Hello, again! Wow, 'Thanks to Them' was fantastic and yet it didn't reveal much. Then again Dana Terrace or her crew are hardly at fault that they had so little time to put so much content (Looking at you, Disney.)
Still, this short-lived AU I came up with is still interesting enough for me. But not enough to make it a full story. Even if I wanted I barely have free time, nowadays. Working from monday to saturday, and sometimes even on sunday will do that to a guy.
Still, the first special of season three covered a few interesting topics which motivated me to write this quickie. I hope you all like it. Takes place during the Halloween of the episode 'Thanks to Them'.
Philip Wittebane allowed himself to relax. Between the pressure of returning to the Demon Realm and the very remote possibility of Luzura having followed them here, he needed to let it loose. And tonight, he hoped he would at the Old Gravesfield Halloween Festival.
Jacob Wittebane, Philip's father, drove his youngest and his group of otherworldly friends to the festival. Phillip and the gang got out of the car, each in their custom made costume.
"Phil, will you be alright?" Jacob was a strong-looking man with a thick, short beard. That made him a somewhat intimidating figure were it not for his gentle tone. "You know your brother could accompany you."
Philip resisted the urge to roll his eyes, even if he was wearing a mask. "I'm not a baby that needs hand-holding all the time, dad. Besides, you know Caleb doesn't care for this festival anymore."
Jacob sighed and accepted that answer. "Just phone me if you need anything, son."
"Will do, dad." with that, father and son parted ways.
"Say, is there something wrong between you and your paps?" Augustus Porter, aka Gus asked.
"Ugh, he has been way too overprotective, like I'm going to disappear back into the Boiling Isles without warning."
Nobody chose to comment that was kind of their plan. Wishing to change the subject, Philip inquired about each of their costumes.
"Oh, tonight I'm not Augustus Porter. I am now Captain John Nuke'Em Sheridan of the space station Babylon 5!" Gus stood proudly, showing off his blue uniform.
"Binging that old Babylon 5 space novel my father keeps in his basement, uh?" Philip smirked knowingly.
"Me too!" Amistad was next. Her outfit was a sort of kimono of blue and faint red with some exotic touches. The most notorious detail was a bony crest that traveled around the back of her head and ended above her concealed ears. Her hair was dyed dark brown. "I am Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari. That is, after she went into the cocoon and became a human-minbari hybrid."
Philip nodded, feeling too good a chance to tease to pass up. "You do know that Delenn and Sheridan end up together when the series ends, right?"
Both friends blinked, stunned, shared a look and proceeded to avoid eye contact out of embarrassment.
"Well, I mixed it up a little. Half the good and half the bad." Willow Park, the girl who back home was the best at Plant and Healing magic, combined the element of vampire and angel.
"Uh, seems to me you're a lot more good than bad. I just went bad all the way." Finally, Boscha made her own pirate costume…with a crossbow. She had been charmed by the medieval weapon and added one to her design. A bandana concealed her middle eye.
"Too bad a girl to be seen with a doctor?" Philip asked. He himself was more modernized version of a Bubonic Plague Doctor. Instead of a robe he had pants, shirt and long coat all of dark color, with a hood to complete the set. The bird mask was also modified, with a flat beak going downwards and two antenna-like horns protuberant from the sides.
(A.N.: That's right. Philip's Halloween mask is the same as canon!Belos' mask.)
Boscha shrugged. "If they are an equally bad doctor…" she left the statement hanging but still took his hand in hers, which he gladly accepted.
And with that the group went into a night of fun. After going through the boots selling candy and a small play of a witch trial that Gus had the audacity to botch, the gang went into a hayride. The event was directed by the new kid on Gravesfield, Masha. They were dressed as a traditional witch.
"I hope you're all prepared for a truly scary ride."
Gus and Willow cheered. "Make us cry! Make us cry!"
Masha spoke ominously. "Because there's nothing scarier than knowledge."
"Boo, just lie to me!"
In spite of Gus' demand, Masha wasn't dissuaded. "Let me tell you the eeriest unsolved mystery of Gravesfield. The Tale of the Vengeful Witch: Luz Noceda."
Immediately, all the joy Philip had accumulated on that night evaporated. He clenched his hands around the wooden board of the wagon.
