This one took a while to complete. I'm not meaning to take so long with the chapters, but things keep getting in the way. My original plan was to have a new chapter out every two weeks instead of monthly. Hopefully that will change soon.


KA-THOOM!

Thunder cracks in the dark clouds above as Luz, King and Eda approach the prison located outside of a nearby town. Eda led the two towards the prison walls while avoiding being detected by patrolling guards. Luz was hugging herself not out of nervousness because of her mission, but of how surprisingly chilly the air was.

King was perched on her shoulders like a parrot with his fur protecting him from the cold. Luz didn't mind at all that the little demon was getting a free ride on top of her, he was warm after all.

"Nothing like a little thunder to make your adrenaline rush before a heist." said Eda with eagerness.

"Glad you find ominous thunder as fun. All it gives me is a bad feeling." Luz groaned with a chatter of her teeth.

Eda looked back at Luz with a bothered expression. "You really need to stop being so negative." she said.

Luz looked up at Eda and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Well, sorry! Implying that I might lose my life does that to you." Luz complained. "Though I'll admit I'm impressed that we got here without being caught."

"I was joking about you not making it! And thanks." Eda replied

"And if we do things right, we could be gone before anyone knew we were there!" King cheered.

King's optimism was one of the things that made Luz feel better about all this. That, and the promise of returning home.

There's nothing Luz would love more than to be sitting down in front of the tv in her pajamas, eating pizza and watching a movie with her mom. Though she did need to make up a good excuse as to why she missed the bus to the camp...

Luz's thoughts of greasy food were stopped when Eda spoke.

Let's stop here." Eda spoke. The three hid behind a building situated next to the large wall that surrounds the prison.

"So this is The Conformatorium, a place where those considered unsuitable for society are kept." Eda said mockingly.

Luz noticed another wanted poster for Eda nailed on the wall next to her. She ripped it off and looked at it.

"Woah. These dudes must really have the hots for you." said Luz.

"Pffft, who doesn't?" The Owl Lady joked. "And we were never caught because we were too slippery."

"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little imp!" And just like that, King suddenly fell off of Luz's head and landed on the floor. He then stood up and dusted himself off before looking up at Luz.

"You and I will sneak up to that tower, where my crown is being kept." The little demon pointed up to the tower in question.

"And I'm gonna keep the warden distracted while you two get it." Eda added.

Luz looked up at the tower. "Shouldn't I need a disguise? Pretty sure me being a human will cause me to stick out like a sore thumb." she pointed out.

Eda waved her off. "Nah, just keep out of sight the best you can and I'll meet you two again shortly."

The Owl Lady then placed a hand on Luz's shoulder. "And don't be afraid if anything bad happens 'cause I'll be there for you. I promise." she said a gentle voice.

Luz was caught of guard by Eda's tenderness; It's almost like she actually cares about her safety. But whatever the case may be, this did make Luz feel less worried.

"Alright. Let's do this!" Luz said fearlessly.

"That's the spirit! Now let me give you two a lift."

Eda taps the butt of her staff on the ground which sparks flew from, creating a round glowing platform under her, King and Luz. Eda stepped off of it as it began to float with King and Luz still on, the latter surprised but quickly keeps her balance.

"Hang on tight!" Eda yells as the platform floats up to a window of the tower. The platform begins to vanish as it gets closer to the window, but Luz managed to grab the edge of the window in time as King was clinging to her feet just as the platform completely disappears. Both of their hearts were beating frantically.

"A little warning would've been nice!" Luz fussed.

Ignoring Luz, Eda simply tosses her staff and casually sits on it as it rises under her.

"Meet you guys at the top of the tower." Eda said as she flew up with Luz watching. Despite almost falling to her demise, she still found that pretty cool.

King grunts as he climbs up Luz, making sure to not step on Luz's already annoyed face for being used as a ladder. Once King went through the window, Luz pulled herself up. She grunted loudly as she pulling herself through the window only to fall down on her face once inside.

"Odd, I thought humans landed on their feet." King said, confused.

"That's cats." Luz's muffled voice spoke before she sat up and gasped. She and King marveled at enormous amount of prison cells before them, each cell containing shadowy beast of different shapes and sizes. Luz could tell that every prisoner was looking at her because of their glowing eyes in the light.

"Hey, random girl, how'd you escape your cell?" Luz turned to the cell next to her where the voice came from. Inside was a young woman with dark skin and brown hair with two fangs poking out of her mouth. She had her arms crossed and has a sly smile aimed at Luz.

Luz stepped in front of the cell and introduced herself. "My name's Luz, and I'm not a prisoner."

"Not yet, you're not!" King said, nudging Luz's leg with his elbow; though Luz just ignored him.

The young woman noticed Luz's ears and made a connection. "A human? Hadn't seen one before. My name's Katya! And if you're worried if I'm dangerous, then rest easy 'cause I'm not." Katya reassured. "We're all prisoners here for the wrong reasons. The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. Like, I write stories of food falling in love."

She pulls out a book and shows it to Luz. "I like food, I like love... Just let me write about it!" she protested.

In the next cell, a light blue monster with what looks like six eye holes speaks next.

"I here because I like eating my own eyes." The monster then proceeds to pluck one of his eyes out of its socket as he speaks and eats it. The eye floats back to the socket a second later, but that doesn't stop Luz from fighting back the urge to vomit.

