Angel: I put up a poll last Saturday on my profile to decide which shows I will write next, which were listed on my profile underneath story ideas. Yes, you can vote through a guest review if you don't have an account, and whichever ones get picked will be tackled...probably when this particular story is over. I will go with both the winner and the runner-up, so start voting! Because there are 8 choices, you're allowed to pick more than one choice on the poll per vote. Limit is three, if a guest review has more than 3 votes, I'm only gonna count three towards the poll.
But movies aren't listed, and neither is anything TMNT, okay bye!
Eda was busy in the kitchen as she was stirring something. At the kitchen table, Luz was talking to Willow and Gus via crystal ball, in her Hexside uniform. Lucila was sitting nearby in her school uniform, reading over the song the Golden Guard finished for her. She smiled softly at the lyrics. While she was still wondering about the flowers, him finishing the song felt...very personal, and also dear to her heart since her passion was music. And she had been struggling with it, so it meant a lot too. "So they said I couldn't remove my thumb, but look at that," She performed the thumb trick, to their awe.
"You sliced it off! You sliced off your own thumb!" Gus started freaking out. Lucila snapped out of it, peeking over Luz's shoulder.
"Nah, not-"
"Luci, don't spoil it just yet!" Luz whispered to her and she held up her hands with an amused smile.
"Okay, but don't let my student freak out for too long."
Willow giggled at the two. "You make doing homework actually fun."
"And they say humans can't do magic," Luz gave an amused look. She then saw Lucila's song and took it in interest. "Ooh, these are some good lyrics, you wrote these?"
"Yes and no," She took the paper away before Luz looked at the Golden Guard's writing, which was vastly different from hers. She usually wrote in cursive for her songs, and he wrote it plainly, and Luz would know the differences immediately, assuming that someone (most likely in her head a boy) wrote it for her. And that was a stretch, but Luz was no idiot either.
"Lyrics?" Gus asked in confusion and Lucila turned to them.
"You didn't know? I write songs, it's just...a thing I do, you know?" She shrugged at them and Gus gasped while Willow gave a look of interest.
"Why haven't you taught me this yet?!"
"I will soon, promise," She waved a hand with a small smile.
"Guys..." King laid down on the table, getting their attention. "You've been talking to them all morning. Don't forget about the Luz and King Comedy Hour~!"
"Please, no," Eda murmured to herself in disdain. "Not the comedy hour."
"And that's my reminder to leave the room to get my bag," Lucila stated as she left the kitchen.
"This week I've been working with props," King put a toilet roll on his nose. "Oh, dear. I've gotten a tube stuck on my nose. Will I ever eat again?" He took a piece of bread from Luz's sandwich and slammed his face into it. "Looks like I'm toast." He chuckled and Luz laughed along with him.
"It just goes on like this for an hour," Eda complained nearby.
"Hey, you doughboy. Quit loafing around," Luz joked to King.
"Why don't you bake me?"
The two laughed and then an alarm went off from the crystal ball, signaling that it was 8 am. "School time! See you guys in class."
"Bye," Willow waved to her.
"But what about the thumb?" Gus asked, and his question wasn't answered as Luz hung up. King sighed sadly at this.
"Hey, don't worry," Luz stated as Lucila came back with her backpack. "We'll finish our comedy hour when Luci and I get home." She kissed the top of his head, Lucila doing the same.
"Oh, you," He giggled at them, Lucila waving.
"Bye King!"
"Try not to miss us while we're gone~!" Luz called out as she closed the door behind them. King jumped onto the ground, scratching it like a dog would when its owner left the house.
"You-you really think they're coming back this time?"
"Yes, they'll be back," Eda glanced away. "They always come back. It's cute you miss 'em though."
"The King of Demons-" He ripped off his props. "The King of Demons misses nobody! I wouldn't care if they came through this door right now." The door opened and he was pushed aside as the two stood in the doorway.
"Hey, you're-"
"You're back!" King interrupted the Owl Lady, crawling onto Luz's head. "I didn't miss you guys at all."
"Apparently there's an infestation of pixies at Hexside, so school's been canceled," Luz announced with a smile.
"Would've liked to know that in a message, but I'm not gonna complain," Lucila smiled too.
"That sounds like a...crumby situation," King jabbed, the two laughing. The older Noceda dragged a hand down her face.
"Oh yeah...Comedy Hour starts sooner. Yaaaay..."
Hooty then appeared in the house. "Hey, guess what's been in my mouth that I'm about to throw up?" He retched and they just stared, the two humans disgusted. He threw up a bunch of letters, including a package. "The mail!"
Unfortunately, he acted as the one who delivered the mail, which made sense since he could see the mail every single time. But...it made sorting through it disgusting. Eda picked up all the letters.
"Junk, junk. Death-hex," She tossed that one into a trash can and it disappeared. "Oh, a carnival's in town today!" She held up the flyer.
"A carnival?" Luz asked excitedly, picking up King. "You know, I've been so busy with school lately, what do you say we take this comedy hour on tour? It'll be a Luz and King day!"
"That's my kind of day, except with Luci too!"
"Of course I'll go," Lucila grinned at him, patting him on the head. "...So long as you don't spend the entire day making jokes, please don't do that to me..."
"Let's all four of us go!" Luz wrapped her arms around Eda, King, and Lucila.
"An adventure with friends," Hooty chimed in. "I'll go pack my stuff."
"Carnivals bring crowds and crowds bring suckers. This could be the perfect chance to try out my new get-witch-quick scheme," She held up her staff, which was what she was stirring the potion with for some reason. She flicked off the liquid to reveal Owlbert. "I'm in! To the carnival!"
"To the carnival!" The others cheered before rushing out the door.
"Good news," Hooty came back into the kitchen, wearing a sun hat, sunglasses, a camera, and sun block on his nose. "I'm bringing my knapsack full of games! Hello?" He looked around in confusion and then a fly came. "Oh, a fly! Talk to me! Talk to me!" He chased after it.
