Chapter 23 Part 2; Through the Looking Glass Ruins:
It was a new day in the Isles as Luz and Kai were walking to class when they noticed Gus sitting by the lockers with his head in his knees. They walked to him.
"Gus, are you okay?" Luz asked.
"I-I messed up bad, guys. Willow just needed help with this pixie problem, right? So I thought, "oh, I'll just lure them away with an illusion". But then…" Gus said, trailing off.
"That pissed the pixies off and they attacked Willow," Kai finished.
Gus sighed.
"I moved up two grades. What's the point of being good at this if I can't do anything good with it?" he asked.
"It was an honest mistake. And you know Willow, she's tough as nails. I'm sure you'll both be feeling better tomorrow," Luz assured him.
Gus smiled at them.
The Next Day:
Gus groaned as he laid on his bedroom floor. The magical orb that rested beside him rang and Gus turned over as a prerecorded message played.
"I am not doing this, Gus," Kai said on the recording, not amused.
"Come on Kai. Please?" Gus asked.
Kai sighed.
"The things I do for friends. Is that a six-footed pig or a floating appendage? Why, no. It's Gus the Illusion Master," Kai said as Gus jumped beside him with a cape.
"Please leave a message,"Kai said.
The recording changed to show Willow. Gus turned over to look at the message.
"Hey, Gus. Thanks for sending me all those "Get well soon" illusions. But…uh," she said.
A small Gus illusion flew towards her.
"Willow! How are you feeling? Do you have a fever?" it asked.
Another illusion joined them.
"Willow, you want me to sing for you?" it asked as another one jumped on Willow's head.
"Can you please take them back?" she asked.
Gus turned the orb off and turned over on his stomach. He made a spell circle, bringing the three illusions into his room.
"Where's Willow?"
"Why are we here?"
"Did we do bad?"
Gus sighed and blew the illusions away as a knock on his door was heard. He got up and walked downstairs. Gus opened the door to see Luz in the doorway.
"Gustopher! Gusteban. Augustabeth! Any of those working for you?" she asked.
Gus gave her an unamused look.
"You need my library card to go visit Amity, don't you?" he asked, aware of his friend's crush on the youngest Blight.
Luz laughed sheepishly.
"That obvious, huh?" she asked.
Gus nodded. Luz rubbed her neck.
"Well…Aside from that, I was also planning to do some research. Come on!" Luz said, grabbing Gus by the shirt and pulling him out the door.
"Oh!" Gus yelped.
Soon, the two friends were walking through Bonseborough as Luz told Gus what she discovered.
"So, Kai's grandma told me I'm not the first human to live in Bonesborough. If that's true, there might be some info on how they got here in the library," Luz said.
Gus sighed.
"Yeah, okay. Looking through old newspapers is about all I'm good for anyway," he said.
Luz stepped in front of him as they stopped walking.
"Alright, spill it, Gustanimo. Are you alright?" she asked.
"I've just been thinking. What if it's time for me to explore different kinds of magic?" Gus asked.
"I'm all for trying new things, but what's wrong with illusions?" Luz asked.
Before Gus could answer, a loud roar was heard. Down below, a slither beast broke out of a Demon Hunter's cage and ran off. Braxus was playing with a balloon when he noticed the beast heading towards him as two male teenagers jumped in front of him. The one wearing the abomination uniform summoned an abomination puddle, causing the slither beast to slip before the kid in the Plant tract uniform made a web of vines. The slither beast ran into it and was knocked back. A girl with purple hair jumped over it and punched the ground, making a rock cage cover the slither beast. The girl stood up and gave her friends a thumbs up.
"Good job, guys," she said.
Her friends gave her a thumbs up as everyone cheered.
"Woah…" Gus said in awe.
He walked down to meet them. Braxus was hugging the three teens.
"Thank you, mysterious heroes," he said before breaking the hug and walking away with his father.
"Stay safe out there," the girl said.
Gus and Luz walked up to them.
"That-That was amazing! Plants. Abomination. Construction. You guys took that slither beast out like it was nothing," he said.
The girl waved him off.
"Nah, it wasn't that easy," she said.
The abomination kids chuckled.
"Yeah, it looked like you had a real hard time out there," he said.
"You're glandus students right? I go to Hexside. Name's Gus. And this is my friend Luz," she said.
Luz waved at them.
"Nice to meet you guys. That's Angmar. Tall one's Gavin and I'm Bria," Bria said.
