#he learned about that human realm story from luz and cried so hard for like an hour

[buttercupart]

we know Collector loves games so what if... flyer derby

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Stepping Stones: Chapter 4

The first order of business upon their return to the Owl House is names.

Alador, Perry, Harvey, and Gilbert left to assess the state of their houses, but their children remained, and Vee’s siblings were understandably confused when they race out the door calling her a name they’d never heard. An explanation followed on the concept of roman numerals, and while One, Two, and Three weren’t very taken with them— understandably— Four tried on the name Ivy and decided that she liked it. 

One and Three went with homonyms, Wynne and Rhee, respectively; but Two took a while to decide. They went through words for two in Spanish, Italian, French, through all the vaguely plausible names they could think of, before Luz suggested Gemini— meaning “twin”— and it stuck.

With that debate settled, they headed inside, and now Luz and her friends sit at the kitchen table listening to the basilisks exchange stories as Raine cooks dinner under King’s barked orders and Camila, Eda, Lilith, and Hooty sort through the rest of the food. Luz’s chest aches as she watches the faces of Vee’s siblings as Vee talks about Camila, the envy in their eyes rolling a lump into her throat. It isn’t guilt, not anymore— she just wishes she could have opened the portal sooner, could have taken these kids away from Belos years ago and gotten them a home with all the love they could ask for. When the adults come in to eat and Camila catches her eye, Luz realizes she’s thinking the exact same thing. 

“As soon as I was returned to normal, I knew I had to go back for O— Wynne and Gemini,” Rhee says, concluding their story of the last few months. 

“I had the same idea,” Ivy adds. “We met up halfway to the Conformatorium. We figured we’d get the others and then try to find Vee and then… well, we didn’t really have a plan.”

“We still don’t,” Gemini points out. She glances hopefully at Camila. “Unless… we could stay with you?”

Camila opens her mouth and closes it, and the pain in Luz’s heart expands, because she knows that what she wants to say and what she has to are two different things. 

“I’m sorry,” Camila says, shaking her head. “But I just don’t have the means to take care of you all. I could do it for Luz’s friends, for a few months, but I was scraping to get by. I couldn’t give all of you the home you deserve.”

“Well,” Eda says slowly, “maybe I can.”

Vee’s siblings all turn to her. 

She gives them a small grin. “The Owl House isn’t usually this full,” she tells them. “With Luz staying in the Human Realm, it’s going to feel pretty empty. I’d be happy to have some company.”

The silence at the table is as loud as a scream before Amity turns to Camila. “You’re not really still holding her to that.”

“Of course not!” Camila cries. “Mija, please—“

“Wait— you’re going to stay in the Human Realm? Forever?” Willow demands. “Is this still about the Collector?”

“Wait, what about the Collector?” Edric asks.

“Luz is the one who introduced Belos to him,” Amity tells him. “She thought he was just a human at the time.”

Luz draws in a breath, now a little desperate to get a word in edgewise, but Hunter cuts her off with a growl.

“How many times do we have to go over this?” he demands. “Belos would have found the Collector even if you didn’t help him, it was his whole mission!”

“And if you hadn’t come here,” Eda adds, “there would have been no one to learn the Titan’s magic and use it to defeat him—“

“I know,” Luz blurts.

For a second, she’s grateful for the silence, and then her heart starts hammering so hard under everyone’s attention she wonders if she’ll be able to say anything at all. She takes several deep breaths— and feels Amity take her hand.

“When King’s dad asked me to take his powers,” Luz says, looking down, “I almost didn’t. I just thought— what if I mess up again? Who am I to have all this power? But then I thought, well, I can’t change the mistake I made. But I can stop it from getting worse. Hiding myself away… it wouldn’t fix anything. I know that now.”

Amity squeezes her hand, and Luz feels another hand on her shoulder. She looks up to find Lilith smiling at her. 

“You’re a much wiser witch than I was at your age,” she says. “And do you really think you’re the only one here who has to live with a mistake? I helped Belos meet the Collector too, Luz. Before that, I helped him recruit people to the covens. And before that, I cursed my sister to further my own ambitions. I’ve considered more times than I can count just stepping away before I can do any more damage. But that would just be a waste, wouldn’t it?”

“Isolation is tempting,” Eda agrees, glancing at Raine. “But it isn’t the right answer.”

“I know. I know that now.” Luz takes a deep breath and turns to her mom. “Mamá… is it okay for me to keep coming here?”

