Amity found herself pinned against the wall of the Magical Defence Techniques classroom by a round, purple spirit with spiked hair, devilish orange eyes, and a grin that stretched from ear to ear. She was sparring with Celine again, and despite the break she took during the lunch hour at home, she still found herself somewhat distracted. She had been late getting back to class, and Miss Jenkinmeyer had very publicly announced that she would be penalizing her for the tardiness.

"Abomination! Rise!" she called, and the destroyed abomination that was lying in a puddle between her and her attacker began to reform and stand. "Attack!"

Celine gasped in surprise as the abomination struck her with a back hand, causing her Oracle spirit to loosen its grip and move to protect its summoner. Amity dropped to the floor, commanding her abomination to drop into an amorphous puddle again as the spirit tried to grapple it, and she raised her fist in a grasping motion. The puddle slid across the floor before stopping beneath Celine, transforming into a large fist that grasped her and lifted her off of her feet.

With one outstretched hand that was continuously hidden in a sleeve that was too long, Celine held out her crystal ball, causing it to glow a deep purple. Before the abomination hand could encompass her entirely, Celine's single eye began to glow a matching color and wisps of smoke extruded from her mouth, nose and eye before superimposing itself around her like a translucent suit of armor. With supernatural strength, Celine broke free of the abomination hand's grip, causing it to peel away.

Amity growled, but held up a hand in surrender. Miss Jenkinmeyer immediately tapped her staff on the floor, and the bulbous, eye stalked palisman on the end of it barked through its sharp teeth. The gaze from it's central eye caused the magical summons from both students to wither and vanish. "Well done, ladies. Can anyone tell me what could have been done differently?" she asked, turning to the class lined up along the wall behind her.

"Amity gave up too easy." Boscha said, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Abominations can use their environment better than spirits can." she said, glaring at Amity.

"Correct." Miss Jenkinmeyer said as Amity looked down at the floor. Since getting to class, she felt like everyone was watching her. Like everyone somehow knew what she was thinking, feeling, or had done, and she felt a constant state of embarrassment because of it. "Anything else?"

Most students were still well aware of Amity's reputation as a ruthlessly competitive student, and remained awkwardly silent. Instead, Amity slowly raised her hand. "I wasn't prepared. I came late, and was impatient. Celine was more adaptable. That was a cool move with the spirit armor." she added. Owning up to her flaws was uncomfortable, but Celine's look of gratitude put her at ease. Also, Boscha's look of shock also gave her a sense of satisfaction.

Miss Jenkinmeyer nodded and smiled. "Very good. In that case, I will expect to see improvement next time."

Amity nodded and took her place along the wall as the instructor chose two others for the next sparring match. Celine shyly smiled at her, tilting her head slightly before whispering, "Your aura is all over the place today, Amity. Everything okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah… I'm…" she hesitated. Having anyone, let alone a fellow student that wasn't in her immediate clique show concern, was foreign. Although now that she really had no friend group anymore, she wasn't sure what she should be expecting. "I'm just grounded. It's not a big deal."

Celine frowned and nodded, and Edric's comment about trying to lie to Oracles or Illusionists came to Amity's mind. She responded with a half smile, and after a few moments of watching Boscha's potions sparring against Skara's Bard magic, Celine leaned over to whisper, "I know it's none of my business, but being grounded; it's a big deal to you, isn't it?"

Amity wanted to tell her just how much it wasn't her business; to slide back into her old defensive habits, but she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. "It's just… family stuff."

"Being grounded isn't what's got you all frazzled though, is it?"

Amity turned away, blushing. "I'd really just rather not talk about it." she replied.

Celine nodded, and they turned their attention back toward the sparring match, watching as Skara predictably took the fall so that Boscha could win. Amity sighed, knowing that she was one of the few students at Hexside that had been willing to even disagree with Boscha, let alone make her look bad. It had fed their desire to excel in sports, Duelling class, and establishing their dominance in the school's social hierarchy. She had no desire to destroy Boscha's social life, but maybe if she became someone better, witches like Skara or Amelia might try to do the same.

They watched the various pairs of students spar before the class was split up into lines for spell circle drills. Drawing circles in the air took practice; especially offensive and defensive ones, and more complex spells required even more accuracy and speed. She had once watched Lillith Clawthorne in one of her lessons, manage several spells at once while in flight, even without her palisman, and Amity had vowed to excel to such a level.

