Angel: Okay, sooo…People asked me to do Gravity Falls, but I wasn't feeling it since it has so many fanfics already, so I'm glad to be doing something in the similar vein as Gravity Falls. This fandom I would say is as popular as Gravity Falls, but in a distinct way, which is why this show is an alternative to the people who asked for me to write Gravity Falls.
I'm not saying that I hate Gravity Falls, but I wouldn't write both that and this—mainly because what I write here is similar to what I would've done in Gravity Falls if I had chosen it over this one and hopefully all that makes sense.
Not to mention that I gravitate to a few more characters here better than I do with Gravity Falls (pun not intended) to the point where you will see more of some characters than in canon and if you know me by now, you can probably guess correctly as to who those characters are (though please don't give anything away in the reviews, otherwise spoilers). And if you don't know me and if you're not okay with seeing more of them, it's my story and I'm gonna do it anyway. Cool? Cool! Enjoy.
A woman in a witch's outfit flipped backwards, sliding to a stop. She gritted her teeth up at a large snake creature, the Gildersnake.
"Foolish child. I could swallow you whole!" The giant creature snarled at her.
"Do not underestimate me, Gildersnake, for I am the good witch Azura," She gestured to herself. "Warrior of peace," The wind howled as it blew into her hair. She then kneeled, holding her staff like a bazooka. "Now eat this, sucker!" She blasted a fireball from her staff and it hit the Gildersnake.
"No! My only weakness! Dying!" It cried out, landing on the ground with a thud.
"And that's the end," Luz Noceda had just finished reenacting a scene using an Azura doll and an actual live snake. She smiled at her mother, Camilla, and the principal of her school.
"The end of what?" Camilla asked in confusion.
"My book report." The snake reached out and bit at the doll's head. "I think I knocked it out of the park."
The principal sighed a bit. "Your book report is why you're in here. And why I've called in another student."
"Another student?" Luz asked curiously and a knock was heard at the door.
"Come in."
Lucila Noceda, the eldest daughter and Luz's sister, walked into the room. She was Dominican-American like her family, with tan skin and hazel eyes, and long lushed dark brown/purplish-brown hair reaching her knees tied into a low ponytail. A white headband was over her head with one dark purple bead each on the sides of the accessory. Her bangs were similar to her family, except a bit neater. She was wearing a long-sleeved half-white, half-rose long-sleeved blouse with the shoulders cut off. At the top of her blouse over her chest were two v-shaped stripes going all the way to her sleeves, one blue and red. Her blouse was tucked into her blue high waisted jeans. On her feet was a pair of rose-colored flats. She also had a white bag over her left shoulder, along with a pair of rounded violet glasses over her face.
"Ooh," The girl winced knowingly as Lucila pinched her nose upon seeing her sister.
"Not again, Luz..." She looked up and saw the snake, recoiling back as it snapped at her.
People screamed outside the office and Lucila looked back to see students running around with snakes biting at their heads.
"Oh. That's where the backup snakes were," Luz commented casually.
"And what were you going to do with this?" Camilla frowned in concern as she held up firecrackers.
"That was for the act three closer..." The girl admitted while sagging her shoulders.
"Mija," Their mother walked up to her, bending down. "I love your creativity, but it's gotten out of hand. Do you remember why you were in the principal's office the last three times? And all those times your sister had to be pulled out of class for them because of my work?"
Luz stood on stage for the auditions of the play Romeo and Juliet, and she was auditioning for the role of Juliet. She held a spork in her hands.
"O happy dagger, give me death!"
She kneeled and then opened up her dress to reveal breakfast sausages to represent intestines...She fell down on the ground as the students ran away screaming.
Next was her art project, which was a sculpture of a baby griffin. "Now for the final anatomically correct touch. Spider breath," She poked the beak and out flew actual spiders, which freaked everyone out while they crawled around the classroom.
And finally, there was the gym incident, in which she wanted to try out for cheerleading. A girl did a backflip and earned applause.
"You think that's an impressive trick?" Luz spoke up while holding pom poms. She dropped them and turned away. "Take a look at this," She turned back and revealed that she had peeled her eyelids backwards to show what was underneath. "Bleep, bloop, bleep."
The girls ran off screaming.
"We all love that you express yourself," Camilla spoke up, though the principal's glare suggested otherwise. "But if you can't learn to separate fantasy from reality, you may need to spend the summer here," She took out a pamphlet from her purse, holding it out.
"And take influence from others, such as your sister," The principal added in, earning annoyed looks from the two sisters. For a while now, Lucila had always had to look out for Luz and be the responsible one, but she wasn't that much older than Luz. She wasn't saying that she should shirk her responsibilities, but some of them came sooner than others. And sometimes, her little sister got compared to her a lot, which she did not like. It just made it seem like Lucila was more suspended in reality than Luz, when she already had pressure being the older sister.
Luz looked at the pamphlet. It read 'Reality Check Summer Camp. Think INSIDE the box.'
"Don't worry, Mom. I won't let you down," Luz stood up in determination. "No more weirdness!"
It was then that the snake decided to attack the principal. "That doesn't count, right?" Luz asked her sister and her mother with wide eyes.
"Do I even want to know where you got the snakes from?" Lucila murmured to herself.
Luz stood outside in disappointment at the bus stop in front of her house. Her mother and sister came out of the house.
