Feeling Sick
I'd also like to thank Mr. hardcor3 for the idea, go read their fanfics. I love them all, and also thanks Aaron2014 for creative support.
Also to answer a question, the only people who were introduced to Camila and Luz were the main members of the Emperor's Coven, in my story, the Conformatorium guards and Warden Wrath are more like a branch to the Emperor's Coven. In this fic anyway.
Imagine the Conformatorium as police and the Emperor's Coven as the Military.
So the Conformatorium Guards not recognizing Luz could be explained as they were simply deemed not important enough to know, not just yet anyway. Although Warden Wrath probably would've been told a bit sooner than the rest, you would be right about that, but a story needs to happen somehow.
And there are no plot holes, only impatient readers, but the Amity part in the Hexside chapter will be fixed soon.
Onwards, with the chapter!
-Y-Y-
The morning had begun with a simple magic lesson with her father, teaching her further control and more spells.
"I want you to attempt to lift this dirt, slowly." Was the main focus of this lesson. Of course, the dirt continued to shoot into space or across the boiling sea. Belos had to teleport to avoid one block. Luz was particularly grossed out by his method of teleportation.
"It's like your entire body MELTS into the floor, it's creepy and gross!" Luz commented as she poked her father to confirm his solidity.
"The Titan's blessing affected all previous Emperor's and Empress's differently. One day he'll give you unimaginable power." Belos said teleporting back to his original position.
"I don't think I can even handle more power…" Luz said as she continued to practice with her Father.
Later on in the day, Luz was now delivering potions with King, who looked rather distracted and unfocused.
"What's up, buddy? You seem really bothered today?" Luz asked, tossing a potion at a tentacle creature before moving on.
"I have a lot on mind…" King admitted, curling his body on Luz's body. "Thinking about family." He added.
"YOU HAVE FAMILY?!" Luz asked excitedly.
"Yeah! Of course, the Prince of Demons has a family! They're just all off-island!"
"The Prince of Demons?"
"King. I said, King." King said, checking his claws
"But you just-" Luz attempted.
"SILENCE! No more questions!" King said as he bapped her forehead.
"Ow!" Luz rubbed her forehead. "Mmm, fine, but I'm here if you need me." She said, scratching behind his ear.
Luz eventually arrived at an odd-looking apartment complex. It had several eyes varying from many sizes sprinkled all over the walls. It was in the middle of Bonesborough and it seemed to be a living building, it would seem. "Is this place?" Luz asked King, who had the address.
"Yup, LB-19, 2nd floor, apartment 17," King said, reading the paper of addresses in his hand.
Heaving the bag of potions over her shoulders, she climbed the stairs with slight difficulty, a bag of liquids and glass tended to be heavy, you know. On top of King on her head.
"Oof!" Luz heaved, putting the bag in front of the apartment door and sighing, Luz stood and stretched before knocking on the door.
There was loud coughing and sneezing on the other end of the door. Luz raised a brow and looked down at the Potions that this client had ordered. Cough, sneezing, and sickness potions.
The door suddenly swung open and Luz was greeted with a very sick witch, his eyes were red, and he was dressed in a set of PJs, he had a hand full of tissues and looked as if he could drop dead any second now. "Y- yes?" He asked, sniffing loudly and shivering even though it was summer.
Luz was now cautious; she didn't know if she could get sick from him or not.
"Careful, Luz," King whispered, "This dude has The Witches Flu…" He informed, "Give him the stuff and get out of here, quick." He told her.
"Uh, hello sir, I'm delivering your potions from Eda." He told the sick witch.
"O- Oh! That's great!" He walked back into his apartment and came back with a bag of snails, "What's the damage?"
"Oh Uhm, it's like-" Luz started counting the cost of the potion costs, not noticing the client reeling back for a sneeze, it looked like a big one too.
"67… 78..." Luz counted.
"Luz…" King nudged, attempting to warn.
"King, shush, I'll pet you later buddy… 90? Nono, that's not right… Snails are hard to count…" Luz said as she ignored King, King meanwhile hid behind Luz, not wanting to be a part of the splash zone.
"Ah… Ah!" The sick man was getting ready to sneeze! Luz quickly realized what King was bothering her for.
"Wait! Wait!" Luz attempted to stop the inevitable. "U- Uh, Pineapple! Pickles! Demon Fruit!" Luz shouted, saying words to attempt to stop him. It would later come back to her, why didn't she just simply move out of the way?
"Achoo!" The man sneezed, horribly, all over Luz's face.
"AH! Gross! ¡Esto es tan asqueroso! ¡Puedo saborearlo en mi boca!" Luz shouted in Spanish, beyond disgusted with the entire situation. She wiped down her face with her shirt while King simply petted his back.
"That was horrible." He simply commented.
Luz took several, deep breathes before shaking her hands. "Okok… I- I'm fine…"
"Achoo!" The man sneezed, once again, all over her.
Luz stared blankly before taking a deep breath…
Outside the building, people walking by saw a bright flash of white light, followed by an intense screaming from a… girl? Followed by Luz walking out the building, holding the bag of Potions and King on her shoulder, she was repeating gross in Spanish repeatedly as she walked back to the Owl House, deciding she had enough. Looking down the entire time.
-Y-Y-
"And that's why we're back! We got the customer's entire bag of coins though, so it should be ok!" Luz said, holding up the small bag of Gold Snails.
Eda took the coin bag and looked through it before shrugging, "I guess it'll do, great work today Kid, can't imagine doing this without you." She ruffled Luz's hair. "Come on, since you're back, you can see me making potions," Eda said as she led Luz to a cauldron of bubbling Liquid.
"Listen, Kid, making potions is pretty simple to understand," Eda began explaining the basics of potion-making, the most common ingredients, and some basic concoctions. "The good thing about potions, Luz, you don't need much magic to make them! But you can add magic to make stronger variants! For example, this ice potion!" She said, pointing at the cool blue liquid that was still technically boiling under green flames, "If I were to do this-!" Eda paused and blasted the cauldron with magic. "-It becomes a level 1 Ice Potion! Though Level 3-5 potions are illegal, though that never stopped me!" Eda said with a laugh.
Luz nodded, listening intently to everything being told to her, writing it down in her journal. "Why are they illegal?"
