Chapter 8: Once Upon a Swap

Spending the day in Bonesborough, a few days had passed since the incident at the library where me and Luz got Xander to open up and Amity to warm up to us. Like I had promised, I lent Xander my copy of Volume Ten of the Black Clover series, something my cousin was grateful for. Though he didn't show it in public, I could tell he was absolutely excited to read the next volume he had been missing out on. Right now, it was a normal day with me and the gang working at Mom's "human collectibles" stand, the only problem being that not very many people were out and about which meant the entire day was most likely gonna be slow. Like always, Juniper was sleeping under the table that we used as a counter. Luz was busy making something that she said was a surprise for my mom who was in the tent to check the inventory. All the while, I was watching King trying to get one of the flags on a decoration line above us after I made a bet with him that he couldn't do it. The little demon had been on the table for what seemed like an hour, trying to jump up and reach one of the flags that were hanging over him. I knew he wouldn't be able to do it because of his small size, but it was pretty fun to see him try, even when he fell off to the side.

"Stupid flag!" The demon cried out as he lay there and I gave a chuckle.

"I see you two are having fun." Luz said as I saw her come up while carrying a wooden ladder along with a wooden sign.

"Hey, Luz." I greeted her before I then noticed the sign. "What do you got there?"

"My little gift to your mom." Luz said as she put the ladder up and climbed up to the stand's sign. "Been a little slow around here, but I've got just the thing to attract customers." After strapping her sign on top of the other, she taped on it and it began to light up, revealing she had carved a few Light Glyphs into it. "And who doesn't like their name in lights?" Pretty soon, the new sign made the original gain a much flashier look. There was also a carving of my mom's face at the top right corner which, not sure how Luz was able to do it, had a winking animation like one of those neon signs you usually see late at night

"Eda the Owl Lady's Human Collectibles?" I said as I read what the two signs said put together.

"Yep!" Luz happily said as she stepped down the ladder. "What do you think? Is it too subtle?"

"Does subtle mean ugly?" A familiar voice asked, making me and Luz turn around to see a certain three-eyed witch with two of her posy. Instead of being smart, Luz greeted them like normal.

"Hi, Boscha! Hexidians!" Luz greeted the three, ignoring the comment as she was too proud of her work. "See anything you like?"

"Yeah, didn't think I see you looking around here to shop." I said to the trio.

"What? Ew! No." Boscha said before she made her scroll appear. "I'm just here to take an ironic Penstagram next to your weird, flashing trash sign." Using it like a cellphone, the witch took photos while doing poses, ignoring the change of expression from Luz.

"It's not funny, Boscha." Luz said, annoyed by Boscha's antics.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, using a taunting tone. "Spit your human venom on me?"

"You have venom?" King asked with surprise. "Quick, Luz! Start melting faces!"

"Even if I could, it's not worth it." Luz said to King as she kneeled down next to him. "You wouldn't understand how to handle teens like her."

"Yeah, and we don't actually do that. It's just an expression." I said to him before talking to Boscha. "Besides, I think there's been enough venom-spitting around here, thank you. Honestly, if you came here just to insult us, then mind taking your business elsewhere?"

"Oh, I don't mean anything bad about you." Boscha said as she put her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands. "You're not trash at all."

[No one's view]

From hearing this, Luz growled at Boscha with a pout of annoyance at the witch flirting with Ryuji, this being unnoticed by the trio and her hybrid friend.

[Ryuji]

"Stand aside, Ryuji!" King said as I looked down to see him walk up to the table. "I'll show you what to do!" He jumped onto the table before giving a declaration while trying to look intimidating. "Tremble before me, teens!"

"Oh, he's so cute!" Boscha cooed before she grabbed hold of King, holding him close before she took another Penstagram photo of herself with the small demon. "How much?"

"Excuse me?" I asked her in confusion as King struggled to get free.

"How much do you want for this little guy?" Boscha told me. "I have to own him."

"He's not for sale!" I said before King kicked her in the face and jumped back onto the table.

"Yeah, and you couldn't afford me, sister." The little demon said while waving a claw, Boscha and her crew cooing at finding this adorable and annoying King. "No, don't 'Awww' me! Fear me!"

"King, just give it up." I told King, knowing his efforts in scaring the trio was a waste of time. "You're clearly not that intimidating."

"I smell an easy mark." Hearing my mom's voice, I turned to see she had poked her head out from the tent before rushing out and jumping over the table to Boscha. "Hey, kid! Can I offer you the latest fashions from…" With a spell circle and a puff of smoke, Mom instantly dressed herself in a whole bunch of random clothes to create the weirdest assemble. "The human realm?"

"That junk? Yeah, no." Boscha replied back while her goons laughed.

"Yeah, that's some big talk coming from you!" Juniper called out as she stood beside me.

"Uh, sorry. What did you say?" Boscha said as she glared at my sister.

"I'm just saying that for someone who doesn't have much for her to brag about, you have a really big mouth." My twin told her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Boscha asked, looking annoyed.

"Do you really want me to point it out, Three-eyes?" Juniper said to her. "Well, for starters, you pretty much had been nothing but talking like a brat and you're clearly a Potions Track student, which is the lamest track to be in." Gaining a smug smile, Juniper then crossed her arms under her chest, placing her boobs over them. "Plus, you tried to flirt with my bro even though you're as flat as a board. Not really much to flaunt there." With gaining a blush, Boscha covered her chest by crossing her arms over it before she then growled at my sister.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you… you…" Boscha said to her. "Okay, I don't have a good comeback, but I know that I'm better than you! Come on, guys!" With that, Boscha then marched off while mumbling to herself, her posse following behind her.

"Nice work, Juni." Mom said as she returned to her usual attire.

"I learn from the best." Juniper said to her.

"Well, I officially hate that girl." Mom bluntly said, pointing towards the three-eyed head of the trio.

"Same." Juniper added.

"Well, Mom, you have to admit that the way you presented the merchandise here didn't really make it all so good." I spoke up.

"Yeah. No offense, Mom, but that whole outfit made no sense at all." Juniper put in. "Especially to teens like us."

"Yeah, teens can be sour, but I'm a little sweetie." Luz said before she then pointed up at the sign she made. "Look what I made you!"

"Luz!" Mom said as she freaked out from seeing the sign, hopping onto the table as she went to try and pry it off.

"Did I spell something wrong? Or did I spell something right?" She punned as her teacher pulled it off.

"Stop that." Mom said as she got the sign down and whipped off the light orbs that made it light up before she then put the sign down. "In case you forgot, Luz, me and Juni are kinda…on the run! Remember?" Mom pulled out hers and Juniper's wanted posters with that last part.

"She's right, you know." Juniper said as Mom rolled up the wanted posters. "It's a nice idea, but hanging something like that out would attract a whole bunch of mosquitos and, by mosquitos, I mean guards."

"See? Even Juni gets it." Mom said as she caressed her daughter's head, feeling proud seeing her child had some smarts in her.

"Well, I don't see anyone right now." Luz said putting King on the table. "Maybe you're both being just paranoid. Plus you and Juni are powerful witches. Why hide when you can 'poof' all your problems away with magic?"

"It's not as easy as you think, Luz." I said to my friend. "Sure, my mom and sis can be able to handle their own, but it won't be the case all the time. The Emperor's Coven has been after them for quite some time and it's only a matter of time before they figure out a way to capture them both without any trouble. It's best to just keep a low profile than to just basically call every guard around here right to us."

"Don't waste your time. What does Luz know about problems anyway?" King spoke up. "All she has is dumb, normal teen drama. She doesn't understand how hard some of us have it."

"Really? You're pampered all day like a damn baby." Mom sarcastically said. "How hard is that life?"

"Well, I don't know if you realized, but I'm not a baby!" The little demon said, screaming out that last part.

"So what? You're a midget?" Juniper said in an amused tone, seizing the chance to make fun of King with a smirk.

"Shut up, Juniper!" King said.

"Well, it doesn't help that you act like a baby most of the time." I put in.

"My life is a living nightmare!" King yelled out.

"By the way, DK," Juniper said as I turned to her. "I get why Mom doesn't do it as much, but how come you don't use your magic?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked my twin.

"I mean, why don't you use your magic for dealing with things like Boscha?" She said to me. "You don't have to save your magic like Mom does, so you could have taught that girl a lesson."

