We're Wizards, Not Warriors

Chapter 55: Thanks To Them, Part 1

"I love you dad", Sam's voice cried out.

"Luz, I'm so happy I had you as a big sister", King's voice said.

Luz and Anakin's voices yell, "NO! SAM! KING!"

….

We then see when the group was blasted back into the human realm, and Luz and Anakin tried to reach for the door.

Luz opens it, hoping the portal would activate again, only to find the empty room of the house in front of her

She tries it two more times unsuccessfully, as the others look on in shock. Luz turns around, just as Gus begins to break down crying.

Ahsoka begins crying as she holds Ani close and Hunter takes her, Ani, Willow and Gus into his arms.

Cobi flops onto his butt in shock.

And Anakin…. Well….

Anakin did the same thing, Luz did, opening the door a few times.

"Dad, stop", Luz said.

Anakin then broke down crying as he fell to his knees.

"My…. Baby…. Boy….", Anakin sobbed as tears fell down his face.

Luz stood there with a lost look as Anakin sobbed in front of her.

But suddenly, his sobs turned to screams of anger and sorrow as he activated his lightsaber and began slicing at the wall in pure unadulterated rage!

Luz and the others stepped back in shock and fear.

"Grandpa….", Ahsoka asked.

"I've never seen him react like this", Luz whispered in shock.

In another shocking turn of events, Cobi slowly got up and staggered over to Anakin.

He carefully placed his remaining hand on Anakin's shoulder, making him turn to Covi with a face full of rage.

The two stared at each other in silence as the only sound that remained was the hum of the saber, and the raindrops.

Cobi held a look of stone as Anakin's own face slowly turned from rage, to unbridled sobbing.

The lightsaber in Anakin's hand deactivated.

Anakin just sobbed as Cobi slowly pulled the older man into a one armed hug, no words needed to convey the emotions the entire group was feeling.

Cobi rubbed Anakin's back as the older man kept sobbing.

Cobi led Anakin over to the others and said, "we'll find a way back home later. For now…. We need to rest."

"No! We can't…. Sam…. Is…. My baby is…. Danger…. I have…. To…. Go save him…. I have to save my baby boy", Anakin sobbed out loud.

Luz and Ahsoka then held Anakin's hands.

She said, "we'll find a way back…. I promise…. But we can't figure that out if we get sick and cold in the rain. My house is close by…. Let's call that step one. Okay?"

Anakin let out a few sobs as he nods his head slowly.

Luz nodded back and began to lead the others to where she lived….

….

Meanwhile, inside the Noceda residence….

Camila is in the kitchen cooking soup for a hungry Vee while reading a news article.

She reads aloud, "Anne Boonchuy tells story about strange world of talking frogs and newts…. Hmm, almost as strange as what I've heard about the demon realm…. Sigh…."

Then knocking was heard on the front door.

Camilla mutters, "now who could that be?"

She passes Vee and makes her way to the front door.

Camilla opens it and then gasps in shock.

She sees the small group looking disheveled out in the rain, as Luz looks up at her.

Luz says, her voice cracking, "hey, Mom…. I'm back…..", and then she starts tearing up….

Camila looks at her daughter and gives her a warm embrace, with both shown crying.

...

A few moments later, inside the house….

Camila is washing the dishes. Gus helps her by using magic and an awkward Amity gives her a cup of tea, who then in turn receives a pat on the shoulder.

Cobi is sitting at the table and keeps glancing at Camilla.

He didn't think that Luz's mom…. Would be so pretty. Apparently he has a thing for older women.

In the bathroom, Luz gets out a box of bandages that have cartoon mascots resembling Eda, King, and Hooty, which makes her sad. Hunter then approaches her.

Hunter said, "hey. Thanks for not telling them that I'm a…."

Luz whispered as she opened the box of bandages, "a grimwalker?"

Hunter whispered, "shhhh, don't say it so loud! Uh…. What about you? How've you been since, uh…."

"Since we were in Belos' mind? Since I found out I helped him meet the Collector? Oh my gosh, Hunter. They're all gonna hate me", Luz whispered as tears fell down her face.

Hunter said, "what? Psssh!"

Luz wipes away her tears and slightly smiles.

Hunter said, "no, of course they won't. They won't hate you any more than me when they find out…. That…. I might be a clone of…. Someone who was a…. Witch hunter…. With…. Belos…."

"Luz?"

"Hunter?"

The two turned to see Anakin, Ahsoka and Ani.

Ani held out his tiny arms towards his father.

Hunter smiled and picked up his infant son.

Anakin hugged Luz as Ahsoka hugged Hunter.

Luz asked, "Dad? How are you feeling?"

Anakin said, "frankly…. Awful…. But I'm not blaming you, sweety."

Luz hugged her father even more.

Anakin held her close.

Hunter asked, "Soka? What about you?"

Ahsoka said, "I'm just happy the three of us were able to stay together through this…."

Ahsoka stopped mid sentence and Hunter knew that she was worried about her father, Sam.

He said, "we'll make it back to your…. Our family…. I promise."

Ahsoka smiled sadly as she hugged her boyfriend.

The Skywalker's and Luz looked to the other room.

Willow and Amity are seated at the table, looking despondent.

Luz, "we'll tell them. When we're ready."

Hunter and the others nod. They join the others in the dining room.

