(A week earlier…)
Thunder rumbled, as boiling rain pelted on the roofs of citizens homes. It was the middle of the night, and almost all witches were asleep.
Almost.
Up on a hill, the lights of a large mansion were still shining brightly, as three dark figures, one yelling at a smaller one, could be seen. The third stood to the side, unmoving as she wrote something on what appeared to be a clip-board. Seemingly ignoring the argument happening right in front of her.
The taller figure grabs the smaller one roughly by her arm, dragging her toward the giant doors. They open, and a young witch let out a yelp as she was thrown in the mud. The acidic rain landed on her, and she hissed in pain as she tried to shield herself as best she could. Looking up at the figure in disbelief, the pink-haired witchling could only see the disgust-filled look of her father figure glaring down at her. Their glasses and long, pink hair the only thing visible, but the young witch could feel their three icy blue eyes on her, watching her with scorn.
"You've brought disgrace to our family, Elizabeth. And until you learn to be a proper Blight, you are no longer welcome under this roof." They state, closing the doors, and leaving the young witch outside.
Getting over her shock, the witch growled as she stood up. "That's fine by me! I'd rather be a criminal than be like you!" She screamed out in anger, letting out another hiss through her teeth as the rain continued to pelt down on her. Drawing a spell circle, she made a shield for herself before walking off the property of her former home, walking through the gates that read "Blight Estate".
Something Liza hoped she wouldn't have to see for a long time.
—
(Present day…)
Hooty smashes his face into a steel bucket three times, imitating a school bell. Luz speaks while activating different glyphs. "Light in the darkness, a glittering bridge of ice, the mightiest tree in the forest! You can make all of these, and more, with glyph magic!" The human says dramatically, pulling a sheet off of a blackboard. "Welcome to day three of Luz's magic boot camp!"
Fire glyphs ignite on the ground, and King, who was sleeping near one, screams and runs away. He jumps into Hazel's arms for protection. The basilisk had been standing to the side, awaiting for Luz's instructions.
Lilith and Eda sat in desks in front of Luz, and the former coven head claps her hands excitedly. Eda was busy carving something into the desk she was using.
"Okay, we have covered every glyph I've learned up until now. So today, we'll learn something new." Luz explains, pacing in front of the black board. It had the glyphs the two girls knew up until that point, which was only four. Light, plant, fire and ice. Lilith raises her hand excitedly. "Are we about to encounter a never-before-seen glyph?"
Luz and Hazel share a glance. "Un…fortunately no. These four either came from nature or another witch's spell. I-I don't know where to find more." The human explains sadly. Eda and Lilith share a surprised look.
"In any case, today we're learning how to alter glyphs to do specific things!" The human butted in, trying to sound enthusiastic as she flips the board to show off the different glyph combos. Lilith waves her paper in the air. "Miss teacher, did I do it right?" She asks, showing the two girls the diagram she drew.
Luz and Hazel had a closer look. "Yeah! That's really good!"
"Great work, Lilith!" Hazel says, giving her a thumbs up. Lilith fist pumps, smile brightening. Luz turns to Eda. "Let's see how you're doing, Eda."
Eda finished carving a fire and glyph overlapping together on the table. Luz and Hazel looked down at it, unsure. "Uh, Eda, I don't think that's a good-" Hazel starts, but is immediately interrupted by Eda. "Double glyph combo, go!"
The Owl Lady slaps the two glyphs and they fizzle and flash, before exploding. Eda glares down at it. "Oh dang, I was hoping more of an ice blast situation." She grumbled.
"I know you're impatient to get your powers back, but try to master the basics before you start experimenting." Luz said gently, motioning to the board. Eda groans, but doesn't say anything.
Hooty slides over, interrupting the lesson. "Toot toot! The Hexside train is a-coming! Chugga-chugga!" He calls, picking up Luz and Hazel by their collars. Hazel hurriedly turned into her new disguise, as Luz waves bye to Eda and Lilith as they were dragged away. "King's in charge while we're gone!"
As they were dragged away, Hazel turns to Luz. "You sent everyone a picture of my new disguise, right?" She asks, referring to Willow, Gus, Amity and Liza. The human nods. "Yep! Although, I don't know if Liza got it. She hasn't said anything, and I'm getting worried. Oh well! We'll show her when we get to Hexside!" Luz laughs, as Hooty puts them down.
Back at the Owl House, King chuckles, cheering that he was in charge. "Hahah! Power!"
Eda stands up, stretching in relief. "Yes! Teacher's gone! Hah, I wonder what other combos I can try." She chuckles. Lilith glares up at her sister, unamused. "Teacher said we're supposed to master the basics before-"
"Basics are sooo basic." Eda interrupts. Striking a pose, she continues with her speech. "Now if we want to be powerful again, we're gonna have to start thinking outside the box!" She exclaims. Lilith shakes her head, picking up her flash cards. "If we want to be powerful again, we have to use glyphs perfectly! And we can only do that through "memorisation", "repetition", and "following the rules"." She states. As she speaks, she holds up the flash cards with words on them.
Eda slaps the cards out of her sister's hands, cackling. "Well, I'm more interested in "experimentation", "innovation" and, uh, "laughing at tools", like you! Hah!" She snorts, walking away. Lilith groans in frustration, turning her gaze of anger on the small dog like demon now scratching himself in front of her. He looks up, confused, before rolling his eyes. "Weh! Yeah, yeah. I'll deal with it. No one ever said power came with responsibility…" he grumbles, following Eda inside the house.
—
Hazel and Luz stood before Hexside School of Magic and Demonics giant doors, just staring at them. Taking in a deep breath, Luz mutters to herself. "Okay, first day back after the petrification ceremony. Just be chill."
Turning to Hazel, she saw the shapeshifter hadn't reacted. She was still staring intently at the doors, her mind elsewhere. Placing a hand on the basilisk's shoulder, she ignored the small but noticeable jolt the demon did from surprise. Hazel turns to her, finally paying attention to the human. "You ready for this?" Luz asks.