"Using my magic against a bully? No way."

"Hey, you did it before when you scared her."

"That was just a harmless prank."

"Well, what about those bullies back in the human realm? Didn't you use magic on them?"

"Yeah, after they pushed me to that. I've grown to tolerate things like that, so I don't blow up and get all feral dragon."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't use magic."

"Actually, it does. Listen, Dad taught me that using magic like that is not in any way right. You have to be more responsible with it. Plus, if I wanted to use my powers to intimidate, I would use my dragon powers for it. Because of the curse, I can't, not even if I wanted to just change my hand into a claw. Not that I expect you to understand."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Seriously? You are cursed like me, yet you have more control over the powers you got than I do. You can bring out a flame whenever you want without any problems while I have to be afraid of even a finger turning draconic!"

"Whoa, hey! You think I have it any easier than you do? My flames aren't that easy to control. I have problems keeping that under wraps."

"Doesn't seem like it." I sourly said.

"Bro, I'm serious! You got it easier. All you have to do is drink an elixir every morning and you can start a day without worry."

"Easier? I highly doubt that."

"It's true! I would kill to have your curse right now!"

"Seriously? You wouldn't last a day of my cursed life!" With that, me and my twin then glared at each other.

"You wouldn't last an hour of mine!" She snapped at me.

"Okay, enough, you two." Mom said as she pushed me and Juniper away from each other. "Now it seems we all believe that each of us has it easier. There's one thing to do when friends can't see eye-to-eye."

"Hug each other till we pass out?" Luz questioned as she then pulled King into a hug.

"Fight to the death!" King suggested.

"Obviously neither of those." Juniper said in a flat tone.

"Mom, I don't think there's any way of resolving this unless we each actually know what the other goes through." I said.

"Actually, there is." Mom said to me. "Two words: Body swap!"

"What?" Me and my twin said at the same time, confused by this.

"Are you sure you don't shoot venom?" King asked, not liking what my mom suggested.

"Yeah, I love a good body swap." Mom said with a smile. "It's like demonic possession with the ones you love."

"Wait, you want me and Juni to switch bodies?" I asked, surprised by this. "That's actually possible?"

"Are you that surprised?" Juniper told me. "The Boiling Isles is full of freaky stuff like that."

"Mom, I'm not so sure that's a good idea." I said with worry. "I mean, switching bodies with my twin sister seems dangerous and…" Looking to see Juniper's smug face, I was now disturbed as much as concerned, "maybe twisted."

"Ha! I told you couldn't be me." Juniper proudly said.

"Hey, I'm just saying this sort of thing doesn't seem like the best way for us to figure out who has the harder life." I said.

"You sure you're not just being a chicken?"

I scowled at that comment. "Hey, I'm no chicken."

"Really? ʹCause you sound like one right now." She then started clucking as she began taunting me which actually worked after a moment.

"Okay! That's it! Mom, switch us!" I angrily said.

"Alright then." Mom said as she then got to where she was facing me and my twin and standing in front of King and Luz before using both hands to spin her staff. "From bottom to top, let's have a body swap!" With that, her staff gave a bright yellow flash that only covered me and Juniper for a brief moment before we found ourselves in a yellow mist.

"Aah! I can't see!" I said as I walked around until I bumped into something. When the mist cleared, I saw I bumped into a mirror and was shocked when I saw my reflection. "Whoa! I'm actually in Juniper's body!" It was true as I saw Juniper's reflection in the mirror but with my eyes instead of hers with a golden yellow eye on the right and a silver gray eye on the left.

"And I'm in yours." Juniper proudly stated as I saw my body walk over with a smirk and the reversed set of eyes of my own before my sister feel my torso. "And I got to say, didn't know you were so fit." She then lifted my shirt to reveal the abs I had underneath. "No way! You got a six-pack too?"

"Hey, I'm a warrior. I keep myself fit." I said, making her let go of the shirt and slip back down.

"Where'd you find the time to do that?" my twin asked me.

"I wake up early in the morning." I told her. "Part of the training schedule I grew up with Dad and Big Bro."

"Okay, now that we're swapped, let's set the stakes."

"Yeah, we go about today in each other's bodies and whoever has it easier wins."

"And whoever loses by having it harder…" Juniper thought for a moment before she got an idea and gave a sinister smirk. "Cleans the Owl House by themselves for a whole week! And you know what that means." I shivered as I knew cleaning the Owl House also meant cleaning Hooty who practically covers himself in mud every day and makes it a real challenge considering how long he can get.

"Alright, deal." With that, the two of us shook hands, setting the bet.

"This is gonna be easy." My twin said with confidence after we broke the shake. "Give me whatever throws at you and I'll take it like a man."

"And I'll take whatever you get like the girl who clearly doesn't know how easy she has it without having the true hardships of living with a curse."

"Whoa! This is so cool!" Luz said as we both turned to see her smile at us in awe. "This is like Freaky Friday, but on a Saturday."

"Yeah, I actually do feel like I'm living that movie right now." I said before Mom spoke up.

"And we're gonna be joining them for the ride!" Mom then pulled King and Luz over to her.

"Wait, maybe we should think about this…" Luz said before Mom interrupted her, have been doing her spell while my friend was talking.

"Body swap!" Mom said as she then used her staff and we watched as the spell took effect with the stand getting caught in the yellow mist again.

"Did it work? I need a mirror!" I heard Luz say right before I saw someone run past me and smack into the mirror before falling to the ground, leaving a lipstick kiss on it. "Found one!" After the mist quickly disappeared, I looked to see that the one who bumped into the mirror was my mom who was now talking like Luz as she rubbed her head. "Aah! That hurt."

"Luz?" I said with surprise as I saw it was my friend in my mom's body before helping her up to her feet while Juniper cleaned the makeup on the mirror.

"Yeah, it's me." Luz said to me. "Did the spell work?"

"See for yourself." Juniper said as she motioned to the mirror, Luz gasping in surprise from seeing my mom in it.

"Oh, my gosh! It worked!" Luz said as she looked herself over with her hazel eyes. "I'm Eda! I'm so old and my ears are so pointy!" It was just then that her body came up with her hair pulled back and the eyes of a familiar little demon, making her more excited. "Dios Mio, it's me!"

"Yeah, it is." Her body said, the way it talking revealing that was King in there. "I'm the human now. Bow before my massive, meaty hands!"

"Wait, if Luz is in Mom's body and King's in Luz's body, then that means…" Juniper said before we heard Mom clear her throat and saw King's body standing there with one leg extended out and both paws on the hips along with the golden eyes of the Owl Lady herself.

"How do I look?" Mom said from within King's body.

"You look… good." Juniper said, unsure how to feel about this.

"I'm got… some very confusing emotions right now." King spoke up.

"You and me both, brother." I said, having the same feeling he had about all this.

"Okay, here's the deal." Mom spoke up as she walked over to the edge of the table. "Like with the twins, we'll each spend the day in our new bodies. Whoever proves who's got the easier life gets out of house-cleaning duties and you know what that means." Luz and King shivered from no doubt knowing it meant cleaning Hooty.

"Won't be me." King proudly said. "Life as a teen is a tyrant's dream!"

"How's that?" I asked, not sure where he was getting at.

"Because teens like you can be easily influenced, especially by another teen." King told me. "By the end of the day, I'll be ruling over your feeble demographic!"

"Well, I've got magic." Luz said before she crossed her arms in confidence. "Eda, don't be too mad when you're inventory's gone and the guards are none the wiser." After making a spell circle, I watched as the blast she made sent her straight to the ground.

"Ha! That's cute." Mom waved it off before she then jumped off the table. "Just don't get into too much trouble." She then walked away. "If you need me, I'll be getting pampered on a vacation fit for a king!"

"My life's not a joke!" King pointedly told her before turning to Luz with an amused smile. "But yours is! Bap!" With a tap to Luz on the nose, King then tried to run off with a giggle.

"Hold it right there!" Juniper said as she grabbed King by the hood and pulled him back. "You're not going anywhere without me."

"What?" King said in disgust.

"King, you don't know how to act like a teen. I do." Juniper said to him. "Somebody has to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself and look more like a regular teen. Can't really rule over any other teens if you don't know how to approach like one, right?"

