The Owl House belongs to Disney.
Chapter originally published on 19/08/2022
Chapter Revision 1.01 (18/09/2022): Small changes to character description; minor fixes.
Chapter Revision 1.02 (30/10/2022): Small changes to character description; minor fixes.
Amity and Hunter appear in a foreign land, where they have to face an unknown enemy.
Pain.
That was all Amity was feeling right now. A normal bodily reaction after falling from the sky, passing through the foliage of a forest and landing hard on the ground. Thanks to her quick thinking, Amity commanded her abomination goo to form a makeshift parachute to slow down her fall. It didn't work as well as she had hoped, but at least she didn't end up crashing to the ground at full speed.
After waiting for the pain to dwindle down to a more bearable level, she slowly rose from the ground using a nearby tree for support. Luckily, it didn't seem Amity broke any bones, but her body was littered with bruises nonetheless.
Amity looked around her, failing to recognize the vegetation. She wasn't an expert on plants like Willow, but she was pretty sure there wasn't any green forest in the Boiling Isles.
"Where am I?", she wondered. Still sore, Amity took some tentative steps from her landing spot to explore the mysterious forest. Noticing traces of abomination clay, she drew a magic circle with her finger to recollect it in her bottle.
As she was walking through the forest, Amity couldn't help but mull over the sequence of events that brought her to her current predicament. She was in the middle of what used to be the Eclipse Lake, defending herself from the Golden Guard and his attempts to steal the portal key. When one of his attacks managed to divide her from King and her palisman and was about to strike again, a blinding light erupted from the ground where they were standing. The next moment, Amity found herself falling from the sky, as if the entire Knee completely disappeared.
A theory was finding its way in Amity's mind, one that could explain what happened to her. She had been transported to a completely different place by some magic phenomenon, most probably something akin to teleportation magic. It couldn't have been the doing of the Golden Guard: why teleport her in the middle of nowhere and not, say, an outpost of the Emperor's Coven? Something else must've been at play.
In her musing, Amity inadvertently clutched the portal key still hanging around her neck. That simple action brought back a memory from her recent fight. After the Golden Guard had unseated her and King from Ghost, she landed nearby his makeshift 'grave'. She hadn't been able to get a better look at it because he attacked her soon after, but she was sure a blue liquid was coming out from the earth he had displaced.
"Could it have been Titan's Blood?" She wondered.
What if the Golden Guard was wrong? Perhaps there was still some blood left, waiting to be recovered from beneath the lake bad? Maybe, during their battle, a stray spell must've hit the blood, causing it to open a dimensional portal. As absurd as it sounded, it was the best explanation Amity could come up with. Perhaps it was because of one of those lightning bolts casted by the Golden Guard at the–
Wait a minute.
Dimensional portal?
Amity stopped abruptly in her path, the realization hitting her like a petrification spell. The blue liquid, the strange light, the fall from the sky, the alien scenery; everything was coming together to form a single conclusion.
"I'm… in the Human Realm."
Amity fell to her knees, her gaze lost in the glimpse of blue sky visible through the trees. A human sky. Human trees.
Amity couldn't believe it. This wasn't what she had in mind when she volunteered to take Luz's place in the quest for Titan's Blood; all Amity wanted was to prove to be worthy of Luz's affection, to be her 'awesome girlfriend', someone she could rely on.
Instead, in an ironic twist of fate, she ended up in a similar situation to Luz's: stranded in a completely different world, seemingly with no means to get back home. As if things weren't bad enough, Luz's potential way home, the portal key, was brought there with her.
"There you are!"
Amity was brought back to her senses by a familiar and annoying voice. She stood up and turned around to face none other than the Golden Guard. He was aiming against her the same palisman he had used in their previous confrontation.
Within Amity's mind, shock and despair were rapidly replaced by anger at the sight of the blonde witch. Back on the Knee, she had tried to be sympathetic to him, as they seemed to share the same need to prove themselves worthy to the people around them. She offered him a hand, and he bit it. Figuratively, of course.
"What did you do!? Where did you send us!?" He yelled.
"What I did? This is all your fault!" She shouted furiously, readying a magic circle with her finger. Not having Ghost at her side, she had to rely on her own magic.
Hunter, the Golden Guard, was slightly taken aback from the young Blight outburst, but didn't falter in his stance. He still had a mission to complete.
"Don't play with me. You must've used a teleportation spell to escape, sending us just the Titan knows where!"
"I don't even know how to do that. That light we sank into could've only been a portal to the Human Realm," Amity insisted, getting more annoyed.
"The Human Realm? Don't be ridiculous," Hunter scoffed. "I've checked everywhere before you arrived there, and found no trace of Titan's Blood. There's no way a portal could've opened."
"You clearly haven't checked enough," Amity quipped.
"Listen, we're most likely stranded somewhere far away from the shores of the Boiling Isles, and I'm the one here with a palisman," Hunter noted, trying to come up with a diplomatic solution. "We don't have to fight. Just give me the key and I'll bring you home with me."
"I told you; we are in the Human Realm. We can't simply go home flying." He was really starting to grate on Amity's nerves. "Besides, why would I even trust you?"
