Chapter 1: Two Witches and a Warden

Okay, what you just saw before with me, my dad, and my big bro was something that happened eight years ago. Yeah, as of now, I'm sixteen and living my teenage life the best I can in my hometown: Gravesfield, Connecticut in the good old U-S of A! Found in 1635 A.D., it's a pretty peaceful town. At least, now it is since the final battle between my big bro's Element Gang and their Dark Gang which Big Bro's team won. I've been in this town all my life, learned a lot about its history. Yeah, I'm sort of a brainiac. I always did get the best grades and I'm a pretty good athlete. I'm actually the star player of my school's basketball team. Yeah, I'm pretty popular though that's not much of a good thing since I do get plenty of haters. But I do have friends, though most of them are actually from local noble families who are related to other royal families in the other worlds who know about me, my family, and even the Element Gang secret. I would like to tell you guys about them, but that would get way off from where this story is supposed to be going.

Before I start, let me tell you on how I'm dressed so you have a good picture. I have spiky orange hair, thick eyebrows, two different colored eyes with my right being gold yellow and my left being silver gray, and a chipped tooth. I wear a red jacket with the Japanese character for "dragon" on the left side where it's over my pec with the jacket unzipped, wear a white, short-sleeved t-shirt with gold dragon face on the front, green pants, and black and white sneakers. Around my neck is a gold pendant held up by a black string, the pendant holding my diamond like Dragonstone which haves a white dragon's head at the center. Yeah, I look pretty awesome. Okay, now that you know what I look like, I'll tell you how this started.

It was the last day of school. Yesterday, my class was given the assignment to do a book report and we were allowed to partner up if we wanted. Naturally, I decided to partner up with my best friend Luz Noceda. She's a human and is by far one of the coolest people I've ever met. We practically do everything together… like best friends should. For our book report, we decided to do our favorite book series, The Good Witch Azura. It's about a great witch named Azura who fights for peace and justice, fighting all sorts of evil with her trusted companion Ludolf the Wolf King. We decided to do our favorite scene where Azura and Ludolf faced off against the dastardly Glidersnake. Of course, when we did our book report, we got into trouble and ended up being sent to the principal's office. Our principal even called her mom and my dad so we can tell them what happened. When they asked about our book report, we decided to show them how we did it. For how the scene went… I'll just go and skip to the end.

[The Good Witch Azura: Azura and Ludolf's battle against the Glidersnake]

Inside a volcanic cavern, an epic battle was being down with great explosions accompanying two blurs of white and blue as something large and black slithered around them. With a smack of its tail, the large black creature sent to the two blurs away. Skidding a bit across the ledge before regaining their footing were two young people. One of them was a girl with light brown skin, long and braided light green hair, dark green eyes, and a beauty mark below her left eye dressed in a witches outfit that was mostly white with the top with flared half sleeves surmounted by a purple yoke decorated with a yellow star over a dark gray skirt which she wears dark grey leggings and black boots. Her witch hat was floppy yet pointed, broad-brimmed and was surrounded by a gold coronet. Wielding a white staff with a blue crystal at the top, this girl was Azura the Witch. The other was a boy with scruffy black hair, light skin, blue eyes, black fur on his hands which possessed claw, and black furry ears along with a black furry tail that resembled a wolf dressed in a white dress shirt with a blue no-sleeve vest over it, blue dress pants, and black boots. Holding a gold and black khopesh with a red outer edge, this was Ludolf the Wolf King. The two glared forward at the sound of sinister laugh and watched as a giant, black snake with two horns on the back of its head, a purple underbelly, and several fins along its back arose from the depths and looked upon the two with piercing yellow eyes. This was the beast known as the Glidersnake.

"Foolish children! Do you honestly think you could truly best me?" the Glidersnake mocked. "No one, nothing, has ever bested the great Glidersnake and I shall relish my victory as I swallow you both whole!"

"Well, I'm afraid you won't be getting a meal for this." Ludolf said with a smug. "The only thing that awaits for at the end of this is death, Glidersnake."

"He's right." Azura profoundly said. "Do not underestimate us for we are Azura the Witch and Ludolf the Wolf King, warriors of peace!" Azura passed for a moment before she spun her staff and, grabbing it with both hands, aimed it at the snake. "Now eat this, sucker!"

With the crystal turning red, Azura begins to hit the Glidersnake with blasts of fire, the large serpent groaning in pain from it. After a moment, Azura stops and the snake roars at her in anger as she then gains a smile.

"Hey, Glidersnake!" Called out Ludolf, getting the snake to look upwards to see Ludolf above it with khopesh glowing bright red, the boy prepared to give a slash as he sported a grin. "Here…comes…Wolf… KIIIING!" With one swing of the blade, Ludolf sends a giant blast of red energy shaped like a wolf's head at Glidersnake, the serpent looking in shock as a great howl filled the cavern.

"Aaah!" The Glidersnake screamed out as the blast hit him and he was engulfed in a flash of light. "Thwarted by a little witch and her pet Contherian. NOOOO!" The serpent's last word echoed as he was turned to nothing.

[Principal's office]

There we were, sitting in chairs in the principal's office with Principal Hal sitting behind his desk while my dad and Luz's mom stood at the sides as me and Luz told them our book report.

Okay, but before I go any further, let me tell you about what the people around me look like. Sitting behind his desk, Principal Hal was an African-American with short, curly gray hair and a gray mustache dressed in a beige short-sleeve work shirt and a gray tie. Standing to the right of the desk, Luz's mom Mrs. Noceda has tan skin, a mesomorph body frame, brown eyes, and dark brown hair which she keeps in a bun with two bangs tufted forward. As a veterinarian, she was wearing a set of cyan scrubs with sleeves rimmed in a darker blue and a pair of white shoes. She also wore black glasses that are red at the top and blue earrings. As he stands at the left, my dad Axel Frank has short, neatly-combed brown hair, brown eyes, thick eyebrows, and a short brown beard with a thick, brown mustache. He wore blue framed glasses, a white dress shirt with a green sweater vest over it, a blue tie, a brown trench coat, beige pants held up by a brown belt, and brown loafers. Around his neck is a Dragonstone pendant like mine. And, last but not least, the girl sitting next to me is Luz Noceda who looks much like her mom, but with her hair being a little purplish, short, and styled in a pixie cut and hazel eyes. She has an hourglass figure to which her attire doesn't really leave much to the imagination. With her ebony earrings, she was dressed in a short-sleeved hoodie split by two colors with indigo on top and white on bottom (something which subtly expresses her chest size), a pair of jean shorts, dark grey capris leggings, and a pair of white loafers.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's continue. The way we presented our book report was by using her Azura doll and my Ludolf action figure and a real snake to show how the scene played out. Even though I did feel a little ridiculous doing it, I played along as Luz was happy with it. As we told our report to the three adults in front of us, I held my action figure while Luz held her doll and the snake.

"And that's the end." Luz said with a gentle smile while I gave a nervous one, Principal Hal and Dad giving us raised brows.

"The end of what?" Mrs. Noceda asked with concern.

"Our book report." Luz answered just before the snake stretched and chomped at her Azura doll's head.

"Your book report is the reason you two are in here." Principal Hal said.

"What? It's not that bad." I said to him. "Sure, everyone was a little freaked by the snake, but no one was harmed."

"That's not the problem." Principal Hal said. "The problem is because your report has now infested this school with snakes." After he said that, I overheard screaming and me and Luz looked to the door to see our fellow students running around while being attacked by snakes.

"Oh, so that's where the backup snakes went." I said, feeling a little guilty for that. "But, to be fair, I did tell Luz we should've just gone with a display model of the scene instead of using any live animals."

"But instead you took a bunch of wild snakes and brought them into your school for a book report." Dad said with a disappointed look on his face before he pulled out a batch of fireworks from Luz's yellow satchel. "And what about this?" I was surprised upon seeing the fireworks.

"That's for the Act Three closer," I said before I scowled at Luz, "which I thought we agreed not to do while using live snakes."

"But the fireworks would have made our report look so cool." Luz said to me in defense.

"Yeah, and burn the whole school down!" I told her.

"Enough, both of you!" Dad said, stopping the argument between us.

"Mija, I love your creativity," Mrs. Noceda said as she walked over and got on one knee in front of her daughter who looked down in despair, "but it's gotten out of hand. Do you remember why you were in the principal's office the last few times?"

"Yes." Luz admitted, despairingly.

[Ryuji's aside]

Surprised this isn't the first time Luz has been in here? Yeah, Luz had been coming to the principal's office a few times. It's not that she's a bad student, she works really hard. It's just that she tends to get a little… overboard with what she's doing, often leading to scares much like with our book report. There are some good examples of Luz going overboard.

[Flashback 1]

Like the time we tried out for the school play of Romeo and Juliet…

"Oh, happy dagger," Luz said, acting as heartbroken Juliet and holding a spork like a knife while I'd laid on the ground as I acted like a dead Romeo, "give me death!"

After she "stabbed" herself, I opened my eyes at the sound of clothes ripping to see Luz had torn open the top part of her costume, causing sausage to pop out before she fell to the ground with her act scaring all the other students and making them run off stage.

[Flashback 2]

Or the time in art class when we had to make sculptures…

"Done." I said as I finished my mini-statue of a Silent Dragon. "Hey, Luz, how's your project coming?" The moment I looked over to her, I saw she made a wooden display with stuffed animal parts on top of it, a pigeon's head and legs replacing the ones for the squirrel body as she sewed them together. Curious, I looked at what she labeled it as and smiled at her efforts as I walked over with my art piece. "A baby griffon. That's neat."

"Thanks. And it even haves the anatomically correct touch: spider breath." Luz said before she opened the beak of her griffon and a whole bunch of spiders crawled out, sending our class into a panic.

[Flashback 3]

Or the time Luz tried out for cheerleading.

In the gym, I sat down at the bleachers as I watched the cheer tryouts go on, all who were participating wearing the proper uniform. I was there for moral support for Luz who actually looked great as a cheerleader. Things seemed to be going well until one girl did a backward summersault and finished it with a flip.

"You think that's impressive?" Luz said as she dropped the pom-poms she was holding and turned away as she did something to herself. "Take a look at this." When she turned back around, she had her eyelids flipped over which even I was horrified by. "Bleep-bloop-bleep!" Just from seeing this, I watched as our fellow classmates ran away from Luz in horror.

[Ryuji's aside]

Yeah, as much as I don't mind Luz pointing an effort into impressing everyone, I wish she didn't try to go over the top so much.

"Well, to be fair, what happened with the griffon wasn't her fault." I said, trying to defend her. "Ben's the one who told her that griffons barf spiders."

"And that's just her." Dad spoke up as walked over to me and kneeled down like Mrs. Noceda. "Ryuji, remember the times you were sent to the principal's office?"

[Ryuji's aside]

Yeah, I've been sent to the principal's office too, almost as much as Luz. The reason for that is that I tend to pick fights. But I did those for good reasons. Much like these…

[Flashback 1]

I was just walking around, minding my own business, when I turned to see one of the local bullies hanging a freshman from the flagpole. With no one doing anything to stop it, I stepped in, taught the bully a lesson with a little beating, and got the freshman down who was grateful for what I've done.

[Flashback 2]

In the hallway, I saw a group of bullies were about to stuff some kid into his locker and I went in and stuffed all three bullies into different lockers.

"You think that's impressive?" Luz said as she dropped the pom-poms she was holding and turned away as she did something to herself. "Take a look at this." When she turned back around, she had her eyelids flipped over which even I was horrified by. "Bleep-bloop-bleep!" Just from seeing this, I watched as our fellow classmates ran away from Luz in horror.

[Flashback 3]

In the school cafeteria, I saw a bully picking on a dwerp, spilling milk on the kid's head. Right there and then, I went up, sending the bully's tray into his face and covering him in food, and tossed him into a trashcan.

"Yeah, but those guys had it coming for picking on people like that." I told my dad.

"Son, I love you care for others, but you can't pick a fight with every bully in this school." Dad said to me. "Especially when it gets you in trouble, much like when your anger gets the better of you."

"It's not that bad." I told him, brushing it off.

"Are you kidding?" Dad said with anger. "You landed a kid in the hospital!"

"Hey, he made the mistake of picking on me!" I told him. "Especially when he called Mom a deadbeat runaway!"

"Whoa, Ryuji! Calm down." Luz said managed to put a hand on my shoulder, managing to get me to calm myself.

"Luz, Ryuji," Dad said as he calmed down as well, getting our attention. "As much as we love how you two being yourselves with your creativity and your compassion, it's getting out of hand. You're both in this office way too much." Me and Luz both looked down in shame. "Look, Camilla and I have been talking and we think it might be for the best if you went here for the summer." From there, the two of us looked up as Mrs. Noceda and Dad each gave me and Luz a brochure, what it was for is what shocked me.

"Reality Check Camp? Think inside the box?" Luz read out loud.

"What?" I said, expressing my shock. "Dad, you can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry, Ryuji, but this is the best option." Dad told me. "I know this might not be to your liking, but you both need to know how to get a handle on things. We're just making sure you two will have the best life and this is the only way you can do that."

"But, Dad…" I said as I was about to argue.

"Please, just give it a chance. For me?" My dad asked with a begging smile.

Seeing how there was no way to change his mind, I sighed in defeat and said "Fine. I'll go to the camp."

"And I'll be there with him!" Luz spoke up. "Don't worry, Mom and Mr. Frank. We won't let you down!"

"Yeah, no more trouble and weirdness!" I said before the snake Luz jumped out of her hand and attacked Principal Hal, shocking all of us. "Starting now."

