Chapter 42: The Stowaway

You'd think everything would work out alright. A night's sleep and perhaps a meaningful discussion at breakfast would have cleared the group's mind, right? That did sound like a good plan to Ozzy and Charles. After their moment on the rooftop, the two had gone to sleep in the panic cabin within Elvis (ironically, Ozzy was weirded out by the filth of her guest room and Charles wanted to stick with her for precautions). They stayed and drifted to sleep in the same bunk bed (wearing PJs) until Elvis picked up the first sunrays. Ozzy was the first to awaken from the sunshine, which was a bit annoying. However, seeing Charles curled up next to her and using her chest as a pillow made her smile.

For a regular sleepover between partners, Charles sure slept like an angel when he was comfortable. When he started waking up, Ozzy peppered his forehead with kisses.

"You couldn't have waited until I got up?" Charles muttered.

"Morning to you as well." Ozzy gave him space after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, causing Charles to blush. She stretched out her arms. "Well, I'm ready to tackle a shower before we tackle the ugly breakfast that awaits us. You want to shower first?"

"Is that OK with…"

CRASH!

Ozzy and Charles paused and stared at the door. Judging by how loud the crash was, somebody was definitely inside Elvis with them. Ozzy knew that with all the precautions she had taken to prep up her ROCKINGTROLLTOISE for any possible trip, a crash was a signal of bad news. She pulled out a guitar from her hair and cautiously got out of the cabin. Charles followed her and the two quietly went through the small hallway. As they got close to the main area, Ozzy used her hair to flip on a switch. Fortunately, none of the lights had been damaged. The main area lit up, revealing the living area and kitchen area to be rather intact… except for one open cabinet, a mug soaked with water in the sink, and a broken ceramic cookie jar.

"Oh no!" Ozzy kneeled to look at the broken pieces of what looked like a hand painting on the ceramic. "My cookie jar!"

"Can't you fix it with superglue? I thought you used some serious adhesive to glue up nearly everything in Elvis," Charles said.

"No, I totally can." Ozzy showed him a chunk of the jar. It showed the heads of a Rock Troll and a Pop Troll, both wearing glitter glued crowns and large painted smiles. "It's just… my best friend Gladiola made this for me when we were kids for my birthday party. You know, in the years before I decided who I was. My mom said I could have any kind of birthday party I wanted, and on my sixth birthday, I wanted a painting pottery party. You know, like pick a figurine, a mug, a plate and whatever, paint it, and they'll warm it up until you can pick it up a few weeks later. It sounded fun and I asked my mother if we could do that… Not a lot of my Rock Troll invitees showed up. I almost cried until Gladiola showed me what she was working on. A cookie jar with us on it." Ozzy smiled softly. "I never go anywhere outside of the Troll Lands without it."

"I feel ya…" Charles paused a bit before grabbing a tube of Ozzy's glue and helping her assemble the pieces together. "Gill… My best friend… His father Gaston never wanted him to learn how to read. And my father wasn't quite the generous man, so I never had any toys growing up. When we were kids, Gill and I spent so much time together, we built our own hideaway. I brought books I could find in and out of my home so I could teach Gill to read, and he brought toys for me to play with. Gill liked it better when I read to him out loud. One time, I was reading him Les Misérablesand he was so quiet. He seemed shaken by Jean Valjean and Cosette's first encounter. Next thing I knew, the next week, he gave me a homemade doll."

"That's so sweet…" Ozzy glued in the final piece. "You know, if you're worried about Gill on the other side, you should try to bring him to the other side before it gets nuked. I could help you find homes for them."

"Ozzy, c'est très gentil." (That's so nice.) Charles smiled and passed her the glue tube as she secured the repaired cookie jar in the cabinet. "I mean, it's such a nice offer… I mean, I don't know what to think of it. My life was awful back on the Isle but there were some people I handled just fine… and I don't know if they'd be OK with me pulling them away from the home they had. And I'm not very comfortable with how Audrey is turning out. I can't believe she just doesn't care that millions of people will die! Even by my standards, that's too much!"

