Chapter Thirteen

"Everyone has a use, Hunter. Kikimora has her intricate little plans, the scouts carry out orders, and you, well … The Titan has big plans for you. And it would be such a hassle to find a replacement. So, right now you can be useful by staying safe in the castle."

"Uncle, you said I was redeemed with those palismen. I can take another mission. I swear, I can be better!"

"…Goodnight, Hunter."

Hunter paced the length of his quarters as he mulled over Belos's words, his mask tossed to lay on his desk. A large part of him was screaming that he was replaceable. Which meant that he was no longer useful. Panic tried to well up inside him as he feared he was failing his uncle.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lil Rascal's chirps, the cardinal hopping up and down and, in his palismen language, shouting that he was perfect the way he was. That Kikimora was bound to fail anyway. That he had nothing to prove to Belos.

"Thanks, Bird," Hunter said fondly, offering his palm for him to settle in. Lil Rascal twittered happily and fluttered to the offered hand before settling in. Then his unmarred eye opened and he looked up at Hunter and tweeted, 'You know, if Belos wants you to stay safe … there's no safer place than the Owl House.'

Hunter arched his eyebrows. "You are suggesting I break the rules?"

'You mean Belos's rules?' Rascal twittered. 'Absolutely.' He hopped up and down. 'Come on. Willow might be there!'

Hunter grit his teeth. Invoking Willow was a cheap shot and Lil Rascal knew it … but it was working. "Okay, you know what? Yeah! Why chase after Titan's Blood that may or may not exist when I can be normal for a change?"

Hunter shed his cloak and over-tunic and wrapped them around his mechanized staff to place on his pillow, then tied a maroon jacket around his waist and gathered a few odds and ends to take to the Owl House before gesturing to Lil Rascal. The cardinal twittered and expanded into his staff-form for Hunter to mount. Before he did Hunter traced a circle with the staff, a glamour to render them all but invisible.

Illusion magic was so underrated.

With a double-check to make sure he had what he needed, he nodded and jumped out the window before mounting his staff, a surge of will tapping into his palisman's magic that sent him hurtling like a comet across the Boiling Isles.

Steve cringed as Kikimora's shrill voice echoed across the Knee. She'd been screaming at all of them to work faster in spite of the clear and obvious danger. The tunnels were still unstable even after all the work they'd put in over the last two or so weeks, but the Emperor's aide seemed determined to finish her mission no matter how many scouts she ran through.

No to mention her paranoia about the Golden Guard was getting very annoying.

"Hey, Steve! Jump over that chasm before I throw you in it!" He flinched and did as he was told, believing fully that she would keep her word. He landed and caught his breath, only to flinch at the sound of one of the Abomi-tons firing its arm cannon at a distant tree.

"Ma'am, is everything alright?" Captain Cisor asked frantically.

'I hope not,' Steve thought bitterly.

"I just thought I heard an annoying voice," Kikimora growled.

Steve tilted his head and traced a small spell circle for Oracle magic, one that would let him see things close by. The tree … had nothing near it. Not even footprints. Titan's Horns, "paranoid" didn't even come close to covering that tiny demon's issues!

Hunter slowed as he neared the Owl House, bracing himself for disappointment. When he was a boy, he'd overheard Captain Gall say once to always expect the worst, that way you could never be let down. He understood the reasoning behind it, but he refused to believe that about Willow or Luz as individuals. Still, what were the odds that all of his friends were here on this exact day?

Hunter landed and Lil Rascal shrunk back into his bird form to perch on Hunter's gloved wrist with tired twitters. "Yeah, take a breather," Hunter said, "you've earned it." They finally focused on the Owl House, and both of them blinked in surprise at the long tube that Hooty could stretch into meandering around the house. They traded a glance and Hunter began jogging around the house to find the tube leading back into the house through the back door.

When Hunter entered the back door himself, carefully avoiding touching the house demon, what he found somehow made even less sense than Hooty's wandering. He, Gus, and Willow had some strange, presumably human-made devices covering their ears and were bobbing their heads to something. Hunter sniffed and caught the smell of something burning before he realized soup on the stove was boiling over and he rushed to take it from the stove.

