Angel: Just so my TMNT fans know, I did say I wouldn't get to the TMNT remake of season 2 until after the Rise of TMNT movie was released, and it got delayed to next year. I can't just stop and write for a franchise I need a break from just because people are still mentioning it to me. Sure, I had been writing from that franchise for years, but to those who still wanna comment on it, I would advise you to move on please like most people have at this point.
Even when I've stated multiple times that I wanted a break and that I can't do that franchise forever, people still wanna bring it up *blank/annoyed look*
...But then jebens1 made fanart of Lucila, Edric, and Hunter on Deviantart called Love Triangle Luci and also did Rocking Gus where Lucila's also in it, so I'll be okay *grins widely*
At Hexside, Boscha was trying to pick a nail style. Her nails turned into tentacles. "Too wiggly." Then they turned into flames. "Too obvious." Finally they turned into talons. "Now we're talking! I think today is a talons day," She roared next to Amity, who was preoccupied with her book.
"Hey, girls," Skara, the Bard student that hung out with them, approached. "Time to bug out at my birthday party," She held up something and it popped out to reveal a red butterfly with the words 'Skara's 15th' on it surrounded by diamonds. "Invite only. But you witches are my VIPs," She handed them to her friends.
"Are these made of real insect wings?" Amity asked curiously as she opened hers up.
"My dad spared no expense," Skara grinned in response. "You only turn 15 once."
"You only turn every age once, Skara," Boscha deadpanned at her.
"Prepare thyself to do battle like a human," They heard a familiar voice, looking up ahead to see Luz and Willow doing a thumb war, faces drawn on their thumbs. "Thumb war!"
Lucila was standing nearby, attempting to come up with a new song, but Edric asking her out kept creeping up in her mind. It wasn't entirely distracting since he hadn't asked her about it since then, but she did acknowledge that she needed to come up with an answer...
Even though she still didn't know what to actually say!
Willow laughed as the two played. "It's fun because it's stupid."
"It's so weird that humans go here now," Boscha said in disdain. "Too bad they've already burned their social lives at the stake. Any friend of Willow's is an automatic dork."
"I don't know, the older one's in my class and I heard that she writes her own songs. The teacher was so impressed that she's top student already," Skara shrugged at her.
"See? Automatic dork, both in class and socially," Boscha snorted, then noticing that her invitation was melting. "Ugh, Skara, why did you give me an invite that was molting? Gross. Give me another one," She tossed it onto the floor in front of two children.
One of the kids gasped at it. "An invitation to Skara's party...I want it! It's mine!"
"No, it's mine!"
"It's mine!"
The two kids started wrestling over it, one of the staff seeing them. "Oh. Kid fight!"
"Kid fight?" More teachers started gathering around.
"Kid fight!"
Lucila stared at them in disbelief, rolling her eyes at how this all started over an invite to a birthday party. Skara was in her class, and she wasn't as bad as Boscha was, but the two didn't really interact much. The girl sat right behind Lucila, so it wasn't hard to mind her own business. She did help Skara with some questions in class once, but she wouldn't be surprised if Skara didn't invite her, not that she cared.
"Oh my gosh, you guys, I'm so excited for photo class," Luz confessed to them, Lucila opening her locker. "I can't believe you can make pictures of your actual memories," She tickled her locker open. "I'ma see me some baby Willow."
"I'll admit, I was adorable," Willow said fondly.
"Well, either way, it'll be fun to look back on some memories of when we were growing up," Lucila smiled at her sister.
"Oh, that's right! I get to see you take care of baby Luz," Willow cooed a bit.
"I don't need to see them. Because I keep them in my heart," Luz hugged Lucila with a smile.
"Aww...but no, I'm not letting you fly Owlbert home today," The girl stated knowingly with a small smirk.
"Darn it. But I still meant it," The younger girl stated, earning a pat on the head.
"I know, hermana." The locker closed, snatching back Luz's book. She wrestled for it.
"Don't eat that!" She then fell onto her butt. The locker hissed down at her and she returned the favor. Lucila held out her hand and helped up her sister.
"I can't believe she'd hang out with her," Boscha laughed as she, Amity, and Boscha walked down the hall nearby. "It's just embarrassing. 'Look at me. I'm going on a date with my ferns'," She mocked as she walked past them, on purpose, earning a laugh from Skara. Amity didn't react.
"That could be anyone," Luz tried cheering up Willow.
"Solid Willow impression, Boscha," Skara complimented her. "Amity, weren't you friends with Willow?"
Amity flinched immediately, the three girls staring at them. "I'm a Blight. We only associate with a select few. Keep annoying me, though, I'm happy to select fewer."
"Oh, I could've sworn that you guys hung out..."
"Aw..." Willow sagged her shoulders, Lucila fuming a little. For one, she could still remember Willow mentioning this to them a few weeks ago, when they brought the Owl House to life. And the girl felt just as disheartened as she did back then. Clearly she cherished Amity's friendship, and she had no idea why Amity would make an effort to be nice to Luz, but not to Willow. If Amity really wanted to be friendly to them, she'd acknowledge them or not let her other friends make fun of other people.
"Excuse me, girls," Lucila walked past them, and they looked up in confusion. The girl hid a plant glyph behind her back. "Hey Boscha," The girl in question turned around in disgust.
"Ew, talking to you is already a drag, and it hasn't even been a minute."
"I just wanted to let you know that you've got a little something on your back," Lucila planted the glyph on her.
"Ew! Whatever, don't touch me," Boscha smacked her hand away, and then the glyph activated, knocking her off her feet as she got wrapped up in a vine. "Ahh! Get me out of here, human! You'll PAY FOR THIS!"
Lucila walked back to them, sweeping her hands with a satisfied whistle. "Won't you get in trouble for that?" Luz asked her, and she waved it off.
"We know Boscha by now. Telling the principal isn't enough for her, she'll probably plan something embarrassing. I'll be ready." The three walked off, Lucila's songbook falling from her bag. Boscha looked up and then grinned evilly. She took it in her hands, opening it up. Her eyes darted between the words, snickering.