The remainder of her classes were dull, and she found herself drifting off for the most part; a dangerous task when one was seated at the forefront of every classroom. At the dismissal bell's scream, she packed up her books and dropped them off in her locker, quietly dreading the walk home. She strolled through the hall with disregard for the students around her that were eager to leave, and she took a moment on the top of the stairs to just breathe. She could see the manor just above the treetops. Her mother's instructions had been very clear. "You will be returning home directly after school. There will be no library time, and no after school activities until the Day of Unity, for all I care!"

As she took in the view of the treeline, a lone figure sitting sadly on the bleachers of the Grudgeby field caught her attention, and she bit her lip. It was probably someone else with light brown skin, dark hair, and a multi track Hexside uniform… "Don't do it." she said to herself. "You're just going to get in more trouble if you don't get home right away." Instead, she took a deep breath and approached, telling herself she wouldn't stay long. Just enough to make sure that Luz was okay. "Tough practice?" she asked, sitting down beside Luz, who was holding Willow's broken barrette, attempting to patch it together with a bandage.

Luz was still looking down at the flowery hair clip, barely acknowledging that Amity was there. "I pushed Willow and Gus too hard." she lamented. "It's just, I hate seeing Willow get picked on." she continued, turning to face Amity. "She's one of the best friends I've ever had. Winning this game is the only way I know how to help."

Amity let a half smile show through. She was well aware how good of a friend Willow could be. "Did you know; before Boscha… I was the Grudgeby Team Captain?"

"Really?!" Luz asked, her enthusiasm catching Amity off guard.

"Well, once I left the team, I decided that was a part of my life I wanted to forget. We were playing Glandus High for the Island Championship. We had a move planned, and it was a good one. But at the last minute, I decided I wanted to do something a bit flashier." she explained, feeling an odd sense of apprehension at recalling the scene to Luz. It was a moment in her life that she hated the most now, despite the accomplishment. "I changed our game plan to the Thorn Vault."

"Good Witch Azura II: The Field of Deadly Fates?!" Luz exclaimed. "You saw it too?"

"Uh, yeah. But it went disastrously wrong. My teammates got hurt, and all because I had an idea of how things should be. I pushed them too far, and I never played again after that day." she said, coming out of her reverie to find herself nose to nose with Luz. She let out a shout and stumbled back, feeling heat return to her face and the tips of her ears.

"Sorry!" Luz panted. "I just really love backstories." she explained. They both turned to notice Boscha and her team, already dressed in their Grudgeby uniforms, step onto the field. Luz opened Amity's hand and placed the patched up hair clip into her palm. "I know what I have to do to make this up to Willow. Thanks."

Boscha glared at Luz as she approached her in the center of the field, standing at her full height defiantly. "It's after school. Where's the leader of your loser brigade?"

"I'm here on her behalf." Luz said, taking a moment's breath before continuing. "We forfeit." Amity gasped, wanting to warn Luz about what she was doing. "And I'm here to tell you that I'll take Willow's place as your water go-fer, target practice, whatever you need."

"Wow, you're a really a good friend." Boscha noted, sounding remiss as she cast a sideways glance at Amity before turning her full attention back on Luz and igniting the Grudgeby ball in her hands on fire. "And a perfect target!" she growled, throwing the heavy ball at Luz. "Think fast!"

Luz gasped, diving to the side to avoid the fireball that narrowly missed her head. Boscha wasn't playing around, and Amity knew it. The Grudgeby Captain stretched out her arms, rage seething in her eyes as Grudgeby balls from the racks along the sidelines rolled, bounced, and finally hovered in the air around her before bursting into flames. Luz began to dodge and weave, trying to put some distance between herself and her attacker. Amity wasn't certain that she could stop Boscha on her own in this state. She was acting feral, and it was clear that it wasn't Luz she was angry at. Amity just hoped that the help Luz needed was still around.

Amity ran as fast as she could to the greenhouse outside entrance and burst through the door, relieved to find both Willow and Gus inside. "Luz needs our help!" she shouted, grabbing the pair's attention. She let the door swing shut behind her and approached. "I know she pushed you guys, and she always gets in over her head." she explained, thinking back to their first meeting at the Covention when Luz challenged her to a duel; just to protect her small demon companion. "She can be so stupid, which I love…" she continued, recalling how Luz taunted a slitherbeast so Amity could rescue her brother, sister, and Eda. She blushed, realizing that she was still standing in front of Willow and Gus. "I mean hate! In any case, she needs you right now, which is sweet…" she said, smiling at the memory of Luz declaring herself a fearless champion and taking Amity's place as Grom's challenger. Her attention was snapped back again, and her cheeks reddened. "I mean, I hate it! And it's dumb!"

"You lost me." Gus replied dryly, clearly unable to follow Amity's emotional roller ghoster.

Amity frowned in frustration, returning the barrette to Willow. "Just… here."