"Okay, so in the Demon Realm, you fought the evil Emperor Belos who turned into a monster….", Camila said.

Gus, "well, he started out human."

Camila said, "right, but he was defeated by a newer, smaller bad guy?"

Willow said, "the Collector. We don't know what he is or how Belos found him."

"Who knows if we'll ever figure that out?! But they're creating a lot of chaos", Luz said in a panicked tone.

"We have to do whatever it takes to get back", Amity said.

Anakin nodded and said, "my wives, children, all of our friends and family need us."

Camila said, "and you will. But for now, you should all rest. You're all safe here."

….

We then see outside the house, the sludge Belos passes by.

….

In the basement. Gus, Ahsoka, Ani and Hunter are settling in. Gus opens up an umbrella.

Gus said, "whoa! Haha! Guys, look at all this awesome human stuff", he takes out some bubble wrap and begins to pop it, but when it rolls out, it knocks over a vase, which breaks, "whoops."

"I think it's just 'stuff' here", Hunter said.

Ani babbled as he sucked his finger.

Camila comes in with some bedsheets.

Camila said, "it's not much, but I hope you three and the baby will be comfortable."

"We will, Luz's Mom", Gus said.

Hunter clears his throat and walks up to her on his knees and bows, "thank you for providing us with shelter, ma'am."

"Please never do that again. And you can call me 'Camila'", Camila said.

"Thank you Camila", Ahsoka said.

Ani smiled at Camilla.

Camila smiled back as she then goes to leave the room.

She says, "Buenas noches."

Camila walks up the stairs and Gus discovered he has popped every bubble.

Gus said, "aw…."

We then see Luz's room.

Camila creaks open the door to peer in. Vee shows Willow and Amity an alarm clock.

Vee said, "in the morning, instead of screaming, it'll do this!"

She activates the alarm as Willow and Amity gasp in shock.

"Don't worry, Vee",Amity shouted.

"We'll keep you safe", Willow shouted.

Willow destroys the alarm with her plant magic.

Willow said, "good work! It's dead!"

She and Amity bump elbows.

Vee says, slightly disappointed, "uh…. Thanks."

She looks down at the floor where the hole created by Willow's plant is.

Camila closes the door with a shocked face and says, "I'll figure that out later."

Camila looks down the hallway and sees Luz looking sadly at the photo of her and her family.

"Mamá, I…. I know I shouldn't have left. I never meant to lie, but I had to stay, and…. And it wasn't because I….", Luz said but she gets cut off by her mother hugging her.

"Hey. Hey. We'll have time to talk later. I'm just so happy you're home", Camila said.

"Yeah…. I'm home…. But they're not", Luz said sadly as she looks at Willow and Amity inside her room, the latter comforting the former.

After Luz heads to bed, Camilla finds herself sitting in the kitchen with Cobi and Anakin.

Camila asked, "how are you two?"

Cobi said, "could be better. At least I didn't use my writing hand."

Anakin remained silent.

Camila asked, "Anakin?"

A single tear went down his face as he said, "my wives…. My son's…. My daughter…. Everyone I know…. They're all trapped back home…."

Cobi gave Anakin a one armed hug.

Camilla said, "you're both dealing with loss…. I know what it's like…. When I lost my husband…. When I found out Luz was in the demon realm…. But you're not in this alone."

Anakin smiled a little.

Cobi said, "perhaps we should all get some rest? We've got a busy future ahead of us…."

"Good idea", Anakin said.

Camilla nodded in agreement.

Camila then led the two to where they would be sleeping.

It was a guest room.

The two walked inside.

Cobi said, "thank you, Camilla."

"No problem Cobi", Camila said.

Cobi gave a small smile.

"I'll be upstairs in my room if you need anything", Camila said.

Anakin and Cobi nodded as Camilla walked off.

Anakin then walks to the bed.

Cobi stayed in the doorway until Camilla left his sight.

Cobi felt his cheeks grow warm.

Soon, he closed the door….

….

Cue Montage!

We then see the gang back at the old house.

They tidied up the place and hung up pictures of their friends and family, and a large picture of a glyph. A possum jumped through it as Flapjack kept pecking at the ground.

….

When we see Luz showing her mother a slideshow she made under the name, "Lumity Studios."

We see various photos of Luz and Amity

At the end of it was a picture of the couple that said, "Hi, I'm Bi!"

Luz, now in a new outfit with slightly longer hair, gave the most adorable and goofy smile to her mother.

Camila smiled as she hugged her daughter and Amity.

Gus and his illusions popped up, waving LGBT flags around to celebrate.

….

We then see Anakin looking at his reflection in the mirror.

As he stared at himself, he began to break down and cry.

He held his head in his hands.

That's when Camilla and Luz came to the door.

They saw Anakin crying. They then began to comfort him.

….

We then see the group at a store as they try out new clothes.

Gus dressed like a greaser.

Willow was in a roller derby outfit.

Amity dressed like a gothic witch.

And Hunter dressed like Flapjack.

Camila, Luz, Anakin and Cobi clapped at the sight.

Well, Camilla was holding her wallet, but still smiled.

Next were Anakin and Cobi's new looks.

Anakin was now sporting a beard and his hair was now a bit longer. He wore a blue coat, black pants and a black shirt.

Cobi dressed in a white hoodie and green shirt with brown pants. And he now had a prosthetic arm.