"No way...I'm so posting this on Penstagram!"
Edric was walking by when he heard this, flinching in alarm. "What is it?" Skara looked over her shoulder.
"It's that gross human girl's book! With lyrics as lame as these, she'll be at the bottom of the social hierarchy forever."
"And snatch," Edric took the book from her.
"He-" She flinched as she looked up at him. "E-Edric! I was just-"
"Messing around again," He finished for the girl, walking off. "If you ask me, that kind of prank is childish, but it's fitting," He smirked at her, and she turned red in embarrassment. Because it was Amity's brother, who was a Blight, she didn't want to dare mess with him.
The three sat in photo class, Luz holding some tweezers. These were how the photos were taking, as once the memory was pulled out, they'd turn into a polaroid for them to develop. That did concern Lucila a little, but it didn't seem to have a lasting effect on people, so she was...60 percent sure it wouldn't do any permanent mental damage...if done correctly, that is.
"All right, memory melon, let's pick another juicy one," Luz inserted the tweezers into Willow's ear.
"Be careful with my brain," She stated with a smile, though it was still a valid warning, Luz pulling out a photo. Willow rubbed her ear.
"Ooh...who says brain surgery's hard?" Luz planted it above them.
"Maybe don't joke about brain surgery," Lucila waved a hand nervously.
The teacher walked past. "As you work, note that some prints have greater clarity than others," She instructed them. "These are moments that evoke a strong emotional response."
"All the colors of the brainbow," Luz reached out to the photos, only to be stopped by a giant blue hand spell cast by the teacher. "But if you damage the prints, you'll damage the memories themselves. Be extremely careful," She glared at them intensely, walking off.
"Whoa, photo class is intense," Luz commented at this.
"Well, she's not wrong. Memories in this world can't be destroyed, or else...well, you don't wanna know," Lucila snapped out of it. A polaroid developed into a picture, and Luz looked at it with a smile.
"Oh, my gosh, Willow, you had an awkward hair phase too?" It was a photo of Willow at picture day with messy hair. "I knew we were meant to be friends," She held up pictures of her and Lucila, where Luz was wearing braids and bows...while Lucila had basically had five braids hanging over her head.
"That hair was a real chore to do every single morning," Lucila shook her head at Luz's picture, since she was the one who did Luz's hair that way. As for herself...she wanted to look like a character from Azura, which her mother had to learn to do for a week before she actually got it right.
Definitely a memory she'd want at least hidden.
"Ooh, there's more," Luz stated as they saw pictures of Willow with her fathers, her feeding a creature, her with her family on a holiday...and the last one was of her and Amity at a birthday party it seemed. Luz gasped upon seeing it.
"Ugh," Willow turned away, crossing her arms.
"Hey, I know you and Amity have a history," Luz placed a hand on Willow's shoulder. "Wouldn't you feel better talking about it?"
"No, I'd rather do this," Willow took the photo and turned it the other way. "That's my motto after all. Out of sight, out of mind."
"Pretty sure I taught that to Gus," Lucila smirked, crossing her arms.
"...Yeah, but, I'm keeping it," The girl responded happily, the bell screaming for lunch time. Everyone started to leave and Luz stopped Willow.
"If you won't tell me what she did, I'll never be able to cook up a scheme to make you friends again," Luz stated happily.
"Luz, I get it. But I don't want you to do that. No schemes, no plots, no ruses. None! Okay? That goes for you too, Luci."
"Hey, whoa, I wasn't going to," Lucila held up her hands in defense.
"Now, let's get to lunch," She then walked off, Luz frowning at her. She glanced at the photo, smirking as she went back to the photos.
"She never did mention anything about...shenanigans," She turned the photo back around, turning around and seeing Lucila's look of disapproval. "What? They clearly are both holding stuff back from each other!"
"While I don't disagree with you, Willow's gotta handle this on her own, same with Amity. And it's their business, you shouldn't be getting involved in it, so no shenanigans or else," She warned before turning back the photo, walking off. Luz revealed her fingers crossed behind her back, grinning as she changed the photo once more.
"Wait up!" Luz called out as she followed after the two. Lucila bumped right into Edric as he turned around the corner.
"Ow!" They both called out in unison and the girl rubbed her arm in embarrassment.
"Sorry, Ed."
"Nah, it's good. I wasn't looking where I was going. This belongs to you, right? You dropped it," He held out her songbook and she gasped sharply.
"How'd I lose that?! Thank god you were the one who found it," She held it tightly with a smile. Luz and Willow glanced between the two, Luz nudging her.
"We're gonna go to lunch, why don't you meet us there, Luci?" Luz smirked as she backed away with her friend.
"Okay?" Lucila raised a brow in confusion, turning back to the boy with a grateful smile. "Anyway, thank you so much for returning it...y-you didn't read it, did you?"
"No, I swear," He shook his head rapidly, holding up his hands. "But what is it?"
"It's...my songbook," She moved away a bang with a slightly embarrassed look. "I write my songs in it..."
"You write songs?" Edric blinked in surprise. "Can I ask why?"
"Well...music was my safe haven from...stuff," She glanced away sheepishly. "At first, I started only listening to it, but then I actually got inspired by my friends to start writing it when they asked me to help them write one for their band. And I haven't stopped writing since. I'll show you my songs one day."
"Sure," He smiled at her. "Have a good lunch, Luci."
"Thank you," She smiled back, suddenly leaping up and hugging him. He blinked, returning it slowly. "Bye, Ed," She ran off, waving. He waved back with a happy smile, still waving even after she disappeared.
"I can't believe I made him cry," Boscha stated to Amity, who glanced inside photo class as they walked by. "Like, he's the teacher."
"Hmm?" She saw the photo and got a little worried. "Oh no."
"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Boscha walked back over to her. "Is there a ghost in photo class? Are they cute?"
"Yup!" Amity held up a hand to Boscha's eyes before she could see the picture. "Just a super cute ghost. But they're all mine!" She then slammed the door shut.
"Ask if they have any friends!" Boscha called out from outside. Amity ran over to Willow's photos, taking the photo of herself and her former friend.
