A/N: Hello. :) This is actually an overhaul on my first story based on The Owl House. I wanted to commemorate The Owl House Season 3 Premiere with this update to my story. After rereading through a lot of it, I felt like I needed to update it, and with Season 3 coming up, tonight seemed like the best opportunity to do that. And of course, the overhaul will also include the lemon between Camila and Lucas that I've posted. There will be more panned out in the future, so keep an eye out. ;) As for my original Coven of Shadows story, I've decided it will remain there, but it will be marked as completed. And what happens in this story will alter some of the process of events that I already had planned for the overall beta story while adding in new elements. In the long run, it will be worth it. I promise you that. ;)
Prologue: Away from Home
Those who still cling to the hatred of the past cannot prosper in the future.
"Benjamin! Where the blazes are you?!"
Benjamin sat up straight, stirred out of his sleep so suddenly, although he was still sleepy. He had on a black shirt and black and white plaid pants to sleep in. But with how groggy he was getting to be, his father's voice might as well be another alarm clock. Even so, his eyes still needed to adjust themselves. When they were able to see straight, Ben found himself in his room. It was a medium size room with a brown hardwood floor with a fuzzy circular, red carpet in the middle of it.
The bed he just woke up from had a small metal frame with light beige covers on it, along with a small pillow and a smiley dinosaur pattern blanket on it, but it was messy from hanging off the side of the bed. There was also a wooden dresser with a metal alarm clock, and a small purple picture frame of his mother smiling, tenderly holding her pregnant belly.
He also had a hanging full body mirror on the left wall with a few fun sticks on it, as well as a big wooden closet full of clothes, ranging from casualwear to fancy clothes for fancy events all cluttered together on one wooden line (with a line of shoes on the bottom of the closet, a Black umbrella leaning on one side and a cardboard box labeled "hand me downs'' on it. On the right wall, there were a few wooden long planks on the wall acting as shelves full of super hero action figures, a few animal plush toys, a lego model of the Death Star and a Dino grabber toy, a small wooden dresser on the right side of the bed full of socks and underwear on the inside while on the top is a simple lamp with a wizard-like figure as the base, a dirty clothes hamper full to the brim with dirty clothes with a few scattered on the ground near it, and a Dino calendar hanging on a wall next to the hamper with the addition of a few posters hanging on the wall displaying a few movies he watched.
His main forte in the movies were Marvel movies, like Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and even Deadpool. While the third wasn't part of the MCU, Ben liked the humor and action it had to offer (even if most of it was inappropriate). And finally, it had a big window over his bed with black drapes over it that were half open.
"You better get dressed and ready to go in five minutes!"
And speaking of clocks, Ben looked at his own on his desk. According to the time, it was at 7:25. His bus was to come pick him up at 7:30. The young man's eyes widened in surprise as he spoke to himself under his breath before replying back to his father.
"Oh, shit… I'll be right there!"
He'd overslept. And because of that, he was bound to be late. To make up for it, he took off his pajama pants first and put on his dark blue jeans, followed by his shirt. Next, came the socks and shoes. And to top it off, his jacket and backpack. When he was finished, Ben looked at the time, seeing that it said 7:28. He then took a look at himself in the mirror, seeing that nothing was out of place.
"How about that? My new personal best."
Ben was about to take off, but before he could, he stopped to look at a picture of his mother in his hand. Apart from the pregnant belly, she had long, black hair that reached her shoulders, a tall, slender, curvy body build, thin eyebrows, and a pale white skin tone. She also had forest green colored eyes, thin small eyelashes, a small rounded nose, slightly big hips, long skinny arms and legs, round small ears with black earrings pierced on them, red fake paint on her fingernails, thin lips with pink lipstick on them, a long blue gown, a small pearl necklace, black leggings, and white strap-on fancy shoes. Ben imagined that must've been how she looked when she went to prom. Or it would be if she didn't have a pregnant belly, but he didn't mind it one bit. He looked at the picture fondly before he spoke gently to it.
"Wish me luck, mom. I might need a whole lot of it."
Ben made a small laugh to himself before he planted a small kiss on his two front fingers on his right hand before placing them on her forehead. He would've let the moment dwell longer, but his father's voice rang out again.
"You better be down here by the next minute, Benjamin!"
Ben made a small grumble to himself. As much as he wanted him to keep his mouth shut, he wasn't wrong.
"Well, see you soon."
Ben then took off from his room with his backpack in tow to get downstairs, ready to start another day at School. However, before he went down the stairs, he turned back to the picture before going back to it. He then picked it up before putting it in his backpack and zipping it tight.
"Actually, I might need you with me."
On his way down, Ben noticed three people waiting on the chairs by the fireplace. One of them was a young man with a slightly lean body build, a light skin tone, short blonde hair that stopped at his chin length, dark blue colored eyes, thin eyebrows, big round ears, a pointy nose, short skinny arms and legs, wearing a grey t-shirt that's short sleeved, black shorts, white socks, black sneakers and black sunglasses. Another person that waited for him was a young woman with a blonde hair at chin length with a pink streak in the middle with a blue sweatshirt over her black straps that went over her shoulders, along with a dark blue skirt. Like her brother, she also had a light white skin tone, thick long arms and legs, small round ears, a firm waist, big wide hips, pink painted fingernails/toenails, a small round nose, freckled cheeks, silver eyes, and black open-toed, high-heeled shoes. But the third one was who he couldn't stand in the least: his father.
He had a tall and thin but sturdy body type, tan white skin tone, white short, slicked back hair, small dark blue eyes, a long flat nose, a pointy chin with a thick pointy beard over it, thick white eyebrows, a few wrinkles on his big forehead, round oval like ears, big hands, and a thick neck. He was also wearing black pants, a purple light turtleneck, a brown belt with a brass belt buckle, and black shoes. The young woman spoke out to Ben first in a complaint.
"About time you showed up. If we end up being late, it's your fault."
The brother gave her a small glare as he stood up for him.
"Hey, give it a rest, Sue. He's here, isn't he?"
Ben rolled his eyes at her comments. Every time Sue complained, she always directed it at him. It was something he came to expect from his sister for a long time. His brother, on the other hand, was more family to him than even his father at this point. Not that it meant much in the grand scheme of things.
"Good morning to you, too. Susan, Kyle."
His father gave Ben a short glare as he walked over to him.
"And where have you been, Benjamin?"