Hunter was about to reply to Amity, when his attention was drawn by something behind her that startled him greatly.
Noticing his sudden shift of demeanor, Amity turned around and gasped at what she saw.
Standing atop a nearby mound was a large feline beast. It looked like a mix between a leopard and a tiger from the human world, but the resemblance stopped there. It was fairly big, overall; tall as a common witch and long about four and a half meters, not counting the tail. This last part of its body was very long, about two meters. Coming from the back of its skull were a pair of whip-like tails; another pair of these whip-tails protruded from its back, around where the shoulder blades were located. Even its whiskers were similarly long and flexible. Its fur was completely white, except for some visible patches of skin that looked cracked. All in all, it looked more like a marble statue than a living being. The only note of color were its eyes: crimson red irises, surrounded by pitch black sclera.
At the sight of prey, the beast started to growl and bare its sharp teeth at the two frightened witches.
"What is that thing?" muttered Hunter, standing as still as possible.
"Something that wants to eat us, apparently," rebutted Amity. As she readjusted her stance to prepare for the inevitable fight, the beast roared loudly and launched itself towards the closest target, namely her.
Amity rolled aside just in time as the beast landed where she was standing before. She morphed what was left of abomination clay in her flask into a shield. Once it readjusted itself, the beast tried to maul Amity with its claws. Not wanting to be reduced to a bloody mush, Amity made her abomination shield float above her head to intercept the blow. The impact was strong enough to push the shield back against Amity herself.
"Crap!" Amity was caught off guard by the shield literally exploding in her face. She didn't have time to complain, though, for the beast was already trying to hit her again. She backed away, summoning more shields as sacrificial victims for the beast's attacks while she put some distance from it.
The beast had no intention to let Amity rest or escape, and continued its assault, forcing her to keep out of reach of its claws or waste more magic to summon more abominations. She knew she wouldn't be able to dodge or parry its attacks forever; soon she'd have to make a choice: fight or flee.
Amity summoned ropes and traps of abomination goo to try to capture the beast or at least hinder its movements. Unfortunately, they proved to be more of a nuisance than an actual menace to it, as it would jump away, rip the abomination ropes apart with its tails and claws, or brute-force its way out of the traps.
This didn't allow Amity to find the chance to escape into the forest and get out of the beast's sight, so she decided to attack it instead. During the short windows of time the beast was ensnared, Amity bombarded it with fireballs. For some reason, she always had a liking for that simple yet effective elemental spell.
Seeing as she seemed to keep at bay the wild animal, Amity tried a more offensive approach. She morphed some purple goo around her upper limbs, creating a pair of extendable abomination arms able to attack with more strength and range. A little trick she was keeping in store for the upcoming Bonesborough Brawl.
Amity ran towards the beast, clenched her abomination hand into a fist and threw a hook, hitting the beast right in the noggin. She kept throwing punches right and left, hitting the beast in its head and torso, but to her surprise, its body felt way sturdier than she thought, almost like punching a boulder bare-handed. In fact, it looked like the giant feline had shrugged off most of her attacks. She started to wonder what kind of monsters inhabited the Human Realm.
Her bewilderment was all that the beast needed to enact its counterattack. One of its dorsal tails shot in Amity's direction, wrapping around her right ankles. Amity's yelped as she got lifted in the air. While upside down, she tried to grab the appendage to free herself, when her arm was wrapped by another tail. Before her other arm was enveloped too, she morphed the purple clay coating it into a scythe. With it, Amity successfully sliced the tail clutched around her ankle.
The beast cried in pain, letting go of Amity altogether. Once on the ground, she made a rush to put some distance between her and her foe. That gave Amity the chance to take some breath, even if for a short time.
That was close. I need to be more careful.
While resting, Amity noticed something weird. So far, the beast had only focused on her, completely forgetting the Golden Guard. Come to think about it, in the chaos of battle, she lost sight of him. Almost like…
Did he just run away?
She quickly scanned the clearing, finding no trace of the blonde witch.
She groaned. "Of course he did…"
Seeing as the beast had focused its efforts on Amity, Hunter took advantage of the situation and fled from the battlefield. He was too tired to face both the young Blight and that wild demon at the same time. The idea was simple: stay out of trouble and rest, let the beast do the dirty work, and then take the key for himself when everything was done.
Hunter was aware that abandoning someone to probable death wasn't exactly something one would consider honorable, but he was convinced it was necessary to achieve his goals. After all, he couldn't afford to come back to his uncle empty handed after disobeying his explicit order to stay in the castle. Better to sacrifice the young Blight than face the wrath of the emperor, he reasoned.
"I can't fail him, not again," he muttered to himself as he watched the battle unfold from behind a tree. He noticed Amity's movements and spells started to get sluggish and weaker, while the beast, despite taking a few hits, was still relentless in its aggression. His mind couldn't help but go back to the words she said to him while he was sulking in his makeshift grave. He tore away his gaze from the battle, unable to keep watching as his inner turmoil increased.
Suddenly, Hunter's palisman, a red cardinal, transformed from its staff form and started chirping frantically at him.
"Not now, bird. Stay calm."