"Willow, I'm sorry. But I have to do this," She waved a spell circle, a flame appearing from her finger. She then burned the phot, blowing it out. She planted it back up...only for the flames to come back. Amity was about to leave when she heard the crackling. "Huh?" She turned around, her eyes wide. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no!" She ran back and looked around in a panic. She blew it out, but the fire spread to all of the other photos. "Oh, come on!"
Gus was in the cafeteria in front of a cork board, with pictures of residents from the Boiling Isles on it. Luz peeked from behind, Lucila peeking from above. "Hey there, detective. Are you solving a crime or about to commit one?"
Gus looked a bit freaked out as they joined him. "And you look like you haven't slept either," Lucila examined his face.
"Sadly, this is one problem crime or sleep can't solve," He explained to them. "My interview for journalism class is due tomorrow. I'm supposed to choose someone interesting, accomplished, and noteworthy. People aren't meant to be all those things! Curse your need for perfection, Gus!"
"Okay, buddy, okay," Luz gave him some of her apple blood juice and he sunk a bit.
"I'd pick Lucila, but she hasn't had any accomplishments...no offense."
"Fair," Lucila shrugged at him.
"So, Willow-" Luz turned to her and realized something was off. "Wow, are you okay?"
"When did it get so hot?" Willow was literally sweating up a storm, drinking some water. She blew out some steam, pouring water all over herself. The three just stared at her, the sisters glancing to each other. She removed her glasses, and then adjusted them...with her eyes changing to bigger pupils. "Uhh, hi. I'm Willow," She held out her hand. "Remind me of your names."
"This is serious journalism, Willow," Gus crossed his arms. "Clowning around will get you nowhere."
"I'm-I'm serious. Who are you?" She stared at them in confusion.
"I'll admit, this amnesia spin has piqued my interest," Gus glanced at her, Luz flinching as she stared at Willow.
"Gus, it really seems like she's forgotten us. Like her memory is-" She gasped sharply. "Like her memory is gone!"
Lucila stood up in realization. "We've gotta get to photo class, like now!"
They burst into the photography classroom. "Hexside Free Press!" Gus announced loudly. "What's going on here?"
The two sisters gasped as Willow wobbled in, and they saw Amity trying to blow out the flaming photos. She noticed them and got a little nervous.
"Hi."
"What...did you DO?!" Lucila shouted at her, fists clenched.
"You destroyed Willow's memories?!" Luz exclaimed at the girl.
"I saved as many as I could," She held up two photos, but those were touched by a flame and then disintegrated. "Why would they make memories so flammable?!"
"Why would you flame them in the first place?!" Lucila yelled in frustration.
"I didn't mean to!"
"Oh really? You didn't mean to do this?" She gestured to Willow, who was wiggling her right hand. She chuckled as she stared at it.
"Have I always had this crazy thing? Blap," They stared at her weirdly as she slapped her hand against her face. "Blap." She giggled as she wrapped her arms around Luz and Amity. "I can tell we're gonna be good friends." She fell onto the floor.
"Yeah, we're gonna need a LOT of help with this one..." Lucila pinched her nose.
They brought Willow to the Owl House to ask Eda for her assistance. Amity glanced around the living room, since this was her first time being there. "So, this is the Owl House?"
"Yup," Luz answered with a smile, arms crossed.
"And you...sleep here?" Amity asked skeptically.
"When the night critters allow us to."
"By the way, Amity, I'd prefer it if you didn't tell your brother that you saw me here if he asks," Lucila spoke up nervously. Knowing him, he'd get curious as to what her answer was to his question.
"Why?"
"Oooh, what happened?" Luz asked curiously and with a mischievous smile.
"One problem at a time please," The older sister warned her. "After all, we're supposed to be helping Willow."
"So, you set Wilow's memories on fire and erased everything," Eda spoke up, getting their attention. "Even minor damage can have huge effects." Case in point when Willow bumped into the couch where King was sleeping.
"Ah, chair for sitting..." She slumped forward, her face in the cushion. She then sat on her head, slumping over.
"Yup. Her brain's burned up real good," Eda pointed at her head. "Damage like that can change everything about a person. Willow may never be the same."
Willow adjusted herself and snapped her fingers. "I got it!" She then noticed King. "Oh, a furry fruit," She picked him up. "I'm gonna peel it," She pulled at his back, alerting him awake.
"What? What is happening?!"
"Nap time," Eda waved a spell circle, knocking out Willow. She then fell asleep on the couch.
"Sleep spell," King sighed in relief before going back to sleep himself.
"I didn't cast it on you," She deadpanned, hands on her hips.
"Ah, yeah, who cares?" He waved it off.
"Is there anything we can do?" Luz asked in determination.
"We can't just leave her like this," Lucila gestured to Willow.
"There is one way," Eda rubbed her chin. "But it's terribly dangerous and partially illegal...so you're in the right place!"
"You know what, I'll take what I can get—as long as I don't have to bail you out again," Lucila sighed, crossing her arms in defeat.
"I'll send you both into her mind to fix the damage."
"Wait...so we're gonna go into Willow's mind to fix her memories?" Lucila asked slowly and in slight disbelief.
"...Be still, my fantasy-loving heart. I have always wanted to do this! Thank you, Boiling Isles," Luz replied in happiness.
"It just had to take burning Willow's mind to do it," Her sister replied sarcastically.
"Oh..."
"It won't be easy," Eda warned them. "You two have a lot to fix in there 'cause it's a mess. Yup. Whoever did this to Willow showed unbelievable disregard for her safety, downright despicable," Amity looked around awkwardly, Lucila glancing at her knowingly. "Oh, right, it was you," Eda pointed at the girl. "Anyway, Luci, Luz, who's going inside with you?"
The door opened to reveal Hooty. "Maybe I could help!" The Owl Lady gave an annoyed look. "I'm pretty good at getting stuck inside people's heads."
Lucila shuddered at that; that was something she definitely didn't want...
