gets their attention from the other side of the door.”
“Really? That’s a pretty sweet system then.” Luz whistles, “You can get anywhere in a couple seconds, you guys probably get into a lot of mischief with this.”
“Well true, but we don’t.” Jerbo shrugs, “We can do so much more than that, like listening in on lessons.”
“Wait, you’re saying you just use this whole semi-invisible instant access to every room in the school to study?” Luz asks surprised. She knew students from her old schools that would have used this kinda thing for anything other than listening in on lessons, “You mean you just love learning?”
“Yep.” Viney nods, “But Bump thinks we might have loved it too much. I tried mixing Beast Keeping and Healing magic by making Puddles my assistant but he didn’t like that. So what if there was a couple hundred snails worth of property damage, Puddle’s a dang good assistant!”
Viney says as she pats the griffin on the head affectionately, as Jerbo continued.
“For me, I tried mixing Abomination with Plant magic.” Jerbo explains, “Sure it went wild and attack the entire class, but its formula just needed a little tweaking I swear!”
When it was Barcus’ turn he just gave a quick series of barks that Viney translated.
“As for Barcus, he tried mixing Oracle and Potions magic to make a brew that could see the future. Unfortunately, it just made the teacher see their entire life literally flash before them in seconds. Poor teach had to get a quick memory removal after that.”
“So you all got here because you were mixing magic?” Luz asks, “That’s why I’m here as well!”
“That’s so sweet! We have another troublemaker with us.” Viney cheers, “What was your little experiment?”
Luz rubs the back of her head embarrassed, “Well it’s nothing cool as yours. I was trying out the Abomination Track trying to figure out which one best suited me when I saw a crystal ball and thought I could use it to see the future.”
“Hey, it might not be flashy but you’re still a troublemaker.” Viney says encouragingly as she guides Luz to a painting in the corner, “That means your name should go on here with us.”
In front of her was a heavily painted over and vandalised painting, with so much paint she can’t find a trace of the original, but there were names sprayed painted alongside it including Viney, Jerbo and Barcus.
Viney hands her a spray can and shrugging, decides to sign the painting as well, adding her name to the portrait.
As she does this Barcus approaches her and barks.
“He says that it’s good to see another person interested in the Oracle Track. He wants to know what brought it on.” Viney translates as Luz hesitates, wondering if it was something she should reveal to strangers. Then again, this Barcus person seemed to be good with Oracle magic if he could use potions to tell the future. Maybe that would help her figure out how to stop Ghostfreak when, or if, he breaks free.
“Well…I have something of a ghost problem really.” she says slowly, rubbing her Omnitrix, “When I was ten there was this ghost that tried to possess me, it hurt my family to try and get to me but it’s been trapped in my Omnitrix, this watch, ever since. But yesterday I heard a prophecy from an Oracle Track student that told me it was going to break free one day. I thought I could use a crystal ball to try and figure out when so I can stop it.”
All three students listen to her in shock at this, looking at her with sympathy as she turns to Barcus.
“You said you made a potion to look into the future?” she asks, “Maybe you can try making one again? I need to know. Especially if I can somehow stop that from happening, I have to know.”
She pleads and Barcus thinks about this carefully before letting out a soft and slow series of barks.
“Barcus says he can. He’s been working on an improved version with a better formula ever since he got here but it’s never been tested.” Viney translates, “It only works in theory.”
“Well, you’ve just found yourself your first test subject.” Luz declares confidently, “Hook me up, Barcus.”
Barcus barks again as Jerbo translates,
“The ingredients for the potions aren’t easily accessible in Hexside, and they’re too expensive to buy out in the market.” he explains worriedly, “If we try and steal them, we could get caught and maybe even expelled.”
“So? We’re all supposed to be troublemakers aren’t we?” Luz encourages, “From what I’ve seen that involves pushing boundaries and taking risks to explore how magic can work if we combine them. Look, if all goes wrong I’ll take full responsibility. I need that potion, if it can help me at all I need it.”
All three of them think about this before sharing a glance with each other, as if having a silent conversation. Luz waits for a moment, tense before Viney looks at her with a smile.
“Well we’re already in trouble anyways, if we get expelled it’ll be doing something no one’s done in a long time. Accurately foretelling the future.” she shrugs, “We’re in, Luz. Let’s make you that potion.”
***
It took a while for them to get the raw ingredients. Luckily Jerbo and Barcus knew exactly where to find them and Luz was able to subtly collect the herbs necessary using Nanomech and Snare-Oh, infiltrating an ongoing class and sneaking them back to the Shortcut Room’s door.
A few couldn’t be found in the Potion or Plant rooms, but Barcus knew of a couple ways to substitute the materials with the Beast Keeping Track. Viney helped them figure out what was needed and which animals to get them from, and Luz was able to sneak into the stables to grab them
Then came the instruments for creating the potion, all of them were able to find a storage room to borrow a few cauldrons, fire starters and whatnot to make a potion, almost getting caught by a teacher as they did so but a timely distraction from Puddles saved them.
Lastly, Barcus had to double-check his calculations on a blackboard, which was written in some strange combination of physics and chemistry that Luz wasn’t able to understand a word of, but fortunately, it was a language she spoke fluently as Frankenstrike. She wasn’t a Grey Matter or Brainstorm, but she was still one smart cookie enough to identify the similarities and help Barcus double-check.
With the materials, instruments and calculations prepared, all that was left was for Barcus to brew the potion and then for Luz to use it.
“I’ll be standing ready in case you hurt yourself somehow.” Viney announces, “Are you sure this will work?”
She asks Barcus who shrugs.
“It’s never been tested,” he says, or at least that was what Luz was guessing after being with him for almost an hour.
“Only one way to find out.” Luz takes deep breaths, “How do I use this thing? Do I drink it?”
Barcus shook his head and barked, this time requiring Viney to translate.
“He says you need to dunk your head inside, hold it underneath, then you should see what you want to see.” she explains, “So take long breaths before you do this, and if you start drowning I’ll pull you back up.”
“Thanks.” Luz says before doing as such, “Here goes nothing.”
One deep breath later she plunges her head into the cauldron of swirling yellow and purple liquid, then she fell…
And fell…
And fell…
And fell…
***
Her scream was cut short the moment her back slammed into the floor. Nothing was broken despite falling for god knows how long, but her back sure ached like nothing she’s ever felt before.
“Ugh…” she groans as she tries shaking off the pain and glancing around, curious to find where she was but then her eyes widen in surprise.
“This…this is our old house in Bellwood,” she mutters to herself out loud as she looks around the living room. She remembers it very clearly, the yellow wallpaper, her dad’s favourite couch, and the old box television they had that was always breaking down.
Why was she in her old house? Did it mean Ghostfreak would break out here? In that case, that’s good! Now she knows where she can get a bunch of Plumbers stationed there with anti-Nectoturnite gear to trap Ghostfreak, she just needs to know when now.
Her eyes go to the clock but for some reason, it was all jumbled up. All distorted and blurry. Sensing something wrong she moves to a nearby bookshelf in the living room and finds all the titles on the spines to be in a similar state.
A dream? Was she in a dream about the future? This was all so confusing for her. Maybe if she can look around for clues she can…
“Do we really deserve it?”
A loud scream escapes her lips as she quickly turns around in surprise at the sudden voice, her eyes widening at the sight before her.
It was her… Or more accurately a younger version of her, looking to be around ten years old. Her hair was longer, reaching past her shoulders, with a yellow t-shirt and purple pants. She was in the corner of the living room, arms wrapped around her legs and face buried in her knees. The Omnitrix, or rather its original version before its recalibration, was visible on her left wrist with something clutched and hidden in her hand.
“Are…you me?” she asks softly and slowly, approaching her, “I need to know where we are, when am I? Where’s Ghostfreak?”
She asks confused but the visage of her younger self doesn’t respond to her question,
“Are we really helping them?”
“What?” Luz asks again, getting weirded out more and more, “Are you alright? What’s that in your hands?”
Her younger self then opens her clutched hand, and Luz’s mouth slightly drops as she sees clutched inside it was a dead bird, burnt to a crisp. It was creepy but also…familiar. Where did she see that before?
Then she looks up and the sight almost has Luz jump out of her skin. Instead of normal eyes, they were glowing red, with red circuitry patterns spreading from them slowly. Familiar red circuitry that she has only seen once before.
An expression of pure pain and grief was visible on her face, tears streaking from them, as a black substance spreads from behind her. Spreading through the walls at a slow but steady pace, as well as all over her.
Luz reaches out to try and help but then she finds similar black goo growing around her arm, attached to some webbing to the roof restraining her. More and more of this substance wraps around and restrains her as she tries to struggle and break free.
“What’s going on?!” she cries out in fear, “Talk to me! I can help you!”
“We deserve this.” her younger self says unhelpfully, staring at the burnt bird in her hands as they were both wrapped by this goo.
“I don’t understand!” Luz cries out confused as the black goo starts edging closer to her face, “Please I need you to talk to me-!”
She barely gets out in time before the goo wraps around her mouth. As this happens she feels suffocated, running out of air, before something pulls at her from the shoulders.
***
“-breathing! She’s breathing now!” a relieved voice cries out as Luz coughs out some bitter-tasting potion.
Puddles were beside her, handing Viney a towel that she used to wipe the potion off her eyes.
“Luz, can you hear me?” Viney asks, “Deep breaths, you almost drowned there.”
Barcus approaches her looking guilty and scared before barking.
“He says he’s sorry for letting you do this. He should have tested it himself first.” Jerbo says trying to sound calm but he looks just as worried as the others were, “What happened there Luz? You were drowning but you didn’t try pulling yourself out. Heck Viney and I had to force you out because you were clinging onto the cauldron.”
“I was?” Luz coughs out, “I didn’t realise…”
“Did you at least get what you needed?” Viney asks but frowned as Luz shook her head.
“No…I don’t know. I saw myself, my ten-year-old self. We were in my old house in the Human Realm, she was crying in the corner when this black goo wrapped around us and she kept talking about things I didn’t understand.” she mutters.
Barcus ponders about this and barks.
“He says that it should have been a vision of your future, not your past. Maybe something went wrong with his calculations.” Viney translates.
“It wasn’t the past.” Luz clarifies, “It was…I don’t know but that wasn’t something that happened to me when I was ten. What was it?”
Barcus shook his head sadly. It didn’t take a translator for her to understand he didn’t know as well.
“Sorry for wasting your time, everyone.” Luz says disappointed.
“Hey, it’s fine. At least we tried and we didn’t get expelled, let’s just chalk this up as a lesson to learn from.” Jerbo says trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Yeah like bringing a snorkel next time we try this.” Luz mutters before she finally registers a faint beeping noise, “Hey what’s that noise?”
“Huh? Oh right.” Viney hands Luz her Plumber’s badge, “This started beeping in your pocket and before I could figure out what, you started drowning and-”
Luz immediately grabs it from her, urgently turning on the built-in comms and speaking quickly through it.
“-repeat, target spotted! She’s definitely a basilisk! Hope’s move in to try and stop her and I’m sitting on a hill with a nerve-disruptor rifle and no clear shot! Haven’t heard from her since! Where are you?!”
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
Sorry for the short chapters that are split in two recently. I just felt it better for me if I wrote in that style. I feel it lets me get out content quickly without burning out, or at least I think so. Just felt comfortable writing like this and hope you don't mind.
Be sure to let me know what your thoughts on this chapter are, and I hope you enjoy reading it as I enjoy writing it.
Chapter 15: Omni-nake #2: Four times Kevin was part of the Noceda family
Chapter Text
5 years ago
“Pfft! Hahahahahah!” an eleven-year-old Kevin laughs at the sight of Luz tripping over her own feet and falling flat on her face.
“Hey, it’s harder than it looks!” Luz says with embarrassment, “And I got the rhythm down at least!”
“Rhythm? You looked like you didn’t even know how to use your legs!” he continues laughing, “And what were you doing with your arms?”
“A-at least I’m trying to learn.” Luz retorts, “You don’t even know how to dance! I saw you try last night!”
“You saw that?!” Kevin asks suddenly, feeling threatened, worrying about what else she might have saw or heard.
Luz grins, “Yeah, and I think the reason you’re trying so hard is that you want to impress the flower girl. I don’t blame you, she is pretty cute.”
“Shut up!” Kevin roars with a red tint on his cheeks, “I-I just don’t want to embarrass myself in front of everyone. You don’t even have to dance, but I got to because I’m the ringbearer for some stupid reason.”
Luz would have loved to continue teasing Kevin about his puppy crush on the blonde flower girl but then she has an idea.
“How about we help each other?” Luz suggests, “Dancing is with two people, and there’s two of us.”
Kevin looks grossed out, “Dance with you? Ew.”
“Like it or not, doofus, we both need to learn in time for tomorrow.” she reminds, “Do you want to embarrass yourself and Lucy in front of everyone? Maybe you might even impress her.”
Kevin ponders that for a moment, and then an image of him sweeping Lucy’s feet off the floor with his dancing brings a blush to his cheeks,
“...Fine.” he concedes, offering a hand before sarcastically bowing, “Care to dance, then?”
***
“One, two…One, two…One-Ow! That was my foot!”
“You’re moving at the wrong pace! Stop kicking my shin!”
“My heel!”
“Abort! Abort!”
Both of them fell down, with Luz on top of Kevin, knocking the wind out of him. Both of them lay there, groaning in pain and dizziness.
“That was somehow worse than if we did that by ourselves.” Kevin groans.
“I know.” Luz says in a daze, “We’re awful.”
Luz laughs weakly for some reason, maybe it was because of just how god-awful and pitiful their dancing was. Whatever the reason it was contagious and Kevin found himself laughing as well.
“Oh god, that was so awful!” He laughs despite the situation.
“Wait, wait, I think I know where we went wrong,” Luz says as she gets up, preparing for another round of practice.
4 years ago
“Hey look, it’s the freak.”
One of the two bullies jeers as they stop next to her on their bikes, as she just sat against the tree avoiding eye contact.
“Where did your stupid watch go? Did you lose it?” the second one teased as Luz’s hand subconsciously moved to her left wrist, clenching it as tears dropped from her eyes, “Aw, is the little baby gonna cry?”
“Why don’t you leave her alone, Cash?” a friend of Luz who had been sitting next to her stands up challengingly.
“Aw, is the little dweeb gonna protect his girlfriend?” Cash taunts as he parks his bicycle, moving forward and grabbing the boy by his white and black t-shirt before throwing him against the tree. Luz only buries her face deeper into her knees as this happens.
“Look at her arms.” JT points at them, “What did you burn yourself or something?”
Luz tries to pull the sleeves of her shirt lower to hide the still-fresh circuit-like scars on her arms. Even a week after that, they were still taking their time to fade.
“I said leave her alone!” her friend pushes back against Cash only to get rewarded with a fist to his guts.
“Come on, try and make me then.” Cash taunts, kicking him again while he is down before a voice comes from behind him.
“Okay. I’ll give it a go.”
Before he can react, Cash was grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown against his bicycle, smashing into it as it falls on top of him. He tries to get up but Kevin was already marching towards him and stomps the bicycle hard with Cash beneath it.
“AHH!” he cries in pain and JT looks caught between deciding whether to help or run when Kevin helps him make the decision.
“You even try to move and you’re fucking next pissant!” Kevin roars with anger not even trying to hide how mad he was before he steps on the bicycle again harder despite Cash’s protests, “You! Even! Look at her again! And I’ll-!”
He emphasises with a stomp, each time harder as Cash cries for mercy, becoming a blubbering wreck before he feels someone grab him by the arm and turns, instantly softening at the sight of Luz stopping him. Her head was still looking downcast but her intentions were clear.
Sighing he kicks the bike off a crying cash and points at JT, “Pick him up and go. And leave your fucking bikes you hear me!”
JT doesn’t argue, picking up a crying Cash as they hobble away in fear as fast as they can.
“Man, I take back every bad thing I’ve said about you, Kevin.” Luz’s friend coughs as he rubs the spot where he was kicked but Kevin ignores him and focuses on Luz, wrapping the olive green jacket he was wearing around her.
“You want to go home?” he asks her uncharacteristically softly as she nods wordlessly. He silently sighs to himself, she hasn’t spoken a word ever since she removed the Omnitrix.
“Come on then.” he helps guide her home, an arm wrapped around her shoulder, “I got you.”
3 years ago
“You punched a kid with a metal hand?!” Camila asks incredulously as she drove Kevin back home in her car.
“It was aluminium.” Kevin grumbles next to her in the passenger seat, “And it wasn’t even that hard.”
“The kid had a black eye!” Camila reminds, “And what if they realise you had powers?”
“I didn’t break any bones this time. And I was wearing a glove.” Kevin defends himself.
“Why would you even pick a fight with him? You’re already on thin ice after the last two fights!” Camila asks.
“They were making fun of all of you!” Kevin snaps, “And they were making dumb jokes about me too, about how I didn’t have a real family. That you all were losers for taking in someone like me..”
Camila stares at the boy in silence before sighing, “...You could have told us about it if they were bothering you.”
“It wouldn’t have done anything.” Kevin mutters, “They’ll just keep saying things, so the only way I could shut them up was if I made them.”
“...You know I went through the same thing as well when I was your age.” Camila says after a moment, “Back in school I had lots of people saying bad stuff about me as well. And when I tried to get them to stop however I could, it only made me look like the bad guy to everyone. Like I was proving them right. Do you want people to see you like that?”
“...No.” Kevin admits, “But I just want them to shut up.”
“So did I. And you want to know how I did it?” Camila asks and Kevin shrugs, interested.
“I played their game by their rules.” Camila says proudly, “I used my words as they did, and it turned out they can’t take what they dish. They tried to get into a fight with me, and we just so happened to be near the faculty office. It made them look like idiots.”
Kevin looks impressed and then gets an idea, “So you’re saying I should do the same?”
“Of course. It’s always better to settle things with words.” Camila nods.
“I should trick them into hitting me so they get in trouble!” Kevin says.
“Well, preferably not. I actually didn’t plan that and got lucky, but-” Camila tries to say but Kevin interrupts her.
“And I’ll armour up underneath my shirt so they break their hand trying to beat me!” Kevin says, “That way I’ll make them look like double idiots! You’re a genius!”
“Oh boy…” Camila mutters hoping this doesn’t get them sued by a kid’s parents again in the future.
2 years ago
“So what does it do?” Kevin says excitedly as he puts on the metal analogue watch, “Does it have a laser gun? Built-in radar? Can it turn into a bomb?”
Manuel Noceda laughs, “Of course not. It’s just a really accurate watch. I had it with me even back in my days in the Marine Corps, back then we Plumbers had to infiltrate everywhere so we could respond and cover up alien activity as quickly as possible.”
“...That’s lame.” Kevin mutters disappointed as he glances at the watch, “So Luz gets an alien watch that can turn her into superpowered aliens and I just a normal watch then.”
“Hey, don’t diss the watch. I modified it with titanium-infinitum alloy as well, it actually saved my hand from some bounty hunter with a hard light axe.” Manuel chuckles as he rubs his left wrist, “I figured if you need anything to absorb in a pinch, it could help.”
“I guess that’s cool then,” Kevin admits, feeling a bit better at the supposed lame birthday gift.
“It is. That thing’s been in my family since the First World War.” Manuel says as Kevin looks up at him awestruck.
“Shut up.” Kevin says shocked as Manuel nods, “This thing’s that old?!”
“Yep, my grandfather had this with him in the trenches. He passed it to his son, my dad, who wore it through the Second World War. Then he passed it to me, but by that time it was pretty broken so I had to repair it with new parts, and a bit of tweaking to make it more accurate and sturdier.” Manuel shrugs, “My old man made me promise to hand it to my son if I ever had one myself, it was a family tradition… Camila and I never had one, but I like to think you come pretty close.”
Manuel says the last part awkwardly and nervously, not knowing how Kevin would react to that. But then he was surprised when Kevin chokes back a sob,
“Kevin, are you alri-?” he asks but Kevin interrupts him.
“Yeah… I’m fine…” Kevin says, struggling to get the words out while holding back tears, “I’m not crying or anything.”
Before Manuel could say anything, Camila walks into the living room,
“Sorry, Luz finally crashed from all that sugar. She’s going to feel that when she wakes up.” she sighs before realising Kevin was struggling to hold back tears, “Kevin? Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Never better.” he says as he wipes his eyes with a sleeve, “It’s just…I just got the best birthday present ever.”
Chapter 16: What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong Pt 2
Chapter Text
“Would you rather…not be able to speak or not be able to read?” Kevin asks as he adjusted the sights of the nerve-disruptor rifle in his hands. After they realise taking in the latest basilisk may be harder than the previous ones, he had to requisition a nerve-disruptor rifle just in case. No permanent harm would be done, but they’ll still feel a pinch.
“I would rather…not be able to speak. It’s the obvious choice, if you can’t read you can’t learn ways to get around being mute like sign language, and I won’t be able to learn new spells. Try harder next time.” Hope replies as she flips through her spellbook in boredom, having broken down and decided to play this juvenile game with Kevin out of boredom, “My turn. Would you rather…be without your legs or without your arms?”
“Legs.” Kevin replies without hesitation, “I need my hands to do a lot of things. If I get some lame prosthetics they’ll mess up my motor skills and I’d have to restart all over again. Can you imagine me working on my car with robot arms? I’ll keep scratching the paint job.”
“Of course, it’ll be about your car.” Hope rolls her eyes, before turning to Eda who was laying on her floating staff, “You want to join in on this?”
“I’m bored.” she states, “This is boring. What happened to all the action?”
“Not all missions have excitement in them.” Kevin shrugs, “A lot of times it’s just staking out like this, being bored out of your mind and playing stupid games. Now would you rather…have long hair grow out your nose or out your ear?”
“That’s a tough one.” Hope admits, “Both are humiliating.”
“I’d rather do something, anything!” Eda groans, “We’ve been waiting for hours and the inspector hasn’t arrived yet. Maybe they called it off? Heck, why am I even here?”
“Your portal obviously.” Kevin says, “We need to transport the basilisk off-world as soon as possible before the Emperor’s Coven arrives, so we need it nearby.”
“I’m actually hoping they come.” Hope says with a growl, “I owe that upstart for his insults.”
“The Golden Guard? Speaking of him, why do you think he helped us back at the Covention?” Kevin asks.
“Who knows? Maybe Lilith did something to piss him off? Knowing her, it wouldn’t have been difficult.” Eda mutters.
“...If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Hope asks, “You two are sisters yet you don’t appear to like each other.”
Eda cringes, “...She wanted to be in the Emperor’s Coven and I didn’t want to be in one. Simple as that. She’s been hounding me ever since we were kids, trying to get me to join one whether I like it or not. She’s tried everything from arresting me to trying to convince me they can cure my curse.”
“So why didn’t you?” Hope asks, “If we forget the things the Emperor’s Coven had done to the basilisks, something you didn’t even know before you met us, the deal doesn’t sound bad for most. You keep your magic, you get rid of a curse plaguing you, and a high position in the governing body with likely an income to match.”
“We already had this conversation, being part of the Coven’s being a lackey to someone and Eda Clawthorne’s no lackey, let alone the Emperor’s. ” Eda scoffs, “The only way I’d join a coven is for them to bring me in kicking and screaming before they brand me with a sigil. Nothing less is gonna make me be part of one.”
“Speaking of Covens, guess who’s here now?” Kevin asks rhetorically, pointing at the entrance of the school where a person had just appeared in a swirl of blue energy. From the looks of it a woman in some grey dress and black gloves, a golden badge on her chest and hair worn in a bun.
She was approached by Principal Bump and the two began chatting before entering the school. Throughout this, Kevin had the nerve-disruptor trained on the inspector.
“I got the shot,” he says as Hope’s eyes glowed with mana before shaking her head.
“I can’t get a clear reading. She might be legit, or she might be really good at disguising her presence.” she says as the principal and ‘inspector’ entered the school, Kevin sighing in annoyance.
“Get Luz on the comms.” he suggests, “Maybe Blitzwolfer can sniff her out?”
“I’ll get her.” Hope raises her badge and speaks into it, “Luz, it’s Hope. The inspector has arrived but we’re unable to determine if she’s an imposter or not. Can you try anything?”
She waits a minute for a response before trying again, “Luz? Do you read me?”
Again there was no response and she was starting to get worried.
“She’s not replying. Is she on mute?” Hope asks, concerned as Kevin shares her worry.
“No it’s not like her, and it’ll say if she’s muted or something.” Kevin mutters concerned before standing up with his rifle, “I’ll reposition, try to get a clear shot at the inspector.”
“I’ll try to get closer, maybe I can breach her veil if she has any.” Hope suggests as Kevin was about to say something but she interrupts, “We need someone there in case there truly is something wrong with Luz. We can’t send Eda, her magic will be absorbed. Mine comes from a different source, perhaps I may be able to resist or not be affected by her attacks.”
“...Try not to get yourself killed, Luz will never let me hear the end of it,” he says begrudgingly.
Hope smirks, “Careful, I’m really starting to think you do care.”
She elbows him lightly before vanishing in a flash of purple flames. Kevin mutters something under his breath before turning to Eda, “I’ll keep trying to contact Luz, if both of them fail we’re the last hope. If that happens, get to Earth and get more Plumbers here.”
“You’re asking me to run away, kid?” Eda scoffs, “I ain’t scared of some oversized magic-eating lizard.”
“An overgrown lizard that’s practically a hard counter to everything you can do.” Kevin reminds, “It’s just a worst-case scenario though. But we have to be careful.”
“...Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Eda says before quickly adding, “Can’t let you guys get hurt, you’ve already paid me in advance. I’d like to see the rest of my paycheck after all.”
***
“And that concludes the presentation from the Abomination Track,” Amity says after her performance with a bow, followed by her abomination mimicking her actions.
“That was some real Hexside magic you just saw.” Principal Bump claps at the performance, “Amity Blight over there is one of the strongest students in her year, possibly surpassing even some of her seniors in raw magical ability actually. Having a raise in budget from the Emperor’s Coven could go a long way in supporting witches like her.”
“Yes…this is good.” the inspector agreed with a smile on her face. Even as Amity keeps the smile on her face she feels a bit uncomfortable with the look in her eyes, they looked hungry. Before she could think further the inspector continued, “Let’s see if your students can put up more of a fight.”
“Yes, I’m sure they can- Wait, what?” Bump asks as soon as he registers fully what the inspector just said, as she suddenly lunges for the stage with a growl, her face starting to deform and Amity remembers Luz’s warning to her earlier.
“Abomination, fight!” she commands urgently as the abomination lunges forward without further prompting. It tackles the ‘inspector’ as it was expanding, morphing its flesh to its true form as the abomination tried wrestling with it only for the basilisk to throw the abomination in the air with a smack of its tail before swallowing it whole.
“Amity, stay back! It’s an imposter!” Bump shouts in realisation as he puts himself between the creature and his student, drawing a spell circle but then the creature inhalers, the spell circle wobbles before it was then drained and sucked up, along with the rest of the bile within Principal Bump. His skin instantly turned grey as he collapses, and so did all the other students who were frozen in shock at the sight. All at once, everyone in the hall from the students to teachers had their magic drained, their skin greying and collapsing from exhaustion.
All except one,
“Hm, you really are putting up more of a fight than Glandus.” the basilisk says raising a brow at Amity Blight whose skin retained some colour and only fell onto her knees instead of collapsing straight away, “Still have magic in your bile sac, do you? Let me fix that.”
“You…you’re a basilisk.” Amity barely gets out through her exhaustion as the basilisk looks surprised.
“Interesting, back in Glandus and St Epiderm, they were all wondering just what I was as I was draining all their magic.” she notes with a toothy grin, “You’re a clever witch. That makes this more satisfying, you know why this is coming.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Amity groans as she tries to draw another spell circle, desperately trying to do anything in the face of this monster, but she only inhaled the half-drawn circle as what bile left in her was drained, “A good appetiser, but I’m still hungry.”
The basilisks were about to turn away but then her eyes widen as Amity still struggled, trying to push herself off the floor when even the principal and teachers were paralysed with exhaustion.
“There’s something different about you.” the basilisk hisses as it picks up Amity who was too weak to resist. It stares at her with hungry, glistening eyes, “Something smells…different about you. Something more than simple bile within you. Let me have a taste.”
It slowly inhales and Amity feels like the air in her lungs was sucked from her, as the pink mist was drained off from her body and into the basilisk whose eyes glowed a soft magenta glow the moment she consumes the strange pink mist.
“...I’ve never felt such power…delicious.” it hisses as Amity felt suffocated, unable to conjure up enough thought to respond. But before it could finish draining her, something was thrown and shattered against the basilisk’s face forcing her to drop Amity.
“My eye!” it screeches as purple glass from a crystal ball was wiped off her eye, not enough force having been used to penetrate her scales. As Amity fell, she felt something wrap around her and cushion her fall before being pulled towards the hall’s entrance.
“...Willow?” Amity mutters weakly as the bespectacled plant witch grabs her and runs with Gus at her side.
“What’s going on? What is that thing?” Willow asks Amity as they run.
“Find…Luz…” Amity could barely muster the strength to say.
“She’s in the Detention Track! But that’s on the other side of the school!” Gus realises with worry.
“Then we better hurry!” Willow says as she accelerates her pace. Before they can get far though, the wall in front of them bursts as the basilisk crawls out of the hole it made, already caught up with them.
“Where are you going, you tasty little morsels?” she growls, glaring at all three of them.
“W-we may be little, but we’re not morsels!” Willow says defiantly, drawing a spell circle to summon a large plant creature to defend them.
“Time for a power-up!” Gus chips in, creating illusory arms on the plant monster for intimidation purposes.
“No…you need to run!” Amity pleads, having regained a little strength but it was too late as the basilisk easily bites the plant creature’s head off, sucking up all of Gus and Willow’s magic at the same time.
“My magic…” Willow groans as she falls unconscious, with Amity still in her arms and Gus as well.
“Leave them alone…You’ve taken enough magic already, you can just leave!” Amity pleads as she crawls to puts herself between the basilisk and the unconscious form of Willow and Gus.
“It’s not enough, not until I’ve drained every last witch in this school dry!” the basilisks roar, “I didn’t have enough time for the last two schools, but now? I was more careful this time, nobody’s coming to help you, so I have all the time in the world. I’m not leaving until every witch in this school is dead, starting with you!”
Amity shudders to hear that. It wasn’t some bluff or for intimidation, this creature really planned on killing them. Her eyes turned to the unconscious forms of Willow and Gus, realising they would be the first. If they didn’t try to help her, they would still be safe.
And Willow…she saved her. After everything she’s done, everything she’s let Boscha do, she still chose to save her despite the risks.
“No…I won’t let you!” Amity raises a trembling arm as she tries to draw a spell circle again only for it to wobble and dissipate from the lack of bile, feeling her bile sac burn from the effort.
The basilisk chuckles as she slithers forward slowly, her teeth barred.
“Stay back…” Amity mutters, her eyes flickering a magenta glow, “I said… stay back!”
For some reason, her arm thrust forward, almost on instinct or in desperation, or maybe both. A burst of magenta energy was unleashed from her arm, striking the basilisk as it was pushed forward, surprising it.
“More fight left in you?” she snarls, “Congratulations then, you just graduated from morsel to appetiser.”
“If she’s the appetiser then what does that make me?”
A familiar voice interrupts the basilisk who spins around trying to locate the source of the voice before rocks covered in purple runes and patterns burst from the ground, wrapping themself around and restraining the creature.
A flash of purple flames and a familiar white-haired human materialises behind Amity,
“Hope?” Amity looks at her in shock, remembering her as that other witch, or rather human, that was with Luz in the library.
“Blight, where’s Luz?” Hope asks without turning back to face her.
“I heard Gus mention…Detention Track…on the other side of the school.” Amity informs exhausted.
Before Hope could reply, the basilisk began inhaling and the mana coursing through the runes began being drained, sucked into the mouth of the basilisk whose eyes glowed with pink energy.
“That’s not…” Hope’s eyes widened in shock at the sight before steeling herself, “That thing is draining my magic. Can you walk, Blight?”
Amity pushes herself off the floor, staggering onto her legs, “Barely…”
“Then you better start running.” Hope informs as she readies another spell, “Find Luz and bring her here.”
Amity’s eyes widen as she glances at the unconscious Willow and Gus, “But-!”
“They’ll only slow you down, you’re too weak to carry them with you!” Hope urges as the basilisk breaks out of the stone chains with a roar, “I’ll protect them! I swear on my father’s name, now go!”
After a moment of hesitation, Amity limps in the opposite direction to try and find another way to the Detention Track room as Hope faces her foe.
“A human?” the basilisk scowls, “But with that strange magic, and in strong quantities. I think you’d be a filling meal by yourself.”
“I am no one’s meal.” Hope says as she snaps her fingers and a wall of stone grows behind her, separating this battle from the two unconscious witches, “I am Hope, daughter of Spellbinder, former heir of the Ledgerdomain and vanquisher of Addwaitya. You will find me more of a challenge to feed on than defenceless students, creature.”
Hope says with confidence she did not feel. The basilisk appears to be somehow able to drain mana, a skill she didn’t know their species possessed. If they were forced to fight it was obvious she’d be at a disadvantage, but she has to fight nonetheless.
She slams the floor again, cracking it and levitating rocks before launching them forward with a burst of mana. Not throwing them with magic, but creating a concussive force to launch them instead.
The basilisk merely smirks as she swats them away before they could hit her. She tries to open her mouth to drain her magic but Hope lashed out quickly, creating a chain of mana that wraps around her mouth, sealing it shut.
It reacts with surprise and tries to tear it off, as she does this Hope chants a spell as she charges an orb of magical energy in her palms before unleashing it at the creature. However before the beam of energy could strike, the basilisk shrinks and flattens herself to avoid the blast.
With surprising speed it slithered underneath the magical beam and wraps itself around Hope, restraining her arms as it reforms her head above Hope’s before inhaling again.
“Argh!” Hope grunts before unleashing another spell, “Galeas Disruptus!”
The Basilisk roars as a force of wind blasts her back, forcing her to release Hope.
“You’re definitely not like the other morsels.” she growls, “Good. I love a bit of exercise before my meal.”
“You believe you’re the first energy absorber I’ve faced?” Hope asks, trying to hide how drained she felt, panting despite her efforts, “You’re not even on par with Luz’s ex.”
She throws a handful of charms, detonating into clouds of smoke that the basilisk sucks in, eyes widening as she looks to find Hope missing, growling in frustration.
***
Amity limps hurriedly, supporting herself by leaning on the lockers as she pushes herself onwards as fast as she can. Most of the students were at the assembly hall where the inspection was taking place, she can’t expect anyone to find and help her. She has to get there by herself, everyone else was counting on her.
“Amity?!”
She turns, startled by the familiar voice calling her name and her eyes widen at the sight of Luz pushing through a door in the walls looking at her in alarm.
“Luz…” she groans as she tries walking towards her, tripping and almost falling flat on her face before Luz rushes towards and catches her.
“Viney! Help me out here!” Luz shouts to someone behind her and a girl with a brown ponytail approaches, grabbing her by the legs and lifting her, lifting her back to where they came from.
The girl, Viney, drew a blue spell circle and hovered it over her eye, “She looks to be suffering from magical exhaustion, a very severe case. What happened?”
“Basilisk…” she barely mutters out as Luz mutters a curse.
“I heard from Kevin, damn it.” she says to herself, “Where is the basilisk?”
“Near assembly hall…your friend’s…already there…” Amity informs as Viney looks over her.
“But…basilisks are extinct aren’t they?” Viney asks confused, “I mean, I heard from my cousin in St Epiderm they were attacked by a basilisk, but-”
“It’s a long story.” Luz says to Viney before looking right at her, “Stay here with Jerbo and Barcus, look after Amity, I’ll handle this. Don’t come out unless I tell you it’s all clear, understand?”
Viney nervously nods as Luz stands up, checking her Omnitrix before she feels a hand rest on her arm, glancing down to find Amity glancing up at her.
“Be…careful…” she mutters and Luz nods, giving her an assuring and comforting smile.
“Of course, I will. Just sit back and relax, Amity. Everything’s gonna be fine now.” Luz says as she primes her Omnitrix, “Because it’s hero time.”
***
The basilisk roars as she smashes through the doors leading to the cafeteria, scowling as she searches for the human.
“I’ve smelt your magic all the way here, human.” she growls, “Come out and I won’t kill you. I’ll simply keep you as an ever-replenishing food source instead.”
“You’ve had your fill of magic, there’s simply no need to push this further.” a voice echoes through the cafeteria, “If you cross this line, kill these students, you’re just as bad as the Emperor’s Coven are.”
She roars in anger, flinging a table and bench in a random direction with a flick of her tail,
“You’d compare me to them?” she asks, “You have no idea the things they put us through! These witches deserve what’s coming to them!”
“They are children, uninvolved with the Emperor’s Coven!”
“The Coven funds these schools, they see some value in these children.” she hisses as she sniffs the air to find a concentrated source of the strange magic under a table and silently slithers closer, “And whatever they value, I will rip from their arms and tear them apart.”
She slaps the table away and prepares to inhale but the moment her tail touches the table, it detonates instead, blowing her away and landing on her back. Before she can get back up, Hope reveals herself from behind one of the trashcans, raising her hands directed at the ceiling above the fallen basilisk.
“Etera Morbulous!” she roars as the ceiling collapses, rocks falling on top of the basilisk.
She pants from exertion as she approaches the basilisk to make sure it was unconscious from the impact. But as she approaches, the eyes of the basilisk widen and her arm elongates faster than she can react, wrapping around her mouth.
She raises her hands to create a blade of mana but then falls to her knees as the basilisk inhales, the mana draining from her hands and from her body as well. The sensation of losing air from her lungs strikes her, it was like she couldn’t breathe no matter how much air she was inhaling and there was nothing she could do about it.
It was terrifying, but the first thing that comes to her mind was a question. Was this what Luz and Kevin felt all those years ago? When she almost made the greatest mistake of her life?
The basilisk morphs her way out of the rubble, standing to her full height as she lifts Hope, continuously draining the mana from her as her skin greys.
“STOP!”
She turns to face the source of the voice, her eyes widening at the sight of a fellow basilisk standing behind her with purple and white scales, and a strange emblem on their chest.
“You…are one of us?” the basilisk asks in shock, stopping her drain of Hope’s magic, “There was another? A sixth? What are you doing here?”
“I am one of you.” Snakeshifter says avoiding answering some of the questions, “I was a student here, I came here ever since I heard that basilisks were attacking the schools. I’m…you can call me Snakeshifter, what’s your name?”
“...The only name they gave me was One. And I’m here to feed, to bring back magic for me and the rest.” One says and Snakeshifter’s eyes widen.
“The rest? You mean, Three and Four?” Snakeshifter asks as One looks at her in surprise, “I’ve met with the others as well, Two and Five! They’re with me, safe and sound in the Human Realm!”
“Human Realm?” One asks as Snakeshifter continues.
“Yes, somewhere beyond the Emperor’s Coven!” she continues, “They can’t get us there, we can be safe! You can come with us, just-”
“Run? Run from our destiny?” One growl, “Run from our revenge?! Have you forgotten what they’ve done to us? You want us to run leaving them unpunished?!”
“Revenge won’t make the pain go away.” Snakeshifter says sympathetically, “If you keep doing this the Emperor’s Coven will just find you eventually and recapture you! You’ll just end up right back where you started! Just stop this, come with me and I’ll bring you to the Human Realm. We can all be safe, far from the Emperor’s Coven, just let her go.”
“I have a counteroffer.” One snarl, “Come with me, and we take our revenge on the witches. We were their predators once, the apex of these isles before those witches rendered us extinct. We can take back our rightful place.”
“What about the other basilisks with you?” Snakeshifter asks desperately, “You’d drag them with you for your revenge? Do they even want this?”
“They’re weak, pathetic.” One growls, “They speak like you do, denying their rightful place. But the new batch will be taught differently. They’ll learn the truth.”
“New batch?” Snakeshifter’s eyes widen in realisation at those words, “You mean-”
“Imagine it, a new generation of basilisks!” One roar gleefully, “We will only grow in numbers, dozens strong, then hundreds until we have enough strength to crush the witches and their covens! You can be part of this, are you with us?”
“...There has to be a better way.” Snakeshifter pleads, “You’d force kids to fight in a war no one wants? You can’t-”
Snakeshifter was cut off when One snatched her, holding her up by the neck.
“You don’t have a choice here.” she growls, “And I can’t just let you go. We need as many basilisks with us for our numbers to grow. You’ll see the light eventually.”
“I...tried…sorry.” Snakeshifter apologises as One chokes her, causing One to raise a brow in confusion, “Take the shot.”
“What?” One asks confused before she hears the shattering of glass behind her, and then electricity coursing through her body forcing her to drop both Hope and Snakeshifter.
Meanwhile, outside by almost a mile, Kevin cocks back the bolt of the nerve-disruptor, ejecting a fusion cell as Eda aimed in the same direction with her staff hoisted like a rocket launcher. Stun shots dissipated easily upon solid surfaces so it required her assistance to create an opening first.
“We’re bringing you to the Human Realm.” Snakeshifter explains as One convulses from the nerve-disruptor, “I promise you, you’ll be safe there.”
“Safe?!” One screams despite the paralytic effect of the nerve-disruptor, “You’re a traitor to your own kind. There is no safe place, not until the Emperor’s Coven is destroyed!”
As she says this her eyes glow a familiar magenta as she roars, releasing a shockwave of mana that surprises Snakeshifter. Kevin fires off another shot but the basilisk was faster and squeezed herself flat on the floor before rushing at Snakeshifter, pinning her to a wall and out of Kevin’s sight.
“You’d hand me to the Coven? After what we’ve been through?! Traitor!” she roars and draws back a clawed hand.
“We’re not with the Coven, I keep saying we just want to help!” Snakeshifter shouts back as she slaps her chest, blinding One as she receives a fist to the face, forcing her to drop Snakeshifter, or rather Tentadrake.
Not wasting any time, Tentadrake wraps tendrils around One as tight as she could, “We don’t need to fight damn it! Every minute we waste is another minute the Emperor’s Coven gets to figure out something’s wrong and get here!”
“You…you’re no basilisk! You’re a fake, you’re something else…” she hisses in realisation before staring at the Omnitrix emblem on her chest and inhaling. To Tentadrake’s alarm, glowing purple energy was drained directly from the Omnitrix into One’s mouth and nostrils as a familiar beep rings out from the device.
“Error! Error! Error! Omni-energy storage compromised! Charge depleted! Charge depleted Charge depleted”
In a flash of red, Tentadrake was transformed back into Luz Noceda, who looks down at her human arms before back at the towering basilisk.
“Uh…time out?” she asks nervously.
“This power…it’s…so much!” One roar, her eyes glowing purple, “I’ve never felt anything like this! Raaargh!”
Luz could only watch in shock as one large leathery wing grow from One’s back as well as a Transylian tesla coil, her mouth elongate with fangs growing from them, Teph Khufan bandages manifesting and wrapping around her arms and body, circuitry pattern and biomechanical wires emerging from her left hand and replacing her fingers while the right arm became wolf-like resembling a Loboan with its signature sharp claws. Her eyes changed as well, with the right becoming biomechanical and circular, purple circuitry spreading from it.
“I…feel stronger! Power…unlimited power coursing through me!” she cackles as energy crackles inside her mouth before being unleashed at Luz who barely dodged it in time. Reacting as quickly as she could, she pulled a light glyph from her pocket and threw it directly at One’s face, blinding her but also causing a strange reaction.
“It burns!” she screeches as she shields her eyes, Luz making a break for it before she hears a familiar voice call her out.
“Luz! Over here!” Viney calls out from an opening in the cafeteria wall where she and Puddles were dragging Hope through and Luz changes directions, making a beeline for it, barely sliding through in time as One recovers and releases another blast of electricity, the shortcut door slamming shut behind her.
“Hope, are you alright?” Luz quickly turns to her friend who was lying nearly unconscious, her skin lost its colour and her eyes struggled to keep themselves open. She opens her mouth slightly but doesn’t utter a word.
“I don’t know what’s wrong, it looks like her life force was drained,” Viney says as both she and Puddles lifted her back to the main room of shortcuts where Jerbo and Barcus were waiting with Amity, still lying on the ground but the colour returning to her skin.
“Luz, what’s going on?” Jerbo asks looking very concerned. Luz was about to answer when her badge beeped and she responded,
“Luz, what happened? I tried to get another shot in but then I lost sight of her.” Kevin asks worried, “I need a goddamn report over here!”
“The basilisk, it’s stronger than we thought.” Luz replied, “Hope’s down, it somehow drained her mana and the energy from my Omnitrix…She’s mutated, Kevin.”
Kevin was silent over the comms as Eda spoke over his shoulder, “What are you talking about? Are you guys alright?”
“No, Hope’s down and my Omnitrix’s on time out.” Luz answered, “Get back to Earth, we need some energy-tethers and a squad of reinforcements.”
“...We’ll get back soon, can you hold out until then?” Kevin asks.
“Yeah, we’re somewhere safe.” Luz nods, “The basilisks won’t be able to find us, but hurry back as fast as you can.”
“Copy that, Luz. Hang tight.” Kevin says as he disconnects and Luz turns back to face all the Detention Kids, “There’s a basilisk out there, she’s drained the entire school of their magic and is still looking for more.”
“They’ve been extinct for centuries,” Viney mutters and Luz nods.
“Somehow they’ve been brought back by the Emperor’s Coven.” Luz explains, “Now they’ve escaped, and one of them is outside wanting revenge.”
“B-but this is a school, not some Emperor’s Coven precinct.” Jerbo says looking nervous, “Why would it be after us?”
“She blames all witches for what they’ve been through.” Luz replies sadly, “But everything’s gonna be fine. I have friends coming from the Human Realm, professionals who’ve dealt with scenarios like this a lot. We just need to hang tight until-”
A barely audible roar cuts her off as everyone in the room tenses.
“What was that?” Jerbo asks in fear as Viney pointed to one of the doors.
“I think it came from the assembly hall,” Viney says as they all gather at the door, opening it slightly to get a peek out, and the sight horrified Luz.
The mutated One was on the stage with students scattered across the stage unconscious with their magic drained, it wasn’t the whole school but about maybe twenty or so kids and three teachers including Principal Bump.
“I know you can hear me!” she roars, her voice echoing through the hall, enhanced by Loboan physiology, “This power, I’ve never felt anything like it before, it’s enough for me to take on the entire Coven single-handedly! If you don’t want any of these children to die, then come out and give me that watch of yours! Or I start with these ones.”
Luz’s eyes widen in shock at the sight of unconscious Willow and Gus in both One’s arms, each held by the throat.
“If you are not here in the next five minutes, I will kill them.” she growls, “Then every ten seconds you are late, I will move on to another two until you arrive.”
Viney closes the shortcut door before looking back at Luz with fear, “What do we do?”
“...You all stay here.” Luz declares, “It’s me she wants. I might be able to buy some time before the reinforcements show up.”
“Wait, but that thing wants your powers, then wouldn’t it make it stronger?” Jerbo asks, “And if your other friends show up, will they be able to beat it?”
“What choice do we have?” Luz argues frustrated before Barcu interrupts with a bark, “What is it?”
“He’s saying that we might be able to help, and I agree.” Viney translates, “If we work together we might be able to take it down and save our classmates!”
“She’s right.” they all turn in surprise to find Amity approaching them slowly, still limping and looking exhausted but standing anyways, “Willow and Gus, they didn’t have to save me, they could’ve stayed hidden and safe but they tried to save me anyways…If they’re in danger, I need to help them. I can cast at least one more spell, and if that helps I’ll do it.”
“No, absolutely not! Especially you.” Luz declared, “You’re not trained for this, I am. It’s my responsibility-”
“Luz!” Amity interrupts her, “You don’t just stand by when you see someone get hurt, not an option, never an option. That’s what you said, right? Let me do this…please.”
Amity pleads with her and Luz tries staring her down before giving in with a sigh.
“Fine.” she sighs and the Detention trio smiles at this, “But we need a plan and fast. I think I know what to do…”
***
“Times up!” One roars as she holds out one of the witches in her grips in front of her, “And now I-”
“Give up and come quietly?”
One looks at the hall’s entrance in surprise to find the human walking in with arms raised.
“I’m here, now let them go,” Luz demands with her arms still raised, staring at the basilisks defiantly.
One drops Willow and Gus without care, slithering up to Luz, “Very well, I no longer need their pathetic magic. Not when I have you to feed me.”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something.” Luz interrupts her, “The only way out of this is simple. You come with me quietly to the Human Realm, you give back these kids their magic and my friend back her mana. We put you under constant watch in the Human Realm, but besides that, you’re free to make your own choices and live your own life. That’s the only offer you get because if you don’t I’ll be forced to take you down with all force available. Is that clear?”
One stares at her a moment before she bursts out laughing.
“Threats? If you can force me you’d do that by now.” she gestures to her Omnitrix still glowing red, “You know what I’ll do with you? Take you back to my cave, and I’ll feed you to the next generation of basilisks. A new generation with power beyond these witches!”
“Tempting but I have to decline.” Luz snarks, “I don’t plan on being lunch.”
One raises her biomechanical arm and points behind her, the wires that made up her fingers glowing with purple energy, “You don’t have a choice, because I’ll kill every last one of these witches unless you do.”
However, Luz instead smirks, “What witches?”
One quickly turns back and widens her eyes in shock to find Viney and Puddles on an opening at the ceiling, pulling vines made by Jerbo that linked and connected to all the unconscious witches, pulling with all their might and were halfway done.
“No!” One roars as she shoots a beam of energy from her fingertips but was yanked away at the last second by Luz wrapping her arm with a plant glyph.
“Not on my watch.” she declares as she throws down her hoverboard and hops on it, dodging a blast of electricity from One’s mouth in time. She flew circles around One who tried slashing at her with both arms or blasting her with electricity before Luz threw another plant glyph that wraps around her mouth, sealing it shut just as she was about to fire off another electric blast.
As she chokes on her own energy feedback, Luz glances behind and sighs in relief to find the last witch was hoisted through the ceiling shortcut with the door slamming shut. One rips the vines from her mouth and turns to glare at Luz.
“You think I care about them? I have you with me now!” she roars.
“Really?” Luz asks, gesturing at herself, “You still haven’t captured me yet.”
One thrusts both hands at her, the bandages launching forward like tentacles to wrap around her but Luz quickly burns them with a fire glyph.
“Those are my aliens you have there, I know all their moves.” Luz taunts, “But if you insist? Then catch me if you can.”
She flew with her hoverboard through the entrance as One roared, giving chase. Occasionally blasting lasers, electricity and fire from her mouth and hands as Luz dodged and weaved around corners, or threw behind her plant glyphs to shield her from attacks.
“You can’t run forever!” she shouts as Luz took a sharp turn around a corner, One’s mouth splitting into four before releasing a sonic howl that launches Luz off her hoverboard, sending it careening and smashing into a wall.
“End of the line, human.” One snarls but Luz never lost the smirk on her face.
“I don’t think so.” she says, “You should pay more attention to your surroundings.”
Before One could ask what she was talking about, the door next to her shatters, along with the wall surrounding it as an abomination made of both good and dirt, wrapped with vines and roots that tower over even One, punches her in the face and smashes her head through the window.
“Abomination!” Both Amity and Jerbo shout as they commanded their joint abomination, “Fight!”
The hybrid abomination obeys and pulls back the mutated basilisk, slamming it into the walls with all its might, before delivering another punch that smashes her head through it. Then it lifts her and piledrives her headfirst into the floor, climbing on it before delivering a smackdown.
“I…” the basilisk mutters before another fist punches her head deeper into the floor, smirking at this, “Feel nothing.”
The next punch was intercepted with One biting its hand and sucking down on it hard, consuming the entire abomination hybrid by widening its mouth, swallowing it whole.
“Is that how you beat me? Throwing snacks at me?” she laughs before turning to a weakened Amity forced to lean on Jerbo for support, “And you brought me that curious witch. Good, I was going to hunt her down event-!”
She chokes on something as she speaks, reaching for her throat before coughing out a bundle of empty glass vials covered with soil and abomination goo.