After helping Principal Hal with the snake, me and Luz went back home with our respective parents. I stayed silent the whole drive and spoke out once we got to the house.

"I can't believe this!" I said as we walked inside. "Dad, how can you possibly go along with this?"

"Ryuji…" Dad said as we walked into the living room, but I kept on going.

"I mean, seriously! That camp is everything me and Luz hate!"

"Ryuji."

"I mean, you might as well just send us off to juvie for all I care!"

"Ryuji!" Dad got me to stop by kneeling down and grabbing both my shoulders, where I then saw the smile he had. "Calm down. You're going to the camp."

I was shocked by this. "What? But you said…"

"I only said that so Camilla would think you're at summer camp and not worry. Like I would send you to someplace like that." Dad took the brochure he gave me and tossed it aside. "That camp wouldn't do you any favors, especially with your condition. There's only one place that can handle something like you."

"And that would be?"

"The Boiling Isles." What he said left me in awe.

"The Boiling Isles? I'm going to the Boiling Isles?" I was absolutely speechless.

"That's right. You'll be staying with Eda, a local witch on the Isles who can help you with your curse."

"She knows about my curse?"

"Yes. We've actually talked about sending you to her for a while and I think now's the time."

"How can she help me?"

"You can say she's sort of an expert in a situation like yours. If anyone can help you get control of your curse, it's her."

I smiled as I was beyond words of being happy. "Dad, this is great! Not only can I get control of my curse, but now Luz and I can enjoy our summer! Wait until I tell her the good news!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on." Dad said before I had a chance to pull out my phone. "What makes you think Luz is going to Boiling Isles?"

"Well, you said that you only told Mrs. Noceda you were sending us to Reality Check Camp as an excuse…"

"I said that as an excuse for sending you there, Ryuji. Luz will be going to the summer camp, you'll be going to Isles alone."

"What?" I was shocked by this.

"I'm sorry, Ryuji, but this plan only involved you going to the Isles."

"Well, can't you just change it so Luz can come with me?"

"I'm sorry, but it's too late. Camilla already signed Luz up for that camp. Besides, if she goes to the Isles, it's only gonna get ugly."

"She can handle ugly, trust me."

Dad then gave me a stern look. "Not this time."

After a brief moment, I went on and said "Bull crap!"

"Ryuji!" Dad was shocked by this.

"Sorry for the rude language, Dad, but this isn't fair. Luz deserves to see the Boiling Isles just much as I do!"

Dad then sighed as he gave me a sad look. "Look, I don't want to split you two up, but this is the only solution we got. Don't worry, I bet you'll have plenty of fun on the Isles."

"But what about Luz?" I looked at Dad with the worry I was feeling for Luz. "She'll be all alone at that summer camp. Why can't she go with me to a place where she can enjoy herself?"

"Ryuji, I understand that you don't want Luz to be miserable, but this is for the best. While the Boiling Isles is full of wonder, it's also full of great danger, danger of which I'm not sure a human like Luz can be able to handle. It's better off that she goes to someplace she can handle as much as sending you to a place that you can handle."

"But, Dad…"

"Please, son. It'll only be for three months. By then, you and Luz will see each other again. I promise. Just bear with it, okay?"

Though I wanted to argue, I saw that he was right, gave up, and said "Okay."

"That's my boy." Dad smiled as he ruffled my hair before he stood up. "Now, go and pack your things. You'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Got it, Dad." I said with despair as I walked over to my room to get to packing.

[No one's view]

Watching his son walk up the stairs to the second floor, Axel tried his best to smile while feeling bad for having his son do what he doesn't want to do. As soon as Ryuji was out of sight, Axel lost his smile and sighed in despair. This lasted for a moment before he heard a chirp and watched as Falcona landed on a nearby chair, the bird giving him a questioning look.

"Stop looking at me like that." Axel said to her. "This is for the best. Eda's the only chance Ryuji's got to get a real handle on his curse. He'll thank me for this when he gets back." Falcona rolled her eyes at this. "What do you expect me to do? Just let Luz run around the Isles and hope doesn't get eaten or killed? My son can't afford to have such weight like that on his shoulders." Falcona then gave a few chirps which causes Axel to scowl at her. "That is completely different! I stuck by her to help with her curse for I cared for her and I could handle myself." Falcona chirped again. "Hey, I didn't want her to leave any more than she did, especially if it meant her missing out on our youngest son's life and seeing him grow up, but that was for the best and we both agreed to it." The falcon regained her questioning look as she chirp again. "Why are we talking about this? This is not about me, this is not about her, it's about my son and what's best for him. My decision's final. Ryuji will go to the Boiling Isles so Eda can teach him how to manage his curse better and Luz will not be going with him." Axel then began walking away. "It's only for three months, it's not like he's going to war."

As he walked away out of sight, Falcona could only shake her head in disappointment before she then flew away.

[Ryuji]

The next morning, I was standing in the living room with everything I need to go to the Boiling Isles, still pretty saddened by the fact that I was going to the Isles while Luz was stuck at summer camp.

"Morning, son." Dad said as I turned around to see him walking up to me with a smile on his face.

"Morning, Dad." I said, still feeling depressed.

"Ready for the Boiling Isles?" Dad asked, still smiling. "Got your guidebooks? Got your sword?"

"Yeah, got the books in the bag and Saisho on my back." I answered, patting my black backpack which was placed over my sheathed ōdachi in my weapon's strap.

"That's my boy." Dad said as he ruffled my hair before placing that hand on my shoulder. "Oh, I just know you're gonna have a great time."

"Yeah, while Luz is stuck in a place filled with what sounds like torture to me." I sourly said.

"Look, I know you're still upset about Luz going to that summer camp alone, but this is for the best. Besides, I think she'll have a great. She haves a magnetic personality. She already made good friends with some of your cousins in just the few moments she spent with them."

"Yeah, but those were people from another world and ones who actually like how she is." I pointed out. "The kids of this town think of her as a weirdo and the kids at that camp might think the same. She should come with me to the Isles or I should go with her to the camp so she isn't miserable. Didn't you say that us weirdos have to stick together?"

"I know, but this is the only option we have that can help you and make sure Luz is safe. You understand?"

"Yeah, I guess." I said, giving up the fight.

"By the way, thanks to the portal between here and the Boiling Isles, you'll still have pretty good cell reception. Once you get settled in at Eda's place, I want you to text her and tell her where you are. I'm not going to let you leave her in the dark the whole summer, especially considering the fact that she knows the truth about our family. Plus, I think having a little pen pal might do you some good."

I smiled a bit at that. "Thanks, Dad. I will."

"Good. Now we just have to wait until your way to Isles gets here." What he said made me a little confused until our attention was dragged to the sound of cluttering outside. "And I bet that's her."

Walking outside, I was surprised to find someone in a red cloak by our trashcan over at the sidewalk, the person had pulled the trash bag out of the can and was now digging through it while another bag sat behind them.

"Dad, who's that?" I asked with a bit of concern and confusion.

"That's your way to the Isles." Dad said with a smile before he started walking over to the stranger. "Hello, Juni. Nice day we're having."

"Oh, hey, Mr. F." the stranger said as they looked up for a moment before looking back down to continue rummaging through the trash, their voice sounding like a girl.

"Hey, I got a favor to ask you." Dad said. "I know you don't usually like tagalongs except Owlbert, but I was hoping you could take someone back with you." From that, Juniper stopped and slowly stood up.

"Why?" Juniper asked with a questioning tone.

"It's just something Eda and I had been talking about." Dad told her. "Look, Eda will explain what's going on to you if you do this. So will you do it?"

"Depends. What's in it for me?" Juniper asked.

"Well, I think I have something you might be interested in." Dad then gave a whistle and it wasn't long until our resident falcon Falcona flew in through the door with a book in her talons which he motions to with one hand as Juniper looks at it with shock.

"Is that The Dark Crystal?" Juniper said, sounding in awe. "I've been looking for that for months! Where'd you get that?"

"Bought it at a book fair." Dad said. "Seeing how much of a fantasy book fan you are, I thought you might want it."

"Oh, gimme, gimme!" Juniper tried to jump and grab the book, but Falcona flew up out of her reach.

"It's yours…if you do me this one little favor. Sound good?"

"Bribery. Huh, never took you for that kind of guy."

"I can be pretty sly when I need to. So will you do it?"

"Eh, I guess. I mean, it's only one person, nothing I can handle."

"Good. Then here's your payment." Dad then nodded to Falcona who then dropped the book down to Juniper who caught the book in her hands and held it close while Falcona flew back into the house. "Now that's settled, let me introduce you to who will be accompanying you."

"Hold on, Dad." I said as I walked over. "As much as I would like to go to the Isles, I'm not so sure if I'm going to follow some stranger who just dug through our trash."

"Oh, I think you might reconsider seeing who will be taking you to the Isles." Dad said to me as he walked over to Juniper and pulled down her hood.

She had ivory skin and thick, long hair that's orange like mine along a chipped tooth and two different colored eyes like me, only that she had gold yellow left eye and a silver gray right eye. Seeing her pointed ears, I gasped as I realized what she was.

"She's a witch?" I asked, speechless by this.

"That's right." Dad said as he walked over to me. "Ryuji, I'd like you to meet Juniper Clawthorne, Eda's daughter. Juni, this is my son Ryuji."

"Hey, what's up?" She casually said with a smile.

"Yeah, nice to meet ya." I said, feeling a little awkward around her. "I see you're a fan of fantasy. Just some random question, but do you like The Good Witch Azura?"

"What? Ew! No!" She said. "I touched a lot of garbage, but that is trash I never want to touch. I don't know why anyone reads that nerdy junk."

"Hey, I'll have you know The Good Witch Azura is a very good series with a strong fan base!" I said with a glare, not liking her comment on my favorite book series. "If you read it, you would know that."

"Yeah, sorry, but I don't read crap." She said with a smug, getting a growl out of me.

"Okay, enough, you two." Dad said, stopping the argument. "This is no time for arguing. Juniper, just take Ryuji to the Isles and try not to rile him up, please?"

"Alright, but I can't make any promises on not riling up your nerdy son." Juniper said with a bored expression.

"Good enough. Now, Ryuji," Dad said as he then handed me a letter, "when you see Eda, give her this. This will explain to her as to why you're there at the Isles and that you'll be staying with her and Juniper."

"Wait, this nerd is staying at the Owl House?" Juniper asked in shock.

"Just for three months. Bear with it, Juni." Dad told her before he turned to me. "Okay, I'll see you when you get back. Love you, Ryuji."

"Love ya too, Dad." I said before I then walked over to Juniper. "Alright, Juni. Lead the way."

"Okay, just keep up." Juniper said as she put her hood back before she picked up the trash bag behind her with one hand and held the book in the other.

From there, we then started walking across the street and headed for the woods.

[No one's view]

When the two teenagers walked out of sight, Axel chuckled as he kept that smile of his.

"Wow. First day meeting each other and they already got into an argument." Axel said to himself before he then picked up the trash bad and began picking up the garbage Juniper tossed out onto the ground. "Hope you're ready for that, Eda."

Elsewhere nearby, Luz was standing outside her house as she waited for the bus to take her to summer camp while she hanged her to show her displeasure with doing so.

"Oh, my baby." Her mother Camilla said as she came out of the house and walked over to her daughter before hugging her with a smile. "Don't worry. It'll be for three months and I know you are going to have so much fun. You'll be so busy balancing checkbooks and learning to…appreciate public radio that the time will just fly by.

"That sounds like torture." Minato said.

"But, Mom, I don't like any of that stuff." Luz said before pulling out her copy of The Good Witch Azura. "I like fantasy books with convoluted backstories and anime."

"Mija, you can't keep living in a fantasy world forever." Camilla said to her. "It's about time you start making friends."

"But I already got plenty of friends, like Ryuji." Luz said to her.

"Yes, but Ryuji is the only friend you have that you've been able to see and the only one you have in school." Camilla told her. "You need to meet people, ones who aren't fictional or reptilian." Luz then frowns as she then walks over to the nearby trash can, taking in her mother's words. "You may not like it, but this summer camp is what you need, a chance for you to make some friends. But you won't do that if you don't try. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Mom." Luz then gently placed her book on top of the garbage. "I guess it won't be so bad. I mean, Ryuji's coming with me. Maybe he and I can have some fun."

"That's the spirit." Camilla smiled before she got a notification on her phone. "I got to get to work." She then walked over to Luz and gave her depressed daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Your bus is coming soon. Text me when you get settled in. Cuídate mucho, mija. Qué te vaya bien."

"Bye, Mom." Luz said as she looked at the ground, her mother walking away.

After Camilla was out of sight, Luz then went back to the trashcan to get her book only to find it gone.

"My book! No, no, no!" Luz panicked as she began digging through the trash. "Where is it? Where is it?" She stopped after she heard a hoot and look over across the street to see a small, brown owl with yellow eyes as it was dragging a small bag. She gasped in shock when she saw her book inside the bag. "My book!" The owl stopped as it heard her before it then began to hurriedly hop away. "Tiny trash thief!"

With that, Luz went across the street and gave chase after the owl who was surprisingly much faster than she originally thought. Stopping to catch her breath, she sees the owl hopping toward what appeared to be an abandoned cabin which had an eerie aura around it. Hearing other people coming her way, Luz quickly hid behind some bushes and watched—much to her surprise—as Juniper and Ryuji walked onto the scene.

"You're seriously crushing on Noelle Silva, the water magic Black Bull Magic Knight tsundere?" Ryuji said with a raised brow and an amused smile.

