"Hello, Boiling Isles!" The Collector said, waving at the scroll that they were holding. "It's ya ambiguously gendered entity, The Collector!" They mimed the the blast of an air horn at the camera. Little orange figures popped up on their arms in the shape of a silent crowd roaring. "Now that I've got this fancy human body, I can go crazy and prank anybody!"
They moved out of the camera's frame and pointed it at a coven guard and a coven scout that could be seen walking down the street. Based on the angle of the camera, the Collector appeared to be filming from the roof of a building near the Bonesborough town square.
"Since the Day of Unity utterly failed, in which, by my hand, the effort was veiled, these Coven jerks have been looking for me! What they're so mad about, who knows what it could be!" The Collector slid back into frame, a devious smile on their face. "I think they could use a bit of fun in their lives! And the best for that is a prank most precise!"
The Collector started laughing as they moved back out of frame. It was not a happy laugh, but rather a vicious and cruel laugh, one full of vindictiveness. The frame shifted as the Collector set their scroll on something, pointing the camera towards the center of the town square, the fountain, only slightly damaged during the Day of Unity, positioned prominently. They gave one last thumbs-up to the camera, then dropped down off the roof to the street.
It took a moment, but then they ran into frame, being chased by the coven guard and scout, who were shouting "Get back here, you Titan-darned blemish on society!" Among other more choice exclamations that the scroll was unable to pick up, since they were so far away.
The Collector led the pair on a wild chase around the fountain, laughing their cruel laugh the whole time. It would almost have been amusing to watch, once upon a time; a human girl defying the forces of the Emperor's Coven with such brazen intent. But there was no joy to be had, as the Collector's prank was a vile one.
"You'll never catch me! I'm far too scratchy!" The Collector shouted as the pair chased them around the fountain.
"Yes we will! We just have to run faster than you!" The coven guard shouted back with indignation.
"Why do I have to chase some kid?" The coven scout wondered aloud as she chased alongside the guard. "This never would have happened before the Day of Unity!"
As the Collector's laughter died down, their speed slowed as well, until the pair chasing her were able to catch up and grab them by the arms. They lifted the Collector up, each holding one arm; the Collector, for their part, hung limply while wearing a demonic smile. "Oh, no. You have caught me." They said in a flat, mocking tone. Then they shouted "To me, whose prank has been achieved! To you, who was so easily deceived!" and began to laugh, which rapidly transitioned into a mad cackle.
The guard and scout looked at each other, confused, but not for long. Their confusion turned to surprise as the fountain exploded behind them. Together, they yelled in shock and pain.
The Collector landed on their feet with a gentle flourish and smirk, while the dust kicked up by the explosion began to clear, revealing that the guard and scout had been impaled by massive black thorned vines growing out of a writhing plant that now stood where the fountain had but a moment ago. With their hands outstretched, the Collector snapped their fingers.
At first, nothing happened. Then the first of the lesser vines broke out of the cloak of the coven scout. The pair were quickly pierced from the inside by dozens of offshoots of the main vines that had pierced their bodies. In a sight too gruesome for the common viewer, the scout and guard were torn apart from the inside as their veins were replaced by the thorny vines. The scariest part of the whole display was the manic look the Collector had on their face, their eyes wide and smile somehow wider.
Even more unsettling was when they suddenly appeared in front of the camera wearing the same expression, staring directly into the camera. They picked up the camera and filled the frame with their face.
"I'm coming to plaaay , Belos! Hope you're ready to–aw," Their face shifted to a much more normal pout, "Why did you have to pick such a hard to rhyme name?" They sighed, then shrugged, shifting the starlight purple fabric of the witch's wool cloak slightly. "Oh well ! See you soon, Belos!"
The Collector laughed as they pressed a button on the scroll to stop recording.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Emperor Belos tapped his throne with one finger on a flat-palmed hand. He held the side of his face in his other hand. He wasn't happy.
"...and then the human, uh, insulted your name." A coven scout was just about finished summarizing the contents of the recent viral video posted to Penstagram under the account 'Coll3kt0r'. The coven scout stood there, awkwardly unsure of what else to say.
"Is there anything else, " Belos paused to fill the else with extra contempt, "you wish to report?"