"There was once a prisoner here who was obsessed with conspiracy theories, but she was taken away long ago." Katya spoke, trying her best to look at the empty cell through the bars.

Luz looked at these two and thought about their reasons for being here before speaking. "Wait. You two didn't commit any real crimes. And if what you said about being here for the wrong reasons is true, then the rest of these people in cages are wrongfully imprisoned here too."

Katya nodded somberly. "Everyday more innocent witches with odd habits like us are imprisoned here than actual criminals."

Luz takes out Eda's wanted poster from her bag and looked down at it. "You're all just a bunch of outcasts. Like me." she continued, not noticing how her words seemed to of touched Katya.

For a brief second, Luz felt like she found people whom she could level with.

Almost like she fits in...

But everyone's attention was now on the sound of thudding footsteps coming from behind a door close by.

"It's Warden Wrath! Hide!" Katya warned Luz.

Luz exclaims before grabbing King and jumped into the empty open cell next to the Katya's and pulled the door down once inside.

"Why did you hide us in here?! We're trapped and the warden will find us!" King panicked.

"It was either hiding in here or jumping out of the window we came through. What's your choice?" Luz argued in a hush tone.

King looked off into a random direction with his eyes narrowed and paw on his chin as if he was actually thinking about it.

"In here is fine, I guess. Maybe I can convince Wrath to spare us?" King suggested

The heavy footsteps continue to thud as the door swings open revealing Warden Wrath. A tall, muscular figure in a white sleeveless tunic with a brass buttons going down, a leather belt with a brass buckle, and black trousers tucked into dark purple shoes. Over his head is a black hood and a mask that covers his face which looks like a plague doctor, similar to the masks that the guards wore in the marketplace with yellow lenses hiding his eyes. Something noticeable on Wrath's uniform is a triangular brass badge.

"I can hear you." Wrath spoke in a dark voice.

"nevermind. we're dead." King whispered.

Luz tries to remain calm and keep her breathing soft in order to not attract attention while holding King who's equally afraid close to her.

Wrath begins walking forwards, his thudding steps continuing.

"Just what are you fools whispering about?" He then stops next to the cell where Luz and King are huddled into a corner. The two gulp as Wrath looks down, seeing Eda's wanted poster laying on the ground.

"Ah. The Owl Lady. I'll get her soon enough." He picks up the poster and crumbles it into a ball. The same hand that's holding the paper turns into a hammer and slams against Luz's cell which causes her to yelp in surprise. Luz quickly covers her mouth after.

Noticing the sound, Wrath looks into the cell where Luz and King stared back; The former's eyes now the size of dinner plates with her face covered in sweat with an expression of terror while King buries his face into Luz's jacket and quietly prays for a quick demise. But before Warden Wrath could make anything of the two, Katya addressed Wrath.

"Hey, Warden. Wanna read my new story about food romance?" she asked.

This caught Wrath's attention as he looked away from Luz and towards the next cell.

"It's a thirty-seven-chapter story where an onion and a banana are college sweethearts; I'm sure you'll enjoy it." she smiled while internally grateful that his attention is no longer on Luz and her friend.

Warden Wrath walks over to the cell and pulls the lever to open it. Now nothing was separating her from the Warden.

"T-There's a part w-where the onion leaves to f-fight in a war as the b-banana stays home to take care of t-the k-kids." Katya stuttered and struggled to keep a calm smile.

Warden Wrath snatched the book out of her hands. He holds the book high into the air while addressing the other prisoners.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you. There's no place in society for you if you can't fit in!" he barked.

Feeling that his message was clear enough, Wrath closed the story prisoner's cell and walked back towards the door with the book still in hand. Once Wrath closed the wooden door behind him, Luz got up and lifted the damaged cell door effortlessly.

"Thanks for the save." said Luz as she approached Katya's cell.

"Ah, don't mention it." she replied, looking away.

"But why didn't you rat us out? You could've been released if you told Wrath that I was a human." Luz asked with her hands gripping the cell door.

Katya walked closer to Luz and looked into her eyes. "Because what you said about us not doing anything wrong was just what we needed to hear. And I'm not a selfish jerk who throws others under the bus either." she replied.

"But your book-" Luz began only for Katya to interject. "It's just a book. Sure, it contained over two years' worth of spellchecks and wrist cramps that's now probably gone forever, but it's replaceable." she said as if it was nothing.

Luz didn't know how to reply. Someone she had just met saved her life for no reason and are now paying for it by having their book confiscated. This really agitated Luz.

"I'm getting you and everyone else out of here!" Luz growled as she tightly gripped the lever and attempted to lift it. Katya and Eye Monster along with other prisoners within view watches as Luz tried to open the cell but was finding no luck. She continued to struggle, but it just wouldn't budge. King just stood next to Luz feeling slightly awkward by what was happening and soon found more interest in a bug that was crawling on the ground.

After a few more tries, Luz gave up. She rubbed her sore hands together.

"Dang, those levers are tough to lift! Makes sense why they have someone as large as Wrath opening them."

With her last bit of hope gone, Katya just looked at Luz with a sad smile.

"You tried at least, and I'm thankful for that. Now leave here while you still can, Luz. Enjoy freedom for us." With that, Katya trudged back deep into her cell.

