A Blight On Bonesborough

by GeminiAlchemist

Swap AU - Amity Blight just wanted to be a normal human girl, not the daughter of the richest couple in Connecticut, weighed down by her Mother's expectations. Chasing after an owl that stole one of her only outlets from that life leads her to the Boiling Isles, where she's pretty sure she's forever lost her chance to be normal, but she supposes she can handle being weird instead.

22. … And What Gus Found There

A/N: No rest for the wicked. If things go to plan, we have 4 more chapters(counting this one) and at least one interlude before I'm done with 2A, and that means I'm less than halfway done!

So, for the people who didn't read last chapters notes,, uh, there will be some timeline screw ups again. Remember how I messed that up with a minor event last season, where I mentioned the events of Once Upon a Swap happening before it did in canon by like, an episode, but explained it away as just a consequence of the AU(I mean, it was more a joke than a serious use of that episode, anyway)? That sorta happens here, but with a bigger event. For some reason, I forgot that Hunting Palismen takes place AFTER Through the Looking Glass Ruins, not before, until it was too late for me to fix it because I seeded plot stuff into the already finished chapter that the rest of the fic hinged upon happening.

Thankfully nothing that happened in canon takes that timeline of events into account in those episodes will be of consequence in this AU. After all, HP in canon is a Luz Solo adventure with no real B plot, and the only other major character is Hunter.

Title if this chapter is taken from the book "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found there" combined with the actual title of the episode this is based on.

---

Amity breathed, trying to steady the racing of her heart. Before her, her opponent grinned, baring her teeth in anticipation of Amity's next move. She had to keep her hand hidden, literally, the glyphs she planned to use were too valuable to show off to the enemy, even if they could only hazard a guess as to what it was she was about to cast if they say it.

Her time was up, she had to move. Now!

"Woo! Go Amity!" Well, there went her attempts at keeping her heart rate steady.

The crowd roared as she was tackled by someone with a head full of purple hair. Amity hit the Grudgby field hard, but not bad enough to break anything at least. To the sidelines, hopping around in a cheerleader outfit of all things, was Luz, who stopped her jumping with her hands clamping over her mouth in worry to see Amity on the ground, but the human couldn't begrudge Luz one bit. It felt amazing to know she had her own cheer squad, even if she found the way Luz jumped around to be incredibly distracting.

Curse her hormones.

Still, if the sound of the buzzer going off meant anything, she hadn't been taken down in vain. At the other end of the field, standing in the Glandus in-goal, Grudgby ball spinning on the tip of her finger and a sinister, dominating grin plastered on her face, was Boscha. She'd managed to score the final point of the game just as time was called, winning the game for Hexside.

Amity allowed herself to fall limp on the ground, breathing hard and taking in the soreness that pervaded every inch of her body. Between all her adventures and willingly joining the school's team, she was beginning to wonder if she was an adrenaline junkie who lived life on the edge and just hadn't realized it until now.

Boscha strutted across the field, tossing the ball over her shoulder as she approached Amity and offered her a hand up. "You did good today, human. When you're not dominating the field, you make a great distraction for the other team to chase down."

Amity took the hand, lifting herself up off the ground and easing herself to her feet, which she was sure were covered in blisters by this point. "Thanks, Boscha. I did my best, and I'm glad it paid off."

She received a hard shove for her comment, almost sending her sprawling back to the ground, "You call that your best? You missed an easy goal halfway through, and completely whiffed it right now. If I wasn't making up for your slack, we'd have lost."

Despite her harsh words, Amity knew Boscha meant well. The triclops sneered, "We're just going to have to train you harder. I'm adding an extra hour to your training every day next week."

Now it was Amity's turn to scoff, "You know I can't do that, I have my job at the library. I'm pushing it as it is."

"Excuses, excuses." Boscha grumbled, crossing her arms. "Alright, we're done here. Go hit the showers or something. Captain's orders."

Amity was just going to assume the 'or something' part of that order also covered going to talk to her girlfriend, because that was absolutely next on Amity's gay agenda.

Amity brushed the grass off of her uniform, and strolled over to the edge of the field, doing her best to look suave, cool, and casual despite the bruises that littered her body and the fact that she could hardly walk straight. Luz beamed at her, setting her pom-poms down, looking like an utter dork in her homemade cheer outfit. Not having made the actual cheer team wasn't putting a damper on her plans to cheer Amity on in the slightest. The poor human girl's heart pounded in her chest as she drank in the sight of her girlfriend's adorable nature.

Luz wasn't doing much better. Amity's uniform was clinging to her body, and her lavender hair was wet with sweat, sticking to her forehead, having come undone from its usual half-ponytail long ago. Luz had never really wondered if she had a thing for jocks, but after seeing Amity rip and tear her way from goalpost to goalpost, she had her answer. The lights from the stadium glistened off of her girlfriend's skin, making her appear to shimmer, and Luz was the one who felt like she'd just sprinted from one end of the field to the other as her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey," Amity said lamely, suddenly feeling too flustered to put together a sentence.

"Right back at you," Luz stuttered, avoiding making eye contact.

Both were insanely grateful their friends couldn't see them now. They'd been dating for over two months now, and yet they still turned into messes around each other in situations like this, and no one in their friend group would be willing to drop ammunition like this. Luz brushed a stray strand of her hair out of her face, cheeks red as she searched for anything to say. "You really know how to kick a ball." Nailed it.

"Only because I had my super awesome girlfriend here to have my back," Amity replied instantly and almost regretted saying something so corny, except that it made Luz happy to hear if her bashful smile was anything to go by.

Luz herself was feeling daring, "Seeing as you were absolutely the star player of tonight's game, I'd say you deserve a reward, don't you?"

They were so close now, both leaning forward, lips puckering. This was it, they were finally going to kiss. On the lips. Right after the big game. It was everything Amity literally dreamed of, so much so she had to pause and pinch herself, if just to make sure she wasn't actually asleep.

Amity could feel Luz's breath on her lips when the witch snorted, pulling back and covering her mouth to try and hide the sound. Luz's eyes reflected a mixture of amusement that refused to be restrained, and horror that she'd actually laughed in Amity's face, but she just couldn't help it.

"I'm sorry!" Luz chuckled, "The mood was just so right, but you reek!"

Amity made a face, then lifted her arm and took a sniff, gagging. Yeah, she'd been sweating out on the field for several hours now, and her sweat had gone sour in its scent. She couldn't blame Luz though, as soon as the fact was made clear to her, her own nose wrinkled up and a chuckle escaped her throat.

Behind her Boscha walked by, giving a brief shout their way, "This is why I ordered you to take a shower!"

---

"Come on, Gus, you're perfectly awesome just the way you are!" Luz assured him as the group made their way to the library the next day. Beside her, Willow gave an encouraging nod.

"I think your illusions are wonderful. And you're great at them too, it's why you've managed to move up two years." The Plant witch put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Gus seemed unsure of himself, eyes downcast as he walked, "I don't know guys… I mean, I feel kind of useless compared to the rest of you."

The young boy was having some confidence issues regarding his chosen skill set since shortly after the petrification ceremony. While he'd been praised by the masked leader of the rebellion for helping save Eda's life, he'd had to do that without his powers, and when push came to shove, all of his friends could take down threats, while he just… couldn't.

Gus was afraid to voice those concerns, though, seeing as if the others thought he might be thinking about joining the BATTs, they'd want to talk him out of it. Well, Willow and Amity would try to talk him out of it, Luz would probably want to join as well, and that might just be worse, since she was, well, Luz, and was a trouble magnet.

Walking just behind him, steps in sync, were Amity's siblings, who Gus hadn't had much time to interact with. They'd made it pretty clear that they weren't going to answer any of his questions about the human world truthfully, much to his disappointment. Em tapped a finger to her chin, "I'm not really sure what you're complaining about-"

"Yeah, if we had your powers, can you imagine just how many tricks and pranks we could pull?" Edric finished his sister's thought, both grinning at the possibilities.

And that was exactly why they hadn't been forthcoming about human world stuff. They just found it too funny to mess with Augustus, his last question session ending with Amity yelling at them and throwing things until they apologized, and he had to erase hours of notes. If sabotaging academic research was what humans considered funny, Gus thought they needed to rethink their sense of humor.

"Nothing's stopping you from trying to change tracks!" Luz nudged him, "You could always use my secret room and learn more?"

"That might be my only course of action at this point, but it's too late for me to completely change tracks" Gus sighed. "This isn't like with Willow, who could do plant magic really well while stuck in abominations, this is more the opposite. This would be like taking her from plants and moving her to abominations, despite her being terrible at it. Do you really think she'd be able to do anything halfway advanced before we graduate?"

Willow frowned, seeing his point, "No, I don't think I could."

Luz kicked a rock at her feet, "Yeah, you'd have to start from the bottom… I could probably tutor you a bit…"

"Thanks Luz," and despite Gus's melancholic tone, he did mean it. His friends didn't need to try and pick him up when he was down in the dumps over a problem he knew was silly from their perspective, and yet they still tried.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Ed spoke up, using his height to peek over their heads at a bit of commotion below them, on the street under the bridge they were walking on.

All eyes widened as what looked like a Slitherbeast was wreaking havoc in the street, barreling down the road. Everything in its path was destroyed as the monster rampaged, ramming carts and stalls and anything else that got in its way. Its claws narrowly missed several passersby and vendors, who only just ducked in time to avoid the swipes.

To make matters worse, Braxas, one of the children Luz liked to read to when she visited Amity at the library, was directly in the path of the beast. Luz grabbed onto the railing, intent on throwing herself down there to fight and distract the Slitherbeast herself, only for three other students her age, proudly wearing their Glandus uniforms, to step in before she could. Using a combination of abomination, plant, and construction magic the trio of newcomers managed to halt the demon in its tracks.

Luz breathed a sigh of relief, glad her littlest buddy hadn't had so much as a hair on his bald, wrinkled head harmed, with Gus beside her looking just as starstruck by that act of heroism. Without another word, Gus took off down the nearby steps, skidding to a halt in front of the Glandus students.

Luz chuckled and gave chase, followed by Willow, Edric and Emira. They caught up with them just as Mattholomule suddenly appeared, huffing and puffing, and calling the Glandus girl's name. "Bria!"

"Mattholomule?" Gus asked, raising a curious brow to see his fellow Hexolio and club member here of all places.

"Augustus? And Luz?"