"Oh! Oh, my baby!" She gave Luz a hug, and it was not returned. Lucila winced a bit for Luz's reaction. "Hmm. Now, don't worry. Summer camp is only going to be for three months. You'll be so busy balancing checkbooks and learning to...appreciate public radio, the time will fly by."
"Mama, she's only 14," Lucila gestured to her.
"I know, but sooner or later, she'll be like you! Reading biographies, writing resumes, studying to be a doctor."
Lucila frowned as she held her arm. She really wished she could live in a fantasy for just a little longer, but because of her obligations to Luz, she couldn't. She lifted up her satchel, revealing a brown, slightly tattered book that had star stickers on it, her eyes glistening a bit.
"But I don't like any of that stuff," Luz pointed out. "I like editing anime clips to music and reading fantasy books with convoluted backstories," She took out a book from her favorite series, The Good Witch Azura.
"Mija, your fantasy world is holding you back," Camilla told her. "Do you have any friends? Real ones, not imagined or drawn or reptilian?" Those words hurt, but she realized that her mother had a point. "Summer camp is a chance to make some friends, but you have to try." Luz walked past them and stood in front of the trash can. "Can you do that?"
"Yes, Mom," Luz placed the book in the trash sadly.
Camilla's phone buzzed. "Oh, I gotta go to work," She kissed Luz on the side of her head several times, and then kissed Lucila's forehead. "Your bus is coming soon. Your sister will see you off. Text me when you get there. Cuidate mucho, mija. Que te vaya bien!" She walked away from the two.
"Bye, Mama," Lucila waved to her.
"Bye, Mom."
She looked up as her mom was walking off and Luz immediately dug into the trash can, but the book was gone. "Where is it? Where is it?!"
They heard an owl and looked up to a brown owl holding a bag, which had the book in it along with a few other items. Then it turned around and flew off.
"Tiny trash thief!"
Luz chased after him, alarming her sister. "Luz, wait!" She chased after the girl. The owl flew into the woods, and led the two of them in. They reached an abandoned house, and they knew it was abandoned because it looked like it was falling apart. The leaves flew by ominously as the owl flew inside the house. She hesitated and Lucila looked up at the house, shivering a bit. "You should go back and wait for your bus. I'll get back your book."
Luz growled in determination. "No! I need to get it myself!" She ran past her sister, who let out a frustrated sigh.
"I should've known she'd give me that...Luz!" She ran after the girl, both of them disappearing into the darkness. Then the door closed behind them and a flash occurred from inside. A door with the makings of an owl and a yellow eye carved into it appeared into a tent. The door opened and the owl wobbled out of it. Luz and Lucila then entered behind him.
"Stop adorably hopping away, you...huh?" Luz slowly stopped as it didn't look like a house around them, it would be darker. There were a lot of things around them, and it looked like it belonged to someone. Her older sister glanced around the place, and there was the entrance to the tent right in front of them.
"How did we get...?" Lucila murmured to herself.
"Whoa. I thought I had a lot of weird stuff," Luz commented, interrupting her sister as she took a look as well. She then held up a patched doll attached to a hanger and half a alligator toy with a fork for an arm. Lucila turned around and then flinched at seeing it. "But this, this is impressive."
"Let's just find your book and get-"
"Finally, you're back," An older woman's voice interrupted Lucila this time, neither of them noticing the doll literally moving its arms around. The two ducked their heads and then looked at the tent, as it was coming from there. Luz moved away the flap to see a marketplace, and they could tell from the tents and stalls. In front of them was a woman with two tones of wild gray hair, pointy ears, and wearing a red dress along with brown boots. The owl was resting on the table in front of her, placing down the bag. "Now, let's see what we've got here."
The owl hooted and flew onto a staff. The woman turned it around, transforming into a headpiece made of wood. The two gasped at this, wondering how that was even possible. The woman took the back and started looking through it, holding up a cellphone that seemed to broken because it wasn't activated. "Garbage," She held up a wedding that specifically had a diamond on top. Then she held up a glowing gold chalice. "Garbage."
She gasped at the next item and placed something over her face. "Now, this..." She watched as the goofy eyes from the prop glasses fall down as they were connected to slinkys. They could see that she had golden eyes. "This will make me rich."
Her claw hands with orange nails reached out to the bag, picking up Luz's book. "And this...uh, this'll make good kindling." She put it towards a candle, starting to burn it. Luz gasped sharply at this, rushing past her sister.
"Luz!" Lucila gestured for her not to do that. Luz snatched the book from the woman.
"Excuse me. Sorry. That's mine. Thank you."
Lucila snapped out of it and run after her sister towards the open door, but then it closed and folded upwards, turning into a suitcase. "Uh oh..."
It flew into the woman's hand, and the woman was holding a key that had the exact same eye symbol from the door. "You're not going anywhere," The woman snarled, also having a single golden fang. Luz screamed and grabbed her sister's hand.
"Come on!"
The two ran underneath the tent and emerged out into the open. However...they were no longer home. The two looked up ahead and gasped, skidding to a stop as their mouths were wide open. They were looking up ahead to a city, and a few bone-like structures were surrounding it. A dragon flew over with a screech, and then got caught by a giant hand that rose from the water. They could see all kinds of creatures and beings and monsters. Some did look relatively human, but others looked like people from Luz's book.
"Where...are we?!" Lucila started to panic a little, glancing around.
