I do not own Soul Eater or Owl House.

If I did, Patty wouldn't be quite so much of a moron.

Spirit sighed as he walked down the halls of the airport, already dreading the long drive home; Death City was old in its construction, and despite its position in the middle of Nevada's endless stretches of desert, Lord Death had been very strict about not building anything outside of its walls.

This meant that Death City had no airport to speak of.

Of course, the Death Scythe was fully aware of why this was the case; as the Grim Reaper's personal Weapon, Spirit knew that he probably knew things that were secret even from his fellow Death Scythes.

But just because he KNEW why the Grim Reaper built Death City the way he had, it didn't mean Spirit had to like it.

"From one stupid, uncomfortable vehicle to the other," he grumbled, pulling the suitcase behind him; he could already feel the harsh desert heat, and he wasn't even outside yet. His legs ached from hours stuck sitting and his black suit was too stiff and his tie felt too tight in a way they only got after weeks of not wearing them at all, aside from the few hours he'd spent in Luz's school.

… and now he was thinking about his daughter again.

The discomfort he felt physically was nothing compared to how he felt having to drive away from her, the misery of leaving her to face the next three months all on her own. He would have loved to just usher her into the car right then and there, to run into the house, grab as much of her stuff as he could carry and then tear away to the airport without a second thought.

He knew she'd love Death City. It was as an anachronism in motion, the styles and developments hundreds of years blending together in a way that wasn't so much a cocktail as it was a melting pot of volatile chemicals, buildings of brick squeezed together on cobblestone streets, making the most of its limited space by literally building more buildings on top of each other, using the roofs of what was already there as a foundation for something new. Some legitimate tourist attractions hadn't seen the sun in decades, but still brought in visitors, leading them into the hundreds of tunnels that ran beneath the cobbles.

… but it wasn't his place to take her there.

He knew that.

He couldn't just take their daughter away. Not from Camila.

Luz was probably the only reason the doctor still got up in the morning.

"Why so sullen, Death Scythe?"

The question stopped him in his tracks, forcing him to finally raise his eyes from his shoes.

Before him stood a trio of familiar figures; standing in front with each bang carefully cut and his black suit perfectly smoothed, the boy was possibly one of the most suave and well-dressed people Spirit had ever met. His golden eyes shone in the sunlight, his skin alabaster white and matching both the white stripes in his hair and his white ascot, which was held in place under his jacket by a silver pin that matched the Reaper's mask.

His father's mask.

On either side of the boy stood a woman, both of them much taller than he was. Each of them were clad in a white-grey leather jacket, with a stitched up Stetson mounted firmly on their heads; the taller of the two had long, smooth hair that reached well past her shoulder, dirty blond in colour, nearly bordering on brown. Her cerulean eyes were narrow and cold, her hands stuffed firmly into the pockets of her long jeans. The shorter one, however, was far more bright, her smile brilliant, her short, wild mess of hair a bright gold, hands firmly on her hips as she stared at him with wide, appraising eyes.

"You look like someone just up and stole your dog," she stated, "You doin' okay?"

"Patty," the taller one started, scolding.

"What? That's exactly what he looks like, Liz!"

"Liz, Patty, please," the boy sighed, not bothering to turn around, "Settle down. He just got off the plane."

Despite himself, Spirit quickly found himself smiling, nodding at each of them, "Hey, Kid. Liz, Patty. What're you all doing here?"

"Today's the day you were due to come back from your vacation," Death the Kid intoned, "I thought we would save you the trouble of driving back to Death City."

The Death Scythe raised an eyebrow, "You realize I have my own car, right?"

"Already dealt with," Liz piped up, filing down a nail with a careful, practiced eye.

"We took it back to your house over a week ago!" Patty exclaimed, throwing her arms up over her head, "That was a long drive."

His eyes narrowed slightly, his voice flat, "Tell me you at least had an adult with you."

"I got my full licence earlier this year," Liz crossed her arms, "I don't need someone to accompany me while driving anymore."

"Aren't you a little young?" the Death Scythe asked.

"I'm seventeen."

"Trust me, Spirit," Kid smiled, reaching up and placing a hand on Liz's shoulder, "They've been keeping their noses out of trouble. They haven't so much as stuck a toe out of line."

"Eeeeexcept for that one time, with that the balloon-"

"That was free balloon day, Patty," Liz interrupted, "That doesn't count."

"Yeah, but I don't wanna lie, so…"

Spirit raised an eyebrow at the young Reaper; his brow twitched, face twisting in a grimace as his eyes closed, "… like I said. Not so much as a toe out of line. Isn't that right, girls?"

"Yeah, yeah," Liz sighed, returning her attention to her nails, "Sticking to the straight and narrow."

"Perfectly well behaved!" Patty agreed, "I haven't even threatened anyone at gunpoint this month!"

Spirit didn't miss a beat, "Knifepoint?"

"Nope!"

"Fistpoint?"

"Nada!"

"No threats made on anyone whatsoever, empty or otherwise?"

"Come oooooooon," Patty whined, her entire posture drooping and her lips sticking out in a pout, "Have a little more faith in me than that! I've been really well behaved lately!"

"She is right, Spirit," Kid agreed, opening his eyes again, "Both Liz and Patty have made remarkable strides since entering my household. I think you can afford to treat them with a little less scrutiny, now."

Spirit pursed his lips, looking each of the girls up and down before letting out a chuckle of defeat, raising his hands, "Alright, fair enough. If Kid's vouching for you two, then I believe you."

Patty gave him a quick glare before breaking into a smile, crossing her arms with a self-satisfied click of her boots against the tile.