"Well," Eda began, "Potions can be used by mainly anyone, and some people have less than noble intentions when it comes to using them, so your pops banned the making of them and if anyone unauthorized is found selling them, they'll be petrified or executed. You know, the usual. I used to sell them until a buyer sort of… set fire to a children's hospital…" She said, looking off into the distance. "But anyway, that's the past."
"That's horrible," Luz said simply, still taking all the notes she could.
Later, the sun was setting in the distance, and Luz needed to get out of the Owl House before her father sent the guard out for her.
She bid her farewells to Eda and King, kissing King's forehead and swinging him around in a tight hug before making her way through the forest to the designated pick up spot, where a chauffeur would pick her up.
The walk through the forest was normally relatively short, Luz has done it enough times that it no longer scared her. It would appear that most creatures avoided her with a slight fear of her. It would seem that animals in the Boiling Isles could sense magic and she was like a beacon of fear to them, most of them anyway.
At the moment, Luz could feel a set of eyes watching her from behind the trees. She ignored the feeling, knowing that she was close to the chauffeur, she just needed to keep walking and she'd be home in no time.
"Don't run, don't run, don't run…" She repeated to herself constantly, suddenly there was a growling behind her, Luz made the mistake of turning to see what it was that growled at her. She instantly regretted it, for the thing that stared back at her was rather terrifying.
It had the body of a tall, strong Lion, with sharp bat wings attached to its back and a giant scorpion tail that writhed behind it.
Luz has seen and read enough fiction and myths to know that she was looking at-
"A Manticore…" Luz whispered, a hint of amazement in her voice. She couldn't help it! Everything she read in fantasy books kept coming true!
Luz took several steps back, suddenly the earth under her gave way, twigs, and rocks being the culprit. On her back, she scrambled as the manticore started advancing towards her, growling silently.
'Can't believe this is how it ends…' Luz thought, blocking her face with her arms and going into the fetal position as she awaited her fate at the paws of a Manticore, closing her eyes.
Luz unexpectedly felt a rough tongue licking at her arms and heard whimpering noises like an injured animal. Peeking at her death bringer, she saw that the Manticore was whimpering at her, trying to get its attention, she saw that it was standing only on three of its paws. The back legs and left front paw. Luz saw that it would constantly try to stand on its right but quickly real back in pain, hissing every time.
"I think it's hurt…" Luz said to herself as she went on her knees in front of the Manticore and reached out. The Manticore was hesitant to trust the Princess but slowly walked closer, presenting the source of its discomfort, its paw.
Luz inspected the paw the top side looked normal, flipping it over, she saw the problem clear as day.
"Ooh, that looks bad…" Luz commented, seeing what looked like a giant thorn stuck on the inside of its paw. "Let's get that thing out of there," Luz said, not hesitating to help the poor creature. Luz slowly grabbed the thorn. The Manticore roared in pain, it seemed to echo across the forest as several birds flew away and the trees rustled. Luz, however, was undeterred, and continued to hold onto the thorn, slowly wiggling it before suddenly yanking it out!
The Manticore roared even louder than previous, Luz reached over and petted its mane, shushing it and soothing it calmed. It surprisingly worked on the Manticore, as it calmed down quite easily.
"You're OK, now, shhh, relax…" She whispered to it, she rummaged through her bag quickly before pulling out several healing patches and gauze wrapping. Luz wrapped the gauze around the bleeding paw, before placing several of the Healing Covens patches on it. "Thank you, Mami. never thought I would use this…" She said to herself, continuing to patch the wound.
"There," She finally finished, "It'll heal in no time!" Luz said, standing up, with a proud expression on her face and happy, knowing she wasn't going to be eaten today.
The big cat stood as well, giving the paw a few licks and test steps on the ground. It then stared Luz down before giving Luz an enormous lick with its tongue, it most definitely ruined her hair and shirt with the amount of slobber it produced, the Manticore then purred and nuzzled Luz affectionately. Luz laughed and petted it, scratching it behind the ear and hugging the Wild monster.
"Awww! You're just the sweetest thing, aren't you?!" Luz said as the Manticore licked Luz again.
Eventually, Luz realized that she needed to be getting home. She pushed the Manticore away, giving it multiple head pats and head scratches, even finding the secret behind the ear trick.
The Manticore slowly disappeared back into the forest, Luz smiled before quickly turning and running to the pick-up spot.
-Y- Next Day -Y-
Luz woke up, sweating profusely. "Ugh, this Summer heat… Why couldn't the Titan have died somewhere cooler… And less boiling…" Luz commented, sitting up. It was no secret that the boiling oceans made summer days exceptionally hot.
"Daughter?" There was a voice at the door, "Are you decent?" Alexander asked, knocking softly.
"Y- yeah!" Luz called, watching as her father entered the room.
"Are you alright, dear? You feeling better?" He said, stepping into the room slowly with a plate in hand. It appeared to be breakfast; she couldn't tell
"Y- yeah, why wouldn't I be? Wait… What's the time…?" Luz asked.
Checking the sun, he answered, "Almost noon."
"NOON?!" Luz shot up out of bed and began getting dressed rapidly, not even bothering to remove her
"Luz, slow down, you're not going anywhere today," Belos instructed her as he handed her the plate. Looking, Luz realized that it was actually lunch.
"B- But why!?" Luz asked as she began eating the sandwich. She didn't dare ask what was inside of it.
"Camila informs me that you only sleep in like that when you get sick and you had a fever this morning, when she checked in on you," Alexander then removed his gauntlet and placed the back of his hand on her forehead, "And it hasn't improved since either," Alex said.
Luz realized that it wasn't hot in the castle, she was just cooking alive inside of her own body.
"But I want to learn magic!" She said, attempting to step forward before suddenly lurching forward, beginning to dispel the contents of her stomach.
Alexander snapped his fingers, the floor under her quickly turned into a bucket for Luz to safely throw up in. "Dear, you aren't going to be learning anything with, what looks like Witches Flu, stopping you."
"Witches Flu?" Luz asked, confused before remembering about yesterday. "Oh… No… I contracted this thing from that- ARGHH!" Luz groaned before suddenly coughing violently.
"But no, this isn't up for argument," Alexander said, floating Luz into her bed and magicking away the vomit to Titan knows where, "You are to lay in bed and relax for the remainder of the day, you don't have to worry about anything, Witch's Flu usually last 1-2 days. Although beware of-"
"ACHOO!" Luz sneezed, an entire fireball flying from her lips. Alex dodged it easily.