"And co!" Edric grinned, throwing up some jazz hands.

Matt didn't bother acknowledging him, simply grimacing. "Back off, this is Glandus business only."

Bria held up her hands, offering it as a sign of peace, "Relax, Matty, it's all good here. You got that map you told us about?"

Matt pulled out a map, and started to hand it over to Bria when something clicked in Luz's mind, "Oh, you were at the game last night, weren't you? On the Glandus Grudgby team!"

Bria blinked, map half opened and in mid explanation about what it led to, then smiled brightly, "Yeah, that's us!"

The Glandus girl took a good hard look at Luz, recognition in her own eyes, "Hey, you were that cheerleader! I thought I recognized you. Sorry about your girlfriend, but you know, games a game." Bria shrugged, with a 'what can you do' expression on her face.

Luz realized now that this was the same girl who tackled Amity the night before, and forced a smile. It wasn't that she begrudged Bria for what she did, it's part of the game, but at the same time there was a part of Luz that didn't like that this girl had hurt Amity.

"Luz, later," Gus quickly said, turning his eyes back to Bria, curiosity burning behind his eyes, "What were you just saying about that map?"

Bria explained, with the help of her friends, Gavin and Angmar, that the map led to a mysterious treasure called Galdorstones, which many a witch had heard legends about. Luz herself had always thought they were a fairy tale, but her Mom seemed to believe in them, even if she could never seem to find one of her own.

"You said you were Hexside students, right? We could always use the extra strength, especially if Luz here is half as tough as her girlfriend." Bria offered, her face friendly as she extended an offer to let them join, looking hopefully in Gus' direction.

Gus was in the middle of shooting the offer down, his expression a little nervous. Between the stars in his eyes when he'd seen Bria work, and how the girl seemed to look at Gus like she was talking directly to him instead of explaining what was going on with the group, Luz, certified matchmaker, could see the potential spark of awkward teen romance in their future.

"We should go!" Luz spoke over Gus, clamping a hand on his shoulder. On Gus's other side, Willow looked just as surprised, with Mattholomule seeming livid with the idea.

"But Gus is just an illusionist!" Mattholomule argued, pointing an accusatory finger at his rival.

"I thought we were going to help Ed, Em and Amity at the library today?" Willow asked, pointedly glaring at Matt for daring to disrespect Gus for his magical prowess.

Luz faltered, a faint blush on her cheeks when thinking about seeing her girlfriend. They hadn't spoken about the failed kiss from the night before yet, both making an effort to avoid the discussion out of embarrassment. So maybe she was still wanting to avoid the subject, and in turn, Amity, if just for a few more hours to get her head on straight? There wasn't anything wrong with that.

But she didn't need to come to her own defense, or find an excuse. Em gave her a nudge forward, "Go on, have a fun treasure hunting adventure. We'll be fine!"

"Yeah," Edric added, throwing a friendly arm over Willow's shoulder, "Besides, it'll just be a boring library trip. Amity knows that place like the back of her hand, we'll be in and out before you know it."

Luz grinned at her friends, "See? We're all good!"

She leaned forward, whispering into Gus's ear, "Besides, this will help you discover just what kind of magic you might want to study, and be really good at it if we can get a Galdorstone!"

Gus seemed to happily accept that answer, beaming at his friends. "Alright, we're in!.

Bria beamed, "That's great! Now come on, we need to get a move on if we're going to make it to the Forearm Forest before it gets too late into the day!"

The Hexside students bid farewell to Ed and Em, waving cheerfully as they parted ways. Luz, eager to get a move on, started to jog beside the group, only to bump into a familiar redhead, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Looks like someone's a bit clumsy," Bria chuckled, her friends heartily joining her. Luz, flushed with embarrassment, jumped to her feet and offered a hand to the girl she'd knocked over, doing nothing to mask the surprise on her face at who it was.

"Boscha?"

The grudgby captain sneered, brushing herself with her hands to get the dirt that ended up covering her letterman jacket off. "Yeah, what of it, Luz-e… um, Luz."

Boscha stilled when she saw the group of newly acquainted friends. Her face became an expressionless mask upon seeing the same team who she had faced in Grudgby the night before, hardly paying attention to Luz as she apologized to her. "I am so sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"It's no problem. I've taken way harder falls on the field," Boscha assured, not taking her eyes off the Glandus students. "What's going on here?"

Bria smiled and answered coyly, "Oh, just a little adventure!"

"Top secret!" Gavin added.

"Couldn't tell ya even if we wanted to," Angmar finished.

Gus nodded along seriously, while Matt just kept his arms crossed and mouth shut. Willow looked a bit put out, sensing the tension radiating off of Boscha.

"Is that so?" Boscha narrowed all three of her eyes, then nodded her head casually to the side, gesturing for Luz to join her for a moment.

Luz did so, feeling a bit confused. This was the longest she'd ever had to interact with Boscha since Grom. She'd even stopped calling her names, thanks to Amity, but she'd never wanted to hang out with Luz before. Still, if Boscha was putting her best foot forward, Luz would meet her halfway there.

Once they were far enough away, Boscha finally took two of her eyes off Bria and her group, keeping her third on them. "Watch yourself, Noceda." She warned, vaguely.

Luz frowned, feeling a bit put off, "Of who? Bria?" The brunette cast her eyes back at her new friends, Bria giving a small wave in her direction, which Luz returned with a smile. "What could possibly be wrong with her?"

"…" Boscha was silent for a moment, then shrugged, keeping her expression neutral, "It might be nothing. But I thought I'd let you know. Bitch can sense bitch."

She didn't keep Luz any longer, stuffing her hands into her letterman and stalking off, Luz unsure if she should trust Boscha at her word, or continue with Bria. In the end, Luz shook her head and went for the latter. Everyone deserves a chance, and Luz wasn't going to throw Bria's away on the word of an ex bully.

---

Ed and Em sat at a desk in the library, browsed through the crystal ball. The relic was an older model, constantly taking time to load up their search queries.

They thankfully didn't need to search long, the results for 'human' pulled up a short list, composed mostly of Eda's exploits before her curse took over, when she sold stuff at her stand. A few articles about human stuff washing up on the beach, then finally they found one, from almost four hundred years ago.

"Human resident donates personal diary to library…" Emira read aloud, looking to Ed with a grin. "I think this is it!"

Ed peeked over his reading glasses and gave a nod, "Must be, how many other humans could have been here? But damn, look at that date. That diary must be ancient." He spoke that last bit with uncertainty, something not missed by Em.

"No more so than this crystal ball," Emira joked, hoping to keep her brother's spirits up. Something that old might not be around anymore, but they couldn't just give up.

"You're more right than you know," Amity's voice greeted them from behind, their little sister pushing a cart full of books that needed to be returned to their shelves. "Most of the crystal balls here are pushing four to five hundred years of age."

Edric pursed his lip in thought, "you know, I can't be the only one who thinks that's kinda weird, right? These things act like computers, yet have been around for centuries. You'd think the demon realm would be, like, super high tech by now, right? Colonies on Mars, time machines powered by teeth kinda stuff?"

Amity perked up, a bright smile on her face as she began to excitedly talk, "I actually have a theory on that! See, you're thinking in terms of technology, not magic. Technology gets better, more advanced, but spells just… don't? Sure, you can make new ones, or find new ways to use them, but a spell to make a crystal ball work like that has been fundamentally unchanged for millennia. You can't just make it work better, outside of refreshing the spells once they start to degrade."

Emira thought it over for a moment, "So, what you're saying is, magic can't change or evolve the same as technology, so it's left these guys stuck in renn-faire times?"

"Not quite, but close, it's more lack of innovation to drive them forward, if you can even measure it that way," Amity replied, talking faster the more she went, "It's so fascinating to see how their society has changed and developed compared to the human realm, I'm honestly thinking about writing a research paper on it someda-"

"FFFFPPPPPPPTTTT!" The twins both made loud fart noises with their mouths, interrupting Amity's spiel, and earning an offended gasp from their little sister.

"You two are so infuriating, and immature!" Amity scolded angrily, "And keep it down, this is a library!"

"Only you would want to write a paper about the stagnation of a magical society, Mittens." Edric laughed, but did do as she asked and kept his voice lowered.

"Always an overachiever, even in fantasyland." Emira chortled quietly behind her hand.

"You do realize you still need my help, right?" Amity asked with a deadpan expression, wiping the smirks off of both her siblings' faces.

"Sorry," they both murmured, not looking very sorry at all.

Amity sighed, brushing her fingers through her still freshly dyed lavender hair. "Whatever. Just show me what you've found, and I'll see if I can locate it for you."

She seemed to pause, as if noticing someone's absence, "Where's Luz, by the way?"

Emira gave a wave of her hand, warding off her sister's worry, "She went with Gus and Willow someplace with some new friends. We told her we'd handle this today, and to go have fun outside of a stuffy library for once."

It took all of Amity's effort to keep the relief off of her face. Not that she didn't want to see her awesome girlfriend, but after last night… She was in a mental tug-o-war over if she should just kiss Luz and get it over with, giggle-fits be damned, or curling into a ball from the sheer awkwardness the idea filled her with. The last thing she wanted was to be a flustered mess in public, at her job, with the twins around to tease them and make it worse, so she quickly filed her feelings away for later.

"I see," She instead said, keeping her response simple. "Well then, let's just get this over with."

Amity sat at the desk, taking a look at the entry on the glass. Checking the date for the entry, she made a face, "Oh, dang. I realized this happened a while ago, but something this old…"

"It still exists, right?" Edric pleadingly asked.

His little sister nodded, "Yeah, but everything from this era was more or less purged when Belos took over. Not burned, thankfully, but it's been moved to the Forbidden Stacks with the rest of the banned knowledge that only those permitted by the Emperor are allowed to read."

"So, it might as well be destroyed," Emira groaned, burying her face into her arms as she collapsed onto the desk.

"Don't be so sure," Amity spoke, making both Ed and Em look up at her distraughtly, "My staff card should be able to access the stacks, but, and I need to stress this, I can lose my job for doing so."

Emira wrapped Amity up in a tight hug, leaving the girl gasping for breath, while Ed threw himself at her feet, "You'd really do this for us?"

Amity rolled her eyes, "Yes, but you need to listen. I'm going in there alone-"

"But we can help!"