"... all that aside, how do you intend to get me home?... you realize I'm not gonna fit on your skateboard, right?" the redhead began, tone teasing, "Even if it's faster than most planes, it's basically one person only, Liz and Patty not included."

"Please, Spirit. I'm not an idiot," Kid chuckled, "I've brought a limousine to take us all back."

"A limo?" both eyebrows were raised now, "Isn't that a little pricey?"

"Oh, you bet it is," the elder Thompson sister chuckled, lip curling in a slight smile.

"It'll certainly cut into my allowance for the month, you're right about that," the Meister nodded, "But I can tell from looking that you're hardly in the mood to drive, and I'm not about to stick you in an uncomfortable back seat."

"… heh. I appreciate it, Kid," he reached out, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I really do."

"I'm glad," the Reaper smiled, then turned on his heel, "Now come on. Let's get you home."

"I'm driving!" Patty shouted.

"No, you're not," Liz overruled, "We have a chauffer, so just let him do his job, okay?"

"Fiiiiiine… spoilsport…"

With that, the trio turned, and began making their way through the crowd.

Spirit watched for a moment before following, his suitcase's wheels clicking on the titles as he dug in his pocket, pulling out his phone.

"Should probably shoot Luz a text before I forget…" he let his fingers fly across the digital keypad, "Landed. Should be home soon… send."

He hit the blue arrow…

Only for his phone to promptly show a red exclamation point.

"… the message couldn't be sent?" he asked, frowning.

The Death Scythe stared at his screen for a long moment, perplexed…

"Death Scythe!" Kid shouted, "We need to get back to Death City. Please keep up."

"Sorry, sorry," Spirit nodded, pocketing his phone, "… she's probably just on the bus. Summer camps always do have crummy reception…"

He redoubled his pace, working to quickly catch up to the Reaper and his Weapons.

Luz had known just from the name, and from the Witch's insistence that it was a prison rather than just a jail, that their destination wasn't going to be a pleasant place.

But she hadn't anticipated just how bad.

The darkening clouds should have been her first clue; as Eda had flown them closer and closer to their destination, clouds had unnaturally gathered, turning the entire landscape a dark grey and the sky a borderline black that only faded to a lighter shade at the very edge of the horizon. Below, rivers of glowing green flowed between the innumerable fangs and ribs that jutted up from the ground, which now seemed entirely too fleshy, all sitting at the bottom of a massive box canyon, the acrid scent of acid and the sickly sweet of rot wafting into her nose even high above it all.

At the center of these revolting rivers stood a wall of stone and steel, gently curving inwards as it rose from the earth until it formed a lip along the very top, a gigantic cauldron that could easily contain a city, the portculli of a maw-like gate clamped firmly shut over what Luz assumed was the only entrance by land. A tower stood on either side at its edge, along with one final tower that spiralled into the sky from the cauldron's center, emitting smoke from some of its windows like some sort of incense burner, though Luz highly doubted that's what it was for.

After all, an incense burner that big should have done something about the rank stench.

"That's the Conforma-thingy?" she pointed.

"The Conformatorium," the Owl Lady corrected once again, gently descending into the cauldron, settling along a secluded section of stone wall and allowing her passengers to hop down, "It's a place for those deemed "unsuitable" for society."

The Latina didn't need to see Eda to hear those golden eyes rolling in their sockets. The Witch's nonchalance was astounding as she spun her staff, the sarcasm dripping from her tone more than enough to indicate that she didn't consider herself to be in any real danger.

Even with King perched atop her head, though, it wasn't enough to put Luz at any real ease. The girl swallowed, peeking her head around the corner to stare at the central tower again.

It was bigger than most skyscrapers she'd seen, with dozens of dark windows and black spires that stretched out from its surface like the curled legs of a dead insect.

Just looking at it was enough to make Luz's heart race, though her fear pulsed through her system alongstride a strange exuberance, putting any urge to turn tail completely out of mind.

Eda might have had the only way home, but the Latina knew already that even if she'd just offered the key freely, she'd still want to be here.

This was a real adventure, after all.

She let her gaze drift down from the tower to the walls that surrounded them; wanted posters were plastered to every surface, almost all of them of someone different. Scraps left behind from posters since torn down dotted the walls accompanied them, remnants of what Luz could only assume were renegades either captured or forgotten.

"… Snake Eater… Wind Waker… Dreadwolf… Black Swordsman… Owl Lady," she murmured, eyes wandering from poster to poster; at least five of the thirty-odd posters she could see were the same one framed in Eda's house. She pulled one down, examining it more closely, "Wow… these guys really have the hots for you, huh?"

"Yep!" Eda winked, "But we've never been caught because we're too slippery."

"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease!" King challenged, wriggling, "I'm a squirmy little fella!"

The Demon then slipped as Luz tilted her head, and fell to the ground, quickly scrabbling to get back to his feet.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" the human asked, "We're not just marching in there, are we?"

"You and I are gonna sneak up into the top of that tower, where they're keeping my Crown!" King pointed up with a claw to the central structure that towered overhead.

"And I am going to make sure that the Warden's distracted," Eda smiled.

"Whoa, wait," Luz threw her hands up, "I thought the whole point of me coming was to avoid a commotion!"

"I can distract him without making a mess," the Witch snickered, "Distraction doesn't necessarily mean causing a big ruckus. We just need him to be otherwise occupied."

"Okay," At this, Luz relaxed… then immediately clenched her fists, suddenly bouncing with anticipation, "Oh! Do I need a disguise?"