"Um…" The scout shifted her feet. "There have been reports that the rebellion is gathering at the Knee, rallying behind the former Head Witches Raine, Darius, and Eberwolf."
"And their Coven tattoos?"
"The Oracle Coven reports that they still have theirs, sir." The scout tried desperately not to look directly at Belos as she continued. "However, there are rumors that some of the other Covens are planning to join the rebellion."
" Who ." It wasn't so much a question as a demand.
"The Healing and Potions Covens. Sir." Belos' tapping sped up slightly, showing his displeasure. "B-but Head Witch Terra of the Plant Coven has doubled her support to you! And the Construction Coven has pledged to reinforce the walls of the castle twice-over. And the Illusionist Cov–"
"Enough!" Belos raised his tapping hand into a fist and slammed it down on the arm of his throne. He turned his face so that it fully rested in his hand. "You may go, scout. Thank you for your report."
The scout turned to leave and was nearly at the door, when Belos spoke up again. "On second thought…" The scout turned to see Belos' arm shifting into fleshy mud, a large maw on the end of it. Her stomach fell, then her gloves did, as Belos devoured her, piece by piece. When he was finished, there was nothing left, not even her boots.
"The Titan thanks you for your assistance, scout." Belos said, mockingly, to the bloodstain on the rug that had been the scout.
Belos sighed and stalked back to his throne. When he arrived, his arm turned back to mud and spit out the bones and meat of the scout, which fell into the bottomless pit behind the throne.
"I've been eating the souls of those annoying palismen for so long, I was starting to wonder what a witch's soul would taste like." Belos said to the empty room. As he settled into his throne, his face twisted in disgust. "As it happens, it tastes like fear. Not unlike the taste of palismen, but those were much more gamey than this. And yet, I hate the taste of that witch's soul." He closed his eyes as he tried to think of a way to describe it. "Ha… Perhaps a witch hunter should not partake in the flesh of a witch, it only corrupts the soul and dirties the mind…"
"'A clear mind and pure heart are the greatest assets to a witch hunter', right?"
Philip's eyes shot open. Standing before his throne was the spitting image of his brother. His face went through expressions of relief, fear, hatred, and regret in quick succession before settling on cold rage.
His brother smiled. "One of father's old pieces of wisdom; I remember you used to love listening to his stories. You would always play the valiant hunter, saving the day from the vile witch who corrupted the bugs in the log! And you would burn those bugs to save them from the witch's horrible taint." Belos kept his expression constant, his eyes fixed on the figure of his long-dead brother.
"You did do that, once upon a time, didn't you, brother?" His brother was now sitting atop the back of the throne, marveling at the massive beating object hanging in the abyss. "Or perhaps you are still doing that, just with much larger bugs now; am I right, brother?"
Belos took a deep breath, expelling his rage as he did so. His brother was dead. This… apparition, whatever it was, was just trying to enrage him. He settled back into his throne and said, "I don't remember you being so judgemental, brother . Were you not the one of us who was 'accepting' and 'open-minded'?"
The apparition appeared at Belos' side, shrugging its shoulders. "Oh, do not get me wrong, brother . I once was as indoctrinated to these ways as you have stubbornly been your whole life. But this land full of wonder gave me a new outlook to look at the world through. We could have been happy together, you could have found so much good to do," The apparition's expression darkened, "but instead, you insist on clinging to this decrepit line of thought."
"Decrepit? You call our God-given purpose a decrepit thing?" Belos had turned his head to the apparition and was addressing it with a slowly crescendoing tone. "I have been defending humanity from the monsters of this realm for hundreds of years! If not for me, even more of these savages could have found their way to the Human Realm and infected it with their filthy witch magics!"
"Is that why you never succeeded in recreating the door?" The apparition was standing upside down in mid air in front of the throne. Belos twisted to face him. "Why you had to find the one we came through all those years ago? One that, may I remind you, was in the possession of a witch, that 'savage' which you abhor so violently? That she certainly used it during its time in her possession? And why do we know she has traveled back and forth, brother ?"
The apparition smiled a genuinely amused smile as Belos' mind raced and his face displayed more and more anger at this… thing mocking him with his brother's face. Without even meaning to, with a throat full of malice, Belos said the name that was on his lips without his mind realizing it had been there.
