Warning: This chapter includes chapters 18 and 19. Explanation given in the end of chapter notes.


Dear Diary,

I couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to confess to Luz how much I love her, I just couldn't do it. It was the perfect opportunity too. It was just the two of us with no one else, not even Kevin, around. It hurts, it really does. But she started talking about her mother, and I didn't want her to have to choose between staying here with me or going back to her.

Titan it hurts. I was so close! And I've gone through so much pain and suffering and plenty of near chances since Kevin set out on this stupid little quest of his to get Luz and I together. I keep trying to tell myself that one day will be the right time to admit my feelings, but as each and every opportunity continues to blow up in my face, my faith continues to dwindle. Maybe we just aren't meant to be? I mean, Kevin had come up with ten different ways to get us together, and yet not a single one of them worked!

Speaking of which, I can only imagine Kevin's reaction when I messaged him, telling him what had happened. I just hope he lets it go and doesn't do anything too stupid.

Before she could write another word, Amity's peace and wallowing in pity were interrupted as the door to her secret library room was opened. She turned to see Kevin enter the room, and he didn't appear happy nor thrilled in the slightest.

"Hey, so, what the fuck happened up on that mountain the other night?" he asked, causing the greenette to roll her eyes.

"I already told you when I texted you."

"I know but like, I want to hear the explanation. Because my brain cannot process it because what the fuck? It was the perfect setting and moment!" he exclaimed, causing the witch to sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I was showing her some constellations. When I was getting ready to confess, she started talking about her mom and how much she missed her and… I didn't want to confess and make her choose between living here with us, or going back and living with her mom. That is, on the off chance she liked me back and wanted to date me. Which is highly unlikely," she sighed again, and this time it was Kevin's turn to roll his eyes.

"Are you blind or just stupid? The amount of sapphic energy you two radiate towards each other is literally suffocating!" he exclaimed. "It was the perfect time, you know. You two were alone, doing Odin knows what, just as a firework show began. If that doesn't scream romantic, I don't know what does!"

"Do not yell at me over this!" Amity hissed, slamming her fists against the table in anger and turning to glare at him. "You do not deserve to be angry or upset over this! You're not the one who's being affected by heartbreak! You got with the person you're in love with, not me! Only I deserve to be upset!"

"I do deserve to be upset! I've spent so much time and money and have spilled literal blood to try getting you two together, just for you to chicken out! You blew what was, seemingly, the best shot you had!"

"I've had plenty of shots! You and your stupidity managed to ruin every single one!"

"Okay let's just calm down for a second, I did not ruin every single one! I, personally and accidentally, only ruined four of them. The rest were either ruined by forces out of my control or, in this case, you chickening out!"

"You know what?"

"What?"

"My life was a lot better until you came here!" she shouted out in anger, huffing from how much screaming she had done. She stared Kevin down with a nasty glare, which softened at how… hurt, he had looked.

"Um, are we interrupting something?"

The arguing duo turned to see Edric and Emira standing in the doorway to Amity's secret room, looking a bit awkward even as they tried giving the duo their best attempt at a smile. Judging by their looks, they had probably heard their entire conversation, and thankfully stopped it before it could get any more heated.

"Yeah, me yelling at your sister for being a chicken, or whatever goddamn creature you have here that's the equivalent of it," Kevin said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked around the room. "It's actually a good thing that you did so. Now I can try to come up with a new plan of action."

"There's no need for a new plan of action," Amity said quietly, crossing her arms against her chest as she sat down. "I think... I think I may stop trying," she said, causing Kevin to stop his pacing. His eyes widened, as did Edric and Emira, and they all turned to stare at the girl as if she had grown a second head.

"Come again?"

"See things from my point of view, okay? I had 10 shots at getting together with Luz, and one by one, every single plan had failed. Not only that, she's a human! She comes from another world where she has her own life, her own family. How could I say I love her if I had to make her decide between staying here with me or going back home to her mother, the only family she has left?" Amity said before letting out a dry, pitiful chuckle. "Besides, how could someone as amazing as her love someone like me?"

As much as they hated to admit it, the others could see her point. She felt dejected, deterred from trying anymore since every other time she tried, she failed, and it ended up blowing up in her face. Everyone had their limit and could taste failure only for so long until it got to them. And, from the sound and look of it, Amity had finally reached her limit.