“Luz.” Camila reaches across the table and gently takes her hands, waiting for Luz to look at her before she speaks. “If you didn’t come back to visit, I would throw you through that portal myself.”

Luz lets out a watery laugh.

“When I asked you to stay with me… I was so scared, Luz. I had no idea where you were and what you were facing, no idea if you’d ever come home. If you wanted to. But this place isn’t… well, okay, it is as dangerous as I imagined. But you’ve flourished here anyway, and you found a family, and friends. I would never take you from that.”

Luz lets go of her hand to wipe her eyes. “Thanks, Mom.” 

Camila sighs. “But, Luz… I still want you with me. I missed you so much while you were away—“

“Me too,” Luz says quickly. “And even though I’ll be visiting the Isles all the time, it’s not the right place for me to stay right now. I still need to finish school. People would wonder if I just disappeared.”

“We-ell,” Vee says slowly. 

“I’m not making you pretend to be me again!”

Vee smiles. “Oh, good. I’m not sure I was up for that.”

Camila puts a hand on her shoulder. “You’re welcome to stay with me too, mija. Six kids I don’t have the resources for, but I’d be happy to take you in.” She looks at Hunter. “You too, Hunter. Three will be a stretch, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

Hunter’s eyes light up, but his face is still. “I’d like that to start, but… I don’t really think I’d fit in for very long. I’ve seen Luz’s homework. It’s incomprehensible. Anyone in her school would spot me as a witch a mile away.”

Luz bites her lip and nods.

“It’s not so hard,” Vee assures him. “I spent most of the summer studying it in case I had to go to school as Luz. I could help you out.”

“Thanks, but… now that I have Flapjack’s power, I’d like to try to learn more magic, if I could.” Hunter glances at Darius. “Do you think I could enroll in Hexside without a guardian?”

Eda laughs out loud. “Kid, you have more guardians than you’ll know what to do with.”

A smile spreads over Hunter’s face as he turns to Camila. “Is it okay if I stay with you until then?”

“Of course!” She crosses the table to hug him, and his eyes well with tears. Seeming to sense it, she holds him tighter for a long moment before ruffling his hair and stepping back, turning to look at Vee.

“What about you, Vee?”

“I’d like to stay with you,” she says immediately. Glancing at her siblings, she adds, “I promise I’ll visit you all the time, but I still feel more at home in the Human Realm. Is that okay?”

“Anything is okay,” Wynne promises, wrapping an arm around her. “As long as you’re happy.”

“We’ll need to figure out what to do with putting you through school,” Camila says thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t have time to homeschool, but you’d need at least a birth certificate to enroll in Gravesfield High…”

Eda waves a hand. “Oh, I can easily arrange that. Would you like some adoption papers while I’m at it?”

Vee and Camila look at each other. Camila smiles. Vee bursts into tears. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Eda says, standing up. “Come on, you two, I’ll need your help to make it look authentic. Wynne, Gemini, Rhee, Ivy— why don’t you four come too? I can give you a tour, and you can pick where you want to sleep.”

Camila and the basilisks follow her out, and Raine, Darius, Lilith, and King start to clean up dinner. Amity tugs on Luz’s hand, and Luz glances at her to find her face serious. “Luz,” she says. “Can we talk?”

A pang of anxiety courses through Luz’s stomach, but she nods. “Of course.”

To her surprise, Willow, Gus, and Hunter all stand as well, and she follows them out of the kitchen, trying to reassure herself with the feeling of Amity’s hand in hers. When they get outside, Amity turns and takes her other hand. 

“Luz,” she says, “we’re worried about you.”

“I promise, I’m not going to stay in the Human Realm—“

“It’s not just that,” Willow interrupts. “We were aware when the Collector was puppeting us, you know. He made us say horrible things, and you believed them.”

“You believed I was going to attack you,” Amity says, “more than you believed I would misquote Azura.”

“You would never misquote Azura.”

“Luz!”

“Okay, okay.” Luz smiles, but it fades quickly. “It’s not that I believed any of you would say any of that, not really. It’s just… I believed I deserved to hear it. I did separate you from your families. I did take you out of your lives. I couldn’t save Flapjack, I didn’t know how to save the people you loved, so it made sense to me that you’d be mad about it.”

“Here’s the thing, Luz.” Amity sits down, lowering Luz with her, and the others follow. “Even if you didn’t know how to save anyone, even if we’d never found a way back home— I would still be glad I met you. My life before you was a disaster. I was horrible, to myself and everyone around me. On purpose. If Willow and Gus can forgive me for that, why would we ever be mad at you for things that weren’t even your fault?”