"Oh, no, no, no, no. What's going on?" Luz backed away, seeing a fairy and screeching. "Oh, hello, little fairy. Are you going to tell me this is all a fantastical dream?"
Her sister froze and turned to her with a wide smile. "A dream! That's all this is. A very disturbing, scary dream! Y-Yeah, we'll just wake up soon enough, right?"
"GIVE ME YOUR SKIN!" The fairy yelled into their faces, revealing huge teeth. Lucila screamed as the fairy got closer and Luz smacked her away.
"Where are we? Did we die? Are we in the bad place?"
"If we are, then that's even worse! I had so much ready to do before I died!" Lucila held her head. A hand touched both their shoulders and they looked up to see the woman from before.
"You wish."
She pushed them both onto chairs after dragging them both back to her tent. "I'm so sorry," Luz hugged her knees while panicking. "I just wanted my book. If you're gonna eat my skin, just make it quick. Just do it now," She held out her arm.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Can't we work something out before we get to the skin eating?" Lucila asked nervously, sweating a little and biting her lip.
"Eat you?" The woman asked in disbelief. "Why would I eat...potential customers?" They looked up and saw the sign 'Human Collectibles.' There were a bunch of things from their world like clocks, hats, toys, lamps, and certificates. She held up a croc shoe. "Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes?" Then she held up a bar of soap. "A bar of green human candy? Oh, oh," She then held up a tiny portable TV, and Luz could see her reflection in it. "How about this black shadowbox that reflects only sadness?"
"Wait...that's why you were chasing us? To buy a product?" Lucila asked in confusion and Luz laughed, feeling a little less scared.
"That's not all it can do," Luz jumped down from her chair. "Here, let me see it," She took the TV and looked towards the human candy pile. She took the batteries and placed them inside. She closed the panel and then turned it on, revealing an 80s music video. "Voila."
"These were really popular a while back," Lucila revealed, standing up and gesturing to them. "The...shadowboxes were what people used in that time for entertainment."
The sound of the TV got people's attention. "Huh?"
"What's that?"
"The sound, it's so alluring..." The creatures gathered around it and watched the video, someone holding up some money.
"I'll pay 40 snails for the screaming box!"
"I'll give you 100," A bat creature bided next.
"Can I eat the tiny person inside?"
They all started shouting higher and higher numbers, the woman glancing towards the girls. Lucila blinked in shock at them. "What did you say your names were?" She asked, impressed by their knowledge.
"I'm Luz. Luz Noceda. And this is my big sister," The younger Noceda gestured to the girl with a smile, who waved.
"Lucila Noceda."
"Well, Luz, Lucila, that was pretty clever and surprisingly informative," The woman stated while taking money. "For humans."
"That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say," Luz raised a brow with a smile.
"Wait...are you human?" Lucila stared at her, tilting her head in confusion. She had never seen a human with a golden fang before, and humans...didn't call the things they had with terms like 'shadowboxes' or a croc shoe being 'a human foot with holes.'
"Oh, dear children..." The woman ripped off her bandana, revealing elf-like ears. "I'm not like you." She then stood onto the table. "I'm Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."
"A witch?" Luz asked in shock.
"Boiling Isles?" Lucila murmured in confusion.
"I am a respected, feared-"
"Busted!" Someone smashed the TV with his bare hand. The crowd ran off from the stall in fear.
"Run! It's a guard!"
The two sisters were on the floor, having been surprised by the guard's sudden appearance that they fell over. Eda jumped down from the table to face him. "Eda the Owl Lady," he held up a wanted poster of Eda and a small dog-like creature with a horned skull that had one of the horns broken, as well as a red collar around its neck and a gold name tag. "You are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors."
"Whoa!" Luz gasped as the two peeked over the table. "Witch criminal."
"What is happening right now?!" Lucila whispered in disbelief. First a place that she had never heard of, witches, and now this...
"You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium," The guard grabbed Eda's arm and she snatched it back.
"Would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done squat," Eda denied, crossing her arms.
"And you're both coming too," The guard grabbed Lucila's sleeve from behind as well as Luz's cat hoodie. "For fraternizing with a criminal."
"Wh-what? That's not cool!" Luz hugged her knees in fear again.
"Hey, hands off! We just met her!" Lucila tried to get her arm back, but he was keeping a tight grip on her sleeve.
"Oh, all right, all right, you win," Eda held up her hands in defense. "Just let me get my stuff," She bent down, grabbed her staff, and smacked the guard in the face. This caused him to let go of the two sisters and he landed on his back. Eda spun her staff and tapped it against the ground.
"Ow..." Lucila grunted a bit, Luz looking towards her.
"Are you okay, hermana mayor?" She asked in concern, the girl slowly sitting up. Luz grabbed her book from the ground.
"Si, I'm fine," She rubbed her arm, looking towards the woman. Luz looked in her direction to see all of the stuff floating in mid air.
"Whoops," Eda reached behind her ear. "Can't forget this," She pulled out the key and pressed on the eye. The suitcase floated over and they watched as everything shrunk down into a sack. She put it around her staff.
"Follow me, humans!" She called out, running past them.
Because they didn't have much of a choice, they rushed after her. "This is crazy. If we die here, Mom's gonna kill us!" Luz glanced at her sister.
"And once we're already dead, she'll be so angry, there won't be anything to re-kill!" Lucila exclaimed while running.
Eda just scoffed at their worries. "I won't let 'em hurt you two. Humans like you are much more valuable to me alive than dead."