"Audrey mentioned that she had her Auradonian scent removed when she went to the Spa of Scents in Macabretown." Ozzy closed the cabinet. "Such extractions can really do a number on what the owner was previously attached to. I knew this one Rock Troll who was obsessed with the organ, she was sick of not being able to fit in, so she went to the spa and had her Rock scent removed. Next thing we knew, she became this Troll that didn't even belong to any music tribe and played whatever she wanted on the organ. With all the Rock aspects removed from her, she disassociated herself from her own family and friends to the point that she wanted nothing to do with any Trolls and she moved to Macabretown permanently. Any Troll that visited the town got literal rocks thrown at them. In the end, being a Troll was the last thing she wanted to be."

"So, you're saying that Audrey isn't displaying any care about Auradon without her Auradonian stench, and maybe if we got it back from the Spa, it would help her see reason?"

"Maybe. I mean, first, how do we convince her to do that once we find your older sis, and most importantly, WHO THE HELL IS EATING THROUGH MY SUPPLIES? I SPECIFICALLY SAID THREE CANS OF VEGGIES TO MAKE A 6-PEOPLE MEAL FOR ONE WEEK, WHY AM I OUT OF CANNED VEGGIES?"

Something shook on the floor. Behind the driver's seat was a carpeted trapdoor that led to Elvis' motor. "We got you, ya freeloading freak!" Ozzy exclaimed in fury as she forced the trapdoor open. "If this is your idea of a joke, Deetz, I'm not laughing!"

In the darkness of the engine, something moved in fright. Charles snapped his finger, creating a candlelight-sized purple flame on his fingertips. He held it out, illuminating the face of whoever was hiding underneath. A pair of two mismatched eyes glowed in the purple light.

"Merde!" Charles cussed.

Minutes later

Things already looked awkward at the breakfast table when Ozzy and Charles stormed in, banging the doors open as loud as they could. The three sorcerers looked surprised while Audrey, Gothy, Crystal, and Beatrice looked like they were in the middle of the longest, quietest breakfast where numerous death glares were exchanged. Audrey kept her arms crossed, Gothy outright stabbed her scrambled eggs, Crystal drank her coffee, and Beatrice was probably too scared to eat her own breakfast. From the kitchen, the sorcerers observed the scene.

"Should we intervene?" Wanda quietly asked. "I don't want them to leave on such bad terms.

"Wanda, I doubt that the solution to their fight is just going to barge in," Nico said. Then just like that, the door burst open. A beyond-pissed Ozzy had kicked it open.

"GUYS! INTERVENTION, NOW!" Charles exclaimed.

"I'm not going back to Auradon to save those bitches, Charles," Audrey said sourly.

"Forget Auradon for 5 seconds! We had a stowaway on Elvis!" Charles shook her, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion.

"That's what happened to those cookies and canned veggies?" Crystal took a sip of coffee. "I thought Beatrice did it. Who was it?"

"Gee, why don't you ask him, Crystal," Ozzy said sarcastically before shoving someone out of her hair and onto the table. "Apparently, HE KNOWS YA AND GOTHY!"

Even the sorcerers gasped in shock to go with Crystal's spit take, Gothy nearly choking on her scrambled eggs, and Audrey and Beatrice jumping off their chairs in startlement. Gothy and Crystal were the most horrified when they recognized the small figure. He may have been covered with stains from ROCKINGTROLLTOISE oil, but his purple otter pants, pink AZURA THE GOOD WITCH T-shirt, white sneakers plastered with coven stickers, and mismatched eyes made the girls recognize him.

"AMAR?" Crystal and Gothy panicked. Ozzy must have shoved him on the table hard; Amar started crying and hugging on to his otter-themed backpack.

"Oh, my goodness!" Wanda immediately rushed over and picked up Amar in her arms while he kept crying. She snapped her fingers and a white towel appeared in her hands. Wanda proceeded to wipe him clean. "Poor thing! He must have been scared!"

"Alright, I'll bite." Nico stared at Ozzy and Charles. "Did you guys make him overnight?" Charles' response to Nico's question was to pull a guitar out of Ozzy's hair and throw it at Nico. She used her magic to turn the guitar into sand before it could even touch her.

