Luz Clawthorne: Two Worlds, One Family Chapter 76: The Coven Day Disaster, an owl house fanfic

She gave us a feeling to keep on dancing.

Irene Cara(1959-2022), rest in peace.

All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy this fic.

Chapter 76: A Coven Day Disaster

A video started to play, Luz looking into the camera.

"Hola, mis amigos y batata," Luz said in Spanish. "That's 'Hey guys and my sweet potato' in Spanish. I'm making this video diary to document what's been going on while you're gone and to help me cope with your absences."

She shifted the camera to King and Kay. "Here's King playing with Kay. Don't worry Amity, she's being really taken care of, right King?"

"Yeah, in fact, I like teaming up with this little scamp." King patted Kay's head.

"Sad that you're not the little guy anymore?" Luz asked.

"Eh, I think I'm done with my younger years. Now all I need is to amp up my HP so that I can evolve into Super King!" King declared, while Kay just smiled.

Bzzz!

"My moms are starting to get along more, as mom is explaining to mami about what she missed back in the Human Realm." Luz showed Eda talking with Camila, both turned to Luz. "Hey, moms, um, making a video diary for Amity, Gus and Willow."

"Oh that's great, Eda was just explaining to me how we literally experienced a real Mandela Effect," Camila said. "Which is… going to be existential."

"Yeah, as I was saying, the Berestain Bears used to be spelled Berestein, Sinbad did star in a film called Shazaam, oh, and Dick Van Dyke was Rick Van Mike, which sounded less risqué for TV," Eda explained. "And Froot Loops was spelled with f.r.u.i.t., not the double-O thing."

"Okay, that's about it for everyone around the house, oh and maybe Hooty would-"

As Luz moved the camera, it showed Hooty putting his skin on a clothesline, leaving only his skeleton. He stared at the camera, which shook. "WHAT-WHAT THE FU-!?

BZZZ!

"Okay, gonna learn to cut that part out later," Luz said while looking at her camera. She was on her way to school. "Maya's doing fine, though not talking much. But a lot has happened while you guys were gone. Like I've met my grandfather and one of my cousins. There's apparently even vampire Clawthornes-Oof!"

"Hey, watch it-!" Nina turned to Luz. "Oh, it's you."

"Nina…" Luz sighed, while Nina took a deep breath.

"You know what? It's fine," the werecat said while controlling her anger. "See you in class."

"Yeah, that's Nina over there," Luz explained while the werecat walked away. "We had a Witch Duel that ended in a draw and we agreed to a truce. So now we tolerate each other."

Bzzz!

"Hexside's a lot more gloomier than it was since you guys were last here," Luz explained to the camera. "Kitsuni got fired by Faust after he reinstated the new and improved Detention Hall, which from what I hear is a lot worse."

"Yes, I don't see the point of using a classroom for detention. This new Detention is more beneficial and it's Clawthorne-proof," Faust spoke as he watched the bird student being thrown in by the Hall Monitors.

"Help me…" he cried as Detention swallowed him.

Faust turned to Luz and her camera. "Clawthorne, are you trying to suck my soul with that weird mirror box!?"

"No Faust, this is just a camera from the human world that I'm using to document stuff for my friends when they get back!" Luz assured him.

"It better be just that, because if my soul leaves my body, it's on your head!" Faust declared.

After Luz's video documentary, she noticed a lot of students talking and chatting while looking over their scrolls.

"Did you hear what happened at that Belos statue?" one student asked some others.

"Yeah, someone vandalized it with something blasphemous!" another responded.

"You think this could be Luz's doing?" Louis suspected.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious with how outspoken she is against them," Nina replied.

"Well I think it's about time, really," spoke one oracle student with a cockney accent. "I mean, from the looks of it, our Emperor hasn't exactly been looking out for our best interests lately."

"Yeah, he did almost have Luz and her family executed," a potions girl pointed out. "Only to pardon them after they had already escaped."

"Don't forget it was Luz and Amity that stopped that Coachman," Selene brought up.

"Yeah, neither Belos nor the Emperor's Coven were much help then, despite all of their Fae propaganda," Batroc the fanged plant student pointed out.

"Don't forget he did nothing to stop the school war," Lambi mentioned. "His coven only intervened after learning that Glandus was part of some conspiracy to undermine him!"

"You got that right," spoke a construction student. "That old crow only banned any future school wars because Luz Clawthorne called him out on it!"

"What is the Emperor even doing? Does he even care about our wellbeing?"

"People keep getting missing, and the Emperor's Coven isn't doing enough about it."

"Whoever spray painted that statue had the right idea!"

Skara stayed silent as she walked through the hallway, overhearing everything talking about what she did to the statue. She looked down nervously.

"Yo, Skara!"

"Eep!" Skara was startled and turned to see Luz. "Oh, it's just you, Luz."

"You okay…?" Luz asked her.

"Yeah, just fine!" Skara claimed, while trying to avoid suspicion.

"Okay…well it looks like everyone's talking about the vandalism that happened to the Belos statue in town. I'm both surprised and impressed that somebody actually did that," Luz said, which only made Skara more nervous. "Though before you ask, it wasn't me."

"I-I believe you," Skara said while seeing Cat along with Bo and Amelia walking down the hall passing out fliers.

"You all must be thinking about what happened last night!" Cat called forth while wearing a tie-dye headband tied around her forehead. "But thinking about it isn't enough! In light of this vandalism and other recent events, I think it is about time that we speak up and make our voices heard! Especially since the multi-track system has proven that Belos's coven system is flawed! Are we just going to wait around for him to shut it down and deprive us of being the best witch we can be? No! That is why during the parade later today, we are going to peacefully protest against Belos and stand up for the right to be the kind of witch we want to be!"

"Yeah, I wanted to help sick old people with soothing music, no way I'm losing that!" Jessica said as the others agreed.

Luz walked up to Cat. "Hey, I didn't take you for an activist."

"Luz! Thank Titan you're here," Cat replied. "The Coven Day Parade's today and, well, I've set up a little protest with some of our classmates. Maybe you can join us."

"You want me to be at the protest?" Luz asked her.

"Yeah, like you could help out. Since you're something of a symbol," Cat said as she handed Luz a flier. "Just think about it."

Luz looked at the flier and gave it some thought.

Meanwhile, Nina had walked up to Dusty Bringems.

"Look, about the other day before the school war, I just want to say that… I'm sorry for hurting you in our Beast Battle," Nina apologized. "So are we square or not?"

"Oh that's just fine, I pretty much have already forgotten about the incident," Dusty said, waving it off. "Besides, every loss just encourages me to get stronger and train my beasts better in order to become the greatest Beast Master of all!"

"Huh," Nina said, surprised that this guy had forgiven her already. "So no grudges?"

"Nope! I mean, I get mauled by my Beasts all the time but I still love them!" he declared.

"Well, good luck with everything and all," Nina said as she walked away.

"See you in class!" Dusty waved to her.

"Well, that wasn't hard." Nina said to herself. "Now all I need to do is find Amelia…"

Amelia was passing another flier to a student when she saw Nina. "Yo, um, Amelia, can I just have a moment of your-" Nina didn't get to finish as Amelia turned around and walked away. "Uh, hey, I'm trying to talk to you!"

Amelia looked back at Nina, but continued walking away.

"I know you can hear me!" Nina shouted while Amelia kept walking away. The werecat just sighed. "Okay, this is going to be difficult…"

In the Beast-Keeping class, Nina spotted Skara.

"Yo, Skara," Nina said, getting Skara's attention. "I'm in need of your help with something."

"What is it?" Skara asked.

"I need to apologize to Amelia, but she is avoiding me," Nina explained. "I mean, Dusty heard me out and accepted my apology, so why can't she? So I need you to help convince her to hear me out. Like, act as some kind of peacemaker."

"Sure, I can do that," Skara agreed.

"Good," Nina said as she sat down. "The sooner I can get this over with, the better…"

In the principal's office, Kitsuni was facing off Faust while Julia was there as mediator.

"I don't see the point of keeping you around, Ms. Kitsuni," Faust explained. "Since I've decided to reinstall the Detention Hall, your services are no longer necessary."

"I must disagree," Kitsuni responded. "The detention track may be gone, but I can still be of use as a member of the school staff."

"Really?" Faust scoffed. "Like what?"

"Your school lacks basic security," Kitsuni pointed out. "Glandus managed to get in, along with the Greater Basilisk that Eda the Owl Lady had to take down back when she had magic. I may not have been around for long but I do recognize that this school has a security problem."

"The Hall Monitors are enough security as it is," Faust insisted. "They are one thing that Bump did right…"

"Yeah, but their main use is to deal with rowdy students. They couldn't even handle Glandus's teachers from what I heard," Kitsuni recalled. "I can help with security and protecting the school. And you can't really afford to let me go, especially when some of your staff are still hospitalized from the war."

"I don't need your help when this school has me!" Faust declared while breathing out flames.

"Alright, alright." Julia got in between them. "Principal Faust, Kitsuni has a point. This school lacks strong security and there are other ways Kitsuni can keep her job here. And thanks to my donations to the school, we can open up classes that other schools have that Hexside currently doesn't."

"Like what?" Faust asked, rolling his eyes.

"Self-defense classes," Julia pointed out. "That way, students can learn how to defend themselves with or without magic in non-duel situations. St. Epiderm started one when the muggings began."

"As if that's necessary…" Faust dismissed before he started to think about it. "Then again, St. Epiderm is our main rival now that Glandus is out of the picture and I don't want us to be upstaged…" Faust reluctantly considered it. "Alright. Ms. Kitsuni, starting tomorrow, there will be a self-defense class for you to teach. That will show Midday…"

After the meeting, Julia and Kitsuni walked out of the office. Kitsuni spoke to Julia in Japanese. "You know, we could have just taken him out and hidden the body."- Translation.

"Nah, too risky," Julia replied, also in Japanese.

Amelia entered a classroom where she spotted Skara "Hey Skara, what did you need-" She then saw Nina who stood by the window. "Oh…"

"Now, now, Amelia, hear me out!" Skara said, stopping Amelia before she left. "Look, Nina just wants to speak to you and hopefully settle things between the two of you."

"Really?" Amelia asked while looking at Nina, who sighed.

"Look, what I did to you was wrong," Nina admitted. "I may have been ordered to take Gus, but I admit that I didn't need to beat you up in the process. And even if it wasn't my idea, I still had a role in it. So… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you and took Gus. Can we just let bygones be bygones?"

Amelia just looked down. "I appreciate what you are trying to do… but I can't accept your apology."

Nina's ears dropped. "What? Look, if this is about the hole on your shoulder-"

"This isn't about me," Amelia told her while looking up at Nina with a glare. "It is about how you targeted Gus and almost got him and my friends killed while they were trying to save him."

"Hey, a lot of that was Emily's doing," Nina told her off. "I know that I'm not innocent in all this, but I had no idea how unhinged she was and I even paid for it!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Skara said, getting in between them before it got ugly.

"Calm down? Little Ms. Stubborn here isn't accepting my apology!" Nina told her. "You know what? How about I let you get even with me?"

"Even? How?" Amelia asked and to the surprise of both girls, Nina brought out a knife and stabbed it into the table.

"With this knife," Nina told her. "I will let you stab me anywhere with it. That way, we are completely square."

"What… where did you get that knife!?" Skara asked in a panic.

"Oh, I got it from some nice hooded stranger in a back-alley," Nina explained. "He sells a lot of weapons to witchlings."

"You can't bring that here in school!" Skara told her.

"You don't? We used to do it back at Glandus," Nina said which made Skara and Amelia look at each other in concern.

"We need to get rid of this." Skara grabbed the knife, opened a window, and threw it out.

"Skara, wait!" Amelia was too late, as the knife was thrown into a squirrel, impaling it to a tree.

Skara gasped, horrified as she quickly closed the window.

"Damn, nice aim," Nina said, looking out the window.

"No, I'm sure it was a shadow," Skara said in denial, while seeing Amelia walk away.

"I'm just gonna go," Amelia said as she closed the door behind her.

