"Luz, I'm so happy I had you as a big sister. And Strix, thank you for being my brother."
"KING," Strix shouted with tears running down his face. "DON'T DO IT, YOU IDIOT!"
He inhaled deeply and used his sonic shout, losing his grip to Luz and causing her and Strix to get knocked into the portal and Human Realm.
Luz and Strix stumbled out of the shack and into the arms of their friends, who had seen everything. "NO!" shouted Luz. "KING!" She attempted to reach the portal, but the door closed on her just as she reached it. She opened it, hoping the portal would activate again, only to find the empty room of the house in front of her. She tried it two more times unsuccessfully, as the others looked on in shock. Luz turned around, just as Gus began to break down crying.
He was not the only one crying. Strix fell to his hands and knees and let out a loud, mournful "WWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" before he wailed loudly. A squeak made him gasp. He looked down to see the shrunk Selwyn trying to climb up Strix's leg. He picked her up and held her close in his arms. Luz approached him and did the only thing she could think of: give him a tight embrace and cry with him.
After a minute, which seemed like hours to Luz and Strix, they pulled apart and looked at each other. "What now?" was all Strix could say.
Meanwhile, inside the Noceda residence, Camila is in the kitchen cooking soup for a hungry Vee while reading a news article about a girl named Anne Boonchuy and a boy named Johan Shiobana returning home from a world inhabited by frog people. But that's another story.
Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. Camilla answered it and gasped to see her daughter, accompanied by the strangest-looking looking bunch of kids she had ever seen. Never before had she ever seen such defeated and grief-stricken faces.
"Hey, Mom," said Luz with a teary smile. "I'm back," she said with a broken voice.
"As I promised," Strix said. "I kept her safe," he said as he held Selwyn close.
Camila ran up to her daughter and embraced her. The sight of it kind of made Strix tear up a little as he recalled his mother hugging him.
The Bad Girls Coven quickly settled in and after what was probably the first good meal in...in...well, it kinda didn't really matter how long they had a good meal as long as they had one, Camila washed the dishes...with a little help from Gus' levitation spells. Amity then handed her a cup of coffee, earning herself a hug from Camila.
In the bathroom, Luz placed some bandages on her wounds, then onto Strix's, who was sitting on the toilet and holding Selwyn close. "You okay?" she asked.
"Not really," he replied in that raspy voice. "You okay?"
"Not really."
At that moment, Hunter came in and whispered, "Hey, thanks for not telling them I'm...uh..."
"A grim walker?" Luz asked as she took out another bandage.
"Shh! Don't say it so loud! What about you? How have you been since..."
"Since the three of us were in Phil's mind," asked Strix glumly.
"Since I helped him meet the Collector?" asked Luz, feeling more and more stressed. "My gosh, Hunter, they're all gonna hate me!"
"What? Of course they won't," Hunter insisted. "They won't hate you anymore than me when they find out I might be a clone of...someone...who was a witch hunter...with Belos..."
"Wow, you really know how to pep someone up, do you," snarked Strix.
"Shut up."
"Oh, for crying out loud," muttered Strix. "Just tell them! Rip the bandage off! Get it over with! They're going to find out eventually anyway. Just one slip of the tongue and..."
"Like how you slipped your tongue and told Emira?" Hunter asked darkly. Strix winced. "I'm sorry, Strix, but some bandages are just too painful to rip off."
"Well, I didn't tell her about the whole 'Belos tricked Luz' and 'Hunter being a clone of a dead witch hunter' things if that makes you two feel any better."
"Not really."
The three of them looked out to see Amity, Willow, Gus and Vee talking with each other at the dinner table. "We'll tell them when we're ready," Luz said.
"I hope you're ready sooner rather than later," said Strix. "The longer it takes for you to tell them, the more it will hurt when they find out." Luz and Hunter didn't know what to say to that.
"Okay, so," Camila recapped as everyone sat down at the table. "In the Demon Realm, you fought the evil Emperor Bellows who turned into a monster..."
"Well, he started out human," pointed out Gus.
"Right..." said Camila. "But he was defeated by a newer, smaller bad guy who threw away a mask, which is the only thing that can stop him?"
"Yeah, and he turned me into THIS!" Strix pointed to himself angrily. "And just look at my dragon!" He held up Selwyn.
"That's a salamander," said Camila.
"I know! That little brat turned her into this."
"The Collector," clarified Willow to Camila. "We don't know who he is, though Strix says he's a god. But we don't know how Belos found him."
"Who knows if we'll ever figure it out," Luz said, a little too loudly. "But they're creating a lot of chaos," she said in a normal tone.
"We have to do whatever it takes to get back," said Amity. "And turn Strix back to normal."
"And you will, but for now you should all rest," said Camila. "You're safe here."
Outside the house, a piece of a blob slithered by the trash can.
Down in the basement, Hunter unrolled a sleeping bag while Gus messed around with the junk he found in the boxes. "Hunter! Look at all this awesome human stuff," Gus laughed as he grabbed some bubble wrap and popped it. A bit of it rolled away from him. "Oops."
"I think it's just stuff here," said Hunter.
"It's not much, but I hope you two will be comfortable," said Camila as she placed blankets down on a couch.
"We will, Mrs. Luz's Mom," said Gus.
Hunter cleared his throat, bowed and said as if he were talking to a queen, "Thank you for providing us with shelter, ma'am."
"Please never do that again. And you can call me Camila. Buenos noches," she said as she went upstairs.
Gus popped more bubble wrap until he ran out. "Aw."
Camila went into the spare bedroom where Willow, Amity and Vee were staying. Vee held up an alarm clock. "In the morning, instead of screaming, it'll do this!" She pressed the alarm button on it, startling the two girls.
"Don't worry, Vee! We'll keep you safe," Amity shouted as she threw the clock in the air while Willow cast a plant spell and smashed it with a vine.
"Good work, it's dead," said Willow as she and Amity fist bumped.
"Uh...thanks?" said Vee, unsure.
Camila slowly closed the door. "I'll figure that out later." She found Luz in the hallway, holding a photo of the two of them when they were younger. "Mama, I know I shouldn't have left," she said sadly. "I never meant to lie, but I had to stay and it wasn't because I..."
Camila held her daughter close. "Hey. Hey. We'll have time to talk later. I'm just so happy you're home."
"Hoo-hoo-hoo..." Camila and Luz turned to see Strix standing at the open window, holding Selwyn in his arms and hooting sadly.
"Yeah. I'm home... But they're not."
Months passed by. Events occurred such as the gang going back to the shack, Luz coming out to her mother (who happily accepts her and Amity), Luz and her friends getting new wardrobe (including a face mask for Strix to hide his beak), Strix buying a billhook only for it to get confiscated by Camila, Vee getting a new human form, Strix hiding in a tree and singing to himself, Selwyn trying to fly, Hunter having a mental breakdown after seeing his reflection and Willow cutting his hair, Strix buying a kukri only for it to be confiscated by Camila, the gang attempting to restart the portal (and failing), the Bad Girl Coven giving Camila some Demon Realm cuisine (much to Luz and Camila's shock and disgust) and Vee warning them not to eat it, Strix hiding in the closet while looking at a picture of himself and Emira and begins crying until Amity and Luz walk in and comfort him, Camila answering her door to find the Mask on her welcome mat, Strix putting it on in the hopes it will turn him back to normal only to turn into a green owl instead, Luz showing Amity the non-boiling rain, Luz getting homesick for the Boiling Isles and going back to school.
In the abandoned shack (which was remodeled to fit Luz and her friends' taste), the Bad Girl Coven were learning Spanish from an English-to-Spanish app on Vee's phone. Gus, Willow, Hunter, Amity, Strix and Vee trilled their R's.
They had gone through some changes over the months. Luz's hair had grown longer, and she wore a beanie with two pins — an eye, and a bisexual pride flag. She was also sporting her a blue and white striped shirt underneath Eda's Hexside Varsity Jacket, capped off with green sweatpants and red and white sneakers.
Amity's hair now reached down to her shoulders, with her purple hair dye fading to pink hair with brown roots at the top looking like a star. She wore black garden pants over a dark pink shirt.