"-That." He said in a deadpan voice as he noticed Luz looked shocked and scared. "You see, Luz. If you get Witch's Flu and you happen to have a lot of magical potential, every time you sneeze you expel a small burst of magic. Usually, it's small, sometimes, it's fireballs…" He said, seeing the scorched stone walls.
"What if it's something bigger and more dangerous?" Luz asked, covering her mouth, fearing to sneeze.
"Don't worry, I'll know if you accidentally cast a high-level spell," He said giving his daughter a side hug. "Trust me, I'd never let anything happen to you, my little light…" Alexander said.
Luz smiled softly and removed her hands from her mouth. "Thanks, Da-ACHOO!" She sneezed.
This time, Luz released a shockwave of magic that made the contents of the entire room start floating in the air. "Ah, this is truly an odd turn of events," Alex commented. He was somehow able to stand perfectly straight while floating midair. "You seem to have turned off gravity."
"Ah!" Luz yelled as she kept flying higher and higher. "How are you doing that?!" She asked, still floating uncontrollably.
"I guess you could say, practice," He said as he floated towards her, "I've got you," Alexander said as he grabbed Luz and brought her close to him before casting the proper counterspell, the room fell back into place. While holding her in his arm securely, he carefully placed her down.
"Ugh, this is just great…" Luz commented as she laid back down on her bed, she suddenly felt really cold, she wrapped herself up in a blanket as she shivered.
"Mija?"
Luz's ears perked at her mother's voice, she rose, still cocooned. "Hola, Mama," She responded.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" She asked, walking into the room with…
"Oh Mami, not the medical bag…" Luz groaned, falling back onto the bag.
"The what?" Alexander asked.
"Oh she means this thing," Camila presented Alex the doctor's bag, "Every time Luz got sick-"
"She would bring out the doctor bag to make sure I wasn't dying or whatever…" Luz finished, "Mama, this is just the Flu." Luz said as Camila also sat on the bed, pulling out a stethoscope and putting it on.
"No dear, this is Witch's Flu." She said as she turned toward Luz. Luz sighed and removed her blanket and presented her back to her mother before she sneezed and turned the stethoscope into a flower.
"Oh, uhm… Hmmm." Camila stroked her chin. Not sure what to do now.
"What? What is it?" Luz asked.
"Oh nothing, you seem to have turned my stethoscope into a flower," Camila said, she continued giving her physical on Luz. Belos stroked his chin and turned a pen into a new stethoscope. Of course, it was demon inspired. The diaphragm for example had a yellow demon eye in it, the tubing also turned leathery red and Luz didn't want to assume it was real demon leather. Everything else about it seemed to be made of bone.
Eventually, Camila finished her private examination and stood up, kissing Luz's forehead.
"Rest up, dear, you definitely need it."
"Yeah, Mami… ACHOO!" She sneezed, this time, an ice spell coated Belos's entire staff.
"Huh," He said lifting it, inspecting it. "You know, I remember an Ice Witch trying to do this and she couldn't even get close to me." He mused as the Ice shattered with a simple tap on the floor. It was then that Alexander heard a knock on the door.
"Sir?" Lilith entered the room along with Kikimora, in an instant, Alexander had his mask reapplied onto his face before turning to face the Door.
"Yes, what is it?" He asked, Emperor mode activated, "Can't you see that me and the Empress are tending to our sick daughter?" Belos asked.
The pair of officials felt a shiver go down her spine. "Y- Yes, we do but it's just that… Several items need both of your attention-" Kikimora began.
"-And we have sort of a situation that needs your attention and proper direction." Lilith ended.
Belos tsked and Camila sighed. "Being Emperor is a tiring job," He commented.
"Yes, it is, my love," Camila finished, she turned to Luz, "Stay in bed, get better." Her mother told her, Luz nodded and voiced her agreements and laid back in bed as her parents went to do their jobs.
Luz stared up at the ceiling, wondering how long this sickness would last. She sighed and closed her eyes and fell asleep.
.
.
.
.
.
"Where am I?" Luz asked, seeing that she was floating in place… and ghostly…
Luz looked around her, questioning her current position in Space.
She seemed to be floating in a dark void, until she wasn't anymore, shifting through what felt like stars before suddenly looking over… A field? No, it was…
"This is where the Celestial Staff was!" Luz shouted, looking at it. That was odd… The staff looked different… but very familiar to her, what about it made it so recognizable?
She then saw someone appear at the end of the stone steps.
"What's happening? Who is that?!" Luz asked, attempting to swim towards the person.
The cloaked figure grabbed the staff, releasing screams that echoed with an intense energy that blew Luz far away until-
"AHHHH!" Luz shot up in bed before giving a coughing fit and pounding at her chest. "Ugh, ok, it was just a dream…" She whispered. She stayed silent, thinking of the dream a bit before beginning to cough violently again. She covered her mouth, coughing into her hand, finally, she pulled her hand away.
"My chest is killing me…" She said, looking at her hand.
Her blood went cold. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.
Blood…
"I… coughed up blood…"
Luz could pass out right now, but she steeled herself, getting to her feet, she wrapped herself in a blanket and made her way outside of the room. She saw that the sun was setting into the horizon. She sighed, hoping that this wasn't going to be her last sunset.
She went into the Healing Wing, attempting to remember the way anyway.
-Y-Y-
Lady Hele was an old woman, 65 to be exact. Luckily enough she was blessed with long life from the Titan. She's been around to see the rise and rule of a true tyrannical Emperor, not Belos, nono, during the savage ages, of course!
Although to say wasn't slightly tyrannical would be a lie.
No, she recalled Emperor Crisis, Lord of Chaos. He could care less about those he ruled over or around him and he stomped on all those who opposed him and especially on demonkind. He is the reason wild magic ran rampant as it did. No one cared, people died left and right on her watch and nothing was being done to stop it! Countless deaths and random plagues broke out, she couldn't keep up!
She remembers being in her 20's when Belos approached her, he had been wearing a wood mask at the time, unlike the porcelain one he wears today. Hele was in the middle of dealing with a failed surgery when he did, too.
He promised peace, order, and healing if she joined his side in an upcoming Coup!
Hele gladly accepted, and she's been by his side since! She helped bring order to the Isles, helped stop the Demon Lord from destroying the Isles! Even established a healthcare system so that no one on the Isles would have to die pointlessly like before! He's done so much for the Isles while also elevating her to top status, so when Belos's daughter stumbled into her med bay, she damn near lost her mind with worry.
