Keep liking the comments I've been getting. Now this story is going to deviate from the show a bit and I'm going to give the Star Wars fans reading this a few things to talk about.
I thought about doing stuff differently at the start of this chapter but held it off till later to figure out the Star War's timeline I can work with the Owl House. Not totally satisfied, but enough that it gets with what I'm doing for future chapters.
Also, look out and review on a few references I put down for laughs.
Episode Four: I went home then stayed for the beast.
A pathway to other realms. To step from one area to another over vast distances at mere moments was astonishing. A concept one would ever think of in books of fairytales or science fiction. Now possible, in front of the Padawan.
And the women who use it to gather and resale junk she gathers from other worlds.
Luz stared down with a raised eyebrow at the bag of unique items the Witch's Palisman dragged through the dimensional doorway. Current Witch was now sorting through the pile just in the living room.
The other day she made two new friends in this strange world. Along with enrolling in a school that taught magic. When she told Eda about it later, the Witch fell to her knees and cried out horror about how she "lost" me to the Hexside nerds. The sight of Eda on her knees holding King in a death grip while crying out an "NOOO!" was a little entertaining to watch.
The Jedi Padawan sat on the couch and watched as Eda and king rummaged through their recent haul. "So you guys pull stuff out of this world every Friday, clean it up and sell it on the weekends?"
"That's right. You want in on this kid?" Eda said as she looked over an old shoe.
"I'm good, thank you," Luz responded before looking at the now-closed doorway to the other world. "So, where did this portal come from?"
"I don't know, kid. When I found it, it was already pretty old. Didn't question it at the time." Eda responded before looking at some orange fabric. "Why, planning on going back?"
Eda looked up to see Luz staring intently at the dimension door.
"There are some comforts I'd like to have here. The lack of tech is starting to get to me." That was true to some extent. Personal comforts weren't necessary for a Jedi, but Luz had a small love of technology and missed certain things. She was starting to miss tinkering on her custom BARC speeder. She had just modified the engine to push it to reach 580 KPH! And her ARC-170! She didn't like how the Delta-7's made her feel cramped but loved the ARC's power in atmosphere flight and the firepower it brought. Then the clones attacked and all that for nothingness. For all she knew, it was still on her ship with the rest of her "Personal belongings".
She then sighs, "Along with some questions that I'd like to be answered, Eda. There are also some current events I want to catch up with." Luz turned to her. "Can you help me?" She gestures towards the door.
"I don't know, kid," the Witch responded. "From the way you describe things over in your world, it sounded pretty bad. Especially for a Jedi like yourself." Eda looked between the door and the Jedi with mixed thoughts. She wanted to help Luz but felt like she should stay as far away from her world. But there were also questions Eda had as well. Some that she hadn't asked the teen yet. Some that Eda wasn't sure she was going to like to be honest with herself. "Where are you thinking of even looking anyway?"
"The Jedi Temple."
Now Eda was apprehensive about Luz's goal. "Whoa, hold up there, kid! Didn't that guy on the glowing cube tell you not to go back there?" She pointed out.
Luz nodded. "I know Master Kenobi warned us not to go there, but I feel that I need to be there. If only to see it myself."
Luz's response made Eda sigh. "Even if I allowed you to head off, how are you even going to get there? Weren't you on a planet with giant trees and that Temple of yours is on a city-wide world? Still having a hard time believing that, but how are you even going to get there?" That made Luz cringe a bit. The Padawan tried her best to explain some of the planets she's been to and planetary travel between them one day to them, which flew right over their heads.
Looking at the portal for a moment before it gave her an idea. "If this portal can send people to other realms, then can it take me to other places within those realms as well?" She asked, throwing the Witch off.
"Hmm… Huh, never thought about that." The thought did throw another round of questions in her head about why she hadn't thought of that. "But even if we could, how are we going to pull that off? Neither of us knows how to do that with this thing." Eda points at the dimension door.
"Well… Maybe it's something to do with magic? But let me try something." Luz hummed as she approached said door and remembered her first time coming to the Isles. It made her have the worst case of vertigo she's ever experienced.
Putting her hands on the portal door, Luz closed her eyes and opened herself to the Force. Instantly she was hit with the strange presence of the Isles's unique Force signature. Being in the Demon realm helped a bit get used to it, but it was still a foreign sensation to what she was used to throughout her life.
