In her room, Luz had a bulletin board about the portal and Titan blood. Ever since their last attempt, she had been trying to figure out what exactly happened. She had even started writing journals now, just like Phillip Wittebane. She placed down a book onto a stack, reading one. She flipped a page, glancing at the echo mouse running on its wheel. She sighed heavily at no answers.
"You and me both, buddy. I can't figure out what Luci and I messed up when we made that ding-dang door!" She heard clicking and flinched.
Gwen, Eda, Lucila, Morton, Steve, King, Hooty, Tiny Nose, and a woman were gathered around for a party, all of them wearing hats. "It is so nice to be surrounded by all of Lulu's dearest friends!" He announced to the group, everyone except Lilith herself looking happy. Lilith had a new outfit, and not only that, the ends of her hair started to look fluffier, just as it was when she was a child.
"Yeah!" Steve pumped his fists. "All hail Lulu!" She gave him an annoyed look.
"We're here to celebrate the new assistant curator at the Supernatural Museum of History. Here's to you, Lulu!"
"Cheers!" Everyone held up their glasses and Lilith gave a forced smile. Lucila looked at the contents of the cup and then stuck out her tongue, flipping it upside down to dump it. Melody peeked out from Lucila's hair, chirping down at her owner. Luz peeked into the room as people were talking and walked up to Hooty, who was hosting.
"Hooty! Did I miss the toast?"
"Yes," He turned to her after handing Steve something from a plate. "But not the app-pellet-tizers!" The appetizers were...not edible, to say the least, one of them was even still moving. "You want a-There's an extra one." He started to cough one up and she flinched in alarm, holding up her hands.
"No, that's okay. Where's Lilith? We wanna congratulate her!" Luz held up the echo mouse hiding underneath her party hat. Then she noticed Lucila saying something to Morton in the corner, and she gave a mischievous smile, sneaking past people to spy on them.
"I'm sorry, Morton, but I'm not interested in you in that way," Lucila rubbed the back of her neck; she didn't think she'd have to break someone's heart twice in one month...Morton had just confessed his feelings to her, and...she just didn't feel the same way. "You're just a friend to me, nothing more."
"Is there someone else?" He asked and she blushed as she thought about Hunter, sighing and rubbing her neck while looking away.
"Well...yes, but it's complicated and I can't tell you who. I'm not comfortable explaining who he is at a house party."
"I-I get it, Luci..." He looked towards the ground and she pinched her nose.
"Look...I'm not saying that I hate you, I just like you as a friend. Nothing more, and nothing less...okay?" She said gently and he smiled at her.
"Okay. I wish you the best with him."
"Thank you and Luz, if you keep spying, I'm not gonna let Amity visit for a whole two weeks," Lucila gave a deadpan knowing look and Luz gasped sharply.
"You wouldn't! Breaking hearts and being a torturer?" She replied dramatically and her sister turned to her in defense.
"I'm not a-"
A whip grabbed an appetizer and Luz looked towards outside. Lucila blinked, wondering what that was, and the appetizer was caught by a hand.
"Oh, I wish I could stay longer," The woman from before looked at the appetizer between her fingers. "But I must be off on my next adventure." She then tossed it away and the two peeked to see that the woman was talking to Lilith. "It's such a delight to see my little bookworm back in the historical world after all these years!"
"Oh, thank you, Flora," Lilith gave a weak smile, looking away. "But it's just a small job. Only an assistant. I'm surprised you even heard about this."
"The Emperor wanted to make sure you weren't getting into any trouble," Flora explained to her. "And clear out your office. I left a box of your knickknacks inside. Wish you took more from my tutelage, dear. History's supposed to be exciting after all!" She took out her whip, the end of it being in the shape of a monkey, and then she threw it. She caught a griffin and pulled it down in front of her. She cracked her whip again as she flipped and landed on it. And with that, she took off into the sky, Lilith staring after her.
"Who was that?" Luz and Lucila walked up to her.
"Flora D'esplora, bad girl historian, celebrity, and my former mentor in the Emperor's Coven," She clenched a fist, frowning deeply.
"I have questions about that name," Luz narrowed her eyes a bit suspiciously.
"And that whip doesn't seem like the best choice either..." Lucila rubbed her chin.
"I have questions about my LIFE!" Lilith whipped around to them and the older sister flinched, stepping back a bit. "All I ever got to do was desk work while she goofed off riding wild snake horses-"
"Snoreses!" Luz's eyes shined at the thought, wanting to see them.
"And-and eating mummy jerky! Well, I can be just as exciting as Flora. I'll come up with an exhibit that'll knock the Titan's socks off!" She then stormed past them and Lucila blinked, wondering if it was just resentment towards Flora or the fact that her new job didn't sound all that exciting, despite the support.
"Congratulations on your new job!" Luz called out, Lucila placing a hand on her forehead.
"Yeah, not sure if that would do any good..."
"I heard what happened between you and Morton, I hope he didn't take it too hard," Luz said with sympathy.
"Eh," Lucila shrugged a bit. "I had to do it, I didn't want to lead him on that I was interested in him in that way..." She rubbed her arm awkwardly. "I've already had enough romance drama to last me for years..."
"Heartbreaker," Luz pointed up to her dramatically and Lucila groaned.
"After careful analysis during this Deadwardian Era, I believe the current human year is 1660. Or is it 70? The years are flashing by, but it will be all worth it. I've gathered all the portal ingredients including Titan's Blood. All that's left is to seek out The Collector. And he will tell me what I need to complete my mission. But first, my companions and I must face-" The diary entry cut off right there, Luz rubbing her chin after learning that information.
"The Collector," King mused while holding a balloon. "I've never heard that name."
"Me either. What kind of jerk puts the in front of their name anyway?" Eda pointed out while cleaning up.
"As cliché as the name is, we don't have much to go on besides that. The diary entries don't really tell us much about Phillip Wittebane himself," Lucila sighed while sitting across from her sister, her arms crossed.
"But the Collector may know how to make a real portal door," Luz sat up on the couch. "He may know why ours is so unstable. I just..." She hugged her knees and they stared at her. "I messed up so bad last time! I need to do better."