"Princess? Are you alright? Shouldn't you be in your room?" Lady Hele asked as she helped Luz stand, bringing her to a cot to take a seat in.
The princess didn't respond, simply laying down on the cot and closing her eyes.
"I- It's very cold…" She said softly before passing out on the bed.
Lady Hele looked towards one of the many Healers under her, who also saw the display. "Retrieve the Emperor and Empress, they'll want to know of this." The healer nodded and saluted, running off.
"Lady Hele, I thought it was only a Flu?" Another Healer asked, looking down at the Princess with intense worry.
"So did I, didn't even bother to check in on her this morning," Lady Hele said, shaking her head. "A mistake, I know now." She said as she stood up and stepped back. "Stand back, let's get this situated quickly." The Healer nodded and did as told.
Lady Hele focused as she drew a dark blue spell circle in the air in front of Luz. Luz's entire body glowed blue and her breathing seemed to calm down, going back to normal, she even stopped sweating. It seemed to be working.
Suddenly the dark blue turned red before the magic dissipated and Luz returned to her previous condition.
"What?" She asked, seeing what occurred. "I- I can't heal her?!" She looked shocked; this shouldn't happen… She was supposed to be the best healer on the Isles! She wrote the book for healing and most of its spells! So naturally, she began internally panicking before taking a deep breath. "Don't panic… Panic leads to lost patients…" Hele spoke from experience. '65 and still panicking like a teenager…' She laughed at the thought, she cast a spell circle before forming a box with her fingers and looking through it.
She inspected Luz's entire body through this box. Her eyes didn't see anything out of the ordinary until her eyes landed on her chest, specifically her lungs. "Oh that's an interesting sight…" She said as she cast another spell, as she was completing the spell, she heard rapid footsteps. "Oh great… The parents…" Hele has heard that pattern of footsteps enough times to recognize it.
Belos and Camila walked into the room, Camila running once she saw Luz asleep.
"Lady Hele, what happened?" Belos asked as he knelt next to Luz, holding her hand. "She's burning up and…" He noticed her hand and flipped it over. "Is this blood?"
Camila held Luz's other hand as she looked her over. "This is the work of Witch's Flu?"
"No, it's something else, now, that I'm sure of. Unless your daughter is really weak against illnesses and resistant to healing magic." Hele said. "I attempted to heal the Princess, but it would seem that the illness is making a counterspell to my healing spells, so I have a suspicion on what it is."
Lady Hele carefully cast a spell and placed a hand on Luz's chest. It seemed to glow brightly before Lady Hele pulled out what seemed to be an x-ray of Luz's chest.
"You know we have machines for that," Belos said with a deadpan expression that was felt through his mask.
"I don't know how to use those and this is faster, look," Hele told them and presented them with the magically made x-ray of Luz's lungs, "You see these dark spots here and here," She pointed to what looked like several spreading webs going across her chest. "Belos, I don't expect you to understand what it-"
"It's Pneumonia?!" Camila shouted in disbelief, taking the x-ray print and inspecting it. "But it shouldn't be affecting her like this!" Camila shouted. "Unless…" She sighed, realizing, "This is the Boiling Isles… Anything kills,"
Lady looked sad but nodded. "Yes… but it's a special type, it's called Demon's Pneumonia," She explained, several diagrams appearing around her as she spoke, "D.P. Hijacks a witch's chest, filling the Lungs slowly with fluid, while it uses the Magic from the bile sack of the heart to protect itself from magic and among other things," small figures around her began to do as she explained it.
"That would explain why my magic isn't working," She said, aggravated, "Your daughter's magic is rather potent to resist me, I must say. Reminds me of when-"
"Lady Hele," Belos interrupted, "The life of my daughter is in your hands and I believe that if she dies cause of your blabbering, I will make Crisis look like a footnote in my wrath." He threatened, blue eyes glowing brightly from behind his mask.
"Y- Yes… Lord Belos…"
"Now, tell me what can be done to stop this travesty."
"Oh uhm… N- nothing?" She said softly.
The entire castle shook with the fury of Belos, the area around him shook with his power.
"What… did you say…?" He asked in a scarily calm voice
"N- Now Emperor!" She began, not wanting death, "Her case is relatively new! We need to determine the right course of action! This is a fatal disease! If we rush this, she could die in a much more painful manner! We can't do anything right now!"
Camila reached through the strong aura he cast and held his hand, "She's right, mi amor…" She said softly, "This is how hospitals… Healing works." She corrected herself.
Belos was silent before a cough brought him out of his rage.
"D- dad? Mom?" Luz asked, in a very weak manner.
"Luz…" They said in unison, they both went over to either side of the cot. "We're here, sweetie, you're going to be okay..." Camila said, holding her hand softly and squeezing it.
Luz squeezed back. "I- I know, mom…" she coughed again with a laugh. "S- so while I'm here… Dad, can you tell me a story?" Luz asked as if she wasn't facing a life-ending disease.
"A- A story?" Belos asked, "N- No, Luz, you need to be sleeping," Belos said, wanting Luz to save her energy.
"B- but it hurts to breathe!" Luz said, coughing as he rubbed her sore throat, "It feels like a literal fire in my lungs!" As if the fates were listening in on her, Steam released itself from her mouth. Luz's eyes widened, "This is like when I healed myself from those scratch marks!"
"What do you mean?" Lady Hele asked quickly, coming over to Luz's side.
More steam escaped from Luz's mouth as she softly spoke about how the slash marks instantly healed when the Owl Beast Eda attacked her.
"Interesting… It could be that your healing properties are fighting the Illness and losing at the same time… Must be magic and some, natural genetics," She said, casting soft eyes onto Belos for only a moment, before paying her attention back onto Luz, "It may be also why I can't heal you with a simple healing spell… Your magic must be attacking everything that comes in contact with you because it doesn't know who or what is am actual threat…" Hele said softly, writing notes… "Interesting…"
"A- all this cause of a simple Flu?" Luz asked.
"Oh it's not a Flu anymore, Demon Pneumonia," She informed.
"How did I get that?" Luz asked.
"Oh uhm… Demon Pneumonia, I haven't figured how you contracted it, the only known monsters to still carry it are Manticores, usually, they don't spread it..."
"Wait, did you say Manticore's?" Luz asked. Lady Hele nodded, narrowing her eyes at the young royal.
"Young lady, you didn't go messing with Manticores did you?"