Like the key it's connected to, it felt like the Force was funneled through it like a trickling stream. Focusing on the other side of the portal felt strange. The Force presence there felt weak, which was odd in of itself. Pushing aside any questions about that world, she later focused on where she wanted to go. The Force through the door now changed to something Luz was more familiar with. Pulling the door, Luz entered and saw the familiar overgrowth of the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk.
"Yes!" Luz ran back to the Owl House with a big smile. "Eda, it works!"
The Witch had sat back and watched with an interesting look as she studied the Jedi work. "Really?" She went and stuck her head through the doorway and saw the giant trees before pulling back. "Whoa… Big trees."
"This is the Wookie homeworld that I came from the first time," Luz informed. She went and closed the door before concentrating on the destination again. At first, she thought about going to Coruscant to see the Temple, thinking about performing recon and possible infiltration. If the Jedi Temple had fallen to dark forces, specific protocols needed to be pushed into motion, like ensuring the safety or destruction of the Holocron vault and the archive. Though there laid the problem. Any protocol like this needed a Master to enact. Luz was only a simple Padawan, and she wouldn't have access to the Vault nor the archives main terminal. Then another idea came to her. Feeling the Force shift again, Luz opened the door and was greeted with wide-open green fields. "Well, hello, Telos!"
If she was right, she was near Onasi farms. One of the AgriCorps leading farming centers. She had visited this place once before the wars and wondered if there were survivors. If so, they needed to be evaluated for safety.
The soft blue sky and rolling in the distance gave it a peaceful setting. Then smelt the air and became unsettled as it wasn't entirely clear.
"Kid..."
Eda's voice was like a slap back to reality. Luz turns to find Eda, and King had followed her through the door and saw them staring at some rising smoke not too far away.
"Oh, no. Eda?!" Luz said.
"Hop on!" Eda levels her magic staff, and the three fly through the air.
From the sky, the view did not look pretty as they neared the smoke trail. It also became familiar to Luz as she had been here once before as they flew over the fields of crops and approached the steel dome buildings, a typical Jedi Agriculture farm. What wasn't was the blast craters and smoldering structures.
"No No No, this can't be right!" Luz said in a clear panicked voice.
The trio landed in an open Pavilion between several buildings and had the best view of the horror that showed. Kids of all species all around the same age as Luz to old men laid out dead in various positions. The Padawan rushed to one human teen that laid on his side and turned him over to find him dead with several signs of blaster bolts that had impacted his chest.
"No..."
Eda looked down at the Padawan with a sad look before turning to see the carnage that surrounded them. The way things looked here was a completely one-sided fight with the residents being the losers. Having been no stranger to death due to her living in the Demon Realm, but nothing would warrant such needless slaughter. Not even those crow blunders from the Emperor's Coven would do this. This massacre was a particular type of evil. "What did this…?"
"Eda! Luz!"
The loud panicked voice brought the two females' attention over to the little demon. Breaking into a run, they turn to the next corner to fight the aftermath of a lopsided battle. Luz instantly recognized the white armor design of clone troopers. There were at least two squads of battle-ready clone troopers down on the ground dead. The Padawan cursed at the ones responsible for this massacre. Looking at where her friend was, she spotted him next to another fallen, a female Rodian in Padawan robes surrounded by more dead clones.
And breathing!
Luz rushed to her fellow Jedi's side. "Hey, hey, are you still with me?" She said to get the Padawan's attention.
The alien's glassy solid blue eyes slowly opened up, and her breathing sped up a bit when she saw Luz. "Help… came?"
Luz felt her chest fall at the sight of her fellow Padawan. "Be still, sister. We'll get some bacta in you to help heal this right up."
"They… Killed them… T-the younglings." The Padawan coughed and weakly pointed a finger out towards the fields. The group looks and sees the crashed burnt remains of a transport shuttle.
"What?! Why? They're just kids! They're no threat to anyone!" Eda said in distraught. Luz looked at the shuttle, and from where she sat, no one would be walking away from that, much less a bunch of kids.
The Rodian coughed again. "The Empire doesn't care… All… Jedi, are..."
The Padawan didn't finish as she slumped in Luz's arms and joined with the Force. Wordlessly Luz reached out and closed the Padawan's eyelids and gently lowered her body down to rest. Another Jedi becoming one with the Force.
