"Soooooo, Niña, how's this working out so far?" La Lechuza asked.
You can stop acting smug about it, Lala. I know this is getting way out of hand, thought Luz.
Eda managed to evade the flying snakes, but that was only the first part, as there were more death traps waiting for her. Spears, buzzsaws, a mote, thorny vines, she even fell from the sky and made a body shaped hole in the ground. But even with all that, despite nearly dying several times over, Eda never stopped.
The Owl Lady dragged herself up a hill as she declared, "This…better be…the oldest, strongest, stinky-est Apple Blood, in the history, of the Boiling Isles, ever!"
When Eda looked up, she spotted a large sign that read, "IT REALLY IS ¡THAT GOOD!"
"AAAAAAARRRHHHHGGG!"
Eda picked herself up and pressed on, only to step on a strange plant, and messing up her boots in the process.
"Are you kidding me?! I just stole these!" she complained.
Eda kept walking, but then triggered another trap, as a net launched her into the air and over the tree that Gwen and Luz were hiding in.
"It seems like the curse isn't my daughter's only problem," Gwen commented.
Eda finally landed in the thick of a bush, groaning in frustration and annoyance by this impromptu quest she had undertaken. Owlbert flew over and hovered over the bush that Eda was in.
The Owl Lady reached towards her staff and said, "Help momma up."
"…Nana Gwen, we tried freezing the curse out, sweating the curse out, and even tried flying snakes for some reason." Luz paused when she heard Eda yell and saw that the flying snakes had returned and were now chasing Eda again. "I'm starting to think this stuff isn't working. No, scratch that, it's not at all. Did Wortlop ever say where he learned this stuff?"
When Luz turned to look at Gwen, she saw that she was talking into a crow phone.
"Yes, I'm sending it right away," said Gwen.
Luz raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What did you just do?"
Gwen took out a pouch and put some gemstones and gold bobbles inside of it, and then handed it off to the crow phone. "It turns out the ancient tome is only the first of a series. So, I'm trading in a few paltry family heirlooms to get the rest." Gwen then went back to reading the tome.
"Niña."
Yeah, yeah, I know. Something's not right here.
Luz stood up and slowly made her way to Gwen. "Let me see that book, Nana Gwen."
Gwen narrowed her gaze and held out her right hand, stopping Luz in her tracks. "Halt! Only people who have scaled Wortlop's 'Pyramid of Study' can touch the tome."
Yeah, Luz was having none of that. The Latina swiftly pulled out one of her Plant Glyph papers and activated it, shooting out vines in the form of a hand that grabbed the tome right out of Gwen's hands. After taking the tome, Luz looked through it and made a shocking discovery.
"What is this? Jar of bees for existential dread? Aromatherapy for broken legs? Bird songs for sufferers of stuffy noses?!" Oh Dios mío (Oh my God), it's worse than I thought. "Nana Gwen, you're being scammed! Wortlop's a fake!"
Gwen scrunched her face, feeling insulted that Luz would insinuate that she would fall for trickery. The old witch took back the tome and scolded, "Luz, you really think I'd spend my life savings on a fake! That's quite rude of you. I guess some of Edalyn's bad habits must've rubbed off on you."
Gonna ignore that.
"I knew I felt an aura of despair coming from that place. Giving people false hope by making them give away their money for supposed cures that don't really cure a thing. I have to admit, it is an effective way to bring despair."
Are you seriously admiring Wortlop right now?!
"Hey, I'm a Phantom, spreading despair is my thing."
Luz sighed in frustration for a moment before calming herself. "I know you want what's best for Eda, and so do I." The human girl reached into the fanny pack and pulled out the elixir from earlier. "But I'm calling this whole thing off!"
Gwen swiftly took hold of Luz's arm and swiped the bottle away from her.
"Nana Gwen!"
"Luz, I really thought we were on the same side. According to Wortlop, poison like this is made by healers and potion makers who simply want money."
To emphasize her point, Gwen opened the tome and flipped through the pages until she found the exact passage that Gwen had just repeated and showed it to Luz. Needless to say, this only frustrated Luz further.
"Are you kidding me?! You just…I…UGH!" Luz pinched her brow, she had to calm down, it was not Gwen's fault entirely, she was just trying to find a way to cure her daughter and fell victim to a swindler. "Aargh…Whatever, keep it, I'll just head back to the house and get some more, got a whole houseful."
Gwen smiled sweetly as she retorted, "I'm afraid that will be a waste of your time, Luz, dear."
"Oh, and why – whoa!"
Gwen's Palisman flew down from the sky and dropped a big bag in front of them. "Hawksley cleared out every last bottle from the house hours ago. And dumped their contents."
Now Luz was getting angry. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"
"Because I am a mother who will do anything for her daughter. You'll understand one day when you have your own children," said Gwen as she prepared to pour out the last bottle.
"NO!"
Luz tackled Gwen, trying to get the bottle away from her, but unintentionally threw both of them and the bag of empty elixirs off the branch and down to the ground.
Meanwhile, down below, Eda managed to survive the last death trap. And thanks to all that, she only now just noticed how much her curse was acting up. "Whoa…this ain't good."
That's when she heard a loud screaming sound, followed by a couple of thuds coming from behind her, and a shattering of glass. Eda went to investigate and was shocked to find out who it was.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Eda asked as she looked at the both of them.
After Gwen and Luz got up, the old witch replied, "Witchlet, it's okay, Luz and I are working to heal you."
Eda could not believe what she was hearing, all those death traps, the signs, they were all a part of her mother's cockamamie plan to "heal" her? And she managed to wrangle Luz into her nonsense.
"I can't believe this! Not only did you nearly kill me! But you managed to get Luz wrapped up in your stupid stunts, too! Oooh, okay, no, I draw the line right there!" Eda yelled.