"Hey, come back!" Nina calls out. "Titan, can you believe her? I apologized yet she couldn't get off her high corpse!" She kicked the table, causing her collar to zap her. "AAAH! Stupid collar!" She then slumped on the chair. "This is hopeless…"

Skara looked over at Nina, while thinking about what to say in this situation. She then thought back to what Nina had said about her family from her mother's side. She joined Nina by pulling up a chair. "Well, that's the thing. People aren't obligated to accept your apology and forgive you. Take my mother and her family, for example. Would you forgive them for what they used to do?"

"Fuck no!" Nina told her off. "Like I'd ever forgive her for what her family has done!"

"Even if she apologized?" Skara added.

"She did apologize for what her parents did, not that I bought it," Nina recalled. "I'm pretty sure that she only became my parole officer to ease her guilty conscience, since I haven't forgotten what her family has done to my kind. That's not something I can just… get over."

"Just like how Amelia can't get over what you did," Skara pointed out. "Forgiveness is hard, Nina. I should know, since… I honestly still haven't forgiven Boscha for what she's done. Though that doesn't mean I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

"Wait, you haven't forgiven her but you don't want her to get hurt?" Nina asked her. "That sounds… complicated."

"It is," Skara admitted while a thought occurred to Nina.

"Wait… did you… have something to do with Boscha changing her story so that it was Ms. Heinous that hurt her, not me?" Nina asked.

Skara looked down nervously. "After Glandus had fallen, I went to check up on Boscha, and I convinced her to cover for you. She didn't want to at first, but she understood and promised to do so after I revealed to her that I'm a werewolf. The same werewolf that-" She spoke in a whisper. "Went after her."

Nina remembered hearing about the Hieron girl being attacked by a werewolf, which she knew was Skara. It did surprise her that Skara actually told Boscha. "How did… Boscha react?"

"Well, she actually kinda pieced it together herself," Skara told her. "But Boscha may have been mean, but she wasn't heartless. She realized how complicated my situation is and how complicated your situation was, especially after I told her what could have happened to you. So she helped me out, even if we both knew that we couldn't be friends anymore."

Nina looked at Skara while scratching her own back of her neck, surprised by what she was hearing. "I heard that Boscha's still paralyzed, what do you think of that?"

"I'm… worried about her," Skara admitted, looking down. "And praying that she makes it through. It's just… she's already been through a lot, why can't the Titan just give her a break?!" Her eyes narrowed and white fur sprouted out as a result of her frustration. When she calmed herself down, the fur was gone.

In the Healing Coven, a doctor and nurses checked up on Boscha.

"Her pulse is still normal and she's still conscious," she said while the nurse finished hooking back Boscha's IV. "We can check up on her later."

They left Boscha's room, closing the door behind her. The paralyzed Boscha was still unmoving, but she can still see the room around her as something emerged from the shadows of the room.

It was Nicole. She kept her hood up as she walked towards her daughter, hovering over her.

"My poor Pink-Eyes," she said while reaching down and gently brushing Boscha's hair from her face. Tears fell from her eyes and landed on her daughter. "I love you and I should've been able to stop this…" She looked down, silent for a moment before continuing. "I hope that… one day, you will understand why I did what I have to… and why I did what I'm about to do…"

She then heard footsteps, causing Nicole to slip back into the shadows. Coming into the room was the same nurse, who looked around. "Huh, thought I heard something."

In Latissa, Lilith was paying a visit to Dr. Bride's clinic.

"How is he?" Lilith asked the good doctor.

"Still stable, but he hasn't woken up yet," Dr. Bride explained. "He's in a comatose state. I don't know when he will wake up. It could take hours, days, weeks, months… though his physiology is interesting to say the least. It is like nothing I have ever seen…"

"What do you mean?" Lilith asked out of curiosity.

"I don't quite know yet," Dr. Bride said as someone came in carrying a box of medicine.

"Here are the medicines you've ordered for testing, Dr. Bride," spoke a familiar girl in a white tunic with blue sleeves, black belt, and mid-length skirt with blue leggings and boots.

"Ah, thank you, Glinda! I was wondering when that would arrive!" Dr. Bride replied gratefully.

Glinda then noticed Lilith and looked up at her awkwardly. "Oh, um… hello," she said quietly.

"Have we met before?" Lilith asked, feeling like she knew the girl but didn't know from where.

"Once…" Glinda muttered.

In the Emperor's Castle, Steve walked down the hall after a session with Abel. He was mostly silent, behind his mask he was looking absolutely miserable. The news of Amity's disappearance had shaken him.

"Fiddlesticks!"

Steve heard a voice and he turned to see that Sunny Muse had just dropped a pile of papers. "Oh dear, this is not good," she said as she tried to gather them up.

"Here, let me help you." Steve walked over to help and as he grabbed some papers his hand touched hers. He quickly pulled his hand away. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," Sunny assured him while looking up. "Thanks for helping me out."

"No problem," Steve told her. "I'm Steve, by the way."

"And I'm Sunny," she said as the two gathered up all the fallen papers from the floor. "I'm surprised you came over to help. Everyone is so busy today, with the parade and all."

"Well, I was actually just given some time off from the field," Steve explained. "Reisender recommended it. So I am probably going to join one of my brothers at the Coven Day Parade. Hopefully it will be nice."

Sunny nodded in agreement. "Oh, I hope so too! I do love the parade! Especially the fireworks show!"

"Oh, so um, where will you be during the parade?" Steve wondered.

"Well, I probably won't be able to leave Head Witch Brooke's side," Sunny replied. "Though if you are watching the parade with your brother, you should be able to spot me."

"So you work under Head Witch Brooke?" Steve asked out of curiosity. "What is that like?"

"I'll admit, it's not an easy job, but it's rewarding since she is doing her part in making the Boiling Isles a better place, just like you do," she answered.

"Yeah…" Steve replied while looking down, sounding unsure.

Sunny noticed this and looked concerned. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked, patting his arm.

"Oh um, it's just…" He sighed. "The disappearance of the former Blight kid really got to me. I was there at the Knee and she was there and… I'm very worried about her."

"I understand," Sunny replied, looking down sadly. "Head Witch Brooke's very worried for her as well. I just hope that the lost children will be found soon. And I do hope you feel better. Perhaps spending time with your brother will cheer you up!"

Steve looked up at Sunny, appreciative. "Yeah, I hope so too."

In town, where Luz, Eda, and King went through the streets watching coven scouts setting up for the Coven Day Parade.

"Oh no, it's her…" one scout said, noticing Luz.

"Remember the protocol, always be on alert for her every movement," one scout said while talking to the others.

"Looks like these coven dorks are going all out for the annual Coven Day Parade," Eda commented.

"Yeah, another fancy way to kiss the Emperor's ass," Luz responded as she spotted Kikimora who was on the crow phone.

"Mother, please! No, I'm not seeing anyone. Yes, I'm standing up straight," Kikimora responded. "I don't know if I could go home, they want me to help with the parade and if I leave my station Belos will end my- No! No, of course I miss everybody, I… what? I can't choose!? Hello? Mother? MOTHER!?"

Luz scoffed while continuing to walk with her mother and brother. "Of course Kikimora's here," she muttered.

"I'm gonna meet up with someone, you two can go get a notdog or something," Eda said as she walked into an alley. She looked around and saw who she was meeting with. "Whattup, La-"

"Shh, I could get in serious trouble just for meeting you here," Larry responded in a whisper.

Eda nodded. "What about the information I wanted? The info on some arrests in Metropelvis."

"Yeah, coven scouts were tipped off and found some suspects left for them after they allegedly attempted to abduct someone," Larry confirmed. "But these suspects either died while in custody or went missing. If what you tell me is true… the Tarot Guild may have someone high-ranking in one of the covens, perhaps even the Emperor's Coven."

"Lily's former scout, Craig, was a member of the Tarot Guild," Eda added. "So we just have to find who is the ringleader…"

Meanwhile, Luz and King were walking around while several coven scouts looked at them in suspicion.

"So Luz, what's going to be today's prank this year?" King asked. "Cause I've been wondering what you'll top the previous years. Like the soap foam prank, the slippery bananas, oh, and what could top the rabbit incident?"

One scout cried at the last part. "Not the rabbit incident…"

"Actually, I'm thinking of not doing any pranks this year," Luz said, which surprised King and the scouts that were listening in.

"Did you hear that? She's not doing a prank!"

"Let's inform the others!" The two scouts made their leave.

Eda came back from her meeting with Larry. "Hey you two, what's up?"

"Luz isn't doing her annual Coven Day pranks this year!" King exclaimed, which surprised Eda.

"Really?" Eda asked, raising her eyebrow. "Are you saying it because some scouts might overhear you?"

"Nah, I'm just not feeling it this year," Luz said. "Besides, I plan on helping out Cat at a peaceful protest thing."

Eda looked truly surprised. "Whoa, really? Well, I'll be. It is a shame though. Your pranks were always memorable. Especially the… rabbit incident." Eda suddenly had a thousand yard stare. "I can still hear the screaming…"

"Well, guess I'll rope in Hooty for the prank then," King said with a shrug.

"And I guess I'll be heading back home to watch over Camila and Kay," Eda said as she brought out her staff, with King getting up on her back. "Good luck with your protest!" she said as they flew off.

"Later!" Luz waved to her mom before continuing her walk with a whistle.

"Hey!" spoke up a coven scout, which got Luz's attention.

"Oh Titan, what do you want?" Luz asked, though something about the voice of the scout sounded… familiar.

"Where do you think you're going?" the scout spoke to her.

Luz narrowed her eyes at the scout. "To Woodstock, I heard The Who are playing there."

"I know that you're up to something, Clawthorne," the scout said while walking towards her. "And if you think that you can get away with it, think again."

Luz raised her eyebrow. "Wait a second…" She swiftly grabbed the mask from the scout, revealing who it was. "You!" she said in shock.

"That's right, me," Emily Tricks said as she snatched her mask back. "Surprised to see me?"

"What the hell are you doing out of the Conformatorium?" Luz demanded with a glare. "Don't tell me you've pulled some Arkham escape."

"Escaped? I wish," Emily snarled. "I had to make a deal with Head Witch Graye and now I work under him." She showed her Illusion Coven sigil on her wrist. "He made me his apprentice, since he recognized how useful I could be."

"Yeah, useful as his coffee girl," Luz quipped.

Emily glared at Luz. "Don't think just because you got lucky before, doesn't mean you're safe now. I am onto you, Clawthorne."

"Really? You must've heard of my infamous pranks from years past," Luz responded while walking around her with her hands behind her back. "But I'm not up to anything now. My criminal ways are a thing of the past, while you're just a washout who was bailed out because someone had pity on you."

"You better watch your back, Clawthorne," Emily gritted her teeth. "Because once I find out what you're up to…"

"Wish I had time to catch up, but I got somewhere to be," Luz said as she walked away from Emily. "Good luck with the ice!"

"Ice, what are you-" Emily stepped on a glyph on the floor and suddenly she was encased in ice. "AAH!" she cried out. "Clawthorne! I will get you for this!"

Luz just chuckled as she continued to walk away.

In the Brooke home, Skara and Nina were sitting on the couch with Scabrina.

"Alright, for sneaking out last night, you two will not be going to the Coven Day Parade," Calypso told them. "So instead, both of you will stay here to watch Scabrina."

"We left some food in the fridge for you three to have while we're gone," Slasher said as they started to leave. "We'll see you girls later!"

Once they left, Nina turned to Scabrina, who smiled at her. After a moment, Nina got up. "Well, I'll be in my room," she announced as she headed upstairs.

Meanwhile King and Hooty were getting the supplies for their prank. "Thanks for letting me get involved in your prank, King," Hooty said.

"Shh, we have to be a little discreet about it," King replied before they went to meet up with Edric, who wore an overcoat. "Ed, good to see you, how's the family?"

"Em is doing better," Ed replied.

"That's great!" King replied before Mel suddenly popped up behind Edric.

"My, what a cute little guy," Mel said as she knelt down. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like you…"

"I'm King, and you must be…"

"This is Mel," Ed introduced. "We've been, um, hanging out lately. She decided to tag along for some fun."

"Hi, I'm Hooty!" Hooty greeted. "I'm also adorable!"

"Um, you're something," Mel said while Edric gave King a large firework rocket.

"Here you go, I call it, the 'Ed Ricochet 11', that's how many times I've been sent to the Healing Coven." he states.

"Cool, wait, is this legal?" King asked.

"Would that make you more or less interested in buying them?" Edric asked while King thought about it.

