Amity POV

Amity sat on one of the couches in the living room, nervously bouncing her leg. She looked over to Willow and Gus, who were both being annoyingly quiet. After saying they found Luz, neither had uttered another word on the subject, stating that they had just run the fastest mile in their lives, and weren't going to repeat themselves, as they didn't have the breath to do so.

Which made sense, both were still breathing heavily. However, Amity did not care. If they were right, and they knew where Luz was, Amity wanted to go right now and find her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she could feel herself getting frustrated and more aggravated at each second that she had to wait.

"Guys, just tell me where she is. I can scout out ahead of you, and everyone else can catch up after you explain to them." She demanded, her voice sharp and impatient. She was glaring daggers at the two witches who still refused to give her the information she needed.

"I already told you Amity." Willow said, between deep breaths. It appeared she was still trying to catch her breath, which was saying something, considering that Willow was the most physically fit witch in all the Boiling Isles. "Not until everyone is here. They all have the right to know what's happening and be included. We all want to get Luz back. But it's been 7 years. A few more minutes wont do any harm."

"You don't know that!" Amity shouted at Willow, rising to her feet as she stalked towards the muscular plant witch. "We have no clue what has been happening to her this whole time. Every second that passes could be vital. What if this is our last chance to save her?! Why the fuck aren't you more worried?!" Amity all but snarled at Willow.

However, used to Amity's outbursts, and ever the pacifist, Willow simply gave Amity a sad look, stood, and placed a comforting hand on the panicking girl's shoulder. "Amity. You need to take a deep breath. If you continue like this, you will do something reckless when we go to save Luz. Do you really want to be on a mission to save her, and end up dead before you get to see her again?" Willow added, her voice strong, as if she were giving a warning to a child.

Amity fumed. In her mind, she knew Willow was right. Amity knew this, as she had also come to the same conclusion. But, when it came to Luz, Amity's brilliant mind went out the window. Replaced with emotion, and following what her heart said to do. She would throw all caution and reason to the wind any time her focus was centered on Luz.

She moved her arm, slapping Willow's hand away, and began to pace around the room. She was breathing hard, hands clenching and unclenching into balled fists, as she tried to calm herself. She might have a temper, and might often act with her hands first, but that didn't mean she wanted to hit her friends.

She was about to try and get Gus to talk, turning to the youngest witch present, and taking a breath to start shouting at him. But was stopped when her father placed a hand on her shoulder. His voice stern. "Amity, that's enough. Take a deep breath and use that bright mind of yours to think." He ordered, looking her in the eye, in an effort to try and calm the frantic girl.

Amity glared at her father, fist curling into a tight ball. Arm tensed and ready to strike. As she saw her father tense up, preparing to take the hit, she did as he asked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming her racing heart. Slowly, her logic and reasoning came back to her. She calmed, and finally, opened her eyes, to return her fathers gaze. It wasn't harsh, or angry, like she almost expected. It was sympathetic, and worried. He was concerned about her, and he understood why she was acting the way she had.

She nodded a silent thanks to her father, acknowledging what he was doing. Eternally thankful that he had chosen her side over her mothers. He really had changed.

Amity turned to Gus and Willow. And although she was still frustrated at having to wait, she could see why they wanted to. Both still looked exhausted from their run. Having to tell a long story multiple times wouldn't sound appealing to her when she was exhausted either. She took a few steps towards them, this time more calmly, and pulled Willow into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. I get so frantic about Luz, and I let my emotions get the better of me." She said, feeling her voice tight. She hated how guilty she always felt when she apologized to friends when she did something wrong. But she had learned long ago that the guilt she was feeling was a good thing. It meant she acknowledged what she did wrong, and was trying to do better.

Amity released Willow, and turned to Gus, embracing him too. Once upon a time, she never would have hugged people like this. But the ever affectionate Luz had changed that in Amity. Nowadays, she is no longer scared of physical contact. "To both of you. I shouldn't treat you like you are my enemies. I am more calm now... Can we talk about something else to occupy my mind while we wait for everyone to arrive?"

She asked, before returning to her seat. Amity looked at the three people in the room, and gave an apologetic smile, as everyone's emotions calmed, and they began to talk. Discussing their work, or other projects they were partaking in. It helped her keep her mind of the impending conversation. At least, long enough that she wouldn't freak out again.

That didn't stop her leg from bouncing like a jackrabbit on cocaine.

After some time, the rest of the important individuals arrived at The Owl House. Eda returned from the basement, and had prepared some food. Hunter returned from scouting aboard Flapjack, and took up leaning against the wall. Lilith had arrived, and simply sat on the love seat that she and Eda would always share during these important meetings.