"Yeah. You may not like it, but I kind of find it hot with how harsh and cold she tries to be with her prissy royalness." Juniper said before she gained a sly smile and a blush. "Not to mention she's got a really smoking bod."

"First lesbian witch I meet and it's someone who crushes on girls like Noelle." Ryuji said to her.

"Screw you, dude." Juniper said as Ryuji chuckled.

"Okay, so are we anywhere close to where we need to go?" Ryuji asked.

"We're already here." Juniper then motioned to the cabin beside them, Ryuji becoming confused by the sight of it.

"Wait, you brought out here to this old place? Nobody's been in this house for decades."

"Yeah, and for good reason which happens to be with how we're going to the Isles." Hearing a hoot, the two redheads look over to see the little owl on the porch.

"Hey, Owlbert. Did you find some stuff?" Juniper said as she walked over to it, getting a hoot and the little owl now identified as Owlbert showing its bag in response. "Yeah, me too. I'm telling ya, it's amazing what humans can throw away. Some of this stuff is still good."

"Well, that's how some people are." Ryuji said as he walked up onto the porch. "When they get tired of stuff, they usually just get rid of it, even if it's not broken. So that little owl there, you call him Owlbert?"

"Yeah. That's the name Mom gave him." Juniper told him as Owlbert stood behind her.

"Oh, so he's Eda's. A classic witches owl." Ryuji chuckled a bit at the thought. "Okay, so is the way to the Isles inside the cabin or something?"

"No, the cabin is the way to the Isles." Juniper then motioned to the hanging open door. "Just have to step through that door and we're there."

With that, Juniper then went into the house with Owlbert. Ryuji stood there for a moment before he took a deep breath and walked through the door with determination.

After the three were through the door, Luz got out of the bushes and looked reluctant at first to enter. She was confused as she had no idea why Ryuji was here or who the girl with him was or why they were traveling with the owl who stole her book. She was also quite afraid as she was creeped out by the cabin. But, with a growl of determination to get her book back, she pushed away the fear and confusion before she ran inside the cabin. After she does, the door slams behind her and golden lights shine from the cracks of it.

[Ryuji]

After going through the door, I looked around to find myself in what looked like a tent full of kinds of random stuff with some of it being in cardboard boxes, some in a shopping cart, and some hung up on coat racks. I turned around to the door I went through and tilted it a bit to see the back of it was brown with a bronze door knob attached to a matching lock at the center of it and a big, yellow, slit pupil eye above it. Recognizing its similar design, I knew what it was.

"A portal door. Now that makes sense." I said before I turned to Juniper who had a smile on her face. "Hey, Juni. Where exactly in the Isles are we?"

"Just in the local town. This is my mom's shop." Juniper told me. "Now, come on. She's out front." With that, I then walked with her as we and Owlbert went out of the tent.

[No one's view]

After the three left the tent, Luz then came in through the door and stopped once she saw the tent she was inside of, not the cabin she was expecting.

"Whoa. I thought I had a lot of weird stuff." Luz said with surprise before she picked up what appeared to be a makeshift doll with a clothes hanger sticking out of its head. "But this? This is impressive. Okay, got to focus. Now where is Ryuji?" As she looked around for her friend, Luz didn't notice the doll's arms reaching out for her.

"Finally! You're back!" A female voice said, causing Luz to duck down and drop the doll in shock.

"Sorry for the wait. Just grabbed whatever I could." Juniper said as Luz got up and walked over to the flaps of the tent. "Almost got caught too." Opening up the flaps a bit, Luz watches as Juniper, Owlbert, and Ryuji stood in front of a woman with a voluptuous woman with gray hair resembling Juniper's dressed in a red, no-sleeve dress (that seemed to be skin-tight as expressed by her big chest) with a torn skirt that revealed her right leg along with the gray leggings, a pair of red heeled boots, a yellow jewel on her chest, and a green headscarf patterned in white spots that covered her ears. "Also I got a little tag-along with me."

"That's okay. Wait." The woman said before she crossed her arms. "Are you saying you brought someone back with you?"

"Relax, Mom. It's just a random kid Mr. Frank stuck me with." Juniper told her, revealing the woman to be Eda. "Told me to bring him to you."

"Wait, Axel told you to bring someone to me?" Eda asked with surprise.

"Um… hello." Ryuji nervously greeted as he stepped forward. "You must be Eda. I'm Ryuji. My dad told me to see you?" After a moment of silence, Ryuji looks at a surprised Eda with a confused look. "Uh, Mrs. Eda? Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Eda said, snapping out of her thoughts and recomposing herself. "Anyway, what brings you here to the Boiling Isles?"

"Well, my dad told me to give you this, saying it would explain everything to you." Ryuji said, holding out the letter his father gave him which Eda quickly takes and looks it over.

"I'll look this over once we get back to the house." Eda said, stashing the letter away in her hair before she picks up a wooden staff which Owlbert flies up to sit on top of. "Anyway, let's see what we got here." She then grabbed Owlbert and spun him around on the staff, the owl turning into wood after Eda gave him three turns. Both Luz and Ryuji gasp in surprise with Luz going unnoticed.

"Whoa! A palisman! That's so cool!" Ryuji said with a smile.

"Just you wait, kid. I got more cool stuff you can see." Eda said as she put her staff on the ground before she picked up one of the bags in front of her and began rummaging through it. "Now let's see here…" First, she pulls out a smartphone. "Garbage." She tosses it aside and Juniper catches it.

"Eh, it's broken." the young witch said before tossing it aside.

"Garbage." Eda said as she pulled out a diamond ring.

"I'll take that." Juniper said as she snatched the ring from her.

"What? You looking for a wife?" Eda asked, teasingly.

"Pff! Nah!" Juniper replied as she put the ring on her finger. "Just wanted a new accessory."

"Garbage." Eda said as she pulled out and then tossed away a fancy grail. She gasps in excitement at what she finds next. "Now this…" Eda stood proudly as she wears a set of googly eye glasses where the eyes pop out while hanging from springs. "This will make us rich!"

"Yeah, I don't think so." Ryuji said, causing Juniper to chuckle. "Okay, let me see if I got this right. You two collect items that were thrown away in the human world and sell them here in the Isles?"

"Bingo! I see you got your dad's brains." Eda said as she then ruffled Ryuji's hair before looking at Juniper. "By the way, how did old Axel get you to get his boy here?"

"Oh, he got me this." Juniper said as she held up the book Axel gave her.

"Ugh!" Eda groaned before she continued digging through the bag. "Juni, that fantasy stuff humans make up ain't nothing compared to what it's like here." Eda commented digging through her bag.

"So what? You got your hobbies, I got mine." Her daughter countered.

"Can't argue there." Eda said as she then pulled out Luz's book. "You want this?"

"Ha! Yeah, no thanks." Juniper laughed lightly. "I prefer what I just found in the garbage than that."

"Alright, if you say so." Eda said before she held the book over a lit candle she had on a nearby table. "At least this'll make good kindling." Luz gasps in shock at this before Ryuji spoke up.

"Um, Eda? I don't think you should…" Before he could finish, Luz ran out over to Eda.

"Excuse me! Sorry, it's mine! Thank you!" Luz instantly said as she quickly swiped the book out of Eda's hands and ran back into the tent.

"Luz?" Ryuji said, just as surprised as the mother and daughter as the young human ran for the door.

Before she could go through, Luz stopped and watched as the door suddenly closed and folded three times into the shape of a suitcase. She turns around to see Eda and Juniper standing behind her, Eda holding a dark bronze key with the same eye as the door while her daughter glared at Luz with her arms crossed.

"You're not going anywhere." Eda said as she took off the fake glasses to reveal she was giving the same glare as Juniper.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a minute!" Ryuji said as he came over and stood in front of the Clawthornes, Luz quickly putting her book in her bag. "Let's all just take it easy and…" Ryuji turns his head to see a panicking Luz going under the tarp of the tent. "Luz, wait!"

After leaving the tent, Luz tried to make a run for it, but soon stopped skidding to a halt at a cliff, gasping in shock at what was before her. From the height she was on, she laid her eyes upon a very strange and unusual-looking city with many of the buildings looking like they were alive. A winged serpent creature was flying across the air before getting snatched by a hand held up in the air, the hand getting dragging it down. The city was full of towns folk were defiantly not human, some of them being just plain weird, in all different forms, shapes, and sizes along with different features. They all act casual even with all the unusual events happening around them such as one of them being eaten by an ice cream served by a vendor, a giant bird-looking creature with loud footsteps walking by, and a large caterpillar-like creature with a human face opening its mouth to release a smaller winged creature which he kisses before the two split off in different directions.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! What's going on?" Luz said as she was starting to freak out and backed up in fear. "Aah!" After she yelped, Luz calmed down upon seeing a cute, little pink fairy fly up to her to which she shrugged her shoulders with a nervous smile. "Oh, hello, little fairy. Are you going to tell me this is all a fantastical dream?"

"Give me your skin!" The fairy yelled, opening its mouth as it extended to reveal a large set of teeth and causing Luz to scream.

"Hi-yah!" Ryuji yelled as he came in and swat the fairy to the ground with a karate chop before he turned to Luz with a look of concern. "Luz, are you okay?"

"Ryuji!" Luz said as she caught him in a hug, surprising him.

"Whoa! Hey!" Ryuji said as he smiled and hugged her back in comforting reassurance. "It's okay. You're safe."

"Ryuji, where are we? Did we die?" Luz asked as she shook with her growing fear. "Are we in the bad place?"

"You wish." Juniper said with a nonchalant look as she popped up behind them, surprising them.

Looking in front of them, Luz gave a look of terror as Eda appeared and glared at them, Ryuji giving a nervous chuckle.

[Ryuji]

With me comforting Luz, me, Juniper, and Eda took my human friend back to the front of the tent where we broke away from each other so we could talk.

"Luz, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"I'm so sorry! I just wanted my book!" Luz said in a panic before she turned to the two witches behind the counter. "Are you two going to eat my skin? If you are, do it quick! Just do it now!" Luz held out her arm as she closed her eyes and turned her head away.

In the moment of silence, Eda and Juniper exclaimed a look of confusion at each and then back at her from upon what the human girl said.

"Eat you?" Eda said, breaking the silence. "Why would we eat…a potential customer?"

"Yeah, especially a cute one." Juniper said, giving Luz a sly smile.

"Juni, don't start." Eda said, giving her daughter a flat look.

"Oh, Mom!" Juniper said with a pout.

I smiled a bit at this before I turned to see Luz had lowered her arm as she looked at the mother and daughter in surprise.

"Luz, they're just shopkeepers." I told my friend. "Ones who sell human junk to saps."

"We prefer to call them 'human collectibles'." Eda said.

"She means she prefers to call them that." Juniper said to us under her breath before her mother went on to try and make a sale.

"Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes?" Eda said as she brought out a green croc shoe. "A bar of green human candy?" She then pulled out a small deodorant. "Oh, oh!" She then pulled out a small portable TV that showed Luz's reflection on its black screen. "How about this black shadowbox that reflects only sadness?" Seeing her smile, me and Luz couldn't help but laugh a little at how Eda was acting.

"Juni, your mom is something else." I said to the witch girl. "Starting out angry at Luz and just switching gears to sell her all this junk you picked out of the trash? Ha-ha!"

"Ugh! I know." Juniper said as she rubbed her temples in annoyance. "So embarrassing."

"That's not all it can do. Here, let me see it." Luz said as she took the TV and looked around until she found a small dish filled with all sorts of different stuff labeled "Human Candy". Taking two batteries out of the dish, she placed the batteries in the TV and turned it on before putting it on the table, the screen now showing what looked like a workout video from a few decades ago. "Viola!"

The TV soon drags the attention of other shoppers around the street, alluring them over to the shop as they then try to buy it. Me and Luz soon moved to the side as a crowd of customers came to the table.

"I'll pay forty snails for the screaming box!"

"I'll give you a hundred!"

"Can I eat the tiny person inside?"

"Huh. Hey, kid." Eda said, smiling at Luz. "What's your name?"

"I'm Luz, Luz Noceda." Luz introduced herself with a smile of her own.

"Well, Luz, that was pretty clever." Eda said she took the money from the offering customers. "Real quick thinking…for a human."

"That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say." Luz said with a raised brow in amusement.

"Um, Luz?" I said with an amused smile. "They're not human. Look." I then pulled down Juniper's hood to reveal her witch ears.

"Hey!" Juniper said as she gave me a glare, pulling her hood back up.

"Your friend there is right, dear child." Eda said as she then took off the headscarf to reveal her own witch ears. "I'm not like you."

"Oh, no. Here we go." Juniper said with exasperation.

"I'm Eda the Owl Lady," Eda exclaimed as she then got up on the table, "the most witch on the Boiling Isles!"

"A witch?" Luz said in awe.

"Most powerful on the Boiling Isles?" I said, feeling much the same.

"That's right, kiddo." Eda said. "I am respected, feared…"

"Busted!" A voice said as a fist smashed the TV, causing the crowd to scatter. I looked to see a large man with a pointy mask standing in front of the table.

"Run! It's a coven guard!" One of the customers said as he ran away.

"Eda the Owl Lady, you are under arrest for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors." The guard said as he held up a wanted poster with a picture of her and some odd-looking demon along with a reward of what looked like one million dollars.

"Back off, bub!" Juniper said as she got in front of him with a glare. "Unless you want to get cooked."

"Heh. Don't think you scare me…" The guard said as he then took her hood off to reveal her glaring face. "Juniper the Demon Flame, wanted for the same crimes as the Owl Lady, the destruction of public property, and assaulting multiple guards." He then pulled out a wanted poster with Juniper on it and a reward of five thousand dollars.