The four entered the Bonesborough Carnival. King was wearing a fanny pack. "Well, here we are, kids. Look at all that fresh meat." Lucila rolled her eyes at the wording. People were walking by with cotton candy...meat on a stick with flies...and a kid won a demon goldfish.
"And smell all the fresh meat," Luz sniffed the air, only to get a bug stuck in her nose. She then coughed it out. "Fun!"
"Just...make sure you know what you're eating, okay?" Lucila asked cautiously.
Owlbert came to life and tried to fly away, but Eda stopped him. "No games for you, Owlbert. We've got scams to run."
He hooted in disappointment and Lucila nuzzled his chin with her finger. "Aw, don't worry, Owlbert." She leaned in to whisper. "I'll try and win you something later."
She couldn't promise anything, though. She used to take Luz to the annual carnival back home and she sucked at carnival games...or rather, they were too rigged.
"Friends, welcome!" Tibbles, the pig demon who beat Eda in Hexes Hold 'Em, landed in front of them in a ringmaster outfit. They all screamed, getting into defensive positions. "I see you got my postcard."
"Tibbles, you sent this?" She held up the poster...only to notice the back that had his picture on it, addressed to them and signed by him. It was apparently one of those flyers where if someone moved it, the poses changed.
"Mm-hmm," Tibbles swayed back and forth.
"Aren't you mad at us for destroying your stand?" Luz asked curiously.
"Ooh, and for destroying his life," King chimed in. "That was the best part."
"Yeah, you swore revenge after that," Lucila raised a brow, skeptical of this whole thing.
"No, no, no. I should thank you. After my stand was destroyed, I reevaluated my life and found my true calling," He smiled, turning back to the carnival. "I'm now ringmaster of..." He cracked a whip. "Tibbles' Tent of Tiny Terrors."
"Aw!" Luz bent down and her sister joined her. There were small versions of unicorns, manticores, and griffins. "It's like a regular circus, but adorably small." The griffin snarled at her. "You're my friends now," She pressed her face against the glass.
"I don't buy it," Eda spoke up, making her staff disappear. She then crossed her arms with a suspicious look. "What kind of con are you running?"
"No cons here, Owl Lady," He shook his head, and he did look happy, but that wasn't enough to convince her. "Only pros. In fact, why don't we toast our newfound friendship with this totally innocent bottle of water?" He held up a tall bottle with purple liquid inside.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Eda snatched it from him. "Why don't I just-" Eda pretended to drink and then threw it at someone's head, knocking him down.
"I'm okay."
"I know poison when I see it," She pointed down at the pig demon accusingly. "You can't scam a scammer. Now speaking of scams..." She walked over to a stand. "Beat it, loser!" She knocked down all his stuff and the stand owner left in fear. She jumped right behind the counter. "Step right up to..." She spun a spell circle, turning it into a human horror house stand. "Eda's Human Horror House." Some people walked up to her. "Humans shed their skin and I've got proof," She stretched out a pair of leggings from Luz, along with a pair of green pants that was Lucila's.
"You should really put a lock on your closet," King commented to them.
"Eh, it's okay, that was a hand-me-down from Cori that I didn't really like," Lucila waved it off. She only kept it because she felt bad for not telling her friend the truth... "But I will take that advice to heart."
"You know what, Eda can pick through my socks all she wants," Luz agreed with her sister. "Because today is all about having a great time with my partner in crime."
"That's me," King's eyes widened. "I love crime."
"I'm right there with you guys," Lucila smiled at them. The three laughed and walked off, with Tibbles watching them.
"Have a good time, friends..." He waved and then gave a sinister smile, backing away. "While it lasts."
"Dunk the skeleton. Win a prize!" An Abominations student called out, holding a ball. Someone threw it at the target...and skin formed onto him.
"Aah, I'm covered in pores!"
"Huh...interesting," Lucila commented, thankful that she didn't have to see the lower area.
"Now this is my kinda weird," Luz said happily as they walked past a roller coaster with teeth for carts. "So, what do you wanna do first? We could brave the molar coaster or eat a mysterious blob..."
"Already I'm staying away from that. I don't wanna know where that's been," Lucila shuddered a bit. They couldn't eat most food here since it wasn't exactly...to their tastes.
"Ooh, what's that?" King ran over to a prize stand, seeing some bracelets on display. "Huh, some kind of deadly string weapon."
"No, silly," Luz placed a hand on his head. "That's a friendship bracelet."
"Is that a type of deadly weapon?" King asked curiously.
"A weapon of love! It's basically a declaration to the whole world that you're the best of friends," She took the three pieces and put them together to form a heart. "Luci and I kinda have something similar," She pulled down her hoodie a bit while Lucila dug into her blouse. They both held up necklaces that had the other sister's name on them.
"Luz insisted we have them since I was 10, and I haven't taken it off since."
"Ho ho! That's way safer than becoming blood brothers. Luz, we must have those bracelets!" King cheered at them.
"And...yoink!" The prize vendor snatched them from the girl. "Sorry, ma'am. If your bone son wants these bracelets, you have to play the games and win the tickets. "You know, carnival rules."
"Beat up the man and steal his things for me!" King pleaded with the two, pointing to him.
"Or...let's just play the games," Luz shrugged at him.
"You know, the safer way?" Lucila suggested, crossing her arms.
"Oh, okay." He pushed them away and they laughed.
"Games! Games! Games!" Then Luz came across Willow and Gus. Lucila bumped right into Edric and he caught her by the waist. She instinctively put her hands on his shoulders. "Friends!" Luz hugged the duo.
"Hey, Luz!"
"Ed!" Lucila blushed as she looked up at him.
"Luci! I'm sorry," He stated sheepishly for bumping into her.
"Oh, no, no, you actually saved me from embarrassment. Thank you, um..." She released him when she realized their position. She was about to speak when Luz, Willow, and Gus gave her a group hug. "Gus, Willow, hi!"