" Luz."
"That's right, brother! The only other human to exist on the Demon Realm since you carved out my heart and stole my bones!" The apparition clapped for the Emperor, mockingly. "The human who came here to the Isles of her own free will. Who was enamored by the wondrous possibilities of this magical world. Who was soon enamored by something even more passionate!"
"She is of no use to me anymore! She has seen too much and she cannot be allowed to escape!" Belos was arguing on autopilot now. "The Day of Unity draws near, and I can't have her spoiling my plans!"
"The Day of Unity has passed, brother ." Each time the apparition said that word, soaked in such disgust, Belos felt his eye twitch and mouth snarl a little more. "The most amazing thing about all this Day of Unity stuff is that there are still some of these witches who follow you! You tried to kill them all, but for some reason these particular ones insist that you must have been doing the right thing! It is an amazing sight, really."
"What are you, apparition? A ghost, an illusion?" Belos looked about the room in an unfit state. "Is this an onslaught from those traitors in the Illusion Coven?! I'll have their palismen–no, their souls for this!"
The apparition laughed a laugh that echoed around the room, sounding like it was coming from all directions by the time it reached Belos' ears. Now it stood behind Belos' back, where he could no longer see it, but he knew it was there. "That you have not figured what this is after this entire conversation shows just how much of it you have lost, brother. Though, I do have one last question: What, exactly, is the human girl's crimes? Why must she die?"
Belos rolled it over in his head. She was guilty of a number of crimes, both of the Isles themselves–that, naturally, Belos himself had enacted–and the code of the witch hunters. Her crimes were almost too numerous to count, the most recent of which would be allowing herself to be possessed by an unnatural spirit from another world.
"And why do you think she allowed herself to be possessed, brother?"
He racked his brain, he could not think of a single reason that would give her reason to betray her humanity like that. Unless…
"She did it for love?" The apparition rolled around to look Belos in the eye. "That's what you're thinking, right brother?" The apparition pondered for a moment. "But why would any human do something for a witch out of love? It could not be a genuine romantic connection they made with that witch, right? But, then, that would sound too familiar to the both of us, right? Brother?"
" Shut up! " Belos' eyes glowed a vibrant blue and his sclera turned as black as a moonless midnight. He raised an arm, turning it into a fist of muddy flesh, and sent it hurtling towards the apparition, who looked on the inbound clobbering with a wicked smile. Over and over, Belos' fist slammed into the wall. With each impact, he screamed the same word louder and louder.
" CALEB! " was the only sound between the crash of buckling steel beneath Philip's fist. Once upon a time, they had played in the mud while the grown-ups played with burning poles. Philip had skinned his knee and Caleb hadn't paid attention, so Philip had punched his brother into the mud. Of course, he was younger, so the punches didn't actually harm Caleb. And before long they were laughing and tumbling in the mud, their feud entirely forgotten.
The plating finally gave way, shaking Belos out of his stupor. The apparition was lying on the ground, bruised and bleeding. Belos steadied his uneven breathing, collected himself, and went to inspect the apparition. He looked at the pitiful face of his brother, the face that looked up at his younger brother with such kind eyes, even as he lay dying. It was identical to the face he had made when Belos had killed him, all those years ago.
It was disgusting.
With one final thud of his muddy fist, the apparition was gone. He could feel its voice in the back of his head, but it would not trouble him again with a hallucination, he was certain of that.
Belos dragged himself back to his throne and collapsed into it with a thud. He breathed deeply, attempting to steady himself once more. As he did, someone knocked on the door to the throne room. It was a small rap, low to the ground, but not harsh enough to be Kikimora.
"Hunter. Enter." He said, loud enough for the figure at the door to hear.
The door opened and a short, blonde child who looked no older than twelve shuffled into the room. His prominent forelock bounced as he walked across the room to kneel before Belos' throne. The scout cloak, just a hair too big, hung off the boy's shoulders and slumped on the floor as he bowed to his Emperor.
Belos looked at the boy with a bored expression. After a moment, he gestured for the boy to rise. "Do you have something to report, Hunter?"