Seeing Katya along with the other incarcerated monsters now depressed and without any shred of joy hurt Luz on the inside. She felt bad for them more than anyone else back at home. Luz wanted to help, but how?

Luz reluctantly walked away with King on her shoulder with the belief that somehow these people will find the peace they deserve. Somehow.


A few minutes later, Luz found herself walking down a dark hallway with her head down and hands in her jacket pockets. She felt terrible and completely helpless.

King followed behind, feeling sorry for Luz.

Suddenly, Eda flew in from behind with a smile on her face. She hops off her staff and walks next to Luz and starts to speak.

"Hey, I just checked. The warden is distracted, burning some random book. He won't be an issue anytime soon."

Luz didn't answer or emote in any way; she kept walking forwards which confused Eda.

Luz now found herself in front of a towering door that read CONTRABAND on it. This must be it.

"My crown! It's close! I can sense its power!" King says excitedly as he toddles towards the door on his two little feet and leaps up, grabbing a doorknob that's the size of his body and tries to turn it through grunts.

"Aw, he's so cute when he's thirsting for power." Eda grinned as she watched King..

Luz continued to stare at the door. "It's not fair that they're all in here. They just want to be themselves. Why does everyone think that being different is so bad?" she asked while Eda scowled at her, still confused.

With a loud grunt, King manages to dislocate the doorknob from the door and tosses it away; the knob rolls towards the feet of Eda and Luz.

Cackling like a madman, King pushes open the door where a bright white light is seen inside and runs in.

"Come on, before he hurts himself." said Eda, slightly annoyed, as she and Luz followed. Though they're too late as a ZAP sound is heard followed by King saying "Ow!".


Inside was a large empty room with the only thing besides the numerous tapestries that all has the same symbol printed on each is the giant glowing pillar in the center.

Luz watches King as he charges at the pillar with his head similar to that of a bull only to be launched backwards. Landing on his butt, King just looked annoyed before Eda lightly tapped his skull.

"King. Human, remember?" she reminded while pointing at Luz.

"Oh, yeah." King replied, looking at Luz and then the pillar.

Luz also examined the pillar. Inside is King's crown and she's the only one who can enter. Though seeing the size of the pillar made her worry that it'll take her a long time to find it. She was hesitant, but Luz still took a leap of faith. She has survived this far after all.

"We'll be waiting for you, kid. Get the crown, come back, and we'll high-tail it out of here." Eda instructed as she stood next to King.

Luz nodded.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the pillar with her left hand sticking out towards it. She slowly pressed her hand against it expecting to feel a burning sensation only to feel... nothing. So Luz just walked the rest of the way unharmed.

Once inside, Luz marveled at the piles of junk littered around. Stuff like books to skulls to even dead fish. There were also busts that belongs in museums and weapons such as swords. She wanted to look around to see if she could pocket anything to pawn off at home, but knew that time was short.

It didn't take long for Luz to find King's crown as it was on top of the biggest pile, glowing in the light.

Luz smiled at it and knew that she was one step closer at going home until she got a better look at it.

"What in the-"


Not long after, Luz returned from the pillar with King's "crown" which was actually a cardboard crown for kids from a fast-food restaurant in her world. Luz was understandably frustrated.

King races up to Luz and takes the crown from her hands and fits it on his head. "Yes. Yes! I can feel my powers returning!"

King then notices a nearby box that has been toppled with a stuffed rabbit falling out if the box.

"You, there. Nightmare critter." King calls, pointing at the rabbit. "I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!" he then picks up the rabbit with a laugh of triumph.

Luz stood nearby, her eye twitching. "That crown doesn't even give him powers, does it?" she asked sourly, already knowing the answer.

Unashamed, Eda replied. "Nope."

Luz glares at Eda,

"Oh, look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world. We only have each other. So if that phony crown is important to him, it's important to me. And besides, us outcasts have to stick together, you know?" Eda reasons with a wink.

Luz really didn't know what to think. She wanted to be angry that she risked her life for a dumb toy; she wanted to cuss the witch out for bringing her here against her will, she just wanted to scream!... but she couldn't.

It would be justified for Luz to be furious, but Eda's reasonings did make some sense, especially repeating what Luz said earlier about outcasts needing to stick together; she wonders how the witch heard that? And seeing King dancing happily with the crown on his head did give her the urge to smile.

And smile she did, while blushing a bit from the surprisingly sweet nature of Eda.

"Well, we owe you one. Now, let's scoot before the warden finds us and chops off our heads." Eda said with an odd placement of her humor. But as she spoke, the owl lady failed to notice a dark figure looming behind her.

"Too late!" Warden Wrath cackled.

Before Eda could react, Wrath's hand turn into a blade, and with an swift swing he decapitates Eda's head from her body.

King screamed as Luz was frozen in the moment as Eda's head flew towards her. On instinct, Luz quickly caught the head and screamed in horror as well.

Eda's eyes were wide open and her tongue was sticking out like a corpse, but not a second passes before Eda's face scrunches in pain.

"OW!" Eda yells. "Oh, I hate it when that happens." she continued with a groan.

The decapitated head speaking made Luz scream again only louder, but she quickly stopped once realizing that Eda was indeed, and somehow, alive.

