Now this chapter is an interesting one, it's a very good chapter to get comfortable in…
I don't own Dana or Alex's works on Owl House and Gravity Falls, don't own anything from Disney as this is just a piece of fan work. Enjoy the fic and please support the official releases.
Chapter 28: Regretful Decisions
It was just a normal day at Hexside. But on this particular day the Bard Track students were presenting their collaborative projects on music genres in the auditorium. Luz and Skara were up on stage. While Luz set up the large sound speakers, Skara looked just as nervous as their teacher and a few of the students in the audience.
Amity was in the audience to support Luz, as was Willow and Gus. "You know, this could either go really well or end with us all going deaf," Gus commented.
"This is Luz we're talking about," Willow pointed out.
"I'm sure the music won't be that loud," Amity added.
"You've never listened to heavy metal, have you, Amity?" Willow asked her.
"Alright, for our next demonstration Luz and Skara will be performing a mixture of two music genres that they call… metal ballad," Mrs. Mantis said before she walked off the stage while muttering to herself. "Titan, help us."
Luz shouted into the microphone. "What's up, Hexside Banshees! Who's ready to rock!?" She then raised her arm up, about to strum the guitar while Skara held up her guitar as well…
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a swarm of pixies bursting out of the vents and flooding the auditorium. While Skara and the other students ran from the exit away from the pixies, Luz tried to hold her ground and fight them off.
"Where did these pixies come from!?" Luz shouted as she swung her guitar like a bat.
A few minutes earlier…
"And now Boscha, would you care to show us your project?" asked the teacher.
Boscha stood up, holding up a cage with a cover over it as she walked to the front of the class. "So… my mom took me to the pet store and bought me a new pet pixie during break." She pulled off the cover of the page. "Meet my cute little pixie, Pepperbell." However, as she showed the cage off to her classmates she noticed their shocked stares. "What?"
She looked into the cage and realized that it wasn't the same cute pixie she had bought in. Instead, it was a rather grotesque and large pixie that was having trouble breathing. The pixie started to gag before barfing out countless smaller pixies that flew out of its mouth. There were so many that they broke through the cage that Boscha had been holding.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the class and teacher screamed as the pixies filled the room and entered the vents, spreading out to the rest of the school.
Outside of Hexside, Puck was on the rooftop holding a small cage with Boscha's actual pixie in it. He opened the cage and let the pixie fly away.
"Be free!" Puck told the pixie. He then looked down at the students fleeing out of the school and he chuckled.
Principal Bump made it outside of Hexside as well and addressed his students. "Due to the sudden pixie infestation, Hexside will be closed for the day until the infestation is cleared out."
"Man, first the Greater Basilisk incident and now this," Gus commented.
"Yeah, though for once I didn't have anything to do with this," Luz told him, before noticing several students glaring at her. "No really, guys, I didn't do this!"
"We believe you, Luz," Amity reassured her girlfriend. "But I wonder what-"
"CLAWTHORNE!"
They all turned to see an angry Boscha marching toward Luz's group. "I know that you have something to do with this!" Skara stepped in front of her. "Out of my way, Skara!"
"Boscha calm down!" Skara told Boscha. "Luz was with me the entire morning!"
"Yeah, there's no way she did this!" Amity backed Skara up.
"I know she did and I'm going to prove it!" Boscha shouted, ready to go through her former friends if she had to until her path was blocked by the staff of Julia Traveler.
"Don't think of picking fights, Ms. Hieron!" Julia scolded as she stopped Boscha from attacking the other girls. "You need to get your anger in check, young lady."
"Who's going to make me?" Boscha challenged and Julia gave her an unblinking, scolding glare.
"I advise you to watch your tone, Ms. Hieron," Julia said while lowering her staff. "Especially around a teacher. You may be used to getting special treatment, but I can promise that you won't receive anything from me. And I won't tolerate you picking fights with your fellow students, do I make myself clear?"
Boscha gave a small nod, though she shot Luz a glare of anger before turning around and walking away.
"Wow," Willow said in shock.
"Never thought I would see the day that an adult stood up against Boscha," Gus admitted.
Luz looked up at Julia. "Um, Ms. Traveler," she spoke up. "I really had nothing to do with the infestation."
"I know," Julia told her. "You have alibis, Ms. Clawthorne, and I know who the real culprit is." She glanced at the rooftop of Hexside, where Puck no longer was, before looking back at Luz. "Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day off, and Luz… if you ever wish to talk with me, my office is always open."
"I'll… keep that in mind," Luz said to the guidance counselor.
Years ago…
Eda closed the door to Luz's room behind her and sighed. A month had passed since the incident at the Slayground.
"Is Luz going to be okay, Eda?" King, who had been standing outside Luz's room, asked.
"She just needs a little more time," Eda answered. "All we can do now is to be here for her and make sure that she gets plenty of love."
"I still can't believe what they did to Luz," King growled. "If only I was there, I would have-"
"I know, but we can't think about what could or should have been done. I'll be in my room, you can go in and check on her yourself if you want." As she walked away, King noticed Eda pulling out a potion and drinking it.
King looked down at the floor, wishing that he could have been there at the Slayground protecting Luz. He had been terrified when Eda brought Luz back home in such a terrible shape and he couldn't ever forgive those that hurt his sister like that.
"Hey Luz, are you up?" King asked as he walked into the room, seeing the young girl laying on her bed while drawing light glyphs and creating balls of light with them.
"Hey, King," Luz replied, while looking up from her notepad. She noticed him crawling onto her bed to sit next to her.
"So uh, how are you feeling now?" he asked her, but Luz didn't respond. Her silence concerned him and he watched as Luz drew more light glyphs on her notepad. "You know, if you keep doing that, you'll eventually run out of paper."
Luz sighed and set the notepad aside. "King, have you ever wished you could do magic like mom?"
"All the time," King admitted. "Though you do have your glyphs and-"
"It's not enough!" Luz shouted, which surprised King. "I… I know that this is the only way I can do magic, but I don't want to have to rely on them! What I really want is to perform magic like mom! Draw a spell circle in the air, and bam! Magic!"
"I feel ya, Luz." King said, patting the child's back. But then he remembered something and got an idea. "Though I think I know where you could get magic."
"Really?" Luz asked him.
"I've seen Eda drinking a lot of something else besides her apple blood," King mentioned. "I think it may be… some kind of magic juice…"
"Weh!" King gasped as he woke up on the couch. He looked around and saw Eda eating pancakes.
"Look who is finally up," Eda said as she ate.
"Uh, yeah," King replied while rubbing the back of his skull cap "Where's Luz?"
"She's off at school, King," Eda answered before offering him a plate of pancakes.