"Of course, uncle–I mean, Emperor Belos." The boy was still inexperienced, and unlike the last Grimwalker, Belos did not wish for this one to believe himself special because of his status as Belos' 'nephew'. "The rebellion has attacked another precinct, freeing the witches we had captured. Many of them have joined the rebellion."
"And?"
"The plan worked flawlessly, Emperor. Our spies have successfully infiltrated their forces. We are expecting their first report within a few days."
Belos smiled. "Ah, it is excellent to hear good news, Hunter. You have done well, Hunter. The Titan is quite pleased with your results."
The boy perked up, but was careful not to react too much. He had heard about the scouts that never returned from the throne room. But, nonetheless, he was a curious child.
"Emperor, may I ask a question?"
"Of course, Hunter."
"Why is the rebellion trying to dethrone you?"
Belos chuckled. The true reason was rather simple, seeing as how he had tried to commit genocide on the people of the Boiling Isles. But he knew that the truth would only turn this Hunter against him, just like the last one. So he lied, as easily as he breathed.
"You see, Hunter," he said as stood up from his throne and put a hand on the shoulder of the boy, "these witches are misguided . They think they know the will of the Titan. They believe I speak false words when I interpret the Titan's will."
"Why do they believe that?" The boy asked with his innocent eyes.
Belos took the boy by the shoulder and walked with him towards the door. "Because they do not have a true connection with the Titan, like I do." He sighed. "Such is the folly of imperfect beings such as them. Only those who have heard the voice of the Titan can properly interpret its will."
The boy thought for a moment. "Will I ever be able to hear the Titan's voice, uncle?"
Belos smiled at the boy's ignorance. There was no Titan's voice, no will of the Titan, only the will of Belos. "Perhaps, one day. If you continue to make yourself useful."
"Don't worry!" The boy beamed at Belos. "I'll make myself the greatest scout the Coven has ever seen! I'll even become Golden Guard one day!"
"Oh, I have no doubt, Hunter. The Titan has great plans for you." Belos knew it was every Grimwalker's destiny to ascend to the rank of Golden Guard, but the eagerness they showed to serve him when they did not have the rank was always delightful to see.
"Now, then, we must inspect the troops." Belos opened the door and followed the boy out. "We have a war to win."
"This is crazy!" Gus paced back and forth in the living room of the Owl House. "I mean, why the heck would Luz even do something like this!"
"She did say she'd always go for the chaotic route, but this is pushing it even for her." Amity, seated on the main couch, offered. Her eyes were still a bit red from a few days of non-stop crying and large bags had formed under them from lack of sleep, but she was otherwise in great condition.
"Chaotic is one thing." Willow said from her spot on the side couch. "She got possessed by something we don't even know anything about! How are we supposed to react to that?"
"Well, I'm gonna stay a bit mad at her." Gus said. "She could've told us she was going to do something like this! We could have helped her! We could have done something that didn't need her to–"
"Gus!" Willow indicated that Gus should stop talking with a stern look, gesturing towards Amity with her eyes.
He crossed his arms and looked away. "Well, I'm just saying. She could've told us…"
"Goops is right." Eda sighed while nursing a glass of apple blood. "But we were all kinda… incapacitated when it all went down. You were all too busy trying to keep this place from falling into the sea. Heck, I was too worn out from using my harpy form to even be awake!"
"And I was making sure you weren't dead!" King interjected, raising a finger.
"And King was making sure I wasn't dead!" Eda gestured to King with her free hand. "We all had a lot going on. Speaking of which, Hooty! How're those repairs coming!" She shouted out to the house demon, who popped through the window with a trowel in his mouth and covered in dirt.
"Hey Eda! Repairs are going all hoot!" Hooty said, though it was a bit muffled thanks to the trowel in his mouth. "Thanks to those plants grabbing on to the house, it's really easy to put up the boards to prop this place up on the cliff! Without those plants, we'd all be boiling alive!" Hooty looked around the room, sensing his positivity was not having the desired effect on everyone. "Well, I'll just be on my way… Hope you guys figure out a good plan to get Luz back!" He said as he pulled his body back out through the window.
Everyone got a little bit more sad at Hooty's comments. King shouted after the inconsiderate demon, "Thanks for the pep talk, Hooty!"