During the last minute preparations for the parade, Kikimora and Pugsley were two of the coven scouts assigned there.

"Oh, it's horrible, Pugsley!" Kiki ranted while marching back and forth. "My mother had said that if I don't make it back for the family reunion, I would be banished from Palm Stings and the family home! But I've failed too many missions, and if I leave my job now, I'll be banished from my life!"

"There, there, Kiki," Pugsley said as he embraced her and patted her on the back. "I'm sure you'll think of something, Kiki."

"On one hand, I miss my family," Kikimora said to Pugsley, tears in her eyes. "On the other hand, Belos is not a forgiving man and I can't afford to be demoted any further!"

"You could just ask for a day off," spoke Scooter Crane, who had just made it.

"H-Head Witch Crane, what a surprise to see you here," Kikimora said, looking at the elder Head Witch.

"Believe me, Kiki, I don't like being here anymore than you do," Scooter grumbled. "But unlike me, you could just ask Abel to take some time off tonight so you don't have to be here."

"I can do that?" Kikimora asked in shock.

"Of course, after all you're not the Emperor's aide anymore, you're a scout," Crane told her. "It's not like you need to be at the parade."

"But then the Emperor wouldn't get to see how… dedicated she was," said a voice.

Appearing next to Kiki and Scooter was Terra Snapdragon. This caused Kikimora and Pugsley to be startled, while Scooter just rolled his eyes.

"Of course, you're here," Scooter groaned.

"T-Terra! What… what brings you out of your greenhouse, Head Witch?" Kikimora asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to help out my fellow Heads, especially the new sprouts," Terra said while spotting Alador who was speaking to Calypso and Slasher. "And there they are!"

She rushed towards them, getting in between them. "Alador, Calypso, how are you two doing?"

"Good, we were just talking," Calypso responded, crossing her arms.

"Ah yes, you two know each other from school," Terra said.

"Um, I'm also-" Slasher raised his hand but Terra ignored him.

"Since this is your first parade, I thought you two could use something to help you through it," Terra said as she summoned horned cups filled with her tea. She dropped her flowers into the tea before offering it to the Coven Heads.

"Oh, um, thank you, Head Witch Snapdragon," Alador said while looking at his tea. "Though if I am being honest, I don't know if I can do this. After all, this kind of public events were always more of Odalia's thing. Plus, I should be focusing more on finding my daughter than-"

"Oh Alador, just… relax," Terra interrupted while pushing the tea toward him. She gave him a reassuring look. "The Emperor's Coven is doing everything in its power to find your daughter, but you still have your duty to the Emperor, just like the rest of us," she said as she watched Alador drink his tea. "And besides, you're being too hard on yourself. You can do this without Odalia just fine."

His eyes flashed green for a second before he responded. "Y-Yeah, of course. You're right."

"Good," Terra said while patting his shoulder and turning to Calypso. "And as for you-"

Calypso had already gulped down the tea and she handed the empty cup to Terra. "Thank you, Head Witch," she said, which surprised Terra.

"Wow, I didn't think my tea was that good," Terra said with a smile.

"Eh, I'm just used to drinking poison by now," Calypso joked while her husband laughed.

"Heh, good one, Cali," Slasher chuckled.

"Well I guess I should leave you two to your floats," Terra said as she held onto the arms of Alador and Calypso. "Don't want to end up stepping on your toes." She then led them to their floats, leaving Slasher behind.

"Have fun with the parade, honey!" Slasher said to Calypso.

"Don't worry, I will, sweetheart," Calypso said as she looked back at her husband while Terra kept pushing her further away.

"Enough with the googly-eyes, you temptress," Terra said while escorting them.

"Stupid human," Emily grumbled, having managed to get some scouts to thaw her out of the ice. She shivered. After making sure that the coast was clear, she slipped into an alleyway.

In the alleyway, she started to whistle. Someone whistled in response and Emily followed it until she turned a corner and spotted Sonya. "Sister!"

"Come here, you," Sonya said as she raised her arms up, Emily running over to embrace her sister.

"I miss you," Emily told her.

"Same," Sonya whispered before they let go. "So how are you doing? I'm guessing being Graye's apprentice isn't too easy."

Emily nodded. "While I'm grateful that I've been bailed out, Graye is not easy to work with. He is a perfectionist, constantly criticizing me. It is annoying, but it is better than being in the Conformatorium. Though did you have anything to do with it?"

"Yes," Sonya confirmed. "I had to ask the Producer for a favor in order to keep you alive. The Boss is very angry about the Glandus war, so it's best for you to stay with Graye for now."

Emily looked down, tightening her fists. "I would've been successful had it not been-"

"Look, I get that you are angry, but you have to accept your losses," Sonya told her. "Glandus is gone and you can't change that."

"What about Stella?" Emily asked immediately. "Any word about her?"

Sonya hesitated before answering. "Her family bailed her out," she explained. "But I would advise against seeking her out. They have forbidden her from seeing you and you're already in enough trouble as it is, so you should stay away from her."

Emily looked down, "Stella… they can't keep her away from me."

Sonya sighed. "There's also the matter of Nina…"

Emily looked up. "Nina? She survived?"

"Yes, she survived from you stabbing her," Sonya scolded her, disappointed. "You shouldn't have done that, Emily."

"But she failed to do her job!" Emily defended herself.

"You were losing a war," Sonya pointed out. "And because of your betrayal, she won't trust you anymore. You're no longer her alpha. And you know how important it is for you to have connections and allies, which you don't get by stabbing them in the stomach!"

"I'm… sorry," Emily said while looking away.

"Sorry isn't good enough, but you're lucky that she still trusts me," Sonya told her. "And she could still be useful to us…"

"Alright, St. Epidermists!" Danny shouted as he and his fellow students got their float ready. "It is up to us to be examples of our school's pride this Coven Day! I want everyone to show their Coven Day spirit to everyone in the Isles!"

"He's really hamming it up this year," Riley commented while prepping up the float.

"I don't see any Coven Day faces!" Danny cried out. "I want everyone to show their A-game in front of the crowd! Now I want to see some spirit! Do you have spirit, Kyle!?"

"Yes, go Dragons!" Kyle raised his hands up.

"Do you have spirit, Minerva!?" Danny shouted to Minerva who was holding her cello.

"I'm trying to practice," Minerva said while holding her cello protectively.

"DO YOU HAVE COVEN DAY PARADE, LINDSAY!?" Danny shouted at Lindsay who was startled.

"Um, let me try," Lindsay said as she took a long, deep breath. "….yay," she said in a whisper.

Danny paused before grinning. "THAT'S THE SPIRIT!"

While everyone was getting ready for the parade, Scooter Crane had managed to sneak off. The poultry man had grabbed a griffin filet sandwich for himself.

"Finally, I've been dying to have one of these," Scooter said as he took a bite out of his sandwich, chewing it. "Mmm, this will help me get through the parade." He then heard snickering noises, which made him confused. He looked around and saw something, so he shrugged and continued to chew. But as soon as he swallowed, an illusion of a ghoul popped up in front of him.

"BOOGA-BOOGA-BOOGA!"

"AAAAAH-ACK-ACK!" Scooter screamed, but then choked on his sandwich. The terrified Head Witch was choking so bad that he ended up gripping his heart as he experienced a heart attack, causing him to fall.

"Ahahahahaha!" laughed a couple of teenage boys in red and blue clothes, enjoying their prank.

"Oh man, we've got him, good, Cups!" spoke the boy in blue.

"Yeah, I told ya, Mugs!" the boy in red said to his brother.

Mugs laughed as he looked at the man they had spooked. His eyes widened as he realized Crane wasn't moving. "Hey uh, Cups, I don't think he's looking too good."

"Wadda ya mean, Mugs? Of course he's fine, look." Cups knelt down, patting Crane's face. "Hey mistah, wake up!" He slapped his face and got no response. "Huh, he looks kinda pale… and a bit cold…"

"Oh my Titan…" Mugs said.

"WE KILLED HIM!" they both cried out before they hushed themselves so they wouldn't be heard.

"Wadda are we going to do, Mugs?! We can't go to da slammer again! Our gramps is gonna be very disappointed in us!" Cups said in a panic.

"Wadda are we gonna do with da body!?" Mugs asked while Cups tried to think.

"Hmm, does he look kinda important to you, Mugs? Like, he's supposed to be super, duper important?" Cups asked while Mugs looked closely at the body of Scooter Crane.

"...Cups."

"Yeah, Mugs?"

"That's not just some old guy… that's Head Witch Scooter Crane…"

The two brothers looked down in silence. They realized they had not only killed an old guy, but a Head Witch.

"Oh Titan, they're gonna petrify us when they find out what we did!" Mugs cried out in a panic. "What do we do?! I'm too young to die!"

"Don't panic, Mugs!" Cups said to his brother. "I think I have a plan to get us out of this!"

Meanwhile, Luz had made it to the protest, which was being set up. "Hey, Cat!"

"Luz? Glad you've made it!" Cat replied. "You wouldn't believe who came, besides our friends."

Luz saw that Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus had worked on the picket signs along with Emira, Bo, and Amelia. Those that came to the protest included Jessica, Morty, and Summer, who held up banners. Mattholomule, Puffer, Elliot, Lambi, Louis, Selene, and Eileen were also there. Jerbo's older brother, Roden, was here as well along with Simon, Tyler, Dusty, and several other of their classmates. Edric and his new friend, Mel, were seen talking with Geist.

"Whoa, even Geist is here?" Luz commented as Geist spotted her.

"Hey, how's it going, Luz?" Geist waved to her. "I'm just here to support you kids. Don't worry, this isn't my first protest."

"Really? What was before?" Luz asked him.

"Well, I was there to protest the deforestation of Old Barky, the oldest tree of the Isles, which was going to be torn down for a new base for the Emperor's Coven," Geist answered before looking down sadly. "It did not go well, unfortunately…"

"Sounds like an experience," Luz noted.

"Yeah, well I'm here in case something similar to last time happens during this protest," Geist told her, his tone dead serious.

"My, you must be Luz," Mel said as she walked up to Luz, as she extended her hand. "I have heard a lot about you. My name's Mel."

"Oh, um, hey," Luz responded, shaking her hand. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Do you live in Bonesborough or do you live in another town like Latissa or Metropelvis?"

"I'm more of a drifter. Here, there, anywhere. Right now I'm here with Eddie," Mel said while pointing to Edric.

"She's with you, Ed?" Luz asked him.

"Uh, yeah. I recently met Mel at a speed dating thing we had," Edric explained. "Since then, we've started to hang out."

"I'm not the protesting type, honestly," Mel admitted. "But I was bored and I want to stick around in case something exciting happens."

"Well then, glad that you're here at least," Luz nodded to her. "I'm not really the protesting type either, but my friends wanted me to be here so I came to support them, since I do think it is really cool that they are doing this."

"How noble of you," Mel replied with a hidden smirk. "I do have a feeling that I won't be let down. Things are always interesting when Luz Clawthorne is around…"

Kikimora spotted Abel speaking to a coven scout.

"Now Li'Belle, is everything in order?" Abel asked a young coven scout without her mask, showing her brown-skin with reddish bobcut hair, black horns, blue eyes and fangs.

"Everything seems to be in order for the parade, Coven Aide Reisender!" Li'Belle Case responded with a salute. "As a Captain-In-Training, it's my duty to lead the parade floats through town without any trouble!"

"Excellent." Abel nodded as he saw Kikimora walk up to him. "Ah, Kiki, how are you doing?"

"Um… doing well, sir," Kikimora said while turning to Pugsley, who gave her a thumbs up from behind. "Um, actually, I've been thinking about… using well, I don't mean to say this as a way to get out of the parade, which I don't mind celebrating…" She was nervous, but she tightened her fists and decided to speak. "I've been thinking of going to see my family at Palm Stings since they are hosting a family reunion tonight!" she said rapidly as she shut her eyes, waiting for a scolding.

"Ah, yes, I've been meaning to give you some time off," Abel said, which surprised Kikimora.

"R-Really? What's the catch?" she asked him.

"No catch, just that due to your recent injury, it may be best to have you take some time off and a visit to your family may be good for you," Abel said while writing up a doctor's note for Kiki. "Here, this will grant you vacation time. Go take an airship down by the docks to head over to Palm Stings."

