The gang waited patiently for Hypnos to return with the Blight child. While waiting, Luz decided to relay the others on their plan.

"Alright, so Amity and I will go to Earth in our astral bodies and when we find out where the book is, Eda will use this bell and bring us back."

Eda held the bell in her hand and rang it. "Why did you need Amity in particular to travel with you?"

"I knew that Willow and Gus would be attending Hexside tomorrow, and I couldn't bring them into this kind of situation," Luz explained, "besides, if they notice I am gone, I am hoping that they'd protect our bodies when we are gone."

"I am still somewhat unsure about what we are trying to accomplish," Lilith said, "Hypnos said that you needed to take these...drugs. How are we going to get them?"

Eda flicked her hand. "Don't worry, sis, I have the solution."

Eda walked out of the room and loud shuffling was heard. Some potion jars were dropped on the floor and exploded upon impact. The floor began to transform into different objects and shapes when Eda returned carrying a bottle in her hands.

"Sister, that isn't what I think it is," Lilith started.

Eda grinned. "Yes, indeed, Lilith; apple blood from 40 years ago!"

"Eda, why in the Titan's name would you keep that bottle around for 40 years?" King asked.

"Pipe down, dog, I was actually considering saving this brew for Luz when she graduated Hexside, buuuut we could use this to help her travel."

Luz gagged on reflex. "I don't know, Eda; what if that's dangerous?"

"Luz, how I see it, one of two things could happen: either this apple blood will send your soul out of your body so you can jump dimensions, or it could kill you."

Luz frowned. "Both options sound too risky."

"Maybe we can use a guinea pig for this experiment," King suggested. "Hey, Hooty!"

Hooty's tube head popped into the room, startling Lilith. "Hoot! Hoot! Hey guys!"

King grimaced at the annoying voice coming from the house demon. "How would you like to play a game?"

Hooty's black eyes bulged excitedly. "Ooo, a game! What are we playing? Charades? Chess! Ooo, maybe we can see who can put the most worms in their mouths without swallowing! Hoot! Hoot!"

"Shut up!" King yelled, his head throbbing, "we need you to drink this."

He took a mug and poured the apple blood into it. A dark red liquid dripped out of the bottle with a sickly nauseating plop. He placed the mug at Hooty's invisible feet and waited his eyes growing more intense. Hooty shifted his tube body to smell the concoction. His feathers ruffled in disgust.

"That smells like a goblin soaked his socks in it for months!"

King nodded. "I know it smells bad, but we need you to drink it."

"Mmm...what's in it for me?" Hooty asked.

King scratched the boney part of his head for a moment. "If you do this, then..."

Luz interjected. "We'll listen to your stories for a whole week!"

King turned to look at Luz with a hint of frustration on his face as if to criticize her for the suggestion. He turned back towards Hooty and forced his head to nod. "Eh...sure."

Hooty smiled. "A WHOLE WEEK!? You guys hardly ever listen to my stories; finally, I will have some acknowledgment, hoot! Hoot!"

"Ugh, fine, whatever," King said, "just drink it."

Hooty knelt his body down to look at the liquid in the mug. Along with the red tint that gave the beverage its name, there appeared to be green moss growing in it. "Ew...do I have to?"

King flicked his fingers. Hooty sighed and closed his eyes so at the least he did not see what he was about to drink. The tip of his beak formed into a circular shape and he took a long swig of the concoction. King and the others felt their cheeks turning green.

"He's...really doing it," King observed, "I was kind of half-kidding when I said that we should test it on him."

Hooty finished the mug and looked up again at the others. He didn't say anything to them.

"Uh...Hooty?" Luz said, "are you okay?"

Hooty's eyes widened and glimmered from seemingly glaring into the universe itself. Before they could say anything additional, Hooty fell to his side.

"Oh cramity, I think we killed Hooty!" Luz said.

Eda knelt down and placed two fingers close to Hooty's mouth. "Naw, he's still warm."

"If only he was dead," King complained.

"Then that means the astral travel had worked?" Lilith asked.

"Mmm...looks like it had." Eda answered. "He's probably already going down one of those wacko dimensions as we speak."

King poked Hooty with a stick. "He was the security system, though; are you sure we can handle things while he is gone?"

