Angel: I was gonna do these specials in the 44-minute length that they are, but it'd be too much to read for all three since a lot goes on here. So I'm gonna split them up into 6 chapters instead of three so that it doesn't feel too bloated reading it on a computer screen. Plus...let's be real, doing it in three specials would take longer and I don't need that kind of stress trying to go through all that.
And we've hit a milestone as out of all of my stories, this is the one with the second most favorites! Was not expecting that, thanks for all of the favorites and reads! As of now, it's got only one less than the 2003 TMNT story at 188!
Also tylerchavis97, please do more of those prompts, but I want some more with Huntcila please, thank you. If you're looking for ideas, maybe do Any Sport in a Storm or Separate Tides if you want to. Also HOLY CRAP, this special basically confirmed the leaks and now I'm mad and crying!
"Luz...Luci...I'm so happy I had you as big sisters." King sent the group flying into the Human Realm with his sonic scream, all of them landing on the ground as it was raining.
"NO!" The Noceda sisters shouted, rushing up towards the door. "King!" They saw him for mere seconds before the door closed in front of them. Luz opened it...but there was no sign of the Boiling Isles. It was just a normal room. The others looked on as they realized they had no way to get home.
"No...!" Lucila started to cry, covering her eyes as she let her knees hit the ground. Luz said nothing as only Lucila's cries and thunder could be heard. Gus started to cry as well as a few drops of water fell from a leaf.
Camila was cooking in the kitchen, a tablet nearby advertising about a girl being lost in a frog land. She stirred a pot of stew. Ivy and Vee sat next to each other at the dinner table, and Ivy showed Vee some pictures from her new phone about her date with Will. The two smiled at each other before the door knocked and Camila looked up in confusion. She opened it and gasped, covering her mouth as she saw the six standing there in the pouring rain. Lucila sneezed, covering her nose with her hands. Hunter had an arm around her and Gus as she hugged herself, shivering. Luz looked up with a weak smile. "Hey, Mom...we're back."
"Mama..." Lucila gave her a weak smile.
Camila rushed forward to hug Luz, grabbing Lucila's arm and dragging her forward into the hug. All of them shed tears as they were happy to be together again. But at the same time...the two still were feeling the effects of what happened.
Camila placed some dishes into the sink. Gus went over, circling a finger and lifting up a plate and sponge. She smiled gratefully at him, but was also impressed as he helped her out. Amity gave her a cup of tea and she took it, smiling and placing a hand on Amity's shoulder.
Lucila reached up and opened the medicine cabinet from the bathroom. She sighed as she took a box of bandages, Luz standing next to her. She turned around to her little sister, opening up the box. Luz frowned a bit and Lucila could guess what was going through her head.
"Hey," Someone spoke up and they looked to see Hunter leaning against the doorway. He glanced back at the kitchen. "Thanks for not telling them that I'm..."
"A Grimwalker?" Luz finished grimly as Lucila took out a bandage.
"Look, I love you, and I'm only not telling them for your sake because I don't keep secrets anymore. But we both know that eventually, we're gonna have to sit down and figure out...what exactly we are," Lucila stated with a frown and he gave a knowing look. He didn't know if he was a witch or human, and she didn't know if she was really a reincarnation...of the original's friend or whatever she was to him. And it wasn't like they had much to go on...and she would've told them about possibly being the reincarnation, but that would give away Hunter's true identity.
"Shh! Don't say it so loud or allude to that," He warned the both of them, stepping forward with a nervous look. Lucila just looked crestfallen as Luz looked away. The older Noceda ripped open the box and got out a bandage for Luz. "Well, what about you guys?" He asked them in concern, Lucila glancing at him. "How have you been since...um...?"
"Since we were in Belos' mind?" Luz finished his question again, turning away. "Since we found out we helped him meet the Collector?" She squeezed her eyes shut, tears forming from her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Hunter...they're all gonna hate us."
"And they're gonna be mad at me for not being honest again..." Lucila sighed a bit.
"What? Psh," Hunter waved it off as Lucila noticed Luz's tears and helped wiped them away. Luz smiled at her sister gratefully. "No, of course they won't," They smiled at his assurance. "They won't hate you more than me when they find out that...I might be the clone...of someone who was a witch hunter...with Belos."
Lucila kissed his cheek sweetly and he blushed, looking back to see her give a weak smile. "We don't know the full truth of whether or not the original was on his side or he was like you: someone who didn't agree with it."
"Well, it's a puzzle we'll have to solve. But come on; they'll understand that you didn't keep this quiet to hurt them," He held her hand and they all looked towards the others. All of them looked regretful for having to keep this a secret, especially Lucila. After all, she kept Hunter's identity a secret when he snuck into her school, which didn't go well.
"...We'll tell them," Luz gave a weak smile of her own. "When we're ready."
The two silently nodded in agreement with her.
"Okay," Camila started off as the three came over to take their seats. "So in the Demon Realm," Luz gave Amity a bandage. "You fought the evil Emperor Belos who turned into a monster..."
"Well, he started out human," Gus added in for her.
"Right. But he was defeated by a...newer smaller bad guy?"
"The Collector," Willow explained to the woman. "We don't know what he is or how Belos found him."
Luz flinched and then shrugged. "Who knows if we'll ever figure that out?" Lucila groaned and slammed her face into the table in exasperation. Luz wasn't really good at not looking suspicious...
"Mija, what have I said about heads on the table?" Camila asked and the girl lifted up her head, pinching her nose. Everyone stared at her and she just cleared her throat, looking away.
"Well, either way, they're not exactly...aware of what they're doing. But he looks like a little kid, so it makes sense..."
"Yeah, they're creating a lot of chaos..." Luz murmured in agreement.
"We have to do whatever it takes to get back," Amity said in concern, as she was thinking about her father and her siblings, and whether or not they were even okay. Or everyone else, really.
"And you will," Camila told them reassuringly. "But for now, you should all rest. You're safe here."
However, as the lights dimmed from the house, the green blob that used to be Belos slithered away from the bushes and into the rain...
"Luci?" Luz looked at her pleadingly while everyone was tending to themselves. "Can you sing that song to me? You know the one, the one that always makes me feel better."
"Sure," She smiled weakly and Luz sat on her lap in the living room. Her sister stared down at her in confusion, but the girl just looked up at her with puppy eyes. Usually, she'd do this every time the song was sung. The older girl just sighed in defeat. Lucila took a deep breath and started singing.
A gentle wind from the blue skies
Luz started crying, but she gave a weak smile, wiping her eyes with her hand.
Softly breezes from over the fields
Lucila started swaying with Luz in her hands and Hunter put an arm around Lucila's head to bring her close. She smiled from his comfort.
It fills the leaves of trees that grow
He nuzzled her with his eyes closed and she did the same.
Waiting to blow all your worries away
Luz looked up, remembering the days that Lucila would sing to her when she was really upset as a kid.
We're never far from safe haven
And your nights go by with stars
Hunter and Lucila sung together softly, feeling like they could do anything together, and help the Boiling Isles...whatever was happening to it right now.
The winds of dark so softly waiting
Luz covered her mouth, a few tears shedding as she could recall everything bit by bit...she had no idea what was going on, or if they could even get back...Eda, King, Willow's dads, Gus' dad, and Amity's family aside from her mother...they didn't know what happened to any of them.