Taking in her own breath, she exhales shakily, before giving a nod. "Y-yeah, I'm ready." She replies, and the two push the doors open.
The doors swing open, and the two peek inside. There were a few students walking through the halls, others were taking books out of their lockers. But only two caught their attention straight away.
Wllow and Gus gasp, screaming with joy as they run towards the two girls. Luz and Hazel could feel tears of happiness prick the corners of their eyes as they met the two halfway, giving them a hug.
"Luz! Hazel! You're okay!" Gus says excitedly, voice noticeably deeper. Hazel and Luz had to take a step back, getting a good look at the witchling who had been way shorter than them a week prior. Now, he was almost their height.
"Whoa, Gus! Did we uh, miss a birthday or something?" Luz asks. Gus shrugs, a small grin on his face. "Witch puberty." He explains simply.
"Thank you guys so much for helping us out at the conformatorium." Hazel says, to which Gus waves her off. "It's cool, I just hope it helps Eda learn my name. She keeps calling me Goops." He explains. A student passes by, calling him "goops", to which the younger witch wilts dejectedly at. "It's already spreading…"
Willow gives Hazel another bear hug, before squeezing her cheeks. "Aw! You look so cute in this new look!" She squeals, to which Hazel blushes at. "Willow!" She giggles, and her friend lets her go, joining her in her laughter.
"Hey, Luz, Hazel. " a voice calls out quietly, followed by a much more excited, "Hazel! Luz!" Hazel looks up to see Amity and Liza walking excitedly toward them, and she grins widely. Running up to them, she pulls both into a tight hug. Both Blight's are taken by surprise, but they smile, returning the gesture.
Letting them go, Amity looks Hazel up and down, taking in her new disguise. "So, you're a shapeshifter?" She questions. Hazel scratches the back of her neck, giving her an awkward chuckle. "Yeah…did Luz and Liza tell you?" She questions, glancing over to Liza. Amity gives her a formal nod. "Yep. It's actually pretty cool." She states. Hazel thanks her, smiling softly.
After exchanging a few words with Hazel, Amity left to greet Luz, carrying her pie the shapeshifter hadn't noticed before. The basilisk turns to Liza, who was smiling warmly at her. Her pinkish-red hair seemed a little longer than before, and she had a new pair of glasses on.
"I'm glad you're okay, Hazel." The witchling says softly. Eyes lifting, she grins. "Is that permanent, or part of your disguise?" She questions. Hazel, realising she was talking about her hair, blushes slightly, bashfully looking away. "Oh! U-uh, it's permitted- I-I mean permanent! It's permanent!" She stammers, feeling her cheeks heat up once more. Face palming, she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
Liza giggles, and Hazel smiles, her heart fluttering once more. Dang it, why can't she just be cool around Liza?!
"It's good to see you again." The pink-haired witchling finally said. Hazel nods. "You too." She says. She gasps, catching sight of Liza's new colourful uniform. "You're uniform! You switched tracks! That's amazing, Liza!" She says excitedly.
Liza twirls a little, showing it off. Her pants where blue and pink, while her shirt sleeves were orange and red. The witchling was now taking healing, abominations, beast-keeping and bard.
"Oh! Yeah, I was finally able to switch to what I wanted!" She explains. "After what happened at the conformatorium, my folks kind of…kicked me out." She says, scratching the back of her head. Looking up at Hazel, she hurriedly waves her hands in front of her face at the sight of the basilisk's shocked expression. "But it's okay! I'm staying with a friend of mine! It's been great so far." She explains.
Giving Liza a sad look, Hazel let out a sigh. "Well, as long as you're happier living with your friend than with your parents, I guess I call that a win?" She says, to which Liza giggles. "Yeah, I guess you can call it that."
The loudspeakers screeched to life, and the students all look up at the PA system in confusion. "You can't just barge in here!" Principal Bump's voice cried out angrily to an unknown person. A shrill voice responds to him. "Yes, we can. We are the Parent Creature Association!" The woman clears her throat, directing her voice into the microphone.
"Luz Noceda, Willow Park, Augustus Porter, and Hazel…." Her voice trails off, and she attempts to cover the microphone. But her loud voice could be heard hissing at Bump. "What is this?! You let a stray into the school?! She doesn't even have a last name! No matter-" Turning back to the microphone, the woman's voice was clear once more.
"And Hazel "Noceda", you know who you are, report to Principal Bump's office now. And you too, Amity."
Hazel and Luz share a nervous and worried glance, as the small group of friends head slowly to the Principal's office, the eyes of the other students following their every move. Liza follows behind, walking side-by-side with Amity, who looked troubled.
—
"The abomination situation, the destruction of detention, the rampage of grom!" Odalia ranted, as she and her husband, Alador Blight, flank either side of Bump, who was sitting at his desk. The kids all sat in front of them, sharing worried glances at each other. Amity was glaring to the side, arms crossed in anger as she listened to her parents "concern".
Liza was waiting outside, not allowed entry into the room.
"These are but a few of the incidents that have endangered Hexside students, including our daughter." Odalia states. Amity shoots her a deadly glare.
Hazel, who had her gaze in her lap, cautiously glanced up at the principal. Bump was staring at her intently, his gaze full of suspicion. Immediately, her gaze returned to her lap, and she fiddled with her fingers.
"So, the PCA has decided…" Odalia coughs, giving Alador an expectant glare. The Blight, who was distracted by Bump's palisman's tail, turned his attention to his wife. "Oh, right. Um, these four are bad influencers and must be executed."
The children all gasp, before Alador corrects himself. "Ahem, I mean expelled." But this didn't calm them down.
"What?!"
"B-but that's not fair!"
Principal Bump lowers his head in defeat. "Sadly, I have no choice in the matter. Luz, Willow, Augustus…Hazel," he says the last name a little slowly, and the basilisk starts to sweat as the principal continues. "Effective immediately, you are no longer students of Hexside."
Luz stood up, trying to object to this unfair turn of events. "No! But us…good…Amity, tell them!" She stammered, gesturing to the young Blight's parents. But Amity had gone quiet, looking down in defeat. Hazel watches her, confused. Did something happen?