“What…what is that?!” she roars in confusion and anger.
“Just a little snack from Barcus and Viney.” Jerbo taunts it despite the fear he felt, “Hope you enjoy some paralytic herbs brewed specifically for you demons.”
One coughs as she falls on the floor, struggling to keep herself up as her vision blurs, suddenly seeing triple everything.
“Poison! You…witches…” she growls as she tries to get back up. Energy crackles within her mouth as she attempts one more blast before a collection of soldiers wearing white armour with red dots in the centre arrive from around the corner, with one of them wearing familiar blue Proto-Tech armour.
“There she is!” Rook points a blaster at One, “Take her down.”
The squad of Plumbers point their multi-blasters and fire their underslung attachments, harpoon-like devices firing and latching to One connected with cables. One roars as the energy within her was drained by the Plumbers, the mutations on her crumbling away.
“My power!” she roars, “No…not like this…not so close…”
She mutters weakly as she shrinks back to her original form, the poison finally working properly without her mutations aiding her, forcing her to fall unconscious as the Plumbers ceased the energy drain and withdraw the cables.
“Target down,” Rook announces before Kevin, who was wearing standard Plumber armour, stepped toward Luz offering a hand up.
“Sorry, I’m late, took a while to find some available agents.” Kevin apologises but Luz shrugs it off.
“Dad really needs to get more agents assigned on Earth.” Luz complains as she accepts the hand and pulls herself up, glancing at Rook, “Glad to see you, Rook.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you again as wel, Luzdude. I did not expect us to work together so soon." he says with a smile before turning to the rest of the squad of Plumbers, "Prepare her for withdrawal and processing, I want medics checking for wounded immediately.”
As the white armoured Plumbers used nets to restrain One, one wearing blue armour and a satchel around his shoulders approached Luz, Amity and the Detention Trio.
“Are any of you injured?” the Plumber medic asks as he flashes a scanner at them, checking for any sign of wounds as Viney responds.
“We’re fine.” she pants exhausted, “The rest of the students should get their magic back any moment with that basilisk down.”
As she says this, the mouth of One opens with magic flowing out of it and returning to their sources, amongst them was Amity who inhales sharply upon the return of her magic, the rest of them flying through the shortcut door that was left open, returning to the students and teachers.
“I still feel drained…” Amity mutters confused as she looks at her trembling hands, the Plumber medic scanning her.
“I’m not detecting anything wrong with her physiology except weakened biometrics.” the medic announced, “But I can’t identify the source. We should return to base and get a full body scan-”
“Nobody is going anywhere!” a loud voice booms from the shortcut entrance as out crawled a very angry Principal Bump, “Who are you people and what is going on? I wake up with twenty of our students wrapped together in vines in the Room of Shortcuts! What is going on?”
He demands as Rook stepped forward, flashing his badge.
“Allow me, sir. I am Rook Blonko, Plumbers Special Forces. We received a distress call from one of our agents and rushed to the scene to detain this creature.”
“Plumbers? You’re certainly not here to fix toilets, and you’re definitely not a Coven, let alone a witch.” Principal Bump scoffs.
“They’re from the Human Realm.” Luz answers him as she stands next to Rook, showing her own badge, “I called them the moment I heard the basilisks were rampaging.”
“Of course, you’re involved in this, I should have known.” Bump grumbles before turning to the rest of the Detention Trio, “And I suppose it's thanks to you our repair bills are now skyrocketing?”
The trio winces under his gaze but Luz steps in front of them protectively, “I was the one who dragged them to help me. It’s my fault all the damage to your school happened, if you want to punish anyone punish me.”
Barcus barks in protest at this and Bump listens, “Contrary to what you’re saying Luz, it sounds like all of you were part of this. It sounds like all of you should be punished for this, and sadly that includes you, Amity Blight.”
He looks down at Amity who was leaning on the wall and being tended to by the medic, who winces upon hearing this news.
“Oh get over it!” Luz says annoyed, “They were the ones who saved you and the entire school! That basilisk was holding you all hostage in the assembly hall but it was thanks to them that no one got hurt! They’re heroes and instead of punishing them, you should be rewarding them for what they’ve done.”
Luz and Bump stare each other down before he turns to the trio, “Is this true?”
They all nervously nod and he sighs, “Very well, I can acknowledge when I’m wrong. I believe compensation will be in order then.”
“Really?” Luz asks surprised, expecting a harder time convincing the principal.
“Of course, I’m not an ungrateful man.” he says before turning to the trio, “Consider your sentences lifted, you will be able to return to a Track of your choices.”
“Actually…” Viney pipes in nervously, “We were thinking if it was possible if we could mix our Tracks? We were only able to beat that basilisk because we mixed our magic.”
She gives Bump a nervous smile and sighs again, “Very well. It was Healing and Beast Keeping for you, wasn’t it?”
With a spell circle, Viney’s uniform changed colours to a combination of blue and orange.
She looks down at her new uniform excitedly as Jerbo hurriedly joins in before Bump changes his mind.
“Plants and Abominations!” he asks and soon his uniform changes as well to pink and green.
Next was Barcus who announced his choice and received a purple and yellow uniform.
“And lastly, Luz Noceda.” the principal turns to Luz, “What will it be then?”
Luz looks excited, “Well, I was thinking I could try all of them?”
She asks and Bump smirks, drawing a final spell circle, her uniform morphing colours to a collection of all track colours.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Luz cheers before rushing to Bump to hug him in thanks only for him to stop her by pushing her head.
“Now, if that’s all, I have paperwork to fill out regarding this. The Emperor’s Coven would want to know about this.” he gestures to the mess, and Kevin speaks up.
“Maybe you can not mention anything about us during your reports to the Emperor? And nothing about the demon we captured?” he suggests and Bump smiles wryly
“Perhaps if I was to receive reparations for my school, then it might slip my mind where the demon went after it drained our magic, as well as whether or not strange men in white armour appeared.”
“I believe we can work something out, sir.” Rook responds, “The Plumbers would be more than happy to compensate for damage incurred upon your school.”
“Great, thanks for volunteering for the paperwork pal.” Kevin slaps him lightly on the back.
“Yes, I- Wait, what?” Rook asks turning to face Kevin, “But I never volunteered for-”
“Appreciate it, partner. I can tell we’re going to be good friends already.” Kevin cuts him off before approaching the unconscious basilisk and helping the other Plumbers to secure her for transport as Rook looks confused.
“Ever filled out collateral damage forms before?” Luz asks the agent and Rook shrugs.
“Actually, no. I am a freshly graduated agent who’s only been on patrol for less than a week.” he explains confused as Luz pats him on the back sympathetically, “What is that for?”
“Comfort, pal. Good luck, you’re gonna need it.” Luz says as she leaves the confused Plumber to figure it out eventually.
As Principal Bump returned to the room of shortcuts, where most of the children and fellow teachers were slowly recovering, two young witches ran past him.
“Luz!” they exclaim upon seeing her.
“Gus? Willow?” Luz looks at them with joy before rushing to them and they hug each other, “I’m so glad you two are alright!”
“So are we.” Willow says as they break off from the hug, “Look at you! I guess saving the day earned your way back to Bump’s good graces.”
“Hey, I didn’t do it alone. I had help.” she gestures to the Detention Trio who were celebrating with each other at their new track combinations. Realising an opportunity she gestures to Amity, “And her as well. She was a big help in taking down the basilisk and saving you guys.”
“Really?” Willow looks at Amity who avoided eye contact and looks away, “...Thank you, Amity.”
“I owed you.” Amity mutters, “For helping me, even when you didn’t have to.”
“It’s what anyone would have done,” Willow responds.
Silence reigned between the two as both Gus and Luz looked between them awkwardly with Luz deciding to change topics, looking over to the medic.
“So what’s wrong? Her magic returned to her just now and both Willow and Gus are up and running, shouldn’t she be fine by now?”
“I’m not sure ma’am. Could be nothing, but I’ve never seen a case like this before. We didn’t exactly study wounds of magical nature back in the academy.” the medic explains as he double-checks his scanner, “We should bring her back to the outpost just in case, ma’am.”
“I feel mostly fine.” Amity says, “Just…tired and out of breath. I think it has something to do with that pink smoke the basilisk drained from me.”
“Pink smoke?” Luz asks concerned, remembering something similar all those years ago in the Ledgerdomain. Then she remembers the condition she found Hope in, and the pink smoke One was draining from her.
“We should get you back to base just in case.” Luz suggests and before Amity could argue Luz cuts her off, “I’ve seen something like this before, the basilisk might have been targeting something besides your bile magic and if I’m right it could be something serious. It’s just to be safe, please?”
Amity looks into Luz’s concerned eyes before giving in, “Fine. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. The school healers are probably busy with the other students anyways.”
“Great!” Luz exclaims before scooping up Amity in her arms, “And, scoop.”
“Oh, wow.” Amity looks surprised at the sudden movement, “You’re…stronger than you look.”
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you go through basic training.” Luz says before turning to the medic, “There’s one more to bring back in the shortcut room, a human in purple robes, you’ll know when you see her.”
“Copy that, ma’am.”
“Wait, where are we going?” Amity asks as Luz smiled.
“Where else? Back to the Human Realm.”
***
One groans as she slowly opens her eyes, feeling the worst headache of her life. Then she remembers what happened before she blacks out, and rushes to look around at her surroundings.
A spacious cell was where she woke up, finding herself in a room with blueish-green tiles with a sink and mirror on one side and a hard slab of metal with a blanket over it as a bed. Instead of metal bars, there was some translucent green material like glass blocking her way out with a metal circle in the centre.
Roaring, she slams against the exit of this strange cell, but instead of breaking it bends slightly but doesn’t crack. She slams it with all her might and roars in anger at her situation but nothing so much as scratches the glass-like door.
“One!”
A familiar voice calls for her as she looks to see a Five slithering into her point of view, looking up at her with sadness in her eyes.
“Five?” she asks in surprise before feeling hope, “They’ve captured you haven’t they? But you escaped? Hurry, you must release me!”
“...My name is Vee now, One.” she mutters before looking up at her, “I’m not a prisoner here, and I can’t let you go.”
“What?” One asks dangerously as Vee gulps.
“One, you tried killing kids!” Vee says in disbelief as One growls.
“They were witches!” she roars, “Have you forgotten what they did to us!”
“I remember what the Emperor’s Coven did to us! I still have the scars.” Vee says as she rubs her arm where faded needle marks were, “But they had nothing to do with what we went through.”
One punches the cell door startling Vee, “Why are you here? Did your new masters promise you freedom in exchange for your brother and sisters?!”
“They’re not my masters! They’re people that saved me!” Vee argues, “Luz, the human you fought, her mom took me in and cared for me even if she didn’t have to! They want to help you, I want to help you, even after what you have done. If you tell us where Three and Four are they can work something out, we can all be free together here in the Human Realm!”
“Free?” she growls, “You really believe that? You might believe their lies, whatever false freedom they gave you for selling us out, but I don’t! You’re a traitor Five! A traitor to all of us!”
Vee looks at One sadly, hurt by the statement, “I just-”
“Get out of my sight, Five.” One hisses at her with a glare, “But remember this, when I escape this prison I will wreak my vengeance on you, those humans, and the Emperor’s Coven. I escaped once, and I’ll do it again! Do you hear me?”
Vee looks at her once more with a tinge of fear and disappointment before turning away, slithering out of her sight.
Waiting nearby was Luz who had heard everything, looking at Vee sympathetically as they left the holding cells, taking the elevator down.
“I’m sorry.” Luz apologises to Vee, “I thought she’d have an easier time talking if she talked to a real basilisk, someone who has been through what she has. I didn’t know she would blow up like that.”
“It’s fine.” Vee mutters looking down, “One…she’s always been angry even back in the dungeons. Sometimes she’d take it out on the others when she was particularly mad. But I never thought she’d try to kill kids. What will happen to her?”
Luz sighs, “That’s for Dad to decide. This is technically interplanetary stuff, so a trial would be held for her to decide her sentence. I know what she went through was tough, but she still tried to kill an entire school. Worst case, she’s looking at a life sentence.”
She looks at Vee apologetically who turns to face her, “You said she mentioned something about the next generation of basilisks?”
“Yeah, do you know anything about that?” Luz asks and Vee nods.
“Three and Four were close back when we were in those dungeons.” Vee explains shuddering, “When we found out she was pregnant the Emperor’s Coven wanted to use her for more experiments. We were already planning our escape but when they came to take her away it gave us an opening, and you know the rest.”
Vee grabs Luz’s hand and pleads with her, “Please, you have to save them. They’re good people, and if she did lay those eggs then it means it’s a new hope for my people. If the Emperor’s Coven finds them…”
Luz puts a hand on her shoulder assuringly, “We’ll get them first, you have my word. As long as there’s one basilisk in the Demon Realm, we won’t rest until we bring them over.”
Vee smiles gratefully at Luz with a tinge of envy, “You’re very brave taking on the Emperor’s Coven like this. I wish I was more brave like you.”
“Hey, you’re pretty brave yourself.” Luz punches her playfully on her shoulder, “You took a risk, jumping into a literal other dimension! It could’ve been completely inhospitable and dangerous but you still jumped through anyways.”
“I saw you and the Owl Lady hoping through it, I figured it was safe enough to take my chances.” Vee shrugs unconvinced.
“There was still a chance at it all going wrong.” Luz points out, “You could’ve been captured by people less friendly than the Plumbers. You saw a chance at a better life and took it, and I think it makes you pretty strong Vee.”
“...Thanks, Luz.” Vee mutters before glancing at the elevator door, “Do you think I can see the witch you brought? I…want to apologise on One’s behalf. I don’t want people to think we’re all like her.”
“You have nothing to apologise for, One’s actions are hers and hers alone.” Luz insists, “But if it makes you feel better, I think we can make that happen.”
***
Hope groans as she opens her eyes to find a bright light staring down at her. Before she could even register her surroundings, something lands on her chest and knocks the wind out of her.
“You’re alive!” King cries out in joy before catching himself, “I mean, of course, you are, I can’t have my future advisor or ally get taken down by an overgrown snake!”
“Nice to see you too, King.” she mutters as she pats the demon on the head, realising she was out of her robes and in a hospital gown with an IV drip attached to her wrist, “Where am I?”
“Gravesfield Plumber Outpost.” she turns to find Kevin surprisingly beside her, “Specifically one of the sick bay private rooms. Apparently, when a basilisk drains someone’s mana it takes longer for the victim to recover. We called your Uncle Hex, he sends his regards by the way and says he’s sorry he can’t make it, some council issues or something, and he also said that you should be back on your feet with a day's rest.”
“That’s a relief.” Hope sighs before feeling how dry her throat was, but before she can make a request a cup of tea was already handed to her by Kevin.
“Green tea. Helps with the throat.” he explains, “I know from experience.”
He says the last part neutrally and Hope flinches with guilt.
“...It felt like all the air was leaving my body despite how much I breathed.” she says as she accepts the cup, “Was that what it was like?”
Kevin rubs his throat at the memory, “Exactly like that.”
Hope sighs, “Nothing I say or do can ever redeem me in your eyes can it?”
“...Just get better soon. We need our magic heavy hitter at her best game.” Kevin ignores her question as King looks up at Kevin.
“Hey, that’s a fellow ruler you’re talking to. You should watch your tone,” he says.
“It’s fine King.” Hope assures, “Nothing I don’t deserve. Is Eda here as well?”
“Yeah, you should’ve seen the look on her face when she saw you. She was really worried.” King nods, “She left a while ago, and mentioned something about finding anything shiny.”
“For the love of-! This better not cause another lockdown.” Kevin mutters, “Since you’re feeling better I should go tell Luz. She should be in another room with Amity.”
“Blight? She’s here?” Hope asks in surprise as Kevin nods.
“Yeah, Luz thinks she got some mana drained from her as well and brought her here for a checkup to make sure nothing is wrong.” Kevin explains as Hope starts climbing out of her bed, “Hey, hey, what are you doing?”
“Take me to her, there’s some questions I need to ask her.”
***
“So… you’re Luz’s mother then?” Amity asks nervously as she tries to sit up as straight as possible while lying on some strange reclined chair with multiple electrodes attached to her body under her clothes.
“Yes, I am.” Camilla nods and smiles at Amity, “Camila Noceda, it’s a pleasure to meet you…”
“Amity Blight.” she quickly introduces herself, “I’m…a friend of your daughter.”
“I guessed that, she seems to care about you a lot if she was willing to carry you all the way here.” Camila says with a smile as Amity blushed in memory of that, “I apologise for the wait, but I had to make sure Hope was alright. She suffered very badly from her mana being drained.”
“Mana?” Amity asks, confused.
“It’s how she casts her magic.” Camila explains as she taps the console connected to the electrodes, “You have to ask her more about that, but from what I know it’s connected to one’s lifeforce. Fortunately, mana is still a real form of energy and we’ve been able to create ways to speed up one’s body’s natural mana recovery rates to replenish them if depleted with the help of nanites.”
“Is that what this is for?” Amity asks, gesturing to the set-up, “That basilisk drained some mana from me and you’re replenishing it?”
“Not yet.” Camila shakes her head, “We don’t know what kind of effects the nanites will have on a witch’s body yet, so we have to do some checks and make sure. Don’t worry, it shouldn't take long.”
As she says this, the door hisses as it slides open allowing Hope to enter, her hand held around an IV stand and accompanied by Kevin and King.
“Blight, glad to see you’re alive and well.” Hope greets.
“Hope, you shouldn’t be walking yet, you need rest!” Camila looks up from the console in annoyance as Kevin shrugs sheepishly.
“Hey, I tried to tell her that but she wouldn’t listen.”
Amity looks to Hope and winces at her condition, although colour has returned to her skin she still looked quite weak, “I guess I have you to thank for saving Willow, Gus and me back in Hexside.”
“Actually, that was not me.” Hope shakes her head, “When I was invisible I saw you about to be attacked by the creature, but before I could do anything you reacted first, unleashing a blast of mana at her.”
“What?” Amity looks surprised as she remembers the wave of magenta energy that blasted the basilisk back, “But…that was me?”
“From what I saw, it appears so.” Hope nods, “Despite the fact Eda the Owl Lady has told me she has never seen any magic like mine, here you are having blasted a basilisk with an admittedly sloppy mana burst. The power was good, but the technique was terrible, which is why I want to know who taught you that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Amity admits, “I didn’t even know what this ‘mana’ is until just now! Nobody taught me anything.”
Hope looks at her in disbelief, “A likely story, you don’t cast a spell without knowledge of magic, or someone teaching you. That’s a solid fact literally written in stone. The first magicians in the world, Dreamwalkers we called them, were able to learn by viewing different realms and finding the Ancients of Ledgerdomain. You must have a master, or perhaps you read it in some ancient tome, possess a magical relic? What about that necklace of yours?”
“Enough, Hope.” Camila demands sternly seeing how confused Amity was at the questions, “This is a sickbay, not an interrogation room.”
“...Forgive me.” Hope apologises, clearing her throat, “I forget myself. I was just extremely curious.”
“It’s fine…” Amity says distractedly, looking at her hands, “But if I need all that to use this ‘mana’, then how did what I did?”
“That’s the question isn’t it.” Hope mutters before the door hisses open again as Luz and Vee entered.
“Hey Amity, I- Hope?” Luz exclaims happily, “You’re alright! Good to see you up and running, girl. What’s going on?”
“Hope’s grilling Amity on how she’s able to use magic.” Kevin explains and Luz looks confused before he clarified, “The mana kind.”
Now it was Luz’s turn to look surprised as she turns to Amity, “You used mana?! How is that possible? I mean, I did that once in Jersey and-”
“What happens in New Jersey stays in New Jersey!” Kevin yells surprising the occupants in the room who have no idea what happened in New Jersey.
“I don’t know how I did it.” Amity says beginning to sound annoyed, “I really don’t.”
“Well, I guess that’s a mystery for another day.” Luz mutters before gesturing to Vee nervously standing behind her, “For now, I got someone who wants to talk with you Ams.”
“A basilisk?” Amity flinches at the sight of Vee who looks hurt.
“Yeah, my name is Vee.” she nervously introduces herself, “I heard what happened to you because of One…I wanted to apologise on her behalf.”
“It’s not your fault, really.” Amity insists remembering what Luz had said about them all being people, some were good and some were bad, and seeing this young basilisk apologising and looking guilty for what someone she knew had done convinced her of that, “And I should apologise as well, on behalf of the Emperor’s Coven for how they treated you.”
Camila smiles at Vee. She had been very insistent on avoiding topics about the Demon Realm for a long time, and now seeing her talk with Amity, a watch from the Demon Realm, it made her happy that this young and strong girl living with her was recovering, or starting to at least.
A beep from the console interrupts her thoughts as she glances down at it, freezing at the sight.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Luz asks noticing the look on her face as Camila glanced towards them.
“I think I just realise why Amity was able to use mana like she did.” She says as she gestured them all to a wall in the sickbay where a holographic projection displayed two strands of DNA.
“On the left is unknown DNA, that’s obviously witch DNA but we haven’t updated the Plumber records with them yet.” Camila explains but highlights the DNA strand on the right, “But this…this is DNA we’ve seen before in our dimension.”
“What?” Amity asks confused and worried, “What does that mean? Is something wrong with me?”
“No, Amity.” Camila shook her head, “But…you’re not 100% a witch. That other DNA I found? It’s Anodite DNA.”
Chapter 17: A Magician and An Anodite
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Amity stares at the ceiling of her bedroom, it was way past midnight, but still, she could not get the events of what happened earlier today out of her mind. Not the basilisk attack, encountering the occasional wild demons was just the way of life in the Boiling Isles, but the revelation that came later.
***
“So…I’m not a witch?” Amity mutters in shock and disbelief, she was now sitting in an office-like room similar to the study her mother had only it was more metallic yet somehow warmer in a way. Despite her shock at the news she received, the etiquette her mother drilled into her at a young age has her sit upright, eyes up and making contact.
“No, no, you are still a witch.” Magister Manuel Noceda, Luz’s father, hastily assures her, “Technically Anodites don’t have DNA, it’s a bit complicated but they create an organic body for… intercourse with another species and any offspring produced is technically 100% of the non-Anodite parent’s species in this case being a witch.”
Camilla nods and pulls out a datapad to show her strands of what she called ‘DNA’ with half of them glowing traces of purple, “However according to research, all those of Anodite heritage have a chance of receiving something they called ‘the spark’ which is often triggered in various scenarios, like puberty or extreme scenarios, which will cause the genes received by their Anodite heritage to trigger some kind of process and generate a heightened amount of mana.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense! None of my parents are these…Anodites or whatever!” Amity protests in disbelief, “I’m pretty sure I’d know if they weren’t a witch!”
“It doesn’t have to be either of your parents.” Manuel explains, “You see, Anodite heritage is a very weird thing, it is practically magic after all, but not all offsprings have sparks and neither do all descendants of Anodites or hybrids. It can be generations after they forgot before someone starts showing a spark, or it can be the very first in their generation. Point is I wouldn’t be surprised if neither of your parents are Anodites, but it’s likely a distant ancestor is.”
Amity was stunned silent by that revelation looking at her hands,
“So I’m not a full witch then?” she mutters in dismay, “Just…half-a-witch.”
Camila surprises her by putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, “I think it just makes you special. You’re born different than other witches, yes, but I don’t think it changes who you are as a person. You are still you. It might be difficult trying to figure out who you are now with this new information, but know that if you ever need help figuring it out you can always get help here from us.”
“Why? You don’t even know me.” Amity asks quietly in surprise.
“No, but we’d like to. Any friend of our daughter is a friend of ours.” Manuel says with an assuring smile. It was familiar, like the ones she’d seen from Luz. It must be where she got it from.
“...I think I just want to go home for now, I need time to think,” Amity says after a pause and Manuel nods.
“I understand.” he says before reaching into his pocket and handing her some kind of plastic card, “My card. I know a support group for hybrid children like yourself, a lot of times when they discover this they freak out, especially with the powers, or combination of power they get. If you need help figuring things out, give me a call. I’ll introduce you to them.”
“...Doesn’t communication not work between the two dimensions?” Camila reminds as Manuel realises this with a flush of embarrassment.
He coughs into a fist, “Er, well, in that case, you can talk to Luz to pass along the message. Or Eda. Just keep on anyway, just in case.”
“Scatterbrain.” Camila teases her husband who blushes even further
“Hey, if I recall you said you found that charming back in college.” he teases back as Amity sat there, staring at the card in her hands.
***
She’d consider telling her parents, asking them if they had any knowledge of her situation but stops herself from doing so. If anything her mother would try to do something to profit from her situation, parading her around as the special and unique Blight, like some sort of new product of hers which would be the last thing she wants.
Her dad? When was the last time he cared for anything other than his inventions? She bets all her savings that if she told him the first thing he’d wonder is how her problem was relevant to his inventions.
The thought of that made her feel sad. She compares them to how Luz’s parents were, in the short time she knew them she knows they were just as caring as Luz was, offering support and help for her while being warm and friendly to each other compared to how distant she knows her parents are. Part of her feels envious of Luz for having parents like them, while she’s stuck with hers.
She tosses and turns in her bed, staring at the midnight sky outside her window. She still couldn’t sleep, the revelation still keeping her up.
A hybrid…a half-a-witch like she had belittled Willow for. What does this mean for her? Does she continue living her life like it was nothing? She doesn’t deny a part of her is actually fascinated with this ‘mana’ thing.
She saw it being used in that human’s hand, Hope if she remembers right. If a human like her could wield that magic, what about her? But most importantly she wants to know how she came to be. Luz’s father had said it was probably one of her ancestors but if so how did they come to the Demon Realm if these Anodites were from the Human Realm? Some portal like the Owl Lady’s? Why hasn’t she heard of them before then? Were there other Anodites in the Demon Realm long ago? Were there others like her?
Questions like that flood her mind, making her unable to sleep, tossing and turning repeatedly in bed. She wanted to know, no, needed to know. But how could she do that without her parents finding out?
Then it hits her. The manor’s library had records of the family tree, she recalls her mother flaunting how long-lived and prosperous the Blight family had been during a party. Surely somewhere must contain the information she needs.
Quietly, she gets out of bed, drawing a spell circle and wrapping her feet with some abomination goo to soften her footsteps as she slowly crept out of the room. She made her way to the manor’s library, searching through the shelves until she came across a large and dusty tome in the top corner of a shelf.
She immediately began flipping through the contents starting from the very beginnings of the Blight family from her mother’s side, then her father’s side.
On her mother’s side a family of merchants and oracles and on her father’s side a long line of blacksmiths and artisans. None of them describe any mention of an ‘Anodite’ or marrying and producing a child with anyone other than a witch. She scoured through the entire book of her family records trying to find even a hint of anything. Those included any medical records that could point to a member having been born with abnormal magic.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
Amity yelps at the voice startling her from behind before she hears a chuckle,
“Hey, quiet down or you’ll wake mom up.” Emira snickers, “What are you doing up so late after curfew? Or is it early? Doesn’t seem to be like you, Mittens. Getting rebellious?”
“A-as if.” Amity quickly recovers, “And what about you?”
“Eh, I got hungry.” Emira shrugs as she shows her an opened family-size bag of Hex Mix and offers it to Amity, “Midnight snack?”
“Ugh, I’ll pass.” Amity waves off before standing up to return the book to its shelf before returning to her room.
“What were you looking at?” Emira asks, looking at the book before laughing, “What, our family tree? Titan, you’re breaking curfew for something that boring?”
Amity flushes in embarrassment and annoyance, intending to ignore her but stopping. Pondering before turning to Emira,
“Emira…” she asks in a serious tone enough for Emira to realise something was up, “Have you… noticed any changes in your magic? Maybe something feels different? Maybe Edric feels the same or something?”
Emira’s brows raise in surprise, “Oh…wow, didn’t think I have to give you the talk but…Well you see when a witch gets to about our age, you might notice some slight changes in your body like with your bile sac. This is completely normal and-”
“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Amity says frustrated and disappointed before sighing, “Just… never mind, I’m going back to sleep.”
“Hey, Amity.” Emira stops her looking at her oddly, “Is something wrong?”
Amity considers telling her everything, but then she remembers the pranks and humiliations her twin siblings would enact on her and clenches her fist.
“None of your business,” she mutters harshly before leaving her alone in the library.
“Huh, what’s her damage?” Emira mutters confused before munching down on a handful of Hex Mix.
***
“I’ll tell you nothing!” One roars at her interrogator, a lanky and white-skinned demon with two slender horns in place of eyebrows above a set of purple eyes, and grey stripes running downwards from both eyes. What was most peculiar was the fact that about four mouths were seen across its face.
“Come now, One.” the figure says with all four of its mouths speaking at once, overlapping voices melding together to make a voice that somehow sounded soothing and calming, friendly and encouraging, “You did a bad thing, threatening to kill children will get you a long sentence if the court rules against you. But it doesn’t have to be that way, we can get you a lighter sentence, house arrest at best! You can be visited by your fellow basilisks if they wish to, all of them will have normal lives on this planet. You just need to tell me where they are, so we can save them.”
Her words have a strange impact on One, her mind calming at her words slightly before she shakes it clear, rage and fury returning.
“You won’t trick me! I know this is a trap!” she shouts, “Five may have fallen for it, even Two! But I won’t!”
“We’re all friends here, One.” the interrogator insists assuringly and for a second the tone of her voice almost made One believe so. This was a friend in front of her, of course, she should trust her, why shouldn’t she? But then rage once again clears her mind.
“We just want to help you.” the interrogator pleads.
“You’re playing tricks with my head!” she screams, trying to reach forward and snap the interrogator's head off through the thick plane of plexiglass between them, “I won’t fall for them! I’d rather slit their throats myself than hand them to you on a silver platter! I’d rather crush every last egg with my own hands than let you do as you please with them!”
The interrogator sighs, “I know what the Emperor’s Coven has planned for the other basilisks, but I don’t even want to think about what they’ll do with the eggs. Please, One. Help me help them.”
Her only response were mad roars as One slammed against the glass wall between them to escape. The interrogator sighs as she hears a beeping noise coming from her belt, “Our time’s up. I’ll see you next time. Even if you don’t believe me, I really am telling the truth. We will save your friends and their children.”
She exits the interrogation room and removes the buckle covering the Omnitrix emblem on her belt as it flashes red before reverting back to Luz Noceda, who yawns exhausted from the continuous transformations she had this day from the hours-long interrogations alone.
“I presume that the interrogation was once again unproductive?” Rook asks as he approaches her, a cup of fresh coffee in hand and another cup of something she doesn’t recognise in the other.
“No. Never seen someone last this long with Mealymouth. There’s just so much hate and anger in her, it’s clouding her thoughts. Making her unreasonable. I don’t think I can get her to start cracking even if you give me a week of non-stop talking.” Luz says disappointed as she takes a sip from the warm coffee, her eyes widening, “Oh man, this is just how I like it.”
“Yes, Magister Noceda informed me about your favourite choice of caffeine.” Rook remarks before glancing at her drink, “I still find it perplexing that humans regularly consume C-grade narcotics like that. Are you aware that in some worlds, they are banned?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty funny actually. One time an ambassador saw me getting my morning coffee and thought that I was some junkie.” she laughs at the memory, “What’s that you got there?”
“Amber Ogia juice.” Rook explains, showing her his cup full of some orange liquid, “My mother sent me some of the fruit when I told my family of my first assignment on Earth.”
“Aw, that’s nice of her.” Luz says, “How’s Earth been treating you anyways?”
“It has been pleasant. My patrol routes usually have me centred around Undertown but I have made contact with numerous humans through Bellwood as well.” Rook says with a smile before frowning confused, “However, I do see the occasional protest in Bellwood, concerning the fact they have alien citizens living under their city and the presence of Plumbers. I do not recall any significant incidents that would trigger such behaviour, however.”
Luz sighs at that, even before she moved away from Bellwood there were always a few closed-minded individuals who wanted aliens out of their city,
“They’re just scared at the sudden change. A while ago the Highbreeds invaded and nearly blew up the planet, and now they find an alien city living below them for five years? It panics a few people.” Luz explains sadly, “The best we can do is keep showing we mean no harm, and hopefully it’ll pass. Sorry, you have to keep seeing that.”
“It is not an issue, most humans I have encountered during patrol are quite friendly and curious about aliens.” Rook assures with a smile, “But I still do not understand why I’m compared to a feline. I look nothing like one.”
Luz snickers, “I don’t know, I think I can see the resemblance. I’ll have to get back to the Demon Realm soon, if one of my regular bad guys starts showing up, I keep my notes on them in my locker. Combination’s 10-01-20.”
“I appreciate it. And try not to concern yourself with One, we will report if she finally says something of use.” Rook nods as they approach the portal door where Eda had left for her to return through when she was finished, “Once again, I look forward to working with you once your mission is accomplished. I wish you luck.”
“Same here, Rook,” Luz says as they both salute each other before she enters the portal.
***
“King, just give it up already will ya? You’re going to give yourself a sore throat.” Eda warns as she covers both her ears with her hands, with King screaming at a glass cup with all his might.
“Hey guys, what’s-?” Luz asks as she exits the portal only to be greeted with another shriek from King, “What is going on?!”
“Ever since your Covention duel, King’s been trying to unlock his powers.” Eda explains irritatedly, “I’ve been trying to get him to stop, but you can see how that’s going. Can you do something about it? Technically it is your fault he’s like this.”
“Uh, alright.” Luz shrugs as she approaches King in the living room, shouting himself hoarse trying to break the glass, “Hey little guy, how’s it going?”
King looks up to respond only to start coughing dryly. Luz picks him up and brings him into the kitchen for a glass of water which he accepts gratefully,
“Thanks.” he says rubbing his throat, “I think I’m making a lot of progress! Earlier I saw a crack in the glass, this is a sign my awesome powers are returning to me at last!”
“Yeah, maybe, or just hear me out here…maybe it was because you were just screaming at a very high pitch.” Luz suggests, “Some humans can crack glass as well if they get the right pitch.”
“Aw man.” King whines, “How come you get your powers right away then? That’s not fair.”
“Well maybe it’s age?” Luz shrugs, “Maybe your kind of demon species needs to reach a certain age before you get your powers? Until then you should make sure to eat your vegetables so you grow big and strong.”
“So vegetables are key to power? I don’t like eating them because they’re gross but…” King mutters in thought before looking to Eda, “Bring me a feast of vegetables so I may return to my full power at once!”
Luz chuckles as he pats him on the skull, “Yeah that’s not really what I mean. But hey, if we don’t get any reports on any Emperor’s Coven movement, I can spare the time to help you with your powers. I’ve been thinking of looking into more of Skullhound’s powers anyways.”
“Skullhound?” King asks.
“Yeah, it’s what I’m thinking of calling her.” Luz shrugs, “Unless you can think of a better one.”
Before King could respond, Hope came into the living room with a crystal ball in hand, looking around before spotting Luz,
“Ah, Luz. There you are,” she says as she enters the kitchen.
“Hey, Hope, shouldn’t you be resting,” Luz asks in concern but Hope shrugs it off.
“I’m fine, my mana is still recovering but I’m accelerating the process thanks to your mother’s treatment and meditation.” Hope waves off as she hands her the crystal ball, “Your friends are calling you, I think they want to check up after yesterday’s events.”
“Oh?” Luz grabs the crystal ball and sets it on the table before accepting the call and seeing Willow’s face on the crystal ball, “Willow! How are you and Gus doing?”
“I’m doing fine, and so is Gus.” Willow nods, “I was just worried, you haven’t been to class today.”
“Ah right,” Luz scratched the back of her head, “Sorry, I was busy with work. Had to take the day off.”
“Does it have anything to do with the basilisk?” Willow asks worried, surprising Luz, “Your friend, Jerbo, he’s my new classmate and when I told him we were friends he mentioned what he saw yesterday, you went off with those Plumbers with the basilisk and I saw the Principal denying everything to the Emperor’s Coven scouts that showed up today.”
“I really need to talk with Jerbo about the meaning of the word 'non-disclosure'.” Luz mutters before remembering, “What exactly is going on with the Emperor’s Coven at school.”
“Not much, they dropped by to check in about the basilisk incident. From what Gus and I overheard, Principal Bump insists that the basilisk just left after feeding. No mentions of you involved or the detention kids and the Plumbers.”
“Well, that’s a good thing.” Luz sighs, relieved that Bump kept his word, “And I’m really sorry not being there to stop that basilisk early. If I had been too late…”
“Hey, it’s fine Luz.” Willow assures, “Demon attacks aren’t that uncommon, it's the way of life in the Boiling Isles. And you made it in time anyways, so I think it’s best if you forget about it. I should head to my next class now, but Gus wanted to pass a message to remind Kevin to come by for the club meeting.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass that along.” Luz nods before the call disconnects and she realises something, “Wait club meeting?”
“Your other friend called ahead earlier today, while you were at work.” Hope explains, “He actually wanted you to show up at his club meeting, something about elections and politics. He then tried to persuade me but I had no interest so he resorted to Kevin by paying him with alien tech which he apparently has a collection of.”
Speaking of Kevin, he then exits through the portal wearing white Plumber armour and pushing through a small cart with a tarp over it, “I’m only doing my part, reclaiming possibly dangerous and outlawed tech from the locals, while at the same time promoting interspecies collaboration.”
“You just want the tech for your car, don’t you?” Hope guesses and Kevin smirks.
“Well if it turns out that kind of technology isn’t a danger I will gladly accept it as a gift from a dear friend of a friend.” Kevin smiles smugly as he begins wheeling the tarp-covered cart out, “Now if you’ll excuse me, some of us have friends to help out.”
Hope glares at him as he leaves, and Luz looks between the two before asking.
“Okay, what happened between the two of you this time?” Luz asks as Hope throws her hands in the air.
“We were having another argument, I don’t remember what it was about but he told me I didn’t have a life! I retorted by saying neither does he, as the only friend he has besides us is his car.” Hope says frustrated, “It’s completely ridiculous, but then your friend showed up and Kevin just can’t help proving me wrong so he decided to help your friend to show how much better he is than me!”
“...Well, is he wrong?” Luz carefully asks before Hope turns her glare to her, raising her hands defensively, “I mean, I’m just saying, name someone you’re friends with besides us. And not the Plumber kids, because you barely speak with them. ”
Hope scoffs and opens her mouth, stuttering before pointing to King, “King’s a friend.”
“Someone our age?” Luz asks, “And what do you do with your free time?”
“Why does that matter, he’s a friend and a very good boy.” Hope crosses her arms, “And I use my free time meditating, improving my magic, helping you on missions like this.”
“...Yeah, I’m beginning to think Kevin’s got a point.” Eda pipes in as she refills a mug of appleblood, “Doesn’t sound like you’re a fun person.”
“I am a fun person. My definition of fun simply differs from the norm.” Hope scoffs defensively, “Besides, it’s not like it’ll matter much once I return to prison, right?”
“Come on, you’re not in prison now. You have probably the whole Summer before you get back, and then afterwards there’s your parole to account for.” Luz insists, “How about Amity? You two are cool, brooding magicians who can use mana. I’m sure she’ll want a friend like you helping her out with what's been going on recently.”
Luz has been concerned after Amity had left through the portal yesterday, she wanted to at least escort her friend home but she refused the offer, saying she needed the time to think. However, Hope’s expression turned to disgust,
“Urgh, with that Anodite? Don’t make me laugh.” she waves off the idea dismissively, before she clarifies upon seeing the look of shock on Luz’s face, “I’m familiar with them, there were always more than a few of those…leeches, hanging out around the Ledgerdomain before its fall. Bragging about how much better they are than us, that we’re primitives for relying on spells and relics for something they can do by snapping their fingers. I’d understand if they actually put effort into learning magic but they don’t, no they’re just born so perfect, why should they waste time learning when they can be partying all day long?”
She rants, sounding annoyed and angry, surprising Luz. There weren’t many things that can get Hope to react like that,
“Where is this coming from?” Luz asks, concerned, “Because this is starting to sound a little…prejudiced.”
She clenches her teeth, looking down, “...When Addwaitya attacked with the Alpha Rune, decimated our cities and guardians, the Anodites that lounged through our realm and feed on our mana like it was an endless supply of narcotics… They were the first to flee. They could have fought with us, or at least brought some of us with them…for all their posturing about their superiority, they were the first to flee. I’ll never have respect for Anodites, Luz, let alone befriend them.”
Her voice was cracking at this and King scoffs in agreement, “Well they sound like cowards then.”
“You can’t judge an entire species because of a handful of people.” Luz says with a frown, “Maybe they really couldn’t do anything, maybe they were just as frightened as your people were, either way, Amity shouldn’t be judged for something a few Anodites did. Remember when One attacked? She risked trying to help even after she had her magic and mana drained.”
“So maybe she isn’t completely selfish or self-serving.” Hope admits, “Still, if she wants to learn about mana she can figure it out herself. I don’t see the two of us being friends.”
Before Luz could say anything, Hooty interrupts them.
“Hoot hoot! Special delivery!” he calls out.
Hope shudders, “I can never get used to that voice.”
“You will eventually.” Eda sighs before moving to the living room where the door was swung open, “What’s up Hooty?”
“Gift basket for you.” Hoot gestures at said basket with his head.
“Well, what do we have here?” Eda whistles as she picks it up and sets it on the table, the rest of them gathering around in curiosity, “Offerings? Ah, being the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles does have its perks.”
King pulls the blanket off the basket revealing what appears to be a strange baby bat snoring as he sleeps.
“Fresh meat!” King cheers before Luz lightly slaps him on the head,
“No, not for eating.” she scolds before looking at the child, “What the heck is a baby doing out here?”
“There’s a note.” Hope mutters as she pulls a note and reads it, “Dear Clawthorne, please take care of my children until morning. Yi Yi.”
“Ugh, taking care of babies?” Eda complains, “Babies are awful, not happening.”
“Aw, what are you talking about?” Luz gushes over the baby, “Look at those little cheeks, he’s so precious.”
Hope flips the paper and continues reading, “PS: You will be handsomely rewarded. X-O-X-O-X-O. Bat Queen. Who signs a letter twice with different names? That’s just confusing.”
She mutters to herself as Eda instantly lights up.
“Bat Queen? That’s the richest demon in the Boiling Isles! You get in right with her and you’re set for life.” Eda says excitedly, “So we just keep this thing alive for hours and we get paid? Easy.”
“I don’t know, do we even know what this guy can eat?” Luz asks concerned, “Allergies? How much does a demon baby need to eat anyways? What do we do if something’s wrong and-”
“Hey, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Demon babies can survive off pretty much anything.” Eda shrugs and Luz sighs.
“Sorry, must be maternal instincts acting up I guess.” she shrugs, “Have kids of my own, and let me tell you taking care of them is no joke.”
“Yeah- Wait, what?” Eda asks in alarm.
“Yeah one of my aliens, Big Chill, laid fourteen eggs a few months back.” Luz explains with a shudder, “Taking care of them was…stressful.”
***
“Come on, mama needs her sleep.” Luz groans as she rocks two of her Necrofriggian kids to sleep with both hands while a third was gnawing on her jacket from the shoulder but at this point, she was too exhausted to care, black bags visible beneath her eyes.
Suddenly one of the Necrofriggian babies in one of the fourteen cribs burped, releasing gas that was cold enough to chill the room as Luz shudders despite her thick jacket, one made for arctic weather.
Then another starts crying and Luz groans as the two she was cradling suddenly burst out crying as well, “Aw no, what is it now?”
She walks over to the crying one in the crib before they could wake up their siblings and saw it opening and closing its mouth,
“Oh, are you hungry? Just give mommy one moment alright?” she pleads before softly shouting down the stairs, “Kevin! I need the solar plasma feeder.”
However instead she hears a loud crash and screams from Kevin, “They’re on my face, they’re on my face! Oh god, they’re eating me alive!”
“No! Bad baby, kitchenware is not for eating!” Camila cries out as she tries to wrestle a pan away from another two Necrofriggians, Kevin was swarmed by the other four, having absorbed metal in a panic they were now eating the shell around him. Meanwhile, another two flew off with the metal kitchenware they were able to secure.
“My spellbook!” Hope cries out in fear and alarm as she chases a flying Necrofriggian baby gnawing at her spellbook, “That’s a family heirloom you oversized moth!”
***
“I wasn’t really ready for a kid, let alone fourteen of them. They live in a free-range facility near Mercury now, with a couple Plumber-certified caretakers looking over them and I try to visit as much as I can. ” Luz finishes explaining before turning to Eda who was looking at her very concerned.
“...Fourteen?” she mutters astonished before shaking her head, “Well this is just one, so it probably shouldn’t be a problem.”
As she says this the baby suddenly stirs awake and in a brief moment finds himself in an unfamiliar environment with strangers, and as such did as any normal baby would do.
Emit a noise equivalent to a Sonorosian and nearly deafened the room’s occupants.
“Argh!” Eda screams as she covers her ears.
“Luz! Do something!” King yells as he squeezes his head between a pillow from the couch to dampen the noise.
“On it!” she says as she instantly picks up the baby and rocks it gently, “Shh, it’s okay kid. Your mommy sent you here for us to take care of you. You’re safe here.”
The baby began calming down almost immediately, but before they could feel relieved it suddenly vomited two copies of itself.
“Oh my god!” Luz exclaims in shock as she barely catches the other two in time before they hit the floor before they all start screaming again at the top of their lungs, “Hope! You need to help!”
However, the magician was already halfway through the door with a stack of books in hand, “Oh would you look at the time, I have to return these books to the library before their due date expires. Silly me for losing track of time. Good luck Luz, I have faith in you!”
“Coward!” Eda shouts over the screams as Hope slams the door shut with her feet.
***
Hope sighs in relief as she enters the library. It was a close call but she escaped the Owl House in time. Now it was probably best she finds an excuse to hunker down away from the Owl House until at least nighttime. Perhaps there would be some books of interest in the library, despite how primitive it appears.
First, she needs to return the books. She wasn’t lying when she said they had to be returned anyways, the deadline really was almost up. She hands the books over to the librarian who levitates them through a green circle.
“Hm, all on time.” the librarian notes, impressed, “Nobody’s ever handed in all their books on time before.”
“Glad to be the first.” Hope shrugs it off, “Where can I find books regarding the history of the Boiling Isles?”
The librarian points the direction for her and she follows it. She was curious about the glyphs that Luz had discovered through their stay in the isles. Sure their magical abilities were rather simple compared to the more complex spells she used to, but for Luz to cast them with ease was impressive. And the scholar within her couldn’t deny the curiosity she felt on the subject.
How was such a technique so obscure within this realm? Even Eda the Owl Lady wasn’t familiar with such glyphs despite being the self-proclaimed strongest witch on the isles. Even if it was an outdated form of magic there should still be some writing on the subject, would it?
That was what she thought at first. However, as she searches the shelves and pages she discovers very little on the topic of glyphs. There were mentions of wild magic, yes, she had heard Luz’s glyphs be called that by Lilith during the Covention. The books often spoke of the dangers of wild magic, about how they were responsible for the Savage Ages which was resolved thanks to the Emperor’s boundless genius, showing them the true will of the Titan by way of the Coven system.
She knows propaganda when she sees it. They mention too little about this ‘wild magic’ and praise the Coven system too many times for these historical records not to be biased. She remembers seeing the glyphs that Luz wields and how they resonated with the natural magic she felt around the Boiling Isles.
Was it wild? Yes, but no more dangerous than regular magic. It was hard to think something like the glyphs were the cause of so much death and destruction as stated in the Savage Ages. Entire towns and villages burnt, marauders rampaging everywhere, wild demons overrunning the witches. All supposedly because of wild magic. If Luz had them for days and not burned down the Owl House yet she doubts professional and experienced witches would have done all that by misusing wild magic. There was more to the story, but the books don’t tell her what.
She sighs and reshelves the books, a glance at a nearby clock reveals about an hour has already passed, maybe she should look around and explore the place for more books that catch her interest. She just hopes that she won’t run into-
“What do you think you’re doing?”
A familiar voice startles her and Hope spins to find the source of the voice, only to see that she was alone. She looks around trying to identify the source before peeking behind the corner of a bookshelf to find Amity Blight sitting in front of a group of children, with a book in hand.
“‘We're your friends and we wanna help,’ said the Tin Boy with a yelp. Otabin smiled and paced the floor. ‘I've never had real friends before.’” Amity reads out to the children as Hope overhears this from behind the bookshelf.
She had known Anodites in the Ledgerdomain, whenever her father would bring her out for their weekly walks in the streets of their kingdoms there’d always be an Anodite around the corner, partying like there was no tomorrow and doing as they pleased. Not once would she find one acting like this, reading some fairy tales to children.
“‘Then we'll be your first,’ the Chicken Witch clucked. Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin, surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship, and that's the end.”
The children applauded and cheered at the end of the fairytale, thanking Amity for reading them that story. She leaned against the bookshelf, the sight before she had felt almost…nostalgic. Reminding her of times before it all went wrong.
***
“And thus the knight won the day, the dragon sealed away.” A ten-year-old Charmcaster finishes the tale with the illusion of the dragon forced within a cave before an armoured knight seals its entrance with a circular slab, with the emblem of infinity carved in the middle and several runes, “And that’s the end.”
The toddlers that were no older than half her age cheered at the spectacle, children of visiting nobles she was told to entertain during their stay while her father met with them for their monthly meetings to discuss any local issues within their land. It had miffed her initially, the heir of the throne being a glorified babysitter, but the innocence and excitement of the children quickly won her over.
“I’m glad to see my daughter is enjoying herself.” an elderly voice says from the courtyard’s entrance and Charmcaster turns to find her father standing there, leaning against a marble pillar.
“Daddy!” she shouts and leaps to her father before remembering herself, stopping a few feet away from him and courtesies, “I mean, father. I’m glad you are here, I assume the talks went well?”
“Oh, it was nothing serious, my dear. Most of it was just discussion about where the next Cultural Festival should take place.” her father surprises her by lifting her into the air as she giggles, “Honestly it was all boring, I suppose you had a much better time than I?”
“It was fine. They were nice.” Charmcaster shrugs before looking at her father, “So where will it be father? I heard it was going to be at the Silver Forest!”
Her father chuckles, “Unfortunately not, that place was already chosen last year. It will be the Iron Realm this time.”
Instantly, Charmcaster looks disappointed, “What? But the Iron Realm is gross and it stinks there! The people there are rude and they don’t even like us.”
Her father sighs, “Which is why the festival should be held there. You need to understand the festival’s more than just so our people can have fun with the festivities, enjoy the fireworks and whatnot, it’s so we can learn about their culture. Without learning about people’s cultures we can’t understand them, then we can’t be friends with them. Do you understand?”
“I guess.” Charmcaster says glumly, “Their place still stinks though.”
Her father chuckles, “Yeah, between the two of us they can cut down on the smog from their forges. Maybe you can show me that forcefield charm you’ve been making, maybe that’ll block the smell out?”
“Okay daddy.” Charmcaster smiles excitedly, but it was soon squashed when suddenly they all felt the ground tremble. An earthquake? But that would have been impossible in the castle grounds with all the enchantments. Before she could ask why, somewhere in the castle there was an explosion, and a pillar of raw mana shot up into the clouds, tearing the purple sky asunder as bright pink cracks spread out.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” Charmcaster asks as she holds on to her father tight, the pure wave of raw mana sending shivers down her body as her father stared in horror and realisation.
“No…” her father mutters in shock as the cloudy visage of a turtle-like creature with a flaming skull for a head begins to manifest.
***
Hope barely snaps out of her memories before she begins hyperventilating. Taking deep and steady breaths to calm herself down as she leans against the bookshelf.
“Hey, beautiful.” a male voice interrupts her thoughts as she turns to find a teenage boy around her age with green hair and a mole on his right eye leaning next to her on the bookshelf in an attempt to look suave, “Having trouble breathing? I feel just the same when I look at you because you take my breath away.”
“... Pardon?” Hope asks both confused and flustered. Before she could respond, a girl of similar appearance with long hair in a ponytail, leaned on the boy’s back nearly causing him to fall over from the sudden weight.