Soon they will fly with your troubles away
Luz hugged her sister tightly, Lucila resting her chin on Luz's head, trying to keep down all of her emotions as well.
So don't cry during blue skies
Hunter rested his head on Lucila's shoulder while hugging her, as he couldn't begin to describe how relieved he was that she was still with him.
Say goodnight to strains of days
And watch your cries go with the sky
Stray far away from the pain
Luz felt much better after listening to the both of them and they heard sniffling. They looked up to see the others staring at them while their eyes glistened. "That was beautiful!" Camila shed a tear, wiping it away.
"Can we be next?!" Gus sniffled as he raised a hand, Lucila and Hunter sweating awkwardly.
Hunter and Gus were placed in the basement with fairy lights and sleeping bags. Gus gasped sharply as he opened an umbrella. Hunter set up his sleeping bag. "Whoa-ho-ho!" He tossed it away and then rushed to the other side. He laughed as he played around with some other things. "Hunter, look at all this awesome human stuff!" He exclaimed while wearing a small pool tube. He grabbed some bubble wrap and started popping it, but it knocked over something. "Whoops."
"I think it's just stuff here," Hunter stated while looking around. He could see some drums and a keytar in the corner, wondering if it belonged to Lucila. "Um, ma'am? Does that belong to Luci?" He pointed to them and she glanced at the items.
"Well, yes. Her friends gave those to her as birthday gifts. She still plays them sometimes, but I just think it's temporary." He raised a brow at the statement and she walked over with sheets in her hands. "It's not much, but I hope you two will be comfortable," She placed down the sheets on the couch.
"We will, Luz and Luci's mom!" Gus told her eagerly.
Hunter cleared his throat and slid forward, blushing bashfully as he bowed to her. "Thank you, for providing us with shelter, ma'am."
"Please never do that again," She backed away with an awkward smile. "And you can call me Camila. Buenas noches," She winked at them.
"Buenas noches!" He waved to her as Gus ran out of bubble wrap.
"Aw," He whined, Hunter smiling fondly. "But when did you learn Spanish?"
"Well, Luci taught me a few things, so I figured to start using it on Camila. After all, she's my girlfriend's mom…oh my gosh," His eyes widened in horror and realization. "I met my girlfriend's mom. I need to make a better impression if I wanna continue dating Luci!"
"But doesn't she still love you-"
"Help me, Gus!" Hunter grasped his shirt in a panic. "I don't know what to do!"
Camila peeked in to see Vee and Ivy going up to Amity and Willow in Luz's room. An extra bed had been set up in it, same thing for Lucila's room as she and Ivy now had to share. "In the morning, instead of screaming, it'll do this," She demonstrated the alarm clock and it started beeping. However, the girls mistook it as a bomb as they gasped sharply.
"Don't worry, Vee and Ivy!" Amity elbowed it into the air.
"We'll keep you safe!" Willow summoned a vine from the floor to throw it into the ceiling to break it. The two smiled proudly. "Good work, it's dead," They fist-bumped each other.
"Uhh...thanks," Vee glanced down at the floor, where a vine was coming out from it...
"They remind me so much of myself," Ivy commented while blinking and then smiling. "I like you!"
Camila whimpered a bit as she closed the door. Next to the door was a welcome back note from Vee herself. "I'll figure that out later..." She glanced to the side, as past all of the family pictures of the Noceda family were the two sisters themselves. She walked up to them, staring at them with a frown.
"We're...we're so sorry, Mama," Lucila started off sadly.
"Mama, we...we know we shouldn't have left. We never meant to lie, but we had to stay a-and it wasn't because we-"
"Hey, hey," She interrupted Luz, hugging her daughters. "We'll have time to talk later. I'm just so happy you're home..."
"Yeah, we're home..." Luz looked up at Amity and Willow. Willow rubbed at her tired eye while Amity undid her hair. "But they're not..."
Lucila sat on the porch by herself, looking up at the stars as she couldn't sleep. Not when she still had a lot of things to sort out...was she really someone else from the past? And what happened to her friends back at the Boiling Isles? And...
What was going to present itself when they did manage to go back?
"Luci?"
She glanced to her right to see Hunter and smiled weakly. "Can't sleep either, huh?"
"Actually, I heard your footsteps from downstairs and wanted to check up on you." She looked away sadly and he stepped forward, putting an arm around her. "I know it's a lot to process right now. It's the same for all of us. But it's going to be okay."
"I know...it's just...you know, I haven't told my mom that I don't want to be a doctor. And so not only am I hiding the fact that I might be a reincarnation of someone else, but I don't think I can follow in her footsteps."
"I'm sure you'll find a way to tell her. Camila is a good person. She'll understand the truth from you. Besides, she'd probably be too focused on me making a good impression," He commented and she raised a brow before chuckling a bit.
"You know, you don't need to impress her just because we're dating. I already know she likes you," She smiled while holding his hand.
"Well, yeah, but she doesn't love me, and I need her to. It's a big step for anyone in a relationship, isn't it?"
"You're not wrong, but you don't need to impress anyone, even my mom. Just be yourself," She stated while placing her cheek on his shoulder. He smiled a bit as they looked at the moon and stars, squeezing each other's hand. He placed his cheek on the top of her head as both of them just enjoyed themselves and the view.
She suddenly felt something in his pocket and looked down in confusion. Something red was sticking out, but it was too thin to be Flapjack. "What is that?"
"Hm? Oh…it's uh that poem I wrote for you. I thought you'd wanna hear the whole thing, but I don't know if now is the best time to—" His eyes widened as she scooched forward, her fists on her cheeks as she looked at him expectantly. The boy chuckled and pulled it out. "What you heard was a draft, but I finished it before…everything happened." He cleared his throat and blushed. "I wanted to cheer you up after today, so..." He presented a heart cut-out card made of red construction paper. It had little flowers and music notes, also having a drawing of Melody and Flapjack at the bottom. She took it and smiled as he started reciting it.
"I only have eyes for you. My dear, sweet Luci, it's true. Your caring nature is so endearing. And your smiles are always so cute and reassuring," She blushed, patting her hair bashfully. "When I look at you, my heart pounds inside my chest. Just being around you is really the best. The love you give shapes me, my life is no longer dark. The sparkle in your eyes, every time we speak, it gives me shivers down my spine and makes my body weak. My whole being surrenders with everything we do, all because of those words I long to hear you say are I love you."
Tears appeared in her eyes and she leaned forward, giving him a heartfelt kiss. His eyes widened as his face turned red, smoke coming from his ears. She pulled back and he smiled dreamily while his face was still red, hearts coming from his hair. She giggled at him and then he looked up in confusion to see the flying hearts. He yelped, trying to get them away, but once he touched them, they poofed away. He turned around to see Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus all smiling at them, having seen everything. Hunter growled and stood up, the four yelping and running away from him. Lucila just watched them with a small laugh.
They opened the door to the house where they arrived from, looking around to see if they could find anything that would help get them back. Gus closed the door and then opened it with a frown. Luz gave a look of determination.