Willow smiled, looking down at the hair clip that had travelled so far in such a short time since Grom Night. Gus grinned as well, raising his tiny blue flags. "Can we resist the call to action? No!" he shouted. "May the flags be raised once more!" He charged forward and out of the door, and Amity smiled at Willow before following him back out onto the Grudgeby Field.

As Gus and Willow ran ahead, Amity began to slow as she considered how late she already was to get home. If she ran, maybe she could get home before anyone noticed that she was missing. She had got Luz's friends to help her; that was enough, right? Her heart began to pound as she thought about how much trouble she would be in if her mother discovered why she wasn't home, and her steps continued to slow. She glanced at the path home, and back to Luz and Willow on the field as they faced down Boscha; and Gus, who had taken a seat in the bleachers. If Gus couldn't play…

Amity could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes as she struggled to decide whether to avoid trouble by running home and abandoning Luz, and Willow; or to stay and risk her mother's wrath.

"You need three players on your team." Boscha said, holding her fingers up in Willow's face. "Where's your third?" she asked mockingly as Willow glanced up at Gus.

Amity stepped forward. "Right here." she said, making her decision to stay.

"You just destroyed your social life." Boscha said as Amity passed.

She locked eyes with Luz until she stood beside her and smiled. "Nah. I think I made it better." she added, glaring back at Boscha.

"Ugh! Game on!" Boscha shouted, storming off to join her team.

"Uh, I don't actually have a Grudgeby outfit." Luz said, looking down at her multitrack school uniform. She looked from Willow and Amity, making an odd sound through her lips as she looked them both up and down. "We're about the same size. Do you have an extra one, Amity?"

The request caught Amity by surprise. "Right. Uniforms. We'll need to… change." she said, and Willow eyed her suspiciously while Luz slowly nodded.

"I mean, Boscha's team is wearing spiked armor, so I thought it'd be a good idea."

"Mmm-hmm." Amity replied through tight lips as she nodded. She turned on her heel to hide her nervous grin and started to lead them to the change room. Calm. Breathe. Relax. Focus, she told herself, passing through the gymnasium to the change room.

"There used to be ghosts in here." Willow asked, looking about the empty room. "But they seem to have left in the last month or so."

Luz let out a surprised gasp. "With all of the track classes I have, I haven't had any time for sports. I tried out for cheerleading back home, but my eyelid flipping wasn't really appreciated."

"It was actually Eda that cleaned the ghosts out of here." Amity said, reaching her locker. "I happened to be in here at the time and got to help. Since abominations are made from the mud of the Titan, they make good containers for spirits."

"Oh yeah! Eda told me about that." Luz replied. "She also told me how she put them in here in the first place!"

Amity gave the locker a scratch beneath its fanged mouth, causing it to open. "Willow, you have your own uniform, right?" she asked, finding her pink uniform hanging up neatly and a spare, grey one bundled up in the back. She reached in to pull the bundle of clothes out and frowned, trying to unwrinkle it. "Sorry, I haven't had a chance to bring this one home yet." she said, turning to hand the uniform over to Luz, who had already removed her cowl and was trying to pull her shirt off over her head. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, turning away.

"Little help?" Luz asked, her voice muffled from inside her shirt while she waved her arms in Amity's direction.

"Dear Diary, this is how Amity Blight died." she whispered to herself. Setting the grey uniform aside, she searched blindly for Luz's sleeves and pulled while still facing away.

"Whew! Don't worry about the uniform. I'm still all sweaty from practice anyway. I feel like I've been wearing the same clothes for months!" Luz explained, pulling on the grey shirt. Amity faced away, taking the clean, pink uniform from her locker and changing into the shirt and shorts as well. "Willow! You look awesome!" she heard Luz exclaim. "We're gonna need some face paint!"

Amity finished changing and reached back into her locker to store her school uniform and extract a pair of compacts full of colored creams. "I have green, and purple." she smiled, turning to her new teammates.

"We're not going to need Bard magic, Skara!" Boscha shouted; Amelia and Cat standing to either side of her. "You're our relief player."

Skara was sitting on the bench, looking both annoyed and dejected while Boscha seemed to tower over her. "But I think I have some really good plays that could…"

"Amity's going to be the only threat on their team, and I know her best. We'll be doing my plays. Got it?" Boscha stated firmly, looking each of her teammates in the eye. Cat nudged her arm, gesturing to Amity, Luz, and Willow as they approached. "Took you long enough. What were you three doing in there?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Luz asked, taking a position on the center line beside Willow and opposite Amity.

"Ew! No." Boscha replied, stepping up to face Amity. "I hope you'll be comfortable at the bottom of the social ladder with the rest of the rejects." she grinned.