"Hello?" Willow asked, startled by the blur, and she looked at him … and her eyes widened with shock. "Hunter?!" she cried in joy, removing her ear-devices and barreling into him with a hug. He laughed and returned the hug … and then Luz's voice came from upstairs.

"… Guys?!" She sounded really bad.

"Luz!" Willow cried in shock, kissing Hunter's cheek before they all ran upstairs, Hooty stretching behind them. Hunter shrugged and followed suit. They eventually arrived at what he assumed was Luz's bedroom to find the human … Oh Titan, she looked awful.

"Common mold?" Hunter asked.

"Uh-huh," Gus said as Willow checked Luz over.

"Luz, you should be in your bedroll," Willow scolded.

"But gotta warn them," Luz said frantically, typing away at some small yellow device. "Diary, Fool's Blood, really bad."

"Fool's Blood?" Hunter asked. "Why would that be an issue?"

"Diary entry," Luz repeated, sweat pouring down her face and neck. "Echo mouse, Titan's …" She groaned and finally passed out, collapsing backward with loud snores.

"Um, from someone who's not delirious?" Hunter asked.

"Eda, King, and Amity are searching for Titan's Blood for the portal to the human realm," Gus explained. "That echo mouse," he pointed at the little beast demon exploring the room, "ate a human's diary that has been helping Luz figure it out. He said there was Titan's Blood at Eclipse Lake, where he first got here."

"But the other thing about 'Fool's Blood' is new," Willow mused, wiping Luz's brow with a damp washcloth.

"It signifies a decaying vein," Hunter said without thinking. "Maybe another entry was read?" Hunter knelt and opened a palm to the echo mouse. It seemed tense, but relaxed and came to his palm. Hunter nodded to Lil Rascal, who expanded so that Hunter could trace a tiny spell circle over its head like a halo before the cardinal returned to normal. "Let's see what you had to say today, little guy."

The magic seeped into the echo mouse and it stood on its hind legs to begin playing back an entry, creating silhouettes like shadow puppets depicting a scruffy, but well-dressed human with long hair in a ponytail. "After five years I have finally found it. A power source so potent it can pierce through realms. Titan's Blood." An image of the Titan bleeding into water, which grew into an image of veins that ended in bubbles or pools with trees inside.

"There are old tales of lakes reflecting green trees and blue skies." Hunter stood straighter at the reference to the human realm that Belos had spoken of. "The Titan's veins run through the land. And many believe that these wild portals are created when a little of its blood leaks into the water. That is how I came here. So that is the first place I shall look. I must journey back to … Eclipse Lake." A map of the Knee appeared that Hunter quickly committed to memory, and then the echo mouse's eyes flashed … and another memory played.

"My journey to Eclipse Lake has been a success," the author narrated, images of him holding a vial of Titan's Blood with a triumphant smile that transitioned into more images of him horrified, and then grieving, "and yet, a tragic failure. The tunnels were filled with a substance known as Fool's Blood." An image of organic-looking orbs in a cave appeared. "It signifies a decaying vein." The image of the orbs was replaced by crushing stones. Hunter looked at his friends with a look that said, 'I told you so,' before they refocused.

"I was lucky to get out alive." An image of many footprints moving to the left, while the author walked right. "My companions … were not."

With that, the echo mouse squeaked in fatigue and curled up into a ball to sleep. As Gus picked it up and placed it in a terrarium, Willow was clearly thinking through what she'd heard. Hunter glanced down at Lil Rascal and arched his eyebrows at the cardinal. He was staring with unnerving intensity at the wall where the projection had played.

'Philip,' he twittered sadly.

"You know that guy?" Hunter whispered to him. How old was this bird?

"We have to warn Amity!" Willow resolved, making for the door.

"Willow, wait!" Gus said, racing to hold her back by the shoulder. "We need to take care of Luz!"

"You can do that," Willow insisted.

"Are you kidding?!" Gus asked. "What if she wakes up again. She's way too strong for my weak nerd arms!"