"Huh. Good point." King said to her. "I guess I could also use a bodyguard."

"Good." Juniper said before she then turned to me as I helped Luz up. "You want to join us, DK?"

"No, I'm gonna hang back here. Somebody has stay here to help Luz with the stand." I told my twin. "Besides, I think it would be better if we spent the day apart, figuring out how to work with our new bodies by ourselves."

"Hey, you're right." Juniper said before she then took out my Saisho. "I bet I can figure out how to use this bad boy in a snap!"

"Careful with the Saisho, sis!" I told her. "That's a powerful, Star-Rank weapon. It's not a toy."

"Don't worry. Nothing bad is gonna happen to your sword." Juniper said as she put the sword away before turning to King. "Come on, King! Let's go rock the lives of DK and his girlfriend!"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" King added before the two ran off.

"She's not my girlfriend!" I told them before turning to Luz who was twiddling her fingers with a slight blush on her face.


[Ryuji's aside]

Okay, I am seriously getting mixed emotions right now. My best friend in the world is now in my mom's body. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little grossed out by this. The reason for that is because… well, between you and me, I may have a little…crush on Luz. I won't be going into much detail with that. That's something for another time. But having the girl for which I have feelings for being in the body of the woman who literally birthed me is not really a comfortable experience. But, for Luz's sake as well as to win the bet with my sister, I have to suck it up. I especially have to suck up feeling so top-heavy now that I got my sis' big rack on me. Anyway, at the end of the day, we all ended up with our own tales to give about how it spending it in our new bodies had gone. I've even came up with names for each story given by each of us. The first one was my mom's as she told us her day of getting babied like King did, a tale which I call "Eda's Cute-tastrophe".


[No one's view]

After walking for a while, Eda decided to add more to her new look by taking a pair of red-framed sunglasses and putting them over King's skull. Walking through the streets, Eda smiled upon hearing the comments of people who cooed and gushed over her new cute appearance, waving to them as she accepted all the attention King hated.

"Look at the little baby!"

"Oh, how adorable!"

"Stop right there!" Hearing that voice, Eda was shocked as she turned around and saw a Coven Guard accompanied by what looked like a dog with four muzzles not too far behind her.

"A Coven Guard." Eda said to herself as the canine-like creature walked over and sniffed her, giving a slight growl as its owner came over.

"You thought you could get away with it, didn't you?" the guard said to Eda.

"Wait, y-you know who I am?" Eda said with a little worry.

"Of course I do. You're…" The guard said before he gushed at her. "The cutest little angel I've ever seen. Who wants a lolly?" Though surprised even when he offered her a lollipop, Eda regained her joy as she then took the lollipop.

"Ha! That's more like it." Eda said as the canine started sniffing her again before she taunted it in a sing-song voice, tapping it on one of the snouts. "You got nothing!" With a laugh, Eda then walked off to continue her day. "Phew! Being King is a walk in the park. I'm gonna win this bet for sure."

"Oh, Dottie!" Cooed a voice. "Look at this lost little dumpling!"

"Weh?" Eda instinctually said as she stopped and looked up to see two elderly witches looking down at her.

They both had gray hair and were dressed in red dresses with white collars, sleeves with diagonal stripes of light blue and pink, and yellow aprons with what looked like a head of a cute, demon duck. The one who spoke was the witch on Eda's left who's hair was spiked up as she had pale green eyes and wore red heart-shaped earrings and the witch standing beside her who had been revealed to be Dottie wore red-framed glasses and a white hood that left both her ears and tuff of her gray hair out in front.

"Come here, little one." The witch said as she bent down to Eda.

"What's that?" Eda said as she was then picked up. "Hey, put me down, you creeps!"

"Oh, poor baby." The witch said as she cradled Eda. "Do you need a snack?"

"No, I don't need you…" Before she could protest, the witch scratched her stomach which Eda enjoyed. "Oh, tummy scratches. You know what? I wouldn't mind a little snack. Take me away, ladies!" With that, the two witches then walked off with Eda and took her to a small café building with a pink said with "Cutie Café" written on it in white, capital letters.

"Welcome to our Cutie Café!" the witch said as she and Dottie entered the building with Eda, an assortment of cute and adorable demons all around the patrons of the café enjoying their time being around them. "A little safe haven for cherubs like you."

"Ugh! What hot mess is going down here?" Eda asked with disgust at the sight of it.

"You see, precious cargo like you should be taken care of. Boop!" The witch said with a gentle poke to Eda's snout as Dottie closed the door before the witches walked over to the other side of the café. "All you have to worry about is how many belly rubs you want or how many tasty num-nums you're gonna eat."

"Okay, my creep alarm is ringing, but I can't argue with num-nums." Eda said as she was placed into a crib and she then took a cupcake given to her by Dottie.

"This place is a safe place. A place clean from the outside world." The witch said before she then motioned to a sign that said "No Teens A-meow-ed" hung on the wall behind her. "And those teenagers who filth it." She then pats Eda on the head. "You have a good nap, my dearest. Dottie and me just have to get you something from the back. We'll be right back." With that, the two witches then went to a room in the back of the café, the door having a chalkboard sign that had "Employees Only" written on it.

"Ha! Being adorable is the life." Eda said before she yawned. "Think I'll take that nap." After fluffing her pillow, Eda then laid down in the crib and fell asleep.


[Ryuji's aside]

Seems like my mom is having a good time at that café, huh? Well, she's going to find that being cute like that isn't all that it's cracked up to be. While she's busy with her nap, we'll move on to our next story where my twin will try to prove that using my magic for petty things isn't so bad and King tries to make his day as a teenager. I call this story of theirs "King and Juni's Brush with Death".


Out in a different part of Bonesborough, King was using Luz's body to jump for one of the flags on the flag line hanging above him with Juniper standing beside him as she watched him with a nonchalant look.

"King, is this really the time for this?" Juniper flatly asked him.

"Yes! By claiming this flag, I'll be ready to build my army of teens!" King said just as he managed to rip a flag off. "Ha! Not so high and mighty anymore!" He then threw the flag on the ground. "I feel so alive!" King then tumbled back right into a nearby garbage can which he struggled to get out of as he sat up.

"King, stop fooling around!" Juniper said as she pulled off the trashcan and tossed it away. "We only got the end of today to prove Luz and DK we can do their lives better than them and the only way we're gonna do that is by finding Boscha and her little minions and showing them who's boss." She then began looking around as King picked himself up. "Now if I were a brat like her, where would I…" Just then a balloon splattered beside them, a couple of tentacles popping out of the puddle it made.

"Oh, no! Aah!" King yelled out as he then jumped to dodge a tentacle and cling to Juniper. "The flag! It seeks revenge!"

"King, get off me!" Juniper snapped at him. "As much as I love a couple of knockers on my head, you're way too big and heavy for me to carry you like this!" With that, Juniper then uses a magic circle to get King off her. "Besides, that's a silly flag. Look." Pointing over to where another balloon splattered in front of a passing warlock, a couple of tentacles popping out of the puddle and grabbing him.

"Help me! I'm a delicate man!" the warlock said in fear.

"Whoa! What was that?" King said before he and Juniper heard some laughter and looked towards a far-off cliff and saw two familiar teenage witches on it with a shack behind them.

"Teenagers. Come on!" Juniper said as she tried to cast a spell on herself and tried to run only to slip and fall flat on the ground, causing King to laugh at her. "Okay, can't Wind Dash my way up there." She then picked herself up. "Guess we'll do this the old fashion way."

After a while of traveling, Juniper and King managed to climb up to the top of the cliff and were able to sneak past the two teenagers who were too busy throwing water balloons down at the town.

"Take this, society!" Said one of the teens who takes out a water balloon only to accidentally pop it on himself. "Oh, no." Right then, a tentacle popped out of the puddle below him and held him up high off the ground.

Reaching over to the small shack with two different signs tied together to say "Treasure Shack" behind the teens, Juniper and King peeked under the tarp to find Boscha and two other witch teenagers with one of them being a warlock who had purple sleeves and stockings wearing red shoes with wings on them and the other being a witch with green sleeves and stockings. The room they were in was littered with all sorts of items common for teens to have such as the many posters hanging on the walls, a couple of speakers, and even a guitar. Boscha was sitting in a beanbag chair beside a window with her fellow witch laying on the floor, the two looking at their scrolls while the other warlock hanged upside down a bit off the floor.