"Luz," Eda started off while picking up a plate. "I've got leg hair older than you."
"Ew," Lucila scrunched up her nose in disgust.
"Anyway, this Phillip guy worked on his door for years. Try not to beat yourself up too much."
"She's right. Just because it didn't work like we wanted doesn't mean you need to blame yourself. We'll figure this out like we always do," Lucila winked, booping her sister on the nose. "And besides, we both know that putting yourself down just makes things worse..." She murmured that last part to herself, thinking about Hunter and his mental state at Eclipse Lake, which they hadn't talked about ever since it happened. And to be fair, it wasn't an easy topic to bring up, but...something about it just concerned her...
"Aww!" Luz smiled, hugging her sister tightly. "Thanks, hermana. You're the best big sister ever."
"I'm the only big sister you have in your life," Lucila gave her an amused smile. "But thanks."
"I just wish we could go back in time and talk to him..." The younger Noceda lamented a little and then she got an idea. "Eda, is time magic a thing?!" She whipped around to the Owl Lady.
"I think there's something in those books that mention time something," Lucila spoke up, a finger on her chin in thought.
"Not really, but..." She took a book from her shelf that had the title of 'History's Top 10 Plot Holes' as the two joined her side. 'Back in the day, I was a bit of an urban legend junkie," She chuckled as she flipped through pages. "Twigfoot, Lenderman, possums."
"Those are real," Luz looked up at Eda, who scoffed in return.
"Yeah, sure, kid." The girl looked up to her older sister, who just shrugged at her. "Anyway, there are stories about these things called time pools. Mythical puddles that act as windows into the past. They're never in the same spot twice. Me and Lily used to search for them. She'd say I forced her into it, but I think she had more fun than me."
"Lilith, of course!" Luz exclaimed happily, looking up at her sister. "I mean, not that you don't know about them, you've read all the books. You're smart too, sis."
"You know, you don't need to compliment me to ensure that Amity can come over," Lucila snorted in amusement. "But I admit, it doesn't hurt."
"Thanks, Eda!" Luz took the book from her and the woman smiled, crossing her arms as she watched them leave. Lilith was in the kitchen painting something when Luz snuck up behind her. "Lilith!" She gasped in alarm, dropping her paintbrush.
"Luz!" Lucila sighed as she picked it up from the floor.
"I didn't mean to," Luz gave the woman an apologetic look. "We can see you're dealing with...all this!"
"What are you doing, anyway?" Lucila raised a brow.
"I'm planning out my first exhibit for the museum. It's almost as if the Emperor wanted Flora to tick me off!" She stood up in anger. "I'll show her she's not the only bad girl historian in town!" She clenched a fist in determination. "I'm thinking...the architecture history of Deadwardian balusters!" She held up a poster for them, and while they looked a bit interested, she knew that it wasn't going to stand out to other people as it did for her. "It won't work, will it?" Her palismen was nearby, sitting on one of the books.
"Don't let Flora get you down!" Luz encouraged her. "I even started calling you Cool Aunt Lilith in my journal," She winked at the woman. "And Luci's actually started citing you as inspiration for her songs! Like her last one."
"You didn't need to tell her that," Lucila smiled awkwardly, sweating a little. "And we do not talk about that song in my presence," She grunted towards Luz, who smiled nervously. Her last song was still her least favorite, mostly because of how it came about...
"O-Oh, really?" Lilith looked flattered to hear that. "But how did I inspire you, Luci?"
"Well...to be fair, when you were...with the Emperor, those times helped me write some of the lyrics about him, if that makes sense," Lucila answered slowly, since bringing that up might be too much for Lilith.
"Oh..." The woman blinked and then she smiled. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help you in some way. After our past, it feels refreshing to re-learn that we're on good terms again."
"Course we are, Aunt Lilith," Lucila winked at her. "Sure, the stuff between us was a little tense, but all that is behind us now."
"You can be a bad girl historian," Luz changed the subject. "And we know how," She showed Lilith the page about time pools from the book.
"Oh, I remember these! In the Premysteric Era, it's theorized that coagulated Titan blood mixed with the magical algae of the Boiling Sea, created temporary holes in time!"
"Time magic, baby!" Luz exclaimed, Lucila chuckling a bit. "You can make an exciting exhibit on time pools, and maybe Luci and I can find information on how Phillip made the portal door!"
"I...did cobble together a device to find these with Eda," Lilith confessed to the two. "It should be in the box Flora returned to me. But it was faulty. It needed more power than I could ever give it."
Luz gasped as she realized something. "Stay right there!" She ran off and they stared after her in confusion. After some clattering sounds, they cringed at a crash.
"Luz, you better not have broken anything, otherwise that's gonna come out of all the snails I earn for this house!" Lucila warned her in annoyance and her sister slid back over to them.
"I didn't...but then I did trip and broke a string on your guitar, I'll fix it," Luz whispered that last part quietly. She held up Amity's stained glove. "Would Titan Blood do the trick?"
"Hey, yeah, we still have some after we tried making the portal door!" Lucila took the glove in her hands. "And what was that earlier?" She gave Luz a semi-suspicious look, the girl hiding her hands behind her back.
"Nothing!"
Lilith glanced at her poster and put it away. "Let's do it!"
She looked at the book, glancing at the girls as they were in the forest. Luz ripped out a piece of the glove and they looked up at a tree. Luz climbed it and used the device against the sky. She smiled as the top spun, giving the device power and Lilith a pinpoint on where to go next. She circled something from her map, and at night, they were standing at a lake. Lilith's palisman dropped an object onto Luz's head, and Lilith picked it up, putting it against her map.
On the next day, they managed to get closer, Lilith holding a knife. "Don't worry, girls, we're getting closer. I can feel it," She said to the dup, who looked very tired from the journey. The woman swung her knife into a tree, taking some tree bark. She put it into the little tube connected to her device. "Ha! Exactly what I thought. These are wrinkling oaks."
"They don't look very wrinkly," Luz commented after inspecting them.
"Yeah," Lucila added in. "They look like any other trees."
