Eda, King, Luz, and Lucila were at the slayground, with the sign that bloodthirsty monsters must be leashed. Lucila was sitting between Eda and Luz, the latter in worry for him. "What if he gets hurt? What if the kids are mean to him? My parental instincts are freaking out, man."
"Literally stuff I think about every single week, Luz," Lucila pointed out, the younger girl blinking.
"Huh. You're right. Feels weird."
"He's fine," Eda waved it off. "Look at him."
Luz looked back towards King, smiling a bit as she saw him trying to climb up a slide. "It does look like he's having fun. Aww, I wonder what cute little game he's playing."
"Stand back, cretins," King demanded as he climbed to the top of the slide. "Yes! Yes! This is a throne worthy of a tyrant!" He pointed down to the other kids. "Bow to me, you snotty underlings! Bow!"
Two kids glanced at each other. "Okay!" One of them bent backwards, the other one doing a handstand while sticking out a tongue.
"Yes. Appease your master," King clicked his claws together. Luz glanced down at Lucila, who was doing her homework for her next lesson with the Golden Guard. Come to think of it, she seemed to be doing that a lot, and she had no idea why.
"Hey, I saw that you're drawing a lot of lines and circles lately," Luz suddenly pointed out to Lucila, who flinched. "What are you doing?"
"Um...um..." She darted her eyes around, chuckling nervously. "Learning how to draw...can't exactly write music if I don't draw the notes, can I?"
"But you've gone years without drawing them. Why start now?" The girl asked in confusion.
"She's got a point, kid," Eda agreed with her and Lucila slid down a bit.
"What's with the third degree? I'm not allowed to learn new skills?" She crossed her arms defensively.
"This isn't for standing, it's for sliding," A boy with snot dripping from his nose stood behind King. "You try," He then pushed King, who wobbled. He tumbled down the slide, landing on the ground.
"Reveal your secrets!" Luz smiled widely at her sister.
Thankfully, Lucila didn't have to answer because King ran up to the trio. "Edaaaa, that monster took my throne!" King whined, hugged Luz's legs.
Lucila sighed in relief. If she stated the real reason, Luz would never let her live it down. Not to mention that she and the others would start asking a lot of questions that she couldn't answer. She and the Golden Guard both agreed on several things last night: they meet at midnight at the lake every single night, she had to practice her spells before each lesson, and everything about their meetings had to be kept secret. And they meant everything. She couldn't say anything about him, and he couldn't say anything about her (not that he had people to tell besides the Emperor).
It wasn't like she wanted to keep this arrangement a secret, but it was how it had to be. Eda would most likely prevent her from doing it if word got out, and...no one would understand. It was the Golden Guard.
"You mean the baby?" Eda teased King.
"No, the usurper," King pointed to the boy, who was on a rocking horse. "I want you to go over there and blow him up. Kaboom!"
"Kaboom!" The boy waved his hands in the air.
Lucila slammed her book shut, glaring down at King. "No way! He's just a kid, he's not hurting anyone," She defended thinly. "And he's got parents, that's just asking for trouble."
"Yeah, for once, I agree with Luci. I'm not using Owlbert to blow up a five-year-old," Eda unscrewed him from her staff. "He's got better things to do. Like this," She scratched him underneath his beak, earning a happy hoot.
"Aw, what a sweetie," Luz cooed at this. "How did you get him?"
"Get? I made Owlbert from the branch of an ancient tree," She explained and he hopped into her hands. "Ah, he's my Palisman, and we're bonded for life," She let him fly onto her shoulder, still scratching him. "I'd annihilate anyone who'd hurt him."
"Fine! Don't help," King glared up at her. "Revenge will taste all the sweeter if they fall by my hand alone," He laughed evilly as the boy walked up to him, pushing him onto the ground.
"Tag, you're it," He ran off with a laugh.
"Oh, man. Here we go," Eda stated knowingly. "King's squeak of rage."
King grunted as he stood up, stomping his feet and letting out a high-pitched squeal. Lucila giggled in amusement while Eda laughed. "He's like a little teakettle."
"So cute!" Lucila smiled at him, and also thankful that the attention was not on her anymore.
Luz looked towards Owlbert, who lifted up his foot. She noticed a hole on the bottom of his foot. "Hey, what's that?"
"That's his interlock," Eda pointed at it. "So he only fits under my staff. Every Palisman has one." She looked towards the girls and then gasped. "Luz? Lucila?" She stood up as she was suddenly all alone, standing up as she was standing in a dimly lit area. The bench she was sitting on completely disappeared. "Hello?!"
"Eda!" The girls called out to her and she held her head.
"Girls?!"
"Eda! Eda, wake up," Luz cried out as both concerned sisters were looming over her. She opened her eyes to find that she was lying on the bench. "Are you all right?" She asked as the two helped her up.
"What?" She murmured in confusion and then realized what was happening. "Oh, no. The curse. We have to get home. Now," She picked up her fallen staff.
"King, we have to go," Luz called out as they started to leave.
"Five more minutes, please," He reached out to the snot-nosed kid.