"… uuuuuuh…" Eda faltered, raising an eyebrow as her smile slipped.

"I've been waiting to use this!" the excitement was bleeding into her voice already, fear slipping away as she pulled up her hood, flipping up the ears, "Meow meow!"

"… it's hideous!" King shouted, but before Luz could feel any sort of hurt or anger, Eda was grinning again.

"Oh, you'll fit right in," the Owl Lady assured, raising her staff, and slamming it into the ground. A gold disk extended from its tip, slipping under the trio before the red-clad woman stepped away, "Hang on tight!"

With that, it rose into the air, rapidly carrying the girl and the Demon up towards the tower.

She didn't have any time to appreciate the view as she rose through the air, leaving her breathless as the air grew cold and the ground stretched further and further away; within a matter of seconds, they were thousands of feet above the ground in front of one of the lower windows, and Luz's heart skipped a beat as the disk suddenly gave out from underneath her.

The Latina didn't even have time to scream, instead throwing her arms out and grabbing hold of the window's lip for dear life, King holding onto her ankles.

'No mire hacia abajo, no mire hacia abajo, no mire hacia abajo, NO MIRE HACIA ABAJO,' she shrieked internally, trying not to contemplate the hundreds of feet of free air that were between her and the ground, only distantly aware of Eda calling out.

"Meet you guys at the top of the tower!" the Witch called, rapidly rising into the sky on her staff before her voice faded entirely.

King quickly scrambled up her body, hopping in through the window without a moment's hesitation; gritting her teeth, Luz followed suit, suddenly grateful for all the pull-ups she'd been forced to do in gym class, pulling herself over the lip…

Only to fall unceremoniously on her face, letting out a muffled "Ow!"

"Haha!" King jeered, "Cats don't do that!"

She pushed herself to her feet, shuddering; Maka wouldn't have fallen like that. She probably would have caught herself easily – no, she wouldn't have let herself nearly fall from the window in the first place, jumping in as soon as it was in reach-

'No,' she stopped herself, taking a breath, 'No. Don't be like that. This is your first adventure. Of course it's gonna be a little rough. Just… keep your cool, Luz. You can do this.'

She raised her head, tightened her hood, and started forwards into the depths of the Conformatorium.

"Thanks for the lift, Kid," the Death Scythe stated, stepping out of the vehicle with a contented sigh.

"Please, don't mention it, Spirit," the young Reaper stated, following suit, "It's the least I could do."

"It really is," Patty giggled, "If he were to shell out a little more cash, he could've gotten us a helicopter ride!"

"Which would've been loud, and cramped," Liz pointed out, hands on her hips, "Personally I like to not have my ears ringing for an hour after a long trip."

"It would've been ten minutes instead of an hour, Big Sis!"

"Ten minutes, plus however long it would have taken to find an actual spot to land…"

"We could've landed in the courtyard!"

"And risk all the precisely trimmed shrubbery, Patty?" Kid shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut, "No. Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on, Kid!" Patty pouted, "Even if they got hit, they're just plants. They would've grown back!"

"Not nearly fast enough for my liking. No, a limousine was the only option."

She let out an exaggerated "Hmph… you guys are no fun."

"Heh… lively as ever, I see," Spirit chuckled.

"Quite," Kid sighed, "But I suppose it's to be expected. We're all a little nervous about our first day tomorrow."

"First day?" the Scythe raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," the stripe-haired boy straightened slightly, "I've asked Father to officially enrol us for classes at the DWMA."

The redhead blinked, "Really? I didn't think you'd be interested."

"Well, I do say that I have been handling things fairly well homeschooling myself," he gave a self satisfied preen, adjusting his pin, "But by the same token, I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. It was your daughter's extra lessons that finally spurred me to action."

"You saw those?" Spirit felt his smile slip slightly.

"We did," Liz finally glanced up from her nails, "She did pretty well, honestly. Even managed to pull off that fancy Witch Hunter move."

"Witch Hunter!?" he gawked, electric eyes wide as shock ran through him, "You're telling me I missed Maka's first successful Soul Resonance!?"

Those golden eyes softened, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Dammit!" the Scythe pressed his palm to his forehead, "I wanted to be there for when she managed it…"

"Sorry, bud," Patty stepped forwards, heavily clapping him on the back.

"It was quite an unexpected development," Kid intoned, "Had we expected it, we would have called to tell you. Unfortunately, it seems Maka and Soul caught us all quite off-guard."

"… I guess so," Spirit sighed, straightening.

'It's better that you were there for Luz,' he breathed, berating himself even as disappointed shame bubbled in his stomach, 'Excited as she would have been to see a Soul Resonance, it's better that Maka's lessons didn't cut into your time with her.'

Despite all this, the fervent wish that he could be there for both of them at the same time did not fade. It burned in his chest, eating away at him slowly, but surely, like a wick trapped within a lit candle.

"So… tomorrow, you said?" Spirit asked.

"Yes," Kid nodded, "I believe Father has actually placed me in the same class as Maka."

He managed a smile, "I'm sure you all will be great friends."

"Here's hoping," Kid turned away, "We'll be returning home for now. Liz, Patty."

"Coming!" Patty sang.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go."

"Don't be late!" Spirit called after them as they moved, "Classes start early!"

"We'll keep that in mind!" Kid waved, not turning back to face the Death Scythe.

They rounded the corner, disappearing from view.

Spirit finally let his smile fade, the melancholy winning out as he turned back to the front door.

The temptation to turn and walk down the street to a place all too familiar was more than a little enticing…

"… don't," he spoke aloud, forcibly making his way up the steps to the door, "Don't. You just got back. Tonight is not a Chupacabra's night."