"Luz? Isn't that Luzura?" Boscha whispered to him but got no reply.
Masha began narrating. "The year is 1613. One of the local families was the Nocedas, a woman named Camilla and her young daughter, Luz."
The wagon passed by the cardboard montage of a small town. One of the houses had two human figures of tanned skin and dark hair, a woman and a girl.
The gang understood the implication and looked at the small figure of the girl with apprehension. Amistad, however, felt actual dread.
Masha carried on, unaware of their state of mind. "But the Nocedas were hardly treated well by their fellow citizens. Because of their different race and little Luz's peculiar behavior, paranoia and bigotry led all of Gravesfield to accuse Camilla of being a witch."
The figures displayed a crowd of mobsters surrounding Camilla and Luz, who hugged each other in fear. Next, Camilla was in a cage before a cruel looking judge and jury. The crowd of onlookers threw pieces of paper at the Camilla figure, which represented rocks.
"As evidence of Camilla's witchcraft, the tribunal claimed her late husband, who had passed away despite being of good health, had fallen victim to a demon she had summoned. It was inevitable that Camilla was sentenced to death. And how were those accused of witchcraft punished?"
Suddenly, another, larger cardboard figure appeared. A much bigger and detailed figure of Camilla Noceda tied to a bonfire.
"Death by fire!"
There were the sound effects of flames and a woman crying out in agony. Gus, noticing Amistad's expression, put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"As for little Luz, she was forced to watch the despicable spectacle. However, she was able to escape her captors and ran away into the woods that night."
"The townsfolk gave chase, now suspecting and fearing the girl was a witch, too, and planned to burn her at the stake alongside her mother. It seemed Luz Noceda's days were done…until an unexpected savior showed up: a real witch named Evelyn Clawthorne!"
The design of an old traditional witch passed above them. Old, fat, wrinkly, with a pointed hat and flying on a broomstick. The actual witches looked at the figure with mixtures of confusion and repulse. Was this really how humans saw witches like?
"Evelyn Clawthorne took the desperate Luz with her and brought her into a demonic realm of evil, or so witnesses claimed. And the Noceda disappeared from this Earth…"
A pregnant pause followed. Philip had the feeling it wasn't over, yet.
The wagon reached a stop. It was dark, but they could vaguely distinguish the outline of more cardboard constructs. The one to their right was suddenly illuminated. It showed a large replica of Luz Noceda, grown up, towering over the townsfolk. Its arms outstretched and its expression was demonic.
"...or so the people thought. For 8 years later, Luz Noceda returned. No longer an ostracized victim, but a hunter in search of payback. Luz Noceda used terrible magic she had learnt on the other side to bring fear and pain upon Gravesfield. The witch-hunters who had condemned her mother were rounded up. Luz made them watch as she burnt their sons, and their daughters, and their wives, and their friends. And then…"
The scenario in front of the wagon was illuminated, showing the depiction of a large pyre. The figure of Luz circled around it, like it was prancing.
"She danced around the pyre. She sang a song of a promise of doomsday upon mankind. She vowed right then and there that she would burn the rest of the world for her own pleasure. It seemed like it was the beginning of the end…"
As expected, the last display, on their left, lit up. It was Evelyn Clawthorne dragging an enraged Luz Noceda away.
"Until the unexpected savior returned. Evelyn arrived and confronted Luz. After a battle, Evelyn dragged Luz Noceda back into the realm of witches. Before being dragged away, Luz swore that she would return and complete her revenge against mankind.
"And from that day onwards, she was never seen again in this world."
The spectacle was over, but Masha's narration wasn't. "Sounds like Luz got grounded by her foster witch mom. Or maybe," they pointed a flashlight at their own face. "Luz Noceda is still alive today, having used taboo magic to avoid death and is building up an army to bring about an end to every man, woman and child of this Earth!"
The hayride ended and the group left the wagon in foreboding silence. Philip realized then that going on the hayride was a bad idea.
Short, I know, but gives a little more backstory to Luzura aka Evil Luz. The heavy Babylon 5 references are because I love that well-written series, too much. Hope you liked it.
The next updates will be other adapted scenes. And I have barely begun the crossover chapter of this AU and the canon TOH. Until next time.