“What my brother meant to say is, what’s a pretty human like you doing here?” the girl asks, “I’ve heard there was a human from the Covention but you don’t look like the videos of her we saw. Definitely better looking.”
It took her a moment to realise this was the two were making an attempt to court with her. It was definitely more polite than the ‘advances’ she’d received from the other girls in juvie before she got her own cell in a maximum security prison, but she was still more confused than anything.
“Apologies, but who are you two exactly?”
“Where are our manners?” the boy apologises as he shoves off the girl before recovering, “Call me Edric. Edric Blight.”
“Emira.” the girl introduces herself, “We’re but well-wishers on a mission.”
“A noble quest.” Edric nods.
“...Well, don’t let me interrupt you.” Hope says as she tries to excuse herself but evidently, this wasn’t the reaction these possible twins were looking for as they immediately look flustered.
“Wait!” Emira pleads before recovering, trying to sound cool and flirty, “You must be new around here. Everything must be so strange and confusing. Perhaps in need of a tour guide?”
She tries offering an arm only for her brother to shove her and take her place, offering his arm instead, “Please, I know the city like the back of my hand. All the nooks and crannies, cool sites and a lovely cafe for lunch.”
“Actually, I’d rather spend my time in the library.” Hope ignores the offered arm and walks forward only for Emira who had been pushed away and onto the floor by her brother to intercept her by lying on her way and trying to look cool and collected.
“Well fortunately for you I spend enough time here to-”
“Look, you two seem nice.” she says insincerely as she turns around to leave, “But I have other business to attend to.”
Leaving the two disappointed teens behind she was about to make her leave when she suddenly bumps into someone on the way.
“Ow! Watch it you-!” Amity Blight says in annoyance before realising who she bumped into, “You?!”
“Terrific.” Hope mutters to herself. Just when she thinks her day could not get any worse.
“You know this human, Mittens?” Edric asks surprised as Amity sighs.
“Edric, Emira, this is Hope.” she answers them, “She’s…a friend of a friend.”
“Friend of a friend, huh?” Emira smirks as she stares at Hope, “You happen to have any more friends of a friend, Mittens?”
“It’s an apt description.” Hope mutters as she stares at Amity neutrally, “Although I prefer the word acquaintance. Friend of a friend implies something friendly occurring between the two of us. There isn’t.”
Amity looks confused at her words before glancing around, “Is Luz with you? There’s something I wanted to ask her.”
“No, she’s busy with her own things.” Hope answers, “But I take it has something to do with-?”
“Yesterday? Yes, it does.” Amity quickly interrupts her, glancing back at her siblings. Hope raises an eyebrow at this but recognises she desires to keep her discovery a secret, even from her own family, for some reason beyond her.
She shrugs, obliging. It was none of her business anyways.
“Well, good luck then.” Hope says as she walks past Amity, surprising her.
“Wait, I have so many questions!” Amity says as she catches up to Hope, speaking in whispers, “What was that magic I used back then, how was I able to do that? Luz’s parents said that it was because I was half-Anodite, whatever that is. Are you one too?”
Hope spins around angered at that before taking a breath.
“I’m not a hybrid, I'm a pure human. And unlike you, I had to work for my mana.” Hope says turning and glaring at Amity.
“What are you talking about?” Amity asks and Hope scoffs.
“Unlike Anodites or you hybrids, people like me have to work to control mana, tame it so it doesn’t rip our body and minds apart. To us, it’s a force to be respected, unlike your people,” she says looking at Amity dismissively, who glares at her offended.
“I don’t even know what the heck mana was until last night!” Amity looks at her angrily, “I don’t even know what I am, what it means to be an Anodite, I just want some answers!”
“You want to know what being an Anodite means?” Hope glares back at her, “It means you have an unparalleled connection with one of the fundamental forces in the universe, mana, the life force that flows through all. My people worshipped and wielded it, your people were made of it. And it made you so much better than us, did it?”
“How can I even think I’m better than you if I don’t even know what I can do?” Amity asks, confused.
Maybe it was the way she looked confused and hurt, but Hope faltered for a moment before anger returned, the memories of her home falling returning, the memory of the few Anodites that were in the Ledgerdomain being first to flee, just before Addwaitya shut off any and all methods they had of crossing realms with the Alpha Rune. The memory of her father sacrificing himself just to get her and Uncle Hex away. If those Anodites hadn’t fled…or if they at least tried to bring some of them along…
“Maybe you’re not like them. But I don’t care, if I never meet another Anodite again, hybrid or not, it’ll be far too soon. Talk to Luz, or Kevin, if you have questions but do not expect answers from me. I want no part with you.” Hope mutters as she turns to walk away.
“...Jerk.” Amity grumbles as she walks away, but not getting one last shot in, “And yeah, I’ll figure it out myself!”
She storms off and Hope sighs, thinking perhaps she should just return back to the Owl House instead and risk it.
“Yeah she can be a bit of a jerk, right?” she spins around to see Edric leaning on a nearby table with Emira mimicking him, “Don’t think too much about it, she’s like that to pretty much everyone.”
“What exactly did you hear?” Hope asks curious as her eyes momentarily flicker with mana as she scans the twins, but finds no trace of excess mana associated with Anodites or hybrids like she saw with Amity.
“Only the last part where she left and calls you a jerk.” Emira shrugs, “What’s going on between you two?”
“None of your business.” Hope snaps at them, before pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing in frustration, “I was just leaving. I had enough of the library.”
“Well, maybe we can figure out something that’ll keep you entertained in this library?” Edric offers, and normally Hope would reject such an offer but then the memory of Kevin’s remarks, as well as Luz and Eda agreeing with him returns to her.
“Very well.” Hope rolls her eyes, “Show me what passes for entertainment here then.”
***
The Blight twins proceeded to bring her on an ‘adventure’ around the library which was, to be fair, quite entertaining in a juvenile way. Such as tricking librarians into restacking books in an endless cycle, getting some minor revenge on the Demon Decimal System by blowing dust on its face and getting it to sneeze, showering the entire area with notes and then tricking a librarian by switching the signs of Fiction and Non-Fiction which possibly gave him a crisis.
Sure she participated in that out of boredom but now she can recognise why both Luz and Kevin found entertainment in pranking each other. While she wasn’t exactly breaking down in laughter like the twins were, she still found it amusing on some level.
Of course, all good things must come to an end when Amity Blight catches wind of their antics. Soon, all three of them were booted out of the library, with the door slamming behind them.
“Aw man, just as things were getting fun,” Emira complains as Hope shrugs.
“Well it certainly wasn't boring.” she says before turning to make her leave, “I’ll be seeing you two then?”
However, as she turns to face the teens she finds them deep in thought. Before she can leave to their own devices, they stop her.
“Wait, we’ve been thinking, what do you say about some little payback against Mittens?” Edric asks.
“I’m sure a friend of mine would not think too kindly of that,” Hope says carefully but Edric shakes his hands.
“No, no it’s nothing dangerous to her or us.” Edric assures, “Just a little harmless fun that’ll hopefully convince her to stop tattling on us all the time.”
Hope doesn’t know if some prank will just convince her to back off, but then again she admits she wasn’t familiar with the culture of this place and so far the twins' pranks have been harmless. Honestly, a little payback would be fine against the Anodite hybrid, afterall she still held a bit of a grudge after their initial meeting where she questioned her proficiency with magic.
“Besides, supposedly the library is going to be closed tonight for some comet that has some magical effects on the library or something.” Emira adds in, sweetening the deal, “Aren’t you a little curious?”
“Hmm, getting payback and viewing a magical event? You really know how to tempt a girl.” she smirks as both twins blush slightly, “I’ll consider it. I’ll meet you back here when night falls?”
“Yes! We’ll be waiting.” Edric nods as Hope walks off, waving goodbye at them.
***
“Hoot, hoot!” Hooty greets her, “Welcome back!”
“One more word and I’ll tear you out of that house.” Hope threatens as she enters the Owl House, finding it surprisingly quiet, “Eda? Luz? King? I’m back!”
She announces only to be answered with silence, “Where is everybody?”
Hooty moves in front of her and answers, “Oh they left a while ago, told me to give you this note.”
He retches and Hope looks at him in disgust as he spat out a wad of wet paper. Shuddering, she lifts and unfurls it with magic before reading it out loud.
“Dear Hope, sorry but we’re probably still gone by the time you found this. Got the kids to stop crying but they’re a bit too energetic, so we took them out to town to tucker them out. Who knows how long we might be gone, but just in case we left dinner in the fridge. From Luz.”
Well, that certainly explains their absence, but there was still someone missing.
“What about Kevin? Have you seen him? School was over hours ago, whatever club Gus was running should have been done by now.” Hope asks Hooty who shrugged, at least she thinks he did.
“Maybe he’s just hanging out with them somewhere in town?” he suggests as Hope scoffs.
“Yeah because he’s so much better than me socially.” she grumbles sarcastically as she walks over to the fridge and takes out a bowl wrapped with plastic film, “Socially adept compared to the teenage magician criminal. Probably boring them with talks about his car as we speak.”
***
“This is all your fault!” Kevin shouts as he fires blindly behind him, carrying an unconscious Mattholomule in one arm, “When we get out of here I’m killing you!”
“Cliff!” Gus points out in front of them as he struggles to keep up with Kevin. Cursing under his breath, Kevin holsters the plasma pistol before grabbing Gus and leaping off the cliff to the latter’s horror just as they heard the snapping of teeth behind them, leaping over into an endless red abyss that was only filled with scattered and broken structures, and physics-defying natural landscapes.
***
“Do you know that’s all he ever talks about? Car this, car that, alien tech now and then.” Hope complains as she uses her magic to heat up the bowl of strange-looking frozen tentacles and a vegetable she doesn’t recognise, “Well if he does come by, be sure to let him know that I am in fact hanging out with friends whose presence I do enjoy, and vice versa!”
“I can be your friend.” Hooty offers but Hope ignores him and starts leaving, taking her dinner to go with her, not wanting to eat in the same house with Hooty as her only companion. Her fragile psyche could only take so much.
Midway through her walk she finished her dinner, summoning a quick rock monster to bring the bowl back to the Owl House and wash it for her before making her way to the Bonesborough library, curious to what the twins have planned.
She finds the two of them waiting for her at the entrance, waving her over.
“Glad you could make it.” She says trying to look cool by leaning on a pillar, “Might I say you look lovely under this moonlit night?”
“I would assume I look no different than this afternoon.” Hope says flatly, Emira’s attempts at flirting failing to get a reaction out of her, “Now, how do you suppose we get in?”
She asks as she observes what appears to be a large lock with chains blocking the main entrance.
Edric smirks as he pulls out a scroll, “Luckily, I’ve saved an entire month’s allowance for this thing. A magic scroll that’ll bypass any lock.”
Hope merely looks at the lock before smirking, “You can save your money. It has a little bit of magical protection, but this shouldn’t be a problem. Abrogo necterendum!”
With a gesture of her hand, the lock glowed magenta for a moment before its magical properties shatter and the lock broke open before disintegrating. Both Edric and Emira watch with jaws dropped as Hope smirks, striding inside confidently.
“Well? Coming?” she asks the twins who hurriedly followed her.
“That was so cool!” Edric exclaims, “How did you do that?”
“A simple magic spell.” Hope replied, “But a different type compared to what you witches use, obviously.”
“A human with magic? You just get cooler and cooler don’t you?” Emira asks before wrapping her arms around Hope’s, “Maybe after today you’ll be up for some private lessons ?”
“Well depending on how this night goes.” Hope teased back which garnered a blush from Emira. Edric, jealous at the attention his sister was receiving, quickly points up.
“Hey look, it’s the Wailing Star.” he points out through a stained glass window.
Hope gazes at the falling star with interest, admitting that it does have a pretty glow to it as it fell, but then looks around for any magical changes the comet may have caused. So far there was nothing.
“...Well that was a disappointment,” Emira mutters as she released her hold on Hope’s arm to take a look around, and so did Hope and Edric.
Before she can shrug it off as just some tall tale or rumour, she finds a soft green glow on the books on the shelves of the library. Curious, she grabs a random book and opens it, before being surprised at the swarm of birds flying at her face, causing her to drop the book and fall back barely caught by Edric in time.
“The Wailing Star turned the contents of the books into reality.” Hope realises with a glint of excitement in her eyes, “Fascinating.”
What followed was the trio experimenting with every book they could get their hands on. Fashion magazines, comic books, bestiaries, history books. They dressed in clothing from ancient periods to modern times, became the first to see living specimens of extinct birds in centuries, and much more. Hope opened up a couple books that were about magic and spells, which created torrents of mixed magic spells that almost burnt and froze her face off if she didn’t close it on time. She contemplated what would happen if she were to open her own spellbook, but decided against it not wanting to risk anything dangerous happening.
Then Emira surprised her with a book that blasted her face full of snowballs, and with a smirk she conjured up a hail of snowballs herself as she duelled the twins across the library with snow.
All in all, it was definitely more fun than she was expecting. Perhaps there was some truth to what Luz had said about ‘getting a life’ as she puts it.
She tries to find a spot to ambush the twins when she suddenly comes across the same corner of the library where she had found Amity reading to children earlier. She pauses at the sight of it before approaching, out of some form of curiosity.
The book she was reading to the children was still there and she picks it up, looking at the cover.
“Otabin the Bookmaker?” she mumbles to herself as she flips it open to read, “Otabin spends his days alone amongst the many books he’d sewn. With needle and thread the pages he’d mend. But all the while he longed for a friend…”
As she finishes this, a copy of Otabin appears on the pages of the book, covered in a green glow. It looks up to her with innocent eyes and asks, “Friend?”
A book about friendship? In any other scenario, she’d likely make a smart comment about how childish it was. Maybe it was because the book reminded her of the kind her father would read to her before his death, maybe it was because the words of the book hit something close to home, or maybe it was just those innocent eyes of his, but Hope instead smiles warmly at the creature,
“Of course, we can be friends,” she assures as Otabin smiles. She’d give him a hug if she wasn’t scared of accidentally crushing him from how cute he was.
“Hey, Hope! Look what we found!” Emira shouts as Hope closes the book before turning back to face the twins rushing towards them with a book in hand.
“Quacks Eats Snacks.” Hope glances at the cover, “Truly an extraordinary find.”
“It’s not the book, check this out,” Edric says as he opens the book, and a yellow duck forms, swimming off the pages before landing on the floor, glancing around confused before quacking.
“Adorable but I do not see what’s so impressive about this.” Hope says as Edric giggles before drawing over the pages with a pencil. Her eyes then widen in surprise as a pair of hairy legs suddenly appear on the duck as it quacks in both agony and confusion.
“...I stand corrected,” Hope says, slightly disturbed by what she was seeing as the duck scrambled trying to use its new legs only to flail them around uselessly as she closes the book to end its suffering.
“Whatever goes on the pages becomes reality, so we thought what would happen if we add something to the pages?” Emira says excitedly and amused, “Isn’t that cool.”
“It is fascinating, I admit.” Hope nods curious about the applications, “I wonder if that would work the same for a blank book brought from outside the library, or must it be a book here? If so why does the Wailing Star seem to only affect this library?”
“Who cares? Now you give it a try!” Emira suggests as she hands Hope a pencil and flips open the Otabin book she was holding.
Hope stares at Otabin who looks up at her unaware before she sighs, “No, not this one.”
“Come on, give it a try.” Edric presses as he guides her hand to start drawing on the pages before she drops the pen and twists his arm, stopping him, “Ow!”
“I said not this one.” she says firmly before snapping the book shut and putting it back on the shelf she found it on, “Now if I recall, you mentioned some kind of prank you plan to pull on Amity?”
“Yeah, we almost forgot.” Emira smacks herself on the head before walking off, “Come on, we should hurry.”
Hope releases her grip on Edric and gestures for him to follow, and he does so, rubbing his wrist as he walks.
“Ouch, hope that doesn’t awaken anything in me,” he mutters as he follows her, unaware of the book behind him falling off its shelf and landing wide open, pages first.
***
“Here we are!” Emira exclaims as they stop in front of a section of the library labelled ‘Romance’.
“...This is how we’re getting back at your sister?” Hope asks confused, “Attacking her with sappy romance novels?”
“It’s not the books, it’s what they’re hiding.” Edric explains as he pulls back one of the books on the shelf that were titled ‘The Lone Witch & The Secret Room’, suddenly causing the shelf to rumble before sliding sideways revealing a room behind it.
It was a simple room with two shelves on each side of the wall facing each other, along with a desk and chair with pillows piled on one corner, and the ceiling decorated with lightbulbs of star shapes.
“I see, so this is Amity’s secret room in the library?” Hope guesses and Edric nods.
“Yeah, can you imagine a hideout in a lame place like here?” he snickers before mimicking Amity’s voice, “Oh teacher I’m in love with a dictionary.”
“I’m studying the dork arts.” Emira copies her brother as they both laugh.
“I don’t know, I had a place like this before.” Hope mutters as she trails her hand along the bookshelf. For a moment she wasn’t in the library or even in the Boiling Isles but in her secret room in her father’s castle where she hides to escape from her tutors, “Once upon a time.”
“Yeah, but I bet your hideout was way better than this,” Emira says.
“So what is the prank you have planned?” Hope asks, turning her attention back to the twins with a smirk, “A hex under her chair that’ll shock her? Have a trap behind one of the books? Slide a charm of ink between one of the pages that’ll explode the moment she opens it?”
“Nope.” Edric smiles proudly, “We’re going to steal her diary.”
“Ah, and give her quite a scare when she finds out she can’t find it.” Hope nods in approval, “And use it to blackmail her to stop tattling on you two?”
“That’s just half the plan.” Emira continues explaining, “We’re going to plaster all the diary pages all over Penstagram and school, but keep some of the more embarrassing secrets for blackmail material.”
“...What?” Hope asks quietly, the smile falling off her face.
“That’ll teach her what tattling on us gets her.” Edric nods, “Like, what’s the problem with cutting classes every now and then? They’re all so boring and-”
“You two are leaving…right now.” Hope declares, interrupting Edric and surprising both the twins with the intensity of her glare.
“Hey, wha-?” Emira tries to speak but Hope cuts her off.
“This goes beyond mere pranks. Stealing her diary for blackmail? As long as you weren’t actually going to carry out the threats it would’ve been fine with me. But exposing the contents like that in such a public manner? That’s just cruel!” Hope yells enraged.
“Hey, you were fine with this a moment ago!” Edric reminds, “You don’t even like Amity anyways, so what’s the problem?!”
“That was before I heard your plan.” Hope argues, “I may not like your sister, but there is something called limits!”
“Come on, we’re her family, this is tough love!” Emira protested but Hope wasn’t having it.
“That’s what my uncle used to say, back when he would hit me for failing to cast a spell properly, or when he starved me for being too rebellious.” Hope snarls, her words shocking the twins.
“Y-you can’t compare us to that!” Emira exclaims, “We don’t hurt our sister, this is for her own good!”
“That’s what he thought at the time.” Hope mutters bitterly before her eyes become encompassed with magenta flames, an aura of mana surrounding her, “Now unless you want a taste of what a master magician is capable of, I suggest you leave. Now.”
Her voice echoes in the last sentence, enhanced by mana, and the twins wisely chose to flee. Seeing this she exhales as the mana fades and she sighs in disappointment. So much for finding friends.
She then hears approaching footsteps but just as she was about to think it was the twins returning, her eyes widen to find Amity Blight standing at the doorway.
“...I found the twins sneaking out and followed them here, figured they were up to no good. Then I saw them run away like they were chased by a wild demon.” Amity says carefully as she stares at Hope neutrally, “What were you three doing here?”
Hope shrugs as she gestures around the room, “The twins wanted to steal your diary and expose its contents to the entire school. Fortunately for you, I stopped them.”
“...” Amity’s face upon hearing the news was shock, then hurt, then resignation, “I guess I should’ve expected that…They don’t care. Nobody does, let alone my family.”
“...They should care,” Hope says after a moment, looking at her sympathetically.
Amity, however, returned with an accusatory glare, “And you went along with them to steal my diary?”
“Before I realised they would expose its contents. I came along with your siblings because they offered some payback against you, but then they went too far so I stopped them.” Hope says nonchalantly crossing her arms, “In fact, you should thank me.”
Amity grits her teeth at this before taking a breath and glaring at Hope, “What did I do to you? I know we got off on the wrong foot but you were such a jerk earlier today and now you went with them for payback on me?! Why do you hate me so much?”
Hope opens her mouth to retort, but closes it and thinks on her answer. The fire in her eyes dying as she sighs, “I don’t hate you, Amity Blight…or at least not truly. I just hate Anodites for what they have done.”
Amity looks at her confused, “What did they do? Like I keep telling you, I didn’t even know I was half-Anodite until yesterday!”
Hope growls in frustration, “It’s none of your business. I do this one favour out of sympathy for your situation. I know what it’s like to be hurt by family. Feel free to befriend Luz or Kevin or whoever you see fit, but show me some mercy and leave me alone.”
She shoves past Amity on the way out, sighing as she does so. She had enough of today and now just wishes to go back to the Owl House. Even if Kevin was there their usual arguments should provide some distraction from how terrible today had been.
Before she can get far, she suddenly feels something wrap around her waist and pull her up causing her to release a startled scream as Amity looks up in shock and horror at the sight before her.
“Otabin?!”
***
Hope gets slammed against the large book as some sort of monstrous version of Otabin brings down a needle. She tries to move her body despite being held down but it wasn’t needed as the needle miss her head and instead begin wrapping thread around her torso.
“With claws and fangs and breaking bones, I found a friend to make my own!” it roars in a guttural growl as it tightens the thread, suddenly Hope’s torso and both her arms flatten against the pages with only her head and legs remaining two dimensional.
“Stop this!” Hope demands but the creature ignores her and continues sewing before it suddenly gets interrupted from behind by an abomination grappling both of its arms and forcing it to drop the large book Hope was trapped in.
“Are you alright?” Amity asks as she comes running around the corner and Hope nods before trying to escape, finding it to be useless.
The monstrous Otabin growls as it stabs the abomination with its needle as they both begin brawling.
“Otabin stop this!” Amity pleads, “You’re not like this! I’ve read about you since I was a kid! Something’s changed you!”
However it ignores her as it begins tearing into her abomination, “But friends are what I've always sought. And now a friend my claws have caught!”
Hope thinks quick and realises the abomination won’t last long. She tries to move her hands for a spell but they were now two-dimensional, sewn into the book’s pages and useless. And then she spots her spellbook hanging off her waist and glances back to Amity, hesitating before making a decision.
“Blight! Head’s up!” she shakes her legs, loosening the spellbook before kicking it over, with Amity catching it out of reflex before looking at it confused.
“What? What do I do with this?” she asks in a panic.
“The thirty-ninth page!” Hope shouts, “You need to tap into the mana within you! Use that spell to stop Otabin!”
“But…but how?!” Amity asks as she flips to the page to find unfamiliar runes and symbols.
Hope mutters a curse before explaining, “You need to extend your hand towards your target! Focus all your willpower on making it freeze on the spot, not a single inch of movement from it! Then utter the words, Appendaga Regoria!”
Amity looks confused but tries anyway, waving her hand at the monstrous Otabin before shouting, “Appendaga Regoria!”
However, it does nothing, as Otabin tears the abomination in half by its arms. Amity looks to Hope in a panic, “It’s not working!”
“You need to focus!” Hope shouts back before calming herself, “Listen to me, Amity Blight. Breathe. Feel the mana, coursing through your body as we speak, ever since you first awoke your spark. I know you feel this, a tingling at the back of your spine, a rush of energy that floods through your body. Crackling, travelling to every nerve in your body like a shock. You are part of something greater, part of a force that connects all life as we know it. That is what it means to be a magician, to be an Anodite is to have a far deeper connection than even I could comprehend. You are an Anodite. Now do it.”
Otabin finishes tearing apart the abomination as it turns its attention to Amity Blight, staring at the spellbook in her hands before it begins charging. She looks back up at Otabin, her breath shaking but her face was determined as she extends her hand once more, a shock travelling through her body just like she remembered back in Hexside,
“Appendaga Regoria!”
Her voice echoes as a wave of magic travels from her hand and strikes Otabin, a blue aura surrounding it, freezing it in place telekinetically.
“I…I did it.” Amity says, sounding out of breath before she drew a spell circle, an arm of abomination goo stretching out and grabbing the book lodged within Otabin’s chest before ripping it out and closing the pages shut.
As she does this, the creature vanishes into thin air and so does the book Hope was trapped in, causing her to fall flat on her back before recovering, looking up surprised to find Amity offering a hand up.
“Thank you.” she mutters as she accepts the hand, pulling herself onto her feet, “...Why did you save me? I wasn’t exactly the kindest to you.”
Amity looks at her as if wondering the same thing before shrugging, “I guess, it’s what Luz would have done if she was here.”
The look on Hope’s face softened, “Yes…that is exactly what she would have done. No matter what someone has done, she always offers a hand first.”
“It’s part of her charm.” Amity agreed with that.
The two of them became silent, each wondering what they should say next before Hope spoke first.
“I suppose I owe you an explanation, for my attitude I mean.” Hope says awkwardly and Amity wordlessly nods, “It’s true, our first meeting I thought of you as arrogant and snobbish, but I didn’t hold much malice against you. But when I heard you were Anodite or at least a hybrid, it brought back many memories that I wish stayed buried.”
“...If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Amity asks after a pause.
Hope sighs as she sits down, leaning on a bookshelf and Amity follows her.
“You are aware I didn’t come from the Human Realm?” Hope asks and Amity looks surprised.
“No, Luz never mentioned that.” Amity shakes her head, “Where did you come from then?”
“A realm like yours, but different. It is the source of all mana across the universe, the Ledgerdomain.” she explains, “Races of all kinds live there including humans…and Anodites. They were more tourists in our realm, but we were all at peace. However, one day a creature known as Addwaitya attacked. He was an ally and confidant of my father before his betrayal, seizing one of our most sacred artefacts to become near god-like. My people were slaughtered or enslaved by that monster, with thousands dead on the first day. And the Anodites? Somehow, before Addwaitya shut off any and all methods of dimensional travel, somehow whether by some instinct or some precognition, they escaped first leaving the rest of us to suffer…”
She chokes up upon the memory and Amity waits for her to continue, shocked at hearing this tale. After a pause, Hope continues,
“A week afterwards, when all great cities and kingdoms fell and remaining resistance was butchered, my father sacrificed himself to get my uncle and me out of the Ledgerdomain.” she finishes, “The Anodites had chosen to save themselves. They came to our land, constantly belittling us, enjoying our realm’s luxuries and partying like there’s no tomorrow. Yet when danger appeared, they chose to flee and leave us to our fate. How many of us could they have saved if they chose to at least take some of us with them? Would my father have been one of them? Would my friends? The many innocent men, women and children of our kingdom?”
Amity was silent as she finished, her jaw dropped and looking at Hope with sadness in her eyes.
“I’m…sorry for your loss.” she says at last, not knowing what else to say, “What happened to this…Addwaitya?”
“Justice ensured, with the help of two certain humans.” Hope smiles mirthlessly, “At last my father and my people were avenged. I tried to get my father back after that, through methods that shame me to this day, and I only had enough time to say goodbye before he once again passed on.”
“...What was he like?” Amity asks, “Your father?”
“The kindest, most compassionate and wisest man I have ever known.” Hope answers without hesitation, “So much like Luz. Always putting kindness and forgiveness first, encouraging cooperation between the myriad of races, ideologies and religions amongst the Ledgerdomain…He wouldn’t have wanted me to treat you like I did.”
She says with guilty realisation, turning to Amity, “I’m sorry Amity Blight. For everything I’ve said. Truly.”
“I forgive you.” Amity says, “At least you’re able to apologise. I’m…still working on that.”
“You saved me despite how I treated you. You’re a better person than you think.” Hope says before thinking on something, holding out her hand, “My spellbook, please?”
“Huh?” Amity looks at her hands before handing it back, “Sorry, almost forgot.”
“It’s fine.” Hope says as she takes it back before uttering a spell, “I am not one to apologise merely with words. As I learned, actions speak louder.”
In a flash of purple, two spellbooks were now in each her hand as she offers one to Amity, to her surprise.
“Is…that for me?” she asks in shock and Hope nods.
“It’s a tradition back home. When a master takes on a student, they give them a copy of their spellbook so the student can learn and one day add their own knowledge to the spellbooks before taking on a student of their own.” Hope explains, “This book contains the generational knowledge of my ancestors, my father and myself. Now it is yours. Treat it with respect and it shall serve you well, and one day may your knowledge be added to it before it is passed on once again.”
She says almost reverently as she hands the copy to Amity, who accepts it nervously like it may break if handled incorrectly.
“You’re going to teach me?” Amity asks breathlessly and Hope nods.
“Earlier you mentioned your desire to learn more, didn’t you?” she asks, “I may not know a lot about Anodites, but I can teach you all I know about magic. Help you learn to use your new abilities to its fullest potential. If you’ll allow me of course.”
“...Thank you.” Amity stares at the spellbook, excitement clearly visible in her eyes, “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that you’ll take care of it.” Hope smiles, “It will be nice to have a friend I can have a serious discussion about mana with.”
“Friend?” Amity asks and Hope looks embarrassed.
“If you’ll have me.” she mutters, “I am…unfamiliar with how it works, but according to those corny books Luz always reads but when events like this occur two witches, or magicians, are considered friends.”
“Hey, Azura’s a bit cheesy but it’s not that bad.” Amity says defensively but it was said with a smile on her face, “And yeah…I’d like that.”
***
“Hoot, hoot, wel-!” Hooty was interrupted when Hope snaps her fingers and a bubble materialises around his head, not wanting his annoying voice to ruin her good mood.
“Guess what happened today? I just made-” She opens the door expecting to find Luz only to look surprised at Kevin, his armour with visible claw and bite marks, looking exhausted as he drags himself to the kitchen.
“Hope?” he turns back exhausted and surprised, “You’re back already. Rough day?”
He asks gesturing to her robes which were ruffled from the earlier fight with Otabin.
She shrugs, “I can say the same for you.”
“Long story.” he groans as he opens the fridge and searches through it, “Null Void. Spent the whole day there with Gus and his pal, Matt.”
Hope’s jaw dropped upon hearing the news, “...How in the Ancient Signs did that happen?! You just went to some school club meeting to show off tech! Did you bring a Null Void projector or something?”
“Of course not, but…it’s a long story.” he mutters as he pulls out a bottle of red liquid before reading the label, “Appleblood? 5% alcohol? I’ll take it.”
He takes two glasses and holds them out to Hope, “I ain’t telling the story sober. After today, I need a damn drink. You?”
Hope thinks for a moment before shrugging, “After today, I can use a glass.”
“The two of us agreeing and drinking. Just when I think I couldn’t be more surprised,” he says drily as he walks back to the living room before pouring each of them a glass, sinking into the couch before they toasted,
“So my day…” he sighs as he took a sip, “Let’s just say one of Gus’ friends found something they shouldn’t have and brought it to our little show and tell…”
Notes:
So that's it for this chapter! Next will be about Kevin and his adventures with Gus and Matt including how they got in and out of the Null Void. And after their chapter we'll be covering what Luz, Eda and King have been up to with the Bat babies. Hope you all enjoyed Hope and Amity interacting with each other, as well as some focus on Hope.
Chapter 18: More Fanart Commissioned
Chapter Text
Fanart I commissioned from Maryjane Stewart featuring Luz and her Boiling Isles Playlist so far (excluding Snaggleback since no in-story appearance yet). Featuring from left to right, Snakeshifter, Tentadrake, Skullhound and Lzuura
Chapter 19: Null Void Ventured
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
* Hours after One’s attack*
“Alright, I’m glad that everyone was able to recover from our recent demon attack and make it for our club meeting.” Gus exclaims excitedly as he puts on his club president’s crown, “I hereby declare the start of this week’s Human Appreciation Society meeting. And boy do I have something to show you guys. But be warned, nothing leaves this room, understand?”
The club members mutter to each other in confusion and excitement, but they could also tell their club president is being serious. All but one of them nods, looking too bored to care.
“Hours ago when a demon attacked our school and drained most of us of our magic, they were all stopped by a handful of Detention Track students, I’m sure you’ve heard of that by now.” Gus continues as he takes out his camera, extracting the film beetle from it and stuffs it inside the projector, “But what happened to the demon, I hear you ask. Well, they were taken by none other…than the Plumbers from the Human Realm.”
Gus clicks it on and proceeds to show a slideshow, men in strange white armour with helmets that cover their faces, dragging away an unconscious basilisk in a type of energy net. The photos were taken without their knowledge, from a floor window above, as they dragged the basilisk through the courtyard with one of them unmasked, a human with shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes.
The club members immediately began ooh-ing and ah-ing at the picture of a real human.
“That’s a real human! How many humans are there in the Isles?” one of the club members, a Bard Track biped demon named Enrique asks.
“Hmm hmm hmmph.” Eileen, a biped demon with her entire head consisting of a giant eyeball mumbles in surprise and awe.
“That’s right!” Gus continues, “An organisation from the Human Realm called the Plumbers, and not only that, they work alongside their own version of demons, called…aliens! Creatures from beyond their stars. They coexist and work together to take down criminals like their own version of the Emperor’s Coven.”
The club explodes into muttering and whispers, as Gus smiles in satisfaction, glad that his fellow club members were just as excited as he was when he found out. As the club members started discussing each other theories, one of them scoffs loudly.
“Plumbers? You seriously couldn’t come up with a better lie than that?”
“Huh?” Gus asks confused as their newest member, Mattholomule, stood up and waves at the projector.
“Is that all this club has to offer? Some lousy edited pics?” he scoffs, “Those are obviously some random demon hunter group or something, and that ‘human’ is actually a witch with their pointy ears edited out.”
His club members began muttering to themselves, sounding like they agreed with him.
“But this is real!” Gus protests, “I was there! I saw them, Willow can back me up! And you guys have seen a human in school with us! Luz’s part of the Plumbers, she can vouch for me!”
“Ha, you’ll probably get your friends to lie in front of us, am I right?” Mattholomule asks the club who nods in agreement.
“Yeah, he’s kinda right,” Enrique, the Bard track student says.
“We can’t exactly take his word for it, even if he’s our president.” Bo, a witch from the Healing Track, agreed.
Mattholomule suddenly climbed the table, “I don’t know about you but I don’t think we should have a liar as our club president. You need someone who actually knows what they’re talking about, like me.”
“You?!” Gus exclaims angered at the accusations and now this newcomer was suddenly going after his position? That was going too far.
“Yeah.” Mattholomule smirks confidently, “I’ve been collecting some human artefacts myself, and just last month I found myself an ancient relic that I’ve been working on restoring. And get this…it’s a magical relic.”
This garnered some attraction from the rest of the club who expressed both disbelief and awe.
“No way! A magic relic from the Human Realm? Matt, you gotta show us, man!”
“Yeah! If that’s true then Matt for president!”
Gus starts sweating but then composes himself, “Well…then why don’t you bring it here and show us?”
Mattholomule smirks, “Oh I just figured it was too much of a bother, but if it’ll prove my word is as good as the snails in my pockets, I don’t mind lugging it to school tomorrow. But if I do, I think I should be club president.”
“What?! You can’t do that!” Gus exclaims.
“Can’t I? According to the rules, elections are held every month. Might as well have an early election day, what do you say?” Mattholomule turns to the club, “A little contest! We bring the best human artefacts to tomorrow’s meeting, and the one that’s voted the best becomes the next club president!”
The club claps and cheers, agreeing to this contest as Gus sweats nervously. Mattholomule has already won the crowd over and now his presidency was in danger. As he tries to think what he could possibly bring to upstage Matt, he turns to the projector with the picture of the Plumbers dragging the basilisk, focusing on Kevin Levin in the picture, an idea forming in his head.
***
The next day, as early as he could get up before school starts, he makes a mad dash to the Owl House. His calls weren’t getting through yesterday and Luz wasn’t found anywhere at school which made him lose a little bit of sleep in his worry.
It took him a while, and he got lost a few times, but eventually, he managed to find his way to the isolated house where he was greeted by a house demon.
“Hoot hoot! Eda you have a guest!” he bellows as the door cracks open, an irritated Owl Lady looking through the gap.
“Ugh, who is it?” she mutters before her eyes widening in recognition, “Oh hey, the guy from the Covention. Goops?”
“Gus!” he corrects before quickly asking, “Is Luz home? Or any of the humans? I need to talk with them now!”
“Hey, hey, take it easy kid.” Eda says looking concerned at how exhausted he looked, opening the door wider, “Come in, tell me what’s going-?”
They were interrupted by a loud screech as Eda turned back to the kitchen, annoyed, “King, I swear to Titan if you do that one more time! That’s not going to work you know?!”
“I’m going to get my powers back, you’ll see! You will all rue the day you doubted the King of Demons!” King declared, as Eda ignored him and gestured for Gus to come inside.
“So, what’s the deal?” Eda asks as Gus catches his breath.
“I need Luz’s help.” he says urgently, “I run the Human Appreciation Society, and my presidency’s in danger! If I don’t bring some mega-awesome human artefact tomorrow I’m doomed! I need to borrow her Omnitrix so I can show it to my club! There’s no way anything’s cooler than that!”
Eda blinks at him for a second before sighing, “And here I thought it was something important. Look, Luz’s busy in the Human Realm, something about interrogating that basilisk they captured. But there are a couple other humans here you can ask for-”
Just as she was about to finish, they were interrupted by a shouting match from the door leading to the tower next to the Owl House.
“-plenty of friends! And no, just because I love spending time with my car doesn’t mean I don’t have a life. But that’s something we can’t say the same for you, can we?” a familiar male voice says before kicking the door open, a duffel bag full of strange tech in his arms. He blinks upon seeing Gus on the couch with Eda, “Ah, Luz’s pal…Gus, right? What’re you doing here?”
Before Eda could explain, Gus stands up and walks up to Kevin, “I need help. Badly!”
He explains his problems quickly but clearly as possible, with Kevin humming and nodding as he does so.
“And to make it worse, I need to bring something cooler than Mattholomule does or I’ll lose my presidency.” Gus finishes explaining, “So I need help.”
“Hmm, Luz’s gonna be busy. Processing and questioning the prisoner’s gonna be a lotta work.” Kevin shrugs, “Right now she’s busy interrogating her for information on the other basilisks. Who knows how long that’ll take?”
“What about Hope?” Gus asks desperately and Kevin shrugs before calling out behind him.
“Hey Hope, you heard that? What do you think?” he asks before he hears something thrown down the stairs, more than likely having been aimed at him only to bounce off the floor, “I’ll take that as a no. And before you ask, I got a bunch of legal loopholes I need to jump through so I can possess these legally questionable tech for my car. Sorry, Gus.”
Kevin says gesturing to his duffel bag as he starts leaving before Gus quickly shouts,
“I have a lot of that stuff!” he says, causing Kevin to stop, “Y-yeah, I bought a lot of them from the Owl Lady! Sometimes she sells them for pretty cheap prices, enough for me to get with my allowance, enough that I have a closet full of them back home! Filled to the brim!”
“Really? I don’t remember selling that much.” Eda mutters in thought.
“You can’t even remember my name.” Gus reminds trying to keep the desperation out of his tone. Eda thinks for a moment before shrugging,
“You got me there, kid.” she concedes as Kevin’s expression shifts from disinterest to interest in seconds. He instantly puts an arm around Gus’ shoulders, which required him to bend down a bit as he was far taller,
“Gus, buddy, friend of mine, of course I'll help you.” he says in a friendly tone, “Because we’re friends, and friends help each other out occasionally handing out favours and gifts like rare alien tech. Don’t they?”
“Yeah, they do.” Gus nods quickly as Kevin slaps him in the back.
“Great, hear that Hope?” he yells back at the tower, sounding vindicated, “I have a friend who needs my help, which I’m gladly offering because it’s what friends do! And it’s going to be a fun day because it’s what having a life means!”
“...Is everything alright?” Gus asks feeling awkward, like he was caught between an argument of sorts, but Kevin just pats him on the back.
“Nothing important, all that matters is that it’s going to be a fun day between two friends, with the possibility of me getting paid in alien tech.” he smirks, “If that doesn’t sound like it’s gonna be a great day, I don’t know what does.”
“So I’ll go tell my club that you’ll be coming to show some human stuff?” Gus asks hopefully and Kevin nods, “Great! So what will you be bringing?”
Kevin chuckles, “You let me worry about that, my man.”
***
“One Mk 12 Techadorian Multiblaster with five standard charge packs, one Washington-model Directed Energy Pulse rifle with two high capacity drum magazines, an under-barrel projectile launcher modification with the standard assortment of five multi-functional grenades, one Nixon-model concealable plasma pistol with five cylindrical fuel canisters, and one fully-fueled and operational standard Plumber suit.” the Gravesfield Plumbers Outpost’s armourer ticks off the checklist as he gives the paperwork one last look before raising a brow, “All the paperwork is in order, they’ll be ready in a few minutes. If you don’t mind me asking sport, what’s all this firepower for? You going to a warzone?”
Kevin smirks, “Nope, a show and tell.”
“...You don’t have to be sarcastic.” the armourer mutters as he grabs the weapons from the shelves behind him, setting them in front of him for Kevin to collect.
***
“Matty! Breakfast is ready!” his mom calls out from the floor below him.
“Not now, Mom! I’m busy!” Mattholomule shouts from his room as he pulls out a box from under his bed, taking out a strange tube device with a button on top of it that was attached to something that looks like a curved and round mirror. But he quickly discovers that when the button was pressed it shot some kind of red beam that instantly evaporated anything it touched! Truly it must’ve been some powerful weapon wielded by ancient humans. He guessed that from how rusted it looked, with the strange mirror that he assumed focused the beam being slightly cracked and the button jams sometimes.
But this will be way cooler than whatever Augustus could bring to the table. Who cares if it was a real human, if he was somehow able to get his hands on one, this would blow it out of the water and soon the presidency will be his. Power and drama at the same time! And here he thought his time at Hexside was going to be boring.
***
“Kevin! You’re here!” Gus cries in relief at the sight of Kevin, wearing a full suit of Plumber armour and wheeling in a tarp-covered cart, “Did you bring the human treasures?”
“I brought some gear from the Plumber’s outpost.” Kevin nods with a smirk, patting it, “Should be good enough to win you your presidency. I’d love to see this Matt guy bring something that tops these. Your crown is as good as safe, your majesty.”
Gus sighs, his tension easing at how confident Kevin sounded, as he pats his presidency paper crown.
“That’s great…” He says with relief before gesturing behind him, “Now let’s go, the club should be waiting for us.”
“Right.” Kevin nods as he follows Gus before asking out of curiosity, “So, I’m just curious. Why humans? I mean, we’re not exactly the most interesting species. Like I’m sometimes embarrassed to tell people I’m from Earth.”
Gus looks surprised by his question before looking awkward, “It’s…we don’t know much about you humans. You’re a mystery to us; before you, Luz and Hope showed up the only thing we knew about humans was what we were able to glean from your treasures that were washed up and sold by the Owl Lady.”
“Huh, alright,” Kevin says not believing that was the complete reason. But hey, the young illusionist wasn’t exactly the only guy with secrets, and he knows that there is stuff he’d rather not ever tell anyone, so he lets it go.
“We’re here, I’ll go ahead and when you hear my signal, you come in. Got that?” Gus explains his plan to Kevin who nods in understanding, “Good. Well, it’s show time.”
They approach the door leading to the club meeting where Gus takes a breath, hyping himself up before he marches through with as much confidence as he could muster,
“Human! Human! Human!” Kevin hears a small group chanting from within as soon as Gus entered before Gus claps, silencing them.
“Human Appreciation Society.” Gus says dramatically, “I am glad for you to take the time out of your busy schedules for this impromptu election. And as promised, I’ve brought you a human! A legendary hero from the Human Realm, a member of the Plumbers, Kevin Ethan Levin!”
Kevin takes that as his cue and walks in, pushing the cart in front of him as he waves to four witches and bipedal demons. Immediately they all have different reactions, with a weird unicorn-cyclops hybrid and a witch with brown hair and freckles clapping enthusiastically, some humanoid girl with an eye for a head squealing in excitement somehow despite lacking a mouth. However, the only one to react with boredom by yawning was a kid wearing a brown Hexside uniform, who Gus had informed him earlier was Mattholomule, his opponent in this club election.
He subtly scoffs at the boy before smirking confidently, waving to the club members as he wheels in the cart.
“And as promised, Kevin here has plenty of human treasures to show you, doesn’t he?” Gus nudges him with an elbow trying to hide how nervous he sounded.
“Got that right, Gus.” he assures as he moves to in front of the classroom where the club was held, “Everyone, like you just heard, the name’s Kevin Levin. Deputy Agent of the Plumbers, and I don’t want to hear a single joke about plumbing. We don’t fix pipes and toilets, we handle a different sort of problem. We’re the best of the best in our entire galaxy, or Realm as you call it.”
“So are you like demon hunters in the Human Realm?” the unicorn-cyclops asks, “Or maybe like the Emperor’s Coven?”
Kevin laughs, “Ha! Those pansies? Let me tell you something, I’ve seen those Coven guys in action and I’m not impressed. Do you know what it took for me to graduate from the academy as a Deputy Agent? Some of the most intense training the galaxy’s ever known. I’m talking survival training on asteroids, jetpack combat in zero-g environments, linguistics, front-line trauma care for alien biology, law enforcement, interrogation resistance, and mastery over every known craft and weapon in the galaxy. And that’s just what I learnt in weeks. Real field agents? They take three years. Special Forces? Five years to become the baddest sons of guns there are in our corner of the universe.”
All of that sounded very impressive to the club members except for Mattholomule who yawned again.
“So you’re not even a real ‘Plumber’.” he says while displaying air quotes with his fingers, “Guess we know who not to call when our toilets break.”
Kevin bites his bottom lip to restrain his anger, knowing that the guy was trying to rile him up and lose face in front of everyone, therefore costing Gus his election. So he just smiles,
“Well, you’re right about that. I’m not a fully commissioned field agent,” he says as he reaches for the tarp and pulls it over, revealing a small arsenal of weapons. To the club members they were strange devices they’d never seen before, even Mattholomule raising a brow in curiosity.
“But in my opinion experience matters more. Let’s head out to that field outside, and I’ll show you how much experience I have.”
***
In five seconds he blasted down five of the aerial target practice drones he had unleashed in what looked like an unoccupied rugby field. Kevin blew the smoke off the barrel of the multiblaster as most of the club members and Gus clapped in awe at the sight.
“Fires in standard three firing modes, a three-round burst, full auto and semi-auto. Of course that’s just the standard, the Mark 12 Techadonian Multiblaster is one of the most powerful and customisable weapons you’ll find in the Milky Way galaxy which is why it’s the standard firearm for Plumber agents. There’s no shape and size it can’t be customised into, for example…”
He slaps on another barrel under the weapon before firing it again into the air where more drones were. The grenade splits mid-air into small homing projectiles, seeking their targets and blowing them all to scrap.
“Multi-purpose grenades.” he explains to his audience, “Useful for nearly every scenario whether you need to stun your targets, organics or synthetics, or destroy them. But if that’s not your style…”
Kevin flicks a switch near the trigger of the multiblaster before firing at a stationary target he also set up, holding the trigger as the end of the barrel glowed yellow. The target was made up of thick metal plates but a concentrated and focused beam of plasma shoots out that instantly melted the dummy to slag.
“If you want absolutely nothing left, you can fire a bolt of energy up to three pettawatts.” Kevin says proudly before ejecting a spent energy pack and venting the excess heat from the multiblaster, “Doesn’t come without its drawbacks though, it burns through an energy pack near instantly and in the wrong circumstances it might cause it to blow, taking out anything within a ten-foot radius. But let's say you want something safer, there’s always the Washington-model DER rifle.”
He collapses the multiblaster and magnetised it to his back, pulls out a rifle from the cart and shows it to the club with a bit of pride, “A completely human design manufactured on Earth. Earth Plumbers back in the Cold War didn’t have much access to the main Plumber supply chain so they had to improvise.”
He ejects the drum magazine before slinging the rifle across his shoulders with the strap, and then ejecting a plasma cell from the magazine,
“Plasma cell.” he explains, “Instead of firing a beam of energy straight from an energy pack they fired a shell with plasma energy. There’s a bit more of a kick to it than a multiblaster, and the Rushmore model isn’t nearly as customisable but it does the job.”
He loads back the rifle before firing it again at more targets, instead of a whine of an energy-based weapon there was more the sound of thunder similar to that of a basic kinetic weapon, as plasma shells fired in three bursts, shredding up any targets they hit with explosive blue bolts.
“Human agents call this one of the most reliable guns in their arsenal. It can be drowned in mud, and water and spend a week covered in dirt in the middle of a rainforest but you won’t feel a thing off about its performance. Of course, they didn’t spend all their time with these, sometimes missions call for a more…subtler touch.”
He pulls out a tube from his belt and clicks a button before it expands into a rectangular device with the tube as the grip, firing three bolts of plasma into the remaining target, blowing off its head with perfect accuracy.
“Washington-model concealable plasma pistol.” he says as he returns the pistol to its concealed form, twirling it before hanging it on his utility belt, “You can practically sneak it anywhere, even past most metal detectors. It packs quite a punch as well, good enough to punch through 15 inches of titanium with sustained fire but it doesn’t have the best ammo capacity.”
With his demonstration done, the club claps once more, cheering in awe at what they just saw with Mattholomule looking quite nervous.
“Can we try them?” Bo asks excitedly and both Eileen and the unicorn-cyclops witch whose name he didn’t catch were staring at his weapons eagerly as well.
“Maybe later, we don’t want to interrupt what Matt here has to show.” he glances at Gus’ presidency contender and steps aside to let him have the stage, standing next to Gus, “And remember to vote for Gus if you want to see more demonstrations like this with real tech from the Human Realm.”
“That was amazing!” Gus whispers to Kevin who smiles smugly.
“I aim to please.” He says as he crosses his arms looking at Mattholomule expectantly, “Now show us what you got. We don’t have all day.”
Mattholomule grumbles in annoyance as he reaches into his bag before setting up what looks like empty bottles across the field, which has everyone looking on with curiosity as to what he was doing. Then he walks a few paces away from them and clears his throat,
“Fellow witches and humans, allow me to demonstrate why I should be the one elected for the presidency. Sure these human weapons brought by this human were flashy, but what I’m about to show you will really blow your minds. Something even better, that completely disintegrates instead of shooting some puny lights.” he smirks as he reaches into his bag and pulls out an object, causing Kevin’s eyes to widen in shock and horror at what he was seeing.
“No…” he mutters at the sight of the Null Void projector held together with duct tape. Mattholomule raises it and was about to push the button when he shouts, “PUT THAT DOWN!”
However, the warning was unheeded as Mattholomule pressed the button and fires a red beam that strikes one of the bottles, wrapping around it and causing it to disappear completely.
“Wha-?” Mathholomule asks as Kevin immediately begins storming over.
“Where the hell did you get that thing? Are you crazy?” he asks reaching forward, “Give me that thing now!”
“Hey, are you trying to sabotage me or something?” Mattholomule asks as he waves the Null Void projector in his general direction causing him to stop and flinch, “Are you really going to stoop that low to get your position, Augustus?”
“Mattholomule, I think you should listen to him. Put that thing down now.” Gus orders as he steps forward following Kevin, whatever it was it got Kevin spooked so it probably wasn’t anything that good.
“...I’m going to assume you’re getting carried away with gesturing that thing, and you’re not aiming it at me.” Kevin says carefully, “But what you’re holding is dangerous Level 15 technology. Not only that, it's Plumber tech. You’re breaking a dozen intergalactic laws just by firing that thing! Now put it down before you get all of us killed!”
“Oh please, this thing’s perfectly safe. I’ve been using it all week now.” Mattholomule shrugs off and continues his demonstration, hitting the empty bottles with the Null Void projector until his third short where he presses the button and nothing happens.
“What? Er, just give me a moment,” he says worried as he starts smacking the thing throwing Kevin into further fear and frustration before he notices red sparks emitting from the device.
“Everyone get down!” he shouts as he leaps towards the Null Void projector hoping to kick it away to at least mitigate the damage before a flash of red light engulfs his vision.