"No… Not on purpose…" Luz said sheepishly before coughing up more steam, groaning at the burning pain in her lungs.
"You're lucky, usually D.P. burns away the lungs to goo quickly… Very bad disease." Hele said, she stood up and looked at Belos and his family. "I'm going to see what I can do; D.P. has never been cured…" She said, being regretfully honest before turning away and going into her personal office, wanting to commit some research.
"I…" Luz began, "I'm not gonna… die, right?" Luz asked softly as she breathed more steam. Suddenly she sneezed and the entire room was coated in a coating of glitter and it seemed to sparkle and shine.
Looking around, Belos laughed softly before holding Luz's hand. "I promise, my little light, you aren't going to…" The word seemed to be hard on Belos, why wouldn't it? He's been through so much to overthrow a tyrant while losing many of his friends and family through wars and trials… He and some coven heads were the only ones left… He couldn't lose any more. "No, Luz, you won't die here… I promise you a crown if you pull through this…"
Luz giggled at the promise before laying back in bed. "I'm sleepy and it's hot… I think I'm going to sleep… Can you tell me a story?"
"Aren't you a bit too old for stories?" Camila asked jokingly.
"Hey, Dad owes me a few years of bedtime stories! I think I deserve one." Luz said, coughing again, this time blood spilling out.
Belos felt his cold heart ache to see his daughter in so much pain. He wiped away the blood from her lips and materialized a chair from the castle floors to sit in. "What do you want to hear?" He asked as he made a book appear in his hands. "The Isles have many tales of daring heroes, cunning witches, adventurous groups who brought peace to the Isles."
Luz smiled. "Sounds just like Azura…" She said, leaning against her mother with a sigh.
"Ah, the Tale of Azura, a classic story for young witches to learn," Belos said, flipping through what felt like countless pages before landing on a page with the tanned, green-haired witch. Dressed in the white and blue robes she was known for, along with the witch's hat and adorned with countless stars and a staff that screamed power.
"Wait Azura? As in, The Good Witch, Azura! Savior of the Old World and Warrior of Peace?" Luz asked, suddenly sitting up straight with what appeared to be stars in her eyes.
"Ah, so you know of the Legend already?"
"Know? That'd be an understatement, Mi Amor." Camila said with a laugh, "She's a fanatic for Azura."
"I don't seem to understand." Belos was confused.
"You see, dad, there are these books on Earth called the Good Witch Azura!" Luz informed, "There are like, 5 telling the adventures she went on! They say the final book is in the works!" Luz gushed about her favorite young adult series.
Belos stroked his chin. "Odd," He thought aloud, "Azura is a Boiling Isles legend, I remember hearing of her when I was only a child… However, that doesn't matter right now, it's probably more of the Isles slipping into the Human Realm." He waved away, beginning to read, "This is the begging of the story, of the Good Witch Azura…" Belos began, magic appearing behind him as he told Luz the unabridged version of the tale.
How Azura fell from the skies! How she fought off a small clan of demons while still injured and bloodied from the mysterious battle from whence she came! How she carried a powerful staff like none saw before! Alas, it shattered from her first battle with Hecate! Her eternal rival and equal in magic, leading for her to claim a new staff from a magic lake!
As Belos continued to regale Luz of the Legend of Azura, Luz was now focused on how the magic behind him formed images and entranced her and made her more and more enthralled with the legend! She was learning so much more than when she read the books!
That also made Luz question several things. Such as, who published the books on Earth? If Azura was a Boiling Isles legend, then why the heck was she in a book young adult book series? Probably Boiling Isles magic spilling into the Earth Realm, yeah, but what human got all the details right.
"And so, after finally defeating the evil Hecate for the final time, she claimed Hecate's tome of spells, stealing all the knowledge that Hecate hoarded for herself and gave it back to the citizens of the Isles, giving magic back to the people!" Belos exclaimed, Camila and Luz could hear him cringing at the words.
"Then what?" Luz asked
"That's… It." Belos said.
"WHAT?!" Luz exclaimed, shooting up in bed, "What do you mean, "that's it"!? It can't just end like that!" Luz then coughed harder and could feel the pain in her lungs worsening.
"Relax, daughter of mine," Belos said as he laid Luz back down in the cot. "The original writer ended the legend there; unofficial accounts say that Azura went into hiding and never reemerged again. Other accounts say she went home."
"C- could that home be earth?" Luz asked as her eyes started to feel heavy.
"Maybe daughter, get some rest, you most definitely need it," Belos said, using magic to float a blanket over Luz, Camila kissed Luz's head and tightened the blanket around her.
Belos and Camila exited the med bay, leaving their daughter to rest for the rest of the night.
-Y-Y-
Belos was now in his study, several books on illnesses and D.P. floating around him as he read all of them in an attempt to under the illness more. He has collected hundreds of journals and books in his time of conquest for a more peaceful Isles, led by the Titan's guidance of course.
So far, however, nothing was found, only dead ends and the same result… Luz would be dead by the morning...
"My daughter can not be allowed to pass away, there's so much for her to do…" Belos said before opening yet another book and flipping through the book. It was labeled "Forbidden medicines"
Belos remembered this book.
It was where he got the idea of consuming palismans to heal his psyche from the Titan speaking to him so often, apparently listening to an ancient being of infinite power and magic consistently was bad for one's health…
"Palisman…" He flipped through the book more frantically and began reading the chapter. "Palisman's can heal almost any injury, illness, and sickness… The magic stored in these Witch's companions are usually potent enough on its own, but mixed with a little healing potion usually ups the effectiveness…" He read aloud, he thought before slamming the book.
"No!" He said, slamming the book closed, "I can't have my daughter consuming palismans like me… They're an addiction at this point…" He concluded. "She'll survive this illness, I'm sure… I don't want her to be considered a monster like I," He replaced the book on the shelf before turning to the Cursed Mirror.
"Soleb!" He shouted, summoning the copy of himself to appear, but instead of him it seemed it was… "Luz?" He asked.
The copy laughed. "Surprised to see me as the spitting image of your daughter, aren't you, aye Beetlejuice? You can call me Zul from now on."
"What is the meaning of this!?" He asked in rage, his magic flaring dangerously.
"Relax, Beetles!" She said, waving her arms, "You know you can't hurt me in here! And if you shatter this mirror, I'll just be freed and allowed to copy people again, powers included! And I don't think Luz would want to see her dear old dad become an actual tyrant." She threatened.