"This is someone's brain, not a nightclub," Eda spun a finger to close the door. "Three, max." Luz glanced at Gus, who was pacing in front of his bulletin board. He still couldn't figure out who to interview.
"I'm running out of time! Ugh, I'm in total free fall." He then saw a book called 'Raising the Dead'. "Must I turn to forbidden sources...?" The books all growled at him and he screamed, falling onto the floor.
"Gus...has a lot on his plate," Luz whispered to her sister.
"Yeah, he's going through some...craaaaaazy times," Lucila winced at the boy, feeling bad for him.
"Amity, you have to go with us," Luz turned to her, and she looked skeptical.
"Willow...might not want me in there."
"You set everything in there on fire," The girl argued back. "You have to help!"
"If you really want to make up for what you did, this is the only way to save Willow," Lucila pointed to the girl on the couch. "Do you really want her to be like this for the rest of her life?"
Amity closed her eyes, still hesitant. She really didn't want to be reminded of her past friendship with Willow, and also be judged for her actions regarding it...but she also didn't want Willow to be brainless for the rest of her life.
"Okay," She sighed in defeat. "I'll do what I can."
Luz held out her hand, and Amity took it. Luz then took her sister's hand. "All right. Bold choice, taking the girl who caused the mess," Eda spun a large spell circle around the three, and then created a bell.
"Whoa..." Luz took it in her hand.
"When you're done, ring that and I'll cast you back," Eda instructed them. "Oh, and keep an eye out for her inner Willow. She's the gatekeeper of emotions and memory. She might help ya," Sheh then made the spell circle glow around, a column of light appearing. "Now, here we go!"
"Are you sure this is safe-"
Eda turned them into particles of light, and they transferred through Willow's ear into her mind. They landed in darkness, Luz yelling in alarm. Lucila slowly stood up, looking around.
"Did it wo-"
A flash of light occurred to interrupt Lucila, and when it stopped, they found themselves standing in a forest, each tree having a picture frame in front of it. Some of them were badly burned by the flames in photo class.
"Where's her inner Willow?" Amity asked curiously as they started walking. "Do you really think it'll help?"
"Hard to say, honestly," Lucila answered with a small shrug.
"I don't know. We'll just have to start fixing stuff on our own," Luz rubbed her chin as she looked at all the frames. "Hmm. Let's see," She approached one, blowing the dust off it. She coughed before it was revealed to be a memory of a fort made out of sticks and a torn cloth. She reached out her hand, and it phased through the photo. "Hey, I found something magical! I'm gonna put my face in it!"
"I'd prefer it if you didn't!" Lucila called out, hearing a laugh and it made her roll her eyes knowingly as her sister was already doing it. Luz then disappeared and the older girl turned around. "Luz, I said you-" She faltered as she saw her sister gone completely. "Uhh, where'd she go?"
"Luz?" Amity walked over to her. "Luz!"
"Luz, this isn't funny! You better come out here in 3! 3...2...2 and a half quarters!"
Luz then popped out the photo, causing Lucila to scream in alarm. "I think I found the memories! Let's go," She pulled the two inside the photo, and they landed in a familiar area. "And welcome to Willow's beautiful...memory?"
They looked to see everything in gray, with scorch marks growing bigger around them. "This...this area had way more trees than it does here," Lucila glanced around.
"Lake Lacuna," Amity stepped forward a bit. "This is where Willow and I took swimming lessons. The ash must be from the fires," As she kept walking, she gasped as she looked up ahead to see the same fort that Luz saw from the memory forest. "Our fort in the dunes!"
The three ran over, Amity taking some sticks. "One time Willow wanted to play hooky from our swim lessons, so we built this," She explained to them, giving a plank of wood to Luz.
"Forts, hooky, Willow. Can words get any cuter?"
"Wasn't cute when I was a freshman, though," Lucila crossed her arms and Luz winced. Needless to say when Luz played hooky, Lucila's reaction was...not something she wanted her older sister to experience ever again.
"Still haven't forgotten that, huh?"
"Nope."
"We knew the swim teacher would be on the prowl, but Willow said she'd protect us with an illusion spell," Amity said with a smile as she moved away the wood.
"What?" Luz asked in surprise at the sight in front of them. "It's like a little doghouse for angles."
"...Wait, but something is missing," Amity looked at the sand, moving away sand from a flag that said 'A+W' on it. She took the flag, smiling a bit fondly and planting it. "There."
A light flashed and they found themselves back in the forest. "We're back."
"I think fixing the fort fixed the memory," Luz smiled as she pointed at the picture. They then saw a young Amity and Willow running into view, both of them laughing as they ran into the fort. "Ugh, the seagulls are back again," Amity looked up at the abundance of snail/skull-like birds surrounding the fort.
"Don't worry. I'll get rid of them," Willow cast a spell circle and the fort disappeared, leaving the birds to attack the girls. The two screamed and the swim teacher heard them, walking over.
"Willow!"
"I'm sorry," Willow stated as the teacher dragged them both away. "I thought I was getting better!"
"Willow was a...late bloomer," Amity glanced away awkwardly.
"We know. But now she's more like a great bloomer!" Lucila facepalmed at this, shaking her head in agony. "This place is like a theater showing her most important moments. Now let's fix some more!" Luz ran up to the birthday photo. "The photo that started it all. Let's do it next."
Amity cringed as she wasn't really ready. Luz was about to climb in. "Wait! Uhh...you want important moments?" She ran up to the messy-haired Willow photo. "This one might be about a crush."
"Hmm, don't mind if I do," Luz laughed as she ran and jumped in. Amity was about to follow when Lucila grabbed her shoulder.
"I know what you're doing and it won't work. Running away from the problem won't solve it," Lucila simply told her before climbing in. Amity's eyes widened at her and then she shook it off, following after the two.
However, a foot on fire stepped in front of the tree...
Meanwhile, in the living room of the Owl House, Gus was still having trouble figuring out who to interview. "No one can give me the interview I need except...myself!" He then made a clone of himself.
"I'd rather die than expose my secrets!" He declared immediately.
"Then die you shall!" Gus rolled up his sleeves, the two preparing for a fight. Eda then cleared her throat.
