Author's note: I feel like it's best that I be brief with this top note, but I can explain more at the bottom. I've taken a bit with this chapter. It's been written and rewritten several times and I just couldn't find time or motivation until recently. At the time of releasing this chapter, I just finished my last test and my last day of being a Junior in highschool, meaning I should be able to get the next and the remainder of the chapters out significantly sooner. Still, no promises. Either way, I won't hold you too long. I have a lot more to explain at the bottom. Enjoy.
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Title Message: Wit…
TW: Blood.
…
Destiny
Chapter Three
Trust
"Can you trust me," Eda asked, meeting Luz's eyes with unparalleled intent. She was on a knee just outside her home while the coven heads and her sister stood behind her. Luz fidgeted in place under the immense pressure of Eda's gaze.
"How-" she hesitated, "How can I know you won't get caught?"
Eda flashed a small smile, questioning "When have I ever gotten caught," with a hint of sarcasm. Luz's gaze fell to the ground and Eda immediately realized her mistake.
"Hey," she lifted the girl's chin, reassuring "It won't be like my petrification. We'll catch them by surprise this time."
Luz's shoulders fell once more, but she kept her eyes locked with Eda's, searching for some hint of doubt to pull at—some invisible argument that she could make to get her to stay home, but she couldn't find one.
Seeing her anxiety, Eda looked past her and called out, "Bossy boots, come here." Amity looked over and frowned at the cruel use of her nickname, but came over nonetheless as she saw Luz's downtrodden expression.
"Amity," she repeated, waiting for the teen to meet her eyes. Her tone confident, she questioned "Blight Industries won't expect an attack, right?"
Amity answered, her tone analytical, "No, they haven't said a thing, so-"
Eda cut her off with another question, "And we already have a perfect plan, right?"
Again, Amity tried to explain her answer, but was cut off as soon as she uttered the word "yes".
"So, Luz has nothing to worry about, right," she questioned one final time. Amity scoffed, simply nodding as she knew that any response she had would be interrupted. Finally, Luz piped up, "But why can't we come and help," she asked with a mixture of sorrow and lack of sleep in her face.
Eda still smiled, sighing softly as she got to her feet, rustling Luz's steadily growing hair.
"Can you trust me," she repeated, watching as her face dropped once more. Slowly, she nodded. Out of the girl's vision, Eda faltered for a moment, but as Luz looked up at her, she threw her smile back on.
Without warning, Luz lunged forward, enveloping the Owl Lady's waist in a tight embrace. "Don't get caught," she uttered as she squeezed the woman. Eda coughed, not having expected to be squished. Unable to catch her breath, she simply nodded, gasping, and as she was released, she finally affirmed, "I won't, kid" through ragged breaths
Silence hung between the two as Eda reciprocated the embrace, Amity watching awkwardly as the two finally released. "Now go inside. We'll all be back soon," she said, nudging her away. Her eyes shifted to Amity as Luz trudged past. The girl turned to follow, but Eda grabbed her by her arm, pulling her close.
As Luz finally walked through the door, Eda spoke to her in a cold tone. "Can I trust you to keep her safe," she asked, getting directly to her point.
Amity's eyes widened. She pulled her arm away from the woman, but nodded after checking that Luz wasn't watching.
"Of course you can, but what do you mean? You'll be back, right," she asked, confused. Eda dropped her shoulders, feeling less tense now. "Just-" she paused, "Just keep her safe if anything goes wrong. I need to know that she has someone watching over her… no matter what might happen."
Again, Amity nodded, but that wasn't enough.
"I need you to promise me. Luz really likes you—so do I, but please… promise me," she pled, anxiously stepping closer to the lavender haired teen.
Amity's face softened. Again, she looked behind her, only seeing an empty doorway. She met the Owl Lady's eyes once more.
"I promise. I'll do everything I can," Amity affirmed, furrowing her brow.
Eda sighed deeply, letting her face fall. She began backing away, slowly turning away as she held her staff, ready to mount. She looked back one final time. "Good," she said, repeatedly muttering the word to herself as she began to rise from the ground. Amity watched with confusion until she couldn't hear the woman anymore, then glanced to the door. As Eda met with the others in the air, Amity backed away as well, and as the group zoomed away, she turned and ran to the doorway, spotting Luz on the couch with Willow and Gus staring at her from the opposite sofa. Wordlessly, she sat beside her, holding her hand in her own.