"E-Eda! Are you okay?!" Luz asked in shock. The head attempted to nod but failed due to the lack of neck underneath.

"Yeah. This just happens when you get older." Eda replied, annoyed.

"...Does it?" Luz questioned in an unsure tone as if her whole reality has gone down the toilet.

But Wrath, now with other guards behind him, interrupts the two.

"Finally," Wrath speaks as his hand morphs back to normal. "I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady,"

He then approaches the trio, and with King distracted by Luz holding Eda's head, Wrath snatches the crown from his head.

"Weh?" King grunted..

Wrath walks closer to Eda whose head is still being held by Luz. Eda just glares at him with Luz doing the same as King jumps up trying to take his crown back. Nearby, Eda's body crawls on the ground looking for the head.

"My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running." he then crumbles King's crown in his fist.

"No! My power!" the little demon cried.

Seeing King's little heart broken just made Luz madder at Wrath than she was before. The one thing she hates is a bully.

"What do you want from me? I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws... in front of you." Eda fussed, staring daggers at the warden.

Warden Wrath comes closer while reaching for something behind him. Luz readies herself to move for what's about to come.

"I want you... to go out with me." Wrath reveals, pulling out a bouquet of flowers from behind him.

"Wha...?" Eda replied, confused.

"What?" Luz added, equally confused.

One of the guards nearby cheers for Wrath while another holds two-thumbs up.

Wrath nods back at the two then turns back at Eda and begins speaking in a voice that was less threatening. Weird, but less threatening.

"You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away. I found that alluring." he said with a disturbingly sultry tone that made Eda feel uneasy.

For Luz this came as a big surprise. She spent the last hour dodging this guy? A big, scary guy who can change his hands into deadly weapons is actually some love-seeker? She honestly found this twist hilarious to the point where she actually started laughing out loud.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Luz laughed.

Everyone in the room looked at her general direction.

"What's so funny?" Wrath fumed.

Luz struggled to calm down.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that you stole King's crown just to ask Eda for a night out in town?" Luz asked while forcing back more laughter.

"Y-Yeah?" Wrath replied. This made Luz burst with more laughter.

"I guess you can toss Eda's head towards a crowd like a bouquet of flowers at your wedding." Luz snorted while turning Eda's head from side to side in a joking manner.

"Kid." Eda warned. But Luz wasn't done yet.

"Yo, Wrath? At the ceremony you can also mash as much cake in Eda's face as you want. Not like she can stop you!" Luz teased further.

"Luz!" Eda called with an icy tone.

Luz stopped laughing and rolled her eyes.

"Can you just take a joke, Eda? I'm not letting this jerk take you out on a date." She then looks at Wrath but with a more serious expression. "You honestly disgust me, and I hate you for having the audacity to 'express your feelings' towards Eda after chopping off her head and destroying King's crown and having those innocent people locked up in the other room. You'd be lucky if a woman gives you a passing glance in the next few years! Good luck being old and alone in your sixties."

The room was so silent you could hear a pen drop. The guards behind Wrath stood frozen in shock. King's mouth hung open. And Eda, who was most surprised by Luz's outburst has to take a moment to search her brain for words.

"Geez, kid. I was just gonna say yes only to leave him hanging. You basically destroyed him." The owl lady spoke.

Unfortunately, Luz's words just angered Wrath.

"You stay out of this!" he roared and tossed the bouquet of flowers over his shoulder, and turned his right hand into tentacles which shot out at Luz.

The tentacles grabbed around the teen's torso causing her to drop Eda's head onto the floor; Luz was then lifted into the air where she grunted and struggled to break free but failed to do so even with her arms free from the binds.

"Me and my big mouth!" Luz cursed.

With Luz trapped, Warden Wrath crouches and picks up Eda's head by the hair which causes her to cringe from the sudden stinging feel.

"So how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and I, the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever!"

He then shrugged. "I mean, it's not like you can say no right now."

Eda glances up at Luz who was still trying to escape the tentacles. Her eyes then went over to King, who was now being held by a guard and also struggles for freedom.

Sighing, the owl lady decided to give in. Better her to be with Wrath than having her friend and human companion suffer.

"All right, Warden, you've won. I'd just like to say something first... Come closer." she said quietly.

Warden Wrath leans his head towards Eda.

"No. Just come a little bit closer. Just..." Eda said again which Wrath complied.

"Yeah, that's good."

Eda then sticks her tongue out from her mouth and blows a raspberry at Wrath who yells in surprise, causing him to drop Luz who yelled as she fell; Wrath wipes Eda's spit off his mask as she laughs mockingly at him.

"Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs you have in your mouth? Blegh!" he recoiled with disgust.

Eda stopped laughing. "Get over it you big baby! Your guards stalk me endlessly, and you've cut off my head! That puts a smile on your face but a little spit ruins everything? I'll never go out with you!" she chastised.

"If you don't accept, then I'll have no choice but to-"

WHAM!

"-Oh!"

Wrath fell on the ground with a large crash revealing that Luz was standing behind him holding Eda's staff. She looked down at him with a sinister smile.

"Oh, that felt soooooo good!" Luz rejoiced.

Eda let out an impressed chuckle and smiled at Luz. "Nice!"

Luz spun the staff in one hand and rested it on her shoulder. "I'm a big fan of jerks getting karma." she said back.