King took a bite, but Eda noticed that something was off about his behavior. "Hey, what's eating you up?" she asked.
"Nothing's eating me." King replied, taking it literally.
"I mean that there is something bothering you," Eda clarified and King fell silent. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Well, it was more like a memory than a nightmare," King started to explain.
But he was interrupted by the front door being suddenly opened. "I'm back early!" Luz cried out as she put down her strap bag. "Hexside is closed due to a pixie infestation!"
"Yay, you're back!" King declared as he hugged Luz's leg. "Don't leave me again!"
"Sheesh, I haven't been gone that long," Luz said as she walked over to the couch, King still holding onto her leg while she sat down. "I was about to perform a heavy metal ballad for my Bard Track assignment, but then these pixies showed up out of nowhere! Some people think that I had something to do with it, but Boscha just had a bad pixie."
"Never a boring day, huh?" Eda asked.
"Hoot-Hoot! You got mail! Let me cough it out for you!" Hooty announced as he poked his head in through a window and disgusted the family by barfing out their mail.
Eda picked up the mail and looked through it. "Junk mail, junk mail, death hex." She threw one letter in the garbage and it incinerated the trash can. "Hey look." She held up an invite pamphlet. "The Bonesborough carnival is in town today."
"Carnival?" Luz perked up, smiling. "Sounds like fun."
"Can we go, Luz?" King asked. "I want to hit the games and spend time with my best buddy!"
"Sure, we can hang out together, King," Luz replied, petting him. "Mom, do you wish to come?"
"Nah, I'm just going to use this as a chance to have a me day," Eda told her. "Besides, I still remember the last time that I tried to pull a scam at the carnival…" She shivered. "Never trust a bag of marbles with a weasel, Luz. Anyway, you two have fun!"
"We will," Luz and King said as they walked out of the house. Once they were outside, Luz got a text on her scroll. "Hey, Amity just messaged me about getting an invite to the carnival as well and asked if she wants me to meet her there. I'm going to send her a reply."
"Oh, right… I almost forgot you two are dating," King said, rolling his eyes. "You know, if I keep hearing you play 'Uptown Witch' in your room at night,, I'm going to sleep at the tower."
"Hey, you know who else should come to the carnival?" Luz asked after she had sent a reply to Amity. "Hunter!"
"You mean that blonde with the gap tooth and the funny voice?" King asked.
"Yeah, I haven't seen him since the party so this would be a great chance for us to meet up again," Luz said while sending a text to Hunter.
"Now that the kids are gone, I can enjoy a well-deserved rest," Eda said as she laid on the couch and made herself comfortable. "Aww, I needed this…"
"Hoot-Hoot!" Hooty announced, startling Eda. "I found a new friend!" The front door opened and he brought in a hooded figure that was wrapped up in his tube neck.
"Hey, hey, put me down!" the hooded person cried out as Hooty dropped them on the floor. "Ow…" The hood fell off their head and Eda gasped as she recognized the person.
"Rainestorm?" Eda asked in surprise.
"H-Hey Eda," Raine replied, waving at their former girlfriend nervously. "It's um… been a while, hasn't it?"
"Man, this brings back memories, huh Luz?" King asked, riding on top of Luz's head as they arrived at the Bonesborough carnival. "Eda used to bring us here to pull scams and we were her little pickpockets."
"Yeah, good times," Luz nodded as she looked around.
"Remember that one scam we did when we were little?" King asked her. "The 'dead pet' thing where we faked my death to get some rich dude or coven guard's money while you were crying crocodile tears! And there was that time with the rich kid you scammed-"
"Hey, I see Gus!" Luz said to change the subject as she spotted her young friend… talking to Cat. Next to Cat was Amelia who was talking to Willow and Skara. "Oh… he's with Cat…"
Gus saw Luz and waved at it. "Hey, Luz! You made it!"
"Yup, I sure did," Luz replied, giving Cat a suspicious glance that Gus didn't notice as he saw Amity also showing up with her siblings.
"Hey, isn't that Amity over there?" Gus pointed out and Luz turned to see Amity being dropped off by Ed and Emira.
"Oh yeah, yo Ams!" Luz waved and Amity smiled as she waved back at her.
"Hey Luz," Amity said as she walked towards her. "You know, it is pretty lucky that we got an invite for the carnival the same day that school was cancelled."
"Yeah, wait did the rest of you get an invite as well?" Luz asked the others. Gus, Cat, Amelia, Skara, and Willow held up their invites. "Huh, weird."
"Later Mittens, have fun with Luz - I mean, your friends!" Emira shouted to Amity.
"Don't worry, we won't tell them what you did last night with you-know-who," Edric teased with a wave as he and Edric left, Amity glaring at them while blushing red. Luz blushed as well.
"Ugh, I don't even want to know what you two were doing," King said as he rolled his eyes.
"It's not what you're thinking!" Luz and Amity claimed while King climbed off of Luz's hair. Luz looked at Amity "So uh… it is pretty nice that we got the day off, right?"
"Yeah, this should be fun," Amity agreed. However, at that moment she noticed a nearby poster for the Emperor's Coven with Lilith on it and she was reminded of a conversation she had with her mentor the same day that she and Luz decided to start dating in private…
After Puck accompanied her back to Blight Manor, Amity tried to sneak to her room upstairs but found Lilith waiting for her in the hallway.
"My room, now," Lilith ordered and Amity obediently did as she was told, Lilith closing the door behind them so that they could have their private chat. Lilith then turned to Amity with a disappointed look. "You went out even though I told you not to."
"Luz needed me," Amity responded, confirming Lilith's suspicion.
"And you went alone?" Lilith asked her.
"No, a friend took me there and back," Amity replied with a sigh. "And despite your… warnings, Luz is my girlfriend now. It was what we both wanted."
Lilith was shocked and she took a deep breath before speaking to Amity. "I told you to not get in a relationship with her," she scolded her. "Titans' blood, child, don't you realize you're just digging your own grave?! How can you be so selfish?"
"Selfish?" Amity scoffed. "All my life I have been forced to sacrifice my friendships and my own happiness to meet the expectations of others, to be what they want me to be. But this time, I had a choice. This is my life, Lilith, and I have agency in it. Though everyone who claims that they are thinking about what is in my best interests, they don't care if I'm happy or not. And what about Eda and Luz? You think that your sister joining the Emperor's Coven is in her best interest, but will she be happy in it? Do you even care about that or do you only care about being right and deciding for other people?"