"Gee, thanks for telling us that right to our faces," Lucila deadpanned at her.
"Wait. What's that supposed to-" Eda hooked an arm around Luz, jumping and lifting her staff above her head. Lucila gasped and reached up, grabbing onto Luz's hand. But that was a mistake as they jumped onto the staff, the headpiece growing wings and taking off like a flying broom.
"Waaaah!" Lucila screamed at dangling in mid-air, her sister pulling her up and placing her up in front. The guard caught up with them and held up a fist.
"You won't get away with this, Owl Lady," He paused, looking at his hands. "Yeah, all right. You did. You got away with it. She got away with it, everybody! Typical," He then defeatedly walked away after exclaiming this to no one in particular.
Luz had squeezed her eyes shut, tears flying from her eyes as she hugged her book. Lucila also had her eyes closed, mainly because of being jerked around in mid-air. "You can open your eyes now, humans." She did so with a whimper, realizing that they were off the ground, seeing red trees. Luz nearly fell off the staff, hugging it tightly.
Lucila also looked and she blinked in awe at the sight in front of her. She looked actually fascinated despite her previous hesitation.
"Wow..."
"Flying staffs, crazy monsters, you're a witch. What is this place?" Luz stated in fear and confusion as Eda placed her back in her seat.
"This is the Boiling Isles. Every myth you humans have is caused by a little of our world leaking in yours," She explained to them. Lucila looked over her shoulder.
"Every myth? The Centaur-"
"Yup."
"The Kraken-"
"That's us."
"And even-"
"When I say every myth, I mean every myth, kid," Eda deadpanned and Lucila clamped her mouth shut. A griffin flew nearby, proving the girl's point.
"A griffin," Luz smiled at it and it threw up some spiders, Lucila blinking in shock. "I knew it!"
"Huh. I owe you an apology for doubting you, then," She murmured to herself.
"Yep. Griffins, vampires, giraffes," Eda counted off, confusing them both on the last one.
"Giraffes?"
"Oh, yeah. We banished those guys," They landed in a forest. "Bunch of freaks."
"Wha...But how does that...never mind," Lucila snapped out of it, not really wanting to know. Eda's hand was still attached to the broomstick and Luz saw it, screaming and falling off the thing. Lucila turned around and scrambled off the thing with wide eyes. "Y-Your hand!"
"Oops," Eda grabbed it and screwed it back on. "That happens sometimes."
"Well, we've had enough adventure for today," Luz chuckled anxiously, standing up. "This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about," She turned around to Eda, whose staff went back to normal. "So can you help us get back home?"
Eda pointed her staff at Luz. "Only if you two help me first," She laughed for some reason and walked off, her sack floating over. "Ah, now, come along, humans."
"Now wait just a minute! We helped you get that money in the market, so you owe us now by taking us home! So bring up that door or suitcase or whatever and-" Lucila faltered as she and Luz noticed where Eda was heading. "Take...us...back..."
"Whoa..."
They were staring up at a cottage as a bird with a human-like face flew around. There was a chimney, a stain glass window, and a weather van at the cottage. The three walked up to the front door.
"Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" Luz looked over her shoulder skeptically.
"Nope. My house has a state-of-the-art defense system," Eda explained as the door knocker came to life.
"Hoot, hoot. Password, please." Eda responded by poking his eyes.
"We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in," She ordered him and he looked at her in annoyance.
"All right, all right. Geez. You never wanna have any fun. Ow! Hoot." He opened up his mouth, which acted as the door. The trio ran in and then he closed his mouth, letting out a burp.
"Welcome to..." Eda snapped her fingers. "The Owl House." Candles lit up, a cauldron came to life along with a fireplace and broom. The ceiling lit up as well and the two gasped at the sight. "Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life." The two took a look around. "Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends," She let out a laugh and a snort.
"This place is beautiful," Luz commented, putting down her book. "Do you live here all alone?"
"If so, you have impeccable yet...odd choice in furniture," Lucila added in, since everything was owl-themed.
A thud was heard as debris fell from the ceiling and Eda crossed her arms at the reminder. "Actually, I have a roommate."
The two braced themselves as the footsteps got closer. "Who dares intrude upon I, the King of Demons?" The deep voice changed into a bit of a squeakier one as they were looking at the same creature from the wanted posters of Eda. He was wearing a duck/heart towel over his head and waist, holding a rubber duck. He squeezed it and the two gasped at him. Their eyes shined at the sight of him.
"Ay, que lindo!" Luz suddenly grabbed him, hugging him. Lucila joined her side. "Eda, he's so cute. Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?"
"No!" He wiggled his arms from the hug. "I don't know your little guy is! Eda, who are these monsters?!"
"Oh, I wanna take a picture!" Lucila snapped a photo of him from her phone.
"Ah!" He yelped from the flash.
"Oh, this is Luz, the human," Eda pulled them away from King. "And her older sister, Lucila. They're here to help us with our little...situation."
"Oh, hooray!" He cheered at this and Lucila bent down, scratching at his tummy. He laughed and landed on his back, wiggling. "No! This is torture!"
"Wait, wait, wait, I don't like the sound of this situation," Luz used air quotes at the last word.
"Yeah, what exactly are we doing?" Lucila glanced over her shoulder skeptically.
"Just...let me explain," Eda twirled her hands into a circle, giving them flashbacks. "King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became...this."