Edric just smiled at how close they were. "Oh, my gosh. I didn't think I'd see carniv-'yall here," Luz joked and Lucila groaned.
"Boo," Gus stated at the lame joke.
"Okay Luz, that's your first joke. After that, you only get two more," Lucila pointed at her, since she didn't want to spend the whole day listening to them.
"I got an invitation from Tibbles," Willow held up her own invitation that was addressed to 'the other two.'
"We figured it's a trap since we squashed his stand with a walking house," Gus added in, Edric nodding of approval of how cool that sounded.
"But who cares? This place has a Scarris wheel," Willow smiled happily, while King looked a bit bothered by their presence.
"It's like a human Ferris wheel, but it gives you long-lasting nightmares," The shorter boy added in.
"Yes!" Luz cheered upon hearing this. "This mama is ready for trauma."
"Ahem," King cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, yeah. We're on a very important quest to win a special prize for King."
"Oh, we could help with that!" Willow offered to them.
"Aww," Gus bent down a little. "Does the little guy wanna win a prize? Uh, does he? Uh, does he?" He made baby noises while wiggling his finger at King, who slapped his hand away.
"What do you think, King?" Luz questioned with a smile. "The more the merrier, huh?"
He didn't want to, since it was supposed to be a day with just him, Luz, and Lucila, but he also didn't want to say no. The sisters were his friends after all. But something about it just made him a little disappointed. "Um, sure. Whatever you want, guys."
"All right. Approval!" Luz cheered, pumping up her fists.
"Um," Edric cleared his throat and they turned to him. "Actually, if it's okay with you guys, can I...steal Luci for a while so we can play other games?"
"Mm?" Lucila blinked in surprise. "Oh, uh...well, I'm technically supervising Luz and the others, so-"
"What?! No, no, you guys go have older teen fun," Luz pushed them away, getting the hint as she grinned. She could see what Edric wanted from a mile away. "Don't worry about us, we'll stay out of trouble!"
"So she says after getting me into the detention track, after we were previously banned from school, after she didn't listen to Eda about-"
"Okay, I get it!" Luz pouted at her. "But cross my heart I won't cause any trouble! Or any of us."
"We're not gonna get in the way of what's happening here," Willow winked and Edric blushed while Lucila bit her lip in thought. Well, it was a carnival, and she did trust them...looking back, she might have to worry about Eda more than them at some point. After all, if she stole her green pants, who knows what else she was trying to sell? But she did really wanna hang out with Edric...
"...Fine, you guys can go. Find us if you need anything."
"Yay!" They cheered, except for King. First Willow and Gus were here, and now Lucila was gonna run off with Edric. Needless to say, this made him a little more unhappier.
"Um, but what about the bracelets?" He asked her and she bent down to him.
"Well, I won't be gone the entire day. You can just come find me when you guys win all those tickets! Besides, I'm sure you'll see me around anyway. Is that okay?"
"I guess..." He relented to her.
"Alright, I'm all yours," Lucila smiled at Edric, and the two waved as they left.
"Not getting in the way of love! Yeah!" Luz shouted as the three ran off, cheering. King struggled to run after them, because of his small legs.
They played pinball where the machines simply eat the ball. The trio ran off and when King came over, the ball was spat out at him.
Edric and Lucila played a shooting game, where they pointed a little dragon to shoot fireballs at the alive targets. They managed to win some tickets, smiling.
Luz was talking to everyone when they came across a photo stand. They all smiled for the camera as the three teens were clowns...and King was a garbage can. And it kind of felt like it to him too since he wasn't as close to them...
Edric pulled Lucila into a monster photo booth, where they took some pictures. They did some funny poses and when they stepped out, they examined them with smiles.
Luz held up a fried orb and took a bite. Willow ate some, and then Gus, with purple slime coming from their mouths with each bite. However, that left none for King, who crossed his arms angrily.
Lucila paid for some cotton candy that hopefully looked edible to her, with Edric tapping her shoulder. She turned to him and he turned her back to her. She tried to peek over him in confusion and when he turned back to her, he had stuck some cotton candy up his nose, over his eyes, and over his mouth to make a goofy face out of cotton candy. The girl giggled at him.
Luz was talking to Gus and Willow at a balloon pop stand, or a polyp pop stand. "So the pixie infestation was actually caused when Boscha's pet pixie escaped its cage..."
King couldn't even see the balloons to throw the dart. He couldn't do anything about his legs, and it wasn't like the others were paying attention to help. He eventually fell on his face. "Curse these stubby legs!"
He sat up and saw the three laughing together, looking sad. He walked off, sitting in front of a stand while holding his cheeks. Luz went from spending time with him to spending time with her friends more...and Lucila straight up left to go with someone else. He glanced up at a poster and sighed.
"Oh, my, my, my. You seem troubled."
His eyes widened at the sudden voice, looking up. "Huh? Who said that?" He stood up and was met with a pig demon.
"It is I, Obvioso, the all-seeing psychic."
"Haven't I seen you somewhere?" King narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "It's almost so..."
"Obvious?" The pig psychic interrupted.
"That's what I was gonna say!" The little horned demon pointed up in awe. "Wow! You really are psychic."
"You're right," He placed a hand on his cheek. "And Obvioso can see that something is bothering you, my friend."
King responded with a sigh, looking away and crossing his arms. "You got my number, Obvioso. Today was supposed to be about me, Luz, and Lucila, see? But now they're distracted by their cool new school friends."
"What if I were to tell you that there was a way to make all those problems disappear?"
He raised a brow at this question. "I'd say that sounds illegal. I would also say go on."
The pig demon chuckled as he went into his stand, looking at a spray bottle with purple liquid in it...the same color as the stuff that Eda got earlier. He took it and faced King, holding it up. "Behold!" He sprayed a creature nearby and it disappeared in thin air.