"Look… I get where you're coming from," Kevin said, "I really do. There've been times in my life that I've failed time and time again while trying to achieve a goal or get something that I wanted. But no matter how many times I got knocked down, I kept getting back up, no matter how many times I failed, I kept trying, I kept fighting. That's what you need to do, Amity. You need to keep fighting no matter how much it hurts or how hard you get hit. Life is one giant boxing match, you can't just give up after getting punched in the face once or twice."

Amity smiled sadly and shook her head.

"Thank you. I appreciate it, I really do. But I'm afraid I have no more fight left in me." She frowned, lip trembling just a little. "I'm sure there's plenty of other girls dying to date Luz in her own dimension. I don't want to ruin our relationship by telling her I like her."

"So, you aren't going to tell Luz you like her, correct?" Edric asked, causing Amity to nod. He and Emira glanced at one another, their regular smiles starting to form as their twin telepathy started to kick in. Amity could tell that they each had had the same idea. "Well then, if you won't do it yourself…" Edric trailed off as he and Emira each drew a spell circle in the air. Another set of twins appeared right behind Amity, with the illusion Edric wrapping Amity in a hug, keeping her trapped as the illusion Emira grabbed her diary and threw it to the real Emira.

"We'll just do it for you!" Emira said as she and her brother smiled, their illusion selves disappearing. The threat made Amity's eyes widen in surprise in fear before they quickly narrowed into anger, a growl escaping the girl.

"Ed, Em, I swear to titan I will make your lives miserable until the day I die. Give it back. Right. Now!"

"Hmmm," the twins hummed in unison, glancing at one another before back at Amity. "Nope!"

With a growl, Amity drew her own spell circle in the air, making a purple jar on her desk shake and rumble before purple goo flew out, an Abomination forming and blocking the only exit of the room. The goo monster roared and tried to reach for the twins, only for them to jump and dodge out of the way. Amity lunged, managing to tackle Emira to the ground, but the girl had thrown the book to Edric right before Amity got to her.

Amity turned, a feral look in her eyes which caused Edric to gulp to fear. With a shout, she got off of Emira and chased after Edric, the younger twin yelping as he tried to run, hopping onto Amity's desk and jumping over the girl. She growled, glaring at the twins before turning to Kevin.

"Well? Are you going to help or not?!"

"Hmm, no I'm okay. I'll let you deal with it," Kevin said with a curt smile, allowing this to be revenge for what Amity had said.

Amity growled at him before turning back to the twins. She jumped at them again, managing to bring both of them down to the ground. The three started to wrestle, with the twins trying to push her off and Amity trying to get her book back. Amity, for a second, managed to grab it and take it back before standing back up, only for the twins to stand up and latch onto it. The three started to play an impromptu game of tug-of-war.

"Give it back you two! It's my decision, not yours!"

"Sorry Mittens, but this is for your own good!"

Neither of the three seemed to notice the subtle and small tearing noise the diary was making as it pulled and tugged harshly. Kevin was tempted to stop the fighting. While he didn't like Amity's decision, it was hers and hers alone and he wouldn't go against the girl's wishes. On the other hand, he did appreciate the fact that Ed and Em were trying to help their little sister out, even if it wasn't with the best method.

Before he could intervene, there was a particularly loud ripping sound, and the human watched as the diary was torn at its spine, causing Amity and Emira and Edric to fall back onto their butts and sending many pages from the diary up into the air. Amity watched in shock as the pages flew into the air, shock which quickly turned to horror as some were caught in the wind and blown outside.

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Amity exclaimed, dashing out the door and out of the library before running to its outside wall, the twins and Kevin swiftly following. She started to snatch as many papers as she could before the wind could continue blowing them away, with the twins trying to help since it was their fault this had happened.

"Amity?"

The youngest Blight froze at the sudden voice, her entire body stiffening and freezing as fear slowly overtook her very being. She turned slowly, her eyes widening in surprise upon seeing Luz out here so late. What made it worse was the human girl currently had several pages of Amity's diary clutched in her hands. She couldn't see the dates of the pages on the bottom of the stack Luz held, but thanks to the lights from the library, she could clearly see the date of the page on top. Today's date… the diary entry she had just written before Kevin and her siblings had shown up, the one where she confessed to loving Luz.

