Pieces
Luz is sixteen years old now and living in the demon realm. She has the ability to travel back to the human realm, but she decided a long time ago to make the Boiling Isles her home. At first, Camila was sad but she came around to the idea knowing it's where her daughter belongs.
Two years ago, Luz defeated The Collector and saved everyone from their Owl House game. She thinks back to that time and all of the traumatic experiences she endured come flooding back to her at times. Some scars never go away.
Luz sits in her room looking out the window. It's morning and she's thinking, trying to put the pieces of her past together to get the full picture on why she's been feeling a sense of deep sadness for so long.
Luz stands up, feeling frustrated but knowing she needs to get on with her day. So she puts her long thick brown hair in a ponytail with two long strands loose in the front and a red beanie on. Then she grabs her dark green sweatshirt and puts it on with her black leggings and white shoes.
Before Luz leaves her room, she looks in the mirror at her tired eyes. Heavy thoughts and crying have kept her awake most nights. The scar on her eyebrow is still visible though faded, a reminder of when she tried to hold on to both worlds only to be forcibly pushed back to the human realm. That was a dark time, she almost gave up on herself but her friends and girlfriend got her through it.
Luz heads towards the door and stands there staring blankly as she lets her mind take her away from reality, just to escape the pain for a moment. But she quickly snaps out of it, knowing her zoning out can lead to dark places.
"No. No more living in the past. It's time to let go and move forward." Luz said.
Luz opens the door and heads downstairs to meet Eda in the living room. She sits on the couch, trying to stay present but her mind is somewhere else while her body continues going through the motions of another day.
Luz sees Eda with part of her arm missing, taking her back to the Day of Unity. Her feelings of guilt and shame arise as she blames herself for not being able to go back to help her.
Eda notices Luz seems to be spacing out and sits on the couch next to her.
"Good morning, Luz. Is everything okay?" Eda asked.
Hearing those words, Luz pushes her feelings aside and puts on a smile automatically. A trauma response she's relied on most of her life that's kept her safe but alone.
"I'm fine. Just tired is all." Luz replied.
Eda doesn't look convinced. She knows Luz well enough to tell when something's wrong.
"It's just, you've been spending a lot of time alone lately and that's not like you. You know you can tell me anything." Eda said.
Luz wishes she could tell Eda she's been feeling this overwhelming sadness, but she just wants to move on.
"No seriously, I'm okay. I'm actually going to hang out with Amity today so I better get going." Luz replied.
With that, Luz starts heading out so Eda doesn't ask anymore questions.
Just as Luz is about to leave, Eda gives her a hug. It startles her at first, but she hugs her back. Wanting to feel the closeness of someone who cares about her.
"Okay well you go have fun and call me when you're on your way home." Eda said.
Luz looks at Eda with a smile, glad she has someone always looking out for her.
"I will. See you later." Luz replied.
With that, Luz leaves as she waves goodbye on her way out. She walks down a trail to meet up with Amity at the library. She watches as the peaceful scenery of the forest passes her by. It's the exact kind of calming environment she needs to clear her head.
The peaceful moment passes quickly as Luz walks into town. The demon realm has always been a strange and lively place. She's gotten used to it, but with her mind in a fog and her emotions tense under the surface, it's difficult for her to tolerate. So she puts on her headphones and tunes everything out, getting lost in her own world.
Luz arrives at the library and notices Amity's not there yet. So she decides to wait for her, keeping her headphones on as she sits down leaning against a pillar and letting herself relax.
Luz is sleep deprived and her exhaustion finally takes over as she drifts away with the music in the background.
Suddenly, Luz opens her eyes and is shocked to find herself back with The Collector. She knows this is a memory, so she goes through the motions and tells herself it will all be over soon.
Back as her fourteen year old self, she faces The Collector ready to do whatever it takes to stop them and save everyone.
The Collector smiles, overjoyed to have a fragile human to play with.
"Luz the human, I've heard a lot about you. Somehow you've survived in the demon realm against all odds. That's impressive. Let's see how you do against me." The Collector said.
Luz gets ready to fight, looking for a creative solution. Then she hears Amity call out for her, standing far behind The Collector.