***
“Urgh…” Mattholomule groans as he rubs his head as opens his eyes, widening to find a red starry sky above him. That definitely wasn’t what he last saw, but then he realised something.
“Hey, where did it go?” he cries out as he searches himself, patting himself down and searching for his human artefact only to find it missing. Before he can react he feels himself picked up and face to face with a very angry human.
“You absolute IDIOT!” Kevin roars directly at Mattholomule’s face, “You stupid piece of…! I could kill you! Do you know what you did?!”
“Kevin, what’s going on?” Gus asks as he looks around frantically. One moment they were in the grudgby field and suddenly they were on what looked to be a floating island with red skies. Looking up his jaw drops as he finds all across the skies were more floating islands of all shapes and sizes.
“This idiot had a Null Void projector!” Kevin shouts as he holds Mattholomule by the collar of his clothes, “The Galvans made it for the Plumbers to throw the worst of the worst in the entire galaxy! An inescapable prison! And this idiot has us stuck there!”
He throws Mattholomule down on the ground roughly and glares back at Kevin, “H-how was I supposed to know that thing was some kinda portal to another realm! I just found that dang thing on the beach!”
“If you had dropped it when I told you to, none of this would have happened!” Kevin shouts back before Gus interrupts them.
“Guys!” he tries grabbing their attention back, “What are we going to do now? How are we going to get out?”
Kevin growls as he tries to think of a plan as well as trying to keep his breathing steady, “Okay…okay...Our first plan should be finding shelter. Somewhere safe for us to think of something, this place is way too open.”
“Open?” Gus asks confused about what he means but Mattholomule cuts Kevin off before he could respond.
“Hah, he probably has no idea what to do.” he says before gesturing to himself confidently, “I’ve gone to detention plenty of times back in my old school, and let me tell you only the best and strongest survive in detention.”
“I swear to god if you say one more word-!” Kevin says, getting increasingly frustrated with the words coming out of his voice when suddenly something lunges up from the edge of the floating island where Mattholomule was standing, causing him to scream as he was carried off.
“Mattholomule!” Gus cries out in shock as he sees a grey creature with bat-like wings and tentacles for legs carry off Mattholomule with its teeth by his hood.
Kevin curses and pulls out his multiblaster, taking aim and inhaling, before exhaling and firing off a single powerful shot that punches through the wings of the creature, timing it just right so it falls on another nearby floating island.
“Hold on tight.” was the only warning he gave Gus before grabbing him by the waist and activating his suit’s jet boots to fly, descending to the other island quickly as the creature recovers. It roars at him and energy crackles in its mouth but he interrupts it with a burst of fire from his multiblaster.
Again it roars in pain from the energy bolts pelting at its skin before it throws itself off the floating island, using its damaged wing to weakly fly away in pain, figuring its latest prey was too much trouble.
Gus quickly rushes over to Mattholomule only to find him unconscious, either fainted from fear of being devoured by the creature or from the impact.
“We need to get going.” Kevin urges as he holsters his multiblaster and picks up the unconscious Mattholomule, albeit reluctantly, “It won’t be long before the thing calls for backup. Null Guardians never travel alone.”
“Null Guardians?” Gus asks.
“Every prison needs prison guards. The Galvans genetically engineered these to make sure what comes into the Null Void stays in the Null Void. It isn’t a punishment if you spend your sentence in peace and quiet here.” Kevin mutters before he hears the flapping of wings, turning before he pales at the sight of an approaching pack of Null Guardians across the horizon, “Time to go!”
Gus sees this and agrees, breaking into a run as he tries to keep up with Kevin who fires behind him with his concealable plasma pistol. However, the island was quite small and soon they were faced with its edge quickly approaching them.
“Cliff!” Gus points out in fear and Kevin curses again, pocketing his plasma pistol before he grabs Gus again with his free hand, leaping over into the endless abyss as the young witch screams, followed by the sound of snapping jaws behind them.
***
“Alright. We should be far enough from them. Null Guardians don’t like going into caves. ” Kevin says as he uses his kit within his utility belt to start a small campfire to give them some warmth. Both Mattholomule and Gus hover their hands above the fire to warm up.
“Finally!” Mattholomule mutters, “Took you long enough.”
Gus ignores him and turns to Kevin, “So what’s the plan? You gotta have something to get us out of here, right? The Plumbers built that thing that brought us here, do they have something to get us out?”
“It isn’t as easy as it sounds.” Kevin grumbles as he sat down on a rock flat enough to serve as a seat, “It takes less effort to breach into the Null Void than it does to breach out of it. Even if we did have the tech, the danger is that nothing’s the same, if we pop out of the Null Void now from where we are chances are we end up in the bottom of an ocean, or right into the sun.”
“...That sounds bad,” Mattholomule says as Gus stares in silence.
“Smartest thing that came out of your mouth all day.” Kevin mutters before sighing, “But don’t worry, there are two ways we might be able to get out of here. Option one, we wait until someone back home notices we’re missing, figure out we got sucked into the Null Void, and send a search party to look for us. That’ll be…two weeks if my math is right.”
“Two weeks?!” both students exclaim as Gus sighs, “My dad’s gonna kill me when I get home.”
“Just your dad? Both my parents are gonna skin me alive for this!” Mattholomule groans.
“That’s not even the worst part. Our food supplies are an issue, the standard Plumber kit has enough food and water for a field agent to last a week without supplies. But with three of us, it won’t be enough to last a week, let alone two. And don’t even think about hunting those Null Guardians, they’re made to be inedible, you’ll just give yourself food poisoning.” Kevin says as he unloads his multiblaster to check the remaining charge, “I won’t recommend this option. We’d starve and make ourselves easy picking for the Null Guardians, or any schmuck we tossed in here. There’s a reason being sentenced to the Null Void is considered worse than a death sentence, and to even be considered being sentenced here means you’d have to be the worst of the worst.”
Both of the students stare at him in shock and horror, the full weight of their situation sinking in as Gus suddenly feels the urge to empty his stomach. Mattholomule doesn't seem to be afraid, looking like he was sweating in nervousness and fear.
“B-but that’s just one option right?” Gus asks and Kevin nods.
“Of course, but option two might be a bit more risky depending on your point of view. We find our own way out.” Kevin continues as he pulls out his badge and holds it out, creating a red holographic map, “A while ago a Magister by the name of Manuel Noceda, Luz’s old man, was stranded in the Null Void. It’s a long story but he’s probably left behind some tech we can use to contact the Plumbers and send out a distress beacon. With luck, we’d be home before dinner.”
He points to the spot where the location was and where they were currently at, “It’s a bit of a walk from here, about an hour. We’d be exposed to Null Guardians and other prisoners of the Null Void. It’s a risk but it’s the quickest way we can get out of the Null Void. What do you think?”
“Well, I think-” Mattholomule was about to say but Kevin cuts him off angrily.
“You got us stuck here in the first place, you don’t get a damn opinion on this!” He shouts enraged before calming down and turning to Gus, “What do you think?”
Gus pauses in thought, weighing these options. Finding a way out sounds more appealing despite the risk, the thought of spending two weeks here starving and hunted by those monsters was a terrifying one.
“I think…we should take our chances,” Gus says hesitantly as Mattholomule grumbles.
“I was gonna say the same thing.” he mutters, “It hasn’t even been a day here, and I’m already tired of this place! I don’t want to spend another minute here!”
“Good, neither do I.” Kevin says as he turns off the badge before fastening it to his belt buckle, “Get your rest, we’re moving out in five. Hope you all love cardio.”
***
“You know…if you had just made me the president…none of this would’ve happened!” Mattholomule pants as he scales a rocky hill with Gus beside him in a similar state of exhaustion.
“What…?” Gus asks confused and then angered, “I was just…defending my position…what about you? Why did you even want to be president so bad?”
“What else? Power and drama!” Mattholomule shouts as he takes another step up the hill, “And I could’ve had both if you just gave it to me! What about you? You probably love the power you get.”
“I’m curious myself.” Kevin says from ahead of them, speaking for the first time since they left their cave, his eyes scanning the perimeter and multiblaster in his arms, “You were willing to hand over what sounds like a lot of tech for me to show up. Why’s that?”
Gus hesitates to answer before doing so with a sigh, “I just didn’t want to be overlooked! Being younger than everyone’s hard, and the H.A.S is where I felt that I mattered, where I can make sure no one would get left behind. I didn’t want to lose that.”
“...Well, I guess that’s why you wanted me there so badly.” Kevin mutters, “Enough to lie about giving me alien tech for it.”
Gus flushes in embarrassment, “Y-you knew?!”
Kevin looks back with a smirk, “It was more of a guess. You sounded a bit too desperate and frantic when you told me you just so happen to have enough alien tech to fill a closet if I helped you.”
“...Sorry. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.” Gus says looking embarrassed and guilty but Kevin just shrugs.
“It ain’t your fault, Gus. Honestly, I came along just to piss off Hope.” he grumbles at the memory, “We were arguing, she was annoyed at me, the usual. But then I said something about how she doesn’t have a life, no friends besides us, and she says the same to me. I came to prove her wrong.”
“Well…” Gus hesitates before speaking, “We can be friends. I don’t have many friends besides Willow and Luz. And I’d like to learn more about the Human Realm.”
“Well, this is just sweet.” Mattholomule says sarcastically, “But how about we focus on how far we got left?!”
Kevin checks his badge, opening the map, “There’s not much longer left. We’re lucky no Null Guardians have shown up so far, so we should make double time and get into shelter quickly.”
As they finished ascending the hill, they found the island where the signal was coming from to be just another island away.
Kevin curses and checks the computer on his wrist, finding his fuel to be running low after the few islands they had to hop across while carrying the other two students.
“We need to find another way.” Kevin says, “The jump’s too far. Gus, can you magic us across or something?”
Mattholomule smirks, “Well you’re asking the wrong witch. Illusions are practically useless. Watch and learn.”
He draws an orange circle before slamming it into the edge of the island, creating a bridge not connecting the islands but closing the distance enough for the jump to be manageable.
“See?” Mattholomule smirks smugly.
“Guess saving you from the Null Guardians was a good idea after all.” Kevin says, “Alright, I’ll jump first, then you two follow afterwards. Alright?”
With their nods, he moves back a few feet before jumping at the last moment off the incomplete bridge, barely managing to snag onto the edge in time. The kids scream at this in fear of him falling to his death, but he pulls himself up and across the edge.
“Alright…” he pants in relief before gesturing to the two of them, “Now your turn. Jump and I’ll catch you.”
Both of them look at each other unsure before Mattholomule pushes Gus forward with a bump to the shoulder, “You first.”
“I…” Gus looks down over the edge, paling at the bottomless red abyss that stretched infinitely. He shudders in fear and before he can argue or offer an excuse, a faint roar startles them as they all turned to find a pack of Null Guardians over the distance, spotting them.
Remembering their last encounter, Mattholomule immediately pushes Gus aside, “I changed my mind! Me first!”
He runs as fast as he can across the unfinished bridge and screamed, barely getting caught by Kevin stretching his arms out, throwing him behind to safety as he pulled out his multiblaster, firing suppressive fire to divert the Null Guardians’ attention.
“Gus! Jump! Now!” Kevin orders as Gus freezes, caught between flight and fight. However, before the Null Guardians could close, a high pitch screech was heard causing everyone to flinch, except the Null Guardians who appear to be struggling and in agony as the pack dispersed.
“Get inside my hut! Now!”
They all turn to find a figure in a tattered cloak with the hood up concealing his face, however, Kevin’s eyes widen as he spots the figure appearing to be wearing a blue uniform under the cloak, identical to that of the old standard Earth Plumber uniform.
The figure throws a handheld device across the gap and onto the other island, “That battery isn’t gonna last forever boy, if you want to live then jump now!”
Reacting finally, Gus runs through the incomplete bridge before jumping, both Kevin and the mysterious stranger reaching out to catch him before he could fall over the ledge.
“Easy there boy, we got you!” the stranger says before running back to some kind of hut made of scrap metal, “Better hurry! My guess is we only got a minute before that thing runs out of juice, we need to get out of sight by then!”
The group makes a mad dash to the hut, pushing through a piece of tarp that makes up the door as they burst inside finding an already lit campfire in the centre of the room surrounded with pieces of technology.
“There, we should be safe now.” the stranger says before he hears a hum, “...Kid, I’m going to assume you ain’t well versed in firearm safety, and not pointing the dang thing at the back of my neck.”
“We’re in the Null Void. Forgive me for being mistrustful.” Kevin says as he points the multiblaster at the back of the stranger, “Who the hell are you? I recognise that uniform, old Plumber standard issue on Earth-”
“Because our chain of supply was that messed up we can’t afford the fancy standard power armour.” the stranger finishes before turning around to face Kevin, “...So what the hell’s a kid like you doing in that getup?”
“Deputised Agent of the Plumbers.” Kevin says not letting up, “Now it's your turn. What’s your name?”
“Name?” he chuckles, “God I can’t remember the last time anybody asked me that…we’ll anybody who wasn’t trying to kill or torture me for wearing the uniform. Haven’t used it in so long it feels almost…alien to me.”
The stranger says this as he removes his hood, revealing a face that was dishevelled with an unkept beard and long greying hair tied into a ponytail, a nasty scar running across his right eye. Despite the age, Kevin’s eyes immediately widen in recognition,
“My name… is Phil Billings.”
***
“Come on kids, go ahead and eat up.” Phil gestures to the meat roasting over the campfire on a spike, sitting on an improvised stool as he cuts off slices with a sharp piece of metal fashioned into a knife, “Fresh Vulpimancer meat, you made it in time to join me for lunch. Or dinner? Lost track of time and it nearly drove me crazy here.”
Mattholomule and Gus had no objections, taking their own piece of offered meat and devouring them hungrily. All except for Kevin who eyes him nervously, “...I think I’m good sir.”
Phil scoffs, “Come on, I know what the rations are like. Trust me, Vulpimancer steak’s tough and chewy as hell but at least it tastes better than stale ramen-flavoured packaging foam.”
“So you’re a Plumber as well, sir?” Gus asks as he chews on his meat, using his fangs to tear into it easier.
“Former. It’s a long story.” Phil shrugs as Kevin scoffs quietly.
“I bet it was,” he whispers under his breath.
“What about you three? How did three kids end up in the Null Void?” Phil asks as he bites into his own piece of meat, tearing off a huge chunk.
“Well, this idiot over here brought a Null Void projector to show and tell with a cracked focusing lens wrapped with duct tape.” Kevin glares at Mattholomule who looks away nervously and embarrassed.
Phil just blinks before returning to his meal, “Well, that’s a stupid way to get locked up here. For a moment I thought you three were genius, psychopathic criminals terrible enough to be sent here despite being kids. Possibly the kill count of an entire planet or two under your name.”
“...Is that what’s needed to be in here?” Gus asks suddenly nervous around the stranger.
Phil laughs, “Depends on the committee’s mood but yeah, essentially. You know there’s a whole committee we had to set up for the Null Void use? To make sure it’s all ethical and squeaky clean, and only those who deserve it get sent through.”
“Then what about you?” Mattholomule asks, cautious as well.
Phil chuckles, “Just a sad case of a misunderstanding. Friendly fire you might say. Now, I don’t believe I got any of your names yet?”
“Gus.”
“Mattholomule.”
They introduce themselves before turning to Kevin who bites his bottom lip before answering, “Er…It’s Charlie…Reisz.”
He makes up desperately as Phil chuckles at Kevin, “Yeah I get you don’t trust me. Fake names are understandable. But if we’re gonna get out of here you should start trusting me.”
“What are you talking about?” Gus asks excitedly.
“Do you know a way out?!” Mattholomule asks as well.
“In a way.” he shrugs, “I take it you kids had the same idea I did. Follow the Plumber signal to find tech and send a distress signal out and hope someone would find out. Bad news that this place was pilfered out by the time I got here. Nothing left to make use of except this hut. It’s a neat hut though, good for shelter..”
“Damn it.” Kevin curses in frustration but Phil surprised him.
“But now that you are here, something tells me we have a chance.” he smirks, “Tell me, you kids ever heard of the Skeleton Key?”
Both Mattholomule and Gus look at Phil confused but Kevin’s eyes widen, “You’re kidding! That thing’s a rumour.”
“Ah, but it is true. Not a rumour, but a secret known only to certain Magisters assigned to the &ull Void. Back when we had prison stations there.” he says, “Anyways, for those of you new here, the Skeleton Key’s basically a get-out-of-jail-free card. One use only for emergencies. Back then the Plumbers used to have prisons floating about in the Null Void but they were too expensive to maintain, and turned the Null Void to a fate worse than death punishment. Back then they would have these Skeleton Keys, emergency tools to get the Plumber agent out of this hellhole in case something goes wrong.”
“So you’re saying we can use one of these keys to get out?!” Mattholomule exclaims before realising, “But then how come you’re still here?”
Phil laughs, “Cause it’s practically impossible, you’d need to find it in the first place and then have two Plumber access codes to activate them. I might have the location down, but I’m only one man, but with you here Charlie, I think we have a chance.”
“...So where is the Skeleton Key?” Kevin asks after a pause to think as Phil smirks.
***
Kevin watches the desolated station through a pair of binoculars, with Phil, Gus and Mattholomule beside him, watching from a nearby island.
“Prison station, Vendetta-class.” Kevin mutters in recognition, “Those things are outdated, ancient history. They were replaced by the Enforcer-class three centuries ago, much safer and with more protection from hazards in space.”
Phil nods, “Someone knows their stuff. When the Plumbers left the Null Void, some of the prison stations they couldn’t get out in time were self-destructed, after making sure no one was left inside of course. But one station experienced a malfunction, a cosmic storm wreaked havoc on it making it unable to receive the self-destruct signal. That was five centuries ago, and now it’s a desolated wreck.”
“Where’s the Skeleton Key?” Mattholumule asks as Phil points to an area of the desolated station.
“It’s locked in the warden’s office, fixed to a wall, that’s where we need two badges to unlock the canister holding it.” Phil explains, “I tried cutting the generator but it must be its own power source, and trying to force it open may have caused a self-destruct, that’s why I’ve been trying to look for Plumber tech.”
“...Wouldn’t people be hiding in there?” Gus asks worriedly, “I mean, it looks pretty safe. If I was stuck here, that’s where I’d hide.”
Phil chuckles, “Smart kid. Yeah, places like these are good spots for prisoners to shelter in but don’t worry. I clear it out every week, it’s all taken care of.”
All three of them react to this, Kevin freezing and both Mattholomule and Gus looking at each other nervously as they realise what that means.
“...We should scout it out first, who knows what kinda things have moved in before we arrived,” Kevin says and Phil nods.
“I’ll go give it a look, I know the place best and move quieter on my own,” he says as he lifts a scrap metal spear, giving his back-mounted jetpack a quick whack causing it to sputter before activating, launching him towards the station.
Once they made sure he was out of earshot, Mattholomule whispers to Kevin and Gus, “Alright does anyone else get creepy vibes from him? It can’t just be me.”
“Yeah Kevin, why did you lie about your name?” Gus asks, remembering the fake name Kevin had given Phil.
Kevin sighs, “It’s a long story, but basically Luz and I are the reason he’s in the Null Void in the first place. Five years ago the Plumber branch on Earth was defunct and shut down for decades with the lack of alien activity. Phil stole a Mark Two Null Void projector and used it to release alien criminals so he could recapture them for quick cash. He tried to send Luz to the Null Void so I made a choice, and made sure he went to the Null Void instead of her.”
Both students stare at him in shock before Mattholomule realises something,
“Wait…so if he realises that you are the one who sent him here-!”
“Which is exactly why you should shut the hell up!” Kevin whispers harshly, “Look, we’ll burn the bridge when we cross it, for now, none of you call me by my name. Got it? It’s Charles from now on.”
Before the witch students could respond they hear Kevin’s Plumber badge buzz,
“Charles, it’s Phil. The area is clear. Should be safe for you three to come in, just head to that entry zone.”
The three look up to see a brief red flash of light which Kevin recognises to be a signal in galactic standard Morse code for all clear. Kevin stands up and checks his jet boots' fuel status one more time, having used the fuel Phil had in the hut to refuel some time ago.
He carries the two towards the open hole in the station’s hull, meeting a waving Phil by the entrance, finding themselves in a small room that appears to be a cell.
“Come on.” Phil waves them over heading to the exit with his spear pointed in front of him, “Let’s hurry, the less time we spend here the happier I will be. After so long, it’ll be good to breathe in fresh air once again.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry.” Kevin mutters, “Where’s the warden’s office then?”
“Right now we’re in Cell Block B so the warden’s office should be just a few clicks away in the guard’s area. We just need to make it past the cafeteria, I blocked it off months ago cause a bunch of Havok Beasts made their nest there. Too much effort to clear them out.”
“A nest of Havoks?!” Kevin angrily asks, “You just said this place was clear.”
“Of any prisoners, these are just pests.” Phil shrugs off casually, “Long as you leave them alone, they’ll do the same. Oh right, if you kids see any just stare them right in their eye and slowly back up.”
“Great, anything else we should know?” Mattholomule asks sarcastically but Phil must’ve mistaken it for a genuine question as he strokes his chin,
“Hmm. Yeah, after the cafeteria we need to head to the old tram station and walk from there through the maintenance tunnels since there’s no power for the tram. Should be thirty minutes of walking. That's where it gets tricky because the floors are a bit deteriorated and the wrong step may cause you to fall, maybe break a leg if you’re lucky and a neck if you’re not. Don’t worry, I’ve marked out which tiles are safe to step on and which aren’t…with about 80% accuracy. No guard rails as well so try to keep as far away from the edges as possible. These prison stations weren’t built with safety in mind, it’s a wonder why the Plumbers still buy these from Incarcecon.”
Both Gus and Mattholomule pale but Phil wasn’t done,
“One more thing, avoid making contact with any red fuel cells, the Plumbers were killed mid-transport by the cosmic storm so they’ve just been lying there for centuries. They’ve deteriorated so much that breaching their containers will cause an explosive reaction, so be very careful. Then the turbolift through the sectors, they’re inoperable but I’ve brought along some grapple lines for rappelling, it’s about a five stories climb. Afterwards, there's…”
A loud bang interrupts them as they all freeze and slowly turn to the cell’s exit.
“...What was that?” Mattholomule asks carefully.
“...That would possibly be my barricade breaking down. It looks like the Havoks have grown tired of centuries-old prison rations.”
***
“Well what do you know, turns out it was only 60% accurate,” Phil mutters as Kevin reluctantly pulls Mattholomule from a fresh hole in the floor, the rusty metal bridge that formed the maintenance tunnel falling apart the moment he stepped on it.
Fortunately for them, the Havok Beasts have given up pursuit after a few rounds of suppressive fire and an incendiary grenade from Kevin, as well as the fact they decided the maintenance tunnel was too risky for them to follow them through.
At the end of the tunnel, Phil kicks down a metal door before walking towards the turbolift’s door. It looked to be rusted shut, and before Kevin could offer to open it, Phil began using his bare hands to pry apart the rusty metal doors with little effort. It was surprising to see such strength from a normal human like that, apparently five years in the Null Void built some muscle or something.
Phil takes out two wrist-mounted grapple devices and hands one to Kevin, “Here. They’re strong enough to hold two people each.”
“Thanks.” Kevin says before turning to Gus, “Climb on. Matt, go with Phil.”
They both nod, but Mattholomule is more reluctant as he climbs onto Phil’s back. The two of them then fired their grapples up, micro-thrusters making the hooks fly high up before embedding at the ceiling. He would’ve preferred using his jet boots but the space was too narrow to manoeuvre.
“So…” Phil says as they start climbing, “It’s a bit of a climb from here. Mind telling me who’re the two elves we got hanging off our backs?”
“We’re right here, you know?” Mattholomule reminds annoyed, “We’re witches, not whatever elves are.”
“Witches…” Phil says testing the word, “So Earth’s got magic now? Never heard of any race called witches in my career.”
“They’re a bit of a recent thing.” Kevin explains, “Why you ask?”
“Just curious, they look like humans but they smell…different,” Phil says, confusing Kevin who couldn’t smell anything besides rusted metal.
Gus sniffs himself, “Maybe it’s that human deodorant I’ve been trying out?”
Before Kevin could respond, he hears something from above and looks up with barely enough time to raise his hands and blocks a trash can. His armour took the brunt of the blow but he was still disoriented and now holding onto the grapple with one arm, swinging back and forth.
“Kevin!” Gus cries out in worry as he sees Kevin look dazed with a cut on his forehead.
“Havoks! They must’ve had a shortcut or another nest I didn’t find!” Phil cries out as he points above, more debris falling as they see the diminutive, red-scaled humanoids laugh as they throw debris from the turbolift doors.
One of the Havoks must’ve been smarter than the rest, seeing the metal cables they jumped across and clung onto the cable Kevin and Gus were hanging from, beginning to chew on the cables.
“Kevin! Wake up!” Gus cries out as he smacks Kevin to stir him from his dazed state. It was successful and Kevin reacts quickly,
“Multiblaster, now!”
Gus obeys and pries the multiblaster from his back and hands it to Kevin who aims above before shouting,
“Concussive grenade!”
The voice-recognition module modifies the multi-purpose grenades as he fires it above, the grenade hovering in front of the Havoks for a brief moment before they were blasted with a concussive blast, knocking them out.
However, it had the unintended side effect of causing Kevin’s metal cable to strain and snap. But before the two could cry out in fear, Phil grabs Kevin by his multiblaster’s barrel, holding on to it tight.
“Hang on, kids!” Phil shouts before his cable starts straining from the maximum weight being exceeded. With little time, he turns to the turbolift door next to him, using all his might to kick down the door with two heavy blows and a roar.
Once it was open, he swung and threw both Kevin and Gus through it first before jumping through the opening just as his cable broke. He rolls on the floor, causing Mattholomule to let go and the four of them stop to catch their breaths.
“That was close.” Kevin pants as Gus detached himself from his back, panting in relief as well. He looks up to Phil who wears an impassive look on his face, “Thanks for the save.”
However, instead of replying, Phil just stares at Kevin. Before he could ask what was wrong, Phil spoke.
“...He called you…Kevin.” Phil says as all of them tense up, and Gus sweats at the realisation of his slip-up.
“Phil…” Kevin tries to speak but Phil interrupts him.
“Kevin…Keevin…Keviiiin…” Phil draws out his name like he was testing how it sounded on his tongue as his eyes gleam with recognition, “Kevin Ethan Levin…no wonder your eyes were so familiar. You knew him .”
All four of them stood very still before Kevin reaches for his multiblaster on the floor but receives a quick kick to the face from Phil, nearly breaking his jaw as he bent down for the multiblaster, quickly switching it to stun and firing a blue bolt straight to Kevin’s head and knocking him out.
“Kevin!” Gus cries out as Mattholomule stares in shock, turning to Phil with both terror and anger, “You killed him!”
“Just a stun bolt. I need him alive.” Phil waves off before staring at the two of them, “You two won’t be as lucky. If it’s any comfort, I never intended to bring any of you with me once I got my hands on the Skeleton Key.”
The two freezes as Phil flicks the switch to set it back to lethal mode, but before he could take aim Gus reacts first, grabbing Matt who screams as they both leap out of the turbolift doors with Phil watching in surprise.
“...I guess from a certain point of view, a two-story fall is more survivable and less painful than an energy bolt to the head,” he mutters to himself as he looks over but it was too dark and high up to see anything. He does hear an impact, like the sound of fruit smashing and shrugs. Even if they were alive, the Havok beasts would find them soon.
***
Mattholomule watches as Phil drags away Kevin while Gus covers his mouth with his hand as the two remain silent and still as possible. Once he was out of sight and earshot, Gus sighs in relief as he dismisses the illusion. The moment he heard the older human mention killing them, he reacted as quickly as he could and tackled Mattholomule just as he drew a spell circle to create an illusion of the two running off the turbolift, managing to fool him into thinking they were gone.
“That…that was crazy…” Mattholomule says in shock as he shakes, “We need to get out of here before that psycho realises we aren’t dead!”
He scrambles onto his feet but Gus grabs him by the sleeve,
“Wait! We can’t go!” Gus exclaims, “Kevin’s still with him!”
“Forget him!” Mattholomule says, “That guy will kill us if he sees us!”
“And if we don’t rescue him we can’t get out! He’s going for that Skeleton Key thing, and if he takes it that means we get stranded here!” Gus argues, “And once he gets back to the Human Realm he’s gonna kill Kevin because he doesn’t need him anymore! We have to stop him!”
“...Then we just find another key!” Mattholomule suggests desperately, “There’s gotta be one somewhere around here!”
“But we don’t have those badges you need to unlock them.” Gus points out, “Come on, you’re supposed to be tough! You survived detention!”
“This is nothing like detention!” Mattholomule screams at his breaking point, “There were just snakes that shove you into tubes for the entire day and they pump school mottos and messages into your head! There wasn’t some sociopathic killer with human weapons! I’m going back to the hut! Then I’m going to find another key outta here!”
He tries to make a break for it before realising that their only way out is a two-story fall, and then remembering that they were stranded in what was essentially a floating metal maze full of hazards.
At this point Mattholomule began pacing around, almost hyperventilating at the thoughts of the creative ways the Null Guardians would turn him and Gus into lunch before the illusionist walks over and shakes him by the shoulder,
“Matt, just take a breath.” Gus says calmly, “Like this, count to four then exhale.”
Gus demonstrates the technique of inhaling before counting to four and exhaling. Mattholomule mimics his breathing pattern until he finally stops hyperventilating and breathing normally.
“Look, Matt.” Gus tries to sound as calm as he can, “I’m just as scared as you are. But I’m also more scared of Kevin dying, and us getting stuck here. If we try to run, we can’t because there’s nowhere to run away in this place. We barely made it here with Kevin and Phil’s help, imagine what could happen if we try running by ourselves.”
Mattholomule cringes at the thought of the numerous close calls, but Gus can see he wasn’t fully convinced yet.
“I just need you to do one thing, just one thing! And if you help me out…I’ll give you my president spot.” Gus says reluctantly and Mattholomule’s eyes widen, “When we get back I’ll tell everyone about how you saved us. Power, drama and fame on top of that. And we get to go home safely and sleep in our beds after eating dinner with our families. That’s what you want, right?”
“...I’m listening,” Mattholomule says carefully.
***
Kevin stirs awake with a nasty headache, finding himself to be in some sort of office with Phil’s back turned to him. Before he can even think about making a move, he realises his hands are restrained behind him both being cuffed to some pipe with energy cuffs.
“Finally awake I see.” Phil turns around to face him, and Kevin realises that just above him was some kind of rectangular container fixed to the wall in a thick metal case with transparent material revealing a rectangular device the size of a large pen drive.
“So…guess the years in the Null Void haven’t scrambled your memories after all.” Kevin mutters before raising his voice, “Let me outta here and we can all go home. I’ll put in a good word, and get you to some cushy maximum security cell. Guaranteed penthouse level luxury.”
Phil laughs, “You’re just as funny as his memories say you are. I must apologise for having stunned you earlier, that wasn’t my intention. I planned to pretend I didn't remember you and then kill you quickly and painlessly once I got the key, but then those memories of his surged and sparked genuine anger within me. It was illogical but I felt the most sensible thing in the world was to put a lethal bolt through your skull, painting the walls red. I could only resist enough to set the gun to stun before I pulled the trigger. He really hated you.”
Kevin freezes as he realises what he was saying, “His memories? But that means…”
‘Phil’ smirks, “I’m afraid there hasn’t been a Phil in this body for quite some time. It was a useful facade, not a lot of prisoners here think so highly of a pathetic human, even if they wear the badge. I’ve used that to my advantage quite a few times.”
Kevin growls, “So what are you? Brain parasite? Cannibalistic shapeshifter? A swarm of intelligent nanomachines?”
‘Phil’ reaches out in a flash and chokes him, “You let me worry about that, Kevin. You’re lucky I need you alive. Badges are connected to your biometric data, if you had died it wouldn’t have worked on the scanners. Now how about you work with me, and I’ll get us out of here?”
Kevin glares back through being choked, “Where’s…Gus and Matt…?”
“Dead. And unless you want to join them, you will help me deactivate the safety mechanisms and retrieve the Skeleton Key.” ‘Phil’ says coldly but Kevin just growls before spitting him in the eye.
‘Phil’ cringes in disgusts as he wipes his only remaining eye, “Fine…Hard way it is.”
He uncuffs one of his arms which Kevin used the opportunity to grasp his face, activating a feature that turns his glove into a taser. However despite this, ‘Phil’ doesn’t flinch. Instead, he smirks and grabs Kevin's arm, twisting it and breaking it as he screams in agony.
Unable to move his left arm, ‘Phil’ pries his badge from his belt and forces his broken arm to hold onto it tightly. Then ‘Phil’ uses his free hand to grab his own badge,
“Now, let’s get out of here.” ‘Phil’ says as he forces Kevin to his feet, his right arm still cuffed to the pipe along the wall as he forcibly activates Kevin’s badge before his own. The scanner on the container activates automatically and scans the data of both badges.
“Scanning…Identifications accepted. Deactivating countermeasures. Releasing Skeleton Key.”
The case opens wide and ‘Phil’ grins before dropping Kevin’s arm, reaching for the Skeleton Key and holding it above him victoriously.
“At last…Freedom at last!” ‘Phil’ cries out as Kevin racks his brain trying to think of a way to stop him. Then his eyes moved to the warden’s office desk where his weapons were located. Unless ‘Phil’ knows about a recent software update to the voice activation module…
“Voice activation mode!” he shouts as his suit of armour collapses a thick plexiglass dome around his head. ‘Phil’ looks at him with surprise and confusion as he continues shouting, “EMP grenade! Fire!”
The multiblaster fires a crackling blue grenade, and if he was right then unlike his power armour and multiblaster, the outdated energy cuffs holding him would likely not be shielded against EMPs.
He was correct as the grenade detonated, the cuff shorts out and he lunges forward while activating his jet boots, smashing into a surprised ‘Phil’ and slamming him into the wall with his unbroken arm, causing the Skeleton Key to be dropped.
“No!” ‘Phil’ shouts as he smashes his elbow on Kevin’s back before kneeing him in the guts, knocking the wind out of him. With Kevin stunned, ‘Phil’ lets out a primordial roar before lifting Kevin above him with both arms, throwing him against the aged wooden desk causing it to smash and splinter.
“Insolent child!” he mutters before walking over and picking up Kevin by the throat, choking him, “I should snap your neck now…But that would be too quick. Deep down, what’s left of Phil makes me want to make you suffer for as long as possible. How long do you think you’ll survive in the Null Void? Five years? Five months? Weeks? Days?”
“S…se…” Kevin chokes as his face turns blue, struggling in his grip trying to use his healthy arm to strike him in the guts, ‘Phil’ sadistically pulling him closer face to face, his eyes turning red and insect-like.
“Are you trying to beg?”
“Self-destruct…idiot…” Kevin says with a smirk and ‘Phil’ looks shocked just as he looks down to find the concealable plasma pistol strapped to his belt beeping and flashing a red light.
Before he could react, the gun detonates and Kevin was blasted out of the room, his armour scorched and scratched up. ‘Phil’ with his less advanced combat uniform had his uniform shredded, and nasty burns all across his body.
“Arrgh!” he groans in pain as bones crack all across his body, fixing back in place as he looks around dazed before finding the Skeleton Key in the hallways outside.
“I’ve spent…five years in this hell hole!” he growls as he gets up, “I will not be denied my freedom…”
But before he could reach it, a familiar figure snatches it up from the floor and his eyes widen.
“You?!”
“Me!” Gus shouts back as he holds the Skeleton Key close, “You want this? Then come and get it!”
He breaks into a dash as ‘Phil’ roars. He had enough of these games, there was no need to hide who he was anymore anyways. He walks forward, roaring as his skin begins to shed and the carapace beneath it grew and expands until he was a hulking figure with a silver exoskeleton, four pincers splitting from his mouth, eyes turning red as his body mutates until not a single inch of his humanity was left.
“That’s my key you have, boy!” he roars as sprints down the hallway, following him.
Gus spins around and his eyes widen before running faster through the halls, taking a sharp turn to the left where a bunch of debris block his way. Undaunted he doesn’t stop running, instead sliding beneath the debris before getting back up to run again.
‘Phil’ roars as he claws at the debris, slashing a few times before the obstacle weakness enough for him to smash through. He snarls as he sees the boy cut across another corner and followed him in a relentless pursuit.
After a while of running, he finds the boy running into a room and slamming the door shut behind him. With a smirk he kicks in the door, relishing in the horror on Gus’ face as he backs up into a corner in this empty room.
“Nice trick, son.” he says in a gravelly voice as he approaches and corners the young witch, “You had me fooled, though you two jumped to your deaths. Even heard the noise. What was it? Healing factor? Enhanced durability?”
Gus however, surprises him by smirking, “No. It was just an illusion. Like this one.”
Without warning Gus disappears in a puff of blue smoke, along with the Skeleton Key, and ‘Phil’ widens his eyes in horror as all around him blue smoke appears, revealing dozens of red fusion cells locked within transparent containers. He turns around to find the broken door on the floor facing upwards, with the word ‘FUEL CELL STORAGE’ appearing in a puff of blue smoke as the illusion was dismissed. From his makeshift entrance was Gus waving at him from behind Mattholomule who drew two orange circles in the air before slamming them on the floor, blocking the hole he had made with thick sheets of metal, just as spikes burst from the floor and stabbed at the fusion cells, shattering their containment.
***
“You…think that got him?” Mattholomule pants as he surveys the damage the explosion had caused. He lowers the metal sheet he had summoned to seal in the explosion, revealing there to no longer be any room at all, just an opening revealing the starry red sky of the Null Void.
“Yeah…I think we got him.” Gus sighs in relief before looking at the Skeleton Key in his hands, “We can go home now.”
However, before the two could celebrate they freeze, hearing a groan come from the edge of the new opening. There a human-looking ‘Phil’ was barely clinging on by stray wiring as the two looked over carefully to investigate.
“W…what is happening?” the now human ‘Phil’ looks at the two witches with confused and frantic eyes like a scared old man, “I…I can’t remember what was going on. Don’t tell me it happened again?”
The two witches look at each other hesitantly, not knowing whether to believe him or not as Phil continued.
“Please pull me up! That explosion has knocked the beast inside me unconscious, but he’ll return! You need to bring me back to Earth! They can hold me there, contain and treat me!” he begs, “Please, I don’t want to spend my life in this hell! You don’t know how painful it is!”
Before the two could make a decision, however, footsteps came from behind them as ‘Phil’ pales at the sight of a roughed-up Kevin pointing his multiblaster at him with his unbroken arm, staring at him coldly.
“Sorry, I’m not Luz.” he says before pulling the trigger, just as ‘Phil’ began shedding his skin, eyes turning red and roaring as he tries to pull himself up. The fully automatic burst of fire from the multiblaster failed to penetrate his carapace, but it did force him to let go of the wire as he plummeted into the abyss, screaming as he fell.
“Now we can go home.” Kevin says as he straps the multiblaster to his back, both Gus and Mattholomule staring in shock as ‘Phil’ fell.
“Oh don’t worry, he’s not gonna fall forever. The Null Void’s infinite, he’ll hit an asteroid or island eventually. But even then I doubt the fall will kill him.” Kevin explains as he retrieves a nano-med injector in his pouch, injecting it through a port in his broken arm and feeling the nanites reset and fix his broken arm as well as a healthy dose of painkillers to numb the pain, “Oh that’s the stuff.”
“...Alright.” Gus mutters before holding up the key to Kevin, “So how does it work?”
Kevin observes it, plugging it into his suit’s universal access port and looking at the wrist-mounted computer, “Huh, it looks like basically a miniature Null Void projector, but for single use. Let’s see, just need to lock onto the breach we used to get here in the first place, triangulate the exit coordinates and…”
He types away at his wrist before removing the Skeleton Key, stabbing it forward and pressing a button on it like a car key before a rift in space explodes into view a few feet in front of them making Kevin smile at the sight.
“Alright guys, next stop the Demon Realm.”
***
In Hexside’s grudgby field, it was now nighttime as the area was momentarily lit up by a red tear in reality, where three figures leapt out of.
“Home!” Mattholomule cries as he kisses the grudgby field, “Solid non-broken earth how I missed you! Normal black sky with stars, I’ll never take you for granted again!”
“We’re back…” Gus falls to his knees, the exhaustion finally catching up with him, “We’re home…Oh, Titan my dad probably thinks I’m dead. He’s gonna kill me when I get back home.”
“Well, I don’t care if they shout at me! I just want to get back to my own bed!” Mattholomule starts running off but stops and turns back, looking reluctant before saying, “And Gus… that was a pretty neat trick with illusions. I don’t think we could’ve tricked it if it wasn’t for you.”
Both Kevin and Gus look surprised at this before he runs off, “And I expect to get my president’s crown in the mail this week!”
“...Sorry you lost your presidency, man.” Kevin pats Gus on the back who sighs.
“Eh, at this point I’m too exhausted to care.” Gus mutters before looking up at Kevin apologetically, “Sorry I lied to you and dragged you into this mess.”
“It’s fine.” Kevin assures, “If you didn’t it would’ve been just you two stuck in the Null Void.”
Gus shudders at the image before remembering something, “Kevin…what was Phil? I don’t think humans can transform into weird bugs, can they?”
Kevin’s face darkens as he pats Gus on the shoulder, “...How about you let the professionals figure that out? I’ll be sure to send a report home after this. And also, I want to say thanks. If it wasn’t for you I think that thing would’ve killed all of us. Smart thinking with those degraded fusion cells.”
Gus looks flustered from the compliment, “I…it was a risky move and I could’ve gotten all of us killed.”
“But it didn’t, and we’re alive because of that.” Kevin comforts him before reaching into his pocket, “And hey, you might not be Human Appreciation Society president anymore, but I think you can be something better…”
Gus’ eyes widen in surprise as Kevin hands him a Plumber’s badge, “I took it from Phil, he dropped it once he got the Skeleton Key. Think it should belong to someone who really deserves it.”
“Are you saying I’m a Plumber now?!” Gus cries out in shock only to be disappointed when Kevin chuckled.
“Ha! No, it’s just a memento. You want to be an agent? You gotta sign up for the academy.” Kevin explains, “What do you think? Join the Plumbers, protect and serve the galaxy. There’s plenty of other races besides the humans and witches out there, probably some just as cool if not cooler.”
“I…can I really be one?” Gus asks as Kevin smiles at him warmly.
“After what I saw you do? Used yourself as bait to blow up a rogue Plumber turned alien monster? I think you got this.” Kevin says as he taps the badge in Gus’ hands, “I’ll be in the academy next year, so we might see each other there. You ever feel like signing up for the academy, ring me up. I’ll pull a few strings to get you a spot.”
“...Thank you.” Gus mutters at a loss of words, “I don’t know what to say.”
Kevin straightens himself and salutes, his hand horizontal across his chest and fist above his heart, “Say that you’ll keep up the good work. Plumber or not, you got a bright future ahead of you, Gus.”
Instead of saluting back, however, Gus just reaches over and hugs Kevin tight. Awkward from the sudden contact, all he could do was pat Gus on the head as he squeezed him.
***
“And then I walked all the way home.” Kevin finishes his story now a bit tipsy from his fifth glass. Hope, however, was in the worst state.
“...You want me to hex this Matt guy? Or curse him? Cause…I got a couple I know about...” Hope asks, her words slurring.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve offered to do for me.” Kevin snarks as he downs his sixth glass before pouring another, “Damn this thing is good.”
“You’re telling me!” Hope smiles drunkenly as she holds up a glass for Kevin to refill, “We should really do this more often. Why don’t we do this more often?”
She asks before realising the answer to her own question and frowning.
“By the Ancients, I already apologise who knows how many times.” Hope leans back on the coach nearly spilling her drink, “Can you please stop hating me? I don’t want people to hate me. It makes me feel sad.”
She says this with a pout as Kevin sighs, downing his glass, “I get that…and I don’t hate you…not really.”
“What was that?” Hope asks not completely hearing him from how intoxicated she was.
“What about what you did?” Kevin asks quickly changing the subject, his face flushing red both from the alcohol and embarrassment, “How was your day?”
Hope smirks victoriously, “I nearly got sewn into a book. And made a friend! Ha! I win!”
Kevin scoffs, “I made one as well. Gus! So that means we tied.”
“Ha! Nope!” Hope says, “I have King as a friend. King plus Amity equals two friends!”
“Wait, Amity Blight?” Kevin asks, “That witch who might have a crush on Luz?”
“Yeah, you remember when she gave Amity her jacket in the Covention?” Hope giggles like a schoolgirl gossiping, “She looked so red but I don’t think Luz realises.”
Kevin sighs, “Poor girl. Do you remember how hard it was for her to ask someone out? She needed both of our help coaching her through asking that dude on a date. What was his name again? Ken? Glen? Ren?”
Hope rubs her chin, “I think it was B-?”
Before she could finish the door slams open surprising the two, with King rushing into the living room excitedly.
“Guys!” he cries out excitedly, “Look what I can do now!”
Without warning he climbs up to the living room’s table before screeching, the nearly empty bottle of appleblood shattering.
“Hey, we were drinking that!” Hope complains.
“Drinking?” Luz asks as she walks in, three sleeping bat babies strapped across her chest, “Wait, do I smell alcohol?”
“Is that my hard appleblood?!” Eda asks from behind her as she enters the Owl House to see the mess, “I was saving that for a rainy day!”
“Luz!” Hope raises her glass and spills half of its contents, “I made a friend!”
“That’s good, Hope,” Luz says as she registers both their drunken states and Kevin’s scorched and half torn up armour., “What happened to you?”
“I got stuck in the Null Void,” Kevin mutters as he finishes the last drops in his glass.
“I nearly got sewn into a book!” Hope says with a gleeful smile.
“Oh…so I guess I wasn’t the only one who had an unexpected adventure today,” Luz mutters.
“We were just drinking so we could tell each of our stories not sober.” Kevin explains waving his glass, “We don’t have any more drinks, but feel free to tell us how your day went.”
“Oh, now that is a long story.” Luz mutters as she hands the bat babies to Eda, plopping herself down on the couch between the two, “Let’s just say that we’re banned from the carnival for the rest of our lives.”
“And I learnt how to use my powers!” King exclaims from the table, “Now my power returns! I shall become King of Demons once more!”
Kevin rolls his eyes, “Carnivals…let me guess Zombozo somehow crossed over to the Demon Realm?”
Hope scoffs, “Don’t be ridiculous. Zombozo’s dead, it’s obviously those three circus freaks that ended up here somehow!”
“Wait, Zombozo’s dead?” Kevin mutters confused, trying to remember when that happened.
“No, none of those things.” Luz says exasperated, “It might sound like the opening of a joke, but this is what happened. A human, a witch, a demon and three bat babies walk into a circus run by a pig with scraps of Corrodium…”
Notes:
So this chapter was a bid different than most so far, mostly Ben 10 setting focused but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Please let me know in the comments what you thought about this chapter. Next up will be Luz's adventure with Eda and King. See you then.
Chapter 20: Teaser
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In every universe, in every multiverse, in this vast omniverse that sprung from the Prime Timeline, there are always two constants. One, a battle in orbit of some planet, whatever reason they fight was inconsequential but from the battle there is always always a pod racing down from the skies, rocketing through the atmosphere before.
Two, there is always a child, stumbling from a campsite, drawn to the sight of a shooting star like a moth to flames.
“Come on, Willow! It landed over there!” A young Amity Blight races through the forest, with one hand grabbing Willow’s as she drags her through the forest.
“I don’t know, Amity.” Willow says fearfully as she looks around at the dark forest, “We might get into trouble with the camp counsellors.”
“Don’t worry, it’s close by. And we’ll be gone for a moment.” Amity assures as they finally spot a soft orange glow from already dying fires on nearby trees, “It’s there! Let’s go!”
The two of them enter the clearing and gasp at the sight of a crater, within it some kind of metallic sphere.
“What do you think it is?” Willow asks in a hushed whisper.
“I don’t know.” Amity says leaning over the crater, “I think we should- Ah!”
She yelps as suddenly the dirt at the edge of the crater crumble and she is sent rolling down into the crater.
“Amity!” Willow cries in worry as she jumps into the crater to help her friend.
Amity coughs as she dusts the dirt off her dress, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I just fell over.”
As she says this they both freeze at the sound of a hiss coming from the sphere, both of them turn to see the sphere opening up like it was some sort of container. And from within the sphere, a soft, green glow was seen, lighting up and revealing something inside. It looked to be some kind of strange bracer.
“Is…that a watch?” Willow asks as she adjusts her glasses, “What is that doing here? Did someone lose it?”
“What, did they drop it from the sky or something?” Amity asks doubtfully, “What should we do?”
“Maybe we should take it to the camp counsellors?” Willow suggests, “They might know what to do with it.”
“Good idea,” Amity says as she reaches out carefully to grab it, but the moment her fingers made contact with it, the strange device suddenly stretches and leaps towards her arm, wrapping itself around it as both girls scream.
Notes:
Hi, so first I want to say thank you all for the support you've given me. It pleases me that people enjoy reading what I've cobbled together these past few months. Currently the story's at 221 kudos meaning just a bit more and it'll have 250 kudos which is another major milestone I consider. For that I think it's only right I do something for 250 kudos, which I'm planning to celebrate by publishing a sort of mini-story/special.
No spoilers, but I plan for this mini-story/special to be about maybe two or three chapters (don't quote me on that) exploring the concept you just read about. I hope you're as excited for it as I am. Thanks for all your support.
PS: This mini-story/special will contain only a bit of spoilers as it will take place after the Earth Arc but before they return to the Boiling Isles, and I doubt I'll complete the Earth Arc by time I get 250 kudos, but would like to post it then anyways. So warning that it will contain a bit of spoilers, but I'll try to keep it to an absolute minimum as best I can.
Chapter 21: Omni-nake #3: Make way for the revolution
Summary:
A draft I had for an Owl house crossover with another man of Action production that is sadly underrated; Generator Rex. Decided to throw it in, an addition to the growing Omniverse. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
Chapter Text
“Finally.” Rex Salazar sighs as he touches the loading-bay doors beneath them, glowing blue circuitry spreading from his arms as his nanites force open the hydraulically sealed doors.
“Six hasn’t given us the green light.” a girl beside him in a long sleeve plain white t-shirt and short sleeve bright purple hoodie worn over it and unzipped, fluttering behind her like a cape from the room suddenly became depressurised.
She covers her face with a hand to shield herself from the strong winds as Rex puts on his goggles,
“Come on, how long have we spent cooped up in the Keep?” Rex complains, “I’m sure Six won’t mind if we take this thing down before collateral damage gets worse. Now come on, give me a boost.”
“...Alright then, suit yourself,” Luz says smirking mischievously before suddenly pushing Rex over the ledge of the loading-bay door, catching him by surprise as he fell with a surprised yelp.
“Hehe, classic.” Bobo chuckles from the corner as Luz shrugs before jumping after Rex, clapping her hands together as she does this, the blood vessels inside her arms glowed blue. Not in a cyan glow with circuit-like patterns as Rex does, but a darker blue as the properties of her blood change from the nanites within her.
Meanwhile, with Rex he quickly recovers from the surprise, swearing that he’ll get Luz back for this later, he wills his nanites to generate a pair of Smack Hands. Metal was instantly generated, wrapping around both his arms creating a giant pair of orange metal hands.
At the same time, his back began glowing as a circle with a pattern inside it glowed orange before exploding into flames, focusing into something akin to the thruster of a jet engine and pushing downwards ever faster with both his fists stretched in front of him.
The EVO beneath wreaking havoc on the city glances one of its many heads up in surprise as it spots something rocketing towards it at high speed. Metal arms, combined with a drop from nearly 7000 feet in the air with rocket thrusters? Even a third-grader can guess the results of such a combination.
The impact smashes the head of the EVO into the road, creating a large crater, kicking up smoke through the entire city block and smashing windows in the immediate area. The EVO struggles to get up, but it was too slow as Luz arrives in time, slowing her descent with fire glyphs on her boots making her float.