"No one but the Head Librarian is supposed to be in there," Amity hissed, "I'm not going to risk getting caught by taking in the two loudest, most obnoxious people on the Titan. It'll only take me a few minutes."

Seeing their whimpering faces, Amity facepalmed, "Look, just, keep an eye on the door. If Malphas comes by, distract him until I can get back out. That will help, alright?"

That seemed to perk them back up, Emira smirking, "We can totally be distracting!" She bragged, giving her braid a seductive swish.

"Yeah!" Ed added, trying to give a smoldering look, before dropping it to ask, "Wait, you did mean in the hot way, right? Not the annoying way Amity keeps implying?"

The youngest Blight rolled her eyes, then wheeled her cart off to the side of a nearby shelf. Giving a discreet look around to make sure no one else was looking her way, she abandoned the cart and moved on to the back wall, where the entrance to the stacks were. She turned and gave one last look at the twins, who flashed her each a thumbs up as she used her staff card to open the seals on the door, and quietly slipped inside.

Edric leaned back in his chair, immediately bored. "I'm sure she's got this. Wanna see if they have a magical version of Mewtube on these crystal balls?"

Emira gave her brother an amused smile, ready to type into the ball when her eye caught something suspicious, drawing her attention across the library, where someone familiar just walked in.

"Ed, get down!" She whispered, grabbing her brother by the arm and dragging him to the floor and under the desk with her.

"What?" He hissed back, Emira ignoring him to peek over the edge of their table. He quickly did so as well, suppressing a curse under his breath. "Not this guy again…"

The Golden Guard, standing tall, face hidden behind his iconic mask with his red jeweled staff gripped tightly in hand, was marching with a sense of purpose through the library, leering at anyone who happened to cross his path. The twins gulped, wondering what he could possibly be doing here, as he made his way to the front desk where Malphas was helping someone check out a book.

The elderly woman in line was picked up by a crimson beam and moved aside, the Guard brushing past her so he could speak to the librarian himself, "Malphas, correct? I'm here on official Coven business. I need a pass to enter the Forbidden Stacks."

Malphas eyed the man, but knew better than to deny him. He simply reached under the desk and pulled out a pass, sliding it across the smooth wooden surface to the guard, "And what are you looking for today? I may be able to guide you to the correct section. The Forbidden stacks are quite a large area to traverse, if you don't know what you're looking for."

The Golden Guard stilled, as if considering if he should mention it here or not. He eventually gave a little shrug, figuring no one would really care, it had been centuries since this book had been last checked out anyway, "I'm looking for a human diary, a few centuries old."

Ed and Em gasped from their hiding spot. Malphas merely scratched his chin, eyes misted over in concentration, "I believe you'll find that in the Deadwardian Era donations shelf in the lower east wing of the stacks, though I'm afraid I cannot narrow it down any further. It's where banned knowledge from the Human Realm of that era is normally kept."

The Guard gave a nod of acknowledgment, then swiftly turned around and walked away. Emira gave Edric a nudge, gesturing for them to follow after, and with some reluctance he moved, his sister right behind him. They dove from shelf to shelf, hiding from sight as they followed the Golden Guard to the Forbidden Stacks entrance, which opened for the guard as soon as he displayed his card.

Once the doors were open, the white cloaked man stepped forward, his footsteps echoing down the dark corridor, the shadows swallowing him as he disappeared down the path. With a creak, the heavy doors began to shut behind him, but not before the twins dashed, barely making it through before it slammed shut.

It was just them, alone, in the dark, when Edric muttered, "Amity is going to kill us…"

---

Wandering through the woods wasn't how Willow had expected her day to go, but all in all, she couldn't complain. She loved being around nature, feeling the magic of the plants growing around her. It was soothing, even if the company around her was more than a little frantic.

"And then Gus, with his quick thinking, as always, I mean, I mentioned he is the top of his class despite skipping two grades, right? Yeah, well, he managed to-"

Willow gave a fond roll of her eyes as Luz prattled on about one of their adventures together, clearly doing her best to put in a good word for her friend to Bria, but just trying way too hard that it was a little ridiculous. For what it was worth, Bria did seem to be hanging on to Luz's every word, shooting the occasional impressed look at Gus.

Gus didn't seem to mind Luz speaking for him, if the faint dusting of pink on his cheeks said anything. Willow did suppose he was at that age, and with his bout of Witch puberty, he finally was going to start getting crushes and wanted to look impressive. She supposed that meant she should start inviting him to her and Luz's girl talk sessions, which was going to be a major relief. Those had been dominated by Luz gushing over Amity lately.

Not that Willow was jealous, or anything, because she really wasn't. She was so happy for her friends, she just hadn't really found anyone that she hadn't found just kinda cute. No one she wanted to chase after yet, like Luz had since she was like, nine.

While not a crush in the slightest, she did like hanging out with Angmar so far. He really knew his plants. "I've always found that griffon dung worked as the best fertilizer for the Isleium Praereptor. It really takes to it, the ones in my greenhouse love the stuff." The boy said, his blue eyes bright as he spoke. It seemed pretty clear he appreciated Willow's company about as much as she did his, seeing as he seemed to be the only plant witch in his friend group as well.

Willow's own eyes lit up in wonder and a bit of envy, "You have your own greenhouse? I have a small garden, but I have to stick with the greenhouse at school for the plants that need that environment. I've been trying to talk my parents into getting one for ages."

"It was my grandfather's, actually. He set it up way back when he was just a bit older than we a-" The demon boy cut off as a butterfly fluttered by, his eyes immediately entranced by it. His course changed, veering to the left, both eyes locked onto the insect, hands outstretched as he followed it blindly.

The snapping of fingers met Willow's ears, the sound pulling Angmar out of his trance. "Huh, oh, sorry. I've always wanted to make my own butterfly sanctuary, these guys are my passion." He mumbled bashfully.

Willow giggled, but Bria, the one who had snapped her fingers, just cleared her throat, "Just focus on the path ahead, Angmar. We don't need you getting distracted now, do we?"

The boy chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, hearing the hidden threat the others missed underneath the soft, caring tone. "Of course, Bria. I'll keep focused."

They continued to trudge along through the forest, which was beginning to grow thick with thorny vines, Willow and Angmar helping clear a path and moving the plants, while Bria used a machete to chop her way through. Nothing slowed that girl down, which Willow admired, though she wished she'd leave the plant life alone and let the witches she'd brought along handle it.

Very soon, they came upon their first real obstacle, aside from sore feet. A giant tangle of thorns and vines blocked their path, stretching out from tree to tree in a complicated knot. Even Bria couldn't chop her way through.

Mattholomule, intent on making his worth known, stepped forward first, powered either by confidence or arrogance, but sure of himself either way, "Stand back everyone, I'll make quick work of this and we can be on our way."

While Willow, Gus and Luz were willing to give Matt a shot, it was pretty clear the Glandus students were a bit less believing in his abilities, if the eye rolling and mocking expressions were anything to go by. Still, he volunteered, so everyone took a step back to let him work.

Matt eyed the large amount of plant growth in front of him, side stepping around the area and sizing it up, trying to take it all in. It was becoming abundantly clear he was trying to buy himself time to come up with a plan. Bria scoffed, and called out, "Any day, Matty!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Matt called back, then gave a nervous spin of his finger. The ground started to shake a little, then pillars of earth erupted, slamming into the mass of plants and… didn't do much of anything. A few vines were broken and snapped, falling to the ground, but otherwise the giant tangle was unmoved and unharmed.

"Aw, better luck next time, Matty," Bria cooed, giving the boy a pat on the back. Beside her, Angmar and Gavin laughed, at least until Bria turned her eyes to them, "Well, who wants to go next?"

Both boys quieted down immediately, neither wanting to be called on to perform. Willow sighed, and shook her head at how quick they were to cast judgement when they themselves didn't think they could accomplish the task.

Her pointed ears twitched as she picked up Luz speaking in a hushed tone to Gus, and she turned to see her, "Come on, you can use this, and it'll look really cool!"

In her hands was one of Amity's glyphs, probably a fire spell if Willow had to guess. Gus seemed unsure, taking the paper in his own hands, "I don't know, Luz. Couldn't you just cast a fireball or something? You're pretty powerful."

"Yeah, but this way, you'll be able to look good for Bria." Luz waggled her eyebrows, and Gus turned scarlet, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Willow pinched her brow as they schemed. It wasn't just that she didn't have faith in Luz's plans(they did tend to backfire, but at least this one was simple), but she wasn't going to stand by and let a bunch of plants be burned in a flammable forest when there were two capable plant mages right here. Turning back to the Glandus gang, Willow smiled brightly, if a little forced, "Angmar, why don't you give it a shot?"

The demon boy seemed surprised to hear his name being suggested, pointing at himself just to be sure, "wait, really? I don't know, that's pretty big-"

"I think you can do it." Willow assured him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Hearing Willow's words, Gavin joined in with his own words of encouragement.

"You're the best plant witch I know! If anyone can move it, you can, you've got the Glandus strength and guts!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Willow could see Luz's plan rapidly dissolving as Angmar, now with two people voicing their belief in him, stepped forward, ready to get rid of the massive amount of thorns in their path.

"Alright, I- I can do this!" He roared, then made a spell circle. The vines started to glow in front of them, filled with his magic as they began to shift, trying to untangle themselves under their new master's will. Angmar grit his teeth, trying to focus, but it was becoming clear that he wasn't strong enough to get the job done. Not alone, at least.

Behind her back, Willow made her own spell circle, subtly assisting the butterfly obsessed boy. The vines began to unknot, pulling away from one another, and moving back into the trees as it did so, until, with a gasp, Angmar finished the task, collapsing to his knees in exhaustion as a narrow passageway between the vines was revealed.

"You did it!" Willow beamed, standing beside him and offering a hand up, while trying to hide her own weariness, "I knew you could."

"I did, huh?" He grinned back, taking her hand and picking himself up and off the ground, "I really did it! I proved how powerful I am!"

Gavin laughed joyously, giving his friend a high five, while Bria just gave him a tight, polite smile, "That was great, Angmar! Who knew you'd gotten that strong!"

"He might even be stronger than you!" Luz teased playfully, elbowing Bria. The girl's smile fell at Luz's words, but she recovered quickly enough.

"Oh, please, he wishes."

Gus breathed out an impressed sigh, "Dang, Matty, I didn't know these Glandus friends of yours were such major leaguers. Is everyone like that over there?"