"Of course, it's just that we have to watch two girls' bodies while they are traveling through the vastness of space." Eda shrugged her shoulders. "It's not that complicated."

Luz looked at the unconscious tube bird and then at the apple blood. "Well, Hooty's a house demon, and I'm a human."

"Oh, that is true," Eda said, "some drinks in our world might do unspeakably malicious things on your system."

"Knock, knock."

Hypnos came in carrying Amity on his back. "I got the girl!"

"Amity!" Luz screamed.

Amity immediately blushed from hearing Luz's voice.

"Oh, Luz! Fancy meeting you here!"

"I live here," Luz pointed out.

"Oh, right, you live here," Amity giggled anxiously. "And I came here to see you."

Amity tensed up from Luz's stare. "I spoke to much!"

Hypnos rolled his eyes and sat Amity down. "You can have your infatuation moment later on."

"Amity, we need your help," Luz said.

Amity slammed her fist into her open palm. "Yes, who do I have to kill?"

She scanned the room for a moment and saw that Lilith was sitting on the couch. "You wanted me to kill her?"

Lilith held her hand out. "Woah, woah, I know it looks bad, but-"

Without much prompt, Amity conjured up her Abomination and it towered over the older witch. "Abomination, kill!"

Amity's Abomination grabbed Lilith with his right hand and started to compress her with its large fingers. Lilith squirmed underneath the grip of the blobby monster to no avail.

"Amity, wait, please!" Lilith yelled.

"That's what you get when you tried to kill my girl!" Amity yelled. She turned to look at Luz only now realizing what she had just said. "I-I mean my friend! No one tries to kill my friend."

Eda stood up and grabbed onto Amity's hand. "As much as I can understand your anger, this isn't why we called you."

Amity's cheeks were red again this time from embarrassment. "Oh...sorry Lilith."

The Abomination dropped a traumatized Lilith on the couch. "So, why am I here?"

They explained to Amity everything from Nyarlathotep's return to the Boiling Isles, and how Emperor Belos was working alongside the dark god to enact the Day of Unity. Amity sat on the couch and quietly listened. Each passing moment, Amity felt a sense of dread overtake her. She looked down at her hands.

"All the times I used magic; you mean to tell me I was actually profiting off the sacrifices of different witches?"

Luz nodded sadly. "I am sorry that you had to learn about the darker side of the Isles' history."

"But if what you are saying is true, wouldn't it make more sense to infiltrate the Emperor's Coven and steal the portal door from Belos under his nose?" Amity asked.

Hypnos wagged his finger. "Belos is far too powerful to take on at your state." He walked over to a wall of the house. "You all would get slaughtered the moment you step foot in his kingdom."

"I guess that makes sense," Amity said, "but...drinking this potent apple blood. Would it be too dangerous?"

King pointed at Hooty's lifeless body. "It worked for Hooty."

Amity frowned. "He looks dead."

"No, he's not dead," King assured her, "he still has a pulse, see?"

He grabbed Hooty's head and shook it in his hands. Amity's fears were not comforted in the slightest. King tired himself out from shaking Hooty and unceremoniously dropped the head carelessly on the ground.

"There is no other way," Luz said, "there is only one portal key, and that is what Belos currently has in his possession."

"True, but...I am still worried," Amity noted.

Luz clutched her hand tenderly. "Don't worry; I'll be doing it with you."

Amity's heart galloped quickly behind her ribs. Oh, sweet Titan, she was holding the hand of her crush. It was...soft, silky smooth like a baby's bottom. Even though it was a mundane gesture, Amity felt that she was committing a grave sin. Her thoughts were spiraling out of control she couldn't stand it. Dear Titan, give her strength.

"Amity, are you okay?" Luz asked in concern.

Amity quickly broke out of cloud nine still as red as ever. "I-I'm fine, Amity."

"But you're Amity," Luz pointed out.

Sweat rolled down Amity's forehead in beads along with some sweat accumulating onto Luz's hand. "Oh, right, I am, aren't I?"

She giggled nervously hoping to at least get the others laughing to feel less awkward. When she was met with the dead eyes of the others, she stopped laughing. "Let's just do it."

