Breaking the Fantasy

by GwenWritesFanfiction

It's been four years after Luz and her friends arrived at the Human Realm and they have yet to find a way back to the Boiling Isles. They have been living a normal life in Gravesfield, ever since... until something sinister begins to happen. A killer, witch hunters and a twisted storyteller. Their lives now turned upside down by an unknown force. Lumity fic.

6. Under the Rain

BREAKING THE FANTASY

Written by: Gwendolyn Frost. Special thanks to meowloudly15. The Ink Man is a creation of mine. Faust is a creation of Daisuke Ishiwatari and is the copyright of Arc System Works.

CHAPTER 6: Under the Rain.

"Amity…?"

The sudden voice echoed through Amity's ears, making her wake up in an instant. But the moment she did, she realized she wasn't at the Noceda residence anymore. Her eyes adjusted and her brain would vaguely process what they were seeing before her. She was at Gravesfield… or so she thought? It was a town, there were houses… of human-like design. Nothing that she recognized from the Boiling Isles. The town was void of color. It was all covered in different shades of gray and black. With the only source of light being the sun in the sky gleaming in a pure white light. When looking up at the sun, she squinted her eyes and blocked the sunlight with her hands which she now realized were not colorless like the place itself. She even found her reflection in a near window, her colors contrasting with all the gray around her.

"Amity!" She heard her name being called out again, the sound piercing through her ears and making her flinch. The source of that voice felt distant, yet her ears hurt as if someone was screaming right next to her.

When she recovered, she put herself back on her feet and continued walking. She was a tad fearful of replying back at the voice… in case she was not alone. She would soon thank that notion, the moment she took a turn to the right at the end of the block and her eyes were able to make out the shape of a trail on the pavement… a trail made of splatters of an intense RED pigmentation.

She quickly shut her mouth, muffling a gasp when her eyes continued to trace across the street. The trail leading to a big house covered in red splatters all over the walls. What was horrifying wasn't just the visual intensity of the color itself… and the metallic smell that it emanated. It was also the severed hand lying there on the porch of the home. A left hand with a strange looking clock still attached to it. She didn't hesitate in running forward once her brain would process the information. She ran as fast as she could. She even tried to pull out her staff… but Ghost -her loyal palisman- didn't seem to be there with her.

As she ran, her eyes would see more and more houses covered in blood. But soon she came to a stop… when she recognized a particular house surrounded by a large garden. The Green House; that's the name that the building is known for. Of course… this one was yet another home with a red trail and covered in splatters of blood

"You're not supposed to be here…" A distorted voice coming from behind which made her freeze on the spot. In a swift movement, she turned back to face the owner of that voice. It was a pitch black figure… or more of a beast oozing ink from it's large body, wearing that very same mask it wore in the past vision she had when it murdered Mrs. Greene. But this time… it looked less human. More of a monster coming out from her worst dreams. It was tall… perhaps taller than Caleb who was the largest in her group of friends, most of their body was dark and wet-looking… as if it was covered in ink with very few spots of porcelain white contrasting, such as partial spots on their arms, feet, legs and of course… that featureless mask with the sunken black holes for eyes and smile drooling ink.

Before she even had the time to react, she picked up a voice calling her name for a third and last time. "AMITY!" She woke up in an instant back in the real world. She would find herself sitting on her side of the bed, her eyes now meeting with the sight of Willow lying next to her, Luz standing in the ladder of their bunk bed, Vee in her Basilisk form sitting on the far edge of the bed and Ghost meowing at her on her lap. All looking concerned and spooked.

"Amity, what was that?!" Willow exclaimed.

"I…" Amity stared into the void of her thoughts, trying to find an answer to give back to her friend. "What happened?" Amity asked instead, not even sure of why this many people were worrying about a bad dream. "Did I scream or something…? I suppose I was having a nightmare."

"Amity… your eyes were glowing… you had no pupils… you were in a trance and your hair was waving as if you were performing a spell!" Willow exclaimed once more, stating what Amity was not aware of.

"WHAT?!" Amity yelled.

"It's true… I woke up the moment I heard Willow screaming at me to check on you…" Luz said, her expression was of shock but she was relieved that Amity was ok now.

There was a moment of silence, Amity was trying to think of an explanation… before it dawned on her. "I… did Oracle Magic yesterday…" She confessed.

"You can do Oracle Magic?" Willow asked in confusion.

"My mom taught me a thing or two… but only the basics…" Amity elaborated. "I suppose… I'm still quite new to the subject or maybe a little rusty which I assume is what triggered this nightmare I had… or maybe it wasn't a dream… maybe it was a vision." She proceeded to tell them what happened. Listening intently to everything she saw in that Colorless World. Each of them was not feeling any better hearing what Amity had seen.

When Amity was done, there was a brief moment of silence before she added her final thoughts. "I'm not sure what this means. But I believe… that yesterday, Mrs. Greene was trying to contact me… Which is why we asked Vee's friend Masha to do a spiritual calling and find out."

"Oh, brother…" Willow groaned as she put her glasses back on. "I'm going to be honest with you all… I don't know what you guys are meddling with right now. But don't count with me."

"Willow…" Luz said a bit upset at her.

"I'm sorry, Luz! I don't want to get involved in a MURDER case. It's too much…" Willow said, making Amity to gently wrap her arm around her.

"That's ok, Willow. You're not obligated to do the spiritual session with us, today." Amity said, to which Willow replied.

"You shouldn't either… I'm serious. I don't want you guys to end up hurt if you push this… whatever it is too far! This isn't like Belos. Back then, we had Eda, we had Lilith… we had a small army of people willing to fight. In here… it's just us. We don't know what kind of monster we're dealing with this time… they could be anywhere… it could be a complete stranger… or worse… it could be someone we know." Willow said, her last statement making everyone feel a chill down their spine.

"Ok… look, I understand where you're coming from. I don't want to get involved either. Or fight some… serial killer. Let humans handle human affairs. I support that notion too. But if I can get some information I can hand it over to the police… could be a good thing. Or else… more people might die. Innocent people… I know Dahlia Blight was not so innocent… but she didn't deserve to die." Amity said. "If we find something… we could hand it over to the police so they take care of it themselves."

Willow looked at her knowing that this is an argument that she's not winning. She sighed in defeat and nodded. "I guess that's fair… how are you even going to allow your boss to give you permission to do this?"

"She… doesn't need to know." Amity said as she bit her lower lip.

"Are you going to break in?"

"I got a key. I'm not forcing my way inside or breaking a window… if she ever finds out, I can just tell her I went to get something I forgot…" Amity argued.

Willow sighed. "Please be careful. I'm not getting involved, I'm putting my foot down. Ok?" She said as she looked at both Amity and Luz.

"It's ok, we will." Amity said as she rubbed her back, while Luz just accepted her decision.

"Yeah… we should head back down to get some breakfast." Luz said as she dropped down the ladder and waited for her friend, sister and girlfriend to get down from the top bed.

Back downstairs. Gus and Caleb were watching the news, with Gus' voice echoing through the living room, making the girls walk in to find out what was going on. "Here it comes, here it comes!" Gus exclaimed as the news anchor talked about the recent wave of arrests on Gravesfield involving the small drug business led by Dahlia Greene, the victim of the Ink Man.

"While it is a tragedy the passing of Mrs. Greene… she left behind a whole room full of skeletons herself. Thanks to the combine efforts of the police, the DEA and the Oracle Newscast Center, we can sleep safely now that the whole operation was completely dismantled and the vast majority of its assets are behind bars… with the exception of Pete Meza, who we encourage our viewers to call us or the Gravesfield Police Department if you got any information of his whereabouts." They showed the wanted poster of Pete Meza, a man with a rather unusual large nose which was his most significant feature.

Luz stood next to Gus as his eyes were glued to the tv, excited to hear what they were about to say. "So… why are you so happy about this? I mean… sure, less crime, but you seem very invested."

"Shh… they're about to say why!" Gus said. "Here it comes…"

"You can read the full article at our website. Written by a young; Ross Porter. This has been…" The news anchor said before the voice of Caleb caught everyone's attention.

"Ooo… yikes." Caleb said when he heard that they got Gus' name wrong.

"Oh… right. I forgot about that." Willow said, not at all excited that most of the information found in the article itself came from her own mouth.

Gus was dumbfounded, the excitement was expelled out of him.

"Hey… it's alright…" Luz tried to comfort him before Gus exclaimed.

"I can't believe it!"

"Hey you did a good job…" Everyone tried to calm Gus down before he completely lost it.

"They almost got my name right on TV!" Gus said as the excitement came back to him. "Is this what fame feels like?" Gus said as he dramatically pinched himself.

The group bursted into laughter soon after, finding it amusing how Gus was dealing with the situation instead of being upset about it. "Ayy, y'know what you need right now. Mister Ross Porter? A big pile of pancakes, covered in syrup, butter and a side of bacon!"

"Now that's breakfast." Gus said, as everyone followed Luz to the kitchen, finding Mrs. Noceda there already working on it. They joined in to help her cook and set the table. They had a nice time eating breakfast, with the main topic being the party that Caleb and Amity were invited to and were told they could bring in guests. Willow agreed to go, she wasn't staying in the house yet again, she needed to distract herself from what happened during the week. Gus was also hyped about it, being the more extroverted of the group, and he loved parties because he liked indulging himself in human teenage practices as he called it. Finally, Luz was agreeing to go if Amity wanted to go herself.

The rest of the morning was rather calm. None of them had to go to work. With the exception of Camila who worked at the veterinarian full time. When she left to work, everyone chilled around the house. For example, Vee was watching videos on her tablet in the kitchen. In the living room was Willow teaching Caleb how to be good at the game they were playing the day before at the park. Gus was putting together something in the basement that was basically his and Caleb's own bedroom. And finally… Luz and Amity who were enjoying some peace, having the room all to themselves.

They were just laying down, cuddling and doing some small talk here and there. They whispered at each other, despite being alone, being used to the constant stress of sharing the house with so many people. "So… what do you want to do today?" Luz whispered as she smiled back at her girlfriend.

"I don't know… what would you like to do?" Amity replied as she leaned in for a kiss.

Luz answered the kiss with one of her own. "Well… at what time do I have to do therapy?"

Amity broke the kiss briefly to go check her phone, she turned around on the bed, giving Luz the chance to hug her from behind and looked over her shoulder as she browsed through the conversation she had with Miss Craig earlier during breakfast.