"Holy bones!" King cried out in a panic. "You poofed it! Call the cops! This guy's crazy!"
"Hey," Obvioso laughed at him. "The spray is only temporary. I just give my cheeks a tap and then," He tapped his cheeks and the creature reappeared. "It returns safe and sound." The creature then hatched an egg with a baby one in it. "Take this," He gave King the spray. "Enjoy the carnival without the problems. Luz, Lucila, Willow, Gus, and Edric will be none the wiser."
"Whoa! You even know their names. Guess there's no use arguing with a fortune-teller. Thanks, Obvioso!" He then left with a smile. The pig demon laughed evilly as he removed the mustache to reveal himself as Tibbles. "Hey," King came back and he quickly put the mustache back on. "Side note, in the future do I ever find love?"
"Uhh...yes."
He giggled and then left for real, Tibbles sighing in relief. "Hmm," King looked down at the bottle. "Maybe I should think about this first."
"King!" Luz called out to him as the three ran up. He quickly hid the bottle. "Sorry we lost you back there, little dude."
"Hey, it's okay," King shrugged it off. "Let's go back to the games and win those bracelets," He grabbed her hand, pulling her away...but then Gus grabbed her other arm.
"But we haven't gone on any rides and there's no line for the bumper carcasses."
"Games!" King glared up at him, pulling at Luz's arm.
"Carcasses!"
"Games!"
"Carcasses!"
Luz's stomach rumbled and she released herself. "Food! I'm gonna grab some rotten candy while you guys figure this out. Bye!" She then ran off and Willow turned to Gus.
"When Luz comes back, let's go on the three-man cauldron spinner."
"Or the triple swing!"
"Oh, and that's close to those photo booths that can fit exactly three people," Willow added in, and King felt left out again like last time.
"But...today was me, Luci, and Luz's day," He said in disappointment.
"Aww," Gus went over and picked him up. "Does the little baby boo miss his buddies Luz and Lucila?" Willow giggled as she stepped forward. "Does he? Uh, does he?"
"The King of Demon misses nobody!" He re-established while trying to break free. The zipper came loose from his fanny pack. "I demand you put me down!" The spray bottle fell and it splashed Willow and Gus' legs.
"What?"
The two then disappeared just like with the creature, and King fell onto the ground. "Oh, no! What have I done?" King held his head.
"Wow," Luz came back with the rotten candy. "I guess they really wanted to ride those bumper carcasses."
King put the bottle back again. "Actually, Luz, there's something I gotta tell you."
"No," She bent down to him, pointing a finger. "There's something I gotta tell you, King," She then smiled at him. "I said I'd help you win those friendship bracelets. So win them we shall, okay? We can look for Lucila on the way too. I don't wanna interrupt her time with Edric, but I know she'd wanna help."
"Uhh..." He glanced away, not wanting to get rid of this opportunity. "Willow and Gus will be okay for a little while, right?"
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" King grabbed Luz's hand. "Now let's go!" He chuckled happily.
"Ready or not, here we crumb," Luz joked to him.
"Yes! Ha ha!"
However, Willow and Gus didn't actually disappear; they had actually been shrunken down to being smaller than ants!
"First, I'm growing out of my clothes," Gus gestured to himself. "Now I'm shrinking? Dang, puberty. You're the craziest coaster of them all."
Willow groaned at this.
Gus then let out a scream as people were walking by, and they had to be careful. "What happened to us? Did I black out on the molar coaster again?"
"Sketchy carnival rides are not to blame this time," Willow clenched her fists, frowning. "King had something in his pouch that made us small."
"And I just got tall enough for the rides!" Gus cried, kneeling and holding his head. A large shadow suddenly loomed over them and Willow looked up.
"Gus..." She stated cautiously, pointing upwards. He looked up and saw the baby that hatched from before. Willow grabbed Gus' hand and they ran off before it could eat them. They came across a cup and Willow jumped to bring it down over them.
"I think we're safe now."
Except not, because the creature resorted to using its tongue to poke through the styrofoam. They both screamed in terror.
"Ew," Gus hugged the girl, who was frustrated.
"Enough of this!" She growled out, her eyes glowing green. Vines rose from the ground, grabbing the tongue. The creature sat up as the cup was stuck in his mouth and they ran off. "Quick!" They stopped near some fallen cotton candy. "We have to find Luz and get her attention before any more carnival animals hunt us down." She grabbed some cotton candy, whistling while jumping up and down.
A fly flew over to them and she threw the piece onto the dirt. "Eat up, my steed!" She encouraged as they watched. "Lead us to safety." She then jumped onto the fly's back, Gus looking a little disgusted.
"It's so hairy," He stepped forward reluctantly. "Why is it so hairy?"
"Because up close, everything is hairy," She answered before grabbing him and placing the boy behind her as they flew off.
"Round as the moon, their ears are," Eda boomed to several customers in front of the stand. "With mood swings as terrifying as night itself." She then dug behind the counter, holding up a fidget spinner and Lucila's pop socket. "Now, who wants to touch some outdated human references?" She spun the fidget spinner with a small smirk.
"I do!"
"Me!"
"Okay, show's over," They looked up ahead to see someone standing there, a clown to be specific with a white and black uniform. "This witch doesn't have a license."
The customers immediately fled. "I can't do time again!"
"Run!"
"Uh, what are you?" Eda gave him a glare. "The Fun Police?"
"Yes!" He literally had a badge that said Fun Police on it, and it squeaked too. "And you're coming with me,"
"Uh, excuse me, sir. I'd like to have a word with your...staff!" She pointed her witch's staff at him, but Owlbert wasn't attached to it. "Owlbert? Owlbert! Where are you?" She looked around and found him playing Whack-a-Giraffe, using his feet to play. He hooted happily. "Owlbert, you're lucky I can't be mad at your adorable antics," She then ran off, crashing into a rotten candy stand.
"Hey, I caught her," The vendor gestured to his stand happily.