We then see Vee, she at first looks like Luz…. But then, she goes behind a clothing rack and takes a new form!

She now had spiky blond and blue hair, a yellow sweater and black pants.

And she looked utterly adorable!

Camila runs over to give Vee a hug.

….

We then see Hunter in the bathroom, looking in the mirror.

At first he see's his reflection…. But then he see's something else….

The reflections of Belos and Caleb!

Hunter then saw his own reflection again and he gasped as he saw how long his hair looked.

We then see Willow and Ahsoka walk past the door and see some hair on the ground.

They saw Hunter was trying to cut his hair.

Soon, they began helping him cut his hair as he blushed.

….

We then see the Boiling Isles group attempting to restart the portal.

Hunter now has short hair.

The Palismen are seen running in hamster wheels as energy travels to the door.

The portal glows for a moment before an explosion occurs and starts a fire! Gus grabs a fire extungisher and almost throws it at the fire, but Vee stops him. She quickly uses it to put out the fire as Luz sinks down to the ground, holding her hat in sadness.

Amity knelt down and tried to comfort her girlfriend. Anakin did the same thing.

….

We then see the Hexisidians giving Camila some Demon Realm cuisine, much to Luz and Camila's shock and disgust as Vee gestures to NOT eat the food.

….

We then see Luz alseep in her bed.

She then hears screaming that wakes her up. She then made her way to Anakin's room.

She then saw Anakin awake, he was sweating and had tears falling down his face. She went over to him and hugged him.

He clearly had a nightmare about his son.

….

We then see Anakin scrolling through his purple scroll.

He received a notification about Sam's birthday.

Anakin froze as he saw the notification.

Especially as it showed a picture of Sam at 4 years old.

Anakin traced a finger over the photo.

How he missed his baby boy.

….

We then see Anakin in the woods training with his lightsaber.

He had a crudely drawn picture of Belos taped to a tree.

And next to that tree was a crudely drawn picture of the Collector taped to another tree.

He was clearly getting ready to face these schmucks again….

Anakin then ran towards the trees.

He sliced them both in two!

….

We then see Ani with his two parents as he attempts to walk.

Ahsoka held Ani up on his tiny feet as Hunter held his hands out to his son.

Ani smiled and giggled in joy.

He began to slowly waddle towards his father.

Hunter smiled proudly at his son.

….

We then see Cobi reading a book titled, "Spanish For Dummies."

He was on page 12 of the book. Although he was clearly struggling to learn it.

….

We then see Luz standing at the front door as it rains.

Amity is there with her. Luz smiled as she held Amity's hand and slowly moved it into the rain. Amity close her eyes tightly as shs expected the rain to boil.

But when she feels the raindrop land on her hand, it didn't burn.

She gave a shocked look before the two ran into the rain, smiling, laughing and holding onto one another.

The others quickly ran outside.

Vee jumped out, smiling. Hunter got knocked into the mud by Gus. Ahsoka carried Ani on her shoulders.

Anakin, Cobi and Camilla watched from the doorway as Willow started to take pictures of Hunter covered in mud.

Luz and Amity held each other. Luz gave a sad look.

Amity performed a spell circle.

A small light gliff appeared in-between them and flew into the air….

….

We then see Luz drawing in her notebook.

It was littered with pictures of Sam, Eda and King.

Her Palismen egg sat under a lamp, swaddled in a blanket.

Luz stares at it as she feels homesick for the boiling isles.

She then looks out the window to see the school bus.

Luz sighs as she grabs her backpack.

She had a full day of school ahead of her….

….

We then see the gang at the abandoned shed.

Anakin, Amity, Cobi, Gus, Ahsoka, Hunter, Ani, Vee, and Willow are hanging out together in the remodeled place.

Gus asked, "am I doing this right?"

Vee speaks perfect Spanish.

The tablet said, "perfecto! You're our top student!"

Amity muttered, "hmm. I was the top student once."

Cobi said, "el queso está viejo y mohoso, ¿dónde está el baño?"

Vee said, "you said, 'the cheese is old and moldy, where is the bathroom?'"

Cobi groaned and said, "I was going for; will you go out with me?"

Anakin asked, "and who were you planning to ask that to?"

Cobi blushed and said, "no-one!"

"Yeah right", Anakin said.

Flapjack begins pecking at the table.

Gus asked, "he's still doing that, huh?"

Hunter said, "he won't tell me what he's looking for."

Camila then enters the shed.

Cobi sat up straight, trying to look cool.

Camila said, "hi. Ooh! I like what you've done with the place. No more exposed nails or possum nests. But this still confuses me."

Camila motions to a painting of Hooty on the door

Willow said, "yeah. He still confuses us too."

Gus waves and says, "Hola Camila. We're learning Spanish from this scary owl app."

The tablet said, "Hoot hoot! Practice every day, or I'll appear in your nightmares."

Ani amacks the tablet.

Ahsoka giggled at what her son did.

Camila said, "oh, okay. Well, I'm going to pick Luz up from school. Pop quiz. ¿Como se dice eso en español?"

Hunter tries to speak the line. But he's not good at it.

Vee said, "voy a recoger a Luz de la escuela."

Camila said, "muy bueno! Keep it up."

Cobi stood up and said, "oh, wait, Camilla?"

Camilla looked at Cobi.