"KING!" Both sisters shouted urgently.
"Ah, man," He then pointed at the boy angrily. "This isn't over!"
"Okay. Let's play again real soon," He stepped forward for a hug.
"No, no. Keep those sticky hands away!" King was hugged anyway, to his discomfort. "No. He's touching me. Ah!"
The group returned home, Eda throwing her staff near the couch. She flopped herself onto it, sighing in exhaustion. "I'll go get your elixir," Luz offered her.
"Don't worry about it," Eda waved it off. "I'll get it myself in a bit."
Lucila and Luz glanced at each other briefly.
"No offense, but the last time you needed your elixir, you got obsessed with Hexes Hold 'Em," Lucila pointed out. "And then there was the whole Tibbles thing."
"Touche, and I've since learned from that," Eda defended, holding up a hand. "But I know what I'm doing now."
"Do you need me to stay home and take care of you?" Luz asked in concern and then gasped. "We could put King in a little doctor's outfit~!" She smiled towards King, who looked up in alarm. He was thinking about his revenge.
"No one wants to see that."
"I do," Luz murmured in longing, Lucila patting her back in sympathy.
"Look, I know how to take care of myself," Eda gestured to herself, sitting up a bit. "I've had this curse longer than both of you have been alive."
"So how'd you get it?" Luz asked curiously.
"Yeah, you've never explained how this all even started," Lucila raised a brow.
"Ugh, I don't know," She planted her face into the couch, the older girl blinking in disbelief, a bit taken back.
"You don't know?!" The two exclaimed in unison.
"Somebody gave it to me. I don't know and I don't care, because I'm fine, all right?" She then sat up fully. "Anyway, don't you guys have plans with Tweedledum and Twerpledee?" She didn't really care to learn their names. She held out her hand as Owlbert flew over with her staff.
"Well, Willow, Luci, Gus, and I are going to the Grudgby game between Hexside and Glandus High," Luz smiled as she remembered.
"Since when are you into sports?" Eda asked in disbelief, screwing Owlbert back into the staff. Luz leaned in close with wide eyes.
"Since I found a little something called 'Hexside pride'!" She then leaned back with a groan. "Argh, to think that Glandus, whoever they are, would dare face us."
"Psst! Luz! They're the rival school of Hexside, remember?" Her sister whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Anyway, I don't exactly like sports either, but somebody's gotta supervise them," Lucila placed her hands on her hips, glancing down at Luz, who smiled sheepishly. "So I guess you could say I'm a chaperone."
"But if you need us to stay-"
"Gross," Eda interrupted, standing up. "Sympathy. Go. Go have fun at sport," She pointed towards the door.
"Hooray! Hooray for sport!" Luz cheered as she ran off. Lucila chuckled and grabbed her notebook, walking off after her. "Hugs and kisses, King," The girl bent down to him, kissing his cheek. Lucila patted him on the head as she walked past. "Don't spend all night plotting revenge," She sang out.
"That drooly-faced heathen will know my wrath!" He sang back.
"There's no need to take revenge against a little kid, you know!" Lucila called out.
"Yes there is!" He argued back loudly and she shrugged, closing the door.
Luz and Lucila were almost at Hexside, the former trying to come up with a good cheer. Lucila was still practicing her drawing, and she was definitely improving. But she hoped that they'd move onto the actual spell soon. She had drawn all sorts of lines using different techniques (she looked some up), and she was starting to run out of paper frankly.
"Hexside is gonna wreck your side. Eh, no. Hexside is the best side on the west side." She gasped at the sight in front of her, Lucila looking up. She flinched as she saw their 'bus', but it was really a viking-like ship that had a dragon head. It tried to bite them and they moved around it, wincing a little. They then came across Willow and Gus. "Ah, friends!"
Willow was wearing a yellow hat with blue writing for Hexside, and Gus was wearing a jacket that had the same color scheme and design.
"Game day roar!" The four roared together for the team.
"Happy game day, fellow...are we Hexidians? Hexies? Hexoleos?"
"Actually, most people call us winners," Willow corrected her, clenching a fist with narrowed eyes.
"Grudgby games are the best," Gus smiled at them. "The players go through these action-packed trials. And the audience gets to wave flags. Look, I practiced," He held up two flags, doing a little dance. Luz then looked at her clothes; neither her or Lucila were really dressed for the occasion.
"Is it weird that I'm not wearing anything Hexside?"
"Umm, it's weirder that you're wearing Glandus colors," Willow pointed out and they glanced at the poster. The school colors were purple and white for Glandus...which didn't help Luz. Lucila winced at the matching colors.
"Yeah, that's...that's pretty awkward, not gonna lie."
A giant then passed by. "Get ready to be creamed, Glandus nerd!" He pressed down on Luz's head.
"Hey! Jerk!" Lucila clenched her fists, glaring at him. At least with her, she wasn't wearing Glandus colors, but that didn't mean it was okay to pick on Luz. And she had the feeling that this was going to be a recurring problem throughout the game.