Ben felt he should've known the answer to that as he tried to reply casually.
"Uh… in my room?"
His father only gave him a scoff before he spoke back to him, starting to get furious.
"I know that! I mean, why did it take you so long to get your sorry butt down here? It didn't take your brother and sister nearly this long to get ready for School."
Susan gave Ben a mean-spirited look, wanting the explanation as much as her father did. He was all too familiar with that. Although, he hasn't forgotten where his big mouth got him.
The last time he blurted out of turn, his father gave Ben a hard slap on the face and told him that if he ever spoke out of turn, let alone in such filthy language again, he'd do worse. Rather than tempt fate, he had to suck it up. But it didn't mean he won't show some of his fangs.
"Sorry, dad. It won't happen again."
His father then placed his hand sternly on his shoulder and began to squeeze it tightly as he tried to get his message across.
"See that it doesn't. I can't have you embarrassing the Kingston family name with your tardiness or anything else. Is that clear?"
Ben gave him a hard glare back as he replied.
"Crystal."
Just then, they heard the bus pull up outside. Kyle and Sue quickly grew excited. It was the last day of school, which is the cornerstone of Summer. Alas, it was on different grounds. For Sue, School was a way for her to maintain their social status. Doing the actual schoolwork was of importance, of course. If she had any bad grades, or grades that didn't please him, he'd give her one heck of a chewing out, not that she'd gotten into that situation. It just came easy for her.
As for Kyle, he only did his best to be as close to Ben as he could. It wasn't exactly a secret that he wasn't like the two of them. He was an orphan, dropped off to this very house 16 years ago. The father only took him in begrudgingly on Kyle's own behalf. Even Sue liked him at one point. But that was then, and this is now. Why she decided to give up on him, he may likely never know…
"Ah, finally! Can't wait to get started."
"You kidding? I can't wait for Summer to get started."
While Kyle and Susan headed out to the bus, Ben was about to follow them, but his father grabbed his arm and wanted to be sure his point was made.
"I'm serious, Benjamin. If you do anything to blight our family name, you will have to answer to me. Do you hear me?"
As it turns out, Kyle was seeing the whole thing. He was meaning to talk to Ben about something, but he saw the tense situation. Ben forced his arm away from his father's grip as he gave him a casual smile before he answered back to him.
"Hey, don't worry. I hear you."
Ben then exits the door following Kyle and Susan before muttering under his breath.
"But that doesn't mean I'll listen…"
When Ben got to the bus, he sat next to Kyle. He could tell that he hated their father. He didn't exactly give Ben any reason to like him.
"You holding up alright, Ben?"
"Oh, I don't know. What do you think?"
Ben turned away from Kyle with his sarcastic tone. He held his head down as he spoke softly.
"Are you sure about this? After school, it's not like you have anywhere else to go."
"At this point, I don't care anymore. I just want to get away from them."
Kyle didn't quite like what he was saying. They weren't perfect, sure, but he didn't think any less of them as family.
"And what about me? Do you not want anything to do with me, either?"
Ben hesitated for a moment before he retorted.
"She didn't want anything to do with me. Why else would I be like this?"
Kyle looked over to Sue, who was among the more popular group. She kept a distant gaze for a moment, only to look back with a hint of regret as she stared at her siblings. Kyle placed his hand on his shoulder and spoke softly.
"You know, you don't have to go alone."
"Yeah? Why not?"
"Because, I'm going with you."
Ben's eyes widened in surprise before he looked up to him, seeing his warm smile.
"I still don't think it's right for you to give up on them, but it's not like I can let you be by yourself, either. We're bros, aren't we?"
Ben's stunned expression fell shortly with a teary smile and held out his fist to him, which Kyle bumped with his own fist.
"Yeah. Best bros…"
A half-hour later, Ben, Kyle, and Susan had exited the bus and went for the School building. While his brother and sister went ahead, they took notice of a young girl. She was a fourteen-year-old Dominican-American girl with tan skin, purplish-brown short hair that was usually styled in a pixie cut, and hazel eyes. She was also wearing a pair of ebony earrings, a short-sleeved half-white and half-indigo hoodie with cat ears attached to the hood, high-waisted jean shorts, dark grey capris leggings, and a pair of white loafers. She was lugging a few big bags up on the stairs as a couple of bullies passed by her with them giving her snide comments.
One of them in particular had short, spiked-up, brown hair with a grey shirt and jeans. And his arms were crossed with a smirk on his face to boot. Ben wasn't amused by that one bit. He knew exactly what Cyrus would do. It's all he's ever done the whole time at Gravesfield High.
"Hey, nice luggage, Luz-ser. I hope it means you're moving out soon."
As the bullies mocked her, Kyle walked over and called him out.
"Hey, can it, Cyrus! At least she's brave enough to be herself!"
Cyrus only scoffed at Kyle's words. He didn't necessarily like them coming from the young man.
"Please! That Luzser couldn't hack it with anyone if she tried! Just ask Sue. Even she knows she's not as perfect as you think she is."
Cyrus walked away with a snide grin as Sue held her head down shamefully. He knew what that meant as Kyle looked at her. Sue wasn't really a fan of that look.
"You had to cut her loose, didn't you?"
"Kyle, it's not like I—"
"Forget it. We'll talk later."
Kyle walked onwards to the school, holding his stern expression. Sue walked past Luz next, looking away from her with that same guilt magnifying itself. As the duo walked away from her, the poor girl frowned before Ben tensed his hands. If it were himself, he wouldn't have much to say or do about it. He couldn't care less about what they thought of him. But anyone else was a no go, especially her. It's not her fault she has an active imagination. If anything, at least she made the effort to do her best in what she does. She shouldn't be mocked for it. Ben went up to the girl and picked up the luggage, making her look up to him.
"Need some help with this?"
The girl made a light gasp as she looked up at him. The girl had the impression that she couldn't believe that someone actually made the effort to help her. But after a few seconds, she got her focus back and answered him.
"Oh! Uh, sure. Thanks. Just help me carry it up the stairs. I'll take care of the rest."
With that, Ben grabbed one side of the bag while the girl held onto another before walking up the school steps. When they got up, they set the bag down before the girl spoke up to him.