Odalia huffs with a knowing smile. "Good. Now, you'll be taking double the classes to make up for lost time. Actually, I'm appalled that you're not in class right now. What are you thinking?" She demands.
Amity stands, not meeting her gaze. "Right, sorry." She mumbles. Odalia snaps her fingers, and two Hexside guards barge into the room, dragging Willow, Gus, Luz and Hazel away. They cry out, but it was all in vain.
Luz tried calling out to Amity one last time, hoping that she'll speak up about this unjust action. Odalia places a hand on Amity's shoulder, a victorious smirk on her face. Amity glances back at her friends with a sad expression, before the door closed behind them.
Liza abruptly stood up, following helplessly behind her four friends who were being dragged through the halls of Hexside.
—
"It finally happened! Our memorable adventures caught up to us!" Gus yells out exasperated, pacing in front of the school.
The four expelled kids and Liza were waiting outside, not knowing what to do but not wanting to go home, either. Luz was laying over the side of the stairs balustrades*, while Hazel and Liza sat on the steps, side by side. Willow was hugging a tree, quietly saying something to it.
"Oh, my dad can't find out about this! I guess I'll have to start surviving off the land…" Gus pauses his pacing, picking up a leaf. He attempts to lick it, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He throws it back down out of disgust. "This is impossible!" Sobbing, he runs away.
Liza, watching the four upset kids, was furious. "I don't believe this! If Amity hadn't asked me not to intervene, I'd be marching right up to those snobs houses right now." she continues grumbling to herself, but Hazel wasn't listening. She was staring at the ground, thinking over all that happened, and trying to think of a logical explanation on why they were the ones blamed. Sure, some of it was their fault, but not all of it!
Luz groans, rubbing her eyes. Noticing Odalia and Alador Blight coming out of the school and descending down the steps, she calls out to them. "Hey!"
Odalia was the only to glance back, her husband too busy chasing after a butterfly. The human stood up straight, shooting her a glare. Liza and Hazel joined her, sharing the same expressions.
"How dare you mess with my friends' lives! What have we ever done to you?" She accuses. The Blight mother only raised a brow. "Luz, was it? Please, this isn't personal. I actually appreciate your tenacity. We're just trying to teach our daughter a valuable lesson in business." She says in a sickeningly sweet voice. Liza scowls, hands clenching into fists. Noticing this, Hazel gently held her wrist, and the pink-haired witch turned back to her, seeing the pleading look on her face.
"Do it for Amity." She mouthed. Liza nods, understanding.
Of course, the basilisk was furious. One of her safe-havens has been taken away from her, as well as three of her friends lives ruined. If it weren't for her lack of experience in magic, she would've shown these so called "parents" of Amity's a piece of her mind.
"How does this teach her anything? We're still gonna be friends with her. I'm calling applesauce on this business baloney!" Luz points out. Odalia places a hand on her chin in thought. "Your human language is hard to understand, but I think I see your point." She states, grabbing and squeezing the butterfly Alador was studying. Releasing it, she brought out a card from Alador's coat pocket, handing it to the human. "If you're interested in talking things through, I'm sure we can come to some sort of an agreement." She states.
Luz takes it, glancing between the Blight Industry business card and the Blight parents thoughtfully.
"GUS CHOMP!"
Hazel let out an "Eek!", jumping back slightly as Gus munches down on the card. Willow leans on Hazel's shoulders, shooting Amity's parents a glare. "Come on, girls. We can figure this out on our own." She says. Spitting out the card, Gus grins, crossing his arms in a boost of confidence. "That's right! We'll get back into Hexside or die trying!" He states. Willow turns to him, unamused. "No one's dying."
"Not with that attitude…"
They walk away, still bickering amongst themselves. Odalia chuckles, watching them go with a smirk before turning back to Luz, Hazel and Liza. "Yes, well, when that doesn't work, you know where to find us." She says, pushing Alador and they walk away together. Liza growls. "Ugh, she is the worst!"
The basilisk nods, agreeing with the pink-haired witch's statement. She's only known them for, what, ten minutes? And she already despised the mother. The father…she wasn't sure what to think of him.
With a sigh, Liza turns to leave, Hazel right beside her. She glances back over her shoulder, seeing that Luz was staring intently in the direction the Blight parents had disappeared.
—
"Okay, almost got it…." Eda whispers, slowly placing a card onto a pyramid. Placing it down and seeing it hadn't toppled, the witch takes a step back, admiring her handiwork. "Glyph pyramid!" She says in a sing-song voice.
King, who was sitting beside her, looks up from threading beads onto a piece of string. He stares skeptically at the pile of glyphs. "And…what are you expecting this glyph pyramid to do?" He asks. Eda grins.
"It's supposed to prove that I'm the superior witch. Watch and learn." Slapping the card pyramid, she prepares for an explosion. But the glyphs fail to do anything impressive, and she scowls down at them tiredly. "Ugh, okay let's think. Bile sacs have different spell phlegm sloshing around together. So why can't I mix these up too?!" She cries, exasperated.
King pauses in his activity. "But those are disgusting liquids, these are symbols from the Isles." He explains. "Maybe there's a different way to combine them."
The Owl Lady hums in thought, thinking over what the small demon said. Maybe he was right…
"Hootly-mootly!"
Eda and King glance out the window, spotting Lilith using the ice glyphs to perfectly create what she wanted. An ice crown for Hooty, two popsicle sticks and finally a sculpture of Hooty.
"Whoahahaha! I bet even Eda couldn't do that! Wow!" Hooty shouts.
Eda growls out of anger and jealousy. Oh, there was no way her sister was going to be better than her! Eda's the better sister!
Seeing the jealous Clawthorne, King rolls his eyes. "Maybe if you just learn the basics like Luz said-" he started, but was interrupted by Eda stomping back over the table. "I don't have time for basics! I'm onto something, and I'll prove it!" She growls, taking a seat and getting back to work.
—
Luz, Willow, Hazel and Gus look up at the brand new "BANNED" posters in front of Hexside. They share a determined glance. "Operation Change Bump's Mind. Let's go!"