"Whoa! Witch criminals!" Luz said with surprise as we tucked down by the table.

"Haven't been here for at least a week and I already bumped into two criminals." I said, shocked by this.

"You two are ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium!" He said, grabbing the witches.

"Would you guys get a life and stop following us?" Eda said as she and Juniper pulled out of the guards' grasp, Juniper going from under the table to join her mother. "We haven't done squat." The guard then looked and saw me and Luz hiding by the table.

"And you two are under arrest!" the guard said as he picked us both up. "For fraternizing with a criminal!"

"Hey, we barely know these two!" I said in defense. "You can't arrest us!"

"Yeah, not cool!" Luz said, holding her legs close.

"Alright, alright. Just let us get our—is that the Emperor?" Juniper quickly yelled at the top of her lungs as she pointed right behind the guard.

"Where?" The guard said as he turned his head.

[Ryuji's aside]

He did not just fall for that.

"Oof!" The guard failed to see Eda grab her staff as she then used it to hit him in the head, revealing it to have been the old "Look over there" trick Juniper used to give her mother a chance.

After he got hit, he lost his grip and me and Luz ran off to the side as we watched the guard tumble to the ground.

"That's my girl." Eda said with a proud smile before stamping her staff on the ground, using her magic to lift the table and all the things she had set up in front of the tent before using a big green cloth to put it all together in one bag which she placed on her staff to make it a bindle.

"Got the portal, Mom!" Juniper said as she came out with the folded-up portal, holding it by the handle made for portable use.

"Right, can't forget that, now can we? Now let's go!" Eda said before she and her daughter ran off. "Follow us, kids!" With that, me and Luz then followed the Clawthornes as the four of us all ran.

[No one's view]

After a moment, the guard begins to wake up as he rubs his head in pain before he then notices the four running away.

"Hey, get back here!" he said as he got up and started to give chase.

[Ryuji]

"When Dad told me about you, he didn't say anything about you being a witch criminal!" I said to Eda as we ran. "If I knew that if we were gonna be chased by the authorities, I wouldn't have come to you!"

"Hey, this wouldn't have happened if your human friend didn't get her going and making Mom expose herself!" Juniper countered.

"I didn't know!" Luz said with a look of fear. "This is crazy! If I get arrested, my mom will kill me!"

"Don't worry, I'm not letting anything happen to you two." Eda said. "Especially you, kid. A human like you is much more valuable to me and Juni alive than dead."

"Huh? What's that supposed to…" Before I could even finish, Eda grabbed us both while Juniper grabbed her staff with her free hand.

"Let's fly!" Eda said befor Owlbert's eyes opened up to reveal them glowing yellow as he spread his wings. With that, she then put me and Luz on her staff while Juniper got on behind her before the staff took off with all of us on it. "Whoooo-hoooo!"

[No one's view]

"You won't get away with this, Owl Lady!" the guard said as he stopped where the four took off before he paused at what he said. "Yeah, all right. You did. You got away with it. She got away with it, everybody!" He then slouched before he walked away. "Typical."

[Ryuji]

After getting far enough away from that guard along with me getting over my shook nerves from the sudden escape, I then took the moment to express my anger to Eda for taking me and Luz by surprise.

"Geez! Couldn't give us a warning before taking us flying on your staff?" I said with a glare directed at her as I held onto the staff with both hands.

"Hey, we got away, didn't we?" Eda said, her casual tone getting a growl out of me.

I soon calmed down when I noticed Luz hold onto the staff, not hiding how tense she was with her eyes closed in fear.

"Luz, we're safe." I said to her with a reassuring smile. "You can open your eyes now." Luz did that and then did the one thing everyone does with it: look down to see if they're up high or not. Seeing we were way high up, Luz freaked her out and almost slip before she then wrapped her arms around my waist. "Whoa, hey! Calm down. You're okay."

"This is crazy. Flying staffs, monsters, and witches?" Luz said as she listed everything she saw, looking at Eda and Juniper with that last one before looking around. "Ryuji, what is this place?"

"This is the Boiling Isles, where every myth you humans have came from, caused by a little of our world leaking into yours." Eda said, explaining things.

"The Boiling Isles?" Luz said before she gasped in realization. "Wait, Ryuji, is this the place where…"

"Yeah, this is where my dad met my mom and learned magic." I said before looking down to see something flying up next to us from below. "Hey, look at that!"

"A griffin!" Luz said with a smile on her face as the griffin flew into sight. After giving a screech, the griffin then spat out a swarm of spiders downward, exciting Luz even more. "And it's got spider breath!"

"Huh. What do you know?" I said, surprised by this. "Big bro wasn't lying." I then turned to Eda. "So this place has stuff like that?"

"Yep, we got all of them." Eda said before she started listing them. "Griffins, vampires, giraffes…"

"Giraffes?" I asked.

"Yeah, we banished them. We also banished skunks." Juniper said as we landed, she and her mother getting off while me and Luz sat on the floating staff with Luz unwrapping her arms from me. "All a bunch of freaks." As we were absorbing it all, me and Luz heard knuckles cracking and looked over to see a disembodied hand gripping the staff.

"Aaaah!" We both screamed as we jumped off the staff in fear.

"Uh, Mom?" Juniper said, pointing to the hand. "Your hand?"

"Whoops! Sorry." Eda said as she took the hand, revealing it to be hers as she then reattached it to her arm. "That happens sometimes." After getting to my feet, I then went on to help Luz to her feet.

"Well, I've had enough adventure for one day." Luz said as she walked forward. "This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about, so I think I'll go home now."

"Yeah, you mind sending her back to the human world?" I put in, talking to Eda.

"Sure…" She said before she pointed her staff at me, "but only if you and her help us first." She then laughed a little before she started walking away. "Follow me, kids!"

"Is she always like this?" I asked Juniper who had picked the bindle bag off the ground to carry it.

"Dude, I can tell you stories." Juniper said as she, me, and Luz started walking after Eda.

"So, Ryuji," Luz said to me, "back there, I heard you talking with Eda and it sounded like she knows you."

"Yeah, she's actually a friend of my dad's." I told her as we walked. "He always told me he had made friends on the Isles when he was my age."

"Whoa." Luz said with eyes widened in awe.

After walking through that forest for a while, we soon came to a big cottage with a big tower behind it. The house itself was unique with a ceramic window that made it look like the house had one big eye, a weather vane with a gold owl on top of it, a side door close to the front door, and a roof over where the front door was.

"Here we are. Home, sweet home." Juniper said as we walked to the front door.

"Hey, aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" Luz asked with concern.

"Don't worry. Our house has a state-of-the-art defense system." Juniper answered. "Plus, most of them are really dumb."

"I see some owl décor here." I said as I walked up and looked at the owl face on the door.

"Hello!" the face said to me.

"Aah!" I said as I jumped in surprise.

"Whoa, take it easy." Juniper said, trying to calm me down. "That's just our house demon Hooty."

"Hooty?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Hoot-hoot. Password, please." Hooty said and Juniper was about to say something when Eda came up and poked the house demon in the eyes. "Aah!"

"We got no time for this, Hooty." Eda said with a deadpanned look while Juniper gave a pout of disappointment. "Let us in."

"All right, all right! Geez!" Hooty said to her with a glare. "You never wanna have any fun. Ow! Hoot!" With that, the door swung open, allowing us to enter. After we did, the door closed behind us as we found ourselves in a dark room.

"Alright, kids. Welcome to…" Eda said before she snapped her fingers, causing candles to light up and a fireplace to blaze to reveal the living room set with a couch, a couple of nesting tables, two chests, and a wall of random décor which included framed wanted posters of Eda and Juniper.

All around, different items began to move around on their own cleaning such as a broom as it swept around. Looking to the ceiling, me and Luz watched as the lines of some a symbol resembling an owl-like creature lit up in gold light. Needless to say, both me and Luz were amazed by this.

"This is where we hide away from the pressure of modern life." Eda said to us as we looked around, me taking off my backpack and tossing it over onto the couch. "Along with the authorities."

"Also my exes and their families." Juniper snorted, having put the bag and the portal down to take off her cloak.

Without her cloak, I saw she was dressed in a dark red leather jacket with a bright pink, short-sleeve t-shirt that only covered her chest and said "Lean, mean, and sixteen" in black capital letters, a pair of daisy-duke shorts, and ankle-height black boots. Her figure was almost as voluptuous as her mom's. Though, wasn't sure why, I felt unease seeing that like I had with Eda. Of course, I was able to push that aside and talk to her.

"You have exes?" I asked with an amused smile at the witch girl.

"Well, duh!" Juniper replied. "Did you think I was a virgin witch? Of course, it's hard to find someone who's hot and doesn't want to arrest you."

"I bet. Anyway, you got a nice place here." I said as I then went back to looking around.

"It's beautiful." Luz said with eyes widened in awe.

"So is it just you two with Hooty?" I asked the witches.

"No, we got one other housemate." Juniper said before a deep voice spoke out.

"Who dares intrude upon I, the King of Demons?" Looking toward the hallway, we saw a large menacing shadow behind the entryway.

"Don't worry, King. It's just us." Juniper called out as Luz quickly got behind me.

"Juniper?" King said before he sniffed the air. "I smell you and Eda, but I also got a hint of two others. Have you finally brought me some sacrificial offerings? I will consider it an apology for interrupting my royal bath." Luz whimpered in fear from hearing that.

"Oh, knock it off, King." Juniper said with an annoyed look as she walked into the hallways and turned to the left. "The two you smell are guests, not food." She then made a yellow spell circle with her finger. "Also, I told you not to touch my stuff." With that, a lantern and some sort of microphone floated up to her, the witch girl grabbing them.

"Hey, I need those to make my entrance!" King said as Juniper walked back into the living room, his voice now sounding higher and more child-like which calmed and confused both me and Luz.

We were soon surprised by King as he came into view and we were glared at with pink eyes with yellow sclera. Instead of something large and intimidating, King turned out to be a small canine-like creature that was mostly covered in dark gray fur with a patch of his fur on his torso and the tip of his tail being light gray. He had these three fingers with one being a furry thumb and two being boney claws and two toes on his feet that were like his claws. It wears a red collar with a bronze tag. Seeing the skull on top of his head, I realized that this was the odd-looking demon from Eda's wanted poster. Though his towel concealed them, the poster detailed his skull being buffalo-like with a broken horn attached to his head. With Juniper taking the lantern and the microphone from him, I also realized that he was using the light to make his shadow look bigger and his voice deeper to make him look like a ferocious demon. Couldn't say I could blame him for how he called himself the "King of Demons" while looking like an adorable demon child, especially by squeaking the rubber duck he had. Hearing Luz gasp, I saw her poke her head out from behind me as she looked at King with a blush and eyes widened in excitement.

"¡Ah, que lindo!" Luz spoke out in Spanish as she rushed over and swooped King up into a hug, the towel he had falling off to reveal his horns. She then started speaking English again. "Eda, Juniper, he's sooo cute!" She then talked to King like he was a baby. "Who's widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?" I chuckled at how uncomfortable King was getting by the attention Luz was giving him, especially with the hug.

"Okay, is your friend always like this with cute things?" Juniper asked me as she laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much." I told her.

"No! I don't know who your little guy is!" The canine cried out as he tried to struggle out of Luz's hug. "Eda, Juniper! Who is this monster?"

"Don't worry, King. I got ya." Juniper said as she pulled King away from Luz while Eda held her back, my human friend to escape her to get to King as Juniper gently put him down.

"King, I'd like you to meet Ryuji, the Frank boy." Eda said as I waved at King. "And this is his friend Luz, the human. They're here to help us with our situation."

"Oh, hurray!" King said, bouncing back to sounding happy before he looked at me. "So you're the son of Axel. Your father was a worthy servant. I hope you will be a worthy substitute."

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow at that comment.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Luz said as she had stopped struggling, causing Eda to gently put her down as my human friend gave a look of worry. "I don't like the sound of this… 'situation'." She air-quoted the last part.

"Just… let me explain." Eda said as she made a spell circle in front of her, the circle soon turned black as it showed different depictions that almost seemed like drawings that moved as she was explaining, the first image showing a ferocious demon resembling King wearing a golden crown which was taken away by a hand. "King was once a mighty king of demons until his crown of power was stolen, and he became…this." Eda gestured to King who had been swooped up by Luz again.

"You mean this little bundle of joy?" Luz asked, hugging King again.

"Depending on your point of view." Juniper commented in a deadpan tone.

"Okay, Luz, that's enough." I said as I took King from her and put him back on the floor before I turned back to Eda. "So let me guess: you want us to help you get King's crown back?"

"Yes, we especially need the help of your friend there." Eda said as she pointed to Luz.

"Me? What I can do?" Luz asked, surprised by this.

"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath." Eda said, showing us the image of a large man dressed in a white shirt, a dark hood, and this bird-themed mask that had eye lenses that looked like clothes buttons who was holding the crown before switching to an empty room with a pillar of light at the center. "He locked it away behind a magical force field that keeps anyone on the Boiling Isles out. Not even a hybrid like Ryuji would be able to do it."

"Wait, how do you know I'm a hybrid?" I said, getting a raised brow from Eda which gave me my answer as I realized it. "Oh, yeah. My dad told you. Sorry, please continue."

"Thank you." Eda said as she continued where she left off. "Anyway, the barrier can only be broken through by a human." She then turned to Luz. "A human like you." Finishing her explanation, Eda canceled the spell and made the circle disappear.

"So if we help you, you'll send Luz back to the human world?" I said to her.