Outside of the owl house, the spy quietly listened and turned to return to Belos to report on what he had heard. As morning encroached on the Blight family, Odalia was already in the kitchen, having woken up earlier than the other members of her family.

"And this time, serve us something that we'd actually want to eat," Odalia said sternly to her maid.

"As you wish, ma'am," the maid groaned.

Odalia withdrew one of her favorite mugs from the cabinet and started to prepare some apple blood for herself. While gathering the ingredients, she heard a slight knock at the front door. Odalia groaned in annoyance. "Who can that be at this hour?"

She yelled for the maid to stop what she was doing and go to the door. She waited around a few minutes, but the same droning of the door echoed through the house. "Come on, what am I paying you for?"

Odalia rubbed her chin. Oh, right, she wasn't paying her in snails. She thought about waking up her husband, but she couldn't remember hearing him snore or let alone hear him move around in his bed. Maybe the twins, but they would probably do something mischievous as they often do. Amity? She was still somewhat upset at her daughter's scathing opposition of her demands so she was likely to continue to be on her rebel streak.

The knock at the door only further annoyed the Blight matriarch. "Alright, fine, I will do it."

She exited the kitchen and walked to the front door. "Yes, I am here; stop with your petulant, infernal knocking!"

She opened the door and was surprised with what she was seeing. There stood one of the imperial guards of the Emperor. Odalia rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes out of fear of hallucinating the event. But it was very real. In the guard's hand was a scroll.

"Pray tell, why are you here at my house at this hour?"

The imperial guard didn't speak. Instead, the guard rolled out the scroll in front of her and read what was on it. "Miss Odalia Blight, the Emperor has requested an audience with you."

Odalia stepped back. "With...with me? Emperor Belos?"

"Aye; now please come with me."

Emperor Belos was once again on his throne, passively waiting. His spy stood by the throne on the right side of it.

"Yes, my lord," the spy replied, "the human girl is planning on arriving to the Earth before you can claim the book."

Emperor Belos chuckled. He tentatively touched the scar on his mask that he received from his last encounter with the girl. "She is a very resourceful young lady, isn't she?"

"As you say, my lord; what is the purpose of the book if you do not mind me asking?"

"It is an ancient book that was written thousands of years before I arrived to the Boiling Isles; it records many secrets and accesses to the dark arts. The book documents beings like the Titan and where they trekked and from where they will once again walk."

The spy was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by Kikimora.

"We've retrieved her."

Emperor Belos nodded and held his staff in his hand bidding the spy to leave. The spy understood and began to walk out. Down the corridors, he caught a glimpse of Odalia. Both of their eyes locked on each other. Before Odalia could say something about the peculiar stranger, the spy turned away and fastened his pace. Odalia shrugged and subsequently shook out any iota of suspicion from her mind. Belos stood from his throne to glance at Nyarlathotep.

"The deed is done, Master," Belos said solemnly.

"Very good indeed," the Crawling Chaos replied. "Leave us."

As Belos turned to walk away, Nyarlathotep held out his staff. "I pray ask is your devotion still towards me?"

Belos lightly pushed the staff aside. "Yes, Master; I would never betray you."

Nyarlathotep directly stared into Belos' blue eyes for a few seconds and withdrew the staff. "Very well."

Belos left through the back of his throne, relieved that Nyarlathotep didn't suspect the spear he had locked away. Nyarlathotep sat down in the place of the Emperor and waited.

"Lord Belos, I'm he-"

Odalia stumbled on her words. Instead of Belos, she was instead in the presence of some...swarthy man. And yet, something about the dark-skinned man was oddly enthralling. His chiseled appearance; the intensity of his eyes; he had colored strips of linen on his head. From what Odalia could speculate, he was without a doubt of royalty.

"Welcome, Odalia, matriarch of the Blight family," Nyarlathotep replied.

He had a smooth-way of speaking, sometimes even deliberately prolonging the last letter of his words to burrow into Odalia's mind.

"Who are you?" Odalia finally asked.

"I am Nyarlathotep," he replied, "I have risen from the blackness of twenty-seven centuries to deliver a message."

"What is it that you want with me?" Odalia inquired.