"Ugh! Just give up." Boscha bluntly told the struggling warlock.

"No! I swear I can do a sit-up!" The warlock said to her in defiance. "I'm just having a bad day."

"Yeah, sure you can." Boscha said as she and the other witch posed around the warlock, the three-eyed witch taking a picture.

"Okay, King. You ready to show these teens who's boss?" Juniper quietly said to the demon.

"Yeah. I'll show Luz how to rule over these doofuses." King said before they backed away from the curtain before Juniper pulled it aside and let the demon jump inside the shack, crouching down with one hand on the floor. "Greetings!" Using her magic, Juniper then made King stand up. "Greetings and bow before the human and your new king!" Caught by surprise, the warlock then fell down to the ground.

"Hey, no one tells us what to do!" the warlock said. "Especially me!"

"Shut it!" Boscha snapped at him.

"Sorry, Boscha." The warlock said, cowering a bit.

"Update: DK at the Treasure Shack with a loser friend." Boscha said as she stood up and texted with her scroll.

"Yoink!" Juniper said as she then took Boscha's scroll, creating a shield to keep Boscha away. "P.S. Tried to flirt with DK while I have a flat chest and got burned by his awesome sister. Hashtag Embarrassing! Send." Tossing the scroll back to Boscha, Juniper laughed as she walked over to stand beside King.

"That's pretty ballsy, dude." The warlock said as he hovered over to Juniper.

"Hey, gotta let the people know." Juniper said with a shrug.

"Okay, I was going to let you stay here, but now I change my mind." Boscha angrily said to the two. "You two can't be here!"

"Yeah, get lost, you goody, two-shoes!" the warlock said.

"Goody, two-shoes, huh?" King said as he then swiped the shoes from the warlock, making him fall to the floor. After putting on the shoes, King then flew out of the shack and took the bag full of water balloons, the teens following him outside with Juniper using the Saisho to cut the tentacle holding the warlock before putting it away as he then landed on his fellow warlock. "Hey, dweebs! Under my command, you can learn how to do some real damage!"

With King tossing the bag over to them, Juniper then stepped up and quickly created a spell circle before kicking at it to use a blast of wind to send the whole bag far into Bonesborough, a huge mass of tentacles erupting where it landed.

"All hail your new teen king!" King said as he then slowly turned from the tentacles to look down upon the teens.

"Okay, I didn't like her telling me what to do before, but now I love it." The warlock said as he and the two witches looked at King in awe, Juniper smugly turning to Boscha who then glared at her.

"So what do you say?" Juniper spoke up. "Let's go do some revolting!"

Cheering out, Boscha's pose then went on to follow King and Juniper, the two witches who happened to be wearing winged shoes flying off with King while the warlock ran with Juniper to catch up to the three.

"Hold up, I did not give you permission to leave!" Boscha pointedly said.

"Sorry, looks like they want to hang with the cool cats!" Juniper said to Boscha. "Later, bitch!" Boscha then growled in frustration from losing her group's loyalty.


[Ryuji's aside]

And it looks like Juniper and King have really got some respect from the people Boscha's surrounds herself with. While I will admit I find that impressive, those two are gonna learn that keeping that kind of respect as a teen isn't always the easiest. Finally, we go back to me and Luz as we run the stand with Luz using Eda's magic to help attract customers and me helping get control of it. This story is called "Ryuji and Luz's Magic Deals".


[Ryuji]

After helping Luz back up, I then tried to help her get used to my mom's body. After managing to help her get a little more control with the magic as to where she didn't knock herself to the ground again, we then moved on to get her adjusted to the one thing most women have to learn to deal with: walking in heels.

"Okay, I think I got it this time." Luz said as she closed her eyes and strutted away. "And strut, and strut, and strut."

"Doing good, Luz." I said to her before she tripped on something and landed on top of a few boxes, knocking off a lamp that was sitting on top of them. Concerned for her, I then rushed over to her. "You okay, Luz?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luz said as she sat up before motioning to the boots. "How does your mom wear these things?"

"Don't worry. It's your first time wearing heels and you didn't get hurt." I then motioned to the broken lamp. "Though that's more than I can say for the lamp."

"Oh, no. What have I done?" Luz walked over to it on her knees. "No one's gonna buy a bunch of glass shards."

"Don't worry, this isn't a problem." I assured her as I helped her to her feet. "We just need a little repair spell and all will be good." I was about to do the spell when…

"Wait, let me do it!"

"You sure you want to do that?" I had both doubt and concern about letting her do the spell. "You only just got the magic output under control and you've never done a spell like this."

"Ah, it'll be fine." Luz waved it off with confidence. "I'm a witch now. Just watch and I'll fix this lamp in a jiffy."

"Alright then."

With that, I then let her put a spell circle around it. The remains of the lamp shook as they were glowing yellow right before they exploded in a puff of yellow smoke. When it cleared, instead of finding it fixed, the two of us were surprised to find it had been turned into a combined assortment of different lamps on a pair of human legs.

"Whoa! I made magic with my hands!" Luz gleefully said.

"Uh, Luz? Don't you think this is a little bit too… extravagant?" I said to her. "I'm not sure people will buy something like this."

"Oh, this is pretty unique." Said a demon who came by. "How much is it?"

"Uh… twenty snails?" I told him.

"Sold! I'll take it!" the demon said as he then gave me twenty snails, surprising me.

"Zippo, Swappo!" Luz said as she used magic to make the lamp walk away with the demon. "Sold to the shabby shopper. Now let's see what these magic hands can magically magic." Within a flash, I watched as Luz then added two spotlights around the stand and made the sign more noticeable and flashy to make it say "Eda the Owl Lady's Human Collectibles" with an arrow pointing to the stand and a neon animation of my mom jumping into the air. "There we go!"

"Uh, Luz?" I said, getting her attention. "Maybe we should tone it down with the magic. We might attract unwanted attention. Like the Coven Guards?"

"Pfft! It's fine, Ryuji." Luz told me, brushing off the concern. "Besides, if any guard come by, I'll just poof this away and we can blend in."

"But what if we get caught before we can even blend in?"

"Oh, don't be such a worry wart. It will be alright." Luz said as she then put on a top hat. "Now let's show these people the wonders of the human realm!"

"Oh, I don't know."

"Hey, I think I know what you can do to bring in customers. Go out there and juggle some fireballs."

I was surprised by this. "Juggle fire? Luz, I haven't used Juni's cursed flames before."

"Well, you said you wanted to show Juni's curse was easier than yours. What better way than using it to entertain people? You jungled all the time."

"Yeah, back in sixth grade. I haven't juggled in years."

"Come on, I'm sure you still got it. Trust me. I know you can do it."

"Well, alright then." With that, I then walked out in front of the stand and looked down at my hand as I raised it a bit before closing it. "Sure hope Juni haves some juggling skill. Here goes."

Slowly stretching out my arm, I turned my head as I then closed my eyes while hoping for this to work and the fire would appear. Instantly opening it, I stood there for a moment until I heard a flame burning. Opening my eyes, I looked and was surprised to find a dark red flame floating above my palm. Turning my head back and bringing it over to me, I held my other hand over the flame as I looked at it in awe.

"Ryuji, you did it!" Luz proudly said to me.

"Yeah, I did it." I said as I then gained a smile before I then went on and passed the flame to my other hand. I then laughed proudly as I passed the flame back and forth to each hand. Holding the flame in my right hand, I then took off Juniper's cloak as I prepared to do one thing I now wanted to try. "Luz, hold this for me, would ya?" I then tossed Luz the cloak, my friend catching it with a smile.

From this, I then passed the flame to my other hand and soon began juggling with it. After a brief moment, I then created another flame and started juggling it with the other. Before long, I was soon juggling with three dark red flames.

"Yeah! Way to go, Ryuji!" Luz cheered as I continued to juggle.

"I told Juni she had the easier curse!" I spoke out, feeling proud of myself. "I can't wait to rub this in her face!"