"Thanks. I owe you, one, Mr…"
At that moment it occurred to him. He'd seen her around a lot, but he never did get to know her. The first time he saw her was at the tryouts for Romeo and Juliet. To make her death more "convincing" she had used a spork and wieners to fill in as guts, making everyone panic. The second time was when she made a Baby Griffin taxidermy, while using spiders for Spider Breath, causing the whole class to go into a panic as they ran away.
And he heard once from Sue how that same girl did a bizarre trick with her eyes that sent her and the other cheerleaders into a panic. She caught wind of Luz's attempts to impress her, but he rejected her. As a result, Kyle never let her live it down since then. Ben couldn't help but snicker at that memory. However, out of all those times, he still never knew her name. He figured this was the time to change that.
"Uh, my name's Ben. What about you?"
Ben held out his hand as the girl answered while shaking his hand. However, her answer was set on what Kyle called her a minute ago, which made her flustered.
"Oh, I'm Luzser. I mean Luz! Just Luz. Anyway, thanks for helping me out."
"Sure, Luz. Anytime."
Ben then went ahead to the School building before looking back to her and giving her a smile. He had a feeling whatever she had in that bag was going to be something that would make today interesting. Whether that was good or bad, he wasn't sure, though he's leaning to the latter. But when did that ever stop her? If there was one thing he envied her for, it's her enthusiasm.
Not much later, Ben was at his locker, putting his backpack inside. But just as he closed the door, he took notice of a young man giving him a stink eye. It was Cyrus, striking again.
"So, what's a snob like you planning to do today?"
The bully maintained his smirk, only for Ben to roll his eyes before walking away from him. This only irritated the hooligan. To get his attention back, he yelled while running up to him.
"Hey! You don't get to ignore me. I asked you a question."
Ben only persisted in his walk before the bully spoke to him again, getting more bitter by the minute.
"Just because you're a dumb, rich boy doesn't make you a hotshot. I run this school, and you should be giving me the respect I deserve!"
Ben had finally gotten tired of hearing him talk. But he wasn't going to settle it by fighting him. He just wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he put on a smile before he spoke to him in a good-natured tone.
"Oh, sorry, Cy. My bad. Maybe I should give you the respect you deserve after all."
Cyrus wasn't quite expecting his reply. But it did make him feel a little better to hear him say it.
"Oh. Well, that's better."
However, Ben's look told him otherwise as he spoke.
"Actually, I wasn't talking to you."
Confused, Cyrus turned around, only to see that there was no one behind him. Cyrus looked back to him, still befuddled by his meaning.
"But there's no one there."
"Never said there was. But hey, look on the bright side. If you actually did get what you deserved, you wouldn't be here."
Ben then walked away from the bully, making Cyrus glare at him just as the school bell rang.
Play Javier Navarrete Music: Cry for Help
At his 1st Period class, Ben was sitting near the windows of the classroom in the row that was second-closest to them. His subject there was on history. The teacher had a monocle over his right eye with white hair tied down to a ponytail. His outfit was a white shirt with black pants. He's one of the more serious teachers.
"Now then, I'm sure you're all excited for this to be the last week of school. But don't forget, you all have a test to take. One on the illustrious history of Gravesfield, Connecticut itself."
Everyone else became dismayed, reminded that they had to take a test. It was always that one last hurdle before they got to begin their summer of freedom. And if they have studied, their lives will be a little easier for a few months, as far as Freshmen to Sophomores go. As for Ben, he's hoping it can end sooner rather than later. And for good reason.
"Now, regarding our town's history, Gravesfield has become quite a hotspot back in the day. In the 1690's, our ancestors took part in some of the most infamous acts, which are widely known as the Connecticut Witch Trials."
One of the students raised her hand up, confused on the matter.
"Uh, wouldn't that be the Salem Witch Trials, Mr. Seymour?"
Mr. Seymour pointed at her to correct her.
"No, young lady. This is another matter entirely. I swear, how many times must I go over this…? Anyhoo, during the Connecticut Witch Trials, Gravesfield was a peaceful colony. However, superstition got the better of everyone, including the Wittebane family. Their delusional parents went along with many others burning their own people at the stake, believing them to be witches and demons sent to take them away to the Underworld. But the poor children, their three sons, were left alone to fend for themselves. It was then and there that their house burned down, claiming their lives along with it. Luckily, this society has evolved better than such superstitious nonsense, or we'd still be burning people at the stakes today."
Ben couldn't lie; it was the most savage thing he ever heard. People killing other people just because they were different. He's right on that much; it was a good thing they grew out of that. But that didn't mean the problem didn't exist. Then, one of the students raised his hand.
"Yes, Todd?"
"Is this part of the test?"
Mr. Seymour only glanced at him. It seemed like he'd been waiting for someone to ask that."
"No. And speaking of tests, get your pencils out and ready. You'll be filling in your study guides and then you will memorize it in its entirety.
Everyone in class moaned once again. They really didn't want to have to take any tests. But Ben knew it wouldn't make any difference. He just had to get it over with. The sooner he does that, the sooner he can leave for good…
End Javier Navarrete Music: Cry For Help
After the 1st Period, Ben was walking down the hallway. He was trudging his backpack along as he walked down the stairs. It already felt exhausting to have to go through that. But it was only one hurdle. There was only one more to go. One more test… At that very moment, he heard someone talking around the lockers.
"Man, did you see that girl carrying that luggage? How is that supposed to be part of a test?"
Ben peeked out of the corner to see Kyle with someone else. He had dark brown skin with black hair at chin length. He was wearing a black jacket over his white shirt and black jeans.
"Well, it's show and tell, right? What's the worst that could happen?"
One of his friends didn't think it wise to bring it up with what she did recently.
"Are you for real, bro? First, there was that Romeo & Juliet play. And then there's the spider-breath incident. And to top it off, she removed her eyes!"
Kyle gave his friend a raised eyebrow.
"That last one didn't hurt anybody, Eddie. It was just a weird trick."
"It scarred me for life! Now I can't even sleep at night, because all I can do is think about the inside of my eyelids…"
After a few seconds, Eddie dropped the pretense as he cleared his throat.
"Bottom line, that girl's straight-up weird. Almost as weird as that family that lives just outside of town."
Ben tensed his hand when he heard this. Everything in his body was telling him to hit him. But he couldn't do that to his friend. Especially not when Kyle was getting it short.
"Hey, the Cedars are as normal as everyone else. At least, Melissa was…"
Play Javier Navarrete Music: Our Mothers and How They Died
Eddie's face showed a more sympathetic look as he spoke softly.