Willow had grown out her hair as well, with her braids now hanging over her shoulders instead of laying on top of them. She wore a yellow shirt with a leaf on it, under a long, green coat.
Hunter's hair had been cut shorter to resemble Luz's, and his hair antenna cut down to a tiny curl over his forehead. He wore a yellow sweatshirt with a breast pocket, faded jeans with patches on the knees, and red sneakers.
Gus was wearing a black and teal baseball shirt with a stylized tree on the front, a black leather jacket, and blue pants. He also had at least three watches on his wrists.
Vee changed appearance to differentiate herself from Luz — her hair was green with blue tips while retaining her basilisk ears which blended in, and her skin color was lighter, though still similar enough to easily pass as a member of the Noceda family. She wore an orange jumper with a pumpkin on it, blue pants and brown boots.
As for Strix, he still wore Lilith's Varsity Jacket and no pants. Owls don't wear pants, he said as his excuse.
"Am I doing this right," Gus muttered as he trilled his R's again.
Vee said something in Spanish and the app said, "Perfecto! You're our top student!"
Amity grumbled, "Hmm. I was the top student once."
Hunter's palisman Flapjack pecked at the floorboards. "He's still doing that, huh?" asked Gus.
"He won't tell me what he's looking for," replied Hunter.
"Maybe he's just hungry," Strix said. Little Selwyn sat on his head and chirped. "Selwyn, I know you're trying to fly, but I told you, salamanders can't fly." Selwyn grumbled.
At that moment, Camila entered the shack. "Hi. Ooh! I like what you've done with the place." Camila also had a significant change in appearance — her hair was curlier with a streak of gray in the front, her glasses now had gold frames, she had an open brown flannel shirt (which held a heart-shaped pride pin) over a black shirt with a pumpkin on the center, jeans and brown boots.
"Yep, our own little club house," said Strix. "No more exposed nails or possum nests." He let out a burp and a hairball popped out his mouth. "Pellets," he chuckled.
Camila cringed. "Riiiight. But this still confuses me." She pointed to the drawing of Hooty on the door.
"Yeah. He still confuses us too," admitted Willow.
Gus waved and said, "Hola Camila. We're learning Spanish from this scary owl app."
The app on the phone said, "Hoot hoot! Practice every day, or I'll appear in your nightmares."
"Wrrryyy..." Strix growled at it.
Camila said, "Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to pick Luz up from school. Pop quiz. ¿Como se dice eso en español?"
Hunter raised his hand and tried to repeat what Camila said in Spanish, but failed, much to his embarrassment. So Vee took his place and said, "Voy a recoger a Luz de la escuela."
"Muy bueno! Keep it up." Camila left the shack and closed the door behind her. Then she sighed in exhaustion. "I never expected to be a mother of seven."
Back in the shack, the tablet resumed the kids' Spanish lessons...until Strix lost his patience. "POPPYCOCK! CURSE THIS MONKEY RITUAL OF SPANISH WORDS!" He screeched and tossed the phone into a wall.
"Not broken," it taunted him.
"WRRRYYY!" He tried to destroy it again only to be held back by Amity.
"Maybe we should take a break," she said.
Strix calmed down and said, "Yeah. A little siesta time. Sorry I snapped guys, it's just that 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. Selwyn's grown restless, look at her." He pointed to the salamander on his head, still trying to fly.
"In the meantime, we could pull more weight around the kitchen. My mustard ravioli did bring tears to her eyes," said Gus with pride.
"Those weren't the kind of tears you're thinking of," whispered Vee.
"I can help fixed damaged clothes!" Hunter volunteered as he held up a patched sweater. Hearing that, Strix looked at his Varsity Jacket and took note of the tears and holes in it.
"I can spruce up the garden!" Willow said as she held up a mutant Venus flytrap that snapped at Vee.
"Wrrryyy," Strix growled at it.
Flapjack continued to peck at the floor. A gentle breeze pushed the door open, catching Amity's attention. "Maybe we need to look elsewhere. There's an entire Human Realm to search."
Willow pressed the button on her polaroid camera and the flash made Amity wince. Willow continued, "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."
"If Mom came here before, maybe there were others," said Strix. "Maybe they left something behind we can use."
"Yes! That's the spirit! Together, there is no challenge that can hold us back." Amity tripped on a hole Flapjack pecked into the floor. "Ow."
"It's a sign! We're doomed!" screamed Gus. SLAP! "Ow! Strix! You hit my head!"
"And I'll do it again proudly," the owl boy said before he turned to Flapjack. "Alright, you stupid bird, this isn't funny anymore!"
"Don't call him stupid!" Hunter shouted.
Strix was about to retort when he saw something in the hole. "What's that?" He punched into the floor and pulled out the mysterious object. It was a hexagonal box with a golden bird seal on the front of it. He opened the lid and pulled out a dusty scroll with strange symbols and patterns on it.
"Hmm. Looks like a map?" thought Gus out loud.
"Or a secret code?" suggested Willow.
Flapjack chirped and hopped onto Hunter's shoulder. "Flapjack, is this what you've been looking for?"
"Okay, I am never calling you stupid again," said Strix. "What does it lead to? Wait." He pointed to one of the symbols. "That eye, it kinda looks like the old portal door."
Willow and Gus gasped then chanted, "The portal door! Portal door! Portal door! Portal door!"
"Would you like to go back in the toilet?" Strix asked warningly.
Willow went silent. Gus pouted and said, "Your snarks can be mean sometimes."
"Let's tell Luz," suggested Vee.
"What if it's just another dead end?" asked Amity. "She already feels responsible for our other failed attempts."
"Then, let's not tell her until we can figure it out," said Willow. "Using our buff brains!"
"BUFF BRAINS!" everyone, including Strix, cheered. Then he realized what he said and muttered, "I've been hanging out with you guys too long."
At the Gravesfield High School, Luz was in English class, listening to the teacher, Mr. Sandoval, gave his lecture while she held her palisman egg in her lap. "'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."
"'Hero'?" Luz asked like it was a joke. "Everywhere he went, people ended up suffering."
"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-"
"Who cares about the ripple effects?" Luz sat up in her desk as she continued her rant, "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!" Everyone in the class stared at her. Realizing what she said, she sat back down in her seat.
The school bell rang and class was over. Luz walked by her art class. A sign there read "No taxidermy, no spiders, no snakes, no animal parts, no fireworks," clearly directed at her. Her teacher saw her, and gave her a dirty look while sipping her coffee.
Luz went to her her locker and opened it, revealing drawings and doodles of herself, Eda, Strix and King, a papier mâché sculpture of King's skull and a newspaper clipping of one of Eda's antics. When she closed it, she noticed two boys, a fat one and a skinny one, standing next to her, much to her shock.
"Hey, you're Luz, right?" the skinny boy said with a friendly smile.
"Uh..."
"Nice to meet ya. You were right in class. We read about too many crusty old dudes. Give me books about crusty old women!"
Luz scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "I used to know one. I've never seen you two around."
"We're new, but we've heard all about you," said the skinny boy.
"Are you gonna make another crazy costume for Halloween this year?" the fat boy asked.
"'Cause if you are, we're volunteering at the Haunted Hayride," the skinny boy said as his friend handed Luz a "Gravesfield Haunted Hayride" flyer.
"Old Gravesfield is the most haunted place in the state," said the fat boy.
In her mother's car, Luz looked absentmindedly out the window while her mother drove and asked, "Do you think this food is okay?" She gestured to the groceries in the back. "Ah... I wish I knew how to make demon food for your friends. Would they, um, prefer to drink blood? And as for Strix, well, I'm getting tired of him mindlessly eating rodents and coughing up little pellets of bone and hair all over the floor of my house!"
"Mom."
"Ay, I'm sorry. I'm just saying if we need to find a way, we'll find a way."
"No, look out!" Luz warned her, the two gasping as Camila came to a screeching halt in front of a police officer. They looked to see a little girl and her mom, with their car having crashed on the side of the road.
"Oh, it was so scary," the mother told a second police officer. "It just came out of nowhere. That deer really spooked us. Will my insurance cover this?"
"But, Mommy, it wasn't a deer," the girl insisted. "It was a monster!"