"You mean this little bundle of joy?" Luz asked happily.
"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you two!" The two glanced at each other skeptically and then the flashback disappeared. "If you both help us retrieve his crown, we'll send you back to your realm. So what do you say? Plus, who could say no to this cute face?" She held up King, moving around his cheeks.
"No! Please don't encourage them," He pleaded and then she dropped him.
"I mean, we're kinda your only way home," Eda pointed out.
"Touche," Lucila deadpanned at her.
"So we don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Nope! Now, we've got no time to lose," Eda placed Luz over her shoulder, grabbing Lucila's arm with her free hand and walking off with them. King picked up his rubber duck.
"Soon, Mr. Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us," He then ran after the three.
"Where are we going?" Luz questioned curiously.
"Somewhere super fun."
However, thunder cracked as they were staring at a giant prison with spikes around it. "The Conformatorium, a place for those considered unsuitable for society," Eda explained to the two girls, who were cringing. King was resting on the younger girl's head. Luz looked back and saw her wanted poster, taking it off the wall.
"Whoa, these guys really have the hots for you."
"Yep," Eda winked at them. "But we were never caught because we're too slippery."
"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little fella," He fell off of Luz, landing in front of the two. "You, Lucila, and I will sneak up to the top of the tower, where they're holding my crown."
"And I'm gonna make sure the warden's distracted," Eda stepped back several feet.
Luz gasped in excitement. "Will we need disguises?!"
"Uhh..." Eda glanced away awkwardly, unsure as to how to answer that question. She looked to Lucila, who simply put her hands behind her back, looking anywhere but at Eda or Luz.
"I've been waiting to use this!" The girl put on her hood, revealing cat eats on top of them. "Meow, meow."
"It's hideous," King complimented her.
"You'll fit right in," Eda added in.
"What about you, hermana?" Luz looked up at her sister, who rubbed her chin.
"Got anything for me, Eda?"
"Hmm. I think I do," Eda spun around her staff and then slammed it onto the ground to emanate a yellow light underneath the three. Some of it surrounded Lucila to give her a black hooded cloak over her clothes. She then stepped back. "Hang on tight."
It lifted them off the ground, surprising all three. "Whoa!" it carried them over to a window, where it dropped as soon as they reached it. Lucila yelped and managed to grab onto the sill, Luz hugging her waist and King holding onto Luz's shirt.
Eda then activated her staff and hopped on it. "Meet you guys at the top of the tower," She flew off, King crawling over the two to get inside. Lucila used up her strength and climbed inside, dragging Luz with her, both of them falling flat onto their faces.
"Ha ha, cats don't do that."
Lucila looked up at him, tapping her fingers against the floor while her other hand was at her cheek. "Let's just find this crown so we can go home."
Luz looked up with a gasp, her sister following her direction and her mouth opened. In front of them was a room full of cells, all of them filled with residents of the Boiling Isles. They stepped up to the edge, looking towards all of them.
"Hey, cat lady and mysterious brooding lady, how'd you get out of your cells?" A female prisoner asked them from behind.
"Oh, no, no, no. I'm not a cat," Luz corrected her, pulling down her hood. "But now that I think about it, you do look brooding and mysterious!" She gasped up at her sister, who just rolled her eyes. "Also, we're not criminals."
"Not yet, you're not," King told them with a smile.
"Neither are we. The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. Like, I write fan fics of food falling in love," She opens up a book and opens it up to show a couple of pages. "I like food, I like love. Just let me write about it!"
"I'm here because I like eating my own eyes," A male prisoner took out his eye and ate it, but it went back into the socket he pulled it out from.
"How...nice," Lucila cleared her throat, trying not to look disgusted.
"We are agents of fwee expwession!" A tiny female prisoner who was just a head with hair, legs, and arms screamed in a squeaky voice and in a lisp. "They will never siwence us!"
"Yeah, she's really big into conspiracy theories," The other female prisoner jerked a thumb to her, rolling her eyes.
"The world is a simuwation! We are but pwaythings for a higher being!"
"Wait," Luz spoke up, feeling bad for them. "These aren't crimes. None of you actually did anything wrong," Her eyes widened and she took out the wanted poster of Eda. "You're all just a bunch of weirdos. Like me."
Lucila placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, feeling sympathetic as well. She may not be as...eccentric as them or her sister, but she could understand the difficulty of them being what they wanted to be.
The room shook as heavy footsteps approached, and each step was a big, thundering thud.
"What is that?" Lucila asked slowly and in fear.
"It's Warden Wrath. Hide," The first female prisoner warned them. Luz yelped as they looked around and then saw two empty cells nearby. They rushed inside one each and slammed the doors shut, Luz accidentally dropping the wanted poster.
The door opened to reveal a tall man with a doctor's mask and robe. "I can hear you," He growled at them, earning whimpers from the two girls. Luz held King close for comfort. He stepped forward into the room. "Just what are you fools whispering about?" He looked down and saw the dropped poster. "Oh, the Owl Lady," He picked it up and crushed it with a grunt. Then his hand turned into a hammer and slammed the cell door Luz was in. Lucila yelped quietly, backing up a bit. "I'll get my hands on her soon enough."
He turned to look right at Luz, even King looking a little frightened. "Fight against the oppwessor!" The conspiracy theorist cried out. "We will wesist! We will conquer! We will never be afraid of you, you old creep."