"Oh, right. It's been over half a year since we lost her, huh?"
Kyle's face made a stern look; he didn't really like to hear it anymore.
"And I'd prefer it if you never brought it up again. It's been a lot for all of us."
Eddie's face began to show a sad look as he walked away.
"Okay. But it's not you I'm worried about, man."
When Eddie left the hallway, Kyle suddenly heard a smash at the locker, along with a loud grunt. He immediately knew who it was. Kyle went around to find Ben, his hand embedded on the locker's dent. It was ten months since the tragedy happened, and Ben just couldn't move on through it. And he was crying… Ben looked up to his brother and spoke sadly.
"Why, Kyle…? Why did she have to die…?!"
Ben began to weep as Kyle went over to him and gave him a hug, the way he always did.
"I wish I knew. But what I do know is that she'd want you to move on. Besides, it's just one more test. Then we're on our own. Okay?"
Ben tried to take a deep breath and nodded to him as Kyle wiped his tears away. Once he's caught his breath, Ben held onto his brother's hand, never wanting to let go. And Kyle knew why; he didn't want to face his "sister" again.
"Now, let's go. And try to be nice to Sue this time."
"How could I when she never gave me a reason to?"
Kyle saw the disdain on Ben's face. Through his tears, he saw hatred. And he didn't like the look of it at all.
"Ben, it's not that simple."
"Really? Because I'm pretty sure that she decided I'm not worth anything and decided to leave me to die whenever I needed her."
As Ben's anger rose, Kyle tried to keep his younger brother calm.
"Ben—"
"And in return, she got all those dresses, some extra allowance, and practically everything she ever wanted!"
"Ben—!"
"SHE CARED MORE ABOUT THAT DAMN JUNK THAN SHE EVER CARED ABOUT ME!"
"BEN!"
Ben froze immediately when Kyle raised his voice. Kyle never had to do that to Ben unless it was serious. And he was dead serious.
"You don't know everything."
"And you do?"
"Of course, I don't. But I know there's a hell of a lot more to Sue than just that. So if you can't talk to her, at least suck it up for the next hour and forty minutes. Can you do that?"
Ben kept his frown but he nodded begrudgingly.
"Alright. But I'm not doing this for her sake."
Kyle and Ben were silent the whole way to the classroom. Ben was thinking about what his brother told him. What could he possibly be missing about Sue's situation? And why would Kyle care so much about her? He's the victim here. Wasn't he? No. Knowing his brother's history, Kyle was never wrong about these things. He had to try to look into Sue, at least once. But for now, he'd rather just as soon get the whole thing over and done with.
End Javier Navarrete Music: Our Mothers and How They Died
Coincidentally, Luz happened to be sitting just across from Ben in the opposite of where he sat, farthest away from the windows. While their teacher was standing in front of the blackboard, Luz was looking at Ben and giving him a wave with an eager look. Ben took notice and waved back to her with a smile of his own. He had to admit, her smile was infectious. As the teacher handed out the assignments and spoke out to his class.
"Alright, everyone, it's time for you to work on your given assignments. Assuming you've done your homework, which is admittedly unlikely, you should know what to do from here. And I expect everyone to be on their best behavior. That goes double for you, Ms. Noceda."
As the teacher pointed to Luz, she had an optimistic look on her face. And she didn't seem to care about his tone that told her she was nothing but trouble.
"I gotcha, Mr. Sterling."
While Luz put her feet in between the top opening of the bag, Ben looked all around the room. He could tell they all had worried looks on their faces. Then he recalled why as almost every one of them instinctively looked towards Luz. Given her track record, he could believe why they'd be so nervous. A part of him was worried about what she had up her sleeves this time himself. However, that wasn't his only concern. Sue looked more ashamed than before. And equally unfortunately, Cyrus was sitting just behind her as well.
"Well, Susie, you sure know how to pick them."
There were a lot of things Ben couldn't care less about when it came to bullies. Like Cyrus's pitiful attempt to intimidate him, for instance. But unfortunately, he's about to find out how easily Cyrus pushed Sue's buttons. But personally, Ben didn't see the downside. As far as he was concerned, she's getting what she deserved. At least, he believed it at first. If it were him, he wouldn't let them get into his head. He had to focus on the report just to be able to ignore them. But Sue couldn't. She spoke to him in a hushed whisper tone so as not to rudely interrupt.
"Just shut up, Cyrus. I'm trying to do my work."
Cyrus didn't seem too bothered by Sue's annoyed tone. Then again, why would he be? He leaned back against the chair with a smirk as he spoke.
"Alright. If that's what you want."
"Uh, yeah. It is."
Cyrus, however, put on a mean and stern look as he replied.
"Oh, wait. You don't always get what you want, do you?"
Sue became utterly shocked as her eyes widened. That wasn't something he expected to see out of her cold sister. But it got even worse as Cyrus continued to whisper to him.
"You think you're so clever lately. That you're strong, that you're gonna be set for life. But the truth is, well… you're just not Kingston material."
Sue could feel herself freezing up as Cyrus continued to belittle her.
"That's right. I know you're not a real Kingston anymore than your so-called brother. You're just a mistake from an affair between an actual Kingston and your two-bit nobody of a mom that just got lucky in sleeping with a big shot."
Ben stopped moving his pencil the instant he heard him talk about her mother that way. Then again, he wasn't sure if he was talking about his mother. Either way, he was getting agitated. At the same time, Sue could feel herself being under attack with every word that came out of his mouth. All the while, Ben maintained his silence, saying nothing as Cyrus leaned back, laughing to himself. And he was about to drive the last nail on the coffin.
"Trust me; when they're done with you, and they will be, you'll die as a nobody, just like she did."
In a sudden instance, Sue's eyes widened and her thumb suddenly broke the pencil in half with a loud SNAP! Some of the class, including Luz, turned to see where the snap came from. But it certainly got Mr. Sterling's attention. He noticed Sue clutching tightly on her pencil, her hand shaking in quiet torture as tears flowed down her face. Ben didn't quite like what that implied as Mr. Sterling spoke out.
"Ms. Kingston?"
When Sue heard his voice, she noticed Mr. Sterling giving her a look of worry. Not that he would understand. It wasn't his mother they were mocking. But as much as he wanted to bash Cyrus' brains in, Ben had no intention of ending up on the news.