“If you hadn’t come to the Isles, I would never have gotten Amity back as a friend,” Willow confirms. “I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the Abomination track. I might never have known how strong I could be.”

“And I would have kept helping Belos— on purpose, not by accident,” Hunter says quietly. “Until he drained my magic on the Day of Unity, or until I figured out what he was doing and became just another failed attempt.” 

There’s a long silence as Luz chokes back her tears, basking in the warmth in her chest after months of frost, until Gus shrugs and says, “without you, I would never have seen a giraffe.”

The moment breaks as they all laugh, crawling together into one knot, and Luz cries openly, the relief too much for her to hold inside. When they finally pull back, Amity wipes away one tear and kisses away the other, then moves to whisper in Luz’s ear.

“I love you.”

Luz gasps as she pulls back, heat sweeping through her face— and then she throws her arms around her, burying her face in her shoulder.

“I love you, too.”

They stay like that for another long moment before a yell comes from inside. “Luz!” Vee calls. “Come see!”

Amity pulls back, cheeks flushed, grinning at Luz as she pulls her to her feet, and the two of them race back through the door with Willow, Gus, and Hunter close behind to find Vee in the living room waving a pile of papers. Luz scurries over and snatches them from her hands, her eyes zeroing in on two words.

Vee Noceda.

Vee Noceda!

“I have a sister, I have a sister!” she sings, grabbing Vee’s hands and twirling her in a circle as Vee laughs and laughs, tears streaming freely down her face, until Camila swoops in and gathers them both into her arms. “My precious daughters, my wonderful daughters,” she murmurs, kissing both their heads. 

Luz looks up from the tangle of their limbs to find Willow nudging a red-faced Amity as Gus laughs; to see the basilisks looking around the room with grins on their faces; to see Eda and her father in close conversation with Hunter, showing him what appears to be a tiny palistrom seed. It’s a perfect picture, and Luz closes her eyes, trying to etch it into her mind. At the beginning of all this, she would have called it her happy ending, but she knows better now.

This is just a very exciting beginning.

[spinaroos-47]

Some "Ven on the owl house" things me and @bernardo-draws-and-cries have slowly been collecting:

- He steals/gets some of Hunter's clothes before he gets his own, it's always way too big for him but oversized clothes are cozy. He keeps stealing them even after getting his own fjsjsj (sometimes he also steals from Luz)

- Gets his nails painted red by Luz. Blood red, to be more specific

He's a nail bitter but that's helping stop that because he really likes how his hands look with the nail polish

- Sleeps in the couch, specially in the start, but sometimes he can be found sleeping on weird nooks, one of those being under the couches.

He's cat

- Also has a cursed sleep schedule. Thanks Belos. (but Eda also has one, so they sometimes find eachother awake at cursed hours of the morning)

- In the middle of the night he stands in the hallway menacingly with glowy eyes when he hears someone getting out of their room

Hunter has gotten out of his room to get water in the middle of the night and saw something like this way too many times:

(thanks bê fjsndnd)

And now King doesn't leave Luz's sleeping bag at night because of him fjsndnndn

- He playfights when bored. Usually with Hooty, and has a lot of fun doing that (when not angry fighting him. Its actually one of the very rare situations he's not angry or annoyed with him). The definition of what is playfight for him is...blurry for everyone, so it's hard to know if he's doing it out of boredom, fun or he's genuinely angry and wants to mawl you

He tries to do this with everyone, and he usually wins (except when it's against Hooty or Eda. He's mostly given up on trying to do that with Eda)

- This boy has a lot of pent up energy that he needs to let out and it's usually through that, until they find another thing for him to focus all this energy. Doesn't mean he stops doing that, though, just gets less frequent

- Sometimes he runs after you for playfight when standing in the hallway at the middle of the night when he hears you (one day he and Hunter rolled down the stairs because of that.)

Its hard to know if he's just going to stand there or if he's going to run after you. Or ask for help to make hot chocolate

- He gets found in an owl pellet semi frequently because of the fighting

- Has stolen the crystal ball on Luz and Hunter's room to watch some cartoons at 3am at least twice

- Can usually be found holding onto Hunter, leaning on him, sometimes leaning on Luz, or holding King. Still doesn't feel comfortable with eda touching him. Or Hooty.