Had Luz not been staring forward, she would have seen the deer's corpse on the side of the road. A corpse that had been rotted from the inside out and dripping a black sludge.
Down in the Noceda household's basement, Hunter was sewing the sweater when he heard Camila say, "Thanks for helping, Gus."
"Anytime. Good night!" Gus came down the stairs and said, "Whoo! We've got a big day ahead of us, so I'm gonna buenas this noche." The sound of Hunter yelping in pain made Gus turn around and saw that Hunter had poked his finger with the sewing machine. "You good? That sounded painful."
Hunter scoffed. "I've been training in the Emperor's Coven for as long as I can remember. I think I can handle a little..." He poked his finger again. "...pain."
Gus winced and said, "Oh. That went clean through." He levitated a bandage and wrapped around Hunter's wound.
"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 held up a sweater with wolves on them. "These are mystical beasts called wolves, and I love them."
"That looks great," Gus complimented him. "You know, you've been smiling a lot more since we've been here."
"It's not like I don't want to return! I just need a way to pass the time. That's all," Hunter muttered as he laid down on his sleeping bag.
"No. It's good to see you happy. One of us might as well be," Gus said as he rested his head on the couch. Hunter took note of the sad tone in his voice. "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. Walter always loomed over my shoulder. But weekends were nice. I got to leave the castle for missions."
"Do you miss it?"
"I miss knowing who I'm supposed to be."
The two boys stared up at the ceiling. "I miss my dad," said Gus.
"We'll find a way back," Hunter assured him. "We have to."
Gus suddenly gasped. "Oh, my Titan. That's a line from this book I found. Cosmic Frontier!" He showed the book to Hunter. It was a book based off an old science-fiction TV show from the 1960s. "It's a story that takes place in the stars."
"Why would anyone wanna go up there?" Hunter asked as he took the book from him.
"I don't know. Humans like spreading their junk everywhere. But it's a story of people trying to get back home, like us."
"Uh-huh."
"We got Captain Avery, Security Officer Quando, and a Chief Engineer O'Bailey who's hiding as a clone from the enemy planet."
Hearing that almost made Hunter's heart stop. "What, uh, happens to him?"
Gus grinned and jumped over to the closet and opened it. "I guess you'll have to find out." Inside were a whole bunch of VHS tapes, DVDs, comics, books and costumes. Seems Camila was quite the fan.
Strix sat by the open window, hooting into the night. He had been doing that a lot these past few months, and he didn't know why at first. Camila, being the animal expert, knew that was the mating call of a tawny owl. When she explained it to him, he flew into a fit of embarrassment, knowing there was only one girl he was calling out to. Emira.
He looked down at his hands, then up at the moon. He remembered reading a poem from Camila's book of nursery rhymes.
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-Tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Suddenly, the moon grew a face and began to laugh at him. "Too bad the owl never saw his pussy-cat again! I saw to that!"
Strix's eyes filled with hate as he let out a loud, "WRRRRRRRYYYYYYY!"
"Strix?" The owl boy turned around to see Emira. He shook his head and said, "It's just a hallucination. You're not real."
Em smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm as real as you want me to be. Now what are you doing standing at the window?"
"I'm an owl. I like the night."
"That's not what I meant. Why aren't you with the boys downstairs?"
Strix held his knees up to his chest and said, "Sometimes I feel like Luz's hopelessness is rubbing off on me. I lost my home, my Mom, my grandparents, my brother, you... Em, am I ever going to see you again? For real?"
Em held him close. "What do you think?"
"I think...I think..." He fell to his knees and cried. "I don't know what I'm thinking! What if this map leads to a dead end?! That's all every attempt has led to!"
"You don't believe that. If you did, you wouldn't think of seeing me again." She kissed his cheek. "Keep believing in yourself, like Amity believes. You're still keeping your promise, right?"
Strix nodded. "I am," he said as he wiped his eyes. "Amity's safe. Em?" She was gone. He sighed as he sat by the window again. "When am I going to stop having these visions, Selwyn?" he asked the salamander sleeping on his head.
In the girl's bedroom, Luz looked up at the ceiling, touching the glowing sun sticker and then moving her hand. She walked up to her egg palisman underneath her lamp, picking it up. As she walked off, she knocked away some papers in the process. Amity, startled by the noise, sat up and watched her leave before she spotted the crumpled poster for the Haunted Hayride. She picked it up and looked at it, intrigued.
In Camila's bedroom, the Noceda matriarch was going over some notes. "They don't hate garlic like vampires, but they weren't entirely against eyeballs when we were watching that zombie movie. Gus said I could get apple blood from the apple butcher, but..." She paused to yawn. "...until I find one of those, I'll have to use food coloring."
In her dream, Camila had a memory of a young Luz in the playground, picking up a snake skin. "Look what I found!"
The kids took one look and gagged. "Gross, don't touch that dead thing. Ew. Gross."
"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!"
The kids ran away screaming. Camila, sitting on a bench, giggled. "She called them pajamas."
The parents sitting next to her scoffed. "Ugh. So unhygienic. That girl must've been raised by wolves."
Camila stood up and snapped at them, "Hey! Wolves are actually great parents, and-" She suddenly found herself at the school auditorium, watching Luz perform in "Romeo and Juliet".
"O happy dagger! Give me death!" The girl tore open her dress, spilling out pig guts, much to the kids' horror.
Camila giggled again. "Her dad taught her that one." She stopped when she saw the adults in the audience glaring at her.
"Gross! Now everything smells like lunch meat."
"Yeah, she's such a try-hard."
Camila stood up and shouted, "Oye! What did you just say?" Suddenly, she found herself standing in front of the principal's desk.
The principal said, "I said, grief can manifest in different ways. Like how Luz has been acting out for attention."
Camila sat in her chair as she explained, "Losing Manny was difficult for both of us, but Luz has always done things differently."
"Didn't you say you were bullied in high school, Mrs. Noceda?"
Camila winced at the memory before she responded, "Uh, yes, but-"
The man held up her daughter's school records as water filled the room. "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."
Camila looked at the flyer he handed her. "'Reality Check Camp'?"
The water was up to her neck, but the principal didn't notice. "You don't want Luz to struggle like you did, right?"
"Mom?"
Camila awoke with a start. She saw her daughter standing in the doorway. "Luz? What time is it?"
Luz walked in, holding the palisman egg and asked, "Mom? Why aren't you mad at me?"
Her mother stood up and said, "Oh, baby. Come here." Luz sat next to her. "I've been terrified, sure. But believe it or not, I do understand what it's like to want to run away."
Luz held her close. "I'm so sorry."
"But the point is, you came home, and everything is okay now."
Luz looked like she was on the verge of another breakdown. "But it's not. It's my fault everyone's trapped here. Strix and Selwyn are cursed. 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."
Camila grabbed her daughter's hands and said, "Hey, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them."
"Can I sleep here tonight?" Camila kissed her, as if to say "Yes." Luz held up the egg. "Give the palisman a kiss too." She did so and put the egg and her glasses away. On her nightstand was the snake skin Luz held when she was younger, placed in a frame. She turned off the lights.
Next to the house, a trail of bones led into the woods, where a deer corpse twitched horribly and grew a pair of horns and glowing blue eyes...
The next day, the kids met at the shack. "All right. Luz is at her mom's vet clinic putting tiny little bandages on 'hedgehogs'," said Amity as she air quoted the last word. "So today, we're going into town to solve this code," she said as she held up the scroll.
"Ears, check," Gus said as he hid his pointy ears under a green beanie cap.
"Routes, check," said Vee as she held up a map of Gravesfield.
"Snacks, check," said Willow as she held up her snackbags.
"Face, check," said Strix as he put on a face mask. Everyone stared at him. "Ugh. Fine!" He put on a pair of shorts. "These make me chafe."
"Human disguise, check." Hunter came out, wearing a yellow and black uniform and a red monocle. "Eh? What do you think?"
Willow made an impressed whistle and took a picture. "Oh, that is a look."
Strix deadpanned, "Hunter, why are you wearing clothes that you look like you stole from the garbage bin of a fan convention?"
"According to Cosmic Frontier, this is what the modern human male wears."
Vee looked at the comic he held. "This was written in the 1990s. About the year 2008."