"I am only trying to stop you from hurting yourself, Amity," Lilith argued. "And hurting yourself is exactly what will happen if Luz finds out about our agreement. Remember, you can't even tell her about it even if you wanted to. We took an everlasting oath on that after the covention, Amity, you know that." Amity looked down, knowing that Lilith was right about that. "I can understand where you're coming from, I do. But I don't want you to sabotage your own future with all of these… distractions. Are you no longer interested in joining the Emperor's Coven, is that it?"
"I'm not sure," Amity muttered.
"What?" Lilith questioned.
"Being part of the Emperor's Coven was my goal, but they didn't do anything when Boscha almost pummeled Luz to death!" Amity shouted at Lilith, who was taken aback. "The Emperor's Coven is supposed to protect and fight injustice, but that's not what happened at the exams. Maybe being in the Emperor's Coven isn't as great as I thought, especially if it means having to turn a blind eye." She didn't look at Lilith when she said this, instead looking out the window.
Lilith patted her goddaughter's shoulder. "What happened that day was wrong and I'm sorry that it got out of hand. I fired Craig for that and I can promise you that not everyone in the Emperor's Coven is like that."
"I know…" Amity admitted. "But I'm also no longer sure about the coven system being the only right way to do magic. Every witch is different, you know? And they may have different ways of learning and doing magic that works best for them. The coven system may be ideal for some witches, but not all. And punishing these witches for being different… it doesn't feel right."
Lilith nodded. "So you're having doubts about the Emperor's Coven?"
"Y-yes," Amity admitted.
"Alright," Lilith said as she took out her staff. "Then why don't we go on a little trip?"
"Amity?" Luz asked the Blight girl. "Are you alright in there?"
"Oh um, yeah, I am," Amity replied as she snapped back to the present day. "Sorry, my thoughts were somewhere else for a moment there. I just have a lot on my mind, you know. Like all the new school work that I have this semester and all the studying that I will need to do if I want to keep my grades-"
"Hey, hey, just relax," Luz patted Amity's shoulder and gave her a heartfelt smile. "I know that you love studying a lot, but you also gotta relax a little. You don't have to be Little Miss Perfect all the time."
Amity smiled back. "You're right, of course."
"Atta girl," Luz said before she spotted King sneakily trying to steal someone's wallet. "Hang on a sec, Ams. King, come here now!"
"What?" King asked while the guy he was trying to pickpocket walked away. The little demon came over to Luz. "Couldn't you see that I was in the middle of something?" He noticed her look of disapproval. "What? Was I not doing this right?"
Luz knelt down while speaking to him. "King, you shouldn't be going around pickpocketing other people."
"You're joking, right?" King asked before he realized that Luz was dead serious. "But… we used to go around pick-pocketing marks all the time.."
"I know, but that's not something I want to do anymore and you shouldn't be doing it either," Luz explained, patting King's head. "Besides, we're here to have fun, not rip people off."
"Eh, I guess," King said, looking down and kicking the dirt.
"Now that's my good little King of Demons," Luz said as Amity stepped in.
"Wow, did you really just turn down a chance at pick-pocketing?" Amity asked.
Luz shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you've rubbed off on me," she said while standing up. "You want to go play some games or eat some fried food?"
"My mom doesn't allow me to eat fried food," Amity replied. "But she never said anything about bringing refreshments." She pulled out two cans of cola from her bag and offered one to Luz.
"Oh, that's my girl," Luz said as she took the can before noticing something. "Wait, where's Gus? And the other girls?"
"Well while you were talking to King, Willow went off with Skara and Amelia, and I think I saw Gus heading to the games with Cat," Amity explained.
"What!? That healing harlot snuck off with Gus!?" Luz exclaimed before she started to look around and call for her friend. "Gus! Where are you? Blow your whistle if you're in trouble!"
"What is happening right now?" a very confused Amity asked and King just sighed.
"I think I know what's going on," King said as the Blight girl turned to him. "Eda mentioned something similar that happened when she and Luz visited Gravity Falls a few years back…"
A young nine year old Luz was walking around town with a toy bat. She spotted a younger Dipper talking to an older redhead girl, Wendy.
"Hey Dips!" Luz called out. "Who's that girl?"
"Oh Luz, this is Wendy. She's a few grades older than me, but she's one of my best friends," Dipper replied. "Wendy, this is my stepsister, Luz Clawthorne."
"Sup," Wendy greeted while extending her hand to Luz, who looked at the hand while glancing at a blushing Dipper. "Nice to meetcha."
"You too," Luz said with a handshake, before pulling Dipper close to her. "Come on, Dips, I think I saw a cat-pigeon hybrid in an alley." She escorted Dipper away, while glaring over her shoulder at a confused Wendy.
"I think Luz is projecting some kind of overprotective big sister instincts on the youngest closest friends of hers," King explained, while Amity watched Luz as she tried to find Gus.
"Aw, I like that," Amity replied, before having to pull Luz off the top of a booth that she climbed on top of.
While King watched Amity trying to get Luz down, Hunter showed up behind him while riding on his skateboard.
"What is she yelling for?" Hunter asked in confusion, getting King's attention.
"Something about seeing Gus run around with an older girlfriend or some other kind of big sister nonsense," King explained.
"Gus is dating an older girl? You think you know a guy," Hunter said before riding up to Amity and Luz, the former trying to get the latter to calm down. "Hey, Luz. Got your text."
Luz noticed Hunter. "Hey, Hunter. Could you help me find Gus?" she asked, her one-track mind showing. "That sneaky sultriness took him somewhere."
"Is that him over there?" Hunter asked, pointing to Gus playing ring toss with Cat. "I'm surprised he didn't hear you with all that yelling."
"Excellent, we can still have time!" Luz said as she started to go after him.
"Luz," Amity said as she stopped her girlfriend by grabbing her arm. "Look, I know that you're overprotective of Gus, but he's a big boy. I'm sure that Cat has no ill-intentions towards him. She's part of the healing track, they're meant to help people, not hurt them."
"Right, right," Luz nodded. "But what if-"
"Come on, Luz. You said it yourself that we are here to relax and have fun. Just let Gus hang with Cat and we'll go to the Scare-Go-Round or win prizes," Amity told her.
"Fine," Luz conceded.
"So, uh, I don't think I've properly introduced myself to you," Hunter stepped in. "It's Amity, right?"
"Yeah, and I remember you from the party," Amity responded. "Thanks for helping me and Luz back there, by the way,."
"Hey, it's no sweat," Hunter waved it off. "The party was a bust anyway."
"Wait, I think I got an idea!" Luz declared. "We could show Hunter to Cat as this cool but toolish rapscallion to get her away from Gus!"
Hunter sighed. "Are you really going to make me go along with this?" he asked before noticing the bracelet on her wrist. "Huh, that bracelet is new."