Amity: good mornin! at what time are you available for therapy with Luz? we forgot to settle that, I hope I'm not interruptin anything, btw!

Barbara: Good morning to you too. I woke up with a small headache today. Nothing serious, however. I'd say… maybe in the afternoon. Perhaps at 2 pm? Gives you enough time to get something to eat and for me to nap this headache away. Sounds good?

Amity began to reply to the message as she repeated what Miss Craig said at Luz. "She says…"

"Yeah, I can read it from here." Luz said with a grin, making Amity laugh softly.

"Ok. So, you're fine with that?"

"Sure. Sounds like a good time. How long can it last? Since… we need some time after to do the spiritual calling with Masha." Luz said as Amity texted back at her boss.

Amity: she says that it sounds perfect! thank u! we'll see u then~

"Well, with me so far it has lasted a little over ten minutes or so. Maybe it'll last longer with you since I often leave when you come and get me." Amity said as she felt Luz's lips over her cheek, making her turn her head to the side and give her a proper kiss. Her ear perked up once she heard her phone's ping that indicated that Miss Craig had replied.

Barbara: *thumbs up*

"Ok, it's settled." Luz said while resting her head above Amity's, closing her eyes as she continued. "So, we can go get Vee with us to meet up with Masha at about 12 or 1 pm… go somewhere to eat. Then head to therapy… I'm not sure what you guys are gonna do in the meantime…"

"From the sound of it, Masha seems to be rather invested in the Clinic… not sure if they're going to make us tag along." Amity said with a soft chuckle. "So this guy… the tall Doctor, you said that you used to see him daily, right?"

"Hehe… yeah. He was a regular customer at Blackhole Donuts. My co-workers were terrified of him…" Luz laughed softly as she began to go down memory lane.

-FLASHBACK-

A short blonde haired worker was cleaning the counter before they heard the sound of the door opening. Luz had her back against them making some coffee for a customer. "Top of the morning to you, sir! Welcome to BlackHole Donuts. What can I get you…?" The worker felt that big shadow towering over them as they looked at those large blue scrubs in front of them, their eyes slowly moved up trying to reach the end of it only to be met by the unsettling look of Doctor Faust, who's red glowing eye was looking down at them through the only hole on the paper bag covering his head. "AH! Luz… could you take this one, please?"

Luz looked at her co-worker in confusion before she turned around to recognize the familiar looking face or… paper bag covered face. "Oh, hey!" She proceeded to say the usual BlackHole Donuts customer greeting shtik. "Top of the morning to you, sir. Welcome to BlackHole Donuts, what can I get ya?" Luz said, looking up at the anemic-stricken Doctor.

"Donuts and coffee…"

"Lemme guess… two chocolate, one bagel, one glazed and black coffee?" Luz said with the most friendly looking smile on her face as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Unlike her co-workers, she wasn't bothered by the unsettling sight, being used to being exposed to scary looking people through her time at the Boiling Isles.

"You know me too well…" Doctor Faust said, his voice was raspy and sick-sounding. Yet, there was a little bit of joy in his tone, finding Luz's warming and welcoming behavior rather comforting for a change.

"Hehe, I've memorized your order by now, Doctor. Perhaps you should sprinkle your routine with some newer options?" Luz said as she went to place a cup on the tray and left the machine to pour the coffee in it as she went to get the donuts.

"What do you suggest…?" The Ten Foot Tall Doctor asked, intrigued as he moved to look at Luz pointing at some donuts.

"Maybe these? They've got a lot more calories, but they're really delicious. Please, don't get the wrong idea. I'm just suggesting because I feel like you might need a little more… body fat? You're too thin! My mother always says that it isn't healthy to skip some meals… you're running around all day at the Clinic. When do you've got time to eat? How about you try one of them? It's on the house!" Luz said as she placed one of those donuts in the bag.

"Yes… I guess you're right. I've been skipping meals for sure… your mother sounds like a wise one… listen to her." Doctor Faust said, a lot more energetic than before, getting infected by Luz's friendly attitude. "Give me a few more of those plus the usual order…"

"Oh. Alright! Sure! And thanks. I do listen to my mom. At least, I try to." Luz chuckled as she brought all the donuts, grabbed the cup, put a label on it then proceeded to give it back to Doctor Faust. "It'll be… 12.50$ please…"

"Keep the change. Thank you…" Doctor Faust said as he offered Luz a 50$ bill and leaned over the counter to look at her tag, looking at her name. "Luz…"

"Oh wow… I shouldn't…" Luz said as she was about to give the man his change but he proceeded to shake his head and turn around to leave.

"I insist, more people like you to make this world a better place… I'm going my way now…" Faust said as he left the building.

Luz stared at the money and grinned, showing it at the coworker that refused to attend Faust. "Now this is a tip!"

"How do you do this?!" The coworker asked, making Luz tilt her head and shrug.

"I dunno…"

-END OF THE FLASHBACK-

Both Luz and Amity laughed at the end of the anecdote. With Amity leaning in to kiss Luz some more after her laughter faded away.

"I love that about you…" Amity whispered as she intertwined her fingers with Luz's.

"What do you love about me?" Luz whispered back as she placed her forehead against hers, staring into Amity's yellow eyes as she listened to her soft chuckle and reply.

"That you try to look on the bright side of things. Understanding those who are overlooked by society. Like me… you changed my life. I wonder what it would be like… if you hadn't chased that owl that day." Amity said, frowning a little bit before her lips were kissed.

"It happened, we met, we're together." Luz whispered with a smile before she frowned herself.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you…" Amity said as she held Luz's head with her hands.

"No, it's ok. It's not that. I remembered what happened the other day. That little… fight we had. I don't want to make that mistake twice. I got to tell you something." Luz said as she moved to sit down on the bed, making Amity to do the same.

"What do you mean?" Amity asked, a bit concerned, but happy to know that Luz was trusting her with her afflictions.

"Well…" Luz leaned down to get a notebook out from under her bed and then stood up to close the curtains to give the room some shade for her to show her… that she is able to do magic now. The spell she tapped on the piece of paper began to form a bunch of light spheres across the room, making Amity to look around with awe.

"You can do magic." Amity said, holding an orb of light on her palms before a smile formed on her face. "You… cracked the book?" She asked, knowing of the book with Runes that Lilian -the librarian- had lent them but knowing not of the Book of Death…

Luz bit on her lower lip, trying to find the courage to tell her the truth… before she backed down on it and smiled. "YES! I did…" She said trying to shake her frown away and grinned as Amity launched at her and hugged her gleefully.

"I knew you could do it…" Amity said as she hugged her around her waist, while Luz closed her eyes and tried to get rid of the guilt she felt by lying to her girlfriend. Or at least, omitting information.

"Thank you…"

"Ok, let's recap, so we're going to get Masha and Vee with us, wait for you during therapy. We sneak in for the spiritual call. Then… are we having a date?" Amity asked, already doing some planning.

"Yeah! Of course! So… maybe we could have dinner? There's the party you mentioned, maybe we can have dinner and then check the party afterwards?" Luz asked.

"Sure. That sounds lovely. Where are we going?" Amity asked as she led Luz back to sit on the bed.

"Hm… well, I got a place in mind, but we could always go somewhere else in case that plan fails." Luz said with a chuckle, discussing a few more things with her girlfriend afterwards.

Some time after, Luz was back at the living room sitting next to Vee as they waited for Amity to join them and head out to meet with Masha.

"Ok, so now that we've covered all your defensive options. We can now practice your offense." Willow says, making Caleb sigh heavily in relief.

"About time! So, are you teaching me some cool combos now?" Caleb asked enthusiastically as his eyes sparked.

"Your enthusiasm is adorable." Willow said with a soft chuckle but then her expression turned into a serious one. "But no. Think we're starting with your DP."

"A DP?" Caleb asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Yup. DP stands for Dragon Punch, you may know it as the Shoryuken motion. Your character Rumble McSkirmish is a shoto…" Willow continued to explain before she was interrupted by Caleb again.

"A shot of what now?"

"Not a shot of, a SHOT-OH. A shoto. They're often referred to as All-Rounders. Which means they've got most tools necessary to be good at both offensive and defensive playstyles. As such, shotos are by design balanced and all of them got a DP in their repertoire." Willow said.

"Willow, you're making my head spin!" Caleb complained, making Willow backfire.

"Do you want to be good at fighting games or not?!"

Caleb thought for a moment before groaning in frustration. "Ok… teach me about DPs already."

"Your DP can save your ass when you're getting oppressed by your opponent. All DPs are invincible on their startup animation. However… be wary of when to DP because if you whiff it, you'll be open to be punished by your opponent since all DPs have longer frames of recovery animation to balance their invincibility." Willow said, by now her words echoed through Caleb's mind causing him to have a little bit of a short circuit while staring into the void.

"I made a mistake…" Caleb whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Willow asked in confusion.

"Nothing!" Caleb smiled nervously. "Ok… let's do this. So…"

"Ok, I'm going to attack you, find the room to use your DP and counter attack me. Be sure to block first! Ok? We just practiced your defense, do NOT forget to block!"

"Fine, just do it!" Caleb said in frustration, which made Willow sigh feeling that she already lost him.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Willow said as they began to play, Luz just watched them go back and forth until both she and Vee flinched when they heard Caleb screaming in frustration once more.

Luz smiled widely when she saw Amity coming back from their room after she changed her clothing. "Thank Catra you're back! These two were driving me nuts…" Luz said as she led Vee by the hand up to her girlfriend as they moved to the door.

"Yeah… I could hear the ruckus from the bedroom." Amity said with a soft nervous chuckle. "You guys…" Amity began to address the pair playing video games. "We're going out, we won't be back till' 5 pm most likely. At what time is the party?"

Caleb dropped his controller and laid against the couch in exhaustion. "I think Wendy said at 10 pm or so…"

Gus came out of nowhere, literally poofing himself into the couch in between Willow and Caleb as if he had been there the whole time. "Well, now that you mention it. I was meaning to tell you guys that since we're all going to be under the same roof. I'm offering to use Illusion Magic for you to walk among the humans without worrying about concealing your ears. However, I can't do multiple spells at different time frames, so we have to be together so I can perform the spell on all of us."

"Oh… that'll be great." Amity said with a light blush on her cheeks. "I was… meaning to use some earrings today."