Amity broke the silence that had fallen over the team. "So, what is our plan to get Luz back?"
"What?!" Willow, Gus, Eda, and King said, simultaneously.
"What?" Amity looked at the others confused. "We will get her back! There's no way Luz would have done this without considering a way out! We must be that way out!"
"I don't know about that, kid…" Eda said. "Luz can be pretty impulsive."
"Even for something this serious?" Amity looked Eda dead in the eyes.
"Yes! Don't you remember anything about what went down during the Bonesborough Brawl? If anything, Luz is even more impulsive when it's a serious situation!"
"That…" Amity looked down as she was forced to concede Eda's point. "That's a fair point. I just… I just want there to be some chance she's still there, deep down." She wanted to crawl inside herself and die there, but she settled for holding her legs close to her chest and burying her face in her knees. "I want to call her cute nicknames again, learn more Spanish so I can understand her better, exchange kisses with her…"
Amity felt Eda's hand rest on her shoulder. "Amity, listen to me. We will get Luz back, one way or another. But you're all just kids! Leave it to me, I'll find a way to get her back, just you watch! And in the meantime, the rest of you can practice your hugging skills for when she gets back!" Eda gave Amity a smile, which put her at ease. Willow and Gus smiled as well, knowing that Luz's witch mom would definitely be able to find a way out of all this.
Hooty burst his head back through the window to ruin the moment and shout. "Hey! You'll never guess who's here!"
The door opened to reveal Hunter, carrying his staff with a proud smile on his face. He ducked under Hooty's neck to enter the Owl House. "Hello, everyone! Sorry I haven't been by to congratulate you all on your efforts in helping stop the Day of Unity! Who knew being a leader in a rebellion against the throne would take up so much time?"
Hunter's jovial attitude was in stark contrast to the somber group in the living room of the Owl House. Flapjack deconjured their staff and hopped up on Hunter's shoulder, carefully surveying the room while his partner continued talking. "Speaking of the rebellion, where's Luz? As one of the Emperor's harshest critics prior to the Day of Unity, we could really use her to help re…cruit…" Hunter grew concerned as he noticed the vibe of the room. "What's the matter? Did someone die?!"
He scanned the faces of everyone in the room, except Hooty, who had returned to his work once more. Each one wasn't looking directly at him, and Amity especially looked worse for wear. Which was strange, Hunter was fairly sure that she and Luz were still–
"Where's Luz?" The question was almost a whisper.
Eda sighed and took a big swig of her apple blood, finishing the whole glass in one go. "Luz is… she's not here right now. She had a big thing to do and she had to leave to do it. You don't need to worry about her, alright? I've got everything under control."
"Oh!" Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. "So, she's just back in the Human Realm, then. I guess that makes sense. She couldn't stay here forever…" He looked down at his feet. He stumbled a bit over his next words, as it was awkward to ask. "Do you think she'll be coming back? The rebellion–"
"The rebellion does not need a kid to lead them, Hunter!" Eda was standing, practically shouting at Hunter, who recoiled, his hands flying up to cover his face. Seeing his defensive posture, she relaxed and sunk back onto the couch, pouring herself another glass of apple blood when she was settled. "I'm sorry, kid."
"No, it's–it's understandable. I'm sorry for asking."
Eda smiled a warm smile. "Listen, kid, if the rebellion needs help just let me know and I'll knock some sense into the heads of those Coven freaks!"
"But Eda!" King said. "You're still recovering! I won't lose another family member!"
Hunter looked quizzickly at the pair, especially at the mention of 'losing' a family member. Eda coughed and patted King on his skull. "I might have to give you a rain check on that help, kiddo. At least until my bones stop rattling around in my arms!" She shook her arm, which helpfully, and painfully, rattled.
"Of course, miss Clawthorne. Whatever help you can lend would be invaluable."
"Oh. My. Titan!" Willow suddenly exclaimed, surprising everyone else in the room. Everyone looked to Willow for an explanation, who looked up with a slightly terrified look on her face.
"What's the matter, Captain?!" Hunter rushed to Willow's side, getting a bit too close to her personal space, causing her to gently push him back with a smile.
"Is something wrong, Willow?" Gus asked.