"I'll go," Hunter said. Both of them looked at him, three if you counted Hooty at the door. "I wasn't part of the plan," he explained. "I can go warn them." He tapped his temple with a faint, smug grin. "Besides, I have the map up here now. I have a good idea of where Eclipse Lake is."

Willow and Gus looked at each other for a few moments before Willow sighed and nodded. She stepped forward and took his face in her hands before softly kissing him. "Be careful," she whispered.

"I will," he whispered back, leaning his forehead against hers.

"You'd better get going," Gus said with a faint smile. "Time, essence, and so on."

"Yeah, I'm on my way." He raced down the stairs and out the door, Lil Rascal expanding yet again for him to mount and fly away. "Let's go, Lil Rascal," he said, and they teleported again.

Amity ran as fast as she could, King clinging to her back and shoulder. She felt terrible leaving Eda behind, but the Owl Lady had assured them that she would buy them time. She just had to trust in her to be better than a captain of the Emperor's Coven.

The mission had been pretty straightforward at first. Make their way through the old mines to avoid the Emperor's Coven, get to Eclipse Lake, get the Titan's Blood for Luz's portal, get out, and bask in Luz's adoration. But with Kikimora and her goons blocking the tunnels and Eda and King not taking this seriously, Amity had been forced to take action to distract the vultures so they could get past them.

And Luz's strange messages had made it even more vexing. Try as she might — and boy, did she try! — Amity couldn't figure them out! It was the latest one that had scared her the most. As much as she didn't want to think Luz would level an ultimatum like this … it seemed like she wanted Titan's Blood more than she wanted Amity.

After that, they'd come across the orbs of something that Eda had thought might be Titan's Blood, but when she struck it, the ground collapsed and sent Eda and king hurtling into darkness. Amity had barely jumped back to avoid it, but the sound had alerted Kikimora and her squad. Amity cursed herself for freezing with indecision, torn between flying down to rescue the Clawthornes or press ahead for the lake, and her moment of weakness had let the Emperor's Coven catch up.

The coven had captured her, apparently unconcerned with her identity and Kikimora ranting about the Golden Guard. She and some scouts had raced down the tunnel tracks in one of her parents' Abomi-tons while the captain had cast her down the crevice, too. Eda had caught her, and King had convinced her to try bargaining with the Owl Beast of her curse to change into the Harpy Eda form Amity had only seen once before. She'd managed it with barely a second to spare and flown them to a crash site of the coven, where they'd encountered that one conscious captain and Eda had stayed behind.

After a few more minutes of running, she and King finally made it to a cavern that matched the image on Luz's map, an image heavy on artistic license with purple mountains surrounded by flowers, a sun wearing sunglasses, a picture of Luz in the lake, and even a tiny "u did it" note in the corner. Amity lowered the map to find an empty pit under a hole in the cave ceiling, trees still growing along the former banks.

"No …" Amity whispered before falling to her knees. "No, no, no …"

Hunter patted the figurine of Lil Rascal as he flew around the Knee, keeping his eyes peeled for a crevice or cavern that would lead to Eclipse Lake. And hopefully Amity, Eda, and King. "Just a little longer, little guy," Hunter whispered. He had a feeling that Lil Rascal was exhausted after two teleporting flights across the Isles.

"There!" Hunter said aloud at the sight of a large hole in the ground, shivering and glad he'd brought his maroon jacket. "That could lead to an underground lake." He eased Lil Rascal down into the hole to find … a dried-up lake surrounded by barren trees. Where was the Titan's Blood? Before he could think about it, he noticed Amity on her knees at the lake's edge, eyes unfocused and despondent, with King sitting on a curving root next to her.

"Hey," he called as he landed, Lil Rascal retracting and perching on his shoulder with a tired chirp.

"Hunter?" King asked, blinking rapidly in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he said with a shrug. "Luz learned about Fool's Blood and I volunteered to come warn you."

"Fool's Blood …" Amity whispered, her face twisting with despair.

"Must be that bulgy stuff that cracked open the floor," King agreed. Then he looked up at Hunter. "Wait, you talked to Luz?"