"Ooo la la. We're going fancy, huh?" Luz said with a grin while Caleb raised his voice.

"Ok, I'm honestly not working today, I might just check Professor HP at his office… he's feeling better since the heart attack but I still have my doubts. So… I'll come back home probably at 8 pm." Caleb said.

"I'm going to go to the Hinobi Store and spend the rest of my prize money. I'll be here all day most likely." Willow said before being asked by Caleb.

"Are you coming to the party?"

"Yeah, I'm going to make a quick trip to the Belladonna Flower Store and see if they're still hiring and drop my papers. I won't last long, so I can be ready before you arrive home." Willow said before she asked. "We cool right? I know I've not been the greatest teacher but I didn't mean to ruin your fun."

"Nah, it's ok." Caleb said with a smile, offering her his fist to fist bump. "We're cool."

"Seriously, allow me to save you from this world of pain and rage quitting. Play Blockcraft instead. Something more relaxing." Willow said with a soft chuckle.

"I just might have to settle with some good ol' Blockcraft. I've been doing this rad wolf temple in it… maybe I'll show you later?" Caleb said, thinking of a more peaceful gaming experience.

"Cool. Sounds good." Willow said as she bumped fists with him.

"Aww… you guys." Gus said with a grin, wrapping his arms around Willow and Caleb. "Ok… so, since we're all going to be at home at 8 pm, we can leave together to the party and I can perform the spell either here or back at the party. But… stay within the limits of Wendy's home when we're there. No more than a block away. Alright?"

"YES!" They all said in unison before Luz, Amity and Vee left the house with Luz driving her girlfriend and sister to meet up with Masha.

The goth was waiting for them at their workplace where they picked up some stuff they were going to use for the spiritual calling. Once they were all inside Luz's car, they proceeded to go and find some place to eat. There… after they had their meal and were just chilling on the table outside the establishment drinking their bobbas. Masha showed them a video that they were working on.

"Welcome to Gravesfield's Oddities. Today… I present to you; The Suspicious Cook of Terrace Street…" Masha said in the video's intro, explaining the topic at hand which was the strange tall Doctor that has been living in Gravesfield for nearly a year now.

"You've become much better at editing…" Vee whispered at them, making Masha to wink and make the poor Basilisk in human form blush.

Luz and Amity were trying to contain their 'awws' so they wouldn't ruin this for Vee. They just texted each other out.

Luz: ahhhh i can't! they're too adorable!

Amity: i know! xD

"This town hides horrific stories on the surface." The narration of Masha continued. "This place has been the epicenter of visits of a man that native americans before the arrival of the white man used to describe as a Titan, capable of reaching the skies. Curing the land from its infection. A century after, before the massacre of witches began… there were stories of a man taller than the buildings that man built, would visit… a Miracle Doctor as they would call them. Capable of curing any disease… the visits lasted for a few years before the memory of him was expelled from their minds. And now… it's happening again…"

The video took an abrupt turn from showing spooky imagery of the so-called 'Tall Man' that was seen throughout different generations that used to visit Gravesfield to a shot of Masha standing in front of the famous Clinic owned by Doctor Faust on Terrace Street. Where they continued narrating while one of their friends was holding a camera in front of them. "This is the Free-For-All Clinic operated by a man that calls himself; Doctor Faust. This TALL MAN came out of nowhere and established his base of medical procedures here in Terrace Street, in this building that once was a laser-tag establishment and in just… one day… the building was running again. People were dumbfounded by learning that Faust… would see them without asking for a single penny. The sight of him… has made many to back away. But slowly… he has begun to grow a rather… comforting reputation." Masha proceeded to show some interviews from people.

"I used to have a huge growth on my face. MY FACE! If it wasn't for Doctor Faust… I would still be working at home and not seeing anyone."

"Doctor Faust is the most generous person in town… everybody that I went to see would tell me that my cancer was inoperable. That I had no chance… if it wasn't for my loving partner. If I didn't ask for one more… second opinion, I wouldn't be here right now. Talking to you." The woman smiled.

"I was literally paralyzed from the neck and down… now look at me!" The man jumped in happiness.

"Yeah… I used to attend Doctor Faust, he was a regular customer at the place I worked at. Wait… are you recording this?" It was Luz who was making a cameo on the video itself, making future Luz gasp.

"You were recording!" Luz exclaimed before being shushed by Vee.

"These are just some of the many stories you'll hear of The Miracle Doctor… no one knows who he truly is." Masha's video continued. "No one knows why he wears a paper bag over his head. The police have tried to shut down the clinic on multiple occasions due to the constant calls from unnerved townsfolk who have encountered the man in broad daylight. However… they're immediately dismissed by the government itself. It seems that Doctor Faust has connections in the capital… however, I beg for you to look at this…" They showed a plate fixed on the entrance to the Clinic with an odd version of the Flag of the United States. "This isn't our flag… there is no record of this flag in the history of this country. What…"

They soon flinched when they heard someone's voice. "Doctor… is that kid again."

Masha smiled as the camera recorded them raising their head to look really high up in the sky with a towering shadow posing upon them and the friend behind the camera, who nervously turned around and lifted the camera to see that unsettling looking Doctor looking down at the both of them. Eclipsing the sun and making him look a lot more sinister.

"Oh, good morning, Doctor!" Masha said in a rather playful tone. "May I ask you some questions?"

"Masha… you know I'm busy right now. For the last time, I'm not a vampire, swamp creature, Skinwalker or a Witch." The large Doctor said.

"We'll see about that, Doctor. We'll see about that. I think you underestimate the human race, I feel we're now at an age that's more accepting of witches. If you wish to come out in public… we'll be right here waiting for the day that you finally reveal your true self.~ " Masha said, making Faust sigh.

"I'm still not a witch, Masha… please let my patients rest."

The video cut another shot of Masha in a different place, the library at high school to be exact. "Witches, as you know… they're part of our history here in Gravesfield. It's in our veins, in our very DNA. Witches walk among us, my friends. Don't ask me… allow me to present to you Professor Howard Phillips, an erudite in the rich witchy folklore of our own…"

"Hehe, thank you Masha, I think that you're getting ahead of yourself. Witches do live among us… but not in the way you'd think." Professor HP was sitting on his desk, the video was probably taken the week before as he looked way more healthy. He cleared his throat, checking his red tie and cleaning his brown blazer a little bit. "You see, witches in our past have been misunderstood… the ones who have an understanding of our world much more advanced than ours. Our society is always frightened by those who think differently. They say… kill IT! They did. They killed them. Back then, at least. Now they're killed in a different way, since their barbaric ways are no longer tolerated in our current day. Witches are being killed with ridicule… with jokes, with laughter. Maybe if we would see the bigger picture, we would understand just how wrong we were and start to open our minds a little bit more."

"That's a shame that you were not chosen by your political party in the elections, sir. You'd certainly have my vote… if I could, of course." Masha laughed softly. "But I beg to differ… I believe that there is a physical witch living among us. Have you heard of Doctor Faust?"

"Faust? Yes, I have." The man chuckled. "Doctor. If you're watching this whenever this is published. Meet me, let's sit down. Have a conversation. From witch… to witch."

"Is that a confession?" Masha asked with a grin.

"I may not have the physical traits of a witch. But I think the world is about to change, dear student." The man laughed softly.

"And there you have it…" Masha changed the scenery once more, to the sight of a door sitting in the forest with no house attached to it. "Doctor Faust, witch… or something else?"

"Now a word from our sponsor! Black Hole Donuts… where…" Masha cut the video right there and there, blushing a little bit. "Ok… so that part you don't have to see. I needed sponsors, alright? I won't be publishing this yet, I need more material to work with… but… what do you guys think?"

"I like it!" Vee said with a little shining in her eyes, causing Luz to finally break as she wrapped her arms around her little sister and squeezed her tightly. "You're so adorable!"

"Let me go!" Vee exclaimed.

"I think that's interesting. I hear nothing but frightening stories about the man. I wasn't aware he was doing so much good for the town." Amity said, giving Masha some input, making them grin back at her.

"Thanks. He has, actually. I'm not trying to attack him in any way. Like someone I know -cough- Jacob! What I want to accomplish is for him to tell his story to the world." Masha said before whispering to themselves. "And give me a load of views for my channel…" They laughed nervously. "But if any witches exist within our community, I wish for them to come forward and reveal themselves." They said… perhaps adding a reassuring tone in their voice as if they were trying to communicate something to the three of them.

"Oh, haha!" Amity laughed nervously, with Luz and Vee sweating a little bit. "Yeah… yeah… that's something… that could happen. If we knew any witches…"

"You believe in witches… huh?" Luz asked.

"I thought you did, Luz? Don't you remember the conversations we had back at camp?" Masha asked, making Luz bite her lower lip.

"Oh, OH! Of course! Why wouldn't I… y'know me. The Good Witch Azura Mega-Fan!" Luz laughed nervously while her expression changed to a horrified one when she watched Vee whispering something in spanish.

'Nunca hablamos de brujas… o de tus libros…' Vee said, which confirmed that Masha baited her to slip-up and that they never spoke about Azura or witches at camp when she had taken the identity of Luz.

"Huh? Vee… is there something you're trying to say? Speak up…" Masha said as she leaned over poor Vee who was just as nervous as Luz was.

"NO! I was just passing my sister a message our mom texted me…" Vee said in a panic before she dug herself deeper into the hole as she faked a beeping sound and pretended it was another message. "Oh! There she goes again!" Vee immediately buried herself further and pretended to answer the phone although she made a beep instead of a ringtone sound. "Hola, mama! Que?! Quieres que pasemos por la lista del super market?! SI! Ya le digo a Luz!"

Masha squinted their eyes at the both of them, even to Amity who was sweating and smiling nervously while scratching herself out of stress. "Welp… I'll BRB. I'm gonna go get a refill. By the way, Vee…" They said as they raised Vee's chin with their index finger as they smiled sweetly at them. "Dile a tu mami que le mando saludos." Perfectly stating that they themselves… speak spanish and with that… Masha left them alone and in shock.

"Vee…" Luz said as they all watched the goth made their exit.. "I don't want to worry you… but I think Masha suspects a thing or two…"

Poor Vee was tearing up a little bit in stress by now. "Noooo! I'm not ready to tell them, yet!" Vee buried her face down on the table as she continued to panic. "I wanted to gradually tell them the truth… I don't want them to feel cheated that I was the one who took your identity back at Summer Camp! I wanted to apologize for the lies… for the cover up… that I didn't mean to trick or deceive them… I only wanted them to like me for who I am…!"