"Hey! I'm a Hexside nerd," Luz called out to him, turning back to the two. "Gotta change out of this shirt. Where can I get a Hexside one?" She glanced around to see if maybe people were selling some. "Oh, Lucila needs one too, for school spirit."
"I know," Gus spoke up. "There's a lost and found box in the cafeteria."
"Ah, the lost and found. Where mouthguards go to retire," Luz said fondly.
"You've gotta stop sneaking in those," Lucila shook her head, following after her sister. They found the chest and Luz opened it up, finding a cap and a sweater.
"Yes!" She tossed the sweater to her sister, who threw it on. The two emerged, Luz wearing a cheerleader outfit with a drink hat, holding blue and yellow pom-poms. "Go, Hexside!" She leaped into the air, doing a split. A pop was heard. "Well, I never did that before."
"Not exactly something I'd re-attempt," Lucila commented as she stood behind her sister, still wearing the hoodie. She bent down and grabbed her sister's arms, pulling her up. Then Luz noticed that only Willow and Gus were at the bottom of the staircase.
"Uh, where is everyone?"
A roar was heard and the two looked up to the sky, seeing the bus-boat leaving without them. "Hexside rules!" The giant hollered as he hung onto the banner.
"Oh no!" Luz ran down the stairs, followed by Lucila. "Come back!" She then turned to the two. "Why didn't you guys board the bus?"
"We weren't going to leave you behind," Willow replied sweetly.
"I was," Gus muttered to himself.
"Gus!" She elbowed him and then he flinched.
"U-Uh, that is, I was gonna leave, and then come back on my own. Please still teach me human stuff," He hugged Lucila's legs and she scoffed.
"Relax, today's not about teaching you human stuff. Though this is the only freebie I'll let you have."
"I shall cherish the feebie!" He declared and she rolled her eyes in amusement at him; she'll teach him another day...
"Can we walk to Glandus?" Luz wondered curiously.
"We'd never make it in time," Gus explained while standing up. "Glandus is..." He waved his flags for dramatic effect. "All the way out in the middle of the island."
"Ugh," Luz rolled her eyes. "Typical Glandus."
"And my parents are working, otherwise I'd see if they could give us a ride on their staff," Willow added in, giving Luz an idea.
"A staff...because staffs fly! Of course. I can get us a staff."
"You can?" Gus asked her.
"Yes! Come on."
"Hoooold on there, Luz," Lucila held up her hands. "Please don't tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking," She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Nooo...but yes." Before her sister could argue, she grabbed hers and Willow's hand, dragging them off. Gus danced with his flags as he followed.
"Eda, great news!" King called out as he walked into her bedroom. "I thought of the perfect way to get revenge on that usurper," He revealed fire with a question mark. "Now, don't be put off by the complicated premise. I'll break it down for you in small pieces. Huh?" He blinked in surprise to see Owl Beast Eda! She snarled and he yelped, falling onto the ground in fear. "Owl beast! Stay back!"
She crawled closer and he braced himself before she actually backed away. "Did you just...listen to me?" He sat up in surprise, and she simply blinked. "Uh, come here. Sit," He commanded and she obeyed him. What really stuck out, however, is that her right eye wasn't black, meaning that she hadn't fully succumbed to the curse yet. But she was still acting like an animal instead of her regular Eda self. "Oh, this is an interesting development. Eda's only partially transformed, which means she's totally suggestible." He then chuckled as he got an idea. "Yes. Yes. I think this will do nicely! Forget fire. I've got a greater force to unleash."
He then pointed up at Eda. "You! You're going to help me regain my throne. I mean, if that's okay with you, right?"
She grunted in response. "I'll take that weird grumble as a yes!" He ran up to her table, where a bottle of elixir was sitting. "I'm just gonna grab a little bottle of elixir in case you go rogue on me," He dragged a bag of empty elixirs, putting the only one left in the bag. "Now, to destiny's battle. The playground!"
"King, are you home?" Luz called out as the sisters had just arrived back.
"What?" He asked in alarm, quickly taking the bag off. "Sit. Stay," He ordered as the two approached. He closed the doors behind him.
"Is Eda up?"
"Who? Oh!" He chuckled nervously; if they saw Eda now, they'd give her the elixir, and he couldn't have that just yet. "That Eda. No, no. She is out like a light." A roar was heard behind the door. "Oh, man. Can she snore."
"Okay?" Lucila raised a brow in confusion. She never remembered Eda snoring like that, but then again, she had heard Eda snore before, so she wasn't going to question it.
"Oh, no. I wanted to ask if we could borrow her staff, but I know she needs her rest."
"And you know that if Eda was asked, she'd kill us for just thinking about it," Lucila pointed down at her. "The answer is no."
"It's just for one day! And she'll probably just be asleep for the whole thing" Luz pointed out pleadingly. "I really wanna go to the game."
The older girl sighed, pinching her nose. "Look, I know you're desperate, but it's Eda's staff that neither of us have no experience using." She blinked as she realized that in hindsight, she was being hypocritical. Yes, she had stolen Eda's staff too, but it was a different circumstance that she couldn't even defend herself on right now.