"If you need an interview, look no further. Interesting? I'm a bad girl living in a secret fortress." Hooty then broke through a window.
"I'm the secret."
"Shh!" She hissed at him, floating over to the boy. "Noteworthy? I'm public enemy number one," She jerked her thumb to the wanted poster nearby. "Accomplished? I'm the greatest witch who ever lived!" She made the ceiling glow.
"What do you think?"
"I think not!" King burst through the clone, a bit angry. "If you're handing out attention, I deserve it!" He jumped to the ground, the clone then disappearing. Gus glanced between the both of them. "I will choose one of you. But which one? If you wanna get picked, you'll have to impress me."
The two glared each other.
Back in Willow's mind, Lucila, Amity, and Luz were in another memory, fixing a swing, specifically the one where Willow was swinging with her fathers. They watched her get pushed, giggling happily. She knocked over her father with glasses, and he just laughed it off.
Amity put back a 'Weapon of Love' book on the shelf. A young Amity and Willow took the book from the young adult section...and got chased out of it by the librarian because those books were for 13 and up.
The three put up a sign for the roller ghoster, where the two former friends hopped on, Willow screaming her head off. "I don't feel so good!"
"We don't need to see how this one ends," Luz turned around the photo as they were standing in the forest.
"Wise decision for once," Lucila nodded in agreement.
"He..." Luz was about to protest when she realized that she sometimes wasn't good at making decisions. Such as when she stole Owlbert to go to a Grudgby game or when she followed Adegast's instructions. "Alright, fair."
"Yeah, Willow threw up a lot that day. That's when you knew she was having fun," Amity smiled a bit.
"Ew," Luz commented, earning a small glare from her sister to be respectful. "I mean, aw." Amity then looked away sadly. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, I just...I can't believe I almost erased all this. I really messed things up."
Lucila sighed heavily, since she could at least see that Amity meant it. "Well...I still don't like that you did something this mentally damaging to one of my friends, and I don't appreciate the bullying that you're decidedly not doing anything about..." She started off angrily, Amity wincing at her. "But...you did agree to come and help Willow in the end, so I guess this time, I can passively let it slide. As long as you never do this again!"
"Of course!" Amity nodded eagerly at her; she wanted to get on Lucila's good side...for reasons!
"Don't worry. We've gotten really good at fixing memories. I won't rest until we've got this all sorted out. Repeat after me: We can fix this together!" Amity blinked at her in surprise. "Come on," Luz encouraged the girl.
"We can fix this together," Amity blushed, brushing away some of her hair.
"Heck yeah, we can!"
"There's the Luz I know," Lucila smiled, patting the top of her head.
"And love~!" Luz hugged her sister, Amity smiling weakly at them.
"Eh, that word's kinda loose right about now," The older sister smirked in amusement. "Maybe I'd bump it up to a definitely if you stopped teasing me about boys."
"Ahh, I'll take the loose, I'll never stop teasing!" Luz pointed up at her, to Lucila's slight annoyance.
"Dang it, why'd we have to be related?" She muttered to herself.
"I know some of these memories must be painful for you, but what happened to you guys?" Luz turned to Amity. "And why are you trying to hide it?"
"Was being friends with Willow that bad that you have to let your so-called friends mock her?" Lucila crossed her arms.
"I just..." Amity stared at them, unable to find an answer...and then she saw an entity made out of fire. She gasped and pointed up ahead. "What's that?"
The two turned around and saw nothing except some leaves. Lucila pinched her nose in disbelief. "Real mature, Amity! Should've expected this from Luz, but you?"
"Look, if you don't wanna talk about it, just say so," Luz added in.
"No, I actually saw something," Amity insisted to the duo as they walked off. "At least I-I think I did."
"If you need me, I shall be fixing this memory of a ball pit," Luz was about to crawl in.
"Wait, that's not-"
Luz's head popped out, with an egg sitting on top of it. "It's eggs! It's full of eggs! Why is this memory full of eggs?"
"Yeah, that one's hard to explain," Amity ran over to her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, but this is one where I have to tap out. Absolutely not going in that one," Lucila waved her hands. "I'll just fix another memory on my own."
"If you say so," Luz shrugged before the two went in. Lucila walked down the path, not noticing the fire monster Amity saw trailing behind her. She looked towards the ground, Edric popping into her mind. She groaned as she remembered about him, covering her eyes with her hands. But then...the Golden Guard popped into her mind.
"Mm?" She blinked as she straightened herself. For some reason she...didn't mind thinking about him. After all, he finished her song for her, he had comforted her numerous times, and he prepared her for Hexside...but...
He was still in the Emperor's Coven.
It didn't bother her most of the time since he was her teacher and a...friend maybe, she didn't really know. She had confided in him about stuff that she hadn't even told her sister (because Luz would tease her non-stop and she wouldn't get her problems). The question really was how did he see her? As a friend? They definitely weren't enemies...
"Wait, how did I go from thinking about Edric asking me out to the Golden Guard of all people?" She blushed in embarrassment before shaking it off. Either way, she needed to sort those things out on her own, and hopefully sooner than later.
Eda and King were waiting for Gus at the table. "Just give up, King, cause I got this."
"You got nothing!" King pointed up at her angrily. "No one turns down an interview with someone this pretty."
The lights turned off, and they flinched in surprise. "What?"
"Huh?"
A spotlight fell on Gus, courtesy of a spell. "If you want this interview, you're gonna have to start answering some tough questions," He pushed the light to King's face. "Where were you born?"
"Weh?"
"What'd you eat for breakfast this morning?" He interrogated Eda next.
"Shat?"
He turned back to King. "What's your greatest strength?"
"My decisiveness! W-Wait, I changed my mind!"
"This will be the single greatest interview of all time. So if you want it, you'll have to dazzle me!" He created several different lights, and Eda looked scared by this.
"The kid scares me," She admitted to King.
"We're getting pretty good at fixing these," Amity stated to the sisters as Luz removed a giant egg from her head.
"Yeah," She smiled, tossing the egg away. "And there's only one last memory to fix," She looked at the birthday photo. "The one you're suspiciously avoiding."