"Bria!" a voice shouted.
They all turned to see Mattholomule running up to them.
"I would've helped, but, like, there was this other baby in danger. You probably couldn't see," he said.
"Mattholomule?" Gus asked.
Matt turned to them surprised.
"Augustus?! Human?! Back off twerps. This operation is Glandus kids only," he said.
"Matty, it's cool. Did you get the map?" Bria asked.
Mattholomule pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.
"Yep! And I had to endure 35 noogies from my older brother," he said, giving Bria the map.
"Well, we can see you guys are busy. So, we'll be going now," Gus said before Bria stopped them.
" Wait. Have you ever heard of the Galderstones?" she asked.
"They're powerful relics. Many witches and demons have sought them," Gavin explained.
"But they've all returned empty-handed, haunted by its guardian. Until us!" Angmar exclaimed.
"We overheard some coven guards talking about them but it'll be rough going. You said you're a hexside student,right? We could use the extra strength," Bria said.
Gus rubbed his neck.
"Sorry, but I promised Luz I'd help her with something today," he said.
Luz turned to him.
"Actually, I think you should go with them," she said.
Matt scoffed.
"Well, he can't! Gus is only an illusionist. He'll just hold us back," he said.
Luz raised an eyebrow.
"Those illusions are more useful than you think. If it weren't for Gus saving your sorry ass, you would've got killed in detention. Gus is twice the witch you'll ever be," she said.
"Luz!" Gus said.
He grabbed her and turned away from the others.
"I get what you're doing and it's really sweet but I don't know any spells besides illusions," he whispered.
Luz reached into her pocket and pulled out a few glyphs.
"Don't worry. Just use these and show Matholomule what kind of witch you are," she said.
Gus smiled and nodded.
"Hey, Bria, I'm in," he said, walking towards the group.
"Awesome!" Bria said.
Luz smiled before heading to the library, hoping to find something on the first human and to see Amity.
Later:
Luz was sitting at the library's tables with multiple magical orbs, trying to find something that could help her. She scrolled through before stopping on something.
"Huh. Human resident, Philip Wittebane, donates personal diary to the local library. Yes! This must be it," Luz said, grabbing a notepad and writing down the information.
After that, she snuck to the kid's corner of the library, hiding behind a wall and peeking inside. Amity was kneeling on the ground with her hair down as she tried to get her hair tie from a little girl.
"Come on, give it back," she said.
The kid shook her head.
"No!" she said.
Amity sighed, smiling.
"If you give me back my hair tie. I'll read you whatever book you want tomorrow," she said.
The kid gasped.
"Finally! I can learn how to summon the dark lord," she said, giving Amity her hair tie before running off.
Amity chuckled before moving her hair back and tying it. Luz blushed as a gasp was heard.
"Hey, Luz," two voices said.
Luz jumped and turned to see Edric with Emira on his back.
"Oh! Hey, Ed. Hey, Em. Picking up Amity?" she asked.
"Nah, looks like you got that covered," Emira teased, climbing off her brother's back.
"I'm looking for skincare tips. I have a date tonight," the male twin said.
"Yeah, he needs all the help he can get, after he accidentally texted a poem to their mom," Emira said.
Edric turned to her.
"Don't tell people about that!" he said.
Luz chuckled.
"Are they bothering you again?" a voice behind Luz asked.
For the second time today, Luz jumped and turned to see Amity.
"Oh! No, I just came here to see you and, um, here you are," she said, blushing.
Amity blushed at that comment and looked at the ground. Edric and Emira exchanged smiles.
"Hey, sis, we have to go do something that can help Ed with his date," she said.
Edric nodded.
"Yup! See you guys, later," he said as the twins walked off.
Luz rubbed her neck.
"Um, anyway, I was wondering if you could help me find this book?" she asked, handing Amity a drawing.
Amity looked at it.
"Hundreds years ago, a human named Philip Wittebane came to Bonseborough. And he donated his diary to the library," Luz said.
"And this might tell you how to travel between realms, right?" Amity asked.
"Yes! My mom probably thinks Kai and I are missing right now. We have to get back to her as soon as possible," Luz said.
"Speaking of Kai, where is he?" Amity asked.
Luz shrugged.
"He said something about finding some info that could either help him find his dad or teach him something about his powers," she said.
Amity nodded before getting back to the topic.
"Well, something this old would be kept in the Forbidden Stacks," she said.