Luz could see the feathers on her body multiplying at a rapid rate. "Eda, listen, you have to stay calm, please!"
"Why?! Why should I be calm?! I have a right to be UP-SET!" Eda shouted as her eyes shifted to black.
That was it, in a matter of seconds, Eda transformed into the Owl Beast, the hulking, feathery creature released its shriek as it fully manifested. Luz quickly looked around for the last elixir bottle and groaned in dismay when she saw that it had shattered, and its contents absorbed by the dirt.
"Oh my…not again," said Gwen.
Luz put herself between the Owl Beast and Gwen and slowly raised her hands up. "Hey, Owly, you remember me, right? You helped me out in the Underworld, I saved you and Eda from turning into a Phantom."
The Owl Beast sniffed and growled; its agitation seemed to ebb away as it concentrated on Luz. It appeared as if the Owl Beast still remembered what Luz and La Lechuza did in helping it survive the Phantomization process, which thankfully worked in their favor as it was not currently trying to maul Gwen or her.
"Don't worry." Gwen summoned the tome back to her and quickly flipped through the pages. "According to this, we just have to…to…"
Luz turned around and asked, "Have to what?!"
Gwen sheepishly turned the tome around and said, "Buy the next volume…?"
Luz's left eye twitched when she saw the exact same thing repeated on the page. The young teen took in a deep breath and then grunted, exasperated by this whole ordeal.
"Okay, I'll have to deal with Wortlop. Later. For now, the Owl Beast is calm, we just need to go and an elixir from Mort, and then I can–"
King burst out of the bushes, looking panicked as he ran towards them.
"King, what's wrong?!" Luz asked.
"So, Lilith was feeling stressed and, uh, the Light Glyph didn't really work. So, uh…uh…uh…"
A shadow passed over them, a big one. Luz gasped as she saw Lilith land in front of them, but it was not Lilith, at least not at the moment. She had transformed into the Owl Beast, although, it might be more accurate to call it a Raven Beast. She was twice the size of Eda, her wingspan double that of Eda's as well, her feathers were pitch black, and her claws were long and onyx colored.
"SHE TURNED INTO THAT THING!" King exclaimed as he pointed at the Raven Beast.
HOLY MOLLY SHE'S HUGE! Luz thought
"Interesting, is this due to the fact that Lilith is older? And therefore, the curse has altered her size and physique to match this?"
Analyze this later, Lala!
Gwen could only look on in both shock and confusion. "Sweet Flea…?"
The Raven Beast roared in a challenging manner to the Owl Beast. The Owl Beast responded by releasing its own roar. The two creatures began to charge each other head on, but at the last second, the Raven Beast jumped into the air, and grabbed ahold of the Owl Beast before taking off into the air and flying them both away.
Gwen was still in disbelief about what she just saw. "That…was my little sweet flea…? That means she's also…"
"CURSED! YES!" King exclaimed. "Were you not paying any attention to her?!"
"But I don't understand, how?! Is the curse spreading?!" Gwen asked.
Luz shook her head. "No, after the Petrification Ceremony, Eda was stuck in the Owl Beast form. To bring her back, Lilith used a spell that allowed her to share their pain, in this case, she took on half of the curse from Eda. That's the only reason why she's not stuck in that form anymore and the curse has become manageable again."
"Luz, I hate to say this, but you'll probably need to…"
Way ahead of you, Lala.
Luz took off the fanny pack and held her right hand over the Hand Author buckle.
[Driver On, Please.]
The WizarDriver materialized around Luz's waist, causing Gwen to step back in surprise.
"What in Titan's name is that?" Gwen asked.
"A secret, and I hope I can trust you with it, Nana Gwen," said Luz as she switched the position of the Hand Author.
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
Luz slipped on her Light Style ring and cried out, "HENSHIN!"
[Light. Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
A magic circle appeared under Luz, and quickly rose above, transforming the young teenage girl into the hero of light and hope, Kamen Rider Witch.
"L-Luz, y-you're that Witch who's been fighting those monsters!" Gwen exclaimed.
"I am, and right now, I'm the person who's going to go and try and save Eda and Lilith," said Witch as she slipped on her next ring.
[Ride, Please.]
Witch held out her right hand, summoning her magic circle. From that circle appeared her Witch Speeder, which she quickly mounted.
"Owlbert!"
Eda's staff transformed, the little Palisman, Owlbert, flew towards witch and perched himself on her right shoulder, while King scurried over and hopped onto the Speeder.
"Nana Gwen, please, come with me and help me bring them back," Witch offered.
Gwen did not know what to believe right now, after everything she had done to find a cure her daughter, the money she spent, the quests she went on, it all could not be a lie.
"This…This must be a part of the process…I-I'm sure of it," said Gwen with a shaky voice.
Witch sighed. "I see. You still need more time. I promise I'll bring them back. Hold on you two!"
Witch twisted the throttle, and in no time, the Speeder took off into the sky, hot on the trail of the two cursed witches.
Gwen, on the other hand, got on Hawksley and quickly made her way to Wortlop's cave.
Gwen quickly flew through the forest as she tried to reason in her head that this was not a lie, that everything she did and sacrificed was not for nothing.
"Wortlop he's…he's not a fake! Is he…?" Gwen finally arrived at the cave entrance and dismounted her staff. "Not after everything I did for him. No, this is just a test! I'll show Luz that he's a master, I'll bring him to her and have him cure them both!"
As Gwen approached the entrance, she saw that the slab was cracked open. She peered into the crack and gasped when she saw Wortlop. His body and head were hung up on the tree root like a cheap suit, along with his staff and necklace. But that was not the worst part of it. Gathered around a fire bee fire pit were three gremlin demons, surrounded by money, jewels, and other valuable items.