"Why to join the Emperor's Coven of course!" Nyarlathotep said extatically whilst raising his toned arms.

Odalia couldn't believe it. Joining the coven was always a lifelong dream of hers, but due to forces outside of her own, she was forced to leave it as it was: a dream. This was the exact reason she wanted Amity to try for the Emperor's Coven when she became of age. But with Amity speaking a lot of insolence lately, Odalia realized that she could not live through her daughter, even if she forced her to dye her hair to match her own.

"Well?" Nyarlathotep asked.

Odalia fidgeted with her fingers. "It is a great honor, my lord, but I feel that my chances of officially joining it are slim."

Nyarlathotep tilted his head. "I am a representative of the Titan that you revere."

Odalia raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"The Titan has informed me that the Day of Unity is at hand: the gods have declared that there would come a new birth for the Boiling Isles, one where the weak are suppressed and extinguished from this land. The strong will rule this land and will never grow weary. Your lineage will be exalted above the heights of the clouds and will be a force to reckon with."

Odalia tapped her chin with her fingers. That sounded like a good deal; join the Emperor's Coven and she would reap the benefits of it. "If I do this, I will make the Blight family name the greatest in the world?"

Nyarlathotep sneered. "All of creation will know your name from the furthest parts of the galaxy to the fabric of reality itself."

"You have yourself a deal, Nyarlathotep," Odalia smiled.

Nyarlathotep took his finger and drew a circle. From the small portal, a book fell. The book opened itself up to reveal an empty page. Nyarlathotep took the pen fashioned from bone and motioned for Odalia to take it.

"Your blood, please."

Odalia hesitated at first out of disgust that she would have to prick her finger and write her name in her own blood on some crummy old paper, but the promises that the Crawling Chaos promised her proved too powerful. She jabbed her finger with the bone with enough force that even Nyarlathotep was slightly taken aback by her decision. Her blood dripped through the page and onto the other pages.

"Excellent work, Odalia," Nyarlathotep proclaimed, "for enlisting, I will bestow you with this."

He produced a staff and placed it in her hand. "A staff."

Odalia looked at the staff with curiosity. "But I already have one at home."

"I know; but this staff, in particular, can collect magic, not just from your magic bile, but from any other source."

"Hm, that would be useful," Odalia thought, "what shall you have me do?"

Nyarlathotep turned her back into the hands of Emperor Belos and they walked down the empire. Through the doors, Belos stopped and talked to Odalia.

"It is great that you are assisting in our cause; The Day of Unity is upon us."

They came upon a door that was locked away from the other rooms. Belos, with staff in hand, placed the tip of it on a sensor button. The door opened to allow the two in. Through the doors, Odalia saw more of the Emperor's imperial guards walking to and fro on the stairways carrying heavy boxes. What struck her the most was the large machine in the middle of the bizarre laboratory.

"What is that, my lord?" Odalia asked.

"A gateway to other worlds," Belos passively explained, "when the human girl came to rescue the Owl Lady, she tried to destroy the door that led to the Earth."

"So, you managed to salvage what was left of it?"

"Very observative, Odalia," Belos stated, "as we speak, the human and your daughter are going to go to Earth to acquire a book that I am after."

"Daughter?" Odalia repeated.

The twins were still at home. She hadn't heard anything from Amity when she had her talk with her which meant...her eyes doubled in size from the rationalization.

"I told Amity to not associate with that rat," Odalia lamented, "I apologize for her; if she did something treasonous...the family line then..."

Belos held his hand out to silence her. "The Titan has told me that to stop the foolish human girl, you will lead a righteous crusade on the Earth."

Odalia bowed her head. "It is an honor to work with you in the name of the Titan."

Belos led her deeper into the laboratory. "As you know, the cost of treason against our way of life is petrification."

Odalia gulped deeply as a sign of her comprehending the cost of treason.

"But you may not be aware of what becomes of the soul of the traitor, I assume?"

He opened another door in the laboratory. The imperial guards were painstakingly melding together red scraps of metal to form rows of armor. A conveyor belt carried the scraps of metal to assemble them. At the top of the conveyor belt was a large vat. It contained a scorching hot, melted down liquid and tipped itself into tubes. The hot liquid flowed through a series of pipes to a slab of metal. The slabs of metal slammed together with great pressure.