Luz raised an eyebrow.
"The what?" she asked.
Soon, the two girls were standing in front of a giant door with pillars on the sides. Luz blinked.
"Woah," she murmured.
"The master librarian, Malphas, is the only one allowed in here," Amity.
Luz looked up at the door before taking a breath.
"No te preocupes. Todo va a salir bien," she said in Spanish.
Amity looked at her confused.
"It's something my mom would tell us if we're worried about something. It's fine. I'll find another way," Luz said.
Amity chuckled and punched Luz softly in the shoulder.
"Hey, now. I never said I wasn't gonna help," she said.
Amity held up her employee badge.
"This should open the doors for us but once we're inside, you have to listen to everything I say. If we're caught, I could lose my job," she said.
Luz held her hand.
"You won't lose your job, I promise," she said.
Amity looked at their hands and blushed. Luz noticed and blushed as well and they released their hands.
"Anyway, we can't waste any time," Amity said.
She used her staff card to unlock the door. The door glowed orange before opening. Luz and Amity exchanged looks before walking inside. The door closed behind them with a loud slam.
With Kai:
Kai was in his room looking through his father's technique journal for any clues but found none.
"Ugh! Why do clues have to be so hard to find?!" he exclaimed.
He fell back on his sleeping bag and sighed.
'Grandma said to find clues in the journal but I haven't found shit,' he grumbled.
Kai grabbed the journal and held it above his head, staring at the pages. The sun from the window behind him hit the page, revealing something on the next page. Kai blinked.
"Huh?" he mumbled.
Kai sat up, turned the page and held the book up. The light hit the page showing some kind of ancient temple with text on the bottom.
"October 20th, 1995: After a few days of traveling I've arrived at a temple located on the right upper arm of the Titan. My grandfather had said that this temple will give me the information I need to learn my powers," Kai read.
He grinned. This was it! This could help him learn more about his powers.
'Maybe Viney knows something about this temple' he said in his head.
Grabbing his satchel and his dagger, Kai rushed down the steps to the front door. As he reached for the door knob, a voice stopped him.
"Hold it," a voice said behind him.
Kai turned to see Eda sitting on the couch with King and Hooty beside her.
"Where are you going?" Eda asked, standing up.
"I'm just heading to Viney's house to get help on some research," Kai answered.
Eda raised an eyebrow before smirking.
"Viney? Isn't she that Beast Keeping girl you have a crush on?" she asked.
"Oooh!" King and Hooty teased.
Kai's ears burned as his face turned light pink.
"Guys, cut it out!" he exclaimed.
Eda laughed as she walked towards him, ruffling his hair.
"Haha. We're just teasing, bud. Your dad had admirers too," she said.
Kai blinked.
"Really?" he asked.
Eda nodded.
"I can't remember how many times Lily and I had to save him from his fangirls. According to the girls, your dad was "as hot as fire"," Eda said.
Kai gave a disturbed look.
"I could've gone my whole life without hearing that," he said.
Eda nudged him.
"Hey, come on, that's a compliment. I bet you already have admirers at Hexside," she said.
Kai rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"As much as I love to continue this conversation, I've gotta get going," he said.
Kai walked out the door.
"Stay safe! And have with your girlfriend!" Eda called after him.
Kai's face turned a deep red and he turned to his aunt.
"She's not my girlfriend!" he shouted.
"That's what Kendrick said and look where it got him, " his aunt responded.
Kai opened his mouth before closing it and shook his head, turning around to run off. He blasted flames out of his shoes and flew into Bonesborough. After flying through the neighborhood, Kai landed in front of a two story house. He ran a hand through his hair so it won't look entirely messy before ringing the doorbell. Kai waited for a few minutes before the door opened. He looked up and paused when he saw a man who looked to be around Eda's age. He had light skin, curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a gray tank top, blue jeans and brown boots.
'He must be Viney's Dad,' he said in his head.
"May I help you?" he asked.
Kai cleared his throat.
"I'm here to see Viney," he said.
The man narrowed his eyes at him. Kai gulped.
"Are you her boyfriend or something?" he asked.
Kai quickly shook his head.
"No, no! I'm just a friend from school," he said.
The man huffed and stepped aside.
"Viney! There's a friend here for you," he called.
"Coming!" Viney's voice sounded from upstairs.
Kai sat down on the couch as Viney's father sat in a chair.
"How did you exactly meet my daughter?" he asked.