Off to the side, Eda and King stood silently as they just watched the whole thing unfold.
King looked at the scene in sadness, having never experienced this in his short life. Eda, on the other hand.
"Luz… We need to go."
The Padawan looked up to see Eda staring at something in the distance. Turning to look, she could see why. A gray wedge shaped assault cruiser was making its way down.
"Acclamator assault ship. Eda, open the portal. We need to go, now!"
The Witch grabbed the portal key and summoned the dimension door to the demon realm. She then grabbed King and went through the door Luz was about to follow but stopped to take one last look at the Padawan that died in her arms. Reaching out with her arm, she Force pulled the Padawan's lightsaber to her.
"Don't worry. I won't let the Empire claim this as a trophy."
Walking through the portal and back to the Boiling Isles was a slightly better experience than her first time around.
Luz was then greeted with the face of Eda looking at her.
"Okay, Luz, what in Titan's name did we just see?" Eda demanded as the door shut behind the Jedi.
Luz held up the Rodian's lightsaber. She didn't even get the girl's name before her passing, igniting its blade revealed the baby blue color.
"That was Telos, specifically the Jedi Agricultural farm. The farm and the planet that supplies a good portion of food to the surrounding systems. What we saw out there was the aftermath of the Empire's newest mandates on Jedi."
Luz deactivates the blade and walks over, and flop back first on the couch. "Now it's nothing more than a ruin filled with ghosts. If the Empire is going after Jedi washouts and younglings, then I should stay out of sight of my realm for a bit..." Luz loosely explains.
Eda had an internal conflict. Sure she considered herself an agent of chaos, not one of death or war. What they witnessed was against a lot of things the Owl Lady stood against. "Kiddo, after what I saw back there, I'm considering and ready to lock that door for good. After all I've experienced in the Boling Isles. I'd be a fool to let you go back to the mauls of that death trap."
Luz felt a bit taken back by the Witch. "What?"
Eda pulled out the door key and pressed the eye, making the door fold upon itself and disappear. "Look here, kid. I just watched you hold onto someone as they died in your arms, and something like that leaves its mark on people. Till I am given a reason, I'm not letting you go back to that realm unless it's important," she explained before pocketing the key in her wild hair.
Luz wanted to protest but held back. Eda was right. Seeing that Padawan dying in her arms was something she wouldn't be getting over. She then felt a hand on top of her head. Looking up at the owner, she saw Eda's concerning face, which looked odd on the usually carefree Witch.
"You need rest, remember? Don't throw yourself back into the fire so readily or needlessly. The fight I see ahead for this looks like it is going to be for the long haul." She rubbed the Padawan's head, much to her irritation.
Luz sighed in mild acceptance. "Alright, Eda. I don't particularly appreciate sitting back and doing nothing. But I can see the wisdom of where you're going with this."
"Good. We'll curve this conversation another time since I know this will be coming back later. For now, with that settled. I think we all need a bit of time to cool off with what we saw. So about we all head into town to get some take-out? I'm thinking of a Monte Cristo sandwich!" Eda said with her hand reaching out for Luz to take.
"Yay! Monte Cristo!" King cheered.
The Padawan looked at the hand for a moment and grabbed it. "Yeah, food is a good distraction right now."
The three got up and made their way out the door and towards the town.
At the Owl House door, Hooty sat silently while watching everything go down.
"Should I have told them about the weather warning?" Hooty said. "Mmmm... I'm sure they'll be fine. Oh, look a bug!" The Owl demon lunges at it.
"Boiling Rain!"
"What is with this world and death!?"
"Less talking, more running!"
Eda and Luz ran for their lives, with King holding onto the Jedi as the rain came down and seemed to burn everything around them. The first warning they got was the thunder and lighting. When Eda and King saw this, they panicked that the rains were coming, confusing the Padawan to wonder why that was a big deal. She got her answer when she watched a flower burn and wilted after getting a single drop.
The three quickly got back to the safety of the Owl House and nearly stumbled over each other.
"Phew! That was a close one." Eda said as she looked at her friends. "Everyone okay?"
Luz huffed and felt a bit queasy from running after eating. "Boiling rain in the Boiling Isles. Are there any other deadly weather patterns I should know about if I continue to live in this world?"
"Sure thing, plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows!" Eda said nonchalantly.