"That's because something's keeping them locked in time," Lilith mused, opening up her book. "So, accounting for local plaque patterns, the quake in the 30s, and the switch from boiling units to the empirical system, the time pool should be...here!" She moved past some bushes, but frowned. The two peeked behind her and saw that there was just a beach in front of them. "But...I triple-checked all my calculations!" She said in disappointment as the two Nocedas stepped forward. "My equipment is first-rate!" She tripped on something, almost falling and she narrowed her eyes. "Stupid rock!" She kicked at the sand, which might've been hiding a rock, but there were none seen.
Luz put her hands in her pockets, kicking an actual rock...and then it disappeared into what looked like a puddle. She bent down to the sand in confusion while Lucila watched Lilith pace. "Maybe the Titan Blood was too dry? Is it not algae-blooming season?"
"Wouldn't you know that before we got here?" Lucila murmured as she raised a brow. "You're not usually making a mistake like that."
Luz bent down into the sand and when she did, there was a whole other world that looked ancient. She heard stomping and looked up to see a creature walking past and it roared.
"Was it my tools?" Lilith started panicking as she tried to deduce what went wrong. "Are they broken?" She sniffled as she took off her glasses. "Am...I broken?" She looked at her reflection in her glasses sadly.
"I'm sure that's not true," Lucila tried to reassure her.
Luz coughed as she lifted her head back up, her sister turning around to her. "Guys!" She shouted to them. "You did it, Lilith!" She held up an ammonite. "You found the time pools!"
The two gasped and then Lilith turned to her glasses. "In your face!"
Lilith inspected the same era that Luz saw, seeing the same creature. It scratched itself behind the ear and then roared before turning into stone entirely. She went back up, and sticks had been left in the sand to mark the time pools. "A Stonesleeper from the Hecktaceous period!" She turned to Luz as Lucila went to take a look for herself. "Did you know that they have a ticklish spot behind their ears?"
Luz bent down to another time pool, poking at the sand. "Luz, are you listening?"
"Come on, time pools," She hoped to find the Deadwardian Era so that they could meet Phillip Wittebane. "Mama needs to commune with the dead!" She took a deep breath just as Lucila lifted her head back up. She found herself somewhere dark, at the same beach that they were currently in.
"Tonight I shall revel so hard, I shan't stand any longer!" She looked at three people surrounding a campfire.
"I shall revel myself to death!"
Luz looked up and saw that there was a skeleton of the second person nearby on the beach, so she guessed that his statement was entirely true...
"No wonder no one's found these," Lilith was at another one. "They're completely hidden from sight," She stuck her head in, but it turned out that her current self was what her past self tripped on before, hence why there was no rock there. Because her current self was the rock.
"Stupid rock!" Past Lilith kicked at the sand, the present one annoyed as she had some scratches.
"I guess that's one way to time travel," Lucila sweated a bit at this, Luz trying another time pool. She slowly turned her head around, looking in the distance.
"Whoa..." She saw what looked like Bonesborough in the past, since there were the giant husks. "It's a little Babysborough!" She turned around to a woman walking by. "Yo! What era is it?"
"Tis the Deadwardian Era. What ye be doing in the sand? Be ye a crab maiden?"
"Phillip's time!" Luz exclaimed happily, leaving and then coming back. "And yes, I am a crab maiden! Lilith!"
"Luz, Luci, look!" Lilith smiled up at some barnacles on her head. "These are the oldest barnacles I've ever had on my head!"
"Why would you—never mind," Lucila waved it off, not wanting to ask. "What'd you find, hermana?"
"I found it! I found Phillip's time!"
"Ooh, incredible!" Lilith walked over to her, Lucila joining them. "This will be a truly unprecedented exploration. N-Now, before we dive in, we must remember if the tide comes in, we could be trapped. Paradoxes will be a danger, and don't get me started on the bloody fly effect, uh..." She cleared her throat as if she were Flora right now, she wouldn't care about any of that. "But...a bad girl historian like myself is all about taking risks. So...let's boogie down to History Town." She danced while doing finger guns, singing a little.
"She really is Cool Aunt Lilith," Luz whispered to her sister, who covered her face with her hands.
"Please stop, dear god."
"Luci, I'm curious, how are things going with the Golden Guard? He hasn't hurt you again, has he?" Lilith asked protectively, crossing her arms.
"I'm gonna kill Eda," Lucila grumbled to herself. "Or my sister. Or King. Or Hooty. Anyone of them are all suspects at this point."
"It wasn't me," Luz held up a hand.
"So?" Lilith raised a brow, expecting an answer.
"Ummm…well…ah, how do I put this?" She rubbed her chin and then Luz popped up behind her.
"She was in a love triangle between him and Amity's brother!" She exclaimed quickly. "And then she chose Hunter after everything that happened between them."
"See, this is why I shouldn't be telling you stuff," Lucila rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I know. But you do anyway," Luz smiled widely, her sister pushing her away with a playful smile.
"He better think twice before he plays you. He might be using you for the Emperor," Lilith glared as she still didn't like the idea of Hunter and Lucila being friendly. The girl sighed heavily, an annoyed look on her face.
"He's not, Lilith. He wouldn't do that. And if he did, then I wouldn't talk to him ever again."
A knock was heard at the Owl House and Eda opened it to see Gwen standing there. "Hello, witchlet," She smiled as she entered.
"Hey, Ma," Eda greeted her. "Why are you still in town? Forget something from yesterday?"
"Your father wanted to swing by."
The Owl Lady flinched upon hearing that statement. "Well...tell him I'm busy," She looked away, crossing her arms. Unlike her mother, who she had made up with after what happened, she hadn't seen her father in a long time...and for good reason.
"Maybe you could tell yourself?" Gwen asked hopefully, Eda's eyes widening. "He's just outside."
King gasped as he rushed over, jumping onto the chest excitedly. "I get to meet my grandpa?!"
"Yes," Gwen turned around to him. "You know the Clawthrone clan was once known for their palismen-making skills? And Dell? Whoo, he was the best of them all!"