She thrusts her arms forward as her veins glowed blue once more, green glyphs manifesting below the crater where the EVO lay as gargantuan vines start growing and wrapping around it, restraining any movement it could make.
“Hello, monster guy.” Rex greets as Luz lands next to him, “Name’s Rex. Over there’s Luz. Now thrill us.”
The EVO roars as red energy builds around his mouth, firing a red beam of fire at them. Rex doesn’t flinch as Luz quickly raises both her hands, swiping upwards to create a wall of ice that takes the blast head-on before melting from the heat, covering them with steam.
The EVO’s multiple heads fire off weaker blasts to burn the vines off it before its main head breathes ice all over them.
“Fire and ice? If you add some plants and light, I’d have to guess he’s related to you.” Rex snarks as Luz fends off the ice with a blast of fire glyphs blasting a concentrated beam of fire both hands.
“Really? From his looks, I thought you were related to him!” Luz snarks back before a voice from over their comm beads.
“You two! No messing around, I want that thing down now.” Six orders.
“Got it, Six!” Luz shouts back on the comms before using one hand to hold back the blast of ice and another to generate a large fire glyph on the road.
Guessing her plan, Rex creates a Slam Cannon before it digs up the part of the road with the fire glyph, loading it into its chamber before he takes aim.
“Special delivery. Hope you like it spicy.” he taunts before firing explosive pieces of rubble directly at its face, distracting it and causing it to break off its ice beam as it comes under a barrage of improvised explosives, unable to defend itself.
By the time Rex ran out of ammunition, the giant EVO collapses from its injuries, faceplanting just a few feet away from crushing them.
“All yours now, partner.” Luz steps aside and bows dramatically to Rex who steps forward and touches the EVO, once again cyan circuit patterns spreading from him towards the giant EVO as it slowly began to lose its mass and shrink, losing its deformities and mutations before finally returning to a normal and very naked man lying in a crater.
“Less than five minutes, that’s gotta be a record for the quickest an EVO that size’s taken down.” Luz smiles as two Providence agents approach.
“Well, it’s the largest EVO so far so no competition.” Rex shrugs but smiles as well, “I’m thinking the next giant EVO we take down, we do it in under a minute. I’m already getting ideas if we-”
Before Rex can explain his ideas, a Providence scout ship lands nearby with an annoyed looking Six walking out towards them.
“Six! Would’ve thought you’d look happier.” Rex says, “We took it down didn’t we?”
“You two thrashed an entire city block.” Six points out before Luz pipes in.
“Exactly! Just one city block, and not four or something.” Luz says looking proud of herself, “I think we all did a good job, didn’t we?”
“Back to base. Now.” Six orders sternly as he gestures back to the scout ship.
“Alright, alright.” Rex raises his hands in defeat before doing as ordered, “But hey, do you mind if we stop for some pizza on the way back? I’m starving.”
A glare from Six lets him know the answer to that question, but Luz crosses her arms.
“Oh come on Six, we skipped lunch on the way here. And we took down the largest EVO recorded so far with just one city block as collateral! I think we deserve a reward, right?” she complains before smirking, “Or do you want to explain to my mom why you flew two poor, hungry teens into a fight with EVOs and did not get them any food afterwards.”
“Yeah, Six. Don’t you feel bad starving two poor teenagers?” Rex joins her as he pouts, “Or does Ms Noceda need to talk to you again?”
“...” Six stares down the two smug teens before sighing in defeat and pinching the bridge of his nose, “What toppings do you want on them?”
***
“You’re failing to control our weapons, Agent Six.” White Knight says disapprovingly.
“Our agreement with Camila Noceda was guaranteeing that her daughter would be treated humanely under our care.” Six reminds, “And since she’s grown close with Rex, that extends to him as well. I see no problem with it, Doctor Holliday reports that their biometric readings barely spiked during their latest mission and every time they work with each other it’s all but guaranteed victory. If rewarding them every now and then means continued results I fail to see the issue.”
White Knight sighs in frustration, “Five years living in this global freakshow and our best way outta this are two teenagers. Every last person on this planet is contaminated with nanites and the lucky ones are just sitting there wondering when it will be their turn to pop. We need to reign them in, I don’t need to remind you what the alternative is.”
“Yes sir.” Six nods, “If that’s all?”
“One more thing.” White Knight adds, “The investigation into Manuel Noceda’s nanite research. Is there any new progress?”
“None whatsoever.” Six shakes his head, “We know that his research and experiments must be connected to the original Nanite Event, and her nanites are vastly different compared to the common ones that infect the rest of us, even compared to Rex’s. But we still have no clue how they even begin to work.”
“Well step on it.” White Knight grunts, “Rex, as wild as he is, is a known element. His nanites are the same design as the others, but not hers for some reason. If it means someone is developing and creating new nanites I want them shut down. I don’t want to think about how a second Nanite Event could affect our world.”
***
“I don’t know what to tell you Six, I still can’t make heads or tails of these.” Holliday sighs as she gestures to the scans she took of the nanites within Luz’s blood, “Whenever they become active, the properties of her blood change to what I’ve come to call Compound T which is then burnt up by her body to generate these ‘glyphs’ as she calls it.”
She points to a board where the four known glyphs that Luz could use were drawn,
“Every time she generates one the Compound T blood in her is consumed as fuel, and so are some of the nanites within her. What makes them unique is that they are self-replicating, meaning she’s basically an infinite supply of these strange nanites. Not only that, experiments with Rex trying to cure her separated and isolated nanites led to failure. It’s like they’re incompatible somehow.”
“We don’t even know what they’re made of?” Six asks and Dr Holliday shakes her head.
“None, as far as I can tell it’s completely unknown to the Periodic table. Nothing on Earth comes anywhere close to matching it.”
“So what, we’re dealing with alien nanites?” Six asks sarcastically but Dr Holliday rubs her chin in thought.
“Well since we’re dealing with lack of information, combined with this compound being nothing like what we’ve seen before…” she mutters but stops upon seeing the look Six was giving her, “I’m only joking. But this isn’t anything you don’t already know, so why did you come here? If it has something to do with their latest mission, I think it went smoothly. There wasn’t a problem on either of them from my end. Biologically, they’re perfectly fine.”
“But what about mentally?” Six asks, “How are her meetings with Dr Ostertag?”
Dr Holliday’s expression shifts to looking concerned, “She’s not behaving much differently from your average neurodivergent teenage girl.”
“But her visions?” Six presses and Holliday hesitates.
“They’re getting clearer and more common, this is the most vivid one so far.” Dr Holliday pulls out a tablet and shows Six a sketch from Luz, displaying what appears to be a corpse of sorts, a skeleton laying on its back with its arms lying flat beside it and one of its knees pointed upwards with a skull possessing a pair of horns.
“We don’t know if this has any connections though.” Dr Holliday reminds, “They could just be weird dreams caused by stress and an overactive imagination. Normal things for a teenager like her.”
“She’s had the same dreams ever since we found her.” Six points out, “With cases like hers, we’re not allowed to believe in coincidences. White Knight wants us to find out what this means.”
“What could it even mean?” Dr Holliday asks, “An EVO’s corpse maybe?”
“Maybe.” Six shrugs, “Or maybe it somehow involves the unknown nanites we found in her.”
“...You know I was just joking when I mentioned aliens right?” Dr Holliday asks just in case.
“I do. But you know about Occam’s razor.” Six mutters as he hands back the tablet, “You mentioned her visions have been growing more frequent? What do you think is the cause of it?”
“If you’re right that it has something to do with her nanites, then maybe they’re related?” Dr Holliday guesses, “If it is, it could mean a variety of things. Maybe her powers are developing, or maybe it’s something akin to a countdown? Once it was a dream every month, then every week, now every day. We may be looking at hallucinations in her waking hours. If it is a countdown, then the question is what happens if it reaches zero.”
Six looks at the four glyphs drawn on the board in concern, “Let’s hope we figure out what before that happens.”
***
It was a long day of celebration with pizza, video games and a near overdose of soda. After a few hours they all but passed out on their bunk beds, exhausted from both the EVO battle and their celebration.
The moment she closes her eyes and drifts into sleep, however, the visions come again just like expected, despite the pills that Dr Holliday recommended for her.
“̷N̷o̸t̴ ̶a̶g̸a̵i̵n̶…̵”̴ ̶s̵h̶e̵ ̴m̵u̴t̷t̴e̵r̴s̸ ̷t̶o̸ ̸h̸e̸r̸s̶e̶l̵f̵ ̷b̵e̶f̷o̶r̷e̵ ̴s̸t̴r̶e̸t̵c̷h̴i̴n̵g̵ ̴h̵e̴r̸ ̶a̵r̴m̵s̴ ̷i̷n̴ ̷a̸n̵n̸o̴y̶a̴n̴c̶e̷,̴ ̵“̵A̸l̷r̸i̴g̸h̴t̸,̵ ̵j̶u̷s̵t̵ ̷g̶e̴t̷ ̶t̴h̸i̶s̸ ̵o̶v̵e̴r̷ ̵w̸i̸t̴h̸ ̷s̵o̵ ̶I̴ ̴c̶a̸n̸ ̴S̶L̵E̵E̷P̴!̵”̷
̴S̸h̶e̷ ̸s̷c̷r̴e̸a̴m̶s̷ ̶t̶h̷e̶ ̸l̶a̷s̴t̶ ̶p̶a̸r̸t̷ ̶i̵n̸ ̸p̵a̷i̴n̷ ̴d̷e̶s̵p̶i̶t̴e̶ ̷a̷n̶t̶i̷c̸i̸p̸a̷t̵i̷n̴g̷ ̵a̷n̶d̵ ̸b̶r̵a̴c̸i̸n̴g̵ ̵h̷e̷r̴s̶e̵l̵f̵,̷ ̴i̵m̴a̴g̸e̸s̵ ̴f̷l̸o̵o̶d̷i̵n̶g̸ ̸h̸e̶r̵ ̴m̸i̵n̶d̵,̴ ̷l̷e̴t̷t̵e̵r̷s̶ ̶a̵n̸d̷ ̸g̵l̴y̶p̴h̵s̶ ̸i̸n̸ ̵p̴a̶t̷t̸e̷r̴n̷s̸ ̶s̵h̵e̷ ̶c̵a̶n̷’̶t̸ ̵c̷o̵m̶p̵r̴e̶h̴e̷n̸d̵,̴ ̸m̴o̴v̴i̷n̵g̶ ̵t̴o̸o̴ ̴f̵a̴s̸t̸ ̶t̷o̷ ̸r̵e̶a̶d̸.̶ ̷A̴l̵l̷ ̴w̵h̶i̶l̴e̵ ̶s̵h̴e̶ ̷f̶i̸n̴d̸s̴ ̸h̴e̶r̷s̶e̶l̴f̶ ̴n̶o̸ ̵l̴o̶n̸g̷e̸r̸ ̸o̶n̸ ̴E̵a̸r̵t̶h̸,̵ ̸b̵u̶t̸ ̶s̷o̶m̴e̸ ̵s̵t̸r̶a̷n̴g̷e̸ ̶d̷i̷s̸t̴a̸n̴t̸ ̴l̸a̵n̵d̷,̷ ̸f̸l̴o̴a̷t̶i̷n̸g̷ ̴i̶n̸ ̸t̵h̵e̵ ̵s̶k̶i̷e̵s̷ ̶a̵n̸d̴ ̶l̵o̵o̶k̷i̸n̴g̶ ̶d̴o̵w̷n̷ ̶a̵t̸ ̷a̶ ̶g̴i̵a̴n̸t̶ ̷c̵o̶r̷p̸s̵e̸ o̷n̴ ̵a̴n̷ ̸o̵c̵e̷a̸n̸.̷
̴B̶u̶t̷ ̸u̷n̵l̵i̴k̷e̴ ̶h̸e̶r̸ ̴p̸r̵e̷v̷i̸o̶u̸s̵ ̷d̶r̸e̷a̷m̵s̵,̶ ̴s̶h̵e̷ ̷h̵e̸a̷r̶s̶ ̶s̷o̷m̷e̷t̴h̶i̵n̴g̷ ̴e̶c̸h̷o̷i̵n̷g̵ ̷i̷n̴ ̴h̶e̶r̷ ̴m̶i̶n̷d̷,̴ ̵n̸e̷a̵r̶l̶y̷ ̴s̷n̸a̸p̸p̸i̵n̴g̵ ̶f̷r̵o̴m̶ ̶j̸u̷s̵t̴ ̷h̴e̵a̷r̴i̷n̴g̶ ̴a̸ ̸h̷a̵n̵d̵f̸u̴l̶ ̸o̴f̴ ̷w̵o̶r̶d̷s̴ ̶t̸h̴a̷t̶ ̵f̵o̴l̸l̶o̷w̶s̵,̸
H̸͕͖̤̝̟̺͚̩̄̌͑́͗̑͊̇̅͊̓̕̚ȩ̴̞̝̙̘̅̿̔̔̓̅̈̓͝ļ̵̢̢̢͖̗̖̣̜͖̹̝̄̓̀̓͒̂͜͝͝p̸̢̼͍̫̞̹̖͈̘̫̤̏͒̀͛̈̈́̓͂̑̋̽̚ ̷̢̡̩̥̤͎̗̞̔̄̔̊̀̈̂̅̽̏͋͜͝t̷̨̤̘͖͖̽́́̋̓̆̎̌̓̇h̵͓̙̦̫͉̙̱̰̝̖̩̓̊̀̾ę̴͍̮̲̻͔͇̦̜̹̐͑̈́̋͑̈́͂̄̕͠m̵̧͉̄.̴̱̖̩̝̺̥͕͖̓̈̂̔͌̉̽̅̾͗͊͘.̷̨̧̡̛͙͕̱͖͖̼̋̊̀̉͋̀̈̚̕͘͝.̷̞͖̺̻̤̮͓͚̣̓͑̋̿̽͋̀̈́́̓ş̷̖̭̠̰͇͕͖̯̼̤̣̖͂̿̐͌̀̓̑͒̔̋̂ͅͅá̷͈̭̙͓̩̹͚͔̝̌̈́͘͜v̴̫͈̤̳͕̣̭͕̭͚̯̱̫̒̾̊̿̏̌̍͑̈́̒̈̉̔̚ͅͅę̵̛̖̖̪͍͖̬͈͚̉̐̆̓͑̊̾̉̔͜ ̸̛̫̈͌̃͑̔͗̍͗͘͝͝͝ṫ̴͎̪͇̫͔͆h̸̤̣̍̀́̔͝e̸̩̹̥̣̬̥͕̺͒̍̐̓̽́͛͑͘m̷͕̼͖̙̼̩̪͓̰̦͉̲͌̽̉̔̇͒̒̈́̄͜͠͝ͅ.̷̝̭̦̞̼͚̜͓͖́͆ͅ.̸͎͓̣͇͙̣͓͖͗̆.̸̛͙̼̜̘̝̩͖͈̲̈́̀͋̒́̊̉̎͂͋̓̀̑̎S̵̗̺̑̔̒͂̓̂́̋̋̔́̚͘t̷̹̬͙̣͕̟̪̒̈́͂͌o̸̢͚̙͖̩̖͇͈̅͌͘͜͝p̸̢̢̢̛̻̺͉͇͖̳͍̓̈́̚͜͝ͅ.̸̧̧̡̺͓̠̙͈̰̝̯̪̜̅̽̎͒͜͜͝.̴̧̧̡̛̩̲̫̭̀̃͌͂̅͗͐̚͝͝.̶̘̬̈́̑̍̃̄͑́́̚̕͘̕͘͝h̷̩͛͌̽̎̄̀̎̉ỉ̸̖̩̝͍̩̘̲͊́͗͝m̸͓̜̎̈́̈́͊̍̍͘...
Chapter 22: 250 Kudos Special!
Chapter Text
250 Kudos milestone has been reached! Another step closer to hopefully and eventually reaching 1,000 Kudos. As promised a multi-chapter special is posted, first one is uploaded already and second one is still work in progress. Once that's done, and 500 kudos milestone is reached, another special will also be published, focused on Time War mentioned in Ben 10: Omniverse and the involvement of a Luz 10,000.
Thank you all for supporting my work!
Chapter 23: Carnival of Chaos
Notes:
Sorry for the late chapter, I've been busy with classes starting and trying to work my schedule of writing around it. As well as the fact I was also working on the Luminous Omniverse chapter so it took some time from that. My update schedule now should be going back to writing another chapter for Luminous Omniverse, before returning to main story until Luminous Omniverse is completed.
As such you might notice a bit of this story was rushed, but I hope it's still satisfactory and enjoyable for all of you. Please leave a comment of your thoughts, and I'll see you in the next chapter. Thank you for reading my work.
Chapter Text
“What do you mean you had to ditch the goods?!” Tibbles scream at his night market supplier, “You guaranteed a delivery by today and now you tell me you lost it all?!”
“Look Mr Grimm Hammer,” the smuggler says defensively, “The Emperor’s Coven has been cracking down on our smuggling routes for weeks now, it gets harder. If we hadn’t ditched the goods we’d be discovered by now.”
“Well, fat lot of good you are!” Tibbles kicks the smuggler’s carriage in frustration, “I lost good snails paying for your services! Without those goods, I’ll make a terrible loss!”
“Look, I didn’t get rid of everything.” The smuggler sighs, “You’ve been a good customer, just take what I’ve got left in here and I’ll give you a good discount next run. 40%, that good enough?”
Tibbles grumbles but relents, moving into the carriage and searching its interior not finding much except for some ridiculous human junk. Who was he, the Owl Lady? It was hard enough to sell human junk in the regular market, let alone the night market. They just weren’t that profitable.
But then his eyes come across some kind of metallic box, with a tinted glass plane, a soft purple glow emitting from it.
“What is that?” Tibbles asks and the smuggler shrugs.
“Not sure, bought it off some Potion Coven witch. Apparently, it’s from the Human Realm, some kinda rare material inside.” the smuggler explains, “Heard it was tested on a couple of wild demons, transforming and driving them crazy.”
“Hmm.” Tibbles lifts the heavy box and turns to the smuggler, “Let me test it out for myself.”
“Sure, there’s a couple birds that- Wait, what are you doing?” the smuggler asks terrified as the box’s tinted glass was pointed at him, “Don’t!”
Tibbles presses a green button on the side of the box, the tinted glass sliding down and shining a ray of purple light over him. The smuggler screams in agony as his veins and eyes began glowing purple, his skin scorched by the radiation emitted by the scraps of glowing rock inside the box, turning coal-black as his bones crack from breaking themselves and reshaping or expanding or elongating.
All the while Tibbles watches with curiosity before the carriage’s driver and the smuggler's partner run up to check what was wrong,
“Chris? What’s going on, man? I heard-?” he cuts off upon the sight of his partner who turns around and stares with empty and hungry purple eyes, “Buddy? It’s me, I- AHH!”
He screams as the mutated smuggler lunges at him with blade-like arms, Tibbles watching as he presses the button again, sealing up the box.
“Fascinating.” he mutters to himself as he looks into the box through the tinted glass, all while screams echo through the night market, “I think I can make good use of this.”
***
“No, no, no!” Luz exclaims as she hops up and grabs one of the bat babies before they can fly off, only for the third one to escape from her grip, “A little help here Eda?!”
“Hey, you’re the one with parental experience.” Eda says as she slips on a pair of earmuffs before clicking on the crystal ball, “Oh look, my show’s on.”
“I only have two hands!” Luz says as the baby flaps around the ceiling before heading to an open window to her horror, making her rush over and used her leg to shut the window. But then they just changed their direction and headed to the kitchen, hovering over a cauldron of boiling potions. Her eyes moved to a lid on the floor and stepped on it, flipping it up before kicking it and accurately landing on the top.
“She shoots and she scores.” Luz sighs in relief, “All that soccer training paid off.”
But then she doesn’t even get a break when King’s throat recovers enough for him to start screaming again, this time at Eda’s crystal ball.
This screaming causes the third baby in her hands to cry again, which causes a chain reaction for the rest to start crying.
“Ah, thank the Titan for subtitles existing.” Eda says as she raises her legs and rests them on the coffee table, Luz glaring at her as she shrugs, “Chin up Luz, I heard parenting is its own reward or something.”
“It’s hard work as well!” Luz groans as she tries to rock them to sleep, “It would help if I have an extra pair of hands. King, stop shouting, you’re scaring the babies. And help close the windows!”
She uses her feet to slam the kitchen window shut just as the third baby started flying upstairs and she groans even more.
“That’s it!” Luz gives up, holding her left arm up and biting it down with her teeth to prime it before headbutting it, flashing purple before bandages were thrown at the third baby to wrap around it and gently pull it back to her arms, “There we go. Finally.”
Snare-Oh sighs before turning to a still screaming King, “Please…I’ll help you learn your powers later, just not now.”
“But I’m so close.” King whines, “Just a bit more and I’ll crack it.”
Snare-Oh just sighs even more, “Maybe I’ll take them out for a walk. That used to work back with my kids. Help to tucker them out.”
“Ooh, can I come along?” King asks, making Snare-Oh raise a brow.
“Sure, but why? I’d have guessed you’d have wanted to practise with your powers?”
“Simple! Wherever you go, trouble seems to follow. Maybe fighting something will help awaken my long-hidden powers?”
“...Sure, knock yourself out.” Snare-Oh says in defeat, “I have a feeling you’re just gonna tag along no matter what I say.”
“Excellent!” King climbs up on her bandages into her shoulder, “Onwards my steed!”
“Eda, we’re heading out.” Snare-Oh calls out to the Owl Lady, still watching her show with earmuffs on, before noticing something disturbing, smacking her earmuffs off so she could hear her clearly, “And please, remember your elixir! I don’t wanna come home to find another Owl Beast incident, you hear me?”
“Huh?” Eda glances back at her, “What’re you talking about? I already took my elixir this morning.”
“Then what the heck is that?” Snare-Oh asks, pointing to her arms where signs of feathers were sprouting.
Eda’s eyes widen in shock before panicking searching between the couch before withdrawing an elixir bottle between the cushions and downing it. In an instant, the feathers disappeared as she sighs with relief,
“But that should be impossible, I’ve taken my daily dose already.” Eda mutters confused, “Unless…that piece of-! Morton’s scamming me isn’t he? I can’t believe that jerk! I’ve been a loyal customer for the past three decades and this is how he repays me?! Watering down my potions?
“You think it was the guy who sells you those things?” Snare-Oh asks as Eda walks over and grabs her staff from her hair,
“Who else? I'm heading to the market to give him a piece of my mind!” Eda storms out, “Watering down my elixir like that, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind!”
“Alright, alright.” Snare-Oh assures, “But before we go, I need to grab a couple of things from the Human Realm first. Is that fine with you?”
“Fine, but you better not take too long.” Eda warns before pulling out her portal key and clicking it, “What’cha grabbing anyways?”
“What else? Baby supplies.”
***
One awkward chat with her mother later to explain why she was picking up old baby equipment, assuring again that no, Camila wasn’t going to be a grandmother again, her aliens were not giving birth or laying eggs, and so on.
“So…you humans leash your babies?” Eda asks as they walk through the market, with Luz trailing behind them child leashes in hand that are hooked to harnesses worn by the bat babies.
“No…Well not all parents, these leashes are for the children’s safety anyways.” Luz explains, “Besides, it’s a must to have child leashes when you have fourteen flying kids.”
Luz shudders as she remembers the hassle of getting her Necrofriggian kids onto leashes to go out for walks. She doubts the average parent had to deal with fourteen intangible flying kids.
***
“Frostbite?” Luz looks around frantically and fearfully as she held a harness without her oldest Necrofriggian child in it, the other hand holding the other thirteen Necrofriggian children “Frostbite, come out this isn’t funny!”
“Er…Luz?” Kevin calls out hesitantly and sounding confused, pointing above them, “I think I found your kid.”
They all look up to find Frostbite flying in the air, high above skyscrapers until he was a barely visible blue dot.
“...Aww, that’s the highest he’s ever flown.” Luz smiles proudly before her face pales, “Wait…is that a helicopter? Why are you flying towards the helicopter?! Other way! Fly the other way!”
She instantly hands the other thirteen leashes to Kevin before priming her Omnitrix and twisting the dial for Jetray, “Hold on Frostbite! Momma’s coming!”
“Ah, motherhood.” Camilla sighs fondly as she reminisces, “You know this reminds me of a time Luz crawled out of her stroller and somehow found herself on a construction site at the top of an unfinished floor. We still have no idea how she got there in the ten seconds we had our backs turned, but even back then she had her adventurous spirit. You should’ve seen how terrified Manny and I were.”
She chuckles as Kevin’s feet started to leave the ground, the thirteen Necrofriggian children lifting him as they started flapping their wings,
“W-wait, I can’t fly!” He protests but soon, he is pulled up, “Put me down! Help!”
***
“...You’re a weird kid you know?” Eda asks.
“Thanks, I try my best.” Luz smiles.
“Hmm…hey Luz, how do humans make babies anyways?” King asks out of curiosity as both Eda and Luz started choking on air,
“Oh no, no, I had those kids when I was Big Chill.” Luz hastily explains, “Basically I just ate metal, puke it out, and laid eggs. It’s a long story.”
“Alright, but if humans don’t lay eggs then how do you make smaller humans?” King asks, scratching his chin.
“Er…I think Eda can explain it to you.” Luz says quickly dumping this problem on Eda’s feet who frantically looked around before pointing forward,
“Oh look! Morton’s there, let’s hurry this up!” Eda points before walking quicker towards the stall.
A man with shoulder-length brown hair and what appears to be a funnel being worn as a hat was manning the stall looking bored at the lack of customers before Eda storms up to him.
“Eda? What are you doing here, it hasn’t even been a week yet.” He asks confusedly before Eda slams an empty bottle of elixir on his counter.
“I wanna know what kinda stunt you’re pulling Morton!” Eda demands, “What did you do to my elixirs? Water them down? Skim off the ingredients and fill it with junk?”
“What?!” Morton looks confused, “What are you talking about?”
“She’s had to take two elixirs today.” Luz explains calmly in contrast to Eda’s angry ranting, “We’re hoping you can explain yourself on this.”
“What?!” Morton looks shocked, “But that’s impossible!”
“Well apparently not.” Eda snarls, “I’ve taken them for decades and it’s always been an elixir a day to keep the curse away, like your slogan promises. But all of a sudden I had to take two now? Seems fishy doesn’t it?”
“I don’t cheap out on production Eda, you know that.” Morton says looking offended before being concerned, “...But I think we both know what’s going on.”
“...It can’t be, everything’s been fine for the past thirty years, why start now?” Eda says with both disbelief and fear.
“It’s getting worse?” Luz asks in shock, “How? Is there a way to slow it down?
“Beats me. Nobody knows anything about her curse.” Morton sighs as he searches under his counter before handing a bundle of elixir bottles, “But if it is getting worse…we might need to up your dose. Two a day now, you hear me?”
Eda wordlessly accepts the bundle of elixirs as Luz addresses Morton,
“Isn’t there a way to improve the elixir or something?” she asks, “I don’t know, some super special magic ingredient?”
“If you can find a way to improve a centuries-old recipe, go ahead and try.” he sighs, "Wish I can do more, kid. I do.”
They all left shortly after, Eda staring at the bag of elixir in her hands as if in deep thought.
“Hey, it’s gonna take more than a little curse to beat the Owl Lady.” King says from Luz’s shoulder, “So you gotta take an extra bottle now, who cares? You did pretty long with just one. How bad can it be?”
As if recognising something was wrong, the baby bats that were just flying around in circles around them, landed on Eda. One of them perches on her shoulder and makes a curious noise as if asking what was wrong.
Eda puts on a smile, one that felt forced, “It’s fine, it’s…not a surprise. I kinda expected it to get worse a long time ago, didn’t think it would take this long. Maybe King’s right, just an extra bottle shouldn’t affect me too much.”
“...I can make some calls back home.” Luz tells Eda, “Our tech can-”
“Luz, I know you want to help.” Eda interrupts her with a sigh, “I’ll think about it but not now, please.”
Luz respects that and became silent, looking around the market before her eyes notice something, a flyer on a wall.
“Hey, check this out!” she walks over and rips it off before showing them, “There’s a sorta carnival in town! Food and fun for the whole day! What do you say?”
The bat babies immediately begin chirping in excitement and King looks excited as well, “Oh, oh! Come on Eda, let’s go!”
Eda stares at the flyer before the kids, recognising the reason why Luz was doing this, sighing.
“Fine, I guess I can use the distraction,” she admits as the kids cheered.
***
“P-please man, I don’t get the snails for it.” the witch pleads, his hands shaking, “Come on, just this once! I’ll pay back next time, you know I’m good for it.”
Tibbles hums as he gestures for the witch to step closer, which he does in a confused manner.
“Hm, how much have I sold you already? A dozen doses?” Tibbles asks as he strokes his chin, observing the slight hint of purple veins under the witch’s eyes.
“Y-yeah that sounds about right.” the witch nods as Tibbles smiles and pats him on the leg,
“I don’t think I can just give you another dose, but I can see how you can earn one.” Tibbles says as the witch looks at him with hope in his eyes, “I need someone to work in this show I have planned for the circus. Perform in it, and I’ll give you all the dose you need.”
“R-really?” the witch asks in disbelief, “B-but I’m not sure I know how to perform or anything.”
“No worries, it’ll be something for us to discuss in my office. Just be yourself and it’ll be fine, and here, as a show of good faith.”
Tibbles throws him an inhaler that he desperately catches and puffs into his mouth, sucking in a purple gas and coughing, his eyes momentarily glowing purple.
“Oh my Titan, that’s the stuff!” the witch cheers, “That was good, it felt…stronger.”
“That’s because I gave you a purer dose, and there’s more of that if you head to my office right now,” Tibbles promises as the witch nods,
“You got it, Mr Grimm Hammer! I’ll put on a show they’ll never forget!” the drugged-up witch declares as he runs off.
“Oh, I do not doubt it.” Tibbles chuckles to himself as he resumes leaning against the counter of his stall, the sign dangling above him displaying the words; ‘Grimm Hammer’s Enhancers’.
Ever since he found those weird purple rocks from the Human Realm and a way to safely make contact with it without turning himself into a monster like that unfortunate smuggler, he had found a way to turn some of its scrap and residue into a type of performance enhancer which were quickly selling like fairy pies. And when they can’t afford them anymore, yet come to him pleading for more, let’s just say he found a way to earn some snails from them as well.
“Business is good.” he hums to himself as he counts the stack of snails he’s earned from today’s sales, and calculates how much his ‘show’ later would bring, especially if you account for the betting pool.
“Alright, alright, quit dragging me, I can walk on my own dang it.”
Tibble glances up from his snails and almost chokes on air at the sight. Across his stall by a few metres was the infamous Owl Lady walking around with that pet demon of hers, and a human holding what appears to be the children of the Bat Queen.
Everybody knows of the Bat Queen, a demon living somewhere in the forest possessing possibly the greatest wealth all across the Boiling Isles. They say if you combine all the contents of the banks in the Isles they’ll just barely be enough to match her accumulated wealth.
The Owl Lady’s trillion snail bounty…the Bat Queen’s immense wealth…
All of a sudden, a plan begins to form in his head.
***
“So what should we do first?” Luz asks as they all toured the carnival, “Roller coaster? Ferris wheel? Or maybe try out some games?”
“Don’t know what a ferris wheel is, but there is a scaris wheel.” Eda points to the structure in the distance, “It’s supposed to give you long-lasting nightmares but honestly, I used to ride those bad boys all the time when I was your age. Just cheap thrills.”
“So a ferris wheel mixed with a haunted house?!” Luz exclaims in excitement, “Sign me up!”
But then chirping reminds her of the three passengers she had, glancing to find the three bat babies hovering around her staring at all the carnival had to offer from the cheap greasy food to the likely rigged games, staring at them with curiosity. She realises that this scaris wheel likely wouldn’t allow babies on.
Seeing the look on Luz’s face, Eda sighs and gestures to her,
“Come on, hand them over.” Eda says, surprising Luz, “Don’t give me that look, I ain’t gonna let you have all the paycheck, I need to put some work in if I wanna earn my share. Don’t worry, I'll be careful.”
“Well…if you're sure.” Luz hands the babies over, “I don’t wanna be a bother-”
“Kid, it’s cool.” Eda insists as she takes the child leashes off Luz, “How hard can it be?”
“Very.” Luz says with worry, “I can just-”
“Kid, just go enjoy a day off, and I’ll enjoy one as well.” Eda says, rolling her eyes before turning to the baby bats, “I can think of a few scams to run with these guys.”
Luz feels King pull at her by the sleeve towards the scaris wheel, “Come on Luz! I want to give it a try! Maybe if I get scared enough and scream as loud as I can, I can get my powers?”
***
“Well that was a bust.” Luz mutters as she rubs her very sore ears, courtesy of King’s screaming in an enclosed space like the scaris wheel’s carriage, “But hey, at least we had fun. The practical effects were insane, if that was a thing on Earth they’d have made a killing.”
King, however, grumbles as he kicks a rock before it reveals to be some kind of snail-like creature, glancing up from the disturbance before fleeing upon King shouting at it.
“Hey, chin up.” Luz says as she pats King on the shoulder, “You’ll get it someday, what’s the rush?”
“It’s because I’m the King of Demons.” King grumbles in frustration, “The sooner I can regain my powers, the sooner I can return to my full might!”
“Why do you wanna return to your full might so badly anyways?” Luz asks, retaining a healthy sense of scepticism to King’s claims. Sure it could very well be a child’s overactive imagination, but she’s seen enough things in the galaxy to respond with scepticism instead of disbelief. Unlike Kevin who straight out doesn’t believe in King’s claims or Hope who doesn’t believe as well but chooses to play along, she likes to think she chose a middle-ground.
“Why else?” King scoffs, “Ruling over grand armies, tasting some of the finest feasts in the lands, having people worship me with love and fear!”
“But slightly less of the latter, right?” Luz says slightly jokingly.
“Yeah that’s what Hope said, something about being better to be loved and feared, just make sure you’re not hated.”
“Machiavelli’s the Prince.” Luz nods in recognition, “Seem’s pretty advanced and… mature for someone your age.”
“It’s boring, too little bloodshed and war.” King waves off, “But yeah, and who knows what kind of magical powers I must have when I regain my full might? It must’ve been insanely powerful back when I was King of Demons, maybe even enough to help Eda?”
He mutters the last part, likely not having meant to say that out loud, and Luz looks down at him, “You’re worried for her aren’t you?”
King looks flustered at this, “W-well Hope says that loyal servants to a king must always be rewarded for their loyalty and service, so that’s what I’m doing. She’s been taking care of me ever since I have been reduced to this minor form, so of course I should try to use the might of my awesome powers to cure her. Once I figure out how to, of course.”
Luz smiles warmly and pats him on the back, “Hey, we’ll figure out a way to help her. If my Omnitrix could turn her back from Owl Beast to Eda, there’s something Azmuth could do to stop it, maybe even cure it.”
“You think so?” King asks hopefully.
“I know so.” Luz gives him an assuring smile, “Now, I think I recall helping you learn more about your powers. How do you feel about it now?”
“Really?” King asks, looking up at her excitedly as she nods.
“Sure, we got the time now. Might as well put it to use.” Luz says as she gestures to an empty ally, “Should be far enough not to disturb anyone.”
They both walk down the alley where Luz primes her Omnitrix, twisting the dial until she finds Skullhound before slamming it, feeling fur grow across her skin, horns protruding from her skull and wings sprout from her back in an instant.
“Alright, so just do what I do.” Skullhound says as she inhales before shouting at a trash can, launching it down the alley and spilling its contents, “See?”
“Well I’ve tried shouting but it just doesn’t work!” King complains, “What else are you doing? How did you know you had shouting powers when you first transformed?”
Skullhound scratches her chin with her claws, “Well, not sure. The Omnitrix downloads some instincts of the forms into my head whenever I transform which makes it easier for me to use my powers, like some sort of muscle memory. But when that abomination grabbed me I wanted it to get away from me and then I shouted ‘Get away’. Maybe you need to put some intent behind it?”
She picks up a glass bottle from the fallen trash can and puts it in front of King who preps himself,
“I want you to break, I want you to break, I want you to break…” King mutters to himself determinedly before inhaling and shouting, “I want you to break!”
However, nothing happens, the glass bottle remaining perfectly intact. Frustrated, King kicks it into the wall but it only rolls forward slowly before hitting the wall and rolling back. At this point, he loses all semblance of calm and starts kicking a fuss, screeching in a high-pitched tone.
“Hey King, it’s fine you’ll get it one day,” Skullhound assures trying to calm the screaming child down.
“But I don’t want it someday, I want it now!” King whines, “I’m supposed to be the King of Demons! I’m supposed to be the strongest! How can I return to my full might if I’m not strong enough to even break a bottle?!”
Skullhound sits down next to King, “Come on, King. Power isn’t everything. You can be the strongest without being the strongest.”
King looks at her like she just said something stupid, and she clarifies herself.
“Being the strongest also means having this, and this,” she says, tapping his skull and heart.
“...My skull and muscles?” King asks, trying to puff his chest and look bigger.
“No, I mean your brain and heart.” Skullhound explains, “An old friend taught me there’s a lot of things besides brute force. Don’t underestimate how much those things come into play. You need to think to use your powers, and courage to carry out those plans. It all balances each other out, and I bet inside is a smart demon with a brave heart that doesn’t need powers to become a King of Demons.”
King pauses as if considering her words, “...I think shouting at things and breaking them is still cool.”
“It is pretty cool.” Skullhound chuckles, “You’ll get there one day, I believe in you, King.”
A scream and the sound of a roller coaster were heard and Skullhound glances towards it, pointing a thumb in that direction,
“And hey, the day isn't over yet. What say you and I keep trying out rides, maybe if we keep trying, one of them can get the adrenaline rush you need to get your powers?”
“You think so?”
Skullhound shrugs, “It’ll be a fun attempt even if I’m not.”
***
“So…what am I supposed to do with you?” Eda mutters to herself as she holds onto the child leash Luz gave her, holding on to the three bat babies to prevent them from flying anywhere too dangerous.
Honestly with how wild kids are, she’s surprised no one on the Boiling Isles invented this kinda thing yet. She could make a killing if she gets a couple dozen more of them! There’s always gonna be some parents looking for something to reign in their kids without much effort.
Just as she was thinking of the potential revenue, one of them got tired of flying and decided to fly into her hairdo like it was some nest, followed by the other two.
“Hey, get outta there.” Eda complains as she plucks one of them from her hair and glares at them, “My hair isn’t your bed you-”
However this proved to be the wrong move as suddenly the bat baby starts tearing up before bawling, followed by their siblings as Eda began panicking,
“Alright, alright, you can sleep in my head just stop crying!” Eda pleads only for it to go unanswered, “Right, what would Luz do?”
She starts rocking the baby in her arms, “Rock, rock, maternal gesture?”
To her surprise it worked, the bat baby in her arm calming down and seeing this, so did their siblings. She lets out a sigh of relief, whoever said parenting was hard must be wimps, this thing was easy!
However, the one in her hands starts to squirm and she looks down worried, “Oh Titan, what is it this time? Please tell me you aren’t going to have a number two in my arms…”
The bat baby starts gnawing their jaws as if trying to eat something, “Right, you’re hungry. It’s already time for lunch, isn't it?”
But then she winces as she looks down at the bag full of extra elixir doses and realises she spent most of her scratch today on the elixirs and gave the rest to Luz and King to enjoy themselves. How was she supposed to get something to eat on a handful of snails?
“Damn it!”
She hears someone scream angrily and turns to see a nearby stall someone storms away angrily as a pig demon manning the stall scoops up a small mountain of snails,
“Good game, sir. I’ll be taking these now.” the pig demon says with a satisfied smile as he puts back the cards on the table and shuffles them in a deck of other cards, which she recognises as Hexes Hold’Em cards.
An idea begins forming in her head as she approaches the pig demons,
“Well, looks like someone had a good game,” she says trying to sound as casual as possible.
“I believe the results speak for themselves.” the pig demon says gesturing to the small mountain of snails, “Tibbles Grimm Hammer, at your service.”
“I think my reputation speaks for itself.” Eda smirks before gesturing to his cards, “Hexes Hold’ Em. You play a lot?”
“Oh, only a casual player. But fortunately so was my opponent.” Tibbles says casually, “Now how may I help you? I take it you are after some of my famous enhancers?”
He gestures down at the sign of his stall where she reads, “Grimm Hammer’s Enhancers? You sell potions or something?”
“Of a sort. Might I bother you with a free sample?” he asks, holding out some strange device, it didn't look like any potion bottle she’s seen before.
“Not interested.” she waved it off before reaching inside her hair and pulling out a deck of cards, “What I am interested in is if you're interested in a game?”
“Oh?” he raises a brow, “And I take it that this is no casual game?”
“Got that right. We play for snails,” she says with a confident smirk.
“Well I am interested in winning some more, but if you want to play I would like for you to put some stakes into this as well.” Tibbles says, “Perhaps 250 snails at least, or the equivalent of such in goods.”
Eda hesitates for a moment but then sees just how many snails there were in the pile before glancing at the bag of elixir in her hands, setting it on the table with the snails, “There. That’s 300 snails worth of elixir right there, more than enough to buy my way to the table.”
“Of course it is.” Tibbles says as he shuffles his cards and drew five cards, “I’m ready when you are Owl Lady.”
***
“That is unbelievable!” Eda screams in disbelief as a wild card demolishes what cards she had left before attacking her health points directly causing a win for Tibbles, “I demand a rematch!”
“Of course, of course.” Tibbles says as he shuffles his cards again, “As long as you have the snails for it. With my recent winnings, I think we should increase it by 500, it seems fair don’t you think?”
“500-?! I don’t have that kinda scratch on me!” Eda cries out almost tearing her hair out, “Look, I’m on the verge of some major payday, I’m talking crystals that are literally out of this world. Those would fetch a pretty penny, and I’ll pay up once I get it, but I need those elixirs! They’re important!”
“Well, you should have thought of that before you gambled them away.” Tibbles shrugs with that damn smile still on his face, “Quite irresponsible if you ask me.”
“Now listen here you little-!” she grits her teeth before he holds out a hand,
“Careful now, you don’t want to start a spectacle in the middle of the festivities do you?” Tibbles says, “Carnival security is surprisingly effective. Makes you wonder why we pay our taxes for Coven guards.”
“What makes you think I care?” Eda taunts.
“You won’t, but I have a feeling those three in your hair will.” Tibbles points out.
Eda hesitates upon remembering the three babies in her hair. She doesn’t doubt her ability to get out unscathed, both King and Luz could take care of themselves, but the babies? If even one of them gets a scratch she doubts the Bat Queen would forgive her.
“...There’s gotta be a way.” Eda argues, “Come on, you’re talking about taking away an old woman’s medication. Doesn’t that make you at least feel bad?”
“Says the person who gambled it away in the first place. But if you want them back, I suppose there’s a way you can work for it.” Tibbles handed her a card, “I have a second business running later today, I’m talking about a little show. If you were to participate and put on a good show, I’ll be happy to return your elixirs, and even a cut of the profits if you perform admirably.”
“...What’s your game, Tibbles?” Eda asks, narrowing her eyes.
“Why, I am merely trying to provide a service and earn a profit doing so.” Tibbles replies with his ever-present smile, “If you wish for an unbreakable oath to be sealed-?”
“Nah, those things are never reliable and easy to get around.” Eda refuses and thinks to herself. Part of her thinks of calling Luz for help, maybe stealing back the elixirs for her or having some backup in case things get dicey.
But then she remembers how worried she looks when hearing about her curse, and also what kind of pressure she has with the whole basilisk stuff. The kid has enough on her belt already, and this was a problem she got herself into, she was the dang Owl Lady and she’s been kicking around before the kid was even in diapers. She can handle whatever this was, scam or not.
“Just remember, if you even think about crossing me…” she leaves the threat unsaid as she snatches the card.
“The show starts later today, the exact time is written on the cards.” Tibble says ignoring the threats, “Do be sure not to be late. And you might want to find a safe place for those babies in your hair. We don’t want them getting hurt do we?”
***
Eda realises something was wrong the moment she enters the locker room, where the other ‘performers’ states were visible for her to see. Erratic movement, some scratching themselves as their bodies shook, eyes unfocused, it looked like all of them were under withdrawal from stimulant potions only worse somehow. She was pretty sure none of them even registered her presence.
Even the babies seem to register something was wrong as one of them chirped from her hair sounding concerned,
“Yeah I know, kid, but we ain’t got much other choices. Besides, look at them, we get into a fight and I might not even need magic to give them a beat down.” Eda whispers as she glanced around, “Alright, now where’s Tibbles?”
“Here.” a voice comes from behind her, startling her.
“Titan!” she yelps as she jumped back a little, finding the pig biped demon standing behind her, “Were you just waiting there this whole time?”
“Just waiting for my main attraction, there’ll be plenty of people coming to see you for the upcoming match.” Tibbles answer.
“Match?” Eda asks as she points to the other participants, “You expect me to fight a bunch of junkies? You do realise I’m the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles right? Maybe it’ll be more entertaining if I blindfolded myself and fight while hopping on one leg.”
“Oh trust me, it would be entertaining enough.” Tibbles says with a slight chuckle that unnerves her before he claps, “Alright, we’re going to start preparing now. Head to your designated rooms, will you, and make sure to take one of these.”
The witches and biped demons in the room immediately stood up and did as Tibbles suggested, each taking some sort of necklace made of chains with a small metal marble hanging off them. They each put them on without question and head to the rooms they were likely informed about beforehand, leaving Eda with Tibbles holding out one last necklace.
“Well, if you are worrying about those babies in your hair you can just leave them here or put them up in the seats, they won’t be bothered,” Tibbles informs but Eda stares at the necklace in suspicion.
“So what’s this little doohickey supposed to do?”
“Oh just to keep check on our contestant’s health, we don’t want any of them dying do we?” Tibbles asks with a chuckle as she stares at the necklace.
“...Yeah I’ll pass.” Eda swats his hand away, “If I wasn’t sure at first, I am now. This thing’s a scam, and I sure as heck ain’t curious enough to see what this is about. I’ll just get more elixirs some other way.”
“...You aren’t as dumb as I was expecting,” Tibbles admits, his smile turning to a slight frown, but before Eda could do anything Tibble’s other hand which he had hidden behind his body suddenly whipped out a box and pressed a green button on its side, shining her with purple rays.
She screams in agony as the rays hit her, sending her spiralling and falling backwards as the bat babies suddenly sprang from her hair in surprise at her sudden motion, just as Tibbles drew a spell circle and golden chains wrapped around and pull to his hands.
“I’m sure the Bat Queen would pay a pretty penny to see her beloved children again.” Tibbles chuckles to himself as writhes in pain under the rays, “As for you, the Emperor’s Coven still has quite a bounty on you, one I’m eager to cash in. If there’s anything left of you afterwards of course.”
She tries to stand, to draw a spell circle and blast Tibbles away, but was unable to as her eyes and veins began glowing purple, and so did the gem in her chest.
***
“I told you that you shouldn’t have eaten that double serving of fried dough before that ride.” Luz rolls her eyes as she carries a dazed King, patting him on the back.
"Wha' are ya talkin' 'bout, I'm fiiiine..." King slurs out, still seeing double but the sudden action makes the bile rise from his stomach again, fortunately for Luz, he resisted puking on her shirt.
“Well glad to see you’re having fun, little buddy.” Luz says, happy he’s gotten over his issues about his powers, at least for now, “But we should try finding Eda, it’s been hours and we should check on how she’s doing with those bat babies.”
Before King could reply, they were nearly pushed aside by some enthusiastic witch teens.
“Come on, we’re gonna be late! The fight’s already started!”
“I know, I know!”
“Fight?” Luz mutters to herself as she picks up a flyer one of them dropped and reads it out loud, “Are you ready for the ultimate bloodbath? Witness the most intense and brutal cage fight that will leave you on the edge of your seat.”
“Oh, oh, oh! Can we go, Luz?” King pleads as he reads the flyer, “It sounds awesome!”
“I don’t know, doesn’t sound very kid-friendly,” Luz says looking concerned.
“Didn’t you get into death battles with aliens when you were ten?” King reminds, “Come on, just for one match then we’ll find Eda. Please, please, please!”
“...Fine, just one match then we go.” Luz sighs at the puppy eyes King was giving her.
It wasn’t hard to find the place, the location was written on the back of the flyer. It was a large purple and white tent located near the centre of the carnival, with a loud commotion from the inside.
“Guess we’re in the right place.” She mutters to herself before approaching the ticket counter with King, “Two tickets, please?”
The ticket counter holds out a hand, “Five snails each.”
Luz deposited the number of snails and was given two tickets with the seat numbers marked on them.
“Come on Luz, let's go!” King says dragging her by the hand towards the giant tent.
“Alright, slow down King.” Luz chuckles at how excited he was as they entered the giant tent, “Don’t know what’s got you so excited, how interesting can…this be…”
She trails off, her eyes widening as she finds a large cage in the middle of the tent, surrounded by bleachers full of cheering and jeering witches. In the cage, two figures with coal-black charred skin with bladed arms, as well as purple eyes and veins were tearing into each other.
Both of the figures were wearing chained collars with what appeared to be pieces of glowing purple rocks on them. Just as one of them gains the upper hand and prepares to stab at their fallen opponent, the collars crackle with electricity and the chains pull them away from each other, back into smaller cages within the caged arena.
“I hope you are all as excited as I was after that little demo match.” a voice came from a small pig-like biped demon in a uniform that made him look like a circus ringmaster, his voice echoing through the gigantic tent from a private box as the crowd cheering and confirming his thoughts.
“Yeah! Yeah!” King cheers from next to Luz, who stares at the whole thing in stunned silence.
“Well I’m glad to hear that, my beloved audience.” the pig demon says, “But now for the main event, what you all came here for…”
He snaps his fingers as two burly witches wheel in a cage covered in a large tarp it shook, something inside desperately trying to break free.
“The next match will be to see how long this particular specimen will last, for every match she survives two more specimens will be thrown in. How many rounds before she kicks the bucket? How many lives will she claim before she does? Place your bets now and welcome our latest contestant, the Owl Lady!”
“Eda?!” Luz’s eyes widen in shock and King stops cheering upon hearing this as the tarp was pulled over to reveal the Owl Beast, mutated almost beyond recognition.
Her wings were not far larger and more bat-like in shape, with tattered edges with long spikes protruding from the edges of the wing, the thick grey feathers now appeared scorched coal black looking more like a chainmail of stone feathers.
Talons were now longer than her arm looking able to tear through thick stone and metal with ease, and would’ve likely broke free from the cage if the electricity running through the metal bars and her collar weren’t stopping her.
There was now a curved owl-like beak protruding from her mouth, with jagged teeth barred at her captors and dripping some purple substance that dripped into the bottom of her metal cage, causing it to sizzle. Additionally, a spiked tail dripping the same acid lashes out from behind her, smashing at the bars only to be repelled by the magically enhanced metal.
“Luz is that Eda?!” King asks in shock and slight fear at the sight of the monster before them, “W-what happened to her?”
“Corrodium…” Luz mutters, still shocked at the sight before them, “They’re from the Anur systems, it’s a corrosive material that has mutagenic effects. They’re illegal in three-quarters of the entire galaxy.”
She grabs King by the hand, “We need to leave. Now!”
Luz quickly drags King out of the tent as he tries to pull her back, “But what about Eda, we need to save her!”
“I know we do!” Luz shouts once they are out of the tent, “But the Bat Queen’s kids, we need to find them too. They were with Eda when we last saw them, and chances are when they did this to her they probably took them as well. If I was a criminal mastermind, I’d try holding them for ransom considering their mother’s the richest demon in the Boiling Isles.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” King punches his fist together, “Let’s go turn that circus guy into pork chop!”
“No, I’ll keep them busy, you’re going to look around for the kids. Alright?” Luz asks but King looks annoyed,
“Hey, you know who you’re talking to? The King of Demons that’s who!” he puffs his chest, “This is my chance, if I try to fight that Owl Beast maybe I’ll awaken my powers!”