"Please," Luz clasped her hands.
"Luz-"
"Oh, I'm sure it's fine," King grabbed the staff, handing it over. "It's fine. Just take it."
"I-I can't. Not without Eda's permission," Luz stammered a little. A screech was heard and they looked towards the door.
"Well, there's your permission. Off you guys go," King encouraged them.
"I really owe Gus and Willow one," Luz looked back to the staff. "And it's just for the afternoon. I'm sure Eda wouldn't mind."
"Not our generous, kindhearted Eda. Big heart on her," King stated and Lucila gave a look of thought, shrugging at her sister.
"Well...I guess if it's okay with Eda, then I guess we can take it."
"We'll be back soon," The two ran down the hall.
"Close call," King stated out loud.
"What?" Luz asked in confusion as they weren't that far away from him.
"Nothing!"
"Oh, okay," The two then left, Lucila waving to King.
"Bye, King. And make sure Eda took her elixir!"
"Close call," He murmured to himself, opening up the door to Eda's room. "And now revenge. Right, Owl Eda?" She was simply gnawing on a chair. "I'm feeling confident about this plan!"
Luz and Lucila opened the door, the former smiling. "To Glandus High!" She accidentally hit Owlbert against the Owl House. She then brought him back down. "Oh, sorry, Owlbert. It's okay. We're just on our way to help some friends," She smiled towards Willow and Gus, who awed over the staff.
"Ooh."
"Who's ready to board Air Luz?" She sat up front, Lucila crossing her arms. Luz flinched knowingly at her and gave the puppy eyes. "Okay, I know it'd be better if you flew it since you're older, but please let me fly it just this once? You can fly it back!"
"...Alright, fine, just...be careful, okay?" Lucila warned her.
"I will, I will! Now get on."
The girl sat behind Gus. "Feel that power-to-weight ratio," Willow smiled down at the staff.
"Boys, prepare to fly," Gus waved the flags.
"Next stop, Glandus High! Let's go," Luz announced and they were lifted up into the air. "Step on it, Owlbert," She smacked the staff a little and they took off too quickly. They screamed as they flew over the trees, crashing into some. And then they crashed into a bigger one, landing off the staff. Gus and Willow landed on some bushes while a branch caught Luz, taking off her Hexside sweater and she landed on the ground. Lucila landed in the dirt near her sister and Owlbert landed on his head, chipping some of it off. He hooted a bit in pain.
Luz groaned as she stood up, rubbing the side of her head. "Is everyone okay?" She looked up ahead. "Huh?" Owlbert looked up at her, Lucila sitting up. She gasped as she saw his injury and he unscrewed himself from the staff, flying off.
"Oh no. No, no, no. Owlbert, come back!" Luz called out, but he disappeared into the forest. They immediately ran after him. "Owlbert!" They heard him hooting, but when they saw where it led, they came to a stop. In front of them was a dark part of the forest.
"Man, humans can run," Gus stated out of breath. "Must be their dorsal fins."
"No..." Lucila denied, shaking her head at him.
"He went through those trees," Luz pointed forward. "Come on," She was about to move forward when Willow grabbed her by the arm.
"We have to be careful! It's really easy to get lost in this part of the forest."
"We can't just leave him!" Lucila gestured up ahead.
"She's right. This is Eda's palisman, Willow," Luz informed her. "She'll kill me and Luci if we don't get it back. Let's go."
As they entered, it got more and more dark. A bunch of crackling was heard underneath them, all of them looking a bit unnerved. "Wow! I keep stepping on a lot of crunchy twigs."
"Those are bones, Willow," Luz corrected her, Lucila growing a bit pale.
"Not if I never look down!" Willow looked up to the ceiling instead. Something then flew past them, and they yelped.
"This isn't any kind of forest I'm used to," Luz poked the staff at some moss above their heads.
"That's because this isn't a forest," Willow explained as three bat babies came into view. "It's a nest!"
"Wait a minute!" Lucila blinked in realization.
"Hey, Luci and I remember you. You're Bat Queen's babies." They all screeched up at the dup.
"Wait," Gus backed away in fear. "The Bat Queen?"
"I think I'd rather take my chances with Eda," Willow stated, joining his side.
"No, it's okay," Lucila assured them. "Eda and the Bat Queen know each other."
Luz bent down to the babies. "We're looking for a little owl and-" She then looked up past them and saw Owlbert. "There he is!" However, he didn't look as happy to see her as he backed away into the darkness.
"Owlbert, thank goodness you're okay. Come here, buddy. Time to go home."
The Bat Queen then flew in front of Owlbert, stepping out of the darkness. They all gasped as she approached them. "Hello, small humans."
Back at the slayground, the children were playing when a large shadow loomed over a girl. "Ahem." She looked up and saw King with Owl Beast Eda. "Listen carefully!" He announced to them, wearing armor made out of cardboard and holding a flag with his face on it. "You all have two choices. Grovel or-"
Owl Eda interrupted him with a loud growl, and the children screamed, running off. "A monster!"