"Cool!" King exclaimed happily, but Eda, not so much that excited. In fact, she looked horrified upon hearing that. A shadow approached from outside and Eda flinched with a nervous look, unsure how she was gonna get out of this.
Lilith, Lucila, and Luz crawled out of the time pool, looking across to the town. Lucila put her hair into a low bun and then took a pink hat with a feather sticking out from the right side. Lilith took a hat of her own while Luz grabbed the same hat from the guy she saw earlier. After putting on their disguises, they snuck to the entrance of Past Bonesborough. "Now, girls, we are technically in the Savage Ages. Way before Belos banished wild magic," Lilith hid a bang into her hat. "These denizens may be dangerous." She took the lead and they followed.
As someone walked by, Luz got into a defensive pose, but the guy just tipped his hat to them. "Good tidings, kind witches," And with that, he left, the trio staring after him. "Um, you'd think that from the Savage Ages, it'd be...less nicer?" Lucila raised a brow. They looked up ahead to see someone practicing their Bard music. A guy walked up to someone with a broken arm, and not only that, a cart wheel was broken. He used some magic to fix the wheel and get the driver back on his feet. He smiled happily for the help, and then got his arm healed as well. A little girl summoned an abomination, jumping onto his back and then placing a flower crown on it. The abomination and the little girl smiled, sharing an embrace.
"This doesn't look dangerous. This looks awesome!" Luz gestured to everything. "Why did Belos wanna banish wild magic again?"
"Yeah, why would he want to get rid of all this?" Lucila looked around at all the nice citizens. It really didn't seem like it was necessary to get rid of wild magic if everyone was using it freely and without trouble.
"Well, the Titan supposedly doesn't like it," Lilith explained to the both of them.
"So then ignore that dang Titan and just let it happen! Who cares what he thinks?" Lucila huffed as she crossed her arms, her head held up high. Lilith suddenly gasped, the girl blinking as she wondered what happened.
"Oh my gosh, look at this patchwork!" Lilith ran up to a house roof, starting to write it down. "Each segment looped by hand!" She squealed and the two girls smiled, walking off. Lilith loved stuff like this, so they were just gonna let her fangirl. Even if it wasn't as impressive to them... She then frowned as she realized something. "But I bet Flora would scoff at it..." She closed her book, sagging her shoulders.
"Ooh, a lute store!" Lucila's eyes shined at the place. "Man, I wish we weren't back in time, or else I would've bought one..." She pouted; she had wanted to play one ever since she read about them in one of Eda's books.
Luz walked up to someone sitting on a bench, feeding birds with hands for heads. "Excuse me, have you seen a human around?" Luz gestured to the picture she drew of Phillip. "Round ears, super smart, honestly, he's probably a celebrity around here."
"Uh-uh," He shrugged, shaking his head no. Luz frowned a bit, wondering why he didn't seem to know Phillip. She tried her luck again with a vendor, who didn't know. Then she tried a woman with one eye, who didn't know. Then she tried someone with three heads, who looked away with smiles.
"No."
She frowned at not having any clue where he is.
"Dance, human, dance!" A deep voice got their attention. They traced it back to an alleyway, where they saw a human being ganged up on by two demons. They were tossing a book around. "Give that back!" The human man demanded to them. He reached out his hand, but it was slapped away and he shook his head. "I can't believe this. After the bonds of fellowship we forged-"
"Bonds?" The one with the giant red fang spoke up. "Ha! You still owe us." He pushed the human onto the ground, and he looked up.
"When I accomplish my mission, I promise you, you'll have your snails!"
"Listen to this," The one with the green fang started reading the book. "With my new and bravest companion, Blue Fang, I set forth. His strength should make fast work of any task," His friend laughed and then took the book.
"His pretty little words should make pretty good kindling," He spun a spell circle to summon a flame, the human gasping sharply.
Suddenly an ice spike knocked the book out of his hands. A vine was swung at the book to catch it, and it was brought to Lucila's hands. Some pages flew out as they looked up in shock, wondering who was behind it, as they hadn't seen Lucila yet. A foot stepped in front of them and they turned towards Luz, who was standing in front of the human.
"That doesn't belong to you," Luz pointed at them angrily.
"And if you take one more step, I promise you, it'll be your last," Lucila clenched her fists.
"Whoa. Luci, you're being a little hardcore," Her sister whispered to her.
"Shh! At most, I'd just break one of their legs, I didn't mean it in that way."
"Ohh..." Luz nodded in understanding; Lucila was just letting them think that she'd actually kill them.
"Witchlet?" Gwen knocked on the door. "Aren't you going to say hello to your father? It's been-"
"Years!" Eda interrupted from inside her room. She was currently packing things up in a frantic manner as she was planning to escape. "It's been years, I know. I'm, uh, just sharpening my tooth," She put some elixirs in a bag. "Don't want Pops to see me looking blech, ya feel?"
"What's with you?" King watched his adoptive mother while sitting on her nest. She rushed over to the other side of the room. "Why are you so terrified of seeing your dad?"
"It's not like I'm scared of him," She defended while looking at herself in the mirror. "I just...haven't seen him since I ruined his—I mean, since the Owl Beast ruined his-" She sighed in dismay, trying really hard not to think of the last time she saw her father. Ever since then, she had avoided him entirely. "I'm just not ready, okay? Now move it. I gotta scram."
He glanced at her in annoyance as she tried to jump out the window, but Hawksley blocked the way. She yelped and pulled the curtain closed. She went to her other window, but then Hooty popped up. "Hiya, Eda! Your Pops is such a nice guy. Hey, how'd he get that scar on his-" Eda slammed the window shut before he could finish answering the question.
King laughed and she looked to the side, looking panicked. "Hey, Eda, look!" He held up Lilith's old dress and a mop that was in the same color as Lilith's hair. "Dear sister, join the Emperor's Coven and together, we can become gods!"
She smirked as she got an idea.
Luz and Lucila stood still in front of the demons, waiting for them to either make a move or back off. Red Fang was going to attack, but Green Fang stopped him. "Don't waste your time on the kids. We should keep looking."