He tried to ask her out in Spanish, but accidentally said, "¿Irás a comprar queso a la tienda?"

Camila was confused at what she heard and Vee slapped her hand on her face as she groaned.

Camilla said, "uh…. Sure, I can get some cheese while I'm out…."

Cobi's face went red as a tomato as he realized, he goofed up.

Camilla left and said, "oof, I never expected to be a mother of eight…."

Back in the shed, Cobi looked at Vee and asked, "can you please help me with Spanish?"

Vee giggled and nods her head.

Amity sighed, "maybe we should take a break?"

Willow said, "a siesta."

Gus said, "siesta!"

Ahsoka said, "looks like Ani has a headstart."

Ani was fast asleep in his mother's arms.

Amity said, "we've been here for months, and we've made no progress on the portal door. We can't expect Camila to take care of us forever."

"In the meantime, we could pull more weight around the kitchen. My mustard ravioli did bring tears to her eyes", Gus said.

"Those weren't the kind of tears you're thinking of", Vee said.

"I can help fixed damaged clothes", Hunter said.

Willow holds up a plant monster, "I can spruce up the garden!"

The plant monster growls.

Amity said, "maybe we need to look elsewhere. There's an entire Human Realm to search."

Anakin said, "if you're planning on running around out there, I best come with ya."

"Grandpa is right…. He has been to the human realm before", Ahsoka said.

Willow said, "but Luz has school most of the week."

"So? Let's explore the town ourselves. After all, Luz went into the Boiling Isles on her own", Amity said.

Gus said, "if the Jedi and Eda came here before, maybe there were others. Maybe they left something behind we can use."

Anakin said, "perhaps."

Amity said, "yes! That's the spirit! Together, there is no challenge that can hold us back."

Amity trips in a hole Flapjack pecked and faceplants.

Amity groans, "ow."

Gus said, "it's a sign! We're doomed!"

Cobi said, "that was just a coincidence."

Amity said, "come on Flapjack, this isn't funny anymore."

Amity sees something in the hole.

Amity gasps, "there's something in here."

Amity holds up a hexagonal box. She opens it and takes out a scroll and unrolls it. All of them gasp.

Gus asked, "hmm. Looks like a map?"

Willow asked, "or a secret code?"

Ahsoka asked, "or a map to a secret code?"

Flapjack twitters.

Hunter asked, "Flapjack, is this what you've been looking for? What does it lead to?"

"That eye, it kinda looks like the old portal door", Amity said.

Gus and Willow gasp, "the portal door", they begin chanting, "Portal door! Portal door! Portal door!"

"This is great news", Ahsoka said in relief.

Anakin nearly whispered, "a way home…."

"And we can finally reunite with our family and friends", Cobi said.

Vee exclaimed, "let's tell Luz."

"What if it's just another dead end? She already feels responsible for our other failed attempts", Amity said in a worried tone.

Willow said, "then, let's not tell her until we can figure it out. Using our buff brains!"

The others all say, "buff brains!"

"Yeah", Hunter said.

….

We then see Luz at her school.

"'Foes vanquished, he trod the shores of his fatherland, family by his side, finally at peace.' This epic ends with the homecoming of not just a man, but a hero", Mr. Sandoval said.

"Hero? Everywhere he went, people ended up suffering", Luz said.

"It does get bleak, but no one said his mission would be easy. And when you take into account the ripple effects of his actions-", Mr. Sandoval said, but Luz cut him off.

"Who cares about the ripple effects? He was just a pawn in someone else's game. A-and he was never smart enough to realize it. If his friends and family knew about his mission, they'd know that their lives would have never been in danger if it weren't for him. They should hate his guts, and it would have been better if he literally never existed", Luz exclaimed in anger.

Everyone looked at her in confusion as the school bell rings.

Luz walks by her art class. A sign there reads; "no taxidermy, no spiders, no snakes, no animal parts, no fireworks", clearly directed at Luz.

Her teacher sees her, and gives her a dirty look.

Luz aighs and opens her locker.

When she closes it, some students are standing next to her.

Student 1 asked, "hey! You're Luz, right?"

"Uh….", Luz said.

"Nice to meet ya. You were right in class. We read about too many crusty old dudes. Give me books about crusty old women", Student 1 said.

" I used to know one. I've never seen you two around", Luz said.

"We're new, but we've heard all about you", Student 1 said.

Student 2 asked, "are you gonna make another crazy costume for Halloween this year?"

"Cause if you are, we're volunteering at the Haunted Hayride", Student 1 said.

"Old Gravesfield is the most haunted place in the state", Student 2 said.

Student 1 said, "yeah, you gotta come. Hehehe."

….

We later see Camila and Luz in their car.

Camila said, "do you think this food is okay? Ah…. I wish I knew how to make demon food for your friends. Would they, um, prefer to drink blood?"

Luz said, "mom."

Camila said, "ay, I'm sorry. I'm just saying if we need to find a way, we'll find a way. And I hope Cobi likes the cheese I got", she lightly blushed at this.

"No, look out", Luz shouted.

Both gasp as they stop in front of a police offer, who directs them around a car crash, where a woman and her daughter were explaining things to another officer.

The mom said, "oh, it was so scary. It just came out of nowhere. That deer really spooked us. Will my insurance cover this?"

The daughter said, "but, Mommy, it wasn't a deer. It was a monster!"