"Good enough." Owl Eda entered the slayground, the kids all in fear. "Run! Despair!" He then faced the slide, where he saw the snot-nosed kid. He was whimpering in fear, hyperventilating. "Your time has ended! Mine begins!"
He slid down the slide crying, running off. "Not so tough now, you spongy hatchlings. I will eat you!" Owl Eda bent down so he could jump off, and he climbed up the slide. "All who stood in my way are gone. I declare myself despotic ruler of this land! Nothing can stop the almighty-"
A loud chomp interrupted his speech and he looked down to see Owl Eda eating the slide. "Hey, whoa, whoa, no eating the throne!" He warned her and she looked back at it. "No..." He glared at her, but she did it anyway. "Stop that!"
The Bat Queen hissed upon seeing them, unlike last time when she was pretty calm and collected. "It's the-"
"Bat Queen. We know," Luz interrupted Willow. "We kinda babysat her kids once."
"Well, it was more so Eda and King, since we went off to do...other stuff," Lucila glanced away, not wanting to think about the library incident right now.
"Don't worry. I got this," Luz jerked a thumb to herself. "Hiya, BQ! My, your hair is looking greasy. And your kids, they're as hideous as ever."
"...You know, that could've gone worse," Gus gave a look of approval, but the Bat Queen growled, not charmed at all.
"Heh. So, Owlbert ran away, and I need to get him back. I'm just gonna grab him and we'll be on our way," Luz stepped forward to grab the palisman, only for the Bat Queen to stop her in her path with her foot.
"To be careless with a staff, it's very serious. I protect him," She narrowed her eyes at both Luz and Lucila.
"And thank you for that, but he belongs to Eda the Owl Lady," Luz carefully moved the foot away, smiling nervously. "And you owe her a favor, remember?"
"That's right, for taking care of your kids?" Lucila pointed out anxiously.
"Owl Lady is careless. Her staff left her sight. Taken by humans who steal, hurt, frighten," The Bat Queen argued back to her.
"Huh?" They were both confused.
"He told me all!" Her eyes glowed yellow, Owlbert's doing the same thing.
"Owlbert, we never meant to hurt you. Please trust us," Luz bent down to him.
"We are so sorry," Lucila said softly. "I should've flown the staff, or better yet, not even consider taking you when we shouldn't have," She gave Luz a stern look briefly.
Owlbert responded by flying on top of the Bat Queen's head, their eyes glowing again. "Trust must be earned..." She flew to a stump, surrounded by treasure. "Through trials!" As she shouted that, flames burst around her.
"Trials?" Gus waved his flags excitedly.
"Guys," Willow stepped forward. "The Bat Queen is well-known for her impossible trials. I've never heard of anyone winning against her."
"But we have to get Owlbert back," Luz told her.
"She's right, we don't have much of a choice," Lucila added in with a small sigh. "We have to at least try."
"We accept your challenge," Luz said bravely, clenching the staff.
"And we'll be right there with you," Willow spoke up, glancing to Gus.
"Let the flags raise you up!" Gus cheered, and the Bat Queen clenched a fist. Moss surrounded the two, trapping them in it. "Hey!"
"What?!"
"No helpsies," Lucila glared at the Bat Queen. "Now, let the trials begin. Milk the spider demon."
The spider demon walked up...and it literally had an udder. "Ugh," Luz looked disgusted, as did Lucila. But then they glanced back up at Owlbert and remembered why they were doing it. Lucila took a deep breath.
"Okay, Lucila Maribella Sofia Noceda...milking a spider...you can do this," She whispered to herself in encouragement.
"All right. Come here, pal. Let's do this," Luz lunged forward, but the spider jumped away from them. "If you run, you'll just make this harder for yourself."
"For himself or for us?" Lucila called out as she chased after them.
The first flame was extinguished once that was accomplished—eventually. "Remove bees' nest."
The two climbed up a moss-filled tree, seeing a sac hanging. Luz was about to knock it down when the nest turned into a large wasp, screeching at them.
"Whoa!"
"Aah!" The two fell off, getting chased by the giant bug.
"Come on," Gus was trying to free himself using the flags. "Almost got it." He then managed to break himself free. "I am free, Bat Queen! You will rue the day you tried to trap-" She just trapped him in moss again, this time dangling him from the ceiling. "Ah..."
The second flame went out after the trial was done.
"Give babies a bath!"
The babies were probably the most agonizing thing, even more so than the first two because they kept fighting against the two. Luz growled as she scrubbed at one.
"Not even you were this hard to bathe!" Lucila exclaimed in disbelief.
"Go, Luz! Go, Lucila!" Willow cheered for them.
"Guys, we're here if you need us," Gus called out.
"Yeah, cut us free. We can get Eda," Willow added in.
"No! We were selfish and we hurt Owlbert. We need to do this alone so we know that we care about him," Luz grabbed the bucket, pouring water over the babies. They turned around to reveal that they were squeaky clean, with rosy cheeks even. "Aww," Luz cooed at them.