Matt grimaced, "You have no idea. And don't call me Matty."

---

Ed and Em followed the Golden Guard, carefully stepping in tune with him to mask the sound of their own steps from echoing down the long, dark hallway. Not an easy task when his feet weren't visible with his cloak in the way, but they managed.

The corridor seemed to stretch on and on, the twins wondering just how much farther the place could possibly go, when finally it opened into an enormous room, larger than the Bonesborough library itself. The Guard stepped into the main room, seemingly unphased by how massive it was, then turned the corner, vanishing from their sight.

Emira just looked out into the expanse, hardly able to see the other side of the building with how large and dark it was. That wasn't even hiding the fact that at the center of the room was a pit that seemed to go down forever, with only a staircase that led to the many underground levels below. "Just how many books did the Empire ban?"

Edric shook his head, unable to believe his eyes, "I'm going to take a wild guess and say he banned anything that went against his word about how the world was before his rule, which was more or less everything."

"Why didn't he just burn it all, then?"" Em pondered, tapping her chin, wondering what use a giant hidden library underneath the regular library could possibly have.

"Maybe he did? These are just the books he needed kept? Like, one copy of each book, the rest destroyed, since well, this place is filled with magic. What if they needed that information? He did send his head cheerleader down here to fetch our book…" Edric shrugged, no closer to an answer than she was.

They stepped out of the hallway, and were almost immediately blasted by a ray of red energy. Just around the corner he'd vanished behind, was the Golden Guard, "You two were really smart, hiding the sound of your footsteps like that. It's too bad you're really noisy mouth breathers, I might not have heard you otherwise."

He cocked his head, "Also, the fact you started blabbing the moment I was out of sight wasn't the smartest move, either. Voices carry in a big empty place like this."

The twins were both caught like deer in the headlights of a kareening truck as the Golden Guard began to charge another blast with his staff. It was only at the last possible moment that Edric came to his senses, shoving his sister to the ground and following after her that it missed. "Go, we need to get to that book before he does!"

Em scrambled back to her feet, jumping to dodge another magical blast that tore a chunk out of the floor, "On it!"

"Oh no you don't," Hunter growled behind his mask, taking his staff in both hands and sending a wave of magic at the floor, powerful enough he could feel it as pressure pressed against his teeth. A large wall appeared blocking Emira off, forcing her to skid to a halt, "We still need to talk about that assault you put me through back on the island!"

"If it makes you feel any better, it was meant to make you uncomfortable!" Emira squealed, ducking as the staff swung right where her head had just been.

"Yeah, goose stepping fascists aren't really our type!" Edric taunted in an attempt to get the Guard's focus back on him.

The twins managed to break away, running for what they assumed was the east wing of the Forbidden Stacks. "He can't chase both of us," Edric pointed in one direction, which Em took, while he went the other, both of them weaving through the bookshelves until they were well and truly lost, but at least away from the Golden Guard.

Hunter stalked the twins from the shadows, listening closely with his pointed ears for the clattering of their footfalls on the stone floor. "You can't hide from me forever!"

Edric breathed heavily, already feeling a stitch in his side from his lack of athleticism. Sure, he'd been on the track team back at his human high school, but that was mostly to keep his mother off his back, and because being seen as sporty got the attention of babes and dudes. He wasn't actually built for running anymore than the average couch potato. Still, remembering how the guard had known they were there before, he clamped a hand over his mouth to silence his breathing.

He pressed himself against the bookcase, sidling along as quietly as he could and trying to keep from being seen. It was dark enough he had to strain his eyes, feeling each step before committing to it on the ancient, uneven stone floor so he didn't accidentally trip and fall on his face. Ed reached the end of the aisle, carefully peeking his head out so he could check the corners for any sight of either his sister, or the guard, and suddenly he felt something on his shoulder.

He screamed.

---

The next leg of their journey brought them to a swampy area of the forest, which was overgrown with bubbling mud pits. Moving through it was easy enough when they stuck to the rocks that sat above the surface, but they came to a crossroads when the space between rocks came to be farther than half a Grudgby field.

Bria took one look at the pit, and crossed her arms, "I'm not so sure plant magic is going to solve this like last time…"

Gus stood beside her, rubbing his chin as he tried to come up with a way forward. His first thought was that Luz might be able to do something, maybe freeze the mud, but the more he looked at the bubbling bog in front of him, the more it reminded him of that flask Amity had taken from the Emperor's artifact room. That let her make abominations, and what were those if not magical mud monsters?

Besides, if he did this, it'd prove he got along well with Bria's friends, which was a total in.

"Hey, Gavin, think you could make a bridge using this mud?" He turned to the taller, purple dressed boy.

Gavin pursed his lips in thought, bending to his knee to put a finger into the muck, and testing the consistency. He eyed the color, even gave it a lick to try the taste, only to spit it out because it was still mud. With a sigh, he looked back and gave a shake of his head, "No can do. While there might be enough stuff here to animate it, I'm not sure I can make a solid bridge. This swamp is too deep, it'd collapse the second we stepped foot on it like thin ice."

Luz bounced in behind Gus, peeking over his body, "Well, if you can't make something to walk on, why not make something that can walk across?"

Everyone looked at her, then back at Gavin, who gave a shrug, "I mean, it could work? All the ingredients are here, but it could get messy."

Everyone took a step back as Gavin got to his feet again, and made a circle, tongue clenched between his teeth in focus. From the swampy waters ripples began to arise as the mud under the surface was disturbed.

Gavin's brow began to sweat, but a supportive hand clamped either of his shoulders, Gus and Luz, each chanting their belief in him, "You can do it!" He clenched his eyes shut, focusing everything he had on forming an abomination large enough to carry them across, and from the muck it arose.

An arm slammed down on the stones around them as the Abomination pried itself from the surface of the swamp. It stank of death and decay, and was covered in various plants that grew under the murky water it came from. Despite being waist deep in the swamp, it still towered over them, just large enough for all of the children to climb onto its back, which they wasted no time doing as Gavin was struggling to keep the spell going.

Bria and Willow helped everyone else get on with vines and earthen pillars before climbing on themselves, and being carried slowly but steadily across the large distance between the stones. Any wonder they had at experiencing this miracle of magic was dampened severely by the fact that they would reek something fierce long after they were back on solid land, but at least they'd be one step closer to the Galdorstones.

Gavin stood tall, held in the abomination's hand, fists raised to the sky, "I did it! Take that, dad! And you said I'd never amount to anything!"

The abomination held together just long enough for everyone to climb off of it and onto the stones, it quickly losing its shape before sinking back into the swamp. Gavin puffed out his chest as his friends whooped and cheered, surrounding him.

"You were amazing!" Gus exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever seen an abomination that big before!"

Gavin seemed bashful for a moment, trying to wave them off, "Come on, you don't mean that."

"We do!" Luz insisted, "Trust me, you might be stronger than most of the people in Hexside's abomination courses."

Bria's own smile seemed a little strained, "We couldn't have made it without you, Gav. Now, Matty, where are we on the map?"

The smallest of the group pulled out the map, just happy to be acknowledged by his former schoolmates, "According to the map, we should be getting close…"

Mattholomule took the lead, brushing past the others with his nose buried in the parchment of the map. With his eyes occupied, he couldn't see where he was going, and stepped on the tail of a snake demon, who wrapped his leg up and dragged him into the air, Matt hollering the whole way up.

It was Luz who acted first, used to the people around her getting into life threatening danger. She used a beast keeping spell she had learned from her time in the Secret Room of Shortcuts to calm the snake, making it drop Mattholomule to the ground with a thunk, the snake slithering off in the branches ahead to find greener pastures while Gavin and Angmar grabbed Matt by his arms and started to drag him to safety.

"I'm not surprised that you couldn't handle Glandus," Angmar muttered as they moved on ahead, leaving Gus, Willow and Luz with Bria.

"What did they mean by 'couldn't handle Glandus?'" Gus asked Bria softly as they trailed behind, feeling a little worried about how Matt had needed to be carried around.

Bria took a moment to respond, another forced smile on her lips as she responded, "Things work… differently at Glandus. Weak students are pushed around by the strong. But if I had a Galdorstone, I might be able to change things for the better."

Willow frowned, "doesn't sound that much different from Hexside, though we're trying to be better. Especially when those perceived as weak start pushing back."

"But it sounds like you have your heart in the right place, so we're absolutely going to help!" Luz assured, especially after seeing Gus's smitten smile. She would see this ship sailed, no matter what!

Matt, back on his feet and leading the group, called to those in the back, "We're here."

Before them was a large, decrepit gate made of stone, above hung the words "Looking Glass," with the final word crumbled off, which is how it must have got its name. Carved into the double doors were two faces, one smiling, the other frowning, which put Gus on edge. That was an old illusionist icon, before the coven system was introduced. Before the Bard and Illusionist covens were considered separate entities, Illusionists had a guild of respected actors and playwrights. Illusionist used to be synonymous with theater, so to see that symbol here told Gus two things:

One, this place was ancient, which was obvious by the state of decay it was in. And two, it was somehow tied to illusionists of old, who couldn't even make use of the Galdorstones.

"Whoa," Luz breathed, impressed with what they had found.

Willow nodded, "I know. I half expected that map was a dud, but it was the real thing after all."

Bria quickly recovered from her own slack jaw, and put Angmar on guard duty. Unfortunately the boy wasn't paying attention, not because he'd been transfixed by the ruins like everyone else, but because he was once more wandering after the butterflies.

"Angmar, I said you're on guard duty. And if I catch you playing with any more bugs, I'll make you eat them, okay?" Bria warned, her voice as sweet yet threatening as a fire bee's honey.

The boy stilled, standing ramrod straight. Willow raised an eyebrow at the thinly veiled threat the other girl had issued, and with a twirl of her finger summoned up a flower that had sweet nectar in its buds at Angmar's feet, which the butterfly slowly floated towards. "There, now you won't have to guard the place alone." She said with a small smile.

Angmar flashed her a thumbs up, but kept his back to her, unwilling to look away from his watch duties and disappoint Bria.

Inside the ruins was a circle of statues, each figure imposing and cloaked. The faces, though hidden, were passive and wise, looking down on the students that invaded their sanctuary. Mattholomule gazed at them in wonder, quietly murmuring, "I can't believe we found it."

Luz looked up at one of the faces and suppressed a shiver, "Whoa. Welcome to downtown creepsville, am I right?"