While Lucila found that brave, she didn't think it was a good idea to talk right now. Wrath opened up her cell door silently. "Hooray! I'm fwee." She was then grabbed by the warden, whimpering as she was silent.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you," He warned the nearby prisoners. "There's no place in society for you if you can't fit in." He squeezed the prisoner a bit, making her whimper. Lucila gritted her teeth at him, angry that he was treating people this way. He then stomped off with her, the door closing. The two sisters and King got out of the cell, going over to the fanfiction writer.
"Don't worry. I can get you out," But she couldn't even move the lever to release them. Lucila grabbed the other end and they pulled together, but it was like trying to push an elephant. "No! My weak nerd arms."
"Just get out of here while you still can, guys," The fanfiction writer spoke up solemnly. "Enjoy freedom for us."
Lucila frowned deeply and Luz walked away sadly, her sister following after her. It hurt the both of them that they couldn't do anything to help them...
They walked down a corridor together before Eda flew in next to them. "Hey. I just checked," She jumped off the staff and landed next to them. "The warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."
Luz ignored Eda and walked past her, confusing the woman. She looked to Lucila, who just slowly shook her head and walked after her sister. They reached a door labeled 'Contraband'. "My crown! It's close. I can sense its power," He ran over and started clawing at the door. Then he jumped up and tried to get the door open by wiggling around the doorknob.
"Oh, he gets so cute when he's thirsty for power," Eda smiled at him.
"It's not fair that they're all in here," Luz suddenly spoke up. "They just want to be themselves. Why does everyone think that being a weirdo is so bad?"
Eda didn't answer because the doorknob was yanked off from the door by King. He laughed in glee and then pushed open the door, running inside eagerly. "Come on," She gave a small sigh, walking over to the door. "Before he hurts himself."
Then a crack was heard from inside the room. "Ow!"
Inside was just a column of light, which King had ran into since he couldn't get in. He rubbed his head and tried to ram himself inside, with little success as he just bounced off it. Eda bent down to him with a smile. "We have humans, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
The two took a deep breath. "We're about to enter a pillar of light in an empty room, from a world filled with magic and witches, that only we can get into...hopefully we'll be fine," Lucila stated nervously and they reached out their hands, which went in. Then they stepped in entirely to see piles of confiscated stuff over the years. On top of the one in front of them was a shiny golden crown.
Luz got a closer look. "Wait a second. Is that a..."
They returned with a Burger Queen crown...the ones that people could get with a meal from there...needless to say, they weren't too pleased that they had to go through all this trouble just for a paper crown.
"My crown!" Luz gave it to him and he put it on. "Yes. Yes! I can feel my powers returning. You there! Nightmare critter," He was pointing to a stuffed rabbit, picking it up. "I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness. Ha ha!"
"That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?" Luz wondered, gesturing to him.
"If not, why even go through all the trouble of getting it back?" Lucila asked Eda.
"Uh, no," She answered the first question. The two crossed their arms, giving her a look. "Oh, look at us, girls. King and I don't have much in this world. We only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me," She smiled, gesturing to herself. "And besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?" She then winked at the duo and Lucila now understood. Eda could've easily said no to this whole thing, because it was ludicrous. But she did it because King was her only friend, and she only wanted to make him happy...people always would sacrifice things for the ones they appreciate in life...
Luz smiled and gave a bashful blush, not realizing until now that her question meant something to Eda. "Well, we owe you both one. Now let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head."
"Too late," Warden Wrath loomed over her from behind and with a swing of his blade, he chopped her head off. It landed in Luz's hands, and the two sisters screamed as it looked like she was really dead...but then she blinked and it seemed like she was fine.
"Ow! Oh, I hate it when that happens."
The two then screamed again. "Wait, this isn't the first time?!" Lucila exclaimed at her.
"Eda, are you okay?" Luz wondered with panicked eyes.
"Yeah. This just happens when you get older."
Luz and Lucila looked at each other wide-eyed. "Does it?"
"Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady," The warden's arm turned back into his hand, and he stepped over to King, snatching his crown. "My guards could never get you," He walked over to the three, King jumping up and down in failed attempts to get his crown back. "But I knew if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running." He then crushed it.
"No! My power!" King started to cry, falling onto his knees.
"What do you want from me?" Eda demanded the warden. "I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws...in front of you."
Lucila elbowed her head a bit.
"I want you..." He held up a bouquet of flowers. "To go out with me."
"Wha..."
"What?"
"To what now?"
"Go, boss!" One of the guards called out, another one giving him two thumbs up.
He then got down on one knee. "You've always eluded our capture," The Warden continued speaking. "You've always been the one who got away. I found that alluring."
"I hate everything you're saying right now," Luz commented as her sister literally gagged out loud.
"Oh, someone please get me away from this conversation..."
"You stay out of this!" The Warden suddenly threw away the bouquet and turned his arm into tentacles. He threw his arm at the two, lifting them up into the air. "So how about it, Owl Lady?" He picked up her head by the hair as the two struggled from his grasp. "The most powerful with of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever. I mean, it—it's not like you can say no right now."
She glanced up at the two sisters and then at King, who was being restrained by one of the guards. Eda then sighed in defeat. "All right, Warden. You win. I'd just like to say something first. Come closer." He pulled her head a little bit further. "No. Just come a little bit closer. Just...yeah, that's good." Once she was close enough, she blew a raspberry onto his face, distracting him long enough to drop the girls. She chuckled as he wiped away his face.