Kai rubbed his neck.
"Um, well, Mr…" he said.
"You can call me Viktor," Viktor said.
Kai nodded.
"Mr. Viktor, we met a couple of months ago in detention and we take multi track classes together," he said.
"And you haven't been getting her into trouble have you?" Viktor asked, glaring at Kai slightly.
'Well…now I know where Viney got her death glare from,' Kai said in his head.
"No sir," the hybrid boy said.
"Kai?" a voice asked.
Kai and Viktor turned to see Viney coming down the stairs. He waved at her.
"Hey, V," he said.
Viney looked at her father before turning to her friend/crush.
"So, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Kai stood up.
"I need your help with something," he said.
Viney nodded.
"Okay. Dad, is it okay if I go out with my friend?" she asked.
Her father looked at Kai and nodded. Viney smiled and grabbed Kai by his collar, pulling him out the door.
"It was nice to meet you, sir!" Kai called.
"Have my daughter back before 12!" Viktor shouted.
Viney rolled her eyes as the two kids walked down the street.
"So, what did you need help with?" she asked as they sat down at a bench.
"Remember I told you I met my grandma for the first time yesterday?" Kai asked.
Viney nodded.
"She told me that my dad's journal would have some clues that would help me and this is what I found," Kai said, pulling the book out.
He turned to a page and showed Viney the picture of the temple. Viney squinted her eyes.
"I think I've seen that somewhere," she said.
She pulled her scroll out and went onto the internet. Once she found what she was looking for, Viney showed Kai a picture. It was the same temple that was in the book!
"It says it's located on the Titan's upper right arm," she said.
Kai nodded.
"Right and in a journal entry, my dad mentioned that the temple could help me figure out my powers and what this "mage mode" is," Kai said.
Viney nodded before turning to him.
"So, why are you asking me for help? Wouldn't you be going on a trip like this with Luz?" she asked.
Kai rubbed his neck.
"Luz is doing her own kind of research. Plus, I wanted to spend some time with you," Kai said, mumbling the last part as he blushed.
Despite the fact it was mumbled, Viney heard him and blushed.
"O-okay then! So, should we get going?" she asked.
Kai nodded. Viney whistled and Puddles landed in front of them. She climbed onto her animal companion as Kai climbed on behind her.
"Puddles, let's fly," she said.
Puddles took off as the two friends went on their journey.
Back with Luz and Amity:
The two girls walked through the library.
"How much further do we have to go?" Luz asked, looking around.
"Actually, we're here," Amity said.
Luz stood beside her as she looked at the room. She saw flying books and ghostly red hands placing books on the shelves. Luz smiled.
"Okay, let's get lookin'," she said.
Amity saw something out of the corner of her eye and gasped.
"Wait," she said, pulling Luz down.
Down below, someone sitting on a floating book, dressed in a tattered cloak looked around with one glowing yellow eye. It looked up where Luz and Amity were but saw nothing and walked away. Luz and Amity laid on the ground as they waited for the person to leave before noticing how close they were to one another and quickly moved away, blushing as they sat up.
"So, be super sneaky and quiet. Got it," Luz said, her blush fading away a bit.
Amity nodded.
"Malphas is actually the one who gave me my job and my own study room. He's usually nice, but if we're caught, he'd feed us to the book worms," she said.
Luz chuckled.
"I know here that probably means unholy, blood-sucking snake monsters, but in the human world, that's a kid name for nerds. And one of the many nicknames Kai gave me," she said, hoping to lighten the mood.
Amity laughed softly.
"Huh, the human world sounds odd," she said.
Luz rubbed her neck.
"Maybe it would be less odd if I showed you around someday," she said.
Amity perked up at that.
"But, let's turn back. I don't wanna push you," Luz said.
Amity suddenly grabbed her hand.
"We're getting that diary," she said, pulling Luz along.
"Woah!" the Latina girl yelped.
With Kai and Viney:
Kai looked down at the sea below him as he and Viney flew through the sky.
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Viney asked.
Kai pulled his book out and looked at the page.
"It says here that we should keep an eye out for a stone arch in a forest," he said.
Viney looked around before spotting a large forest down below.
"Hey, there's a forest down there," she said.
Kai looked to where she pointed and smiled.
"Nice one, V! That's exactly where we need to go," he said.
Viney rubbed Puddles' neck.
"Okay, girl, it's time to land now," she said.