One of the gremlin demons filled a jar with dirt and asked his fellow gremlins, "Eh, what should we call this stuff?"
The second gremlin, who was wearing a tiara that was hanging off his right ear, wearing a necklace of pearls and diamonds, and admiring a diamond ring on his finger answered, "Eh, I don't know. Cleansing mud?"
The third gremlin, who was resting on a pile of money added, "Yeah, from the Healing Bogs of the Hips or whatever. What do you think?"
Gwen glanced further to her left and gasped when she saw the very same gremlin demon who had boils on his eyes sitting there and applying some cosmetics that mimicked the boils he had earlier. "I think we're gonna be rich!"
Gwen took a step back. Luz was right, she was right about everything, she had been scammed, lied to, made a fool of. She was so desperate to find a cure for her daughter that she pushed out her own common sense and believed every word these charlatans spouted. And that single minded drive cost her, not only money, but time. Time that she could have spent really helping Edalyn, but more than that, she robbed herself of the time she could have spent with Lilith, giving her the attention she craved, and acknowledging her for the strong young witch she is. But right now, both of her daughters were hurting, they both needed their mother, but before that, Gwen had to take care of business first.
The matriarch of the Clawthorne family drew a spell circle, and immediately the fire bee swarm grew three times bigger, creating a large pillar of fire that roared upwards and scared the four gremlins, causing them to quickly scatter. The swarm of fire bees parted down the middle, lessening the intensity of the fire pillar, and revealed Gwen as she slowly walked further into the cave.
The three gremlin demons quickly regrouped and used their magic to reassemble the Wortlop suit, which, in their panic, managed to put the head on backwards.
"Mrs. Clawthorne?" The gremlin voicing Wortlop cleared their throat and deepened their voice back to the echoing sage-like tone it was before. "What a fortuitous surprise. W-What brings you here?"
Gwen managed to keep a stoic expression, but inside she was seething. Those little liars had the gull to don their disguise in front of her, and act as if she did not just see them do that? They must really think she was a moron. Not that she blamed them, she felt like one after all the so-called "quests" she underwent, and all the money and precious family heirlooms she gave away to them. Well, that all ends now.
"You know, right after Eda was cursed, I joined the Beast Keeper Coven," the old witch spoke in a stern tone.
Gwen raised her left index finger and let a fire bee land on it. The flames did not harm her, nor did the bee, as part of the Beast Keeper magic granted those who followed this coven some immunity to the natural abilities of the beasts of the island, to what degree depended on how strong the witch was. And Gwendolyn Clawthorne was ranked right up there among the strong.
"I thought they surely would know what to do. But the Beast Keepers told me the curse couldn't be tamed. And the Healers told me it…it couldn't be healed…" Gwen remembered when she was told that, the only other Coven who specialized in the curing and healing of others, could not do a thing for her daughter. "Do you know how maddening, and saddening it is to go to so many experts, just to be told that there's nothing that can be done?"
"I…I know it can be quite a sorrowful thing to hear, b-but that's why you came to me," said "Wortlop."
Gwen nodded. "Yes, I did. I came to you, foolishly so. Seeking an answer, a remedy to my daughter's plight. I absentmindedly did as you asked of me, to the detriment of my relationship with my daughters. Eda told me she found something that made the curse manageable at least. But I was so wrapped up in the lies and false belief that I didn't listen."
"Wortlop" got an uneasy feeling and tried to smooth things over. "Now, now, Mrs. Clawthorne, she can still be helped! I could give you a discount on the next volume! Five percent off…? Ten percent off?"
Gwen let her stoic expression fall as she glared daggers past the suit and to the gremlins hiding within. "Leave. Now."
Suddenly, the fire bees rapidly multiplied again, becoming a huge swarm that filled the back half of the cave with a raging inferno. The buzzing of their wings echoed, becoming a symphony that played alongside the roaring of the flames, a song of fury that made the gremlins tremble with pure fear.
"Don't come back here again! And if I ever catch you in Bonesborough, I swear on the Titan, I'll have every beast in this forest, and in this town, track you, and hunt you down! You will not know a moment's peace here, not one part of this forest or town will be considered safe! I will see to it that they devour, rip, tear, impale, sting, set aflame, poison, and tear you limp from limp! And as a warning to anyone who may try what you did, I'll erect a sign that has your HEADS mounted on it!"
The gremlins screamed in sheer terror as they burst out of the Wortlop suit and borrowed into the ground, essentially running for the hills.
Gwen smiled as she flipped her hair, calmed the bees, and said, "Heh-heh, still got it."
Witch was hot on the trail of the Owl and Raven Beasts. The Owl Beast had managed to bite the Raven Beast's leg, forcing it to let her go. Once out of its grasp, the two began an aerial dogfight, chasing and crashing into the other, claws and fangs bared as they tried to take the other down. The battle continued into Bonesborough proper, with the Raven Beast tackling the Owl Beast, sending them both into a nosedive straight into town. Both of them crashed against some buildings, bouncing off them until they landed in the streets.
The citizens that were nearby ran away in fear as the two cursed creatures went on with their melee, throwing one or the other into stands, and shops. Unfortunately, it was clear to see who had the upper hand in this fight, the Raven Beast, being the elder sibling, unfortunately seemed to have the added effect of granting the Raven Beast stronger physical attributes, not just in height, but strength and speed as well, allowing it to, at times, overpower, and throw the younger Owl Beast around like a ragdoll.
But the Owl Beast, while smaller, was faster, to a degree, allowing it to be a bit nimbler in its movements and attacks. However, speed was not enough in this fight, for it seemed as though the Raven Beast had a good amount of speed to at least keep up and react to the younger's attacks. But more than that, it was fueled by Lilith's resentment towards Eda, for being the center of her mother's attention.