"That's right. So what do ya say? Plus," Eda said before she picked up King by the head, "who could say no to this cute face?"

"I could." Juniper bluntly put in.

"No! Don't encourage them!" King said.

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Luz sighed as we looked at each other.

"In this case? Yeah." Juniper answered as she got up from the couch. "But, as long as you're with us, you'll be fine."

"Juni's right. Plus," Eda said as she dropped King to the floor. "I will make good on our deal, especially considering one of you is Axel's boy." She ruffled my hair a bit before she picked both of me and Luz up and carried us out of the house. "Now let's go! We got no time to lose!"

"Right behind ya, Mom!" Juniper said as she joined her mother. "Come on, King!"

"Soon, Mr. Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us!" King said as he picked up the rubber duck and followed.

"Okay, exactly where are going?" I asked as Eda continued to carry me and Luz.

"Somewhere super fun!" Eda answered.

"Translation: somewhere very dangerous." Juniper commented, sarcastically.

Later that night, Eda took us to the front of this tall, ominous tower surrounded by a huge wall, the thunder from the storm adding more to the creepy vibe.

"Eda, I think we have different views on what's fun." I cringed in fear. "What is this place?"

"The Conformatorium, a place for those they capture for crimes." Eda told us. "This is where we'll find King's crown."

"Wait, you want us to break into a witch prison full of criminal witches and warlocks and demons?" I said with worry.

"Do you want to get your friend back to the human realm or not?" Eda asked me, causing me to sigh.

"Wow! These guys really have the hots for you." Luz said, noticing all the wanted posters of Eda and Juniper everywhere.

"Yep. But we were never caught because we're too slippery." She said with a confident wink.

"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease." King said while sitting on top of Luz's head. "I'm a squirmy little fella. Aaah!" Juniper laughed a little after he slipped off Luz.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked before King popped back up.

"Easy. You, Luz, me, and Juniper will sneak up to the top of the tower where they're holding my crown." King said, pointing to said tower.

"But what about Warden Wrath and the guards?" I asked.

"Don't worry." Eda spoke up. "I'll make sure the warden and his lackeys are distracted while guys sneak around in there."

"Well, we better put on some disguises." I said. "They'll notice something is up if they see two humans in the prison."

"Good idea. I better put on a disguise too so they won't recognize me." Juniper said being on some goggles and a gray scarf around her face.

"That's good. But check this." I said with a smile before I created a gold spell circle and cast my disguise spell, covering myself in a cloud of smoke. After the smoke cleared, I looked much like myself, but with smooth black hair along fox ears and a fox tail. "Pretty good kitsune disguise, huh?"

"Wait, you can use magic?" Juniper asked with shock.

"Well, duh! I'm a human/witch hybrid." I told her.

"Oh, I've been waiting to use this." Luz excitedly said as she pulled her hood over before straightening up the cat ears on it. "Meow, meow!" Hearing Juniper snickering, I gave her a quick elbow to make her stop.

"It's hideous." King commented and I whacked him on the head.

"Oh, you'll fit right in." Eda said with a smile before she planted her staff on the ground, making a circle of light appear underneath our feet. "Hang on tight." Backing up, she then used the circle to get us up high to the tower, stopping us at the closest window.

I managed to jump off the circle and through the window safely with Juniper following while she carried King. After she gently put King down, I then went to the window and motioned for Luz to follow. But, before she could jump, the circle disappeared beneath her.

"Luz!" Rushing over, I managed to grab both her arms before she fell.

Down below Eda let her staff fly and took a seat as it flew by.

"Meet you guys at the top of the tower!" Eda said as she casually flew off into the air on her staff.

"Alright, you heard her. Come on!" Juniper said as she got a hold of me and helped me pull Luz up. After getting her through the window, the three of us all ended up falling to the floor as Luz pushed herself right into me.

"Ha-ha!" King laughed, pointing at is. "Cat's don't do that! Ow!" He got smacked behind the head by an annoyed Juniper.

"You okay, Luz?" I asked my human friend as she lay on top of me.

"Yeah, thanks." She said with a grateful smile.

Our eyes soon widen in shock as we saw how we were positioned. Both of us sporting a blush of embarrassment, Luz got off me and stood up while I quickly got back to my feet, the two of us looking anywhere except at each other. Hearing Luz gasp, I looked in front of us to see that we had entered a massive cell block in the tower, multiple levels lined with cells from top to bottom.

"Whoa." Luz said, surprised by this.

"Yeah, this is one hell of a prison." I added.

"Yeah, this where most people end up at." Juniper told us.

"Hey, ski girl." Said a voice as we all turned around to see a witch girl in a cell behind us. "How'd you, fox boy, and cat girl get out of your cell?"

"Oh, we're not a cat and a fox." I said as I cut off my spell, Juniper took off the scarf and goggles, and Luz pulled down her hood. "These are just disguises."

"Yeah, and we're not prisoners or criminals." Luz added.

"Not criminals yet, you're not." King said to us as he sat on Juniper's shoulder.

"We're not criminals either." The girl said, showing how angry she is. I looked over to the cells next to her to watch as a sad-looking cyclops with five eyes with two missing and a pale skin midget with short orange hair and a large nose walked up. "The stupid warden likes to lock up people who don't fit in, considers us unsuitable for society."

"Well, what are you in for?" I asked her.

"Me? Just for my life's work." She told me. "You see, I write stories about food falling in love."

"You mean, you're in here for just writing non-fiction?" I said, surprised by this.

"Yeah. I like food, I like love. Just let me write about it!"

"Did you write any spicy scenes?" Juniper said with a sly smile, earning a flick to the forehead from me. "Ow!"

"What are you in here for, big guy?" I asked the cyclops.

"I'm here because I like eating my own eyes." He said as he took one of his remaining eyes out and ate it, a new eye popping into the place he took one out.

"We are agents of fwee expwession!" Said the midget. "They will never siwence us!"

"Uh…" I said with confusion.

"Yeah, she's really big into conspiracy theories." The witch girl answered, rolling her eyes.

"The world is a simuwation!" the midget screamed out. "We are but pwaythings for a higher being!"

"Wait, so the warden locked all you up just for this?" I said in disbelief. "But these aren't even crimes!"

"He's right. None of you actually did anything wrong." Luz said as she paced around the three cells, watching her stop, I walked over as she pulled out the wanted posters of the Clawthornes. "You're all just a bunch of weirdos… Like us."

With Luz looking at me, I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder before we both turned to Juniper who was looking away towards the ground with her arms crossed. We really felt sorry for these guys, even the witch mother and daughter, for being treated like this because they were different. Much like how we were. This moment was short-lived as we heard loud footsteps coming this way.

"It's Warden Wrath! Hide!" the prison witch told us.

"Guys, quick! In here!" Juniper said, motioning to a cell with a broken door.

After quickly getting inside, I used my Illusion magic to cast a barrier around us to conceal us from the warden as he walked in. I felt fear fill me as I saw he was of a towering size with purple-skinned muscle. Along with the hood and mask, he was dressed in a white sleeveless tunic with brass buttons, a leather belt with a brass buckle, and black trousers tucked into dark purple shoes. On the uniform at the right side of his chest was a triangular brass badge that looked much like the one belonging to the guard we saw earlier today.

"I hear talking." He said in a dark, menacing voice. "Just what are you fools whispering about?" Looking down at his foot, Warden Wrath found the wanted poster of Eda on the floor, no doubt the one Luz had and accidentally dropped. "Ah, the Owl Lady." Kneeling down he picks up the poster before crumbling it up with a snarl and his fist turned into a hammer which he smashed into the cell where we were hiding. This bent the bars into the cell a bit. "I'll get my hands on her and the little Demon Flame soon enough."

"Fight against the oppwessor!" the midget called out, causing Warden Wrath to walk over to her as he turned his hand back to normal. "We will wesist! We will conquer! We will never be afwaid of you, you old cweep!" He then lifted a lever and opened her cell. "Hooway! I'm fwee!" She spoke too soon as the warden grabbed her in a chokehold.

Seeing this, I gasped and growled with Warden Wrath acting like a big bully.

"Easy there, Ryuji." Luz said, stopping me.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you." Wrath said as he held the midget in his grasp. "If you can't fit in, then there's no place in society for you but here." Wrath then walked away out of the room. I canceled my spell and the four of us got out of the cell after he was gone.

"Okay, well, at least Mom won't have to distract him." Juniper said as me and Luz looked back at the other prisoners.

"Hey, don't worry." I said as I got over to the lever for the prisoner witch's cell. "We're gonna get you out of here." I then tried to push up the lever, but I couldn't get it to budge. Luz tried to help by pulling it up, but there wasn't much luck.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Juniper said with shock. "We came here for King's crown, remember?"

"After what we just witnessed? There's no way we can leave these guys with that warden!" I told her.

"He's right! None of them deserve to be treated like this!" Luz added.

"Kid, just stop." The prison witch said to me with a sad look. "You can't lift that thing. Only the warden can open these cells. You should just leave while you still can."

"But we can't leave you here." I said, refusing to abandon the innocent people behind the bars.

"Please, just go. Enjoy freedom for us."

Before either of us can argue, Juniper put a hand on mine and Luz's shoulder, shaking her head. After a moment, the two of us sighed in defeat before we then join Juniper as we made our way to higher levels, avoiding attention. It wasn't long until we bumped into Eda who flew in.

"Hey, I just checked." Eda said, getting off her staff. "The warden is busy tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."

"Yeah, we know." I said with depression as me and Luz walked past her with our heads down.

[No one's view]

Seeing the two teens' expressions as they walked away, Eda then turned to Juniper, her daughter's face telling her that something was bothering them.

[Ryuji]

After walking for a while, we stopped at a large door labeled "Contraband", no doubt this being where King's crown was being kept.

"My crown! It's close!" King eagerly said as he jumped off Luz and ran over to the door. "I can sense its power!" He then jumped and tried turning the knob, beginning to struggle with it.

"Aw! He gets so cute when he's thirsty for power." Eda cooed as she watched the little demon try. She no doubt saw the sad looks me and Luz had as she spoke to us with concern. "Hey, you two okay?"

"We're fine. It's just…" I said to her. "We had just talked to some prisoners in here and found out that they weren't even criminals, that they were just arrested for people thinking they were weird."

"Yeah. It's not fair that they're all in here." Luz put in. "They just want to be themselves. Why does everyone think that being a weirdo is so bad? "

"Well, unfortunately, that's just how some of us are." Juniper told us, having a sad look herself. "Around here on the Isles, when you're different, that always makes you a target. It gives people a reason to try and ignore you, to reject you. Even though you didn't do anything wrong, if it's something that makes you stand out in any way bad, then that's how people are gonna treat ya. Believe me. I've been in the Isles long enough to know that."

After she said that, the doorknob came flying off and landed in front of us. We all then watched King giggle like a madman for successfully opening the door before he ran straight inside.

"Come on, let's go before he hurts himself." Eda told us.

"Ow!" King yelled out.

"Too late." Juniper commented with an amused smirk.

Going through the door, we found ourselves in a large room with a large pillar of light in the middle of it. Hearing grunting, we looked to see King struggling to get in the pillar. He tried to ram it, but was sent flying back over to us, much to his annoyance.

"Hey, we have a human, remember?" Eda reminded King, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah." King said, remembering why Luz was there.

"Okay, here we are." Luz said as she looked at the pillar before she turned to Eda. "So what does King's crown look like?"

"Oh, you'll know when you find it. Trust me." Eda said with a confident smile. "By the way, while you're in there, try and see if you can find a necklace."

"A necklace?" Luz asked, a little surprised by this. "What does it look like?"

"It's gold with a pendent that haves a star with a pair of wings on it that haves with a red stone in it." Eda told her.

"Is she going to be okay going through that?" I asked the witch.

"Yeah, she's human, right? I'm pretty sure she'll be fine." She told me.

"Pretty sure?" Me and Luz said at the same time.

"Look, just trust me, alright?" Eda told us. "And hurry up before the warden finds us."

[No one's view]

Taking a deep breath, Luz approached the column. Sticking one hand out, her hand phased right through with ease. Seeing as it didn't hurt her, she then went on and went into the pillar. Once inside, Luz found herself amongst many piles of different items that most likely belonged to the many prisoners who were detained in the prison. Taking a few steps, she looked around for her objectives. Soon enough, she stepped on something and removed her foot to find a gold chain with a pendant, matching the description of the necklace Eda wanted her to find.

"Oh, this must be the necklace Eda wanted me to look for. It's really pretty." Luz said as she picked up the necklace before she put it in her pocket. "Okay, one down, one more to go. Now where's King's crown?" Shielding her eyes, she browsed around the area until she noticed something sticking out on top of one of the piles.

[Ryuji]

After waiting a moment, we all then watched as Luz stepped out of the pillar, completely unharmed.

"Luz!" I said as I gained a smile and ran over to her. "I'm glad you're alright. Did you find King's crown?"

"Well, I think I did." Luz said in an unsure tone as she held up an item which I recognized anywhere.

"Chotto matte." I said, speaking a bit of Japanese before going back to English. "Is that… a Burger King crown?"

"My crown!" King said, jumping for joy. Luz then handed the paper crown to him and the demon puts it on. "Yes. Yes! I can feel my powers returning! You there, nightmare critter!" He pointed and walked over to a small stuffed bunny which he picks up. "I shall call you 'Francois' and you shall be a minion of my army of darkness! Ha-ha!"

"That's not a real crown." Luz said in disbelief.

"Yeah." I said, feeling the same way. "It doesn't give him any powers, does it?"