Luz suddenly looked nervous. "O-Oh this? This is just something I got… from a shop." Her nervousness did not go unnoticed by Hunter, who also noticed how she was defensively touching the bracelet. "Anyway, this isn't about me, now I need you to go to that pole over there and hold a book with one hand and pretend to be looking at it."
"How… how is that going to work?" Hunter asked her.
"It's something I learned from Wendy, a human redhead with a lot of ex-boyfriends," Luz explained to Hunter. "Welp, time to go save Gus's innocence."
Meanwhile, Gus and Cat were still talking while Gus threw another ring at a blinking eye. "Congrats, here's a knock-off doll for the lady," the carny said before handing a green frog with blue goggles to Cat.
"Oh, thanks Gus! I love it!" Cat thanked him.
"It's no problem, you-" Gus tried to reply.
"Hey, G-Man!" Luz stepped in between them. "How's my favorite kid illusionist doing?"
"Um, great. I actually helped Cat win a prize," Gus explained
"Oh really…" Luz turned to Cat. "And that must be you."
"You do know we've met before, right?" Cat asked her.
"Yeah, yeah, at the party," Luz acknowledged. "But you know who else was at the party? A friend of mine who you have to meet because he seems to have taken an interest in you." She pointed to Hunter, who just stared unenthusiastically at Luz with a deadpan look while holding the book he was given. "His name is Hunter and he wishes to have a chat with ya."
"Oh, um… he looks… nice," Cat said awkwardly, glancing at Amity who just shrugged.
From not so far away, King watched Luz hanging out with her friends and girlfriend. He looked down with a sigh. "You knew this day would come, King. Like a former child actor, your world's finally forgotten you."
While the rest of Hexside was closed, one office remained open and pixie-free. It was the office of Julia Traveler, which was decorated by souvenirs that she had collected from her own travels. And with Julia was Boscha, who was sitting in front of her desk.
"Do I really need to be here?" Boscha asked.
"Yes," Julia answered. "You have quite the record, Boscha. Skipped classes, bullying complaints, escalating violence… and your friends are avoiding you now, am I correct?"
"I don't need them anyway," Boscha said sternly, crossing her arms.
"I believe you do," Julia told Boscha. "Though you would never admit it, just like you would prefer to blame them for abandoning you instead of admitting that it was your behavior that drove them away. And just like how you would never admit that you need help."
Boscha scoffed. "I don't need your help. You don't-"
"Know you?" Julia finished. "You're right. I don't know you personally. But I do know others like you. Girls who put themselves under a lot of pressure to maintain their image. In that regard, you and Amity are not so different."
"Amity?" Boscha asked. "That traitor? We are nothing alike. She made her choice."
"Yes, she has been making some healthier decisions lately," Julia commented. "And it is not too late for you to start making healthier decisions either, Boscha. Though I will admit that your bullying behavior hasn't completely been your fault, since your past teachers didn't step in to stop it like they should have. Instead, you were taught by your authority figures that you could get away with almost anything because of your status on the grugby team and because of who your parents are. You suffered no consequences for your actions… until recently, that is."
"I guess you must be new around here, but this is how things work in Hexside and the rest of the Boiling Isles," Boscha stated with a huff.
"Oh? Well what do you mean by that?" Julia asked.
"I'm only putting the weak in their place," Boscha responded. "It's part of the social hierarchy that everybody here knows. I didn't create it, I just help maintain it. That's how it is in the Boiling Isles. The strong rule over the weak. The most powerful witches govern the rest. In this world, you either eat or be eaten."
"Well, that is just stupid," Julia told Boscha. "And that is no way for someone to excuse their actions. Even if that is how things are, that doesn't mean that it can't change. You are at the age when you need to start thinking about the world you will inherit and consider how things can be done differently. However, I think that deep down you are afraid of change. Because that might mean taking a hard look at yourself in the mirror and not liking what you see and you are uncomfortable with the idea of living in a world different from the one you were raised to expect. Boscha, the views of your parents don't have to be your own. And apparently your brother realized that as well."
Boscha glared at Julia and stood up. "I don't need this," she said as she headed to the door. "I should be focusing on grugby practice with my mom."
"I would like to continue our discussion, Boscha," Julia told her. "Because quite honestly, I don't believe that you're happy."
Boscha paused at the door to the office. "I am happy," she said before opening the door and walking out.
Julia sighed and looked at her parakeet palisman, who had been organizing paperwork around her office. "This girl, Tiki," she said, shaking her head. "I just hope that she can be helped before it is too late."
"I can't believe it's been so long since I last saw you, Rainestorm," Eda said as she shared some of her apple blood.
"It's nice to see you too, Eda," Raine replied, holding their cup while Eda sat next to them.
"So how's the Bard Coven?" Eda asked. "You're taking a big risk coming and visiting the infamous Owl Lady."
"Well, when I first joined I became a teacher," Raine explained. "Then I rose up the ranks until I became the apprentice of Scooter Crane, the head of the Bard Coven. He's a very good maestro and I am currently helping him plan his last performance before retirement." They look at the pictures of Eda with Luz and King. "I see that you've been busy as well."
"Oh, yeah. You know how much I like taking in strays," Eda answered and Raine chuckled.
"Like the time you called me to help you hide a dire wolf from your parents?" Raine asked. "But the reason that I decided to take the risk of coming here is because I recently spoke with your sister for the first time in years."
Eda looked up. "You talked to Lilith?"
"Yes," Raine nodded. "And from her I learned that you had raised a human as your daughter, which definitely surprised me. What's it like being a mom to a human?"
"It wasn't easy," Eda admitted. "I found her after her biological mother passed away. I knew that she needed someone to take care of her, but I didn't know right away that someone would be. And let me tell you, Raine, my Luz can be a little rascal at times. She is a lot like me. Maybe too much like me." She frowned a little. "She's been through things that I wish she never had to experience and I am scared for her, but I'm also so proud of my Luz. Especially right now. She currently attends Hexisde and is even in the Bard Track."
"Oh wow, she's in Bard?" Raine asked in surprise. "I thought she'd be in Potions like you."
"She's quite the artist," Eda said with a chuckle before looking at Raine. "Just so you know, I don't hold your decision to join the Bard Coven against you."
"Thank you," Raine said gratefully. "But… you were right about the coven system and about what Belos is doing. I realized that some time ago and I do want to do something about it from within, though I am not sure how much good I can do. I just know that I have to do something."
Eda stared at Raine in surprise. "Huh. You've changed, Raine."
Raine smiled. "So have you, Eda. I can tell that your daughter has changed your life for the better and I am so happy for you."