"They'll be back," she affirmed, repeating it to herself, "They'll be back."
…
Within minutes the rebellious witches were near their destination. She could see the massive factory with empty smokestacks. It was inactive, just as they had planned. The sky was full of dark clouds, leaving little sun to peer through. Darius looked back at the group with Eberwolf clawing into his back. He winced, signaling for the group to begin their descent.
Gripping her staff, she leaned toward the ground, following her comrades and meeting the ground with soft feet. Darius looked back at the group, signaling them toward the front door. Finally, Eberwolf released their claws and stood by the door, ready to enter. With a swing of his arm, his signature Abomination scythe cut straight through the door's locking mechanism. He lightly pushed the door open just enough for Eberwolf to hop in, looking side to side and sniffing for any evidence of life.
As they passed through the entry and into the larger, more open room of the factory, they split off. Eberwolf continued what they were doing while Darius led the others into the factory floor. Eda watched as the other witches split off alone to search for what Amity had called the "killswitch". She couldn't give any details on where it was, but as her parents had told her, it existed.
Eda was alone and there was little to go off of. She looked from side to side, but the room was incredibly dark due to the lack of sunlight. She called Owlbert to her side and clicked with her mouth, pointing forward. In response, his eyes became overcome with a bright light that protruded into the room, illuminating wherever she looked.
She used her strategy to scan the outer areas of the room, but found nothing but dust and webs.
"You'd think that with Odalia involved, this place would be spotless," she remarked to herself only loud enough for Owlbert to hear. She scoffed, finding nothing.
"Eda," a voice called from behind her. She turned and saw her sister beckoning for her to follow. Finding no reason to deny, she jogged to her side and followed her eye line to a totally still Eberwolf. They stared at the ceiling, their nose twitching and their ears wiggling, but they didn't make a sound.
Lilith turned and spoke as they came closer, "Eber hasn't moved in minutes. They've just been staring since-"
Lights began to turn on all around them. Eda turned to her sister, then into the larger room, confusedly shifting her eyes across the room until she spotted Raine staring at a large pole with a switch at the bottom.
Without a moment's delay, they sprinted to the panel and pulled the switch with a massive smile on their face. "I did it," Raine shouted, raising their hands in celebration, but seconds passed. Nothing was changing.
"Are you sure you-" Eda was cut off by a crashing sound behind her. Her gaze snapped in the direction of the noise and she was immediately in shock.
A clap, followed by another in no urgent succession, then another, a crooked, smug grin adorned his face. Eberwolf growled from below him as he stood atop scaffolding, staring down at the rebels.
"Adrian Graye," Eda muttered to herself, "You're the leader of the Illusionist's coven, right?"
"So you know me then," he questioned, laughing to himself with delight. "That human of yours must have told you about our meeting. She was lucky to escape, but never again."
"Hexside is back under the Emperor's control… as it should be," he said in a cold tone, chuckling lightly to himself. Eda turned to Darius, who stood confused, listening just as she was.
"Anyways," he began, stepping down from the scaffold and into the room. He grunted as his feet hit the ground.
"That's not as easy as it used to be," he remarked, snapping his fingers. The lights in the room began to flicker. Eda's eyes darted across the room in confusion. Her vision became contorted. The room couldn't hold itself together. The walls were like flowing liquids, clashing with themselves and turning into a void empty of color. There was nothing then.
She was in an empty box with everyone. Adrian ascended in the darkness.
"This-" Eda stammered, seeing her friends struggle to stand.
She felt her right side become heavier than her left like the ground was slanted. Her mind was spinning. Her mind was captive to indistinguishable sounds and sights. Unable to withstand, she fell to the ground.
It didn't stop. Clashing noises in her mind tortured her until she heard a scream. She fought her way to her feet and rotated in place looking for its source. If she wasn't mistaken, that sounded just like-
"Ahhh," Adrian screamed. Her surroundings immediately changed. She was in the middle of a field. All of her friends were reeling on the ground, slowly getting to their feet, but Eberwolf was gnawing at Adrian's ankles. They had been able to see through his tricks.