"Yeah. Can't wait for that New Year's party."
Strix face palmed. "We're in the 2020s, stupid." Hunter pretended not to hear him.
Aside from Willow, Gus was the only one impressed with Hunter's Trekkie outfit. "And did you get to the last chapter?"
"O'Bailey is still hiding the fact that he's a Duplicant in hyperdisguise. But Captain Avery is figuring it out."
"I think he already knows but-"
Hunter immediately covered his ears and babbled loudly, "Ah, bup-bup-bup! No, no, no, no, no spoilers!"
"Hunter, I don't think the world is ready for the brave fashion choices of the year 2008. Please change."
Willow immediately covered Amity's mouth after she said that. "Don't listen to her!"
Vee turned into her human disguise and looked at the map. "Aw, geez, we're gonna miss the bus."
"Oh, it's okay! I'll catch up. There's a transport worm every half hour."
"I'm gonna borrow that book when you're done with it," Willow said.
Strix face palmed and said, "Okay, let me give you a lesson about fiction and reality. WAH!" He yelped as Amity grabbed him and dragged him out along with the kids.
Hunter took off the monocle as Flapjack flew up to him before flying toward a mirror. Hunter looked at his reflection and said, "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." Flapjack pointed his beak at a small piece of black sludge. Curious, Hunter leaned down and poked it. Then he looked at the mirror again. For a brief second, he thought he saw a pair of glowing blue eyes staring at him. He quickly turned around.
The five kids hopped off the bus and came to their first stop. "First stop," said Amity. "The Magic Circle." It was a store for goths and nerds obsessed with magic and demonology.
They entered the store and while Willow and Gus looked around with awe and wonder, Amity asked the shopkeeper about the scroll and if she could provide any clues. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Strix, bored, let his eyes wander until he spotted a statue of an owl demon with long legs and wearing a crown. He looked mesmerized by it...only to snap out of it when the shopkeeper shouted angrily "HEY!" at the sight of Willow and Gus messing around with the merchendise.
She kicked the kids out of the shop...only for Willow to come back and pay her with a gold coin.
While leaving the Robin's Roast Cafe and heading for the park, Gus and Willow stopped to see a statue of two men garbed in puritan clothes. Something about the man on the left looked oddly familiar, but they couldn't figure out what it was.
They went to the Gravesfield Library next. While Willow and Strix showed the librarian the scroll, Amity meanwhile was at the file cabinets, rubbing one of them, thinking it would open like it would in the demon realm. Nothing happened. She bowed to it, but still nothing. She then took out some candy to offer it, but a little girl ran up and opened it, to Amity's shock. She noticed everyone staring at her. Embarrassed, she tried to run, only to land on her face.
The next stop was the Gravesfield County Zoo, where they were to meet the most terrifying animal they've heard of. Linking arms, the approached to the giraffe exhibit. Gus bowed to it, expecting it to reveal the answer of the scroll, but met with no response. They all left cautiously, but when Willow took a photo of it, the flash startled it and it roared, revealing a mouth within its mouth and bug eyes. Everyone screamed.
"I don't blame our ancestors for banishing those guys. Yeesh," muttered Gus as they sat down at the food court.
"I don't know what's scarier," said Willow. "The giraffe or the fact Strix tried to eat it. We had to drag him away from there!"
"Hey, don't blame me. My owl instincts took over."
"Dad, can we go to the bird hall?" The Bad Girl Coven turned to see a bunch of kids tugging on their father's shirt, to which the father replied, "In a minute. How about we eat first?"
"YEAH!"
Vee took note of the sad and homesick looks on the Bad Girl Coven's faces. She exhaled and said with hesitation, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but... I think I know where to go next."
Strix immediately knew what she was talking about. "You're not thinking about the museum where that demon-obsessed lunatic works, are you?"
"We don't have a choice."
The first thing the Bad Girl Coven noticed upon reaching the Gravesfield Historical Society was the sign that said "Under New Management". As they approached the building, Willow noticed Vee lagging behind. "You can wait here if it's too scary. Luz and Strix told me about that creepy witch-hunter wannabe."
"It's okay. We just faced down a giraffe. I can do this!" She ran into the building with a dramatic scream, only to stop when she saw someone else running the counter. "Huh? You're not Jacob."
It was one of Vee's (or rather Vee-as-Luz's) friends from camp. The name tag on the desk said "Masha (They/Them)". "We can all thank Goddess for that. He got fired after he started making edits to the exhibits." They pointed to a cardboard cutout of Jacob posing as a hero with the words "Local Hero, Humanity's Last and Most Handsome Hope". Next to it was a picture of an angry woman with the words "Jerks who don't believe me!" taped to it.
"I work part-time now," said Masha. They looked at Vee and said, "Say, have we met? Something about you seems familiar."
Vee stammered nervously, "Uh, no. I'm new in town. I just have one of those faces. J-but just the one. The normal amount of face."
Masha chuckled. "What a coincidence, me too. If you ever need a tour guide, hit me up." They handed her a brochure, making her blush.
Amity stepped forward and said, "We're actually here to ask about this old puzzle. Do you know how to decode it?" She held up the scroll.
Masha took it and said with intrigue, "Ooh, a rebus. They dug up a bunch of these in Old Gravesfield."
"This is a rebus?" asked Strix.
"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?" They pointed to a symbol that was a combination of a letter H and an ear.
"Chop off an ear!" shouted Gus.
"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."
"Wow, whoever wrote this clearly wanted to keep things simple," said Strix. "Either that, or a kid wrote this."
Before they could respond, Masha heard their phone ring. "I'll be right back," they said as they entered the "Staff Members Only" room.
Amity took the scroll and said, "If this is a portal door..." She pointed to the door symbol. "...then what about these? A-a ribbon, and tanning a hide?"
"And a bloody hand," said Strix. "I don't get it."
"That ribbon is tied together," said Willow.
"Next to that hand with a cut," said Gus.
"You don't think..."
"This is leading us to..."
Strix put it together and realized, "Tie. Tan. Blood.
"TITAN'S BLOOD!" Gus, Willow, Amity and Strix exclaimed.
"It's like you're reading each others' minds," said Vee. "You must have been friends forever!"
"It wasn't always like this," Amity admitted.
"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," said Willow as she held up a scrap book full of all kinds of photos that showed the Bad Girl Coven's adventures the past few months.
"Yeah. I can't wait to show everyone at home," said Amity with a smile.
"Maybe the scrapbook could use one more," suggested Vee.
"Aw, come here, Vee," Willow said as she pulled everyone in a group hug.
"Just take it easy with the flash, okay," said Strix. "It hurts my eyes."
"Everyone say, 'Giraffes are still terrifying!'" said Gus.
Everyone giggled as the camera flashed. Strix let out a hoot of surprise as the flash stung his eyes. Vee examined the photo they took, and noticed a map behind them. "Hmm. Hey. That map of Old Gravesfield looks exactly like this." She held up the scroll. "Do you think it's a map to a stash of Titan's Blood?"
"With that, we could actually create a portal," Willow said with excitment.
"I can't wait to tell Luz! And I know just how to surprise her," said Amity as she took out the flyer for the Haunted Hayride from her pocket.
At the Happy Pets Clinic, Luz sat in the waiting area, reading her books while keeping her palisman egg under a lamp. "What will you be, little palisman? A bird like Owlbert? A cool bug? Maybe an octopus, so we can hold hands?" She looked at her sketch book, and drew a plant glyph as she said sadly, "Maybe... maybe you'll never hatch. And I messed up your life too."
"How's the lamp working?" Camila asked, startling Luz.
"Just fine."
"Good. I'm ready to lock up."
As she watched her mother go, Luz's fingers brushed against the glyph and to her surprise, it lit a little, leaving only a scorch mark. Luz raised an eyebrow.
Down in the basement of the Noceda household, Hunter sat on the couch, tapping his foot anxiously. Flapjack flew up onto his shoulder. "Did you know about this? That he was here? I can tell you're hiding something." Flapjack chirped at him in response. Hunter sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't take this out on you. I'm just scared." At the sound of a car approaching, Hunter placed Flapjack in a cage. "Don't worry, Flap. If Belos is really here, I'll keep you safe." Flapjack chirped frantically.