"Ozzy, why was there a kid in your engine?" Audrey stared at Amar; Wanda finished cleaning him and Amar still looked like he wanted to cry.

"How should I know? We tried asking him and he kept crying!" Ozzy complained. "Gothy! Crystal!"

"How should we know?" Crystal raised her hands. "The kid was literally at the train station with his mothers when we left Witchachusetts! He even waved goodbye as the train left!"

"What did we do?" Gothy panicked. "Mrs. Amity is going to kill me! They must be freaking out!"

While Gothy freaked out, Amar sat down and started unzipping his otter-themed backpack. He pulled out an envelope with a fancy magenta seal on the back and walked over to Crystal. He tugged her sleeve to get her attention.

"The Blight-Noceda seal?" Crystal used her knife to cut it open. The seal burned up and the pink smoke turned into a holographic miniature version of Amity Blight-Noceda standing up.

"Hey, it's Amity!" Nico beamed.

"Hello, Gothy and Crystal," the holographic witch's recording said. "If you are seeing this, it means that you just discovered that Amar stowed away on your train. Rest assured, we gave him permission to follow you."

"What kind of parent lets their eight-year-old go on a crazy trip like this?" Audrey asked.

"You're probably wondering 'What kind of parent lets their eight-year-old go on a crazy trip like this?' Trust me, initially, I DID NOT like the idea of my son going to make sure you two were going, but Amar is half-Noceda. It literally means 'don't give in'. Honestly, if I had told him no, he would have found a way to sneak out. So we packed all his basic necessities in his backpack, this letter confirming his reasons, his emergency kits…"

"Mi amor, did you mention the health supplies?" An offscreen voice called out to the holographic Amity.

"I'm about to, Luz! You heard her… We also put emergency contacts in case he gets injured. He has workbooks to keep himself educated while he's with you, make sure he doesn't consume any dairy products with lactose, and PLEASE be patient with him, he just got diagnosed with autism 4 months ago and he can get very sensitive if strangers are harsh on him. Don't let him go to bed before 8pm, make sure he eats all his veggies, he can have some added sugar ONLY if he behaves, make sure he practices his magic…"

"Hey, calm down!" Luz Blight-Noceda had her head stick out in the hologram. "You're starting to sound like your mother!"

"Did you just compare me to my mother?"

"Of course not. But you're starting to get over-controlling. Relax. Amar will be just fine."

"But our little baby is going to be all alone! How can we annihilate those who try to kill him or underestimate how important he is to us?"

"Amity, our mijo will do just fine! It's like you said, we put everything in his backpack, he's with them when they read this, and besides, it's Amar. If anything, they're gonna be worried about him. Ya know?"

"Touché. Well, you got the message. We wish you best of luck on your quest to find Gothy's sister and we'll be picking up Amar when you're done."

"Oh, and if he gets severely injured, WE'LL DISSECT YOU UNTIL YOU CHOKE OUT ANY SCREAM YOU HAVE LEFT!" Her Spanish accent slipped out, but the death glare and clasped hands made it clear that Luz was serious.Finally, the envelope itself burned out and the letter, complete with a glowing transcript of the message, slithered its way into Gothy's purse.

"Fantastic," Audrey groaned. "Either Kory kills me or a bunch of overprotective moms are going to turn us into lab rats."

"Mi mamá conoció a mi mamá cuando intentó diseccionarla en la escuela," Amar spoke up. (My mommy met my mama when she tried dissecting her in school.)

"Yeah, that's pretty romantic." Beatrice ruffled his hair. "How've you been?"

"Siempre bueno. Gracias por preguntar." Amar chuckled. (Always good. Thanks for asking.)

"Wait. You two know each other?" Audrey asked.

"You speak Spanish?" Wanda curiously asked Beatrice.

"In order." Beatrice pointed at Audrey. "Yes, I know Amar. His mother Amity is the chair of the Better Moms Association and leader of the Social Services Coven."

"Never heard of it. Was that invented after the Great Destruction?" Dr. Strange asked.