Suddenly, two guards, one restraining King, surrounded Eda's head and looked down at her with Eda glaring back. But unknown to the guards, Eda's headless body sneaks behind them and grabs their hoods, dragging it over their eyes which disoriented them.

"Okay, time to go!" Luz announced as she jumped over Warden Wrath's body and picked up Eda's head.

Eda's body grabs King from the distracted guard's grasp, and Luz grabs the body by the waist and they all mount the staff.

The wooden owl's eyes glow and lets out a mystical hoot as its wings unfurls.

"Come on, how do you get this thing to fly?" Luz shouted.

She tried shaking the staff believing it would make it go, but nothing happened. She then attempted to quote cheesy magic spells she heard back at home.

"Okay, Let's see, Hocus Pocus? Abracadabra? Alakazam?" Seeing that their still on the ground and with Wrath recovering from being stuck on the head brought a strong sense of worry in Luz.

"Oh, sure, witches definitely use those phrases." An offended Eda rolls her eyes in annoyance before looking down at her staff.

"Gun it, magic stick!" The owl lady commanded.

Luz was caught off-guard as the owl flapped its wings, taking them into the air.

The staff flies them out the door as Wrath clamors to his feet.

"Owl Lady, you will not escape again!" he barked.

Both arms then transform into a mass of tentacles and chases the staff.

Luz flies through the curved and narrow hall of cells and looks back to see Wrath pursuing them by using his tentacles to cling to walls and push of from the ground to move.

She looks back ahead to find something that can help low him down or allow them to get away when her eyes lands on the lever belonging to Katya's cell, this gave the teen an idea.

"Eda, lend me a hand!" said Luz, raising her right hand.

Eda's body places her hand against Luz's; and as they pass the cells, their combined strength easily raises the levers of Kayta and the Eye Monster's cells.

The two prisoners smile in excitement as the doors rise above their heads.

"That human is awesome!" Kayta cheered.


The outer door of the Conformatorium bursts open squishing two guards against the wall as Luz flies out with Warden Wrath not far behind. It turns out that the door is situated high in the center of the Conformatorium on a towering pillar. The staff plummets down in an arena-like area which causes Luz to yell.

Above them, Wrath front flips off of the pillar and falls after them.

As the trio descends, Wrath quickly extends one of his tentacles, hitting the staff on the back and launched Luz, King and Eda off of it as they were just a safe distance from the ground. They rolled on the ground with a mixture of grunts and groans before finally stopping.

Warden Wrath lands a few feet away from them as his hands once again morph into blades.

"OW, my bones!" King cried.

Eda quickly gets up and reattaches her head to her body. She then reaches into her bushy hair and pulls out a key with a yellow eye on it.

"Luz," Eda begins. "It was nice meeting you! But now you need to go back to the human realm."

Eda hands Luz the key and runs at Wrath. The latter looks down at the key. This is her way home; she can leave and go back to her mom. But Eda and King...

"What about you two?" she asked, worried.

King hops to his feet and addresses Luz while running to join Eda. "If you think this guy is bad, you shoulda seen her last boyfriend!"

"Not my boyfriend!" Eda shouted as she dodged Wrath's hand blades. She quickly turned and grabbed King before jumping back towards Luz, avoiding an over-head attack by Wrath.

Eda picks up her staff and looks up at Luz.

"What are you still doing here kid? Go! Go!"

The Owl Lady picks Luz up by the back of her jacket and sits her on the staff. Luz attempted to protest until Eda slapped the back of her staff, sending it to the air with Luz holding on tightly.

She yelps as the staff takes her above the walls and flies off.

"Bye, Luz. Be safe." Eda said quietly as Wrath approached.

"This. Ends. Now!" he roars while grabbing his mask and tearing it off, revealing his face that's mostly a giant mouth with sharp teeth. Warden Wrath opens his mouth and a burst of flames escapes past.

Eda quickly reacted by drawing a magic circle with her finer and moved out of the way as the flame came close. She quickly made another circle as the fire entered the first and shot out the second, sending the fire back at Wrath which sends him flying and slams into a wall of the Conformatorium.

"End this we shall." Eda growled.


Up above, Luz struggles to keep the staff steady while not falling. She tried to imagine riding a bike which helped kept the staff from spinning a bit.

"Ok, Luz, you can do this! Think of this like a bike... but without handles... and peddles... or wheels."

She looks back down at the fight below to see Wrath getting back up. His hand turns into blades and he charges at Eda.

Behind him, the wall crumbles completely revealing cells; Katya and the Eye Monster peeked out from hole left by Wrath. They just stand there, unmoving, not even attempting to escape.

Luz looked down at them, bewildered. She carefully leaned the staff forwards causing it to descend towards them. Now she felt like she was getting a hang of this flying thing.

"Why are you two still here? You have a chance to escape!" said Luz, landing in front of the prisoners.

The Eye Monster was the first to reply. "The warden will catch us. He always does." he said sadly.

"We belong here." Katya added in a defeated tone.

Seeing these two completely hopeless did sadden Luz, but it also inspired her to help them further.

"So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you amazing. Don't you see?"

Katya stared up at Luz. "Why are you helping us?"