What no-one saw was a pile of deer bones sitting in a ditch….

….

Back at the Noceda House….

We see Hunter, Ahsoka and Ani in the basement

Camila said from upstairs, "thanks for helping, Gus."

Gus said as he went downstairs and sat on the couch, "anytime. Good night! Whoo! We've got a big day ahead of us, so I'm gonna buenas this noche."

"Mm-hmm! OW", Hunter said as he gets his finger caught in Camila's sewing machine.

Gus asked, "you good? That sounded painful."

Hunter scoffs, "I've been training in the Emperor's Coven for as long as I can remember. I think I can handle a little….", he cuts finger and winces, "... pain."

Ani whined as he reached his arms towards his father.

Hunter said, "I'm okay. Just a small cut."

Ahsoka asked, "you sure Honey?"

Gus said, "yeah. Looks like it went clean through."

"Camila taught me how to use this sewing contraption. Even Darius's stitches have never been this neat. Oh, and look at what I made", Hunter said as he showed off the shirt he made.

It was a black shirt with wolves on it.

Hunter said, "these are mystical beasts called wolves, and I love them."

Hunter had stars in his eyes. Ani giggled and touched the shirt.

"It looks amazing, my love", Ahsoka said.

Hunter blushed and smiled.

"That looks great. You know, you've been smiling a lot more since we've been here", Gus said.

"It's not like I don't want to return! I just need a way to pass the time. That's all", Hunter said.

Gus said, "no. It's good to see you happy. One of us might as well be. What was it like to be in the Emperor's Coven for so long?"

"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", Hunter said.

Ahsoka hugged her boyfriend.

Ani hugged his father.

Hunter smiled.

Gus asked, "do you miss it?"

"I miss knowing who I'm supposed to be", Hunter said.

"I miss my dad", Gus said.

"I miss my dads' as well", Ahsoka said sadly.

Hunter said, "we'll find a way back. We have to."

Gus said, "oh, my Titan. That's a line from this book I found. Cosmic Frontier! It's a story that takes place in the stars."

He hands Hunter a Star Trek-esque sci-fi novel.

Hunter asked, "why would anyone wanna go up there?"

" I don't know. Humans like spreading their junk everywhere. But it's a story of people trying to get back home, like us", Gus said.

"Uh-Uh", Hunter said.

"We got Captain Avery, Security Officer Quando, and a Chief Engineer O'Bailey who's hiding as a clone from the enemy planet", Gus said.

Hunter asked, "what, uh, happens to him?"

"I guess you'll have to find out", Gus said.

He opens a closet to reveal a bunch of costumes.

….

Camila is in her bed, researching the Demon Realm.

Camila said, "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…. Yawns…. Until I find one of those, I'll have to use food coloring."

As Camila drifts off to sleep, she begins to have flashbacks in the form of a dream.

….

"Look what I found", a young Luz said.

"Gross, don't touch that dead thing. Ew. Gross", the Children said.

"It's not dead. 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", Young Luz said.

"Ew", the children scream as they run off.

"She called them pajamas", Camila laughed.

Two other adults say, "ugh. So unhygienic. That girl must've been raised by wolves."

Camila yelled, "hey! Wolves are actually great parents, and-"

….

Flashforward to a school play of Romeo and Juliet.

Young Luz says, "O happy dagger! Give me death!"

She stabs into her dress and pulls out several sausage links to mimic guts! This makes the other kids all scream.

"Her dad taught her that one", Camila said as she laughed.

"Gross! Now everything smells like lunch meat", a man said.

"Yeah, she's such a try-hard", a woman said.

Camila angrily said, "oye! What did you just say?"

Camila's chair falls backwards, Camila screams, grunts, and Camila is transported to even more recently, in the principal's office.

The Principal says, "I said, grief can manifest in different ways. Like how Luz has been acting out for attention."

Camila said, "losing Manny was difficult for both of us, but Luz has always done things differently."

The principal said, "didn't you say you were bullied in high school, Mrs. Noceda?"

"Uh, Yes, but-", Camila said but the Principal cut her off.

"Luz hasn't made any friends, her grades are inconsistent, and I heard she brought a live snake to school? Take this. It could help her", the Principal said as he handed Camila a flier.

Camila asked, "'Reality Check Camp?'"

The Principal said, "you don't want Luz to struggle like you did, right?"

Camila felt herself be surrounded by the pressure.

….

Meanwhile….

Anakin was sitting in the guest room.

He placed his purple scroll on the desk table as it began to record.

He said, "hey everyone…. It's me…. I miss you all so much…."

Anakin sighed as he tried to stay strong while he recorded the video.

He said, "I'm in the human realm. With Luz, Hunter, Ahsoka, Ani, Cobi, Willow and Gus…. We've been trying to find a way back to the Boiling Isles for months…."

Anakin took a deep breath and then continued.

"We believe we may have found something that could help us…. Build a portal…."

Anakin took a breath as he clutched the table.

"We're doing everything we can to find it…. At least Camilla has been a great help in getting through all this."

Anakin then felt his hands shaking. He gave a shaky sigh.

"But…. I don't know…. How long I can last being strong for not only myself, but for the kids….", Anakin said.

Anakin clenched his fists.

He said, "the only ones keeping me sane…. Are Luz…. And Cobi, believe it or not."

