Chapter 4
Research and Developments
It took only a few minutes for the water orb carrying Eda, King, and Amity to reach the seabed of the Eryth Sea. Their momentum was stopped when the orb hit a green energy shield, likely the ether that was holding the sea in place, but after a moment it was able to pierce through and continue its ascent through the water. Luckily they were kept dry while inside the orb.
A few seconds afterwards the orb broke through the top of the Eryth Sea before finally opening up to allow them exit onto a nearby shore.
The three all stepped out of the orb onto Latael Shore. As soon as they were out, the orb lost its shape and collapsed into the water.
"That was fun! We should do it again with Luz next time." King said. "So are we at the head now?"
"I'd say so." Amity pointed off to the distance. From where they were they could see the massive horn that was suppose to be attached to the titan's head. A large jagged black tower floated ominously in-front of the horn. "Is that Alcamoth?"
"No. That is," said Eda. King and Amity turned the opposite direction. Floating high above the waters on the opposite side of the vast sea stood what they presumed to be the city of Alcamoth. It was comprised of a single massive tower extending from the center of the base. There were several smaller disc-like buildings that floated around the tower as well.
Amity could barely believe the size of it. There wasn't a single city on the Boiling Isles that even came close. The population of that place alone must have been immense. She really hoped the residents there knew where Luz was. They'd never be able to find her on their own otherwise.
"So how do we get there? Can we start flying now?" King asked.
"Not yet. In fact, I think it's best that we disguise ourselves for now," said Eda as she started digging through her hair before pulling out an overly large set of human headphones. "Boots, put these on. King, you hide in my hair. Scaring a few of those little Nopon are one thing, but if these High Entia are as suspicious as Dunga said, I don't want to take any chances."
Amity agreed, doing as she was told as King climbed into the older witch's hair. Eda then pulled out a green rag and tied it up around her head, hiding her ears.
"Alright then. Let's head out!" Eda said. She and Amity both looked around their surroundings for several seconds before they realized something.
"Um, how are we supposed to get there without flying?" King stuck his head out of Eda's hair to ask.
"What about over there?" Amity pointed to a metal platform off to the side. A glowing mass of green energy was at the top. A beam of light hovered over the railing and shot out from the platform to a nearby floating island.
With no better ideas, Eda and Amity walked up to the strange light.
"Will this somehow bring us to the island over there?" Amity wondered. Following the beam of light's trail, she could see that the other island in the distance had a metal platform just like this one. Are these things meant to teleport them between the different islands? Teleportation spells were a decently high level spell back home, but Amity had never heard of a machine able to do that before.
"One way to find out." With a grin, Eda jumped right into the light and suddenly disappeared.
"Eda! King! Where'd you go- aah!" Amity jumped back in fright when Eda walked back out from the light only an inch away from her.
"It's a teleporter all right. Come on Boots. Time's a wasting."
Amity and Eda spent the next half hour jumping from island to island via the teleporters. Some islands had two other teleporters on them forcing them to take a guess on which one to take, and at one point they ended up reaching a dead end, requiring them to back track. None of this was helping with Amity's growing anxiety.
By this point, the night sky had almost completely overtaken the last remaining rays of sunlight from the horizon. Luz has been by herself nearly the whole day. She can't imagine how Luz must be feeling right now. Scared? Abandoned? Amity had to see her soon. She refused to fail Luz again.
"Boots? Is something on your mind?" Eda asked.
"No. It's nothing. Let's just keep going." Amity lied. There wasn't time for a big conversation right now. Getting to Luz was her only priority at the moment.
Eventually, they all went through the correct series of teleporters and found themselves in the middle of a large floating metal platform that was located just below the city itself. A single teleporter was found at the very center of the large platform. There was no light beam showing where this teleporter would take them, but it seemed like a safe bet that this was the entrance to Alcamoth.
"Thank titan. We're here." Eda said.
"Are those the High Entia?" Amity questioned. Stationed around the platform were several people that were almost completely human-like in appearance save the large bird-like wings attached to their heads. That explains what Nene meant by Bird People.