She opened up her laptop, pressing a key from it. 'Lumity Studios Presents' showed up on a blue screen, showing pictures of Grom, her in front of Amity, them looking at the stars, and the two hugging each other. Then a slide appeared with the words 'Hi! I'm bi!' Then another slide appeared that said 'Hey! Luci's got a boyfriend!'. It showed Hunter and Lucila, an arrow pointing at Hunter to drill in the fact that he was the boyfriend the slide was referring to. Luz beamed at her mother, Amity blushing. Lucila and Hunter smiled at her. Camila stood up and snuggled the couples happily. Illusions of Gus popped up as he waved flags, a rainbow going over the group.
The five palismen watched Flapjack pecking at the floor.
Something was being drawn and Gus, Willow, Amity, and Hunter put up pictures of their loved ones from home. Hunter had put up a picture of Darius. Luz looked at a design of the portal door when suddenly a possum flew through it, the palismen chasing after it.
Will and Cori knocked on the door. Once it was opened, they were ecstatic to see their friend, lunging forward and knocking her down in a hug. They welcomed the others with open arms as well.
They went clothes shopping, Gus, Willow, Amity, and Hunter all showing off clothes. Luz and Lucila clapped happily, especially as Hunter was dressed as Flapjack.
Vee and Ivy shapeshifted to show off their own new looks. Ivy's hair was now a bit straighter and the same color as her basilisk form, wearing black jeans, a pink long-sleeved shirt that faded into a gradient to be yellow at the bottom, and purple sneakers. Camila rushed forward happily.
Lucila opened up the door to her home, followed by Camila. They all turned to see the others waiting expectantly. Lucila grinned and held up her new driver's license, to which they all cheered to.
Hunter picked up a book that said 'The Witch Hunters of Gravesfield'. He looked at his hair that was getting longer, but it reminded him of Belos in the reflection. He recoiled back in fear, clutching his heart.
Lucila walked by and glanced at the bathroom door. She opened it to see Hunter attempting to cut his hair, but it just looked like a mess. Lucila blinked at his haircut and then smiled, holding up a hair straighter and scissors for herself. She started cutting his hair and he blushed. His face got even redder when she removed her hair from the braid and it fell down. He hesitated to cut it but Lucila looked up at him reassuringly that she trusted him. He smiled and kissed her forehead before holding her hair gently while she guided him.
He gave a thumbs up to Gus, his hair now shorter and no longer having a forelock (which Lucila was devastated about cutting because she thought it was adorable). Lucila's hair was now mid back length and it was straightened instead of wavy. She also had magenta circle-shaped glasses, but she still had the scar over her eye. For her clothes, she had on a red jacket over a purple sweater that had a barn owl on it, black jeans, and brown boots. She also had a blue hummingbird pin at the side of her head.
Hunter and Lucila walked down the path of a carnival for their first date, the girl holding a stuffed seal with a smile. They held hands as Hunter tried cotton candy for the first time. He beamed at it and then took another bigger bite. She looked at him with wide eyes.
Gus looked down at the palismen running on hamster wheels, all of them looking at a make-shift portal. However, it caught on fire, Hunter recoiling back in alarm. Gus rushed forward swinging the fire extinguisher, but Vee took it and put out the fire. Luz bent down crestfallen at their failed attempt, Amity comforting her.
Will and Cori came over. Will had on a grey jacket with black stripes over a white t-shirt. He had blue jeans and black/white sneakers. Cori meanwhile had her hair down to her shoulders and now had some piercings. She had on a purple shirt with white stripes, a green jacket with one long black stripe each on one arm, and black jeans, as well as checkerboard sneakers. Both of them looked sympathetic before Cori grinned, holding up a t-shirt that said Owl Rocks 2.0. The group all smiled happily at them.
The four put together...Boiling Isles food for the Nocedas, Vee and Ivy signaling to definitely NOT eat it. The three grinned nervously, glancing at each other.
Will, Cori, Lucila, Hunter, and Gus all formed Owl Rocks 2.0., coming up with new designs for the band and what the new members would do. Lucila bounced in excitement that she could still keep the band alive.
Meanwhile, Hunter made Camila a breakfast feast (with Luci's help, of course), and the woman smiled happily, hugging the boy. He pumped a fist while the girl just laughed at his antics.
It was raining another day, Luz touching it lightly. She looked to Amity, who stepped forward nervously. She guided her girlfriend's hand as the water hit it. Amity opened an eye, looking up in shock as she realized it didn't boil. Luz dragged her out, the two twirling around happily.
Hunter came out first, and Lucila followed him. She saw his hesitation and pulled him out, to his surprise. He looked up in awe at the non-boiling rain. Hunter bowed playfully to Luci, who curtsied to him. He grabbed her waist and hand as they jumped around together. Lucila laughed happily as she then ran off, holding out her arms as she enjoyed the feeling of the rain.
Vee and Ivy looked outside, jumping out and turning into their new forms. Gus jumped out and then tackled Hunter into some mud. Willow looked outside, joined by Camila holding a camera. Hunter grabbed his girlfriend and dragged her into the mud, the five all laughing in unison. Willow smiled and took a picture.
Luz and Amity held each other in the rain, Amity making a light glyph. Together they released it into the sky.
Luz drew a light glyph, touching it...and nothing happened. She crumpled up the page, looking towards her egg palisman that still hadn't hatched. She looked outside to see the school bus, standing up and leaving. She and Lucila ran towards the bus, Hunter pulling the latter back and giving her a quick kiss. She blushed and smiled as she ran off, as it was now fall. Hunter sat down at the steps, waiting like a puppy for Lucila to come back.
Everyone except the sisters were talking amongst themselves in the room that they had set up from the old house where they came out of. Willow took a picture with the camera as they were looking at a tablet.
"Am I doing this right?" Gus wondered as he looked to Vee, who spoke in Spanish in unison with Ivy.
"Perfecto! You're our top students!" The tablet stated with a cartoon owl on the screen. They were using a translating app to learn Spanish. The two basilisks fist-bumped each other with smiles.
"Hmm. I was the top student once," Amity remarked while looking away. Not that she minded, she could care less about that now. Gus and Hunter watched Flapjack peck at the floor again.
"He's still doing that, huh?" Gus asked in confusion.
"He won't tell me what he's looking for. Not even Melody knows," Hunter frowned a bit as Melody watched Flapjack in a bit of worry. He went up to the door as Camila emerged, peeking in.
"Hi. Ooh! I like what you've done with the place," She admired the environment. It was definitely less spooky. "No more exposed nails or possum nests. But this still confuses me," She pushed open the door, revealing a symbol that was painted on that kinda looked like Hooty.
"Yeah," Willow glanced away briefly. "He still confuses us too."
Gus stood up and waved. "Hola, Camila. We're learning Spanish from this scary owl app," Gus held out the tablet.
"Hoot, hoot! Practice every day, or I'll appear in your nightmares!" The owl's eyes got black with red pupils.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to pick up the girls from school. Luci's been looking for a job, but it hasn't worked out to get her own car," Hunter rubbed his chin in thought after she said that. "Pop quiz. ¿Cómo se dice eso en español?"
"Oh, oh! Uh..." Hunter stood up and took a deep breath. He attempted but failed.
"Voy a recoger a las niñas de la escuela," Vee and Ivy recited to her. Hunter slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
"Muy bueno!" Camila clasped her hands proudly. "Keep it up," She waved as she left, sighing and placing a hand on her temple. "I never expected to be a mother of 8..." She murmured as she walked away.