Hunter met Luz and Camila as they pulled up into the driveway and exited the car. As soon as Camila entered the house, Luz noticed the look of anxiety on his face. "Hunter, what's wrong?"
What he said next was the one thing Luz didn't want to hear. "Belos."
The two of them returned to the shack, armed with a rake and a baseball bat. "Are you sure you saw him?" asked Luz. "I thought the Collector destroyed Belos."
"Yeah. I'm- I'm sure," Hunter said, his hands trembling.
"Hey. We can wait for the others if you-"
"No! We have to take care of this ourselves." Hunter's grip on the rake tightened, then loosened as he exhaled. "Titan, I hate this! I was never scared as the Golden Guard."
Two masks flew by in the wind and landed at Luz's feet. One resembled King, the other resembles Hooty. She picked them up and said, "Then how about we bring back some of that masked confidence, huh?" She put on the King mask and made a growl, making him smile. He took the Hooty mask and put it on.
They kicked open the door and Hunter shouted, "All right, Belos! What's about to happen should be relatively painless, if you just do what we say."
Luz shouted, "That's right! So come out with your hands behind your creepy, dumb head!" Then she added quietly, "If Strix were here, he would slap us for saying those lines."
"Yeah, for once, I'm glad he's not here."
They saw a shadow move to the left. Hunter looked down to the hallway and saw that it was just a small spider on a web. Luz peeked in as they walked down the hall together. Hutner peeked into another doorway, seeing only darkness. Luz opened a door, the wind blowing in on some debris. They heard a rattle and looked forward in alarm. They stepped forward to some wallpaper that looked off. Luz ripped it away to reveal a door. She opened it to reveal a staircase leading down to a basement. They went down the steps and Luz flipped on the lights. They all gasped when they heard a rattling sound coming from the wardrobe. They stepped forward toward it and Luz reached out to the doorknob, pulling it open. They jumped back in surprise when an opossum hissed at them, jumped out and ran away.
Luz let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. It's just a little angel."
Hunter sighed in relief as well. "No one's here. I guess it was just in my head."
"Well, can't blame you for being paranoid after everything we've been through," Luz said as she took off her mask.
"Yeah. You know, I just wanna make sure everyone's safe," said Hunter as he rubbed his arms nervously.
"Same. And that includes you too," she said as she gave him a playful punch.
"What?"
"Yeah. Gonna make sure you're safe too, Hunter. You're family now," she said as she held him close.
"Oh." Hunter chuckled. Then Luz heard him make a sound that was definitely the sound of crying. She pulled him into a hug and allowed him to let it all out. Titan, when did he ever feel this kind of love? Probably never. The moment passed and Hunter took off his mask, its interior stained in tears and mucus. "Ah, this mask is pretty gross now," he said and they both laughed.
"Let's get back before anyone worries."
"Yeah. Everything's okay. Belos is gone."
I think not...
Luz and Hunter entered the Noceda household's living room where Amity, Camila Gus, Willow, Strix, and Vee were. "Hey, we're back!" Hunter said with a chuckle. "And we bought some, uh, cars." Luz elbowed him.
Strix narrowed his eyes. "I can tell when you're lying. What are you two up to?"
Luz frowned. "You know what? Nunya."
"Nunya?" asked Hunter, confused.
"None ya business," Luz said.
Hearing that, Strix decided to drop it. For now. "Okay, well, I bet you're wondering why we got all these boxes of fabric out here."
"Now that you mention it, I am."
"Luz! We're designing our costumes for the Haunted Hayride," said Amity.
"Guess what I've got planned," Gus asked Hunter as he put on a pair of headphones. "I'm gonna be Captain Avery and you're..." He held up a toy communicator.
Hunter gasped with excitement. "Chief Engineer O'Bailey?" He took it and rubbed it against his cheek with glee.
Camila, who overheard this, gulped. "How do you know about Cosmic Frontier?"
"All the books in your basement," replied Hunter.
"Oh!" Camila said with nervous laughter. "Funny how things just show up in basements, right? Without you hiding or putting them there." She laughed again. "Life sure is full of surprises."
Gus said, "Cool! Humans freak out just like us."
"It'll be fun," Willow said as she put on vampire dentures. "We want to experience your weird human traditions." She looked at herself in a mirror and did a playful evil laugh.
"And I get to be me," Strix said as he took off his pants and mask. "Without having to worry about people freaking out if they see me."
"Put your pants back on," said Camila.
"NEVER!"
"And I thought you and I could take inspiration from... Good Witch Azura The Movie 2: The Betrayanning!" Amity said as she flicked on the TV.
"Oh, no," groaned Strix.
"Hecate! I'll protect you!" shouted Azura.
"Give her over, Azura," Villainous Lucy said with a wicked smile. "It's for your own good."
"Never!"
Strix groaned in annoyance. "So cheesy, so horrible."
"I could be the Hecate to your Azura," said Amity as she showed Luz her designs for the costumes. "What do you think?"
"Oh, wow. Yeah, let's do it!"
"How could you do it, Villainous Lucy?" Azura shouted to her former friend. "How could you betray your friends? Now everyone is gone!"
"It was for the greater good."
"We'll never forgive you. Never!"
Strix turned off the TV. "Hey!" exclaimed Amity.
"How can you two stand to watch this crud," he asked Luz. She didn't respond. "Luz?"
"Huh? Oh! Sorry. Please, turn the TV back on."
Strix could tell something was wrong, but not wanting to make a scene, he kept it to himself.
That night, Luz reached for the ceiling, unable to sleep yet again. She rolled over to her side, turning around and smiling at Amity. But then she remembered the big secret she still hadn't told Amity...she felt awful for keeping it for this long, especially since she had already lied to Amity before. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her laptop and left the room, but before she went down the stairs, she heard Strix hooting again. She saw him looking out the window again, holding a picture of himself and Emira and...singing?
"Owl in a cage, you show your rage. Your sweetness has run foul. Without a change, you're lost, exhausted, by your time on stage. When we walked in that room and like sparks in the dark, life was suddenly thrilling and new. Was between you and I destined to up and die? I'm the fool who believed when we looked in our eyes. King all alone upon your throne, your power has all failed. You raise your voice, you have no choice inside your gilded jail."
Luz went down the stairs and whispered, "I feel the same way, Strix." She went into the kitchen and turned on her video diary's camera. "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-I won't be the dummy in the principal's office anymore! I-I-I won't be a loser whose job will be holding up 'For Sale!' signs on the corner of streets only to get myself fired and replaced by a bucket of soil!' 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."
The next day was Halloween. The candy, decorations and costumed kids were all about, and the Gravesfield Halloween Festival was well under way. Camila arrived at the parking lot and let the kids out. Gus and Hunter were in their Cosmic Frontier costumes, Willow dressed up as a vampire bat, Luz and Amity dressed up as Azura and Hecate and Strix wore a deep red tunic with six linked golden buttons down the breast (actually he had Gus change his Varsity Jacket to look like that), and beige breeches. He had Selwyn resting on his head and painted to look like a crown, a long burgundy cape tattered at the hemline, a plush ermine fur collar, and long black gloves with white feathered trims at the elbows.
"Who are you supposed to be again?" asked Camila.
"I am Stolas, the thirty-sixth demon of the Ars Goetia, commander of an army of twenty-six demons! I teach astronomy and am knowledgeable about herbs, plants, and precious stones." Strix paused. "Titan, that sounded uncool even when I say it." He sighed. "Whatever."
While the kids gathered around, Luz stayed behind to speak with her mother. "Make sure to help Vee with the trick-or-treaters. You know, they can be... demanding."
"Luz, are you okay? You don't look so well."
"I was just so excited for this, I couldn't sleep."
Meanwhile, Amity whispered to the others, "All right. We'll keep the puzzle a secret 'till the time is right. And then we'll tell her about the Titan Blood!"
"Should we give a signal or something?" asked Strix.
"Uh..." Amity couldn't think of one. "You know what? We'll wing it."