"Quick, Darius, stop him," Eda shouted. The man looked over, confused, and quickly got to his feet, sprinting to Eberwolf's assistance.
Darius swung a mallet-shaped Abomination arm at his side, but as he was about to make contact, the man vanished. Darius nearly fell again, not having expected to miss.
Confused, Eda frantically scoured her surroundings, but as she made a full circle, she was completely alone. All that remained was her and the field. "Lilith," she called out, her eyes darting around in circles. "Darius," she called once more, running to where he had been before. All that was left was a small puddle of Abomination goop.
She fell to her knees. "Raine," she called out desperately.
Again, she heard that same scream. Luz's panic echoed through the infinite abyss of crimson grass, coming at her from all directions. This was torture. This was cruel. This…
…couldn't go unpunished.
Her grip tightened around her staff until her knuckles cracked. She gnashed her teeth as the screams pierced her very mind.
"Stop," she shouted, throwing her staff as hard as she could into the ground. Rather than plunging into the terrain, the fabric of this fake reality had cracked. That's when it came to her. She knew what to do.
She ran to her staff and retrieved it, pointing Owlbert toward the ground. "Now, Owlbert," she yelled, blasting into the ground with her corrupted magic.
The cracks became devoid of color. Like a virus, her tainted magic tore the reality apart until all around her was nothing but darkness. At that exact moment, everything changed. The screams stopped, the void was replaced by the field once more, and as she looked around, she saw her friends again.
She reached for her temple, holding it as her mind ached. "Titan, that wasn't fun," she remarked, pushing off of the ground toward Adrian with quick acceleration. She lifted her staff in the air and swung it in his direction but in the flash of a second, he managed to redirect Darius's attacks toward her. She wasn't able to get out of the way.
Darius turned to her with a distressed expression, furrowing his brow as his attention returned to the illusionist.
"That was a mistake," Darius assured, balling his fist into a spiked purple ball, but as he reared his hand for an attack, the man smiled, cackling to himself as he pointed behind the Abomination leader. As he turned around, he was fortunate to have been able to dodge and cut apart a strong vine that was aimed for his head. As the remainder of the vine flew away, his eyes found Terra Snapdragon standing menacingly about forty feet across the field having already subdued the three former B.A.T.S. scouts.
"You were lucky to have chosen this place," she began, smirking, "I assumed you would have tried to make a more direct effort at the Emperor, but who was I to think you would be so smart."
"You're supporting a murderer," Darius uttered with a venomous tone. Terra merely smiled with a sharp, toothy grin, replying "And you were trying to capture an old friend. You're no saint, Darius."
Adrian spoke from behind him, shouting to Terra, "Let's kill them—I waited for you long enough."
…
Eda's eyes opened and she was covered in a shell of hardened Abomination sludge. She tried to sit up, but found her torso to be too constrained.
"Patience, Adrian, I was only making sure Darius knows where he stands," Terra's muffled voice bounced off of her purple prison. She sighed, holding her blackened gem in her hand. "I wish I didn't have to resort to this, but I need some help," she said in a soft tone. She waited several seconds, but her curse didn't take control. Her brow furrowed.
"You're useless," she insulted as she balled her fists. "I guess I'll just have to do this myself," she muttered.
…
Raine slowly limped to Darius's side, meeting his concerned eyes with determination. They stood behind him, watching his back as he watched theirs.
"Little Sprout, I'm disappointed," Terra remarked with faux disappointment.
Darius slowly rotated so Raine could face her. Their face was full of hate and disgust. Their fists were too balled to form an attack, but as Raine saw a familiar figure sneaking behind her, their face softened.
"Titan, I'm free," shouted Eda as she emerged from her blackening prison. All eyes shifted to her, including her sister, despite her sneaking form.
"Eda," she muttered to herself. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had spoken aloud. Terra turned around and a root grabbed her foot from underground, pulling her nearly completely underground.