"Why… thank you, Coven Aide Reisender," Kikimora thanked him. She was almost in a daze of shock as she headed back to tell Pugsley the news.

"Why did you give her a vacation? Doesn't she know that today's important?" Li'Belle asked him with her arms crossed.

"Kikimora wouldn't have been able to focus if she had stayed." Abel said with his hands behind his back. "Besides, she needs to learn that I am not her enemy. She is a naturally paranoid person and she doesn't trust me because I took her job. But she will remember this favor. And in the long run, I think this will be good for her…"

"Live from Bonesborough, this is Felicity Fox reporting to you from across Mange Street where the annual Coven Day parade has begun!" She spotted the first float. "Oh look, here comes the Le Fey Acro-Bats!" she said while spotting some bat demons flying around for show.

Nearby, Felicia had her camera ghost facing her. "Whaddup, my Foxy-Fans! This is Felicia coming to you live as the parade has started…" She saw a Belos float coming up. "Huh, now that's a weird-looking float that seems to have been made in the honor of our Emperor…"

Inside the float, King and Hooty were operating it. "Oh this is going to be a hoot!" Hooty declared.

"Yeah, just make it look good," King replied while driving.

The Belos float did some finger-gun poses, which caused the crowd to cheer.

"It's a work of art!" a bystander exclaimed while teary-eyed.

"And look who's also here, the Head Witch Alador Blight!" Felicity exclaimed.

The Abominations Coven float, which was trailing behind several Abominations that were marching and carrying balloons, had Alador standing on it with a few Abominations. He looked quite nervous due to his anxiety, though he tried to wave at the crowd.

'I… I can do this without Odalia…' he thought while looking at the crowd, starting to sweat. "This is going to be okay… right?" he asked while noticing a missing poster of Amity on a nearby wall. This causes him to feel his anxiety riling up.

"Oh look, it's Head Witch Crane!" Felicia pointed to the Bard Coven float passing by. "And it looks like he's… conducting?"

Scooter Crane waved his arms around making the marching band play some incoherent music. From a distance, Cups and Mugs were in the crowd, Cups using his puppeteer magic.

"Ya see? No one's suspecting a thing, Mugs!" Cups said as he wiggled his fingers around, causing Scooter Crane's body to move.

"...We are so dead," Mugs said with a horrid look.

In the Brooke home, Nina opened the fridge and spotted a plate for her. Grabbing it, she took a bite out of the fish while walking towards the couch. "Is the parade starting?"

"Yeah," Skara replied while Scabrina was on the floor, close to the large magic mirror. "They're just starting."

"Shame we can't go," Nina sarcastically said. "You could've joined your friends at that protest of theirs."

Skara looks uneasy, deciding to change the subject. "So um… what's it like, at your home villa?"

Nina narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wanting to make small talk," Skara said, thinking it could distract her from thinking about the vandalized statue. "I mean, I don't think I have asked what your home is like yet. And you did mention that your family are Bards, which I find interesting."

Nina scoffed. "There's nothing to talk about," she said while paying attention to the magic mirror. "I don't really like talking about my family, or my home."

"Oh, sorry," Skara replied while looking down. "Is it because you miss them?"

Nina turned to glare at Skara. "Well I'm not allowed to go back to the Villa or my family, so what do you think?" she asked in anger, which made Skara realize her mistake.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset," Skara apologized.

"I'm going to eat in my room, enjoy the parade," Nina dismissed herself, walking back upstairs with her food.

Skara looked down in guilt, while Scabrina turned to her. "I would recommend sensitivity training."

Nina walked down the hall and opened the door to her room. Once she was in, she noticed the window was opened.

"What the hell?" Nina asked while looking around. "Did I leave it open?"

She went to close the window, but then noticed some fur on the ground. She grabbed the fur, smelled it, and her eyes widened. "Oh no…"

Over at Gavin's place, Ukla knocked on the front door and Gavin answered it.

"Hey, thanks for stopping by," Gavin said.

"Yeah, not feeling in the parade mood," Ukla said as she was invited inside. "Have you heard anything from Hunter yet?"

"No, nothing," Gavin responded sadly. "The last time I was in contact with him, he said that he had messed up bad. We had it set up for him to sleep here but… he never showed up. I texted him a bunch of times since then, but he hasn't answered."

Ukla sighed. "What is going on lately?" she asks while seeing Angmar was in the house as well, looking just as worried about the current situation.

"Yeah, first Boscha's paralysis," Angmar said while looking down. "And now Hunter…"

"Why is it that bad stuff keeps happening to our friends?" Ukla questioned in anger. "Yuki… she's not doing any better. It's like the Titan's out to get us."

"Hey, it's not like that…" Gavin tried to reassure her.

"It may not be the Titan," Angmar said, causing Gavin and Ukla to turn to him. "You heard about Gus and Amity's disappearance, along with their friend Willow, right? And Hunter disappeared around the same time? You think it could be connected? I mean, what if it is the Boss? Gus, Amity, Willow, and Hunter are all witches who played an important role during the school war. Willow was the face of Hexside, Amity and Gus helped to defeat Emily, and Hunter brought the Emperor's Coven to Glandus. Could this be payback?"

"I… I don't know," Gavin admitted as he considered the possibility. "I just don't know…"

The parade continued, but things were already starting to go not according to plan.

Firstly, Alador was being overcome with anxiety and stage fright. He whimpered while crouching down into a fetal position, which was captured by Felicity Fox's camera.

"Well this is a shock, as it appears Head Witch Blight is having what appears to be some kind of nervous breakdown! Looks like he couldn't handle the pressure of being a Coven Head!" Felicity said with a mocking look until she spotted someone. "Hold on, it appears some old lady is climbing up the float!"

"Ma'am, you can't come up-" The scout was shoved aside by Destiny Blight, who walked over to Alador.

"Get over yourself, Alador!" Destiny shouted while seeing Alador was in fetal position. She grabbed him up and started to shake him. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"But… but I can't do it, mom…" Alador whimpered, only for her to slap him.

"You are a Blight!" Destiny reminded him. "Which means you absolutely can do this! You don't need Odalia! You never did! Now start acting like a proper Blight!"

Alador weakly nodded and started to stand up.

Watching the parade from Blight Manor, Odalia saw Destiny slapping Alador, which caused her to spit out her drink.

"Destiny!?" Odalia exclaimed in shock. "Oh no…"

The St. Epiderm float drove through the street as students in front of it held their banner while marching. Minerva Witchmore was shown playing her cello, doing her own performance.

"Sad that Donna, Beel, and Sarah couldn't make it," Lindsay said while waving at the crowd.

"Well, at least we get to enjoy the parade," Riley replied while waving.

"Wait," Danny said while spotting something to the side of the road. "Is that…?!"

"The coven system is a hypocritical system!" Luz shouted through a megaphone while flying up high above the protesters. "They say it's a way for us to move on from the Savage Age, but as far as we're concerned, we're still living in a dogmatist age where you get criminalized for performing wild magic while corruption continues within the covens!"

"Does the Emperor really care about our well being?" Cat asked while her friends cheered. "Where was he at when we were turned into donkeys by the Coachman? Too busy capturing witches to join covens! We have grown tired of waiting around for the Emperor's Coven to solve our problems, it's time we stand up for ourselves!"

The protesters cheered, including some of the bystanders watching. Some even joined the protesters while others, like Danny, looked at them distastefully.

"Looks like they're really riled up," Peter commented while Danny got off the float. "Danny, where are you going?" he asked as he saw Danny marching up to the protesters.

"Excuse me!" Danny pointed up and Luz flew down to face him.

"Here to join the cause?" Luz asked.

"No, this protest of yours is outrageous and disturbing this joyous occasion!" Danny argued.

"Oh great, a Belos Youth…" Luz rolled her eyes. "And you must be…?"

"I am Danny Dilburn, representative of St. Epiderm!" Danny declared. "I've heard about your exploits, Ms. Clawthorne. You are nothing but trouble. Picking fights with our fellow students, the scams, letting Grom loose, your threats against the Emperor's Coven, nearly starting a riot at the petrification ceremony!"

"Dude, me and my family were captured and almost killed at that ceremony," Luz pointed out. "It is not my fault that the crowd realized that what was going on was unjust."

"Yeah, Luz and her family didn't deserve to be executed!" Cat added while pointing to Danny.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who vandalized the statue last night!" Danny accused while glaring at Luz.

"It could've been anyone who is sick of Belos, Dilbert," Luz said while crossing her arms. "Unless you have evidence linking me to the crime, you're just profiling."

"She's got a point," Andrew said as the St. Epiderm students walked over to the confrontation. Danny gritted his teeth.

"Still, there is a reason why we don't mix magic, your multi-track courses are dangerous and we want nothing to do with it," Danny claimed while Luz looked over at some of the other St. Epiderm students.

"Are you sure about that?" Luz pointed at Lindsay and Kyle talking with the protesters.

"So you can be a veterinarian with both Beast-Keeping and Healing?" Lindsay asked Viney.

"Yeah, with my griffin Puddles helping me out. I want to use what I learned from both tracks to open up my own veterinarian clinic, but that won't be possible unless the coven system undergoes some major reforms," Viney explained which got Lindsay interested.

"Wow, I wish our school had this option," Kyle replied. "It would be nice to learn more than one type of magic."

"Trust us, you'll be better off," Jerbo told Kyle. "When I get older, I'm gonna give this system a long-overdue update."

"I'm just here because the Fast-Food Coven isn't unionized," Roden said while holding up his picket signs that read: 'PAY WORKERS MORE!'

"Lindsay! Kyle! Don't fall for their siren songs!" Danny exclaimed to them.

"Chill man, if they're interested, that's their choice," Luz told him. "Which is what we're practically promoting. Belos thinks there is only one way, his way. But that's not true. We should all be allowed to make our own choices in order to discover what kind of witch we want to be. And we won't get there by following the rules laid out by Belos. His rules are garbage."

"Garbage!?" Danny explained, his vein popping on his forehead. "How could you even suggest such a thing!? Without rules, society will crumble!"

"Something tells me they only made you a representative out of pity," Luz commented, which made Danny fume.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

"Alright, break it up!" An unmasked Steve got in between Luz and Danny, before turning to Danny. "Look, your float is holding everyone else up, so why don't you and the other St. Epiderm kids go back to the procession."

Danny narrowed his eyes at Luz. "Fine, we'll be on our way," he said while walking back. "Lindsay, Kyle, let's go!"

"It was nice meeting you guys!" Lindsay waved to the former troublemakers as she and Kyle left.

"Yeah, nice meeting you, Lindsay! Kyle!" Viney waved back.

Luz turned to Steve. "Wait, aren't you...?"

"Steve?!" Mattholomule exclaimed, going over. "Um, are you here to stop us? Cause if you are-"

"Relax, this is my day off actually," Steve reassured him. "I'm not gonna stop your little protest. Today I'm just regular Steve, hanging with my little bro at the parade. And make sure you don't get into any trouble."

"Well, we're glad that you could make it, Steve," Bo replied.

"Yeah, the more, the merrier," Geist said as he looked back at the parade. "Oh look, there's Calypso's float!"

Passing by was the Beast-Keeping float, members of the Beast-Keeping Coven marching in front of it with their beasts. Up on the float was Calypso sitting in her seat and smiling at the crowd while Sunny stood next to her, waving at the crowd and letting eye-birds fly around her. Steve saw Sunny and waved at her, only to realize she wouldn't recognize him without the mask.

"Do you know her?" Matt asked.

"Uh, yeah, we just met," Steve said, looking a bit flustered.

Nearby, an older woman in the crowd scoffed at Sunny.

"I don't know why," Grimhilde mumbled to herself. "But I really dislike her…"

Back at the protesters, Edric spotted something in the sky and froze up. Mel noticed him. "Hey, what's up?"

"He's… here," Edric said as he pointed at the sky.

Everyone looked up and were surprised by what they saw, especially Luz.

"What the…?" Luz questioned as she saw a figure flying overhead.

"No way! It's him!" someone shouted.

"It has been a while since his last appearance…"

"It's the Golden Guard!"

The Golden Guard was shown flying above the crows with a metal staff, waving at the crowd. They twirled their fingers, using a spell circle to create a sparkling image of Belos, which wowed the crowd.