—
Principal Bump sat in his office, looking at the pictures of him and the four recently expelled students taken from Grom night. He sighs sadly, already missing the troublemakers who brought excitement into his life.
Hearing a knock at the window, he looks out. There's a basket, and the Principal recognised the four students waiting at the bottom. There's a note, which pleaded for him to un-expel them, as well as a "realistic" drawing of him. Moving them aside, he lets out a scream at the disfigured cake that was supposed to resemble his face, knocking it back out the window.
The cake lands on the kids heads, and they look at each other. They needed a new plan.
—
The four grin at each other in their brand-new disguises. They were each disguised as the teachers of Hexside with Gus's illusion magic, and were going to try and sneak in via that way. Hazel even let the young witch create an illusion for her, and she was loving how realistic it looked. Maybe she could ask Gus for a few tips in illusion magic!
Just when everything seemed to be going well, the four kids bump into Principal Bump and…the teachers they were currently disguised as.
Using a spell, Principal Bump breaks their illusions, exposing them. The kids immediately back off, smiling awkwardly.
Bump watches them leave, shedding a stray tear.
—
This was it. Their last plan to try and get back into Hexside.
Luz has borrowed Owlbert, and they were all currently squished together on the one staff. Their plan was to fly right into Hexside, and possibly hide in the secret passage-ways so they could continue learning.
They were right above the school now, and were about to dive down when they noticed Principal Bump already awaiting them, pointing a crossbow at them. They hurriedly back away.
The principal, seeing they were gone, bursts into tears. "Life is just so dull without them!" He wails.
—
Gus sighs, looking up at the main doors of Hexside be shut on them by the guards. "This is hopeless! Nothing is working!" He cries, giving up. Hazel and Willow agree with him, sitting down on the steps in defeat. Luz, however, still held onto hope.
"Don't worry guys. As long as we stick together, we'll think of something!" She assures.
A crow phone lands atop Willow's head, letting out a caw. Willow and Gus visibly pale. "Oh no." Willow whispers, as the crow starts speaking. "Willow Park, did you get expelled?!" Her fathers voice calls from the other end.
Another crow phone lands on Gus's head. "This is Perry Porter with breaking news. In light of recent events, Augustus Porter will be grounded for no less than a year!" His dad's voice states angrily.
The crow phone grabs Gus by the collar and starts flying up with him in tow. The young witch latches onto Luz. "Help, Luz! Let me go! No, please, no!"
"Just one? Willow's grounded for three at least!"
The second crow phone grabs onto Willow, giving her the same treatment. Hazel immediately grabs onto her friend, as Luz tries grabbing onto Gus. But it was no use. The two witches were pulled from their grasp, and they watch helplessly as their friends were flown back home, calling out for Luz and Hazel for help.
As their two friends disappear, someone accidentally drops their book behind them. The two turn, realising Amity was holding several books in her arms. Luz immediately goes to help her, picking up the book for the witch, who only just noticed they were there.
"I'm uh…I'm sorry, I was a coward in there. But my mom-" she starts, but Luz and Hazel nod in understanding, not upset at the green-haired witch for what happened. "Hey, I get it. You're scared of her. But we're not." Luz points out, wrapping an arm around Hazel. The basilisk nods, a smile settling on her face.
"Yeah. You're mother seemed pretty open to talking things through, so we just need you to take us to her, and then we can-"
Amity hurriedly shakes her head, looking away. "I…I can't."
The school bell rings and, after taking the book Luz was holding out to her, she turns away. "I have to go…" with that, the witchling was gone. The two girls look at each other sadly.
They wanted to help their friends, but now…they didn't know how.
Looking toward the ground, Hazel notices something blowing gently across the dirt ground in the wind. She recognised it immediately as the Blight's business card. "Luz, look."
The human picks it up from the ground, brushing off specs of dirt as they examine it. The Blight's adress was written on the back.
—
Back at the Owl House, King stared at Eda's handiwork, confused. "Eda, wh-what the heck is that supposed to be?" He asks. Eda puts her hands on her hips. "I call it "the super glyph"!" She states proudly with a wide smirk. King scoffs. "More like a stupid glyph." He grumbles, loud enough to hear as he ties the string with purple beads attached together.
Eda rolls her eyes, ignoring the small demons statement. "Just you wait, this'll be a killer combo. Lesser glyphs will shrink in fear!" She says, tapping the glyph. The glyphs merge, forming into an ice-like cube. The Owl Lady laughs. "Ha! It didn't blow up!"
The ice cube sparks, turning into a blob of ice resembling a turtle shell with spikes. King freezes, looking anxiously between Eda and the blob. "Uh, I-is it supposed to do that?" He asks. The blob suddenly expands, causing the two to yelp in surprise and run away.
The blob continues to expand, trapping and freezing various objects inside of it. Eda grimaces at her creation. "Uh-huh…"
—
Outside Blight Manor, Luz picks some flowers from beside the front door, while Hazel waited patiently. "Luz, I don't think giving Mrs. Blight flowers is going to change her mind…" she says, but Luz waves her off. "It might! If we ask-"
"It's pretty much begging, Luz."
"I prefer "ask". Anyway, if we ask her enough times nicely, and if we can talk things through with her, she has to let us back into Hexside…right?"
Hazel hums, not quite believing the human. But she knocks on the door anyway, trying out Luz's plan. Maybe they could talk things through, and Mrs. Blight wasn't as bad as Amity and Liza made her out to be?
She didn't even believe her own statement.
The door opens. "Hello, Mrs. Blight, I-" Luz starts, but stops when she realised it wasn't Mrs. Blight, but an abomination butler. The two girls "ooh" at this. "Fancy…"
The abomination butler leads the two girls into the living room while holding a tray with a teacup and teapot on it. Luz takes in a deep breath. "Ooh, this place smells a LOT better than the Owl House!" She says. Hazel giggles at the humans behaviour.