The armed guards on the platform approached Eda and Amity, some with their hands already on their weapons. Chief Dunga wasn't kidding about these people being wary of outsiders.
"Halt. Who are you people? What is your business in Alcamoth at this hour?" The head guard, seemingly the captain of the group, asked.
"We mean no harm. We were allowed passage here by Chief Dunga of Frontier Village." Amity said, trying to diffuse the situation. "A friend of ours was admitted into a hospital in your city. We're just here to get her back."
The guards took in what they said, and Amity was relieved to see the captain release the handle of his sword as he pulled out a strange device that looked like an oversized version of Luz's… phoon? Phun? She could never remember what Luz calls it.
"Okay. I can check the medical records from here and see who's been admitted recently. Can you describe your friend for me."
"Her name is Luz. She's fourteen. About this tall," said Eda, raising her hand at about Luz's height. "You probably have her listed as a Hom Hom."
The guards all chuckled. Amity gave a confused look to Eda which she also returned, clearly not understanding what the joke was either.
"You've been hanging out with the Nopon haven't you?" One of the guards said. At least the good news was that they all seemed to become more relaxed afterwards as all the guards had finally released their weapons.
The captain tapped the screen on his device a few times and then waited for a moment. "Okay, I see your friend here. Luz Noceda is it?"
"Yes! That's her!" Amity's face lit up, finally having found her girlfriend at long last. However, her concern returned again as the captain continued to look at his device, seemingly confused about something.
"Is something wrong?" Eda asked, apparently also noticing the puzzled look the captain was giving.
"Hmmm, it seems like your friend's marked as a person of interest. Her file is confidential. I can't access anything."
"Why? What do they want with her!?" Eda's temper started to flare up, walking up to the guards with closed fists. Amity could even see the whites of her eyes begin to darken, and she quickly rushed in front of Eda to try and physically stop her.
"Eda, wait!" Amity yelled. The guards went right back to being on edge, nearly all reaching for their weapons in case of a fight. The captain was the only other person there trying to de-escalate the situation, raising his hands up to try to calm the older woman.
"Ma'am, please calm down," said the captain. "I don't know why your friend's a person of interest, but I do have the contact info of the person who marked her as such. I'll go talk to them personally to find out what's wrong. You're all free to wait here until I return."
"Fine." Eda hissed out. Crossing her arms she took a step back away from the guards. The other guards also released their weapons, but the tension in the air was still as thick as before.
The captain left a moment later, walking through the central teleporter. The rest of the guards then went back to their stations, seemingly minding their own business, but Amity could tell that they were still keeping a close watch on them.
Amity led Eda off to the side of the platform, out of earshot of any guards. "Eda, what was that about? We're trying to save Luz, not pick a fight."
"I don't trust these people or their emperor. If they've already found out what Luz is then they're not going to let her go, or us for that matter." Eda explained.
"Eda, I know you have your problems with Emperor Belos, but that doesn't mean you need to assume the worst of this emperor too."
"You think this place will be any different? These big ruler types are all the same. They fear the unknown and will do anything to get them under their control. My advice, you best just get yourself ready for a fight. You too King."
From withing Eda's hair, King responded, "Well I'm always down for a tussle wherever we go!" He then proceeded to let out a chuckle in faux confidence.
Amity shook her head at Eda's pessimism. Belos certainly had a cold demeanor about him that made him imposing, but he wouldn't go so far as to keep people prisoner just to study them would he?
No. Of course not. Luz is from an entirely different dimension and Belos never tried locking her up when she first came here. Why would this emperor be any different.
Despite that she couldn't help but glance nervously at the guards, not missing the intense look that they were giving them. Would the people here be willing to imprison them just for being from another titan? Looking up at the floating city above them, her thoughts were intruded by all the worst case scenarios of what Luz could be going through. She just has to hope for now that Luz is okay.
"Aah!" Luz screamed at the top of her lungs waving her arms in the air in the process. This got a hearty chuckle from Dr. Saelin. "And then all the kids ran away!"
"All this because you flipped your eyelids inside out? That sounds like a major overreaction to me." He said.