He produced his key, unlocked the door, and stepped through the threshold.

There were no torches inside the Conformatorium; the only source of light was the ambience allowed in by the windows, letting streams of grey illuminate the dark stone. But between the dreary clouds that cloaked the sky and how few windows there actually were, there was only just enough light for Luz to see where she was going.

In her prior excitement, she hadn't noticed the chill bite of the air around her, her heartbeat enough to push warmth into her limbs and confidence into her stride upon entry, but now that she was struggling to find a way up, it was finally starting to register just how ill-equipped she was to handle the cold, even with her hood drawn up over her head.

"… it's freezing," Luz murmured, wrapping her arms around herself, finally noticing the steam she was emanating with every exhale, "Why's it so cold in here?"

"This place is built to break spirits," King scurried across the floor, peering around the corner, "That means keeping people in as much total misery as possible. Both physical and emotional."

"You say that like you've been here before."

"Oh, that's because I have!"

She raised an eyebrow, "You have?"

"Yeah!" he glanced up, eyes wide, "Pretty much everyone who doesn't immediately fall in line ends up here at some point."

"Fall in line, how?" she asked.

"You'll see if we run into anyone else," he turned, "Now come, my human servant! My Crown awaits!"

He scampered forwards, and Luz followed him through another archway.

"… whoa," the Latina felt her neck arch as she let her eyes wander upwards.

They had emerged into a gigantic circular chamber, illuminated only by the skylight in the domed ceiling hundreds of feet above, allowing light to filter down through the center, until it was swallowed by the darkness below. A walkway spiralled along the edge of the room, the clockwise path leading down into the dark, a reminder that this was only the upper tip of the facility they had infiltrated. A prelude to the bulk of the Conformatorium, which lay far, far below.

But that wasn't what Luz was staring at.

Her eyes were instead fixed upon the dozens upon dozens of portculli that ran along that spiralling ramp, each and every one with some silhouette behind it. Some were hunched, others stood tall, some even had eyes that caught the dismal light and allowed her to catch a glimpse of pupils shrinking in the shadows, focused on her before their owners pulled back, slipping out of view entirely. Each and every set of bars had a designation beside it, an etching in a metal plaque that reduced each occupant to nothing more than a set of numbers.

'… prisoners… ' she realized, the taste of ash filling her mouth as her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach, eyes shooting from one cell to the next, '… there must be hundreds of them…'

"Hey, cat lady."

The voice snapped Luz out of her reverie, causing her to spin in place, suddenly grateful she hadn't approached the end of the walkway to peer over the edge; she found herself staring at a brown skinned woman with eyes of startling olive green, fangs protruding from her lips, mouth curled in a curious smile as she leaned back against the bars, neck craned to look at the girl over her shoulder.

"How'dya get out of your cell?"

"Oh, no, no," Luz pulled her hood down, shaking her head, "I'm not a cat!... also, I'm not a criminal."

"Not yet, you're not!" King hopped onto her shoulder, his tone smug.

"Well, welcome to the club," the woman raised her hand, indicating the myriad of cells surrounding them, "Neither are most of the people here. The Warden spends more time locking up people who don't fit in than he does dealing with anyone who's an actual problem."

"Wait, I thought this was a prison," Luz tilted her head, "Doesn't that mean, like… serious offences only?"

"You'd think that," the woman snorted, rolling her eyes, "But try telling that to the guards. You know what got me thrown in here? Writing fanfiction."

Luz blinked, "Come again?"

"You heard me," she reached over to the small cot in her cell, pulling a book out from under the pillow, "Fanfiction. About food. Culinary romance."

"… but tha-… that… that's harmless!" Luz spluttered, appalled, "That's not a crime! That's writing a weird recipe book in prose! At worst! How is that worth jailing someone over!?"

"Oh, you think that's bad? Check out Quintuclops over there," she gestured, and a pale, bald, stocky creature pressed his face against the bars, two of his three eye sockets gaping, empty, mouth hanging open.

"… I'm here, because I like eating my own eyes," he mumbled, reaching up and plucking one of the cyan orbs from his skull. He didn't even take a moment to look at it, merely popping the orb into his mouth and swallowing; a second later, another eye took the place of the one removed, blinking, staring at Luz with a powerful intensity.

Her stomach squirmed with disgusted fascination as she stared back at the eye that had regrown, before shaking herself free again, "… okay, a little gross… but no worse than, say, picking your nose and eating it. Socially unacceptable and a bit unsanitary, but not harmful."

"WE AWE AGENTS OF FWEE EXPWESSION!"

Luz jumped, startled as the bars on the cell to her right rattled; a tiny creature even smaller than King was rattling the portcullis, both hands wrapped around the iron. Its entire body was simply a head, its facial features all disproportionately large compared to its stubby arms and legs, its lips pulled back in a snarl, "THEY WIW NEVEW SIWENCE US!"

"… and tiny over here is big into conspiracy theories," the fanged woman sighed, slowly rolling her eyes as she pointed.

"THE WORWD IS A SIMUWATION!" it shrieked, "WE ARE BUT PWAYTHINGS FOW A HIGHEW BEING!"

"… o… kay," Luz began, "That… could be genuinely harmful."

The woman raised an eyebrow, "How'dya figure?"

The Latina shuddered, "Let's just say conspiracy theories have caused a lot of damage where I'm from, and leave it at that."

"What, people actually believe the world is a simulation where you're from?" it was the fanged woman's turn to blink.