"It's like a rainbow but looking at it turns you inside out," King pitched in.
Luz stared in disbelief at the two before looking outside at the steady rainstorm growing. This world seemed to earn the title of Demon realm in the Jedi's eyes.
Luz stood near the Hooty's door with nothing else to do and observed Eda making a tangible orange shield over the house. The fact that the Witch could make something compared to a base shield generator on the spot was amazing.
"Magic is something else. I wonder if Eda can teach me that?" She wondered.
Eda walks into the house while doing an arm stretch. "Okay, so, until the boiling rain stops, no one is allowed outside tonight."
"And if the rain doesn't get you, the Snaggleback will." King opens a book, showing a picture of the Snaggleback. A shell-like creature with angry fangs and sinister black claws. Luz took the book and gave the turtle-like creature a once over. "They wander the rain, feeding on boiled tourists."
"Is this what it looks like, or is this made up? With this world, I can't tell anymore," Luz responded as she examined King's notes. 'And with how many planets I've been to in the galaxy, that is saying something.'
"Well, whatever the case, this force field spell should protect the house from boiling rains and made‐up demons," Eda responded with a slight mock as she twirled the magical energy in her hands.
"Hoot! Well, hurry it up with that force field! That rain is getting closer to my precious stucco!" Hooty said impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Eda grabbed her staff and twirling it around before slamming it into the ground. The orange magic expands outward and covers the Owl House in a domed shield, then shrinks to shape closely around it.
Luz looked at it in amazement. "Wow, I could have used that spell during the war." Eda then begins walking toward the house. "Say, Eda, why do they call you the Owl Lady."
Eda strutted over to her and King. "Cause I'm so wise." She responded with a flip of her hair.
"Cause she coughs up rat bones," said Hooty.
"I think it's because she gets easily distracted by shiny objects," King declared.
Eda looked offended at King's comment. "No, I don't."
King walks into the house and comes back with a pen with a shiny light on top. Eda's eyes went wide with awe as she stared at the shiny pen.
"It sparkles and shimmers. It shines and delights. I must have it for my nest..." Eda lunges for it, only for King to pull it away at the last second and crashes into the ground.
'Just when I thought nothing could surprise me.' "You have a nest? Like a bird's nest?" Luz asked as she helped Eda off the ground.
"Yes, don't judge me," Eda said before yawning. "Ugh. That force field took it out of me."
"Uh‐oh! Moving a little slow, are we, age finally catching up to you" King then received a head slap from Luz. "Wah!"
"King, it's not fun to talk about a woman's age," Luz reprimanded.
"Well said, kid." Eda nodded before the three re-entered the house.
"Well, since we're all stuck indoors till the weather passes, and you're holding the key to my world hostage for the foreseeable future." Luz potting at the Witch. "Why not give me a lesson on magic? Teach me a spell?"
Eda didn't answer. Instead, she walked behind a privacy screen. With a snap of her fingers, a light glowed around her before stepping out now in her nightwear.
"No worries, kid. I'll teach you magic. Just not now. That spell took a lot out of me." Eda said before flopping down on the couch. "Why don't you go do what Jedi do when they get bored."
"Come on, Eda," Luz whined. "I don't want to be stuck and meditate in my room. One spell and you can sleep like a sleepy little owl." The Owl lady ignored her as she focused on getting to sleep. Luz looked at her with a deadpan expression before turning to King with her hand raised to him with a "give me" motion.
Eda starts to get comfortable until she hears something clicking. The Owl Lady gasped, "Sparkle thing." A hushed voice came from the blanket cocoon. Eda sits up, still wrapped in the blanket, watching as Luz clicks the pen several times.
"I see I've grasped your attention," Luz said with a confident smirk as she stepped back. Eda jumps like a cat on the couch arm, enthralled by the pretty shiny thing. "You want it?"
Luz moves the pen tauntingly. Eda tries to swipe for it, but Luz moves her arm, making Eda miss and fall. "Nope. Teach me one spell, and I'll give you your sparkle thing."
Eda looks at Luz with annoyance. "I respect your cunning, but I also hate you for it."
Eda and Luz stood in front of each other as they. "Okay, kid, if you stay here and become a Witch one day, get a witch's staff like mine, haahh don't make me repeat myself." Eda yawned before shaking herself awake as she tried to explain. "Witch's staffs have power embedded into them."