"Lily," Eda shouted, sprinting toward her sister and holding onto her hand. Terra smiled, her eyes slowly being overcome with green as she focused, pulling Lilith under completely. "No, Eda, don't-" Raine muttered, with distress on their face. Darius saw her inaction and scoffed, shoving off and leaping into the air with two massive scythes swinging for Terra. Raine's eyes widened, but they were too shocked to act. Terra turned just as Darius was striking. Her viney throne was torn to the ground in an instant. Terra fell hardly to the ground, balling her fist and sending a massive thorn in Darius's direction.
Finally, Raine pulled their violin from their back, strumming the chords with their bow. The thorn that was due to cut through the man was slammed to the side, forcing it to lean just enough to save the man.
Darius looked back with confusion, and as he realized who his savior was, he jumped directly back into battle, swinging for Terra once more.
Terra slammed him to the side with a massive vine, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.
"You'll have to be faster than that," she remarked, half-limping in his direction.
Behind her, Eda still fought to pull her sister from the ground, only gaining about an inch per second. Lilith had to be running out of air. Eda started to panic, releasing her hand and digging into the ground.
After several seconds, she could see the top of her sister's head, wiggling frantically in place, desperate for freedom. She continued her fight against the dirt, practically punching it away until her nose was above the pit around her.
She grabbed her hand once more and pulled one final time, getting her neck out just before her sister's hand flew off. She stared at it blankly for a moment, realizing that her sister's curse was the same as her own. She blinked and got to her feet, running to her sister again and twisting her hand back into its socket.
"Help them," Lilith pled, shooing her sister away with what little freedom she had.
"Lily, stop, I- I need to help you," she argued, tugging as hard as she could only to fall on her behind again as the hand came out of its socket a second time.
"Eda, no," she shouted, "They need you. I'll be fine. Just-"
"I can't lose you again," Eda interjected, her voice hoarse with pain and desperation. Lilith's eyes widened for a moment before her face hardened once more. There was a brief silence between the two before Lilith spoke in a hushed tone. "The others need you," she said as Eda's eyes locked onto her own, "…but more than that, Luz needs you. We can't lose."
A tear rolled down Eda's cheek and fell to the ground. Her body felt weak. She was wrong to think she was ready for this.
"But I'm weak. I can't help myself. How can I help the greatest witches on the Boiling Isles?" Her tone was deflated, devoid of hope or any positive emotions. Lilith's brow furrowed in frustration.
"Eda," she called in a frustrated tone. "What changed," she asked as her sister refocused.
Eda's mouth opened, but her words failed her.
"Eda, you are the greatest witch on the Isles—-not because you are- or were the most powerful witch, but because you-" she hesitated for a moment, "you have what I never could. You have the strength to do what is right… no matter how hard or how insurmountable the odds may be."
"But I have no magic," she countered, pointing to her blackened gem.
Lilith sighed deeply, pausing a moment before looking her in the eyes once more.
"I've never seen that stop you before."
Eda's eyes widened. She dropped her sisters gaze and turned to the fight. Darius was struggling, holding up the immense weight of Terra's attacks while Eberwolf fought their way through Adrian's tricks.
Raine was reeling, reaching for their violin with blood dripping from their head. Eda got to her feet and wiped her tears. She looked back to her sister one final time. "I'll be back for you," she promised.
Only a second later, she was in a full-speed sprint for Raine, helping them to their feet and handing them their violin. Without a word, she darted for the others, sliding in the grass to push Terra's vegetation with Darius. Immediately her impact was felt. The two pushed the massive vine to the side, Darius hunching over to catch his breath.
Eda furrowed her brow and stared at the vine for a moment. With a swift wave of her fingers, her cursed magic poured into Terra's, spreading all the way to its source. Terra screamed, cutting her vine away as she glared at the Owl Lady. Eda turned to Darius and was met with a knowing eye.
Together, they pushed forward before she could attack again. A vine swung for Eda, but Darius was prepared and managed to cut it away before it was even close to her. She didn't hold anything back. Already in the air, she balled her fist and struck true on the side of her jaw. The woman fell to the ground, a mixture of blood and saliva flying from her mouth as she landed hard.
She looked back to Darius with a smile, then back to Terra, standing over her with her fist still balled. She looked down at her hand, wiping the woman's blood away.