"Yeah, Luz coming into my life is the best thing that ever happened to me," Eda acknowledged. "She is the reason I go on… even while my curse continues to get worse."
Raine frowned at the mention of Eda's curse and they decided to change the subject. "I have been looking for potential allies in the coven system," they discussed. "I do have to be careful to avoid being exposed for treason, but I do think that a possible ally… is Lilith."
Eda laughed. "You really think that my sister, the head of the Emperor's Coven who has sworn to bring me in, would actually be willing to betray Belos and risk losing the position that she has worked her whole life for?"
"Actually, I do," Raine confirmed. "Lilith told me herself that she isn't sure who she can trust anymore. She is having her doubts about Belos, especially about what he may want with Luz. I think that if we approach her right, we could get Lilith to turn on Belos. Wouldn't it be nice to be on the same side as your sister again?"
"It would," Eda acknowledged. "But it still feels like a bit of a long shot to me. Right now, I am just focused on trying to keep Luz safe. I promised myself that if things get too bad, I'm not going to let Belos get her. If it comes to that, I might send her to live with her human step-family away from Belos and the Isles. But that would be very difficult for her, especially now that she has a girlfriend."
"And it would be difficult for you, I imagine," Raine added. "How much does Luz know about your curse, by the way?"
"Well, she doesn't know how much worse it has gotten recently," Eda admitted. "I feel like she worries enough."
"She only worries because she cares," Raine pointed out. "But you know you have to tell her eventually, right?"
Eda sighed. "Yeah, I know. But it is not a conversation that I am looking forward to having with her."
Raine nodded and decided to change the subject. "So… Lilith also mentioned that you have a human ex-husband. What's the story behind that?"
Eda chuckled with a smile. "Oh, you want to hear about my ex? It all started in a place in the human world called Vegas…"
Back in the Bonesborough carnival was a large tent owned by Tibbles, the demon pig who had to make due with other businesses after losing his stand at the Night Market. Hiring the Demon Hunters to capture various beasts of the Boiling Isles, Tibbles then shrank them down for a tiny animal show that he was now running at the carnival. The only way to return the animals to their normal size would be by patting his cheeks.
As he was getting ready for his next show, Tibbles thought he heard someone behind him. But when he turned around he only saw a fleeting shadow. "Who's there?" Tibbles asked, looking around for a potential intruder. Seeing that nobody was there, Tibbles turned around only to bump into someone making him fall "Oof! What the-"
"Hey there, little piggy," said Puck, who was standing over him with a smile.
"Ah! Wha… what are you doing here!?" Tibbles cried out "The show hasn't started yet, you're not supposed to be in here!"
"I know I'm not, but I'm just here to bring up a concern I have about your little show," Puck explained. "Hiring demon hunters to take these poor creatures from their homes and then shrinking them for exploitation purposes doesn't seem very… ethical."
"Uh… I don't know what you're talking about," Tibbles lied nervously.
"Oh? What about the demon hunters you hired to capture a Slitherbeast from the Knee?" Puck asked, stepping toward Tibbles. The pig demon backed away and glanced at the exit, only to see his way blocked by a shadow.
"What… what are you going to do to me?" Tibbles asked nervously. "I have a show that is about to begin and-"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Puck said with a grin. "After all, the show must still go on..."
"Luz, don't you think you're a little… overprotective towards Gus?" Amity asked while the two were having cotton candy with eyeballs and Luz was eyeing Gus as he conversed with Cat and Hunter.
"What do you mean?" Luz asked.
Amity sighed. "I mean, I know you two are close friends but don't you think you're overreacting to him making a friend with Cat?"
"Gus is not ready for dating, he's still my little guy, you know?" Luz explained. "I don't want him to go on a stray path or… get hurt. I mean, he's too young for that."
"You mean, like not telling him the full truth about the human world?" Amity brought up and Luz turned to her. "Not that I'm accusing you or anything, but I got the impression from him that he doesn't know the full extent of some of the darker parts of the human world."
"No, no you're right," Luz said with a sigh. "Gus loves the human world and even wants to be an ambassador to it someday. And I don't want to crush that dream of his or scare him, so I haven't really told him about the prejudice that goes on in the human world. When I brought him with me to the human world, I tried to focus only on the positive aspects so that I could give him a good experience."
Amity patted Luz on the back. "You're just trying to do what you think is best for him, but I think he will eventually have to learn about how complicated the human world is as well. I'm not saying you should tell him now, but just when you're ready to give him the talk about it."
Luz held Amity's hand. "Yeah, I guess what I'm really afraid of is that… he'll be afraid of me."
"I may not know Gus that much, but after taking classes with him I can tell that he's a pretty smart kid who thinks highly of you and that is not going to change," Amity promised her, before looking around. "Hey, where's King?"
Luz spotted King by a bar "Oh, there he is. Hey King! Want to come play some games!"
"Nah, I think I'm just going to hang out here and eat this fried newt," King said, taking a bite out of the greasy fried newt.
"Oh, okay," Luz replied, turning to Amity. "Guess he wants some time to himself."
"Are you sure?" Amity asked. "He looks kinda lonely."
"Maybe I was too harsh on him about the pick-pocketing thing," Luz admitted. "But we'll check up on him again later."
"Hey, there's an advertisement for something called Tibble's Tent of Tiny Terrors," Luz and Amity heard Gus say as he pointed at a poster. "I like the alliteration."
"I heard about that. I think it is supposed to have a tiny griffin, manticore, and a unicorn," Cat mentioned.
"We should definitely check it out!" Gus said before heading in the direction of the tent with Cat, Luz, Amity, and Hunter following him.
King, however, stayed at the bar drinking soda and the barkeep looked at him in concern. "You know, that's your third soda and fried newt. This stuff's not good for ya if you eat too much."
"I'll tell you when I had enough!" King yelled, slapping down a snail. "Another!"
"King?" asked a voice. The little demon turned around, seeing Willow and Skara there. "What are you doing?"
"Just eating some carnival food, Willow. Everything is peachy!" King gave a thumbs up and almost slipped out of his seat, but Skara caught him.
"Gotcha, little guy," Skara said.
"Let me go so that I can eat my sadness!" King shouted.
"Sad? Why are you sad, King?" Willow asked him.
"It's uh, it's nothing," King answered, looking away from Willow.
"Come on, King, you know I'm all ears," Willow told him. "Especially since Amelia got sick from riding the Scare-go-Round."
King looked down. "Fine, but can you not tell Luz about it?"
In the Tent of Tiny Terrors, the five made it to their seats. Soon the show began and Puck, who was wearing a top hat and a purple tailored coat, stepped out from behind the curtains.
'Puck!?' Luz and Amity thought in surprise, recognizing their host.