"That can't be him," Cat states, knowing that there was no way Hunter could have learned magic. "Unless he lied…"

"No, because it's not really him," Luz whispered, immediately knowing that it's not Hunter and that this Golden Guard was just trying to pass off as him.

By then, the Belos float that King and Hooty had set up was passing by. Inside, King and Hooty were checking the time.

"Four, three, two…" The two counted down as King and Hooty pulled a lever. "ONE!"

Fireworks shot out of the float and exploded in the sky above the crowd. However, the crowd was shocked when the fireworks created words: 'BELOS? More like, BOO-LOS!'

"Captain Wolffe! Look up!" Li'Belle called to her captain, who saw it.

"Investigate that float!" Wolffe demanded as Li'Belle and other coven scouts moved to surround the float.

"Mission success, Hooty! So um, how do we get outta here?" King asked.

"We're gonna have to be sneaky…" Hooty replied before his whole, elongated body lifted up the effigy of Belos. He then made an announcement to the coven scouts. "Hi! It's me! Your good buddy Belos! Worship me!"

"Kill that monstrosity!" Li'Belle ordered.

"Not the first time I've heard that!" Hooty declared. Under Hooty's control, the effigy began hopping away. Li'Belle and several scouts give chase. "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoot! Ha!"

Luz saw what was happening and she smirked. "Well, now this… this just made my day."

"Is that Hooty?" Amelia asked in confusion.

Edric gave a laugh, trying to forget seeing the Golden Guard. "That was something, right Mel?" he asked while turning to Mel, who had disappeared. "Mel?" he asked while looking around. "Where'd she go?"

At the Knee, Kitsuni was exploring one of the many caves, looking for any clues that would be connected to what happened to Amity.

While investigating, she noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It was a pair of glasses. Kitsuni's eyes glowed and an orange aura rose from the glasses. Kitsuni followed the aura, her ears soon picking up a weak groaning noise, which caused her to run faster.

Kitsuni found herself in what looked like an old Slitherbeast cave filled with bones and gunk. Several bones were stuck to the wall with gunk, the remains of previous meals. But to Kitsuni's shock, there was someone here that was still alive. They were stuck to the wall in the gunk, their clothes in tatters and their smell awful. Nearby were two books: Philip's journal and G.B. Gate's The War on Witchcraft.

"Raine Whispers," Kitsuni recognized as she walked towards them. "Hang on, let me help you."

"W-wait…" Raine said weakly.

"Don't worry, I'm a friend," Kitsuni reassured them.

"N-no, you have to r-run…" Raine said with a tired look. "Run before…"

"Before what?" Kitsuni asked them.

"Before I return," said a voice.

Kitsuni's eyes widened and she narrowly dodged a knife that was coming toward her, the knife just barely missing her fur. She jumped sideways while looking at her attacker, the Old Witch.

"Well, well, well," the Old Witch said with a gleeful look. "Looks like we got an intruder here…"

"You… are you the one who sent Amity to the Human Realm, aren't you?" Kitsuni asked, narrowing her eyes at the figure. "And Gus and Willow…"

"I am many things," the Old Witch said with a grin while holding his knives. "But why don't you come a little… closer to find out…"

Kitsuni's hands burst with blue flames. "I don't know why you're doing this, but I'm going to put a stop to it!" she declared as she shot the blue flames towards the Old Witch, who teleported away. He appeared behind her as he swung his knives around, causing Kitsuni to dodge them.

She backed away while doing a hand symbol. Popping up from clouds of smoke were duplicates of herself. They each surrounded the Old Witch as he targeted the one in front of him.

"Don't think I didn't see you on the same spot!" he shouted as he stabbed her, only for her to turn into a wooden log.

"You're about three thousand years behind!" a Kitsuni clone told him.

"You're outmatched!" another clone declared.

The Old Witch gave a chuckle. "Well this just makes things interesting," he said as his arms sprouted into six, each holding knives while he gave an insane grin. "I'm gonna have fun making a coat out of you!" he declares while stretching his arms to stab each clone, causing them to disappear into clouds of smoke. Suddenly, he was slammed to the ground by the real Kitsuni's foot to his head.

However, a tail sprouted from the Old Witch's lower back, wrapping around her and slamming her against the wall. Kitsuni got up and saw the Old Witch drawing near with his knives. Quickly, she brought out a flaming blue sword to clash with his knives, while noticing something at his feet.

'No shadow,' she thought as she kept herself on guard. 'So he is a Fae… but then where is his shadow?'

Back at the parade, the Belos effigy was still being chased by the coven scouts.

"Law is meaningless! Stealing is legal now! I am your god!" Hooty declared

Because of this, the rest of the parade had been made to stop. This included Terra Snapdragon's float, which was full of fauna. The Plant Head looked impatient and bored. "Why have we stopped?" she asked the driver.

"Just a disturbance, but I'm sure the scouts will handle it, ma'am," the plant coven member responded.

"Terrific," she said sarcastically. She then spotted the protest up ahead. "Oh what is that eyesore…"

Unknown to her and the one driving the float, a shadow was moving on its own nearby. Mel's shadow snickered as it went underneath the float and held a flaming match, setting it on fire. Smoke started coming out from underneath the float, while flames burst out of its back.

Terra sniffed the air. "Who's smoking?" She turned around and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that the float was on fire. "What the actual Devil!?" she shouted in shock as she used one of her plants to rise up from her float and away from the flames.

"What the hell?" Luz asked while she and the protesters, along with bystanders, saw Terra's float being set aflame.

"Oh no…" Amelia gasped when she saw Terra. "It's the Head Witch of the Plant Coven…"

"Terra Snapdragon…" Jerbo shivered while Barcus gulped.

"Who's responsible for this!?" Terra shouted, causing everyone to look uneasy. "Well!?" She looked around until she spotted Luz among the protesters. "Of course… you…"

"What do you want, you crusty old #$%?" Luz asked with no care to what she called Terra. This earned a lot of worried looks from her friends, classmates, Geist, Steve, and the nearby bystanders. Several backed away from Luz.

Terra looked down at Luz, one of her eyes twitching. But she kept her cool and clasped her own hands together. "Oh, you must be Lilith's little human niece, Luz, right?" she spoke up. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about you, Snapdragon," Luz replied with an indifferent look. "Head of the Plant Coven, but from the stories I've heard from my mom, you're nothing but a sadistic, ax-crazy, senile old hag who is another example of the hypocrisy of the coven system." Behind her, Summer held her scroll up to record this moment. "There is something seriously wrong about the coven system if witches like you are able to be put in positions of power. Not to mention how folks are forced to join covens or they die, there is no due process, and the Emperor's Coven cares more about propaganda and recruitment than actually helping people… let's face it, this is still the Savage Ages, and you're just a great example of that."

Terra narrowed her eyes at Luke before putting on a fake smile. "Do you even have a permit for this protest?" she asked while her vines sprouted from behind. "Because I am afraid that otherwise I will have to shut down this unauthorized, illegal protest…"

"I mean, you can try, but I don't want you to throw out your back," Luz stated, making Terra glare at her.

"Very well," Terra said as she grew her vines around over the protesters, prompting Luz, Viney, and Simon to stand on guard. "You leave me no choice but to shut down your little protest… by force."

"Enough, Terra!" shouted Calypso as she rode on a worm to the scene. She stepped off and marched toward Terra, who lowered herself to the ground. "They're just children, for Titan sake! And as Coven Heads, we're not supposed to be making a scene!" she scolded, making Terra turn to her.

"Oh dear, why aren't you at your float? Just let me take care of this disturbance while you head back to your float…" Terra told Calypso, patting her shoulder, only for Calypso to shove it aside, which made the old witch look at the Brooke woman questionably.

"You Coven Heads are all the same!" someone shouted.

Both Calypso and Terra turned to see a purple haired woman with her husband, holding up a missing poster of Bria.

"Now what?" Terra cried out.

"We are the parents of Bria Day Carpenter and our daughter has been missing for weeks!" Bria's mom shouted in anger. "Again and again we've gone to the Emperor's Coven for help, asking them to find our daughter and bring her home! And what are they doing instead? Throwing a parade to honor the Emperor!"

"She's right!" another from the crowd shouted. "My brother has been missing for weeks and the Emperor's Coven hasn't done anything except give empty promises!"

"Oh please, why don't you-!" Terra shouted as another bystander popped up.

"I remember you from my school days," said one woman who resembled a pink bat with orange unkempt hair. "I remember how at the IFWOT she used to make children fight against each other for her sick games! She's a monster!"

"What is the Emperor's Coven even doing!?"

"Now please calm down," Calypso told the crowd, but Terra interrupted her.

"Everyone shut up!" Terra shouted at the bystanders. "It's always about the children, isn't it? You all would be better off with them! I mean, what use would they be for the Day of Unity? They don't have their sigils yet! Not our problem that they're stupid enough to get themselves kidnapped!"

"Terra, you're not helping," Calypso told her off.

It was then that the eyes of Bria's mom flashed red. "See, she doesn't care about us or are children!" she declared, causing the crowd to speak out.

"Yeah! And it wasn't even the Emperor's Coven who stopped the Coachman that tried to take our children!" her husband declared.

"Now you see here-" Terra was then hit in the back of her head by a tomato. This caused her to get angry "Alright! Who threw that!?" she shouted. Unknown to her, it was a shadow that had thrown it at her. But this encouraged other members of the crowd to start throwing stuff at both Terra and Calypso.

"This is worse than the Wand N' Roses concert…" Calypso grumbled while summoning a magic barrier to shield herself. More stuff was thrown at the Coven Heads and she brought out a mirror. "We need coven scouts now!"

"Do protests usually go this way?" Cat asked Luz.

"Sometimes," Luz responded as she saw some coven scouts arriving on the scene.

They attempted to control the crowd. "Alright, let's all calm down-"

"Where's our children!?" shouted a bystander while pushing a scout. Another bystander punched a scout and it erupted into a brawl between scouts and shouting civilians.

"Should we do something?" Jerbo asked Luz.

"Yeah, time to bail," Luz nodded to Geist, who helped lead her friends away from the now angry riot.

"But what about our protest? And making our voices heard?" Cat asked her.

"Cat, there's a time and place for that, but this isn't a protest anymore, it is becoming a riot and I don't want any of you to be hurt," Luz advised a reluctant Cat before shouting to everyone. "Let's move! Geist, Simon, Viney, Morty, split everyone into groups, we're going home!"

"Yeah, I already know where this is going…" Geist mumbled while escorting his niece, nephew, and their friends away from the parade.

"But wait, what about Mel?" Edric asked while being pulled away by his sister.

"Come on, she's probably out of here already!" Emira assured him while they left.

Meanwhile, Graye walked up to the Bard float as it stood in the street.

"Hey Crane, do you have any flask of apple blood around?" Graye asked him while Crane just stood there. "Crane? You… alright?" he asked while patting Scooter's shoulder, turning him around only to see his pale face. "Crane… why are you so cold…?" he asked, until he saw Crane's jaw out as his eye fell down to Graye's boot.

The Illusion Head made a blood-curdling scream, which was heard from Cups and Mugs.

"We should get out of here, Mugs!" Cups said as he and his brother ran.

"Agreed!" Mugs replied.

Luz was helping to get Cat and Amelia away from the crowd, grabbing both girls and flying them above the riot. However, before they could get away, a vine grabbed Luz by the ankle and pulled her down to the ground.

"Not so fast, you troublemakers!" Terra shouted while dragging Luz toward them.

"Get out of here!" Luz told her two friends.

"But what about you?" Cat asked while helping Amelia up.

"Just get out of here!" Luz shouted. The two saw Terra aiming her vines at them, only for Luz to grab the vines. "Leave them out of this!" she shouted to the Coven Head.

The echoing of crackling laughter was then heard, causing Terra to groan. "Now what?"

Luz looked up and saw something flying over the crowd, leaving behind a trail of black smoke.

"People of the Isles, your time is near!" cried out a black hooded figure with a pale, goblin-like face. He had long pointy ears, glowing red eyes, and his black tattered robe showed his white, skeletal body while he wore a black loincloth and black boots. He held flaming pumpkins while riding on a screeching gargoyle. "The Grim Goblin shall show you true fear!"

"Who the fuck is this joker!?" Luz shouted while seeing the Grim Goblin throwing flaming pumpkins at the parade, causing an explosion of flames and red smoke.