The clown spun a spell circle, lifting Eda out of the cotton candy, which her hair was covered in.
"I hate carnivals," She growled out.
"Just a couple of more games before we get a prize of your own choosing," Edric smiled down at Lucila as they walked around the carnival.
"Huh? Oh, no, you don't have to win me a prize!" She waved her hands rapidly. "You sure you don't want anything, Ed?"
"Even if I did, my sisters might take it away," He pouted a bit. "They already wouldn't let me keep a bat."
"Bat or not, it doesn't matter to me. Like what you like, Ed, I'm okay with whatever you wanna get," She stated in an assuring way, eating a piece of cotton candy. "You don't need to hide everything from me, you know. We're friends, remember?" She beamed at him. "I don't want you acting like someone else. Whatever you like is cool!"
He blushed at her words, feeling that he can be himself around her. "Hey, what's that?"
"What?" She looked to her left and he pushed up the cotton candy onto her nose. He chuckled and she just giggled instead of being mad. She should've expected that. "Where are your sisters, anyway?" Lucila asked as she looked around for them, moving away the cotton candy. "I always see you with Emira, matter of fact."
"Uhh...I might've snuck out without them," He rubbed the back of his neck, surprising her. "I...I wanted to be around you alone, you know? Heh..."
She smiled softly at him. She didn't know what it was, but after he made up for his first impression at the library, it was like he was a whole different person. And she liked that he had stopped being so apathetic. "I like being alone with you too."
He looked up and smiled, feeling his heart beating.
Luz and King were having a fun time as he dragged her around, determined to win those bracelets. Willow and Gus flew from the stand, following after them. Luz threw her ball for the skee-ball, but missed. She suddenly got an idea and tickled the machines, allowing King to throw the ball into one the mouths, disappointing the machines. Luz and King earned a bunch of tickets.
Gus poked at the fly's hair, hugging Willow in disgust. She found the duo at a cotton candy stand, King dragging Luz forward. The duo landed in the cotton candy machine, being spun around.
Luz threw a ring for the ring toss game, but the bottle she was aiming for came to life and moved on its own. The vendor just shrugged at this, but King put a ring through the being's body. In return, he gave them a bunch of tickets.
Willow climbed out of the machine, panting as she was covered in cotton candy.
"We can't keep doing this," Gus grunted behind her. The girl gasped, noticing the House of Mirrors up ahead.
"We won't have to for much longer," She rubbed her chin, getting an idea.
Eda was being held in the Fun Police Office, tied up in rope. "Just when I thought I couldn't respect the law any less..." Two clown shoes were put up on the table, and she narrowed her eyes a bit. "It surprises me."
"So, I hear you're running scams at my carnival?" The clown pointed at her. "That's my job. And I take my job very seriously." His bow tie spun around, which just annoyed Eda further.
"Spare me the yuks. What do you want?" She got down to the chase.
"Since I'm a forgiving demon, I'll give you two options," He rubbed his mustache, glancing up at the wall of wanted posters he had up. And of course, her own was on it. "I can pass you along to the Emperor's Coven who'll throw you in the Conformatorium, or you can scam for me," He jerked a thumb to a caramel crab apple stand...with a ridiculous outfit for her to wear.
"1,230," The prize vendor was counting up all of the tickets that Luz and King earned. "1,231."
King gave a giddy sound as he looked at the friendship bracelets.
"Now, King, before you spend your tickets," Luz bent down and picked him up. "Are you sure you want those friendship bracelets and not this bad boy?" She pointed to a skull that was on display.
"I am the King of Night," He growled out. "And every breath you take brings you closer to darkness..."
They stared at it for a few seconds. "This guy's a riot," Luz smiled at this. "It'd be hard to explain it to Luci since she'd want me to return it immediately, but I think we can sneak that past her."
"Yes, Luz. I want the bracelets! It's...kind of important to me, okay?"
"I can be important to you," The skull spoke up again. "I, who have seen the birth and death of countless nations..." The prize vendor smacked him on the head with a broom.
"Hey! Stop it. No, no. Stop it. Yes, where was I? Well, lost count. Okay, one, two..." He went back to counting tickets as a fly dropped cotton candy on Luz's hair. "Three, four, five, six."
Luz looked up and noticed it, putting down King. "Ugh, gross. I'm gonna need a mirror. I'll be right back, King."
He just looked back to the vendor, who was counting. "12, 13, 14..."
"Count faster!" King pointed up at him.
Luz saw a bunch of cotton candy arrows leading to the House of Mirrors. "Huh. There we go." She opened up the curtain and stepped inside. She followed the trail as various forms of herself appeared on the mirrors. She then came to a stop as she noticed a message. "You made it. Aw, what a supportive sign." She looked up and beamed. "Wait a sec." She saw Gus and Willow in the reflection of the mirror. "Supportive friends!" She ran up to hug them.
"No, Luz. Don't do it!"
Her face smacked into the mirror and she fell onto the floor, rubbing the back of her head. "Huh?" She looked up in confusion, Willow pointing down to the ground, revealing themselves to her. "Oh, my gosh."
"One million. Yep, I just counted to one million," The prize vendor contemplated. "The bracelets are all yours," He then gave them to King.
"Yes. Yes! Now Luz, Lucila, and I will share a bond as mighty as these trinkets!" He laughed and then walked off to find her.
Edric and Lucila arrived just as he left, holding a bunch of tickets. They turned to the stand as Edric looked at the various prizes. He had to get something that wouldn't eat or attack her later on.
"Hmm..." He glanced around at the various stuff and then pointed to a blue teddy bear. He slammed down the tickets and the prize vendor took them to count. "This was fun, Luci," He smiled as they waited. "We should do this again for our next date."
"What?" Lucila asked in alarm, holding up a hand. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, but that wasn't a date." She definitely liked him, but she wasn't sure if that could be considered a date. Besides, she felt like something was holding her back from confirming it for him, and she didn't know what it was. Nothing against Edric (this time), but...she just had a nagging feeling about the whole thing.