Amity couldn't hear anyone, not even Luz calling out her name, as adrenaline suddenly surged through her veins and in her ears. She felt scared, terrified that her dirty little secret had finally been revealed to the girl she loved, and it wasn't even in the way she had always dreamed and imagined. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in, and she did the only thing she could do; Amity turned and ran away, running down a path that led through the forest, tears slowly building up in the corner of her eyes at how sad and angry she was.

"She… she feels the same way," Luz muttered in shock, staring down at the entry as if she was holding a key to everlasting happiness. She hadn't even meant to read it! She was out and about trying to find Kevin when the papers literally smacked her in the face. She was shaken out of her shocked state by Kevin snapping his fingers in her face.

"Hey, hey, hey! Now's not the time for daydreaming! Go after her!"

"Huh? Oh! Right, right, right, right! Oh my god, I can't believe this! She likes me back!" Luz shouted, stuffing the papers into Kevin's hands before running off into the woods too. "Amity! Amity, wait!"

Kevin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose while muttering something about 'sapphic disasters' under his breath. His sixth sense seemed to kick in, as he reached back and grabbed onto the twins' ears before yanking back harshly. "Oh no you don't! You two idiots caused this mess; you're gonna be the ones to clean it."

(With Luz and Amity)

Amity ran as fast as her legs could carry her, and nothing was stopping her as she tried getting as far away as possible. She panted as she rounded a tree, leaning her back against its rough bark as she tried catching her breath. Her chest felt tight as her stomach churned, an uneasy feeling of dread watching over her. She was upset. She was angry. Amity wanted to cry, to scream, to use her Abominations to go on a rampage through the woods to let everything out. Ed and Em had ruined everything! How was she supposed to face Luz now? What would the girl even say? Would she be upset with Amity? Angry with her? Would she never want to see Amity again?!

"Amity!"

The witch's eyes widened in shock upon her name being called out. It sounded like Luz was a lot closer than Amity would've liked. She needed to get away, fast! Peeking from behind the tree to make sure the coast was clear, she made a mad dash to try and run deeper in the forest, only for a wall of ice to suddenly block her path. She gasped and tried turning back around, but giant vines sprouted from the ground to block off her escape route. She breathed heavily, anxiety getting the better of her as she was trapped like an Echo Mouse.

"Amity, please calm down! Let's talk about this," Luz said, slowly and calmly, approaching the witch with her hands raised to show she meant no harm, that she only wanted to talk.

"P-please just leave me alone," Amity whimpered, back resting against the tree. "Y-you weren't supposed to find out this way!"

"Hey now, it's okay. Everything will be okay, I promise," Luz tried to reassure her, but Amity shook her head.

"No, it's not. It's not okay at all! You—You don't feel the same way! E-even if you did, we couldn't be together! You aren't from here! You'll leave, and I'll be all alone again," Amity shuddered, clutching her chest in pain as her heart beat a mile a minute. "I don't want you choosing between your mother and me. I don't want to be forgotten, or play second fiddle!"

"Is that what you think?" Luz frowned, realizing this may have been partially her fault from when she talked about her mother during the ski trip. "Amity, I could never forget you. You're too amazing for me to forget." She smiled, causing the witch to blush. "Amity, you mean the absolute world to me. I—" Luz started to say before she started to cough.

It started out low, as if she had a dry throat, before turning into a painfully sounding one. She clutched her chest, falling to her knees and sounding as if she was dying. Amity quickly followed suit, noticing a pink mist was suddenly flowing through the air as she dropped to her knees before falling face-first into the dirt. She stared with blurry vision as Luz dropped down as well, unconscious, before two figures in white appeared through Luz's vines. The bigger figure easily picked Luz up and threw her over their shoulder.

"L-Luz," Amity muttered, weakly reaching out in an attempt to try and save her friend and crush. Someone stood in her way, blocking her vision of the figure that was carrying Luz off. She stared up at the familiar sight of a white bird mask before this new figure raised his boot and smashed it into Amity's head, knocking her unconscious.

(One hour later)

In the same clearing, Amity still lay there, unconscious. While in her state, she was unaware as three new figures approached and stood over her.