The twins arrived, and chose to sit on the backs of two of the chairs, their feet on the cushions. Ever the rebels, they refused to sit properly nowadays. Not for anyone. It was just yet another way they showed that they refused to follow the rules.

Lastly, King returned from whatever mission he had been on. Out of every member of Luz's found family, he was the one that had changed the least. In fact, he had not changed at all. He looked identical to how he was when Luz had first arrived. Even his personality and attitude had not changed. Sure, his dreams of being a tyrant were gone, but that didn't stop him from commanding others any chance he got. Part of Amity wondered if he did it because others found it amusing, and it was his way of cheering others up.

Amity smiled, as the tiny demon came over to curl up in her lap. She stroked his back, and he sighed happily. The demon had become something like a comfort to her. She often kidnapped the small creature when she needed something to hold. Once upon a time, her need for something soft and cuddly would have been seen as weak. Now, she could care less. Even carrying King around in public as if he were some stuffed animal, or security blanket.

As everyone took their seats, Willow cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "Thank you all for dropping everything you were doing to get here so quickly. I don't want to waste any more time, so I will get right to it." She stated, taking a deep breath, her posture changing as she became serious. "Gus and I believe we have found where Luz is."

A few muffled Gasps echoed through the room, as only those present when the two witches arrived had known the reason for this meeting. Amity nervously bouncing her leg. She hated the constant pauses waiting for everyone to quiet down. When Eda began whispering something to Lilith, Amity shot her a venomous glare. Eda quickly quieted down at the sight, and motioned for Willow to continue.

"As you all know, Willow and I have been spying on the Emperor's coven for some time now." Gus continued, nodding to the room.

"With Hunter's amazing help," Willow added, smiling at the former Golden Guard, who just blushed and looked away "And Gus's illusions, the two of us have been posing as guards, and even coven heads, to gather information."

"Just earlier today, with Hunter's aid, I was able to pose as one of those within Belos's trusted inner circle." Gus stated, his voice trembling. "Those that Belos trusts the most are an evil bunch. And It was awful pretending to be one of them" He added, with a shiver.

"However, it was worth it. When on a break, I listened to some of them chatting. And they let something slip. Apparently, Belos has a secret prison under the Throne Room. One that only he and his two most trusted interrogators are allowed to enter."

"Who they have locked up in there is not known. But due to how the castle is run, it is someone that is believed to have been there for several years now."

"This alone would not be enough to go off of" Willow took over as Gus caught his breath. "However, we learned something else. Every time Belos returns from speaking to this prisoner, he radiates fury like no tomorrow. Everyone in the entire castle is on edge after he returns, because he is known to be so furious due to whatever this prisoner says to him."

"Rumors are that it is someone that Belos despises with every fiber of his being. People often say that they are pretty sure it is someone that Belos lost too. And that the reason for his fury is that they still have the upper hand."

"Now, this alone would normally be enough to go on to try and learn more. But we would not have called you all here unless we deemed it necessary." Willow concluded, then motioned to Hunter, who took a deep breath.

"With Gus's aid, I posed as one of Belos's interrogators. This person I knew well back in my days as the Golden Guard, so with the aid of an illusion and enough time studying them, I felt confident that I could impersonate them for a short while... While I didn't get the chance to see the prisoner in person in the short time I was posing, I did hear Belos speak of them only once."

Hunter took a deep breath, as he looked around the room.

"He referred to them as 'That Infuriating Human' "

~In the castle~

Luz POV

Luz awoke to a fist connecting with her jaw. She let out a groan of pain, looking to who the attacker was, preparing to defend herself, before remembering where she was. Luz had taken things too far when Belos had begun interrogating her again. This had started quite some time ago. After one particularly long bout of Isolation, Luz had gone too far in taunting the madman, and it had resulted in him deciding to no longer give her any rest.

So, now, he seems to be returning daily. At least, that was what Luz assumed. He would torture her until she passed out, and then she would awake again later from Belos resuming his interrogation. She didn't know how long she was out for, but it made sense to be once a day.

She glared at Belos, as he stood in front of her, his eyes an icy glare. "I have no time for this human. Give me the information I need." He demanded.

Huh, guess we aren't wasting time today then Luz thought to herself. She looked at Belos defiantly, and shook her head. Her voice had still not quite recovered, so she spoke as little as possible. Luckily for her, Belos seemed to understand this, so he didn't demand she speak. He took her silent responses, and accepted them.

"Stop denying me the information I need, human!" Belos roared, striking Luz again. "I have the resources to build a new portal. If you ever want to return home to your mother again, then you will need to work with me" He hissed.