Witch flew overheard, trying to figure out the best method to stop them without hurting them, but it was kind of a moot point without one vital part of the equation. "Even if I manage to restrain them, we don't have any elixir to change them back."
"Can't you just use your Potion ring and make some?!" King suggested.
"I can't make something I don't know, King. The potions I made before were ones I learned about while in class, I mean, stronger versions due to my powers, but the point is, I don't know how the potions are made, so I can't make them."
Plus, if I did, I could just make them whenever Eda or Lilith needed one, and something tells me that Mort needs the business. I do not want to ruin someone's livelihood, thought Witch.
"We'll just have to see if he'd be willing to give me some."
Witch turned the Speeder around and headed straight down to where Mort's shop was.
The potion maker was at his window, sighing in disappointment at the lack of customers he's had today. "No one's shown up in a while…guess I'll close up early." Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in, forcing Mort to brace as he squinted his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Kamen Rider Witch at his shop. "WITCH?!"
Witch dismounted her vehicle and took King off. "Hello M – citizen! This little demon has informed me of an emergency regarding Eda the Owl Lady and her sister. Their curse has overtaken them, and I am in need of your curse reversing elixirs! As many as you have, quickly!"
Mort gasped in sheer happiness, business had been slow all today, and now, as if the Titan heard his prayers, someone has come in his hour of need. "Certainly! Um, you wouldn't happen to have any snails for this, would you?"
Witch had to fight the urge to yell at Mort right now. She was a superhero, asking for the assistance of a citizen to render aid, how was he thinking of money right now! "Sir, I would gladly pay you if I could, but I don't necessarily go out and do my superhero work with my wallet in my back pocket! Could you, please, provide me the elixirs, and I'll make sure you're paid later?"
"Well…"
"Don't worry about the money!"
Witch, Mort, Owlbert, and King looked to the sky and watched as Gwen flew in on Hawksley. She landed on the ground behind Witch and slung a huge, jingling bag of snails from over her shoulder.
"Momma's got it covered."
Mort gasped again and quickly went into this shop to gather the elixirs.
Witch turned around to face Gwen and asked, "I'm guessing you had enough time then?"
Gwen lowered her gaze in shame. "I'm sorry, I was so obsessed with finding a cure for Edalyn, that I was willing to believe anyone who could provide me with the answer I sought. Ignoring everything around me, even my eldest daughter. But no more, L – Witch. I'm through being that person! It's time I finally did something useful and be the mother my children need me to be!"
King was still skeptical about Gwen's intentions, his own hang ups about his father still jading him a bit. "Seriously? And how do we know you're not just saying that to try some other kind of crazy stunt?"
Gwen released the bag of snails and grabbed the talisman around her neck. She quickly ripped it off her neck and threw it to the ground before stepping on it with her heel and shattering it to pieces.
Witch smiled under her helm and said, "That's good enough reason to trust her as far as I'm concerned."
"Do you have a plan?" Gwen asked.
"I have the tools to restrain them, but it'll be a challenge to get them to drink the elixir. I think the Owl Beast, Eda, will be easiest of the two. It seems to trust me, to a degree, but Lilith…I'm not sure. This is the first time she's gone full beast mode, and she's acting on pure emotion right now. Honestly, I think you might be her target, too," said Witch.
Gwen looked up, her two daughters were still fighting in the air, and a pained expression befell her features. "I don't blame my little sweet flea for feeling that way, not in the slightest. And I will gladly take that anger, but only after she's returned to normal."
"GOT YOUR ORDER!" Mort exclaimed as he appeared with multiple huge sacks filled with elixir bottles.
"Good man! Here you go!" Gwen shouted back as she grabbed the bottles and tossed Mort the sack of snails, which made him fall onto his back due to the weight of it.
[Connect, Please.]
Witch created a magic circle before them and said, "We only need two for now, send the rest through the portal. Don't worry, it leads right to the Owl House."
Gwen trusted Luz and tossed them in, but not before taking out two bottles. "Witch, I want to try and reach my Edalyn, first. She may be able to help us restrain Lilith."
"Leave it to me!"
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
[Plant, Please.]
[Kooooooooo~jo~!]
A green magic circle passed over Witch, shifting her into her strength form, Plant Style. Witch quickly mounted the Speeder and took off into the air, while Gwen took care of King and Owlbert as she got into position.
The moment that Witch touched her Speeder, the insignia on the front shifted to green, showing that it was now channeling her Plant Style magic. Her speed would be reduced, but she needed this for its other effect. Witch twisted throttle and sped right towards the two cursed beasts, which were currently on a collision course with each other. Thankfully, Witch managed to speed right through them, causing both beasts to stop in midair in a startled panic.
Witch turned the Speeder around and took aim at Eda first. "SORRY, EDA!"Witch pulled the trigger on the handlebars and fired two concussive energy blasts at the Owl Beast. Both blasts hit the Owl Beast with resounding force, throwing her into a tailspin as she plummeted, bounced off a roof, and ended up sprawled atop another roof.
Gwen let King down on the roof of a shop across from where Eda crash landed. The elder witch drew a large spell circle with her staff, and with it, called upon the roof tiles, which were apparently creatures. They were square in shape, with bat wings and a single eye at the bottom. The flying tile creatures answered her call and acted as steps, allowing Gwen to walk across, slowly, and without any sudden moves as she approached her cursed daughter.
"Eda…"
The Owl Beast groaned as it lifted itself up. It became aware of Gwen and turned its head in that direction, and upon doing so, slowly stalked towards her.
"You're in there, aren't you, my little witchlet?" Gwen asked.
The Owl Beast growled back at her but stopped its advance.