"Worse," Luz shook her head, "Some genuinely believe the world is flat. And they gather in big numbers and try to prove it with homemade rockets to carry them up into the atmosphere."

The woman stared blankly, "… you're joking."

"I'm not. I'm really not. And that's one of the tamer ones," the girl took a step, a hand on her chin, "But… even so… these aren't crimes. It… doesn't sound like any of you actually did anything wrong!"

Luz stopped, dead in her tracks, eyes widening; she reached into her bag, pulling out the poster she had torn from the wall.

The Owl Lady's visage stared back at her from the parchment, the silent cackle echoing in the girl's ears.

"… you're just… a bunch of weirdoes," she breathed, tracing the lines of the image with a finger, "… just… like me…"

The full implications of the realization were slowly sinking in. This place wasn't a prison, not really; it wasn't a place of reform, or just a holding ground for people who had committed crimes until their sentences were complete.

It was something far, far more insidious.

"… a place meant to break spirits…" she glanced up, staring at the skylight, "A cage made to wear you down until you're a shell… the same as everyone else…"

The sound of heavy footsteps on the cobbles broke Luz free from her train of thought; they echoed through the cavernous expanse of the tower, cold, clinical, and deafening, set with a heavy stride as something approached from the other side of the only wooden door of the complex.

"It's Warden Wrath!" the woman hissed, retreating into the back of her cell, "Hide!"

That was all the prompting Luz needed. She bolted for the nearest empty cell, gripping the heavy iron gate and pulling it down with every ounce of strength and weight she had, wrapping her arms around King as she slipped back as far as she could into the corner.

No sooner had her back hit the wall than the sound of a key turning in a lock rang out, and the wooden door swung open, illuminating a hulking silhouette.

"… I can hear you."

The intone was deep, reverberating through metal and stone; his upper body was massive, barrel chested and thick with muscle upon muscle beneath the white fabric of his short sleeved coat, held in place by golden buttons and a thick leather belt, the same small golden triangle emblazoned on his chest as the guard from the alleyway. His head was obscured by a black hood, his face by an iron mask with a cruelly hooked beak, the golden eyes set into the front unseeing, unblinking, the four pronged pupils sharp as blades.

"What are you fools whispering about?" he demanded, every step he took slow, calculated, and incredibly heavy.

Luz's breaths were shallow as she tried to keep herself silent, King now clinging to her every bit as tightly as she clung to him; the Warden was massive, easily standing eight feet tall if not more. As his head shifted, she clenched her teeth down on a yelp, desperately trying to avoid his attention…

Instead, he looked down, scooping up the poster she had dropped, "Ah… the Owl Lady."

The purple grey of his skin warped as his hand clenched into a fist, the morphed, changing shape entirely before hardening into a hammer, larger than Luz's head; he slammed it into the metal, denting it inwards with a vicious clang and causing one of the bars to tear loose with a harsh squeal, sending it spinning into the wall. Once more, the teen fought to keep herself silent, staring at where the hammer had left its impact as the Warden pulled it away.

"I'll get my hands on her soon enough," he growled… then paused, slowly inclining his head towards the pair.

Luz was ready to try and dive under the cot-

"FIGHT AGAINST THE OPWESSOW!"

The Warden's head cocked to the side, interest in the cell's occupant's lost; the tiny conspiracy theorist was raving again, "WE WIW WESIST! WE WIW CONQUEW!"

He stepped forwards, hammer reverting to a normal hand, glaring down at the creature.

"WE WIW NEVEW BE AFWAID OF YOU, YOU OWD CWEEP!" it shrieked, teeth bared.

The Warden's only response was to grip the lever beside the door, and yank it up; slowly, the door opened, and before the tiny being could take a single step, his massive hand closed around its body, thick fingers squeezing and completely muffling its screams.

"Let this serve as a warning," He began, gesturing to the remaining prisoners, "This is not a place of gossip, nor a place for you to indulge in your little fantasies; the Conformatorium is a correctional facility, and the more you resist, the harder it is going to squeeze."

As if to emphasize, he tightened his grip; the creature's eyes bulged, and it thrashed, to no avail, its barely audible shrieks only growing louder through the Warden's fingers.

"You are here to ensure you cease being a bother to society. Whether that happens because you conform, or because you never leave, does not matter," he pointed, "Society has no place for you if you can't, fit, in."

With that, he began stomping back to the doorway, the creature in hand, slamming the wooden door shut behind him with such force that Luz saw dust fall from the ceiling.

"… I think he's gone," Luz finally let herself breathe, heart pounding in her ears as she approached the portcullis. Somehow, the bars slotted into the wall had not been bent, allowing her to lift the gate just enough to wriggle out underneath.

"We gotta go!" King shouted, scampering up the ramp.

"Gimme a second," the girl held up a hand, inspecting the first lever.

"But my Crown!"

"King, we can't just leave them here!" she shot a glare at the little Demon.

"Kid-" the woman started, tone placating, but Luz wasn't listening. She gripped the lever, pushing upwards with all her might… but it was to no avail. The contraption was locked into place, enough that she couldn't even get it to budge even as she put her shoulder underneath it and pushed up with her legs.

"Come on! Move!" she shouted, pushing up with all her might, "I know I'm a nerd, but I'm not that out of shape!"

"Kid, I appreciate the effort," the woman reached through the bars, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Really, I do. You're probably the first person in a while to give a damn about what happens to us. But even if you could get this cell open, I don't think you have any way to get us out of here."

"But…" Luz stumbled back, looking back and forth between the woman, and the lever, still sitting locked in the downward position, "… I…"

"… just get out of here while you still can," the woman sighed, "No one here wants to kid's life on their conscience."