"He's not part of the show!" Terra said, just as surprised as Luz. She noticed Luz managing to slice through the vine on her ankle. "Oh no you don't!"

"Leave me alone!" Luz shouted, attempting to cast a light spell. She drew a spell circle, but instead of a light beam… she shot fire at Terra.

"AAHH!" Terra screamed as the fire hit her face, giving Luz a chance to escape from the street while the crowd panicked.

"Yes! Scream! Run! Panic!" the Grim Goblin shouted while flying over the crowd, throwing his pumpkins at the floats and buildings. "This has become quite majestic!"

One girl pointed up to the sky. "Hey, it's the Golden Guard!"

"Huh?" The Grim Goblin turned and saw the Golden Guard flying toward him. They kicked the Grim Goblin off from his gargoyle, which collided into a balloon.

"Matt? Matt!" Steve shouted, looking for his brother after they got separated in the panicking crowd, which now spilled into the streets. He then saw Matt in the streets and noticed the parade balloon about to fall down on top of him. "Matt!"

"Steve?" Mattholomule turned toward his brother before noticing a shadow looming over him as the large balloon came toward him, "Gah!" he shouted while covering himself, only for Steve to spring forward and grab Matt out of the way of the balloon.

"You alright, little bro?" Steve asked while holding Matt.

"Yeah, just… can you take me home?" Matt asked him.

Steve nodded. "Let's get out of here," he said while taking Matt out of the street.

The Grim Goblin rose up from the spot where he landed as the coven scouts surrounded him. "Freeze!" a scout ordered him.

"I surrender…" the Grim Goblin said, only to punch the scout in the mask. He then gave a powerful kick to a second scout and threw the third into the fourth as he laughed maniacally.

"Hey!" the Golden Guard shouted in a distorted voice as they stepped in. "Knock it off!" they shouted as they threw a fist at the Grim Goblin, only for him to catch it.

"A golden defender! How tender!" he said as he kicked the Golden Guard away, causing them to crash into a light post that fell and hit a scout.

The 'Golden Guard' groaned while holding their staff. "How the hell did he work this thing?" they muttered while seeing the Grim Goblin jumping towards them. The Golden Guard used the staff to block the villain's attack, while kicking the Grim Goblin away. "Whatever you are, the Emperor's Coven will take you down!"

"That I would like to see, you golden firebee!" the Grim Goblin said while shooting out light spells to flash at the Guard, who used the staff to teleport away. The Grim Goblin then stomped on the ground to create cracks as he let out an unnatural scream.

Back at the Owl House, Eda and Camila were watching the parade on the crystal ball, their expressions worried. Things had clearly taken a turn for the worst.

"You need to go get Luz and make sure that she gets back home safely," Camila said seriously while looking at Camila. "Now."

Eda looked conflicted. On one hand, her mama bear instincts were screaming at her to go harpy and go save Luz from that Snapdragon bitch. Usually Luz could take care of herself, but Eda knew from experience how dangerous Terra was…

But on the other hand, she was reluctant to leave Camila and Kay undefended, especially since Hooty was out with King.

"Are you sure?" Eda asked and Camila nodded.

"Yes, go bring our daughter home," Camila told her. "Please, Eda…"

Eda got up. "I will," she promised, rushing towards the front door. "If there is any trouble, you know where I keep the guns." She then stopped, deciding to get something to take with her…

It had been a while since Kitsuni and the Old Witch started fighting one another. Kitsuni kept making multiple clones to attack the Old Witch, who used more of his powers. He summoned projectiles and large hands to smash the clones, but Kitsuni shot blue flames at the Old Witch, sending him back.

He got back up, pulling out what looked like an explosive and throwing it at her. Kitsuni was about to dodge but then it exploded in front of her, leaving a cloud of blue smoke. The Old Witch grinned, thinking he had finally got her.

But then he got clawed in the back.

"AAAH!" he shouted. He turned around and grabbed some dirt, throwing it in her face. While she was blinded, he stabbed her with his knife, but that caused her to disappear into a cloud of smoke, revealing a log.

"What is up with you and cloning!?" the Old Witch demanded.

"It's called ninjutsu," the real Kitsuni said while extending her claws, swiping the air and sending a wave of energy at Old Witch, who dodged the attack as the shockwave hit the ground, creating cracks that opened a chasm. The Old Witch recovered and jumped towards her with his knives.

"You will interfere no longer!" he declared, only for Kitsuni to disappear before he could cut her. He looked around, wondering where she went, only for her to reappear and kick him in the head. "Oof!" the Old Witch cried out, falling to the ground again. He looks up at Kitsuni who pressed her paw against his stomach.

"Tell me… do you feel pain?" she whispered as black electricity was sent through the body of the Old Witch.

"AAAAAH!" the Old Witch cried out, his form and voice starting to shift. For one second he resembled Ford. For another second he resembled Calypso.

"Show me your true form, Fae!" Kitsuni demanded. "Tell me your true name!"

"NO!" the Shapeshifter shouted, managing to teleport himself away from Kitsuni. They reappeared not far from her, their form looking like a mix of Ford, Calypso, and the Old Witch. They were breathing heavily.

Kitsuni turned to him. "Give up," she said while summoning her blue sword. "Surrender and I will be merciful."

The Shapeshifter looked up at the fox yokai, their face morphing into the Inner Demon's. "No… not yet… too soon…" He then exploded into flames, launching Kitsuni back.

She summoned a mini-tornado to put out the flames. But the Shapeshifter had disappeared without a trace.

Kitsuni thought about looking for the Shapeshifter, but then she remembered Raine and she ran over to the wall that Raine was stuck to.

"Hang on!" Kitsuni said as she used her flames to free Raine. "Are you alright, Mx. Whispers?"

"Y-Yes…" Raine responded with a cough. "So… hungry."

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay," Kitsuni said as she supported Raine. "I am going to take you somewhere safe…"

She then looked back at where she had seen the books… but they were gone.

"What's going on here?" Kyle asked while seeing the crowd running.

"I think it is some kind of goblin attack!" Andrew revealed.

"Where's Danny and Riley?!" Minerva asked, looking around.

"I don't know, they vanished while we were being held up!" Peter said while looking at his scroll, watching Felicia.

"This is Felicia Fox reporting, the crowd's in a panic after Coven Head Snapdragon made a scene and a crazy maniac demon called the Grim Goblin launched an attack on the parade!" Felicia reported while her camera showed the Grim Goblin fighting the Golden Guard. "The Double-G is facing off against the other Double-G, the Golden Guard, who has been absent from public appearances for a while but is now making a triumphant return!"

"Everyone out of the float, we're getting out of here!" Roxy declared while an explosion occurred nearby.

Lindsay was about to run but then she tripped. She heard the crackling laughter as the Grim Goblin kept fighting the Golden Guard. Both were on top of his gargoyle, trading blows.

"Stay, still!" Golden Guard told while getting kicked out of the gargoyle, but their staff stopped their fall.

"I want you off my back!" the Grim Goblin said while looking down and spotting Lindsay. "Maybe a damsel can get you off track!" he shouted while flying down towards Lindsay, grabbing her by the shirt.

"No!" Lindsay cried out while her friends saw her get taken.

"Lindsay!" Minerva shouted as she summoned her cello.

"No Minerva, do that and you'll hit Lindsay!" Roxy stopped her.

"Please… let me go… put me down," Lindsay begged while the Grim Goblin held her by the collar.

"Poor choice of words, now you go splat!" the Grim Goblin declared while throwing Lindsay toward the group. "Bye-bye, you screaming one-eyed brat!"

Lindsay screamed as she fell, the Golden Guard seeing this and rushing towards her. They managed to stop Lindsay from hitting the ground, catching her bridal style.

"Are you alright, miss?" they asked her, while Lindsay looked up at her masked savior.

"Um… yes," she replied shyly, hiding her blush.

The Golden Guard set Lindsay down while Roxy, Kyle and Andrew ran up to her. This action of the Golden Guard saving Lindsay was caught by Felicia.

"Whoa…" Felicia said in shock, turning to her camera. "Did you get that?"

"Lindsay, are you alright?" Kyle asked her.

"Y-Yes, thanks to the Golden Guard," Lindsay said while turning to them. "Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime," they said while looking up to see the Grim Goblin flying away.

"So long, Bonesborough!" The Grim Goblin threw one more flaming pumpkin. "I shall leave this festive quarrel!" He disappeared as the pumpkin exploded in a blinding flash.

"That didn't even rhyme…" the Golden Guard complained.

Wolffe, Le'Belle, and the coven scouts were hosing off the now burning effigy of Belos.

"Whoever was behind this, it looks like they got away," Wolffe stated.

"This Coven Day has to be the worst one, not even last year's rabbit incident was this bad," Le'Belle said, only to cause one coven scout to shriek.

"RABBITS! WHERE!?" he exclaimed out of fear.

Among the crowd, Hooty and King were seen sneaking away snickering. Their prank has been a big success.

Luz had run out onto the docks. She took a moment to catch her breath, her wings being pulled back as she held up her scroll. She texted her friends, getting confirmations that they made it out safely.

"Oh little Clawthorne…!"

The sing-sang voice of Terra Snapdragon made Luz's eyes widen. She looked around, getting in a defensive position. She saw the moving shadow of a vine behind the building and she held up her fire glyph cards, prepared for the worst.

"Look what you did to me!"

Luz's arms turned black as her claws extended, only for her to be suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown into some boxes. She looked up at Terra, who stepped out of the shadows, showing half of the face burned, with her right eye closed. "Attempting to take the life of a Coven Head is a very serious crime!"

"I don't know, looks like an improvement to me," Luz commented while getting up and throwing a card straight at her.

Terra used her vines to cut up the cards, only to be blinded by a flash of light that caused her to cover her eyes. Terra turned and saw Luz trying to run away and she blocked her path with a thorn wall bush. This caused Luz to back away to the docks, where she was close to the scalding waters.

"End of the line for you, troublemaker," Terra said with a wicked grin. "Now I get to make an example out of you!"

WHACK!

"AAAH!" Terra screamed after feeling something hit her in the back. "NOW WHAT!?"

"Snapdragon!" growled Harpy Eda, who flew down to grab her daughter away from the unhinged Plant Head, holding Luz in her arm. "Touch my daughter again, and this won't be the first time I've smoked some weed!" she declared while holding a mace towards her opponent.

"Oh, so the Owl Lady wants to tango with me!?" Terra snarled as she raised her thorny vines up. "Bring it on!"

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way out," Harpy Eda said as Luz flew out of Eda's arm. "You did good running, but now it's butt-kicking time!"

"You sure it's a fair match, mom? I mean, a couple of spitfires vs an old vulture seems to be a bit unfair," Luz quipped while cracking her knuckles.

Terra shot out a large vine from the water at the two and they flew away form the attack. Eda grabbed two glyph cards to shoot a fire spell to burn the vines. Terra retreated from the docks and Luz flew down to kick her in the back.

"GAH!" Terra shrieked and turned around, summoning more thorns from the ground. However, Luz used an ice glyph card to freeze the vines. Terra had one large pedal to bounce her up from another attack from Luz and she spread out large vines to use as whips against Luz and Eda.

The mother and daughter duo dodged the whips. Eda uses a fire glyph card on one, while Luz slammed an ice glyph on the other. The vine whips were frozen and burned, but Terra whistled and summoned a large, carnivorous plant that rose up and destroyed the docks, spreading around large, thorny vines while Terra sits on its head.

"You two are foolish!" Terra declared while ordering her vines to attack the two. "You think you can get away with such incursions!? Belos may be lenient to you, but I won't!"

"Look, if this is about the burn on your face, I'm sorry, okay? I was acting out of self defense and meant to hit you with a light spell, but I messed up," Luz explained.

"You burned her face?" Eda asked while looking at Terra's burned face. "Huh, I honestly couldn't tell." She dodged Terra's vines and hit them with her mace until one wrapped around her. "Weh!"

"Mom!" Luz cried out as she extended her claws, grabbing the vine that was holding Eda. "Let her go!" she shouted while ripping through the vines.

"This is why I never had children!" Terra shouted while her plant monster opened its mouth to try to snap at Luz, who dodged it with her wings. She flew up in front of Terra, her red wings punching the old Head Witch as Eda flew up to join in, delivering a roundhouse kick to Terra.