- And is also around Hunter when he's doing potions or abomination homework and tries to help. Or just watches him work on that, asking a thing or two.

- Hides when upset/when he ends up upsetting Hunter. Usually hides in the tower

- And also when Lilith comes to visit. She found him one day and he hissed at her and wasn't afraid to threaten to bite her

- He's started drawing and keeps doodling outside, sometimes being joined by Luz, who frequently uses him for rubberducking her way out of a question on whatever story or problem she's stuck on

And he's usually very confused when it's not Boiling Isles related things jfnsnd

Luz: and then Hecate not being related to Hipecatorion doesn't make sense if she's-

Ven:*just nodding and doodling*

Ven, internally: who the heck are these people??

- Ven really enjoys listening Luz or Eda talk about the human realm, and he keeps imagining how everything is there. He even ends up learning some spanish from Luz and Hunter

- He's a very quiet kid, and very observant. While he can and does get really loud, he's usually just quiet or mumbling/muttering now that he's not on the emperor's coven and doesn't have to be loud and assert for respect.

- And lastly, he learns the glyphs by seeing Luz and Hunter draw them and copies it, but never really activates them, just draws and hides them, terribily scared of doing anything with them until some more weeks there, and with some incentive of the owlfam. His first glyph activated is an ice glyph

[hootysblog]

Day 5 of 31 day challenge!

I accidentally posted the story to my main blog so I'm reposting it here

Warning: Temporary death and angst ahead

Day 5- Nightmare

Amity is struggling against the bonds. Her hands are bound so she can't cast spells. Ghost is being held down by coven guards and now Luz is fighting Belos, which makes Amity worry.

"Let her go Belos!" Luz yells.

"Now why would I do that human? She's needed for the Day of Unity," Belos says. He turns away from Luz, "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Luz asks.

"She could be replaced by a certain person in this room."

Amity is thinking about who it could be. Her first guess is one of the Coven guards, maybe it's Kikimora, maybe it's Hunter, or maybe...

"Me."

Belos turns and looks down at Luz. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that, can you say that a little louder?"

"It's me isn't it?" Luz says.

Belos didn't need to say anything but looked to Luz in silence.

"No Luz, you can't!" Amity yells out.

Luz turns to Amity and smiles. "If this is what I have to do to keep you safe, I'm willing to do it."

"I won't let you do this!"

"Amity, it's too late. I've made up my mind."

She turns to Belos. "I sacrifice myself in place of Amity Blight for the Day of Unity."

"A wise decision human," Belos smugly says.

Amity is still struggling against her bonds, but she can feel them getting weaker with each pull.

Luz gathers her thoughts and turns to Amity.

"Amity, you have been the best thing about this adventure. Sure, learning magic and everything was fun, but I got to experience my best times with you." Amity starts crying as Luz continues. "You have been a bright spot in my dreary, human world and I'm so grateful to have met you and everyone here. I can't imagine my life without you all, but I know you all will go on without me, you have to."

Amity is sobbing at this point. "No Luz, please, please, I'm begging you. Don't do this, please, I love you!"

Luz is crying also. "I love you too, mi amor." Luz hears Belos getting ready to strike her down. Luz looks into Amity's eyes. "Just remember Amity, I'll always be your fearless champion."

Amity screams as Belos strikes Luz and everything goes in slow motion. She sees Luz's smile disappear from her face and falls to the ground. In a fit of pure rage, Amity breaks her bonds and rushes over to Luz.

She cradles Luz's body into her own. She cries she begs the Titan to bring back her human. But it doesn't work and Amity is left alone. She hears her name being called in the distance.

_______________________________________________

Luz rolls over and see her girlfriend fidget in her sleep. She thinks it's cute how Amity moves in her sleep.

She is about to fall back asleep when she hears a whimper from Amity. Concerned, Luz sits up and tries to wake Amity up by rubbing her shoulder.

Amity doesn't respond, but Luz can tell the dream is getting worse. She can see tears forming from her girlfriend's eyes and tries again to wake her up. She eventually shakes her with vigor while saying her name over and over again.

"Amity, Amity, Amity wake up!"

Amity doesn't want to open her eyes. She knows Luz is gone and doesn't want to remember. She squeezes her eyes tighter.

"Amity Blight, I swear to Titan I will slap you so hard you'll end up in the human realm if you don't wake up right now!"

Amity opens her eyes. She sees Luz in front of her.

"Luz?" Amity whispers. "You're here?"