"That was for Raine," she said, cracking her knuckles. The woman coughed up more blood, turning her head and spitting at her. Eda stepped forward, but Darius grabbed her shoulder.
"She's not worth it," he warned. She jerked forward, releasing his hand, but still headed his words, stepping over her and sighing.
"Ouch, stop it, you fowl- ow"
Eda turned with an eyebrow lifted, her eyes widening as she laid eyes on Adrian desperately crawling away from Eberwolf as they flashed their teeth, growling.
"Looks like Eber had him well under control," Eda remarked. The beast continued to growl, but as Adrian backed himself into a wall, they stopped, allowing him to fall to the ground in defeat.
"He played a lot of tricks on them in the castle, so it doesn't surprise me," Darius explained, coming to Eda's side with his arms at ease. Raine limped toward them with their violin in one hand, blood dripping from the side of their mouth. Eda ran to Raine, brushing their blood with her sleeve.
"Raine, are you-"
Raine placed a finger over her lips, pointing to her sister, who was still mostly submerged in the ground. As she ran to her sister's aid, Darius came to Raine's.
"Lily, I'm sorry, I-" Eda stammered, digging around her sister frantically and pulling her out inch by inch. Lilith didn't speak much, but as she became completely freed, she wrapped her sister in a tight embrace.
"Thank you," she said, refusing to release her.
Confused, Eda patted her sister's back, playfully replying, "It's really not that big of a-"
"No, not for getting me out of the ground," she clarified, taking a breath "...thank you… for not giving up. I was really worried for a minute there."
"Lily, I-" Eda struggled to find words. Her sister's waiting eyes held her in place, but after what felt like an eternity, they shifted to behind her, lingering for a moment. Her brows furrowed and lifted in panic.
Confused, she questioned, "Lily, what-" she followed her sister's eyes, turning around to a terrible sight.
Abomitons. There must have been hundreds, thousands even, and in front of them all, with her typically crooked smile, Odalia Blight, with her unspoken husband just behind her.
Eda walked to her friends' side, grabbing Raine's hand in total silence.
"I should have known that those two bumbling imbeciles would fail," the Blight remarked, pulling a remote control from her purse. Her lavender amulet was aglow and her husband stood at the ready.
Eda turned to her friends as her sister came to her side. "This is too much. We need to leave," Lilith proposed, meeting her sister's anxious gaze.
"No," Darius began, his eyes never leaving the threat ahead, "We stand and fight. If we don't win now, there will be no home to go back to… for any of us."
Silence lingered between the few that remained, only to be broken seconds later. "No choice now," remarked Raine as they glanced behind the group. They were surrounded. A sea of Abomitons enveloped them from all angles. This was an army.
A synchronized step forward sounded from all directions. Then, seconds later, another, and another, and another after that. They were on borrowed time.
"Then let's fight," said Eda, raising her staff. Darius turned to her with a grim expression. Molding his arms into scythes, he nodded, putting his back to his. Eberwolf soon followed, rearing their claws and expanding their now triangle. Lilith looked to Raine and nodded. Both of which followed suit.
If they were going to fall. It would be together.
Finally, an Abomiton flew from the masses, swinging for Darius. He sliced its head and prepared once more.
Another flew toward them, this time aiming for Eda, but as it reached her, its head was removed by a wave of crimson sound. She turned to Raine with an expression of gratitude.
Two more flew their way. Darius immediately dispatched the first, but the second was too much. He fell from the circle as he fought against the Abomiton's crushing strength. Raine turned to help him, but just as they stepped forward, another Abomination flew just in front of them. Eda threw her staff their its head, but as soon as that Abomiton had fallen, another landed just behind Eda. Lilith lunged forward and knocked it down.
Before Eda could help her to her feet she was struck in the side. Lilith turned and screamed, pushing off of her foe and lunging for her sister.
Eda sat up, holding her hand to her chest. Her eyes widened in horror as her sister met a spiked fist to the side. As if it were in slow-motion, her body tumbled and rolled to a rough stop.
"No," she screamed, crawling to her sister and holding her in her arms. Lilith's eyes blinked open. She winced in pain. Eda's eyes fell to her wound. Fresh tissue was exposed. There was purple good where there was meant to be blood. It was like something you see in a horror movie.