Anakin gave a small smile…. But it then it went away as his thoughts were now on Sam and his family. He missed them so much.

But Sam…. Oh how he couldn't shake his thoughts off his son.

His baby boy was for all he knew…. Being held prisoner by the Collector.

His breath grew shaky.

And Sam's last words to him, still echoed in his mind.

"I love you dad!"

Tears streamed down his face.

"Oh my baby boy…. How did I fail to save my eldest son…. It's like…. It's like…."

Anakin just began sobbing into his arms.

It's like…. When…. I failed to save…. My…. Mother…. From…. The …. Tusken…. Raiders….", Anakin sobbed.

Anakin kept crying for a moment.

He soon managed to compose himself and whispered, "I promise…. Sam…. Eda…. Padme…. Luke…. Leia…. Everyone…. I'll save you…."

Anakin then stopped recording the video. He wiped his tears away, sighed, and began making his way upstairs.

That's when he saw Luz at her mother's door.

Luz then went inside her mother's room.

Anakin then walked towards Camila's room

Luz asked, "Mom?"

Camila wakes up, gasps and pants, "Luz? What time is it?"

Luz said, "Mom? Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Oh, baby. Come here. I've been terrified, sure. But believe it or not, I do understand what it's like to want to run away", Camila said.

Luz then sat down on the bed beside her mother.

Luz said, "I'm so sorry."

Camila said, "but the point is, you came home, and everything is okay now."

Luz cried, "but it's not. It's my fault everyone's trapped here. A-and I don't even know if King and Eda are okay. I wanted you to meet them so bad. But I keep messing up."

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them", Camila said.

"Your mother is right Luz."

They turned to see Anakin standing there.

"Dad", Luz said.

Camilla had gotten used to Luz referring to Anakin as her dad.

Anakin then sat beside Luz.

He and Camilla pat her back.

"Dad…. I'm so sorry…. I know that you must feel worried about Sam and the rest of your family…. If only I had thought of a better plan…. Then….", Luz said with tears in her eyes.

Anakin held her close and said, "it's not your fault, Luz. You did everything you could, maybe even more. Belos fooled us all. It's okay."

"Anakin is right", Camila said.

Luz sniffled a little.

"Shhhhh…. Shhhhhhh", Anakin soothed as he rubbed Luz's back.

Camilla said, "it's okay, sweety."

"Thank you mom…. Dad", Luz said.

Camilla and Anakin smiled.

Luz asked, "Mom, can I sleep here tonight?"

Camilla said, "of course, sweety."

"Give the palismen a kiss too", Luz said.

Camilla smiled and kissed the Palismen.

Anakin smiled and left the mother and daughter to get some sleep.

….

But unknown to the group something was outside…. Something very dangerous….

….

The next day, Amity, Ahsoka, Ani, Anakin, Cobi, Gus, Hunter, Vee, and Willow are preparing to leave.

"All right. Luz is at her mom's vet clinic putting tiny little bandages on 'hedgehogs.' So today, we're going into town to solve this code", Amity said.

Gus points to his hidden ears and says, "ears."

Vee holds up a map and says, "routes."

Willow holds up a bag and says, "snacks, check."

Anakin holds up his saber and says, "weapon!"

Hunter said, "human disguise, check. Eh?"

He was dressed like one of the characters from the book Gus showed him.

Ani giggled and slapped.

Ahsoka giggled as well at the sight of her boyfriend.

Willow took a picture and said, "oh, that is a look."

Hunter said, "according to Cosmic Frontier, this is what the modern human male wears."

Vee held the book and said, "this was written in the '90s about the year 2008."

Hunter said, "yeah. Can't wait for that New Year's party."

Anakin sighed and said, "Hunter…. It's 2022…. 2008 was 14 years ago…."

"Oh Hunter", Ahsoka whispered.

Hunter blushed.

Gus asked, "and did you get to the last chapter?"

"O'Bailey is still hiding the fact that he's a Duplicant in hyper disguise. But Captain Avery is figuring it out", Hunter said.

" I think he already knows but-", Gus said.

"Ah, bup-bup-bup! No, no, no, no, no spoilers", Hunter exclaimed as he covered his ears.

Amity said, "Hunter, I don't think the world is ready for the brave fashion choices of the year 2008. Please change."

Willow covered Amity's mouth and said, "don't listen to her!"

Aw, geez, we're gonna miss the bus", Vee said.

"Oh, it's okay! I'll catch up. There's a transport worm every half hour", Hunter said.

Ahsoka said, "you want me and Ani to stay with you, sweety?"

"No thanks sweety you two go on ahead…. Besides, it would be good for our little one to see more of the human world", Hunter said as he pats Ani's head.

Ani giggled happily.

Cobi said, "I'll stay behind with Hunter. It's best that none of us remain by ourselves."

"Okay then, let's go", Amity said.

The group then began to leave the shed.

Willow said, "I'm gonna borrow that book when you're done with it."

Amity, Ahsoka, Ani, Anakin, Gus, Vee, and Willow leave.

Flapjack twitters to Hunter.

"You know, maybe you're right, Flap. Even if I'm not who I'm supposed to be…. I like who I am right now", Hunter said.

Cobi pat Hunter's shoulder and said, "that's the spirit."

Hunter notices something on the table in front of him and touches it. Then, he sees Belos in the mirror reflection.