"Ask your friend there what happened to our brother, Blue Fang, and his palisman," Red Fang challenged, and then they both left.
"Yeah, you leave, you punks!" Lucila huffed at them before Phillip attempted to move, but his leg was sprained. He groaned in pain, gathering up the papers. Luz helped him out and Lucila looked over her shoulder at a particular page, which had the drawing of Eclipse Lake on it.
"So he's already gotten to the Titan Blood," Luz murmured and then they looked at the upper corner, seeing a silhouette of Phillip and...someone that they didn't know. Lucila looked a bit taken aback as the hair style looked...EERILY familiar. "Who's that?"
"And...we've seen that hair style before..." Her sister said in a bit of a panic.
"We have?" Luz looked up at her.
"Don't you recognize it? That's the same hairstyle as-"
The pages were taken from them by Phillip. "That's private," He defended to them, putting them back into the book. Lilith joined the two sisters.
"You're...Phillip Wittebane, aren't you?" Luz asked him hopefully. "The human?"
"Here to gawk?" He asked defensively, narrowing his eyes. "I may not have a bile sac, but I do have dignity," He placed his book back into his bag and started to leave.
"Wait!" Luz called out to the man. "My sister and I have heard of your exploits, and we know what it's like to be far from home. Could we talk?"
"...No," He said bluntly, stumbling away due to his sprained leg.
"Not that kind of guy, are you?" Lucila murmured, glancing away.
"Wait! We can give you snails! We can make you crutches! Um, uh, we can help you find The Collector!"
He stopped, looking over his shoulder at them. "Luz!" Lucila whispered to her. "We don't even know where he is!"
"That was all I could think of!" Luz whispered back quickly.
"So, Luzura. You, your sister Lucate, and your Aunt Dirtrude started traveling together after the Toe-gres attacked your castle and covered it with an impenetrable mist?" Phillip questioned after they made up a story as to why they were there. They were walking in a forest while he was still limping.
"Yes," Luz smiled up at him. "And that's why we, too, seek the Collector. We need him to tell us how to clear the mists so we can return home! And so that Lucate can reunite with her lover-"
"Luzura, don't need to add that little detail," Lucila interrupted, giving Luz a warning look.
"Snap, snap, snap."
He led them to a cave, and stepped inside, and it was dark. "Now..." He rummaged through his bag. "Anyone bring a torch?"
Luz held up a light glyph and tapped it, turning it into an orb. "Astounding! I thought I was the only one who used picto-glyphs," He took out his book.
"You use glyphs too?" Luz asked with a smile, giving him a light glyph.
"How else could I have survived here? Plant growth, ice, fire...took years to find them," He then sketched out the light glyph into his book. "Almost as if the world wanted to hide them from me. I even found one in a snowflake."
"My dude, me too! And my sister learned glyphs much faster," She nudged Lucila, who waved it off with a small smile.
"Ah, it wasn't really that hard, I just learned in a different way than you did."
"Warriors and scholars," Phillip tested out the light glyph. "Truly impressive."
Luz smiled widely as he walked off, Lilith joining them. She then squealed happily. "I can't believe I taught Phillip something new!" She squealed again, Lilith and Lucila both smiling at her. But both of them got the feeling that something was off about Phillip...
"Keep an eye out on him?" Lucila whispered to the woman, who nodded in agreement. She felt like this was too easy...the way Phillip talked, something about it just rubbed her off the wrong way.
Phillip led the way while drawing light glyphs to light their way. "Line there, curve there...fascinating. Absolutely fascinating," Lucila and Lilith stared at him, narrowing their eyes. He then glanced back at them. "Your nieces are both very talented. I'm sure they take after their aunt."
"Oh," Lilith chuckled, flattered by the compliment. Lucila just smiled, but it was just to throw him off their suspicion. "Maybe I had a little something to do with it," She pushed up her glasses.
"Now, I know a few tricks as well," He used a light glyph above their heads, and then picked up a stick. He started drawing something on the sand, and they watched. Lilith stepped back a bit so that she didn't mess it up, and on the ground was a large glyph combination, one that they had definitely never seen before.
"What is this?" Luz bent down to Phillip.
"A shortcut..." He touched it and the whole thing glowed yellow. "To The Collector." Everything flashed around them.
"Really, Eda?" Gwen asked in exasperation at how her daughter was acting. She knocked on the door again. "You won't be able to run away this time."
Eda, disguised as Lilith, slammed open the doors. She had the mop over her head. "Apologies, dearest mother. Dearest sister has flown the dearest coop. But worry not, for I, the perfect prissy little Lily, shall find her for you." She smiled and picked up her skirt as she left. Gwen stared after her, noticing Eda's hair coming out of the wig. She looked at the woman in disbelief as King joined her.
"Does she seriously think I'm buying that?"
"Just let her have this," King deadpanned, since Eda didn't really seem to want to see her father.
She slammed open the door to her home, throwing off her disguise. "Ha ha!" She pulled out her staff, rushing forward. "Not today, suckers!" She was about to fly off on her staff when she stopped, gasping sharply. Her father was standing in the distance, looking up at the sun.
"Am I too late again?" He glanced over his shoulder briefly. There was a yellow cardinal palisman on his shoulder. "Well, fly safe, witchlet. Perhaps I'll catch you next time."
She looked away, knowing that she couldn't run any longer or turn him away. Owlbert dropped his wings. "Hi...Dad."
Once the three looked up, they gasped as they saw that Phillip had taken them to a long hallway made of ice. There was a big door at the end of the hallway. "Whoa," Luz murmured in awe. "Where are we?"
Phillip got onto his feet, and he didn't answer. Luz looked out a hole, stepping forward and looking down. She gasped sharply as she saw that they were actually inside the head of the Titan, or at least, the Deadwardian version of it. "We're in the head of the Titan?!"
"The what?!" Lucila flinched backwards in surprise.
"W-We're what?!" Lilith stammered, baffled that they got here. "B-But this is sacred ground!"
"I suppose that's why no one wanted to accompany me," Phillip hobbled across the hallway and they followed. "But every legend told me that the Collector lies there. Behind that door. I just can't figure out the mechanisms to open it. If I weren't so frail..." He hissed in pain, clutching his leg again.