Gwen stepped onto the roof where the Owl Beast was and got closer until she was right in front of it. "Eda, I've failed you and Lilith." Gwen reached out and gently touched the side of the Owl Beast's face. "I should've listened to you. I know now why you pushed me away…I made you think your curse was something to be ashamed of and looked for whatever means possible to rid it from you, and inadvertently rejecting you. But whether we like it or not, it's a part of you. And I love EVERY part you."
Gwen waited for a response, but the Owl Beast remained still and silent. The old witch gingerly pressed her forehead against the beast and whispered, "I'm so sorry."
"Mom?"
Gwen eyes widened when she heard her daughter's voice, and that's when she saw that the black eyes of the Owl Beast had gone, and Eda's golden eyes were back.
"Witchlet!" Gwen exclaimed as she hugged Eda.
Witch nodded, one part of the plan was done, now it was time to deal with Lilith. However, that was going to prove more difficult than she first thought. The Raven Beast's eyes were locked onto Gwen and Eda, the beast's growls grew angrier, it almost sounded hurt.
*Crack!*
The Raven Beast released a painful roar into the air as its body broke out with several cracks that leaked ethereal violet light.
"NO!" Witch exclaimed. "NOT NOW!"
Gwen looked up into the sky and saw how Lilith's body was covered in violet cracks and gasped. "What in the name of the Titan is happening to her?! Is this a part of the curse, too?!"
Eda looked up and was shocked to see what was happening. "You gotta be kidding me…Lilith's a Gate, just like I was!"
"What?"
"Listen, Mom, what's happening to Lily right now is not part of the curse! We have to help her now or she's going to transform permanently into a Phantom!"
Gwen's jaw dropped. "You mean…like one of those horrid monsters that's been attacking the island!"
"The very same! Witch can take care of it, but we have to get her down to the ground so she can work!" Eda instructed.
However, getting her down from the sky was not going to be the hard part. The Raven Beast, despite experiencing the pain of Phantomization, flew straight for Eda and Gwen.
"MOM! WATCH OUT!" Eda warned as she pushed her mother onto the flying tiles behind her.
The Raven Beast barreled into Eda, sending both of them flying off the roof and onto the streets below. Eda grabbed both of the Raven Beast's claws by the wrist, while dodging its attempts to snap at her with its jaws.
"LILY! YOU HAVE TO CALM DOWN OR YOU'LL DIE!" Eda urged.
The Raven Beast only roared and raised its head up, preparing to go for her throat. Right before the Raven Beast could land its killing blow, Witch jumped off her Speeder, somersaulted in midair, and hit the ground in a classic hero landing, and pressed her right palm against the street.
[Fissure, Please.]
The street broke apart and from those cracks emerged dozens of vines that shot towards the Raven Beast like angry vipers. Several wrapped themselves around the Raven Beast's neck, preventing it from coming down to bite at Eda, while others ensnared her by the wrists, and body, pulling the Raven Beast off Eda and dragging her backwards.
"Nice work, Witch!" Eda praised.
"Not done yet! Get back!"
The Fissure ring glowed, and right after, the vines that had tangled up the Raven Beast began to bloom with blue colored flowers. Eda quickly backed away just as the flowers released a sparkling blue powder into the air, and as soon the beast inhaled it became drowsy. A couple seconds later, the Raven Beast hit the ground, completely unconscious and fast asleep. Witch made a motion with her right hand and made the flowers suck in their sleep-inducing pollen before retreating back into the vines.
Now that the area was safe, Witch ran over to the Raven Beast, who was still in the midst of Phantomization.
Eda walked over and bit her lower lip with worry. "I don't know how you're even going to get a ring on her finger while she's like this…Let's give her the elixir and turn her back so you can!"
"We already lost enough time just restraining her, we have to take care of this now or we'll lose her," said Witch. "Besides, I have an idea!"
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go!
Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
[Big, Please.]
Witch took out her Engage ring just as she conjured her magic circle. Eda understood what Witch was going to do and hurried to the Raven Beast's right claw, freeing it from the vines and raising one of its fingers up. The hero of hope carefully inserted her hand through the magic circle, where it appeared on the other side, but at three times its normal size, along with the ring she was holding. Carefully, she managed to slip the Engage ring over the Raven Beast's talon, allowing Witch to extract her hand from the circle.
"Keep holding that claw up for just a bit more, Eda!"
"Well, hurry up! It's heavier now with that ring!"
Witch quickly shifted back to Light Style and hoped this would work. "I know you're angry at your mom and Eda, but you can't lose hope, Lilith! And I'll make sure of it! Just gotta…"
It was…awkward, to say the least as Witch tried to position the belt so that the Hand Author could scan enlarged Engage ring.
"Almost…there…please, work!"
[Engage, Please.]
"Oh, thank Titan!"
Witch jumped back just as Eda released the Raven Beast's claw, letting hit the ground unceremoniously. Witch's magic portal appeared next to the Raven Beast, and without a moment's delay, she jumped straight into it. However, what neither of them realized was that something else zipped past the group and through the portal.
~(LILITH'S UNDERWORLD)~
Witch fell through the long tunnel of violet light until she emerged in…Hexside?
"Okay, that's the second time I've seen an Underworld that was modeled after Hexside," Witch commented.
"Be on your guard, I can already sense the Phantom."
There were many cracks all over the place, Lilith's Underworld was in bad shape, and the time it took to wrangle her only allowed the Inner Phantom to rampage uncontested.
"Ugh, this couldn't have happened at a worse time!" Witch exclaimed as she burst through a window and ran around to the front of the school.
Then she saw it, the Inner Phantom. It was a bird, not surprising considering she was Eda's sister, and just like when Witch entered Eda's Underworld, she found the Owl Beast, rather, the Raven Beast, in the middle of battling the Inner Phantom. Owl Beast's form was different, it had more black plumage like the Raven Beast, and was bigger than its original. The Raven Beast's enemy was a demonic looking crow, with three legs, shadowy wings, red eyes, and long tail feathers, also made of shadows.