Suddenly, Hunter heard something in the bushes. It sounded like...laughter. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Flapjack. The palisman chirped. "Hey, it's okay. It's probably just in my head again. Nestle down, Flapjack." Flapjack chirped as Hunter put him in his shirt. No one noticed the dark veins growing on the back of Hunter's neck.
Luz rejoined the group and Amity put an arm around her shoulder. "We're gonna have the best night, and we might even have surprise for you."
"Yeah, me too," said Luz.
The festival had everything. The apple bobbing challenge, the haunted house, the corn maze. "Ooh, can we try the corn maze?" asked Strix.
"Oh, I try to stay away from those," said Luz. "When I was five, I got lost in one and I drank a literal gallon of soda prior and...well, there weren't any toilets or outhouses around, so I had to find a spot to do my business."
Strix's eyes widened. "Oh, Titan."
"Yep."
The first thing the kids did was watch a stage play about a witch trial.
"I hath seen the Mrs. Smith consorting with spirits unpure," said the actor playing the inquisitor.
The actor playing the judge asked Mrs. Smith, "Is this true, Mrs. Smith?"
"Nay, 'tis a fool lie! Inquisitor Jones is tarring me a demon's varlet so as to take mine fields!"
"Demon lies!"
At that moment, Gus jumped onto the stage and shouted, "Your honor, I do object! It is Inquisitor Jones who's in league with the dark forces!"
Strix whispered loudly, "Gus, it's not real! It's just a play!"
The actor playing Inquisotor Jones whispered, "Kid, come on, this is my spotlight."
Gus ignored him and cast an illusion spell to turn the actor's legs into that of a devil's. The poor man took one look and took off screaming. The audience, thinking it was all part of the show, applauded. Until one man burst through the crowd and shouted, "Why are you clapping? These children are demon spawn. And they want your teeth!"
Strix face palmed. "Oh, great. It's that demon-obsessed lunatic from the historical society."
Jacob tore off Gus' headphones, revealing his pointy ears. "Look! Look at his ears! He's from Mars!"
"Hey, lay off the costume, man."
Two security guards tackled Jacob to the ground and put him in cuffs. "Let go!"
The woman in charge of the festival sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.
Strix chuckled. "Like I told Belos, people who believe in demons are mostly seen as kooks." He chuckled again. "I still like that word."
The kids arrived at the Haunted Hayride, something everyone was looking forward to. To their surprise, Masha was the one who would be their guide and narrator. "I hope you're all prepared for a truly scary ride."
"Make us cry, make us cry," chanted Willow and Gus.
"Because there's nothing scarier than knowledge."
"Boo, just lie to me," Gus shouted
"Ignore him," said Strix.
The wagon started to move and Masha began their story in a rather scary voice, "Let me tell you the eeriest unsolved mystery of Gravesfield. The Tale of the Brothers Wittebane."
That caught the group's attention. "Wittebane? Isn't that Belos?" Amity whispered to Hunter, Luz and Strix.
"The year is 1613. Two orphaned brothers arrive in Gravesfield. Their names? Philip...and Caleb."
"Oh, no," whispered Hunter fearfully. Strix took notice of this.
As Masha narrated the story, cardboard cutouts depicting events that happened to Philip and Caleb play out in the background as the gang watched.
"Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother. They tried to fit in with this town, and its unsavory practices. They became witch-hunters! Local lore suggests that the Brothers Wittebane met a real witch from another world! Her name was Evelyn. And the older brother was spirited away. She dazzled him with magic and visions of a strange yet beautiful place. They used a secret code to travel between worlds. Philip set off to save his brother and bring the witch to justice. But neither were ever seen again! Maybe Philip saved Caleb, and they went on to lead peaceful lives. Or maybe he's still chasing his brother, caught in a cycle of horror and strife!" They chuckled wickedly. "Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset. But that's just me."
Everyone gulped.
"But there is more I have to tell. The one thing that attracted Caleb's attention was...the Mask." A cardboard cutout of a green mask popped out of the ground. "An artifact of strange powers that grants the wearer invincibility and the ability to run on cartoon logic. Caleb wore it and he did everything in his power to make the witch happy. Philip didn't like that and he attacked him. Some say this Mask is the same one used to transform dumb schmucks into the maniac we call the Big-Head Killer. Dumb schmucks Stanley Ipkiss. No one knows where this Mask is now. For all we know, it's still out there, waiting for the next sucker to put it on."
The Mask sat on the kitchen counter of the Noceda household.
The hayride ended and the gang hopped out of the wagon. Nearby, Hunter heard that laugh again, which terrified him. "Luz." He grabbed Luz by the arm and they ducked behind a tractor.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Shh! It's him. He's here! I saw him this time. And it wasn't in my head after all. You believe me, right?"
"Him? You mean Belos? But how? The Collector destroyed him!" Hunter and Luz yelped and looked up to see Strix sitting in the tractor's seat.
"Strix?! How the heck did you hear that?!"
"I'm an owl," said Strix. "My hearing is better than that of a human's. Anyway, why didn't either of you guys tell us this?"
"We didn't want to freak anyone out," said Luz. "But yeah. Hunter thinks he's still alive."
"I didn't THINK! I know!"
Strix face palmed. "Okay. Let's say he's still alive. What could he possibly want..." He trailed off as his eyes widened in realization. "Hunter, you don't think..."
Hunter had the same realization as Strix. "Titan Blood." Luz gave the two boys a look of confusion. "I'm not supposed to tell. But the secret code that guide mentioned? It's a puzzle, a rebus we found in the shack. Amity thinks it leads to Titan Blood!"
"Titan Blood? Puzzles? Amity? Why didn't anyone say anything?"
"You and your mom do so much for us. We wanted to do something for you," said Hunter.
Strix scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he said, "That, and Amity wanted it to be a surprise. Uh, can you act surprised when she tells you?"
Sweat dripped down Luz's face as she said nervously, "That is so sweet."
"Luz, is something wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing!"
The trio poked their heads out from behind the tractor to see Amity looking around and asking Willow and Gus, "Hey, where's Luz, Strix and Hunter?"
They poked their heads back and Strix said, "They're going find out one way or another. Just tell them."
"No!" Luz exclaimed. "I mean, we need to find the Titan Blood first. Just to make sure. I don't wanna freak anyone out yet."
"You don't believe me yet, do you? Fine. I'll prove he's here. Flapjack! Can you get the rebus?" Flapjack chirped in hesitation. "I'll say that again. Get the rebus." Flappjack chirped in fright and flew off. Strix slapped him in the face. "Ow! What the heck?!"
"I could ask you the same question, Hunter! You didn't have to be so mean!"
Hunter rubbed the sore spot on his cheek and muttered, "Sorry. I don't know what came over me." Flapjack returned, having stolen the rebus from Amity's pocket. "Good work." Strix didn't like that smile he was making.
Making sure the others weren't looking, the three of them took off into the forest.
Back at the Noceda household, Camila finished watching a movie with Vee, who was now fast asleep on the couch. She picked up Luz's laptop from the ground, only to trip on the bat. She barely caught herself and the bat. This motion opened the laptop to Luz's video diary. Curious, she started playing it. The first one was from when they first arrived at Gravesfield.
"So we moved. Mom says it's because the house isn't 'pretty enough', but I think it's because there's a better hospital for dad nearby. 'Cause, let's be honest, this house ain't that much prettier."
The next video was from when... From when Manny... Camila didn't want to finish the thought. "I think this might be the worst week ever. But Dad left me this book. I can't wait to read it."
"I loved it! I loved it so much!"
"Look what I got at the convention." She held up a real sword. Seriously, who brings a real sword to a convention. "I'm gonna cut my hair with it."
"That was a bad idea!"
The next video was marked on the date Luz got in trouble at school. "Mom saw my report card. 'Mija, if you just applied yourself.' But I am applying myself." She showed the taxidermy griffin she made and the Azura books. "My baseball stitches are so small, they're practically invisible. And I can read and write Witchtongue in five different dialects. Also, I can sit so perfectly still that woodland creatures come and sit on me." She demonstrated by sitting perfectly still on her chair, allowing a spider to land on her head. "But I guess none of this is gonna matter on the SATs. It's been really rough for Mom since the funeral. So, I'm gonna wow my teacher's face off with this book report! Mom, you won't have to worry about me ever again."