"Yes, thank you! I couldn't believe it. Even my mom got mad at the principal for calling her into his office por un razón tan estúpido."Dr. Saelin looked at Luz puzzled before she clarified, "For such a stupid reason."
"Fascinating. I'm probably the first person on Bionis to hear an alien language." He said, furiously jotting down all sorts of information into the journal he had with him.
"I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me like this. I know as a doctor you must be pretty busy." She said.
"Don't mention it. As far as I'm concerned, you're my patient first and an alien visitor second. A patient who's thankfully recovering very well." He gestured to Luz as she was sitting up straight on her hospital bed. While she'd been rather impatient to get out the hospital and start looking for her friends, she had to admit that all that mandatory rest Dr. Saelin had been demanding of her had really helped her recover. She thinks she may even be ready to get up and start walking, though Dr. Saelin recommended she hold off on that for now.
"If only everyone was like that." She said, remembering the earlier encounter with Nurse Del'Enore.
"I apologize for that again. I've already spoken to Del'Enore about that. I know this situation is unprecedented, but that was no excuse to run screaming out of the room just because you said you were hungry." Dr. Saelin said, shaking his head in the process.
"Did you have to report me then?" Luz asked, once again getting worried about the people Dr. Saelin had called about her. So far, reactions to Luz being from another titan have been mixed. Granted it has only been two people, but she was still extremely concerned with getting the government of this place involved.
"I'm sorry Luz, but there's no way I'd be able to keep this hidden for long, and this whole situation goes beyond my expertise." Luz looked back down again, her mind reminding her of all those movies of the government imprisoning and studying aliens or other unknown creatures. Dr. Saelin must have noticed her anxiety rising as he said, "Not to worry. The Ministry of Research are far more open minded. It's kind of part of their job after all. I'm certain they'll treat you with the respect you deserve."
The device on Dr. Saelin's hip started to beep. Pulling it out, he gave a quick look at the message that had arrived before turning back to Luz. "Speaking of which, they've finally arrived. I was starting to think we wouldn't hear back until morning.
"I'll go meet them right now and bring them in shortly. Now please, try not to worry so much. They're just here to talk with you right now, remember that." He said before Luz's imagination could start to take over her mind again. "While they're here you can also ask them about finding your friends. They'll be far better equipped to help track them down in the forest than I am."
"Thanks Dr. Saelin." Luz gave him a smile that he happily returned before he left. Her smile fell though once she was alone again.
It was early morning when she fell off that cliff and night had already fully settled across the sky. Amity must have told Eda and King what had happened hours ago. They'd have no way of knowing where she is or if she was okay. Would they still be looking for her? Do they think she's dead? They may have already given up by now. She can't imagine what they must be going through.
The last look Amity gave her, so horrified and heartbroken, haunted Luz's mind. Why didn't she just stay by the door like Eda had asked? Then none of this would have happened.
'Now that's both your families that you've failed.' Luz thought bitterly of herself.
A knock on the door cut off Luz's dark thoughts. She wiped away the tears threatening to fall from her face before she answered, "Come in."
Dr. Saelin walked in. "Luz. I'd like you to meet, Minister Lorithia. She's the head of the Ministry of Research. She'd like to ask you a few questions about where you come from."
Dr. Saelin gestured behind him to the tall woman that had entered. She had medium sized silver hair – and at this point, Luz is just assuming that everyone here has silver hair – that was mostly tied up behind her head as well as long bangs on the sides of her head that framed her face. She wore a very revealing metallic-looking leotard with an opening on the chest that left little to the imagination.
Behind her, two armed guards entered the room as well, both in full armor and swords attached to their hips. Luz's fears started to skyrocket again, images of dissection tables and government experiments flooding her mind.
Lorithia looked over Luz's face for a moment before turning to the two guards and saying, "You two can wait outside. Your extra protection won't be necessary at the moment."
"Yes ma'am," they said in unison before walking back out the door.
"Thank you." Luz said relieved. Lorithia must have noticed how nervous she got at the sight of the armed guards.