"Ah, Yatagarasu, haven't seen him in a while."
"Of course, you know him. Any problems with taking him down?"
"Are you kidding? That three-legged turkey always gave me grief! Luz, it would be my genuine pleasure to take him down!"
"Sweet! Then c'mon on out!"
[OwlRise, Please.]
A supersized version of her magic circle appeared overhead, and from it flew out La Lechuza in all her glory.
"Think we can count on the that cursed creature to understand that we're not here to fight it?" La Lechuza asked.
"I'm hoping so, but if not, I don't want to take any chances. We're going to go all out and take this thing down!"
Witch took off her Light Style ring and slipped on her Fire Owl ring.
[FIRE OWL.]
[Moyasu! MO~YA~SU!]
A flaming owl rose up and wrapped its wings around Witch's body, her armor began to shift as she entered her Super Form, Fire Owl Style. The use of her Super Form rings had an effect on La Lechuza, now giving her red accents as her metallic feathers changed into pure raging flames.
"It's showtime!"
[Ride, Please.]
The Witch Speeder appeared, and just like before, the white coloring of the Speeder changed to a red color while the insignia changed to white. Witch mounted her Speeder and took off into the air alongside La Lechuza.
The Raven Beast was locked in combat with Yatagarasu, but just like the Owl Beast before it, the cursed creature was no match for a Phantom. Yatagarasu grabbed the Raven Beast by its throat and threw it straight for the school, where it crashed through one of the walls. The wings of the demon crow flared, and from them it fired out several black shadow blades that rained down on that location.
However, Witch intercepted by firing multiple mana bolts from her Speeder. With the added power of Fire Owl Style, when the bolts hit, they created a powerful explosion that burned away the shadow shards before they could reach the Raven Beast. Yatagarasu was about to attack again but was tackled by La Lechuza from the left.
"HI, YATA! MISS ME?!"
The Phantom screeched at La Lechuza, although Witch had no idea what it was saying, apparently La Lechuza did.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
La Lechuza released Yatagarasu, and then wing slapped it with across the beak. The side of Yatagarasu's face burned from the flaming wing, but it had little time to counter as La Lechuza flapped both of her wings forward, sending a burst of flames roaring at the Phantom crow. The wall of flames slammed against Yatagarasu and sent it flying in the other direction.
Witch flew up next to La Lechuza and asked, "What did he say that got you so ticked off?"
"Something I'm not about to repeat for your pure ears," she remarked.
"Why does everyone think I can't handle swearing?"
La Lechuza just gave her host a deadpan stare.
"Anyway, let's wrap this–!" Suddenly, the Raven Beast flew in and attacked Witch, knocking her right off the Speeder. "OH, C'MON!" Witch quickly took out her Quetzalcoatl ring and quickly scanned it.
[ VERY NICE, QUETZALCOATL! FABULOUS! ]
A fiery construct of La Lechuza appeared, it flew around Witch for a moment before merging into her body, creating the Owl Wings. With the new additions to her armor, Witch pulled out of her fall and began to hover in the air. She spotted the Raven Beast as it, too, hovered in the air some feet away.
"Seriously?! I just saved you! You know, your other half was way nicer than you!"
"Do you need me to take care of that thing? Or can I go back to beating on Yata?"
"No, again, no time to waste!"
[Bind, Please.]
Fire construct ropes appeared out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around the cursed creature, keeping it locked up. La Lechuza flew over and grabbed the Raven Beast in her right talon and flew down until she as over the ground and dropped the thing. However, that's when they heard Yatagarasu screeching in far in the distance. The sound was so ear-splittingly chilling that it actually made Witch shudder.
"Lala, was that Yatagarasu?!"
"Yes…but he's in pain…no, that screech just now, that was a death screech!"
Witch looked at her Inner Phantom in confusion. "A 'death screech,' you mean it's dying?! How can it be dying; we didn't even hit it hard yet?!"
"I don't like this! Hurry, Luz!"
Witch flew back to her Speeder and both her and La Lechuza flew in the direction where Yatagarasu landed. But, as they got closer, something happened. Once they reached a certain distance, both Witch and La Lechuza were hit with an all-consuming fear that paralyzed them where they were. It was oppressive, as if they had just hit a wall of pure fear, like something was on other side of this invisible wall that all their primal senses were screaming at them to not go any further than this.
"L-Lala, w-what's going on?!"
"I…I don't know…! I-I've never felt this before!"
They could still hear the sounds of Yatagarasu dying, from where they were, they could see the Phantom crow struggling to rise, some of its wings and talon were flailing about, as if trying to escape something, but they could not make it out. Witch focused, she had to try and see what was attacking the Inner Phantom, there should not be anything that could attack an Inner Phantom other than herself or Heka. With some difficulty, Witch managed to slip on her Sight ring.
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go!
Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
[Sight, Please.]
Witch's visor glowed bright as the enhanced vision of the Sight ring went to work. She began zooming in on that area, however, the more she zoomed in, the greater her fear rose. It was if she was in a horror movie, she felt as if she was about to see something she should not, and every fiber of her being was telling her to not see it. But she swallowed as much of her fear as she could and continued to zoom in. That's when she saw it, well, not quite. She saw something, but it was covered in shadows, but whatever it was, it was strong.
It was holding down Yatagarasu with little effort, and amongst the shadows she could see two pairs of glowing red eyes. But what she saw next made her blood run cold, the unknown entity opened its mouth, which glowed a bright scarlet red, and then…bit into Yatagarasu. But it did not stop there, it kept biting the Phantom, no, it was eating the Phantom.