“Or you won’t, and you get hurt by that mutated Owl Beast.” Luz says firmly, staring him down, “I’m taking the Owl Beast.”
“I can do it! I’m strong! I want to fight!” King argues and Luz kneels to his eye level, placing her hands on his shoulder.
“I know you do, King. But not this time.” Luz says with a sigh, “I can’t risk you, Eda and those three babies just because you want a slight chance at getting your powers.”
“...You said you believed in me,” King mutters, sounding hurt by what he thinks is a lie.
“I do believe in you, that’s why I’m asking you to find those kids while I keep everyone busy.” Luz says softly, “King, I need your help with this, I can’t be in two places at once. I know you want to fight, if I was here and your age I’d want that as well, but what we want is different from what is needed. That’s something we learn in life, whether we’re a ruler or a hero. Right now I need you to help save those kids. Do you understand?”
King stares at her in silence, contemplating her words before answering,
“Well…Hope does say that a true ruler has to separate their wants for the greater good of their people, so as the King of Demons, I suppose it’s my duty to save my future subjects, especially from a potentially powerful ally like the Bat Queen.” King says with some reluctance before with growing determination, “You can count on me, Luz!”
Luz smiles with relief, “I’m glad I can. There should be a backdoor around the tent to the pig demon’s office or whatever. Find a way inside and find them, I’ll make sure all attention is on me and do my best to stop them from killing each other.”
“What are you going to do?” King asks as Luz primes her Omnitirx, twisting the dial before slamming it.
In a flash of purple light, Luz’s muscle fibre and skeleton break down before reassembling into biological bandages that wrap around themselves to create a hollow body, her skull stretching out and reconstructing to form a Thep Khufan’s headpiece.
“Me?” Snare-Oh smirks or she would have if she had a mouth, “By the time I’m done, that demon will be crying out for their mummy.”
***
“Another round survived, with quite a few disappointed betters.” Tibbles chuckles as some of the crowd booed and jeered while others cheered, counting the snails he has amassed so far. Business was booming and after today, he might never have to work again for the rest of his life!
That was what he thought until something interrupts his show.
Just as the Owl Beast was about to finish off one of the mutated witches, a pair of bandages suddenly flew through the gaps of the bars and wrap around her jaw before she could tear off the mutated witch’s head.
All eyes suddenly turned to a mummy approaching from the entrance, bandages thrown from her arms as she pulled with the Owl Beast struggling,
“Hey ugly, why don’t you pick on someone your size?” Snare-Oh taunts as she moves into the cage, easily slipping through the gaps between bars by shifting her bandages around.
The mutated Owl Beast roars at her before charging at her latest prey, but Snare-Oh dodges the flash of claws and barbed wings, easily shifting her bandages in such ways as to avoid getting torn up by the flurry of attacks.
The crowd was growing restless upon the appearance of a new contender, and desperate to salvage the situation Tibbles magically amplified his voice to speak again.
“W-well, what’s this? It appears we have a surprise contestant out of nowhere.”
As the crowd muttered to themselves wondering what was happening, Snare-Oh reels back a fist and constricts it to build up force before delivering an extended punch that only knocked the mutated Owl Beast back a few feet before it growls at her.
“Alright Eda, let’s get this over with.” Snare-Oh mutters to herself as she taps the Omnitirx emblem on her shoulder, “Omnitrix, initiated genetic repairs.”
“Confirmed.” , the Omnitrix speaks before glowing purple and firing a beam of energy towards the Owl Beast which screams in agony before the beam dissipates to her surprise, “Error. Error. Error. Genetic damage caused by external sources of mutagen still present. Please remove source before initiating repairs.”
“Right, or it would’ve been too easy.” she mutters to herself as the Owl Beast leaps at her before disentangling her bandages to lie flat on the ground causing the Owl Beast to fly overhead and smash into the electrified cage bars instead, “Hard way it is.”
Snare-Oh throws her hands in front of herself and bends the bandages in the shape of a large light glyph, activating it and burning the bandages used as a bright flash of light emerges from her hands, hoping it could blind and overwhelm the Owl Beast like last time.
However, instead, the mutated Owl Beast leaps through the light and pounces on her as Snare-Oh uses her arms to try and keep its snapping jaws away from her headpiece. Frustrated at this, the mutated Owl Beast bites down on her arm instead as Snare-Oh screamed from the pain before using her other arm to generate a small fire glyph out of bandages to drive it back, successfully doing so.
She pants and observes the damage to her arm, wincing as she sees the purple acidic spit the mutated Owl Beast left on her eating away her bandages, forcing her to grit her teeth and tear off the infested arm before she could regenerate the damage done.
“What a wonderful performance from our surprise guest, but as you all know another round has ended and another will begin, this time with five new specimens added to the game!”
Snare-Oh turns to glare at the biped pig demon as five cages rise from the ground and unleash their inhabitants, crazed and blood-lusted mutated witches. Half of them target the Owl Beast who tries to cut them to ribbons if it weren’t for Snare-Oh using her bandages to pull them away just as the other half began trying to cut her up.
Surrounded by mutated witches and a giant owl creature that wants to kill her and each other, all while trying to cure them of their mutations within a ten-minute timer.
She manifests two pairs of glyphs in each hand, thorny vines wrapping around her fists to create makeshift bludgeons as fire glyphs set them alight,
“Just another Friday I guess,” she mutters to herself as the mutants approach.
***
King grunts as he finally manages to climb through an open window near a small building behind the tent, probably used as a storeroom for equipment or some kind of office. The only source of light was from the window so he carefully and slowly made his way through the halal trying to look for where the bat babies could be hidden.
“I don’t know man, it just doesn’t feel right.”
King immediately hugs the wall just as he was about to go around a corner, hearing a voice from there. He leans his ear as close as possible without being seen to try and listen into this conversation,
“Hey, I don’t care, it's not like we’re gonna hurt them or anything.” a second voice says, “Soon as Bat Queen pays up we can give her kids back. As long as I get paid, I got debts that need paying.”
“...You just took out a loan to put bets on Grimm Hammer’s cage fight.” the first voice reminds as the second grumbles loudly.
King peeks around the corner slightly to find two large witches guarding a door with spears looking bored out of their minds. He instantly racks his mind trying to figure out how he could sneak past them, an idea coming to mind as he imagines himself unlocking his powers to send them flying.
…But then he remembers just how much luck he has trying to unlock them so far, and the words of Luz reminding him this wasn’t about him and his powers, he has to put that aside for now.
Still, how was he going to sneak his way through two guards? But then the words of the second guard rang through his head and he pulls out a handful of change he still had from the allowance Eda gave Luz and him today.
It can’t possibly work…can it?
***
“Piss off, I got here first!” the second guard shouts as he pushed his partner aside and scoops up the loose change.
“I have two mouths to feed back home!” the first guard argues as he tries stealing the snails from his partner’s hands.
“I have debts to pay!” the second guard shouts as he holds the snails close to his body protectively.
The two continue arguing over a couple of snails as behind them, a trash can lifts and approaches the door they were guarding.
He can’t believe it worked. Hah! Of course it would, he was the King of Demons! Thousands of years of strategy and campaigning were locked away in this tiny form’s brain at his disposal. Of course, he would be wise enough to plan that.
He stands on top of the trash can and opens the door to enter, before closing it behind him and locking it shut from the inside. There, now he has all the time to search.
Not that it took too long as the moment he gets a full view of this office he finds a glass box on the desk with all three of the bat babies in deep sleep.
Right…now how was he going the get them out?
He inhales deeply, thinking of the glass shattering just like Luz told him to before releasing the loudest scream he could.
But once again it had zero effect on the glass before him. However, it did have an unintended effect,
“Hey, did you hear that?” the guard from outside asks having heard the scream.
“I think it came from inside Mr Grimm Hammer’s office.” The second guard says as the door knob began jiggling, “Hey, it’s locked! It wasn’t locked just now!”
King starts panicking as he starts whacking the glass box,
“Come on, come on, break already!” King mutters to himself as he repeatedly kicks it, not even leaving a scratch. But before he can despair, he saw one of the bat babies stir awake and gets an idea after remembering what occurred when they first saw the bat babies.
“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” he shouts repeatedly at the bat babies in the glass box, shaking it as he does so.
The moment one does, they wake up to find themselves in an unfamiliar area locked in a box with their siblings, they did what any baby would do in such a scenario and started crying.
Awakened by the noise their sibling was making, the other babies woke up as well before joining them, crying at the top of their lungs. Even through the thick glass box, King had to cover his ears to avoid being deafened as the glass cracked before shattering.
King cheers at that before the guards broke down the door with a kick,
“What is going on here?!” the first guard shouts before pointing at King, “Who the heck are you?!”
“Who cares? Grab them!” the second guard shouts as he tries to grab one of the screaming babies only for King to leap at his outstretched arm and bites him, “Son of a-!”
He throws King off him at a wall before pointing a spear at him, “You little rat!”
King backs to the corner of the room nervously with the spear tip pointed at him, “H-hey, put that down right now or I’ll be forced to use my awesome might on you and your friend!”
The second guard scoffs, “Awesome might? Yeah right, what do we do with him? He ain’t one of the Bat Queen’s kids is he?”
“Of course not!” the first guard shouts as he tries catching the bat babies, “Just deal with him and help me before they escape!”
“Got it.” the second guard sneers as he raises his spear and King’s fear spikes.
“I’m warning you! Get back now!” he says trying to keep the terror out of his voice and failing, “I-I said back, GET! BACK!”
He roars the last part as his voice suddenly amplified the sheer force shattering every last piece of glass within the room and launches the second guard back into the first one, knocking both of them unconscious.
King stares at the two unconscious bodies in shock, panting as he recovers, realising what just happened.
“I…Did I just do that?” he asks no one in particular as he looks at his clawed hands before cheering, “Yes! Yes! The King of Demons is back!”
The bat babies chirp at him curiously and confused as he turns to them,
“Yes, worship your saviour for he has returned! As a just and benevolent ruler who will usher in an Age of- Ah!!” he yelps as he gets interrupted when the unconscious guard groans, startling him as he braces himself for another shout, only to calm down once he realised it was nothing.
“Ahem, can’t be too careful.” he tries to downplay his fear to his audience before remembering something, “Right! We need to get back to Luz now, I wonder how she’s doing?”
***
Snare-Oh whips her arms around, smashing mutated witches unconscious and keeping the mutated Owl Beast at bay while at the same time trying to keep each of them from killing each other. And doing all of that at the same time was harder than it sounded, the hard part was keeping track of all of them and sooner or later she got careless.
The mutated Owl Beast slams into her, right into the electrified cage keeping her pinned as volts of electricity was sent through her body, causing her to scream in pain.
Meanwhile, Tibbles was watching from his private box, pulling out a remote control and cranking up the cage’s power. He doesn’t know who the interloper was but it was better to kill her off now and get rid of any complications to his plans.
The screams grow louder as he smiles at that, assured of his victory only to hear the door open from behind him,
“I thought I said I was not to be disturbed?” Tibbles looks back annoyed expecting to see his guards only for his eyes to widen as a shout launches him out of his private box, dropping the remote as he fell.
“I’ll be taking that.” King says as he picks up the remote, turning the dial to the absolute lowest it could go, shutting off the electric field around the cage as he looks over to Snare-Oh still grappling with the mutated Owl Beast, “Luz! Did you see that? I got my powers now!”
“Thats…great…King!” Snare-Oh grunts as she held back the Owl Beast whose beak drips with acid as it tries to peck her head off, “But a little help would be nice!”
“Oh, right!” King jumps out of the box and lands on Tibbles as a cushion before running up to Snare-Oh, about to shout and knock back Eda but hesitating, “I don’t want to hit you by accident. What should I do?”
“My Omnitrix! I unlocked it for you, turn me into someone else!” Snare-Oh gestures with her shoulder bearing the Omnitrix emblem, “Preferably Frankenstrike!”
“Got it!” King says as he climbs up the bars to reach through, before realising he has no idea how the device works. But he remembers seeing Luz always twist the dial to pick an alien before slamming it, so maybe it would work?
He does so, twisting the dial in a random order before slamming his palm against the Omnitrix through the bars of the cage. A bright flash of purple light blinds him before his vision clears, expecting to see Luz transformed and ready to fight.
But he doesn’t. No alien, no Luz, just the mutated Owl Beast suddenly confused by the lack of prey. And instantly a dreadful thought crosses his mind.
“Luz…?” King mutters in dread and worry at her disappearance before the mutated Owl Beast slash at the now unprotected bars of the cage, sending King flying backwards, landing just as the Owl Beast tore itself free from the cage with a terrifying roar and approaches him.
“B-back off Eda! I’m warning you, I got my powers now!” King warns trying to sound brave as the mutated Owl Beast approaches him, “A-alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
He inhales deeply before roaring with all his might, the force of the sonic blast enough to stop the mutated Owl Beast in its tracks and push it back slightly before King runs out of air.
But as he pants and recovers he notices the purple stone the Owl Beast wore across its neck with a chain necklace suddenly shatters without warning. Before he can question this, the Owl Beast groans and stumbles before falling to its side unconscious.
“Did…I did it?” King asks aloud surprised the Owl Beast went down that easily before another flash of purple light came from the Owl Beast as first its mutation was healed, its black feathers returning to the familiar grey, the claws, beaks and spikes falling apart, purple eyes and veins fading before it returned to the normal form of the Owl Beast and then back to Eda Clawthorne.
“...I did it! I cured Eda!” King cheers, “I’m the greatest, strongest, magnificent King of Demons!”
“Actually…” a squeaky voice was heard as a small purple light came flying from Eda’s ear, almost like that of a small flying insect, “I just flew into the Owl Beast’s brain to zap it with a little bio-electricity. Then once it was down I used the Omnitrix to fix her up.”
“Luz?” King asks.
“That’s Nanomech to you.” the microscopic alien says, “That was good thinking breaking the Corrodium around her neck. I couldn’t get that close without her tearing off my bandages as Snare-Oh. How’d you know to go for it though? And pick Nanomech instead of Frankenstrike?”
“Er…Why, because I’m the wise King of Demons!” King says puffing his chest, “All manners of knowledge flow through my brain.”
“Yeah, of course, it does.” Nanomech snarks before transforming back into Luz Noceda, “What about the bat babies? Are they safe?”
“Yeah, they’re safe.” King says pointing back to the body of Tibbles where the trio were stepping on his face and clawing it, “They were protected by two, no wait five, fierce guards that yours truly took down in an epic battle.”
“Well, I can’t wait to hear about it.” Luz smiles proudly at King before the two hear a groan come from the Owl Lady.
“Urgh, what did I miss?” she grumble before getting tackled by King.
“You’re back!”
“Glad to see you’re alright Eda,” Luz says with a smile.
“Yeah, what happened? All I remember is…that pig son of a-!” Eda says as the memory returns, “Where is he? Where are the kids?”
“Over there, the kids are just teaching him a lesson.” Luz gestures towards them as Eda stood up,
“Well I have a lesson to teach as well.” she growls as she cracks her knuckles, looming over his unconscious body, “About trying to cross the Owl Lady.”
***
“Urgh…” Tibbles groans as he wakes up. What had happened? Why was he suddenly asleep? But then he remembers the Owl Lady’s demon partner shouting and launching him out of his private box.
That little demon! And that mummy! If it weren’t for them everything would’ve gone smoothly. But he takes a breath to calm himself. He’ll have his revenge, he’ll find them, use every resource he has at his disposal and then-!
A footstep was heard behind him as he turns and pales at the sight of all the witches he had pushed into his debt, and then mutated with the purple ore, were now standing behind him looking cured of all ailments and wielding improvised weapons or cracking their bare knuckles. All of them have matching, angry looks on their face.
He chuckles awkwardly as he backs up to the bars of the cage arena, “V-valued customers of mine, I think we might be able to work something out… Right?”
They all ignore him as they take steps closer and brandish their weapons.
***
“And that’s where we last saw Tibbles.” Luz finishes her story before turning to her friends, “So how did your days we- Are you kidding me?”
She looks to find both Hope and Kevin passed out and asleep, with Hope softly snoring as her face was buried into the couch, and Kevin was asleep while sitting upright thanks to his armour. It appears whatever they went through all day had finally taken their toll on them.
And it was the same with Eda as well, having fallen asleep at some point with King curled up on her lap and the trio of bat babies asleep on her arm.
“Wasting my breath…” she mutters to herself before sighing and searching upstairs for blankets to bring down before covering each of her friends with them and snuggling up between both Kevin and Hope. After the entire day, she guessed she could use some sleep as well…
***
A knock on the door wakes her up, grumbling as she wraps her blanket around her face,
“Ugh…Someone get that?” she mutters barely audibly before attempting to return to sleep but then the knock on the door intensifies and seeing nobody was getting up, gives up to answer it.
“Coming, coming, keep your pants on it’s only eight in the…morning…” Luz trails off as she sees the knocker was a giant version of the bat babies only with long flowing black hair, “...Take it you’re YiYi the Bat Queen.”
“Yes, YiYi is I.” the Bat Queen nodded before letting out a sharp whistle.
Immediately recognising this, the bat babies in Eda’s arm woke up and flew to her.
“Oh, my little snuggle dumplings.” The Bat Queen coos at her children.
“You gotta teach me that trick for my kids.” Luz mutters before looking to the Bat Queen, “And also, respectfully, from one mother to another maybe you should leave your kids to someone besides a stranger?”
“Ah, but Clawthorne is no stranger.” the Bat Queen says surprisingly to Luz, “Her father and I work closely. Good man.”
“You know her dad?” Luz asks looking surprised, “Now that opens up a lot of questions.”
Before Luz could ask them, the Bat Queen suddenly began vomiting out an entire chest that opens up to reveal a bunch of snails and trinkets.
“Oh hey, Aztec death whistle,” Luz says, picking up a skull-shaped whistle.
“Tell Eda she has done a good job. I owe her a favour for this. Blow it and I will know she calls for me.” the Bat Queen says as she prepares to take her leave before Luz stops her.
“Actually, can I ask something?” Luz asks quickly, “It’s more a favour to me, and I’ll owe you one, but Eda said you’re the richest demon in the Isles right? Does that happen to mean you have a couple of ears in the right places?”
“It depends on what you ask. I hear many things.” The Bat Queen says raising a brow at Luz.
“My friends and I have been searching for basilisks, you know, ancient magic-draining creatures. The Emperor’s Coven have been hunting them and we’re trying to stop them by saving the basilisk first, but we’ve hit a dead end.” Luz explains with a sigh, “I don’t suppose you happen to know where I might find them?”
She asks hopefully as the Bat Queen hums to herself,
“I hear many things, and last week a little red bird whispers to my ear that he spotted something in Knee.” the Bat Queen informs, “Witnessed wild demon get magic drained by something. Could be basilisk you look for.”
“The Knee?” Luz asks.
“Yes. Cold, extremely so.” the Bat Queen nods, “Wouldn’t think to look for basilisk there. Cold blood does not mix well in Knee.”
Luz looks at her excitedly, “That’s the biggest lead we have all week! Thanks, Bat Queen, I owe you one.”
However the Bat Queen chuckles and waves it off, “No, no. This one mutual interest. The Emperor’s Coven has habit of hunting and endangering the wild of the isles. I know from experience.” she says, her expression turning grim before relaxing, “Rescue these creatures from their grasps, and I’ll consider this even.”
“I will.” she nods determined, “You have my thanks, Bat Queen.”
“And mine to you, for watching over my darlings.” The Bat Queen says as she starts flapping her wings to fly off with her children, “Best of luck, human. Perhaps we meet again one day.”
‘I’d like that.” Luz waves to the Bat Queen and her kids before returning to the Owl House excitedly, “Gus! Guys, wake up!”
Eda startles awake before checking her arms, “Babies? Where are the babies?!”
“We’ve been attacked in our sleep!” King guesses in a panic but Luz quickly assures them.
“No, their mom just came to pick them up.” Luz says hurriedly as Eda looked disappointed before she slaps both Hope and Kevin awake, “Up, up! Now!”
“Ow!” Kevin groans as Hope hisses.
“My head…is this what a hangover feels like?” she winces as she rubs her forehead, “Why do people drink if this is expected?”
“It’s eight in the morning.” Kevin yawns annoyed, “God, I haven’t even taken a shower the whole day.”
“We got a lead!” Luz explains as she ignores all their complaints, “The Bat Queen gave us a lead on the basilisks!”
“Really?” Hope asks surprised before wincing from her hangover, “Where are they?”
“Well pack your winter gear because they’re hiding out somewhere cold. We’re going to the Knee!”
Chapter 24: Adventure in the Knee Pt 1
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Animo cataractam!” Amity repeats from the spellbook at the same time she draws a spell circle to summon an abomination from a cauldron of goo. The spell she had found in the book was supposed to create a type of abomination made of water, and it worked with the glass of water she tried it on, but when both spells triggered at the same time at the same target something happened and the abomination goo boils and shakes before exploding into a geyser and splattering it all across the room.
Amity groans in annoyance as she draws another spell circle, collecting the goo back into the cauldron. She had been spending time trying to combine both her bile magic and mana magic she had recently learned.
Ever since the library incident where she made up with the human, Hope, she has been scouring the spellbook given to her trying to dig up any information she can find about her heritage, maybe find out what it means for her.
Unfortunately, that was just being too hopeful, and she finds scant information about Anodites except for what she already knew. A race of beings made of pure mana that were found in the same dimension of the Human Realm, so how did she share a bloodline with one when living in a completely separated realm?
They likely had some ability to breach dimensions from what she read of them being found in the Ledgerdomain, a realm that was the source of all mana magic. But it still doesn't explain how she was the only person out of the entire Blight family to possess such abilities.
She wanted to learn what it meant for her, to be half-Anodite and half-witch. So she tried practising the spells that were found within the spellbook, hoping that somehow if she were to learn this new form of magic she’d find a better understanding of herself. Or maybe she wanted an excuse to stay up all night practising? She can’t deny that the thought that she was the first witch in all of history to wield a completely unique form of magic was exciting.
What were her limits? What else can she do? She stopped that monstrous Otabin from sewing Hope into a book with a spell she learnt in seconds ! That burning desire to learn pushed her to read and digest the information as quickly as possible.
The knowledge within the spellbook was astounding, they didn’t contain just spells but also notes and theories from the previous owners, some in languages she didn’t understand. She remembers what Hope had said about the spellbook being passed down from her family, each one adding their own findings as it progresses. Now it was hers.
She felt both honoured and intimidated by the prospect. What was someone like her supposed to add? She barely understood mana as it was, and she hadn’t even graduated Hexside yet. What little she knew was in abomination magic, something that was dependent on her bile and not able to be replicated by non-witches.
…Or could it?
That was how she started attempting experiments to see if it was perhaps possible to somehow combine both forms of magic. Each time the effects of the spells were either too weak to be useful at all or erratic and messed up her room forcing her to clean it before anyone could notice. Despite her initial hope, so far her experiments have been telling her she was wrong, and costing her a fair amount of sleep.
So she woke up slightly more irritated than usual as she headed to the dining room for breakfast, arriving to see that her parents were likely too busy with their latest business scheme to come to eat breakfast with their children. Something about improved abomination security devices from what she gathered from her mother’s bragging at dinner last week.
That was a silver lining at least, she wasn’t sure she had enough energy to keep up ‘proper behaviour’. She was glad to sit there and bask in blissful silence waiting for the abomination manservant to finish whipping up a meal of griffin omelettes and ratworm bacon, and a hot cup of wake-up potion.
“Mittens!” a pair of familiar voices cry out as she groans. She wasn’t an Oracle but didn’t need magic to predict a headache to come.
She ignores them and looks to the abomination manservant, “Abomination, I will be having my breakfast in my room if you don’t mind?”
The abomination nods as it continues to cook, Amity stands up to leave with a cup of steaming wake-up potion as she walks by the twins,
“Come on, Mittens.” Edirc walks beside her, “Are you still mad about last night?”
“Yeah, it was just a prank.” Emira says, “We do that all the time, remember? It’s just our thing.”
“No.” Amity stops, turning and glaring at them, “Putting glitter in my shampoo, that was a prank. Changing the contents of the salt and sugar shakers was a prank. Changing my Penstagram’s status and profile picture was a prank. Stealing my diary, planning to expose its secrets to everyone in school, planning on blackmailing me with secrets you haven’t exposed, is not a prank!”
Amity roars at them with fury they’ve never seen before, stunning them into silence as Amity continued, her voice cracking slightly,
“I thought that you two, deep down, at least had cared just the slightest bit much that you wouldn’t have tried anything like that.” she says growling, “All father cares about are his inventions, all mother cares about is the company, I sometimes think that at least I’d have you two. Some of the most annoying people I’ve ever known, but at least you’d be there for me if push comes to shove…”
Amity says struggling to keep some tears from falling, wiping her eyes with her sleeve before slamming the door shut behind her, leaving the twins in stunned silence.
“She’ll get over it…right?” Edric looks at his twin sister worried, “I mean, we were pretty mad about all of her tattling but did we go too far?”
“Oh, you think?” Emira asks sarcastically before sighing, “What were we thinking?”
“Evidently we weren’t.” Edric sighs as well, “What do we do?”
“We have to apologise and make it up to her!” Emira says like it was obvious,
“Yeah but how?” Edric asks as Emira thinks to herself in silence.
***
“So you claim to have found something of interest, servant?” Belos asks from his throne, head resting on his hand looking uninterested. Beside him was Kikimora and the Golden Guard.
Vilgax bows his head, hating every second he does so but not letting his emotions show on his face.
“Yes, my liege.” Vilgax says, “As I am sure you are aware, we seek a power source to be able to properly replicate the Demonitrix. I believe I have found such a thing.”
“Go on.” Belos allows, sounding intrigued.
Vilgax nods and pulls out a holo-puck, a map of the Knee appearing with a red dot pulsing inside of it, “Scans from survey drones you have graciously allowed me to deploy have picked up a unique energy signature coming from deep within the Knee. I believe it is worth investigating, my lord. The energy signature is very promising.”
“And what makes this energy source so intriguing?” Belos asks sceptical, “You made many promises already. Forgive me for not instantly believing you.”
“Because my lord, as you know the Titan emits its own unique radiation.” Vilgax says as another display appears showing a chart of the background energy of the Boiling Isles and comparing it with the one found in the Knee, “They both share…uncanny similarities.”
Behind his golden mask, Belos’ blue eyes shimmered upon hearing this new information.
“Truly?” he asks with a hint of greed in his voice.
“I believe it is worth an investigation, do you not agree, my lord?” Vilgax asks as he bows his head again.
Belos nods, “You have done well to bring this information to me, if it is what we think it is, then you have proven yourself worthy of my trust and will be rewarded. If not…”
He leaves the threat unsaid as he gestures to Kikimora at his side, “Take our friend here back to his cell. And you Golden Guard, ready some troops for immediate deployment to the Knee.”
“Of course, my lord.” Kikimora bows before approaching Vilgax’s wheelchair to push him back to his secure cell, followed by two guards flanking him.
The Golden Guard turned to his uncle in excitement, “I won’t let you down, my lord! Whatever’s out there, I’ll bring it back!”
“You’ve said the same with the previous basilisk.” Belos reminds, curbing the Golden Guard’s enthusiasm, “Do not fail me again, Golden Guard. That is all.”
The Golden Guard nods and hastily salutes, “Of course my lord. It will be done, my lord.”
“Of course it will. I have faith you will not repeat your mistakes.” Emperor Belos places a hand on his shoulder, boosting his confidence. Before he can head off, however, he turns back and asks,
“Excuse me, my lord, but…what if I encounter the human again?” he asks before hastily correcting himself, “I mean, we have encountered each other multiple times in unexpected scenarios. What should I do then, if I cannot take her in?”
Belos pauses to think, rubbing his chin before answering, “If you do encounter her, the orders stand. She is not to be killed, maimed or imprisoned. Her Omnitrix will not be taken as well. But if she comes between you and your objective, do what is necessary as long as you obey the aforementioned orders.”
“Of course, my lord!” the Golden Guard bows, “After the training that Clawthrone gave me, I guarantee in our next battle, the human won’t win as easily as she did last time. This time, there will be no surprises.”
***
“Alright, what’s the surprise?” Amity asks, extremely frustrated. After what happened yesterday she planned to just ignore the twins, even after they tried every way imaginable to get her attention.
Sliding notes under her door, and then another if it was ignored or returned to them in the form of ashes, hanging a banner outside her window, somehow tricking the abomination manservant into making her lunch that spelt out ‘Please Come See Us, We’re Sorry :(‘
After hours and hours of their antics, she finally had enough and decided to see what exactly they wanted so she could tell them to stop what they were doing. She met the twins at the entrance of the manor where they were packing some bags.
“I don’t suppose you two are moving?” Amity asks sarcastically.
“Nope, this is our apology!” Edric declares as he shows Amity a third bag, “Camping trip to the Knee! What do you say?”
“...I’m going back to my room.” Amity quickly declares and turns before being stopped by Emira.
“Come on, Mittens. Just hear us out please?” Emira pleaded, “We’re sorry, we took yesterday too far, and we want to make it up to you.”
“With a camping trip?” she asks sceptically, crossing her arms, “Let me guess, this is going to be another prank that’ll involve you leaving me stranded up there and having to find my way home by myself? Oh, maybe you’ll take the time while I’m gone to search my room for my diary again?”
She asks with heavy sarcasm before Emira pulls out a photo to her confusion, handing it to Amity who realises it was a photo when they were younger. She was probably five years old back then, still with brown hair and with her siblings roasting some marshmallows over a campfire, enjoying themselves.
“Remember back when we were younger? We’d sometimes go camping?”
“If you could call setting up a fire in our backyard camping,” Amity mutters, her glare softening as she remembers those days.
“Yeah, Mom always thought camping was a big waste of time. And dad was always busy in his workshop.” Emira continues, “But what was important was we had fun. Just you, Edric and I. You were right Amity, we shouldn’t have done what we did last night. We got distant and we forgot that we have to have each other’s backs, because Mom and Dad certainly don’t.”
Amity looks at her silently which Emira took as a good sign to continue, “So come on, let’s go on a real camping trip we always planned to when we were kids. Get closer, and have fun just like we used to! And you can use Edric as target practice for magic training if you want to.”
“Hey, we agreed it would be both of us, not just me.” Edric reminds as he packs up the remaining bags before looking to Amity, “So what do you say? Give your stupid older siblings one last chance?”
Amity stares between both of them, before looking at the photo given to her by Emira, faintly remembering the joy she felt back in those days with her siblings. She remembers a moment after her birthday after she cut off her only friend, where the twins' first reaction upon seeing her cry her eyes out in her room was to wrap a blanket around her, hugging and staying with her until she felt better.
“...Fine. One chance, but if I see any signs this is a prank, I’m leaving.” Amity warns as both her siblings squeal and start crushing her in a tight hug.
“That’s wonderful!” Emira says, “We’re gonna have some fun!”
***
“Er, Mittens, you do know what you’re doing right?” Edric asks nervously as Amity flips through the spell book.
“Relax, this is just a practice match.” she waves off his worries, “I’d like to test how well I can use mana magic in fighting compared to my normal bile magic.”
“That’s Hope’s book, isn’t it?” Emira asks as she sets up their tent, “She gave it to you?”
“It’s a copy.” Amity explains as she flips the pages, “She…said I may have a talent for it.”
Amity partially lies. Despite the twins wanting to reconnect she wasn't sure if she could just tell them about the thing with Anodites yet. Not until she figured out more herself, at least.
“So you’ve made friends with her, that’s nice.” Edric says, “So…is she taken or…?”
“There it is.” Amity smiles as she finds the right page, “Let’s see…Meena Goh!”
Edric yelps as he ducks just as a beam of flames shoots at him, “Hey, no fair! I wasn’t ready.”
“Think of it as a bit of punishment from last night,” Amity says as she is about to repeat the spell only for her brother to quickly draw a spell circle while on the ground, sending snow flying into her face and throwing off her aim, and sending the beam of flame into the forest, uncontrolled due to mispronouncing the spell.
“Hey, watch it, we don’t want to cause a forest fire by accident do we?” Emira warns as the two continue their practice duel.
“Please Emira, we’re not novices,” Amity says as she wipes the snow from her face and dodges more snow sent her way by her brother, flipping through the pages for another spell before a roar interrupts them,
“What was that?” Edric asks as suddenly something emerges from the forests, a Slitherbeast with a large burn on its fur, roaring at them in anger.
“Uh, Mittens? You happen to have a spell in there for wild demons?” Emira asks nervously as the beast approaches them.
“Let me check.” Amity hurriedly looks through the spellbook, flipping through the pages, “I swore I saw something about animals or something in there.”
Before she could find it, the Slitherbeast roars and lunges at them. The twins drew spell circles but before they could cast a spell, tendrils wrapped around the Slitherbeast stopping it in its tracks,
“Hey! Get over here!” a voice was heard coming from behind it as the Slitherbeast was pulled back with immense strength and a figure with a familiar purple emblem on her shoulder delivered a powerful uppercut, sending it flying. Once it landed away, it weighted its chances against them before making a run for it.
“That was close, are you alright- Amity?!” Tentadrake asks in surprise before transforming back into Luz Noceda, dressed in a white parka with green goggles, “What are you doing here?!”
“Luz?!” Amity’s eyes widen in surprise,
“Wait a minute, Luz as in the human you fought in the Covention?” Emira asks in recognition, “As in the shapeshifting human?”
“The one and only.” Luz nods, “I don’t think we’ve met…”
“My name’s Emira, this is my twin Edric.” Emira introduces them, “We’re Amity’s older siblings.”
Luz looks surprised, “You have older siblings? It’s really great to meet you!”
“Luz?” another voice came from the forest as the twins' eyes widened at who was there, “Is everything alright, we- You two?!”
“Hope? You know them?” Luz asks confused at the reaction as the magician crosses her arms,
“Yes. We met last night.” she glares at them, “I nearly got sewn into a book because of them.”
“Yeah, Amity told us what happened.” Edric cringes.
“Does it mean anything if we say we’re really, really sorry?” Emira asks with a hopeful smile as Hope continues glaring at them.
“Wait, sewn into a book?” Luz asks, confused as the rest of her friends catch up.
“Hey Luz, what’s going on?” Eda calls out as she is followed by Kevin and King.
“Nothing, we just met Amity and her siblings!” Luz answered as Amity grew increasingly confused,
“What are you all doing here in the Knee?” Amity asks.
Luz sighs, “We’ll that’s a long story. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?”
Emira gestures to their camp, “I was just about to get some food ready. You’re welcome to join us if you like.”
***
“Wait, so all the books in the library came to life?! And I missed that?!” Luz complained as she roasted a marshmallow over a campfire, “Aw man, I would’ve tried to bring Azura to life. I can’t believe I wasn’t there for it.”
“Yeah, I only realised I could’ve done that after I went home. There were a lot of things on my mind.” Amity mutters as she glances at her siblings who look away ashamed.
“Yeah.” Luz turns and lightly glares at them, “Why would you two even think of doing something like that.”
“There’s no excuse, but for the past few weeks, Mittens was just being more of a tattletale than usual. We thought she could use a little humbling.” Emira says regretfully, “We didn’t really think it through.”
“Obviously not, but I’m glad you’re trying to make it up to her at least.” Luz says turning to Hope, “And I can’t believe you gave Amity your spellbook! That’s like a big deal in Ledgerdomain culture, isn’t it.”
Hope shrugs as she eats a toasted marshmallow, “It would be a waste if she didn’t learn to master her abilities. Besides, leaving someone capable of the arcane arts untrained is a recipe for disaster.”
“Still, I appreciate the opportunity.” Amity says gratefully, “I’ve some questions actually, if you don’t mind.”
“I think it’s great you two became friends.” Luz smiles, “And here I was worried Hope was still against the whole Anodite thing.”
“Anodite thing?” the twins ask as Luz freezes, Amity looks like she wants to facepalm, and Hope clears her throat.
“So what’s the three of you doing out here in the middle of this place?” Kevin asks, quickly interrupting and successfully distracting them.
“Well, we always had fun making camping plans when we were kids. We thought this would be the best way to make up to Mittens, show that we care.” Edric says before leaning close to Kevin, resting his chin on his hand, “And what about you, handsome? What brings you here?”
Kevin almost choked on his marshmallow in surprise before clearing his throat, “Oh, er, well we’re here more on business really. And sorry, but I’m not exactly interested in guys.”
“Business? What kind of business?” Amity asks curiously.
“Oh just a little harmless demon hunting, you know?” Eda shrugs off as she tests a marshmallow before groaning, “Hot dang, I could make a killing out of these things if I sold them. Eda’s Camping Snacks, now that’s a potential business venture.”
“It’s soft and fluffy like a pillow too.” King chimes in as he toys with an untoasted marshmallow, “What if…hear me out here, marshmallow pillows! Something to snack on while you sleep!”
“That’s just a fast lane to getting cavities and bankrupting yourself with dental bills.” Luz chuckles before turning serious at Amity, “You remember the basilisks right?”
“I can’t forget even if I try,” Amity replied grimly but her siblings looked confused.
“Basilisks?” they ask and Luz looks at them confused,
“Yeah, you know, the day Hexside got attacked?” she says only to see even more confused faces, “Where half the school got their magic drained? With the giant mutant basilisk running through the halls? How did you miss all that?”
“Because we were skipping school,” Edric says like it should be obvious.
“Yeah, like cool people do.” Emira nodded as the two fived and Kevin joined in,
“Now they’re spitting facts.”
“Why would anyone skip Hexside? You get to learn magic!” Luz asks in disbelief before Amity pulls at her sleeve, grabbing her attention back.
“Luz, what was that about basilisks?” Amity pulls her back to the conversation,
“Oh right,” Luz clears her throat with a cough, “We got some info from a source that the last two might be here, in hiding. We’ve spent every hour since dawn trying to track them down.”
“Yeah, never knew you could be that much of a taskmaster, kid.” Eda groans as she rubs her back, “First break we got in a while.”
“Guess old age’s finally catching up with you?” Kevin jokes before Eda draws a spell circle that sends snow directly into his face before his parka’s hood is wrapped closed up trapping the snow inside along with his muffled screams.
“Can it, kid.” Eda scowls.
“Alright, I admit we’ve been searching for a bit of a while.” Luz concedes, “But we still have a lot of ground to cover, and at the rate we’re going we might be here for another day or two.”
“That long?” Amity asks surprised and Luz nods,
“Our lead was pretty vague anyways, just some mentions of some wild demons being drained of their magic in the area.” Luz admits, “Our plan was to set up cameras and catch them in the act, but so far nothing.”
“Have you tried underground?” Edric suddenly speaks up causing everyone to glance at him.
“Huh?” Luz looks at him confused.
“Yes, do you mind clarifying, Edric?” Hope asks as he looks nervous,
“Er, well basilisks are cold-blooded so they’ll head somewhere warm. There’s plenty of warm caverns under the Knee, when winter comes and the Knee gets even colder, lots of wild demons migrate there and hibernate.” Edric explains, “If cold-blooded demons are here on the Knee, they’d probably be hiding out there before going out when the sun rises to go hunting for food.”
“...That does make sense.” Eda mutters as she rubs her chin, “Sun’s about to set, meaning it’s gonna get colder around here, so they’re probably in those caves huddling up right now.”
“So you do have a use after all.” Hope smirks at Edric who blushes slightly.
“Cave systems, huh?” Luz mutters as she searches her Omnitrix, “I guess Skullhound and King could do the trick of tracking them down once we’re inside.”
“Yeah, and if one of them tries to absorb your powers again we can take them down with our combined might!” King declares.
“Easy there, we’re not exactly gunning for a fight.” Luz reminds, to King’s disappointment, “But tell you what, if we do come across any wild demons on the way you get free reign to test your powers. How about that?”
“Hmph, I doubt they’ll be good enough cannon fodder to be used as target practice.” King scoffs, crossing his arms.
“A lot of spunk for a little guy.” Emira teases, “Is he always like that?”
“He’s definitely gotten more confident after he got his powers.” Luz nods before finishing up her marshmallow, “It’s been great seeing you again Amity, and nice to meet your siblings too. But we better get back to work.”
“Really? Do you have to go that soon?” Amity asks, looking a bit disappointed, “...Right, I forget who I was talking to.”
“W-well maybe we can hang out next time? I know some killer campsites back in the Human Realm, maybe a trip or something once this is over?” Luz offers trying to cheer up Amity as Hope looks between the two in thought,
“Or maybe they can come with us?” Hope suggests as the two widen their eyes,
“Wait, what?” they both exclaim at the same time.
“It won’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes.” Hope shrugs, “And besides, I would like the chance to test her abilities with mana-based magic. As her teacher in the arcane arts, I must gauge the skills of my first student.”
“Well…I mean, if you guys don’t mind.” Amity says glancing at her siblings who shrug and smile,
“Rescuing endangered demons, exploring dark underground caves?” Edric asks,
“Sounds exciting, we can definitely help out if you don’t mind us.” Emira nods.
“As long as you don’t accidentally summon a monster that tries to sew us into books, I believe we won’t have an issue with that,” Hope says with a slight glare at them to which they gulp.
***
“Something’s been through here a lot,” King notes as he sniffs the entrance to a cave.
“Scans just got back, this definitely leads deep underground with lots of passages.” Kevin agreed as he pointed a scanning device into the cave,
“I think we got enough torches for everyone,” Edric says as he reaches into his pack for them only for Hope to stop them.
“Wait, let the novice give it a try.” Hope suggests gesturing to a surprised Amity, “Well, student of mine? What spell do you think is best suited for this scenario?”
“Er…a basic light spell?” Amity guesses as she gestures into the dark cave.
“Is that a question or an answer?” Hope asks.
“...Am I being tested?” Amity asks cautiously as Hope looks at her impassively,
“Are you?”
“You’re really cryptic,” Amity mutters annoyed as Kevin nods in agreement,
“Welcome to our world,” he mutters as Hope rolls her eyes,
“We’re still waiting.” Hope reminds as Amity flips through the spellbook,
“Right, let me see…” she skims through the pages, “Alright, this seems to be a light spell. Gur ignu?”
She says hesitantly, not knowing if she was pronouncing it right before suddenly the screen of the scanner Kevin was holding nearly blinds him with bright light.
“Gah, magic! This is why I hate magic.” Kevin grumbles as he rubs his eyes, and everyone snickers at the sight except for Hope who continues looking at Amity,
“Sorry, sorry!” Amity quickly apologises before reading it again,
“It’s pronounced Gir igi-nu.” Hope corrects as she holds out a hand, an orb of light shining from her palm, banishing away the darkness in the cave.
“Right, Gir igi-nu.” Amity repeats as she creates a slightly larger orb that shines brighter than Hope’s.
“I suppose that was to be expected, with your natural talent.” Hope says before turning to the rest, “Let’s go then, King should take the lead with his nose while Amity and I provide the light..”
“That sounds about right. King?” Luz looks to the demon who nods,
“I got this, leave it to me,” he says as he got on all fours and crawled forward, his nose loudly sniffing as they went deeper into the cave, followed by the rest.
“You know, I could’ve made some lights with my magic? Or gave all of us night vision?” Eda reminds as Hope shrugs,
“Well after hearing about yesterday’s activities, we don’t want to risk another incident do we?” Hope asks and Eda sighs, “Relax, or unless you want to give mana magic a try? I’m willing to take on another student.”
Hope teases and Eda scoffs, “Yeah, the day I call a kid not even past her twenties ‘Miss Teacher’ is the day I either croak over or lose all my magic.”
“The offer will still stand then.” Hope shrugs as she continues following King with Amity.
“So…I’ve wanted to ask, but there’s a lot of the spells I can’t understand.” Amity speaks up with her free hand holding her spellbook, “It looks like some other languages and runes, but none I recognise.”
Hope looks over her shoulder, “The Ledgerdomain is a melting pot for every magical culture across the universe, my ancestors learnt from the greatest mages there ever was meaning you had to speak all those different languages and dialects.”
“So you’re saying I have to learn dozens of languages to fully understand this?” Amity looks at the spellbook with slight dread. While she appreciates the challenge that might seem too much, even for her.
Hope chuckles, “You can try, and you’ll have much respect and admiration from magicians for doing so, but it will be a very inefficient method. A simple translator spell should solve that issue, it should be a dozen pages into the social magic section.”
Then she raises a brow curiously as Hope spots handwriting she doesn’t recognise within the spellbook, “Adding your own notes already, are you?”
Amity looks embarrassed, “Just a little side project. I just…wonder what would happen if I could mix our bile magic with your mana magic. There’s nothing wrong with that right?”
Hope smirks, “"Please, we aren’t the Emperor's Coven. Magic encompasses countless forms, with new spells being discovered every day, as well as fresh combinations of runes, charms, and components. The mixing of magic is celebrated in the Ledgerdomain, not condemned. There are no boundaries in the realm of magic.”
Amity sighed in relief at that, glad what she was doing wasn’t considered a taboo or anything, as Hope continued,
“So how are you progressing with attempting to combine your magic?” she asks as Amity sighs,
“Terrible, every time I try it just messes up the spell.” she grumbles, “I tried that spell to summon a creature made of water, the same time I tried to summon an abomination, and it just exploded spontaneously.”
“Hmm,” Hope rubs her chin in thought, “My uncle once explained to me that magic is similar to mathematical formulas. Each new form of magic is a new collection of numbers of symbols, but there may exist equations that are constant between one form of magic and another.”
“So you’re saying my attempts to cast both magic at the same time are creating confusion in the results?” Amity mutters, “I should try casting it differently…like using mana for an abomination spell instead of my bile?”
“It’s a worthy experiment.” Hope shrugs, “Like a saying from Earth goes; ‘Fortune favours the bold.’”
“I guess I’ll have to try it out once this is over.” Amity says before Hope stops her, “Why are we…Oh.”
Amity says as their light shines upon a collapsed tunnel in front of them, blocking their way forward with piles of rocks.
“Ha! A pile of rocks?” King looks at it confidently as he dusts off his shoulders, “Step back everyone, and witness the might of the King of Demons as he-!”
“Stay very quiet unless he wants to risk a collapse.” Hope cuts in sternly.
“Aw man. What’s the point of having awesome powers of mass destruction if I can’t use them?” King complains.
“King.” Hope gives him a stern look as he sighs,
“Yeah, yeah, a real king needs to learn when to use force and etcetera,” he says, rolling his eyes and relenting.
Luz steps up to the collapsed tunnel with a worried look, “Dang, none of the aliens I got right now can get us through this.”
“And we can’t blow it up without risking the entire tunnel collapsing on us,” Kevin says, glancing upwards.
“Well, is there something you two can do?” Edric asks Hope and Amity.
“Of course there is. A simple transmutation spell should suffice.” Hope says
“Transmutation is an advanced form of magic.” Amity points out with worry, “I’m not sure if I’m skilled enough to do that.”
“Perhaps to you witches, but certainly not for a magician.” Hope gestures to Amity’s spellbook, “Refer to page 118, will you? Simply focus on what form of matter we wish to change these rocks into. Let’s start with something simple, perhaps restructure those rocks to form pillars to support this cave?”
“Alright…” Amity mutters before flipping through the pages, finding lots of complicated diagrams and runes she doesn’t understand, causing her to hesitate.
“Uhm, right, just give me one moment.” Amity says as she struggles to understand what she is reading, flipping pages back and forth hoping to find notes from past users suggesting how to use the spell, “Maybe two moments?”
“Take your time, we aren’t going anywhere.” Eda snarks as Luz elbows her.
“This is one of the many languages spoken in the Ledgerdomain, that is spoken as; Reformare Transmutare.” Hope offers before pointing at the page with the spell,
“Right, thanks.” Amity says before mimicking the hand gesture drawn on the page of the book, “Reformare Transmutare!”
The rocks that piled up in front of them suddenly glowed with a magenta aura before disintegrating into a mound of dust, as she strains herself and focuses on restructuring them into support pillars. The final result wasn’t going to get her into the Construction Coven but it seemed adequate enough.
“I did it.” Amity smiles proudly before the ground starts shaking, “I didn’t do that! …Right?”
“Is it a Titanquake?!” Emira asks in a panic as the cave shook,
“No, hear that?” Kevin asks as a boom is heard beneath them, “That was an explosion. Who the heck is planting explosives?!”
***
“Grab my hand!” the Golden Guard orders as the scout hanging from the edge of a ravine barely does so in time, before being pulled back up to safety.
The scout coughs and groans, “Thank you, sir…”
With that done the Golden Guard turns to glare at Kikimora, “Are you insane? The scouts already warned us about how unstable these caverns are, and you’re still planting more bombs?!”
“You men’s efforts are too slow.” Kikimora scoffs as she paces around the abandoned mineshaft, once used to mine for veins of iron, copper and other precious minerals of the Titan before they ran dry, “At this rate, we may be here for the whole week, and I doubt the Emperor is that patient. Perhaps if you use one of your forms to help mine then we may hurry this up.”
“Didn’t you listen?” the Golden Guard growls, “I need to conserve energy in case that human comes again, I will not be caught unprepared and exhausted because you are impatient!”
“And here you go with your paranoia again. There is no reason for the human to poke her head around these parts of the Isles. Now unless you’re going to just stay there, come help plant more dynamite.” Kikimora rolls her eyes before pointing at a scout, “Hey, Steve! Detonate those ones now.”
“Ma’am, the mineshaft is already too unstable.” Steve points out with the detonator in his hands wired to piles of dynamite deep in a tunnel, “Another blast can collapse this whole cave on us. At least let those specialising with Construction magic to stabilise the cave-”
“Oh just hand it over!” Kikimora snatches the detonator from his hands before he can react, flicking off the safety and pressing it as all the scouts who were still stacking the dynamite suddenly drop their cargo and run to a safe distance.
The dynamite detonated with a loud boom as the cavern shook, small pieces of debris falling from the ceiling,
“It’s gonna cave in! Get to cover!” the Golden Guard ordered his men,
“Belay that order, it’s something minor. Nothing to worry about.” Kikimora waves her hands.
“The ceiling’s falling apart!” a scout cries out before leaping out of the way as a hole in the ceiling forms, rocks falling and nearly crushing him.
“Just a minor collapse, return to your stations!” Kikimora demands before they hear a scream coming from the hole in the ceiling before something lands hard, kicking up a bit of dust and dirt as they find a human covered in stone.
“Ugh…” Kevin groans as he rubs the cracked part of the stone shell over his body, “My back…”
“Incoming!” another voice comes from the hole in the ceiling before something lands on Kevin’s guts, knocking the wind out of him before uncurling to reveal itself to be a Snaggleback, “Sorry Kevin.”
Kevin groaned in response as the Snaggleback stood up on all fours, revealing an Omnitrix emblem on her shoulder The Golden Guard’s eyes widened,
“You two?!” he exclaims, surprising the two as they look to him,
“You?!” the two human exclaims in similar shock.
“Incoming!” another voice came from above, giving Kevin barely enough warning to grab Luz’s Snaggleback form and roll away before Amity and Hope landed in one large bubble of mana, and Eda on Owlbert carried Edric, Emira and King on board.
“You two alright?” Eda asks as she hops off her staff along with the rest of the occupants, “That was a pretty long…fall…”
She trails off as she realises they are surrounded by similarly confused and surprised Coven scouts, with the Golden Guard right next to them and some biped demon they had never seen before.
They all stared at each other in silence, their minds trying to process the probability of all this before Luz breaks the silence,
“Ha, what a weird coincidence seeing you here.” she says with a forced laugh trying to look casual, “Well if you don’t mind, we’ll just go our separate ways and-”
“Battle stations!” the Golden Guard orders as the scouts begin grabbing their spears and moving into formation to surround them,
“...Cripes,” she mutters as they all raise their hands in surrender,
“Hey, hey, what’s going on? We’re not doing anything illegal here or anything!” Edric says in a worried tone as he glances around at the scouts pointing their spears at them,
“You are trespassing and interfering with an Emperor’s Coven mission!” the Golden Guard declares as he whips out his mechanical staff and points it at the Snaggleback-Luz, “I knew it. Of course, you of all people, would be here. I was right!”