"Impudent wench. Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth? Yuck."
"Get over it," She argued back. "You had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head. I am not going out with you."
"If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to-" Eda's staff suddenly knocked him upside the head, and he fell over. Once he was down, it was revealed that Lucila and Luz were holding it. Luz looked a bit frightened while Lucila had a firm, determined look on her face.
"Nice," Eda chuckled, and then two guards loomed over her. Her body appeared between the two and she grabbed their hoods, putting it over their heads.
"Okay, we're going now!" Luz ran over and picked up the head while Eda's body grabbed King. Lucila took the staff from Luz and they took off into a run. She gripped the staff as they took a seat. "Expecto flying? Magicusescapius."
"Okay, how do you even get this thing to fly?!" Lucila asked in panic, looking over herself. The Warden started to wake up and Eda narrowed her eyes.
"Gun it, magic stick."
The staff took off into the air, the Warden standing up. "Owl Lady, I won't let you get away again!" He summoned tentacles from both arms and used that to move forward. They flew around the corner, Luz yelping as he continued chasing them. She then saw the lever for the gates.
"Eda, Lucila, lend me a hand," Luz called out and they placed their hands between hers. Lucila had her other hand holding the staff. Together they released all the prisoners, bursting out of the door with the Warden close behind. They descended down towards the ground, with the Warden using his tentacles to knock them off course. The four all crashed onto the ground.
The Warden summoned an axe. "Ow, my bones!" King cried out as Eda picked up her head and put it back on.
"Luz, Lucila," Eda took out a key from her hair. "Go back to the human world," She handed Luz the key, running up to the Warden.
"What about you guys?" Luz questioned curiously.
"If you think this guy is bad, you should've seen her last boyfriend," King called out as he ran over to Eda, who was dodging the Warden's swings.
"Not my boyfriend," She pointed out before grabbing King and jumping out of the way. She then ran over to the duo. "Go, go!" She put them both on the staff.
"But we-"
She smacked it from behind and it took off, leaving them behind. "Eda, wait!" Lucila called out, but it was unheard. The Warden took off his mask to reveal no face, just a fanged mouth. He breathed fire at Eda, who spun a circle with her finger. The fire flew in there and then she created another circle to reflect it back. It knocked the Warden right off his feet as he crashed into the wall.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lucila gripped the staff as she tried to steer it. She barely managed to get it to stop and they looked back towards the ground. The dust cleared as the Warden stood up, summoning more axes on his hands and running towards Eda. From the hole he made, the three prisoners from before were just watching. "Ahh, there's no way they can handle that guy on their own. We need them on our side," Lucila told her sister, glancing over her shoulder. Luz seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Get us back down," Luz replied and Lucila did so. The two landed safely and Luz took the staff from her sister. "Why are you guys just standing there? This is your chance to escape."
"The warden will catch us. He always does," The multiple-eyes guy looked away sadly.
"We belong here," The fanfiction writer added in.
"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never fwom," The conspiracy theorist informed, now sporting a black eye.
"So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing this. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome. Don't you see?" Luz said to them.
"Why are you helping us?" The fanfiction writer couldn't help but ask.
"Because us weirdos have to stick together," Luz put on her cat hood, and then took off Lucila's glasses. "And nobody should be punished for who they are."
"Luz, I-I need those to see, remember?" Lucila held out her hand, touching at Luz's face. She was absolutely blind without her glasses.
"Oh, s-sorry," Luz placed her sister's glasses back on for her. "You can keep the glasses on, but my point still stands." She and Lucila jumped onto the staff, pumping a fist.
"Yay!"
"Good job, little sister. You have now started your first rebellion," Lucila patted her sister on the head. "I'm proud."
"Teenager milestone!" Luz gasped in realization. "Now, let's get 'em!"
"Yeah!" The three ran behind them.
Eda landed on the ground and then caught King when he was thrown. She glared up at the Warden as he walked up to her. "No more running away, Owl Lady. Today I capture you once and for all," He lifted up the axes over his head and King whimpered, hugging Eda's arm.
"Go, go, go, go!" Luz shouted as the three prisoners tackled the Warden, followed by the sisters.
"Lucila? Luz?" Eda asked in surprise.
"I ate my own eye!" The multiple-eyes creature grabbed the Warden, pushing him back.
"I think the world is a twiangle!" The conspiracy theorist used her body to trip him. Then the fanfiction writer was gripping onto his shirt.
"And I practice the ancient art of fan fiction!"
The multiple-eyes guy tied up the Warden's tentacles and then turned him over. "You. Who do you think you are?" He demanded the girls as they descended down, both of them holding the staff. Lucila took out a match and then lifted it up to her face. She tilted her glasses, which gave off a glare, therefore lighting it up.
"Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace. And her fellow sister, Lucila the human, warrior of serenity."
"Serenity?" Lucila chuckled as the wind blew on their hair, just like Azura. She then tossed the lit match to Luz.
"You like it?" Luz winked up at her before throwing the firecrackers up into the air once the match ignited them. "Now eat this, suckah!" She jumped up and hit it like a baseball bat, which landed into the Warden's mouth. This caused an explosion as the creature ran away, the fireworks still firing.
"Whoo hoo! We won! Yes!" The trio of prisoners cheered while watching the fireworks. Eda and King joined the sister duo.