"Now that's a good bath," Lucila pointed down at them with a smile. But then they shook themselves dry, and the cuteness wore off as they screeched. The two whimpered at them.
"No, no. Bad Eda!" King watched Owl Eda eat the slayground, while still not listening to him. "You are my beast and I control you. Hey!" He then kicked her, angering the beast as she whipped around to him with a growl. He backed away in fear. "What was I thinking? I'm such I'm such a-" His back hit the bag, and that was when he remembered the elixir.
He took it in his hands. "Genius!" Owl Eda screeched at him and he threw the bottle into her mouth. She swallowed it, spitting out the cap. "Great. Now, change back to Eda." However, that didn't happen as she growled down at him again. "Any time now. Just magically transform."
She then snarled, raising an arm. "Aw, nuts," He quickly got out of his armor, and she slashed the cardboard in half with her sharp claws. He ran down the net, only for his foot to get caught in it. He fell, seeing Eda in front of him. Before she could do anything, squawking was heard...
From animal control.
Not only that, but the leader of the demon hunters was there. "Ugh, this is so embarrassing," A female hunter said in disdain, as they were wearing vests over their robes.
"Hey, hey. This job is all we have right now," The leader told her. "So I wanna see happy faces. Okay?" She responded with two thumbs up and a big smile. "Let's roll out." When he wasn't looking, she stuck out her tongue at him.
"Ah, animal control!" King yelped in alarm.
"Matches the description the parents called in," The leader said once he got a look at Owl Eda. "Bag it."
"Oh no! No, no, no!" King cried out in concern for Eda. She crawled towards them, and all three cast a spell circle. This in turn trapped Eda in a net. Tom stepped forward and electrocuted her, which King didn't want to watch. She fell to the ground and Tom lifted her off the ground. King looked up to see them taking her away.
"Eda!" She was hauled off into the carriage and he struggled to get his body free. And when he did, his foot was still stuck. "Awesome. Fantastic," He said sarcastically at this.
The final flame went out, the Bat Queen narrowing her eyes.
"Yes!" Gus broke himself free. "I am free again!" He landed on his hands and got stuck once again.
"You know, you oughta just not announce it every single time," Lucila whispered to him.
"Noted..."
"Okay, Bat Queen," Luz spoke up, wiping sweat off her forehead. "That's the last one. Lucila and I have done all your chores, and we've proved our dedication to Owlbert." The Bat Queen narrowed her eyes at them. "I'm so sorry for the pain I caused you, Owlbert," Her eyes saddened as she walked up to face him. "I promise to be more careful."
"And I promise that I'll be more strict with letting anyone but Eda fly you," Lucila gestured to herself.
"Will you come back home with us?"
Owlbert nodded and flew down to them. However, the Bat Queen didn't like this, and she trapped him in moss. "Owlbert!" Lucila cried out in concern.
"No! More trials. Last trial. You must face me!"
"What?!" The two sisters exclaimed in disbelief. She then flew towards them with a roar and they ran off.
"You will never get him back!" She declared to him.
The two landed roughly on the ground. Lucila whipped around to the Bat Queen, gritting her teeth. "Look, I know it looked bad, but you can't make that decision for Owlbert! He has the ability to make his own choices!" She defended furiously.
"You!" The Bat Queen pointed at her and she flinched. "Such an irresponsible caretaker for your sister. Letting her fly a staff when she was not ready. How can you call yourself a proper guardian when you are clearly unfit to look after anyone, much less a palisman?"
Her eyes widened at those words, unable to react or say anything. "Luz, Lucila, get us out," Willow called out. "We can help!"
Luz ran over and set Willow free. She then helped out Gus. "Look out!"
The bat babies screeched at them. "I'll hold them off with my flags!" Gus waved them, but the babies started attacking the dup. "No! That was a bad plan!"
"Luci, come on!" Luz grabbed her hand, pulling her up and she came back to reality. The sisters ran off, with the Bat Queen flying after them. They ran past trees, with the Bat Queen pushing past them. She screeched as she soared towards the two. Owlbert managed to break his wing free.
"We won't let you imprison Owlbert!" Luz shouted, trying to fight her off with the staff. They both landed on the ground, with vines over their legs. They looked up in horror to see the Bat Queen closing in on them.
"Luz, the staff, the staff!" Lucila cried out quickly in fear and the girl held it out to block off the Bat Queen. It was then that they noticed something on the Bat Queen's foot...
An interlock.
The two gasped at it. "Is that an interlock?" She pushed the Bat Queen off them, and she landed on the ground. The two slowly stood up. "Bat Queen, you used to be on a staff, didn't you? You were a palisman."
She gasped at the question.
King finally managed to free himself from the net, landing on the ground. He sat up, contemplating that...if it hadn't been for his 'plan', Eda wouldn't have been captured.
"Your pride has destroyed you," He glanced back to see the snot-nosed kid standing not too far away. "The throne belongs to me now."
"Over my dead body!" King shouted at him. Owl Eda screeched from the distance and he gave a worried look. "Eda!"
"Yes, leave and forfeit your reign!"