Luz is confused. "Uh yeah. This is my room."

Amity looks around and notices that she's in the Owl House. She breathes a quick sigh of relief and then launched herself into her girlfriend's arms, full on sobbing.

"Hey hey hey. It's okay Amity. It was just a nightmare. Everything's okay," Luz reassures her while stroking her hands through Amity's hair.

"It was so real Luz. It was so real," Amity hiccups.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Luz asks.

Amity looks at her and her eyes say it all. "Okay, how about we cuddle until we both fall asleep? Would that make you feel better?" Luz suggests.

"I would like that," Amity says.

They both snuggle close together. Luz keeps stroking Amity's hair. Amity places her head on Luz's chest. She feels relief that she can hear Luz's heartbeat.

"Luz?"

"Yeah."

"I just wanted to say that I love you."

"I love you too, mi amor."

Luz places a kiss in the top of Amity's head and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

[halo20601]

Her Real Family -- Owl House One-Shot FanFic.

Author's Note: I wrote this story yesterday (Sunday), but as I was editing it, the power went out for the rest of the night. So, as I was putting the last touches on it today (Monday), the promo for the Season Finale came out. To those who are reading my Owl House x DC Universe Crossover, I'm still working on it; this was just something I wanted to get out before the promo was released — which didn't end up being the case. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one-shot.

.

.

.

Luz had broken into the Conformatorium successfully. Now all that was left to do was find Eda and bring her back. Back to the Owl House... and to herself. She had her glyphs, the Witch's Wool cloak Eda made for her, and her backpack — which contained what she hoped would be the cure. But one problem stood in her way.

"What are you doing here?" Lilith demanded. "I thought I told you to go back to the Human Realm."

"I'm not going anywhere while Eda needs me!" Luz shouted.

"I should've known her little pet would've been as stubborn as her." Lilith summoned her staff. "But I didn't think you'd be foolish enough to come alone."

"I didn't."

King let out a squeak of rage as he jumped on and bit down on Lilith's arm. "Ahhhhhhhh!" The Emperor's Witch cried in pain, trying to shake King off. "Get off of me!"

"Go 'ind E'a! Go 'ind E'a!" King repeated as he kept his jaws clamped on her arm, swinging around.

Luz nodded and shot straight for the stairs.

Lilith continued shaking her arm. "Get off me, you insolent little…"

"Ne'er!" King continued to rebel.

"That does it!" Lilith drew a circle and generated electricity in her hand. She grabbed the little demon with it.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" King screamed and was forced to let go, dropping to the ground.

"I will not let a Human undo everything I've worked for!" Lilith picked King up by the back of his neck before following Luz.

Speaking of which, Luz kept running up the flights of stairs and looking into the different rooms for any sign of Eda. A giant owl monster won't be that hard to miss.

"Stop, right there!" A deep and familiar voice said as Luz turned around. It was Warden Wrath. "I know you. You're the Human that thwarted my plans with the Owl Lady." He approached Luz with his massive hands holding something.

Luz took out her notepad and prepared some Fire spells. "I'm freeing Eda. And I'm not going to let you stop me."

"Stop you?" The Warden seemed confused. "I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to help you."

Now Luz was the confused one. "Tú eres qué?" Warden Wrath opened his hands to reveal, "Owlbert!" The Palisman flew over to Luz and rubbed against her cheek. "I missed you, too."

"I got to him before Emperor Belos could crack him open." Owlbert attested the claim with a hoot.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I saw the creature they dragged in and was shocked to learn it was the Witch who's heart I am after. But I also heard what they had to do to get her. I may have done cruel things, but I would never do what was done. I know where Eda is and can take you to her."

Luz looked down at Owlbert, who affirmed what Wrath said with a hoot. "Alright, but I only trust you because Owlbert trusts you."

"Follow me." Wrath began leading the way but stopped. "By the way, if we make it out of this alive, could you put in a good word for me for Eda?"

"If we make it out of this alive, I'll consider it."

"Works for me."

Luz followed Wrath further up the stairs until they came across a large cage where the Owl Beast slammed against the bars to free itself. "Eda!" Luz called out. Her mentor's cursed form just shrieked at her, and Owlbert hid behind her in fear. "Why is she still like this? I thought the Emperor could cure her?"

"From what I've heard, this curse is beyond the Emperor's power."

"Don't worry, Eda. We're going to get you out of here."