"Is there something you need to tell me?"
Sue seemed to want to tell him right then and there how much Cyrus was torturing her, but sadly, due to his natural influence, it was his word against her own. Ben began to wonder how such a thing was possible.
"Uh… c-could I get a new pencil, please?"
Mr. Sterling only took a sigh before he nodded.
"Come here."
Sue stood up and left her chair before Cyrus smirked back at her. That's when Ben began to understand. His words were ineffective against Ben, but with Sue… even with the Kingston family name, she was too easy of a target. And then, there was all that cruel stuff he'd said. Was any of that true? Was that why she'd distanced herself from him? Was she just trying to fit in the whole time? After the brief exchange, Sue took a new pencil from her teacher's desk before she went back to her seat. When she sat down, Mr. Sterling cleared his throat.
"Okay, everyone, time's up. I'll need you to put them face down and turn them in."
Fortunately, Sue was barely able to finish her assignment before she broke the pencil and had to get a new one. All the students put their paper down to be collected by Mr. Sterling. And once he had gotten all of the assignments, Mr. Sterling turned to the rest of the class.
"Alright. Now that we've got your assignments covered, let's move on to our book reports. Can we have a volunteer, please?"
Luz raised up her hand and waved it excitedly.
"Oh, oh, oh! Can I go? Please?"
Ben saw her enthusiastic reaction and couldn't help but chuckle to himself over it. She was as excited as a puppy. Mr. Sterling had a look of hesitation as he looked over to the rest of the class.
"Anyone else want to volunteer? Anyone at all?"
No one's hands were raised up as the class murmured amongst themselves. Of course, no one else would volunteer. They either were scared of presenting their book reports themselves, or they figured it best to get Luz's bizarre nonsense over with as soon as possible. Either way, Ben really wanted to see what Luz had in mind this time. Apart from being a bit nervous about what her plans are, this was his reason for not raising his hand. Mr. Sterling took a deep sigh and spoke to himself before he called out to Luz.
"Might as well get this over with… Alright, Ms. Noceda. Let's see what you've got this time."
Luz shook her hands in giddy anticipation before she picked up her book of choice, sat up straight out of her chair, and began to lug her bag with her to the front of the class. As Luz began to speak up, Ben noticed the book she had in her hand. It was The Good Witch Azura.
Even before he spoke to her, Ben knew she seemed to always carry it around with her, so it must've been an obvious choice for Luz. Personally, he didn't find the series worth a trifle, but with Luz putting her own spin to it, it was bound to at least be exciting, one way or the other. Ben saw that the other students were getting ready to expect the worst as Luz cleared her throat.
"Well, I'm not really one for introductions, but my book report is actually about... the Good Witch Azura!"
As her voice took on a dramatic tone, Luz dug into her bag and got out an action figure of the book's main protagonist, Azura. She had long green hair, a blue and white dress with a star above where her chest was, a witch's hat with a crown around it, and a white staff with a blue gemstone on the top. The class drew a sigh of relief from this. They saw no possible way that Luz could possibly cause a panic with a doll. The odds of that were a million to one. But Luz wasn't done yet.
"And her battle with…"
Luz dug into her bag and got out a snake with her other arm.
"...the dreaded Gildersnake!"
The snake wrapped itself around Luz's hand before making a lisp, sticking its tongue out for a moment. The class had a nervous look around them as they eyed the snake. As for Ben, he widened his eyes in surprise as he spoke out to Luz.
"Uh, Luz… is that snake poisonous?"
Luz only held her left hand to him, although it still held her Azura figure while doing so.
"Please save all questions till the end of the report. Anyway, like I was saying, my favorite part was when Azura traveled into the dark Cave of Ares, where she confronted her enemy."
While Luz went on, her snake bit down onto the head of her action figure. Seeing this from the snake, Ben sighed to himself. As far as her usual weirdness goes, even with a possibly poisonous snake, this was pretty tame in comparison.
"Well, at least it's just the one snake."
However, a moment later, Ben was proven wrong. He heard a brief hiss as well as a chomp before another student next to him began to feel drained. He had dark brown hair, a dark blue shirt, light blue eyes, and pale skin as he moaned. Ben became worried about what it meant.
"Uh, Todd? You doing okay?"
"Hey, um, I feel a thousand pounds heavier all of a sudden. Does anyone else taste poison?"
When Todd's face fell onto the table, Ben saw the reason literally slither up along his body. The snake hissed out at Ben, making the whole class scream as Ben gasped. In an instant, the snake lunged out at Ben, forcing him to duck, avoiding its bite. However, Cyrus wasn't so lucky. He held up his arm in defense, but in the process, the snake bit into it, making him scream in fear and pain as he fell out of his seat while most of the class went as far from the snake as possible, some of them even leaving the classroom altogether. Ben was starting to go along with the idea, too.
"Okay, I'm out of here."
Luz, on the other hand, tried to reassure her classmates.
"Hey, don't worry! They're not poisonous! I think…"
Despite her reassurance, their panic still ensued as they ran out of the class. Amidst that panic, Kyle saw Sue in quite a sticky wicket. She was on top of a desk and cornered for the snakes to bite into her. Desperate to save her, Kyle went over to Susan as he zipped by Cyrus, who was still writhing in agony from the snakebite.
"Hold on, Sue! I'll help you!"
But the snake had other plans. It leapt out right at Sue, making her freeze again before she was promptly pushed away, the snake biting Kyle in the arm instead as he fell back with a scream.
"Ah!"
The moment he heard that scream, Ben stopped and ran back just inches away from freedom.
"KYLE!"
Ben rushed back to see the snakes gathering all around Kyle, ready to bite into him as Sue looked on in horror. Ben went right over to his brother, determined to save the one person who stood by his side his whole life.
He saw a snake dangling from where it bit Cyrus and snatched it by the tail, pulling it off and making Cyrus yell out as Ben swung said snake around, making sure it wouldn't bite him. It was common knowledge that a snake's leverage is taken away by the tail.
"GET THE FUCK OFF MY BROTHER!"
Ben smacked the other snakes away from Kyle and right at the wall, knocking most of them out. Sue looked on in sheer surprise as Ben grabbed Kyle's snake and slid up his hand along its scaly body to straighten it before he slammed its fangs in the desk, trapping it and making it unable to move around. However, it seemed to be too late. Kyle was moving very weakly, and there were two giant holes on his arm where the snake's fangs used to be.