"Well then forfeit I shall!" He then ran away from the slayground. "I'm coming for you, Eda!" He reached the streets, seeing that the animal control carriage was stopped at a railroad crossing. Owl Eda was screeching from inside, and he ran over to her. He crawled inside, landing on the ground. "You in there, Eda?" She snarled, still trapped in the net, and he recoiled back as she tried to eat him. Which he wouldn't blame her for. "Eda, I'm sorry. I used you for your strength cause I felt weak. I'm your friend! If only there was some way to remind you who I am."
She responded with snapping her teeth at him. "Wait a sec! Eda loves my rage squeal. Like this..." He huffed and then let out the squeal. Owl Eda started laughing.
"So tiny, so angry!" She spoke in her normal voice. She hiccupped and then turned back into regular Eda, releasing herself from the net.
"Eda, you're back!" He leapt forward and hugged her.
"What happened?" She asked in confusion.
"Okay, so I went into your room and you were the beast. And then...and then I woke up here, one second before you did."
"Uh-huh," Her tone didn't really say to him that she believed him. "I'll deal with you later. But for now, you wanna bounce?"
"Yes, please."
A blast was heard and the leader glanced back. "Ahh, where did it go?" He looked up ahead and saw Eda. "Hey, lady. Have you seen a monster that kinda looks like you?" She shrugged with a smile and walked off. "Lady!"
The two looked towards the Bat Queen bravely. "You were once a palisman, weren't you?"
The Bat Queen looked away, lifting up her foot. "...Yes, I was once part of a grand staff. A staff made for a giant! But I was broken, discarded!" She sounded like she was about to cry.
"And...you felt that Owlbert was just like you," Lucila murmured in understanding.
"So that's why you're so protective of Owlbert," Luz added in.
"I protect ALL!" Her eyes glowed and multiple pairs of eyes glowed as well. The two gapsed as they all belonged to palisman. "I made home in forest. I'm here to take the lost. The forgotten."
"We understand. But Owlbert is not forgotten! He has someone at home who loves him very much," Luz argued back.
"He will not go back with you," The Bat Queen walked off.
"That's not fair to him!" Lucila clenched her fists.
"That's not your decision to make!"
She then whipped around to them. "I won't let him!" She advanced forward and they flinched, Lucila hugging Luz protectively. However, she came to a stop, because Owlbert was blocking her path, his wings held up.
The two then communicated with each other. "You...you care for them." Owlbert hooted with a nod, going back over to the two. He rubbed his cheek against Luz's, and then Lucila's. The Bat Queen then signed. "Very well. Go. And take your friends."
Willow and Gus ran over to them, the bat babies still biting at them. They flew over to their mother, Gus covered in drool.
"I don't think I'll ever be clean again."
Owlbert flew over to the staff, grabbed it, and gave it to Lucila. He then landed on Luz's shoulder. "Bat Queen, do you know what happened to your owner?" Luz asked curiously.
"It has been thousands of years. I have forgotten," She confessed sadly.
"If you ever want to search for the truth, I'll help you," Luz stated with a smile.
"Thank you," And with that, the Bat Queen flew off with her babies in tow.
"I can't believe you guys took on the Bat Queen!" Willow hugged the two with smiles.
"And we're not dead!" Gus chimed in, waving his flags.
"Thank you for helping us get Owlbert back. I'm sorry we missed the game," Luz looked down in guilt.
"Are you kidding? That was better than any grudgby match! There were action-packed trials, I got to do my flag wave and I'm slightly traumatized. Hooray!"
Lucila chuckled a bit and Luz looked up at her. "You okay, sis? I-I know the Bat Queen said all that stuff, but it's not true."
"Yeah..." She glanced away briefly and then shook it off for now. "Anyway, I've had enough action for one day."
"Yeah," Luz smiled down at Owlbert. "Let's get this little guy home."
Once they returned with Owlbert, Luz put a bandaid on him. "And now you're a part of the Boo-Boo Buddy Club." He hooted with a smile, Lucila nudging his cheek with her finger. He accepted her gesture happily.
"Owlbert," The two flinched as Eda and King had just arrived. "Why are you off the staff?" Owlbert flew over to Eda with a hoot, landing on her shoulder. "The girls took you to get ice cream? Aww, that's...a horrible lie."
The two gulped at this, expecting a lecture. "Well, lucky for you all, I don't care right now. I'm going to take a nap," She walked towards the stairs.
"I'll, uh, be at the playground," King went out the door.
"You better not be getting revenge on that kid!" Lucila called out after him.
Owlbert flew back to the girls. "We'll keep this one to ourselves, shall we?" He nuzzled her with a purr in agreement.
"Anyway, I'm going to my room. I'm gonna...continue writing my next song."
"Luci, you okay?" Luz asked her in concern. "Don't listen to what the Bat Queen said. You take great care of me!"
"Luz," Lucila smiled a bit, holding up her hands. "I'm fine, really..." She turned around, frowning to herself as she left. Luz gave a sad look towards her sister, wishing there was something she could do to convince her. If it wasn't for her sister, she wouldn't even be practicing to be a witch.