"Uh, no." Eda said with a snort.

"Eda!" I said as me and Luz glared at her.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for lying, but I had to." Eda said to us. "I wasn't sure if you would be willing to help us if I told you the crown wasn't important."

"Yeah, you got that right." I told her as I looked to King as he happily adjusted his crown a bit. "What is King's deal with that crown?"

"Well, believe it or not, he got that crown from Axel on one of his visits." Eda said, getting my attention. "Said that a king shouldn't be without a crown."

"Wait, my dad gave him that crown?" I said, surprised by this.

"Yeah, even though King annoyed the hell out of him, he still cared for the little guy as a friend." Eda told me.

"Okay, so about this necklace?" Luz asked, taking a gold necklace out of her pocket.

Gasping when Luz said that, Juniper then rushed over to her and gently took the necklace from her hand, gazing at it intensely before she holds it up to her chest while sighing in contentment.

"That is for Juni. Warden Wrath took it along with the crown." Eda said as she explained while Juniper put the necklace. "It was a birthday present from her dad and it's the only thing she has left of him."

"What? What happened to her dad?" I asked, surprised by this.

"Let's just say that we had a few… problems from before she was born." Eda told me with a look of regret. "By the time she was born, I decided to come back to the Boiling Isles and took her with me. Even though she didn't know her dad, much like she doesn't now…"

"The fact that he gave such a meaningful gift was enough to get her to care for him." I said, finishing what she was saying and understanding this with a smile. "So this is what it was all about. You wanted us to help get the things that bring joy to Juniper and King."

"Yeah." Eda said as she then regained her smile. "Oh, kids, look at us. Me, King, and Juni don't have much in this world and it isn't easy to find anything in it that makes us happy. We only have each other. So, if that dumb crown is that important to King, it's important to me. The same can be said for your Juni as she knows when to have something important. It's like your dad always said, us weirdoes need to stick together."

Hearing that, me and Luz smiled at each other we were able to do a good thing. Even though knew we almost died for a piece of paper, but were glad to bring back items of great emotional value to King and Juniper.

"Okay, now let's get out of here before the warden finds out and loses his head." Eda said, not noticing Warden Wrath as he came up behind her.

"Too late." The warden said before he turned his hand into a scythe and chopped Eda's head off where it landed in my hands. Me and Luz screamed in horror from seeing this.

"Ow! Oh, I hate it when that happens." Eda said, still alive as a disembodied head and freaking us out even more.

"Eda, are you okay?" Luz asked in concern.

"Yeah, this just happens when you get older." Eda said with a deadpan expression.

"Really?" I said, feeling a bead of sweat forming on my brow.

"To humans? No." Juniper clarified with the same expression as her mother. "To folks here? Yes."

"Finally. I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady." Warden Wrath said as he walked over to us, taking King's crown. The little demon tried to take it back but Wrath kept it out of his reach. "My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet's toy along with a little something important, you'd come running right to me."

"No! My power!" King cried in horror after watching Wrath crush his crown.

"Hey, not cool, dude!" Juniper said as she glared while comforting King, getting the Warden's attention.

"Doesn't matter. I have no need for it anymore." Wrath said as he tossed the crown away. "My plan already worked. I got you and your mother right where I want you."

"What do you want with us?" Eda questioned as she, me, and Luz gave the warden glares. "We never broke any of your stupid laws! At least, not in front of you." She said that last part under her breath.

"Owl Lady, I want you…" Warden Wrath said as he kneeled down before he pulled out a bouquet of flowers, "to go out with me."

"What?" Eda said as she blinked in confusion.

"What?" Luz said with a deadpan tone.

"Seriously?" I cringed at this.

"You got to be kidding me." Juniper said in annoyance.

"Go, boss!" One of the guards behind him said while another gave him the thumbs up.

"You always eluded our capture, always being the one who got away." Wrath said, trying to sound suave. "I found that alluring."

"Anyone else hating the way he's talking right now?" I asked while being creeped out by the warden.

"Nope! I hate everything he's saying right now." Luz said.

"Yeah, feeling's mutual here." Juniper added.

"You runts stay out of this!" Warden Wrath snapped as he threw the bouquet away before thrusting his arm at us. I managed to dodge him but Luz, Juniper, and King were caught by Wrath as his arm turned into tendrils that wrapped around them.

"Hey, let me go!" Juniper said as Wrath handed her and King to two of the guards who held them, another who was holding Eda's body, while he held Luz in tendrils.

"Luz!" I gasped before I then put Eda's head down and ran off to her rescue, the attempt only leading to Warden Wrath swatting me away.

"You know, kid, you kind of remind me of someone I knew." Wrath said to me as I tried to get myself back up, sounding pretty smug of himself. "Just as annoying, but not as strong." From there, he then grabbed Eda's head and brought it up to his face. "So how about it, Owl Lady? We'd be the strongest power couple ever! I know you have a kid, but I don't mind. I heard her father ran out on you when she was born."

"Shut up, asshole!" Juniper yelled out in anger. "You don't know anything about my dad!"

"Quiet, you!" Wrath snarled at the young witch before he turned back to Eda. "I mean, it's not like you can say no."

I watched as Eda looked over to her daughter in concern, Luz struggling to break free from Wrath, and King was in the guard's grasp. It was there that she then gave a sigh of defeat.

"All right, Warden. You win." Eda said with a defeated look. "I'd just like to say something first." Wrath leaned forward. "Come closer." He moved a bit closer. "No, just come a little bit closer." Moving closer, he got right up to Eda's face. "Just… Yeah, that's good." Taking a deep breath, Eda then gave Wrath a big raspberry right in his face.

Seeing Luz stuck in the warden's grasp and everyone being restrained by the guards, I could feel the anger building up inside me, the same anger I had when I saw how he treated those he imprisoned as I tightened my fist. This was the drive pushing me to get back up, to stand up and teach him a lesson. If that bastard thought he could get away with pushing people around, then he had another thing coming!

[No one's view]

After giving him that raspberry, Eda laughed as she watched Wrath wipe the spit off his face.

"Impudent wench!" Wrath said in disgust. "Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth? Ugh!"

"Get over it!" Eda snapped back. "You had your guards stalk me, you cut off my head, and then you threatened to hurt my little girl. I am not going out with you!" After a brief moment, she looked away with a sly smile. "Besides, my husband's got more game than you'll ever have."

"If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to…"

"Hey, Warden!" Hearing that shout, everyone looked to see Ryuji standing there with a glare toward Wrath. "I'm only gonna tell you this once. Let my friends go or else!" Though surprised by this, Wrath shrugged it off as he chuckled in amusement.

"You got some balls calling me out, kid." Wrath said as he turned to face him. "But I think you barely have any chances against me."

"Oh, I don't think you quite realize who you're dealing with." Ryuji said as he then reached over and grabbed his sword.

With the flick of his thumb, Ryuji quickly unsheathed the Saisho, taking its handle in both hands and holding it in front of him. The handle was covered in a golden ray skin layered with a white cord wrap and the guard was gold as well it was styled like a ring with an eight-pointed star. The blade shined silver with the blade ridge decorated with a sort of engraving on the sides along the groove located close to the blade collar. It truly was an impressive blade.

"Heh. Do you really think that little sword will make much of a difference?" Wrath scoffed, not feeling much threatened.

"Oh, I think it can. My Saisho is not an ordinary blade." Ryuji said with a smile as he pulls his sword to the side and lowers himself down into a stance.

After he does so and tightens his grip, the engraving on the blade becomes filled with golden light. Before long, the light then slowly begins to spread out on the blade, moving towards the tip. While most in front of Ryuji were bewildered by the spreading light on the Saisho's blade, Luz gained a smile upon seeing it. A moment after the blade became completely covered in light, wind began to gather around it, spinning around the blade as it surged with magical energy, shocking everyone except for Luz. Even Eda was shocked by this.

"What the…?" King gasped.

"No way!" Juniper gasped.

"Whoa!" Eda gasped as Ryuji then charged.

"Attack Magic: Wind Cloak!" Ryuji said before he jumped above Wrath with his blade held up for an attack, his words seeming to echo throughout the room. "Tempest Slash!" With one downward slash, Ryuji sent a burst of wind crashing down on the warden, knocking him to the ground and causing him to lose his grip on both Luz and Eda's head.

The impact of the attack sent a powerful gust of wind which pushed back the coven guards into the wall and caused Juniper, King, and Eda's body to fall to the ground as the guards lost their hold on them. After it was over and Ryuji landed in front of the fallen warden with the Saisho in one hand, the wind around his sword dissipated and the blade stopped glowing.

[Ryuji]

"Here are three things you need to know about me, Warden Wrath." I said as I put the Saisho over my shoulder and counted with the fingers of my free. "One: I hate bullies, especially ones who think they can get away with anything without any problems like you. Two: you mess with my friends, you mess with me. And three: I'm not some ordinary kid. I'm the newest hero of this world and beyond, a symbol of peace and justice. The champion who fights evil wherever it may be." Putting those three fingers down, I then pointed to myself with my thumb as I gained a grin. "I am Ryuji, Ryuji the Dragon Kid!"

I stood there proudly for a moment until I heard Wrath giving me a chuckle, making me lose my smile as he then picked himself up to his feet.

"Oh, I know exactly who you are now." Wrath said as he towered over me. "That sword is a Star-Rank weapon. Add that with the power you just used, there's no doubt about it. You're the son of that Fire Dragon Axel Frank."

"What do you know about my dad?" I asked him with a glare.

"I know well enough after the times he eluded me." Wrath told me as he turn his hands into scythes. "The Emperor's Coven has been searching for him for quite some time, an order given by the Emperor himself. Seeing as to how the Owl Lady came when I took something she cared about, I have no doubt that Fire Dragon will come out of hiding once he finds out his son had been captured. Now, Dragon Kid, you will be captured by the feared Warden—Oof!" With that, he was bonked in the head by Eda's staff.

Moving out of the way of the falling warden, I was surprised to see Luz behind him, my friend holding Eda's staff.

"Luz?" I said, surprised by this. "Uh, thanks for the save, but I had it covered."

"Hey, I wanted a crack at him too." Luz said as she walked over to me. "And you're welcome."

"Nice job, you two." Eda chuckled proudly.

"Thanks, Eda. Now let's get out of here!" I said as Luz picked up her head while I got Eda's body along with Juniper and King.

"How do you make this fly?" Luz said as we all sat on the staff, my friend trying to figure out how to get to fly as Owlbert's eyes opened and his wings spread. "Expecto…flying? Magicus…escapicus!"

"Uh, guys? Warden's waking up!" Juniper said as we saw Wrath picking himself up with a groan.

"Gun it, magic stick!" Eda said and the staff sped off just as the warden got back onto his feet.

[No one's view]

As the group flew off, Warden Wrath got to his feet and saw the five making their escape, something that made him very unpleased.

"Owl Lady… I won't let you get away again!" Wrath roared as his arms transformed into masses of tendrils that he used to carry him to pursue his enemies.

[Ryuji]

After flying for a while, I looked back to see the warden right on our tail as we flew into the cell block area. While going through, they noticed they were coming up to three familiar cells.

"Ryuji!" Luz said as she pointed to the levers.

"I'm on it!" I said as I got what she had in mind, taking out my sword and pointing it at the levers. "Nature Cloak: Vine Lash!"

With that, the Saisho started glowing green before vines wrapped around and one shot from the blade, a vine which I used to whip upward at the levers and push them up. With that, we kept moving as we watched the cells open with those same prisoners watching us fly away.

After busting through the doors, we managed to make it to the courtyard, but the warden sent tendrils at us and knocked us off the staff before we got past the wall which we all skidded or/rolled into.

"Oh, my bones." King groaned.

"You and me both." Juniper groaned as we all got back up, Eda putting her head back on.

"Juni," Eda said as she looked to her daughter and dug into her hair to pull out the key for the portal. "Get Luz and Ryuji back to the human world."

"Wait, what about you guys?" Juniper asked with worry after taking the key as Eda and King rushed toward Wrath.

"What about you guys?" Luz asked with worry as we watched Eda and King rush forward to fight Wrath.

"Hey, we can take care of this! Your mom's new boyfriend can't be as bad as your last girlfriend!" King said he went over to Eda as she was dodging Wrath's blades.

"Not my boyfriend!" Eda said as she swiped King out of the way just in the nick of time to avoid a set of blades that were plunged into the ground.

"But, but…"

"Juni, this is no time to argue!" Eda said with a serious expression as she hurriedly got her daughter along with me and Luz onto her staff. "Go now!" Smacking the bottom of it, her staff then took off into the air.

[No one's view]

After the three teens left, Wrath removed his mask to reveal he had large fangs ad two small eyes. With that, he then breathed fire at Eda and King. Eda was quick to counter it by forming a ring of light that absorbed the flames. Stepping aside and making another ring, she sent the warden's attack back which sent him plummeting into a wall.

[Ryuji]

After nearly slipping off the staff, we managed to get control of it and watched the fight between Eda and Wrath as the staff hovered above, Wrath turning his hands into scythes before he ran at Eda. After a moment, Juniper spoke up.

"Ryuji!" Juniper then gave me the key. "Take this and get back home with Luz!"

"What about you?" I asked her.

"I'm going to save my mom." Juniper said with a serious look before she jumped off and started free-falling towards the battle.

[No one's view]

Down below, Eda was knocked back by Wrath and caught King as he was sent flying into her hands.

"No more running away, Owl Lady." Wrath declared as he raised his scythes above him. "Today, I capture you once and for all!" Wrath declares when a blade of wind hits him in the back.