Belos relaxed but was still angry. "Why are you taking Luz's form?"
"Not my choice," She explained, "At our first meeting, she blasted my mirror with this purple magic junk, and I've been stuck like this in this form ever since. I've been following her around ever since too, she's… Really interesting, you could say…"
"She won't be much more interesting soon if you don't help me," Belos said, crossing his arms.
"What are you talking about?" She inquired.
"Luz is… She's dying…" He said grimly. "An illness, there's only one way I found to heal her but I'm not ready to go through with it."
"She's dying… Bah, why would I care?" She quickly waved away, "That little solution you're too chicken to try wouldn't happen to be Palismans? Those little bastards are pretty potent with the right potion, on top of being pretty addictive snacks, as you know already," She noted, making a few jabs at him.
"Silence! I will-" He yelled.
"You'll what? Let her die?" She interrupted.
"No! I won't let her turn into ME!" He shouted at the mirror, suddenly punching it in his anger. A perfect crack forming down the middle. Deep in his heart, Alexander feared that he would lead her down the same path, he feared Luz becoming him or maybe even having to go through a war! He couldn't let her become that.
"So you'd rather let her die? Listen B-man, before I became the Demon of the Mirror, I was the Copy Demon, an advisor to the evilest of tyrants… So here's my advice," She said, leaning forward. "You won't know who Luz turns into, if she's fucking dead, understand?" she asked, being vulgar, "So how about you pick out a Palisman from your vast collection and heal your daughter before she drops dead in a healers cot… Also, I'd like to thank you for the crack," The copy said, tracing her finger along the crack before laughing crazily and disappearing.
Belos stared at the mirror, considering finding a volcano but he wouldn't disrespect the titan in such a manner.
Belos removed his mask and stared at it.
"No… Luz will not turn into… Me… I won't let it happen." He said as he looked at himself, seeing his lightly tanned skin, and whited out hair. The stress and age turned it into a slowly whitening clump of short hair. It used to be longer, but not anymore. He turned his face, seeing the large scar from a battle so long ago. The only person who has truly seen his face was Camila…
He sighed and reapplied his mask.
"No time to dwell on the past… I must consider my actions…" He sat in his chair, leaning back and beginning to think.
-Y- Meanwhile -Y-
Luz was sleeping peacefully until she was suddenly awoken by a sudden weight on her stomach. "Oof!" She said suddenly, sitting up. "What the- King!?" She asked, once seeing who it was on her stomach.
"Luz!" He attacked her with a hug, Luz laughed weakly before returning the hug. "We've been looking everywhere for you! You didn't tell us that you weren't coming to work today! And we thought something happened so me and Eda came looking for you at the castle and," He gestured to her, "Here you are!" He said.
Luz coughed, this time into a napkin. "I- I'm fine! Just a little sick, is all…"
"A little sick, huh, kid?" Eda asked as she entered in from the shadows. "Would being a "little" sick need you to be in the med bay?" Eda questioned as she crouched next to Luz.
"What happened? You were perfectly fine yesterday?" Eda asked as she placed a hand on Luz's forehead before her eyes widened. "Geez kid, you're burning like a flaming tarantula!" Eda said, "What do you have? It's not contagious right?" Eda pulled King away from her and held him close.
"N- No? I Don't know! It's Demon Pneumonia!"
"Demon Pneumonia!? That stuff is fatal to Witches! How is that you survived this long?" King asked.
"Remember when my arm healed when you slashed me in your owl beast form?"
"I try not to…" She admitted, not wanting to remember hurting Luz in any way, shape, or form.
"W- well, Lady Hele says it's because of that and my magic is attacking anything that touches me that it doesn't recognize."
"Ah, I guess you're pretty then, right kid?"
"W- Well… I guess…" Luz said as King jumped back down and petted her head.
"Well, let's see what I can do!" Eda said, suddenly.
"What?" Luz said.
"What?" King added.
"Princess? Who are you talking to and -" Lady Hele exited her office, staring at her notes, startling Eda.
"Ah! Intruder!" She said, drawing a spell circle and blasting her. The attack was too sudden, she couldn't ward herself in time, so she was blasted with the entirety of Eda's spell, which was non-lethal of course.
"OOF!" Hele was blasted back against a back wall and her entire body shook in shock before she fell to the floor, her head slumped forward, and she passed out.
"E- Eda!" Luz said, jumping out of bed and rushing over to Lady Hele.
"Uh, Oops." She said, stroking her chin. "I thought she was an intruder…"
"Eda, you're the intruder," King said as he stared up at her.
"Oh right…"
Luz inspected the knocked-out Coven Leader. Yup… cold. "Eda! You knocked out the Healing Coven leader!" Luz said as she paced the floor before leaning against the wall and coughing even harder than before and falling to her knees. "Ugh…" She clutched her chest in pain.
"Luz?" Eda ran over to her and carefully picked her up. "Are you OK, kid?"
"My chest… I- it's getting harder to breathe…" She whispered as she leaned into Eda's arms. Eda held Luz close, previously Luz felt hot but now, she was beginning to get cold… Dangerously cold…
"Hey, Hey, Kid, hang in there!" Eda said, bringing Luz to the bed. "Don't sleep on me, come on! King! What do you know about this?"
King shook his head. "N- Nothing! Witches don't usually survive this!" He said, just as frantic, he looked like he was on the verge of tears.
Eda began to frantically examine Luz with magic before figuring out the problem. "Her lungs! They're collapsing!"
"What can you do?!" King asked, attempting to pump Luz's chest and resuscitate her into breathing.
Eda's brain was wracked before she scowled. "Oh great…" She drew a large baby blue spell circle, in a poof of smoke, she was holding a megaphone. She put it to her mouth.
The entire castle was completely silent. Not even a mouse made a noise, only those awake were the posted guards and the Emperor, who sat in his study, thinking of what to do… He held a Palisman/Healing potion combination.
"She can never know… But what if she finds out… She'll hate me…" These were only some of the many thoughts going through his head, his thinking was interrupted when-
"Emergency! MED BAY! Belos your almighty power could be useful! Luz is in trouble! KING WAKE THE-" The spell abruptly ended. Belos stood up and simply cast Blink, appearing in the Med Bay in mere seconds.
"What happened?" He asked, walking past Eda and next to Luz's beside.
"Her lungs are collapsing! Every spell I use has no effect!" Eda said as she attempted to cast another spell on Luz, but it did nothing.