"AAH!" Terra grunted as she fell back, though she still managed to hold onto her plant monster. She rose back up, glaring at the two. She then smelled something. "Wait… what's smoking?" she asked while noticing a cloud of smoke. She looked down and realized that her plant monster was being set on fire as it was surrounded by-

"FIREBEES!?" Terra screamed.

"Whoa, better stay away from those, Luz!" Eda said as she and Luz flew away from the burning plant monster.

Terra managed to get off the plant monster as it was engulfed in flames. She watched it as it fell and was burned to ash. "No… my monster!" she cried out before turning to the Clawthornes. "You two will pay for this-!"

"Enough, Snapdragon."

Suddenly Terra was wrapped in bonds, courtesy of Calypso who showed up behind her. Terra lost her balance and fell to the ground.

"What the-!?" Terra shouted, shocked to see Calypso. "Let me go, Brooke! Who do you think you are treating me like this!? Who gave you the right!?"

"That would be me, Ms. Snapdragon," spoke up Abel, who floated down while holding his umbrella.

"A-Abel!?" Terra shouted in shock. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, Ms. Snapdragon," Abel scolded. "Almost attacking children, sparking a riot, chasing down the young Clawthorne despite Belo's orders to not harm her… not to mention your little rant that was caught on Penstagram." He held up a scroll, showing a video playing Terra's rant.

"It's always about the children, isn't it? You all would be better off with them! I mean, what use would they be for the Day of Unity? They don't have their sigils yet! Not our problem that they're stupid enough to get themselves kidnapped!"

"Oh, and you are already memeing," Abel added while looking at the memes.

"Not to mention that you should have been helping with crowd control while a crazy maniac goblin was flying around attacking the town," Calypso added. "If not for the Golden Guard, the terrorist attack by that Grim Goblin would have been a lot worse. We could've used your help but instead you were busy trying to kill kids!"

Terra tried to make an excuse for herself. "But that girl, she attacked me-"

"No, you attacked her while she was trying to get her friends away from the riot," Calypso corrected. "She was acting out of self-defense."

Abel nodded. "How you handled yourself today was disgraceful. Not only did you make your coven look bad, but the Emperor's Coven as well. Belos isn't happy at the slightest and he will wish to speak with you…"

Terra narrowed her eyes at him, then looked at Calypso in suspicion. "What about her? She shouldn't be able to order me around…"

"Calypso kept her head cool, handling the situation better than you did," Abel said as an airship flew down. "Come, Ms. Snapdragon, the Emperor is waiting for you. And good work, Mrs. Brooke. I will speak highly of you to the Emperor."

"Thank you Abel," Calypso said with a bow while turning to Luz and Eda. "I'm so sorry that this happened."

"Hey, don't sweat it, lypsy," Eda waved it off. "I'm just glad that my Luz is safe."

"What about everyone else?" Luz asked her.

"They made it out safely," Calypso told them as she walked back to her rat worm. "Once again, I am sorry about all this." She then rode away.

"Well, we shall be off," Abel said as he got on his airship. "Oh, and one more thing, Luz Clawthorne." He turned to Luz. "Belos wanted me to tell you that he is looking forward to meeting you." He then got onto the airship, which flew away.

This confused the two Clawthornes. "What does he mean by that?" Eda asked.

"I don't know…" Luz admitted. "I mean, haven't I already met Belos twice?"

Eda sighed. "We can worry about this later," she told her daughter. "For now, let's just go home. Your other mother is worried sick."

In the Brooke home, Nina was prowling around the house. She was sniffing, trying to track down the owner of the fur she had found. Since it was a big house, it was going to be tough.

"Nina?"

Nina turned and saw Skara looking at her.

"What are you doing?" the Brooke girl asked.

"Quiet," Nina shushed.

"What's wrong?" Skara asked in a whisper.

"We're not alone here…" she said which made Skara's eyes widen.

"What!?" she exclaimed only for Nina to cover her mouth.

"Look, just be quiet," Nina told her. "I'll handle the intruders. They're close."

Skara seemed to understand and she kept her mouth shut. The two walked down the hall, Nina tracking the scent as Skara trailed behind her. Then her ears picked something up and she turned to an open door. "There."

"Dad's sculpture room…" Skara whimpered as they quietly walked in.

As they walked through the room, one sculpture fell, prompting Skara to grab it. Then another fell over and she grabbed it as well. More kept falling from the high shelf as Skara had to catch them all with her hands and magic.

Nina narrowed her eyes, noticing two shadows darting around.

"Come on out!" Nina shouted which made Skara nervous while she was setting down the sculptures. "We know you're in here!"

"Nina… I don't think-"

"AMBUSH!"

Two small figures rushed toward Nina, who managed to grab the two laughing kittens tackling her in a hug. "Hey, get off of me, you two!" Nina shouted at them as they hugged her legs.

"Hi Nina! We miss ya!" spoke a red furred kitten girl with short auburn hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a blue and pink shirt and gray pants.

"Buttons says hi, by the way!" said a red furred kitten boy with unkempt spiky auburn hair and orange eyes. He was wearing a red and yellow shirt with green pants.

"I said get off of me!" Nina tried to shake them off. "Skara, help me out here!"

"Oh, do you know these two?" Skara asked while kneeling down.

"I'm West, and my sister's Winter," the boy werekitten, West, explained.

"We're Nina's younger siblings, the Furious…" Winter got off of Nina's leg and did a pose.

"And Fantastic…" West did the same post while standing next to Winter.

"Fang Twins!" the two declared as they struck a pose.

Nina gave a deadpan look before scolding them. "What are you two even doing here!? You know you shouldn't be this far from the Torsa Villa, not this late!"

"We're sorry, Nini," Winter said while looking down.

"Yeah, we just miss you, you know?" West added as he looked down. "The Villa's boring without you."

"Wow, I didn't know you had these adorable twin siblings," Skara said in amazement.

"Yeah, yeah," Nina said while rolling her eyes. "Skara, these are my younger siblings, West and Winter Fangs. West, Winter, this is Skara, part of my host family that's letting me live here."

"Thank you for watching over Nina, she can be a real handful," Winter said.

"Oh it's no big," Skara said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They all went to the living room, where Skara handed them hot cocoa. Nina's siblings were joined by Scabrina, while Nina kept a watchful eye on all three of them.

"So is this your first time outside of the village?" Skara asked them.

"Yeah, most of us werecats don't get out much," West explained. "Some of us go out for food and trade, others set up their own shops and businesses while working with the covens."

"Mom says we shouldn't leave the Villa unless we have to and that as long as we're on our best behavior, we're all perfectly safe under coven rule!" Winter added which made Nina miffed. "Which reminds me, would you like to hear what's going on in the Villa?"

"No…" Nina told her.

But West ignored her. "Anyway, the whole Villa's shocked by your arrest and parole. Mom and Dad were really worried while Ralph and others were wondering how you were being treated."

"Tell them I'm doing fine," Nina muttered.

"As for the other tribes, well… they're not happy with what you did…" Winter said honestly. "Especially Mao Purrsian, who did not look happy when she stopped by our treehouse."

This causes Nina's eyes to widen. "Ms. Purrsian visited our home?"

"Yeah, and she wishes to speak with you sometime," West said, which made Nina look down.

"Who's Mao Purrisan?" Skara asked.

"She is our current elected leader and representative of the werecat witches," Nina said in a whisper. "Previously… she was my school teacher when I was attending the school on the reservation. Before I entered Glandus."

"Wait, werecats have elections?" Skara asked.

"We used to practice trial by combat but we are civilized now," West explained. "How it works is that each tribe leader has to vote who'd be the perfect representative for all of us, someone who speaks to the Emperor's Coven and the other covens on our behalf."

"Yeah, the Emperor's okay with us having elections as long as we don't usurp him," Winter added. "How come you never mentioned this to your new friend?"

"Because our elections are boring," Nina complained. "Like, would it kill them if they added a trial by combat? The other trials we do are boring."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nina," Winter said.

"Yeah, who would want to see a cat fight?" West asked.

"I would," Scabrina said, raising her hand up.

Just then the door opened and Slasher came in. "Hey girls, just got back. Cali's got some Coven Head business and-" He noticed the two new guests in the living room. "I didn't know there'd be guests here…"

Nina stood up. "I know them, sir. These are my younger siblings, West and Winter, they kinda snuck inside the house."

"Hi!/Are you a werewolf?" West and Winter asked.

"You two came all the way out here alone? Aren't your parents worried?" Slasher asked them.

"Mom might, but we usually come back," West replied.

"We just wanted to see our older sister again," Winter told him.

"Really? Well I'm sure that she's glad to see you too," Slasher replied while Nina just sighs.

"Titan… look, can you take these two back home? I'm sure that they're not supposed to be out of the village and if they get caught they are going to be in a lot of trouble," Nina told Slasher.

"Of course, especially given that there's this dangerous Grim Goblin on the loose, I'll make sure these two get back safely," Slasher responded.

West and Winter went up to hug Nina. "It's nice seeing you again, Nina!" Winter said.

"Yeah, we'll make sure to tell them you're alright!" West added.

Nina looked down at them for the moment, showing an affectionate smile while patting the two's heads. "Yeah, nice seeing you two fuzzballs," she replied.

Once they let go of Nina, the twins followed Slasher out. Nina closed the door and gave a tired sigh while noticing Skara's look. "What?" she asked.

"You do have a soft side," Skara pointed out, causing Nina to groan.

"No I don't," Nina denied while hiding her embarrassed look.

"You can't fool this gal, I know a softie when I see one," Skara said while Nina turned around to ignore her. "So uh… is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"No," Nina said while making her way to the stairs.

"Well, do you want to watch the fireworks?" Skara asked, causing Nina to pause.

Nina slowly turned back to Skara. "Yeah, I do."

After everything had calmed down, Emily found a bunch of coven scouts tending to Graye who was wrapped in a blanket, holding a cup of hot cocoa.

"What happened to Head Witch Graye?" Emily questioned a scout.

"He discovered that Head Witch Crane is dead," the scout answered, which surprised Emily. "Turns out, he had been dead for quite a while. We still can't figure out how he could still move. Reminds me of that one movie I saw."

"His… his eye fell out…" Graye shivered while drinking his hot cocoa. "I need a vacation."

Meanwhile, Cups and Mugs had made it back home, where their grandfather was waiting for them.

"Hey boys, how was the parade?" he asked them, causing them to look nervous.

"G-Grandpa… we…" Mugs but his lip but Cups cried out.

"It was harmless prank, but we ended up killin' an old guy!" Cups admitted while brawling into tears, Mugs crying as well. "We spooked him to death, but we didn't know what to do with the body!"

"We're sorry, Grandpa Kettle!" Mugs cried as he and his brother held each other. "We should get sent to the slammer…"

"Oh boys, it's alright," Kettle assured them. "You two should've just come to me with this problem. After all, I am in the business of body disposal," he explained, while showing a dark room full of body disposing tools. "So uh, you two made sure that it doesn't get traced back to you, right?"

"Of course! No witnesses and all," Mugs confirmed.

"Good," Kettle said as he remembered something. "Oh, by the way, your charming friend stopped by. She's in the kitchen right now."

Cups and Mugs walked into the kitchen and saw who it was. "Oh hey, it's you!" Mugs said.

"How ya been? Up to some fun?" Cups asked the girl at the table.

"Yeah, you could say that," Mel said with a smile while drinking her tea.

At Palm Stings, Kikimora was enjoying dinner with her family. She then heard her scroll buzz and she pulled it out to check her notifications. Suffice to say, she started laughing.

"What's so funny, Kiki?" asked one of Kikimora's relatives.

"Oh, you know, just someone I despise making herself look like a fool!" Kikimora replied with a laugh, seeing the news about the controversy Terra Snapdragon had landed herself in. "Guess asking for time-off does pay off!"

Luz and Eda flew back home while talking about what had happened.

"So who was that Grim Goblin guy?" Eda asked.

"I don't know, just this random super-villain that rhymes for some reason," Luz responded. "But then there's this… new Golden Guard."

"Yeah, I knew that wasn't Hunter as well," Eda said with a sigh. "Dr. Bride said that he still hasn't woken up. Either Belos hired a stand-in…"

"Or decided to replace him," Luz muttered. She couldn't even imagine how Hunter would react to the news when he woke up.