"Hey, hey… calm down." Luz said, heartbroken and tearing up a little bit, clearly making both she and Amity emotional. If Vee was happy everyone was happy, if Vee was sad everyone was sad… that's pretty much how things were in the Noceda home. "What're you talking about, I've never seen anyone more supportive of you than Masha… I know that they're probably going to forgive you… and me… because this is also my fault. I'll vouch for you! I promise you, everything will be fine… just please don't cry… cause I'll cry too!" Luz sniffed.

Vee poked one eye up to look at her adoptive older sister. "What if they don't like how I look for real…?"

"You shut your cute little mouth!" Luz said in both an aggressively supportive way. "It's just like Willow said that time… you're the cute one! You're so freaking adorable. She'll love the real you! You're so cute, pretty and squishy!" Luz said as she hugged her tightly.

Vee wasn't even bothered by the excessive hugging this time around. Instead they smiled against Luz's chest and as soon as she pulled away from the hug, she cleaned those tears on her face and thanked her. "Thank you… I hope you're right."

Amity joined in, gently placing her hand on Vee's shoulder. "She is. I don't have anything to add, other than we both have your back. When you feel ready… we'll be there. I trust them, Luz trusts them… and your mom likes them too. I'm sure everything is going to end up alright."

"Thank you… both of you." Vee said as her big smile came back to her, which… brought that look on Luz and Amity that screamed at Vee that they wanted to hug her once more. "Ok, ok. Just this once… make it quick." Vee said in defeat, groaning as she was instantly squeezed by the both of them.

"Aww!" Luz and Amity exclaimed and gushed about how cute Vee is which made the poor Basilisk to just groan in response.

While the hug kept going, Luz's eyes rolled down to the table, realizing that Masha's phone was still layed down on it. The video that they were watching earlier was frozen in the last closing moments where Masha was standing in front of a rather… strange looking door sitting in the middle of the forest.

"Back! What did Vee do to deserve a hug this time?" Masha asked as they drinked from their fully refilled cold beverage.

Instead of getting a response to their question, they got a question thrown back at them by Luz. "What is this…? What's this door?"

"Hm? Oh, it's a door with no house installed in the middle of the forest. Vee, me and the gang usually hang out at that spot whenever we're indulging ourselves in the mystic arts…" Masha said with a grin. "Why?"

"Can you show me?" Luz asked, her expression now a serious one, eager to find out what this strange door was.

A few minutes later, Luz was standing in front of that door. It was located past Gravesfield's Central Park. The size of the door had Luz rather surprised as she examined it. "Wow… it's huge! It must be about 7 or 8 feet tall… I suppose it looks smaller in perspective through your video."

"I know right?" Masha chuckled.

Luz had her hand holding that doorknob which was basically at the exact same height of her forehead. She slowly turned on it… the door made a noise as if it was locked. Making her raise her eyebrow. She walked around it and realized it was locked from the other side.

"Hm, Luz? Maybe… you should leave it alone. Not that I'm saying that I'm unsettled by it… it's just a door. Leave it be." Amity said as she stood next to the grinning Masha and the concerned looking Vee.

Luz turned the lock on the other side and then walked back around it. "I just… want to make sure." She turned the doorknob, her heart beginning to race as she heard the door opening and as she pushed it further open, she realized… there was nothing… she could only see through the forest.

"What did you think was going to happen, Luz?" Masha asked with a curious smile on their face.

Luz sighed, she wasn't panicking about Masha's perceptiveness anymore and instead smiled back at them. "Nothing… I guess it's only a door."

"You think so? Take a look again." Masha said.

Luz raised an eyebrow and traced her eyes across the white door with the golden doorknob. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" Luz asked in confusion.

"You said it yourself. It's huge. Don't you think this door was made for someone with a peculiar height in our community?" Masha said, making all three of their friends blink before Luz asked.

"You're not suggesting…?"

"The Doctor? Yes. I believe this is his door." Masha said.

"Heh… you really believe that man is a witch?" Amity asked.

"I hope they're a witch. I'd be a little bit scared of him if he wasn't. Because what else could he be?" Masha asked, making the others ponder on the idea.

"They look a bit scary for sure… but, maybe he is just misunderstood." Vee suggested, mainly because she was hopeful that her own appearance wouldn't bother Masha.

"Yeah. He was really nice when they used to come to BlackHole Donuts. Gave me a lot of generous tips. Maybe he's just a very tall human being…" Luz said as she walked back to them.

"All those options sound good. I hope that there's nothing dangerous about him. So… are we done with the door? Aren't you late for your appointment?" Masha asked.

"Oh shoot! You're right!" Luz said as she hurried them out of the forest.

Some time later, Luz parked her car near the Orb Daycare Center when they noticed a police car not far away from them. "Is that… Miss Craig?" Luz asked Amity as they both began to step out of the car. All four began to walk down the street, the detective that interrogated Willow the other day was standing in front of Barbara, asking her some questions.

The red haired woman tilted her head when she noticed the group and recognized Luz and Amity. "Oh! Excuse me, detective. Girls, please come in. I'll be with you in a moment." She said as she opened the door for them.

Amity was biting her lower lip, her eyes crossing with the detective who was a bit confused from the interaction. "Are these your workers?" He asked.

"Nope, I conduct support groups on the weekend." Barbara explained with a calm smile on her face.

"I see." The man replied, as all four of them quickly made their way into the building.

"Wait for me at the teacher's lounge. Grab some snacks or make yourselves some coffee." Barbara said as she closed the door and brought the detective further away from the door.

Amity pressed herself against the wall next to the glass door, she almost brushed her hand over the side of her head to uncover her ear but slipped it away just in time when she reminded herself of Masha's presence. With the Goth walking up to her as she held their phone up to her.

"Do you want to listen…?" Masha asked, with Amity blinking in confusion as she could hear the conversation that was taking place outside.

"How…?" Amity whispered before Masha quickly shushed her up. The three of them gather around Masha as they listen to Barbara replying to the detective's questions.

"So… I met up with a few of Dahlia Greene's closest friends that had their kids in this place as well during the previous semester. I was told that they knew that there was a worker here that would often get on Mrs. Greene's nerves. Is that right?"

"A few times, my workers tried to calm down Mrs. Greene whenever she would scream at the kids. I believe those friends you're speaking about forgot to mention that?" The red haired said. Amity and Luz looked at each other with a smug expression, declaring this a savage comeback from Amity's boss.

"Is that so? How frequently did that happen?" The detective asked.

"I'd say about 50/50. She almost always had something to complain about. I'm going to save you some trouble, detective. Now that you're digging deep into it. It was me that had a disagreement with Mrs. Greene on Monday. My workers were there only to protect the kids, and to further prevent the situation from escalating any further. I'm not proud of it, but that is the truth. Please do contact Mrs. Ford, she wasn't happy about finding out that Mrs. Greene had verbally intimidated her daughter who used to be friends with her own." Barbara said. Amity frowned when hearing that Miss Craig was lying to the detective.

There was a brief moment of silence before the detective sighed. "Ok, I'm sorry. We've been looking into this case all week, and we're kind of desperate. I will contact the person you speak of… but I was just checking some leads."

"It's ok, detective. I understand. Are we done?" Barbara asked before the man began to walk away.

"Correct. Thank you. We'll contact you if there's anything else to ask."

Inside the Orb, the teens began to rush away from the door for the exception of Amity who stood there as the pale woman walked back in. "Miss Craig… you… didn't have to lie for me." Amity said with guilt in her voice.

The woman didn't lose her cool as she was confronted and simply chuckled softly. "Lie about what?"

"Seriously… I wouldn't like you to get in trouble for something I did." The pink haired worker of hers said to her boss, causing her to sigh as she turned around and placed her hands over her shoulders reassuringly.

"Like I told Mrs. Greene that day. I'm responsible for you, Leni, Aisha and the kids. So don't you worry about this. It'll be over soon. Now… Luz?" The woman asked as she faced the group, making Luz straighten herself up nervously.

"Yeah?" The girl said.

"You can head out to the playground, we'll be conducting the session outside. As for you… you're welcome to stay in the teacher's lounge if you'd like." She said to Amity and the other two people they brought; Vee and Masha.

"Oh… no. We're not staying. We're going to head out ourselves. This is Luz's sister; Vee. This is our friend Masha." Both of them waved at the tall woman with a smile before Amity finished her sentence. "We're going to head out and do some errands and then come back to pick up Luz." Amity smiled nervously.

"Ok. Nice to meet you two." Barbara said before she addressed Luz while the others began to leave. "I'll make a quick visit to my office and I'll meet you outside, ok?"

Luz nodded and rushed quickly to throw herself at Amity, giving her a loving kiss and a sweet smile. "I'll be waiting eagerly for our date.~"

Amity blushed hard, not expecting Luz to make such a move in front not only of their friend, but also her boss. "Me too.~ Hope everything goes well with your session… remember what I told you." She whispered. "You can tell the truth, she thinks that I embellished my experiences…"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." Luz whispered back and gave Amity one last kiss before pulling away, holding her hands before letting go of her left hand but keeping a tight grip on her right one. So when Amity tried to walk away she was tugged on by Luz back into her arms.

"Luz… let me go." Amity laughed, her blush worsening.

"Ok.~" Luz grinned playfully and finally parted ways with her girlfriend.

Masha was amused by the whole display of affection, turning to Vee with a soft chuckle as they whispered. "How alike are you to your sister?"

Vee blushed as heavily as Amity was, biting her lip. "Eh…I don't know… I mean! We're just… well, you see!" Vee continued to hiccup random words as they made their way out of the building, following Amity's lead as Luz watched them leave.

Luz turned around and began to walk further inside, finding herself in the dreaded hallway that had Amity so scared of. Luz glared at the walls and began to whisper at it, treating it as a person. "So… we finally met. So, you're the one that has been terrorizing my girlfriend… huh? You think you're so… tough? Huh? Huh?!"

The lights flicked which made Luz jump up where she stood. Meeting face to face with Amity's boss standing at the door of her office. "I see you've met the rascal itself. Huh?" Barbara grinned, indicating she heard the whole thing which made Luz blush and laugh nervously.