[Ryuji's aside]

Seems like Luz's idea to spruce up the stand looks like a hit and I got a good handle on my sister's demon flames, huh? Well, as good as this might have seemed, our moment of enjoyment didn't really last long. While it all seemed that we were all starting to have a good day and proving that the one we were being had the better life, we all ended up finding out what exactly each of us had come to find as problems with what we thought made things easier. All of us had found that out the hard way.


[No one's view]

In the Cutie Café, Eda was sleeping peacefully in the crib the elderly witches provided her. The café was closed and the only one who was in there was Eda along with the witches who were still in the back. Eda soon woke up after a shadow went over her followed by a meow.

"Hello?" Eda said as she sat up and looked around, feeling a much eerie atmosphere in the café. Upon looking to the front of the crib, she was surprised by a little, black cat demon with a green tuff of fur on top of his head dressed in a purple tux with green cuffs and an orange bowtie.

"Leave this place!" He said to her before going over to her and holding her up by the collar. "Danger is near!"

"Okay, crazy, out of my bed." Eda said as she pushed the cat out of the crib. "Don't know what you're trying to do, but I won't fall for it. There's a new star in town."

"Baby demon, we have a surprise for you." Said the elderly witch as she opened the door, the cat then scampered away in fear as the two elderly witches walked over to Eda with Dottie closing the door. "A gift for our new cutest demon." She then pulled out a clothes hanger with a baby bee costume hanging onto it.

"Okay, I'm out." Eda said as she got out of the crib and started walking away, making the witches lose their smiles. "Novelty costumes are where I draw the line."

"Dottie, please help our little angel get changed." The witch said as she and Dottie gained angry expressions, snapping her fingers before Dottie gives out a nasty roar and leaped over a table and a food court counter with deserts inside before landing in front of the door. "Oh, no, sweetie." Turning around, Eda looked to see the earring-wearing witch looking down at her with an unsettling smile. "You can't survive out there without us."

"Ladies, stand back. I am not above disrespecting my elders." Eda said as she tried to create a spell circle which made her remember she was still in King's body and not her own. "Oh, damn it. I'm not a witch right now."

"No, baby." The witch before her said before reaching to her. "You're a cutie-pootie."

"Not today, sister!" Eda then ran under her and raced to the door. After getting into the room, she quickly closed the door and barred it with a nearby chair.

"Open this door this instant!" the witch said as she and Dottie tried to open the door. "It is not time for you to be in there!"

"Stop babying me!" Eda told them. "Geez, now I see why hates this stuff." Upon turning around, Eda was shocked to find shelves full of little demons sitting in rocking chairs with blank looks plastered with smiles. "This vacation just took a back alley turn." Eda then walked over to one of the demons and waved her hand in front of it.

"Tasty num-nums." Was the only response she got as the demon had drool dripping out of its mouth.

"Ugh!" Eda said with disgust. "I think you need some fresh air, pal."

"Don't bother." Said a voice as Eda turned to see the cat demon who spoke to her before walking over. "Their minds are too far gone. Roselle and Dottie had kept in here and pampered to their every whim. They've been cobbled for so long that they forgot how to live on their own. This is what I was trying to tell you. This place isn't a safe haven, it's a prison where your brain gets turned to mush."

"Geez, I thought I loved being babied." Eda said as she was beginning to understand what the little demon she lived with was getting at before. "But it just makes me feel so small and helpless, like an actual baby. But that won't happen to us, will it?"

"No. As long as we stay here, we will end up joining the others soon enough." The cat said in a grim tone. "That's why I tried to warn you, so you don't have to suffer like this."

Looking to the door, the two watched as Roselle and Dottie busted through the door with Roselle using Dottie as a battering ram. Before they could do anything else, the cat demon rushed over and jumped on Roselle's face.

"Bowtie!" Eda said with surprise.

"Go! Run while you can!" the demon told her before Eda looked to see a hole in the front wall of the café.

Believing it to be a way out, Eda then made a run for it as fast as she could as Dottie pulled the cat demon off Roselle and watched Eda go through the hole. Unfortunately, instead of the outside, Eda was met with glass as she soon found herself in the café's window display with "See our newest baby" written in orange paint on the glass outside.

"Oh, wonderful." Roselle said with a rather creepy smile as she and Dottie looked down at Eda who turned to them. "Now everyone can see our bestest baby… Forever." Whispering that last part, Roselle then pulled out the bee costume.

"Noooooo!" Eda screamed out as she turned back to the window, now in dismay as she was now trapped in the café.


Out in Bonesborough, King spoke to the teens as they were all gathered around him to hear his speech.

"Alright, you acne-encrusted, hormone buckets." King stated to them. "Let's go do some teen antics!" From this, the group then went on to pull different sorts of pranks on the local residents of the town.

We cut over to three different people who stood there on a sidewalk waiting for something, one of them reading a newspaper. Unknown to them, from atop the wall behind them, King and the teens were ready to pull pranks on them. Using a spell circle, Juniper made the faces of two of the three below have their orifices rearranged, causing them to freak out. Before she could do it to the third one, they lowered the newspaper they were holding to reveal they already had a disfigured face. While King and the others looked at each other with Juniper trying to figure out what to do, Juniper smiled as she gained an idea and used to give the disfigured person a normal, handsome face which ironically made them scream in a panic.

We then cut to a stand with a sign that said "Self storage" before one of the teens of the group took off some letters to where the sign now said "Elf rage". With that, King then motioned for the witch to join them as they all ducked down behind the stand as a tall muscular elf walked over and saw the sign.

"Yeah, this sign gets it! Wah!" the elf said as he then ripped off his shirt before her then punch the sign and ran off to go on a rampage.

Walking out, King and the teens laughed as their prank had worked. They didn't have much time to enjoy it as the elf soon turned around and charged at them, making the group run away as they were chased by the elf.

Cutting to a stand filled with dolls called The Dollhouse, the group shared a laugh before King shushed them to be quiet as Juniper then dialed a number on a crow. The number he had called was for the Owl House and Hooty answered it.

"Hoot House, Hooty hooting." Hooty said as he answered.

"Uh, yes, I was hoping I get you." Juniper said in a deep voice while those around her began to snicker. "I actually want to talk to you."

"Really?" Hooty said as Juniper then gave the crow to King who then quickly climbed to the top of the stand and threw the crow into the pavilion horn on top of it, Hooty's voice echoing out throughout the market. "Oh, wow. I've been waiting for somebody to call all day and now it's finally happened! What do you want to talk about? We could talk for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours…" King and the teens then laughed as they watched the townspeople go insane from Hooty's chattering.

We then cut to the group walking around the market with the two witches looking at Juniper with swooned expressions.

"Yeah, keep tight, guys. Gotta talk with my girl Luz here." Juniper said as she then walked over to King while her fellow teens talked amongst themselves. "King, this is awesome! DK's magic is way more fun. I actually made a maze out of the street in just a few seconds! My bro better be ready to clean ʹcause it's clear who won this bet."

"Yeah. I don't know what Luz was talking about." King proudly said. "This life is a breeze." They all stopped with the witches behind the two gasping as an angry Boscha appeared in front of them.

"Enough of this!" Boscha said. "I get why they'd hang with you, but I don't get how they hang out with a weirdo loser like her."

"Well, maybe that's just because she's actually cooler than you." Juniper smartly said to her.

"She is not cooler than me! She's not cool at all!" Boscha stated, pointing at King. "I don't know how you got them to forget, but I'll remind them how much of a loser she is."

"Oh, I'm so scared." King said, not threatened by this at all. "Ha! You believe her, guys?" After hearing no response from the four as they stood there, King lost his smile as he became concerned. "Guys?"

"Luz, I challenge you to a race…" Boscha said before she pointed to a highway above them. "Around Deadman's Curve." The group then gasped in shock at this, knowing the dangers of the road. "And we'll be racing on those." Looking to where she was pointing, the group saw what looked like big, gray worms with the heads of rats tied to a post nearby. "Giant rat worms."

"Meh!" King waved in disgust at seeing the two creatures.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" said one of the witches in the group in concern as she placed a hand on King's shoulder. "We know that humans are super fragile." She whispered the last two words.

"Don't baby me!" King snapped before he then walked up to Boscha in anger. "Boscha, I accept your challenge!"

Cutting over to a cliff where the highway began, Boscha waited on one of the rat worms behind a line while King was pushing the other over to it before climbing onto it after managing to get it there.