"Yep. It's like a Rotary Club for people who suffered through bad parents and they try to make the 'world a better place for kids'. Kinda laughable if you ask me, but my mom's a part of the club. Chairman of the Macabretown division and all that."

"Your mom REALLY has one heck of a resumé." Audrey was impressed. "Vice Mayor, Photographer, TV Personality, and now chairman for regional offices of a national child services agency run by super moms?"

"She's also the Queen of the Macabretown Petrifying Pétanque Club." Beatrice shook her hands. "But to cut things short, yeah, I know Amar. Besides for the BMA, the Blight-Nocedas also go to Macabretown for the usual witch sabbaticals and occasional coventions. You know, conventions for covens."

"I thought their type of witches stopped using the coven system after the defeat of Belos in 2021." Nico frowned. "Or did I miss out a whole season?"

"Nah. People just decide with what they want to go for. Old habits die hard. Anyway, the first time I actually met Amar was in a covention four years ago. His mother Luz was a special guest for the panel of her coven, the WMC. Wild Magic Coven. Created and leading herself."
"Mis madres lideran dos aquelarres diferentes." Amar nodded. (My mothers lead two different covens.)

"Second question. My godfather knows a guy who knows a lot of languages. He cusses nearly all the time, but I picked up on different words as time went on. I don't really speak them, but I can understand what Amar is saying. He doesn't really like talking to other adults besides his parents in English." Beatrice turned to Amar. "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Me comí un tarro de galletas entero," Amar said. (I ate a whole cookie jar).

"Cookies aren't a meal! They're for snacks at parties or emotional eating!" Beatrice exclaimed. "You didn't even eat anything while you played stowaways besides canned veggies!"

"Does he like Loki Charms?" Wanda snapped her fingers. A bowl full of cereals appeared; it appeared to be a mix between plain cereals and artificially colored cereals shaped like Viking helmets, wolf heads, knotted snakes, and some horned god's head laughing maniacally. When she saw how Amar eagerly reached out for the cereal, Wanda put it down in front of him. The small child immediately aimed for the devouring.

"Aw, he's cute!" Wanda cooed. "He makes me think of Billy and Tommy!"

"Yeah, the last thing we need is a walking reminder of the kids you invented in your delusional sitcom trauma-handling fantasy." Nico pulled up a chair and sat down.

"AM I THE ONLY FREAKING OUT HERE?" Gothy demanded. She began pacing around the room and stressfully hyperventilating. "WE HAD A KID WITH US!"

"Uh, Gothy? We're kids," Audrey pointed out.

"WE'RE TEENAGERS, AUDREY! IT'S HORMONES, PERIODS, DRINKING UNER THE LEGAL AGE, FUCKING FOR SELF DISCOVERY, AND DRIVER'S LICENSE! AMAR IS A KID! CUTE, NAÏVE, AND MORE IN DANGER THAN ANY OF US!" Gothy ran over to shake Audrey's shoulders. The latter rolled her eyes and gently nudged Gothy off of her. In the meantime, Dr. Strange walked over and waved his hands over Amar. Golden diagrams surrounded Amar as a rainbow-colored aura surrounded him and agitated in front of the sorcerer's diagrams. Amar giggled at the sight of the diagrams and stood on his chair. His small hand reached out and pulled down one of the diagrams, changing its lighting to rainbow hues.

"That's… not supposed to happen." Dr. Strange snapped his fingers and the Darkhold appeared in his hands. He kept his eyes on Amar while he searched through the pages. Everyone watched in marvelment as Amar ripped apart the diagram and patched it up into a glyph as if he had just made a dreamcatcher. He tapped on his makeshift rainbow glyph and a ball of light appeared, floating above his palm.

"Wilder magic…" Crystal gasped. "Amar… That's… I don't know what to say."

"Amar Blight-Noceda." Dr. Strange found the pages. "A compiler of chaotic magic but on a lesser scale than the Queen of Mean. A being who brings forth new senses of meaning in magic and perspectives. A being that has such powerful, near unlimited magic…" Dr. Strange left out the softest smile the guests had ever seen him give, and he gave it to Amar, "… because he was born from one of the most powerful true loves to have developed in adversity."