When Eda reached her room, she felt her stomach rile up. She coughed out an elixir bottle, looking worried. "The elixir. It isn't working on the curse anymore. This is bad." She then vomited and held up part of a kids swing from the playground. "When did I swallow a swing?"
The Bat Queen was chasing after her babies, her hair in curls. "Babies, to bed. They flew up to their branch and she landed in front of them with a smile. "And now it's time to have book before sleeping." She spit out one and held out A Pox on a Fox. She opened it up...and tore out the page, feeding one to a baby. She did the same thing with the others. "Yes. Consume. Grow wise. Avoid paper cuts." They slowly closed their eyes and she landed behind them, wrapping her wings around the babies. She then fell asleep with them upside down.
Soon, midnight came, and it was time for her next lesson with the Golden Guard. The two sat across from each other next to the lake, surrounded by trees. And this time, he was teaching her to connect lines and circles for the light spell. But honestly, all her focus was on the Bat Queen's words from earlier. She couldn't help but think that the bat demon was right; if she had just said no, Owlbert wouldn't have gotten hurt. Or she could've insisted on flying the staff herself…
"So before you actually draw the symbol, you have to draw the base for it and then overlap it with..." As he was drawing, he glanced up at her and then stopped what he was doing. She was looking away, her eyes elsewhere. She was biting her lip too, and it was a bit annoying.
"Uh, hi! Eyes up here," He waved a hand and she looked up in alarm.
"Huh? Oh. Sorry," She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she realized she hadn't been listening to him.
"Wow, I know I'm a beginner at teaching, but we're only two lessons in and you're not paying attention," He leaned back and crossed his arms, dropping his pencil.
"I know, I know," She squeezed her eyes shut. "I just...ugh, I ran into the Bat Queen earlier, and it put me in a bad mood..." She confessed to him, about to go back to her drawing when the Golden Guard pulled the notebook away from her. The girl looked up in confusion.
"Wait, the Bat Queen? What'd you do to get yourself on her bad side?" He shook his head; lately he had seen Lucila whenever she was doing something illegal, or she was trying to get away from something unusual. He found it a bit funny, honestly.
"Technically, it was Luz, but I am the reason that it happened...see, the Grudgy game between Hexside and Glandus was today, and my sister wanted to go with our friends. And...long story short, she took Eda's staff even though I tried to convince her otherwise. Owlbert, Eda's palisman, got damaged, and the Bat Queen...after doing her disgusting weird trials," She shuddered a bit in disgust. "...She said that I'm too irresponsible to look after him or anyone really...and that I'm not a proper guardian for Luz. And it has me thinking…am I really not good enough to take care of my own sister?"
He stared at her as she stayed in silence for a few seconds. Then she shook it off, but it clearly bothered her. "You know what, just forget it. Let's just go back to the lesson." She just wanted to forget about it and focus on something else.
"Wait," He grabbed her wrist and she looked up in surprise. "Lucila...I don't know if this'll help, but...you know, you're not...anything like that old bat lady says. I mean, you're insolent, and stubborn-" He cut himself off as she glared at him a bit. "...But you've got a good heart, you know? And you're…very…caring," He struggled to say it because he wasn't sure if she wanted to hear this coming from him.
She blinked and then smiled softly. Out of all of the people to comfort her about this, it was coming from the Golden Guard. And the way he ended it off made her think that he...didn't hate being her teacher, especially since she was a lost cause at first. Plus he called her by the nickname Luci, which she hated, but she actually liked hearing it from him. Because it meant that he wasn't calling her human anymore, and saw her as an actual person.
"That means a lot. Thanks," She confessed to him. He froze from her smile. He didn't know what to think of it, really.
"...I-It was nothing," He rubbed the back of his neck. "How about we get you to do that first spell?"
"What? You think I'm ready?" Lucila wondering skeptically, staring at him.
"No, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot," He showed her the picture from her phone. "Take a good look and draw it when you're ready."
She hesitated and he placed his hand on top of hers. "Don't worry. I know you got this."
She took a deep breath and drew out the spell slowly. She then tapped the symbol and it glowed, turning into the light orb. Both of them looked shocked as Lucila held it in her hands. "I...I did it! I learned a spell!"
"Wow...so that's how it's done," The Golden Guard murmured in interest. "Great job. F-For a beginner, that is."
The girl gave him another smile. "Well, I do have a pretty good teacher. So what's next?"
"Now, your homework is practicing that spell."
"Aww!" She hung her head with a pout, causing him to laugh. She glanced back up at him as he held his staff, a finger in front of his mask as he chuckled.
"What'd you expect, Luci? I'm not gonna make this a walk in the park just because you learned one spell!"
For some reason…she really liked his laughter. Maybe it was because she hadn't heard it from him before. She grinned and laughed along with him, both of them starting to enjoy each other's company as the lessons went on. She couldn't deny that while the homework was draining, it was helpful. And for him, he finally got to talk to someone about wild magic...even if it was with a human.
Both of them couldn't wait until the next lesson.