As the others were practicing their Spanish, Amity was not and she sighed, looking up. "Maybe we should take a break," She suggested to the others.
"A siesta," Willow smiled while pointing at her.
"Siesta!" Gus cheered happily.
"We've been here for months, and we've made no progress on the portal door," She reminded them, looking back with a frown. "We can't expect Camila to take care of us forever."
"In the meantime, we could pull more weight around the kitchen," Gus sat between Vee and Ivy. "My mustard ravioli did bring tears to her eyes."
"Those weren't the kind of tears you're thinking of," Vee told him gently as Ivy shuddered.
"It gave me nightmares for almost a week..." She murmured while looking away because...it wasn't as good as it sounded to Gus.
"I can help fix damaged clothes," Hutner held up a sweater that had a bunch of patches on it.
"Is that Luci's sweater?" Ivy pointed at it.
"I can spruce up the garden!" Willow added in with a smile, holding a monstrous plant that snapped at the two basilisks. Ivy pushed it away from Vee as gently as she could. Flapjack kept pecking while wind and leaves blew in. Amity gasped and looked behind her, getting an idea.
"Maybe we need to look elsewhere," She suggested to the group. "There's an entire Human Realm to search," Willow took a picture of her and she flinched.
"But Luz and Luci have school most of the week," Willow reminded her.
"So? Let's explore the town ourselves. After all, they went into the Boiling Isles on their own," She gestured to the forest in the doorway.
"If Eda came here before, maybe there were others," Gus pointed out to them. "Maybe they left behind something we can use."
"Yes! That's the spirit! Together, there is no challenge that can hold us back," As Amity stepped forward, she tripped as her leg was now stuck in a hole that Flapjack had pecked at. "Ow."
"It's a sign. We're doomed!" Gus panicked a little.
"Come on, Flapjack. This isn't funny anymore," Amity told him, pulling out her foot. She looked into the hole and gasped as she saw something. "There's something in here," She pulled it out and they surrounded her as it looked like a small box. They all gasped at it. She opened it, pulling out a scroll or sorts with symbols and drawings on it.
"Hmm," Gus inspected it a bit. "Looks like a map?"
"Or a secret code?" Willow rubbed her chin. Flapjack chirped and landed on Hunter's shoulder.
"Flapjack, is this what you've been looking for? What does it lead to?" He asked curiously while Amity had a look.
"That eye..." She pointed to the eye symbol. "I-it kinda looks like the old portal door."
Both Gus and Willow gasped sharply. "The portal door! Portal door! Portal door! Portal door!" They grinned widely while cheering.
"Let's tell Luci and Luz," Vee smiled a little.
"Yeah, I'm sure they'd be thrilled," Ivy nodded in agreement.
"What if it's just another dead end?" Amity pointed out, earning frowns. "Luz especially feels responsible for our failed attempts. And Luci's got enough things in her life to deal with. She still hasn't told her mom about not wanting to follow in her footsteps..." Hunter looked away a bit sadly. She wanted to tell her mother, but she just didn't feel any time was the right time. Telling her about Hunter was easy enough, but this was much harder because for a while before she and Luz left, it was all her mom dreamed about.
"Then let's not tell them until we can figure it out," Willow told Amity with a smile. "Using our buff brains!"
"Buff brains!" The others cheered except for Hunter.
"I...I can't," They turned to him and he sighed slowly. "I have to tell Luci. She hates secrets, remember? And I think she's suffered enough because of me," He scratched his chin.
"Oh yeah," Gus winced a bit as he remembered all the secrets Lucila had to keep in the Boiling Isles. The biggest ones of them all still hadn't been said, but those were the only exceptions the girl made. "Right...well, we understand. Luci's always about trust. And we wouldn't wanna damage your relationship with her."
"Maybe we can just tell her it's a surprise, therefore she won't feel as bad," Amity suggested and they nodded in agreement.
"Okay, we'll do that. It technically is a surprise anyway," Ivy stated, her hands on her hips.
"We must not ruin the Huntcila ship!" Willow declared intensely as she narrowed her eyes.
"We must protect their adorableness," Vee agreed with her.
"Thanks, guys," Hunter smiled gratefully at them. "But, uh, should I be concerned about that?" He pointed to Vee and Willow.
The school bell rang and Luz sat in English class near the window in front of June, Cori's sister. Lucila was also in English, but in a different class. "Foes vanquished, he trod the shores of his fatherland," The teacher recited to them, but Luz wasn't paying too much attention. She held her egg palismen that still hadn't hatched in her lap. "Family by his side, finally at peace. This epic ends with the homecoming of just not a man, but a hero."
"Hero?" Luz asked in disbelief. "Everywhere he went, people ended up suffering," She clenched a fist.
"It does get bleak, but no one said his mission would be easy," The teacher held up a winder with a smile. "And when you take into account the ripple effects of his actions..."
"Who cares about the ripple effects?" She slammed down a fist, and everyone's attention was on her. "He was just a pawn in someone else's game," She gestured to herself, and it was starting to feel it was more about her than the character they were discussing. "A-And he was never smart enough to realize it!" She stood on her desk, squeezing her eyes shut. "If his friends and family knew about his mission, they'd know that their lives would never have been in danger if it weren't for him. They should hate his guts, and it would be better if he literally never existed!"
Everyone stared at her wordlessly and she looked around, realizing that she got a bit too emotional there. The school bell rung and everyone left the classroom. She had her hands in her pockets as she walked down the hall. Lucila emerged on the other side while clutching her backpack strap, sighing to herself. Another day at school...
"Lucila?" Mr. Sandoval emerged after the students had cleared out in front of her. "A word, please."
"Uh oh," She murmured to herself as she recognized him as Luz's teacher, entering nervously.
Luz walked past a classroom, looking towards a sign that said 'no taxidermy, no spiders, no snakes, no animal parts, no fireworks'. She looked up at the teacher who had been in the class where Luz did some of those things, sipping her coffee. She sighed and looked away, walking off.
Lucila sat at the front desk in worry. "This is about my sister, isn't it?"
"We were talking about a poem, and...she seemed to be taking it a bit too far," Lucila bit her lip while looking away. "I wanted to know beforehand if there's anything else I should expect from her. These past few months with her...she's been a bit on edge."
"I'm sorry about her if she did something off," The girl sighed, a hand on her forehead. It wouldn't be the first time a teacher had asked her about Luz ever since school started. "She and I are going through a lot. For her it's...puberty?" She smiled awkwardly that she was using that as an excuse. But she couldn't be that truthful either; he'd think she was crazy.
"Hm," He rubbed his chin at her answer. "Well, as a teacher, it is my job to wonder about the well-being of my students. And as her emergency contact, well...it would be in one of our best interests to know if something's wrong. You don't seem to be as stressed as she is."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Lucila murmured to herself.
Luz opened her locker, which had drawings of King and Eda, a picture of her and Amity, a sculpture of King, and so forth. She also had some glyphs on the walls. She placed her book in her locker, closing it and being met with two students grinning at her.
"Hey." She gasped at their sudden appearance. "You're Luz, right?"
"Uhh..." The girl murmured as people didn't really talk to her in school outside of Lucila.
"Nice to meet ya. Oh! And there's the other guest of honor," The one with the shaved hairstyle gestured to Lucila coming up from behind. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Do I know you?"