"I found some time off," he deflected, figuring they wouldn't care about the specifics. "Willow and Gus stayed behind to keep an eye on her." He eyed Amity with unease. "What's with her?"

"I failed," Amity said brokenly. "Luz was counting on me and I failed. There's no Titan's Blood." She heaved with a repressed sob and pulled a yellow device like the one Luz had used. "I'm sorry, Luz."

"So what's with the thing?" Hunter asked, trying to be delicate. "Luz had one, too."

"Luz has been sending me these strange … human codes. I don't get most of them, but this seems clear. Come back with Titan Blood, or …"

Hunter looked over her shoulder at the string of symbols. "That … doesn't sound like Luz," he said, mind whirling. He thought he saw what she saw, but it didn't make sense.

King grunted in his way and turned the device in Amity's palm. She gasped at the new message. "U-R-RAD." She hit a button. "FOOLS-BLOOD-BAD." Click. "U-OK?" Click. "COME-HOME." Amity chuckled, clutching the device like al lifeline. "Of course. This is Luz we're talking about." Her smile faded. "But I still don't have Titan's Blood."

"Why do you even need more?" Hunter asked. "Did the portal key run out?"

Amity stiffened and looked at him with wide eyes, clutching at the top of her coat. "There's blood in the key?"

Hunter suddenly realized that Amity had the portal key with her. If he could snatch it and get it back to Belos- No! He grit his teeth and forcefully shoved aside the thought. Even if he could swipe it without Amity knowing, she'd figure it out. And that would be a betrayal of not only Amity and Luz, but Gus, Eda, King … and Willow.

"Of course there's blood in the key," Hunter said, laying on as much nerdy derision as he could. "Don't you guys know anything about what you're handling?"

Amity narrowed her eyes before letting out a faint laugh. "We have a lot in common, don't we?" she asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

"We both know what it's like to be desperate to show what we can do for others," Amity explained. "I grew up thinking that everything was an opportunity to justify existing. And that failure was the worst possible outcome …"

"Because there's nothing worse than disappointing someone who thinks you're special," Hunter said, folding his arms in discomfort.

"But I've learned that there are people who won't make you feel worthless," Amity continued, giving Hunter a significant look that said on its own, So have you. "You just have to open yourself up to them."

Hunter was silent as he chewed on her words. Part of him was horrified that Amity knew even a part of what he was feeling. But another was heartened by the fact that he wasn't alone. But an even smaller part of him wondered … did Belos really make him feel worthless? He thought about it some more under Amity and King's eyes and realized that Yes, he did. But was it on purpose?

"Well, they're toast for now!"

Hunter shouted in shock and backed up into a fighting stance at the appearance of some kind of — wait a minute …

"Eda?" he asked in surprise.

"Heya, Blondie," Eda greeted, her voice echoing with something feral. "When'd you show up?"

"Luz sent me to warn you about Fool's Blood."

"So that's what that was," Eda mused. "Any luck with the-?" She seemed to realize the lake was dried up. "Oh. Dang it."

"Actually, it's not a real loss," Amity said, fishing the portal key from her coat to show Eda. Hunter pressed his lips tight and turned away to prevent temptation, part of him still railing to snatch the key and present it to Belos. "Hunter says there's blood in the key."

"That actually makes sense," Eda said. "So with this fool's errand over, who wants to bounce?"

Lil Rascal tweeted that he was still tired. "Mind if we hitch a ride?" Hunter asked drolly.

"Why not?" Amity said with a faux-haughty tone. "It's what friends do."

"Ow, ow, ow! Just get an elixir!"

Luz, Willow, Gus, Hooty and the palismen ran down the stairs and into the living room to find Amity, King, and Hunter trying to get Harpy Eda in through the door.

"Well, I got into harpy mode," Eda explained, "and now I can't get out."

"She also ate, like, nine voles on the way home," King groused.

"Hey, I had to keep up my end of the bargain," Eda defended.

"Speaking of which," Hunter said, letting Eda go and holding up a wriggling rodent. He tossed it up and Eda fell forward to catch it in her mouth and swallow it while with a gag, then tripped and fell forward, taking Amity and King with her.