Naturally, nearly everyone above Amar's age let out a massive awe.

"Well… if he's powerful AND if we keep a careful eye on him, he should be good to come along. AS LONG AS HE STAYS OUT OF THE ENGINE!" Ozzy emphasized.

"Yeah, why the engine?" Beatrice asked.

All Amar gave for an answer was a shrug.

Later

Ironically, the revelation of Amar playing stowaways had calmed down the rough tension between the teenagers. Even Charles, who had been disturbed by villainous women fawning over him for his 'cuteness', admitted after breakfast that the boy's adorability surpassed his, even giving him a piggyback ride when they got ready to board Elvis. The sorcerers had helped them refill their supplies and provided them with winter coats.

"I can't thank you enough, Doctor." Audrey shook hands with the sorcerer while her friends went aboard and Wanda and Nico started preparing the portal. "Once this mission is over, I swear I will do whatever it takes to get you three out of the Wastelands."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up, but knowing what you're meant to be, I wouldn't be surprised." After verifying that nobody else was watching, Doctor Strange gently pulled Audrey aside. He put both quivering hands on Audrey's shoulders and gave her a serious glare. "Audrey, listen to me. I know you are already aware of this, but it is crucial that you fulfill a contract with the Radio Demon as soon as possible."

"I know." Audrey looked down at her currently human hands. "I might lose my humanity."

"Well… There's that, but that's not it. The Darkhold describes you as a compilation of chaos. Your demon is his own walking universe of chaos, disorder, and entertainment. Unlike most demons or creatures from different dimensions, Alastor doesn't crave power, revenge, riches, or the things that indulge most people's twisted flaws. The most I managed to see of his work before the Great Destruction was that he likes to toy around his 'clients'. All contracts he has done until you've shown up have been with deceased sinners. Granted, his 'charity' isn't in the same level of toxicity as his fellow overlords and he always keeps his word, but he likes to play around the uncertainty of his clients. Having them question what they really want that can match his own desires before finally shaking on it. Before you seal the deal, Audrey, be VERY careful. In the contract, try to figure out first what Alastor truly wants from you. That will help you figure out what you truly want from him. Your contract will be of perfect terms if your end of the deal equalizes his."

Audrey nodded. "Anything else."

"Yes. From what I managed to understand based on your adventure, you're a walking invitation for those seeking to destroy you."

"I'm aware. Being a former Auradonian princess could lead to my death. Kory tried to kill me for my essence but now she wants to exterminate me because I murdered her best friend…"

"And there might be some out there who will try to murder you because of your connection with Alastor." Doctor Strange's response shocked Audrey. "You're the only human client he's ever had. Enemy forces could use you if they think it would provide an advantage against them. At worst, it would cause jealousy. Directed at you."

"People… jealous of me because I'm paired with Alastor?" Audrey uttered the words.

"He's rather… unattainable, if that's the best word. I'm quite sure that a lot of sinners, living or dead, have craved to leech off from his powers. Overlords with their own powers see the real chaotic potential in Alastor; hands down, he's nearly as powerful as the devil himself. Should any powerful Overlord have Alastor for themselves in any form of binding could destroy the order. Should they know about your binding with him, they'll see you as an obstacle. You want to go through with the contract? Along with being cautious of the terms, make sure to stay safe. Make sure Alastor is safe." The sorcerer's voice got grim before he waved his hands, creating a portal underneath Audrey's feet. "OK, bye-bye!"

Audrey yelped for a few minutes before she found herself on the floor within Elvis. The others looked at her in confusion before shrugging it off. As they adjusted their seatbelts, the three sorcerers finally opened up the portal. Whatever was on the other side of the portal's white lit interior, it was their destination.

"Alright, guys. Get ready, we're… AAAAAAHHH!" Ozzy started screaming when Nico unceremoniously kicked Elvis. The ROCKINGTROLLTOISE ran inside the portal in pain and the sorcerers gave quick good-bye waves before closing the portal behind them. The moment Elvis landed on something white and soft, the system alarms started ringing like crazy. "EVERYONE OUT!"