"Neat." Luz eyed the owl palasmen and wondered what her magic staff could look like for a Jedi.
Eda throws staff to the side. "Tonight, I will show you how to create... light."
With her finger, she raised it in the air, drew a glowing yellow circle. White light sparked in the center before forming a ball of light. It descended until it's in front of Luz's face before popping out of existence.
Luz was interested. It was like being introduced to a new study of the Force.
"Now, humans think magic is made out of thin air, but that's stupid. Everything comes from something. I'm pretty sure you can tell where I'm going with this, so where do you think magic comes from?" Eda said to Luz, looking down at her.
"Ummm," Luz looked a bit unsure. "From inside you?"
Eda looks blankly at the Padawan before nodding. "Well, you're not wrong. Specifically, it comes from the heart." Eda pulls out a human heart diagram with a prominent bulge from her hair and shows it to Luz. "And it's magic bile sac."
The sight made Luz take a step back in disgust. "Oh, gross!"
Eda snorted in amusement at Luz's reaction before putting the diagram back in her hair. "Now, everything depends on the spell circle."
"Hold on one moment." Luz left Eda and quickly went upstairs. The Owl Lady looked clueless and glanced over at King, sitting on the sofa and shrugging in response. Luz comes back and has the human PDA in her hand.
"What's that?" Eda asked as Luz pointed the device's camera at her.
"It's from that world where you're getting all your junk from, I don't know what this thing is called, but I love it. It has a recording function. Just do the spell in front of me, and I'll record it for later. That way, you don't have to repeat the lesson for me."
Eda shrugs at that. "Whatever." Eda then demonstrates by drawing a large circle in the air. "Now, the bigger the spell circle, the more powerful the spell will be."
The ball of light brightens in front of Luz before disappearing. The Padawan checked over her device and saw that she caught everything. "I got it. Now comes the question of how I can cast that without a bile sac?"
Eda rubbed her chin at the thought of the question. "You know, I'm not sure. Witches did magic differently in the past, but I never bothered to figure out how," Eda said with a short laugh and a snort.
Luz sighed and pocketed the recording. "Well, thanks for the lesson, Eda. Guess I'm off to figure out this puzzle."
"Good for you. I'm… Going… To..." Eda fell straight back onto the floor with a thump.
"Eda!"
Luz rushed to the Witches' side and held her head in the Padawan's arms.
"Pretty. . . Pretty. . . Shiny. . . Shiny." Eda said between snores.
"Well, one more spell didn't kill her, but it did knock her out," King said. He then walked over and started smacking Eda's face. "Bap! See!"
"King, don't do that. You'll wake her back up," Luz reprimanded.
"No, she won't. Eda's a heavy sleeper. Just look. Bap! Bap!" King slaps Eda two more times and gets zero response from Owl Lady.
"I guess that shield spell took more out of Eda than I thought." Luz reached under Eda and put her over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, finding her surprisingly heavily. "Sheesh, what does she eat? She weighs as much as a clone trooper in armor! Let's get you to bed."
They carried Eda's sleepy form up to the Owl Lady's room, where they saw her nest. As in an actual nest made of twigs with pieces of junk and animal bones scattered in it. Also, a few piles of treasure of gold and gems in random places.
"Wow, she wasn't kidding with the nest." Luz was impressed with how it looked. Then she set her caretaker inside it. "There we go. Sorry for pushing you, Eda. Didn't mean for that to happen."
"Should I bap her again?" King asked with his claw hand up.
Luz shook her head in amusement and rubbed King's head. "Just let her sleep."
As Luz walks away, King waits for Luz to disappear before going up and giving one last slap to Eda's face. "Bap! Hehehehehe."
The two were now back in the kitchen with King sitting on a stack of books while Luz was at the dinner table with a drink and her PDA going over the light spell. The Jedi was trying to comprehend what she was seeing. The light spell itself looked so simple at every angle. The video showed Eda just drawing a circle in the air with her magic being pushed out.
"Could the same be applied the same way with using the Force?" Luz voiced her thoughts out loud. She was about to take another look at the video when King came up and pushed his head into view.
"Commander Luz, you've been so obsessed with witchcraft that you haven't learned anything about my kind. Prepare yourself," King runs over and rips off a curtain, revealing a corkboard of photos of various demons, and puts on a fluffy blue hat, "for Demons 101!"