"I'll need to sedate her before opening the cage." Wrath said as he walked over to a box on the wall with the Healing Coven's symbol. But before he could reach for it, a Fireball struck him from behind, and he collapsed to the ground.

Luz turned around and spotted Lilith with a struggling King in hand. "You're not going anywhere."

"Let me go! I'll pulverize you!" The squirming demon threatened.

"Let King go!" Luz demanded.

"I knew I should've finished you off when I had the chance. I won't make the same mistake again."

"My friends, Willow and Gus, they know what kind of person you are. And Amity, too. We told her. If I fail, they'll find a way to free Eda."

"Then I'll deal with them like how I'll deal with you."

Luz was stunned at what she just heard. "You… You would kill your apprentice."

Lilith narrowed her eyes. "If I must."

Luz realized that there was no negotiating with her, and she was not going to let her hurt her friends. She pasted two Light glyphs onto her hands and charged at Lilith, who held King out like a shield — just like she did with her to capture Eda. Luz leaped into the air and clapped the glyphs together. The radiance was so bright that it forced Lilith to shield her eyes and drop King in the process. The little demon scampered away, and Luz stepped back while Lilith was disoriented.

Eda continued to shriek and slam herself against the bars. "King." Luz ran over to her friend and handed him the backpack. "I need you to help make Eda remember who she is."

"Do you think this will work?" He asked.

"I h…" Luz paused. "I know it'll work."

"You little brat." Lilith spat as her vision returned.

"I'll keep her busy." Luz took out three Plant glyphs and sent a trio of large vines after Lilith.

Enraged at her defiance, Lilith spun her staff and sent a stream of blue fire at the girl, burning the vines to ash. Luz took the Witch's Wool to shield herself as the blast sent her flying into the next room. The magical cloak prevented her from being burned, but it did not dampen the impact. Before she could react, Lilith teleported into the room and smacked Luz across the face with her staff, sending her farther back.

"You're out of your league, child." Lilith taunted. "Your powers are just cheap parlor tricks compared to mine."

"Probably," Luz responded as she stood up, she touched her runny nose and saw blood on her fingers. "But I'm still going to beat you."

Lilith chuckled. "You beat me? You're just an insignificant Human who wound up here just by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. There's nothing special about you. There never was. But if this is how you wish to die…"

"Maybe you're right, but what you think of me doesn't matter. I know who I am. And I'm not going home without Eda. Bailemos, Bruja!"

Lilith scowled at the girl and dashed towards her with blue flames trailing behind. Luz managed to roll out of the way and slammed an Ice glyph onto the ground. The pillar shot up and hit Lilith in the stomach. She stumbled back before, but quickly regained her balance and countered with a Fireball. Luz protected herself with the cloak, but the impact still knocked out the wind from her lungs, and a second one did so again.

She looked up as Lilith was about to bring her staff down on her. Luz tumbled out of the way and used a Fire glyph to burn Lilith's feet. Lilith yelped in pain and smacked Luz upside the head with her staff. Luz sent another vine to hit Lilith in the face with, but she sliced it apart with a blade of fire then tossed it at the girl. Luz managed to duck from the blade but wasn't fast enough to avoid another hit to the face.

"I don't know why I was expecting a challenge." Lilith continued to taunt. "No one is a match for me. I'm the leader of the Emperor's Coven for a reason."

"Alguna vez se calla?" Luz cursed to herself. All she's ever said is how great she is; on and on about how great she is, and… Luz came to realize something. She figured out Lilith's weakness. A weakness that she should've seen upon learning it was her who cursed Eda. "So that's what all of this has been about."

Luz took out three Plant glyphs and Fire glyphs and slammed them on the ground at the same time. More vines came at Lilith, who smirked as she cut them apart with another fire blade, which triggered the Fire spell and made them explode like a bomb. The impact slammed Lilith into a wall, while Luz used her cloak to keep her skin safe.

"What was that?" Lilith questioned.

"It's called being creative; something Eda taught me," Luz responded with renewed confidence.

The anger in Lilith's expression became more pronounced. "Magic isn't supposed to be used like that! It's dangerous!"

"Eda, and I prefer clever." Luz slammed her Fire and Ice glyphs together and filled the room up with steam. This distracted Lilith enough for Luz to sneak away, but Lilith saw where she was going and pursued.

Meanwhile, King opened the backpack. Inside was a collection of items; reminders of the various hijinks the trio had gotten into the last couple of months. They believe that the Eda they know is somewhere inside the Owl Beast, and they just need to bring her out.