"It's okay," Luz bent down to him. "We can help! Puzzles are in my blood," Lilith and Lucila walked past them. "Literally. My mom and sis had to stop me from eating puzzles when I was a kid. You stay here and rest up."
"Thank you for your kindness, crab maiden," He placed a hand on Luz's shoulder. "Perhaps we were destined to meet."
She smiled softly and ran up to the two, who were examining the door.
"This mechanism is unlike any I've seen before," Lilith told them, the older Noceda rubbing her chin. Something about this was really bothering her now... "It'll make a remarkable addition for my exhibit. It's just..." She flinched as she stopped touching it, a finger underneath her chin.
"Come on, we can't stop now," Luz encouraged her. "We're getting everything we could've hoped for!"
"That's just it," Lilith argued back. "Look. Most of this puzzle has been solved already. And Phillip..." She paused at his name, hugging herself as she looked back at him. Luz raised a brow at the man, who had his back turned to them. "The confidence, the compliments. He says everything you wanna hear. It feels...uncomfortably familiar."
"And what Phillip said about this door doesn't make sense," Lucila pointed out, glancing at them. "He's smart enough to get here and find all these glyphs, but not smart enough to figure out this door? Especially with most of it done?"
"Some of this is pretty weird," Luz admitted to them. "But...it's the Boiling Isles. Everything's a little weird, right? Hey, why don't you keep working on this, and we'll go talk to Phillip?" She smiled and nodded, thankful that she didn't have to confront him herself. The sisters walked off towards him while Lilith kept touching the puzzle.
There was a palisman sticking out from Phillip's bag as they approached, looking at what he was writing. "I single-handedly defeated the beast behind the door. Tragically, I could not save my companions?"
He stood up slowly and Lucila gasped, backing away in front of her sister, who stood behind her. "Phillip...why did you bring us here?"
"And what beast?" Lucila glared at him. Suddenly the ground shook and they turned around to see that Lilith had gotten the door open.
"Ah! I did it!" She waved to the both of them. "I solved the puzzle!"
Both of the sisters were shocked that she figured it out so quickly, but at the same time, they were kind of terrified of Phillip right now. "Aunt Lily, get away from the door!" Lucila cried out as Phillip closed his book.
"I needed a sacrifice," He admitted and Lucila flinched, slowly turning around to him.
"You needed a what?" She growled out in anger.
"What'd he say?" Lilith called out before a claw emerged and grabbed her. She screamed while being dragged away.
"Lilith!" The girls cried out in concern.
"Well, with the beast distracted, I can finally get through those doors," Phillip said happily, not seeming to care about what just happened.
"You tricked us!" Luz growled, just as angry as her sister now as she pulled Phillip down by his collar.
"It was-"
"Destiny? Balderdash," Luz gave him a disgusted look, Lucila clenching her fists.
He just chuckled at them. "I was going to say inevitable. You three were easier to trick than Blue Fang. Hopefully you two and Aunt Dirtrude can last longer." They both looked in disbelief at how he had changed his demeanor and then they heard Lilith screaming.
"Oh, I wish I could punch you, but we have to go save her. But the next time we see you, you're gonna wish you didn't!" Lucila pointed at him while gritting her teeth, the two sisters turning around and running into the room. Phillip just adjusted back his jacket as if the threats meant nothing to him.
Once they entered the room, they saw a large beast holding Lilith in its hand. "Lilith!" Luz shouted once they saw her. The beast screeched at them and then came running forward. Luz threw down an ice glyph while Lucila threw a light glyph in its eyes. It screeched in pain before slipping onto the ice, crashing onto it and dropping Lilith in the process. The two rushed by and grabbed her hand, running forward. While they were trying to fend off the thing, Phillip approached a platform in the room. He got out a shovel while the beast started chasing the trio. He started digging and Lilith noticed this.
"Hey! That better be your own grave you're digging!" She called out while shaking an angry fist.
"We'll deal with him in a minute, we've got bigger problems," Lucila told her as the beast was still attacking them. Luz summoned some fire glyphs into her hands to distract the beast and they took off running again.
Something glowed from the hole and Phillip smiled, picking up a round mirror. He looked at his reflection, and the mirror had a moon symbol on it. "Found you."
The three hid behind a pillar, Luz glancing at him as they were nearby the platform. "I know you want to get home, but nothing is worth hurting people!"
She yelped as Lilith pushed the both of them down, the beast breaking the pillar with its tail. It roared as it ran off past Phillip.
"Oh, I disagree," He spoke up, holding the shovel. "It was nice making a cat's-paw out of you," He turned the shovel around so that he could use the end of it to trace the teleportation glyph. "Good luck with your...crab castle or...whatever. You witches come up with the worst lies," He touched it and the platform flashed, getting the beast's attention. Luz grabbed Lilith and her sister, the three hiding behind another pillar.
"Is this how it all ends for Lilith Clawthrone?" Lilith asked in fear. "Her body lost to time?"
"You guys were right about that jerkweed. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, hermana," Lucila patted the top of her head gently. "I just hope we can't lose him so that we can stick it to him," She narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, your humility before death truly heartens me," Lilith smiled down at the girl.
"Yeah, I should have listened to you..." She gasped as she remembered something. "Wait. I did listen to you!"
"Eh..." Lilith waved a hand since Luz wasn't paying attention to what she said earlier. Luz then ran off. "Luz!"
"She knows what she's doing," Lucila smiled, confusing the woman that the older Noceda, and also who used to be really protective of Luz, wasn't showing any concern at all for her little sister. Luz ran up to the beast, who turned around to face her.
"Eda's gonna kill me. Eda's gonna kill me. Eda's gonna kill me!" Lilith covered her eyes so that she wouldn't have to watch and then there was a thud. Lucila just smiled and Lilith looked up ahead to see that Luz was scratching it behind the ears.
"It's one of those Stone Sleepers from the Hecktaceous period!" Luz revealed to the woman. "It must have been hibernating in here for ages. Aw," She continued scratching it. "Do you like that, boy?"