"I… do these things sometimes. I'm just… worried about Amity. She told me what happened." Luz said with a frown as she walked alongside Barbara outside to the playground.

"It's ok. I'm not judging you. I'm worried about that, myself. I have never seen Amity so stressed before." Miss Craig placed her phone down on a table settled outside and pulled up a chair for Luz while sitting at another in front of her. "Ok… so. Who are you, Luz? What's your story?"

Luz took a seat and looked down on the table before lifting her gaze back up. "Do… I have to introduce myself like… full name, age and junk?"

Barbara chuckled softly. "It was more of a rhetorical question. I simply want you to feel comfortable, there must be something that's keeping you bothered."

"There is…" Luz said as she put her thoughts together. "It all began four years ago. I was called to the Principal's office."

Just like on Wednesday morning at the library. Luz began to tell her story to yet another person in the town of Gravesfield. Of course… she was telling the truth. And just like Amity had mentioned, Barbara gave a few chuckles here and there. Not out of respect or finding Luz's story particularly funny, but she wasn't aware this was the truth. This was for Miss Craig an embellishment of the events that both girls went through.

She told her everything. From being sheltered by Eda, joining Hexside… Grom which corroborates the previous story that she heard from her worker Amity. To the more intense ones that she never heard before… this Belos person was a whole new character that the colorfully dressed woman never heard before.

"Is this man… someone that used to stalk both of you?" Barbara's expression was a more concerned one, Luz could even detect a hint of… annoyance.

"Not stalk… he was just… a bad man. He did… tried to… petrify Eda." Luz said, blurting the last part, she didn't know how to even say this and not sound silly. She knew it was the truth, but try telling this to someone who has never seen magic before.

"Ok. So you're not in any danger now?" Barbara asked, the troubled expression still on hers.

"No…" Luz said and just sighed, her memory going back to remember that time when they all saw Belos getting killed by The Collector. "He died."

The red haired woman had a skeptical look on her face, which made Luz a little nervous, but she couldn't do anything but hope that she believed her. She soon was reassured once that smile was back on her face in one sporadic moment.

"Ok." The colorful woman said. "Now, I gotta be honest. I can't imagine what you went through. I hear you talking about this man, and the way you describe him… he sounds to me like a cult leader of sorts. Someone who is willing to deceive people with his words and false promises of enlightenment. I want to be clear about something. I understand that the reason you're telling me all this… excuse me for saying it like this. Your fantasy. I came to the conclusion that what you went through is something you're not really want to go through again, let alone think and speak about it. Whatever you tell me during these sessions, I'm obligated as a professional to not speak of it to anyone. But I'm also obligated by law to talk to the police if you two are in danger. Please, Luz. Be honest. Are you in danger?"

Barbara asked with the most sincere look on her face, she was worried about these two girls she barely knew. Perhaps she could deduce that they indeed… needed help. For someone to listen. To overcome the past and let go of it.

"We're not, not anymore." Luz said with a sad smile. "But Eda… wasn't so lucky."

"The Owl Lady." Barbara said, not chuckling or laughing or smirking at the colorful words that Luz would use to tell her story. She was amused and understood how important Eda was to Luz to some extent.

They continued to talk about Eda, their relationship as mentor and trainee… the guilt that Luz had began to leak, for the first time her walls broke without Amity being there with her. Those tears began to stream down her face. Of course, Barbara could do nothing but listen, offering tissues for the younger woman to clean her face, blow her nose. It didn't escalate further than that. Luz didn't consider herself the strongest person in the world to be able to hold her emotions that well. But she refrained from fully breaking down in front of a stranger the same way she did with her girlfriend.

At some point, the guilt that Luz felt, gave Barbara the idea of writing a letter for Eda. She offered Luz a piece of paper, an envelope and a pen for her to write the thoughts she wanted to say to Eda; The Owl Lady. Luz was hesitant but tried the idea anyway.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back. I gotta make a call." Barbara said as she was examining her phone during the time Luz was writing.

The younger woman nodded and watched the red haired adult walk back inside the building as she continued to write down the letter.

'Hello Eda.'

'It's me, Luz. I don't know how things are back at the Boiling Isles… I hope you all are well. Please… I hope so. I haven't given up on you all. I might have become distracted during the past years… but I promise you I've been looking under every rock in this damn place I call home. The Human Realm… I'm happy to see my mom. But I miss you so much…'

'I'm ok. Physically. Emotionally, I'm not doing so good, Eda. I've neglected my relationship with Amity a little bit. We're still together. For the time being. I sometimes fear that I'm losing her… and it is kinda my fault that I've pushed her away in the last year. I've been prioritizing getting them all back home… and she does want to return. But she tells me not at the cost of us… what we have. And I understand. She misses her family too… I hope they know that.'

'Hunter. Well… I hope you remember Hunter. He goes by Caleb now. For the time being, I suppose. We found out that Belos' brother's name was Caleb and that he fell in love with a witch from the Boiling Isles. The town's folklore makes it sound like he was seduced… but it's just one side of the story. We believe that Caleb was deeply in love with this witch. It was reassuring to know that the man that Hunter owes his life to… was indeed a good person.'

'Heh… Willow is kind of a gamer now. She may have adapted into human society better than any of us. Well probably next to Gus. Both of them are really invested in this world. Willow really likes the plants here… to some extent. She agrees that taking care of plants in this Realm is much easier and less dangerous than at the Boiling Isles. And Gus well… can you tell his dad that he's pursuing the family business? His role model is April O'Neil… of the Ninja Turtles. This cracks me up but Gus seems to have an obsession with human's 80s and 90s cultures.'

'I guess… that's the end of the briefing. I don't know what else to say about me. But I promise you, I'm not giving up. I'm gonna come for you… please be alive… please.'

'It's my fault… if I had not helped Belos in the past… that ugly and pathetic coward man… Philippe! I don't usually say this. I don't want to become bitter like he was… but that curse that witch put on him. He completely deserved it. I wish to undo my mistake.'

'Please be alive…'

Luz tears began to wet the paper and even dilute the ink, erasing a word or two before she folded the paper and placed it into the envelope. A minute later, Barbara was back and she took a seat back down in front of her.

"Excuse me. I believe that our time has come to an end. My appointment came faster than I predicted. Do you want me to hold on to your letter or do you want to keep it somewhere safe?" Barbara asked, with Luz shaking her head.

"No. Keep it. Thank you… for what you're doing for us, Miss Craig." Luz faked a smile, cleaning her face. "I don't want to hold onto a letter that's not going to be delivered. I will use my own words… when the time comes."

"Fair enough." Barbara said and stood up. "Alright then." She led the way back inside the building, walking through the hallway, feeling a shiver down her spine when Barbara turned the lights off in there and sighed softly once they reached the open space of the lobby. "I'll see you tomorrow? Same time?"

"Yeah… sure." Luz said with a fake smile once more, buttoning her red shirt once again. "I'll see you tomorrow." She could see that Amity and the rest were not so far behind.

They were walking by the other side of the street, she made a quick sprint up to them and whispered. "Ok, so I think she's leaving now. We can wait a few minutes and then go in."

"Sounds like a plan." Amity whispered back and proceeded to wave back at Barbara once their eyes crossed as the red haired woman was locking the glass door of the building. They all played dumb and went inside a store nearby and just kept their eyes peeled as they watched the pale woman get inside her yellow car and left for good.

When they made sure that she was gone, waiting a little bit longer, they left the store and quickly rushed to the glass door of the Orb and Amity unlocked it with her spare key. She locked it back up once all of them were inside.

Masha walked into the storytime room to change up from their casual tee, shorts and flip flops to the usual gothic look they always wore in these kind of esoteric situations.

They gathered up in the hallway, soon after. They turned the lights on, of course. Amity was still feeling unnerved by this specific part of the building. But having Luz there was helping her a little bit. She found comfort in the taller girl wrapping her arm around her, leaning on her while Masha prepared the room.

In the middle of the hall, they placed some candles around a bunch of precious stones.

Luz's voice soon broke the silence in the room with a question that some of them were probably wondering about. "So, what I don't understand, it's why would the spirit of Mrs. Greene try to contact Amity through this hall… she didn't die here. Why this place?"

"The universe works in mysterious ways, Luz." Masha said as they burned some incense. "Our emotions leave energy behind in the places we've visited. Moments in time that freeze for all eternity." Masha said with a grin.

Amity sighed softly. "I… kinda had a fight with Mrs. Greene in here. Maybe that's why…"

"We'll find out eventually why you feel this way. Now… it is time." Masha said as they raised their hands up to Vee and Amity to their sides.

Vee was nervous about this whole thing, but she was hoping that everything would be alright… besides it wasn't so bad if she had the chance to hold Masha's hand.

Amity reached out for Masha's and Luz's hands and stared down onto the burning incense above the shiny stones.

Luz did the same, holding Vee's and Amity's hands noticing the quartz lying down on the floor. Recalling what Lilian had reported to her the day before. "Quartz has magic properties?" She asked.

"It is often used for a bunch of things… now, let's focus." Masha said and instructed them. They began to say a bunch of standard incantations that Luz has heard on television and such. They were calling for the dead, specifically the spirit of Dahlia Greene… the victim of the Ink Man which they killed earlier in the week.

Amity wasn't so sure about this, she found the way humans contacted spirits a bit… over the top. But then again they had similar traditions in the Boiling Isles. So she was trying her best not to judge Masha.

"In the name of our Goddess Gaea, I call you; Dahlia Greene. Please manifest yourself… we know how gruesome your death was, we know there's something you wish to say. Let us know… if you're here with us." Masha said, they waited…

Luz looked around the hall, squinting her eyes and looking at Amity who seemed rather relaxed for a change in the place that she knew had her stressed all week. "I think…" Luz was about to interrupt when they all heard it, a stomp somewhere in the building which made the hair on the back of everyone's hair stand up.

Vee yelped at the sudden sound, tightening her grip on Masha's hand, making the Goth look back at her with a reassuring smile. Vee was still frightened but was hopeful that Masha had it under control.

"We hear you. We wish to ask you some questions…" Masha said before they froze like the rest did when they heard a scream coming out of Miss Craig's office.

"Is this… normal?" Luz asked as they all stared at the door.

Masha was just as shocked as the other three gals were. They snapped out of it and replied with a serious look on their face. "No…" They proceeded to speak out loud, asking something. "How many of you are there?"