"King, are you out of your mind?" Juniper whispered after she ran over to the demon. "You can't race Boscha! Especially not on Deadman's Curve!" Motioning to the road ahead, a piece of it crumbled away, a sign of its instability.

"I got to do this, Juniper!" King told her. "If I don't win this, I'll lose my power. Trust me, I got this."

"Alright then." Juniper said before the Plant Track witch flew over with her shoes to hover in front of the two worms with a bag of onion rings.

"On your marks…" the witch said as she pulled out a ring from the bag. "Get set…" King gulped as Boscha had a confident look on her face. With that, she then brought the ring over to her mouth and took a bite out of it, Boscha's rat worm speeding off while the one King was using sat there.

"Let's go!" King said, his rat worm being unresponsive. "Worm minion, I said 'go'!" He hit his heels on its sides, the worm paying no mind to it as it licked the ground.

"Oh, for Titan's sake!" Juniper yelled out of frustration as she then behind the worm, her silver-gray eye turning red with the sclera turning black as she did. After getting behind it, she raised a hand which unknowingly to her changed into a clawed hand with gray scales on the back. "Get, a, move on, you stupid worm!" With her bringing it down, the worm screeched out in pain slithering off. After taking a few breaths, Juniper calmed down and was shocked as she then looked to see her new claw.

"Stop! I said 'stop'!" King screamed out as Juniper watched the worm run off with him still on it.

"Oops." Juniper said with regret as her hand returned to normal. "Now I'm starting to see what DK was saying about his curse."

Down at the road, Boscha kept on riding her worm with King following behind. While the witch was able to the turns with ease, King hit every corner as he couldn't control his panicking rat worm. Despite this, both riders became surprised as King's worm was able to catch up with Boscha's.

"Uh, yeah. I just gave you a head start." King said, making an excuse as he had only recently caught up. "That's how we cool kids do it." Boscha growled for a moment until she gasped upon looking forward, pulling the collar of her worm to make it stop.

"Yes!" King said as he then turned around and stood on his worm to face Boscha. "I knew you'd give up! Say 'bye-bye' to your popularity, Boscha!"

"Bye-bye." Boscha calmly waved with a smirk, making King turn back around to see the road had a huge gap in it along with a caution sign with two big centipedes that were flashing red at the sides.

Quickly sitting down, King pulled on the reigns but was too late as the rat worm's speed made it go off the road and they both fell right into the shack belonging to Boscha and her group, causing it to fall apart.

"King, are you okay?" Juniper called out to him as she and the other teens came over and looked down as King fell off the worm.

"Ow!" King said as he sat up beside the worm. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh, not the Treasure Shack!" Said one of the witches in dismay.

"Dude, your girl trashed our hangout!" The purple-wearing warlock said as he turned to Juniper.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it!" Juniper told them, Boscha gaining a smug look on her face.

"See? I told you she wasn't cool!" Boscha said before she called down to King. "You're gonna pay for ruining our secret hideout, Luz! Come on!" With that, Boscha used a magic circle to exchange her shoes with ones possessing wings before she and her pose then jumped up into the air.

"Hold it!" Juniper said as she got five to turn to her as she then drew the Saisho and pointed it at them, gripping it with both hands as it then started glowing and wind gathered around. "Don't make me use this!"

"Ha! Like you got the guts!" Boscha mocked him.

"I'll show you, you smug, uptight, no-good, little bi—IIIIITCH!" Juniper said before she screamed as the Saisho blasted a tunnel of wind which pushed back on her as she was sent flying around in the air before the five moved away as she then flew past them and over into Bonesborough.

"Juniper!" King called out.

"Forget him! The human's the one we want!" Boscha said as they all turned to King. "Get her!"

"Weh!" King shouted as he then began running away with the teenagers right behind him.


[Ryuji]

Thanks to the stands' new additions from Luz and my little juggling act, we were able to attract more customers and make a profit from it, the people who came around practically just tossed their snails at us.

"Step right up and feast your eyes on the marvels of the human realm!" Luz spoke out before motioning to me as I juggled six cursed flames with ease. "And the amazing juggling feats of Juniper the Demon Flame!" With that, I then switched from my hands to use my feet to juggle the flames, using one foot for a moment before switching to the other and kicking them like hackysacks.

As the customers began flooding in, I did a good moment of using my hands before switching to my feet and vice versa in order to entertain the crowd while Luz attended and made bargains with the customers that came by.

"When I saw your bright lights, I came over." Said an orange demon with two big teeth. "But I got distracted by the juggler girl and now I can't remember what I came here for."

"Was it for… laughter?" Luz said as she then used her magic to tickle the customer with a feather duster, the demon laughing at this.

"Joy! So painful!" he said before he then gave her a handful of snails. "I'll take two for my enemies."

From this, Luz then began using her magic to help all sorts of customers find what they needed and done it with magic. Like when a centaur came around asking for a face where I found out that they had been using masks to cover their heads to conceal the face they didn't actually have faces there. Using a marker, Luz then drew a handsome face on his head which really brought a smile to him as he paid a lot of snails as thanks. There was also when a demon mother came with a request for help calming her demon child, Luz remedied that by magically giving the little baby a pacifier. She was so grateful that she literally gave us all the snails she had. By the time we were done helping and entertaining the crowd, me and Luz had already got ourselves a big sack full of snails on the table.

"Thank you! Come again!" Luz happily said as I then stopped juggling and made the flames disappear before walking over to stand beside her as she grabbed my mom's staff. "There's a little something for everyone. Take it from us, Eda the Owl Lady and Juniper the Demon Flame." She then turned to me with glee. "That was amazing! Look how much business we made!"

"Yeah, this is even more than we make on the weekends. Mom's gonna flip when she sees all the snails we got." I said, sharing the smile. "Though we should probably turn the stand back before any guards see."

"Excuse me. Is it true?" Said a cloaked man that walked up behind Luz. "Are you two Eda the Owl Lady and Juniper the Demon Flame?"

"Depends. Are you a fan… of magic?" Luz said as she took off her hat and pull out a bouquet of flowers from it.

"No, but I am a fan of… the law?" the man removed his cloak and revealed himself as a Coven Guard.

"Uh-oh." I said as I backed up in fear only to bump into another Coven Guard behind me before me and Luz were then handcuffed by them.

"We were finally able to catch you in the act." Said the guard behind me before he motioned to Luz's additions. "And all thanks to your daughter's little juggling performance and this light show of yours."

"I told you we should've toned it down." I said to Luz as we both looked at the guards worriedly.

"Gentlemen, what do you say we forget this whole thing ever happened?" Luz said before she then made a spell circle at the guard behind me. "Amnesia spell!" Instead of that, she made a pacifier appear in his mouth, making her give a nervous chuckle. "Oh, guess I still haven't gotten the hang of this yet."

"I got this." I said before I then tried to make cursed flames appear on my hand to melt the handcuff, but only found a regular hand slapping it. I tried it again, my worry growing more with each slap I made to the cuff until I finally gave up and was shocked by this. "What? But where are…" I then remembered what Juniper said about her flames not being easy to control. It was then that I realized that she wasn't always able to make them when she wanted. Because I was new to them, I was now stuck with the same problem. "Oh, crap. I can't use the flames."

"Guess you used it all up in your little act." The guard who cuffed me said. "That'll make it much easier to get you and the Owl Lady in the Conformatorium." Me and Luz then gained looks of fear as we had now been caught by the Coven Guards.


[Ryuji's aside]

Yeah, now this just went from the best day to the worst day.


[No one's view]

In a different part of Bonesborough, Juniper's screams are heard as she hurdled with a burst of wind that came from the Saisho. Only when she hit the ground did the winds disappear and she rolled for about a moment before she came to a stop flat on the ground.

"Ow." Juniper said before she struggled through the pain and picked herself up back to her feet, rubbing her head with her free hand which broke free after she hit the ground. "Damn it. I wanted to blast that bitch away, not send myself halfway across town. And those claws… I didn't even mean to bring them out. Is this what DK deals with every day? No wonder he whined so much. His life is hard. I gotta find him and Luz!" Putting the sword back on her back, Juniper then ran off to find her brother and Luz.


With King, the demon was running through the streets with Boscha and her group right behind him as he was unable to outrun them even while running on all fours.