"You were listening," Lilith placed a hand underneath her eye to wipe away a tear, as she didn't think Luz had listened earlier. Lucila placed her hands behind her back.
"I didn't know until I saw the ears and the body type, but I'm not gonna go near it since it just attacked us..."
Phillip was walking out of the forest, writing in his journal. "And so I doggedly limped home, but I had my prize," He took out the mirror to examine it again. "How to describe you? Oval? Oblong? A round boy?"
A thud was heard behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. He heard it again and then fully turned around to see the same Stonesleeper he just escaped from standing right in front of him. It roared down at him and he gasped sharply. Lilith, Lucila, and Luz jumped down from the beast, storming up to him.
"Tell us how that thing's gonna help you build a portal to the human realm," Luz pointed at him angrily.
"And I wouldn't hesitate or lie if I were you, we've got a Stonesleeper on our side," Lucila jerked a thumb to him.
He looked down at the mirror and then gave a blank look. "Oh. No, I need this for something else."
"No?" Luz asked with seething anger, the other two shocked. "What do you mean no?!"
"All of that and you didn't even need it for the portal?!" Lucila screamed at him.
"I mean, if it's information you want, perhaps we can make an exchange," He offered them, putting his hands together and thinking that he'd get something out of this. "I'll probably require another sacrifice sooner or later."
However, Lilith stepped forward instead. "If you or your aunt want to-" Lilith punched him in the nose and he fell to the ground. "You hateable sorcerers!" He growled up at her, covering his nose. Lucila then stepped forward, Luz and Lilith wincing as they looked away, hearing her hit him. Phillip clutched his lower area as Lucila crossed her arms.
"That's for trying to feed us to that thing!" Lucila growled down at him, holding her head up high and going back to the others.
"Stay mad," Lilith dismissed, looking to the girls. "Come, Luzura and Lucate, we're finished here."
Luz just backed away, pointing at him while smirking in amusement. "Cool aunt and big sis."
They all hopped onto the beast, Lilith and Lucila high-fiving each other. The beast knocked Phillip down with one of its legs. Luz looked down, as she thought that Phillip was a good guy, but she was wrong...not only that, but they got nothing out of this whole thing. Lucila meanwhile just grumbled, bitter towards Phillip still.
"You know, Luz, if some jerk like Phillip can build a portal, then I'm sure you and Luci can too," She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Thank you, Aunt Lily. That means a lot," Lucila smiled at her.
"Thanks. Hey...we have a little time before the tide comes in. You wanna do something...exciting?"
Lilith looked confused at her.
Someone was crafting balusters, which she marked down in excitement. "Balusters, girls! Deadwardian balusters!"
The two just smiled, fist-bumping each other. It wasn't as much fun as it sounded to them, but it still made Lilith happy.
Eda and Dell sat together to watch the sunset. "Sorry I, uh, haven't been in touch," Eda started off awkwardly. "There's been a lot going on."
He just sighed slowly, pausing. "...You disappear from Bonesborough, you're fixing up my old tower, and then suddenly I see you on a wanted poster. And your mother tells me about the petrification! I wish you'd let us help..." He looked down a bit. "But...I do hear I have a grandson now?"
"Heh heh," Eda chuckled, looking away. "Yep, King's a Clawthrone. He can be a handful, but-"
"It's been over 20 years, witchlet," Dell got right to the point and she frowned, dropping her casual façade. "I can't chase you anymore."
"Then stop!" She whipped around to him. "I ruined your life. Have you even been able to carve a new palisman since I attacked you?" He lifted his scarred hand, which shook and that only answered yes to her. She looked away in guilt, since technically, she was the cause of it. Even though she was cursed, she never forgave herself after that incident when he came home that fateful night.
"Stop trying to forgive me. I don't deserve it," She stood up and then stormed off. He placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her and she glanced back. His left eye, like his hand, was covered in scars.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to try that again," He assured her, holding out his hand. He opened it up to reveal something.
"What...is that?" She looked up in confusion.
"It's a palistrom seed," He revealed to her. "My Palisman-making days are over, but I've been helping the Bat Queen replenish her forests, so someone new can learn the trade."
"Did you come all the way here just to brag?" Eda asked her dad in a joking way.
"Yes! But also to say..." He gave her the seed. "Let the past stay in the past, witchlet. It's okay to move on. And give Owlbert my regards," He walked past her and she stared after him. "Carving him with you is one of my dearest memories." She smiled at her father with tears in her eyes, touched that he never held any anger towards her actions...
"We got lucky today, girls," Lilith said while she and Lucila flew their staffs, landing behind Eda, who smiled. "Next time those time pools show up, they could be on the other side of the world."
"Hey nerds!" Eda turned around to them, acting like her usual self. "How was your nerd quest? You find that dead nerd?"
"Layin' it on a little thick there, Eda," Luz told her as Lucila pouted, crossing her arms. "You're not a nerd, you're great just the way you are, hermana," She told her big sister in an assuring way. "But yeah, we found Phillip."
"Whoa, seriously?" Eda asked in surprise.
"Yeah, he stunk," Luz sagged her shoulders, Lilith nodding in agreement.
"I punched him in the face. Luci got him even harder though."
"Groovy, auntie," Luz gave her some hand gestures, which she returned. Lucila slowly backed away from them, Eda glancing between the duo.
"Uh, you guys—you guys need to stop that..."
"I'm gonna go before I start cringing, I'll be back later..." Lucila murmured as she headed for the Owl House so that she could go meet Hunter.
Phillip groaned from his nose as he arrived at his home, which was a cave. He stumbled a bit, kicking a rock angrily. He clutched his nose, his eyes filled with rage. "Those barbarians, those...those..." He put down his hand, gritting his teeth at the red bump on his nose, as well as the scar. "WITCHES!" He clenched his fist as his voice echoed. He took out some light glyphs, and his arm...was starting to swell as it had a lot of glyphs on it. After a few seconds, the swelling stopped, and he bent down to the floor. He searched and then picked up the palisman he had in his bag, breaking it apart. He absorbed its essence...very similar to someone else in the Boiling Isles...