"So then can we do a real one?"
She opened and closed her mouth, speechless. She didn't think he'd actually do that! "Um…uh…" Before she could say anything, a voice called out to her.
"Luci!"
She turned to see her sister running up to her from the House of Mirrors. And while she was unsure about answering the question, she also didn't want to be interrupted. "Luz, I'm kind of in the middle of—"
"You have to help me! Willow and Gus...they somehow shrunk!" She showed the two in her palms and the girl gasped, Edric's eyes widening in alarm.
"Oh my god, are they okay?!" She looked down at them.
"Things were trying to eat us!" Gus pouted at her.
"King had something from his pouch, it fell and we were suddenly small," Willow explained to her, Luz looking concerned as she stared at the two teens.
"Do you two know how to reverse this?"
"I-I don't know how to fix this, I don't know what exactly he used on them. Do you know how he did it?" Lucila responded nervously.
"No, but we have to talk to him now!"
"It must've been a shrinking potion," Edric chimed in, getting their attention. "That's kind of an advanced one for him, though. I wonder how he learned it."
"He didn't," Lucila explained to him. "King only knows one potion, and that was to bring vegetables to life. And he certainly didn't have that potion when we left with him, so that means someone gave it to him on purpose."
"And I know why," Luz narrowed her eyes. "Let's go, Luci."
Lucila turned around to Edric, biting her lip. "Ed, I'm so sorry about this, but—"
"No, no, I get it, Luci. You've gotta help your friends, and...that's kinda one of the things I like about you," He rubbed the back of his head, and Luz would comment on how adorable that was, but she had other priorities right now. "Uh, is it okay if I go with you? I wanna help."
"Umm..." She glanced at Luz and then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Let's move it, guys!"
King walked into the House of Mirrors, looking around for his friends. "Luz? Luuuuuz?"
The group walked in and he saw their reflections, this one being anime. He yelped a bit, turning around as he saw that they weren't happy. "Heya, guys. Good news. I got the bracelets!"
"King..." Luz opened up her hands, revealing what happened. Willow and Gus glared at him.
"You splashed us with a shrinking potion to make us small," She explained, hands on her hips.
"And now I can't go on the big-boy rides!" Gus jumped up and down. "You monster."
"Y-You weren't supposed to drink. Y-you were supposed to disappear, and Edric too!" His eyes widened as he realized what he said, shocking all of them. "No, wait!"
"What?!"
"Disappear?!" Lucila exclaimed loudly. "King, no matter what it was supposed to do, Gus and Willow could've gotten seriously hurt with the size they're at now!"
"Whoever gave you that thing, you gotta reverse this," Edric stated, crossing his arms, a bit angry that King planned for him to disappear too.
"No, no, no. No, guys. I can explain. I wanted to win the bracelets and there was this psychic, see," He held up the potion to them.
"That must be the potion you guys talked about," Luz put the smaller duo onto the ground, holding out her hand. "Give me the spray bottle, King."
"No, wait!" He hugged it away from her. "I-I gotta explain."
"There's nothing to explain," Luz grabbed it from him, the other two taking ahold of it.
"Give it back, we have to figure out who made this!" Lucila grunted a bit.
"I-I was just trying to-"
"Shrink my friends?" Luz asked angrily.
"I was trying to solve my problems!" The bottle was pulled open, and it sprayed all over the four.
"Uh-oh," They all murmured in unison before being shrunk. They turned to Gus and Willow, who waved up to them.
"Hi," The two greeted, unamused. Lucila crossed her arms and glared down at King.
"Wait, I can fix it! Obvioso showed me how. Behold," He tapped his cheek, but nothing happened. He tried again, but they were still small. "Why isn't it working?!"
"I'd say it's working quite well," Tibbles walked up to them with a sinister smile, Lucila gasping sharply.
He took all six to his tent, King continually tapping his cheeks. "Um, Luz, I think King is broken."
"Tapping my cheeks is supposed to turn us normal. The psychic told me," King explained quickly.
"Oh, did he?" Tibbles spoke up with an evil look in his eyes. "But what if he...lied to you from the start?" he waved a spell circle, putting on a mustache. "Hold on," He paused to put on the hat. "Lied to you from the start? It's different."
"You fiend!" King pointed up at him. "When Obvioso finds out you stole his mustache-" He then connected the dots. "Oh..."
Gus facepalmed at this.
"The potion was designed by me," Tibbles revealed to them. "Guess whose cheeks control it?"
"You jerkish swine!" Lucila growled up at him.
"Why are you doing this?" Luz demanded the pig demon.
"Can't say that my sisters won't hurt you when they find out," Edric glared at Tibbles.
"Ah, Ed...they're not gonna know we're here, remember?" Lucila closed her eyes, since the two were at home.
"Oh..."
"When you destroyed my stand," He threw off his mustache. "You destroyed generations of Grimm Hammer history. Now it's time to pay," He disappeared into the curtain, throwing them into the terrarium. "Welcome to..." He turned around and faced the audience, a spotlight falling on them. "The greatest show on the Boiling Isles!"
The crowd cheered as they all gasped. "Will these witches and demons survive feeding time? Let's find out!" He rung a little bell and then snarling was heard from the tiny tent. They turned around as several of the tiny animals appeared, even the unicorn.
"Aw," Luz put her hands on her cheeks. "At least he's still my friend." Then it growled angrily, showing fangs. "That's how friends react."
The tiny animals advanced towards them, Tibbles looming over them with an evil smile. "You ruined my livelihood. So now you'll feed my livelihood," He spun a spell finger, putting up a screen. "Place your bets and enjoy the show!"
Lucila and Edric stood protectively in front of the four. Edric was about to cast a spell when she stopped him. "We can't hurt them! They're subjected to the potion too."
"Oh, that's right," He agreed reluctantly.