"Stay away from my mom!" Juniper yelled as she came down towards Wrath, making a spell circle and sending a bolt of lightning at Wrath, sending him skidding across the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you to go!" Eda said to her daughter.

"Sorry, Mom, but I'm not gonna let you get captured." Juniper told her.

With Wrath roaring at her, he and Juniper then charged at each other as they then began their battle.

[Ryuji]

"Juniper!" Luz said in concern as we watched the battle unfold. "We got to help them!"

"Luz, look!" I said as I pointed to the hole in the wall left from the warden crashing into it, the three prisoners we let out now standing at it as they watched what was happening. Seeing this, we then made the staff fly down to them. "Guys, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, this is your chance to escape!" Luz added.

"The warden will catch us. He always does." The cyclops said, looking hopeless.

"We belong here." The witch girl added, just as hopeless.

"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape fwom." The midget put in as she felt the same way while she had a black eye, her fellow prisoners agreeing with her statement.

"Yeah, so what?" Evan said to them. "Whatever you do is a choice you made on how to live your life, to live it the way you want. There's nothing wrong with that."

"He's right." Luz backed him up. "So you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome. Don't you see? You don't have to be afraid to be yourselves." Surprised by this, the prisoners all looked at each other before turning back to me and Luz.

"Why are you helping us?" the witch prisoner asked as we smiled at them.

"Because we're weirdos like you." I told them. "And like a great man once said…"

"Us weirdos have to stick together." Luz continued after me as put her hood back on and got onto Eda's staff. "And nobody should be punished for who they are." From there, the prisoners then cheered as they regained their hope. "Now let's get him!" Luz and I then led the charge.

[No one's view]

Back with the battle, though she held her own, Juniper ended up defeated as she was grabbed by Wrath's tendrils and tossed over to Eda and King.

"Juni!" Eda said as she went over to her daughter in concern.

"I'm alright, Mom." Juniper said as she managed to push herself up to sit on the ground while Wrath stepped up to tower over them.

"You should have listened to your mother, Demon Flame." Wrath said to her. "Now you and the Owl Lady shall suffer the same fate as I finally capture you both!"

"Not if I can help it!" Looking behind Wrath, Ryuji is charging at Wrath as he wielded the Saisho in one hand.

"You again!" Turning his arms into scythes, Wrath swings at Ryuji who dodges and weaves through them before creating a spell circle with his free hand and sending a blast of wind at the ground, launching himself over the warden.

While in the air, Ryuji turns before he grabs the Saisho with both hands and pulls it back, the blade glowing like before but surging with electricity.

"Storm Cloak: Volt Thrust!" Ryuji yelled, thrusting his sword as it sends a powerful bolt of lightning that knocks the warden to the ground.

After landing on the ground on his feet, Ryuji stands up as he watches Wrath picks himself up with sparks of fire escaping his mouth. The sight of this makes Ryuji smile as he then releases one hand from his sword and prepares a spell circle. As Wrath breathes fire at him, Ryuji then uses the spell circle to send a continuous blast of water, the blasts being of equal match as they clashed.

"Whoa! Look at Ryuji!" Juniper said as she smiled, impressed by how well Ryuji was holding his own against Wrath.

"Eda, are you seeing this?" King said in awe.

"Yes, I am." Eda nodded as she looked toward the boy with awe as this reminded of her another brave boy she knew.

After a moment, Ryuji gives a powerful yell as his blast of water instantly cuts through the flames and hits Wrath directly in the mouth. After that, Ryuji stopped the attack as he watches Wrath stumble back a bit with a groan of pain. After regaining his footing, Wrath then began to cough out steam as the water blast he took had rendered his fire breath useless.

"You little… brat!" Wrath roared in anger, pausing to cough steam. "You think that… just by… getting rid of… my fire… you'll be able to… beat me?"

"No, at least not alone." Ryuji said with a smile. "In fact, I was only trying to make sure you couldn't use your fire breath for the real attack. Now!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Hearing that shout, Wrath turned around to see Luz fly in with their prisoner friends who charge at him, sending him back. Wrath tries to grab them with tendrils, but wasn't fast enough as they attacked him.

"I eat my own eyes!" The cyclops yelled out as he continued pushing Wrath back.

"I see the world as a twiangle!" The short prisoner said as she got behind and made Wrath trip over her to the ground.

"And I practice the ancient art of non-fiction!" The witch prisoner cried out before the three of them then tied Wrath up in his own tendrils, the three of them backing away as the warden struggles to untie himself.

"Had enough, Wrath?" Ryuji said as Wrath flipped himself over to face him as Luz came down and landed beside her friend.

"You! I'll crush you for this!" Wrath snaps at them. "Who do you think you are?"

"Well, this is what you get for mistreating weirdos like us." Ludolf said with a smug. "Out of anything, you should've known that this is what you would get for punishing the innocent, Warden Wrath."

"He's right." Luz profoundly said. "Do not underestimate us for we are Luz the Human and Ryuji the Dragon Kid, warriors of peace!" She then pulled out the stash of fireworks from hers and Ryuji's book report. "Now eat this, sucker!" Tossing it up, she then uses the staff to send it higher up into the air.

Grinning, Ryuji then sheaths the Saisho on his back before he jumps up to meet it, creating two spell circles as he gets closer to it. After reaching behind it, Ryuji then grabs it while also slamming on the spell circles he created, engulfing the fireworks in a ball of fire.

"Here…comes…" Ryuji yells out as he then held up the flaming fireworks above his head, doing a few vertical spins with the help of the fireworks' engines before stopping as he then pulled back to prepare to throw the fireworks. "Dragon… Kiiiiid!" with one last yell, Ryuji then tossed the fireworks and they started flying down towards Wrath.

"Oh, crap." Wrath said with shock right before the firework hit him in the face and exploded, the warden screaming as he was sent flying as the fireworks soon began to light up the sky as they flew around randomly.

"Damn." Juniper whispered in awe at what she just saw.

[Ryuji]

After I landed next to Luz, me and her watched as Wrath landed in front of the prison doors before he picked himself up and ran inside with the prisoners we helped cheering out in victory in this battle which the fireworks helped signify.

"Hey, DK," Luz said as she was giving me a smug, "glad I decided to bring the Act Three closer, huh?"

"Well, yeah." I casually admitted. "I still can't believe you kept that in your bag. Were you gonna bring that to summer camp?"

"Hey, it helped us out, didn't it?" She retorted.

"Heh-heh. Yeah, it did." I chuckled a bit before I held up my hand to her. "Good job, Luz."

"Right back at ya, DK." Luz said as she then high-fived me.

"Okay, that had got to be the most frickin' coolest thing I've ever saw!" Juniper said as she, King, and Eda came over to us. "Respect, guys. Respect."

"Yeah, that was actually a better breakup than any I've seen." King said as he crawled onto Juniper's shoulders, said witch girl giving him a sneering smile.

"Not a breakup." Eda said with a frown at the comment before she exchanged it for a smile. "Anyways, let's bounce before more monsters fall in love with me."

With that, we all got onto the staff and slowly made our way up to the sky, the fireworks continuing to go off as we left.

"You know, I bet Dad would've broken the warden's jaw if he was there and saw Wrath try to ask you out, wouldn't he?" Juniper asked while looking over to her mom.

"Oh, yeah. He would've." Eda chuckled lightly.

After returning to the Owl House, I felt great relief to be done with such a long, long day.

"Whoo! I'm glad that's over." I sighed with contentment.

"Yeah, I'm never taking this house for granted again." Juniper happily exclaimed as she then sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, me neither." Eda said as she put her staff down against the couch.

"But seriously though, guys, what you two did was totally awesome. Ryuji, where'd you learn all those crazy spells? I've never seen magic like that before."

"Well, part of the techniques I used came from what I learned from my dad." I told her before rubbing the back of my head with a little embarrassment. "The rest I came up with a little inspiration from anime and manga."

"Wait, you mean you actually made those spells?" Juniper asked in surprise. "And you got the ideas from manga?"

"Well, yeah." I humbly answered. "But it's no big deal. I mostly had help from my Saisho."

"Oh, come on. Don't be so modest." Luz said as she gave me a friendly nudge and a smile. "With or without that sword, you're a really great warlock, DK."

"DK?" Juniper asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, that's what I call him from time to time." Luz explained to her. "A cool guy like him deserves a cool nickname. I did think about calling him by his hero name, but it just sounded weird 'cause we're the same age. So I decided to shorten it from 'Dragon Kid' to 'DK'. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Juniper said as she gained a smile before she pointed at me. "Okay, then from now on, I'm gonna be calling you 'DK'."

"Fine by me." I said, showing her I was chill with it. I then turned to Luz. "Though I got to say it was pretty cool, the way we defeated Warden Wrath. It felt just like…"

"When Azura and Ludolf defeated the dreaded Glidersnake?" Luz put in, guessing what I was saying before I said it.

"Yeah! I felt just like Ludolf when he delivered the final blow to that serpent!" I said, pumping up a fist to emphasize my excitement.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Juniper said with a raised brow at Luz. "You read that Azura junk too, Luz?"

"Of course." Luz admitted with a smile. "I'm a huge fan of Azura."

"Oh, no!" Juniper groaned in exasperation. "The first human I meet is a nerd! For once, can't I get a girl who's cool and isn't my repellent?" I laughed with King as the witch girl buried her face in her hands after she pleaded out to the world.

"Well, kids. A deal's a deal." Eda said before she looked at Luz. "Now let's get you home."

With a snap of her fingers, the portal key floated out of Luz's bag and back into its owner's hand. With a pressing on the eye, the portal hovered over beside the fireplace before it folded itself out as the door.

"Oh, and don't forget this." Eda said, handing back Luz her Azura book along with her camp brochure.

"Thanks, Mrs. Eda." Luz said with a grateful smile before she turned to me. "Well, Ryuji. We better get going. We probably already missed the bus, but your dad can give us a lift, right?" Hearing that, I then looked down to the floor with sadness as I was afraid to tell her the truth. "What's wrong?" With a sigh, I then went on to tell her.

"Luz, I'm not going to the summer camp." I told her.

"What? What are you talking about?" Luz said, her tone telling me she was hoping I was joking.

"Luz, my dad never signed me up for Reality Check Camp." I said as I then lifted my head to look at her, my friend having lost the smile she had. "He just said he did as an excuse for me. He sent me here to stay at the Owl House for the summer."

"What?" Luz said in disbelief, dropping both her book and the brochure.

"He's telling ya the truth, kid." Eda said as we both turned to see she had pulled out and opened the letter Dad asked me to give her. "According to this, his dad's been noticing him having trouble with his curse."

"Wait, curse?" Juniper asked as she jumped up from the couch in surprise. "You mean, like…"

"Yes, Juni." Eda said to her daughter. "Anyway, Axel's giving him to me so I can help him with his curse. I'd say he had the right idea. I've heard about these summer camps and, believe me, what Ryuji's got isn't anything they can handle. I'm surprised you didn't realize that sooner, considering he sent some poor human kid to the hospital just for picking on him."

"You're really going to stay here." Luz said as I turned around to see her look of disbelief. "I don't believe this."

"Luz…" I tried to speak to calm her down, but she wasn't going to give me a chance.

"So what?" Luz said, now starting to get angry. "I'm actually supposed to leave by myself while you get to have fun here where you can do all the magic you want?"

"Luz, please…"

"We promised that we'd always be there for each other, that we'd always have each other's backs, just like we always had! And you're just going to ditch me?"

"Luz, calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She snapped, tears filling her eyes. "You were going to leave me alone someplace I don't want to go and go by myself!"

"Luz, I don't like this any more than you do!"

"Then why? Why aren't you coming with me?"

"Because I'm trying to keep you safe!"

"Safe from what?"

"Safe from all this! Safe from… me." Saying that last word in despair, the argument between us stopped as silence filled the room. After a moment, Luz decided to speak up.

"What… What are you talking about?"

"Luz, you've seen what happens when I can't get a handle on this curse. I completely lose control of myself and start destroying everything around me. I already put so many lives in danger just by being around people and hoping nothing sets me off too much. It's the whole reason why most people except for my family and a couple of friends of my dad know about this and why you had to see it for yourself to find out about it and understand. From what my dad told me, Eda is the only one who knows how to help someone like me."

"But I've been able to help you with that curse back home." Luz said to me with a pleading look. "Which is why we should stay together so I can help you now. If you can't go to camp because of it, then I should stay here with you so I can help."

"Luz, you can't. The curse isn't the only problem. The Boiling Isles is full of all kinds of danger. I can be able to handle myself around, but you can't. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to go back alone."

"But…" Luz started before I stopped her, taking her hand with two.

"Luz, I don't want you to be alone either. You're my best friend and I hate to see you so miserable. But this is just something I have to do to make sure you and everyone can be safe. It'll only be for three months. Just bear with me and I promise that I will be there to welcome you home when you come back from summer camp, okay?" It took a moment of her thinking before she then gave me her answer.

"Okay." She reluctantly said with a sad look on her face.

A moment after I let go of her hands, she then pulled me into a hug. Though surprised by this, I smiled as I then returned it and let her cry on my shoulder. I felt like doing that too, but I tried my best to keep myself together. We broke the hug after a moment to look at each with smiles, both of us trying to hide the sadness we had. Looking to the floor, I saw she had dropped her book and the brochure.

"Here. Can't forget these." I said as I picked up and gave her book and brochure back.

"Thanks." She said to me.

I then watched as she then looked past me towards our newest friends with King looking down in sadness, most likely because of what happened to his crown. As she dug into her bag, I watched as Luz approached the small demon.