Hunter gasps in shock.

….

Later, we see Ahsoka, Ani, Anakin, Amity, Gus, Vee, and Willow exploring Gravesfield.

"First stop, The Magic Circle", Amity said.

Amity and Vee go up to the front desk as Gus and Willow look around.

Ani coos in awe at everything in the store.

Willow starts dancing with a pitchfork.

Gus accidentally knocks over a barrel.

The shop owner yells, "hey!"

We then see the group run out of the shop.

The shop owner almost calls 911 before Amity hands her a gold coin.

….

We then see the group at the library.

Amity sees a card catalogue. She expects it to be living, and greets it, bows, and gives it candy which falls to the ground. A child then opens one drawer, and Amity shouts. Embarrassed, she tries to run away and trips and falls on the candy.

Ahsoka goes over to help her.

….

Then, they head to the giraffe exhibit at the zoo. Gus bows to it, with no response. They all leave cautiously, but Willow takes a photo which scares the giraffe and it opens its mouth to reveal a monstrous inside.

The group then scream in terror.

….

We see the group sitting at a picnic area in the zoo.

Gus said, "I don't blame our ancestors for banishing those guys. Yeesh."

"Yeah they are monsters", Ahsoka said.

Anakin said, "and horrifying."

Ani whimpered a little.

Nearby, a father and his kids stood together.

One kid said, "Dad, can we go to the bird hall?"

The father said, "in a minute. How about we eat first?"

The kide yelled, "yeah!"

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but…. I think I know where to go next", Vee said.

….

We see them outside the Gravesfield Historical Society.

Willow told Vee, "you can wait here if it's too scary. Luz told me about that creepy witch-hunter wannabe."

Anakin said, "I plan on shoving my lightsaber where the sun doesn't shine for him…."

"It's okay. We just faced down a giraffe. I can do this", Vee said.

She kicks the door open, screaming, ready for a fight.

But sitting at the desk was Masha.

Vee said, "huh? You're not Jacob?"

"We can all thank Goddess for that. He got fired after he started making edits to the exhibits", Masha said.

They saw a cardboard cutout of Jacob leaning against the wall.

"I work part-time now. Say, have we met? Something about you seems familiar", Masha said.

Vee said, "uh, no. I'm new in town. I just have one of those faces. J-but just the one. The normal amount of face."

"What a coincidence, me too. If you ever need a tour guide, hit me up", Masha said.

Vee blushed bright red as Masha gave her a Halloween Hayride flyer.

Amity asked, "we're actually here to ask about this old puzzle. Do you know how to decode it?"

Masha said, "ooh, a rebus. They dug up a bunch of these in Old Gravesfield."

Gus asked, "this is a rebus?"

Masha said, "yeah. It's like a riddle where pictures and symbols make up a word. Like- Come here. What do you think they were trying to say?"

"Chop off an ear", Gus said.

Anakin and Ahsoka face-palmed.

Masha said, "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. Maybe something is waiting somewhere."

A phone then rings.

"I'll be right back", Masha said as they left the room.

Amity asked, "if this is a portal door then what about these? A-a ribbon, and tanning a hide?"

Willow said, "that ribbon is tied together."

Gus said, "next to that hand with a cut."

Ahsoka said, "you don't think…."

Analin said, "this is leading us to…."

Amity said, "Tie tan's…. Blood?"

Everyone gasped as they said, "Titan's blood!"

Vee said, "it's like you're reading each others' minds. You must have been friends forever!"

Amity, Gus and Willow gave uneasy looks.

"It wasn't always like this", Amity said.

Willow said, "these past few months have been weird but look at all the new memories we have now. It's been nice to finally spend some time together."

"Yeah. I can't wait to show everyone at home", Amity said.

Vee asked, "maybe the scrapbook could use one more?

Willow said, "aw, come here, Vee."

Gus said, "everyone say, 'Giraffes are still terrifying!'"

The all said, "'Giraffes are still terrifying!"

Willow took the picture.

Vee examines the photo they took, and notices a map behind them.

Vee said, "hmm. Hey. That map of Old Gravesfield looks exactly like this. Do you think it's a map to a stash of Titan's Blood?"

"With that, we could actually create a portal", Willow said.

Amity, "I can't wait to tell Luz! And I know just how to surprise her…."

Amity looks at the flyer of the Haunted Hayride.

….

We then see Luz at Camila's veterinarian clinic.

Luz sighs, "what will you be, little palisman? A bird like Owlbert? A cool bug? Maybe an octopus, so we can hold hands? Maybe…. Maybe you'll never hatch. And I messed up your life too."

She looks at drawings of what her Palismen could be.

Camila then walks out to check on her daughter.

Camila asked, "how's the lamp working?"

Luz said, "just fine."

Camila said, "good. I'm ready to lock up."

Luz touches a glyph she had drawn, and the glyph begins to smoke.

She whispered, "huh?"

….

We then see Hunter back at the shed.

He's with Cobi and their Palismen.

Flapjack twitters to Hunter.

"Did you know about this? That he was here? I can tell you're hiding something", Hunter said to flapjack.

Flapjack lets out a worried twitter.

Hunter sighs, "sorry. I shouldn't take this out on you. I'm just scared."

Cobi asked, "then what should we do?"

That's when they hear a vehicle approaching.

Flapjack chirps.