"Because us outcasts have to stick together," Luz mounted the staff and levitated in the air. "And nobody should be shamed for who they are."

The depressive expressions of the the prisoners faded as they cheered for Luz as she flew up to help her friends.

"Now let's get 'em!" Luz declared with the two prisoners now running after her.

Eda lets out a loud grunt as she is thrown to the ground. She looks up and glares at Wrath.

"Your tricks have become quite tiresome, Owl Lady." Wrath speaks with King in his hold. He then throws King at Eda who catches him in her arms.

Warden Wrath looms over them. "And when I finally capture you, the emperor can finally have a word with you."

"You can tell him that he can bite it!" Eda barked.

Warden Wrath chuckled at this. "It looks as if you need a little more punishment before I drag you to your cell." He raises his bladed hands in the air; King whimpers and hides his face in Eda's chest, while the latter stares fearlessly at her foe.

"GO, go, go go!" Luz commanded.

Warden Wrath and Eda was caught off guard as Luz and her two friends charged at them. Katya and the Eye Monster both push Wrath back with a surprising amount of strength as Luz flies behind them.

"Luz?!" Eda calls, astonished by the human's bravery.

The Eye Monster shoves Wrath back with all his might. "I eat my own eyes!" he roared.

Warden Wrath stumbled back while Katya got behind him and crouched down, causing Wrath to fall back onto the ground. Before he could get up, Katya jumped onto his body.

"And I to practice the mystical art of food romance!" she yelled while holding Wrath down long enough for Eye Monster to grab Wrath's tentacles and tied them together. And after rolling Wrath onto his stomach, fire blew past his lips out of anger as he watched Luz descending in front of him on Eda's staff.

"YOU!" he roared. "Who do you think you are?"

Luz stood straight as she glared down at the evil warden; this whole battle has filled her to the brim with excitement, though she kept a stern look. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. In her head Luz quickly remembered a line from favorite Azura book, a line she rehearses daily in front of her bedroom mirror in secret. This may be the only chance in Luz's life to do this and she was gonna take it.

She pointed at wrath and spoke with her eyes half lidded. "Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace."

A sudden gust of wind blows through Luz's hair. If she had done this back home then she would be given weird looks and called a geek, but she didn't care about all that because she at this moment felt complete.

Luz then knelt down almost to Wrath's level and smiled at him. "I spare you, my foe. Go back to your dwellings."

She then glanced up at the eye monster and gave him a nod. Knowing what do to now, eye monster got off of the tangled warden and kicked him hard causing Wrath to roll on the ground like a bowling ball back towards the prison doors. Warden Wrath screams while more guards come out to help only for their boss to collide with them, causing the guards to fly in the air.

Everyone praised Luz for Wraths humiliating defeat.

"We did it!" Katya rejoiced before looking at Luz happily.

"Thank you, Luz!" she said and hugged Luz. The latter chuckled and patted her back.

"No problem." the human replied.

Katya released Luz from the hug and stepped away. "I owe you big time! Find me in Bonesborough if you ever need anything."

"I will." Luz said, deciding to not tell her that she's going home soon.

And with that, Katya and Eye Monster ran out the gates and disappeared into the night, now ready to live their lives how they want.

As Luz watched them leave, Eda, with King on her shoulder, walked next to Luz, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That was one of her better breakups." King joked.

Eda sighed in annoyance. "That was NOT a breakup!" she groaned before smiling at Luz.

"You've really surprised me tonight, Luz. You could've left us and went back home safely, but you stayed to help us those who needed it like the 'warrior of peace' you are." The Owl Lady said with a proud tone.

Luz blushed at the compliment. "Yeah, well, us outcasts have to stick together."

Eda laughed. "Now let's blow this joint before some other lunatic falls in love with me."


The ride back to the owl house was an experience for Luz. Earlier the Isles looked like a hellish wasteland, but now with it being dark and the town lights shining below and the full moon glowing brightly, she couldn't help but to be taken aback by the hidden beauty of this land.

Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all...


Sometime after returning, Luz made sure she had every one of her possessions as she prepared to leave for home.

Eda leans her staff against the couch nd stretches with a yawn. "Well, a deal's a deal, time to send you home."

The Owl Lady snapped her fingers causing the portal key to fly out of Luz's bag and into Eda's hand. She presses the eye on the key, and the portal door unfolds itself in front of the fireplace. Luz walks up to it.

"This is it, I can go home..." she thinks, but now that she can leave, why does she now not want to?

Luz suddenly felt tugging on her pants leg. Looking down, she sees King holding her book with sad face.

"Here. Hooty was reading it while we were gone." he said, presenting the book.

Luz smiled; she knelt down to eye level with King and patted the top of his head.

"Thanks, buddy." she said while grabbing the book away.

"I'm also gonna miss you, Luz." The little demon said with his eyes not meeting Luz.

Luz felt her heart twinge as she felt sorry for King.

"I mean, I'm sure we can meet again. I would take you home with, but my mom wouldn't want to risk the carpet being ruined. So I guess you and Eda can visit me sometimes." said Luz

"Yeah, I guess." King said in a gloomy tone.

Luz stood up and faced the portal again. She then looked down at the cover of her book which showed the protagonist Azura and two other characters; one an old witch and the other a small, black dog creature. The front cover had something sticking out of it. Luz pulled it out to reveal the reality check pamphlet and remembered that's what she has to look forward to back home.