"Get back here, human!" Boscha said as she and her fellow teenagers continued to fly after King.

"Luz was right! I can't handle to complexities of teenage life!" King said as he continued to run. "I want my body back!" In his panic, King tripped over a paint bucket which happened to be in front of the café Eda was being held captive in.

"I think I saw her go this way!" Boscha said, making King rush into the café. The teens flew past the café, making King sigh in relief that he escaped him before the lights turned on and he saw Roselle walk in with a broom.

"Dottie, a teen has come to steal our little babies!" Roselle called out as she then ran at King with the broom.

"No, wait! I'm not a teen, I am a little baby!" King said right before he dodged a swing from Roselle who then started chasing him around the café.

"No, you're not! You're a rotten teen!" Roselle said before she pulled out purple knitting needles from her hair. "But when we're done with you, you'll be calling for your mama!" With a maniacal smile, she sharpened the needles with her teeth.

"Please, lady! I just ran from some teens!" King said with fear as he stood behind the window display. "I really wish I had my body back!"

"You can have it." Turning behind him, he saw Eda laying there in a pink pet bed and dressed in the bee costume the elderly witches wanted her to wear. "Your life is pretty terrible. Though it looks like things are gonna be over soon." Looking to where she was pointing, King found herself cornered by the elderly witches before his vision was blocked by a blue cloth Dottie put over him.


[Ryuji]

After being captured by the Coven Guards, me and Luz were then taken to a guard station which was the Boiling Isles version of a police station, where me and Luz ended up getting our mug shots taken, the photos being taken by a demon who had the body of an old-timey camera with a ribcage underneath and five boney arms with three of them being used as legs. Luz was just getting hers taken as she had a look of shame on her face.

"This is some of my best work." The demon said after he spat out Luz's photo and showed it to her. "Really captures the shame."

It was just then that my mom's staff was taken by one of those guards I saw at the Covention with Owlbert having a restraining cuff placed on him before he was tossed into a cell.

"Yeah." The masked guard said as the door closed on Owlbert. "You're going away for a long time, you filthy criminal."

"Owlbert!" Luz said as she was handcuffed, my mom's palisman looked at us with worry.

"Don't worry, Owlbert! We're gonna get you out of there!" I said as I was handcuffed as well before me and Luz was then taken away. "Somehow."

[No one's view]

With Ryuji and Luz sitting in an interrogation room, the two guards who arrested them sat in front of the one-sided mirror and watched as the two were interrogated.

Unknown to them, someone had just walked into the station, one of which had surprised many of those who saw them.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Oh, no. This is not good."

"Hey, you should take that thing out before someone sees you." Said one of the guards in front of the mirror.

"I don't mind. Calms the nerves." Said the other guard who continued to suck on the pacifier before they saw the reflection of someone behind them and turned to see Lilith standing there, making the guard spit out the pacifier. "Uh, Lady Duskerman!" The two guards stood up and bowed to her. "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Word reached me that you captured my sister and her daughter." Lilith told them with an emotionless expression. "I'll take it from here."

"But, madam, we've been given orders to send them to the Conformatorium." One of the guards said before he pulled out a parchment that had the Emperor's Coven sigil on it. "I have it right here." Just then, Lilith used a spell circle to burn the parchment to ash.

"The orders have changed." Lilith stated.

[Ryuji]

"Look, I don't know how long you expect to keep us here, but we're gonna break out of here sooner later." I said to the guard in front of me and Luz as we sat at the table.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for you this time." Looking over, we then watched as Lilith walked into the room.

"Lilith?" I said, not very pleased to see my aunt. "That's just all we need."

"I see you're still as…affectionate to me as always, my dear niece." Lilith said to me. "Now, do you and your mother know you're here?"

"Because of a little display of great magic we showed?" I smartly said before Lilith then brought out a list which rolled out on the table to where it reached us.

"Juniper, the charges against you and my sister are long and many." Lilith said, raising a finger as she listed what was on the list. "Operating a stand without a permit, own a hocus without a pocus…"

"Yeah, I think that list goes on for a while." Luz said as the list rolled out more onto the floor.

"Yeah, just get to the point on why you're here." I bluntly said.

"These charges are serious!" Lilith said. "You and your daughter can't keep running away, Edalyn."

"I know, I just can't poof my problems away." Luz said with a look of shame.

"But we can." Lilith said as she came over with a smile, placing her hands on Luz. "You getting caught was clearly a cry for help. Join the Emperor's Coven, like we dreamed about when we were girls."

"Wait, what?" I said, surprised by what Lilith said, making her turn to me. "My mom wanted to join the Emperor's Coven?"

"Of course. We had planned to join it together." Lilith said as me and Luz looked at each other in disbelief before turning back to my mom's sister as she turned back to my friend. "Don't be afraid, sister. Soon you won't be a danger to those around you."

"Okay, that's it! We're leaving!" I said right before rings of blue light appeared around me and Luz, restraining us.

"Sorry, Juniper. But this is for your own good. You and my sister." Lilith said as she held Luz's hands before turning to the guard. "Bring the branding glove!" The two of us gained looks of horror as the guard then put on said glove with Emperor's Coven's sigil on the palm. As the guard pushed the table away and me and Luz struggled to get away.

[No one's view]

After a moment of struggling, Ryuji closed his eyes before they shot open with his irises glowing red and his sclera pitch black.

"Stop!" Ryuji shouted, his voice now sounding demonic getting everyone to turn to him as his hair started glowing dark red before it flared up like a flame. "Get this through your frickin' skulls! Neither of us are in any way a danger to anyone or want anything to do with any DAMN STUPID COVEN!" Growling in anger, his hair started glowing brighter and brighter as everyone looked at him in shock.

Cutting outside, we then watched as part of the wall at the side of the building was blasted away by a powerful explosion, the part happening to be the interrogation room Ryuji and Luz were in. Standing there, Ryuji panted a bit as his hair and eyes returned to normal.

[Ryuji]

After calming down, I was shocked by what my outburst had caused as I stood in a ruined room with everyone around me unconscious.

"Sugoi!" I said in disbelief. "Did I do that?" Hearing a groan, I looked over to Luz as she lay there beside me. "Luz!" Running over to her, I then helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Luz said, taking a pause to cough. "I'm fine. I've heard of 'explosive anger', but that's ridiculous."

"I know." I said as I looked to the hole in the wall. "To think that this is what her curse does when Juni gets mad."

"Wait, that was your sister's curse?" Luz said in shock.

"Yeah. Now I get why Juniper told me she had a hard time with it." I said, understanding my sister more with this. "I really owe her an apology. Now let's get out of here."

"Right!" Luz said before she called out. "Owlbert, come to me!" With that, the staff came in and hit Luz right in the face before she picked herself up and use a spell circle to free him from the cuff. "Guys, I'm really sorry about this. Eda's life is more complicated."

"It's okay, Luz. We understand." I said to her. "Let's just get out of here and find my mom, along with Juni and King so we can end this Freaky Friday Saturday mix-up." With that, the two of us then ran out through the hole I made to look for my family and the little demon patrolling in my friend's body.

[No one's view]

Unknown to them, as they made their escape, Lilith who now looked like a mess growled as she watched her nephew and his friend escape.

[Ryuji]

After running for a while, me and Luz soon ended up bumping into somebody, causing us both to fall down to the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" Hearing that voice, me and Luz looked and saw it was my sister.

"Juni!" I said as I then got up and helped her up to her feet. "Boy, are we glad to see you."

"Not as much as I am to see you." Juniper said as I helped Luz up, my twin returning the smile. "I've been looking all over for you."

"We were looking for you!" Luz told her.

"Yeah, now you mind cutting us out of these chains?" I said as we both held our handcuffed wrists.

"Say no more!" My sister then took out the Saisho and used it to cut the chains, making the handcuffs pop off.

"Thanks, sis." I told her as she put the Saisho away before I then noticed she was alone. "Wait, where's King?"

"I don't know. We got separated." Juniper said as she lost her smile. "We got into trouble with Boscha and her goons and I tried to use the sword to blast them, but instead it sent me across town. All I know is that he's now being chased by five angry teens."

"Oh, no! We got to help him!" Luz said with worry.