"Not a problem, Luz Noceda is it? I'm told that you hail from another titan." Lorithia looked over Luz with a keen eye. Luz noticed that she put extra attention to Luz's ears. "Strange. You look no different from a regular Homs. I would think that an alien visitor would differ in someways."
"Yes. We made that same mistake ourselves when we first admitted her, but trust me, she is absolutely not from the Bionis." Dr. Saelin explained. "And she's clearly not a Mechon either." He joked.
"I see. Well then Luz, tell me about your titan then."
Luz took a deep breath. It's just a talk. No need to be nervous. "It's pretty different. Um, I don't think our titan has a name. Everyone there just calls it the Boiling Isles. The trees there are all a reddish color instead of green like here. The titan itself is also laying flat on its back over there instead of standing upright like the Bionis. Oh, and our titan is nothing but bones. From the pictures I've seen of the Bionis, it's still pretty much intact, which is cool."
"Hmmm…" Lorithia hummed. "That does match up with the stories I've read about the possibilities of other titans."
"Wait, there have been theories of other titans before?" Dr. Saelin asked. "All my life everyone's believed that there were only two titans."
"There's a second titan around here?" Luz's interest shot up. "What's that one like."
Dr. Saelin seemed to grow uncomfortable at the mention of this second titan. He seemed to want to say something but was unable to get the words out. Before he could say anything more, Lorithia cut in. "We can discuss that later. Right now I'm most curious on how exactly you got here?"
"Oh right. Through a magic portal." Luz said flatly, believing it to be the clearest possible explanation she could give. The puzzled looks of everyone there told her otherwise.
"Come again?" Lorithia asked.
"Okay. I guess I should clarify that I'm not actually from the Boiling Isles." Luz explained. "I'm from an entirely different dimension. One where there's no such thing as magic, or this ether thing that Dr. Saelin calls it. I got from there to the Boiling Isles through this portal that goes between dimensions. I've been trying to recreate the portal, but I somehow ended up here instead."
"No such thing as ether!?" Lorithia seemed uncharacteristically taken aback by that, her cool composure starting to crack at what Luz had just said. "Dr. Saelin, how exactly did you come to learn that Luz here was not from the Bionis?"
"Did I not mention that? My mistake." He went over to the nearby desk to grab Luz's blood results, completely missing the intense glare that Lorithia was giving her. What on earth caused this sudden change in demeanor? "It's the most unbelievable thing. We tested Luz's blood and look what we found."
He handed over the test results and pointed to a specific spot on the page. Lorithia's eyes were like saucers at what she saw. "Ether levels at 0%? That's not possible."
"We ran the test three different times to make sure. It defies all logic, but somehow Luz has no ether at all." Dr. Saelin said.
Lorithia was quiet for a long moment and Luz could feel the tension in the room starting to rise. She could already feel that this meeting was going south fast. Luz could only give a nervous gulp when Lorithia finally looked back up at her.
"Girl, are there others like you here?" Lorithia hissed out with such venom directed towards her that Luz wasn't sure how to respond. Apparently she remained silent for too long as Lorithia roughly shot up, knocking her chair over in the process. "ARE THERE OTHERS HERE WITHOUT ETHER, YES OR NO?!"
"Minister Lorithia!" Dr. Saelin shouted in shock.
"I, I don't know!" Luz said, raising her hands up defensively. She was suddenly worried that this woman might turn violent. "I'm the only human here if that's what you mean."
Everyone was speechless at Lorithia's outburst. She was visibly seething and it took her a moment before her composure returned.
"We're done here. Dr. Saelin, a word please."
In an instant, the two High Entia walked out, leaving Luz alone to try and comprehend what happened. Clearly the reveal that she had no ether set her off, but why? Nurse Del'Enore was scared of her too, but this still felt completely different.
Luz wanted to find out more. Against her doctor's orders, Luz forced herself out of bed and managed to limp her way to the door. Pressing her ear against it, she was able to vaguely hear what they were saying.
"That girl lacks ether. It goes completely against the laws of nature." Lorithia said.
"That just means our laws are wrong. There's so much we can learn from her, and this other titan." Dr. Saelin was heard next.