"It's…" Willow looked away from everyone, considering how she should bring this up– if she should bring this up. "It's a Penstagram video."
"Is that it? Ha!" Eda said with a laugh. "You kids get so worked up over that stuff."
"Don't you obsess over your follower count so you can officially sell those 'Bad Girl Coven' shirts?" King pointed out. Eda blushed and couldn't even stammer out a response.
"What's so special about this Penstagram video? I thought it was mostly filled with people posting vigils and obituaries right now?" Gus said, remembering how his dad had been scrolling all day yesterday while eating an entire carton of cookies in between bouts of staring out the window. "Real downer-fest."
"Everyone on the Isles nearly died, Gus." Hunter pointed out. Gus replied with a shrug.
"Willow," Everyone quieted down as Amity spoke up, "what's the video about?"
Willow took a deep breath, then turned her scroll around to show everyone the video. She hit play, starting the video.
"Hello Boiling Isles!"
Amity snapped her head to look at the screen. The voice in the video was unmistakable to everyone, much less once the Collector bounced on to screen. Willow was pensive as she held the scroll, while Gus was trying not to watch and failing, and Hunter watched in wide-eyed, slack-jawed surprise. Eda was trying not to hyperventilate, helped by King, who provided a deep hug to try and calm Eda down.
Amity took in every detail of the video. Where it had been filmed, based on the landmarks destroyed. Who the Collector had killed. What they had killed them with. And then it was over, the Collector's deranged face taking up the screen burned into everyone's memories.
Hunter tried to search for words to say, then let them all loose at once at Eda. "You said she went back to the Human Realm! What's she doing here?! Why does she look like that?! What's going on?!"
"Hunter, I–"
"Don't lie, Owl Lady!" He was trying to hide it, but Hunter was on the edge of tears. Flapjack tweeted at his partner, which Hunter understood to be a plea for him to calm down, but Hunter was too upset to listen.
"I didn't lie, Hunter. You jumped to conclusions!"
"Oh, so it's my fault?!"
Amity stomped on the floor as she stood up, startling Eda and Hunter. Her whole body was tensed up, her eyes clenched shut, as she walked out of the room, slamming the door to the stairs behind her.
Emotions were still running high, but Amity's interruption stalled the arguing pair long enough for them to realize they should defuse the situation. Hunter looked at Eda with now-cold anger.
"Forget helping the rebellion, Owl Lady. We don't need your help." He turned to leave, stepping back under Hooty as he exited the door. He looked back one more time as Flapjack turned into his staff. "And we'll find a way to get Luz back. You can count on that."
Eda deflated after Hunter took off, but she tried her hardest not to break down in front of the kids. She kept her chin up long enough to tell Willow and Gus to head home, since their parents would probably want them at home, rather than the Owl House. Eda saw them off with a smile that disappeared as soon as they were out of sight.
She went back inside and headed up the stairs to her room, dropping off King in his room along the way. Halfway up, she passed by Luz's old room, full to the brim with various trinkets and oddities that she had collected while living at the Owl House. From inside, there was the sound of muffled sobbing; Eda caught a quick peek of Amity's purple hair, but gently shut the door instead of investigating further. She had promised Amity that she could stay at the Owl House as long as she needed, and they all needed time to process everything. Especially considering the shock of the video.
Amity would probably need another week before she was ready to come out of the room, Eda figured. She sighed and walked down the hall to the stairs, already making a mental list of all the groceries that they'd need for the week, hoping that the grocers hadn't been blasted by the Day of Unity.
"Wakey wakey!" A bright voice said directly into the girl's ear.
"Uuughh…"
"Be not afraid, you being most frail! Please, wait there as I regale you of my escapades in great detail!" The voice was familiar…
"Where… where am I?" She blinked her eyes open, only to see an endless ocean of stars around her. She wondered what she was laying on, before she realized she wasn't lying on anything, which freaked her out, causing her to tumble around in the space. Yet, somehow, she didn't seem to actually be moving.
"Ah, excellent! You're awake! I was worried I wouldn't have anyone else in here to talk to!"
"Huh? Who–" She was spun around by someone else to face the voice and her eyes grew wide as she came face to face with a being that looked identical to her. "Who are you?!"
The being smiled using her face. "Your roommate, of course!"