"… I can't just do nothing," she insisted, "There's gotta be something-"

"There isn't," the woman cut her off, "There's no key. Even without these cells, there's a hundred locked doors and at least a thousand armed guards between us and freedom. That, or a few thousand feet of free fall. And I don't think whatever got you in here is going to be able to get us all past that."

The Latina fell silent, letting her eyes fall to her hands. The sheer apathetic sorrow in the woman's voice twisted her stomach, the utter despair seeming to tear it open and let the acids eat away at her insides in a flood of helpless sorrow.

"… something got you in here. That something can probably still get you out," the woman turned away, "You really wanna do something for us, kid?... you already have, showing us some basic damn kindness. Reminding us there's still some good out there. Beyond that… just… enjoy freedom for us."

She slunk back into the shadows, leaving Luz alone with the Demon, and the writhing snake of shame and sadness biting at her belly.

"… can we go get my Crown, now?" King asked, climbing up onto the girl's shoulder.

Luz didn't answer. Instead, she turned, and slowly made her way to the nearest hallway, passing the dirty tapestries without ever looking up.

"Hey!"

The brunette's ears barely twitched as Eda soared in through the window, slipping past and dismounting from her staff all in one smooth motion.

"I just checked," she jabbed her thumb to the flagstones beneath their feet, "The Warden is distracted tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."

Luz did not raise her head to meet the Witch's gaze. Instead, she walked past without a word, finally letting her eyes rise to the door that towered over them at the end of the hall.

CONTRABAND, the sign across it read.

"My Crown! It's close!" King shouted with glee, "I can sense its power!"

He rushed to the door, scrabbling at its surface with stubby, ineffectual claws and grunts; he leaped up onto the knob, trying to throw his negligible body weight into turning the worn brass.

"Aw…" Eda chuckled, and Luz could hear the obvious ploy in her voice, the blatant attempt to elicit a reaction, "He's so cute when he's thirsty for power."

"… is there really nothing we can do to help them?"

When the Witch didn't answer, Luz finally raised her head; the old woman's lips were drawn in a thin line, brows furrowed, but not in anger.

"… we have a flying staff," Luz ventured, crossing her arms, "We can get in and out of this place without being noticed, and I bet you're strong enough to get those cells open…"

"… I don't think you understand exactly what it is you're suggesting, human," Eda sighed, turning the staff in her palm.

"What am I not understanding?"

"How hard it is to perform a mass prison-break," those piercing eyes shot through her again, "Say we did start this little operation of yours. I could, at best, only carry two or three of them at a time on my staff, and get them out of the Conformatorium, myself included. The more people on the staff, the easier it'll be for the guards to see me flying around, and at some point, they're gonna patrol those cells to make sure everyone is still inside; whether it's on my staff or finding empty cells, eventually, someone is going to notice.

"And even if we did get everyone out, what then?" Eda asked, raising a hand, "Even if I wanted them around, I don't have enough room in my house to hide them all. The Warden has a detailed list of his prisoners, and he wouldn't rest until every single one of them was back in the Conformatorium; he'd scour every inch of the Isles if he had to, and he has the manpower to do it."

"We could at least get some of them out," the human insisted, turning to fully face the Witch, "Even if you can't give them shelter, couldn't they go into hiding or something? You do it."

"I'm a powerful Witch," Eda reminded her, "Most of them aren't. They can't make magical houses to hide in the way I did. They're gonna be exposed to the elements, stuck with whatever basic shelters they can throw together in the woods or the mountains – and I doubt that they have much by way of proper survival skills."

"But it's gotta be better than this," Luz gestured to the walls around them.

The old woman closed her eyes, and shook her head, "No. I've been there, kiddo, and trust me, that is not living. You'd just be bringing them out of one prison, and into another. At least here, they're still breathing; the wilds outside of this place wouldn't allow for even that."

"… what about the door?" the girl inquired, "The portal?"

"Send them into your world?" a single golden eye opened, "Where some of the less savoury prisoners might start wreaking havoc, drawing attention or getting people hurt? Where they'll be targeted by humans, if not Weapons and Meisters?"

Ice flooded Luz's veins; she hadn't even considered those possibilities, and now the image of the silhouettes in the cells being run through with any number of blades and bullets was stuck in her mind's eye.

Eda continued, voice steady, "Or just use it as a transport, letting-slash-forcing them back into the Isles once we're out of this place?... you'd be right back to square one. They'd still be stuck in the exact situation I just covered: trapped on the Isles with nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and probably unable to even walk into town without getting caught."

The girl's head slowly fell, chin resting on her chest; she stared at the floor, murmuring, "… so there's nothing we can do…?"

"'Fraid not," the talons that rested on her shoulder were heavy, but the genuine empathy in Eda's tone prompted Luz to raise her head, meeting those golden eyes once more.

They softened, "I get it, kid. Really, I do. It's hard to watch, and do nothing. But even I have to know when I'm outmatched; I'm the most powerful Witch on the Boiling Isles, but that doesn't change that I'm just one Witch. Even if everyone in this place deserved to be free – and believe me, there are some nasty customers in here that deserve to never see the light of day – I just don't have what's needed to make sure they stay alive and free. At the absolute least, you'd need a way across the sea, and a lot of money."

"… it's just… it's not fair," Luz's fists clenched, and she looked away, "They don't deserve to be in here. They just want to be themselves… why does everyone treat that like it's a bad thing?"