Puddles flew towards the forest and landed. The two teens jumped down. Kai pulled his book out as Viney looked around.
"This forest is huge. Anyone could easily get lost here," she said.
Kai nodded.
"Yeah, it's best we stick together unless we want to get lost. I've got the map so we should get moving," he said.
The two teens and griffin walked through the forest. Kai used his dagger to cut back the leaves as the trio walked.
"So, this temple. Your dad has gone there before? " Viney asked.
Kai nodded.
"Yeah, in his journal he said his grandad told him that the temple would give him the info he needs about his powers so maybe this could help me with learning more about my powers," Kai said.
Viney nodded as they kept walking. After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at a stone arch that led to a stone structure that looked like an incan temple with a gate keeping people from entering. Viney blinked.
"Is this it?" she asked.
Kai looked at his book and back at the arch.
"I think? It doesn't say anything here about a gate blocking the entrance," he said.
"We should probably look around for another way in," Viney suggested.
Kai nodded and they split up to look for another entrance. The hybrid boy looked at his book for any info that could help them find an entrance. Meanwhile, Viney was looking at the gate for any clues. She noticed a thin horizontal slot
"Hmm…Hey Kai, I think I found something," she called.
Kai ran towards her.
"What's up?" he asked.
Viney pointed to a slot and Kai blinked as he squinted his eyes.
"Wait…" he said.
Kai unsheathed his dagger and slid it into the lock. It stopped at the hilt.
"What now?" Viney asked.
Kai gripped the hilt of his dagger and turned it. As he did, a click was heard. The two teens were silent as they waited for something to happen. After a while, Kai spoke up as he pulled the tanto out.
"I don't think tha-" he started.
Before either of them could react, the ground beneath gave away causing the two teens to fall down a stone slide.
"AHHHHHH!" the two teens screamed.
At the Library:
Luz and Amity were pulling books off the shelves as they searched for Philip's diary. The latina girl looked through a book before sighing and placing it on another stack of books beside her. Luz skimmed through the shelves before spotting a book. She grabbed it and wiped the dust off to see a title that read "Philip Wittebane". She grinned and motioned Amity to her. Amity walked towards her with a confused look. Luz held the book up and Amity smiled as they both squealed. They quickly shushed each other. Luz opened the diary to see a mouse eating the pages of the book!
"You little rat!" Luz shouted as Amity placed her hands on her mouth
Her voice echoed through the library.
"Uh oh," Luz said, realizing her mistake.
A pink light shone down on them as Malphas stood behind them.
"Amity?" he asked.
Later:
The two girls stood outside of the library as Malphas stood before them.
"I'm just like super disappointed in you. Like, I can't even process these feelings right now. Gosh, it's so hard for me to say this, but like, you're fired," Malphas said.
Amity tensed as Malphas took her employee ID. The library doors closed. Amity sat down on the library steps and buried her face into her knees. Luz sat down beside her.
"Amity, I am so-" Luz began before getting cut off.
"Not right now, Luz," Amity said.
Luz closed her mouth as she looked at her shoes. Amity lifted her head.
"Everything's changed since you came here. Being around you…it makes me do stupid things and I wish it didn't," Amity said as she teared up.
A sniffle was heard beside her and Amity turned to look at Luz. Luz was staring ahead but tears were running down her face.
"It's okay. I do stupid things around you, Amity," Luz said.
She turned to her and tried to give her a smile but it was hard with the tears in her eyes. Amity gasped before looking away.
"I think I need to go home," she said.
Amity got up and left. Luz puts her face into her hands before taking a breath and slicks her hair back.
"Nada funcionará a menos que lo haga funcionar," she said in Spanish.
She stood up and walked inside the library, determined to make this right.
Back with Kai and Viney:
The two teens were still screaming as they slid down the slide. A door opened as Kai and Viney landed on the ground of an open room. Kai coughed in pain as the fall knocked the wind out of him. He sat up and rubbed his head.
"Viney, you okay?" he asked.
Viney rubbed her head as she moved her hair out of her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.
Kai turned to look at her and felt his face heat up. The scrunchie in Viney's hair had fallen out which left her hair to fall down her back.
"Woah," Kai breathed, gaining Viney's attention.
Viney raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she asked.
"This is my first time seeing you with your hair down," Kai answered.
Viney blushed and quickly grabbed her scrunchie.
"Uh! Yeah, I don't let it down that much since it gets in my face," she said, putting her hair up.