"Don't worry, Flap. If Belos is really here, I'll keep you safe", Hunter said.

Flapjack let out a happy twitter.

Luz and Camila then arrive home.

Cobi and Hunter come out to greet them.

Cobi said, "Camilla ¿Me encantaría dedicarme a la carpintería?"

Luz slapped her hand over her face at what Cobi said.

Camilla said, "er…. Okay, have fun with that then…."

Camilla walked by as Cobi groaned.

"You said you dedicate yourself to carpenting", Luz explained to Cobi.

Cobi face-palmed.

Hunter snickered a little.

Luz asked, "so, anything happen while I was gone?"

Hunter's face turned to a worried expression.

Luz asked, "Hunter, what's wrong?"

Hunter whispered, "Belos."

Luz gasps.

….

Cobi, Hunter and Luz stand outside the shed.

"Are you sure you saw him? I thought The Collector destroyed Belos", Luz said.

Hunter said, "yeah. I'm…. I'm sure."

Luz said, "hey. We can wait for the others if you-"

Hunter said, "no! We have to take care of this ourselves. Sigh…. Titan, I hate this! I was never scared as the Golden Guard."

Cobi placed his hand on Hunter's shoulder to comfort him.

He said, "we're with you, Hunter."

Hunter smiled.

Luz then saw a couple of masks on the ground.

One resembles King, one resembles Hooty, and one resembles Vader's mask.

Luz said, "then how about we bring back some of that masked confidence, huh?"

Hunter smiled.

...

Hunter kicks the door to the shed open.

He, Luz and Cobi are all wearing the masks.

Hunter said, "alright, Belos! What's about to happen should be relatively painless, if you just do what we say."

Luz, "that's right! So come out with your hands behind your creepy, dumb head!"

Cobi, "do it before we remove said head from your shoulders."

The trio walk carefully through the shed.

They make their way to a rattling dresser.

The three grip their weapons as they get closer.

The dresser rattles around wildly.

Luz reached her hand towards it.

She opened it, and inside was a opossum!

The opossum hisses as it runs off.

Luz said, "oh, thank goodness. It's just a little angel…."

"No one's here. I guess it was just in my head", Hunter said.

Cobi said, "it's okay. Can't be too careful."

Luz said, "yeah, can't blame you for being paranoid after everything we've been through."

"Yeah. You know, I just wanna make sure everyone's safe", Hunter said.

Luz, "same. And that includes you too."

Hunter, "what?"

Luz, "yeah. Gonna make sure you're safe too, Hunter. You're family now. All of you are."

"Oh", Hunter said as he began to cry.

Cobi held both Luz and Hunter close.

"Ah, this mask is pretty gross now", Hunter said.

The three then laugh.

Luz, "let's get back before anyone worries."

"Yeah everything's okay, Belos is gone", Hunter said.

As the trio left, their shadows cast on the ground…. And Hunter's had some familiar horns….

The Trio then head back home.

Luz, Cobi and Hunter enter the house where the others are.

"Hey, we're back", Hunter said, "and we bought some, uh, cars", Luz elbows him.

Amity said, "Luz! We're designing our costumes for the Haunted Hayride."

"Guess what I've got planned? I'm gonna be Captain Avery and you're….", Gus said to Hunter.

Gus shows Hunter a special looking pin.

Hunter gasps, "Chief Engineer O'Bailey?"

Camila gulped, "how do you know about Cosmic Frontier?"

"All the books in your basement", Hunter said.

Camila said, nervously, "oh! Heheh. Funny how things just show up in basements, right? Without you hiding or putting them there. Hehe. Life sure is full of surprises."

Gus said, "cool! Humans freak out just like us."

"It'll be fun. We want to experience your weird human traditions", Willow said as she puts on some fangs and laughs.

Hunter asked, "what are you going dress up as, my love?"

Ahsoka smirked as she held up her costume.

It was a princess costume.

Hunter smiled at this.

"And our little angel is going to be dressed up as a robin", Ahsoka said as she held up a small robin costume.

Ani giggled happily.

"Oh he's gonna look so adorable in that costume", Hunter said.

"And I thought you and I could take inspiration from…. Good Witch Azura The Movie 2: The Betrayanning", Amity said as she pressed play on the movie.

"Hecate! I'll protect you", Azura said on the tv.

"Give her over, Azura. It's for your own good", Villainous Lucy said.

"Never", Azura shouted.

Amity said, "I could be the Hecate to your Azura. What do you think?"

Luz said, "oh, wow. Yeah, let's do it!"

Azura said, "how could you do it, Villainous Lucy? How could you betray your friends? Now everyone is gone!"

Villainous Lucy said, "it was for the greater good."

Azura yelled, "we'll never forgive you. Never!"

Luz gave a worried look as Amity held her close.

….

Later that night….

Luz can't sleep, so she gets out of bed and takes her laptop to the kitchen.

Luz said as she recorded herself, "Dear Diary, all I ever wanted was to be good at something, to be around people who also liked that something. And when I found the Demon Realm, I-I thought, 'wow, I found it. I can learn magic. I can be a witch. I- won't be the dummy in the principal's office anymore', but I messed up too much, and put everyone in danger. Mama says I need to learn from my mistakes. So, I know what I have to do now…."

….

Reviews:

SuperSentai199: me too. Thank God the 3rd season has finally arrived!

….