"Luz you don't have to do this alone! Please, we'll fight them together!" Amity yelled.
Luz sees Amity, Hunter, Willow, Gus, Eda, and King all looking at her with sadness, desperate to help her, but she's not going to let them. She needs to do this alone and if she dies, at least she'll go out fighting to save the people she loves.
The Collector's waiting for Luz to make the first move. She stands there thinking and realizes, if drawing a glyph on paper changes it into the element and gives it power, what will happen if she draws a glyph on herself?
Suddenly, Luz makes an impulsive decision and grabs a small blade she keeps in her jacket pocket for protection. She holds it over her wrist. Then she looks at The Collector with fear and anger, tears streaming down her face as she mentally prepares herself for the pain.
"Collector, you hurt the people I love and destroyed our home just so you could play your sick game. You think I'm weak because I'm human. Well, I'll show you just how strong I am." Luz said.
Luz screams as she starts carving a light glyph pattern onto her wrist with the blade. Everyone watches in horror, screaming for her to stop but Luz can't hear them. The pain is unbearable and sharp, but she keeps going. The world around her becomes blurry as she starts losing herself, a self-inflicted suffering to save the people she loves.
The Collector laughs, amused by Luz's dedication. They can't help but watch with morbid curiosity to see where this goes.
Once Luz is done carving the light glyph pattern into her wrist, she drops the blade and falls to her knees. A terrified look on her face as she snaps back to reality and realizes what she's done to herself. She looks up at The Collector as the world around her starts to become a hazy blur.
"You made this too easy, human. I didn't even have to do anything, you're destroying yourself all on your own." The Collector said.
Luz looks up at The Collector with anger. Deep down she's afraid, but she knows this is her only chance to defeat them. So she puts her hand up and slams it down on her cut wrist to activate the light glyph.
Luz screams in agony as tears stream down her face. Nothing happens at first, but then something starts to take over as her eyes glow like light glyphs as the pattern on her wrist starts to light up. She floats up in the air with a smirk on her face as she feels intense power pulsing through her.
The Collector watches with amazement, but they're a bit fearful. Luz looks incredibly powerful in this state. So they prepare to fight back, but Luz laughs knowing she's won this battle.
"Goodbye Collector." Luz said.
Suddenly, with a wave of her hand, Luz shoots a beam of light at The Collector. The pattern on her wrist glowing bright. She's no longer human but something else entirely.
The Collector screams in pain as they slowly disappear in Luz's beam of light, fading into tiny stars and blending into the night sky.
When Luz sees The Collector is gone, she starts to come back to herself. Her power fades as she floats back down to the ground. Her eyes change back to normal as she falls, blacking out as she hits the ground. The glyph pattern on her wrist changes into a scar as the light goes out. She did it, she defeated The Collector, but at what cost?
Everyone stares in shock, tears falling as Luz lies there passed out and alone.
Amity runs over to help. She holds Luz in her arms, hoping that by some miracle she survived this.
"Luz, please wake up…I can't lose you. Please…" Amity said.
Suddenly, Luz is back at the library. She still has her headphones on and the music slowly starts to bring her out of her flashback and back to reality.
Once the world around her becomes less blurry, she sees a purple haired witch in front of her. It's Amity, once again saving her from herself and keeping her grounded.
Luz smiles, happy to see her girlfriend and hoping her smile is enough to convince her she's okay.
Luz takes her headphones off and gives Amity a hug.
Amity hugs Luz back, then looks her in the eyes with a serious yet calm demeanor.
"Luz, you were zoning out. Is everything okay?" Amity asked.
Luz looks down at her covered wrist and feels a phantom pain from her past trauma, but she brushes it off. She looks back up at Amity trying her best to hide her inner turmoil with a smile.
"I'm okay. I just didn't sleep well last night so I'm kind of spacey but I'll be fine." Luz replied.
Amity isn't convinced, but she doesn't want to push Luz if she's not ready to talk about it.
"Okay, just promise me you'll tell me if something's wrong. You know I'm always here if you need to talk." Amity said.
"I promise." Luz replied.