The little red bird refused to back off, though, and started to pull Hunter by his forelock with its beak, towards Amity.
"H-hey! Stop! What are you doing?"
Hunter tried to swat away with his hands the annoying palisman. After gaining its owner's attention, it landed on the ground.
"What's gotten into you, huh?"
It resumed its distressed chirping, concluding with a nudge of its head toward the ongoing fight.
Hunter was still relatively new with this 'palisman talking' thing, but he had an idea of what… it? No, he, was trying to tell him.
"Look, I have to get that key at all costs. I'll just wait for them to kill each other. Then, when everything is done, I'll go retrieve the key. Easy peasy."
The palisman chirped again, sounding quite angry.
The more his palisman talked to him, the more Hunter understood it. While he listened to his feathery companion, his eyes kept switching between it and the battle. Hunter's expression became more and more troubled, his resolve to follow the plan was starting to crumble.
"Y-You don't understand, I can't fail him again," Hunter said meekly, before lowering his head in dread. "I don't want to be replaced."
Hunter was brought back to reality when he heard Amity scream in pain and slump against a tree.
He looked at his palisman, a pleading expression on his face, and then back at Amity.
He had to take a decision quickly.
Amity was lying against a tree, moaning in pain for the impact that occurred moments ago. Things weren't going as well as she hoped. The beast didn't take too well the removal of one of its tails, making it even more aggressive and relentless in its offensive.
To make it worse, Amity was starting to run low on magic. Not having Ghost at her disposal, she had to make grand use of her own magic, which had partially been consumed before during her battle at the Knee.
That, united with physical traumas from the fall and an increasing fatigue, was what caused a slip in her movements. A miscalculation the beast exploited immediately by lashing its main tail at Amity, flinging her against a tree.
Noticing her adversary closing in, she clenched her teeth and fought against the pain to stand up as fast as she could. Not that she had an alternative, since she had been left alone against this wild animal by a certain blonde witch. She hadn't been too surprised given the character, but thinking about it still irked Amity to no end.
That jerk! When this is over, I'm going to strangle him.
Amity was readying herself to face the next attack, when the beast did something that shocked her. Electric charges started to flow along the length of the remaining whip-tails and were converging on their tips.
Amity couldn't believe her eyes. The wild beast before her was summoning lightning bolts from its tails. Either animals from the Human Realm can manipulate electricity… or that Golden Brat was right, and they'd been sent somewhere away from the Boiling Isles but still in the Demon Realm.
A creeping sense of dread was finding its way through Amity, a feeling she immediately pushed down from whence it came. She couldn't afford to fall in despair right now. She still had the key with her, she had to bring it back to Miss Eda.
Luz's chances to go back home depended on it, or rather, on its content.
Amity readjusted her stance with newfound vigor, glaring at the white beast that was about to launch its spell. Mustering her magic, she summoned a new abomination shield.
"Bring it on, you big ugly cat!"
The creature roared loudly and launched its spell at Amity. The power accumulated in the tails erupted in a volley of lightning bolts homing towards the witch.
As Amity was about to react, she heard a warping sound to her side and felt an arm wrapping around her waist. Before she had time to comprehend what was happening, she felt her body dematerialize and move very quickly.
When she returned solid again, she watched in awe as the lightning bolts struck the tree she was leaning against just moments ago. Subjected to the power of the spell, the poor plant exploded in a shower of smoking and charred fragments.
"Still convinced we are in the Human Realm, Blight?"
Amity gasped in surprise at the sound of that voice and instantly pulled away from her 'savior'.
"You!" She shouted angrily at the Golden Guard.
"What? Not even a 'thank you' for saving you?" said Hunter, feigning offense.
"Thank you?" She repeated indignantly. "You abandoned me! You left the moment that thing arrived!"
"I thought you despised me. Don't tell me you missed me?"
"Why, you– "
"You can be mad at me later, I think we have a wild demon to defeat first," he interrupted her, nudging his head to the demon beast that was preparing another spell. It didn't seem to appreciate that someone had stolen an easy kill from it.
"We? I don't need your help," Amity grumbled, still mad at him. "I was doing just fine without you."
"Uh-huh, sure you were," he muttered under his breath. Amity was ready to lash out at him when she had to get out of the way of another volley of lightning bolts fired at her position.
Hunter too dove to the side, barely avoiding the blast that ensued. "Listen, Amity, was it? I get you don't trust me; I understand that," he conceded, a serious look on his face. "But right now, we need to collaborate if you want to survive."
"Why do you care about me now?" Amity rebutted, skeptical of his apparent change of heart. "You only want the key, don't you?"
"I have to get that key!" exclaimed Hunter while launching an energy blast at the beast. "But me helping you? You can thank him for that," he specified, pointing at his palisman.
"Your… palisman?" Amity was puzzled by this revelation. "What does– "
"You want to beat this wild demon or what!?" He blurted out as he dodged the beast's claws.
Amity didn't like this. She knew he wasn't to be trusted, he already demonstrated that many times. And yet, and she hated to admit it, she could use some help, even if it came from him.
I'll probably regret this. Amity drew a large magic circle, from which came a big purple fireball that intercepted the beast before it tore Hunter's head off.