"Welcome, welcome all witches and demons!" Puck announced as he held up a cane. "For tonight's show, we have gathered here to watch a greedy demon get what he deserves for abusing the poor creatures that he had wished to exploit for your entertainment." The curtain behind him rose, revealing the tiny cage and a screen that showed what was happening in the cage. The tiny unicorns, manticores, and griffins were all gathered around a shrunken Tibbles, who was tied up and hanging upside down.
As Luz and Amity gasped, Puck's shadow let go of the rope keeping Tibbles up and the demon pig landed on a pile of shredded paper. The ropes slid off, but then he noticed the creatures glaring at him.
"Oh fiddlesticks," Tibbles groaned before a unicorn attempted to bite him. "AAAH!"
Meanwhile, King was sitting with Willow and Skara on a bench. Willow handed him some ice scream and he started to eat it.
"So King, why aren't you hanging out with Luz and the others?" Willow asked him.
"It's just that… things are different now than they were when me and Luz would have fun around here," King admitted. "It was pick-pocket paradise, Eda would run her scams, and we probably caused more than a few health code violations as well. But now she doesn't want to do those things anymore. Since she and Amity started dating, she is becoming a goody two-shoes. It just isn't what I'm used to."
"Wait, Amity's dating Luz?" Skara asked in surprise.
"In private," Willow said with a sigh. "It's supposed to be a secret."
"Oh, Amity… never told me," Skara said while looking down.
King continued to eat his ice scream. "Luz is my buddy, my sister, but now that she has less time for me and I… I feel like she doesn't need me anymore."
"Come on, King, you're still her family. Of course she needs you," Willow reassured him, patting his head. "You know how much she loves you."
"Yeah, I mean it's not like you did something really bad that would make her think otherwise," Skara stated, causing King's eyes to widen as he relived a memory…
"Luz? Luz wake up!" King shook Luz's unconscious body, a half empty elixir bottle in her hand.
"King? What's going on-" Eda came into the room and gasped when she saw Luz's unconscious body… and the elixir bottle. "No, nonono." She knelt down and picked up her adopted daughter. "Come on, we're going to Latissa!"
One quick trip to Latissa later, Eda frantically knocked on a door and when Dr. Bride opened it Eda barged inside.
"Edalyn, what brings you here?" Dr. Bride asked, seeing the worried owl mother holding her unconscious daughter.
"It's my daughter, Lizzy," Eda responded. "She drank one of my elixirs… you gotta help her!"
"Don't worry, I have something that could make your little owlet better. Iggy! Get the stomach pumper ready!"
While Dr. Bride tried to help Luz, Eda and King could only wait and worry. King felt especially guilty, since he thought he was trying to help Luz but only ended up doing more harm than good.
"I don't understand how she got my elixir," Eda said while hugging to herself. "I thought I had them locked so she wouldn't-" She turned to King, who was looking down at the floor in shame. "King, please tell me you don't have anything to do with this?"
King fiddled his own claws and gulped. "W-Well, the thing is… I kinda… suggested to Luz… that she should drink your elixir…"
"You did WHAT?!" Eda shouted, glaring at King. "What the fuck were you thinking!?"
"I'm sorry, Eda, I thought it was magic juice!" King said, his voice cracking. "How was I supposed to know it was your medication?!"
"I've told you to not mess with my things before, and this is why! You could've gotten Luz killed! How could you be this irresponsible!?" She punched the wall, which revealed feathers sprouting on her arm. King looked taken aback, while Eda looked at her arm. "No...no…" She quickly brought out her elixir and drank it until the feathers disappeared.
"E-Eda…" King said in concern, while Eda didn't look at him.
"You got her hurt, King," Eda said harshly. "I just hope that she'll be alright, or I'll never forgive myself. She has been through too much already." She walked away to check up on Luz, leaving King along with his guilt.
"King? King?" Willow asked King, who was starting to cry.
"O-oh, oh no…" King said, his voice cracking. "It… it's my fault… I didn't mean to…" He then started to break down, falling off the bench in tears.
"King!" Willow knelt down next to him and Skara did the same. Willow held on to him, while King cried into her shoulder.
"Is he going to be alright?" Skara asked.
"I never seen him act like this," Willow told her as they stood up. "We need to find Luz."
"AAAAAAAAAH!" Tibbles ran around the cage, trying to avoid getting eaten while his hands were cuffed behind his back.
Puck smiled and looked upon the cheering crowd, who were loving the show. But then his gaze fell on Luz and Amity… and their horrified faces.
"What is Puck doing?!" Amity exclaimed.
"I don't know - wait, you know him?" Luz asked her, while Hunter overheard them.
The Fae suddenly realized what he was doing and he saw that Tibbles was about to get eaten. However, Puck put a stop to that by snatching Tibbles out of the cage, causing the crowd to boo for not letting him get eaten.
"I'm saved? I'm saved!" Tibbles declared.
"For the moment. Have you learned your lesson, little pig?" Puck asked the shrunken demon.
"Lesson? What lesson!?" Tibbles demanded to know, making Puck sigh.
Puck brought out an empty bottle and put Tibbles inside. "Here, you can think about what you've done until I decide to let you out." He turned to the crowd and took a bow. "And that would be the show, everybody! You can have your money back if you're dissatisfied." With that, he disappeared.
Hunter's eyes widened, realizing something about that host as the crowd started to leave.
"Man, that went weird." Gus commented as he left the tent with Cat.
"Yeah, I thought there'd be more terror," Cat replied, while Luz walked up to her.
"Okay, so this tiny tent thing wasn't what we expected," Luz stated. "But you know, at least you got to meet a new friend like Hunter, right?" She nudged Cat.
"Oh, well we talked… he seems like a fine guy…" Cat said.
"Fine enough to ask him for his number?" Luz asked hopefully.
"Actually, he told me that he was already seeing someone else," Cat replied, causing Luz to look shocked. "And I mean, he seems cool and all, but even if he wasn't already taken gap teeth is kind of a turn off for me."
"Oh… wait, Hunter's dating someone?" Luz questioned while Cat walked away, "See ya, Amity." She waved at the Blight girl, then turned to Gus. "Later, Gussy."
"See ya, Catty!" Gus waved at Car as she left.
"No… they already have… pet names for each other…" Luz moaned as Amity walked up to her and patted her on the back.
"Oh there, there, it's fine," Amity told her. "There was nothing you could do. You just gotta accept Gus is growing up. You can't hold his hand forever."
Luz looked down. "Yeah, you're right. I've been trying to protect him from getting hurt, but I'm just hurting him and myself. Whoever Gus wants to hang out with isn't my business." She looked at Gus, who wasn't paying attention to the girls and was instead trying to guess how many seeds were in a jar at one carnival booth.