"HOW MANY?! AS IN PLURAL?!" Luz exclaimed with her eyes widely open, gasping soon after when the hallway turned dark. It was the middle of the day outside, yet the lobby, the back side of the hall leading to the playground and the classrooms on the sides all became pitch black. With only the candles they lit earlier illuminating the spot in the middle of the hall where they were sitting in a circle.

Masha was scanning the place just like everyone else was doing, their eyes staring into several sources of light that were present all over the darkness. About 20 sets of eyes glowing in the dark were looking back at them. "W-why are you all here? Did… you all die here?" Masha asked and was replied to by multiple voices speaking all at once, denying the question, some screaming and some just speaking about… 'the Ink Man.' The temperature in the room sunken down to a chilling degree. Making them all shake in fear.

Amity and Luz held hands tightly before they were warned by Masha.

"Do not break the circle… stay together. You hear me?" They said as they looked at them, before trying to smile reassuringly at Vee who was scared to death. "If you did not die here… why are you haunting this place?"

'No haunting…' A voice pierced through, Amity felt goosebumps all over her arms, recognizing the voice she used to argue with every single week since she has been working at the Daycare Center. 'No justice… no resting… we are warning… they're going to kill again…'

"The Ink Man? Is that who killed you?" Masha asked, flinching like everyone else when their ears were subjected to more wailing from the restless spirits.

The same voice spoke coherently… or at least… more coherently than the rest of the specters surrounding them. 'All of our hearts perished to one blade… the Ink Man, it's their name and color they have come to erase…they feel no remorse, no matter how many bodies they dispose, they're only true nature is to oppose… they are so dangerously close…'

Masha and the others took a few moments to let the information sink in before the goth asked. "Do you know who they are? If you want justice… please allow us to help…"

The spirits became restless again making poor Vee to clench her hands tightly on Luz's and Masha's, her eyes watering down, scared which in turn caused Luz to whisper back at her. "It'll be over soon, I promise…"

Vee stared at Luz before she felt Masha's thumb tracing the back of her hand, their eyes met briefly, with the goth's eyes promising the same thing her sister did.

Finally, the voice replied to what they said. 'We can't see their face… they don't belong in this place… from a distant land they came… do not follow after the monster dressed in black… or else you wish for your blood their knife to splat… this is the message that a man that loves you ask of us to give you back…'

Luz was confused about that ominous message her ears heard, yet it washed the fear away, replacing it with a warm cozy feeling within her heart. "Dad…?" She whispered a guess… only hoping.

'We must leave…' The voice said before Amity straightened up when she heard the voice whispering at her so unnervingly close. 'And so should you…'

Amity didn't turn back, too scared to look the spirit straight in the eyes, but she did raise her voice. "Odah…" She stopped herself as she almost said her mother's name. "Mrs. Dahlia Greene… I'm sorry… I know we never saw eye to eye… but I didn't wish for your fate. If there's anything I can do to help… please… let me know." The pink haired girl said, looking back at Luz for strength.

'If I may do one good thing in my afterlife… I just did… leave. Save yourself.' The voice said while the other spirits' voices began to wail once more, rapidly crawling away into the pitch-black darkness they came from before Mrs. Greene's voice faded away as well. 'Do NOT come back!'

The moment the cold subsided… a breeze blew down the candles' light. With the sunlight piercing through and filling the place yet again. By now, Masha safely let go of Amity's and Vee's hands. "It's over now… Oh my Goddess! That was amazing!" They exclaimed, their eyes lit with sparkles and joy. "Look at me… look at my hands!" They showed the three, her hands were violently shaking from the cold and the fear. "I never had such an experience like this before!"

"Wait, what?!" Luz asked as she reached to bring the still terrified looking Vee close to her. "I thought you did these things often?"

"Yeah… but they usually don't work…" Masha said before blushing and rubbing the back of her neck. "I mean… they don't usually work like this… I'm lucky if I get some noise… let alone a voice! This room was filled with voices!"

"Is it possible that… this place might be… special?" Luz asked, while wrapping her arms around Vee and Amity to her sides.

Masha smirked and laughed softly. "I think the ones who are special are you two. Vee has participated in a few of these sessions, so it can't be them. That leaves only you two…"

"US?!" Amity and Luz exclaimed together.

"Psst! Nooo… there's nothing special about us!" Luz said as Amity added.

"We're both perfectly normal human beings! See… thumbs!" Amity blushed heavily, realizing how the panic has made her ramble incoherent things.

"You two are a riot." Masha laughed softly. "Whatever it was… thank you. This… is one of the best moments of my life. I've never felt more vindicated by what I do and where my beliefs lie. I know there's things that you wish to keep a secret… so I won't push it further. I do want to point out that you can trust me. And if you ever feel ready, I'll always be here for you." They sounded like they were speaking to Amity and Luz themselves, but their eyes were resting upon Vee's. Making the Basilisk in human form to blink repeatedly out of stress before Masha stood up and rubbed their hands together, still cold as before. "I'll be outside to warm up."

When they left, Luz broke the silence to point out of the obvious. "Don't mean to alarm you, but they're definitely suspicious of us." Luz and Amity both stared at Vee who seemed less stressed about confessing the truth to Masha, but still unsure and insecure.

"I still need some time…" Vee said in a low voice, making both girls comfort her with a less… tight hug.

"At least they sound supportive enough. I'm sure everything will be fine." Luz said with a soft chuckle.

Vee smiled to herself, nodding in agreement. "I sure hope so…"

They soon parted ways and started to clean the place up, joining Masha outside, with Vee handing them their stuff back. "Thanks." Masha said with a grin. "I hope that you feel alright now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… thanks for doing them this favor." Vee said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"My pleasure!~ Like I said, this is the most intense experience I've had. I had a blast… although, I do hope this was useful for you?" Masha asked as they looked at the couple.

"Very helpful, thank you. I can rest easier knowing that… no ghost is holding a grudge on me." Amity said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah… among other things." Luz said as she held her hands over her chest.

"Great!" The goth exclaimed. "I'll see you tomorrow at night, then?" They asked Vee who blushed a little bit.

"Yeah… movies, right?"

"Yup." Masha said, while Luz and Amity were holding their breath trying not to scream at the cute scene.

"So, hey…" Luz blurted out, cutting the tension. "We're heading back home, we've got plans. Do you want us to give you a lift?"

Masha snapped out of her trance and grinned with a shake of her head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to walk to the clinic right now! I'm going to do some… research." The goth said as they pulled out a pocket knife out of their bag and slashed her palm making the three others freak out at what they just did.

"MASHA! WHY?!" Luz exclaimed.

"Ahhhh! Your hand! You're bleeding…!" Vee's expression turned pale from the shock.

Amity was stunned, her mind breaking down at what she just witnessed.

"Relax." Masha said. "I just need an excuse to visit the clinic, see the inside, make a map and I'll be gone in no time. The Doctor will patch me for free. Don't worry! I'll be fine." Masha winked, not making the others feel any better.

"You could have just faked a fever or something!?" Luz exclaimed, with Vee nodding excessively.

Masha blinked and chuckled softly. "Where's the fun in that? I do admit that this was a little extreme, and I'm sorry that you have to see that! I'll be ok… take care of yourselves! Thank you for the wonderful session!" Masha said as they wrapped their bleeding hand with some bandages and left down the street.

Luz broke the silence yet again. "You sure that you like that one?"

Vee didn't even think of the answer when she blurted it out. "Yes."

"The heart wants what the heart wants, I suppose…" Amity said, making Luz laugh softly.

"Goodness, you're right!" She said while Vee blushed, getting an 'aww' out of the two before Luz began to lead them back to the car.

They drove back home where they would hang out with the other witchlings, burning some time til' the evening came to be. Both Luz and Amity prepared themselves for their date.

Amity walked downstairs first, wearing a black dress with hot pink vertical stripes on the sides, with sandals to match, a necklace with the emblem of the moon around her neck and last but not least some new earrings that she was planning to show-off at the party once Gus would put an illusion spell on them.

"Damn, Ames. You're dressed to kill." Willow teased with a grin.

Amity laughed and blushed a little bit, covering her ears with her hair in the meantime. "Thanks. I haven't worn this outfit since I bought it last year… I was going to wear it for the new year. But… we celebrated at home…" Amity said and shook her head and tried to stop being so melancholic. "You look good too, by the way…!"

Willow was sitting down on the couch watching videos on her phone when Amity drew the attention of everyone towards her. Willow wasn't by all means wearing anything flashy like Amity, just a short sundress with a green jacket, white shorts and brown sandals. "Thanks." Willow said with a soft laugh and a blush. "So… is Luz going to…?"

"She probably is…" Amity said with a sigh, not even turning around when she heard Luz sliding down the staircase wearing an adult sized otter outfit.

"Surprise!" Luz exclaimed as she landed on her feet before stumbling and crashing up to Amity. Luckily, the pink haired girl was ready for her and catched her in her arms. They both blushed and laughed softly. "You're getting better at this!"

"I should be. We wouldn't want me to drop you on the big day.~" Amity flirted which caused Luz to blush heavily for a change before she was put down.

"Seriously, Luz. Again?" Willow asked.

"Hey, it's a classic! And Amity loves it.~ Isn't it love?" Luz said as she shamelessly nuzzled Amity while wearing such a goofy outfit in public.

Amity blushed and laughed some more. "Unfortunately… yeah. I love you and all of your adorable quirks.~" Amity said as she brought her into a kiss.

Suddenly, they both jumped at the sound of Camila's voice behind them. "Aww… I shouldn't encourage you to wear this for a date… but I can't help but melt at how supportive Amity is for you.~" Camila said before leaning in to whisper something in Luz's ear. "No la dejes ir…"

"MOM!" Luz said with a huge blush while laughing nervously, with Amity blushing just as much since she had been learning spanish for a few years now and she did overheard what her perhaps soon to be mother in law just whispered at Luz.

"Ok, ok… lemme take a picture! This is going straight to the album." Camila said as she pulled her phone out, with the couple posing for the picture.

"Y'know… the purple in your outfit goes well with my hair and dress." Amity said, making both Luz and Camila laugh some more.

"You're right, mom… I shouldn't let her go." Luz said as she stared into Amity's eyes and leaned in for a kiss, which Camila also immortalized in a picture.