Belos leaned down quickly, removing his mask and looking at the unconscious daughter. "I… I am sorry, dear daughter…" Alexander said softly, uncorking a glowing green bottle, even with the health potion mixed in, it seemed the power of the sacrificed Palisman overpowered it.
Eda stared at the potion, before she could say anything Owlbert came to life and floated into Eda's hair, in fear it would seem from his soft cooing, at least, that's what Eda assumed anyway. "What's in the bottle, Belos? Must be bad to spook Owlbert." Eda inquired; she also couldn't help but notice her vision seemed to fog when she tried to look upon the emperor's face. A glimmer spell maybe.
"There's no time to explain," He said, dodging the question, he went to feed Luz the Palisman potion.
"STOP! Alex, I know you don't intend to give our daughter that!" Camila said, seemingly appearing in the room. You could easily tell she ran all the way here, however, from her heavy breathing.
"You're name is Alex?" Eda asked, raising an eyebrow, not expecting such an Un-emperor name.
"You don't understand, Camila, this is the only way to heal her… With every second we waste, she is closer to death's door." He ignored Eda.
"You haven't considered all the options…" She said before presenting the Healers Hat that she was hiding behind her.
"The hat! Of course!" Alexander said relieved, "Why haven't I thought of that!? Quick! Where's Hele?" He asked, looking for her.
Eda hissed in the air and stepped a few paces back and then to the left, showing the still passed out healer on a cot.
"What happened to her!?" Alexander asked, rushing over and inspecting her.
"She startled me! I blasted! She's passed out!" Eda explained as she looked at the hat. "Can't you just use the hat yourself!?"
"I- I can't!" He shouted, "The hat wouldn't work for me! Those relics and my magic don't mix…"
"W- what if- I used it?" Camila asked as she looked at the hat in her hands.
"Would it even work on Humans?" Eda asked.
"We won't know till we try," Camila didn't wait for an answer, placing the blue hat on her head.
Silence… Until both witches in the room felt an extremely strong surge of magic come from her.
Camila looked at her arms as her veins glowed blue with healing magic, it felt so strong… Having so much magic go through her at once, this feeling was great! It was amazing! She felt good, great even! She felt like her entire body was burning! The magic was too much! Camila let out a scream before tearing the hat off of her head and began panting, in pain. Alexander was already next to her, holding her up
"I… I can't… It's too much…" She said softly as she stared at the hat before staring at her daughter. "I'm sorry Luz…"
"Let me try! Maybe I can-"
"No," Belos interrupted, going up to Luz with the potion. "The hat will detect your curse, it'll attempt to purge it from your system, leaving you healed yes but overall passed out… The potion is the only way…"
Camila looked saddened but accepted that this needed to be done. She stared hard at the hat before joining her husband at his side, holding Luz's hand.
Alexander carefully opened Luz's mouth opened as he started to make her drink the Palisman potion. The room was painfully silent, Luz wasn't breathing yet.
Seconds passed. Then minutes… Before suddenly Luz took in a deep breath, shooting up in a sitting position, her teeth clenched and eyes wide, her eyes were glowing a sickly bright green as the Palisman potion worked its magic. It purged the sickness from her lungs and even restored her to top shape.
Luz's eyes slowly went back to normal and she was now looking around her in confusion. "Mama? Dad?" She asked as she felt her chest. "H- hey my chest feels fine!" She exclaimed, taking a deep breath. Belos then handed Luz the rest of the potion.
"Finish it, it'll completely heal your ailments," Alexander said before King tackled her into the bed, hugging her tighter than his small demon body should've been able to. Seriously, what kind of super-strength…
"LUZ! I thought you were going to see the Titan!" He shouted as he refused to let go of her, tightening the squeeze.
"Oof, King, it's alright, I'm fine!" Luz said, hugging him back naturally. "Although you can let me go, you're stronger than I thought, little guy," Luz said, King reluctantly let her go. Luz uncorked the rest of the potion and down the rest of it. Once again, her eyes widened and turned green, glowing brightly before it dissipated.
"Wow, that's some strong stuff…" Luz commented, handing the bottle back to her father, who was staring at the bottle, possibly regretting what he's done. "What was in it?" Luz asked.
"Hm? Oh, don't worry about that." He said as both he and Camila closed in and started to inspect Luz and hug her.
Luz could be heard constantly saying phrases such as "I- I'm Ok, Honest" and "Please stop!" Eda found it very funny to see Luz being smothered with love, it reminded her of her parents. She sighed, deciding not to think of it right now.
"Let's go, King, will we be seeing the Princess tomorrow?" Eda asked as she saw Alexander pull away from his daughter. He cleared his throat, nodding a yes.
"Of course, she missed an entire day of lessons. She was very upset about it." He said before Luz broke free from her mother's hold.
"Yeah! I'll see you tomorrow!" Luz confirmed as Eda and King waved their goodbyes and climbed out the window, using the staff to fly away to the Owl House.
-Y- Later -Y-
Alexander was now in his study, simply reading a few books, wanting to detangle from this entire situation. Camila had fallen asleep the moment they confirmed Luz was going to survive another night on the Boiling Isles.
Of course, however, The Titan had other plans.
He heard the ringing; it wasn't as unbearable as it was the last few times. This time he had time to set up his own Mental wards for the sake of his sanity.
"Yes, my lord…" Alexander asked, putting down his book.
He listened as to the eldritch being instructed him.
"At that frequency? What's there?" He asked.
More ringing.
"Alright, if it is your will, it will be done…" He said as the ringing ceased, he stood up, wiping the blood from his ears and reapplying the mask to his face, once again becoming the Emperor. He made his way out of his study, walking past a great many faces, all being Guards who saluted when he walked by. Naturally.
He went through several rooms before coming upon the Library. He went to the banned section of the library, the whole of forbidden knowledge, only allowed to him and Camila. Luz was unfortunate enough to not be allowed such free reign.
He went to a back wall and pulled out a book called, "Dimension Hopping and You". Once pulling it, the Bookshelf opened up down the middle and hummed with magic as it formed a door entirely made of books before a doorknob formed out of paper, the door itself opened up and we walked in and walked down a flight of stairs.
At the very bottom were an even larger stone and wooden made door. This time, he simply walked through the door, it being one giant illusion. No one would be able to cross if they didn't know it was a fake door in the first place. How easy it was to fool the common Witches brain at times.