Bria let out a squeal as she saw a glimmer of light reflecting off of something in one of the statues hands, and quickly used her magic to help her scale it. Tearing the crystal from the statue, which crumbled under her touch, she hopped back down, rejoicing. "We did it, everyone! The power of the Galdorstones is ours!"

She demonstrated the power by slamming her palm into the ground, sending a pillar thicker and taller than any of the surrounding trees of the Forest high above them, making everyone's mouths drop at the casual display of power.

The others were quick to snag their own stones from each of the statues, but Gus, still feeling like something was off since setting eyes on the place, approached one of the statues and peeled back the ivy covering the epitaph and read it aloud. "Mari the Phantom Bringer?"

Then another, "Aleta the Vision Creator?"

And another, his tone filling with more disbelief, "Khari the Mirage Maker? But, those are titles for.."

He turned to his friends, Willow already testing out her Galdorstone to make a field of flowers with little more than a thought, not even needing seeds to make them sprout, while Luz was juggling a small handful in the air, barely just catching them before they could hit the ground. "Guys! Stop that! We need to put them back!"

That made Luz lose her concentration, sending the stones crashing to the ground and making Gus wince, "Why's that Gustonemo?"

"These aren't ruins, this is an Illusionist graveyard!" Gus cried, feeling very much like he was stepping on someone's grave. Because he was, and what was going on around him was so much worse. They were defiling this cemetery and grave robbing it of its artifacts.

The disrespect didn't stop as Mattholomule quickly discarded his own Galdorstone, a look of disgust on his face as if it'd been pried from the hands of a corpse instead of a statue. The sheer disrespect these artifacts were being handled with made Gus' skin crawl.

Bria scoffed, tossing her own stone up and down in her hands, "Of course you'd say that like it's a bad thing. You're just an illusionist yourself, it's not like you can use these to power up your own abilities."

Gus's face fell at those words, slicing through him like a dagger in the back, "W-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, while you're kinda cute, you're the same as every other illusionist. Weak, and no good for anything but party tricks," Bria shrugged, the words coming out of her mouth as if they were the simplest truth of the world. "I was disappointed to hear your magic was basically worthless when Matty mentioned you were an illusionist, but your friends seemed like they could be useful, so I didn't retract my invite."

Luz frowned, gripping one of the Galdorstones tightly in her hand, "Power hungry, and not very nice. Apologize to my friend right now!"

Willow, likewise glared, using her powers over plant magic to scoop up any of the Galdorstones laying on the ground, and moving them behind her, "Gus is right. This is wrong, and we're going to put these back now."

Matt glanced between the two groups, unsure what to do or who to side with. Bria sneered at the three of them, and gave a snap of her fingers, and out of the fog her friends joined her, Angmar on her left, and Gavin on her right, each armed with a Galdorstone of their own. "I don't think you get it. We're playing by Glandus rules now, and you only keep what you're strong enough to tak-"

Her sneer vanished in a burst of surprise as vines burst from the ground and wrapped around her legs, followed by her arms and mouth being bound by abomination slime. Behind her, Gavin and Angmar smiled smugly to themselves, then walked past her.

"Nothing against you, Bria, but you did say we were playing by Glandus rules, and it turns out we're strong enough to no longer need you." Gavin informed her, talking over her muffled screams.

"We're done taking orders from a so-called friend who only ever bosses us around and threatens us," Angmar agreed, holding his stone close to his chest, the flower Willow grew for him turned into a crown that still had the butterfly nested on it.

Gus breathed a sigh of relief, while Mattholomule simply inched away, not hiding the worry on his face about what this adventure had become. The illusionist stepped forward, "I'm so glad you two sided with us!"

Luz nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, you guys have great timing!."

Gavin wiped at his eyes, "My dad never says I have great timing for anything!"

"Aw, shucks, guys, you're too kind." Angmar grinned cheerfully, chuckling to himself.

Willow stepped forward with her hands outstretched, ready to take their Galdorstones, "Now that that's taken care of, let's put these things back and head home."

Angmar's laughter died in his throat, and he glanced at his dark skinned friend, "No, I don't think you get it. You're too kind. You can go ahead and leave your Galdorstones behind, but we're keeping ours."

Luz's smile fell as she looked at the two in disbelief, "Oh, come on guys, I thought we were all friends here now?"

Gavin shrugged, not looking too broken up about the turn of events, "We are. Just turns out we value power more."

"Well, at least they're honest…" Gus grimaced.

"That's just how the world works," Angmar said, "If I want a butterfly sanctuary, a couple heads might need to be cracked in."

"And with this, my dad might finally look my way for more than two seconds!" Gavin exclaimed, holding his stone aloft. "We won't stop you from leaving. But these two stones are ours now."

Luz and Willow looked at each other, and then at Gus. They sent a questioning look, with Luz outright asking, "What do you say, Gus?"

Gus looked conflicted, knowing that if it came to blows, he wasn't going to be able to help his friends. He could compromise his beliefs, and allow Gavin and Angmar the opportunity to walk away with their Galdorstones, but that was grave robbing and it was just so wrong in his mind.

As if sensing his thoughts, Willow reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Do what you think is right, Gus."

He looked down at her hand, then back up at the Glandus students. What he thought was right? He remembered Eda's petrification ceremony, and how despite just being a kid in front of an audience of hundreds, he hadn't hesitated to stand in front of them all and stand up for what he believed in. It was different now, knowing that Willow and Luz would be the ones fighting on his behalf, but they made it clear that wasn't a problem for them, so he'd put his trust in them.

With a gulp, he steeled his resolve, "I'm sorry you two, but I can't just let you walk away with those. They don't belong to you."

Gavin and Angmar's eyes flickered to each other, and their stones glowed as they prepared for a fight. Gus tightened his hands into fists, ready to strike if he had to, despite the shaking in his legs, but before anyone could make their move plants burst from under Angmar's feet, and a blast of magical energy narrowly missed Gavin's head.

Luz and Willow stepped forward, putting themselves between their friend and their opponents, both looking very cross with the boys. Gus, seeing the fury in their eyes, leapt to the side and behind a grave, ending up beside a shaking and panicked Mattholomule, who seemed to want to be anywhere else.

"You really want to do this?" Angmar asked, body practically radiating with energy as Willow stepped towards him.

She didn't respond, lashing out with another vine that he quickly dodged, before sending his own in response, twice as long and thick.

That left Luz and Gavin, the boy grinning haughtily, "You said it yourself, I'm strong. What chance do you have when I've got this stone with me?"

Luz sent her own wicked grin, the kind that would make her mother proud, waves of magical energy fluctuating off of her body and making her hair wild and crazy, "What chance do I have? I was about to ask you the same thing. Let's see how you deal with the Daughter of the Owl Lady!"

---

Emira paled as she heard her brother let out a cry. She wasn't sure if the Golden Guard had found him, or if some monster that lived in the darkness had, but she wasn't just going to leave him to suffer.

Following the general direction of his scream, she didn't bother trying to be quiet, her footsteps slapping against the stone as she ran as fast as she could to his side. She cursed herself silently for not thinking to bring a weapon with her. Eda seemed like the kind of woman who had a taser, or maybe even a gun, she should have asked, and now she was defenseless against an idiot in a mask in a dark, forbidden library.

"Ed!" She hissed, traveling between a pair of bookshelves, straining her eyes in the dim torchlight, "Where are you?"

Her breathing turned shaky when she received no reply. This wasn't good. She couldn't face the Golden Guard alone! She needed her brother here with her! Despite being the weaker of the two, most people assumed he was big and strong and macho because he was the guy, and she couldn't use that to her advantage if he was gone!

She stilled at the sound of footsteps right behind her. Hands trembling, she slowly turned, peeking over her shoulder, only to let out a shriek at what she saw.

"Isn't this little guy just adorable!" Ed cooed, holding a rat of all things up to her face.

She nearly slapped the thing out of his hands as she bared her teeth at him, "You let out a scream like that because you found yourself a new pet? Are you crazy?!"

He quickly shook his head, trying to dispel that notion, "No, no, no, no! The little guy surprised me. I mean, I wasn't expecting to find him crawling on my shoulder. He must have climbed on when my back was pressed to the shelves…"

"Ed, you need to get rid of that thing. It could have magic rabies for all you know!" Emira insisted, trying and failing to keep her voice down as she scolded her brother.

Edric pouted, giving her his best puppy dog eyes, "Come on, Em, he doesn't have a home!"

"He's a wild animal, he doesn't need a-"

A ray of red light shut both of them up as they remembered where they were. The bookshelf beside them exploded in a burst of paper and wood, spraying them everywhere. The twins were once again separated, each on either side of the now gaping hole that existed in the middle of the aisle they'd been hiding in.

"Can either of you two take anything seriously?" The Guard's condescending voice met their ears, "You're being hunted, and you can't shut up even then to save your actual lives?"

Emira grunted from where the blast had sent her on the ground. She began to crawl to the end of the aisle, nursing an injured knee that had gotten pretty battered in the fall. She'd live, and it wasn't broken, but it certainly was going to be bruised by morning. "Have you ever thought that maybe you're the one we can't take seriously?" She taunted, feeling spiteful to deal with the pain. She grabbed a bit of paper from one of the destroyed books as she pulled herself to the end of the aisle, and took a burnt bit of wood, and began to draw with the ash.

"My sister basically rediscovered an entire branch of magic with her glyphs, and you haven't seen half of what we can do!" Emira called, the Guard marching over towards her, staff in hand. She knew he could see her scrawling on the paper, and just as he readied himself for an attack she held the parchment up, tapping the circle she'd drawn.

Hunter gasped, not recognizing the symbol, and switched to a defensive spell mid cast, pulling a barrier of crimson energy between them. He waited for the attack, but it never came, the paper not even glowing, instead fluttering uselessly to the floor.

"Oh, come on!" Emira shouted out in irritation, slapping her palm against the hard stone floor, "I was sure it looked something like that!"

Hunter lowered the barrier, glad his mask hid his flushed face. He'd really expected to be blasted back by that, but he should have known better when fighting against these incompetent morons. "You've been here for how long again? And you haven't even bothered to learn one, measly glyph?"

"Magic is overrated! Do I look like some fantasy obsessed nerd? I mean, look at you, you're a badly dressed cosplayer, why would I want to have that in common with you?" Emira sneered. "Besides, Mittens, er, Amity to you, didn't need glyphs to beat you last time! She told me all about it!"