Shortly after, Gus and Caleb have joined them. Gus was wearing an outfit that… seemed that came out of an 80s music video. They all knew how much he loved human junk of the 80s and 90s decades. Being a huge fan of Vanilla Ice.

While Caleb was more modest. Just wearing a yellow blazer with a white shirt, black pants and shoes. And just for the sake of looking stylish… a cap which helped cover his ears.

While Gus, Caleb and Willow weren't heading in the same direction where the loving couple was. They were all going to go out as well and burn some time before the party at Wendy's house.

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Gus asked Vee as she was wearing her usual sweater and pants, planning to stay in-doors with her mom.

"Nah, I'm going to stay home and watch Desperate Housekeepers with my mom. I really need to lay down and relax." Vee said as she transformed herself back into her Basilisk form.

"Yeah… besides, she got a date herself tomorrow." Luz said with a grin, making Vee blush and Camila to bring her into a hug and kiss the top of her head.

"Ok. Have fun you all… please, be careful out there. This week has been rather alarming, but the police have been making so much progress cleaning the streets that I feel it's safe for you to have some fun. Keep your phones on you and call me if you need me to pick you up." Camila said, making everyone nod and parted ways with them.

Luz and Amity dropped their friends at Luigi's pizza place before they drove away, with Luz having a place in mind to bring Amity to.

"You're seriously going to wear that the whole night?" Amity said with a smile.

Luz looked at her with a mischievous smile of her own before laughing softly. "No… I'm wearing something underneath. I just want to make it a real surprise."

Amity smiled back at her. "Outfit or no outfit, you look beautiful, Luz. This world is too precious for otter Luz."

"Aww.~" Luz blushed and grinned. A few minutes later, they were both parking at a fancy restaurant.

"Oh my Titan… we're dining here?" Amity asked, feeling the place might be a little too pricey for them.

"Yeah, I made some reservations yesterday during my shift. I have some savings, I thought it'll be fun to have some… fanciness in our lives… or if the food sucks, we can just pick fun at the names of the dishes." Luz says, making both her and her pink haired girlfriend laugh.

"Ok, I should be paying half of it." Amity said as they both stepped out and made their way there, with Luz still having her outfit on her. "Are you seriously going to take it off inside?" Amity grinned.

"Yup! Don't worry, what I got on will definitely raise some eyebrows. And maybe I can start a trend online!" Luz says before the both of them took a step back when the doors to the restaurant bursted open and a pair of medics with paper bags over their head carried a stretcher with a guy strapped to it. The strange men comically doing ambulance sounds with their own mouths as they head down the street towards the real ambulance parked there.

They both then gasped when they saw a large hand emerging from the door and the imposing Doctor came out, keeping himself straight by holding a large… scalpel just as large as he is as some sort of spear… or staff.

"Oh, wow… he looks even taller in person." Amity said as she leaned against Luz.

"Hi!" Luz said, waving at the towering Doctor looking down at them.

"Donut Lady…" The man wearing a paper bag on his head said as he recognized Luz when she worked at the Donut shop.

"You remember me! It's Luz… actually." Luz said while holding her paws around Amity.

"Luz… yes, that makes sense. Donut Lady Luz…" Faust says while pulling his blue scrubs up over to cover his exposed shoulder, his body being so thin and slender that the clothing would slip down his fragile looking complexion despite his imposing height.

"Well, I tried." Luz whispered at Amity, making her snort.

"Word of advice. Don't eat the oysters. Farewell… Donut Lady Luz." The immense Doctor says as he turns around and begins to kick his large feet forward towards the ambulance, since he was so tall, he simply climbed to the side of the vehicle and tapped on the top side before it finally began to move away with Faust holding onto it as it drove down the street.

"Byeee!" Luz said while waving at her old client. "We've been hearing about him all day and I'm starting to get the feeling that the universe is trying to tell us something…" She says, half joking, half serious while nervously chuckling.

"Yeah, let's eat somewhere else." Amity stated.

"That must be it! You're right, it's not worth risking food poisoning." Luz said while leading her pink haired girlfriend back to the car.

"Is he alright? He looks sick" Amity asked out of curiosity as she stepped back into the car.

"I know, right! I tried making him eat more donuts when I used to work at the donut shop, I even convinced him to take the stupid Donutello Challenge." Luz said as she put the seatbelt on and began to drive away. "So…"

"Maybe some thai…?" Amity suggested.

"Sounds good!" Luz said as she listened to Amity's directions. Once they arrived, the couple walked into the place, which was half full, many of the people staring at Luz since she still had on her otter outfit. Amity tried to just ignore the stares, this wasn't the first time that she found herself in this situation.

The waitress walked them to their table, who was a little confused about Luz's choice of attire but tried to be professional about it. Now that they were at the table, Luz finally removed the outfit in one swift movement, perhaps… out of practice. With the outfit gone, she was showing off what she was wearing underneath. A red blouse with a v neck and no sleeves which left her arms covered in tattoos exposed, tight black pants and shoes to match. "Ta-da!~ Oh… oops… my hair is a little messed up." She laughed softly.

Amity's eyes looked up and down in approval and a grin. "Yeah, this works, alright."

They both laughed and took a seat, ordering some food before engaging in a conversation, talking about different things until they reached the point that they had to talk about the session they had earlier at the Daycare Center.

"That was a scary moment we had back there… but… did you feel it too? I mean… that sense of… comfort." Luz asked.

"What do you mean?" Amity said as she reached for Luz's hands, holding them gently.

"Remember what Mrs. Greene said? That part where she mentioned 'a man that loves you asked us to give you this message?' I felt… happy when she said that. I felt… safe…" Luz confessed with a frown.

"You don't seem so happy now. What's wrong?" Amity asked as she brought Luz's hands close to her to kiss the back of them.

"I thought of my dad…" Luz nibbled on her lip. "I… it's been so long and I'm probably inserting my own hopes of the afterlife into this… I just… I don't know! It was such an odd feeling. Is it possible…"

"Maybe." Amity smiled as she leaned in to force Luz to look at her by holding her chin and traced it up to caress her left cheek. "I'm sure he's protecting you… wherever he is."

Luz smiled, tearing up a bit with a nod. "I hope so."

Amity let go off Luz's face and went back to hold her hands. "What I don't get is why I had a vision of Mrs. Greene yesterday where she asked for help and the session went the other way around… can a spirit feel regret? What made her change her mind…?" Amity said, having her own confusing thoughts about the situation.

"Maybe it's just like she said… she's trying to make one good thing before she moves on." Luz suggested. "I know you and her were… quite vocal about each other. But helping you instead might be earning her some brownie points in the afterlife?" Luz said, making Amity burst into laughter.

"I know I shouldn't laugh… but the way you said that was kind of funny… in the Boiling Isles, ghosts just hang around everywhere. There's not much left for them to do… sometimes they can be quite a nuisance. I know for a fact that my grandmother likes to pick on my siblings… haunting our home." She laughed some more.

"Really? That sounds like a riot." Luz grinned. "I'm happy for Vee and Masha. There seems to be romantic tension between the two, don't you think? Also, Masha is very perceptive. The fact that she figured it out that her session went bonkers because of your presence. I'm glad that she's open to the idea of witches…"

"What're you talking about? It wasn't me who did this." Amity said with her eyebrow raised. "I only know a few Oracle spells. I literally did nothing…"

"But what about this morning?" Luz asked in confusion.

"That's the only thing I know to do in the Oracle Track. I learned to have visions. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they don't. Remember that time that you had your own spiritual session at the Owl House? With Willow and Gus. You put Hooty in a trance and lifted the House all over Bonesborough."

"Oh, right." Luz chuckled.

"That day, me, Bosha, Skara and a few others had our own session and we couldn't even move a stupid doll." Amity said as her eyes stared into Luz's. "The only variable in both cases… the Owl House and the Daycare Center. It's you, Luz. It was probably you."

Luz was taken by surprise by what Amity was deducing. "I… no… I…" She stared down at the table, considering the idea, while she tried to think of a different proposal. "Me?"

Amity nodded with a smile. "I don't know what it is… but wonderful things happen around you. You are literally magic personified… and I don't mean it just as a flirt." She laughed softly. "I really mean it."

Luz blushed with a wide smile on her face. "Thank you."

They went on with their date, having dinner together before they drove back to pick up their friends back to head up to the party held at Wendy's home. Caleb was the one leading them until they reached a large house with cars parked all over the entrance.

When they rang the bell, they were greeted by the sight of the purple haired college student wearing a tuxedo with the same beanie they wore over her head every single day. "You guys made it! Welcome to the Blanchard residence, I'm your host… yours truly; Wendy Blanchard." She winked.

"You really went all out, huh?" Caleb teased, getting an elbow from his peer to the shoulder.

"Don't make me uninvite you, bro."

"Your house is huge…" Amity commented before introducing the new faces to the purple haired gal. "By the way, this is Luz, my girlfriend we talked about. This is our friends Willow and Gus."

"Sup." Willow said.

"Wait… Blanchard, are you related to the guy from the tv ads?" Gus asked. "Y'know… Blanchard Construction Empire… our buildings assemble themselves…"

"Yeah." Wendy sighed and pointed out at the frame sitting next to the Ace Pride Flag on the wall of a man wearing a rather strange outfit which reminded Gus of the old school uniforms they wore at Hexside as the man hid the top of his head with a hoodie. "That's my dad, CEO of the company."

"Wow, a celebrity's home!" Gus said enthusiastically.

"Why don't you guys make yourselves at home? There's snacks, drinks, pool's outside if you want to have a dive. And please don't go upstairs… I promise my folks not to make much of a mess." Wendy said with everyone nodding.

"Thanks for the invite." Amity said as Wendy went back to greet someone at the door with Luz taking over, dragging them away to the edge of the room.

"Ok, so you remember how things go, right?" Luz asked in a whisper.

"Oh, right… the spell!" Gus exclaimed before looking around to see if no one was looking and he circled a spell with his finger to make all of their ears look round shaped like human ears. "Do not leave the house's perimeter or else the spell is going to break down. You all have to be near me."

With that out of the way, Caleb finally removed his cap, Amity and Willow moved their hair locks and braids aside to expose their own ears and Luz continued whispering.

"That's not what I meant. I mean you know what to avoid when socializing with humans?"

"C'mon, Luz. We've been living in the Human Realm for four years now, this isn't our first party." Caleb said. "How about you sit this one out and try to have some fun for a change. There's no need to guide us around."