"You were right in class," The boy agreed, talking about Luz's previous statement in English class. "We read about too many crusty old dudes. Give me books about crusty old women!"
"I used to know one," Luz smiled fondly as she looked away, Lucila giving a weak smile herself. "I've never seen you two around."
"And how do you know about me?" Lucila tilted her head.
"We're new, but we've heard all about you guys," The boy with piercings smiled at them.
"Are you guys gonna make more crazy costumes for Halloween this year?" The other boy with glasses asked enthusiastically. "Or maybe Owl Rocks 2.0 could perform?"
"Umm..." Lucila glanced away nervously, since that might be how they know about her. The band had done about a dozen performances in the summer, to positive reception. But at the same time, she was kind of nervous for how her mother viewed them.
"Cause if you guys are, we're volunteering at the Haunted Hayride," The first student explained as the other one gave them flyers.
"Old Gravesfield is the most haunted place in the state."
"Yeah, you guys gotta come," The first one suggested as the two looked at the poster, unsure of that.
"Guys!" They turned around to see Will and Cori, Lucila waving to them happily. June also joined them, and had properly met Luz, but the two were barely past acquaintances. But Luz at least considered her a friend. "What's up?"
"Everything," Lucila groaned with her hand on her forehead. "Mr. Sandoval called me to talk about this little troublemaker," She jerked a thumb to Luz, who flinched in alarm.
"Hey! I didn't do anything this time."
"He mentioned your outburst in class?" She raised a brow and Luz stiffened, looking away. She sighed, looking down at Luz. "I know you've been through a lot, but school's not the place to take it out on, okay? I'd at least appreciate not having all the teachers asking about your behavior."
"I'm sorry, hermana," She looked away from Lucila, who rapidly shook her head.
"Luz, no! I'm not mad. It's just...I don't want you to do anything you'll regret...eventually," She looked away as Luz had always gotten into trouble for her own choices. But she didn't want Luz hinting at what happened and having people be suspicious. "We had the Jacob incident, remember? You never know if there's anyone else like him."
All five of them shuddered at the memory of him. "How about we get some ice cream with everyone? Maybe that'll do the trick," Will suggested with a small smile.
"No, it's okay," Luz stated quietly to them. "You've already done so much for all of us. I just wanna go home and think about some things." She then stepped forward and hugged her sister, Lucila looking down in surprise. "I'm glad you're okay, sis."
She smiled softly, patting her sister on the back comfortingly, as Luz was referring to...what happened with Belos. The others smiled, though they couldn't help but worry a bit for Luz, since she still seemed to be a bit insecure.
Camila drove the two home, after picking up food for everyone. Luz looked out the window while clutching the poster. "Do you two think this food is okay? Ah," Camila clicked her tongue. "I wish I knew how to make demon food for your friends. Would they, um, prefer to drink blood?"
"Mom," Luz looked up ahead, but Camila took it as an offense.
"Ay, I'm sorry. I'm just saying if we need to find a way, we'll find a way."
"No, look out!" Luz warned her, the three gasping as Camila came to a screeching halt in front of a police officer. They looked to see a little girl and her mom, with their car having crashed on the side of the road.
"Oh, it was so scary. It just came out of nowhere. That deer really spooked us. And there seemed to be someone chasing after it. Will my insurance cover this?" The mother stated and the little girl looked up.
"But Mommy, it wasn't a deer. It was a monster! And that lady looked like she knew who it was!" She insisted as Camila drove past a deer skeleton head. Some familiar green goop fell from it. After Luz went back to her seat, she glanced at Lucila.
"How do you stay so calm, Luci?"
"...I'm not that calm," Lucila gripped at her pants, looking at them. "I just hide it so that I don't worry people. Luz, I'm just as haunted as you are." She took off her glasses, pinching her nose. Both of them could tell that it messed her up too, everything that had happened months ago. But she chose not to dwell on it so that she could be comfort to them.
Luz frowned at her sister's statement, glancing up at her. "Well...you've got me, Mom, and the others. That counts for something, right?" Through the rearview mirror, she saw Lucila give a tiny smile.
Hunter sat at the sewing machine in the basement. "Thanks for helping, Gus," Camila told him gratefully.
"Anytime. Good night!" He turned off the upstairs light and raced down the steps, jumping around and landing on the couch. "Whoo! We've got a big day ahead of us, so I'm gonna buenas this noche."
"Mm-hmm. Ow!" Hunter cried out a bit in pain, shaking his hand as he narrowed his eyes a bit at the sewing machine.
"You good? That sounded painful."
Hunter just scoffed at the boy. "I've been training in the Emperor's Coven for as long as I can remember. I think I can handle a little-" He sweated a bit at the next one as it sounded more painful. He winced in pain.
"Oh...that went clean through," Gus looked on in a bit of disgust. He spun a finger to grab some tape, using that to bandage Hunter's cut.
"Camila taught me how to use this sewing contraption. Even Darius' stitches have never been this neat!" Hunter smiled as he was fascinated by it. "Oh, and look at what I made!" He held up a t-shirt that had pictures of wolves stitched onto it. "These are mystical beasts Luci says are wolves, and I love them," His eyes shined in awe.
"That looks great," Gus smiled at him.
"Luci would be proud. She spent weeks hemming some of her old clothes for me to wear. I can't wait to show it to her!" He hugged the shirt.
"You know, you've been smiling a lot more since we've been here," The boy pointed out. "Especially when you're with Luci."
"I-It's not like I don't want to return!" Hunter stammered to him quickly. "I just, uh...need a way to pass the time when my girlfriend's at school a lot. That's all. And, well...she's always made me happy in a way. I guess maybe I always hid it?" He blushed, scratching his cheek.
"No. It's good to see you happy," Gus smiled as he pressed his cheek against his pillow. "One of us might as well be." Hunter looked up with a frown, as he knew that Gus seemed happy on the surface, but on the inside...he was worried about his father. Not to mention everyone else on the Boiling Isles, as they didn't know what they were going through right about now... "What was it like to be in the Emperor's Coven for so long?"
Hunter turned to his side while putting his blanket over himself. "I trained a lot. I...studied a lot. I wasn't really allowed to be around the other scouts. But weekends were nice. I got to leave the castle for missions. And then I met Luci when I was assigned to watch over Covention, and...well, you know the rest," He smiled blissfully; over time, the two had told their friends the full story of their...eventual relationship.
"Do you miss it?" Gus wondered to him.
"I miss...knowing who I'm supposed to be," He answered slowly, the boy looking away. He then laid on his back, Hunter doing the same.
"I miss my dad."
"We'll find a way back," Hunter folded his hands together. "We have to."
"Oh, my Titan!" Gus sat up in realization. "That's a line from this book I found," He reached over and pulled it out. "Cosmic Frontier! It's a story that takes place in...the stars."
"Why would anyone wanna go up there?" Hunter asked as he took the book.
"I don't know. Humans like spreading their junk everywhere. But it's a story of people trying to get back home, like us." Hunter hummed a bit as he flipped the book around. "We got Captain Avery, Security Officer Quando, and a Chief Engineer O'Bailey who's hiding as a clone from the enemy planet." Hunter flinched at that last one because that was him in a nutshell.