Luz once again looked back at the portal now hesitantly and then back down at her book. Finally she looked up again but at a nearby mirror just above the fireplace instead of the portal. She gasped as something caught her eye.

In the mirror were the reflections of herself, Eda and King with something about where they stand looking very familiar. Luz holds up the books again in front of the mirror where Eda and King stands in the same positions as the witch and dog creature respectfully, and in the foreground of the book cover where Azura stands, so does Luz in the mirror.

Something about this coincidence made Luz's dour expression brighten.

"Luz? Are you alright?" Eda asked, noticeably worried about Luz who's just standing in one place.

Luz tossed the pamphlet into the fireplace and watched as it blackened and shrunk from the fire. She then turned to the duo, mainly at Eda.

"Okay, I know you got your head cut off, and we started a riot, and despite my earlier complaints of having to break into a prison, that was actually the most fun I've ever had!" Luz spoke.

Eda blinked in surprise.

"I really have nothing big back at home to look forward to, and you seem like you need all the help you can get. So maybe I can stick around for a little bit, explore this strange land and maybe... learn a bit of magic." said Luz, with the last part of magic being said a bit quickly.

Eda was even more surprised now. Despite being told already, she still couldn't quite grasp what Luz is saying.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a confused chuckle.

Luz approached Eda and stopped in front of her.

"I wanna stay here and become a witch like you and Azura!" Luz grinned and showed her book to Eda.

Once again, Eda laughed. "Man, this girl's a hoot!" she said internally as she pushed Luz's book down.

"Look, kid, I like you so I'm going to be honest: Humans can't become witches." she said seriously.

But Luz wasn't giving up so easily.

"How do we know?" Luz asked.

"I know my stuff." Eda replied flatly.

"Maybe that's because they haven't tried. If you teach me magic, I'll do whatever you want." Luz offered.

King tugged on Eda's dress. "Let her stay! she can make us snacks!" King begged, whispering the last part.

Usually Eda's words were final, but seeing Luz so eager to learn and King happy that she wants to stay made her change her mind. She smiled while picking up King.

"Before I give my answer, are you sure that your parents will be okay with you being here instead of home?" Eda inquired.

Luz froze. She didn't expect a question like this to pop up at all. Why couldn't Eda just say yes and be done with it?

"Oh, yeah, my mom and... dad are cool people. They really wouldn't mind." Luz lied.

Eda noticed Luz's odd expression when she paused before mentioning her dad but thought nothing of it.

"Well, I could use some extra hands around here with chores and keeping this little imp out of the cupboards. All right. I'll teach you magic. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells. Deal?" Eda said, holding out her hand.

The wide smile stretched on Luz's face answered Eda's question; the former shook Eda's hand unaware of how hard her grip is.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Luz cheered.

"You're welcome, kid! Now my hand hurts..."


Luz opened the door and walked into a storage room provided by Eda which will act as her place of rest. Inside the dark room was stuff Eda has taken in her possession over the years such as treasure chests, portraits of art, some very real looking swords, some sports trophies with one dating back to the 1960s, and other items that looked both new and ancient to Luz. There was also a dusty window that barely allowed the moonlight to shine through.

"And I though my room was messy." Luz said with a laugh.

She dropped her bags onto the ground and rolled out her sleeping bag and pillow that was meant to be used at the summer camp. She throws on it and looks up to the ceiling, still smiling.

She could definitely get used to this.

Glancing to the side, Luz noticed something on top of a nearby barrel that caught her eye. She reached over and grabbed it and saw that it was a box with a picture of a camcorder that hasn't been opened yet.

"No way!" Luz said as she ripped open the box and pulled out the small gray camcorder. "It's brand new!"

Luz reached back into the box and found a battery pack, charging cord, a recording tape, a hand strap and another strap that allows it to hang from your neck.

After putting it all together, Luz turned it on and watched at the small screen popped out.

"This is so cool! Imagine all the stuff here I can record?"

Luz looked around the room and wondered what should her first recording be about. She then stepped on something hard. Looking down, Luz saw a framed photo of her and her mom she brought along. It was a few years ago when Luz was in middle school, and both of them looked happy.

Luz's smile faded as she started to think of her mom and how they had a small argument earlier. Then she wondered if Camila would realize that she's not at camp, hopefully they will have too many kids attending to notice. But Luz believes it won't be so bad; she'll only be staying her for a few days... or a week. She hasn't decided on how long her stay will be, but she not knew what her first recording will be.

Luz faced the lens towards her and pressed the record button. A small red light told Luz that recording has started.

"Hey mom. As you may have guessed by watching this, I'm not at camp. I'm in a place called the Boiling Isles where witches and magic exists! I, umm, guess you might be mad at this after wasting money for the camp, but I won't be here long. I just want to see what this world holds because I like it so far. Sure, it's creepy and slightly dangerous, but I've met some pretty cool people who I hope you can meet soon. I will be learning something during my stay here though! That's right, your daughter is learning magic! And, well, maybe you'll be proud knowing I achieved something great. I'll do more of these daily so you can watch them when I come home. Love you, mamà."

Luz stopped recording and as the video was saved, Luz shut off the camera and breathed heavily.