Luz smiled at the little guy and put her device away to listen.
"For you see," King continues, "demons like me are grim tricksters of the dawn, creatures of bone and sulfur."
"With the obvious cute little paws," Luz pointed at the little demon's hands.
King looked at his paws and sighed. "And cute little paws, it's true. We live only to create chaos and misery. Our only weaknesses are purified water and sometimes passive‐aggressive comments." He gestures over to the board that depicts several images of demons being hit with holy water and picked on.
"So demons are just as sensitive as everyone else? Who knew," Luz nodded along in understanding.
"Even demons have inner demons," King explained in a low dramatic tone. "Like the Snaggleback. He is a powerful demon born from the Boiling Isles!" King pointed to the creature they talked earlier about.
Luz looked over the crude picture with an advised look. "Name seems to match the description."
"That it does! Now-" King said as he was glad Luz was paying attention before the sound of thunder and the lights around the house flickered and died. "Wah?
"What happened to the lights? Did Eda forget to pay a bill or something?" Luz asked at the sudden darkness.
"Na, Hooty controls the house lights. He probably just fell asleep." King dismissed.
Suddenly the duo heard a loud crash.
"HOOT! HOOT!" Hooty shouted in anguish as the sounds of a conflict could be heard from the front.
"Hooty!" Luz shouted and raced to the front with King right behind her and ran to the sentient door.
Luz and King reach the living room and gasp. A large beast hovered over the knocked-down door. The beast form was hidden by the dark, giving it an obscure look that hid its features as it clawed Hooty's door body. It gave a low growing noise before retreating out into the rain.
With the creature gone, the two ran up to check on the house demon.
"Hooty! Are you in there? Say something?" Luz taps his face a few times and opens his eyelid to check his eye. "He's out cold."
Luz looked out in the direction of where it left. "And whatever that thing was, it escaped out into the boiling rain. Just what was that?"
"I don't know!" King replied as he was starting to panic. "Maybe it's the Snaggleback or some other demon that can survive in the rain."
They then heard the beast shriek! Running out to the barrier's edge, they see the beast go through a window on the second floor.
"That's not good. It's inside the house!" Luz turns to see King giggling. "And why do you look so happy?"
King started squealing happily. "Because this could be a lesson. This would be an excellent way for you to see a wild demon up close and personal."
"You want me to head after that thing? King, I've done some risky stuff in my time with the Republic, but this is not a good time for a lesson plan."
"What if Eda gets eaten? She's upstairs and defenseless because you knocked her out," King pointed out.
Luz felt her eyelid twitch as she glared at the demon and groaned. The little ankle biter was right. "Fine, just get behind me." The Padawan said before she drew her lightsaber ignited its blade. The yellow glow lit up the area and made all the furniture cast shadows.
"You may not be able to cast that light spell, but that glowing sword sure does the trick," King commented.
The two made their way through the house and up the stairs, both on guard for the beast. Luz held her saber up straight, ready to fight while also avoiding damaging the walls. Eda and Hooty would not like that. They reach a hallway and stop as the door to Eda's room creaks open. The two share a worried look before Luz opens the door all the way, revealing an empty room and a shattered window.
"Oh no. Eda!" Luz ran up to the nest and saw no sign of the Witch.
"She got snaggle‐backed!" King cried out as he stood next to Luz, looking at the nest.
"This is not good. King, you're the Demon expert. Tell me what this is!" Luz asked King.
"I'll go get my demon book!" King raced out the door.
"King, no!" Luz protested, but the little guy was out the door. Luz let out a silent curse.
She was prepared to run after the little guy till she felt glass and liquid shift under her feet. "What?" Looking down, she saw a potions bottle broken up along the floor with an orangey subset spread out. Kneeling over it, she dipped her fingers in it and held it up.
Just from the color alone told luz it wasn't Witch's blood. It was also too thick and dense to be such. No, it's just another one of Eda's potions. Along the ground, she spotted what looked like a tag and picked it up.
"An elixir a day. That's cryptic," she read aloud. There was a rip at the bottom. Looking along the ground, she found the other half and put them together to read the rest. "Keeps the curse at bay?"
Luz was slowly drawn to the realization of what was truly going on. The Jedi looked back at the elixir, then went over Eda's nest and saw the claw marks over the floor and pillow. Then there was the lack of blood and body remains.