"W-What do you see, Niña?!"
"Something…Something is EATING Yatagarasu…"
"WHAT?!"
As if sensing her eyes upon it, the entity turned its head slowly, but its movements were jagged, and fidgety. And that's when the entity released a horrifying screeching roar that reached them all the way to where they were and sent the two of them flying back.
Now out of the fear zone, they were able to regain their senses, but it was too late. Yatagarasu's flailing ceased as it went still, and then it broke down into particles of violet light, which were then sucked down towards the ground. But Witch knew what was doing that, the entity was still consuming Yatagarasu, right down to its last bit. A bright light flashed in that same area for a moment, and then that light faded away.
Witch and La Lechuza rushed to the spot where Yatagarasu fell. The area had a lot of trees missing thanks to Yatagarasu's thrashing about, but there was no sign of the monster that she saw that ate the Inner Phantom.
"Nononononono! This isn't good! This is NOT good! We can't heal the damage if we weren't the ones who defeated the Phantom! No! No! NO!"
The Underworld began to rumble, and the cracks were spreading quicker.
"Niña, this is bad! If we can't fix this damage, Lilith's soul will collapse, and she'll be lost forever! And us along with her!"
"I can't let this happen… not after Nana Gwen is ready to make things right with her! There has to be something I can do!"
That's when her ring loop began to shine, more specifically, one ring in particular. Witch unhooked the ring from the loop and saw that the ring that was glowing was the Healing ring, one of two rings Viney helped her to forge.
"Do you think something like that can heal all of this?! We should leave before we're caught in the collapse!"
Witch furrowed her brow. "No, not until I know I did everything I could!" The hero of hope flew back to Hexside and landed in the courtyard. "Please, work…"
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go!
Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
[Healing, Please.]
With the amplifying power of Fire Owl Style, Witch dropped to one knee and pressed her open right palm against the ground. A wave of cerulean light washed over the area and layered itself over the cracks. La Lechuza watched as the entire Underworld shuddered as the light of the Healing ring tried to close the cracks. However, she could sense that her host was struggling, healing a wound was one thing, but healing a soul?
"C'mon! C'mon!" Witch begged as she poured as much of her mana as she could.
La Lechuza rolled her eyes as she said, "¡Juro que esta niña va a ser mi muerte! (I swear this child will be the death of me!)"
The great Owl Phantom landed on the ground behind Witch as she flared out her wings. La Lechuza's body began to glow as she synchronized with the Healing ring's power. With the additional, willing support, of La Lechuza, the light of the Healing ring released a near blinding brilliance that washed over the entirety of the Underworld. The cracks began to seal themselves in a matter of seconds, and after a whole minute, Lilith's Underworld was repaired as if nothing had ever happened. The Raven Beast was released from its restraints, sneered at La Lechuza and Witch, and then flew away.
Witch panted from the effort, feeling exhausted from expanding so much mana. The young hero glanced over her shoulder and saw that La Lechuza was exhausted as well. "Thank you, Lala."
"Don't get the wrong idea…this was self-preservation. If you die, so do I," La Lechuza argued.
"Thanks anyway."
Just then, Witch watched as a scene played out before her, a scene of a young Lilith and a young Eda, both studying and playing together at Hexside, while surrounded by other younger versions of some the residents she met on the Boiling Isles. La Lechuza's portal opened, allowing the Inner Phantom to pass through it and return to Witch's Underworld. Afterwards, Witch's exit appeared. She was about to leave, but paused to glance over her shoulder, in the direction where the entity was.
"What were you?"
With that said, Witch left the Underworld.
~(OVERWORLD)~
Eda, Gwen, Owlbert, and King waited patiently, and Eda was getting worried, for some reason she had a feeling something was not right. But her fears were put to rest when she saw the cracks on Lilith's body fade away. Witch's magic circle appeared next to the Raven Beast, and from it emerged Witch. She quickly went to work, removing the big Engage ring from Lilith's talon, and shrinking it back to its normal size.
"You okay?" Eda asked.
"Yes…No…I'll tell you later, but for right now, we have to get Lilith back to normal," said Witch.
Witch's sleeping pollen trick was wearing off, and the Raven Beast began thrashing about. Eda rushed over and used her claws to hold the cursed creature down. Gwen walked up and kneeled before her daughter as she gently held both sides of her face.
"Oh, Lilith, you were always so self-sufficient." Gwen began to caress her daughter's bestial face, causing the beast to calm down a bit. "But even so, that's no excuse for not giving you the attention you deserved. I'm so sorry, my little sweet flea. I do see you, and I love you."
The Raven Beast stopped it thrashing, and it began to cry. Somehow Lilith had broken through and heard her, if only a part of her, she even nuzzled into her mother's touch. Gwen glanced over her shoulder to King and nodded to him.
King popped open the elixir bottles and poured the contents of both into Eda and Lilith's mouths. Upon consuming the elixir, both beasts' bodies began to glow as they rose into the air. A pillar of golden light erupted around Eda and Lilith as they ascended, with only their silhouettes visible. Within a matter of seconds, a flash of light went off and when it dimmed, the Clawthorne sisters were back to normal, and floating back down to the ground.
"Whoa…Mort, what did you put in that batch?"
Gwen caught both her daughters and held them close to her.
"Glad we got that straightened out, mom," said Eda.
Lilith was sobbing as she said, "Mom, I heard you, but I couldn't stop myself. I…I couldn't do anything…"
"Shh, shh, it's okay. Everything will be okay now," she cooed, hugging both her daughters close to her to grant them comfort.
King walked up and stood next to Witch as he said, "She was…trying to do her best, huh?"
"Yeah, she went overboard, and ignored everything else. But she did it to save her child, and I can't completely fault her for that," said Witch.