"What the hell happened here," a clone of Kevin's, number One, asked as he crouched down, moving some of Amity's hair and noticing the bruise that had formed on her head.

"Amity's unconscious and Luz isn't anywhere to be found," Two muttered. "I don't like this."

"Two sets of footprints, walking off towards the east," Three said upon finding the footprints of Luz and Amity's assailants. "Combat boots, one set is deeper in the dirt than the other. Judging by the size and shape, it was a hefty male and a skinnier one."

"No signs of a struggle. They must've been ambushed, knock-out gas probably. They carried Luz off and left Amity here. Luz was their target. But why?" Two asked.

"The 'why' doesn't matter. What matters is trying to find her. Three, follow those footprints and try tracking down her attackers. Radio the Prime once you do," One ordered. Three nodded with a salute before dashing off, following the prints as ordered. "Two, help me get Amity up and bring her back to the Owl House. We need to report this to the Prime as soon as possible and prepare," he ordered again before he and Two picked up Amity.

"Prepare for what, exactly?"

"Whoever these bastards are, they attacked Prime's friend," One explained as he and Two carried Amity off. "As far as he's concerned, this was a declaration of war."

(START OF CHAPTER 19)

(Several hours later)

Amity's eyes fluttered open, and a weak groan of pain escaped at the throbbing headache that was forming. She rubbed her head, not feeling her skin, but rather bandages that had been wrapped around where the pain was. As she wondered why it was there, she finally noticed she wasn't in her bedroom, but rather Kevin's bedroom back at the Owl House. As she looked around, her eyes widened as the memories of earlier came back like a tidal wave.

"Luz!" she shouted, remembering how her friend had been carried off by two mysterious and blurry figures. Amity practically launched herself from the bed, only for the headache to worsen and her legs to wobble from the sudden and quick movement. She breathed in and out, pacing herself before stumbling out of the room and down the stairs.

"Right, right. What about the backside? Ah! That's perfect, good find Three."

She breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Kevin's voice. As she rounded the corner, she saw the human boy sitting on Eda's couch, staring into a crystal ball and writing something down on some paper.

"Where exactly is this place, Three?"

"Near the edge of the Boiling Isles, due east from the library. It's heavily guarded, probably about 400 or so witches inside," Three said over the crystal ball. It looked as if the clone was sneaking around the giant walls of some sort of castle.

"Hey!" a new voice shouted, followed by the sounds of barking from some kind of creature.

"Oh shit!" Three exclaimed, turning and running away, the sounds of footsteps following him echoing through the trees. Kevin's facial expression grew concerned from the shouts.

"Three? What the hell is happening down there?"

"I've been compromised! Three foot mobiles, two witches and some sort of dog beast!" Three exclaimed, dodging a sudden blast of lightning that cut through several trees. Three summoned several walls of stone to block the path of his followers before running up to and climbing a tree, hiding amongst its leaves.

"Three, you are not to bring those fuckers back here. We can't let them know we're onto them. I don't care how you do it, lose them!"

"He won't be able to," Amity said, making her presence known. Kevin jumped in his seat from the sudden voice and turned to the witch, eyes wide in surprise upon seeing her awake.

"Amity! The hell are you doing awake already?" Kevin asked before his eyes narrowed. "And what do you mean, exactly?"

"That bark, it comes from Toglan. They're a special kind of demon that hunters use here to hunt and track their prey. They have a superior sense of smell and can locate their prey from miles away," Amity explained with a frown, causing Kevin to sigh as he turned back to the ball.

"Three, I'm sorry, but you won't be able to lose them," Kevin said, causing Three to nod in understanding.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Predator Protocol is hereby authorized," the human ordered, causing his clone to nod.

Kevin and Amity watched as Three waited, a dim white light growing in his chest. He waited until his followers were right below him before jumping onto them with a warcry of sorts. The people screamed before the communication was suddenly cut off, leaving the crystal ball blank.

"Uh, what just happened?" Amity asked, causing Kevin to sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Three made sure he wasn't followed back, and he took those bastards out with him. Two down, 398 left to go." He shook his head before turning to Amity. "Tell me everything that happened in that forest. I need every bit of useful information I can get right now."