"Kyle! Are you okay?!"
Kyle couldn't say another word. The venom had already worked its magic. And he couldn't move. Ben was becoming greatly scared. His heart was beginning to bear ten times faster just thinking about the inevitable.
"Kyle, no… Kyle, wake up! Please! Get up!"
Kyle still made no move. Ben began to tear up as he held his brother close to him, begging to God that he wasn't dead.
"Please, don't leave me, Kyle! Y-You said you'd go with me…!"
Ben began to sob on his brother, making Sue incredibly guilty as her own tears escaped her eyes. She believed Cyrus was right about her. She wasn't Kingston material. She wasn't worth anything… and yet he just risked his life for hers. And he paid the price for it. They thought things couldn't get any worse than that.
Unfortunately, it did. Half an hour later, the snakes were wrangled up by Animal Control. Before then, it turned out that Luz's backup snakes were roaming in the hallway, with two more students and even Principal Hal having fallen prey to them. While the snakes were being put in cages, the students, Kyle, and the principal were being carted to the Ambulance as they moaned from the pain. They were bandaged in the bite areas and laying on hospital beds before the ambulance doors closed and carted them away while Mr. Sterling spoke up to his class to get their attention away from the chaos.
"Don't worry, everyone. Everything's under control here. Principal Hal and your snakebit classmates will be getting some treatment in the hospital. And Animal Control has already wrangled every last one of the snakes. As far as we're concerned, though, to prevent further incidents, this school is closed for the rest of the week."
This made the whole class cheer in celebration over the fact that they don't have to go to school, but Mr. Sterling wasn't done.
"But after that, you still have to go to school for the finals. School's not over until next week."
As the class moaned dejectedly, Kyle went to Mr. Sterling.
"What about Kyle? Is he gonna be okay? Please tell me he'd be okay!"
Mr. Sterling took in a deep breath before he answered.
"Well, the doctors say he had the worst of it. And compared to the others who were bitten more times than him, it's saying something. That snake's venom was stronger than the others. Best odds he has is 75% that he'll live. But he won't be the same."
Ben's tears began to stream down his face. This wasn't how he saw the day going at all. He was supposed to go with him away from the Kingstons. He was supposed to start a new life with his big brother. But thanks to Luz's snakes, that chance is gone. Possibly forever. He felt anger rising in him, but then, it was quickly overshadowed by grief and sorrow. He began to cry into his arms, left alone in the cruel world once again.
Sue looked on as her brother cried in utter misery. Kyle meant everything to Ben his whole life. And now, it seemed as though that he won't be with him. He's all alone. Sue felt utterly guilty for leaving Ben to feel that way. After today, she can't keep shutting him out anymore, not after the effort Kyle made to save her. Ben deserved better than that.
Meanwhile, inside, Luz began to frown sadly from the other side of the school's main door. Despite her mother's company, it was still hard to get over. She had dark brown hair tied in a bun and tan skin with her bangs tuft up similarly to how Luz's was. She also wore glasses with a thick red frame on the top and gray studded earrings. She placed her hand on Luz's shoulder before she spoke gently.
"Mija, I know it's hard. But the sooner you put all this behind you, the better it's going to be for everyone."
Luz's frown got worse as she responded in a deadpan voice.
"I know, mama."
At the same moment, someone else walked up to Luz and Camila. He had a nice set of dress pants, a white buttoned shirt, and a nice open cardigan. He also had a light tan color with green eyes and some light brown hair. He placed his hand on Luz as he reassured her.
"I'll put in a good word for you, Luz. It's gonna be okay."
Luz smiled solemnly as she replied.
"Thanks, Mr. Darwin."
When she opened the door, Luz only looked at the ground the whole time. She didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. But the other classmates didn't seem to care about it as they were only focused on the results.
"Nice work, Luz-ser."
"Way to go, Snake charmer!"
"Who else could bring a living snake to School?!"
"Four terrors in one week! A new record!"
Mr. Darwin sharply cut him off as he spoke up.
"Hey, give the kid a break! She's had it just as bad as the rest of you!"
Meanwhile, Luz felt more and more ashamed from each comment, forcing her to walk faster towards the car in a huff just to get away from their scorn. Ben hated to see Luz like this. She was just trying to be herself. Even if it was disastrous, she didn't deserve to be put down for it. Hoping to keep even a shred of it alive, Ben ran over to where she ran.
"Luz! Wait!"
Even when they were leaving the school, Ben would've been able to talk to Luz if he didn't hear his father's voice in the distance behind him.
"Benjamin Tyler Kingston!"
Ben turned around to see his father who was waiting by his black sedan with a very cross look on his face. And he was far from angry.
"You and I are going to have a talk."
Back at home, Ben was subsequently and suddenly struck in the face by his father's cane, sending him to the floor. Ben struggled to stand up as he crawled up before he spoke callously to his son.
"I told you not to embarrass our family name, and what do you do?!"
He stabbed (or rather poked) his cane on his back, pushing him back down to the ground as he grunted.
"You tossed those snakes at your own brother! Have I taught you nothing?!"
Ben raised his eyes in disbelief. He didn't recall tossing any snake at either one of them. If anything, he tried to save him from the snakes!
"What? I never… tossed those snakes at him!"
"Oh, no?"
Suddenly, Ben was struck in the side by his cane, forcing him to scream in pain as he turned over to his side.
"Ever since you were dropped off at this house, you've been nothing but an infuriating prick in my side roping my son into whatever danger you encounter, but this?! Now, I know. You unleashed that girl's snakes to get rid of my son and claim his status as an heir to my fortune! I warned my son that you were up to no good, but no! He never had the reason to LISTEN!"
The father struck him in his side, making him writhe in pain as Sue watched on the stairs, cringing at every blow he was dealt. And today's events didn't help her forget any of the agony Ben was going through.
"Did you honestly think you'd get away with this, you indolent brat?! I promise you, by the end of the day, you'll bleed dearly for that!"
Ben wringed in agony as Sue trembled from the sound of Ben's screams. She couldn't take it any more. Kyle didn't risk his life for her just to let Ben take the killing blow. She owed it to Kyle to keep him alive. She couldn't abandon him again.
"STOP IT, FATHER!"
Ben's father glared hard at Sue, making her nervous as she continued to run down the stairs to face him.
"Do you care to repeat that… daughter?"