King tugged at Witch's coat. "Then…maybe there's a reason why my dad left me behind?"
Witch smiled down at King and picked him up. "I'm sure he had a good reason, King."
After all was said and done, everyone returned to the Owl House, where Luz was finally allowed to collapse from exhaustion. Of course, in that time when she was asleep, Eda explained their situation to her mother, making sure that she would promise to keep Luz's identity a secret. She did leave out the part about Luz's battle with Belos, and the fact that he said he needed her to eliminate the Phantoms. Pretty much they omitted a few things that would cause their mother to worry more than she already was. Lilith had asked Eda to give her some time alone with their mother to talk, which was fine as she wanted to check in on Luz. It took a few hours, but after some rest and a copious amount of sugar consumption, Luz was able to get back on her feet. Now Luz, Gwen, and Eda were outside, it was time for the old witch woman to head back home.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, but I-I just wanted to help. I should've trusted you more. Instead of that swindler," said Gwen.
Eda smiled and gave her mother playful punch on the arm. "Yeah, you should've. But, hey, don't be a stranger. Okay, Mom?"
Gwen smiled at her daughter, but then turned her attention to Luz. "And Luz, I'm so glad my daughter is the mentor to such a strong, kind, and courageous young girl as you. You needn't worry, I'll keep your secret, and I'll be rooting for you."
"Thanks, Nana Gwen," said Luz happily.
"Wait, 'Nana Gwen'?" Eda asked. "When did this happen?"
"We bonded, dear. Plus, at the current rate of things, Luz here is the closest thing I'll have to a granddaughter," she explained.
"MOM!" Eda exclaimed in embarrassment.
Just then Lilith kicked open the door to the house and proclaimed, "Mom! I'm ready!"
"Huh?" King, Luz, and Eda questioned.
" Well, we were talking, and I've decided to go home with Mother and make up for lost time," Lilith explained.
"Wait, you lived here?" King asked, confused.
"WHAT?!" Hooty yelled in shock.
Gwen's expression shifted to one of sadness as she said, "Edalyn, Lilith told me how she gave you the curse." The matriarch of the Clawthorne family gently took Lilith's right hand into her left, and Eda's left into her right. "I am so, so sorry to you both, to have this secret weighing you down…I wish I knew sooner."
Lilith smiled at her mother and added, "There's still a lot to be learned about this curse, but…it'll be nice to spend some time home and reconnect with Dad."
Eda's breath hitched when Lilith mentioned their father, that was still a sore subject for her.
"We'll be away for a while, but we have plenty of elixirs stocked up!" Gwen demonstrated this by pulling out many bottles from her hair.
"Someday my hair is gonna be big enough to that, too," said Luz in a tone of admiration.
King glanced at Luz and raised a questioning brow. "You actually want that?"
That's when Hooty could take no more and stretched himself around Luz, Eda, and King, as he cried, "No! Lulu, you can't!"
Lilith gently cupped his cheek and promised, "Hootsifer, I have to. But don't worry, we can be pen pals."
Hooty watched as Lilith walked away and wailed, "BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEEEEEEEEN!"
As Hooty was crying in dirt, Gwen approached Luz. "Luz, if it weren't for you, I might still be wrapped up in Wortlop's lies. So, here's what I should've told you from the start." Gwen bent down closer to Luz and said, "You're not the only human to have lived in Bonesborough."
Luz gasped, and La Lechuza became very intrigued.
"There's a rare substance called Titan's blood. It is extremely powerful and sometimes causes leaks between our realms. Plants, animals…And you guys have a lot of garbage, by the way. But humans are rare. My great grandmother told me about a human who once lived here. But one day he just vanished. Rumor has it he left something in the library, and if you can find out more about him…"
Luz's eyes widened, sparkling with renewed hope. "Then maybe I could find out how he got here!"
"Exactly," said Gwen as she winked at her adopted granddaughter.
With their goodbyes said, Gwen and Lilith rode their staffs into the air, and left the Owl House.
Eda groaned and stretched her body until a series of pops went off. "Well, that was emotionally and physically exhausting. I'm gonna be on the couch for the next twenty-four hours."
"What?! No, wait! I call the couch!" King shouted as he followed after Eda.
Luz watched as her mentor and adopted little brother walked back into the house, but her mind was still fixed on what happened in Lilith's Underworld.
"You're not going to tell them what happened in there?"
"Not yet, I mean, I still don't know what happened in there. And I don't want to worry them, or Amity, until there's something to worry about," said Luz.
"I'd say something eating a Phantom like a snack is worrying enough. But…I have to concur. I've never seen anything like that before, I couldn't even tell if it was a Phantom or not."
Luz sighed, just one more mystery to pile on top of the others. The Latina looked up into the starry sky, this whole ordeal reminding Luz of her own mother. It had been months since she came to the Demon Realm, and surely by now the camp she was supposed to be at had ended. Luz's heart ached as she thought about her mother, probably crying, wondering where she was, there was probably an Amber Alert already issued for her.
"Wait just a bit longer, Mom. I'll come back."
Meanwhile, back in the Human Realm. The Noceda household was filled with the sounds of Camilla Noceda sobbing as she sat on the couch in the living room. The living room lights were turned off, and the only illumination provided was from the TV.
After a moment, Camilla stopped sobbing and said, "I'm sorry. These animal documentaries always make me such a mess."
"I guess that's why you love working as a veterinarian so much."
Camilla smiled. "Well, that's part of it." The older woman sniffled a bit, but then she was handed a box of tissues. "Thank you, mija."
Sitting there next to Camilla, despite the fact that she was currently trapped in the Demon Realm, was Luz, smiling happily at Camilla.
"Of course, Mama…I love you."
Camilla wiped her eyes with the tissues. "I love you, too, mi corazón."