"Me? Avoid? No. But let's skip it. Where's Eda's bell?" She tried and reached for it, the two stopping her.
"Amity, you gotta stop being weird," Luz leaned in towards her sister. "And thank you for not letting me give it to her. We have to fix all of them."
"If we don't, Willow's still going to have amnesia," Lucila pointed out.
"Unless...there's something in there you don't want us to see," Luz guessed correctly, Amity crossing her arms. "Look, we're not here to judge," She placed a hand on the green-haired girl's shoulder. "We're just here to help Willow."
"Help?! All you're doing is prying into your friends' lives," Amity snapped at her, Luz glancing away sadly. "Well, did you ever think maybe it's none of your business?"
"Hey!" Lucila argued back. "Que te pasa? You're only being defensive out of something, whatever it is you wanna hide, for what seems to be reasons. We're not doing this to pry into your life, but we have to if we wanna save Willow! You made it our business anyway when you—what was it you did again? Oh yeah, burned her memories!"
Amity was about to defend herself when she sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"
They turned, gasping as they saw the forest on fire. "Look!" Luz pointed up ahead as a large fire monster, the one from before, came into view. It then charged towards them, the three screaming in alarm. It stepped on a small twig, and it burned to a crisp.
"Hide, hide, hide!" Amity dragged them to behind the tree. They braced themselves as the fire creature stood right in front of the tree. It then jumped into the memory, and they looked back to see it catching on fire.
"Oh, no! That thing is burning up all the memories!"
"What even is that thing?! Wouldn't her inner Willow be on top of this?" Lucila pointed to the picture, finding it a bit odd that the Inner Willow wasn't here to help.
"Please call Eda. I don't wanna be here when it comes out," Amity pleaded and Luz rung the bell.
However, while Luz was ringing it, Eda was playing six bells at a time, trying to impress Gus with her playing. Which, of course, drowned out the actual bell she gave the three. "How's that for interesting? There's levels to me, kid, levels I say! Man, if only Luci could see me now!"
"Yes, that was nice," Gus didn't look that fazed.
"No, it wasn't! If you want noise, I'll give you noise!" He slid onto the table, playing a washboard with a spoon.
"Why won't she answer?!" Amity rang the bell frantically, Lucila stopping her.
"If Eda isn't answering, it means we're on our own here."
"Yeah, she's not super reliable," Luz added in, agreeing with her sister. Then the flame monster appeared. "Run!" She shouted at the top of her lungs and they ran off screaming. The flame monster walked through a tree, and they watched it.
"Why is it destroying all the photos?" They watched the flame monster go into another memory.
"I don't know," Luz confessed, glancing to the photo of Willow at the swing. "That one hasn't been burnt, or that one," She pointed to the one where Willow was celebrating a holiday. Luz then saw the library photo and gasped. "Amity, that thing isn't after any photo, it's after you!"
"Oh no..." Lucila murmured in realization. "It all makes sense now!"
"What do you mean?" Luz looked up at her.
The flame monster turned around, growling at Amity. "What?!" She exclaimed, and it roared upon seeing her. It then started running towards them.
"Run! I have an idea!" Luz pushed them towards the fort photo.
"We can't go in there, I'm in there!" Amity protested at this.
"Just trust me," Luz pushed them in, and they landed on the dirt. Luz started drawing a glyph, holding up her hands. "Time for a swimming lesson!" She tapped her hands against the ice glyph, and it grew just as the flame monster landed on top of it, gliding into the water. They ran past the column to see the steam. "Whoo, teamwork, baby!" She hugged her sister and Amity, the latter blushing, but Lucila looked a bit worried. "Luci, what's wrong?"
"It's just that...that thing that was burning up the memories?"
"Yeah, what about it?" She looked up curiously.
"Well...because Amity burned up the photos, and we haven't seen the inner Willow yet, it can only mean one thing-"
"Guys?" Amity interrupted them. The smoke turned into a familiar shape, and it revealed that it was actually Willow herself. She stared at the three of them. "Are you the inner Willow?"
"...I was," Her voice echoed as her pupils turned to a dark purple. She then stepped forward. "Love, sadness, fear," She stepped into the sand, which were not immune from her flames either. "I used to be a being made of all emotions. But ever since you set Willow's mind on fire, all I can feel is anger!" Fire shot out of her hands, setting several trees nearby in flames. She also hit the fort, burning away the flag.
"Please, stop!" Luz cried out.
"You're gonna erase all of Willow's own memories!" Lucila warned her with a pleading look.
"But Amity wanted this," She gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists, bringing up the birthday photo. She took a hold of it. "Every moment she touched, I'm going to burn!"
"You're just hurting Willow," Amity tried reasoning with her. "Why are you doing this?"
The Inner Willow leaned in closer. "Still haven't figured it out yet? Then I'll show you!" She grabbed Amity by the waist, dragging her into the memory. She then turned to the two sisters. "You wanted to know everything, right? Then come take a trip down memory lane," She held out her hand.
"I'm actually good, so if you could just let Amity go..." Lucila inched away a bit.
"You're saying it all creepy, but I like the sound of—Whoa!" Luz got grabbed and Lucila gasped, reaching out and grabbing her leg.
"Hey, let her go!" She wasn't able to bring her down, and they both got thrown into the memory. Amity landed on a bed with a bounce. She looked around briefly before Lucila and Luz crashed. "Okay, ow..." Lucila muttered as they joined Amity.
"Where are we?" Luz looked around in confusion.
The Inner Willow came floating in and Amity pulled the two away a bit. "You said I was hurting Willow. I was just finishing what you started!" She made everything play out as a young Amity entered the room.
"You have to get out, Willow. Now!"
"Wait," The younger Willow followed after her, a bit hurt. "Why?"
"Because-because-"
"Is it because I still can't do magic?" Willow grabbed Amity's arm. "Amity, I-I'm sorry I got us in trouble at the beach. I just—I can't get the spells right."