"Amity!" Luz shouted as she crashed into her with a hug. "I'm so glad my awesome girlfriend is okay."

Amity blushed with a smile. "Me too."

Willow smiled at the display, then looked around for Hunter. She couldn't see- Willow gasped as something tall and firm pressed up behind her, arms snaking around her waist. "Hey," Hunter whispered in her ear.

"Hi," Willow whispered back, leaning into him and savoring his presence. "I'm glad my awesome boyfriend is okay."

"Well, he's just glad to be here, with you, his awesome girlfriend," Hunter said, kissing her cheek.

"So did you find Titan's Blood?" Willow asked, reaching back to run her fingers over his cheek.

"We didn't need to," Hunter answered with a faint laugh. "There's blood in the portal key."

"Really?" Willow asked. "Why didn't Eda say anything?"

"I don't think she knew," Hunter replied.

Willow hummed in thought before smiling and gently pulling away to take Hunter's hands and lead him to the couch. "What's going on?" he asked.

"We didn't get much time together before," Willow replied. "But you're here now." She sat, crossing her legs in a decidedly feminine way, and patted the cushion next to her. Hunter smiled and sat so that Willow could curl into his side, content to just be there with him.

As they watched Luz and Gus play with King and Amity discussing portal details with Eda, still in her harpy mode, Willow pursed her lips in thought. "Mattholomule said something very interesting the other day." Hunter shifted to look at her and she met his eyes before explaining the concerns of the Glandus students, one with a grudge against the Amethyst Artisan and the other with a crush on the Silver Belle.

"Is there anything I can do?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know," Willow admitted. Then she smiled and moved to kiss his cheek. "But just asking makes me feel better about it."

"Well, maybe this will help even more," Hunter said as he moved to take something from inside his jacket. He showed her a plant with a white, bell-shaped flower, one that Willow recognized immediately.

"A Heart Lily?" she gasped. She gently took the flower and felt a spell on it, one that preserved plucked flowers. "I thought they were extinct."

"Belos has tried," Hunter said. "They're symbols of wild magic." His smile turned into a grin. "But every now and then they appear on the Titan's bile sac before he can kill them. I saw that and realized I haven't given my plant-loving girlfriend a flower yet."

Willow blushed and fluttered her eyelashes. "Thank you, Hunter," she whispered.

Hunter smiled and settled further into the couch, Willow easing into his chest as they basked in the warm, loving chaos of the Owl House.

Lucky number thirteen! It was a fun challenge to turn the plot of "Eclipse Lake" on its head. I do hope it was a good balance of familiar and creative. I've been looking forward to adapting the plot for months now!

*We've never gotten a real bead on how much magic an average palisman has at their own disposal, so i'm guessing for the sake of this work that it's roughly on par with an average witch/biped's bile sac. I'm also assuming that the trick Hunter did in 'Seperate Tides" where he flies ridiculously fast like a comet ("Byyyeeeee...!) takes quite a bit of juice.

*We really don't get a lot of demonstration of the emperor's coven using different kinds of magic. In my mind, Hunter is well-versed in all forms - hence he could use Beastkeeping magic to prod the echo mouse into replaying.

*One question I have about the mechanics of echo mice is when they replay a piece of text: is it gone forever, or can they replay it again and again? For the sake of this work, I'm going with the latter.

*For the sake of this work, Eda, King, and Amity's mission went essentially identical to in canon. Amity's despair at finding Eclipse Lake dry fed into her insecurities and led her to the conclusion of "find Titan Blood, or we're done" on her own.

As always, I hope you all had as much fun reading as I did writing. Please do leave a review! They are like caffeine, chocolate to me!

***SIDE NOTE AND SPOILERS FOR "Follies at the Coven Day Parade" : We all got a good look at the canon head witch of the Plant Coven, Terra Snapdragon. I am loving her deisgn and character so-far, but for those of you who wonder how it will impact this story ... it won't! For all intents and purposes, Lady Feronia is my own creation who happens to look exactly like Terra. Her characterization will continue to remain in-line with my own theories from before season 2B. I may however incorporate Terra into her reputation; who knows?***