"Before I go, I know it's not the same, but…" Luz said as she kneeled down and pulled off the crown of her Azura doll, "a king shouldn't be without his crown."

"This shall suffice." King said as he took it and placed it on his head before he marched away. "You there, plant! You are now under my command!"

"Hey, Juniper. Mind watching out for Ryuji for me?" Luz asked as she looked over to Juniper as the witch girl walked over.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on your boyfriend there." Juniper smugly said as she pointed to me.

"Boyfriend? Oh, I'm not her boyfriend." I nervously said as I gained a blush.

"He's not my boyfriend! We're just friends." Luz spoke out around the same time as me, sounding just as nervous and with her own blush.

"Riiight." Juniper said with a knowing look before exchanging it for an honest smile. "Anyway, I really got to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" Luz asked with confusion.

"For helping me see that my new summer housemate isn't as lame as I thought he was." He said to her. "Also for teaching me what I can do with fireworks, in more ways than one." The girls chuckled a bit before Juniper gave a sigh. "Even though you're going back, at least we had fun while it lasted, right?" She then held out a fist to Luz.

"Right." Luz said as she bumped it, not leaving the witch girl hanging.

"Well, Ryuji," Luz said, trying her best to smile despite her sadness. "Guess I'll… see ya later then."

"In three months." I said as I smiled at her through my own sadness before losing that smile a moment after Luz turned around and started slowly walking to the portal.

As she was standing in front of the door, I turned my head to the side as I looked down to the floor, feeling much sadness for having me and Luz going separate ways like this. This moment was short-lived as I heard a gasp from her and looked up to see her looking the side from the door.

"Luz?" I asked in concern.

"What's the matter with her?" Juniper asked with confusion just as Luz held up her book in front of her for a moment before lowering it.

Following her gaze, I saw Luz was looking at a mirror. The reflection showed Luz in the middle while the rest of us stood behind her with me and Eda on her left and Juniper and King on her right, the little demon and the Owl Lady smiling at each other. Seeing how Luz was no doubt reacting to it and remembering her actions from it, I then gained a thought on why she had gasped.

"Wait a minute." I said before I used my magic to bring my backpack to me. From there, I then pulled out my own copy of The Good Witch Azura and did the same actions Luz did as I then gasped in awe. "Uwa. It's just like the cover."

I was right as the way we looked in the mirror had actually reflected the cover with me in the position of Ludolf the Wolf King, Juniper in place of the omega wolf Cathwulf, King having much looking like the canine sidekick, Eda resembling much of Azura's witch mentor, and Luz up in front of us all like Azura herself.

"Ryuji," Luz said as she turned back with a smile on her face, "you said that I wouldn't be able to stay here because I don't know how to handle this place, right?"

"Yes. Why?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Well, maybe I can stay if I learn how to handle the Isles." Luz said.

"Wait, what?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm with him. What do you mean by that?" Juniper said, just as confused.

"Mrs. Eda," Luz said as she turned to the Owl Lady, "look, I know we don't know each other very well and I know that you got your head cut off and that we started some kind of prison riot…"

"And beat a cruel villain." Juniper added.

"Yeah, that too." Luz said. "But, to be honest, this was the most fun I've ever had and I think this place is amazing." Eda stared at her with eyes in surprise as she continued to listen. "Much like Ryuji, I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we could all not fit in together." Luz then took out the brochure before clutching it, crumbling it in her hand before tossing it aside. "I'm not going to summer camp."

"Hold on, kid." Eda said, now confused. "What-what are we talking about here?"

"Yeah, if you don't want to go to summer camp, then what do you want to do?" Juniper asked.

"I want to stay and become a witch, like you." Luz answered, looking at Eda before raising up her book. "And like Azura."

"What? All right, that's crazy." Eda said to her in disbelief as she lowered the book down from Luz's face. "Humans can't become witches. To be a witch, you need to know magic. That's something you can't do unless you're a hybrid like Ryuji here."

"Maybe there aren't any human witches because they haven't tried." Luz said with a wink. "If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want. Plus, you're gonna need somebody to keep Ryuji out of trouble."

"Hey!" I said, feeling insulted by that. "I saved your butt more times than I can count. If anything, you would need me to keep you out of trouble."

"Oh, geez. I don't know." Eda said, unsure on how to respond to this.

"Oh, come on, Eda." I spoke up. "Just give her a chance."

"Wait, you want her to stay?" Eda said to me with surprise. "I thought you said it was too dangerous for her."

"Well, that was before I remembered what happened today." I said to the Owl Lady. "If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be back at the Owl House right now. She saved us when we got cornered and helped me inspire those prisoners to take a stand for themselves against a bully like Warden Wrath. If anything, she's actually proven to be a big help and we all practically owe her our lives. Plus, there was a time when witches like you had to learn magic differently, a way that even humans can learn." Seeing she wasn't much convinced, I then decided to sweeten the deal. "Okay, how about this? If you teach Luz how to be a witch, I'll prepare meals for you and everyone here at the Owl House."

"You know how to cook?" Juniper asked with a brow raised in curiosity.

"Yeah, my dad taught me." I answered before I spoke to her mother. "That's a pretty good deal, right? Having your own personal chef with giving my friend magic lessons as payment?"

"Let her stay!" King said to Eda eagerly before he whispered. "The Frank can make us snacks."

"Honestly, I think the nerds make a good point." Juniper said as she walked over to Eda with a smug. "Girl's got some skill and she knows DK more than we do. Plus, since you claim yourself to be the most Powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles, it shouldn't be any problem at all should it? I mean, since when don't you like a challenge?" Eda paused for a moment before giving a light chuckle from being challenged by her own daughter.

"Well, I could always use an extra hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards." Eda said as she picked up King before she gained a serious look. "All right, kid. As I'll be helping Ryuji learn how to manage his curse, I'll teach you how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells." She then turned to me. "And that goes for you too if you want to learn how to control that curse. You cooking for us is only for me teaching your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend! /I'm not his girlfriend!" me and Luz said at the same time, looking away from each other with a blush upon realizing that.

"Anyway, you'll be doing other chores that aren't in the kitchen. You do that, I'll make sure that you know what to do to keep the curse under control." Eda said as she gave me a smile, holding out her hand to me. "Deal?"

"Deal." I nodded with a smile before I reached out and shook her hand. After breaking the shake, I then grabbed her in a hug. "Arigato gozaimasu."

"What did he say?" Eda asked in confusion.

"I think he's saying 'thank you for letting Luz stay'." Juniper said, no doubt guessing on a gut feeling that was on point.

"Oh, okay." Eda said before she patted my head, sounding uncomfortable with the hug. "No problem, kiddo." Before I could let go, Luz came over and gave me, Eda, and King a bone-crushing hug. Eda was very confused by this. "What's going on?"

"Too tight! Too tight!" King said, the little demon getting crushed.

"Yeah, Luz is a hugger." I said with a chuckle before I turned to Juniper as she gave me a blank expression. "Come on, Juni. Don't be a sour puss." It only took a brief moment before she spoke.

"Eh, why not?" Juniper shrugged before she walked over, where Luz then pulled her into the hug. Though surprised by this, the witch girl eventually smiled. "Huh, you know, this ain't half bad."

After that touching moment, Eda then led me and Luz upstairs to our rooms.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else besides Ryuji, so I don't have that many rooms. Bathrooms over there, next to Juni's room." Eda said as she pointed to the doors on the left before taking us to the first door on the right. "Luz, you can use my storage closet. It's not much and I will have to clear some stuff out, but it's the best I can do." Opening the door, I looked in to see the room was only cluttered by the walls, leaving a clear path between the door and the window.

"That's okay. Thanks, Eda." Luz said as she stepped in before she closed the door.

"Now this will be your room, Ryuji." Eda said, leading me to the next door over.

Upon entering, I saw the room had a mattress with a pillow, a little black bookcase left to the mattress, and a mirror against the wall. To the right of the mattress was a window which meant I could be able to look outside.

"I put in a pair of Axel's old pjs in there, so you won't be sleeping in the clothes you came here with." Eda told me, motioning to the clothes on the mattress.

"Great. Thanks, Eda." I said to her. "And I really appreciate what you're doing for Luz."

"No problem. Seeing how close you two are, it would be wrong to split you up." Eda said with a smile. "And don't worry. I won't tell your dad about this. I'll leave this as a little…surprise for him when it's time for you two to go back."

"Thanks, Eda. I really mean it."

"Don't mention it. Now get ready for bed. Got a big day tomorrow." Eda said before she then closed the door.

Using a light spell, I managed to enlighten the room as I got ready to get settled in. Taking off my sword sling, I placed it beside the bookcase before getting to unpack my backpack. I placed the five guidebooks I had on the shelf and placed the framed picture of me with my dad and my big bro on top of the bookcase. After getting my red blanket on the bed, I then went ahead to get myself dressed, taking the clothes Eda had left me with. After getting dressed in my new pjs, I took a look at myself in the mirror to see how it looked. What I was now wearing was a short-sleeved red shirt and a pair of gray shorts. Eda didn't leave me with any socks so I decided to keep my black sock with navy blue patches on. Needless to say, it didn't look half bad.

After that, I then decided to go and check on Luz, knocking on her door.

"Hey, Luz. It okay to come in?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Come right in." Luz said before I opened the door to see her setting down her sleeping back and pillow with her bag nearby along with a framed picture of her with her mom next to her pillow. Luz had changed into her pajamas which were a gray sleeveless top, purple shorts with an orange moon and star on the right hip, and white socks with indigo patched.

"I see you're getting settled in." I said to her as I walked over to her.

"Yeah." I then watched as she then fell back on her sleeping bag and pillow. "I just can't believe I'm actually gonna learn how to be a witch and do magic like you. Thanks, Ryuji."

"No problem." I told her. "You're my best friend and I'm always there for my friends."

"Yeah, but still I really appreciate it." Luz said as she smiled at me.

We smiled at each other for a moment before a sudden buzz broke the silence. Looking over, Luz then took her phone out of her back to see she got an alert.

"Got a text from your mom?" I asked her.

"Yeah. She's asking me how summer camp is." Luz said before she gained a worried expression.

"Hey, don't worry." I said as I walked over and sat next to her, Luz sitting up as I did. "I'm sure my dad can cover for you to make sure your mom doesn't get worried."

"You sure?" Luz asked me.

"I'm sure of it. The last thing we want to do is send your mom into a panic." I said before we heard some clearing their throat and looked to find King standing at the door, the little demon holding the toy bunny.

"Your sleep cocoon looks fluffy." He shyly said, no doubt wanting to sleep on the sleeping bag with Luz.

Seeing this, Luz patted the sleeping bag as she gave him permission to sleep on it. He walked to the foot of the sleeping bag before setting down his bunny, doing a little dog circle before curling up to the bunny.

"Don't worry about a thing. My dad will take care of everything." I said to her as I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I promise."

"Thanks, Ryuji." Luz with a grateful smile, causing me to chuckle.

"Okay, you really need to stop thanking me. One thank you is enough." I told her.

"Sorry, I'm just really grateful for this." She said as she kept on smiling.

"Well, I better head to bed. I'll be seeing you tomorrow for your first day of witch training." I said as I then stood up and walked over to the door, giving Luz one last smile as I grabbed the handle. "Good night, Luz."

"Night, DK." Luz said before I then closed the door and walked back to my room.

[No one's view]

Back with Luz, after getting into her sleeping bag, the human girl pulls out her phone and looks at the text her mother sent her, saying "How's summer camp?" Luz smiled as she answered her mother's text with "It's great and I think both me and Ryuji are gonna like it here." After giving her answer, she then put her phone down beside the picture before she drifted off to sleep.

[Ryuji]

After getting back to my room, I walked to the window before I opened it to look up at the beautiful night sky. After giving a sigh of contentment, my phone buzzed and I picked it out of my bag to see I got a text from my dad:

How's your first day on the Boiling Isles?

Pausing on what to say, feeling a little worried about the thought of telling him the truth. Deciding to not tell him about Luz, I then replied.

It was pretty great. Eda and Juniper are really nice people. I think I'm going to like my summer here.

My dad soon replied.

That's great. Well, good night, Ryuji. Have a fun summer.

Putting my phone next to the picture, I slipped into bed and got the blanket over me.

"Good night, Dad." I said as I looked at the picture before I drifted off to sleep.

Wondering why I can sleep knowing that I lied to my dad and letting my human friend spending the summer with me in a dangerous place like the Isles? Well, I actually do think Luz has a shot at learning magic as others did in the past. Of course, I know my dad will be mad and probably ground me for life for doing this, but I bet he might calm down if Luz came back without a scratch and doing some magic. Besides, me and her promised that we'd always had each other's backs and I'm not gonna go back on that. Sure, there's gonna be some trouble along the way with all the weird and dangerous things here on the Isles, but I'll take them all on to protect my friends for that's who I am. I am the Dragon Kid. As for what's gonna happen now? We'll just have to wait and see. DK out!

[No one's view]

Outside the Owl House, unknown to anyone, the large, eye-shaped window at the front blinked.

Author's Note: Hey, guys! I hope you all like the first chapter. Now I bet some of you have some questions from what you've just read so far and I assure you that they will be answered soon. You can leave them in the comments if you like. Anyway, the voice actor for Juniper Clawthorne is Natalie Palamides. If you think what Ryuji and Luz experienced in this chapter is crazy, wait until you see what they end up dealing with in the next chapter as they start their second day in the Boiling Isles. That's all I got for now. Don't forget to leave a comment to tell me what you think of it. See you all in the next chapter!