She couldn't bear it anymore. Her eyes darted from side to side. Darius was slammed against a tree, his clothes ripping and his bones cracking as he fell to the ground. Raine strummed away at their violin, but couldn't escape an attack from behind. They fell to the ground hard, an Abomination jumping on their back almost immediately.
Eberwolf fought hard, tearing through the armor of every Abomiton in their way, but there was nothing they could do when an Abomiton launched a net over them. As if it was critically necessary, four Abomitons dove on top of them.
"Stop," Eda spoke to herself, unable to find her voice. Her sister's hand wrapped around hers.
"Stop," she repeated, gaining some volume. It still wasn't enough.
"We surrender," she screamed one final time. The world around her ceased to spin. Not a single Abomiton moved. Reared back arms froze in place as all eyes shifted to Eda's.
"Please, stop. We- we give up," she finished, deflated. Her shoulders fell along with her tired gaze. Owlbert flew to her shoulder and hooted. She turned to him and patted him on the head, releasing her sister's hand as she got to her feet.
The abomitons promptly relieved themselves, pulling away from the group and leaving them as they were. Through a dusty fog wandered Odalia, her husband close behind.
"Finally," she remarked, tossing her remote to Alador as she tauntingly strutted past Eda.
"I was getting tired of beating down on you," she began, dusting off her shoulders. Eda wiped her mouth, a mixture of dirt and blood smearing against the back of her palm. "I'm not a monster. All I wanted was your surrender," she explained, turning to one of her idle Abominations.
"Fetch me the cage," she commanded, holding her glowing amulet as she spoke. She released it and turned to the group.
"It was a valiant effort, for sure," she taunted, turning to meet Eda's eyes directly, "...but I must say. I have wanted to put you behind bars for longer than I can remember."
Eda's fist balled, her face hardening as the woman came even closer.
"Now," she began, gaining a new, more cruel smile, "I just have to get that pesky human out of my Amity's life and all will be-"
Eda couldn't hold herself back. She swung her hand widely and smacked the woman across the face. She held her cheek for a moment and turned to Eda with a smile. "Alador, tell Kikimora that the Owl House is unguarded," she commanded. Her husband fidgeted in place, opening his mouth to object.
Odalia glared back at him, balling her fist, "You're the new leader of the Abomination Coven, now do something with it," she ordered. His shoulders fell. Without a word, he tapped his earpiece and walked away to make his call.
Eda stepped forward, "If one finger is laid on Luz- or any of those kids, I swear, I'll. She balled her fist," stepping to the woman and staring down at her cocky smile.
"You'll what," she asked. "What will you do," she pressed on.
"Odalia, that is enough," Alador interjected. Odalia shooed him away, not backing down an inch.
"You don't wanna find out," Eda remarked, her mind spinning with rage.
"You'll do nothing," whispered Odalia, chuckling as she turned and walked toward her Abomination that carried a large cage, just big enough to fit the adults.
Odalia snapped her fingers and immediately the abomatons lifted the adults and carried them to the cage, tossing them in carelessly. Eda walked in as she was being nudged. Odalia shut the door in her face, smiling.
"Not a finger will be laid on those kids," Eda asserted, her eyes practically burning a hole in Odalia's back.
She simply laughed, walking away without another word. With another snap of her fingers, the abominations helped Terra and Adrian to their feet. They turned and glared at the cage, smiling.
Eda's shoulders fell.
"Sister," Lilith called. Eda turned and glanced over her shoulder. "Where is Owlbert," she asked.
Eda's eyes widened. She turned to her shoulder and her panic was authenticated.
"No," she whispered to herself. "No, no," she repeated, scouring the cage and her nearby surroundings for any trace of her palisman.
"He's gone," she panicked, her eyes locked on her sister. After several moments, Lilith realized just what that meant.
"He's going to…" she froze, fear stealing her words.
Eda gripped the bars of the cage, staring into the horizon.
"...He's going to the Owl House," she affirmed, her face falling to the ground with dread.
Darius's eyes widened. "They're gonna get themselves killed," he said.