"Eda, do you remember this?" King asked as he showed her the tiny crown Luz gave him after they broke into the Conformatorium the first time around. The Owl Beast just shrieked. "Or this?" King held the fake map that Luz was duped into that one time. But the Owl Beast continued to shriek. "Maybe this will work." King took out the sparkly pen and turned it on. Owl Eda was immediately entranced by it like she was before. "Do you remember?" The batteries then died, and Eda shrieked again. "Eda, I know you're in there. Luz needs you."

The backpack tipped over, and a picture fell out. It was a recent one; featuring Eda, King, Hooty, Willow, Gus, Amity, and, "L… Lu…"

King gasped. "What did you say?"

"L… Lu…" The Owl Beast was trying to make words.

"Yes, that's Luz. Your apprentice. The Human who came into our lives and made it better. She's here, and she's fighting your sister to save you. She's fighting your sister because she loves you; because we all love you. You need to remember. You need to come back to us."

"L… Lu… L… Lu… Luz…" The beast's black eyes began dissolving back to their original color slowly… and something more.

As that was happening, Lilith followed Luz into a new room. It was completely dark, save for the light of her staff, and there were many columns where the girl could hide behind. "Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are." Lilith crooned. She saw something move to her left. "Found you!" She launched a Fireball and destroyed the column. The destroyed support glowed with the symbol of an Ice glyph, which shot out and slammed into her frame. Lilith's frustration continued growing. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"I'm the coward?" Luz's voice echoed throughout the room. "That's rich coming from you."

Lilith thought she spotted Luz again and cast another spell, only to trigger a Plant glyph that smacked her across the face. "You don't belong here! Edalyn is with her real family!"

"Her real family? The real family that cursed her?" Lilith cast another spell upon seeing a shadow move, only to trigger another trap, with a Fire glyph this time. "I think I finally understand you now."

"And what, pray tell, do you understand?"

"The way Eda talked about you, I always assumed you joined the Emperor's Coven out of some crazy belief you have about him. But now I realize what it's always been about. Your ego." Lilith cast another spell and triggered another Plant glyph. "You were jealous of what Eda could do. That she was a more powerful Witch than you were. Heck, I bet if she joined the Coven, she would be The Emperor's favorite instead of you."

"You know nothing! All Edalyn did was squander her potential! She didn't deserve the power she had!" Lilith's anger continued to grow, and her spells became sloppier with each cast. She didn't care if she triggered more traps and inflicted more pain to herself; she wanted to shut Luz up.

"So, you had to curse your sister as a child to prove a point. But all it proves is that you were pitiful then as you are now."

"I'm not listening to this!" Lilith continued to cast more spells and trigger more traps. Her once pristine dress was damaged, her face bruised and scarred, and her straight hair was a frantic mess.

"I can't believe I was afraid of you. Lilith of the Emperor's Coven isn't a real Witch at all. Lilith of the Emperor's Coven is just a complete joke." Luz began to laugh. "And not even the good kind."

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop laughing!"

"You couldn't even beat Eda without giving her a handicap or without a hostage to hide behind."

"I command you to stop laughing!"

"And you know what I can't tell is funnier. That Eda's more of a true Witch than you'll ever be! Or that I'm more of a true Witch than you'll ever be!"

Lilith's rage reached its peak. "YOU ARE NOT A WITCH!" She cast the most powerful spell she could muster in her current state as blue flames enveloped everything. The fire spread across the room and broke apart the columns and burnt away the glyphs before they could activate. The entire room trembled as the roof above began to collapse all around.

If it weren't for the Witch's Wool, it would've been the end of Luz. Even though she wasn't burned, the blast caused her cloak to be undone and be blown away. The girl tried making it into the next room while avoiding everything collapsing around her. But she tripped, and rubble fell onto her. "Ahhhhhhhh!" She cried from the pain and soon realized she couldn't feel her legs. She tried pushing the rocks off, but they wouldn't budge.

"There you are." Lilith walked over to her in an unhinged manner. Luz looked for her glyphs and saw they were gathered in a pile next to her. She tried reaching for them, but they were set ablaze. Lilith threw her staff aside, got on top of the pinned girl, and enveloped her fingers around her throat. Luz struggled to breathe as she tried to force Lilith off, or free her throat, but couldn't do anything. "You're not a real Witch! So, you don't deserve to die like one!" She had a deranged smile on her face and a look of satisfaction in seeing Luz's life slip away. The girl thought that this was the end of the line... She was going to die here...