Sue felt a chill in her spine from his words. But she nevertheless gulped the lump in her throat as she tried to speak.
"I said stop it. Please."
The father sneered viciously towards her.
"And here, I thought I'd never see the day my own child would turn on his flesh and blood…"
it was a moot point for him to say that. As far as she was concerned, he was not his flesh and blood. Cyrus figured that out himself.
"You're not a real Kingston. You're just a mistake from an affair between an actual Kingston and your two-bit nobody of a mom that just got lucky in sleeping with a big shot."
Sue growled under her breath as she made no hesitation to retort in spite of the crippling fear she felt eating away at her.
"So, now I'm part of the family. Here I thought I was a mistake."
Her snide remark only earned bitter retaliation from his father. He planted his cane near Ben's head as if to make a point as he stepped closer to Sue's face.
"That's right. You are. But as bad as you are, the only worse mistake I ever could've made… would be your mother."
Sue gasped dramatically as her father stalked over to her, as if ready to beat her down the same way he did to Ben.
"I'm surprised you haven't realized this, but I'm not the one who put you here, child. She's the one who left you here."
Sue froze up as he continued to walk closer. She didn't know what to do to defend herself…!
"You know that's the truth, don't you? The only reason your mother left you here with me, of all people, was because she can't even be bothered to look after you herself. The fact of the matter is, if she ever gave a damn about you, she'd have done the responsible thing and taken care of you. But she didn't. She left you."
That was the last straw. Ben saw no need to hold it in anymore. He'd already lost Kyle. And he couldn't let his brother's sacrifice to save her be for nothing, even if he did resent her. He owed this to him…!
"When it boils down to it, you are no more precious to her than you are to me. Because we both know that no matter what you do, one thing will never change about you…"
Sue could feel herself choking for air already. She really felt as though she was going to die!
"That you're a mistake that should never have been made!"
Her father raised her cane, ready to strike her down as she flinched, waiting for the strike to end her. However, before it could hit her, a loud thud echoed across the whole room. Her father stood completely flabbergasted at the sight. It was his breath trembling this time.
Sue cautiously opened her eyes to see Ben standing over her. He had a big gash on the side of his face. But it wasn't what intrigued Sue; she saw something else. His hand was glowing a bright blue hue, as were his eyes.
"Leave… my sister… ALONE!"
Ben threw one of his hands right at the cruel father's chest, hitting him dead-on and firing a blue blast of unknown energy right through him, making him scream in agonizing pain before he was suddenly launched to the wall and hit his back against it with such speed and force that it not only broke his spine, but it knocked him unconscious. As the father laid on the floor unmoving, Ben took a deep breath as Sue looked on, both horrified and mystified. A moment later, however, the mysterious aura around Ben faded as a dark realization settled in. He had just committed patricide, murdering his own father.
And to make it worse, Sue was his witness. She looked at him with fear in her eyes, making Ben feel guilt building up inside him as tears fell down from his eyes. After a tense moment, he shut his eyes and spoke solemnly, trying not to let his shaky voice diminish his words.
"I'm so sorry…"
With that, he ran off from the house, leaving Sue behind as she called out.
"Ben, wait! Come back!"
But he didn't hear her. The one time she tried to speak to him again, and he couldn't hear her. If only she'd spoken up sooner… Sue collapsed to the floor, holding her hands over herself as she sobbed to herself, knowing without a doubt that Ben would never come back to that wretched house ever again…
An hour later, Ben was all by himself in the woods. And if he didn't have second thoughts before, he's starting to now. Since he ran away from home, Ben has encountered one obstacle after another. For instance, he was starting to get hungry. And without any money of his own to pay for food, he'd end up starving to death. And that was just one setback.
Other setbacks included finding a place to stay, of which there were none. And as far as shelter, there wasn't any lodge to stay in that didn't cost money, not even people who'd be willing to let him stay. Of course, there was the Cedar family, but after Melissa's apparent death, he doubted that they'd welcome him in at all. Not that there were many options left after what he did, but he wondered what he was thinking by leaving the house for good. Ben sat down on a nearby log and put his hands on his head as he sighed dejectedly.
"Where did I think I could go? What a joke…"
But that was hardly the most concerning matter. He kept thinking back to the moment when he attacked his father to save Sue. He felt something he never felt before. And he used it to launch him to the wall and break his back.
"And how do I do that? I mean, it was cool, but… What the hell even was that?!"
As he stared down at his right hand, Ben wondered if his mother had to deal with something like this. Then he remembered. Before he left for school, Ben took the picture of his mother with him in his backpack. He wondered if it managed to survive the chaos that happened today. Hoping it did, Ben opened his backpack and dug into it, finding the picture was thankfully intact.
He let out a sad sigh of relief before he spoke to the picture.
"I don't understand. Why would you leave me with him?"
He received no answer from the picture. At that moment, his father's words rang into his ear.
"The only reason your mother left you here with me, of all people, was because she can't even be bothered to look after you herself."
Ben started to think that maybe he was right on that much, even if he was talking about Sue's mother. For all he knew, his own mother must not have wanted him either. His hands trembled as he held onto the picture before he raised it, as if getting ready to throw it away. But as much as he wanted to toss it away, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. That would mean throwing away the only potential memory of his mother left. And if he couldn't find her, he might as well have not cared about her at all. He only set the picture back in his backpack before he spoke sadly to himself with tears in his eyes.
"Where did you go…?"
While Ben wallowed in his misery, however, he felt a gleam shining onto his face, forcing him to block it with his hands in irritation. But after parting his hand a bit and moving his face away from the light, he saw something surprising. It was a bizarre object that looked like a demon's yellow eye with cracks on its bottom-left corner. Ben didn't notice that when he sat down by the log before, but it certainly didn't look like anything he was familiar with. And more than that, he felt… drawn to it.
Ben didn't know if it was the same as when he apparently used a magic blast on his father. But he could feel something… familiar. He'd never seen it before today, but he had a sense of Déjà Vu just looking at the thing.
"What the…?"
Ben sat up from his log and went closer to this strange object and knelt down to it, seeing his reflection off of it.
"What the heck is this? It looks kinda broken."
When Ben tried to pick it up, the demon eye began to glow brightly, making him widen his eyes in surprise as he gasped before it suddenly engulfed him and swallowed him in its bright light. When the glow faded, both Ben and the eye were long gone, never to be seen again.