"Well, if I have to go, at least I'm with my best friends," Gus spoke up. "And King."
"Look out!" Lucila shouted and all of them dove out of the way as the unicorn lunged towards them.
"Caramel Crab Apples," Eda called out reluctantly, unaware of the danger that the others were in. "Get 'em hot and pinchy."
"Hey, over here!" Someone called out.
"Yeah, yeah," She got pinched by one of the crab apples. "Hold your spider-horses."
Gus created an illusion of a vacuum cleaner, irritating the animals. The others ran past and Willow used her plant magic to bring down the drinker. One of the animals stopped on the illusion, Luz throwing King behind the drinker. Lucila and Edric pulled the other two into hiding, and one of the animals started attacking the drinker.
"We've gotta..." Luz paused as the banging occurred again. "Find a way out of here!"
King glanced to the side, watching the unicorn opening and closing its mouth near Willow. He then looked to Gus, who looked just as frightened as Willow. He looked up at Lucila and Edric, who were trying their best to distract the animals by standing on the drinker. Finally, he looked at Luz, who ducked her head from being clawed. He hit himself in the head.
"Ah, King, you idiot! This is all your fault. But I think I know how to fix it," He held up the friendship bracelets. He then ran off, confusing everyone. The animals saw him and started chasing after him.
"King?" Luz questioned in shock as the kids came out of hiding.
"What are you doing?" Lucila called out.
"I think he's got a plan," Edric turned to her.
"Willow, Gus, I'm sorry for poofing you," King called out to them. "And Edric, I'm sorry that I planned to do the same thing to you." The boy in question blinked in surprise as King was cornered. "And Luz, I'm sorry for taking you away from your friends and I'm sorry that I got you angry at me, Lucila." The animals got closer and he looked a bit panicked. "I know you two will eventually go home and now you're both spending more time at school. I just...wanna be around you!"
The two glanced at each other, shocked.
The animals leaped towards him, but he jumped twice, and they missed. He reached the top of the cage.
The audience started booing, Tibbles lifting up a coin from his eye. "No refunds." He heard whimpering and then turned to the screen, seeing King standing at the edge.
"All right. I only have one shot," He twirled the bracelets, throwing them. They hit Tibbles' cheeks and he tapped it.
"Darn flies," His eyes widened as he realized what he just did. "Oh no..." A purple aura glowed around the six.
"Hey, hey. No discounts, buddy," Eda told a customer as people kept booing.
"You guys owe me! There's nothing happening in this show!"
"Not a single one of those dumb kids have gotten hurt yet."
"Dumb kids?" She asked in confusion, finally looking towards the screen. "Wait," Her eyes widened and then they narrowed. "Those are my dumb kids!"
The six started growing until eventually they broke the cage open, all of them back to their normal size. King glanced up at them and they all sighed in relief. The animals grew in size and Luz realized something.
"You shrunk the animals too?" She questioned angrily.
"It's the Tent of Tiny Terrors," Tibbles responded in a 'duh' voice. "Something needed to be tiny."
"Wow. That's cold," Edric commented with a small glare. "You're a mean little piggy."
"Finish the job!" The audience jeered at the animals, who looked confused by what was going on. "Get them kids."
"Feast!" Someone threw a crab apple at one, who ate it. His eyes shined as he loved the taste and they all growled at the audience. They glanced at their apples, the biggest one declaring war to get them. The crowd screamed as they ran off, with the animals chasing after them to get their apples.
"They foiled my plans," Tibbles glared furiously. "You will pay for this!" He then held out the shrinking potion. "This time I'm gonna personally squash you," Eda stepped up from behind and took the spray bottle from him.
"Oh no, Tibbles. That's not how entertainment works," Eda tossed it away into Lucila's hands. She smirked at Edric, who gave her a knowing look. She stepped back and then tossed the bottle into the air. Edric pointed his finger at it and blasted the bottle to bits. "The bad guy always gets his just desserts," The woman poured her crab apples onto him.
"Oh, no! Not desserts!" He cried out.
"Hey, girls," Eda called out to the animals. "This one's on the house." They took one look at him, and he knew he was in trouble.
"This is the part where you start running," Edric whispered to him and he screamed, turning around and running off.
"Looks like we ruined his life for a second time," Willow commented as they all watched.
"We're on a roll," Gus commented with a mischievous look.
"Serves him right," Lucila huffed at Tibbles. "If I ever see that pig again, I'll make him into breakfast."
"Gus, Willow, you're okay!" King exclaimed in relief, Edric giving him a look. "A-And you too, Edric."
"All thanks to you, King," Luz bent down to him, Lucila joining her side. "Here," She revealed five pieces of the friendship bracelets. "It was all that was left."
He took them into his hands, a bit sad. "It's...it's okay. Because now there's a piece for everybody," He held out two pieces to Gus and Willow. They looked a bit hesitant, but the look on his face told him that he meant this gesture. "I-If you'll accept it, that is?"
The two smiled, Willow taking hers. "Thank you, King."
"Yeah. I've always wanted to own a jagged piece of cheap metal.
Edric was okay not getting one, since at least he got to see the sweet moment. And he knew that with Lucila, her relationships with family and friends meant everything to her, besides her music.
"That's very sweet," Luz picked him up, Lucila patting him on the head affectionately.
"I'm sorry, you guys," He told them. "Demons do crazy things when they've been missing somebody."
"It's okay. Nothing I haven't gotten through before...well, not exactly like this, but you get the point," Lucila commented to him. When Lucila was 13 and Luz was 11, the younger Noceda wanted to hang out with her and her friends really badly. She wanted to tag along to everything, and Lucila was in that cringy teen phase where they wanted to be alone. And Luz had tried everything to be a part of their group; sneaking over to Will or Cori's houses, begging her mom to take her to the local mall...and every time Lucila came home, Luz wanted to hang out with her every single minute. Thankfully, Lucila's phase didn't last long, as she finally caved and let Luz come along if she wanted to.