While the beast demon was writhing in pain after receiving the fireball to the face, Amity cautiously approached Hunter.
"So, you made up your mind?" Hunter huffed, raising his palisman at the beast.
Amity eyed him sharply, still not fully convinced about his offer. "Just so you know, this doesn't change anything between us, Golden Guard" she stated bitterly, another fireball ready in her hand.
Hunter simply nodded, not having really anything to add or to argue with it. "You got any plans?"
"That… wild demon apparently uses those tails to shoot lightning bolts. If you distract it, I can get close enough to cut them with my abominations."
"Got it." He was about to go, when he slightly turned his head to look at Amity.
"By the way, the name's Hunter," he revealed, before running into battle.
Hunter started by teleporting beside the demon, firing a magic blast point-blank on its head. The beast cried in pain and rage and retaliated immediately. It was too slow, though, as Hunter warped away and launched another energy blast at it.
Amity didn't waste time and recreated her abomination arms. She circled around the beast, waiting for an opening.
Now!
Amity rushed toward the demon and, just like before, morphed her abomination hands into blades. With one arm she managed to cut off the remaining dorsal tail, while with the other she carved a slash in its side.
The demon howled in rage and began to furiously swipe its front legs in every direction, hoping to claw those annoying witches. Amity backed away immediately after delivering her blows, while Hunter kept teleporting away and harassing the demon from a safe distance.
This hit-and-run tactic proved to work, allowing Amity and Hunter to land more hits to their foe. Unfortunately for the two witches, despite taking more damage, the wild demon didn't seem too keen on surrendering.
While observing it for a chance to strike, Amity had noticed something strange about this demon beast. Its wounds weren't bleeding; instead, they were exhaling small grayish particles, similar to ash. Amity had even spotted the remains of one the tails she'd cut off earlier slowly evaporating into ash-like dust.
After minutes of fighting, the battle was now reduced to a standstill, with Hunter and Amity visibly tired. They had to ditch their coats they were donning before, both because they hindered their movements and were reduced to tatters. Hunter was leaning on his palisman, breathing laboriously from fatigue. Amity too was physically and magically exhausted. Both witches were battered and bruised; the beast wasn't in better condition, as it sported numerous gashes all over its body and was left with no whip-tails. Entire chunks of the demon's body were missing here and there, making it look even more like a living marble sculpture, albeit damaged.
"This thing just doesn't want to die," said Hunter between breaths.
Amity didn't admit it vocally, but she agreed to him. That beast had taken a beating, and yet it refused to surrender like any other being with a sense of self-preservation would do. They were both exhausted; they needed to finish this quickly or to run away.
"It doesn't look like it can chase us now," he noted. "This is our chance to escape."
Amity nodded. "Yes, I'll–wait, what's it doing?"
Indeed, the demon beast was acting weirdly. It crouched to the ground like it was ready to jump, with its remaining tail raised and tense. Its whiskers started to vibrate furiously, along with the stumps of its lesser tails. However, the thing that really put Amity on edge was its glowing eyes; they never behaved like that, not even during spellcasting.
Amity's worries proved to not be unjustified; just by giving them a glance, she felt her mind becoming numb. Realizing what was going on, she looked away before her sense became too hazy. Somehow, the best was trying to hypnotize them through eye contact.
"Don't look it in the eyes!" She shouted to Hunter, but he seemed irresponsive. "Golden Guard?" She called again, still with no response. Hunter seemed in a trance: his mouth slightly open, his body slightly shacking, his eyes fixed on the demon's.
Amity had to do something now, least she had to face two opponents at once. Unfortunately, before she had even the chance to help Hunter brake eye contact, the demon beast roared loudly as its eyes emitted a brief yet intense flash of light.
At first, it seemed nothing had happened, but then Amity heard a blood-curdling scream coming from Hunter. He had let go of his palisman to grab his head with both hands. Amity was horrified by the look on his face, one of absolute terror and anguish, as if his head was burning from the inside out. Hunter's suffering didn't last long, for he collapsed to the ground shortly thereafter.
"Golden Guard!" Amity screamed as she rushed to him. Once there, she crouched beside him to check his conditions. He seemed unconscious, the only signs of life were the occasional twitching of his limbs and eyelids. Hunter's palisman transformed into his bird form and hopped on Amity's shoulder to look at his owner, a worried expression on his face.
Amity didn't know what to do. She was tired and hurt, and her only ally had been knocked out. That feeling of dread she had successfully subdued before, now was coming back in full force and with interests. Alerted by the red cardinal palisman's worried screeching, Amity raised her head and saw the demon beast slowly approaching the two.
I have to run.
She noticed how the demon was limping a little, probably due to all the damage it had received. This was her chance to escape. Before, when the demon still had its tails, it could cast powerful spells. Even if she managed to fly away, it would've easily shot her down in midair, assuming it wouldn't catch her before lifting off. Escaping on foot has always been out the question. This forest was dense, but not that dense, and the terrain was mostly flat, so it didn't seem there were many places to hide. Even a demon of its size wouldn't have many difficulties to chase a slower prey like a witch on foot.