Amity nodded, but then she noticed someone standing behind a tent and seemingly having an argument with himself. "Puck."
Luz noticed him as well. "How do you know him?"
"He helped me save my siblings this one time and he escorted me to your place for the séance," Amity explained.
"Huh, I met him in this pocket dimension for tricksters, and then he later bailed me and King out when we got into some trouble with this crazy book publisher," Luz said before walking over to him with Amity. "Hey, Puck!"
The Fae turned around, seeing the two girls. "Oh, hey Pixie Dust, and hello Luzifer. How have you two been doing?"
"Pretty good, for the most part," Amity told him.
"What the heck happened back there in the tent, Puck?" Luz asked him. "You almost let that guy get eaten."
"Trust me, he would have deserved it," Puck told them. "But still, I am glad that you decided to show up after I sent you the invites."
"Wait, that was you?" Amity asked.
"Yep, I thought that you could all use a day of fun," Puck explained. "And all it took was a pixie infestation to get you all the day off."
Luz's eyes widened. "Wait, were you the one responsible for the pixie infestation?"
"Yep, guilty as charged," Puck said with a chuckle.
"What the hell, Puck?!" Luz shouted, shocking the Fae and Amity.
"Um… what?" Puck asked, confused while Luz glared at him.
"Puck, as much as I enjoy pranks and a break from school, I was almost blamed for something I didn't do this morning!" Luz told him. "Boscha and some other students immediately thought that I was somehow responsible, even though I am trying to stay out of trouble this semester."
Puck looked down, rubbing his arm. "I-I'm sorry, Luz. I didn't mean to almost get you in trouble." He looked up at Amity.
"Well… you did mean well, even if you were rash about it," Amity told him. She turned to Luz. "He was trying to do something nice for us."
Luz looked at Amity and calmed down. "Yeah, he was." She turned to Puck. "But can you promise to not pull something like this again? I appreciate what you were trying to do, but I don't want to get into trouble for it."
"I-I'll try," Puck said. "Anyway, I should probably leave you two alone. Bye for now." He then teleported away.
"Well, this has been some day," Luz commented and Amity nodded.
"Yeah, it has been," Amity replied while looking down, brushing her hair back. "If we weren't keeping our relationship private, this could've been a real date. But I'm glad we at least get to hang out with our friends."
"Yeah, though I'm still keeping my eye on that Cat," Luz told her.
Amity giggled, but then her smile faded as she remembered her agreement with Lilith. "Hey, Luz."
"Yeah, Ams?" Luz asked her.
"...There's somethi-hmm!" Before Amity could finish, her hand immediately covered her mouth and she started making gagging noises.
"Amity, are you alright?" Luz wanted to know as Amity kept gagging.
"I… I just…" Amity was starting to look sickly. "I uh, need some air." She dashed away from Luz while covering her mouth.
"Amity!" Luz shouted while trying to follow her girlfriend.
Amity found herself in an empty, uncrowded area of the carnival. She looked around for a place to throw up and spotted a Hall of Mirrors that she ran into.
However, after she ran inside two repair demons came by and set up a warning sign. "There, this should do it," one of the demons said, looking over the sign as it read:
CLOSED DUE TO LOOSE CURSE
She threw up so much.
Amity didn't think the oath's effects would cause her to feel this sickly. While she tried to catch her breath, she looked at herself in the mirror and remembered the trip that Lilith had taken her on…
Amity held onto Lilith as they flew on her staff to the Emperor's Castle. Landing in front of the entrance, the Blight girl was absolutely in awe of the Emperor's Castle.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Lilith asked while escorting Amity inside. "This is not just the home of the Emperor, but the home to his followers as well." She noticed someone up ahead. "Oh, and look who is here today."
Amity found herself staring at the Head of Abominations Coven, Darius. He was a dark-skinned witch with purple animated abomination hair tied in a ponytail and bangs. He had lime green eyes and a purple chin beard while wearing a black armor tunic with a light purple long cape, purple tights and white gloves and boots.
"Greetings, Lilith," Darius said vainly before noticing the Blight girl. "Since when is it Take-Your-Kid-to-Work day?"
"This is Amity Blight, Darius," Lilith told him. "She is my protegee. I am hoping to introduce her to the Emperor."
"Blight? Oh, you're Alador's kid." Darius rolled his eyes.
"Um, it's nice to meet you, sir," Amity replied, taking a bow.
"Enough with the formalities, child," Darius stated before addressing Lilith. "If you're looking for the Emperor, Kiki said that he's in his personal garden. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the rec room sauna." He brushed them off and walked away.
"There's a rec room here?" Amity asked Lilith.
"It's good for morale," Lilith answered as they made their way to a large door that led to the garden room. The Golden Guard was just leaving it and he noticed them.
"Heeey, back so soon, Coven Head Lilith?" the Golden Guard asked with his usual distorted voice. "And what's with the kid?"
"I am here to introduce your replacement to the Emperor," Lilith told him with a smirk.
"I'm sorry, what?" the Golden Guard asked.
"It's, um, nice to meet you," Amity said, trying to be friendly as she held her hand up.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too," he responded, sounding indifferently. "Be one sec." He went to the door leading into the garden room and he opened it. "Yo, Emperor B-Lo! Lilith's back! No, she didn't bring her sister, just some minty haired protégé of hers. She wants you to meet her."
"Let them in," said the voice of Belos.
The right-hand man to the Emperor turned back to Lilith and Amity. "You can go in," he said as he opened the door for them.
As she stepped through the doorway with Lilith, Amity looked around in awe at the beautiful indoor garden room. Flowers were blooming and trees were sprouting from the ground while demonflies and pixies flew around. Amity then saw Emperor Belos nearby clipping branches on a floral bush and she froze. She couldn't believe that she was actually in the same room as the Emperor of the Boiling Isles.
"Hello Lilith, and hello young Blight," Belos said warmly when he noticed Lilith and Amity.
"Emperor Belos," Lilith said with a bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I wanted you to meet someone who I think could become a valuable asset to the Emperor's Coven someday. I thought I would help encourage her by showing her a glimpse of the future that she is working toward."
"Oh, I understand, Lilith," Belos said, sitting his clippers down and walking over to them. "And it is no inconvenience at all. I always have time to meet with the next generation of great witches." He looked at Amity, his face unreadable behind his mask but his tone was kind. "Amity Blight, I presume. Lilith has spoken so highly of you."
"She… she has?" Amity asked, turning to Lilith who smiled at her.