"Or she could be a potential threat. Do you know how easily a being without ether could walk past most of our security scanners? There's already been an attempt on the princess's life earlier today."
"What? I haven't heard of this." Dr. Saelin said. Luz agreed. She's been in bed all day, how could she be involved with that?
"It's a developing investigation, but I will not take any chances." Lorithia said. "Guards, I want that girl executed immediately."
"WHAT!" Luz screamed at the same time as Dr. Saelin which was the only reason that no one overheard her.
"You can't be serious," said Dr. Saelin. "She's a child, and my patient. I won't allow this."
"Minister Lorithia," one of the guards spoke up. "Shouldn't we inform the emperor about this first?"
An emperor? That didn't make Luz feel much better, if Belos is anything to go by.
"I'll deal with the emperor. Just get rid of her."
"Minister Lorithia." A new voice cut in the conversation. Luz heard someone approaching the group outside. "Minister Lorithia. I'm the captain of the Alcamoth entrance guard. There are two women at the entrance asking about a patient in this room. Said patient was marked as a person of interest by you."
Two women here for Luz? Eda and Amity! They found her!
"More of them?" Lorithia's voice cut through Luz's happy moment again. "Captain, I want those two apprehended at once."
"Minister Lorithia! You've gone mad!" Dr. Saelin yelled.
"Are you sure about that, Minister Lorithia?" The captain asked.
"I do what anyone would for the safety of Alcamoth. Captain, all three of these people are suspects in a conspiracy against the throne. Arrest those outsiders. Now!"
"Very well ma'am. I understand." The captain said before he was heard leaving.
Luz stepped away from the door, though she could still hear the loud shouts coming from Dr. Saelin. She could barely pay that any mind though as she was on the verge of a full blown panic attack. This crazy woman is going to kill her, and also arrest Eda and Amity and probably King too if he's with them. If this is how they're treating her for being human, how would these people react when they see a full blown demon. She had to find a way to help them.
She paced around the room, looking for anyway to escape. The window was too high up. She looked at the table, wondering if that Fall Defense Gem would help. The drop isn't as high as the cliff she fell from in the forest, but she's still too hurt to handle anything too severe and without knowing the maximum height she could fall with the gem it'd be too big of a risk.
Next to the gem, her eyes fell on the different maps of the Bionis when an idea finally struck her. She's not on the Boiling Isles right now, but she is still on a titan. Would there be magic in the air here too? Could they be commanded in the same way? Only one way to find out.
Grabbing the pen off of Dr. Saelin's journal, Luz tore off a small piece of the topmost map. With practiced ease, Luz drew out the shape of the glyph she'd used a hundred times now. As soon as it was done, she quickly slapped the page and hoped for the best.
The page immediately crumbled into itself and the glyph transformed into a shining ball of light, illuminating the room just as her own face lit up with hope.
Luz shredded the maps in as many pieces as she could. On each one she drew different glyphs that she thought she'd need, but focusing on one type in particular. After she was done, she then took the pen to the floor itself and started drawing the biggest glyph she could across the length of the room.
Luz looked over her limited inventory, making sure she had everything she needed. Her phone was tucked away and her glyphs were all ready. Taking a look back at the desk, she decided to also grab the Fall Defense Gem as well. Who knows, it might still come in handy.
The commotion outside the door got louder as the door began to open, signaling to Luz that it was time to make a break for it.
"Luz, get out of here! I'm not letting them take you!" Dr. Saelin shouted as he was trying to physically stop the larger guards from coming through.
"Way ahead of you." She said. With a strong stomp of her foot, she activated the giant light glyph drawn onto the floor. The massive ball of light quickly blinded everyone and Luz took the opportunity to sneak past them all.
"Thank you for everything." She whispered to Dr. Saelin as she walked passed him. Taking in a deep breath, she activated her invisibility glyph, her only thoughts now were on finding Eda and Amity and returning home.
A/N: With S2B of The Owl House ongoing I'd just like to say that this story will definitely be canon diverging from the events of the rest of the show. I won't be making major changes to my plans if something happens that contradicts it, but I'll try to incorporate more minor details if they can fit into this story without issue.