And we all know how that went.
The next video diary was the most recent one. Camila played it. "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 though, 'Wow, I found it. I can learn magic. I can be a witch. I-I won't be the dummy in the principal's office anymore! I-I-I won't be a loser whose job will be holding up 'For Sale!' signs on the corner of streets only to get myself fired and replaced by a bucket of soil!' 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. On Halloween, after the Hayride, I'm telling everyone I'm staying in the Human Realm. Permanently."
Camila gasped in shock.
Aren't you going to do anything about it?
Camila gasped. "Who said that?"
Over here.
Camila turned to the Mask, sitting on the counter. "You can TALK?!"
I talk when I feel like it. Camila, take me with you. I can help you with your daughter.
"Why should I believe you? From all the stories Strix and Luz tell me, you're a bad influence!"
Because I'm the only one that can help stop the Collector. Even if they got their way home, there's no telling what kind of madness they will meet. The kind that only I can deal with. You don't have to put me on. Just take me with you.
Camila thought it over. Then she took it. "No funny business."
As the trio ran through the forest, with Hunter following the map, he stopped when he felt a pain in his finger. He took off the bandage to reveal the black goop he touched back in the shack. "What the..."
"Ew," Strix said. "You may want to get that checked. It looks infected."
Hunter looked up and said, "What the... There!" He ran off into the bushes, where Luz and Strix lost him.
"Man, he runs fast," said Strix. "Now what?"
"Think. Think," Luz said to herself. "Hunter is following the rebus to the Titan's Blood. But how can I find the blood without him? Come on. You can do this." Suddenly, she remembered... She drew a light glyph and to her and Strix's amazement, it worked.
"How did you do that?" he exclaimed.
"Uh...I discovered it by accident back at the clinic."
"Wait," Strix held up a hand. "Glyphs are powered by the very life essence of the Titan. Titan's Blood. Which means..."
"There's a batch of Titan's Blood somewhere around here. Closer we are to the Titan Blood, the stronger the glyphs become."
"What are we waiting for?"
Strix and Luz started making light glyphs like mad, following them to the source.
Back with the other members of the Bad Girl Coven, they were looking for their three friends. "Luz? Hunter? Strix?" called out Willow.
"Did you find them?" asked Amity.
"Calm down," said Gus. "They probably just went to buy some more cars."
"Yeah. Yeah. You're right. I just- I wanted to show Luz the rebus." But when Amity reached into her pocket, she found it was empty. "Wait. Where did it go?"
At that moment, Camila and Vee arrived. "Kids! Have you seen Luz? And has she, um, said anything weird?"
Vee took out her phone and pressed a button. "Boom! 'Find-a-Phone' app." The app showed Luz heading toward the cemetary.
Amity saw something dangling from Camila's belt. "Is that..."
"The talking mask? Yes. Not important right now."
Gus blinked. "Did she say it talks?"
Luz and Strix arrived at a lake in the middle of the cemetery, with a small island in the center of it. Using an ice glyph to make a bridge, they crossed the lake and arrived at the island's shore, where they found Hunter standing in the middle of an archway. "Hunter, are you okay? Did you see Belos?" Luz asked. They found the rebus, torn to shreds.
"Oh, no. Just my imagination playing tricks again," Hunter said. "Why don't you find the Titan Blood while I find my palisman? Little guy got spooked off."
Strix's eyes narrowed at him. "Wait. Hunter, do you mind if I tell a story about my first grudgeby match?"
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Yeah, we don't have time," snapped Luz.
"It won't take long," Strix insisted. "Okay. Let's see. Once upon a time, there was a bully named Bosha. She thought she was the best at everything because she was the captain of the Hexside grudgeby team. Luz, not thinking clearly, challenged her to a match after she picked on Willow and Gus one too many times. Luz allowed her pride to get the better of her and she hurt Gus. She wanted to forfeit then and there after realizing she was in over her head. But we came back to help her after they saw Bosha pick on her. And you know what? Despite giving it our best shot we still lost because of a rule we forgot. That day I realized just how unfair that game can be."
"That's not how I remember it," said Luz.
Hunter scoffed. "What's the point."
"Because," said Strix as he put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "I realize how much alike we are." He leaned in and whispered in his ear, "You and I hate to lose, Phil."
Luz's eyes widened. "Wh...What did you say?"
SHUNK!
Strix took out a hidden sickle and embedded it into Hunter's stomach. Black ooze poured out from the wound and his eyes glowed blue as he let out a growl. "I hate perceptive brats like you." He gave Strix a great shove and the owl boy was shoved into a gravestone, destroying it and revealing a cowering Flapjack. "Luz. I saw you. Glyphs do work here."
They heard the others coming.
"Luz? I think she's this way."
"Hunter?"
"Luz!"
"Strix?"
"Mija?"
Luz's heart raced as she said with absolute fear, "You. You survived."
A pair of horns sprouted out of Hunter's head as Belos said, "I did. Thanks again for all the help, Luz. But I don't need you anymore." His right arm turned into a bladed tentacle and tried to slash at Luz, but she ducked out of the way, losing her Azura hat and wig in the process. Flapjack flew up to her and landed on her head.
"Flapjack!"
Belos dug his arm into the ground and pulled out a vial of blue liquid. "Ah. There you are." SLICE! "AAAAHHHH!" The arm sliced off and fell to the ground. Strix grabbed the vial and said to the possessed Hunter, "Get out of my friend! WRRRYYY!" He sliced repeatedly into Hunter's body, spraying black sludge everywhere, but the wounds healed up and Belos let out a roar of hatred as he tried to attack Strix, only to be blocked by the scythe. The two of them locked blades as Strix growled, "Why are you still alive, Phil? This isn't your world anymore! No one believes in witches anymore and people think witch hunters like you are barbarians! Just go crawl in a hole and die already!"
Belos let out another roar as he grabbed Strix by the throat and threw him into another tombstone. "I don't care if this world is not the one I knew! I will never die, knowing that you and the rest of your worthless, sinful kind are still sucking air." Luz fired a barrage of glyph attacks at Belos, but he merely chuckled and said, "You're not even trying right now. What? Afraid you'll hurt him?"
At that moment, Camila and the others arrived just in time. "Is that Hunter?" she asked.
"Something's wrong," said Gus.
"See, this is why you're so useful, Luz. You're so desperate to help people, you even helped me meet the Collector." FOOSH! "AAAHHHH!"
Strix stood in front of Luz as he held up a fire glyph spell and burnt Belos. "So typical of you, Phil! Taking advantage of Luz like that!" He produced his owl-topped staff and smashed it against his head before kicking him back.
"Heh, heh, heh," chuckled Belos as the melted flesh began to heal. "But that is who she is, Strix. A poor, naive girl who's willing to listen to anything she hears as long as it makes her feel worthy."
The others gasped, having heard everything. "What?" whispered Amity.
Luz shut her eyes from the emotional hurt as she shook her head. "I thought I was doing something good."
"You did do something good. I thought this one..." He gestured to the body of Hunter he was possessing. "...was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch-hunters, starting with him!" The bladed tentacle stretched out and tried to impale Strix, but Amity jumped in front of him and blocked the tentacle with her staff. Gus and Willow summoned their own staffs and the three of them flew around him, attacking him with their spells.
"Hey, Belos. Remember me?" taunted Gus.
Belos tried to attack him with his tentacle, only for Willow to grab it and pin it down. "Hang tight, Hunter!" Vee shouted before she inhaled deeply, draining his magic. Belos let out a roar of hate before he grew another tentacle and lunged it at her. "Vee, watch out!" shouted Amity as she pushed her out of the way. She, Gus and Willow flew at him again, only to be swatted aside by one of his tentacles.
Luz, powered by Flapjack's staff, and grabbed Belos. "I know you can hear me, Hunter. Fight him off!" Belos flung her off his shoulder, but Amity caught her with the help of a plant glyph. Flapjack tried to return to Luz only to be grabbed by Belos.
Luz let out a gasp. Belos made a sadistic smile as he said, "That's right. You wouldn't want me harming your precious palisman, would you? Oh, but then again, I don't care what you want. Goodbye, Evelyn." SLICE! "URRRRRYYYYAAAHHH!" Belos roared with pain again as his arm was sliced off by Strix's scythe, allowing him to grab Flapjack.