As the abomination butler offers them tea, Luz gives the moving goop a makeover instead. Turning it into a kitty face, it looked cute for a brief moment. But it quickly melts, pulling a 180 in "cute". Hazel shudders, as Luz chuckles awkwardly. "Well, I tried."
Opening a door, the two girls could hear someone working in the basement. They share a glance. "What's the bet that they murder people down here?" Hazel asks jokingly, to try and lighten the mood. Luz elbows her, and the two laugh before descending the stairs into the basement.
"Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Blight?" Luz calls out, reaching the bottom first. She lets out a yelp as a severed abomination hand is thrown into the wall next to her. Hazel peers around her, seeing Mr. Blight hard at work while Odalia watched him, sipping at a teacup. Next to her, there sat two other people.
One had short, dark brown hair, similar to Aladors (if not darker). But while he was covered in abomination goop and looked unhygienic, this woman was dressed in a professional, light blue decorated outfit. Her golden eyes were focused, her gaze never leaving the clipboard in her lap.
The other had long, pink hair, tied up in a half-bun. They had three, icy blue eyes, much like Boscha, with glasses. Freckles dusted their cheeks, and they wore a red-decorated outfit. Hazel had to take a double take at how similar they looked to Liza.
Odalia, noticing their presence, turned to them with a smile. It felt unwelcoming. "Oh, good. You're here. Don't mind him, dears." Mrs. Blight says, motioning to Alador. "He's getting ready for our big demonstration tonight." She explained. "It's looking good, hon!"
The two other visitors look over to the girls, the pink-haired witch's stare felt cold as they bore into them. Hazel felt goosebumps cover her arms. The woman, however, only looked up for a split second, shooting them a more genuine smile, before returning to her paperwork.
"Beatrice, Alexis, this is the human I've been telling you about." She states, taking another sip of her tea. The pink-haired witch hums, returning to their own tea. But the two girls noticed their gaze flicker to Luz every now and again.
Luz clears her throat. "We're here to appeal to your hearts, Blights!" She says, making a heroic pose. Odalia laughs at the two girls. "That's sweet, but let's get to the deal. We have a rather important presentation tonight showing off some new products." She says.
The two children tilt their heads. "Like…abominations?" Hazel asks, gesturing to the creature Alador was making. Odalia shrugs.
"Something like that. Normally Amity helps us with these things, but she's busy catching up on school work." She explains sadly. Luz rolls her eyes, finally getting what the Blight wanted.
"I get it. I'll-"
"W-we." Hazel corrects, shoving her anxiety down as best she could. Luz nods.
"We'll help you show off your weird abomination gunk if you promise to let us and our friends back into school." The human says. Odalia smiles.
"Don't worry, human. A Blight always upholds their end of the deal. Now, you might want to go get ready because we have…"
—
"…A long night ahead of us folks! Welcome back to Blight Industries!" Odalia introduced to the crowd. The audience applauds and cheers, as Luz and Hazel chuckle nervously, wondering WHAT they had gotten themselves into.
The two girls were currently standing on stage by Odalia and Alador, looking out at the crowd awaiting to see the Blights products. As Odalia walked off stage, Hazel was frozen in place, sweating profusely as she felt all eyes on her. Her anxiety made it hard for her to move.
Oh, great. She has stage fright. Makes sense.
"So, Alador, what would you say is the specialty of Blight Industries?" Luz asks the Blight standing next to her. Alador tiredly looks at the girls, clearing his throat. "We make a variety of abomination-based accessories for home security."
Luz relaxes. "Oh, that sounds pretty safe!" She points out. Alador shrugs. "But we specialise in weaponry. You might want to duck." He walks away, leaving the two girls confused. "Huh?"
Hazel looks around, letting out a yelp before ducking for cover as a lump of abomination heads in their direction. Luz didn't have enough time to dodge before she's struck, pinned against the wall by the strange substance. The crowd goes wild.
Odalia smirks, holding a firearm that was still smoking. "Yes, our sticky launcher can peacefully subdue any foe! And, if peaceful isn't your thing…"
The witch switches modes on the gun, and it turns into a flamethrower. The crowds applaud, while Luz and Hazel are left to stare in shock at the weapons.
For the second time within a few minutes, Hazel wondered what they had gotten themselves into.
—
Liza sat on her make-shift mattress, writing down notes for her classes. She was currently resting at her mentor's place, which was meant to be a one-person home. But her friend managed to squeeze her in, letting the witchling stay.
Petting the vulture palisman on her lap, she was startled to hear a loud knocking at the window. Glancing up, the pink-haired witchling was surprised to see Amity peeking through the glass.
She stood up, opening the window. "Amity, what are you-"
"Hazel and Luz are in trouble!" She hisses, and Liza freezes. Letting that information sink in, she lets out a groan, face-palming. "Of course they are…"
(A few minutes later…)
Liza and Amity joined up with Willow and Gus, and were currently outside the Blight Manor. From outside, they could already hear Luz and Hazel's terrified screams above the applauding and cheering of the crowd.
"Okay, I can use the root system underground to tunnel our way in." Willow strategised. Liza and Amity shared a look, each having the same thought. "That'll take too long, though." Liza explained. Her cousin nodded. "Yeah, we should just rush the guards at the door!"
Liza pauses, turning back to Amity. "I was thinking more along the lines of "luring the guards away"." She points out. Gus nods, reaching up and leaning on her shoulders. "Exactly what I was thinking! I can distract them with illusions of beautiful lady guards."
"This isn't a cartoon from the '40s, Gus! We need a better plan!" Willow says angrily. Gus gasps, offended. "This could work!"
The four started arguing amongst themselves, their voices getting louder and louder.
"Here's an idea." A voice cut through their yells. They all look toward the sound, spotting Edric and Emira watching them a short distance away. The two witches were holding a bunch of cloaks in one hand, as he smirked at them. "Why don't you just walk through the front?"
Throwing them the cloaks, they each caught one. Amity looks up at them, astonished. "Ed! Em! You're helping?"
"Of course! Just….don't tell mom." Emira chuckles, as Ed agreed with a nod. With a grateful smile, the four witchlings hurriedly put on the cloaks, heading toward Blight Manor to rescue their friends.