On the other side of the room, there was a group of Emperor Coven Guards working on a giant, metal ring. A portal to other worlds, exclusively for the Titan's will. He still didn't know what it was, however.
"Lord Belos!" Kikimora shouted, suddenly landing next to the Emperor. Her usual white and gold trim robes were replaced, more working friendly robes that were stained and dirty. "We weren't expecting you! We would've dressed appropriately if that was the case…" She commented, Belos looked past the small demon and saw that, in fact, the entirety of the people working here were dressed in workers clothes rather than the usual uniform.
Kikimora was relocated to the portal project once the Empress came along, becoming his new advisor. "Your skills would be more useful here," he said to her, she was only slightly bitter about this fact, but she was working diligently for her Emperor Belos, that's all that mattered to her.
Belos sighed before placing a hand on Kikimora head, "It is alright, my dear friend," He said walking past her, failing to see the blushing face she now had from the physical contact, "How goes the project?" He asked.
"I- It goes, well! Emperor!" She then caught up to his stride, "There has been minimal to no setbacks, no injuries or deaths. We can get to test it soon! But I wouldn't recommend it without the missing… Piece." She said, referring to the portal's core source of power.
"Has Lilith looked into Eda, yet?" Belos asked, wanting to confirm the rumors of the Owl Lady having a portal to Earth.
"Yes, her reconnaissance tells us that she has a portal, we can't confirm where it goes but she does own a stand called "Human Collectables" So we're leaning towards a yes." Kikimora said as Belos walked up to a control panel. "Lilith couldn't join us, she's still on that separate mission that you assigned her this morning."
Belos nodded. "That's good… Kikimora… Run a test, we're getting some extra help with our current endeavors, courtesy of the Titan…"
Kikimora looked absolutely shocked with the request. "B- but sir! This could set us back months of work if the test goes wrong!" She warned, "And I trust you and your judgment, sir, but are you sure...?" She asked to confirm.
"Yes, set the portal to this frequency and run it, now." He told her what numbers to punch in, Kikimora worked efficiently, tuning the machine to its best limitations to ensure that it wouldn't implode in on itself. "Sir, if we could borrow some of your magic?" She asked. Belos nodded, placing his hand on the machine and fueling it with his magic. The machine slowly glowed to life, forming a whooshing blue portal that looked more like a liquid than multi-dimensional materials.
"Portal is stable and holding for one minute, My Lord." Kikimora said as several guards were manning several other machines while Kikimora manned the main one.
Belos walked up to the seeing it swirl around before lifting his staff and casting a red beam of magic on the portal. The portal went from blue to a bloody red. He stepped back as the humming of the portal became louder.
"Portal destabilizing, sir." Kikimora said calmly, she wasn't worried about a catastrophe, she had several fail saves and so did the others manning their stations.
Belos slowly reached into the portal reaching deeper before he went through it himself, several long seconds later, Belos came through the portal again, followed by three figures, all wearing Black Cloaks and hoods, obscuring their face's greatly and almost as tall as the Emperor.
"My lord? Who are-?" Kikimora began, but suddenly one of the figures shot forward and grabbed Kikimora by her throat, strangling her and lifting her off the ground.
"You…" They said, their tone cold and their voice disguised with some sort of illusion magic.
Kikimora struggled in the mysterious person's grasp, beyond surprised and shocked at what was happening. She lifted her hand, making a circle before a rather big and red fireball formed at the tips of her finger, intending to defend herself.
Kikimora couldn't see the person's eyes but she could feel them drilling holes into her very soul, she could so much hate coming from them it was almost unbearable. "Try again," The person said, jerking Kikimora's arm upwards and making the fireball shoot away from her and towards the ceiling.
"W- what?! I- Impossible…" Kikimora choked out between breaths.
"You said that the last time too…" The mysterious person whispered, lifting their arm and making a pure purple fireball of their own form in their hand, slowly bringing it closer to Kikimora's face. She didn't even make a circle.
"Let's see if this little Demon can survive a bit of fire…" They whispered, with murderous intention.
They brought their hand closer and closer until…
"Hawk!" One of the other mysterious persons shouted, grabbing Hawk's wrist and pulling the fireball away from Kikimora, in the split second before it connected with Kikimora. "Belos warned you that this… She isn't our Kiki, let her go, she hasn't done anything…" The person said.
Hawk seemed hesitant to release Kikimora. They scoffed, dropping Kikimora on her back, watching her scramble to her feet against the console and panting, rubbing her neck in pain and fear.
"Fine, Eagle…" Hawk said before staring Kikimora down again. Hawk turned and walked back to the last member of their trio.
"A fine display, couldn't have done it better myself…" The last member said, "Honestly, I would've gone through with it…" They said ominously.
"Relax, Falcon," Eagle said. "This isn't our dimension and that's not our Kiki, don't forget guys." They scolded their comrades. "We have a chance to fix things…" She whispered to her comrades. Belos cleared his throat, regaining the attention of the entire room.
"I hope it goes without saying that what has happened in this room stays within this room. The Titan was kind enough to bless us with much-needed assistance in our goals," He gestured to Hawk, Eagle, and Falcon. "They will be considered Elite members of the Coven, allowed to mix magic as they see fit," He added. "They have a single job…" He said, looking at the people in the room.
Everyone was quiet, wanting to know why the Emperor would risk ruining months of work for these three people, what was so important about them? Were they actually strong enough to dispatch Kikimora so easily?
"Their job is to enforce the peace, keep people in check, and, most importantly…" He paused again, looking to the now powered down machine behind him.
"Get the Owl Lady's Portal… At any means necessary… For the Titan!" He shouted. The many soldiers saluted and stood at attention.
"For the Titan!" They repeated before beginning to clap.
Belos turned to the trio and, using his magic, presented them with three masks. An Eagle, Hawk, and Falcon mask.
"Don't fail me, you three will get what you deserve. The Titan keeps his promises." Belos said.
The mysterious trio all looked at the masks they were given.
"For the Titan…" Hawk said softly, putting on their mask.
"For his Will…" Said Falcon, putting theirs on.
"For our Home…" Finished Eagle, putting theirs on.
-Y-Y-
Thanks for reading, I tried to fit in a lot into one chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed reading till the end. Any questions? Comments? blaring spelling errors?
Don't forget to review, and don't worry guys, I do have a plan with this story, although I do hope you guys don't piece it together yourself
Have a nice day/evening