Before Eda could answer, something landed at their feet with a metallic clang; the knob of the door rolled, then wobbled to a stop on the cobbles, King excitedly pushing the door open and rushing through, giggling madly all the while.

"… come on," Eda stepped forwards, "Before he hurts himself."

"Ow!" the Demon shouted, a sound not unlike an electric shock snapping through the air.

"… little late for that," Luz mumbled, allowing a small smile to cross her lips as she entered the room alongside the Witch.

The giant pillar of light that sat in the center of the chamber cast an eerie golden glow throughout the room; King rushed at it, trying to break through with his head, only to be tossed back with another painful sounding shock, knocked head over heels across the floor and skidding to a halt on his chin.

To his credit, he was immediately pushing himself up, glaring at the light and getting ready to try again before Eda's staff cracked down in front of him.

She knelt, smiling, "We have a human, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" King's eyes went wide, as if he had somehow forgotten that's what Luz was there for.

The tan-skinned girl stared into the pure white for a moment, taking a deep breath before letting it all out in a slow exhale, closing her eyes. She just needed to get the crown, and she could go home.

She stepped forwards, body tense, expecting some form of shock as she pushed through the barrier with her hand extended-

And met no resistance.

It wasn't even like pushing through water; it was like nothing was there in the first place, letting Luz pass as easily as if she were walking through an empty doorframe.

Within, was a great pile of objects and treasure, all of it stacked one on top of the other, bones and crates and armour and shields all caught in the same eye-watering lime green glow as the room beyond the barrier.

And at the very top…

"… wait a second," she squinted, "Is that…?"

Slowly, she began her ascent, gritting her teeth and pulling herself up bit by bit until she had reached the summit of the small mountain of assorted weaponry and junk, grabbing her prize and slowly descending to the floor once more.

Luz was certain her eyes were playing tricks on her. It must have been the light of the barrier.

Surely, once she stepped out, it wouldn't look and feel so much like-

"… a paper Burger Queen crown…?" she asked, incredulous, staring at the logo as she emerged into the room proper.

She wasn't angry. She wasn't even particularly upset. More than anything else, she was confused, rubbing her fingers against the surface in hopes of discovering some secret, some Magic that indicated that it was more than just a cheap cardboard cut-out.

But it was to no avail. The cheap cardboard cut-out remained a cheap cardboard cut-out.

"My Crown!" King shouted, jumping in place and eagerly reaching for it. Perhaps once the little Demon had it, it would revert to its true form.

She handed the crown over with no argument; but when King placed it on his head, there was no grand transformation. The tiny Demon remained tiny, and once again, the cheap cardboard cut-out stubbornly remained a cheap cardboard cut-out.

Even so, he stared at his claws, immediately seeming even more invigorated than before, "Yes! Yes! I can feel my powers returning!... You there! Nightmare-critter!"

He turned, pointing at one stuffed rabbit that had escaped the confines of the barrier, the buttons that made up its eyes mismatched both in colour and position, making its whole head seem lopsided. The Demon scooped it up, slinging it onto his shoulder, "I shall call you Francois and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!"

As King continued to monologue, Luz turned to Eda, pointing at the cub, "… that crown… doesn't give him any powers, does it?"

"Uh, no," Eda grinned, and the glare the Latina levelled at her must have been truly severe, as the Witch promptly sighed, her smile fading as she gestured to King, "Oh, look at us, Luz. King, Hooty and I don't have much in this world; really, we've only got each other."

Once again, Luz looked at King; he was eagerly adjusting the Burger Queen Crown, clearly trying to adjust its angle so that it would look best atop his head, occasionally needing to catch it before it fell back to the floor.

The Witch was smiling again, more softly this time, "So, if that dumb crown is important to him, then it's important to me," her eyes fell to the brunette, "Besides, us weirdoes have to stick together, eh?"

Eda winked, and despite herself, Luz found herself smiling in turn, her stare falling as a slight warmth lit itself in her chest, pushing gently back against the despair that had wrapped itself so firmly around her heart before.

"Well, we owe you one," the Witch confessed, arms outstretched, "Now, let's get out of here before the Warden finds us and loses his head."

"Too late."

The blade was swung before Luz had a chance to process the Warden's voice. It cleaved cleanly through Eda's throat and spine, separating her head from her body in a single bloodless slash.

The head of silver hair flew at the human, who caught it on reflex, she stared into the blank golden eyes, horror and shock and panic welling in her throat and competing for the right to own the scream that threatened to rip itself from her lungs-

"OW!" Eda's voice rang out, the head scrunching up its eyes with a pained shout, then settling with a pained, mildly annoyed groan, "Ugh… damn it. I hate it when that happens."

Shock won out over horror as the scream finally emerged from Luz's throat. She was holding a severed head, the still talking severed head of a Witch. This was insane, how-

"Pipe down, kid," Eda cut her off with a withering stare, "I'm not dead."

"B-But your head-!" Luz sputtered, "Are you okay!?"

"I already told you," the golden eyes glanced at the still standing body, "This sort of thing just happens when you get older."

"Does it?"

"Finally," Warden Wrath spoke, his blade morphing back into a hand, "I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady."

He was flanked on either side by guards as he stepped forwards; they fanned out to surround the trio, and before the Demon could scamper away, the Warden snatched the cardboard crown from his head.

King let out a strangled "WEH!?" of equal parts surprise and displeasure, trying vainly to jump and get the toy back.

"My guards could never catch you," he stated, ignoring the black cub, "But I knew that if I took your pet's toy, you would come running.