"Luz! I made you some grub; come get it before King eats it all!" Eda called from downstairs.

Seeing how she was hungry, Luz got up and walked out of the room hoping when Eda said 'grub', she wasn't referring to larvae.


Meanwhile, miles away from the Owl House we find a throne room filled with metallic pipes going up the walls and a very disturbing sight being a gigantic sickly greenish-gray beating heart hanging from the roof.

The room is lit only by two torches which reveals a small army of white tunic wearing guards and a throne where an ominous figure wearing a golden mask with two long upward-facing horns with dark hollow eyes and a large white and brown cape with gold trim.

Approaching the throne is a tall, slender woman with aquamarine eyes, ivory skin and long teal-colored hair. Her attire mainly consists of a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray dress and dark gray laced boots. She also has a sky-blue gem located on her sternum that's attached to her dress and is in the shape of an inverted kite.

The woman stops a few inches from the throne and kneels down, her black claw-like nails touching the ground.

"Honorable Emperor Belos." she greeted.

"Lilith," Emperor Belos spoke with a deep voice. "What news do you have for me?"

Lilith continued to speak. "We have word that a riot has taken place at the Conformatorium. Warden Wrath and some guards have been assaulted and a few prisoners escaped... And the Owl Lady is the culprit." she revealed.

A low grumble could be heard behind Belos' mask. "She still causes us trouble. But what would she want with the Conformatorium?"

"That's the interesting part, my emperor. With her was the human that was reported to have been seen in the market hours ago. Our suspicions of those two being connected were correct."

Emperor Belos reached down next to his throne and pulled up the photo of Luz that was given by the brute guard earlier.

"If this human girl is in leagues with the Owl Lady, this must mean that the latter must have the portal." Belos pointed out in realization.

"I believe so too, emperor." Lilith replied.

Emperor Belos stood from his seat, revealing his long height.

"This is glorious! The Day of Unity is closer to our reach than ever before. And with that portal, our goal will finally be achieved." Emperor Belos spoke, almost sounding excited.

"Do you want me to rally the soldiers and plan an all-out ambush?" Lilith asked as she got back on her feet.

"No! We wait. The Owl Lady will slip up eventually, and with this human by her side it might happen quicker than we imagine. Now leave! We have lots of preparing to do." Belos commanded.

Lilith complied with a bow and turned away from Belos and headed towards the throne room exit. On her way, Lilith was stopped by a small red-skinned demon who looked to be the size of a child with bird-like legs and talons on her feet and fingers. It wears a small white tunic and a left eye that has a yellow sclera and a brownish red iris; her other eye hidden under a pair of conjoined hands on the demon's head that looks similar to hair.

"What do you want, Kikimora?" Lilith asked in distaste.

The little demon spoke with a soft female voice. "Nothing much. Just wanted to congratulate you on doing something right for a change." Kikimora said with a cocky tone.

Lilith shook her head, annoyed by the demon's smart mouth.

"My report allowed Belos to know that the Day of Unity can still happen. And what have you done all day instead of struggling to reach a door handle?" Lilith smirked.

Kikimora closed her eye and let out an aggravated chuckle.

"You better watch yourself, Lilith." Kikimora hissed.

Lilith showed no fear at she continued to talk down at Kikimora. "No, you watch yourself! All I need is Belos' permission to launch you all the way on the other side of the Isles without a second thought. And with the way things are going, maybe that will happen very soon!"

Finished, Lilith walked away from Kikimora and exited the throne room.

"And all I need is for our emperor's permission to do something far worse to you." Kikimora sneered with a flex her sharp talons.


So if you all noticed that Tiny Nose (Dana Terrace's self-insert) was absent from this chapter, it was intentional. And it's not because I want to erase Dana's name from the Owl House, but this is a version of the story that takes place long before Dana does her own reboot if OH in 2020 if that makes sense to anyone; I still acknowledge that Dana Terrace owns/created The Owl House on the first chapter.

...

Reviews:

Guest: "This is a really cool story. I am looking forward to what is coming next."

Thanks.

Crosshot: "So it looks like you decided the songs aren't gonna happen, because now the second song hasn't been included. Still, happy this got an update and I expect the third chapter up in less than a month."

Unfortunately yes because making songs is difficult especially if it's exclusive to a fanfic. Maybe one day I'll get the motivation to do at least one song or find someone who can help me make lyrics. Whichever comes first.

R-Doll: "This fic starts out strong. Not an exact copy of episode 1 which I am grateful. Some fics are rather copy-paste with slight variations. Slight variations here work to make the story appear more serious while maintaining the humor and creativity of the original Owl House. I love that intro with Eda and the cauldron. The beta designs used for the characters in this fic have a good edge though I like to read more to get used to them. Despite the usual grammar/writing mistakes, this fic is written well to create more interest. Luz's rebellious and teenage angst are remarkable. Believable since Luz has overreacted. Her prank game in this fic rival Eda's own imo. Not sure how this fic will go, but I'm excited to find out."

Thank you. I'm trying my best to give this version of Owl House a unique spin that's both original but recognizable at the same time.


Lastly, I have a question regarding the first chapter. Do any of you believe that it's too long? Because that chapter has the introduction to Luz and her entering the Isles and meeting Eda, so should I divide the chapter so Luz being in the isles is its own chapter?