He inhaled, sighing deeply. "It doesn't matter," He started sounding very familiar to Belos... "I just need to live long enough to see this through," He touched the mirror, and it projected stars, moons, and a sun on the wall. "And you're going to help me...Collector," He grinned evilly.
Lucila and Hunter sat at their hangout spot, and he noticed that she was quieter today. He raised a brow at her, tilting his head in a bit of concern. "Luci, are you okay?" He asked as she fiddled with her guitar.
"Define okay," She rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous smile; after today, okay was not the word to use. Not only did she have an important question, but she was right; the man in the picture from Phillip's book she saw did have the same hair style as Hunter. But she didn't know what that meant, so she'd deal with it another day. "...Do you know a Raine Whispers?" She got right to the point and he blinked, rubbing his chin.
"Mm..." He looked away in thought. "I've heard the name, but I don't know much. All I know is that they showed up out of the blue after that fight with Darius and Eberwolf. It was kinda weird. My uncle won't talk to me about it."
She smiled weakly, a bit relieved that he didn't know anything because if he did, it would've been really awkward. "Hey, can you tell me more about the human realm?" He asked excitedly as he took out a journal. "I've been writing a journal about what I've learned. "What's your home like? What about your parents?"
She bit her lip as she remembered the promise to her mom, and when she returned home...she wouldn't be able to see Hunter anymore...She looked towards the ground sadly and he blinked. "...I had a life there, being in school, hanging out with my friends, being in my band, all that...not much I can say about my mom. But yeah, the human world has a lot of things. Changing weather, places to have fun, different foods...yeah...it's just great," She hugged a knee, placing her chin on it.
"Did something happen before you got here?" He asked quietly and she looked away, a hand on her cheek.
"No, but uh...I-I managed to contact my mom and she made me promise...that I would stay on Earth when I get back...and never come back," She confessed and his eyes widened, backing away a bit.
"What?" His heart clenched at the thought of not seeing her anymore. Ever since he met her, he found that aside from Lil' Rascal, she was the only thing he had outside of being the Golden Guard and he didn't want that taken away... "S-She won't make you really do that, will she?"
"I don't know what'll happen, but I'll figure it out," She smiled a bit at him. "After all, what would you do without me?"
"Pfft, when you put it like that, everything," He retorted and she shook her head with an amused smile, knowing that he didn't really mean that. "So how did you manage to see her?"
"I can't tell you," She laid her back against the tree and he frowned; she still didn't trust him enough...
"Luci...I wanna know. Whatever it was, I won't say anything," Hunter gestured to himself.
"And I can't take the chance of it getting out," She pointed out, hugging herself. He sighed in defeat, putting down his journal.
"I...I think I learned how to speak those Spanish words you gave me," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you play me the tune?"
"Sure," She gave him a small grin, grateful for him dropping the subject. Hunter took out the paper she gave him, starting to read.
No hay tiempro
Bella esta, siento
Lucila glanced up at him, her mouth open in surprise as...he actually sounded good. She had never heard his singing voice before, it was...actually kind of soothing. As if she could listen and forget all her problems.
Me debo atrever
Nada impedira decirle
As she played and he sang, sunflower petals fell from the tree above them, flying around and landing around them.
Cuando este
Frente a mi
He glanced at her, smiling as he seemed to be doing well or she would've stopped him,
Por siempre, yo te cuidare
Cada respiro guardare
Everything...just seemed right with Lucila playing and his singing. She didn't know he could sing this well; otherwise she would've asked him to be in Owl Rocks. But right now, he probably wouldn't risk it because of his uncle...
Te acercaste
Podria motor y esperate una vida
He smiled a little bit as with her, he didn't have to worry about his uncle's condition, though it was still there. He didn't have to worry about her or any other duties as the Golden Guard. He could...just be his own person around her.
No tengas miedo a sentir
Te amatria por mil anos mas
Melody and Lil Rascal watched them from above the tree, chirping happily at what was going on between them.
Amarte por mil anos mas
Suddenly the two started to sing together, their voices matching perfectly as they stared into each other's eyes. Hunter slid closer and she smiled.
Que te amaria por mil anos mas
Amarte por mil anos mas
After they finished singing, they stayed silent and he brushed away a bang. Her heart raced as she wondered what was going on in his head, clamping her mouth shut.
"…Take off your glasses."
"Huh?!" She flinched in alarm, clearing her throat. "Y-You wanna clue me in on why exactly?"
"I, um, no reason? I just wanna see something," He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay, you already gave me that reason before," She raised a brow.
"Luci," He said insistently, taking off her glasses to look into her eyes. He
"Hunter…"
"Just…stay still…" He slowly inched forward and her entire face turned red. Was he about to do what she thought he was about to do? But instead, he reached down and kissed her cheek, causing her mouth to open wide. A thousand thoughts were going through her head right now. She slowly stood up; she couldn't believe he did that!
"Um, look at the time, gotta get home! See you tomorrow!" She rushed away from him while grabbing his bag and he blinked, staring after her in confusion.
"Luci, hold on!" He called out as he stood up, and then she flew off. He looked away, his face red as his heart raced. He wondered what would've happened if he had gotten her lips and then he groaned. "Why did I do that?" He pinched his nose, he probably scared her off.
Lucila landed inside her room, slamming the window shut behind her as her heart raced. She panted heavily as she thought about his face being so close to hers, his lips...she slowly fell onto her bed, taking off her glasses as she contemplated what just happened, touching her cheek.
How on Earth was she gonna handle seeing him again after that?
Angel: The song used is Amarte Por Mil Anos Mas from Christina Perri, I just wanted to use it since Lucila speaks Spanish. And I have over 450 people favoriting me! Thank you to those who have favorited and continued to read my stories, I really appreciate it since I'm going through some stuff to the point where I'm only doing two stories right now (though I might finish one that I put off, still debating that).
Also can I just say that the ending was a clever twist and it just confirms everything that probably most fans were theorizing at this point? But at the same time, I haven't hated a character from this show this much ever since Boscha, I HATE Phillip now lol