The next thing Ben knew, he was unconscious. But after a while, he tried to open his eyes, albeit with a groan. The first thing he saw was a bright lavender sky shining above him. The young boy became confused by the color.
"Huh? What's up with the sky?"
Ben sat himself up as he yawned before looking around. Even the woods seemed different than how it was before. For instance, the log that he stopped to rest on wasn't there anymore. And for another, the trees' leaves appeared to be dark blue rather than mint green.
"And what the heck happened to me?"
That's when he remembered. Just before he ended up here, wherever here was, he found an odd item that looked like a demon's eye with a crack at the bottom right corner of it. And when he picked it up, it glowed so brightly, it must've blinded him. Ben looked down beside him to find just the item next to his right foot. He picked it up and looked at it, wondering how it was possible for it to take him here. But suddenly, the item he held started to disintegrate into dust, making Ben rather annoyed.
"Oh, great. The first thing I find on my own, and it turns to dust. What could be worse?"
But Ben had another concern. He heard a roar above him. Ben looked up ahead to see a silhouette of a large beast. It was something he'd never seen before, not even from Luz's Azura books, not that he'd bothered to look into them before. But from the sound of it, he could tell it was dangerous.
"Okay, time to go!"
Ben took off in a huff, running for his life as another large, unearthly roar echoed in the forest. He jumped over a log ahead of him before he continued his sprint, knowing if he stopped, he'd surely be doomed. If he knew his day would turn out like this, he would've stayed in bed. Then all of what he experienced may never have happened. But there's no use trying to change it now. All he could do for himself now was to stay alive. Although, wings would be more useful to him in this situation, not that he could grow any.
A dark shadow loomed over him, its own wings outstretched. He looked up to see the beast swoop down on him as he tried to jump away from it, causing the beast to miss as it sent up a lot of dust into the air from the collision just as he landed onto the mud, splashing it all over him, including his backpack. After that, he turned around to see the outline of a horse's body with the wings of an eagle. And to top it off were glowing white eyes that appeared fixated on him. When the dust cleared away, it turned out to be a creature only mentioned in fantasies, yet even they couldn't have come up with this creature in particular.
It was a giant bulky creature with a long neck, wild messy white feathers that covered half of its upper body, a flat big head, a bright silver curved sharp beak with a few scrapes and cracks in it, two big sliver blue eyes, two long sliver Horse-like ears on each side of its head, long big Eagle-like silver wings on its upper back, a brown lower horse body with a few scars on it, strong back legs with thick black hoofs, a long silver-colored bushy horse tail, two front yellow Eagle talons with silver claws on it, and a scar under it stretching from its stomach to its chest. Ben closed his eyes as he expected the worst to come from the beast.
"Why did I have to get out of bed today?"
The beast leaned closer to Ben, sniffing him closely. After a short moment, the beast made a disgusted face, as if it smelled something rather unpleasant. Without a moment to waste, the beast flew away from Ben, sending a gust of air on him as he held his arm over his face to shield from the overpowering wind. When the gust was gone, Ben heard flapping in the far distance before he set his arm down.
"Okay, what just happened?"
Ben looked at himself, noticing the mud he inadvertently got on his clothes from jumping out of impact. Then he realized it must've smelled the mud. If it hadn't, that thing, whatever it was, would've eaten him quickly. He drew out a sigh of relief as he laid down on the ground to catch his breath. Although, the fact that a giant beast came after him put one important question in his mind.
"Where the heck am I?"
Ben looked around from where he laid, seeing countless trees all around him. Even if he stood up, there was no way to know for sure. But then, he had an idea. What if he were to climb up and see for himself? For one thing, he wanted a better heads-up in case anything else attacked him. And for another, Ben needed to know if there was anything dangerous on the ground, too. Normally, he wouldn't think much of the ground, but after the ambush of a giant beast he'd never seen before, he'd rather err on the side of caution.
With that, once he got his breath, Ben climbed up on one of the trees, albeit with his clothes stained in mud. Even though he got the mud right off of his clothes, the stains they left behind had already made their mark. Regardless, Ben's priority was to figure out where the heck he ended up. He put his hand on one branch and used his feet on the stumps to anchor him while pushing himself upward. But when he reached the top, Ben's eyes widened in utter surprise and disbelief.
What he witnessed is practically an entire archipelago that was situated in an ocean. It also seemed to be made from the decaying remains of a fallen giant as he could practically see the whole skeleton just laying down, as if it was taking a nap that went on for too long. Ben had never seen anything like this back home, not even in World Geography. But whatever this strange land was, Ben knew one thing was for certain.
"Well, looks like I'm not in Connecticut anymore."
Meanwhile, there was a large house in a field, the sky a bright pink shade. It was a big, dark, wooden Victorian like manor with a stretch of long vertical windows in the front of the building with a small stained glass window in the shape of an eye on the tower structure on the house. The roof is black tiled with two wooden beams holding up the long porch of the building, a red door into the house with a small peek hole, a bronze raven-shaped door knocker and bronze door knobs on the middle of the door, a three-step stairway to the porch, a rooftop with black, metal spiked fences around it, a small metal statue of a raven on the top of the tower, a small wooden grey gazebo, a big metal gate with a big hand print type of lock, two stone gargoyles standing over the gate entrance that stare down, thorn-like leafless trees that sprout out around the front yard, and a small cobblestone pathway that lead to the front door. Suddenly, the door-knocker began to speak.
"Alas, poor Benjamin, destined to walk the accursed realm of the Boiling Isles, a doomed husk of a child. Do not cry for him. DO NOT CRY! For you see, Benjamin's life is about to drastically change. For better or worse, I know not…"
A/N: Ta-da! And here we have a new entryway to the Boiling Isles. Or rather, we had. It looked pretty busted to begin with, so don't expect to see it working again anytime soon. Other than that, considering the updates to my story, I will point out that the voices of Kyle (Kyle McCarley) and Jack (Jason Douglas) will remain the same. But for Susan, she will now instead be voiced by Sadie Sink from Stranger Things. And the Raven House is portrayed by Julian Stone (A.K.A. Sir Raven). Anyway, this is where Ben's own adventure begins, and it will intertwine with Luz's own adventure as well, but the character interactions will be different. How much so, I won't say. If you want to know, just follow the story and keep reading. But if not, fine by me, but you're missing out. ;)