"What, uh...happens to him?" He questioned hesitantly, wanting a clue as to he would end up.
"I guess you'll have to find out," Gus pushed open the door to reveal Cosmic Frontier merchandise.
Luz looked up at the ceiling, touching the glowing sun sticker and then moving her hand. She walked up to her egg palismen underneath her lamp, picking it up. As she walked off, she knocked away some papers in the process. Amity sat up and watched her leave, looking at the crumpled poster for the Haunted Hayride. She picked it up and looked at it.
Meanwhile, Camila was trying to do research on what the Hexsquad would like to eat for the next meal. "They don't hate garlic like vampires. But they weren't entirely against eyeballs when we were watching that zombie movie. Gus said I could get apple blood from the apple butcher, but..." She let out a yawn. "Until I find one of those...I'll have to use food coloring..." She laid back and slept, finding herself suddenly in darkness.
A little Luz dug into the ground with a shovel. She gasped sharply as she saw something, running over to some kids with her hands closed. "Look what I found!" She opened it up to reveal a snake skin.
"Ew!"
"Gross!"
"Gross, don't touch that dead thing."
"It's not dead," She tried to assure them with a smile. "This is the skin of a garter snake. They shed their pajamas as they grow. It means there's a snake near us, and it just got a lot bigger!" They ran away screaming, Camila smiling as she watched her youngest daughter. She let out a giggle at how adorable her daughter was being.
"She called them pajamas."
Meanwhile, Luz looked upset until her sister came up to her. She had medium-length hair in a high ponytail, wearing a white long sleeved blouse underneath a black overall dress and sneakers. She didn't have her glasses at this time, though. "Luci, look, look!" She held it out and Lucila smiled. "Snake pajamas!"
"Ha ha, that's actually kinda cute, even though I don't like looking at it," She patted her sister on the head. "Please don't touch dead animal skin. Go wash your hands." However, she earned a pout and then Lucila sighed with a small smile. "We'll buy you a snow cone~" She sang as she pointed to a snow cone truck. A younger Will and Cori waved to Luz, who liked hanging out with her.
"Yay!" Luz ran off to find a fountain. Camila smiled at her older daughter making her sister happy despite the fact that she had no friends.
"Ugh," One of the moms nearby said in disgust. "So unhygienic."
"That girl must've been raised by wolves. How is her sister more civilized?"
"Hey!" Camila shouted in defense while Luz ran up to hug her sister. "Wolves are actually great parents, and-"
Suddenly, she was sitting in the audience for the high school play. Lucila was sitting next to her. "Mama, shh," Lucila shushed her, in her past self before the Boiling Isles craziness. "This is Luz's part."
"Oh, happy dagger! Give me death!" Luz kneeled and then opened up her dress to reveal sausages. Everyone on stage ran off screaming, Camila laughing. Lucila giggled a bit, even though in hindsight, she probably scarred some of them. "Her dad taught her that one."
"He would've loved to see it," Lucila smiled weakly at the reminder.
"Ugh, gross," Someone waved a hand behind them. "Now everything smells like lunch meat."
"Yeah, she's such a try-hard."
"Excuse me?" The oldest daughter turned around to them in annoyance.
"Oye!" Camila turned around to them. "What did you just say?"
She suddenly fell into darkness and landed in front of the principal, the day when Luz got in trouble for the snakes. "I said, grief can manifest in different ways," He stated to her, looming over the woman. "Like how Luz has been acting out for attention, despite Lucila's attempts."
"Losing Manny was difficult for all three of us," Camila looked away briefly. "But Luz has always done things differently. And even though Lucila steers her in the right direction sometimes, Luz just goes along with what she wants to do."
"Didn't you say you were bullied in high school, Mrs. Noceda?"
Suddenly water appeared at her feet, starting to rise. "Uh, yes, but-"
The principal held up Luz's school record. "Luz hasn't made any friends, she only hangs around her sister, her grades are inconsistent, and I heard she brought a live snake to school? Not to mention Lucila has taken into music, a job that won't be fulfilling or practical. Take this," He offered the flyer for Reality Check Camp. "It could help her. And it might be best for you to start pushing Lucila to take a reasonable career path."
"Reality Check Camp? A reasonable career path?" She was engulfed in the water as the shadow looked down at her.
"You don't want your daughters to struggle like you did, right?"
"Mom?" Camila gasped sharply as she snapped out of it, sitting up and panting. "Luz?" She adjusted her glasses. "What time is it?"
Luz came into the room, looking at her palisman. "Mom? Why aren't you mad at us?"
She sighed and then slid back. "Oh, baby. Come here." Luz sat in bed next to her. "I've been terrified, sure. But believe it or not, I do understand what it's like to want to run away."
"I'm so sorry," She hugged her mother while closing her eyes.
"But the point is, you came home, and everything is okay now."
"But it's not!" Luz let go, looking up at her. "It's my fault everyone's trapped here," She started to cry, holding her head. "And that Luci got hurt and almost got killed because of me! A-And I don't even know if King and Eda are okay. Luci and I wanted you to meet them so bad," She rubbed her eyes using the back of her arm. "But I keep messing up."
"Hey, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them."
Luz looked away, clutching the blanket as she thought about her mom's words. "Can I sleep here tonight?" Camila smiled and tucked her daughter in, kissing her forehead. "Give the palisman a kiss too." She did so and put the egg and glasses away. On her nightstand was a picture of the snake skin Luz held. She turned off the lights.
Lucila, however, couldn't sleep either and went downstairs to the basement. She looked at Gus on the couch snoring, seeing Hunter whistling while sleeping thanks to his tooth gap. She smiled adoringly and then finally reached the bottom stairs. She slipped past Gus and laid down next to Hunter, crawling into his blanket. He snapped awake, yelping but covering his mouth so that he didn't wake Gus.
"Sorry," She whispered to him and he noticed her.
"Luci? What's wrong?" He laid back down on his side, looking at her.
"...I can't sleep," She revealed, pinching her nose. "Every time I try, I keep thinking about the fact that I might be someone else than who I thought I was," She stated and his eyes softened. They hadn't found anything that would suggest that she was or wasn't a reincarnation of Caleb's friend.
"Yeah...it's weird to think that after all we've been through, we could be different versions of people from centuries ago," He murmured, looking at her and holding her hand while they stared at each other. "But whether it's true or not, it'll never change how I feel about you," He ran a hand through her hair and she blushed, smiling.
"Ditto," She whispered blissfully and he smiled back before letting out a sigh.
"I've been thinking about what's gonna happen if-"
"Not if. When," She smiled in amusement.
He chuckled a bit at her antics. "When we get back home...how are we going to make this work?" She paused as she never really thought about it in depth that Hunter would eventually go back home...but her home was here. She bit her lip in thought and she glanced at him, seeing him with the same expression.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
He nodded at her. "In three, two, one..."
"I'll stay in the Boiling Isles/your world with you!" They said in unison, recoiling back in shock from their declarations. "What?! But you—I thought-" Both of them paused and then started giggling together quietly at how they were being.
"I can't believe you're willing to leave behind your home just for me," He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I can't believe you're so ready to stay here with me," She murmured as she blushed a bit. "But...you really have no problem leaving behind the Boiling Isles? I know you had...stuff you'd rather leave behind, but what about Darius or Gus? Or everyone at Hexside?"