No one hesitated. Audrey grabbed Amar and carried him in her arms as they ran out with the others. She tripped on the way out but found herself and Amar landing on a ground full of snow. Elvis quickly shrunk and hid in Ozzy's winter jacket.

"Where are we?" Gothy pushed herself off the pile of snow she was on.

"In the outskirts of Whoville." Beatrice gestured at the vast range of mountains and pine tree forests surrounding them before finally pointing at a town ahead of them. The town was resting at the tip of a curved mountain, with a visible cable tram connecting the mountain to the town. "We need to go to Mt. Crumpit, the tram is a lot faster, but I need to go to downtown first."

"Why downtown?" Audrey asked. In the distance, a bell tower rang the bells ten times.

"Because 10am is when my friend takes the tram from Mt. Crumpit to the post office to get the mail, have brunch with her grannies, and go back to the mountain to help her dad at the factory." Beatrice's hand changed into a clock. "If we walk, we'll make it in time to crash the brunch."

"What happened to Elvis? I thought he could handle all terrains?" Charles went over to pet the poor ROCKINGTROLLTOISE as it kept hiding in Ozzy's jacket.

"He's still a reptile, Charles." Ozzy shrugged. "Let's go."

The group made their way through the snow. Audrey looked around in amazement. She had seen snowy landscapes in Auradon, but not as much as here. The Seussian Mountains were their own version of a powdered-sugar winter wonderland. Strange but cute white birds flew over the blue sky, nearly mixing with the clouds. She looked at her friends. Beatrice was taking the lead, Crystal kept her eyes open, Charles and Ozzy walked close to one another, and Gothy was eagerly tapping her fingers. Obviously, she felt like her quest to finding her half-sister was coming to a close end.

As for Amar, he was just a bundle of excitement. He kept running around, kicking the snow in excitement. At one point, he started drawing some sort of glyph on the snow and jumped on it. An ice pillar grew and catapulted him off the cliff. The older kids ran after him in fear until they saw him drag his hand on the snow and create an ice toboggan for him to safely slide on. He then landed on some snow and kept laughing as he started making a snow angel. The others couldn't resist laughing.

In the newfound spirit of fun, Ozzy dragged Charles down the toboggan with her. Beatrice morphed into a giant snowman and pushed Crystal, Gothy, and Audrey down the snowy cliff. Despite being covered in snow after rolling, the girls laughed in delight. Just as Beatrice turned back into her human self, Amar drew a circle in the air and started throwing snowballs at her.

"SNOWBALL WAR!" Ozzy screamed and used her hair to ball up the snow before throwing it at the others. Gothy and Charles, being from the Isle, had to take a few minutes to learn how to make snowballs before finally engaging in the battle.

Audrey laughed her heart out. She didn't recall the last time she had such fun. For once, she felt like she was having fun like an actual kid.

Audrey prepared to throw another snowball when a large noise interrupted them. Audrey was surprised by the sudden site of an ice shield protecting them, but especially the site of a silvery bullet trapped in the ice. Despite its frozen state, it had a halo-like glow.

And the design… dangerously reminded Audrey of the one that Kory had used to strike her down.

She looked down and realized that Amar had his finger pointed at the ice. He was frowning in anger. He no longer looked like a kid who was having fun. He looked like he knew there was danger.

"What happened?" Gothy dropped her snowball.

"This happened." Audrey pointed at the direction of the frozen bullet. "Something shot a holy bullet at my direction. Amar noticed it and protected it us."

"That design…" Beatrice's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no…"

"I see you Yankees got yourselves an unexpected protector," a deep, Southern accented voice spoke loudly and clearly despite the distance and the ice separating them. Amar's frowning got worse. "I thought you were still back home with your mamas, Lil' Amar."

Amar grunted and dissolved the ice shield, revealing the silhouette of an imp with a rifle at least twenty feet from them. Then, startling the teenagers except Beatrice, he spoke in English.

"Hello, Striker," Amar Blight-Noceda said bitterly. "I forgot to kill you the last time we met."