Amity stood up but didn't make another move, giving instead a long glance at Hunter. She had conflicting feelings on what to do with him. She knew he was bad news, and that if he was in her shoes, he'd abandon her without batting an eye. In retrospect, letting the demon kill her so he could easily retrieve the key must've been his original plan.
And yet, he came back to help her, albeit with some insistence from his palisman, apparently. Said palisman was now settled on Hunter's chest, looking expectantly at her.
Ah, screw it.
"Alright, little bird. Your owner is coming with me, even if he's a jerk," said Amity, making the red cardinal chirp with joy. If she wanted this to work, she had to be quick.
"When I give the signal, transform and take us away from here," she whispered to the palisman. "Can you do this for me?"
He tweeted in affirmation. Amity smiled at the diminutive being for being so collaborative despite non being his actual owner.
The demon growled, as if it understood something was up with Amity and the little magical bird. After a short dash, it leaped in the air, aiming to deliver the final strike.
As Amity was gathering her last magic reserves to enact her plan, something unexpected happened. A gigantic fireball slammed into the demon mid-air. The shockwave that ensued rattled the surrounding trees and hurled Amity, Hunter, his palisman and the burning remains of the demon some meters away from the blast.
After landing on the ground, the last thing Amity saw before blacking out was a mysterious figure kneeling in the distance, their outstretched arm aimed at the demon.
Back at the Owl House, Luz Noceda, aspiring human witch and girlfriend of Amity Blight, finally recovered from her case of common mold. Remembering the entry of Philip's Diary about Fool's Blood, and the danger it posed to Eda, King and Amity, she ran out of her room, only to collide with Willow and Gus, who were bringing her a bowl of hot soup. Before it crashed on the floor, Hooty, the house demon… owl tube… thing, intercepted the bowl with his head, letting the hot soup drip on his face.
The three of them ran down into the living room, where waiting for them was a bizarre scene.
"Ow, ow, ow! Just get an elixir!"
Eda, who was still in harpy mode, was stuck in the doorway, her body too big to pass through. King was already inside, pulling Eda by one of the tufts of hair coming out from her ears, while Owlbert and Ghost were minding their business; the latter looked rather downcast.
"I got into harpy mode, now I can't get out," she said to the three speechless teens.
"She also ate, like, nine voles on the way home," added King.
"Hey, I had to keep up my end of the bargain."
With one last pull, Eda came through the door, crushing on the floor together with King.
After Eda pulled herself from the ground, she was immediately ensnared in a hug by Luz.
"You guys are back!" She exclaimed in joy.
"Hey kiddo…" Eda replied weakly, not sure how to break the news to her.
Luz immediately perceived something was wrong and pulled away from Eda. When she looked at her, Luz saw mortification dominating the Owl Lady's features. She then observed King, who was shuffling his feet and looking at the floor uncomfortably.
"Eda? What's wrong?"
Eda wasn't able to look at Luz in the eyes. "Luz, I…"
Luz was becoming increasingly worried by Eda's pained features, even more when she noticed a certain cotton-haired witch was missing.
"Where's Amity?"
Eda winced at that question, like she was fearing it would come to this. That put Luz even more on edge.
"Eda? King? Where is she?"
He shrunk away at her inquiry.
"…she disappeared."
Luz turned sharply to the source of those words, namely Eda. A deafening silence dropped in the house.
"W-what did you say? What do you mean she's disappeared!?" Luz cried in dismay.
"We weren't the only one to go to the Knee, Luz" said King, drawing attention from the Latina. "The Emperor's Scouts were already in the caves. The Golden Guard was there too," he said, fidgeting nervously with his paws.
"He was there!?" Luz exclaimed.
"I stayed behind to deal with the scouts while Amity and King chased him to the lake, but…" Eda trailed off.
"But?"
"The lake was completely dried up," King continued. "We got into a fight with the Golden Guard for the portal key. From what he told us, Belos is building a portal to the Human Realm, and to make it work he needs Titan's Blood to make a new key."
"Basically, he wants to make a copy of our key," Eda added.
Gus turned to Willow, remembering something. "Didn't Amity have a key with her this morning?" She simply nodded in confirmation.
"Me and Amity got separated, and… I dunno exactly what happened, there was this strange liquid we didn't notice at first, then a big light came from the ground where Amity and the Golden Guard were standing, and…" King explained. "They just vanished."
Luz was speechless. She stood there, a vacant expression on her face and tears that were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.
"Luz?" Eda called her, trying to incite a response from her protégé. "I think Amity was transported to– "
"The Human Realm," Luz muttered. "She's in the Human Realm."
"…yes. We believe so."
"No…" Luz muttered, clasping her head in her hands. "No no no no NO!" She shouted, her voice sounding increasingly desperate.
"Luz…" Eda tried to get Luz's attention.
"This is bad! Like, really bad!"
"Luz." Eda tried again.
"She's alone on Earth, with no way home!"
"Luz." Eda insisted, with no results.
"¡Si hubiera ido a la Rodilla, ahora Amity ya no estaría aquí! ¡Todo es mi culpa!" She continued, switching to Spanish.