"Of course she needed them!" The Golden Guard barked, "She barely kept up with me, that magic was all that kept her in the fight! … and my uniform is not nerdy, either!"

Emira lay splayed out on the floor, uncaring and casual for someone about to have her face fried off, "That's not how I heard the story. From what I heard, you just need a good-" she mimed swinging something, "Bonk! Now, Ed!"

Hunter cursed under his breath, as for a second time in a row against a Blight, someone bashed him on the back of the head, sending him to the ground. Edric stood over his crumpled form, a heavy book in his hands and the rodent he'd found perched on his shoulder. "Stay away from my sister!"

He dropped the book, and hurried to Emira's side, offering her a hand, which she took. Wincing, she pulled herself to her feet, careful about putting weight on her bad leg, "Come on, before he wakes up."

"You assume too much, a book isn't going to knock me out." Hunter growled, already pulling himself to his knees. A hand was clenched around the back of his head, nursing the goose egg that was likely growing under his hood.

The twins once again took off, slowed down by Emira's limp, but with no less urgency to get away from their pursuer than before.

---

Gus flinched as another explosion rocked the graveyard, and he gripped the statue he was hiding behind. Beside him, Mattholomule quivered, fear in his eyes as he realized just how powerful his fellow Hexolios were if they were still in the fight after all this time against people armed with Galdorstones.

"I- I'm sorry about all of this," Matt uttered out, sounding sincere, if fearful, "If I'd known they were going to do this, I'd have never brought them the map."

"It's not your fault," Gus assured, trying to stay calm as more and more of the ruins around him crumbled, "You couldn't have known Bria and her friends would end up like this."

"But I did know!" Matt cried, burying his head in his arms, "This is exactly how it was at Glandus. I was nothing more than her stooge then, and it's the same now."

"Better a stooge than a clown. What am I good for, other than a bunch of party tricks?" Gus sighed, his dreams of joining the BATTs at an all time low. Why would they ever want to have him fighting beside them?

Mattholomule stared at him like he was the dumbest person he'd ever met, "You really think you're useless? I'd kill to even be good enough to make decent party tricks! You're the top of your class, and you skipped two years! My parents have to pay for tutors and I'm still only scraping by, and I'm giving it my best."

"You're so insanely talented that- that… I feel jealous sometimes. I wish I could be the best at what I do, but nothing I do changes that. Even with a Galdorstone, I don't think it'd put the two of us on even footing." Matt sighed, finally admitting it aloud, "And look around you! We're in a creepy cemetery full of dead illusionists, who were some pretty powerful people! They weren't people who did simple parlor tricks, Augustus, and neither are you. You're one of the strongest witches I know."

Gus's lip was a bit wobbly, and maybe he had to rub at his eyes a bit, but he wasn't crying. "You're right, Matt. And you know what? I think you're better than you give yourself credit for. Next time we have an HAS meeting, you have my vote for president!"

That seemed to brighten Mattholomule's mood, a small smile gracing his lips at the thought of finally overtaking Eileen after she had claimed the crown. Gus crouched down below the statue they hid behind, peeking out the corner to get a look at what was going on, "I think, maybe if we team up, we could help our friends out. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea!" A new voice responded, making both boys jump and scream as an old man appeared before them in a puff of smoke. He was tall, and crooked, his outfit worn and faded from use. He had an almost maddening look in his eye that screamed that he'd been in solitude for much too long.

"Who the actual Hell are you?" Matt demanded, scrambling to put a bit of distance between himself and the man.

"I am the keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard, of course! Normally, I scare away intruders with my powers, but well, in this case they're kinda scaring me!" He laughed at his little joke, though the boys didn't join him as yet another deafening explosion went off.

The man's laughter died as his face went deathly serious, "But really, with those Galdorstones, they'd have no issue tearing through my illusions. Why fear any monster when you have the power of the Titan in the palm of your hands? It's a good thing your friends decided to listen to you, and tried to do the right thing."

"Yeah, they're the best, aren't they?" Gus said proudly, not hiding his smile.

"Indeed they are, doing my job for me! But they might need some help."

Mattholomule reached out with a finger, poking at the man's robes as if half expecting his finger to go through them, "Okay, so, not a ghost… You got any ideas, old man?"

"Nope!" The Keeper of the graveyard admitted freely, a carefree, if not entirely sane expression on his face.

"Well, I just might have one…" Gus admitted, looking around at his surroundings, finding all the things that could be of use like any good illusionist would.

Meanwhile, Luz and Willow were busy taking on Gavin and Angmar, each of them putting up the fight of their lives. Plants against plants, it was all Willow could do to stay ahead of the roots that tried to entangle and crush her.

She had a plan in place though, one rooted in her brain since the start of the fight. All she had to do was dodge, and focus on using her own vines to deflect anything sent her way.

"Just give up!" Angmar panted, a wild grin on his face as he summoned more and more plants to do his bidding. The ground beneath them was torn open and uneven as they thrashed and flailed, each root a tendril wanting to drag Willow to her doom. But the bespeckled girl refused, dancing on her two left feet for all they were worth.

Vine against vine twisted against each other until a mass much like the one Angmar had untangled on their path here was formed, and it was only then that the boy let out a sharp gasp, clutching his chest painfully and falling to his knees.

"Wh-what did you do?" His eyes looked fearful, "Did you make me breath in pollon, and have your plants grow inside of me?"

Willow looked disgusted at the notion, "No! While you'd make good fertilizer, I'm not trying to tear you into chunks!"

She pointed at where he clutched at his chest, "You burned a lot of magic earlier, untangling those roots. Your Galdorstone may increase your power, but it's not giving you more bile to burn. All I had to do was wait until you ran out."

She stomped on over to him, and he flinched, expecting a blow, but instead she pried the stone from his hands and put it with the others, leaving him to wallow in the loose dirt he's kicked up with his roots. "Maybe you'd have realized that, if you hadn't gone mad with power. Now stay down, if you know what's good for you."

At the same time as Willow was finishing up her fight, Luz was having trouble with hers. Gavin was using his abomination goo like a whip, trying to strike her with it, and he was incredibly fast. Luz, however, was faster, and used to sparring with Amity by now. "Is that all you've got? My girlfriend's better than you and last I checked she doesn't have a magic rock to make her strong!" She taunted, then ducked out of the way of another blow.

Gavin grit his teeth, but before he could attempt another strike, Luz cast a spell, sending an explosive orb of energy at the boy. It rattled the battlefield and crumbled one of the statues, making her grimace, "Gus is gonna kill me."

Still, Luz was confident she could win this. Her Mom had taught her every trick in the book, and she absolutely had an ace up her sleeve.

Energy crackled around her, lifting her body a few inches off the ground. Her eyes glowed gold, and she sneered down below at the boy who dared to challenge her, the magnitude of magic dancing at her fingertips blindingly bright and leaving her as hardly more than a silhouette to the eyes. "Under my mother's tutelage, I have become one of the most powerful witches on the Boiling Isles!"

Gavin could hardly see, it was so bright. He covered his eyes with one of his hands, squinting through his fingers as Luz glared down at him, not a hint of mercy in her eyes.

"I am respected, feared, and-" Luz suddenly pointed behind Gavin, the energy framing her form fading instantly, "Oh my gosh, is that your dad?"

The boy quickly turned his head, "Dad? Did you come all this way to see me win-"

A fist quickly met the side of his head and he went down, body falling limply to the ground as his galdorstone fell from his grip and rolled along the ground. Luz winced, shaking her limp hand as pain soared through it from the hit, "Ooh, ouch, okay, future reference, don't punch the head, it's got big strong bones, my hand has tiny fragile ones. Youch!"

Luz and Willow turned to one another, smiling brightly as their fights were finished. "Good job, Willow!"

"You too, Luz." Willow congratulated, "I have to admit, that was a bit of an uphill battle. We're lucky we only had to deal with two of them, instead of three.

Luz laughed, "Yeah, good thing they turned on Bria, huh?" She chased after Gavin's rolling galdorstone, bending over to pick it up as it came to a stop, only for another pair of pale hands to get it first. Luz gulped, looking up slowly as her eyes met Bria's, fierce and angry, and more importantly, free now that her captors were knocked out.

Neither of the Hexside students had time to react before they were encased in stone prisons, the rock wrapped so tightly around their bodies they could hardly breathe. Bria scoffed at them, her lips forming into a cruel smile, "Thanks for taking care of my former lackies for me. I never really liked them anyway. And seeing as they couldn't even take down two weak Hexside witches while infused with the power these stones grant, they were clearly too weak to be worthy of them."

Luz tried to speak, but couldn't form the words, the stone crushing her torso too much to do so. Bria continued, walking towards the pile of galdorstones that had been collected, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking these. All of them. I really only need one or two, but I could make a mint selling these to the Emperor's Coven. I'll be rich, and powerful, and no one can stand in my way ever again."

She let out a gleeful giggle, though Willow thought maniacal laughter might suit her better. Luz was beginning to wish she'd taken Boscha's advice and kept a closer eye on Bria, she really had ended up a bitch.

As Bria reached for the rest of the stones, a shadow fell onto the entire graveyard. Bria slowly stood back up to her full height, eyes cast over every detail of the place, searching for the cause .

"Oh Gus," She called out in a sing-song voice, "It's a little late for you to grow a spine and help your friends. Why don't you just drop the illusions, and maybe I won't beat you into a pulp? If you do that, I might even leave you with a chisel so you can save your friends when I leave!"

The shadow that fell over the place receded, Bria snorting, "Can't believe that worked…"

She began to turn to gather the stones again, only to feel eyes upon her. Many eyes. Her gaze turned upward, and she let out a cry as she realized all of the remaining statues that made up the graves were looking down at her, eyes glowing red, black, blood like liquid dripping from the sockets. Behind her, one of the collapsed statues dragged itself along the ground, scraping the surface of the dirt as it pulled towards her, moaning noisily.

Bria shook off her fear, even going so far as to bark out a laugh, "You can't fool me, Gus, I know this is just an illusion." She held out a hand to cast a spell, but the ring of light kept vanishing as she tried to call upon her construction magic. "What's going on? Why won't my magic work?"

That was when Matt made an appearance, frantically stumbling out from behind a grave with a cry, "Bria! This place is cursed! Help me!" He called out, reaching out to her, only for his body to petrify, turning to stone before crumbling and fading away.