"You've got to be kidding me."
A cry and a shriek echoed through the halls. Luz deactivated her lightsaber and went by the door. The sound of scurrying little feet made itself known, thrusting out a hand. When she felt something furry, Luz pulled back and brought King with it. The beast enters the hallway slowly, exhaling loudly. Luz had her hand over King's mouth to keep him silent. Footsteps are heard outside as a shadow passes the door. Seeing the danger past, Luz exhales the breath she's been holding and releases King.
"Luz! It's good I found you."
"What do you mean? I never left!" Luz pointed out to the little demon that they were still in Eda's room.
"Oh." King looked around in realization.
"Yeah, oh. We will discuss your lack of attention later. Right now, we have bigger problems to worry about," Luz informed. "King, I don't think that's a Snaggleback. I think that's-" A clawed hand bursts through the door, a large body follows with it and grows before turning to them, revealing a familiar face.
"Eda!?" Luz screamed.
From her face alone, you can see it was Eda with her pale skin that was more white, and her eyes were black as night. She was covered in gray fur from head to claw, enormous feathered wings spread out on her back.
Beast Eda screeched at them before raising a black nail claw.
Seeing the danger, Luz rolled under the attack while keeping King in her arms. Doing so made the PDA fall from the Jedi's pocket, and the camera goes off when it hits the floor. The flash blinds beast Eda, making her rear back with a scream. Seeing her chance, the Jedi pocketed back her device and made like a Kath Hound, and ran out the door. Moments later, the two were hiding out on the upstairs porch and keeping silent from beast Eda.
The two could hear Eda moving close by, sniffing the air as her claws scratched against the floor. Luz used the Force to lift a paint can with a plant inside and throw it across the room.
A loud noise was made by the plant can that drew beast Eda's attention. It screamed before giving chase to whatever made the sound. With her gone, the two withdrew their breath and allowed a moment to relax.
"This is bad. This is really, really bad! Eda's become a monster, and I don't know what to do!" King said worriedly. The little demon then felt Luz put his arms around him and drew him into a hug. "Luz?"
"We will find a way, King," Luz responded firmly, but her eyes showed she was afraid. "I refuse to lose more friends. You're the demon expert, Eda's become one, and you are the only hope we have for finding out what Eda's become. Are you ready to work, soldier?"
Luz holds out the shiny pen. King points to himself and to which Luz nods. He takes the pen, then giggles and hugs her back.
Taking a leaf from a nearby plant, he draws out a quick picture of beast Eda. "Okay, here's what we know. She has gotten bigger, covered in feathers, and had giant black eyes. Demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to light." He looked down at Luz's lightsaber. "We can use your weapon!"
"King! We're trying to save Eda, not kill her," Luz rebukes.
"Then what about your human rectangular thingy?" King points at her pocket PDA.
"I can't. The camera's all blasted." Luz pulled it out and showed the cracked screen.
"Then... what about that light spell?" King said.
"Haah… King, I'm not able to draw circles in the air as Eda can." Luz pulled out the PDA, and it turned on to show the video on a cracked screen.
"...the more powerful..." The video glitches. Showing a unique pattern.
"What?" Luz looked down at the screen grasps. "King, look! There's a pattern in the spell circle." She pointed.
It was a full circle with a wide triangle and a smaller circle near the top. A line went right down the middle from the smaller circle, and another triangle touched the circle's sides with two little diagonal slashes in the middle.
King plopped over the Jedi's shoulder and took a look at the screen. "What? Where?"
Grabbing a leaf and the pen. Luz draws it out over the pattern.
"Right there." She taps the glyph with the tip of her pen. The drawing then glows before the leaf folds into itself until a small ball of light takes its place. The two looked shocked at the ball of light in wonder.
"Holy kriff..." Realization kicked in. "Magic. I just did magic. I just did magic!"
Her little celebration was quickly cut short when a distant screeching made both of the two of them duck. Luz snatched the light out of the air to not reveal their position. A few more moments passed before the room was silent again.
"What are we going to do? We're not going to be able to stop anything with that." King pointed at the Jedi's hand that held the magic light.
Thoughts raced in her to come up with a plan to fix Eda. "When we were in her room, I found a broken potion bottle with the contents spilled out. An elixir. I bet my lightsaber that's what Eda uses to suppress the curse. She must have more than that one bottle in her room." Picking up and settling King in her hoodie, Luz b-line's it for the Witch's room.