She noticed Kai was still looking at her and cleared her throat as she stood up.
"Anyway! We should figure out where we are," Viney said.
Kai nodded and stood up. He grabbed his book and looked through some pages.
"Okay so, we need to find a room with a symbol of the six elements," he said.
Viney nodded and they started walking down the corridor. Kai put the book back in his satchel and looked at Viney.
"Ya know, you should let your hair down more often," he said.
Viney looked at him.
"You think so?" she asked.
Kai smiled.
"Yeah, you look really pretty," he said.
Viney blushed and looked away from him.
"Thanks," she said.
Kai smiled before they stopped at a door. It looked old like the temple, it was covered in moss, vines and it had the six elements carved into the stone.
"So…how do we open it?" Viney asked.
Kai shrugged and looked at the door. He stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes glowed yellow. Viney jumped back in surprise.
"What in the-?!" she exclaimed.
The room shook as the door glowed yellow and opened. Kai's eyes turned back to normal and he stumbled a bit. Viney grabbed his arm to keep him upright.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Kai nodded as he rubbed his head.
"Yeah, I'm still getting used to that," he said.
The two teens looked at the room.
"Are you sure this will help you find out more about your powers?" Viney asked.
Kai looked at his journal.
"No lo sabremos a menos que lo intentemos," he said in Spanish.
He looked at Viney with a smile.
"We won't know unless we try," Kai said.
Viney nodded and they walked inside. The door closed behind them, leaving them in darkness. Soon, torches on the wall lit up the room, showing a strange statue in the middle of the room. Kai and Viney looked at each other before stepping towards the statue. It was a witch with the six elements surrounding them while they're hands were held out. Viney rubbed her head in confusion.
"What are we supposed to do here?" she asked.
Kai shrugged as he looked at the statue. He looked at his book and back at the statue.
'Let's see what happens if I…' Kai thought to himself.
He placed the book onto the statue's hands. A click was heard as the book was magically opened, flipping through the pages as the words and pictures were projected. A voice sounded through the room as Kai and Viney listened.
"Long ago, when witches received magic from the titan, a select few were given abilities that were far more powerful than any form of magic. Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Lightning and wind. The witches who held these powers were known as Mages or Elementals. These witches were chosen by the Titan to hold these powers, entrusted to protect those from the darkest evil. The most powerful mage was a young boy named Kendrick Clawthorne who unlocked his powers at the young age of 7 and was known as a hero of the Isles although it is unknown where he could be now and it has remained a mystery if there will be another mage ready to take his place," the narrator said.
The words and pages disappeared as Kai grabbed the book. He stared at the book as he processed what he found out. The shaking of the room brought Kai out of his stupor as the temple began to crumble.
"The temple's collapsing!" Viney exclaimed.
Stuffing the book back in his satchel, Kai aimed two fingers to the ceiling and blasted the roof off using a lightning bolt. He wrapped an arm around Viney's waist and pulled her against him. Viney blushed at the unexpected embrace.
"Kai?" she asked.
The hybrid boy blasted flames out of shoes and flew out of the temple, keeping a tight grip on Viney's waist as they flew into the sky. Viney whistled and Puddles flew towards them. The two teens landed on the griffin as they watched the temple collapse.
"That was…" Viney began.
"Something," Kai finished.
They then flew back to Bonesborough.
At Blight Manor:
Amity was sitting in her room with Emira brushing her hair while Edric was looking into a mirror.
"Ever since Luz and Kai came here, things have just gotten confusing. I'm thinking things I've never thought before. I'm feeling things I never used to feel," she said.
Emira looked at her.
"Is that so bad? Before Luz and Kai came, you weren't happy before," she said before turning to her brother.
"Ed, don't pick. You'll make it worse," Emira said.
"Um, too late," the only male said.
Emira shook her head as Amity sighed.
"Hey, your roots are growing out. Do you wanna dye your hair again?" she asked, gently rubbing Amity's head.
Amity looked at her hair.
Later:
Edric and Emira stood in front of their little sister as the older twin held a pair of scissors.
"How does it look?" Amity asked.
"Honestly? Mom's going to be pissed when she finds out," Edric said.
Emira smacked him in the chest.
"It looks great but just in case, don't tell her I helped," she said as a knock on the front door was heard.
Amity walked downstairs and opened the door to see Luz with her employee ID while covered in scratches and burn marks.