Luz and Willow watched, horror in their eyes as the dust that was Matt blew away in the breeze, both clenching their eyes shut as they screamed. Bria herself felt sick, her blood running cold when she realized her hands too were turning to stone.

She shook her head, chanting to herself, "It's just an illusion, it can't even hurt me. It can't even touch me!"

Then the statue pulling itself across the ground reached out, and latched its hand around her ankle, making her shriek. She kicked the hand away, turning around and bolting, disappearing into the thick fog outside the cemetery gates, "This place is cursed!"

As soon as she was out of eyesight, a blue glow enveloped the graveyard, before being blown away like a cloud in the breeze, Gus laying on the ground in place of the statue, and Matt looking fine, rolling on the ground and laughing. "Did you see her face?"

The stone holding Luz and Willow cracked and shattered, freeing the two girls, who gasped for air now that they weren't being squeezed between immovable rock. Luz choked, glaring at the two, "You couldn't have thought to warn us? That was incredibly messed up, my dudes!"

"Can we go home now?" Willow groaned from her place on the ground as she rolled over onto her back, feeling as tired and dead to the world as the illusionists buried there.

---

Amity hummed to herself as she searched through the book stacks, not understanding why she couldn't find this Titan damned diary. She could have sworn it'd be somewhere in this aisle, in the Deadwardian section, but as hard as she looked, she wasn't seeing it.

Maybe it was the dark, messing with her eyes. If there was one thing she was glad for, it was that Malphas was the only one who was supposed to be back here, normally. If her job required her to spend more time in the Forbidden Stacks, she wasn't sure she'd enjoy it nearly as much.

There was something wrong about this place. Despite how large it was, the dark combined with how tight the shelves were packed against each other left her feeling claustrophobic.

This was a literal literary graveyard, and that made her skin crawl.

She sighed heavily as she stuffed yet another ancient, crumbling book back onto the shelf in front of her, when suddenly she heard a sound. Ears perked, she listened. That almost sounded like an explosion off in the distance.

She strolled to the end of the aisle, looking out into the more open areas, narrowing her eyes out into the horizon. She could see something coming her way, something familiar, and blonde.

The twins practically crashed into her, Amity latching her arms onto the shelves to keep from falling to the ground. She stared at her siblings in disbelief as the smell of smoke met her nose, "What. Did. You. Do?"

Edric opened his mouth to explain, "Look, we know you didn't want us coming down here-"

"Didn't want you down here? It was literally the only thing I asked of you!" Amity seethed. "And you couldn't even do that?"

"It's not our fault-" Emira interrupted, only for Amity's piercing eyes to land on her next.

"Not your fault? I can smell the smoke- I can see the fire! Do you have any idea how valuable these books are?"

"We were just trying to help!" They sputtered, twisting their heads behind themselves to see if the Golden Guard was following, not feeling any relief when they couldn't see him, only dread that he could pop up at any time.

"I didn't ask for your help!" Amity shouted, shaking with anger, "Do you have any idea what you did? I'm going to lose my job because of you!"

Emira writhed under Amity's glare, a half mixture of wrath and sorrow. "I mean, the diary, it's more important for us to get home than your job-"

"And that gives you the right to storm in here and wreck the place? I love this job! It's a part of my life now, and you've ruined it, just like you always do!" Angry tears streaked down Amity's cheeks, "Couldn't you have just listened to me for once? Trusted me to get this done?"

Edric wanted to clear up this misunderstanding, warn Amity of what was coming, and why this all happened, but instead all that escaped his lips was, "We're sorry-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Not this time!" Amity stomped her foot. "If you guys want your dumb diary so bad, then you can find it yourselves!"

She turned away from them, storming off, her siblings reaching out for her, "Wait, Amity, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to go and beg Malphas to not fire me!" She called back, voice cracking, "just leave me alone!"

Amity disappeared into the darkness, heading back to the entrance of the Forbidden Stacks. The twins wanted to chase her down, wanted to apologize, wanted to explain everything and how it wasn't safe for her to leave them, but before Ed could run after her, Em pulled on his sleeve, and pointed down the aisle Amity had come from.

Standing there at the end of the shelves, was the Golden Guard, staff flaring menacingly with red light. He took a slow, steady stride down the corridor of books, looking very much like a villain ready to strike them down, and everything inside of the two siblings screamed for them to get away, but fear rooted them to the spot.

Down the aisles he came, moving ever closer, until suddenly the Guard stopped in his tracks, like he'd been petrified. He slowly turned his head, raising his staff and illuminating the shelves, and there, for all three of them to see poking out, was the diary they'd all been looking for. Keeping his eyes on the book, he turned his staff to point at the twins, keeping them from lunging for it themselves as one of his gloved hands clasped the spine and pulled it from the shelf.

"The Diary of Philip Whittesbane…" Hunter breathed, then let out a chuckle. "Looks like I win this time, humans."

Ed and Em's eyes danced from the book to the guard, each mentally calculating how they could retrieve it from him and not get blasted for their efforts. As one they dove, hands outstretched, only to collide into a wall that burst from the floor, cutting them off from the half of the aisle the Golden Guard was on.

The sound of heavy footsteps reached their ears, and they cursed. "He's going to get away, that bastard!" Edric yelled, sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him.

Only to skid to a halt when he heard a crash. Twisting around, the sight of Emira sprawled on the floor sent him into a panic, thinking she'd been hit by a spell, until he saw her clutching her knee. "Go! I'll only slow you down!"

Ed looked at his sister, then back where he could hear the guard's fading footsteps. He turned back, his sister staring at him, begging him to leave her. He was torn, but eventually muttered out an apology, turning his back and walking away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Emira cried as he bent down to help her to her feet.

"He's gone, Em. I've got nothing left to give, and he's too far ahead of us. We've lost." He grunted as he hoisted her arm around his shoulder and lifted her up. She limped along as they walked, defeated and beaten, trying to keep off her bad leg. "Besides, I've already got one sister pissed at me, I'm not abandoning the other."

Emira buried her face in the arm not wrapped around her brother's shoulder, forcing her eyes to stay dry, "Ed? What do we do now?"

---

Amity fiddled with her badge, wondering if it was better to beg for Malphas' forgiveness and hope to keep her job, or save both of them the trouble and resign in shame. She watched as her boss stamped another book with a return date, a pleasant smile on his face, and dreaded when those eyes would cast disappointment down on her.

With a heavy heart and a sigh, she took a step forward, ready to close the distance and admit what she'd done, and the damage it had caused, when the doors to the Forbidden Stacks opened. She expected to see her siblings bumbling out, embarrassing her and shouting for forgiveness, or something stupid that would both humiliate her, and ruin the quiet atmosphere of the library, but instead, to her horror, the familiar white and gold of the Golden Guard stepped out of the shadows, the same diary she'd been searching for clenched tightly in his hands.

She hid behind one of the book carts, crouching out of sight as he passed her, stumbling towards the desk with a slight limp in his step. He'd been in a fight. Reaching under his cape as he approached the front desk, he slammed a visitors card onto the table and slid it over to Malphas.

"I hope you found what you were looking for?" Malphas asked pleasantly, all business when it came to book checkouts.

"I did," the Guard spoke triumphantly. "I had to take care of some vermin while I was down there though, I hope you don't mind."

Amity gulped, realizing he'd been talking about Edric and Emira. They hadn't gone down there on a whim like she'd thought, and she hadn't given them any time to explain, either. She'd yelled at them, insulted them, all while they had likely saved her life by keeping him off of her. And now that he had the book…

Amity clamped a hand over her mouth to silence a shaky gasp. The Guard had come out, but the twins hadn't, and if he had the diary…

"I'll take care of it," Malphas sighed in response to the guard. "I do hope you didn't destroy any of the library's property while exterminating them?"

"The library's property is the Empire's property," The Golden Guard reminded, a warning in his tone, "As an agent of the Empire, it really doesn't matter what I've destroyed, as long as my mission is complete."

"I'll just take that as a yes…" Malphas wasn't pleased with this answer, but couldn't argue, either. "Very well. I hope you have a nice day, sir, give the Emperor my regards."

Amity watched as the Golden Guard left, diary held tightly in his grasp. She considered attacking him while his back was turned, prying the diary out of his grip triumphantly, but the staff card in her own hand was a burning reminder that he'd left her siblings in trouble deep in the bowels of the Forbidden Stacks, likely seriously injured.

She had to go back and find them, make sure that they were alright. What had she been thinking? They were so much more important to her than some dumb job, and she hadn't even listened to them before stomping off in a huff. Tightening her grip on the staff card, she turned around and headed back for the chamber that led to the Forbidden Stacks, intent on finding Ed and Em and getting them to safety, damn the consequences.

Amity opened the door, ready to start sprinting, when none other than Edric and Emira stumbled out, looking a lot worse for wear, beaten and tired, especially in the full light of the library which made their bruises known.

Amity surged forward, helping Edric drag Emira to a nearby chair, the older girl wincing as they made the last few steps, "I am so sorry, you two. I know what happened now, I saw the Golden Guard. I should have listened-"

"You think?" Edric replied angrily, slumping into a chair himself. "We tried to tell you, but you just had to keep making it about you and your job!"

"I messed up, really, really bad-"

"Messed up?" Emira scoffed, clutching her injured leg, "Amity, if you had listened to us for five seconds, we could have fought him together. He's got our only way home now, and it's your fault!"

Amity reeled back like she'd been physically struck, as it sank in that yes, this was her fault. She'd assumed the worst from her siblings, like she always did, and in doing so left them to fight alone against someone far out of their league. "I-"

"Just go home, Amity." Edric murmured, "We really don't want to see you right now."

Amity's lip trembled as she turned her back on her brother and sister. She refused to cry, even as tears beaded up in the corners of her eye. Instead, she did as she was asked, walking away and giving them the space they craved, trying to think of any way to make up for this and coming up blank.

---

When Luz arrived home, it was to the sight of her girlfriend slumped over on the sofa, looking incredibly lost, with Ghost curled up in her lap, trying her best to comfort her owner. Luz's grin from her day full of harrowing adventure faded, and she sprinted to Amity's side. "What's wrong?"

"I really messed up today, Luz. And it's not something I can fix, either." Amity sighed. "The Golden Guard came for the diary at the library today, and attacked Ed and Em. When I saw them, they were alone, and they had left a mess, and I yelled at them and stormed off. I didn't listen to them, and, well… The Guard got away with the book."