"Gus could stay with me too. And...I would miss the others, but...you're my home, Luci," He blushed deeply and she smiled softly at him. "I don't know if I could go back there, to tell you the truth. But you can't live in the Boiling Isles with me. Your life is here, with your mom."
"I stayed there for months, I could do it for the rest of my life," She argued back a bit playfully. "Although Mama would probably have a heart attack if I decided to stay there forever without any way of getting in touch with her."
"So then I'm staying here with you."
"Carino..." She sighed a bit. "I wouldn't want you to leave behind the others just for me. How about we think about this another day?"
"Deal. But no matter what happens, I want to feel safe with you."
She grinned and then he kissed her forehead, pulling the blanket over them. They still held hands as they laid there together. "Goodnight, carino."
"Goodnight, esplendida," He murmured as they fell asleep together. She scooched forward and leaned into him, earning a sleepy smile as he cuddled his girlfriend. However, at the forest nearby, an ominous shadow took form into a small animal with blue eyes, running off. A female figure ran after it wearing a cape.
"Alright," Amity spoke up to the others. "Luz is at her mom's vet clinic, putting tiny little bandages on...hedgehogs," She used quotation marks on the last word. "So today, we're going into town to solve this code!"
Luci was wearing a white blouse with frills at the end of her sleeves that went to her wrists. She had on a black jean jacket, blue ripped jeans, and some black boots. Her hair was in a braided bun behind her head as she had a pink purse over her arm. "Ears," Gus adjusted his had to hide them, Willow using her hair to do so.
"Routes!" Vee held up a map, Ivy holding the scroll.
"Snacks, check," Willow smiled as she revealed her bag was full of them.
"Beverages!" Lucila revealed water and juice in her own bag.
"Human disguise, check," Hunter spoke up and they turned to see him in a Cosmic Frontier uniform. He smiled widely, waiting for a reaction.
"Oh, that is a look," Willow took a picture of it, Gus grinning widely. Ivy nudged Lucila, who flushed at his look with a smile. Hunter stepped forward with a smile while holding the book.
"According to Cosmic Frontier, this is what the modern, human male wears," He gestured to himself with a smile. Ivy shook her head while Vee held the book he decided to reference.
"This was written in the 90s about the year 2008," She raised a confused brow.
"Yeah. Can't wait for that New Year's party," He waved it off with a smile.
"And did you get to the last chapter?" Gus asked him excitedly.
"O'Bailey is still hiding the fact that he's a Duplicant in hyperdisguise. But Captain Avery is figuring it out," He grinned a bit playfully.
"I think he already knows-"
"Ah, buh buh!" Hunter covered his ears. "No, no, no, no, no spoilers!" Lucila just giggled at them.
"Hunter, I don't think the world is ready for the brave fashion choices of the year 2008. Please change."
"WHY!" Lucila shouted at her, Willow covering Amity's mouth.
"Don't listen to her! She's ruining Huntcila for me!" Amity gave her a glare.
"Aw, geez, we're gonna miss the bus," Vee frowned as she and Ivy changed to their human forms.
"Oh, it's okay! I'll catch up. There's a transport worm every half hour," Hunter smiled at them.
"I'll stay here to make sure he picks a good outfit, even though I like it," Lucila offered with a pout and they all nodded. Their palismen joined them, Melody landing on Lucila's shoulder. The girl nuzzled her cheek using her finger. Willow stayed behind, pointing at the two.
"I'm gonna borrow that book when you're done with it. And don't take too long, if you know what I mean," She winked at the couple, who blushed deeply at her suggestion, the door closing in front of them.
"Even if we don't find anything, at least we'll have fun," Lucila smiled as Hunter took off the eye piece. "Ooh! I actually wanted to show you my Halloween costume, I'll go get it and then you can change!" She ran off to the bathroom. Flapjack chirped as he and Melody flew past him. He stared at them as they landed side-by-side at a mirror and he took a look at himself...at what his life was like now.
"You know, maybe you're right, Flap," Hunter held his arm as he looked away. "Even if I'm not who I'm supposed to be...I like who I am right now. And I'm really lucky that Luci does too." He glanced back at the hallway, peeking in and looking towards the bathroom. "Um...esplendida? Are you still working on the costume? This holiday of yours is only a few days away."
"I'm coming! I'm almost finished. Let me know what you think."
He mumbled to himself while starting to pace. Suddenly, the door opened and he turned around, his mouth opening in shock and awe. Lucila had some of her hair braided, while the rest of it was down. She had on a dark blue long-sleeved blouse that faded into white at the sleeves and torso. It also had gold at the top of the blouse and underneath her bust. She had on a brown belt around her waist. She had black pants that went to her knees, because they were covered by brown boots with buckles around the ankles. The tips of the boots were white and she had on fake pointed ears, along with black gloves over her hands.
"So...what do you think?" She twirled around for him to get a full look. He turned beet red as his heart pounded so fast he could hear it. Smoke came from his ears and she gave a worried look as he hadn't said a word. "Um...carino? Are you-"
He fainted right on the spot before she could finish and she gasped sharply.
He opened his eyes a few seconds later, seeing that he was looking up at Lucila. She had him on her lap as she dabbed a wet cloth over his head. "Ugh...what happened?" He groaned, seeing Will and Cori across from him.
"You kinda...fainted after seeing me in my costume..." Lucila answered sheepishly to him.
"And we were on our way over when we heard you faint because you couldn't handle her looks," Cori smirked a little, earning a small glare from Lucila. "What? I tell it like it is," She shrugged at her friend.
"Oh...oh no," Hunter murmured in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, dude. Not everyone can handle pretty girls," Will shrugged, earning looks from both of his female friends. He flinched as he realized what he said. "I-I mean to say, that not everyone can take looking at pretty gir—I'm shutting up now."
"Okay, weirdo," Cori snorted at him.
"Coraline," He smirked at the girl, earning an angry look for him using her full first name.
"You wanna die?!"
Lucila rolled her eyes at the two bickering, looking down at Hunter. "You really had me worried, you know."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Hunter smiled nervously, a small blush coming to his face. "You looked amazing and...w-well...I thought an angel had walked out..."
She blushed at his compliment, rubbing her neck as she felt flattered. "You're such a goof," She murmured, but meant it in a playful way.
"I'm the goof who's crazy about you..." He told her breathlessly while still looking at her. She giggled at his response, stroking his hair lovingly. Hunter gave in completely to her gentle touch, giving her a love-struck smile as his heart fluttered. Yep, he really was lucky to have her in his life. While Will and Cori argued, the two bird palismen flew down to some green goop on the floor. Both of them chirped, but weren't heard. The two then chirped louder, getting everyone's attention. Hunter stood up as they walked over to look at it.
"What is that?" Lucila asked cautiously with a frown.
"Looks like boogers," Cori said plain and simple.
Hunter gently moved the palismen out of the way in case it did something to them. He touched it with his finger, examining it. Suddenly, they all heard a snap and turned around in alarm. They all gasped at the sight.
The bus dropped off the five at a magic shop. "First stop, the Magic Circle," Amity stated as they looked up at the store sign. Willow and Gus examined all the items for sale, while Amity, Vee, and Ivy talked to the cashier. Gus and Willow saw something, running forward excitedly. Amity showed the cashier the scroll and then looked up, narrowing her eyes.