“In all honesty, I should’ve expected you to be here as well.” Snaggleback-Luz grumbles as she gals at him, “What about our talk, man? Can’t you just leave the basilisks alone?”
“...Basilisks?” he tilts his head confused, “You’re not here for the power source?”
“Power source?” she says confused before realising what he just said, “Wait, you didn’t know the- I mean, what basilisks?”
Seeing the Golden Guard distracted by this conversation, Kevin reacted quickly and punched Snaggleback-Luz’s shell, launching her towards the Golden Guard to which he deflected her with a spin of his staff, ricocheting her into the face of another guard before bouncing off his mask into another guard’s face.
“Attack! For the Emperor!” Kikimora yells before she bravely dives for cover behind one of her men as all hell breaks loose.
Hope and Eda used their respective magic to stagger the surrounding guards, as King leaps on them using his newfound powers.
“Get to cover!” Kevin orders as he puts himself in front of the Blight siblings, dragging them to what cover there was in the mineshaft, using his body as a shield against any stray magic bolt.
“What’s going on? Why are we fighting the Emperor’s Coven?!” Emira screams as magic of all types is thrown around the air,
“It’s a long story, just get down!” Kevin orders as he kicks over a minecart and ushers the Blight siblings into it to protect them, “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Behind you!” Edric warns and Kevin turns to see a scout charging at him with a spear. Before he could react, Amity flipped to a random page in her spell book and cast a spell,
“Adficio Potentia!” she cries out as tendrils of mana launched out of her hands, grabbing the scout and slamming him into the ground, surprising her, “Ooh, that’s a neat one.”
“Thanks.” Kevin says before turning back to Amity, “Alright, stay there and keep out of danger, we’ll take care of this.”
With that, he ran off leaving the three hiding inside an overturned minecart,
“So much for a relaxing camping trip.” Edric mutters as the battle wages on, looking to his younger sister, “Sorry we chose the Knee.”
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad.” Amity admits before reluctantly adding, “Maybe next time, somewhere else? With less Coven scouts?”
“I’d like that a lot,” Emira says, trying to keep herself calm as a stray magic bolt deflects off the minecart they were hiding in, startling her.
Meanwhile, the Golden Guard rushes at a dazed Snaggleback-Luz who was recovering from being thrown around, yelping as she saw him swing his staff down and withdraw into her shell, causing the staff to bounce off the protective spiked shell and nearly hitting him in the face.
The Golden Guard growls before priming his Demonitrix, selecting his rock demon form before transforming. Once he did so he channelled vibrations through his staff preparing to shatter the shell before the Snaggleback form disappeared in a flash of purple and his jaw was met with an uppercut from Frankenstrike,
“Come on, we’ve done this song and dance before and we know how it ended.” Frankenstrike taunts as she gets into a boxing stance, “You’re after whatever power source you’re looking for, and I’m after the basilisks. Let’s all go our separate way, get what we came for, and we all come up winners?”
“Or I take you down, bring both the basilisk and the power source to the Emperor, making me a double winner!” the Golden Guard roars back as he slams his staff full of vibrational energy into Frankenstrike who barely blocks with both her arms, but still gets knocked back from the energy in the staff.
“Luz! That’s a rock demon!” King cries from the sidelines after he shouts at a scout, “They’re really weak to water!”
“Thanks, but I don’t exactly see any water lying around!” Frankenstrike yells as she dodges a swing from the staff, only for the magical energy in it to touch the floor and create spikes that launch at her.
Fortunately, she destroys them with a punch but it leaves her open to getting slugged in the guts by the Golden Guard before he swings his staff with all his might and magic, launching her into the ceiling hard before falling back down.
“Got anything else?” Frankenstrike asks as she launches a torrent of lightning bolts that bounce off the Golden Guard’s rock body, “I’m working off a limited list right now!”
“Well…I’m not sure what else really.” King admits, “Rock demons are famous for their durability and shock absorption.”
“I can see that!” Frankenstrike shouts back before trying to wrestle the Golden Guard’s staff away from him before he blasts her off, “Alright, wanted to play fair but here we go. Let’s see if you like Snakeshifter!”
She tries to slap her Omnitrix but then the Golden Guard points his staff at her, and a vine shoots out from behind her, wrapping around her arms and pulling them back to prevent her from touching her Omnitrix.
“I’m not letting you get in another cheap move like last time,” he growls as he approaches her before stumbling when King leaps at him from behind and then screams directly into his ears. He yells in agony before pulling him off and throwing him on the ground, “You little rat!”
“Hey! Leave him alone!” Frankenstrike cries out as she spots a pickaxe out of the corner of her eye. Thinking fast, she uses one of her restrained arms to reach out and use her electromagnetic powers, launching the pick at the Golden Guard who was about to strike at King with his staff.
His eyes widen as he tries to react to deflect the blow but it comes too fast and strikes him across the chest, making him stumble. His Demonitrix emblem fizzles with red electricity before she reverts back to his witch form to his surprise.
“Guess that’s what happens when you buy knock-off brands.” Frankenstrike jokes before tearing the vines off with some effort and cracking her knuckles.
The Golden Guard tries to fiddle with his Demonitrix’s cracked dial only to get shocked by some red sparks before giving up, “Whatever, I still have years of magic training. I don’t need an artefact to fight, unlike you.”
“...Are you trying to taunt me to transform back and fight you as a human?” Frankenstrike asks.
“...Is it working?” the Golden Guard asks half-hopefully.
Frankenstrike points a palm crackling with electricity at him, “Nah.”
***
“Useless, useless fools! There’s only two of them!” Kikimora cries from behind a piece of stalactite as a scout is sent flying from a mana blast.
“Not bad, not bad. But watch how a pro does it.” Eda says as she swings her staff, flinging a coven scout like a ragdoll and using him to smash into his own allies, “What do you think?”
“Juvenile.” Hope shrugs as she redirects a magical bolt back at its original sender with a flick of her hand, “How are these men the ‘elite’ of your world again?”
“Don’t ask me, I’ve been wondering the same myself for the past thirty years,” Eda says as she continues to use the poor scout as a bludgeoning tool on his own scattering allies.
“What are you waiting for?! Do something!” Kikimora screams at Steve who was cowering behind a neighbouring stalactite.
“I am doing something, ma’am.” he replied, “I am waiting until they get tired.”
“Do something now !” she demands before a screaming coven scout lands next to them, and is dragged back into the fight with a wooden owl tube wrapping around his legs,
“...With all due respect, ma’am, that sounds tactically inadvisable.” Steve says bluntly before realising Kikimora was crawling away, “Wait, where are you going?!”
“I…am getting high ground so I can better command the battle!” Kikimora excuses before running off.
Nothing was going as planned, and it was all these useless fools’ faults! And the Golden Guard for his disobedience! And those interlopers!
She just needs to find a way to get out of here, get more men and come back for the power source. If she delivers it to her lord, he will recover, and secure her place in his new era as promised!
She nearly jumps out of her skin when the Golden Guard lands in front of her before leaping back to his feet and zipping away to narrowly avoid a blow from the shapeshifting human, having transformed into some kind of undead-like beast with electric magic.
Fortunately, the two seemed too preoccupied with their fight to notice her. Like always, she was just too small to worry about, too small to care about. Even as she rose through the ranks in the Emperor’s Coven, they all looked down on her, even her own men who whispered behind her back thinking she couldn’t hear them.
But she will show them, once her lord's new era comes and she becomes one of the few to stand by his side, they will all see how wrong they were about her.
But first, she needs to escape, and let her men deal with this mess, she needs to get out safely.
She hides behind a crate to watch the fight, picking the right time to run past time before realising the crate’s contents. Nearly filled to the brim with dynamite.
An idea begins to form in her head as she eyes the fighters in front of her. The human in her transformed state would likely survive grievious injuries if her reputation wasn’t false, but the Golden Guard in his normal state likely wouldn’t even with magic.
***
Frankenstrike roars as she slams both her fists down to create a wave of electricity the Golden Guard raises his staff to create a dome around him to shield himself from the blast. However, to his confusion, the lighting doesn’t even scratch his dome, instead travelling around him in a circle before he realises her plan.
She then steps on the fire glyph created from the lightning scorch marks, creating a tornado of fire just like she did against Amity during the Covention, hoping to knock out the Golden Guard by depriving him of oxygen.
However, she barely catches a red blur coming from the tornado of flames and turns in time to see the Golden Guard having sped out, with his cloak slightly on fire and staff swinging for her head.
She grabs the staff in time and delivers a current through it, forcing the Golden Guard to release his staff as he falls back.
“Damn it…” he curses as he realises he lost his staff,
“Want this back, come and get it.” Frankenstrike taunts, waving a hand at him to come and take it from her. However, to her surprise he seems hesitant, almost fearful. She half expected him to start casting spells with his bare hands like normal but instead, he just looked to his side, like he was hoping one of the scouts would help him.
“Can you…not use magic without your staff?” she guesses as the way his body tensed told her all she needed to know. Before she can capitalise upon this new piece of information, something hits her in the head from behind.
The Golden Guard’s eyes widen as he sees Kikimora use her magic to launch a large crate at Frankenstrike, having expected her to run off like a coward. But before he can even think of thanking her, his face pales upon reading the words plastered on the crate and the sight of a detonator in Kikimora’s hands.
He was halfway through shouting at her to stop before she activated the detonator.
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
So I apologise for the very late chapter, I meant for this to be out like a week ago but a lot of things happened. Projects, assignments, and working on other fanfics (currently also working on an old piece of work of mine called A Hunter Must Hunt, a RWBY x Bloodborne crossover). So you may notice this chapter is a bit rushed in some areas.
Also sorry I couldn't write a full chapter but it would've taken too long and be too long, so I figured it was best to split up the chapter into two.
Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter 25: TEMPORARY HIATUS
Chapter Text
So I'm sorry for announcing this quite late, and I know many were looking forward to a new chapter, but I've been getting sidetracked with my RWBY-based fanfics lately and having some minor difficulty working on TTTW because of that. So for now I'll be taking a break from this story, probably up to a month, before continuing TTTW. This is not me discontinuing it, I've enjoyed working on this crossover, and I will continue writing it just taking a break for now. I'm sorry for the disappointment, and feel free to pester me for updates if it has been a month and no signs of a new chapter. UPDATE: So this is gonna take a bit longer than planned. Attention has been diverted to other fics, and while I'm trying my best to continue with TTTW I struggle to get the motivation. Trying to at least finish the next chapter but it's going to take a while. I'm sorry.
Chapter 26: Adventure in the Knee Pt 2
Chapter Text
“Luz!” Kevin shouts in alarm as she sees the crate of explosives detonate. But as the smoke clears he sighs in relief to see the form of Frankenstrike still alive, but her back horribly burnt from the heat of the explosives at point blank, having taken the brunt of the blow to protect the Golden Guard who was wrapped in her arms.
She groans in pain as she recovers from the blast, reaching for her head. But as she tried to get up, the ground beneath her starts cracking from both her weight and the explosives. Before any of them can react, a hole forms as she falls through with a scream, and the cave around them begins shaking.
“No!” he cries as he runs forward, shoving through any scout in his way in his rush, but before he gets close the ceiling begins to collapse. Large chunks of rocks fall on top of the hole, covering it up as evenmore debris lands on top of it, preventing any exit or entry.
“Well, that’s my signal to flee.” that red imp that detonated the explosives quickly says before skedaddling towards one of the tunnel entrances, but before she could get far, more of the ceiling caves in and blocks her exit.
“...Not that way.” she skids to a stop before making her way to the next exit only for the same to happen. All around them, any exit there was quickly being blocked by the rapid cave-in, some scouts nearly getting crushed.
“Eda, with me!” Hope cries out before raising both hands to the ceiling and shouting out a spell, with Eda drawing a large circle with her staff. Beams of magenta and yellow energy respectively shot out, spreading across the ceiling and stabilising the cave just before it could collapse.
“Er…hehe, let’s not be hast-?” the imp tries raising her hands to cool him down before he kicks her across the face with a steel-encased foot in his anger.
“Crazy demon.” he curses under his breath before turning back to the scouts, all of them looking at the ceiling worried and nursing their wounded, with one of them approaching with raised hands.
“Who, whoa, let’s cool it.” he says, “We’re all dead if we stay here, so truce?”
Kevin takes stock of the situation first, glancing at the two magic users struggling to keep the cave from falling on top of them. If a fight breaks out and one of them takes a hit…
“Yeah, truce.” Kevin agrees, “Any of your ‘Emperor’s elite force’ guys know some magic that can help us out?”
“Er, you kinda knocked out all our construction specialists when you came barging in here.” the scout points to a number of his unconscious compatriots being treated by their medics,
“...Shit.” Kevin curses before taking a breath and remembering his training, “Alright, standard cave-in, impending collapse, need to find an exit. Alright, just like basic survival training, we can do this. Eda, your portal, can we use it to get out of here?”
“Huh? Of course we could, if I had it!” Eda grunts from the strain of holding up the ceiling with her magic, “I don’t bring it everywhere or I might lose it, or someone pickpockets me. You won’t believe the number of times that happened before.”
“Well…crap.” Kevin mutters in disappointment and frustration before looking to the scout that took command, “Right, what’s your name?”
“Me? I’m Steve.” the scout introduces himself,
“Right, Steve, I need you and your best witches to start creating support structures so we can at least take the strain off Hope and Eda-” Kevin starts discussing his plan only for him to be interrupted,
“Well, you see…those are the jobs of the construction specialists as well,” Steve says scratching the back of his neck awkwardly,
“...Shit!” Kevin curses louder this time, kicking a stray rock, “Then what can you do?”
“Well…I graduated from the Bard Track.” Steve says as he summons a lute with a spell circle, “Maybe I can offer a song in these trying times?”
Kevin stares at the Coven scout incredulously, who begins tuning and then strumming his lute.
“...We’re dead.” Kevin groans as he covers his face with both hands. As he does this, three figures approach from the other end of the mines,
“Kevin? What happened? We heard something explode and then the whole place started shaking!” Amity asks, looking around in shock before realising something, “And where’s Luz? Is she alright?”
“She fell down that hole!” King says, pointing at the pile of rocks covering it, “And she took the Golden Guard with her!”
“Luz…” Amity gasped before looking determined, “We gotta help her!”
She draws two spell circles and creates two abomination arms. But before she can use them, Kevin grabs her hand and stops her,
“Hey, let go!” Amity shouts but Kevin doesn’t relent,
“Try to move that and you might cause some debris to fall on her. We have no idea what their status is down there.” Kevin says sternly, and Amity hesitates before relenting.
“So…what do we do?” Emira asks nervously as she glances around the barely held-up cave, with all their exits blocked off, “Are we trapped here?”
Kevin sighs, “We’ll try finding our way out. If any of you know some magic stuff that can help us, now’s the time.”
“...And Luz? What about her?” King asks worriedly.
“ Right now we have to worry about ourselves first.” Kevin mutters as he stares at the debris-covered hole, “Let’s just hope she’s having an easier time than we are.”
***
Luz groans in pain, rubbing her back after the Omnitrix forces her back into her human form when Frankenstrike takes too much damage from both the explosion and the fall that followed.
“Ugh, I still feel my ears ringing.” she groans as she rubs her back before pushing herself up to look at her surroundings, “Where am I?”
She looks around to find herself in another cave system that is barely lit up with what looks to be glowing moss. Well her Omnitrix and Plumbers badge wasn’t picking up anything so it meant it probably wasn’t radioactive or poisonous in any way.
She glances around further trying to find the Golden Guard, she was sure he fell with her just before she blacked out from Frankenstrike tanking the explosion, but then where was he? She then bends down to find something, a piece of a golden mask.
She takes a breath before thinking things through. There was moss nearby, and vegetation was present, meaning there was water as well. Water could mean a way out, so rationally there was one way he would have gone.
“Omnitrix, initiate environmental analysis.” she orders the device, “Scan for bodies of water.”
“Scanning.” it says before beeping with the dial indicating a direction, “Body of water detected.”
Luz then started walking quickly towards the direction pointed, as she did she heard splashing of water and hurried up, just in time to see a familiar cloaked figure in a lake desperately fighting off what appeared to be a squid-like demon with his staff buried by the tip in a nearby stalagmite.
Without a second thought, Luz quickly rushes in and whips out a fire glyph from her parka’s pockets and creates a concentrated stream of fire, cutting up one of the tentacles and forcing the demon to release the Golden Guard before swimming away in fear of the approaching flames.
“Wha…?” the Golden Guard turns to face her and she sees his face for the first time without the mask. A scar on his cheek, large bags under his eyes and unkempt blonde hair with red eyes, “You saved me?”
Luz shrugs, “You looked like you needed help.”
The Golden Guard hesitates before his eyes go to his staff just a few feet away. Without a moment of hesitation, he starts moving through the lake to get to it quickly, but the water slows him down enough for Luz to reach it first.
“Hey, no sudden movements!” she says, pointing the staff at him before sighing, “Seriously, I just saved your life.”
“And I didn’t try to take you with me in chains, so we were even.” the Golden Guard grumbles back before looking at his own staff pointed at him, “Do you even know how to use that thing?”
Luz glances down at the staff before pointing it to his side, hoping to fire off a warning shot, only for no more than a handful of red sparks to emit from the staff’s cracked crystal. Seeing this, the Golden Guard rushes her, but before he can get close Luz stabs him in the guts with the other end of the staff before going for his chin and sweeping his legs.
Once he was on his back she pointed the tip of the staff at his neck, “Maybe not, but my dad’s been teaching me CQC ever since I was ten. And remember between the two of us, only one of us has an intact Omnitrix and isn’t sitting on their back with a staff to their throat, so I don’t want to see any magic circles from your fingers, understand?”
The Golden Guard glares at her before looking away with some embarrassment and shame. Luz was confused about what this meant before guessing,
“...Can you not use magic?” she asks as the Golden Guard’s eyes widen in surprise, confirming her guess.
“How did you know?”
“I guessed from the look on your face, and you just confirmed that.” Luz says looking at him in shock, “How is that possible, you’re a witch aren’t you?”
“It doesn't matter.” he grumbles in frustration, “So I’m your prisoner now. What do you want to do, kill me?”
Luz rolls her eyes and groans, “God, get it through your head already, I don’t want to kill anyone. Got that?”
She gestures at him with his staff, “Now get up. We’re stuck down here after your friend tried to blow us up and we need to get out.”
“Kikimora isn't my friend.” he mutters as he reluctantly does so, “Just an overambitious imp I’ll deal with once I return to the castle with my report.”
“Workplace politics got it.” Luz says before glancing around, “Any ideas on how to get out?”
“I didn’t exactly get top scores for spelunking.” the Golden Guard snarks, “What about your Omnitrix?”
“It’s in recharge mode.” Luz flashes the red dial to the Golden Guard, “Won’t get it back until ten minutes, even then it’s not like any of my aliens are good with caves.”
“We need to hurry, my men are back up there. Who knows what the situation is right now.” the Golden Guard says, sounding worried.
“Let’s just hope they’re in a better situation than we are,” Luz says hopefully.
***
“How are you holding up?” Eda asks with a grunt as she holds up the ceiling with her magic.
Hope scoffs but appears visibly exhausted, “I can go all day. You?”
“Just all day? I feel like I can go all week.” Eda boasts to hide her own exhaustion. Before Hope can retort she notices something and pales even more,
“I very much doubt that,” she says as Eda glances down to find the gem on her chest flickering with black, and steadily filling up.
“...I can still hold on,” Eda argues but Hope glares at her,
“The last thing we need is an Owl Beast rampage now.” Hope says before nodding firmly, “Where’s your elixirs?”
“I left them back in camp outside with the rest of our supplies.” Eda grumbles in frustration, “Titan, what is with my luck this week?”
“Then rest, if it calms down you can continue.” Hope orders but before Eda can argue she interrupts, “Do you want the same incident at the Owl House to occur again? In a cave that we’re barely keeping stable as we speak?
With great reluctance Eda lets go of her magic, the cave shaking for a moment before Hope increases her magic, stretching it out even further as she falls to her knees.
“What’s going on?” Amity asks as she rushes towards them to help somehow, leaving her siblings to continue helping Kevin, the conscious scouts and King carefully pull out boulders and rocks blocking one of their exits.
“Tapping out already, kid.” Eda grumbles as she taps her gem that is half black, “Now it’s all on Hope to keep us from becoming paste.”
Amity looks at the state Hope is in and worries, “I- I have your spellbook! Is there anything I can do? Any spell I can use to help?”
Hope doesn’t speak a word, looking like just trying to would strain her too much as her arms shook and eyes trailed towards Amity. She looked barely able to kneel upright but continued exerting her magic to hold up the cave’s ceiling.
“...I can do something, I have to be able to do something,” Amity says frustrated as she starts flipping through the pages of the spellbook frantically,
“I really hope so, kid. Because if they can’t find us a way out, and Hope can’t hold out much longer, then you’re the only hope we got left.” Eda mutters as Amity pales upon hearing this, “No pressure.”
***
“So…got a name?” Luz asks as she continues walking down a tunnel with the Golden Guard in front of her at staff point, the only light source being her badge flashing a beam of red light as it hangs on her parka’s chest.
“Yeah, it’s go screw yourself.” the Golden Guard grumbles as he marches on in front of her,
“Charming.” she snarks, “I’m just trying to be friendly. We’re both trapped together, working on a common goal, that makes us allies, you know?”
“Allies of convenience.” the Golden Guard corrects, “And because you’re threatening me.”
“Because you tried to attack me after I saved you!” Luz says annoyed, “What were you doing here anyway? What’s this power source you’re after?”
“None of your business, human.” the Golden Guard grits his teeth, “You won’t get anything from me.”
“I’m just saying we can work something out.” Luz sighs, “You get whatever you came here for, and I get whatever I came here for, we both go our separate ways without further. Win-win.”
“I’d rather double win by snagging the basilisks back for the Emperor and the power source.” the Golden Guard scoffs.
Luz growls, “What reason could you possibly have to justify their torture? They’re just innocent people!”
“You believe that after their attacks on the schools?” the Golden Guard mocks as Luz glares at him,
“One did that after all the torture you put her through.” she says through grit teeth and restrained anger, “The rest were hiding away from your men because they were terrified of what you’d do to them once you got your slimy hands on them.”
The Golden Guard sighs, “Look, it’s distasteful but it’s all for the good of the people. Imagine the good a perfected Demonitrix will bring to the people of the Boiling Isles. You of all people should know. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few griffin eggs and all, so if a few demons have to be hurt for hundreds more, so be it.”
“I’ve heard that justification one too many times.” Luz says annoyed, “And it gets old quickly. I also doubt that’s the whole reason your Emperor wants his own Omnitrix.”
“His plans are the safety and betterment of the Boiling Isles.” the Golden Guard argues, “There wouldn’t be a Bonesborough for you to stand in if it wasn’t for his Coven system, you know? Sure he can be a bit heavy-handed but can you deny the Isles is a safer and prosperous place because of his laws?”
“Another classic, you wanna play authoritarian-excuse bingo or something?” Luz snarks.
“Do you even know where we’re going?” the Golden Guard asks, desiring to change the subject and Luz relents.
“No, but it’s not like there’s anywhere else to go besides this one tunnel.” Luz says, “Unless you have any flyers in that Demonitrix, I can’t get us back up where we came from. Or would you rather swim through that lake and find another way out while fighting who knows how many squid demons?”
“Well I actually do have a flying demon, if you’d hand me back my staff I can patch it up.” the Golden Guard offers.
“Fat chance.” Luz says drily as they approached the end of the tunnel, “Damn it, a dead end?”
“Hang on, it doesn't look like one.” the Golden Guard mutters as he approaches the stone wall, “Look at this, there was glow moss everywhere but here’s a section completely devoid of it.”
He gives it an experimental knock that results in a hollow thud before looking back at Luz, “It’s hollow…”
Luz nods and reaches for her pocket, whipping out a plant glyph. Before placing it in the centre of the wall and activating it. The glyph glows green for a moment before growing vines that pierce through the wall and carefully pulling it apart to allow them through without disturbing the cave too much.
They both peer into the dark entrance before Luz pulls out two light glyphs and hands one to the Golden Guard,
“What is this?” he looks at the glyph confused and slightly excited, “Is this wild magic? I’ve read about it before.”
“Oh? Thought it was illegal.” Luz teased upon hearing the Golden Guard’s curious tone before he quickly tried to cover it up.
“T-to counter them if I ever came across that in the field!” the Golden Guard says looking away embarrassed, “A good soldier needs to be prepared for every possible threat. They’re wild and dangerous, we shouldn’t be using them.”
“Hey, I’ve been using them for days and I haven’t burnt the Owl House down yet. That’s an achievement considering my last attempt at magic.” Luz shudders at the memory of the New Jersey incident, “And unless you want to go into this dark, ominous tunnel without any source of light…”
The Golden Guard stares into the darkness hesitantly before back at the glyph before nodding in begrudging agreement. Luz then taps her glyph to create an orb or light as the Golden Guard did the same.
“After you.” the Golden Guard offers but Luz laughs,
“What a gentleman.” she says sarcastically, “But forgive me for not showing my back to the guy who’s tried to fight me every time we meet. You go first.”
“Worthed a shot.” the Golden Guard grumbles as he shrugs and goes in first.
Even with the light glyph and the light from Luz’s badge, their path was barely lit up as they carefully stepped through the uneven rocks.
“This our way out?” he asks worriedly, “I don’t know. Maybe it was blocked for a reason by someone…or something.”
“Well, it can’t hurt to check, and is better than staying back there in case those squids can walk on land as well.” Luz shrugs as they continue heading forward, “Hang on, I think we could do with more light.”
She tries reaching into her pockets for more light glyphs before she feels something wet drop on her shoulder and glances at it in confusion before the realisation that she grabs the Golden Guard by his cape and pulls hard,
“Hey, what are you-?!” he shouts angered only to be cut off when something large lands where both of them once stood,
“Is that a Slitherbeast?!” Luz shouts as the demon roars at her while she starts fiddling with her recharging Omnitrix,
“It doesn’t make sense, Slitherbeasts don’t live this far down!” the Golden Guard says in disbelief, “There’s not enough food or water down here to feed one!”
“Wow, I don’t think it realises that. Maybe we should inform them?” Luz says sarcastically as she whips out a plant glyph, throwing it and wrapping it down with thick vines as it roars.
“My staff!” the Golden Guard asks once more,
“No!” she repeats once again, as the Slitherbeast effortlessly tears itself out of the vines before lunging at them, taking a swipe at the Golden Guard.
“Hey, why is it after me?!” he cries as he dodges the blow and runs between stalagmites to keep away from it.
“Maybe it’s after an easy snack.” Luz snarks as she thinks it through. As the Golden Guard said, there was no way a creature that big could thrive underground if there was little food and water to be found. Sure it may hunt the squids and drink from the lake but how did it find its way down here in the first place? And oddly it did seem to be targeting the Golden Guard, turning its back to Luz. It could just be a coincidence, but as a Plumber, she’s not allowed to believe in coincidences on the job.
Taking a gamble, she used a fire glyph to launch herself between them just before the Slitherbeast could strike at him while he tripped over a stray rock,
“Number Five sent us!” she quickly shouts as she braces herself to be hit. But once she doesn’t feel her bones get crushed or flesh gets torn, she slowly opens her eyes to see a surprised Slitherbeast.
“So…who am I talking to?” Luz asks with a sigh of relief that her gamble paid off, “Number Three or Four?”
Another long pause before the Slitherbeast spoke in a deep, gravelly voice,
“Who…are you?” it growls.
“My name’s Luz Noceda.” she introduces herself, “I’m a human from the Human Realm…pretty redundant to say that I guess, but anyways I’m here to help. Your friend Number Five, we call her Vee actually, told us about you and we wanted to help.”
“Help?!” it roars glaring at the Golden Guard, “You work with him!”
“Yeah, I know how it looks but trust me, I’m not with him.” Luz assures quickly, “He’s just my prisoner. I wouldn’t be holding this if he wasn’t.”
Luz says as she holds up the Golden Guard’s staff and she senses the Slitherbeast relax a fraction, “Here, if you’ll let me…”
She carefully puts down the staff before slowly reaching for her pocket and pulls out her phone once she sees no sign of hostilities, showing pictures of Vee and her parents along with Number Two.
“Five…who are you?” the now confirmed basilisk asks confused and hesitantly,
“Luz Noceda, Plumber Agent.” she reflexively flashes her badge, “We’re from the Human Realm and we help people like you. We’re here to get every basilisk out here before the Emperor’s Coven can get their hands on them.”
“Not if I have anything to say about that.” the Golden Guard chimes in from behind as Luz stares at him incredulously,
“Dude, read the room.” she mutters before turning back to the basilisk, “So I introduced myself, now how about you? Who am I talking to here?”
“...” the basilisk pauses for a moment before they begin to shift back to their natural form, “They…call me Number Four.”
“Four, great to meet you.” Luz says, “I take it Three’s with the eggs? Five told me about them.”
“So she’s safe as well…” he mutters looking surprised and relieved, “But how?”
“It’s a long story, one we can talk about later.” Luz said before turning serious, “But we have to hurry, there’s dozens of Emperor’s Coven scouts above ground. My team's fighting them off now.”
“Yeah, and once they kick their butt they're coming down here to bring you all in.” Golden Guard shouts and Luz looks back exasperated,
“Dude, we’ve kicked your butt once already.” she reminds before gesturing towards his tied-up state, “And unless you want to be left here tied up for them to find, I suggest you shut up.”
Four immediately looks panicked, “We…we have emergency tunnels that lead out of here. But there was this large quake that shook the caves, collapsing them. The only one stable enough is the main tunnel that leads up the Knee, through the main caverns. But that’s where the scouts likely are.”
“Yeah…” Luz scratches the back of her head as she glares at the Golden Guard, “You can thank a certain little demon for that.”
“One thing we can all agree on.” he mutters, “So take the main entrance out of here, turn yourselves in and I guarantee a comfy cell for the rest of your days.”
“You are literally in no position to make demands!” Luz says, getting increasingly annoyed, sighing before turning back to Four, “We’ll figure that out, first, we need to get Three and catch her up on this.”
“Yes, she must be wondering what’s going on.” he nods, “Follow me.”
“And here, take this.” Luz grabs the broken staff of the Golden Guard and hands it to him, “Show that I really mean no harm.”
“Thank you, now please make sure to watch your step. I’m sure bipeds would have more trouble walking here,” he warns as he slithers through the dark cavern, with both of them almost tripping over the uneven terrain as they follow.
Still, they were able to make it through unscathed and soon they passed through a cramped tunnel leading deeper inside towards a more spacious opening with what appears to be a large stone gate.
“What is that thing?” Luz mutters confused as the Golden Guard’s eyes widen,
“That must be what we’ve come for.” he realises, “Can you feel that? It’s almost warm down here.”
“It’s why we’ve been able to live this deep in the Knee. Without that, we would’ve frozen a dozen times over.” Four nods as he slithers down to a nest made of branches where another basilisk lays asleep, “Three, wake up, it’s urgent.”
Three slowly awakens before her eyes widen upon seeing both Luz and the Golden Guard,
“Hey, hey, no need to be afraid.” Four assures, “That girl’s a human, and she’s a friend of Five and Two.”
“W-what?” Three asks confused,
“We’ve been found, the Emperor’s Coven are here but this girl, Luz, she’s a friend of Five and said that she’ll help get us out.”
“...How can we trust her?” Three asks as she curls around the nest protectively, “Look, she’s with him.”
“As a prisoner.” Luz points to the vines tying up the annoyed Golden Guard, “Look I understand how hard it must be to trust someone, especially if it includes your kids’ lives. I know that I’m a mother too.”
All eyes turned to her in disbelief and confusion as Luz continued, “Fourteen adorable kids, not bragging or anything, but that means I know what it's like to worry about them. And it’s why I’m promising that as long as I’m around nothing will touch you or your kids. We’re getting you out of here, and getting you all to the Human Realm. You’ll be safe there.”
“We’ll find them eventually…” the Golden Guard mutters in frustration,
“Yeah, and not like you can reach them.” Luz smirks, “It’s the perfect hiding spot. And we’ve got Plumber agents patrolling the streets that will defend them.”
The last part was partially a lie since the only territory they patrol is Undertown. Still, the Golden Guard grumbles in frustration,
“...I think she’s telling the truth.” Four pipes in, “If we stay here we’ll be hunted by the Coven, but if we go to another realm they’ll never touch us again. A new beginning for all of us.”
Moved by her partner and Luz’s genuine, Three sighs,
“I…I’ll trust you then.” she nods, “But how are we going to get out? If the Coven’s already here they’ll just capture us again.”
Luz hesitates and tries to think of a plan, “Well we’re assuming my team up there hasn’t beaten them yet. If they did, then we might be able to just walk out without any bother.”
“Nice try, but we make regular reports back to the Castle and if we don’t they’ll notice something’s up and send reinforcements.” the Golden Guard claims with a confident smirk, “They’ll probably have the whole Knee surrounded. Can you fight through an army of the Emperor’s finest while keeping them away from harm? Think smart, you all know how fragile eggs can be.”
Three snarls at him and Luz glares before her eyes move to the stone doors and the strange heat they feel coming from behind them,
“What if we made a deal?” she suggests earning a curious look from him, “What if I help you get…whatever’s behind this door, and in exchange for that you let us go free?”
“Why would I do that? Seems to me I hold the cards now. If you want these two to get out unharmed they need to surrender, or you take the risk and some of them get hurt, maybe even those eggs they cherish so much.”
Instead of backing down, Luz instead pokes a furious finger at his chest,
“You wanna know how many threats like that I’ve heard in my life? More times than I can count. And from people far much worse than you. Wanna guess what happened to each and every last one of them?” she snarls, “I’ve beaten Forever Knights, DNAliens, Highbreeds, Incurseans, monsters and villains beyond time and space! Do you think a couple of ‘elite witches’ scare me or my team? One way or another, I am getting everyone out of here unharmed, safe and sound, but I don’t like taking any unnecessary risk! So you get the choice, help me and go home with something, or go against me and go home with nothing because I will bring down whatever is behind that gate just so you don’t get it. What will your Emperor think of that, then?”
Taken aback by the ferocity and conviction in her tone, the Golden Guard hesitates and weights it over before sighing,
“Fine. Fine! We’ll do it your way.” he throws up his hands in frustration, “You get me that power source behind that gate and I’ll look away. Just this once.”
“Your mercy knows no bounds.” she says sarcastically with a roll of her eyes before turning to the basilisks, “So did you get all that? We’ll need whatever’s behind that. Think we can part ways with it?”
“Well, we don’t exactly know what’s behind it.” Four admits, “The gate’s been locked since long before we got here and we could never open it. We feed off the heat and excess magic radiating from it, seeping through the gaps.”
He gestures to the gaps beneath the gate, where a warm light could be seen emitting from it.
“Hmm, the whole gate looks like it was made out of the same material as these caves.” the Golden Guard mutters analytically, “Judging by the lack of erosion, you’d think it was built today. There’s powerful magic involved.”
“How powerful?” Luz asks,
“That remains to be seen,” he mutters.
Luz sighs and taps on her Omnitrix, now recharged, “Right then, Omnitrix. Initiate Forensics Mode.”
“Initiating.” it beeps before expanding a dome of purple light, surprising everyone as it highlights every detail of the area.
“What, yours can’t do that?” she taunts the surprised Golden Guard who scoffs but remains silent.
“Let’s see…” Luz mutters before looking disappointed at the results, “The hinges don’t look mechanically operational so must be magic. And I can’t get a clear reading but whatever’s inside is causing lots of interference. Where’s Hope when you need her?”
She gives it a light smack, deactivating Forensics Mode as she approaches the stone gate, “Old fashioned detective work it is then. These writings, do you recognise them?”
Luz asks her hands brushing against the circular runes engraved, the Golden Guard approaching for a closer look.
“Doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before.” he admits, “Maybe get some more light? It’s pretty dim here, there could be more clues.”
Luz nods and holds out a light glyph, tapping it to activate it. However, something unintentional happens and the runes on the gates suddenly glowed blue to their surprise. Without warning the doors suddenly crack open, swinging outwards and forcing them all to quickly move out of the way, with Three and Four hurriedly grabbing the eggs.
“...Did you do that?” the Golden Guard asks stunned.
“...I don’t know.” Luz replied honestly before turning back to the basilisks, “Stay here, with luck we won’t be gone long.”
They nod as both the Golden Guard and Luz approach the gate and enter. Here they could see the faint glowing light down the hallway with the temperature suddenly feeling like a perfectly warm Summer.
“Oh, that’s just right.” Luz sighs as she takes off her parka, with only a purple and white striped shirt under it, “God, have you ever gone outside and it’s just that right temperature?”
“Yeah, you said it.” the Golden Guard agreed with a sigh of relief, before snapping out of it, “But what the heck’s this place anyways? Not any temple I’m familiar with. Ancient Witch designs don’t look like this.”
As they walk through the hallways they notice the grounds, walls and roofs are all cracked with some stone falling through.
“Looks like some kind of old earthquake.” Luz guesses, “The debris looks too old to be recent.”
“Possibly.” he says, glancing at the walls, “Look. Some kind of murals?”
Luz followed his glance, finding what appeared to be old murals but most were too cracked and blurred from the ages, she could decipher what appeared to be tall figures with horns and wings pointing spears at the skies.
Wait… Horns and wings?
“It looks like…war?” Luz mutters as she tries analysing what scenes of the mural that was intact, “Spears pointed at skies sounds a lot like war. Unless they’re just very mad about the weather. And look,”
She points to a part of the mural where one of the horned and winged figures were dragging three round objects into a flat, black circle which they realise must be some kind of cave. But the figure appeared to be leaving a trail of blue.
“I think that explains that then.” the Golden Guard gestures towards and Luz finds the end of the hallway, with what looks like a miniature sun hovering midair with large stone pillars supporting the ceiling with a giant stone statue standing at the back with armour plating and horned helmet, a sword stabbed downwards.
But in the corner of the room was a dried skeleton almost crumbling away from age and ancient broken arrowheads on the ground.
“Omnitrix, initiate DNA scan,” she says pointing the device at the corpse, but she already could guess.
“Match detected. DNA belonging to the same species as unknown species sample classified as ‘Skullhound’.
“King’s people.” Luz mutters, “But what is that doing here?”
Turning her head she sees the centre of the room appearing to be some kind of stage with a large rock having fallen down right in the centre of it, with the miniature sun hovering above them.
Kneeling down to it, she picked up something small and thin, like an eggshell and immediately the puzzle clicked.
“I think I get it…” Luz realises, “There was a war long ago, and this kid was trying to get some eggs of its people to safety.”
“Kid?” the Golden Guard asks as Luz nods somberly,
“I was about that size when I turned into Skullhound. This one must’ve been about the equivalent of our age.” she sighs sadly before turning to the shattered shells, “They must have built this place with their magic, created that mini sun thing so that the eggs could one day grow and hatch…But I guess nature had other ideas.”
“One big case of bad luck.” the Golden Guard grimaces as he looks above at the cave, “That’s…tragic.”
“But why did those doors open in response to those glyphs then?” Luz mutters to herself, “Were they practising glyph magic like I do?”
“Who cares, we got what we came for.” the Golden Guard says, looking up at the small sun, “But…how are we supposed to get it out of here?”
“Really? Seems a tad bit disrespectful.” Luz says in disapproval,
“We had a deal, remember? Besides, they’re all dead. No one’s gonna miss it or anything.” the Golden Guard shrugs,
Luz glares at the callousness but nods, twisting her Omnitrix, “Let’s see…who here can help get this thing out?”
As she twists her Omnitrix’s dial a shadow suddenly looms over both of them. Reflexes born from intense training saved the both of them as they leapt out of the way the moment a stone greatsword slammed into where they once stood.
“What the heck is that?!” the Golden Guard yells as he scampers onto his feet, eyes widening at the sight of a giant stone statue of a warrior in heavy-plated armour, horned helmet and stone wings wielding a giant greatsword twice his height.
“Some kind of security system?” Luz wonders before it sweeps its sword hoping to cleave them in half, “Duck!”
They both do so in time, the sword going over their heads, but the wind generated from the blow nearly knocks them off their feet. Whatever this thing was, it was insanely powerful.
“Hey, Golden Guard!” Luz turns and slices away the vines holding his arms together before shoving the staff into his arms.
“Huh?” he looks confused at the sudden change in the mind of his captor, who begins spinning through her Omnitrix,
“We need to work together, don’t we? Distract it!” she asks rhetorically before rolling away to avoid a downward swing, the force of the blow cracking the floor and sending them flying despite missing.
“What am I, your sidekick?!” the Golden Guard shouts back while unscrewing the cracked red crystal of his staff as he runs, reaching into his cloak and retrieving a backup power crystal. Once it was screwed on right, the gem glows red with power and he turns to face the stone golem, “Alright big guy, let’s see how you handle the power of the Golden-!”
A kick from the stone golem interrupts him mid-boast, barely bringing up a red magical shield to protect himself. Still he was sent flying and into the wall.
“Doing great, Goldie.” Luz cheers from behind a pillar as she taps her Omnitrix again, “Alright, big and slow, probably tough to break as well, and enough power to turn us both to pizza sauce. Who do I have to kill for Humongosaur?”
She laments the lack of access to her powerhouses as she scrolls through her list, her eyes widening as it lands on the hologram of Ghostfreak, a holographic lock placed over the image to prevent an accidental selection, before growling at it.
“No chance in hell, pal,” she growls before skipping him over and picking one of her current aliens. What she needed right now was power and mobility, the latter of which Frankenstrike lacks, “Well, better than nothing then.”
She slams it down as a blinding purple light surrounds her, morphing her into one of her latest acquisitions, “Tentadrake!”
Luz leaps out from behind the pillar and wraps one of the golem’s arms with her tendrils, pulling with all her might. Unfortunately, she had no better luck doing that than a fly has trying to push the arm of a human.
The golem swings its tied-up arm, pulling Tentadrake towards it before swinging it again, hoping to smash her to paste with its fist. But Tentadrake acrobatically avoids it, detaching her arms and regrowing them while landing on its face.
“Special delivery! Pain!” she roars before firing a ball of flames at point-blank range, but it did nothing besides cover its face with soot. The stone golem then attempts to crush her by slapping its own face, to which Tentadrake avoids by swinging away with her regrown arms.
As it recovers from slapping itself, red bolts of energy shot at the back of its neck, Tentadrake looks to see the Golden Guard zipping around in a red blur, firing bolt after bolt at it but all bouncing off like raindrops on metal plates.
“We need heavier firepower!” the Golden Guard exclaimed as he ducked for cover when the golem slashed with its giant sword.
“Where’s Humongosaur when you need her?” Tentadrake mutters as she rests behind a column while tapping at her Omnitrix, “Or Chromastone? Or Four Arms?”
She slams it down and her body transforms into Frankenstrike, thinking maybe what she needed was just some more brute force.
“Sit back Goldy.” Frankenstrike smirks as she pumps her fists crackling with lightning before charging out of cover, “Now it’s Hero ti-!”
She charges out only to be smacked away with the heavy stone blade, sending her flying and bouncing off the stone walls like a pinball before smacking face first on the floor. As it storms over to Frankenstrike, the Golden Guard then leapt over it and shoots a magic bolt right into its eyes, exploding into a bright flash of light.
“Come on, we need to move!” he grunts as he tries lifting her up.
“...Mommy I don’t want to go to school…” she mutters slightly concussed before shaking her head, flashing with purple light before reverting to her human form, “Damn it, really hope the gang’s having better luck with things than we are.”
***
“I hope Luz’s having better luck than we are right now,” Kevin grumbled as he carefully shifted the rocks from one of the covered-up exits.
“And the Golden Guard,” Steve adds while helping Kevin shift the rocks with the conscious Coven Scouts.
“I’ll be honest, I don't really care much for him.” Kevin said bluntly, “Nor anyone that keeps hounding us ever since we got here.”
“Hey, he’s just doing his job.” Steve said, sounding defensive, “Sure he’s rough around the edges sometimes, but he’s a decent commander. Much better than Kikimora in any case.”
They both turn to look at the barely conscious and heavily concussed Kikimora.
“Hehe… Thank you, my lord… Yes, I served you well… Hehe…” she mumbles while lying down.
“Think she needs a medic?” Kevin asked,
“I’m in no hurry.” Steve shrugged before the cave shifted again and they froze for a second before it passed, letting them exhale in relief, “But regarding that, I definitely am in a hurry. How’s your friend doing?”
Kevin turns his attention to Amity Blight leaning over her spellbook looking stressed before calling out to her, “How’re things going, Blight?”
“She looks really exhausted.” Emira answered, looking concerned as she carefully fed Hope a flask of water, “I’d say she won’t even last the next half hour.”
“Just let me get back to helping her, dang it.” Eda offers as Eric tries to stop her, but flinches as she feels her curse spreading, the darkness in her chest’s gem growing.
“I keep telling you that unless your curse calms down, we can’t risk it.” Kevin said, “Having a rampaging Owl Beast would only make things worse. And I was talking with the little Blight. How’s our exit strategy looking?”
“Maybe if you’d stop bugging me every minute!” Amity snapped before recollecting herself, “I… I’m sorry, I’m still trying to figure it out. I can’t even understand most of these languages and incantations!”
She said, flipping through the pages in frustration and despair, “I… I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”
Amity apologised while looking at her siblings, both looking scared despite their best attempts at not showing it.
“Well… that’s that I suppose.” Steve slumps against the cave walls with a heavy sigh, pulling out some parchment and a pen to scribble it with, “Never thought I’d die buried under a mountain… Then again, it’d be fitting I guess.”
He mutters to himself as he starts drafting his last will and testament, Edric approaches Amity.
“Hey, it was my idea to come out all the way here.” Edric said, “If anything I should be sorry for picking the Knee.”
“Yeah, you’re not allowed to pick where to go from now on.” Emira jokes, trying to keep tensions light.
Kevin grits his teeth and punches a rock with his fist coated in a sheet of stone, “We fought and beat entire armies of genocidal aliens, LARP-ing xenophobes and even a god that one time! Like hell I’m dying like this!”
“We can always just wait for Luz to get back… If she gets here in time.” Eda winced, looking up at the shaking ceiling, where Hope’s magenta aura preventing it from collapsing was beginning to waver.
“Maybe we’re looking at this from the wrong angle…” Kevin muttered as he turned to Amity, “You keep trying to use Hope’s arcane magic of whatever it's called, but what about your bile magic? There’s gotta be a witch trick or two that can get us out of this mess.”
“I… there’s a spell only the most elite Abomination witches can use.” Amity stammers, “It teleports them to somewhere they’re familiar with, but I’m nowhere near that skilled or strong! I can only guess how it works!”
“Look, when I want something fixed with my car (which is practically every week), I sometimes don’t have the tools I need, so I had to improvise with the tools I had.” Kevin tries to explain, “Maybe instead of worrying about what you can’t do, focus on what you can do with what you have. Improvise!”
“I can’t exactly improvise magic, the wrong spell can collapse this cave on us!” Amity stresses, “It’s not like improvising repairs for whatever a car is! It’s like… like…”
She trails off as she remembers something Hope said to her earlier.
“My uncle once explained to me that magic is similar to mathematical formulas. Each new form of magic is a new collection of numbers of symbols, but there may exist equations that are constant between one form of magic and another.”
“Formulas…” Amity muttered as she flipped the spellbook to a page Hope’s notes on the side indicated to be some sort of structure creation spell similar to those used in Construction Covens. The incantations and runes were indecipherable to her but there was something of a pattern to them… there! Repeated words and their arrangement, with Hope’s note providing a partial translation! Enough for guesswork at least. Now she had the components she needed a formula to put them through, some way to shape the spell, fill in the gaps the partial translations left, something like… like a glyph!
The glyphs Luz used apparently shaped some kind of background magic before translating them into spells! If she can use something similar to shape this partial incantation…
She took out her flask of Abomination goo and dipped her fingers into it, starting to sketch out words in the language of the spellbook, before flipping to earlier pages where ritual circles of various shapes and sizes were drawn, using Hope’s own highlights and notes to guess which would be best suited for her right now.
“Is… Did she figure something out?” one of the Coven scouts asked before everyone but Amity shushed them, watching with tensed silence.
“Alright.” Amity gulps as she finishes some kind of spell circle drawn using lines of half-completed spell incantations with Abomination goo, “But I’m not sure if it’ll work…”
“Well, we’ll be dead either way, just quicker than expected… Or slower depending on what kind of spell you just cooked up.” Eda shrugged nonchalantly as both Emira and Edric glared at her.
“Yeah, if we’re dead either way, we might as well die trying.” Kevin nodded, “Do it.”
“Here goes.” Amity slams both hands onto the circle, pouring all of her mana into it while everyone braces themselves.
***
“I swear if we beat this thing…” the Golden Guard groans as he struggles to push himself up from the ground, “I’m using its rocks for my garden…”
“You have a garden?” Luz groans from on top of him.
“I will once I crush this thing! I’ll grow some freaking blood-tulips!” the Golden Guard said before shoving her off him, “How the heck do we beat this thing?!”
“If I was still ten years old… I’d say we hit it harder…” Luz winces in pain from bruised bones, “But that evidently isn’t working.”
Suddenly the stone golem started glowing blue on runes lining its body, swiping the sword and releasing a gust of ice-cold wind. But Luz counters in time by throwing a handful of Ice Glyphs on the floor to create a wall and shield them, but it didn’t last long, shattering and launching them to the walls again.
“...Ow.” they both say as they fall to the ground again.
“How much longer do you get?” the Golden Guard asked as Luz checked her red Omnitrix.
“A minute at most.” Luz said, “But I got a plan this time!”
“That’s what you said fifteen minutes ago…” the Golden Guard complained before using his slightly bent staff to stand up.
“Yeah, but it’ll work this time!” Luz assured as she got up as well, the stone golem slowly stomping towards them. She starts tapping the Omnitrix’s face as if doing so would make it recharge faster, a nervous habit she had ever since she was ten.
“Luz!” the Golden Guard yelled as the golem raised its sword, but none of them had the energy to try to dodge anymore.
“Any second now…” she hisses before it flashed purple, “YES!”
She immediately triggers it, slides the dial to the specific alien and smashes it with her palm just as the sword falls. But then just before it could strike, the blade slowed to a halt and the Golden Guard slowly opened his closed eyes.
“...Huh?” he wonders before turning to Luz now in the form of Skullhound.
“The murals, that corpse… I had the feeling this thing was supposed to protect the eggs.” Skullhound explains as she carefully approaches the golem now lowering its sword, “So if it saw one of Skullhound or King’s people, it might lower its guard.”
The stone golem steps back slightly and the Golden Guard sighs at the sight,
“Oh thank Titan.” he muttered, “But why couldn’t you think of that earlier?”
“...I blame the explosions,” Skullhound said, looking away flustered.
“So we agreed it’s all Kikimora’s fault for everything. Good.” He nodded before turning to the golem again, “So what now…?”
He trails off as he sees it begin to kneel down, surprising them both as it lowers an open palm towards them before it starts speaking somehow, and the Omnitrix’ universal translator worked overtime trying to decipher its words but even then it came out garbled.
“Eggs hatched… Survivors of…” it mutters out in a deep, grave and mechanical tone, “Beginning playback…”
“Playback?” both of them muttered as from the giant stone palm, a pulsing green orb emerged.
Skullhound starts to reach out with her paw to make contact before the Golden Guard stops her.
“Wait, we don’t know what it's gonna do,” he warns.
“That concern I hear?” she teases before shrugging his arm off before resuming what she was doing, “Relax, I don’t think it’s going to hurt ME!”
She yells as the pulse explodes, sending her flying back as everything seems to slow down. As she opened her eyes, everything seemed to have some sort of green tinge and her body felt as light as a feather, like she was floating.
Luz tried to get back on her feet but then was alarmed to see she was in her human form, looking again she was launched a distance away from the kneeling golem, shocked to see the Skullhound form standing like it was perfectly normal and the Golden Guard as well, both looking frozen in place.
“Oh man, is this some time thing again?” Luz complained as she looked at her translucent arms, “Where’s Professor Paradox when you need him?