When they landed in front of the Owl House, they changed back to normal. The second they walked through the front door, Camila rushed over to them.

"Oh thank goodness you're home!" Camila said as she hugged Luz. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, mami, I'll be fine," Luz responded.

"Good, because while you were gone, two friends of yours showed up," Camila said as she led the two upstairs, where they found Kitsuni in a bedroom healing Raine.

"Kitsuni…" Luz said before she gasped when she realized who she was with.

"Rainstorm," Eda said as she ran over and kneeled down. "Raine, are you okay? Where have you been? Are you alive!?"

"E-Eda…" Raine said in a hoarse voice.

"Where did you find them?" Eda asked Kitsuni.

"At the Knee, in an old Slitherbeast cave, our shapeshifting friend was keeping them there," Kitsuni answered, which made Luz and Eda's eyes widen

"The Knee…" Luz repeated while looking concerned for Raine.

"Their captor was apparently feeding them in order to keep them alive, but clearly Raine hasn't been getting enough food," Kitsuni explained. "It will be a while before they return to full health."

"We should take them to the basement," Eda suggested. "We need to make sure that the Emperor's Coven doesn't know they're here."

Eda and Kitsuni help Raine up, taking them to the basement just as King and Hooty came back home.

"We're back!" King announced before he noticed Raine. "What the… Raine?"

"You're alive!" Hooty announced until Luz went up to shush them.

"Quiet," Luz said, covering their mouths.

Soon Raine was settled on the couch in the basement. Eda helped them drink some water, which Raine wasn't able to do themself. Raine was not in a good state, looking very pale and weak. It was obvious they weren't going to be back to their former self anytime soon.

"Oh, Raine…" Eda said while brushing their face.

"It isn't just that they haven't been getting enough food… something has been draining the life out of them," Kitsuni said, shocking Eda.

"Drained?" Eda asked.

"He… he got in my head…" Raine said fearfully. "Eda I'm… I'm so, so, sorry. The things he showed me…"

"Hey, just rest up, Rainestorm," Eda assured them. "You're okay now. You're safe." She sighed. "I shouldn't have left you. But at least you're alive now. And I promise that I won't leave you behind again…"

After Raine was settled in the basement with Kitsuni healing them, Eda went up to the living room where Luz, Camila, King, and Hooty were waiting for her.

"How are they?" Luz asked Eda.

"Raine's going to be fine… eventually," Eda explained. "They just need a lot of rest… and water… and proteins… and probably some therapy."

"I can't believe that Raine was up at the Knee the entire time, we were just there," King pointed out.

"Yeah, and so was that Fae," Luz said while sitting on the couch. "Though they are probably not going to go back there again."

"Hey guys, look!" Hooty said, pointing to the crystal ball with his neck.

Standing by the podium, Calypso saw that Alador looked like a mess. "You alright, Alador?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Alador responded silently.

Soon Abel floated down to the mic, clearing his throat as he spoke to the crowd.

"On behalf of the Emperor's Coven, we thank you, Bonesborough, for joining us during this year's Coven Day Parade. Now, this year is extra special because the Emperor himself has an announcement to make."

A massive projection of Emperor Belos himself appeared behind the podium. Calypso and Alador turned to look up at the Emperor.

"Thank you, everyone," Belos spoke up. "I have heard your voices, Bonesborough. I have seen your suffering. I know you feel that I am not doing enough. And for that, I am sorry. But this is a test from the Titan. We are all being tested. Tested for our faith, for our conviction, and for our strength. We are struggling, but that is necessary for us to achieve greatness like never before. Because together we are perfecting the coven system just as the Titan intended and I can promise you that we will all be properly rewarded in the end."

Lilith along with Gwen and Dell watched the crystal ball as Belos made his announcement.

"The Day of Unity will come when the tide is at its lowest, and the moon obscures the sun."

Donna along with her friends were hanging out at her home, each of them looking at the other in confusion.

"At that time, we will journey to the head of the Isles…"

Ed, Emira, Viney and Geist were in the bar as they watched the announcement.

"...and there, the worthy shall inherit a utopia free of wild magic."

"Free of wild magic?" Cat asks as she and Amelia hung out at the Harwitch home.

"Utopia?" Amelia asked in concern.

Tom looked agitated when hearing the news, which concerned Athena. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Y-Yeah, just… nervous," Tom responded, having a bad feeling about all of this.

"Soon, our problems will be a thing of the past."

Odalia, who was watching the crystal ball, had her own concerns.

"What is going on here?" Odalia questioned, planning on looking into this and why Destiny had been freed.

"As will our enemies."

"Please turn the crystal ball off, Sarah," spoke an automated voice hidden in the shadows.

"Yes, dad," Sarah replied as she turned the crystal ball off. A gurgling noise could be heard coming from her father.

Beel, who was watching in his room, was throwing darts at a picture on a dart board.

"Too bad I miss the parade," he said while looking at his scroll, smiling to see a certain coven head sparking controversy. He then looked back at the board, throwing a few more darts at the picture of Terra Snapdragon.

"Oh, and one more thing," Belos said. "I know that I am asking a lot of you, and that some of you have even begun to doubt me."

Simon came home and was met by Beck while their father, Samwitch, watched the announcement with his arms crossed and an indifferent look.

"After all, how can you trust someone wearing a mask? Someone who has never shown you his true face?"

Grimhammer drank from his chalice, watching the news with Sonya and Lupe.

"I have always hidden my face out of fear. But after I have asked you to give me so much, I feel like it is important that I give you something in exchange for your support." Belos removed his mask and the crowd gasped as they saw his true face, which had a few scales on it. "I have also decided to show you now because on the Day of Unity, I will leave this form that you see now and I will take on a new, more powerful form. A form given to me by the Titan himself so that I will be able to protect the Boiling Isles from its threats! Because there are enemies plotting against us as we speak and I have been chosen by the Titan to save us all."

Skara and Nina watched this on Skara's scroll, surprised by the face reveal.

"Meh," they shrugged, unimpressed by what Belos really looked like.

"Happy Coven Day, everyone!" Belos declared as the projection exploded into fireworks.

Back to the Owl House, the residents of the Owl House looked at each other in concern.

"What did he mean by taking on a new form?" Camila asked.

"Could be related to his cambion form," Eda suggested while Luz tightened her fists.

"Whatever he means, we gotta be ready. Ready for whatever Belos is planning for the Day of Unity, how it involves the Human Realm, and my part in all of it," Luz said. She then sighed. "But for now… we take it one day at a time."

At a juice bar, Steve was contacting Sandra through a mirror.

"Thanks for bringing Mattholomule home, Steve," Sandra told him.

"Don't mention it, Sandra," Steve told her. "We can't be too careful now, especially with this Grim Goblin fella."

"I'll watch my back," Sandra replied before she hung up.

"Hey, some Coven Day we had, huh?" asked the juice bar owner, a man with spiky black hair and green eyes. He was wearing a green and white striped shirt with black pants, boots, and a red belt.

"You know it, Ollie," Steve replied while enjoying his drink.

"Yeah, that Grim Goblin guy, reminds me of a rapping pumpkin monster that I once knew, since he used to throw pumpkins around too," Ollie mentioned which made Steve give him a puzzled look before going back to his drink.

Steve looked down, thinking about what happened today. "You know, when I joined the Emperor's Coven, I wanted to help people. That was my dream… but now, I'm not so sure anymore. Especially after that riot."

"Yeah," Ollie said with a nod. "Things have been going crazy lately, even by Boiling Isles standards."

Steve sighed. "And I have a feeling it is only going to get worse…"

The headquarters of the Plant Coven was basically a large greenhouse where witches could study the plant life of the Boiling Isles and grow agriculture.

Kicking in the door to her quarters was Terra Snapdragon. She grumbled after having received a scolding from the Emperor. This day wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

"Probation! Can you believe it!?" she shouted in frustration, wearing some healing patches on her eye. "After all I've done to serve the Emperor, I get blamed for those pesky children's messes! And now I'm being blamed for what happened at the parade, when it was the Clawthorne girl and that Grim Goblin's fault! And that Calypso, the nerve of that woman!" She gritted her tea. "Why wasn't my tea working on her?! It was working on Alador, but not her!?"

She slumped onto a beanbag, grabbed a large joint, and lit it. She smoked from the joint while looking unhappy. "That damn Clawthorne brat thinks she's a hot shot now… and that Calypso, ooh." She groaned at the thought of the woman. "Those two have another thing coming…"

She looked up to the ceiling. "At least you're a good listener… Perry," she said to Perry Porter, who was wrapped up in vines as his eyes glowed white.

Now we know where's Perry…

So time to comment on who's who:

Le'Belle Case is an obvious parody of Courtney from the Total Drama franchise, as she's a Captain-In-Training, or a CIT. I figured she'd be introduced somewhere around and found this would be the best chapter to do so. Her name is a pun for "libel case."

Another is a reviewer-suggested OC, Ollie, by Gokai_Wonder. In memory of Jason David Frank, Ollie shows up as an owner of a Juice Bar where Steve visits, which is like Ernie's Juice Bar from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series. His role is a minor gag character where he tells and mentions stories and events that he's involved with that has no explanation.

The Grim Goblin, yeah it's kinda obvious that he's a Green Goblin parody. Even invading the Coven Day Parade and his fight with the Golden Guard can be a homage to the first Spider-Man movie. Surprised that there's no Nickelback song to play.

Also lastly to introduce is Cups and Mugs, in reference to the Cuphead franchise, including their grandpa Kettle. Mel is also there as a stand-in to Chalice…

Oh wait, last-lastly, West and Winter Fangs, Nina's siblings who came by and visit. They're pretty much kinda like Wilykit and Wilykat influence from the Thundercats franchise, but as little siblings to Nina.

Though, noticed that there are a lot of characters missing from the parade. When the Grim Goblin attacks and the "Golden Guard" suddenly pops up seems strange. Who were those two? Where were Danny, and Riley during the chaos? What's the deal with Sarah and Beel? Where was Mel during the chaos? Who is the Old Witch?

We've decided to give Kikimora a break, just so to see how things would happen from there if she goes to her family reunion. After all, she is demoted to a scout, and Abel has her job, so he doesn't have a problem doing the job to speak up to presentation.

Also as for the Steve and Sunny meet-cute, it was suggested by AO3 Reader Jack_Skeletron4ever. He wanted to have Sunny end up with someone nice because of everything her inspiration went through. Because of that, we included the Steve and Sunny meet-cute.

Now for the reviews:

Ultimate-drax: Yeah, that was a weird thing they had in the show, give Marco a rivalry with an 8-year-old. This was no better than the Robbie and Dipper rivalry, which make sense at the time since Robbie is more antagonistic towards Dipper. And much appreciated about giving some facts about Scandinavia.

ReviewerDWJ: Well, I have been thinking a lot about that film while also play into the Jackie's a mermaid theory. And besides, The Thirteenth Year is another Disney movie to reference. Wonder how I could reference Phil of the Future or Read It and Weep?

BlueKnight-X2: Yeah, beware of that ice-cream truck…

Crosshot: Thanks, and well, looking into Jackie's mermaid appearance, you can say we probably did some influence from the concept. But more like, some fanart is also good for reference.

Matteso585: 1) Yeah, too easy. 2) Probably close. 3) Who knows. 4) It has been implied that she is.

RJWritingInk: Well, we can't keep any promises so you'll have to wait and see. And you're welcome, Janna. And yeah, this is the first time hearing that.

Franco Almiron: You probably jinxed it…

CodePower2022: Well, Globgor's case is going to be hard…considering where he's crystallized. And yeah, me and Buck have considered the possibility.

Shuffollower: To clarify, she wasn't wearing her coat and probably found another shoe to wear.

Guest: We got a lot of keys rummaging around.

Alamout: Well, the show establishes that there are Titan Corpses as part of land compared to Earth having mostly landmass from the Earth. The Demon Realm may be a large, vast realm and pretty much the Emperor couldn't have spread his reach to the island. Though given how many people in the Boiling Isles are there, which looks small in a perspective, there could be some Isles that are close to the Boiling Isles. Also nice OC submissions, we'll think over them.

The OC contest is still underway, until next time see you then! And remember...beware the rabbit incident...