"I see you even found a human to get past the barrier erected to safeguard contraband," he glanced at Luz briefly before returning his attention to Eda, "Clever, and resourceful, impressively so… but unfortunately for you, not clever enough."

With that, he crushed the crown in his fist, crumpling it into a ball before letting it fall to the floor.

"NO!" King squealed, "MY POWER!"

He fell to his knees, quietly beginning to sob.

"… so. This is the part where you throw me in a cell, then?" Eda queried, still seeming more annoyed than distraught or even angry, "Go and kiss up to the Emperor and his Coven? Earn yourself a promotion for catching the Boiling Isles' most wanted, even though I haven't even broken any of your stupid laws in front of you?"

"… no," Wrath let the crumpled cardboard fall to the floor, snapping his fingers. A guard stepped forwards, handing a large briefcase to white-clad Warden, who carefully undid the clasps, "I have almost everything I want right here. I am content to serve the Emperor in my current station. I could ask for no greater pleasure than the manner in which I am currently employed."

The silver vixen raised an eyebrow, "Then what do you want?"

"I want you…" he pulled the briefcase open, and Luz braced herself to see a weapon or some other instrument of torture as he paused, as if for effect.

"… togooutwithme," the words were so rushed that the Latina only barely caught them as Wrath yanked a large bouquet out of the case, a colourful assortment of flowers that seemed garishly vibrant against the sterile white of his coat and the grey of his skin, all wrapped in a beautiful red silk cover.

"Wha-?" Eda blinked, actually seeming off kilter for the first time.

"What," Luz asked flatly.

"You got this, boss!" one of the guards shouted, all of them showing some form of support, from raised fists to thumbs up; the Warden even returned the gesture before looking back to the Owl Lady's severed head.

"You have always eluded our capture; you've always been the one that got away," genuine reverence and emotion began to creep into his words, "I found that alluring."

"I hate everything you're saying right now," Luz spoke with absolutely no hesitation, disgust lacing every syllable that left her mouth.

"You stay out of this!" he shouted, his arm once again morphing into something without shape, a mass of sludge that wrapped around Luz's torso and yanked her into the air with such force that she was sure her chest and shoulders would bruise. The Latina dropped Eda's head, squirming, struggling to get free of the muck that entangled her, but it was like tugging at living play-doh; no matter how much she tugged at the substance, it always just flowed right back into the rest of the Warden's arm, rendering any progress she made effectively meaningless.

With his free hand, Wrath caught the Witch by the hair, holding her up to eye level, "So, how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful Witch of the Boiling Isles, and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever!"" he emphasized, clearly trying to make the proposal sound more enticing, "I mean, it's not like you can say no right now…"

Eda faltered, glancing first at Luz, who was struggling to get out of the Warden's grasp, and then at King, who had been scooped up in the arms of one of the guards; after a long moment of deliberation, she closed her eyes with an exhale of defeat.

"Oh, alright, Warden. You win," she gazed up at him with pitiful eyes, "I'd just like to say something, first. Come closer?"

Wrath raised her head.

"No, just… a little bit closer."

He brought her in a little more.

"Just-"

They were face to face now.

"Yeah, that's good-"

Eda stuck out her tongue, and blue a raspberry, spattering as much spittle as she could through her lips; Warden Wrath had no time to react to before it hit his mask and eyes, coating them in a fine spray of spit. He reeled back in disgust, releasing Luz and letting her fall to the ground.

The old Witch cackled at her own childish trick as Wrath furiously wiped at his face, trying to rid himself of the spray.

"Impudent wench! Don't you know what could be living in your mouth!?" he shouted.

"Oh, get over it," she glowered, "You have had your guards stalk me for decades, and now you've cut off my head. I am NOT going out with you!"

"If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to DESTROY-!"

A heavy, metallic clang rang through the room as Luz swung the Owl Lady's staff into the back of the Warden's head with every ounce of might she could muster. He cried out, his hands flying to the sides of his head, the Owl Lady's head falling to the ground.

"Nihihiiice!" she grinned in approval, and her body, having long been forgotten to the side of the room, set to work. Before the guards could close in on Luz or harm King, it struck, driving an open palm into the back of the first guard's head as he drew his sword. He flew forwards into one of his compatriots, bowling both of them over and leaving them in a dazed heap in the corner.

The other two guards turned, drawing their own blades on the headless body; the body simply shifted past them as they both swung, slipping between them with a practiced ease before yanking both hoods down over the eyes of their helms, holding them in place with an ease that completely belied those thin, pale arms.

"OKAY, WE'RE GOING NOW," Luz snatched up King by the scruff and Eda's head by the hair, pulling the body along behind her. Eda's body easily snatched up King before the Latina held out the staff, mounting it, "Expecto… flying? Magicus escapicus!"

"Gun it, Magic stick!" the Owl Lady barked, and the staff took off, carrying all three of them into the hall, the Warden's howls of anger echoing behind them.

Sorry Kid ended up with so little screentime in this chapter. I'm hoping that his next appearance will get him a bit more time; the main purpose of this chapter, really, was to progress the Conformatorium, though I am glad I managed to snag a bit of Kid's relationship with Spirit. When you think about it, in this continuity Spirit is struggling to play father figure to three separate kids.

As for the break where suddenly Spirit is back in Death City? It takes a while to go from the Owl House to the Conformatorium. It's a several hour trip. Luz probably spent most of her day mid-flight.

Next chapter is going to be the wrap up for episode 1, so I'm hoping you all enjoy that. After that, I can start working to make this story my own.

Please be sure to let me know what you think! I hope you all enjoyed the twelfth chapter of Owls and Souls, Witches and Resonance!