The substance sizzled and cooled remaining that way for thirty seconds until the slabs drew themselves away. In the middle were more of the scraps of metal. Odalia's eyes twinkled.

"Armor? For what?"

"For the crusade," Belos explained, "but does something strike you as peculiar about the metal?"

Odalia looked closely at the suits of armor unsure of what to expect. It soon became clear: armor that was being hammered into place moved about sluggishly. Each piece of metal that was hammered on made the armor jolt in excruciating pain. It was becoming crystal clear what Belos implicated with the armor: the armor was alive, and reacting in distress. The imperial guards picked and prodded at the armor suits forcing them into open boxes with their staffs laced with electrical wires.

Belos stood in front of one of the suits of armor and struck it.

"When these former witches committed treason, their bodies were left behind, but as for their souls...they were incapable of escaping their fates. So...after giving it some consideration, I had tasked my servants with collecting pieces of the stone statues and mixing them with metal native to the Isles to create a sturdier metal."

"Then that means," Odalia started.

"That is right; the souls of the executed witches were melted down to create the perfect metal for the perfect suits of armor."

The armor moved around in a method similar to how Abominations are maneuvered. However, it was apparent that they still retained enough of their senses to feel pain. Shrill screams seeped out from the helmets of the metal in forced fits of air. They wobbled on their feet yet could not go one minute without falling over. Black paste oozed out through cracks of the armor making it more unsightly. And yet the imperial guards cared not one bit about the suffering of the souls and resumed work on them. Any of the armor suits that failed to be fully operational were picked up by pulleys and dropped back into the vat to be melted down again so the process could start anew.

"And you need me to lead these...things?" Odalia asked Emperor Belos once again.

"Of course! But when your daughter goes to Earth, you won't be able to see her without this."

One of his servants had a necklace on a small cushion. Belos thanked him for it and placed it around Odalia's neck. "The necklace was crafted from a special type of salt that will make Amity and the human girl visible."

Odalia took the necklace in her hand and looked at it. "Very well; and how will I lead the armor?"

"With the staff my master granted you, of course," Belos responded, "you must collect enough magic in order to keep them under control."

More magic she thought. It could take forever to collect as much magic as she could, and the Day of Unity might already be over. While pondering, she shook her head deeply to Belos and turned to walk away. She was hoping for Nyarlathotep to give her advice on what she had to do, but he mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

She returned home this time hearing someone else stir awake. Odalia tensed up instinctively and hid in the kitchen underneath the table. She held her breath hoping that she wouldn't be found with the device. The staff glowed ominously sensing that magic was near.

"Mom, is that you?"

Odalia could recognize that voice as belonging to none other than her son Edric. It made some considerable sense because he would typically wake up at the time of day before his twin sister. Odalia was about to respond to him, but she saw that the staff was glowing a deeper shade. The thought crossed her mind: in order for her to control the armor suits, she needed magic. And lots of it. She did live in a house with four other residents...Belos didn't say anything about where it had to come from.

Odalia got up from the bottom of the table and tapped the top of the staff on its flat surface. "Yes, Edric, come in here."

Edric came in, hair disheveled and yawning deeply. He stretched his arms until there was a small, audible popping sound. "What's going on?" He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and caught a glimpse of the staff. "Oh, cool staff! Where did you get it?"

Odalia did not respond to her son's inquiries. Instead, she walked closer to him with the staff. Edric felt uncomfortable and tried to step back. This did not deter his mom, however. She held the staff's head above Edric's head. The spear glowed crimson red and began to "feed."

A vapor slipped out of the orifices of Edric's face. They came together to create one green, thick puff of an amorphous, shapeless mass and was absorbed into the spear. Edric gagged and wobbled the more that the staff drew from him. He grabbed onto one of the chairs at the table to hold himself up whilst grasping at his throat with his other hand. The color in his skin began to fade away until nothing more than a paper-thin hue remained.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

He tried to reach towards his mother, but Odalia continued to hold the staff without issue. She stops draining Edric once he fell on the ground.

"That might be enough for now," Odalia said, "but to be sure, I will have to take you with me."