"Luz!" Eda shouted.
Eventually, Luz stopped her ramblings. She dropped on her knees, arms limp at her sides and tears now clearly running down her cheeks.
"This is all my fault," she whimpered. "I should've come with you. Now Amity would still…" She never finished the sentence.
Eda sighed and crouched in front of Luz. She looked her in the eyes and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her some comfort.
"Luz, you couldn't have been there. You were sick, remember?" She reasoned. "Besides, if there's someone at fault, it's me. I was the adult there, it was my responsibility to protect her," she admitted, putting the blame on herself. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her head in shame.
Luz stayed silent. Meanwhile, King, Gus and Willow had approached the two. It was disheartening to see the normally jovial and bubbly human girl being so heartbroken.
Eventually, Luz wiped away the tears with her arm and forced a smile at her mentor.
"H-hey, who said I'm mad at you?" Luz said.
"Huh?"
"You don't have to be sorry, Eda. I know you did all you could."
Eda didn't seem fully convinced by the genuineness of her words, but she preferred to let it go.
"Is it true?" Willow timidly intervened "Amity really went to the Human Realm?"
"I'm afraid so, Tweedledum." Eda confirmed.
"Luz," called King, putting a paw on her arm. "We can still bring her back."
"How so? We still don't know how to build a portal, and we don't have Titan's Blood," she pointed out, sounding discouraged. Then, she recalled a particular passage of King's story. The looks on King and Eda's faces were a confirmation of Luz's suspicions. "Unless…"
King and Eda exchanged a knowing look and faced once again Luz. "That Golden Brat was wrong on one thing. There was some Titan's Blood left in the lake," Eda declared as she plunged a hand deep into her hair.
After a few seconds of rummaging, she took out a vial full of a mysterious blue fluid. The three teens widened their eyes.
"Is that?" Gus wondered.
"Yup. Titan's Blood," Eda confirmed. "Fortunately, the portal didn't consume all the blood that had come out of the ground, so we were able to scoop up what was left of it."
"But how is that possible? Wasn't the lake empty?" Luz asked incredulously.
"It was, at first," King interjected. "Maybe it was just below the surface? We found it around the Golden Guard's grave."
Luz was baffled by this. "Wait, what?"
"We found him digging a grave for himself and be all doom and gloom about how the emperor was going to get rid of him, or something," King commented offhandedly. "Kinda sad, to be honest."
That guy really needs help, Luz thought.
"Everything is going to be alright," Eda tried to reassure Luz. "Nothing is lost yet. We're gonna build a portal to your home and bring Amity back."
"But… Amity is alone on Earth. She doesn't know how things work there. What if she gets in trouble? What if Hunter finds her?"
"Boots is a smart witch, Luz. I'm sure she'll figure things out. I mean, you managed to not get eaten alive so far in the Demon Realm. The human world is going to be a piece o' cake for her," Eda reassured. "Besides, from what King told me, it's the Golden Guard that shouldn't be found by Amity, if you catch my drift," she joked, a cheeky smile on her face.
Eda's attempt to raise Luz's spirits seemed to work, since she let out a small chuckle. "Come on, Luz. You have an awesome girlfriend to bring back home," Eda said, getting up and offering a hand to Luz.
Luz nodded, took Eda's hand and rose from the floor, a determined expression on her face. "You're right, Eda. There's no point in crying."
"Now that's the Luz I know!", King cheered.
"We're here for you, Luz", Willow said.
"Yeah, you can count on us," Gus assured.
Despite her earlier claim, Luz was almost moved to tears, this time by the support she was receiving from her friends.
"Guys, thank you."
"Who wants some soup to celebrate? Hoot!" The moment was spoiled by the sudden arrival of Hooty, the bowl from before still stuck on his head. "No seriously, who wants some? My face burns."
As Hooty was helped by the others to remove the bowl and the hot soup from his face, Luz turned her gaze to the dark sky through the open door, a faraway look on her face. She felt something rub against her calves: it was Ghost, Amity's cat palisman. It was looking keenly at her with its blue eyes.
"Don't worry, Ghost. I'll bring your owner back," Luz said, crouching down to give a small pat to the palisman.
Hang in there, Amity.
When Amity regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was how comfortable the ground she was supposed to be lying on felt.
Too comfortable.
After all, the last thing she remembered was her being hurled to the ground by an explosion that apparently killed the wild demon that was trying to kill her.
The demon!
Amity woke up with a start and immediately regretted it, hissing for a sharp pain coming from her abdomen. Reaching the aching spot with her hand, she sensed something under her sweater. Pulling it up, she saw bandages wrapped around her abdomen.
Now that she was fully awake, Amity realized that she was sitting on a bed, her legs still covered by a blanket. The room she was in was fairly small, occupied only by the bed she was currently in, a drawer next to it, a chair and a small wardrobe. On the wall on her right, next to the wardrobe, was a door, while on the wall to her left was a small window. Bright light filtered through it, suggesting it was late morning, perhaps already noon.
"How much did I sleep?" She wondered.
Looking again at the chair, Amity noticed her coat folded on its seat and her boots placed underneath it. There were even her earmuffs, placed on top of the coat. And hanging from the backrest was… the portal key!