"That was actually one of her better break-ups," King spoke up.
"Not a breakup," Eda reminded him. "Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me."
The four took off, leaving behind the firework display.
"Well," Eda put down her staff once they reached back to the Owl House. "A deal's a deal. Let's get you home," She snapped her fingers and the key floated out of Luz's pocket. It landed in Eda's hand, and she pressed the eye symbol. The suitcase turned back into the door.
Lucila looked over her shoulder with a small smile. "Well, thanks for everything, and I don't wanna ever hear any more weird love confessions towards you again, but it's been good."
Luz stepped up to the door, hugging herself and looking back to the two. King looked down, disheartened to see them go. "Before I go," She dug into her purse, holding up the Azura doll. "I know it's not the same, but a king shouldn't be without a crown," She took off the tiara from the doll and held it out.
He took it and put it on his head. "This shall suffice. You there, plant. You are now under my command."
"Oh, and don't forget this," Eda handed Luz back her book, along with her brochure.
"Thanks. Come on, Luz. Time to go home," The older girl stepped forward, not noticing that Luz looked a bit hesitant. Especially when looking between her book and her brochure. Lucila opened up the door and Luz looked up, gasping. She put the book down and looked into the mirror. It felt just like the cover from her Azura book.
"Okay," She spoke up, getting Lucila's attention right before she could leave. "I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I've ever head," She explained, Eda blinking. "I don't fit in at home," Lucila's eyes softened as she remembered the whole camp discussion with their mother. "You don't fit in here. If we stay, we could not fit in together," She looked at the camp brochure and then gripped it. "I am not going back to summer camp."
Eda chuckled in confusion. "What's summer camp? What are we talking about here?"
"I wanna stay and become a witch like you and Azura," Luz held up the book.
"What? All right, that's crazy," Eda put it down. "Humans can't become witches."
"Maybe that's because they haven't tried," She winked at the woman. "If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want."
"Let them stay," King gripped at Eda's dress. "They can make us snacks!"
"Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards," Eda picked him up into her arms. "All right. I'll teach you how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells. Deal?" She held out her hand and Luz hugged them. "What's going on?"
"Too tight, too tight."
Luz then turned around to her sister, who did not look pleased. "Luz, I know you don't wanna go back to summer camp, but come on. We can't stay here! And there's no way I'm going back home without you."
"I know it's crazy, but it's a world full of magic and spells and angst! You already know I'm gonna mess it up, which is why I need you here, please?" Luz clasped her hands, giving her puppy eyes. The girl sighed slowly at her. Lucila pulled out her phone, looking at the locked screen picture. The picture was of her from about two years ago, with a boy. He had his arm around her as she was smiling, looking happy. Luz saw her bit her lip and she snapped out of it.
"What about Mom?"
"I can handle Mom, I promise! And I know that look. You wanna stay here too and find out more about this place!" Luz pointed up at her with a knowing smile.
"But this isn't the real world, Luz! There are things we have to do back home, like get you to camp, school, and—"
She looked down at her sister. Looking at her, she suddenly remembered what Eda said. As much as camp was what their mother thought was necessary, she could tell that Luz would rather go anywhere than summer camp. And if she went back now, she'd probably be miserable, which...wasn't Luz at all. Trying to adapt to the real world was already hard enough for her, and she felt like an outsider back home. And she didn't want Luz to feel like that, she was her only sibling. After all...
She was the one who made Luz who she was today. And in hindsight, she really didn't want to be a doctor like her mom wanted her to be. She kind of wanted to just break away from the real world, exactly like Luz.
Lucila sighed at her again, crossing her arms. With all of that in mind, she made her decision. "I don't normally like keeping secrets from Mom," She held up a finger and Luz sagged her shoulders. "But," She continued, "If this is really important to you—"
"It is!" Luz smiled up at her.
"Then I guess it's important to me. We can stay."
"Yeeeees!" Luz cheered, hugging her sister. She just chuckled, looking down at her sister while loosely hugging her back.
The younger sister opened up a room that was mostly for junk and smiled. She rolled out a sleeping bag and laid down in her pajamas. She took out a picture of her, her mother, and sister. They were all hugging with smiles on their faces. She put the frame nearby her pillow and then her cell phone rang. She looked to see a text from her mother.
How's summer camp?
Luz debated on what to say. She couldn't tell her the truth, obviously. And she knew that she'd have to deal with that problem later on down the line. Honestly, she didn't even know if she would even speak of this to her mother.
King cleared his throat as he was standing in the doorway, holding a stuffed bunny. "Your sleep cocoon looks fluffy." Luz patted her sleeping bag and he sat down, curling into a ball and hugging the stuffed animal.
Luz pulled up her phone to her face with a smile.
I think I'm gonna like it here
She laid back and went to sleep, smiling, the eye from the front of the house blinking.
Lucila stared at her phone as her mother texted her as well.
Staying over late, I left you dinner!
She stared towards the spare room that Eda had, which was almost bare, but she'd fix that soon. Or rather, she was caving in towards Luz's request to help her decorate. She had no idea how her mother would even react when she saw that Lucila wasn't there. She had no camp plans, so she was supposed to be staying home, and now she was here...
Lucila took a deep breath and laid out her own sleeping bag. She laid down and took off her glasses, staring up at the ceiling. Hopefully she could figure out whether or not she should or shouldn't explain this to her mother at all...or even him.