As they walked, Edric puts paper which says "Hex me!" On their backs. The twins giggle, but Amity throws them back and they hit Edric's face. He yelps, falling to the ground. Emira looks back up at her sister, who angrily points two fingers at them, growling as she walks backwards.
Liza couldn't help but grin at her cousins antics.
—
On stage, Luz and Hazel are running and dodging the attacks of an abomination. The human uses an ice glyph to block one of the arrows being shot at them, but it breaks the ice, sending both girls to the ground. From there, an abomination fist punches them upwards, before catching them, holding them in its grasp.
The girls kicked and squirmed, as the abomination held a crossbow to their face. Luz braces herself, while Hazel attempted to draw a spell circle, since her glyphs were in her pocket, out of reach. "Come on!" She hisses, trying to move her hand in a circular motion. But it was no use.
"Thank you, thank you. And they said we couldn't make crossbows more fun!" The crowd laughs, as the abomination fist slowly lowers the two girls back onto the stage, disappearing between the wooden cracks. Luz holds out her hand to Hazel, who was slightly shaking. "You okay?" She whispers. Hazel nods, taking her hand as they both stand.
"Next, we're very excited to show you our last product from this line." Odalia continued adressing the crowd. Luz let out a relieved sigh, giving Hazel a nudge. "Thank goodness, only one more to go. You ready for it?" She whispers. Hazel only shrugged tiredly, clearly bruised and beaten. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"My husband has been toiling away to bring you…" the ground shook, and Luz and Hazel yelp as they take a step back. The stage opened up beneath them, and an abomination clad in golden armour rose from a platform. Odalia had already gotten off the stage at this point, and she smirked at their creation.
"The Abomaton 2.0!"
Amity and Liza gasp, and the green-haired Bight immediately turns to climb a ladder, throwing her hood off. Willow, Gus and Liza try to follow, but are restrained by security abominations.
Odalia paces in front of the Abomaton, a wide grin on her face. "It's bigger! It's better! The Abomaton 2.0 is the perfect soldier. It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!" She gloats, walking over to join her husband, Beatrice and Alexis Blight, who'd come to watch the show.
Luz laughs nervously, as the two girls look up at the Abomaton in fear. "You're a big boy, aren't ya?" Luz says quietly. The Abomaton locks eyes on the two, turning its hands into weapons. The girls whimper.
The Abomaton attacks first. It swings its arms down at them, and the two barely dodge in time. Running along the stage, Luz felt it grab her foot, and she falls with a yelp. Right in front of Odalia and her VIP guests.
Hazel knelt down, using a fire glyph to set the Abomaton arm into flames. It reeled back, letting the human go. "Okay! It's super strong! I think the crowd gets it!" Luz strains, as Hazel helps her to her feet. The basilisk glances over her shoulder, seeing the Abomaton prepare another attack.
Alador looks over to his wife, unamused. "She has a point, Odalia." He points out. Odalia didn't turn to look at him, instead just gave the girls one more sickeningly sweet smile. "Didn't you hear me? It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"
"Luz, watch out!" Hazel pushes Luz aside, just as the Abomaton reaches out to grab the two. It misses Luz, but after grabbing Hazel, it throws her into the air. She screams as she lands on the roof beams. Catching her breath, she looks down to spot Luz dodging attack after attack, barely saving herself. She uses several different glyphs. All the while, the basilisk never spotted Amity climbing the ladder behind her.
Looking over to Odalia, her husband and her "guests", she saw them talking amongst each other. Weirdly enough, she could faintly hear their voices above the fight from down below.
The pink-haired witch that looked similar to Liza, Alexis, shook their head, glaring at the human. "They're making quite the scene, don't you think Odalia? Why don't you just finish the job already." They mutter. Odalia only smiles.
"Oh Alexis. You should know by now how you should always take whatever opportunity comes. I-" she was rudely cut off by Alexis, who scoffed.
"Yes, yes, but I came to you for a job. That brat has ruined my family's reputation and warped Elizabeth's mind. I asked you to get rid of her. And in return, you get a large sum of money. That was our deal."
The brown-haired witch, Beatrice, nervously kept her eyes on the clipboard, trying to ignore the obvious attempt of an assassination going on in front of her.
At this news, Hazel gasped. Looking back down at Luz, she realised that the human was cowering before the Abomaton, who was towering over her now.
She had to do something. This was no longer about making products look good. This was petty homicide.
The basilisk started drawing a spell circle. Her spells may be wild, unstable and unpredictable, but right now Luz needed her help.
Before she finished, something stopped the Abomaton from finishing Luz off. Its arms stood still, before exploding. Luz scoots backwards, putting distance between herself and the Abomaton.
"Hey!"
The crowds gasp, and Hazel looks up to see Amity drawing more spell circles, glaring daggers at the Abomaton. "Stay away from my Luz!"
Hazel got up, looking around the crowd. Towards the back of the audience, she could see Willow, Gus and Liza being held back by security abominations. Brows furrowing in concern, she swiftly moved toward the ladder.
Amity could handle the Abomaton until Hazel returned with back-up, right?
—
Back at the Owl House, Lilith sat outside, Hooty looking over her shoulder with his ice crown, his popsicle and a brand new chain necklace. The witch was drawing something on a notepad.
A sudden loud noise startled them, and Lilith walks over to the door, giving it a firm knock. "Edalyn? Are these distressed noises or normal noises?" She asks.
Eda chuckles nervously, holding a mace as she faced the ever-growing ice blob. "Totally normal! Don't come in!" She calls in a sing song voice. Glaring at the ice blob, she hisses. "I am your mother! You will obey me and die!"
She strikes the ice blob with her mace. The blob absorbs her weapon, pushing her away with a spike. She falls back, hitting the wall.
"Eda, help me! Help me, Eda!" King yells out in fright. Looking up, Eda gasps at the sight of King being absorbed into the ice blob as well. He reaches out to her, right as he's completely frozen inside the blob. "Eda, help me!"