"Well, yes," She grabbed her arm back. "That-that is why." Lucila's eyes widened as she looked at Amity. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Because you're a weakling! You can't do magic, so I don't wanna be your friend! Now go!"
Amity looked sad as the memory withered away, especially as she remembered Willow's tears that day. "Then you let your new friends pick on her for years!" The inner Willow said furiously. "All because you thought she was weak. Well, now I can erase all that pain," She floated into the air. "After all, out of sight, out of mind." Her pupils turned black, something glowing from Amity.
"Amity!" Luz shouted as flames surrounded the girl's feet.
"Wait, please!" Amity called out, the flames disappearing. "Before all this started, there—there was something else."
The door rattled and it opened up. "Amity," A stern male voice spoke up. A younger Amity was looking up at two shadows, one male and one female.
"What is Willow doing here?" The female voice sounded just as stern. "She wasn't on the guest list for a reason."
"But she's...she's my best friend," Amity defended, the Inner Willow looking surprised at this.
"Nonsense. Blights only associate with the strongest of witchlings. You may choose a new friend from one of the suitable companions we invited." And by suitable, he meant Boscha and Skara. Lucila scrunched up her nose; if she ever met Amity's parents, she'd be really irritated just talking to them. And considering how she didn't like the twins on first impression, it was making more sense now why they acted the way they did at the library...
But then the Golden Guard came to mind because he was in the Emperor's Coven...teaching a non-magical human...Her eyes saddened as the thought just came to her mind. Was he teaching her out of pity? Did he really think she was beneath him? Granted, he was a powerless witch, but it still applied...
"But they're mean!" Amity looked away, arms crossed. "Just because you work with their parents doesn't mean I have to like them."
"Good children don't squabble, dear," Her mother stated, not seeming to care. "Sever your ties with Willow, and if you don't-"
"Then we will," Her father finished for her, and she gasped.
"We'll make sure the girl is never admitted into Hexside. Now, go. And try not to make a scene."
The door then closed and everything turned back into black and white. Amity opened her eyes, feeling guilty. "Willow, you were never too weak to be my friend. I was too weak to be yours. I can't take back what I've done, but I can promise you this," She reached into her pocket, pulling out the invitation she got from Skara. "I won't let Boscha and her gang pick on you ever again." Luz and Lucila stood there in shock as she tried ripping up the invite, but it was a real butterfly, so she couldn't. "I'm not actually gonna rip it because it's a real butterfly, but you get the gesture, right?"
The Inner Willow turned to her with a smile. "I do," She took Amity's hand. "I think Willow should keep her memories of you, the good and the bad."
"Me too," Amity admitted with a small smile. The two sisters joined their side.
"Then, if it's okay, Luci, Amity, and I still have some work to do."
The inner Willow nodded in understanding, and she brought them back to the forest, and it was now full of life like it should be. They hung up the birthday photo into the biggest tree, hearing footsteps. They turned around to see Inner Willow with her child self. Amity waved at them, Luz crying tears of joy. Lucila simply smiled, hugging her sister from behind.
The younger Willow bumped into a tree, running off with a giggle. The Inner Willow followed after her.
"Nice job, Amity," Lucila patted her on the shoulder. "And...you know, if you ever need anything, let me know. I've been taking care of my sister for over a decade, and...well, I can offer you some advice."
After seeing what happened between Amity and her parents, she was a lot more sympathetic to the girl than she was earlier.
"Oh...thanks," Amity smiled gratefully. "I definitely will."
"So, does this mean you and Willow are buddies again?" Luz asked carefully.
"I'm not sure," She confessed to them.
"Well, why don't we go see?" Luz smiled as she took out the bell and rung it.
King and Eda were panting in exhaustion. The entire living room was a mess after several attempts to impress Gus. "So, who got the gig, kid?"
"Well, this has been the hardest choice of my entire life," He then stood up. "But with the public interest in mind, the interview goes to...Hooty!"
"Hooty?"
"Hooty?!"
Hooty then opened the door. "Hoots!"
"Well, your performances got me thinking. What could create such interesting people? Only the Owl House itself," He explained, Hooty gasping sharply. "Tell me everything, Mr. Hooty."
"I've been waiting to hear those words all my life," Gus went outside and started taking notes. Hooty then closed the door. "Where to begin? It all started..."
Eda grumbled at this; she wasted her time doing a bunch of performances for nothing. "I'm gonna do it," She declared angrily. "I'm gonna bake that bird in a pie!"
"I'm gonna bake that kid into a pie!" King pointed towards outside and then they heard the bell.
"Huh?" Eda glanced towards Willow and remembered that the three were still in there. "Oh, right, I put people in there," She waved a spell circle to summon the trio back into the living room. The bell then disappeared from Lucila's hand.
"Whoa. What went down here?" Luz looked down at the floor.
"Did we have a magical earthquake or something?" Lucila asked at all the stuff.
"And where's Gus? What did you do with Gus?"
"The kid's fine," Eda glanced away, still a bit peeved. "He's just dead to us," She crossed her arms as she and King stormed off.
"Those are very mixed messages!"
"Man, if I find out those two did something with him-" Lucila was about to get a coat from the chest nearby when she looked out the window and saw Gus. "Oh wait, he's outside. Never mind."
They turned around to Willow, who was just waking up. "Willow! Do you know who we are?" Luz gestured to herself and her sister.
"...A pair of friendly scarecrows?" She then chuckled, waving it off. "Just messing. I remember everything!"
"She's back, folks! Our girl's back!" Luz cheered as she and Lucila hugged her.
"Glad to see you finally back to normal."
"We're gonna hug you so hard you'll never forget us again," Luz squeezed both her sister and Willow. Amity turned away, about to leave. Luz looked at her as she opened the door, giving a small wave. Willow turned around to her.
"I remember what you did too," Willow suddenly spoke up, Amity freezing. She looked back, a small frown on her face. "What you did in there...I can't say we're friends, but it's...a start." Amity smiled and gave her a small wave before leaving. "Luz, question, how did Amity happen to see the photo I hid in class?"
"You said nothing about shenanigans."