Luz only sighed, and let her head hang down, deciding she didn't feel like putting the energy in this time. She was exhausted. Her body was not recovering like it used to. No matter how much she slept, she no longer felt rested any more. She was tired. Physically and Mentally. The human body was not designed to endure this extreme of conditions. And even with magic supporting her needs such as food and water, her body could not endure forever.

It was times like these that wore Luz down the most. It took all her willpower to not just give in to the crazed Emperors demands. It certainly seemed alluring. The prospect of giving him what he wanted. If she did, then Belos would theoretically leave her be. If she had no use to him, no information for him to release, then he would stop his constant torture.

No Luz reminded herself Even if I did, he would still wear me out. He needs me dead before he can complete his plans. If I give him what he wants, this won't end, it would only get worse. I would be showing weakness, and he would take that as a sign that he was winning. Luz told herself. Instead of giving in, she tensed her jaw, and refused to meet Belos's gaze.

"Fine... Eventually, I will break you." He threatened, and Luz heard the familiar sound of Belos casting a spell. Immediately, she realized what he was doing, and panic rose in her chest. Feeling her heart race, and her mind begins to panic. She instantly recognized the loss of feeling that started in her toes, that slowly began to work its way up her feet, then legs.

She looked down, feeling her breath quicken, as she saw what she dreaded. This was his form of interrogation that she hated the most. She could see where her bare feet dangled in the air, that her flesh was turning to stone. Slowly, she felt the weight of the change drag down on her body. The muscles in her arms screaming in agony from being pulled on harder.

However, the pain wasn't what bothered Luz. It was that icy cold feeling that the petrification spell brought. Every time this happened, her body would start to feel like it was breaking apart. She somehow knew this was worse than being paralyzed. Her legs weren't just numb to all feelings. She couldn't just not feel anything. It felt cold. Not the chilly kind, but the deathly kind of cold.

She felt as though somehow, when Belos would start to turn her to stone, he was slowly sending her body to the afterlife, and she could feel it happening. It was a very disconcerting feeling. One that felt wrong in every sense of the word. She felt the panic rise in her chest as the icy cold grip climbed up her legs, past her knees.

She felt tears reach her eyes, and could feel herself trying to call out, and beg Belos to stop. But her voice was either too weak to be heard, or Belos did not care. She watched her own legs turn to stone more and more, as the gray coloration climbed up her thighs, and met her hips.

As her torso slowly started to turn, Luz began to audibly sob, as she felt more and more of her body turn to ice, and slip away. She would rather the pain, when this happened. Pain might not be enjoyable, hell, it made her nauseous. But this feeling? The cold grip of death climbing her body? It was sheer horror. She would take the burning pain of a blade piercing her skin over this every day of her life.

She watched, feeling her breath slow as the petrification spell rose to her ribs, and up her chest. Her breathing stopped. Her heart no longer hammering in fear. A splitting headache shot through Luz's head as her blood flow stopped. She could feel her mind begin to get cloudy due to the lack of oxygen. She felt a tug on the back of her head, as Belos grabbed her hair to make her look up at him.

Once her throat turned to stone, he released his grip on her, simply staring into her eyes. With the amount of weight now pulling on her arms, Luz was certain that if her shoulders were not turned to stone too, that they would have just plain torn off. Instead, all of that dead weight hung from her wrists. Causing the harsh metal manacles to dig into her skin. Her eyes met belos, and she didn't even try to hide her fear. She let out a weak "Please" as her jaw was encased in its deathly prison too.

She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst, expecting this to be the end. She felt all light disappear as her eyes turned to stone, and felt her hair become heavy on her head. Felt the pain in her wrists vanish as her whole body became solid.

Only to gasp in relief as the feeling rapidly left her. She gasped for air, the action painful from how hard she was breathing. Her heart spasmed in her chest as it resumed beating. She panted hard, tears flowing freely now, hanging limply as feeling returned to her whole body.

She looked up to her tormentor with hate in her eyes. "You are a monster" She stated, voice hollow and terrified.

Belos simply smiled at her sadistically. "And you know that all too well. Now, give me what I want, and I won't have to do this again." He demanded, acting as though he won.

Luz opened her mouth to concede, but stopped. Amity...Her mind called out to her. Protect Amity...Luz took a deep breath, stealing her nerves. "Never" She growled out, glaring at Belos.

Belos just growled at her as if he were an animal. With a final swing of his fist, his knuckles connected with the side of Luz's face. Dazing her, and once again, she heard him begin to cast a spell.

Once again, the gold grip of death climbed her body, leaving her sobbing harder and harder, shaking her head. Up her legs, stomach, ribs and shoulders, Up her arms to her hands, up her neck, and creeping up her face.

The last thing she saw was the blue eyes of Belos glaring at her from behind his mask, as her vision went dark, and she was cut off from all 5 of her senses.