Eda stares at the blob in horror, before groaning. "Ugh, fine! Lilith, emergency!" She calls out. Lilith kicks down the door, surveying the scene. "Whoa."
The Owl Lady nods solemnly. "Yeah, yeah. I messed up. I'm ready to follow the rules." She grumbles in defeat. Lilith thinks a moment, smirking as she up her notes. "Actually, I'd like to try an experiment."
—
As Amity has a show-down with the Abomaton, Hazel slides down the ladder with ease, ignoring the fact that multiple people were watching both her and the two on stage. Reaching the ground, she runs towards the security abominations, drawing large spell circles.
She knew this wasn't going to end well. But she wanted to show those Blight's that they were NOT to be messed with. Slamming the spell circles into the ground, she concentrated summoning her own abominations.
From behind the security abominations, large blobs rose from the ground, towering over them. The security abominations dropped Gus, Willow and Liza, and the witchlings scurried away as the abominations turned to deal with this new threat. All the while, a pair of icy blue eyes observed her closely.
Hazel's abominations, which held no recognisable form, crashed into the Blight's abominations. The basilisk could feel her control on them slipping and, in one final attempt to be rid of them, grabbed a fire glyph from her pocket. Slamming that into the ground, she directed the flames to hit the abomination pile.
The abomination pile shrieked, sliding out the massive doors like a slug. Hazel let out a tired exhale, as Liza, Willow and Gus rushed to her side. "Hazel, are you okay?!" Gus asks worriedly. The basilisk waved them off. "I'm fine, we gotta help Luz and Amity!" She urged.
With a nod, the four ran toward the stage….right as the Abomaton crushed their two friends with a giant hammer.
There was a moment of silence, and Hazel covered her mouth in shock, inhaling sharply.
The Abomaton powered down, seeing its enemy was no longer a threat. The crowd started applauding.
"Luz!"
The four friends rushed on stage, terrified of what they might find. But all their worries slipped away as Amity stood up, helping Luz to her feet. Hazel laughed out in relief, running ahead of her friends as she jumped at Luz. "Luz! Don't you EVER scare me like that again!" She scolded, hugging the human close. Luz giggles, hugging her back. "Aw, I'm glad you're okay too, Hazel."
After pulling away, they made their way toward the exit. As they walked, Liza walks close to the basilisk, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?" She asks, grabbing onto Hazel's hand as they walked.
They had begun to trail behind the others, and after Liza had done that, Hazel stopped and turned to her, a slight blush on her face. She laughs nervously. "I-i'm fine, really!" She reassures. It seems to work, for the pink-haired witchling let out a sigh of relief. "Good…" she says softly, before shooting Hazel a glare. "What were you thinking!? You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Hazel laughs, as Liza huffs in annoyance. But the basilisk noticed the hint of a smile on her lips.
"Elizabeth?"
The two turn to face the voice behind them, and are surprised to see Beatrice Blight standing there, her eyes darting around to look for someone. Liza's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Mom?"
Beatrice steps closer to them. "Elizabeth, what are you doing here? You and your friends need to get out of here." She whispers. Liza and Hazel share a glance. "Mom, why are you-"
"I don't have much time, Elizabeth, but believe me when I say you're safer staying with your friends then back at the house, and right now you need to-" she's cut off as a hand is placed on her shoulder, and a tall figure looms over her. Beatrice freezes, eyes widening. Hazel recognised the look of fear immediately.
"Darling, shouldn't you be filling out paperwork?" A cold voice says sweetly. A seemingly innocent question, but Hazel could practically FEEL the unspoken threat behind it. Beatrice clears her throat, standing up straight as she shoots the two girls. "Ah, o-of course! I-I'll meet you back inside, dear." She laughs nervously, hurriedly walking away.
The pink-haired witch watches her go for a moment, before turning back to the two girls standing before them. "Hello, Elizabeth."
Liza stands up straight, gaze never leaving the witch in front of her. "Father." She growls back. The witch's cold glare never falters, as their gaze flickers between Liza and Hazel.
"So, what are you doing here Elizabeth." They finally ask. Liza shrugs, putting on a cocky grin. "Oh, you know. Mixing magic, breaking and entering, a little stealing here and there. All the things a Blight wouldn't do." She says with a smug smirk.
At that, Alexis grabs her arm. The witchling flinches, her smug expression falling for a brief moment as Alexis glares at her. "Why you little-"
While watching the witch before her carefully, Hazel already felt nervous. From Beatrice's behaviour, she knew something was wrong with this witch. Something dangerous lurked behind their calm demeanour.
But then they touchedLiza, and that anxiety turned into anger.
She noticed the familiar fear in Liza's eyes. That same fear that Beatrice had. The same one Hazel herself had felt many times before.
The rest of the world faded, and Hazel growled like a savage animal. This witch was touching her Liza, and she wasn't going to stand for it.
The basilisk barges her shoulder into Alexis, and they immediately let go. They stare down at her in shock, as the basilisk stands protectively in front of Liza. "Back off." She growls lowly. She already had a spell circle drawn, and Alexis saw this.
They saw the power the unknown witchling possessed. And they saw the faint blue glow in her eyes that only lasted a split second. It wasn't that noticeable, but they always were observant to small details.
"Come on, Liza. We're leaving." Hazel says firmly, gently taking Liza's hand and leading her away. The witchling let her, and they soon rejoined their friends.
Alexis scratches their chin, studying them as they left. They'd have to keep a close eye on this mysterious witchling.
As for their deal with Odalia…they'll have to tell her it was off. At least for now.
—
Back at the Owl House, Lilith and Eda sat on the floor around the table. King was wrapped in a blanket, a cup with a warm drink. He sneezes, his creations sitting beside him.
There were several pieces of paper around them. Lilith happily drew on her own, while Eda watched her quizzically. "Okay so, uh, how did you beat that thing again?" She asks.
Her sister smirks. "Would you like me to lay out the basics?"
Eda glares at her smug smirk, but shoves her pride down. "Yes."