Her sister's eyes widened in realization. "You fixed the photo after I-Luz!" Lucila scolded her, scoffing in disbelief. "Well, I guess you got what you wanted, but—"
"No!" Luz gasped in realization.
"Sorry, but you forced my hand. I can't let it slide. You almost destroyed Willow's memories and she got amnesia," She crossed her arms. "Technically if you didn't unhide the photo, this wouldn't have happened in the first place."
"B-But we fixed her!" Luz pleaded with her. "I can't bear it!"
"And I forgive her!" Willow added in.
"I know, but all this interfering has to come at a cost. So Luz, you're—"
"You're gonna throw me to Eda the Owl Beast!" She interrupted in agony.
"I can't watch that…" Willow stated sadly.
"What?! No, I was just gonna ground her for a week. Jeez, I'm not that cruel."
"No!" The two girls cried out sadly, hugging her legs.
"That's even worse…" Luz slid onto the floor. Lucila rolled her eyes and walked off.
"Willow, time for you and Gus to go home. Luz, get ready for bed."
"…I've lost my willingness to sleep…" Luz murmured while still on the ground. She did love the Owl House, but she also wanted to see her friends…she crawled away towards the stairs to get ready, Willow looking up at Lucila.
"All that memory stuff distracted you from Amity's brother, right?" Lucila was about to protest when the girl interrupted her. "It's not that hard to figure out what happened between you two. I don't know him very well, but I can tell he likes you a lot."
"I...like him too, but I'm really not sure what to do about it because-" She blinked as the Golden Guard came to mind—again. Why did this keep happening to her? She kept thinking about him when talking about Edric, and vice versa. "...Because nothing. I think I've had enough stuff to dwell on today."
"Mm...okay," Willow shrugged a bit since she didn't want to pry.
Amity walked right past Gus and Hooty, the former already wanting to get out of the interview. "My first word was hoot. My second word was hoot-hoot. My third word..."
"Hooty, you gotta stay on track here, buddy."
Amity stopped, taking out the invitation. She then let it fly away, walking towards home.
"Here's a song I wrote. I watch Luci write songs and she never sees me! Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored-"
"Ahh! I can't take this anymore," Gus then stormed off, deciding to just take the F.
"Here a hoot, there a hoot, somewhere else a hoot-hoot. Hooty-hoot hoot~!"
"Oh my god, Hooty, I will find you some bugs if you stop right this second!" Lucila called out from inside, as him singing hurt for her to listen to...
"Yaaay!" He cheered at being rewarded with bugs.
The moment Lucila arrived for the next lesson, he knew that something had happened. She was paying attention, but she didn't seem like she was interested tonight, though he had no idea why exactly. He closed the book he used to teach her and she looked up from her notebook, a little confused.
"Lucila, is...is everything okay?"
"Huh? Oh..." She glanced away knowingly. "I guess I'm not hiding it very well, am I? Well...a friend of mine almost lost her memories, and...I saw a former friend of hers give up on their friendship because her parents...didn't like them hanging out together. Said that my friend wasn't good enough..."
"That's just how the world works, Luci," He crossed his arms, leaning against the tree. "If you're not good enough, it's sayonara."
"That's not how it works!" She argued back. "You don't just ghost people because their skills aren't up to par, even if parents give you an ultimatum."
"Well, in my world, you either have the skills to back you up, or you're on the cutting room floor."
"Then I guess I don't fit into your world since you're teaching me, do I?" She suddenly asked and he recoiled back in shock. He had to wonder exactly what she thought of this arrangement...true, this whole set-up was her idea, but now, it seemed like she might be regretting that decision.
"Luci, what exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying that...maybe we should just call it quits what we're doing," She stated, feeling a bit worried. Ever since she saw that conversation with Willow and Amity, it couldn't help but crawl into her mind that they were kind of like her and the Golden Guard, but in a different circumstance. She didn't feel like he should be associating with her anymore... "After all, I can't do magic naturally, and...I'm too weak to be even considered a stu-"
"Stop," He told her sternly. "You got into Hexside because you believe in yourself, not because of just me. I can't take all the credit. You're just...really good, you know?"
"Really?" She murmured quietly. "I'm not just a student to you?"
"No! At least, not anymore. We're...friends."
The girl's eyes shined and he looked a bit weirded out by it honestly. "We are? I always thought you thought lower of me."
Well, he admittedly did at first since their first meeting wasn't the best. But other than that, as he continued spending more and more time with her, he found her...just comfortable to be around, since he could talk about wild magic, and he felt like he didn't need to exceed expectations for once in his life. The whole 'Emperor's Coven—human' thing wasn't even an issue to him most of the time now.
"Yeah...unless you don't want that."
"No, no, I do!" She then smiled at him. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."
"Hm..." He glanced away as he thought about something; aside from her musical side, age, and the fact that she had a sister, he didn't seem to know much about her despite all the time they spent together. "Tell me something about you I don't know."
She didn't seem that fazed since the look on her face suggested that she wanted more out of him too. "What do you wanna know?" She put her notebook away and he put away his book, both of them wanting to break away from the teaching.
"What type of books do you like to read other than magical ones? The human world's got a lot of other types, don't they?"
"Ahh..." She looked a bit awkward, biting her lip. "Well...I did like reading Azura books when I was little. I sped-read through the books a hundred times, but...well, I kept getting bullied for it. Especially since I was entering middle school. They kept calling me a baby, and my mom was pressuring for me to grow up, to give up on them. But...she didn't know that I already felt too old because I've been responsible for my sister for a very long time. So I just...gave them to my sister, and she's loved them since."
"Really?" He leaned back and she cleared her throat a bit.
"Yeah, I guess you could say I made her who she is today..."
"Probably a good thing," He remarked quietly, but she still heard it, making her smile. "…Wait, you can speed read? You could've been through all your lessons weeks ago."
"Well, yeah, but that would've meant that you didn't put in any effort. And we wouldn't want that, would we?" She smirked in amusement, earning a soft chuckle. The two continued to talk to learn more about each other, though she couldn't help but remember that she almost forgot about a certain boy asking her out...