Amity cautiously got out of the bed, making sure to not irritate her injury, and walked to the chair. Once there, she took the key in her hands and inspected it in search for any damage. Fortunately, it looked intact.
"Thank the Titan it's not broken," Amity sighed with relief. She had almost forgot about the key while trying to not get killed by the demon. Clearly, their mysterious savior must have retrieved all their belongings when they brought them there. While Amity was intent in putting the key back around her neck and under her sweater, the door quietly opened.
"Ah, you're finally awake."
Startled by the sudden new presence in the room, Amity turned around, magic circle already drawn and spell ready to be casted.
"Whoa! Easy there," the newcomer said, hands raised as a sign of non-aggression.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Amity demanded. She gave a look at the person standing in the doorway. He was a young man of medium height, probably in his late 20s. He had fair skin, dark brown, shoulder-level unkempt hair covering his ears. A pair of grey horns protruded from the back of his head, similar in shape of King's; from them, Amity deduced he must've been a demon, or at least a witch of demonic descent. He had tired amber eyes, complemented by a short stubble beard and a little scar on his left temple.
He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, brown pants held by a black belt and dark brown boots. Around his waist was another belt, this one holding a scabbard, in which was sheathed a sword. His hands and part of his forearms were covered by dark brown leather gauntlets.
"Right now, you are in my bedroom," he responded. "And before you ask, yes, I brought you here. You were hurt and unconscious, I had to make sure you three were safe." He spoke with an unfamiliar accent, Amity noticed. "I mean no harm; you don't need to worry."
Amity scanned him intently for any trace of deception. She knew she shouldn't trust a stranger she just met, but, apparently, he was the one that had saved them from that wild demon. If he'd wanted to hurt her or just rob her, he could've done it easily while she was passed out in the forest. Amity's pondering was interrupted by a twinge from her abdomen. She moaned in pain and clung to the chair for support, prompting the stranger to approach her, a worried expression on his face.
"Easy there, girl." He guided her back to the bed, inviting her to sit down. Amity, for her part, didn't put up any resistance, choosing to trust him. For now.
"It's just a bad bruise, nothing a healing potion can't cure, but you should take it easy for a while," he advised, pointing to Amity's belly.
"I'll keep that in mind," said Amity, her hand laid on her sore spot. "You're the one in the forest that destroyed that wild demon, aren't you?"
"Yes, that was me," he nodded. "By the way, sorry for almost blowing you up," he scratched the back of his head, a bashful look on his face. "I, um, had to make sure to kill that thing and I might have overdone it a little."
"It's… okay? I mean, I'm still alive, that's what matters, I guess."
He nodded, glad that she seemed to not hold any grudges. His eyes widened a little as if remembering something. "Oh, right. I'm William," he said, extending his hand at Amity.
She looked his hand for a moment. "Amity Blight," she introduced herself with a small smile, accepting his handshake. "Thanks for your help, Mr. William."
"Please, no need for formalities. I can't possibly be that much older than you," he joked. He went to get Amity's clothes and put them on the bed next to her, so he could sit on the chair across from her. Once seated, he crossed his arms and assumed a more serious expression. "Now, can you tell me what are two witches doing so far away from The Hand?"
The Hand? Amity was puzzled by William's question. She couldn't still be on the Boiling Isles, that's for sure. An island nearby one of the Titan's hands, perhaps? Although contacts weren't so frequent, there were many communities of witches and demons living in the lands beyond the Boiling Sea.
Wait. Two witches?
"Golden Guard!" she remembered. "Where is he?"
"Golden Guard?" He raised an eyebrow at what he probably thought was a nickname. "You mean Blondie? He's still sleeping in the other room under the watch of that annoying red bird," he replied, pointing at the door with his thumb. "That ball of feathers refused to leave his side, no matter how many times I shooed it away. Stupid bird." He grumbled.
"How are they?"
"Little Red is okay. Blondie, on the other hand, will need more rest. Poor guy took a psychic blast from a possessed Psyger. Nasty affair."
"A Psyger? Is it that wild demon that attacked us?"
"Yes, if you lock eyes with them, they can dive into your mind and make you relive your worst nightmares and fears, all while frying your brain," he explained grimly, "your friend is lucky to be still alive."
After William's explanation, Amity somehow managed to turn even paler than she already was. Thinking about how she almost got hit by such a spell made her stomach twist. "He's not my friend," she specified, her voice slightly trembling.
"Really? Wasn't he fighting alongside you?"
"Yes, but… it's complicated, okay? It's not like I wanted this," she blurted out. "Besides, it's his fault we've been transported here, wherever 'here' is."
"You talk like you just appeared out of thin air," he commented with a skeptical tone in his voice.
"But that's what happened," she retorted. "Somehow, he caused some Titan's Blood to open a portal, and we fell into it."
William's eyes widened at the mention of the magic liquid. "Wait a second. Titan's Blood?"
"Yes, you know, that blue liquid that–"
"That's impossible," he shook his head, interrupting her. "The last sighting of Titan's Blood dates back centuries. There's no way you just stumbled upon a puddle of blue blood."