Clearing her throat, Lilith explains. "Well, you were right. These glyphs act like the basic elements. But, instead of containing magic like we do, they command the magic around them. They're like words! And drawing glyphs on top of each other like you did-"
"Was like screaming three different words at the same time! The spell got confused!" Eda finishes, finally understanding. Lilith gives her a nod. "Yes. The glyph combo, copyright me, Lilith, helps organise the commands. So you can combine and specify what you want to do!"
The Owl Lady scratches her chin in thought, eyeing the glyphs before her. "So with the right combo, you can cast any spell!" She exclaims excitedly. King peers at the glyphs as well, curious. "Maybe the reason Luz and Hazel haven't found anymore glyphs is because there…aren't anymore."
"Then we better start learning some new combinations." Eda states, as the door opens. They turn to see Luz and Hazel, beaten up and covered in abomination gunk. The human even pulls some out of her hair in disgust, as Hazel waves at the three tiredly. "Hey, guys…" she yawns.
Eda grins, holding up a glyph combo. "Hey, girls! We actually learned something new!" She boasts. Luz smiles tiredly. "Sorry, can it wait til morning? I need to lie down."
As the two walk towards the stairs, Lilith calls out to them. "Wait, Miss Teachers! Do I get extra credit?"
The two turn to see an ice sculpture of Lilith kneeling before Luz and Hazel, who were being depicted as wise scholars holding scrolls. The girls were taken aback, amused but not finding their words. "Oh, my gosh!"
"Wow."
The Owl Lady, growing jealous, huffs. "I can do it too." She grumbles, slamming an ice glyph. It turns into ice, rolling to the floor. Eda gestures to it, looking up at the girls expectantly. The two girls smile. "Wow! Yeah! Extra credit for everyone!" Luz says, throwing two pieces of star-shaped paper to Lilith and Eda before the two walk away.
"Wait! Wait! Luz, Hazel, I got something for you!" King yells excitedly, grabbing the jewellery that was previously sitting beside him. Letting out another sneeze, he runs to the girls.
Looking down at the small demon, King extends three bracelets. One was yellow, one was red, and the third was purple, and each had a part of the broken friendship bracelet from the carnival. King scratches the back of his head as he holds them out. "I, uh, wanted to make them into proper bracelets we could wear." He explains.
"Aw!" Hazel coos, picking up King and bringing him into a hug. "Thanks King!" Luz grins, joining the hug. "That's so sweet of you!"
Putting the demon down, he hands Luz the yellow bracelet, Hazel the red one, and he put on the purple one. He shows it off as the girls put on their own. "Now we're matching!" He says cheerily. Lu squeals. "Bracelet Buddies!"
Hazel admires the jewellery, as Luz gives the small demon a smooch on his skull. "Alright, we're off to bed. Goodnight!" She says, heading up the stairs.
"Night King!" Hazel waves, about to follow her when King latched onto her leg. She looks down in surprise as he pouts up at her. "The King of Demons demands a goodnight kiss from Hazel too!" He shouts.
The basilisk smiles softly, leaning down to pick him up. "Whatever His Majesty requests, he shall receive." She plays along, giving him a kiss as well. King giggles as Hazel places him back down, before running back into the lounge room.
With another tired yawn, Hazel climbs up the stairs to join Luz in their shared room.
(A few minutes later…)
Hazel stretches, wincing at the aches all over her body. "Titan, this has been a LONG day…" she groans, flopping onto her mattress. Luz was already laying down, looking at her phone. At the basilisk's statement, she nods. "Yeah."
Putting her phone down, she fluffs up her pillow before laying down on it, preparing to sleep.
The two lay there in silence for a moment, before a thought occurred to Luz. She sits ups, looking over to her friend. "Hazel?"
"Mhm?" Hazel mumbles out, half asleep already. The human continues. "You weren't properly enrolled into Hexside, were you?" She questions.
At that, Hazel's eyes snap open, and she looks over to Luz guiltily. "Uh hehe…no…" she smiles awkwardly. Luz cackles, holding her stomach from how hard she was laughing at the realisation. "So THAT'S why Mrs. Blight called you "Hazel Noceda", you played everyone!" She giggles.
Hazel blushes, but sees the humour in the situation and begins to laugh as well.
—
Liza walks through the streets of Bones Burrow, making her way back to her new home. She glances around, noticing the many demons preparing to head in for the night. Yet, she didn't see her mentor anywhere.
Reaching the door of their small apartment, she opens it slowly, glancing around the dark area. No sign of her mentor. That must mean she was already powered down, and she mustn't be disturbed.
Stepping inside, she was about to close the door quietly when a hand lands on her shoulder. It was cold.
With a yelp, Liza spins around. There, a tall figure with dark red hair and pink, glowing eyes stared down at her tiredly. A vulture palismen sat on her shoulder, peering down at her curiously. The witchling let out a sigh of relief. "Miss, you scared me!" She hisses.
The woman shakes her head with a smile. "Kid, I told you to just call me Cass. We're roommates now, so I think you can drop the formalities." She jokes, ruffling up Liza's hair. "Anyway, Ven told me that your cousin came by today. Something urgent. Are you okay? Did something happen?" She asks, a hint of worry crossing her features.
Liza grins up at her, her eyes lighting up with joy. "Oh, I'm fine! And titan, today was an adventure!" She laughs, as the two head into the kitchen. "Remember those friends I was telling you about?"
"The human and the shapeshifter that live with the Owl Lady?"
"Yeah! They came back today…."
—
A/N: *balustrades. Is that what they're called?
Me, planning the plot of this chapter: okay so Liza's parents will be showing up once in this whole series, and then never again because I have zero plans for them and that'll be that-
Also me, writing this chapter: ….I uh….um…well, they show up ONCE more….only for one scene….that I wanna do….since we didn't see it happen to Odalia in canon-
Also yes, Alexis is non-binary. I'm sorry I swear I'm not transphobic-
And the reveal of Liza's mentor! The robot witch that's been mentioned throughout the series! This is who Liza will be staying with for the rest of the series!
Liza's whole character personality might actually change over the next season…oops
Luz, Hazel and King: *does literally nothing*
Me: *sniffles* They're siblings, your honour