"Yes, top of her class at Hexside School of Witchcraft and Demonics, heiress to Blight Industries, and Lilith's top protegee… and goddaughter," Belos told her.
"It… it's an honor to meet you, my Emperor," Amity bowed to him.
"Rise up, there is no need for that," Belos said to Amity, who lifted her head up. "I have been following your progress ever since Lilith brought you to my attention. Your exam results are particularly impressive, especially with how quickly you defeated your opponent in your witch's duel."
"I-It was nothing, really," Amity replied.
"And I also heard about your recent attack," Belos brought up, which surprised both Amity and Lilith. "The pattern of muggings and assaults in Bonesborough is very unfortunate, but those who attacked you are already being dealt with at the Conformatorium."
"I… I don't know what to say…" Amity told Belos, feeling relieved. "I am in debt to you, sir."
"Think nothing of it, young Blight," Belos humbly replied, "After all, you are Lilith's goddaughter and since Lilith is a part of our family here in the Emperor's Coven, that makes you a part of our family as well. And we watch out for take care of our own."
Amity nodded, but then remembered something. "I, um… do have something to ask of you."
"What troubles you?" he asked.
"There's this… friend of mine, Luz," Amity mentioned. "I know that her mom has been causing trouble for the Emperor's Coven, but… I was just… wondering if… you could show mercy on them."
"Ah yes, the daughter of the Owl Lady," Belos spoke. "Are you fond of them?"
"I don't think they're bad people," Amity admitted. "And yes, I care a lot about them. So does Lilith. And I am worried about what could happen to them." She felt her anxiety going up and she looked down. "I'm… I'm sorry, your highness. I didn't mean to-"
"Now child, you have nothing to apologize for," Belos told her. "It is not a sin against the Titan to care for others, especially those less fortunate than us or those who have yet to see the truth. I understand your concerns for the Owl Lady's family. I do think that it is a shame that they have chosen to disagree with the coven system that the Titan has decreed, because I do have a lot of respect for both Edalyn and Luz. They are both incredibly talented, they just need some guidance on how best to use their talents. Though despite their stubbornness, there is still a place in the Emperor's Coven for them. The Titans can be very forgiving. I do wish to help those poor misguided souls, especially with Edalyn's curse and Luz's condition. The problem is that sometimes people don't know when to ask for help, even when they need it. But in time they will be forced to accept the help they need, because it is as the Titan commands."
Lilith's eyes widened when Belos mentioned Luz's condition, realizing that he knew. But neither Amity or Belos seemed to notice.
"You have nothing to worry about, Amity." Belos was saying. "The Titan has plans for us all, including the Owl Lady and her daughter. And including you. I look forward to one day having you in my Coven, since I believe you have a very important part to play…"
Amity, still in the Hall of Mirrors, looked down at the floor.
"I… I really wanted to tell you, Luz," said to herself.
"Oh, Amity…"
Hearing a voice, Amity looked up. But there was nobody else in the Hall. It was just Amity and her reflections. However, Amity noticed that one of her reflections… was glaring at her.
"What th-"
Before Amity even had the chance to scream, the reflection's arms reached out of the mirror and covered her mouth.
"Shh…"
Well...fun times at the cliffhanger carnival eh?
Yeah, this is pretty much both funny and angsty at the same time. A lot have thought that it was just the slayground that made King overprotective of Luz in the 5th chapter, but I hinted some facts that I intended to place earlier, but felt that this would be a good reveal on some backstory. Remember in the "Intruder" episode where Luz almost drank Luz's elixir? Well imagine what if she did and it resulted in her getting sick. Much like how kids who shouldn't be eating or drinking medicine that they thought was candy or juice, and this has taken an effect on King.
But the drama doesn't stop there, we got Lilith taking Amity to the Emperor's Coven. And it looks like Amity's guilt is rising. The hall of mirror scene does feel like the vibes from the Teen Titans episode "Betrayal" where Terra sees herself in a hall of mirrors. But if the ending has any implications, Amity might be in trouble, especially when that Hall of Mirrors ends up being cursed…
Also to add about Lilith and Amity's deal being an everlasting oath, which would prevent them from mentioning their agreement. And it shows the affects of the oath preventing Amity from telling the truth...
We also got an early meeting with Eda and Raine who lets her know ahead about the corrupt coven system, and going against Belos. And if the time is right, they could make Lilith a possible ally because as of now, Lily doesn't trust Belos. And if the flashbacks were to implied, now Lilith may be torn between what she believes in, and her family.
Also for Luz, it's shown that she can be overprotective can be with Gus, and a funny flashback to boot. Also learned that while Luz takes Gus's human interest at heart, it's shown that she may not be completely honest with him about the cons around humans.
And now for the answers in reviews:
RonaldM4: There's fanart of that.
OMAC001: Hmm…
Gamelover41592: Indeed
The Great Fossil King: Yup, by this chapter it's very different.
Marvelomac1010: Belos is labeled as an antagonist though. He's still keeping some secrets from Hunter and if recent episodes have shown. Currently, he's pretty much the big bad.
CapMorgan55: Yeah, not so sure about that implications.
Bloodlust002: If you reread the prologue chapter, Eda would've noticed about a car crash so you're really off on that. It'll all unfold when I get to the reveal soon…
Ultimate-drax: Well hope you got your ticket for the ANGST TRAIN! But this story's going to some places...dark places…
Ultimateheatblast4: After watching the Owl House/Amphibia crossover, it would be a possibility.
Crosshot: Well, it'll be revealed soon about how Perry would know, since he is a reporter. And you'll be seeing interactions between Luz and Raine in the next chapter.
Guest D: Well, it's more likely that Luz picks Bard because she's got the artistic talent for it. I know that in canon has shown, Bards are musicians and poets, but artists can also count in the category. I might make Gavin as Darius's father, if canon has any implications. But if not, well, if I ended up making Gavin Darius's son, but hey, it's an AU, so this will fall into alternate timeline and multiverse theory.
Shuffollower: Yeah, that's a good trick into making readers think it was Odalia, but it was Dio- I mean, Lilith all along!
Wolvmbm: You kinda misgendered Raine's pronouns, just to point out. But other than that, thanks for the review. Haven't heard from ya in a long time.
Jss2141: Yeah, happy hour doesn't seem to last long after this chapter…
BuckJohnson: Thanks, but you know it's just the Emperor's opinion and knows that Lilith will be in the way for what dastardly evil deeds he has.
XeroxGamer: I might, thanks for the suggestion.
ItsSprite: Yeah, "Changes" is when the story takes on a start of when shit's about to get good soon, an end of an arc and on to another.
Now remember to leave reviews. Next chapter, everything's "fine"...
Hooty: Um, why did you end it on air-quotes?