"You call witches sinners," Strix growled as he held Flapjack close. "But the only sinner here is you!"
Belos' eyes burned with hate as his arm grew back and reached out and grabbed the vial from his pocket. "You know what my biggest mistake was? Letting you and Luz live when you helped me find the Collector! I'm not making that mistake AGAIN! URRRRYYYAAAHHH!" Belos' tentacle lunged out at the boy, only to stop inches from his face. "WHAT?!"
"You know what I'd like, Belos?" Hunter asked as he regained control of his body. "I'd like to leave the Emperor's Coven and never step foot in that throne room again. I'd like to do whatever I want without having Walter stand over my shoulder everywhere I go. I'd like to study wild magic, and learn how to carve palismen. I'd like to attend Hexide as a regular student and play flyer derby with my friends. But most of all, I'd like to make sure you never hurt anyone again!" And with that, he threw the vial into the lake.
"NO!" Belos shouted as he dove in after it, only to lose consciousness in the process.
"Pretty sure he can't swim," said Strix.
"No!" shouted Luz in horror.
"Stand aside," said Camila as she took out the Mask. "No funny business."
"Wait, Mom, don't!"
She slapped it on and dove in. "Alooga! Alooga! Up scope!" She swam at breakneck speed, shouting German gibberish as she grabbed him and swam up to the surface and landed on the ground with a crash.
"Be careful with him!" said Willow.
Strix rejoined the group and pressed his ear against Hunter's chest. "He's not breathing!"
"Stand back!" Camila changed into a nurse's outfit, took out a pair of shock pads out of nowhere and rubbed them together. "And CLEAR!" She slammed them into Hunter's body, sending an electrical current into his body. One that was powerful enough to send a black sludge flying out of his orifices, scarring his body in the process, and landing onto the ground near the archway.
The group watched as the black sludge reformed itself into a monstrous form. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, but its frame was skeletal, the limbs were disproportionate, blue eyes grew on random places all over the body, and its head was a horned skull. Belos picked up the vial and growled, "Caleb, you would stab me in the back?!"
"You did it first, Phil," shouted Strix. "It's like I said before, you're a coward who killed his own kin!"
Instead of responding, he slammed the blood against the symbol on top of the archway. It dripped into the ground and then formed around the archway to give off a flashing light. They all braced themselves before realizing that he had made a portal to the Demon Realm. "This is for the good of your souls. You'll thank me later," he said as he disappeared through the door.
Camila exclaimed, "That's the Belos you've been fighting this whole time?!"
"Yeah, he didn't always look like that," said Strix. "Though if you ask me, it's an improvement."
"Guys," Willow said. "Hunter's still not breathing!"
Strix pressed his fingers against Hunter's throat. "I'm not feeling a pulse!"
"Alright, stand back," said Camila as she charged up the shock pads. "And CL-" She stopped when Flapjack flew onto Hunter's body. "What are you doing?"
"Flap?" asked Luz.
Flapjack's body began to glow as did Hunter's. As the glow began to fade away, Flapjack's body began to disintegrate into particles of light. Then they were gone. Hunter's body stopped glowing as he stood up, taking a deep breath. He looked around and asked in a daze, "Hey, guys. Is everyone else okay?"
Gus and Luz looked at each other before the former said, "Actually, Flapjack..."
"Don't. Don't," Hunter cried. "I already know." Camila held him close as she and the others cried with him. Except for Strix, who turned away with his eyes closed.
"Sit up slowly, baby," said Camila. "Are you in pain anywhere?"
"I'm okay. Uh, Camila, you're wearing..."
"Oh, yeah. I know," she said as she took it off. "I can't stand this thing."
Amity noticed Luz looking at the portal sadly. She approached her and asked, "Um, Luz. What did Belos mean when he said you helped him meet the Collector? I mean, that was a lie, right?"
Luz didn't even look at her as she said, "No it was true." She walked forward before stopping in front of the portal. "If it weren't for me, the Day of Unity would have never happened. There was this time pool, and I met him. I met him when he was still just Philip, and I taught him the light spell. I introduced him to the Collector. I set everything in motion. I'm sorry, everyone."
"Why did you keep all that a secret?"
Luz looked at her and said, "I was scared. I thought you'd hate me for it. Which is why I've made a decision. I think it'd be in everyone's best interest if I-"
"Took your mama to the Demon Realm!"
Luz looked at her mother with shock. "WHAT?!"
Amity ran up to her and hugged her. "I couldn't hate you, Luz. The fact that you still stand up for us means enough to me."
Camila put a hand on her daughter and said, "Mija, now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back there alone. It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families."
Tears started to form as Luz said, "But..."
Hunter said to her assuringly, "You were tricked. That's what Belos does. He tricks people. But if it weren't you, it would have been someone else, and then there'd be no one left to fight back. So let's do that. Let's fight back. Please? For Flapjack?"
Luz nodded. "For Flapjack."
Strix noticed the portal blinking. "Guys! It's closing!"
"Then we better head in," said Luz with determination.
Hunter headed in first. He paused for a moment to hold his hand onto his chest. "Time to go home, Flap," he said as he walked through.
Willow and Gus went in next. The former said, "Goodbye, Human Realm. Thank you for showing me your secrets. I hope to see you again." The latter said, "Thanks for the memories. We'll be back after we get some revenge." And with that they walked through.
Amity stepped up next to her girlfriend and said, "Luz, I know things are scary, and I don't know what the future holds. But it would be so cool if you were a part of that." Luz turned to her. "No more hiding, okay?"
"I understand," Luz said as she smiled softly. "See you on the other side. Promise."
They held hands, before Amity kissed her and exited through the portal.
"Luzer?" said Strix. "Can I talk to you?"
"Don't call me Luzer." Luz's eyes widened before she chuckled. "Wow. When was the last time we did that?"
"Heh. Far too long.
"'Luzer'?" Camila asked incredulously. "Have you been calling my mija that all this time?!"
"It's alright, Mom. It's kinda like our routine," insisted Luz. "What is it you wanted to talk about, Strix?"
He wanted to tell Luz that he knew about the video diary she made last night thanks to his owl hearing. That he knew that she would be miserable whether she stayed in either the Demon Realm or the Human Realm. That he could modify her memories to make it look like she did go to that camp and never came to the Boiling Isles to begin with. That he could modify everyone else's memories so they won't have to experience the misery of living without Luz Noceda. But then he decided, "Never mind, Luz. It's not important right now. I'll tell you later."
"Oh. Okay," said Luz.
"Wait. Before you go in..." Camila handed the Mask over to him and said, "You should keep this. I don't like wearing it."
Strix looked down at it and said, "Can't believe I haven't used you in a long time. However, I'm willing to let either one of you wear it should the situation call for it. Until then..." Strix strapped it onto his belt and pulled out his staff. "...I'm happy with what I got."
As he was about to step into the portal, Camila called out, "Did you know it can talk?"
Luz looked at her, shocked. "You heard it too?"
Strix stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the Nocedas. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, a little on edge. "Uh, let's focus on one weird thing at a time, okay?" And with that, he jumped into the portal.
Vee handed Camila the baseball bat. "Here, you'll probably need this."
"A-are you coming, Vee?"
"I don't think I'm ready. Besides," she said as she turned into Camila. "Someone has to keep up appearances."
"Tell the staff I've gone home to see my abuela, okay? Carmen's in charge, Dianne has my schedule. And..." Camila wrapped her arms around the basilisk. "...thank you, Vee." Vee hugged her back. She turned to Luz and asked, "Are you ready?"
Luz looked at the portal nervously. "Are you? I'm not sure what we'll see on the other side."
Camila said with a smile, "Then we don't wanna leave unprepared." She picked up Luz's Azura hat and put it on her head. "A good witch always has to have her hat." She and Luz held hands before entering just as the portal disappeared completely.
With that, Vee left the cemetery...only to realize something the minute she stuck her hands in her pockets. "Shoot, Camila still has the car keys!" Looks like she'll be taking a taxi home. And calling a tow truck.