"Well, we first have to find Mom to reverse the swap." I put in. "We can't help him when we're like this."

"Right. First, we find Eda and get you and Juni swapped back, then we help King." Luz said as she looked around. "If I was Eda, who's King right now, where I would be? Aah! This day is so confusing!"

"Calm down. Let's just think a little more." I said before we then heard pounding on some glass and turned to a nearby café to see my mom and King behind a window, my mom dressed in a bee costume while King was wearing a baby blue shirt.

"Luz! Ryuji! Juni!" Mom said to us. "Bring my damn body over here!"

"Mom!" Me and Juniper said before the three of us rushed over.

[No one's view]

Inside the café, Roselle was talking with Dottie as the twins and Luz made it over to the window where Eda explained the situation as simply as she could with the elderly witches' notices.

"Oh, Dottie, it's not kidnapping if they entered our store." Roselle said with a reassuring smile while Luz created a spell circle. "Just think of it as customer service." Turning to see a nearby lamp glow, the witches watch as it becomes one like the kind Luz made earlier. "Why did our lamp get so necessarily extravagant?" Hearing glass break, the two then turned to see King and Eda escaping through the window while Juniper put the Saisho back in its sheath, the five looking at the witches in shock.

"Run!" Ryuji said as the five then ran away from the café as fast as they could, causing Roselle to gasp.

"After them!" Roselle said as she and Dottie then ran out of the café and chased after the group.

[Ryuji]

"Mom, what the heck is going on?" I said as I carried my mom while we were being chased by the two elderly witches from the café.

"Yeah, what did you get my body into?" Luz asked as we then got out of the alley by the café.

"There they are!" Lilith said as we stopped to see her with two Coven Guards, one of them holding the leash of this dog demon with four snouts.

"I got the same question!" Mom asked as we tried to run, only to stop as Boscha and four witches came in with these winged shoes.

"Oh, right, them." Juniper said as we looked around to find ourselves cornered by Lilith and the guards, those two old witches, and Boscha and her pose of teens.

"Okay, did everybody learn a valuable lesson about being in each other's bodies and seeing the hardships we each endure?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, I believe we have." I said with Luz, King, and Juniper agreeing.

"Good. Then let's end this nightmare." Mom said as she took her staff and spun it above us. "Body swap!" Within a flash, we were all back in our original bodies.

"Yes! I'm me!" I said, happy to have my body back.

"I'm back!" Juniper said as she said the same feeling.

"My body! My glorious, little body!" King said right before he tore off the costume while Luz took off the shirt her body was wearing in the café.

"Sister!" Lilith spoke up in anger. "Time and time again, I've offered you my help yet you foolish ran back to your worthless life! I'm tired of trying, Edalyn. Your days of running are over!"

"Thanks, Luz." Mom said, turning her head to raise an eyebrow at Luz.

"Sorry." Luz said to her.

"Don't worry, I got this." Mom said as she gripped her staff in both hands and I saw what she was about to do. "From bottom to top, let's…"

"Mom, don't." I said, stopping her as I stepped out in front of her. "I'll take care of this." With a glare, I then spoke to Lilith. "Lilith, you listen here. The way my mom lives might not be proper standards, but her life isn't worthless. You said you have been trying to help her, but it should be damn clear that she doesn't want your help. The only time where she would've needed your help was during the first days she was dealing with her curse, something my dad gave her. Considering how you are, I have no doubt in my mind that you chose to focus your job in the Emperor's Coven instead of helping my mom when she needed her big sister the most." With that, Lilith's look of anger turned into one of shame as she turned away, the silent sign that I hit the nail on the head with that. "Not to join a coven is her choice and you don't have the right to change that. Remember that, especially after what I do to you!" With that, I then went on to change my Saisho's form. "Transformation Magic: Weapon Change!" I then thrust my Saisho upward, my weapon instantly taking on its lance form. "Saisho Yari!" Focusing my magic into my weapon, the tip of my Saisho started glowing as I prepared one spell I didn't think I would use again.

In that instant, strands of golden light span out and hit Lilith, the guards, the canine demon, the old witches, and Boscha and her posse before the three groups around me, Mom, Juniper, Luz, and King began to glow for a moment before the strands retracted and I looked to see their eyes glowing gold.

"Ryuji, you rotten brat!" Said the dog with Lilith's voice, my aunt now in its body as everyone turned to it. "Switch me back!"

"What's happening?" Said one of the old witches who was actually one of the Coven Guards in her body. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a Coven Guard, asshole." Said the other one, revealing them to be the other guard.

"No, you're not! I am!" The first guard said before he was tackled by one of Boscha's group who happened to be the actual owner of the body he was in.

"You get out of my body, you galoot!" She said before a fight broke out between the three groups with Lilith's body which was now in control of the dog getting down on all fours.

"Fight!" the other guard said before he bent down after taking a few steps. "Ow! My knees!"

"Nice job, kiddo." Mom said to me with a proud smile.

"I learn from the best." I told her, sharing the same smile.

"How do you know a body swap spell?" Juniper asked me with surprise.

"Did it by accident once." I told her. "Long story."

"Are they gonna be okay?" King asked in concern.

"Oh, they'll be fine." I answered. "The swap is only temporary. They'll switch back in a while, giving us a good time to escape."

"Hey, DK." Juniper said with a look of shame. "I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. You were right. Using my magic to get back at bullies is no way to go, especially when it ends up backfiring on ya. You make those whacky spells of yours look so easy. After just one day of it, I'm now surprised you're able to deal with it all."

"I'm sorry too, sis." I told my twin with the same look. "I thought your curse was easier to deal with, but it's just as bad as mine. While I turn into a rampaging dragon when I blow up, you literally blow up. Not to mention that your flames don't come out when you need them."

"Guess we both have it rough." Juniper said before she held up a fist. "So we good?"

"We're good, sis." With that, we then shared a fist bump.

"Eda, I just want to say things can be more complicated than you think," Luz spoke up, "but with you guys, it feels a little less mixed up."

"That's just how we do, girl." Juniper said to her with a smile.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here before the spell wears off." I said before we all got on Mom's staff and flew off, leaving the mixed-up groups down below to their fight with a howl from the dog in Lilith's body being heard.


Flying our way home, we all told each other how our days went to see how we each learned about the hardships that the person we swapped with endured in their life. By the time we were getting close to the Owl House, the moon was rising as we filled each other in on what happened to lead to me casting that body-swapping spell on groups we just escaped from.

"Man, seems like we all had a pretty long day, huh?" I said as we kept flying home. "At least we all understand each other better."

"Yeah, now let's never speak of this again." Mom said.

"Hey, that reminds me. We still haven't settled who won the bet." Luz spoke up. "Who's going to clean Hooty? It's getting…dire."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's gotten about to be twenty percent mucus." Juniper put in.

"Maybe if we all work together, we could…"

"Not it!" Mom and King said, interrupting her.

"Oh, man." Luz said with a look of disappointment.

"Actually, me and Juni will clean Hooty." I told my friend. "You deserve a break as much as Mom and King."

"Yeah, and after what we experienced today, swabbing his hard-to-reach places will be like a vacation." Juniper added as we continued on home.

Okay, well, that is one Freaky Friday moment I'll never forget. At least now we all know what we each go through every day in our lives. Me and my sis definitely know now that both curses are equally as hard to deal with, Luz now knows she can't poof her problems away, Mom knows why King dislikes being pampered for his cuteness, and King now knows how hard being a teen is like, especially a human teen. Needless to say, as rough as the experience was for all of us, I then we all may have gotten newfound respect for one another. At least, for the most part. Hopefully, this will come to better how we treat each other in the Owl House and me and Luz will still have an awesome summer in the Boiling Isles. DK out!


Author's Note: Hey, guys! I hope you all like the new chapter. Well, that was one freaky day for the residents of the Owl House, huh? But at least now they know more about how what they thought was the easy life has its own sorts of problems like their own. As much as anything, after learning what it was like being in each other's shoes, the five may now have a better appreciation for the lives they have now for who they truly are. In the next chapter, Ryuji and Luz go back to Hexside to help out Gus with the Human Appreciation Society and Eda decides on doing something she never thought she would do. That's all I got for now. Don't forget to leave a comment to tell me what you think of it. See you all in the next chapter!