"HEY!"
Willow and Gus were playing around with stuff, Willow poking someone with a devil's trident. They ran off from the store, the cashier shaking a fist angrily. She pulled out her phone and Willow came back to give her a gold coin.
While running into the park, Gus and Willow stopped, looking up at a statue of two men. The two men depicted were of Caleb and Phillip Wittebane, but they didn't know that. However, they couldn't help but think that Phillip in particular felt familiar. They glanced at each other, not knowing what to think of it.
They asked the local librarian, who took her own look at it. Amity meanwhile touched the file cabinets, thinking they were alive or would do something at her actions. She bowed, but nothing, frowning. She then took out some candy to offer it, but a little girl ran up and opened it, to Amity's shock. Everyone turned to look at her and she blushed in embarrassment, falling to the ground.
The five stopped and winced, looking at each other and nodding. They linked arms as they walked into the giraffe exhibit at the zoo. Gus bowed to it, but the giraffe just looked bored. He looked to the others, who shrugged and they left. However, Willow took a picture, causing it to freak out and reveal itself as a monster! They all screamed at the sight, Ivy leading them away to safety.
After that, they gathered around the food court, Gus walking over with some nachos. "I don't blame our ancestors for banishing those guys. Yeesh," He shuddered a bit.
"He's lucky he's sheltered, or else I would've had him," Ivy grumbled to herself.
"Dad, can we go to the bird hall?" A boy asked his father, who had his brother on his shoulders.
"Ha ha, in a minute. How about we eat first?"
"Yeah!" The other two kids cheered. Amity, Gus, and Willow felt sad now, as they were thinking about their parents...and how much they must miss their kids right about now. Vee and Ivy frowned at each other while looking at them. They could sense that even the Boiling Isles was a terrifying place...it was still where they grew up in. Vee sighed reluctantly while closing her eyes.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but...I think Ivy and I know where to go next..."
They stood across...the Gravesfield Historical Society. Which obviously, the duo hadn't visited in months because of what happened. The sign had a new paper that said 'under new management', whatever that meant. The others went over except for the two former captives, which Willow noticed.
"You can wait here if it's too scary," She offered them gently. "Luz and Luci told me about that creepy witch-hunter wannabe."
"It's okay," Vee smiled confidently to her. "We just faced down a giraffe. We can do this!"
"Yeah! And if he's there, I have a few choice words to say to him," Ivy cracked her knuckles. "It's about time he got what's coming to him."
The two kicked open the doors with screams, looking confused once they looked up ahead. "Huh?"
Vee's friend looked up in alarm, and according to the nameplate, their name was Masha. They had cut their hair to be a pixie cut. "You're not Jacob," Vee stated in confusion.
"We can all thank goddess for that. He got fired after he started making edits to the exhibits," They gestured to a cardboard cut-out of Jacob, advertising himself as a hero.
"Good," Ivy murmured to herself, the thing flopping over.
"I work part-time now. Say, have we met?" They eyed both Vee and Ivy, both of them flinching back in alarm. "Something about you guys seems familiar."
"Uhh, no, m-my sister and I are new in town," Vee looked away awkwardly, Ivy smiling as Vee didn't have to say that. But in hindsight, the two were practically already sisters. "I just have one of those faces. J-But just the one. The normal amount of face."
"Ha ha!" Masha leaned back with a laugh. "What a coincidence, me too! If you ever need a tour guide, hit me up," They handed over a map and Vee blushed at them. Ivy glanced between the two, smirking as she could see them having a little something-something.
"We're actually here to ask about this old puzzle," Amity revealed the scroll. "do you know how to decode it?"
"Ooh, a rebus," Masha took it eagerly from her. "They dug up a bunch of these in Old Gravesfield.
"This is a rebus?" Gus asked in confusion. Typically, a rebus didn't look like it was all over the place, they just thought it was a scroll.
"Yeah! It's like a riddle where pictures and symbols make up a word," Masha explained to them. "Like, come here," They pointed to the letter H right next to an ear. "What do you think they were trying to say here?"
"Chop off an ear!" Gus tugged at his beanie, Ivy patting his back gently.
"No. See the H that comes first? Then combine that with the ear and maybe it means 'hear' like, to listen. Or 'here' as in a place," Masha rubbed their chin. "Maybe something is waiting somewhere." The phone rang from inside the staff room. "I'll be right back," Masha left to go inside.
"If this is a portal door, then what about these?" Amity wondered, looking at the bottom of the rebus. "A ribbon, and tanning a hide?"
"That ribbon is tied together," Willow pointed at it.
"Next to that hand with a cut," Gus gestured to the hand symbol.
"You don't think..." Willow started off.
"This is leading us to..."
"Tie tan's...blood?" She gasped in realization.
"Titan's Blood!" The three exclaimed in unison.
"It's like you're reading each other's minds," Vee held her head in shock. "You must have been friends forever!"
"...It wasn't always like this," Amity said awkwardly, the other two looking away. Ivy raised a brow, as both her and Vee didn't know that Amity...used to bully Willow, and she normally left Gus alone. Though before she became kinder, she wasn't that nice to Gus either.
"These past few months have been weird, but look at all the new memories we have now," She held up her scrapbook, which had pictures of their summer together. Amity took it with a smile, flipping through the book. "It's been nice to finally spend some time together." She flipped to the last page, where it had a picture of all of them in a group photo, Amity kissing Luz's cheek in the photo.
"Yeah," She hugged the book to her chest. "I can't wait to show everyone at home."
"Maybe the scrapbook could use one more?" Vee stepped forward, Willow handing her the camera.
"Aww, come here, Vee and Ivy!" Willow hugged them close.
"Everyone say giraffes are still terrifying~!" Gus sung and they laughed as the photo was taken. Vee smiled and then noticed something in the background.
"Hey," She turned around and ran up. "That map of Old Gravesfield looks exactly like this!" She held up the rune against the map. "Do you think it's a map to a stash of Titan's Blood?"
"With that, we could actually create a portal!" Willow exclaimed to the others.
"I can't wait to tell Luz!" Amity pulled out the poster from Luz's room. "And I know just how to surprise her," She smiled happily as she was looking at the poster for the Haunted Hayride..
Angel: I got the song idea from this Sonic comic dub I listened to on Youtube from SuperShadicX250 (I don't know if they're behind it or just uploaded that comic), and I looked it up. The song is based off Hushabye Mountain, but I just looked at the lyrics and then switched stuff around, so...not sure if that's a good or bad thing, this song in particular just felt like a right fit, you know? Or at least to me. Lucila's Halloween costume is based off of Princess Zelda's design from The Breath of the Wild.
Also there might've been too much Huntcila in this, but I'm sure that most people aren't gonna mind since I'm not gonna have that much content with them when the show ends.
I decided to do a Q&A section for the end of the story, but I am only posting it on Quotev since this story is also on there. So leave some questions for me or about the story! Can't wait to read them!
And one final thing, when the episode date was approaching, I got even more ideas than I already had. So I unfortunately have to cut some of them since there's only so much I can do already with canon or just stuff for the story. So I'm sorry if I didn't use your idea yet or if it ended up being cut. I'll credit everyone when the show is over. Part 2 will come out as soon as I can finish it, since I have school things to worry about right now.