"Get your hands off my apprentice!" Before Lilith could process it, the mother of all Fireballs struck her in the back and sent her toppling off Luz and slamming right into a wall.

Luz took in several deep breaths and looked up to see a blazing shape of magical energy enveloping the shadowy silhouette of, "Eda!" Luz's eyes were filled with tears.

"Sorry for being late, kid." The Owl lady said as she floated over to her.

King ran up from behind Eda, with Owlbert perched on his head, huffing and puffing. "You… are… really… fast…"

"How?" Lilith said as she forced herself up. "How are you back to normal? Answer me!"

"If you'll excuse me for one second, Luz." Eda glared at Lilith. "I have some unfinished business I need to take care of."

Lilith called for her staff, but Eda cast a spell to burn every part of it, except for the Palisman. Lilith cast spell after spell, each attack fueled by hatred, but Eda managed to deflect or avoid them. Lilith screamed as she unleashed her most potent spells, only for Eda to do so in turn. But the Owl Lady's spells overpowered Lilith's and sent her through the wall and kept on going until she landed into the middle of an empty cell. Before she could even stand, Eda appeared right in front of Lilith and pinned her against the wall.

"How is this…" Lilith tried mustering the words.

"No more words from you!" Eda snapped. "Now you're going to listen to me, sister. I will never join any Coven, especially the Emperor's Coven. I will never forgive you for what you did to me, to Luz, and to everyone I care about. And if you ever come near any of us again, I will end you."

Lilith looked over Eda's shoulder and saw King and Owlbert putting all the effort they could into freeing Luz. "You would choose them over your real family?"

"They are my real family." With that said, Eda left Lilith where she was and flew back to the people who put their lives on the line to save her. The energy surrounding Eda finally dissipated, revealing…

"Eda, your hair," Luz said. Her teacher's hair was no longer the elderly grey it once was, but bright orange. The features of her face changed, too; she still looked old but had a bit more youthfulness. "Does that mean the curse…"

"It's gone. I don't know how, but it's gone."

"Maybe it was the power of our love that broke it. Just like I thought it would."

"Kid, please, that sounds like a bunch of mushy stuff from your books."

Luz sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Eda roller her eyes. "But I won't rule out the possibility. Can you walk?"

"I can stand, but I'll need some help."

"I got you." Eda pulled Luz up and let her lean against her.

Owlbert flew by and dropped the Witch's Wool cloak on the girl's head. "Thanks, Owlbert."

Lilith stepped out of the cell; her eyes still full of madness and envy. "No! I won't accept this!" She shouted as she eyed Luz and cast a spell intended to strike her.

But Eda sensed the oncoming attack and deflected it right back at her sister, striking her gemstone and sending falling back. "It's over, Lily," Eda told her. "Stay down."

Lilith pointed at Eda. "It'll never be over while you're still free. Emperor Belos won't stop until…" Suddenly, plumage emerged from her arm. "No. No!"

Eda and Luz gasped as they saw what was happening. "She cursed herself."

Lilith's body began contorting, snapping and bending in unnatural ways as more feathers began to sprout. "Edalyn! Help me! Sister, please!"

Eda was about to step forward to help but stopped and — with a frigid glare — told Lilith, "You're the smart one. So, help yourself."

"Edalyn! Edalyn!" Lilith continued crying and changed until all that stood was a beast twice her size and had the appearance of a raven. What goes around, comes around. The transformed Lilith shrieked and charged at the prey in front of her. But the cell door suddenly closed shut, and the Raven Beast slammed into them, still screeching.

Luz, Eda, and King turned around and saw that Warden Wrath pulled a lever down. "That won't hold her for long. She'll need a new cell. You should all leave while you have the chance."

"Thank you, Warden," Luz said.

"So, are you going to hold up your end of the deal?"

"Of course."

"Yes, score for Warden Wrath."

"Great, now can we go home?" King asked. "I need to bake Luz a new cake for me to pop out of."

"And what deal is he talking about?" Eda asked her apprentice.

"I'll tell you when we get home," Luz replied.

The outlaws of the Boiling Isles took their leave, as they will have a long way down to go. Eda looked back for a moment and saw the transformed Lilith continuing to slam against the cell and shriek. The Owl Lady did hold some regret about what has happened to her sister. But if she's being honest with herself, she and Lilith haven't been sisters since they were kids.