…
Already nearly a mile away, Owlbert's wings pierced the sky. He knew Eda didn't want them in danger, but Luz needed him. He just needed her to say the words, advertent or not.
His eyes narrowed as he corrected his course to the Owl House.
Those kids were capable of more than Eda or any of them could know. He had seen it himself. It was their destiny to save the Isles.
…
Author's note: Okay, so that was a lot. Let's all take a moment to decompress. Let's breathe together. In…1…2…3…Out…2…3. So, a slightly panicked ending. Of course, I knew it would happen, but even to me that battle got surprisingly gruesome. If that was too much or anything, I'm sorry, but there is a TW at the top and I tend to write my fights pretty rough.
Beyond that, I have some explaining to do. I understand a lot of authors take time, lots of it even, and a lot of the time even more than I took, but that's not who I want to be. I typically write a lot faster and I apologize, but I feel like I had some fairly good reasoning. For one, the content: I bet it felt eerily similar to the most recent episode of TOH, huh? That was completely by coincidence, although I was picking up some signs from the show that they may continue to follow a similar path to my plans. Honestly, I hope I'm wrong, but this chapter was always meant to be this way and a full week and a half into writing, I saw the episode and was kinda annoyed. So yeah, that messed with my writing process. I just kept having to find motivations or like mini retcons to make my version different. Still, that's not all. The main reason that I took so long was school. As I briefly mentioned in my notes, I just finished my finals, which have been going on for the past two weeks, as I am a Junior, but have senior classes as well. They graduate sooner, so those classes tested early. So there was some stress there and every time I tried to write, my mind was in knots. So, sorry.
Anyways, my bad for writing an essay, but I felt that an explanation was owed. So yeah, back to your regularly scheduled programming (or… more accurately, fanfiction, but whatever).
Special Thanks (comments/reviews):
Nick Foolery: "After the events of Hollow Mind, I've steadily been chomping at the bit for more Owl House content. The fact that I've got to wait a whole week for new episodes is killing me! Your story is a welcome piece to tide me over, and I can't wait to see what you do! Keep it up!"
I really appreciate it! I'm glad my story could help satiate your needs. As I said, I was a little annoyed that this chapter had so much in common with episode 2.20, but still, I hope it was good.
katmar1994: "I'm happy that Hunter is getting the help he needs after everything that Philip did to him. However, I feel the need to point this out that you have to fix the parts in this chapter with Raine. Raine isn't a she it's they."
Hey, we've already exchanged a message about this, but I wanted to show people anyways. Not to put you in spotlight or anything, but just to be transparent. I cleaned up those errors and while writing this chapter I made a lot of the same errors. I did my best to go through and fix them, but I may have missed a few instances. I've never written a non-binary character, so please, let me know!
TheFranninator: "they both had a hard day. now luz just needs the rest of her friends; jerbo, barcus, viney, edric, and emira. then the heads can join in on this as well. oh, dell and gwendolyn as well. great chapter! see you next time!"
Agreed. Trauma on top of trauma, but you'll see why there are so many people that she can't rely on. The group just hasn't gained that trust yet. Belos is creating a stigma around these people and isolating them, so only those who are truly friends are with her. Still, thanks for the kind words. I hope I didn't disappoint.
Guest: "Amazing story. I am really enjoying it. I can't wait to see the rest of this story."
Really appreciate it! A lot of work went into the plans and I hope that shows. Much appreciated!
Adam Evers: "I'm impressed, I'm really impressed with your story so far and to be honest, I'm looking forward to reading more; this ship is Sonadow done right, this ship is gold. I would love to see more Lumity stories in the future, but at the same time I would love to see more Taismo and Taiream or even a rewrite of Team UwU's YouTube channels because the scripting just sucks, I'd give anything to see a better version of Tails and Sonic Pals, Emerald Masters, Gotta Go Fast and Charmy Bee's channels even if I have to write it myself."
Hey! Thanks a ton for the review. I really appreciate everything, really, but I probably won't be writing anything sonic related any time soon. I'm sure there are tons of people that do, though, so please feel free to explore. Hey, maybe you can even write it yourself like you said. That's how I got into this too.
Alright, that's it. Thanks for reading.
See you soon. Hopefully sooner than last time.
~ lucash21