"But…" Luz said before they all turned around when they heard someone shouting at them.

"Will-of-theWisp08! I demand a rematch!" A guy with a white shirt and black pants was pointing out at Willow who was clearly annoyed by the move.

"Ugh… hearing my gamer tag IRL is so cringe…" She turned around and faced the guy. "The tournament is over man! I beat you fair and square. We're here for the party!"

"You can't deny me one more set! For my honor… give me one chance to get my win back!" The guy said in a dramatic tone.

Willow sighed, noticing that not far away from them were already people gathered playing her game across the room. "Ok, fine! One set and that's it. I'm not putting any money in this. I already spent the whole prize money. That clear?"

"Challenge… accepted." The guy said, holding his fist up before rushing up to the TV.

Willow turned around to face her friends and asked Luz. "Seriously, who sounds more human, me or him?" She said before making her way down to play some games.

"See, nothing to worry about" Caleb said at the frowning looking Luz. "Oh my Titan… is that the statue of a wolf?! It's so cool!" He gushed before rushing up to take some pictures.

Gus saw some people playing cards and rightfully took one of the empty seats in there. "Hey… you guys wanna see something cool?" He said as he made a few illusion tricks in front of them with a deck of cards. Of course, it wasn't literally Illusion magic, more or less the human version of illusion magic. Quickly, Gus was able to win the strangers over with his natural charm. Leaving Luz looking at all of them interacting with humans without her help.

"Wow… they've really adapted well into human society… they no longer need my help." Luz said, a bit heart broken. "But alas… if you love something you have to learn to let them go." She said, making Amity laugh softly.

"I'm still here." The pink haired girl said before she pulled Luz by the hand. "Wanna dance?" She led her to the noisiest part of the house, where the music was the loudest.

"Ok!" Luz said with a big grin on her face, trying to relax and dance with her girlfriend.

The party went for hours. Everyone was having fun. Willow lost the game with the guy but both showed good sportsmanship about it and continued playing some games with the rest of the crowd gathered around them. Gus continued to awe people with his tricks. Caleb was talking to a group of people about the whole situation with Professor HP since the word spread that he was running for Mayor now. And Luz and Amity danced for an hour before they were greeted by Amity's co-workers Aisha and Leni. They both made lots of comments about Amity's earrings, they both confessed that they thought Amity was ashamed of her ears since she didn't show them at all. Amity just nervously dismissed the claim and when they parted ways from her human friends, she and Luz found some spot outside to sit down and rest their feet while having a drink.

They drinked from their plastic cups while enjoying the full moon shining above them. "You think we should check on them…?" Luz asked before Amity chuckled softly.

"Stop worrying, Luz. They're going to be fine." Amity said as she drinked from her cup until she noticed some drops coming from the sky. "Ooo, it's raining…!" Amity said with a joyful smile, always loving the rain in the Human Realm.

Luz looked around when she heard some screaming. "What was that…?"

Amity tilted her head. "Hm? Maybe someone at the party…"

They both stared from their spot, tracing down upon the street, when they noticed a person running as fast as they possibly could towards the woods behind the Blanchard's home. Behind them… a dark figure seemed to be following after them. Not running but rather… hovering? They couldn't make that shape out since it was so dark.

"That's odd… they're getting mugged." Luz said.

"We should call the police." Amity suggested before she gasped when Luz began to run after them.

"This should be the perfect chance to test out my new glyphs!" Luz said with a grin as she pulled out some of them from inside her blouse.

"LUZ! No!" Amity said as she followed after her, but unable to keep up with her due to her sandals. She tried to pull out her phone and dial '911' but dropped it on the grass which cost her even more time.

Meanwhile, Luz was catching up to the strangers to the very same spot with the large door sitting in the middle of the woods, her ears picking up a scream of agony before it faded away or perhaps… it died down. When she finally reached the figures, the black clothed one was kneeling down over the man they were pursuing who laid there motionless. The figure sensed Luz's presence and before they could even turn around to face her, Luz used an ice glyph to summon the spell that would start freezing its way up to the pursuer.

The black figure was taken by surprise by the magic as they pulled out something from the body lying on the floor. Luz quickly tackled the figure and was about to use another glyph before she felt an elbow hitting her on the face, busting her lip. She was swiftly pinned down on the floor with her glyph falling next to her and her eyes picked up something rushing down up to her to which she quickly reacted and expected to block a punch to the face only to make her worst fear to materialize when she saw a red blade piercing through her left palm… the knife cut through, exiting through the back of the hand and splattering drops of her own blood across her face.

Luz's eyes began to water down in shock, but her survival instincts kicked in, resisting the blade from being pushed down on her. Her eyes stared into the pitch-black eyes looking down on her, before they both heard the loud scream of Amity's voice filling their ears.

"LUZ!" Amity yelled in horror at the sight of her girlfriend's wounded and with the culprit still on top of her.

The pursuer was taken by surprise by the screaming, the white mask with the pitch-black eyes and smile faced the pink haired girl, with the grip on their blade loosening up, which gave Luz the chance to reach for her glyph lying next to her and used it against the dark figure before they could look back at her.

The glyph… exploded on the killer's chest, it was supposed to be a fire glyph but instead acted as an explosion which pushed the killer away, taking their blade with them.

Luz groaned in pain as soon as the knife was pulled out from her wound and held her wrist while Amity quickly rushed to her.

"Luz! Luz…! Your hand…!" The pink haired girl pointed out while stressed.

"I'm ok… this was a bad idea… but I'm ok." Luz said, trying to calm her girlfriend before the both of them stared at the dark figure coughing on the floor, a few feet away from them. They seemed to be incapacitated, rolling around in pain as if the glyph's explosion had done a little bit of damage on them.

"Why did you do THAT?!" Amity screamed at Luz, clearly upset and terrified.

Luz was taken by surprise. It wasn't common for Amity to be this upset, yet… she understood why she would be. She stared at her wound, still bleeding… the adrenaline was fading out which made her feel a lot more pain by now. "I… I'm sorry. I'm so stupid… I know… I just wanted…"

"Don't you think about the consequences?!" Amity began to cry, tears streaming down across her face. "Don't you think about your mom, about Vee… about me?! You're not indestructible Luz… magic doesn't make you indestructible… you could have died…! This is not a comic book… this isn't Azura… we're not in the Boiling Isles anymore… don't do this again! Don't rush into danger like this… please!" Amity hugged Luz tightly, like she never did before crying onto the side of her neck.

Luz felt horrible and tried to hug back, making sure to keep her hand away to not ruin Amity's dress. "I'm sorry… you're right… I won't do that again. I promise. It was stupid of me to put myself and you in danger." She whispered, her eyes tracing back to the man that she believed was getting mugged, his face… she knew who he was… it was that man that the police were looking for. Pete Meza… he recognized the face with the large nose that now was pale and motionless. "Amity… we should go…" Luz panicked, her eyes watched in horror as the dark figure was now sitting down coughing what appeared to be black ink from their mouth while the sunken eyes on their mask oozed the liquid as well.

By the time that Luz and Amity were able to stand up. They heard them talk… their voice heavily distorted.

"Luz… is it? That's some interesting abilities you got… I think you broke one of my ribs." They chuckled softly, putting themselves back up, hunched over as they held their pale hand over their chest. "Fire and Ice. Such opposing powers to one another… which says a lot about you. I take it that you're a very indecisive person. Choosing to act rather than making a decision… the right decision… she is right… your partner." They laughed, whatever was distorting their voice making it sound a lot more sinister. "You shouldn't be jumping into danger like that. You'll probably only get yourself killed… or worse, getting someone else killed."

Luz stared at the killer… the Ink Man, feeling awful of what she heard. The guilt she has been feeling during these years in the Human Realm… maybe they were right. She thought, maybe her indecisiveness is the reason why they're all stuck here in this place.

"SHUT UP! You don't know her like I do!" Amity screamed back at the killer.

"Why did you do that? Are you some kind of protector now? Do you believe to be a super hero or something?!" The killer said in a very upset tone. "Unfortunately for you… this isn't the first time I've dealt with meta humans… I've got a handful of them buried in my own personal graveyard…" They laughed a little bit.

"I can't let the innocents be harmed by the likes of you." Luz said.

"Innocent? Him? Don't be so naive, girl. Y'know who this is? This man hired me to kill Dahlia Greene… the bastard wanted her out of the picture. Which I took advantage of, of course… I've been meaning to kill that hag the moment I stepped into Gravesfield. He let me in… I killed her. He expected me to make it look like an accident. But with me… there are no accidents. Now… his little secrets are out in the open and he came back to me threatening me with going to the police. That man… deserves death…"

Luz and Amity just listened, unnerved by the confession.

"You're still a monster." Luz said, standing up alongside the pink haired girl next to her.

"Yeah? So what? You're going to stop me now? You're going to start wearing a flashy suit, go out at night and fight crime?" The Ink Man laughing unnervingly once more. "Maybe… I should break your fantasy…"

The killer began to step forward, Luz reacted by trying to reach for some glyphs in her blouse only to hiss when she realized she was using her wounded hand.

"Stay away from my Luz!" Amity exclaimed as the Ink Man rushed up to them holding their blade, she drew some circle spells and began to use the Abomination combined with the water around them falling from the sky. Which created a blob of water around them to protect both herself and Luz and it grew some tentacles which began to attack the killer.

The Ink Man slipped and rolled trying to avoid the water from hitting them. At some point the Abomination tentacles grabbed and violently threw them at the large door, surprisingly not breaking it… at all. The Ink Man coughed some more ink from their mouth and raised their face to look at them.

"You're just like me…" They said, to which Amity replied holding her hands to control the water.

"I'm nothing like you, you monster!"

The Ink Man giggled softly in an unnerving way and the ink that fell from their face and around their body began to act the same way that Amity's Abomination was doing and in a swift movement cut superficially the right side of Amity's neck, making her to groan in pain and look at them with horror in her eyes.

"You're a witch…" Amity said.

"Witch? Is that what you really are?" The Ink Man said.

"Are you not?!" Luz asked in shock.

"No…" The Ink Man chuckled softly. "Stay out of my way… or else… I'll come back to see what your true colors are…!" They said and quickly melted into a pool of ink on the grass.

Luz and Amity were left in shock… only to gasp when they saw the door opening and revealing… Doctor Faust. "You are hurt…"

End of Chapter 6.