“My brothers and sisters…”
A voice echoed and Luz was startled to find a figure behind her. It looked like Skullhound only wearing some kind of dull golden armour that had scratches and chips everywhere, looking a bit taller yet slimmer with a tired look on his face.
“I… do not have much time. With what magic I have left after making this sanctuary for you, I have to choose my words carefully for my last message.” the figure said and Luz recognised his shape to be similar to the skeletonised corpse they’ve found, “If you’re hearing this from your Guardian, then it worked… We’ve survived.”
The figure looks immensely relieved at that, trying not to break his strictness before coughing blue blood into his hand, “Unfortunately, I will not be there to see you grow… You must have many questions, but I have little time so I will answer the one that is likely burning brightest… Who are we?”
Luz stays silent as she watches, not daring to speak as if worrying it could cause all this to end, and her curiosity wouldn’t allow her to do so.
“We are an old race… were an old race. Possibly the first in this world, before life sprang.” the visage explained as best it could, “But war came… the War of the Stars… We fought hard and even tried to flee, but nothing worked. They showed no mercy, no offers of surrender, nothing. We had no hope.”
The figure shudders as if remembering something bad, and Luz feels sadness for it. It sounded like they faced some sort of alien lifeforms and got exterminated for some reason, and the blood boils at the thought.
“I can’t tell you what happened next, our parents left us hidden to keep us safe. They charged me with your safety.” it explains looking sad, “...By the time I left the safety of our old home, it was all gone… they were all gone.”
They struggled to keep their emotions in check before continuing, “If you leave, know this, you three may very well be the last of your kind. If you find any more out in the world, be very, very cautious. Do not make the same mistakes I did.”
They point at the gaps in the armour they wore, “I thought they were survivors like us, allowed them to take advantage of my relief to be led to their home… Those monsters, those butchers! Wearing the skulls and fur of our young to trick survivors and… and…!”
They were consumed with rage before calming down to not waste their breath or remaining words. Luz couldn’t blame them for their anger, the thought of some people killing the young of another sentient species and wearing them as clothes… What possible reason would one have to do such a thing?
The person before her takes a deep breath to steady themselves, “Live… Trust only each other… Survive… The Guardian will protect you for as long as it can, but it won’t be permanent. You have to learn to fend for yourself eventually… I’m so sorry-”
Before they can finish, it stops and before Luz can wonder, it starts disintegrating into motes of light and blowing away like sand in the wind. She can only reach out on reflex before withdrawing her hand, her eyes drifting to where the eggs were shattered under tonnes of uncaring stone.
“I’m sorry too,” she whispers under her breath.
“What did you say?” the voice of the Golden Guard snaps her back to reality, turning around to realise she was back in Skullhound, “Hey, what’s wrong? Did that thing show you something?”
“I… yeah, it did.” she mutters looking back at the Guardian, “...Answers and questions both.”
“Cryptic.” he muttered, “So is everything good now?”
“I think so-?” Skullhound said before the Guardian roused, and they both took cautious steps back. But instead of attacking it only spoke,
“Served… well…?” it asks, almost like it was pleading, and Skullhound’s heart breaks knowing this construct was probably too degraded to realise that its charges have long since perished.
“...Yeah.” she lies to it, touching its open palm with a comforting paw, “You did good, pal.”
It had no facial features so she wouldn’t know, but she thinks it was relieved to hear so. The light in its runes faded and it stopped moving, possibly forever. Another part of a seemingly dead race and culture gone forever from the universe.
“Sleep tight, you earned it,” she whispers and lets it have a moment of silence before the Golden Guard interrupts.
“So we’re done here?” he asks impatiently.
“Seriously?” she snaps at him before sighing, knowing he didn’t mean anything really disrespectful, not knowing what she had just seen, “Just… yeah, we’re done here.”
Without warning she transforms back to Luz who gets on a knee from her exhaustion, “Phew, rapid changes really drain my batteries.”
“Really?” the Golden Guard asks as Luz hears the familiar hum of his staff activating from behind her.
“Are you for real?” she asks with a sigh, more out of annoyance than frustration, “You can try, but you’re just as exhausted as I am. And trust me when I say I won’t go down that easy. Why are you even trying?”
“Three fairies, one spell.” Golden Guard shrugged but as Luz turned, she could see some conflict in his eyes, “Sorry human, but I’ve got a job to do.”
“Can you look me in the eye and say that you’re willing to have literal babies experimented on? Torn from their parents, never knowing the lives they could’ve lived?” she challenges, “A simple yes or no.”
He doesn’t answer and Luz carefully stands up, “I know, I know, good soldiers follow orders. But some part of you deep down must know it's wrong.”
She points to the crushed eggs behind him, “See that? Those were some of their species' last hope. An entire people just wiped off the planet, and I know it’s not a pretty sight for you too. That’s what you're signing them up for. Can you say with 100% honesty in your heart that you can condemn them to that kind of fate?”
For a moment she thinks her speech failed when the staff glowed brighter but refused to stop staring him in the eye. Then he falters and the staff’s glow fades,
“...Just take them and leave. We had a deal.” he sighed before putting away his staff, “While I was fighting that thing, you snuck off with the basilisks and I decided the power source was the priority. Too bad.”
“Definitely.” she can’t help but smile widely and proudly at him, “You did the right thing, Goldie.”
“Don’t call me that,” he grumbled annoyed.
“Come on, I don’t have a name for you, and I can’t keep calling you the Golden Guard,” Luz smirked before ribbing him with her elbow.
“...My name is Hunter,” he said quietly and her smile got bigger.
“Are we bonding? We definitely are!” she laughed as Hunter shrugged away her hand,
“Enough fraternising with the enemy.” He muttered before glancing at the miniature sun, “I guess I’ll mark its position for later, not like I can touch it right now. I’ll leave it to the researchers of the Emperor’s Coven.”
Before they can continue, they are interrupted by Three calling out from the entrance,
“Is… is it done?” Three asks as she and Four peek from behind the giant gates, “We heard the fighting stop.”
“Yep, everything’s good here!” Luz waved at them, “Sorted it all out with Hunter here, so we’re good to go!”
“Just point me the way out of here as well.” Hunter sighed.
Four nodded, “Yes, there are some tunnels we used to sneak out and hunt without drawing attention, I’ll show you.”
“We’re really going to be safe now?” Three asked, putting a hand on Luz’s arm who smiled at her warmly, putting her own hand over it.
“Don’t worry, I promise you’re safe now. You’ll be meeting Two and Five in the Human Realm pretty soon,” she assured.
“What about One?” Four asked, “I… know what she’s done, but no one deserved what the Emperor’s Coven put us through, not even her.”
Luz frowns at that before sighing, “You don’t have to worry about that, she’s safe in the Human Realm. It’s a long story, but we’ll explain once we get there.”
They looked confused but decided to trust her. Once Three gathered up all the eggs in some kind of sack made of a thin membrane, Four guided them towards the tunnels and after a short trek, they made it back to the surface.
“Oh Titan, finally fresh air.” Hunter sighed, “I’ve been good with caves for a while now.”
“Same here.” Luz exhaled a sigh of relief as well while putting back on her parka from the shivering cold, “Now we need to get back to the rest of my friends and your men. There’s no telling what happened while we were-”
Luz was cut off when they heard cheering in the distance, frightening both Three and Four causing them to camouflage themselves as Hunter and Luz investigated over the hill, finding the Emperor Coven scouts and Kevin cheering while parading a very flustered Amity Blight on their shoulders while Eda, Edric and Emira watch from the distanced amused as they tended to an exhausted Hope.
“They're safe.” Luz said looking relieved before sliding down the hill, “Hey guys! You made it!”
“Luz!” Amity looks at her, eyes widening in relief before jumping down and rushing at her to grasp in a hug, “You’re safe! I knew it!”
“Glad to see you’re doing fine too, Ams!” Luz hugged back tight before turning to everyone else, “You guys too.”
“Sir.” one of the Coven scouts approached Hunter and saluted, “We managed to evacuate with the help of that witch, no casualties at all.”
“That’s great to hear, Steve.” Hunter nods before looking around, “Where’s that little imp anyways?”
“Right here, sir.” one of the scouts raises an unconscious Kikimora by the leg upside down, “What should we do with her?”
Hunter grits his teeth at the sight of her before sighing, “Unfortunately she’s coming along with us. I’ll be sure to report her incompetence to Emperor Belos and see to it that she’s punished for endangering our lives. You all did well, but now we have a power source to secure. Follow me.”
“But sir,” another scout raises a hand, “That human mentioned basilisks in the area, should we look for them as well?”
Everyone waits for his answer tensely as the scout called Steve looked a bit nervous behind his mask while eying Kevin, “Er, do we have to? I don’t think any of us are up for a fight.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to avoid your face,” Kevin promised with a pat on his shoulder.
“No point, they must’ve escaped in the chaos.” Hunter easily lied before leading his men away, “Now on me, let’s not waste any more time. I want the site secured before nightfall, and then we can call in a relief team. Congratulations, you all earned some downtime after this.”
The group of scouts cheered as they followed Hunter back to where they came from. As they left, Luz smiled at Hunter, giving him a quick two-fingered salute who just looked away annoyed in response as they went out of sight and down the tunnels.
“Guess you got pretty friendly with Goldie when you were down there?” Kevin asked, noting he left without any further hostilities.
“Yeah, he’s not so bad once you get to know them.” Luz shrugged, “And oh man, we learnt a lot from down there. For one, what happened to the rest of King’s people.”
“Huh?” Eda and King looked surprised, “You did?”
The latter immediately climbed onto Luz’s leg, “What did you learn? Was it awesome? Was there some kind of secret treasure buried beneath? An ancient kingdom? A superweapon of unparalleled destructive might?!”
“I’m curious as well.” Hope joins in with support from Edric and Emira, “I assume it's something important.”
Luz’s smile turned to a frown before patting King on the head, “...I’ll tell you later, alright? It’s not pretty, but I think you should know.”
He was slightly taken aback by how serious she sounded but nodded in response. Luz then cleared her throat to change the topic, “But anyways, what happened with you guys?”
“It was crazy! We almost died!” Edric exclaimed, waving his arms, “But then Mittens saved us with some kind of crazy wild magic.”
“It was an impressive display.” Hope nodded, “She was able to create a structure to support the collapsing cave, stabilising it long enough for us to escape. A simple solution, but even for a prodigy like her it was impressive. Especially considering it was a hastily improvised spell. Combining incomplete incantations with spell circles was a creative way to bridge the gap.”
Amity blushed a bit at the praise, “Yeah, I made a lot of guesswork with the notes you wrote, and I wouldn’t have thought of doing that if it wasn’t for Luz’s glyphs.”
“It was still an amazing feat, don’t downplay yourself.” Hope said with a proud smile, “I can’t wait to see how much you grow once you gain an improved understanding of the arcane.”
“Don’t mean to interrupt all this, but shouldn’t we get back to the reason we were here?” Kevin asked, turning to Luz, “So did the basilisks run away or…?”
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that.” she smirked before calling out, “Hey, it's safe to come out now!”
They see movement over the hills and the two basilisks return to their normal colour, although a bit darker as they shiver from the cold.
“Holy Titan, real actual basilisks.” Edric mutters in awe as he carefully approaches, “Oh wow.”
“N-not that we want to rush, b-but can we please get somewhere warmer?” Four asked as they both shook.
“Yeah, let me get right on that.” Eda nods before throwing down the portal case and activating it with her key, “Alright, next stop, Human Realm. Come on, one at a time.”
Eda begins guiding them through the portal, and Luz knows that they’ll be escorted to a Plumber medical team on standby to make sure they are safe before they’re settled in. She can’t help but smile at the sight with her arms crossed.
“Guess we can check another mission off as a success.” Kevin smirked with a similar smile on his face, “That’s five for five basilisks recovered from the Demon Realm and in Plumber custody. Operation: Demon Realm is a success!”
“Yep! Bring it in team!” Luz holds out her hand, both Kevin and Hope joining in, before she turns to King, Amity and her siblings, “Come on, you guys join in too.”
They look confused at each other before walking over and mimicking their actions, with King standing on his toes to reach for their hands.
“Three, two, one… We did it!” Luz exclaims and the three of them throw their hands in the air, with the Demon Realm natives mimicking their actions somewhat confused.
“So… your mission’s done now.” Amity realises, sounding sad, “Does that mean you’re leaving?”
Before Luz can answer, King latches onto her leg, “No you’re not! A king needs his greatest champion to teach him new tricks with his powers! And his best advisor!”
He said looking to Hope.
“Wow, feeling very included here.” Kevin rolled his eyes, realising he wasn’t mentioned.
“Well yeah, but that doesn’t mean goodbye forever.” Luz promised, reaching out for Amity’s hand and holding it comfortingly, “We got a portal back and forth between our worlds, we can drop by anytime and I still have the rest of Summer break in Hexside. I’ll keep visiting you and everyone whenever I can, you can believe that.”
Amity blushes a bit before smiling, “Well, I’ll hold you on to that, Luz.”
Luz then suddenly gets an idea, “In fact, it doesn’t have to be just me! You can follow me to the Human Realm as well. I can show you all around my home, like you did for me with yours.”
“M-me? In the Human Realm with you?” Amity looks a bit nervous.
“Well, with Gus, Willow, King, Eda and anyone else too.” Luz said before turning to her siblings, “What do you say?”
“Honestly, after today I think we’ve had our fill of adventures for a while.” Emira chuckles.
“Yeah.” Edirc nodded in agreement, “I just want to be in the safety of my warm bed for the next week.”
“Yes! A new realm to conquer in the name of King!” the diminutive Demon cheered as Hope patted him on the head,
“Come now, what did we say about conquering again?”
“W-Well, I have some assignments that need to be done.” Amity said looking apologetic, “But I can make time next week! The whole weekend!”
“Then it's a date!” Luz smiled and Amity’s face nearly exploded, “Whoa, are you alright there Ams? You’re looking pretty red, did you catch a cold already?”
She asks while approaching, putting a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, and Amity’s heart could take no more.
“Amity? AMITY?!” Luz cried out as she held an unconscious Amity Blight, her face now almost a solid shade of red while everyone but King, who like Luz had no idea, laughed at the sight.
*Sometime Later*
Vilgax mutters as he inscribes into blank parchment notes regarding his latest research using the remaining basilisk material they had in storage. How pathetic it was, the galaxy’s most feared warlord reduced to such a state, but he would bide his time. If all went well, then the mission that the little Golden Guard was on would accelerate his plans by a considerable margin.
Then once he was out of here, he would have his revenge… First on the so-called ‘Emperor’... Then his precious Coven… Then the Plumbers… And then he’ll save the best for last…
He smiled as the heavy doors to his cell creaked open, and diminutive footsteps were heard.
“Did you bring it?” he asks without turning around.
“Of course.” Kikimora said as she withdrew a small pouch enchanted with spatial magic, withdrawing a locked metal chest that wouldn’t have normally fitted, kneeling and presenting it to him, “It was like you said, they were so distracted by the miniature sun you told them of, that they neglected to investigate for what you were truly after, my lord.”
Vilgax chuckles as he fiddled with his manacles, removing them with ease, standing up to full height and accepting the metal box, opening it to find what appeared to be a heart made of ice as well as a horned skull,
“The golem’s remains were not considered as they secured the area, and I was able to make off with it with ease.” Kikimora explained, “And I brought the skull of the corpse as well, I believe it may be of use.”
“You did well, Kikimora.” Vilgax chuckles as he closes the metal box, “Rest assured when the new empire comes, you will earn your place amongst my ranks.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Kikimora bowed, “And once you stop Belos’ plans for the Day of Unity, I believe the rest of the isles would follow you as loyally as I do.”
Vilgax chuckles at that. When Belos came to him and asked for his thoughts on his Day of Unity plan to improve its efficiency, it was easy to notice the hidden mechanisms and rituals that would drain the witches of their magic using their brands.
A very ingenious plan for genocide, Vilgax admits, but a very inefficient plan. He preferred simpler and cost-effective methods that wouldn’t have taken as long, such as orbital bombardment to destroy the atmosphere before utilising terraforming technology to revitalise it for inhabitation and exploitation of its resources.
Once he knew of this, it was a simple matter of recruiting the likes of Kikimora to his service, exploiting her buried doubts, especially with the promise of power and respect grander than anything Belos could offer her. It did involve a bit of divulging his plans, but it was worth the risk. And just like that, she became his most valuable agent in this strange realm.
“Now leave me be, make sure I will be undisturbed.” Vilgax chuckled as he plucked a book from a shelf in his cell, causing part of the wall to open up and reveal a passage leading underground, “And rest assured, my loyal servant. My Day of Unity will come soon, the time is almost nigh for my return.”
*END OF BASILISK ARC*
Chapter Text
“Alright, it looks like everything’s just fine.” Camilla Noceda nods as she looks over a console, reading data from the medical scanner, “Nothing more than mana exhaustion, so I’ll recommend lots of rest. I suppose you won’t have issues with that now that your mission is over.”
“I see. I appreciate your help, Miss Noceda.” Hope nodded in thanks as she stepped out of the medical scanner.
“Yeah, I can’t believe it is.” Luz lets out a sigh of relief, “An operation like this done in a week? It’s almost a miracle.”
“Wait, it’s only been a week?” Kevin asked confused, “Honestly it felt like it was almost a year.”
Luz shrugged, “It did feel like things took longer, but hey, it didn’t! And that means we still have ten weeks of Summer break left! You know what that means…”
“Hot sunny beaches?” Kevin asks with excitement.
“And Azura-Con!” Luz cheered Camilla, watching with a smile as the two celebrated.
“I say you all deserve a break after all this.” she nodded as suddenly the door to the medical room opened.
“There they are, heroes of the hour.” Manuel Noceda smirks as he enters, dressed in a t-shirt and cargo pants with his badge on his belt, files in hand, “I’m sure you’d all want to know that we’re processing the last two basilisks as we speak, getting them identities, making living and security arrangements.”
“And the eggs?” Luz asks quickly.
“All safe and accounted for. We set them up in a mobile heating unit, and from the xenobiologist's scans we can predict they’ll hatch in fifty days.” Manuel says with a big smile as everyone in the room looks relieved.
As they cheered, Hope smiled silently before standing up, “So… I suppose it’s back to prison for me then?”
The cheers quiet down and Luz looks back to her dad, “Come on, it can’t end this way, can it? She helped save dozens of people with us. An entire species too!”
“I’m aware. It’s how I convinced the committee to allow this. It’s been in the works for quite a while, but saving an entire endangered species officiated it.” Manuel smirks before handing the files to a confused Hope, “Arrangements for a full pardon.”
“What?” Hope’s eyes widened in surprise as she grabbed the files from his hands, giving them a read to confirm they were real, “But… how? Why?”
“You’re serious?!” Luz leans over Hope’s shoulders to glance at it.
“You didn’t know?” Hope asks.
“Nope, I didn’t want to give any false hope.” Manny explained, “But it was in the works as soon as I got back to the office after the Highbreed Wars ended. I admit it was hard convincing them to give it a thought, the things you did weren’t pretty.”
Manny said with a frown, and Hope looked away with shame as the older man continued.
“But helping to save the galaxy was enough to get them to think about it.” he explained, “This was the pushing point that had them agree. There’s still an interview process before the committee, as well as security arrangements, but if things go well then you’re as good as free.”
“...Do I really deserve this?” Hope asks as she turns to Luz, “You remember what I’ve done… What I’ve tried to do. Do you honestly think that deserves forgiveness?”
“I remember.” Luz nods before putting a hand on her shoulder, “But you changed since then. You’re one of the reasons why this planet’s still standing, you helped save it dozens of times already and then you helped us save the galaxy. I can’t speak about forgiveness for others, but I think you earned the right to try and earn it from them.”
She pauses before turning to Kevin who looks deep in thought before shrugging.
“You’ve tried to kill us, sure, but you saved our lives a few times as well. If that doesn’t balance scales somewhat, I don’t know what will. I’d be a hypocrite if I said you didn’t deserve at least a chance.” he said non-committedly.
“If redemption is still what you’re after, then I think you can do more good out of a cell than inside.” Camilla throws in her thoughts.
“I…I’ll think about it.” she hands back the files to Manuel Noceda, “Thank you, Magister.”
“I’ll let you stew on it for a while then. I still think you should take it.” Manuel shrugs, “An escort will bring you back to your cell until then. Thank you for your service, Hope.”
“No thanks needed, I’m just repaying a debt I still owe,” she said before Luz suddenly hugged her from behind.
“I’ll see you later, Hope.” Luz said, “Next time, we’ll go on a real vacation together.”
“And until then, feel free to call me next time you need my help.” Hope smiled as she returned the hug and then faced Kevin, “And you if you ever need someone to drink with.”
“What happened to never wanting to deal with hangovers ever again?” Kevin joked but didn’t refute the invitation.
“Please, I’m sure my ancestors have a spell for that.” Hope chuckles, “I’m fairly certain more than a few weren’t as straightlaced.”
“Heh, maybe magic’s not that bad then.” Kevin smirked, “See you around, Hope.”
“With our luck, it’ll be the universe at stake next time we meet. Until then.” Hope said half-jokingly as she left the room after saying goodbyes to both Manuel and Camila Noceda, following the Plumber agents at the doorway to her escort.
“So… drinking, huh?” Camila crossed her arms disapprovingly as Kevin looked nervous.
“Come on, I’m eighteen and I’ve saved the world. I can handle a couple of shots,” he assured.
“Yeah, relax dear. Remember how young we were when we were 'wine tasting' from your parents' stock?” Manuel teases and Camila blushes, “Now that I think about it, things got a bit wild didn’t they?”
“You don’t have to remind me.” she said slightly flustered, “Don’t you have a planet to save?”
“I’ll get right on that.” Manuel chuckles before another person enters the room, “Something I can help you with, Vee?”
“Yes, sir.” Vee says as she slithers in wearing the top of a black and white Plumber’s cadet uniform and carrying a datapad in her hands, “It’s a message directed to you from the Diplomatic Corps, it’s classified.”
“Vee?!” both Kevin and Luz exclaim in surprise.
“Luz, Kevin!” she smiled brightly at them before slithering over and grabbing the two in a tight hug, “I really can’t thank you enough for all you guys did.”
“It’s not a problem, but why are you wearing that?” Luz asks confused, “You’re a Plumber Cadet now?”
She looked embarrassed, “W-well, not officially. It didn’t feel right with me just sitting around, so your dad got me a job as his assistant. And… who knows, he said I could join the academy in future if I want to.”
“That’s so cool, Vee!” Luz squealed as she hugged back, “We’re going to be working together plenty then!”
“Agent Vee, huh?” Kevin smirked, “Already sounds like a spy’s code-name. I guess that fits given your powers. Any idea which division or corps you plan to join?”
“Not at the moment, there’s so many options.” Vee shakes her head, “That’s why I’m working with your dad, to learn about how I want to help people.”
“Skills like yours could fit the Intelligence Division.” Kevin suggested, “Sneak around and gather intel, infiltrate and take down crime syndicates.”
“Maybe.” Vee looks nervous, “But I think you know that I’m pretty much a bad actor.”
“There’s plenty of time to give it a thought.” Luz assured, “We’ll be there to help you along the way as your seniors. Tell you what, maybe you can ride along on patrol with us?”
“Hmm, that may have to wait.” Manuel Noceda said as he read the datapad, “Something just came up.”
“Don’t tell me…” Kevin groaned, “A planet’s on the brink of war again? Sun about to go supernova? Fleets of space pirates gathering under another pirate lord? A couple of empires arguing over who a barren rock belongs to?”
“None actually, this is a personal request to you Luz.” he said, gesturing at his daughter, “Remember that gene therapy clinic that’s supposed to open up?”
“Yeah, as part of the Highbreeds’ reparations they’re sharing their tech to Earth and plenty of other worlds.” Luz nodded in recognition, knowing that it was in the works for a long time to share their biotechnological knowledge with humanity, most of it spent ensuring that the technology and treatments wouldn’t negatively affect humans.
“The diplomat being sent to officiate its opening on Earth has been changed.” Manuel explains, “An old friend of yours just had his schedule open up, and he figured to drop by.”
“Wait, Reiny?” Luz looked surprised.
“Yep. Reinrassig III, the Highbreed Supreme himself.” Manuel nodded, “He wants you to be there with him when they officiate the gene clinic’s opening. He believes your presence would be a big help in emphasising the sincerity of their apology.”
“So it’s just Luz then.” Kevin looked relieved, grateful it wasn’t going to impact his vacation days.
“Phew, for a second I thought it was a crisis.” Luz sighed in relief. She’d be happy to help out an old friend, as well as bridge the gaps between the people of Earth and alien life, “Just have to show up, cut a ribbon and be there for a speech? Easy peasy. Tell Reiny I can’t wait to see him again.”
“Great, make sure you get your dress uniform ironed by next Saturday.” Manuel smiles as Luz froze.
“Next Saturday… As in this weekend?” Luz asked as her father looked at her confusedly.
“Yeah, the opening ceremony is then, why?” he asked.
“Oh no,” she muttered.
***
“I do not understand, Magister Noceda can easily authorise their visit can he not?” Rook Blonk asks as he drives Luz around inside what appears to be a small truck on their patrols, “What is the problem?”
“It’s just…” Luz sighs as she leans back on the chair, “Do you think they’ll act differently after that? They know I’m kinda a big deal on Earth, but would see it change how they see me?”
“How?”
“I don’t know!” she throws her hands in the air in frustration, “I just don’t want to lose them, they’re like the closest thing to normal school friends I have. Besides them, every friend I have is involved in the Plumber business. I don’t want to mess that up.”
“So you desire a life outside of the Plumbers?” Rook asks.
“Yeah, I guess.” Luz sighed again before shaking her head, “I’m just ranting, sorry to bother you with that.”
“It is not a problem, we are partners now.” Rook smiles at her, “Partners are supposed to help each other with problems, are they not?”
“Well, thanks, partner.” Luz smiled at him as she started becoming more relaxed, “So, what's the word on the street while I was gone?”
Rook looks confused before looking out the window at the road, “There does not appear to be any wording on the streets.”
Luz chuckled, “I meant was there anything new? Any old or new villains popped up?”
“Ah, in that case, there have been no activities from any of your frequent enemies in the past week.” Rook said as he tapped a console in the truck before them, popping up a holographic projection of Bellwood, “The average minor crime rates remained roughly the same with no anomalous changes. As you humans say, it has been very quiet-”
“No!” Luz shouts but it is too late, startling Rook, “Aw man, you said it!”
“Said what?” Rook asked, sounding confused.
“The q-word!” Luz groaned, “Now it’s going to be anything but that!”
“Ah, so this is some sort of human superstition.” Rook nodded in understanding.
“It’s not superstition, it’s fact.” Luz insisted, “If we’re going to be partners from now on, the q-word is forever banned.”
“Understood, ma’am.” Rook nodded.
“Come on, it’s just Luz.” Luz rolled her eyes, “With that attitude, I would’ve thought you were a rookie.”
“Well, that is not an inaccurate statement.” Rook says, “This is only my second week on the job.”
Luz’s eyes widened at him, “For real?! Wow, no wonder you act stiff like that, you haven’t seen any real action have you?”
“Not really.” Rook agreed, “Only minor misdemeanours so far, the occasional vandalism, shoplifting, and speeding hover vehicles in Undertown. I am hoping for some action today, to see the skills of the legendary Luz Noceda myself.”
“You’re making me blush.” Luz chuckled, “But hey, that makes me your senior, am I right?”
“You have the most field experience between the both of us.” Rook nodded.
“Well then feel free to ask if you have any questions.” Luz said, “I’m here to help. Partner.”
“Can you turn into Alien X?” Rook quickly asks with an excited look.
“...Right, was not expecting that.” Luz blinks, “How did you know about Alien X? I’ve never transformed into him on live TV before.”
“Plumber databases have records of your forms. And rumours have spread from Incursean eyewitnesses when you first used it.” Rook explains, “I’ve heard rumours of the Celestialsapiens, but they can’t be true can they? I wish to see for myself if this fabled Alien X exists.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Luz said, “Last time I transformed into that guy, it was a big hassle. Let’s leave it at that.”
“...So it is just a myth,” Rook said looking slightly disappointed before their radio flared, and the holographic map displayed a red dot blinking.
“Attention all units, we are receiving reports of an ongoing armed robbery at the Bank of Bellwood, suspects are armed and dangerous, engaging with the local police force. First responders have informed us that they may have possession of alien technology. Over.”
Rook immediately grabs the radio, “Plumber Command, this is 7-21, Agent Rook Blonko and Deputy Luz Noceda responding to the armed robbery. Over.”
“Well, you wanted action,” Luz smirked as she tapped on her Omnitrix, flicking over her playlists.
“Copy that 7-21, will you be needing backup, over?”
“Negative. Relax Command, we got this handled, over.” Luz assured, knowing Plumber agents were already spread thin, before turning to Rook, “Let’s see what you got, Rookie.”
***
“I repeat! Suspects are armed with heavy laser weaponry! We need SWAT at least!” a police officer shouts down the radio while taking cover behind his patrol car with his pistol drawn but unable to poke his head out and return fire thanks to the barrage of energy weapons firing on them from the bank.
“Affirmative, we have contacted the Plumbers for support. A patrol has been sent to assist, over.”
“Plumbers? Those alien cops?” his partner asks, sounding bitter, “Why the hell do we need their help? This is our city and planet.”
“You wanna charge in while the perps have goddamn lasers trained on us, be my guest.” the first officer grumbled, “We’re just not equipped to deal with this. But what the hell is a patrol gonna do to help?”
“Maybe if we have their kinda tech we would.” the partner muttered as a truck pulled up from behind them. They thought they were civilians at first and were about to drive them away, but then two figures stepped out which made it evident they weren’t civilians.
“Officers, what’s the situation?” a teenage girl asks as she hops out of the passenger seat of the truck. They all recognised who this was in an instant, and relaxed just a fraction.
“Five perps in heavy body armour, but it’s their damn laser guns that are a problem!” the officer shouts over the laser fire, “They got three in the front shooting down anything that gets close, and two in the back when we tried flanking. It’s still unconfirmed but there are at least a dozen hostages inside. We got them surrounded, but can’t advance so we’re waiting for SWAT. But I doubt they’d be much use against that.”
“He is right, standard human tactical armour will be inefficient in resisting high energy bolts.” a blue humanoid alien dressed in armour with some kind of device on his shoulder agreed.
“Alright, I think you should all pull back to a safe distance, and expand the perimeter.” Luz Noceda suggested, “We can handle it from here.”
“We can’t possibly be thinking about this.” his partner looked at him like he was crazy, “She’s just a kid!”
“And she’s saved the world. How many worlds have you saved?” the officer asked, “Look, I get it you’re new here, but we do things differently here in Bellwood. Just trust the kid and fall back to a safe distance. She’s got this.”
“So what do you think, Rookie?” Luz asks Rook as the officers fell back further to safety, “First bank robbery, right? How do we handle this.”
“Hm…” Rook thinks to himself, she notices a slight nervous hint in his eyes but is keeping it incredibly cool considering they were under fire while using their truck as cover, “It appears to me they are in possession of a total of five Level 4, perhaps 5, directed energy weapons. Standard protocol for a response like this should be to await overwhelming force to reduce casualties as much as possible. But seeing as you denied backup, we will not be following the standard protocol?”
Rook asks unsure as Luz nods,
“Got it in one, Rookie.” Luz slaps him on the back, “Not like the Plumbers have the numbers on Earth, so we gotta do this ourselves. Now how do you think we should do this?”
“Perhaps you should transform into Alien X?” Rook asks half-teasing and half-serious.
“So we’re joking now, are we?” Luz rolled her eyes before selecting her Tactical Playlist filled with her aliens best suited for any combat scenarios, the Omnitrix automatically unleashing its nanobot stores to modify her clothing into something similar to Rook’s Proto-Armour, thanks to a recent update.
“Let’s see… Can’t go wrong with you.” Luz said before smiling and slapping down on the primed Omnitrix.
She disappears in a flash of light as her flesh, skin and bone morph in an instant into solid silicone-like material with purple crystals sprouting across her body.
“Chromastone! Hah, I missed this one.” she laughed at the familiar sensation before turning to Rook, “I’ll take the front, draw their attention. Don’t suppose your spec ops training can get you in without them noticing?”
“I believe it will.” Rook nods as he takes off his Proto-Tool, morphing it into a scanner and pointing it at the building, “It appears the officer’s information was correct, three at the front and two at the back, with some kind of device placed on the bank vault, likely to force it to open. There is an opening from the roof I can use to enter without being noticed.”
“Alright, try to stay safe there.” Chromastone gives him a thumbs up before moving into open view of the robbers. Once she entered their effective range, they immediately began focusing their fire on her but thanks to her natural biology, the energy was absorbed and stored inside her without harm.
“Come on, when has that ever worked?” she asked as she continued walking like the bolts weren’t there at all, “Now are we going to keep this up and end this painfully, or are you gonna be smart and give it up now?”
***
“Shit, shit! I thought she was supposed to be off-world?!” one of the robbers asked as they continued to unload the laser rifle on Chromastone.
“I told you to stop reading shit you find on the internet!” another robber said while waiting for his rifle to cool down, “We planned for this! Get the sonic grenade launcher!”
A third leaves the doorway to reach for a large case, unlocking it and withdrawing what looks to be a modern revolver-styled grenade launcher, but the payloads would be far more advanced than most on the planet.
But before they could turn it towards Chromastone, a yellow energy bolt shoots from above and hits him in the back of the neck, sending electricity coursing through his body before he falls unconscious.
“What the heck?!” the robber covering the doorway yelled before the one with the cooling down rifle aimed at the ceiling, “Wait, your gun’s still too hot-!”
But he was ignored as the robber fired at the ceiling for a quick burst before a power cell exploded from overheating. While he is stunned, Rook drops down from the vents above and fires at the one with the broken laser rifle, immediately taking them down.
“D-Die!” the remaining robber guarding the entrance yells as he aims at him, firing a burst of lasers. But Rook dodges the first two with superhuman agility and reflexes as his Proto-Tool shifts into a laser blade which blocks the last bolt and cuts the rifle in half.
As the robber stares at the destroyed weapon, he is kicked in the face, landing hard on the ground and being knocked out. But as Rook turns to the remaining two robbers, shifting his Proto-Tool back to a rifle, he freezes at the sight.
“Nice takedown Rookie,” Chromastone congratulates as she pushes through the doors to the bank, “Now who’s left?”
“We are.” a robber growls as he holds a frightened woman in his arms with a laser pistol pointed at her head, “Back off freaks, or this lady’s brains get boiled!”
“Hey, alright then how about we just stay right here...” Chromastone says slowly as she stops walking and raises her arms, “Can we talk this out? What are your demands?”
“What do you think my demands are?” the robber leader said in frustration, “We want the money, and passage out of this city! And look what just dropped in front of my doorstep.”
He smiled behind the mask and gestured at the vault with his laser pistol, “I was gonna wait for the plasma cutter to finish its job, but no need for that now. I want you to break down the door, grab all the money and get us out. Got that hero?!”
“Okay, okay, I can work with that.” Chromastone calmly assured and shrugged, “But you see, Chromastone’s not a heavy lifter. She isn’t getting through that vault. Mind if I change to something more comfortable?”
She shares a knowing glance with Rook, both knowing a Crystalsapien’s strength would be more than enough to crush solid steel like tissue paper. He nods and keeps his gun trained on the robber waiting for his signal.
The robber leader nervously nods, confident he holds all the cards as Chromastone slaps the Omnitrix on her chest. A blinding flash of purple light blinds the robber and his hostage, and Rook takes the chance to fire a shot that knocks the gun from the robber leader’s hand.
Now disarmed, a web shoots out and grabs the robber leader by his hand, pulling him before two blue fists smash him to the ground.
“Hehe, didn’t see that coming did ya?” a female Arachnichimp mocks, standing over him, “Nice shoot Rookie.”
“Thank you, Luz.”
“Nope, Spidermonkey.” she corrects as she webs up the robber leader, “You alright, ma’am?”
“Y-yes,” the woman nods before pointing back, “There’s another at the back!”
“We got it, go and get the cops, it should be safe to enter now,” Spidermonkey said as the two rushed towards the back, kicking down the door to find one of the robbers just jumping onto one of five hoverbikes in time to get away.
“Halt!” Rook cries out but is ignored, the robber jets away while Rook fires shots that miss, “I’ll grab the Proto-Truk for pursuit.”
“And I’ll follow on foot.” Spidermonkey nodded before transforming back to Luz and flicking through her Omnitrix to the Pursuit Playlist, “Let’s see… Eeny, meeny, miny…”
She twists her dial before stopping at a particular alien and slamming down on it. Another flash of bright light later and she morphs into a black and white biomechanical centaur-like alien with wheels for feet and a thin rat-like white tail.
“Hope the city doesn’t mind me leaving a few Skidmarx.” she uses her transformation’s name in a pun but it only gets her a confused look from Rook before she leaps ahead in a burst of super speed.
The fleeing hoverbike pushes past the police perimeter with ease, looking back and eyes widening with fear at the sight of Skidmarx giving chase. With one hand he aims back and fires the laser rifle blindly behind, hoping to slow her down even a bit.
Unlike XLR8, Skidmarx traverses via a different means of superspeed by launching itself instead of simply running fast. She kicks down and leaps over the hoverbike in a single bound, skidding to a stop and crackling with yellow bolts of kinetic energy as she lands way ahead of it before kicking forward head-on with the hoverbike, raising her forelegs and smashing down on it.
This sends the rider flying upwards with a scream, but Skidmarx launches itself up and snatches him before skidding off the walls of a building to land safely, tossing him to the ground.
“Had enough?” she asks with arms crossed before stepping towards to restrain him, “Now come on, lay down and hands behind your head interlaced. I’m sure you know the-”
“Go to hell!” the robber roars as he turns, revealing some kind of grenade, and throwing it at her.
Skidmark flicks away the grenade with her prehensile tail, detonating it far away but the sonic shockwave still sends her flying and lying stunned.
The robber, seeing his opportunity, gets up and pulls out a laser pistol. But before he can approach Skidmarx, he hears the roar of an engine and turns just in time to be blasted in the face with an energy bolt, stunning him.
“Ugh, thanks for the assist, Rook.” Skidmarx groans as she gets up, rubbing her head but an unfamiliar voice answers.
“Who’s Rook?” the voice of an adult man asked as she looked up to find a man in an orange power suit hovering with a jetpack and micro-thrusters all over the suit, landing with a heavy thud.
“Holy crap…” Skidmarx’s eyes widened in recognition, “You’re-!”
A roar from a recovering robber reaching for his dropped weapon interrupts her, she’d respect his resilience if nothing else, grabbing the laser pistol and turning around.
The figure in the orange power suit reacts quickly, diving in front of Skidmarx and raising his arm with an energy caster strapped on top of his forearm. But before either can fire, a net is shot that wraps around the robber, incapacitating him.
“Rook!” Luz looks back and sees the Proto-Truk pulling up with Rook poking his head out of the window with Proto-Tool in hand, “Great shot.”
“Thank you, Luz.” Rook smiles as he looks at the stranger, “Apologies, but who is that? A friend of yours?”
“You don’t recognise him?!” Skidmarx screeches as she reverts to Luz, pointing both hands at him, “That’s the Captain Nemesis!”
“Heh, I’m flattered that someone like you recognizes me.” he smirks as he strikes a heroic pose with fists at his hips, “But you’re right, Captain Nemesis at your service.”
“...Who?” Rook asks, finding the name unfamiliar, and Captain Nemesis deflates somewhat.
“You don’t know him? He’s like Earth’s longest-running superhero!” Luz said with giddiness, “Sure there were plenty more, but most ended up retiring from the game after a few years! He’s been a hero for a decade!”
“Please, that makes me sound old.” Captain Nemesis recovers with a chuckle, “I just don’t see the point of retiring while I’m still in my prime. Not when evil still exists and I can do anything about it.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything about a ‘Captain Nemesis’ in any recent news.” Rook tries to recall but still comes up blank as Captain Nemesis’ lips slightly twitched, “I apologise.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You’ve been pretty quiet over the past months.” Luz realises.
“Well, I guess that had something to do with the hot new thing right here.” he gestures at Luz, “You made quite the splash foiling an alien invasion.”
“Sorry about that.” Luz apologised before correcting herself, “I mean, not for saving the world, of course, I just didn’t mean to show you up or anything.”
“Please, I was already old news before you showed up.” Captain Nemesis laughs, “But when I saw some kid not even half my age hopping about in the hero biz, I figured it was about time to step up. So while I was upgrading my gear, my PR guy suggested I go on a crime-stopping tour around America. First stop’s Bellwood, figured I’d say hi to my competition.”
He said so jokingly, offering a hand to shake which Luz accepted. But as this happens, a bunch of news vans suddenly drive up and a crowd of reporters exit. Luz’s immediate reaction was to bolt while she had the chance, but Captain Nemesis suddenly put an arm around her shoulder,
“Come on, smile for the cameras,” he said while waving as reporters and cameramen crowded them.
“Luz! Luz Noceda!” a reporter shoves their way forward and shoves a mic to her face, “It has been a week since anyone has seen you in action, were the rumours of you being off-planet true? What galactic threat were you facing? Is it any danger to Earth and her people?”
“Are you teaming up with the legendary hero, Captain Nemesis?” another shoves the first reporter out of the way with their mic in her face, “Is this the start of a team of heroes you are assembling?”
“How does it feel to be saved by a relic from the old days?” a third reporter climbs over the first two. Captain Nemesis’ eye slightly twitches at being called a relic before he speaks up,
“We all slip up now and then, even I. Having to be rescued by someone else is nothing to be ashamed of,” he said, getting the attention of the reporters.
“Yeah, what he said.” Luz nodded in agreement. There were plenty of times that she needed to get her butt saved by Kevin, Hope and others after all, “Getting help isn’t a bad thing.”
Still, more and more reporters try to grab her attention to get their questions answered. Fortunately, she makes eye contact with Rook who was handing over the last robber to the police officers that just arrived.
She looked at him pleadingly and he seemed to realise, pretending to check his badge’s radio before clearing his throat loudly,
“Apologies Luz, but we must go. There is a… something to do at Plumber HQ.” he tries to lie as best he can to give her an out.
Captain Nemesis chuckles and whispers, “You go ahead, I’ll keep the press busy.”
“Thanks.” Luz quickly said before breaking off with a wave, “Whoops, gotta go, some important Plumber business.”
The reporters grew wilder as Captain Nemesis held them off and both Rook and Luz made a dash to the Proto-Truk before driving away.
“Oh thank all the gods.” Luz sighs as she leans into the side seat, “One week and I almost forgot about the paparazzi.”
“It appears being a figure of renown is not as easy as I had suspected,” Rook notes.
“Tell me about it.” she groaned, “Now you see why I don’t feel like showing my friends that side of my life? I… just don’t want to scare them off.”
She said, looking sad at the thought. As they drove in silence, Rook spoke up after a moment.
“If they are good friends of yours, then I do not believe that they will be easily scared off.” he said, “After all I am not. I believe you may need to have more faith in your friendship”
“...Thanks.” Luz smiles at that, “You’re a pretty neat guy, Rookie.”
“Why thank you, I take pride in maintaining my cleanliness.” Rook smiles proudly as Luz snickers, “But what did that have anything to do with the conversation?”
As Luz was laughing, the Proto-Truk’s radio flared again,
“All units, we have a bar brawl in progress, Undertown Sector 5, District 5-D. Nearby units please respond.”
Rook checks their location and compares it, “We aren’t far from an Undertown entryway, we can be there in ten minutes.”
“Like I said, the q-word’s cursed.” Luz sighs before tapping the radio, “Command, this Unit 7-21, responding to the bar brawl.”
***
“So… how is this supposed to help me be a Plumber?” Vee asks as she watches Kevin on a creeper underneath his green sports car, using a wrench to screw tight the new components he had freshly obtained, cleaned and repaired from the Boiling Isles.
“It teaches you to identify alien tech. Now hand me the phasic soldering iron.” Kevin said, stretching out his hand from underneath.
“The what?” Vee looks at the wide array of tools unsurely as Kevin pushes himself out.
“Exactly.” Kevin said as he took the tool from his box and showed it to Vee before continuing his work, “Every Plumber needs to know their alien tech, it doesn't matter what division or sector you’re part of. That’s just how it is.”
Once the last piece was molecularly welded into place, Kevin pushed himself out and onto his feet before getting into his car through the open door,
“Alright, let’s see…” he mutters under his breath before starting the vehicle, releasing a loud and satisfying purr of the engine, causing him to punch the air victoriously before letting out a satisfied sigh, “Yes! Oh, you beauty…”
“So it’s working?” Vee asks, still not being used to the sounds the cars make. It was like a mechanical beast growling in hunger, which frightens her somewhat. She still half-expect them to consume their occupants and digest them now and then.
“Sure sounds like it. Purring like a kitten.” Kevin smiles as he checks the diagnostics, “Dark matter afterburner online, Prypiatosian power core online, Tetramand engine block online… Everything is 100% functional! This baby’s now the fastest land-based, nuclear-fusion-powered vehicle!”
Kevin leans and kisses his car’s steering wheel, weirding out Vee a bit.
“Are all humans that affectionate with their cars?” she asked.
“Don’t judge, you have no idea how much this girl goes through.” Kevin sighs before patting its dashboard, “This thing got us through Highbreeds and DNAliens during their invasion, she deserves all the love she gets.”
“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two alone then?” she asks, about to excuse herself before Kevin opens the side seat door, “Huh?”
“Not without testing this out, you’re not.” Kevin smiled, “Hop in, you helped out after all. Wanna feel what a hundred thousand horsepower feels like?”
“Wait, it’s powered by horses?” Vee asked innocently as Kevin sighed.
“Yeah, you have a lot to learn.” Kevin sighs as Vee slithers in while he opens the garage door with a click of a remote, “Now strap in. Safety first.”
Vee obeys, using the seatbelt like Camilla taught her to as Kevin puts his hands on the gear stick.
“So you said it was the fastest on the planet?” Vee asked, “How fast does it GO?!”
Kevin accelerates out of the garage, and into the streets as Vee continues to scream a bit.
“Calm down, we aren’t even going past the speed limit yet,” Kevin said, looking at her oddly.
“Sorry, sorry.” she apologises, “I’m still not used to it.”
“Better get used to it quick.” he smirks devilishly which worries her, “We’re gonna see what this baby can really do at top speed.”
***
“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Kevin smirks as he speeds down an empty stretch of land in Undertown after warping from Gravesfield to the Plumber’s HQ. It was technically still under construction, but fortunately, there was no one around to see him.
“What do you think, Vee?” he asks, turning to find her clutching for dear life with colour drained from her face, “...Alright, maybe a bit too far for a first-timer.”
He slams on the brakes, the inertia dampeners making sure they don’t turn into paste but still giving them a bit of a jolt as they slow to a halt.
“Come on, that wasn’t even a quarter speed. We’re barely over eighty miles per hour. ” Kevin said before gesturing at a switch near the steering wheel, “I didn’t even have a chance to use the afterburners.”
“What did that have to do with being a Plumber?!” Vee asks after taking a full minute to calm down, with deep breaths.
“Easy, you’re gonna have a lot of hot pursuit when you’re on patrol so you gotta get used to the speed. And if you’re on ship duty, you gotta prepare yourself for stuff like when inertia dampeners fail and your body gets put under the strain of a speeding starship.” Kevin explains, “Even diplomats sometimes gotta get used to it. Did you know the Citrakayas have racing circuits as a means of diplomacy? My kind of people, you get me?”
“Is everything about being a Plumber just extreme?” Vee pants.
“Yep.” he nods, “We gotta be, 'cause we make sure the entire galaxy’s running like a somewhat decent ship. Everyone’s trying to sink it, inside or outside, and it’s our job to be there to plug the holes.”
“So this was some kind of test?” Vee realises.
“Huh, I guess that would be a good test.” Kevin thinks to himself, as Vee sighs, “What’s the problem?”
“...Do you think I can do it? Become a Plumber?” Vee asks, “If I can’t even handle something like this.”
“Hey, cut yourself a break, you barely knew about your planet and it’s barely Level 2 on the tech scale. And spending your time cooped up in Gravesfield isn’t good, you need to get out there and see stuff for yourself.”
“...It just seems a little scary,” Vee said, looking a bit sheepish. In the week she’s barely gotten out of the house, the most being in the Plumber’s outpost underneath the small town and getting to know the staff there, as well as occasionally taking the teleporter to visit Two, but that was all. The Nocedas were patient and understanding with her, telling her that she could take her time before she was ready.
“It’s a whole different world out there.” Vee continued.
“And you’re gonna see plenty of them as a Plumber. You gotta get used to the constant culture shock.” Kevin said before grabbing the wheel and putting his car in drive, “Let’s go for a ride around town then. See if we can shake that shock off.”
Kevin takes the route towards the city centre of Undertown, driving slower so that Vee can see outside the window. It took a while, as Vee would squeeze herself flat against her seat out of worry of being seen, but eventually, she got the courage to peek up.
“It… looks a lot like Bonesborough.” Vee notices the wide array of various species intermingling with one another, buying and selling from stalls on the streets in a cramped market, and just as varied buildings. The only difference was that it was underground with stalactites hanging from above as well as glowing neon signs in foreign languages hanging everywhere.
“Yep. You’d be surprised just how different and how similar everyone can be.” Kevin nodded, “Behind all the action, the shootouts, the planet-cracking bombs, alien tyrants and devouring swarms, this is what being a Plumber’s all about. Making sure places like this happen all across the universe.”
Vee watches the outside silently, and she spots a group of Kineceleran playing street hockey and laughing with each other before a Petrosapien child wearing a hoodie walks up to them nervously. But after a few seconds of speaking, the child was immediately invited to play and given a spare stick before the game resumed.
Her mind goes to the children born from Three and Four, and she imagines young basilisks playing with those kids on the streets of Undertown. Somewhere where they can live their life without being hunted or experimented on by the Emperor’s Coven.
This was what the Plumbers fought for, and if she so chose, so would she…
“Do you think I can do this?” Vee asks, with a hint of doubt but not as nervous as she was before.
“Only you can answer that. Don’t need to pick now, you have a lot of time to think. Ride with us for say a week, and we’ll see how you feel at the end.” Kevin said as the radio in his car flared and he tuned it, “Hang on, Plumber transmission.”
“-all units, a high-speed chase is occurring in Undertown Sector 5, District 5-C. Please intercept.”
Kevin pulls up the information on his GPS with a smile, “Well what do you know, some good field experience. You up for it, Vee?”
“Y-yeah, let's go.” Vee smiles despite feeling nervous at the prospect of driving at high speeds with Kevin again, but she steels herself for it.
“Plumber Command, this is Deputy Agent Kevin Levin, clock me in and get me the coordinates,” Kevin spoke through the radio in his badge.
“Affirmative Deputy Agent. Be advised, Deputy Agent Luz Noceda and Agent Rook Blonko are in pursuit as well.”
Suddenly Kevin’s eyes widened at that, “...What?”
Then his jaw dropped a bit as he saw the marker tracking the person they were pursuing, “WHAT?! No, no, no!”
“Kevin? What’s going on?” Vee asked as Kevin frantically looked outside of the car in every direction.
“We have to go now!” Kevin said as he started backing up, “Before Luz gets here! I’m in my car here!”
“Why is that a bad thing?!” Vee asked, now panicking a bit from how Kevin was panicking.
“Because-!” Kevin was about to explain before something crashed on top of his car’s hood.
“You’ll never take me alive, you freakin’ red spots!” an Orthopterran with a yellow carapace carrying a duffel bag yells as he hops away, smashing up the front of the car even further as Kevin watched with his jaw dropped.
“You’re seriously overreacting!” they hear Luz shout from a speeding truck that passes by them, leaning out the window and spinning through her Omnitrix, “Keep it up Rook, just need a few more minutes!”
Vee watches them leave her sight, continuing the chase before turning back to Kevin who wore a defeated look on his face.
“...That’s why. All the damn time…” He said looking about to cry, resting his head on the steering wheel, “One week, was that too much? My car…”
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