Going through the bedroom's broken door, Luz went to the closest first to find the elixirs. Opening it up, she found several orangey glowing vials similar to the one on the floor. Grabbing one and stuffing it in her pocket, Luz takes King out in front of her. She pulls out the pen and some paper.
Down in the living room, beast Eda was milling about and sniffing everything around her. It had been so long since it was released. Several smells greeted her, and they smelt so much like the two she cased earlier. She chased and searched for them, but they kept disappearing. A small mote of light appeared nearby that gained her attention. Looking over, she saw a small ball of light. Her simple animalistic mind was instantly drawn to it. Beast Eda closed the distance and grasped a claw around it.
The light was gone. Why was it gone? The simple feral mind that had taken hold of Eda could not understand.
Another light appeared nearby, and beast Eda followed it and grabbed it, disappearing again. Then another light showed up by the stairs.
This continued a few more times as it made its way up the stairs and around the corner. There she saw one of the new creatures doing something on the wall.
"Sorry, Eda, but this is for your own good!"
It slammed its paw against the wall, and all the beast knew next was the blinding light that followed.
Eda woke up gasping for air. Looking around frantically, she saw that she was in her nest, making her relax. Though she felt absolutely horrible!
"Urgh! My head, what happened? Why does my mouth taste like roadkill?" Eda gagged, then she vomited over the side of her nest. Though it wasn't your ordinary vomit, but an owl pellet. It then cracked open, revealing a surprisingly still alive Snaggleback.
"I'm just goanna lie here for a bit," he said as he just laid in the broken pellet.
"When did I ever eat you?" She questioned.
"When you turned into a cursed monster while hunting for us next."
She saw that King sitting at her nest's edge. "King? What are you doing here?"
"Shh! Look there," King said in a whisper and pointed at something.
Looking in that direction, she saw Luz was sitting on the floor, drawing out another glyph. She taps it with the pen then it crumples up and turns into a ball of light. The light floats up with several others. Turning her gaze to the ceiling, Eda was met with dozens of the light orbs floating above.
"Wow... How is she doing that?" Eda asked.
"Running in terror from a cursed friend is a great motivator," Luz responded from her spot. She then got and approached the older Witch. "How are you feeling?"
"Not good," Eda responded. Looking away in shame. "I'm sorry you all had to find this out about me."
"What happened to you, Eda?" Luz asked as she sat next to King.
"When I was younger, no older than you, Luz, I was cursed. Don't know how it happened or who did it. All I know is if I don't take my elixir. Well, that's why people call me the Owl Lady. No one likes dealing with a curse, but it's manageable if you take the proper steps." Eda said, looking at the small stack of portion bottles.
"Can we not cure you of it?" Luz asked.
Eda shook her head. "I've done a few searches but… nothing." Eda's somber face then turned around to a small smile. "But look at this. Look at you! A human doing magic. Good on you, kid," she praised. Motioning towards the little lights overhead.
"I had some encouragement from a good friend." Luz smiles at King.
The heartfelt was sweet and cut short by a particular door. "Hello?! HOOT! Anybody there?! HELLO?! I'm on the floor. It's cold!" Hooty called out.
"That voice. That horrific voice!" King said in annoyance as he made his way out.
"We'll take care of him. You stay in bed," Luz advised. She then surprised Eda by reaching down and hugged her.
"I'm glad you're alright," the Jedi said before breaking the hug and picking up the Snaggleback. "Now then, let's patch you up and out of here."
"Ow… I think my tail was digested!" he said in slight pain.
As Luz left, Eda turned her eyes towards her stash of elixir with a worried look. The feeling from that contact was confusing and concerning. It had been a long time since she's gotten close to anyone, mainly due to her curse. Could she afford to let another person into her heart?
Originally, I was going to do something completely different for the entirety of this chapter where Luz head's back to Coruscant and ends up at a certain event. But I held off that for later. Could anyone guess what I'm talking about? Shoot a Review if you know.
Also, I haven't whether or not decided to put this Luz through a few episodes in the Owl House. So I may end up skipping them due to Luz being different in handling things then her cannon version. Not sure yet as I'm still plotting out the some things.
Fav, Follow, and Review!
Updated edits 6/7/2022 by Ghost-G339