Luz clasped Amity's hand, the human girl gripping it tight like a lifeline, "Which means, not only did Ed and Em get hurt when I could have helped them, but now they can't get back home, and the Emperor has the only book on the Isles that can get him what he wants."

"Oh, Amity," Luz pulled her into a hug, pressing Amity tightly to her chest, "I'm so sorry. I should have been there. I shouldn't have gone on that dumb adventure. The whole thing could have been avoided if I'd just listened to Boscha…"

"It's not your fault, Luz, it's all of mine," Amity sniffled, "Ed and Em are so mad at me, and there's nothing I can do to make it up to them."

"I'm sure we'll think of something. I mean, you're Amity! You always figure things out. You're the smartest girl I know." Luz spoke softly and comfortingly, grazing her fingers through Amity's lavender hair.

A little squeak interrupted their talk, coming from Amity's book bag beside her on the couch. Both girls turned to see what the sound was, and from under the flap a little mousy face appeared, looking curiously around the room, a scrap of torn paper in its mouth.

"Hey there, little guy," Luz cooed, placing her hand out for the rodent to step onto. "How'd you get in there?"

Amity wiped her face, trying not to feel too grossed out by the idea of a rat hitchhiking in her bag and invading their home, and putting a hand on Ghost's back to keep the cat from doing what all cats do when they see vermin, "I think I saw that with Edric, earlier. Must have gotten into my stuff when I helped him carry Emira."

Speaking of the twins, the door opened again, both of them glumly walking in. Em still had a limp, leaning on her brother for help, but at least she was walking again. The three siblings' eyes locked, the twins clearly not in the mood to see their little sister, until Edric's eyes landed on the mouse in Luz's hands. "Oh, the little guy tagged along. I'm glad to see he didn't get stepped on or something during our escape."

Luz gave Amity the mouse and helped Ed get Emira to the couch, "Here, let me help you with that," She motioned to Em's leg, casting a spell circle and calling on her knowledge from spying on the healing track lessons.

Emira let out a breath as the pain in her knee lessened, feeling like it had been dunked into a bucket of ice. The swelling lessened, and the black and blue color faded to its usual pale skin tone, until he knee was back to perfect condition. She bent it experimentally, giving Luz a grateful smile, "Thanks, Luz. It's so much better now. You're the sweetest, cutie."

Edric took the mouse from Amity's hands, cuddling it close to his chest, "At least one thing went right today, I got a new pet." He tried to be optimistic, but even he could tell it was forced.

His twin frowned, crossing her arms, "We are not keeping a gross rat as a pet."

"Echo Mouse," Luz corrected, earning a glance from both of the Blights. She smiled, then continued, "It's not a rat, it's an Echo Mouse."

Amity felt a memory stir in her head as she sat up, "I think Malphas mentioned them once. Don't they eat books and then play them back?"

"Play them back? How? Do they hire a script writer, a camera crew, and act as director, or something?" Edric asked, inspecting his new friend.

Amity held out her hand, gesturing for the mouse. Edric held his hands out, but kept the echo mouse in his grasp, unwilling to part with it. So Amity stretched out a single finger, scratching the top of the mouse's head, just like Malphas had shown her once.

Immediately the rodent's eyes lit up, casting a light onto the wall. Like a film reel, a snippet played, showing a humanoid figure who began to narrate, "My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st... I think. My name is Philip Wittebane, and I found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it…"

The three humans sucked in a breath as they watched the rest of the narration. Edric peeked down at the Echo Mouse in his hands, expressing his wonder, "You ate the diary!"

He was quickly hushed, Amity taking out a notepad and writing everything she heard down word for word. When the Echo Mouse finished, the lights faded and it returned to skittering in Edric's grasp. The boy turned to his twin, "So, we agree we're keeping him as a pet now, right?"

Emira nodded, expression dumbfounded, "Yeah, yeah… just make sure Hooty and Eda don't eat him and we'll be golden."

The four started making plans, Amity already trying to decipher any hidden meanings in what Philip had to say, and how to get the echo mouse to keep playing back the words it had devoured. The mood had eased since the twins had arrived home, but looking into their eyes, Amity knew she still had to work for their forgiveness. She'd really hurt them today, but she'd do better from now on, and get them back home.

Luz reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of Amity's face, making the human girl look up. Their eyes locked, their proximity so close their noses were practically touching. Luz and Amity's eyes both flickered down to the other girls lips, and in that moment the events of the grudgby match last night, and how they had avoided each other this morning came roaring back.

The two girls leapt apart as if they'd been bitten, faces red, and as unable to look at each other as they had before. "I, I'm just gonna," Amity gestured to her notes, quickly burying her nose into them.

"Yeah! And I'll just, be over here…. Gonna heal up the twins a bit more. Come here Ed, you've got a split lip."

His eyes bulged, "that's not good, I makeout with those!"

They'd talk about it tomorrow.

---

Hunter bowed before the throne of his Emperor, mask removed and set by his side on the ground. "I have brought you a great boon today, Uncle."

He was unable to hide his grin as he reached into his cloak and pulled out the worn, crumbling tome that was Philip Wittesbane's personal diary, holding it out to his liege. "This book is supposed to contain the secrets of how to create a portal to the human realm."

That made Belos' shoulders perk, his attention fully captured. He rose from his throne, towering above his nephew and strode down to join him at the foot of the steps Hunter had been kneeling before.

The Emperor grasped the book in one hand, gently pulling it from Hunter's possession and cradled it like a child. With one armor covered finger, he slowly pried open the cover, seeing the name of the previous owner inscribed upon the inside of the cover, nostalgic proof of what was brought to him. Useless in the end, containing no information he did not already possess, but it brought forth many fond memories.

His blood went cold, and the Heart hammering above his throne stilled when he saw the state the pages were in. Scraps, hardly a legible word on them, and covered in tiny teeth marks. Belos snapped the book shut, turning to Hunter, and with none of the grace his position offered, chucked it at the boy's head.

"You imbecile! Did you not even bother to check before bringing this to me? It is destroyed, beyond any form of restoration."

Belos collapsed into his throne once more, wishing he had a Palisman to devour to calm the thunder in his veins, Hunter wincing as he rubbed yet another goose egg caused by a book for the second time that day.

"Remove yourself from my sights," Belos ordered, Hunter scrambling to do as he was told, "And do not fail me again!"

Decades of information, lost. All his written accounts of his brother, gone. Belos gripped the arms of his throne so hard they cracked.

It was like losing him all over again.

---

The blindfold was removed from Gus' eyes, and he smiled as the Bat masked individual he had seen all those weeks ago looked back at him. "It's really you!"

The leader of the rebellion smiled, "Yes, I was surprised to see you again as well. You'll have to forgive the way you were treated, but we had to make sure the path into our headquarters was hidden, hence the blindfold."

"No, no," Gus held up his hands, "I totally get it. Though, I'm pretty sure you're hiding in the sewers. At least, it smells like you are, ugh."

Raine Whispers grimaced being their mask, "Yes, well, you get used to it after a while. What made you want to get in contact with the BATTs, young man?"

Cutting right to the chase, Gus could understand that, they had to be a very busy person, "I want to join you! See, I was thinking, illusions aren't all that useful, and I was looking into other fields so I could join the rebellion one day, but recently, I managed to use my magic to really help some friends out in a top secret mission of my own!"

Gus bounced excitedly on his heels, "So, since I'm already a prodigy in illusions, not that I'm bragging or anything, I figured I don't need all those extra years of practice in other fields, so I might as well join up now!"

Raine pursed their lips, looking down on the young man before him, "I'm sorry, I- I really do want to thank you, for being so brave and reaching out to us, but, and there isn't any way for me to say this gently, no. No you cannot join the BATTs."

"Of course, I'll settle for the CATTs, I'm not a bard by trade…" Gus tried, feeling a bit desperate.

Raine shook their head, "No, what I mean is, you're just a child. I admire your dedication to the cause, but I refuse to let you try and lay your life down for it when you've hardly even begun. I refuse to put a child in harm's way, and believe it or not, we do get in harm's way. Rebelling against an empire is a very dangerous job."

"So, as much as it pains me to turn down a talented illusionist, and we can always use more illusionists, I can't take in a child. I can't have that on my conscience." Raine finished, tone gentle and kind, but firm.

Behind him, mopping the floors and wearing her CATT mask was Viney, whistling nervously as she listened in, knowing she'd absolutely lied through her teeth about her own age and hoping her boss never found out.

Gus swallowed his disappointment, refusing to break away from the bard's eyes, "I- I understand! I'll train hard in school, and, if the rebellion is still around when I've become an adult, and I hope you aren't, I hope you'll have taken Belos down by then, I'll be ready to join!"

Raine nodded, their smile returning to their face, "And we'll welcome you with open arms. Until then, stay safe."

Gus laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "No promises, I'm best friends with a Clawthorne, after all!"

Raine understood that a bit too well.

---

A/N: Ha… hahah… hahahahahaha! 17K and counting… Wanna know what the original plan for this chapter was? I planned for 8k at most, while cutting the entirety of the Gus B-plot, since I was going to keep it exactly the same as the original episode.

But no, I decided that the show's biggest issue is how much it cuts Gus and Willow out of episodes, so I decided I was going all in with it. Gus would get his part, and hell, I'd change events enough to justify having Willow along as well! Just to prove I could. Then I added Luz, and we had. Seven. Characters. In all of those scenes. Uuuugh.

Two of those characters are ones I don't have much practice writing. Four of them are characters I've never written for! Okay, I wrote for Matt before, but so little I might as well not have!

Why do I do this to myself?

The scene with Belos is subject to change. Heck, it changed just recently, because I was under the impression he was not Philip, and then the show made him Philly-boy, and that changed things. I didn't think he'd be Uncle Phil because then Belos would know how to make a portal, but now my running theory is Philip never actually ever made a working portal, his brother did, and he's been trying to get his hands on it ever since.

Okay, seriously, next chapter is entirely original content, and should be half the length. I hope. I planted the seeds for this next 'episode' at the end of season one, so that's what we're getting. Should be fun!

Please, please, please leave comments. I deserve them after this mammoth of a chapter. I need the pick me up. I'm gonna need another break once this is all over…

(I did take a week off, don't worry, these notes are just written in the moment for the most part. No need to worry about my health, or anything.)