"But it's the truth! There's this place in the Knee where stories say you can find it easily. That's where we went to search for it."
William looked skeptically at Amity, clearly finding hard to believe her words. Suddenly, he assumed a pensive look, as if something clicked in his mind. A change in demeanor that didn't go unnoticed by Amity.
"What was that place you said you went to?" He asked hesitantly.
"The Knee, why?"
"This 'Knee', by any chance, belongs to the corpse of a dead titan, am I right?"
"Yes."
"And this dead titan is resting in the middle of a shallow sea of seething water, correct?"
"Yes! Its corpse forms an archipelago in the middle of the Boiling Sea, hence the name Boiling Isles. That's where we came from," Amity explained with newfound hope in her voice. Maybe William can help them find a way home. "You know about the Boiling Isles?"
"Only small bits of trivia, but I heard about them" he specified. William brought once again his hand under his chin, deep in thought. Amity waited expectantly for him to speak again.
"Could it be?" He murmured under his breath, before addressing Amity again. "Say, Amity, can you tell me more about your travel to this 'Knee'?"
Amity nodded and started relating a brief summary of her expedition to the Knee. She told him how she was looking for Titan's Blood along with two other people, Eda and King, to help a human girl named Luz build a portal to her home dimension. She recalled how they clashed with troops of a certain 'Emperor's Coven', along with the Golden Guard, the blonde witch resting in the other room. Amity told him she fought the Golden Guard over the key he recovered in the forest, which, unbeknownst to her, apparently contained the aforementioned magical fluid. She concluded by telling him how in the chaos of battle, some blood on the soil had been activated, opening a portal that led the three into the forest where William found them.
Despite showing a mostly neutral look in his face, William listened intently on her story. He never took his gaze away from Amity, even after she was done with her story. His prolonged silence was starting to make Amity's uncomfortable.
"I know it may sound outlandish to you, but–"
"It kinda does." He replied curtly.
She sighed, lowering his head in dejection. "You don't believe me, do you?"
"Who said anything about it?"
Amity raised her head at him. "Huh?"
He nodded in the direction of the door. "That red bird, it's a palisman, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It looks very old. It's unlikely it has survived all this time here without being corrupted."
"Corrupted?"
"That key you mentioned before, you said it contains Titan's Blood," he ignored her, holding out a hand at Amity. "Can I give it a look?"
At that request, she slightly recoiled back, instinctively placing a hand on her chest, where the key was under her sweater.
William sighed and rose from the chair, only to kneel in front of Amity. "Kid, I want to believe you, but I need to see that key," he pleaded, looking at her in the eyes. "I won't take it away from you, promise," he said, raising his left hand to her.
She moved her eyes back and forth between his face and his hand, unsure of what to do. After some seconds, she fumbled in her sweater, taking out the key. She held the key for a moment, giving it one last look, before timidly placing it on William's hand.
Once in his possession, he brought the key closer to his face to give it a better look. He turned the key around in his hand, then shook it lightly to observe the liquid moving inside the eye-shaped button. He took the gauntlet off his other hand, giving Amity the chance to see it. William's right hand and wrist were completely covered in bandages, not letting even an inch of skin exposed.
"What happened to your hand?" She asked.
"Just an old accident," he replied shortly, without going into further detail.
He run his bandaged thumb on the button, letting it feel its smooth surface. After he contemplated the key a little more, his eyed widened, muttering something in a language Amity didn't understand.
"What did you say?" Asked Amity, regaining her attention.
"You… You are from the Demon Realm," he whispered, astonished.
"Uhm, yes? Of course I am. I'm a witch," said Amity, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, you are too, for that matter. Aren't you a demon?"
Amity was surprised to see him briefly flinch at that rhetorical question, like she offended him. "Uhm, did I say something wrong?"
"I'm not a demon," he replied sharply, "and I suggest you don't use that term so lightly. People here could get the wrong idea."
"Why? What's wrong with being a demon?" Amity was perplexed by William's warning. On the Boiling Isles, demons came in all forms and shapes and lived alongside witches without any fuss. Perhaps things were different there? The only answer Amity received from William was a dumbstruck expression. "What? Did I say something funny?"
"By the Titans, you really aren't from around here."
"I told you, I come from the Boiling Isles," Amity was growing impatient. "Can't you just tell me where we are? And if you're not a demon, then what are you?"
"You want answers? You'll have them," William narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not a demon, nor a witch. I'm a titanid, a son of the Titans," he declared, raising his voice.
"And as for where we are… well, I'm afraid you're a very long way from home." he rose from his kneeling position and spread his arms.
"Welcome to the Titan Realm!"
Author's Notes
So, after years of daydreaming about my favorite movies/shows/games/etc., I finally found the will (and the courage, and the time, etc.) to actually write a story.
It's most likely going be garbage, but I guess it could be considered a writing exercise in general, and an exercise in the use of a foreign language, since I'm not a native English speaker.
Anyway, don't expect regular or quick updates. I'll probably edit the chapters later if I have to correct mistakes, change or improve things. I hope I won't have to do it too often.
Until next time.