"And can we tell you a secret?" Luz leaned in. "We've been missing you too," She kissed his skull, hearing a giggle. The three shared a group hug.
"Sorry I wasn't there for getting the bracelets, though. That was a low blow," Lucila rubbed the back of her neck.
"It's okay, I forgive you. But you're baking me some cupcakes later!"
"Sure," She smiled a bit.
"Hey, we still have a few hours of carnival left. Wanna hit those bumper carcasses?"
"You bread my mind," Luz joked in return and he laughed.
"Yes! Bread puns. Bread puns forever!"
"Oh, that physically hurt me to hear," Lucila closed her eyes.
Luz put him down, turning around. "You coming, Eda?"
"Nah. I think I got everything I wanted," Eda was laying down on Tibbles' coins. The audience seats all broke into pieces. "Yep. Another great year at the carnival."
"Luci?" Edric spoke up to her. "Um, about earlier-"
"Earlier? What happened earlier?" Luz asked in interest.
"...I want you to leave this tent and pretend that you didn't hear that," Lucila pointed at her, grabbing Edric's hand and storming off. She went behind the tent, glancing around for her sister or friends. "Okay, quick tip: Never ask questions like that around my sister again."
"Y-Yeah, I got that," He rubbed the back of his neck. "So...how about that date?"
She clamped her mouth shut, inhaling nervously. "...Wow! Um...I almost forgot about that. Uh...I honestly don't know what to say. This is only the second time a guy's even asked me out..."
"That's because they don't know what they're missing out on. You're beautiful just the way you are," He covered his mouth quickly as she opened her mouth in shock. He quickly glanced away. "Ed, you idiot!"
"No, no," She waved a hand and he turned back to see her smiling. "It's fine. It's just that...no one's ever told me that before. Um..." She bit her lip nervously. It wasn't that she would say no, but...she felt like something was holding her back from actually saying yes. "I-I don't...really know, Edric. I mean, we just got back on good terms, and...I'm not really sure how to respond. It kind of threw me for a loop, you know?"
She didn't even think that he'd see her in a romantic way given her looks and personality alone, but she guessed she was wrong. But now that she knew, she didn't know what to do. And she didn't know what it was, but something in her heart was telling her that something else was speaking out to her.
"C-Can I think about it?" She scratched her cheek.
"Yeah...I get it," He sounded a bit disappointed, but he could understand her answer. "I'll see you soon, Luci."
"Bye..." She waved as he left, running a hand through her hair while letting out a long sigh. That was...something that was gonna be on her mind for the rest of the day.
"Boy, fly, we sure get into some wacky hijinks, don't we?" Hooty was still talking to the fly as the others came home. "Sure feel sorry for anyone that missed seeing us two rabble-rousers getting scrapes," The four slowly closed the door as they didn't want to deal with this right now...or talk to Hooty while he was like this. "Good thing I brought a camera. Yep. Hooty and fly. Together forever. You and me. Every single day-" He accidentally swallowed the fly. "Now I know what friendship tastes like. Yum...tastes like a bug."
During her midnight lesson with the Golden Guard tonight, she was listening and going through his instructions, but for the most part, she had been silent. Her mind was still on Edric asking her out. It hadn't even been a week since she last saw him, and he asked her out on a date. She was honestly at a dead end, and it wasn't like Edric was a bad guy—anymore. And he was really sweet, but at the same time, something just felt a little...off. Nothing to do with him, but she couldn't place her finger on it. She even tried writing a song, and that still didn't take her mind off it.
The Golden Guard stared at the girl as she seemed focused, but her eyes betrayed her. Clearly she had something else in mind.
"So I draw this line here, and-" He took her journal from her and she looked up in confusion.
"Alright, talk or I might just throw you into the Conformatorium."
She blinked in shock, shaking her head. "I...I don't know what-"
"We both know you're hiding something. Out with it, Luci."
Lucila looked away, a bit embarrassed but also impressed he could read her so well. "...I'm not sure if you can relate to this, but if a guy asks a girl out, and he's only known her for a short while, should she say yes?"
"Did that happen to you?" He asked curiously, arms crossed. Already he was suspicious of her question.
"No, a...friend. A human, like me."
"Uh huh..." He stared at her, and she was only confirming that yes, she was talking about her. "And who is this supposed guy?"
"Let's say...Edric Blight?" She smiled nervously and he was taken aback. He had no idea that she even knew Edric, or that they had been spending time together. But then again, she was going to Hexside with him, so she was bound to come across him. He clenched a fist, finding this a huge issue. That Blight didn't know anything about her, probably not even her full name. He had to lessen her time with him...because it was to help her focus!
But how can I prevent her from saying yes if I can't follow her without being suspicious?
He came up with an idea, sliding forward a bit. "Alright, human. Since you've been learning some more...pretty advanced glyphs, you'll need to meet with me more. So, tomorrow at the crack of dawn, we'll meet back here for more practice."
Her eyes widened at him. "Dawn?! I can't, Eda will get suspicious if I steal her staff and come back an hour later. That woman wakes up early to make her apple blood."
"Do you wanna learn the spells or not?"
It wasn't that she was giving up, it was just that his request came out of nowhere. "Well...yes, but-"
"Don't worry, I know something that will have you wide awake for school, it's a potion that'll give you a lot of energy for the day."
"Wait a minute—!"
"Oh, and you'll need this," He handed her a crow and she glanced down in confusion. "For communication if you ever need my help, of course."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," She waved her hands. "This is...insane of what you're asking me. So I will take this," She took the crow from him carefully. "But I can't come here at the crack of dawn, that's too suspicious. I think I'm pretty good where I am, okay?"
He didn't answer and she didn't wait for him to as she gently took back her notebook. She opened it up, feeling a bit weird now. She couldn't tell, but he was glaring behind his mask.
He didn't trust Edric alone with Lucila…