"There isn't much to tell. Luz cornered me and we were talking. The next thing I know, we're both coughing and starting to fall onto the ground as a pink gas rolled in. That's when two people in white came out of nowhere, took Luz, and knocked me out. That's all I remember," Amity said, clutching her hands in anger. Maybe if she hadn't run away, or maybe if she was stronger, this never would've happened.

"These guys in white?" Kevin asked, rewinding Three's recorded video and showing Amity the two figures the clone had jumped on. Amity nodded; she was very familiar with the white bird masks. "Who are they?"

"When Belos was alive and in control, he had hundreds of coven scouts that patrolled the Boiling Isles to keep the peace and capture any 'wild' magic users, like Eda," Amity said. "But this doesn't make any sense. They disbanded after Belos' death. Why are they back all of the sudden?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out," Kevin muttered as he continued to rewind the footage, back to when Three first discovered where Luz was being held. "What can you tell me about this place?" he asked, showing Amity the perfect shot Three had managed to take of the castle.

The castle was surrounded by a large stone wall, protecting it from any would-be attackers. A giant door made of solid wood sat in the front, with the triangle-shaped symbol of Belos plastered on the front. They couldn't see what lay behind the walls; all they could see were the giant pillars of stone spurting from the castle.

"That is Belos' first castle, back when he first took control and before he made the larger one within the chest of the Titan. I remember my mentor, Lilith, taking me there when I was younger, long after Belos abandoned it," Amity said, staring at the frame. "But that was years ago, and the castle was old and worn down back then. This one looks brand new as if someone rebuilt it from the ground up."

"So someone new has moved in and upgraded the place," Kevin said, nodding to himself before turning off the crystal ball and standing up. "If that's all, it's time to plan a rescue."

"I'm coming with you," Amity with, no hint of hesitation in her tone. "And I don't want to hear 'no you're not'! I may not be as strong as you, but Luz is my friend too! She-she's my everything! And, I refuse to sit here and be useless while you go and try to rescue her!"

"I know."

"And another thing!" Amity exclaimed before stopping, blinking in surprise. "Uh, what?"

"I said 'I know.' I knew you would want to come with and wouldn't take no for an answer, plus even if I did say no, you'd just come anyway," Kevin said with a smirk. "I have my clones out collecting Gus and Willow, too. We'll need them for what I have planned."

"Oh… well, thank you. Man, I had a whole 'this is for love' speech ready too and everything," Amity said. "What about the others? Eda? King? Boscha?"

"Eda and King left town yesterday on a little vacation, I've already told several times to establish contact, but nothing has worked. As for Boscha… I don't want her involved. I don't want her seeing what I'm gonna do," he said, which Amity did not like the sound of.

"O-oh, uh, okay. So, what's this plan exactly?"

"Don't worry about that for now, I'll explain when the others get here. I just need you to be ready for what's to come. I need you to promise me something."

"Which is?"

"If we're doing this, you need to be in this for the long haul. I need you to be willing to do anything in order to get Luz out of there and back home safe," Kevin said, a fire burning deep in his eyes that caused a shiver to run down her spine. He sounded far more intense than she had ever heard him.

"I-I promise to do whatever it takes to keep Luz safe," she said, causing Kevin to nod in approval. "What-what are you going to do?" she asked, causing Kevin to stare out the window in the direction where the castle was, to where Luz was being held prisoner.

"I'm burning that castle to the goddamn ground."


So, yeah. I (as well as help from my server) decided to just combine chapters 18 and 19 into one chapter. 18 was about 3K words and 19 was about 1.3K, and since 19 is so short, I didn't really see the point in giving it its own chapter slot, if that makes any sense? I mean, hell, I could've just combined both chapter and make it just 18. But I digress. If enough people want me to, I'll split it up and post 19 as its own chapter.

And finally, we're getting into the drama I've been looking forward to write for so long! Luz gets taken, and now I can have the others (especially Kevin) finally shine! I'm excited to write these next few chapters

Still doing the furry chapter. Would y'all prefer If I posted it as its own one-shot fic, posted it after this story ends, or go back and make it chapter 17, which would make the ski resort chapter as chapter 18, and this chapter as chapter 19?

Idk what else to say. Join me next time as the gang wages war! See ya in chapter 19!