"I'm sorry about everything. I'd understand if you never want to see me again. Uh-" Luz ranted before pausing.
She just now noticed that Amity's hair wasn't green anymore. It was now a lavender color with some brown noticeable at the temples.
"It's different," Luz said.
Amity rubbed her neck.
"Oh yeah. Mom always liked it green. I thought I could use a change," she said.
The two girls blushed slightly before Amity changed the subject.
"Uh, how'd you get this back? And what happened?" she asked.
"Well, to convince Malphas to hire you again, I had to go through some trials. And categorize some manpeating books and tame something called a paper dragon. That guy was not fun," Luz said before noticing the twins.
"Hey, guys," she said.
Amity turned to see Edric and Emira listening from around the corner. They both moved back when they saw Amity looking at them. The youngest Blight sighed and closed the door so no one could eavesdrop before noticing a mouse on Luz's leg.
"Looks like you made a new friend," she said.
Luz looked down and growled.
"You! You're the one who ate the diary!" she shouted.
The mouse tried to jump away but Luz managed to catch it as she fell down the steps.
"I hate you," she grumbled.
"Wait. That's an echo mouse. It consumes knowledge through writing and can play back anything it eats. We dealt with them a lot at work. Watch," Amity said as Luz stood up.
She gently scratched the mouse's nose. The mouse's eyes glowed yellow as it opened its mouth and projected a black and white picture.
"My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today, I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st…I think. My name is Philip Wittebane. And I have found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds would have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have. But perhaps they shall, for the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today, I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm,"
The projection cuts off as Amity hands the mouse back to Luz.
"Thank you, little mouse. I hope you and I can become good friends," she said, booping its nose with hers.
Amity looked at her before looking down at her employee ID. She smiled.
"Don't worry. You always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts," Amity said.
She leaned in and kissed Luz on the cheek. Luz's eyes widened in shock and she turned to Amity. Edric smirked as he and Emira watched from the bedroom window.
"Bold move, little sister," he said.
Luz looked at Amity with adoration as Amity blushed.
"Uh, okay. Good to see you. Farewell forever," she said, hurriedly walking away.
'Why did I do that? Why'd I do that? Why'd I do that?' Amity said in her head.
Luz fell to her knees as she grinned goofily.
"Woah," she breathed.
Back with Kai and Viney:
"So, you and your dad were chosen by the titan?" Viney said as the two teens walked to the Owl House.
"I know right? Aunt Eda's never going to believe this," Kai said.
Viney nodded as they stopped at the front door. Kai rubbed his neck and turned to Viney, blushing slightly.
"Hey, um, thanks for helping me with this. It was nice to have someone besides Luz joining me on these kinds of adventures," he said.
Viney smiled as she blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, it was fun to hang out with you. Maybe we could do this again one day?" she asked.
Kai smiled.
"That sounds awesome," he said.
Viney smiled as well as she turned to walk away. She only got a few inches from the house before turning back to Kai. Viney reached to grab Kai by his sleeve. She got on her toes and kissed Kai on the cheek. Kai's eyes went wide as his face turned as red as a firetruck. Viney stepped back with a blush on her face as well.
"Um…see you at school," she said as she took off on Puddles.
Kai watched her fly home as he placed a hand on the spot where she kissed him.
"Que chica," he breathed.
Kai opened the door to the house as he walked inside.
"What was that just now?" a voice asked.
Kai jumped and he turned to see Eda, Luz and King standing behind him. Eda had a smirk on her face while Luz and King had teasing smiles. Kai cursed to himself.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, cheeks dusting pink.
King shook his head.
"Nope! We saw what happened. Which means I'm obliged to do this," King said.
He took a breath before singing.
"Kai and Viney sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-".
Kai gave him a death glare.
"Don't. Finish that rhyme," he warned.
King grinned mischievously.
"G!" King said.
Kai rolled his sleeves up.
"That does it! Get Over Here!" he shouted, leaping at King.
The young demon yelped and ran off with Kai chasing him.
"Luz! Kai's trying to kill me!" King screamed.
Luz shook her head and ran after the two boys. Eda watched as Kai managed to catch King in his arms, tickling him. King laughed hysterically as he tried to get out of Kai's grip while Luz jumped on Kai's back, hoping to help King escape but ended up sending the three of them to the ground. The three kids laughed. Eda chuckled as she looked at a picture of Kendrick and Jennifer in their late teens.
'Like father, like son,' she said in her head.