Willow looked Boscha in the eye as all six girls crouched down, ready to spring as soon as the bell screamed. "There's something on your shoe." she said casually, and with a sense of genuine concern.

Boscha rolled her eyes, grinding her cleats into the dirt. "Like I'd fall for that." The turf between them opened up and the leather Grudgeby ball was launched into the air. Boscha was a practiced player, and a dedicated athlete, springing upward the moment the ground began to tear. Something held her back though before her foot could even leave the field and Willow swept passed her as Luz and Amity charged forward, aggressively holding Amelia and Cat back. Willow landed with Grudgeby ball in hand, careful to stay out of Boscha's reach.

Amelia expertly tossed Luz to the side, and Amity lost her grip on Cat's lanky form as Luz's grunt caught her attention. They had nearly reached Willow when she drew a quick circle that summoned a cocoon of leaves out of the ground, engulfing her and pulling her under.

Boscha tore a small collection of vines from her foot before standing again. "Where'd she go?!" Several seconds passed before the ground erupted at the Banshee's end of the field and Willow's cocoon appeared and folded open, allowing her to toss the Grudgeby ball through the triangular goal.

Boscha growled as the goal horn rang, and she grabbed Amelia by the chest plate of her uniform. "You're a Plant Witch, too! Why can't you do that? Why didn't you say that she could?!" Amelia grimaced, stammering before Boscha let her go. "Doesn't matter. I'll bet she can't do it again."

Amity and Luz shared a collection of high fives as Willow ran back to the center line with a grin that made her nearly unrecognizable. "Great job, Willow!" Luz cheered, getting back into position and clapping her hands. "That was a great toss, too, Amelia!"

Amelia looked back at her in confusion before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Don't trust her!" Boscha growled. "She's just trying to get into your head. It's not going to work, human!"

Luz frowned back at Boscha, clearly hurt by the accusation despite trying to remain unaffected. She turned her attention back to the player across the centerline from her, shiftingher weight from side to side in a dance like motion as she prepared herself for the ball to launch. "Hey Boscha…" Amity said, stealing the girl's attention from Luz. "Is that face paint still giving you blue eye?"

Boscha's cheeks reddened and she instinctively looked up as the ball soared into the air again. Willow charged forward this time, knocking Cat to the ground with her heavier build. Amity pushed off of Boscha and leaped high, batting the ball toward Luz as she dived away from Amelia's tackle. With only Amelia on her feet, Luz began to run toward the far end of the field with little to stop her. Drawing a quick spell circle, Amelia gestured at Luz, summoning a vine that snagged her ankle and drew her to the ground.

Amity started to run, racing Amelia as Boscha climbed to her feet behind them. A large tentacle broke through the ground, flailing wildly, and Amity slid beneath its swing before it caught Amelia across the chest. Luz had curled herself around the ball, and Amity reached down to lift her by the arm. "C'mon, Luz!" Amity ordered, running behind her as a guard while Boscha quickly gained on them. She could see the ground just short of the goal begin to heave, and she stretched out an arm to catch Luz by the shirt, stopping her a moment before a giant axe swept up from the field, nearly slicing her in two.

As the axe began to swing back again, Amity lifted a fist and let out a grunt as an abomination arm grew from out of the dirt, holding the axe in place. "Thanks, Amity!" Luz smiled, running forward between the axe and disembodied arm. Amity ground her teeth, making an effort to hold the axe back until Luz was past. She could hear Boscha's footfalls still approaching from behind and Amity let go of her control over the arm, allowing the exe to slice through and reset itself under the ground.

The goal horn sounded again and the score board changed to zero to two before Boscha knocked Amity to the ground. Amity turned over, glaring up at Boscha as she stood above her. "The round was already over, Boscha!"

"I guess I just felt like changing the play, Amity. Y'know, like any good Captain would." she replied, a smug look passing over her face before she turned away with a flip of her hair.

Amity picked herself up as Luz arrived, brushing the dust off of Amity's back and rear end. "Uhm, I'm okay."

"No judgement, but how did you ever stay friends with her for so long?"

Amity frowned. "You saw the memory. My parents chose her for me." she admitted. "I guess after awhile, I just got comfortable with the idea that we would eventually go down different paths. I would join the Emperor's Coven, and she would… I don't know, play Grudgeby professionally, I guess."

Luz frowned for a moment, thinking. "Well, I hope you find the path that you want. I'll be rooting for you, no matter what." she continued, the genuine smile she displayed nearly making Amity choke.

"Uh, thanks."

The game continued, with the Banshees scoring a steady stream of goals that eventually surpassed Willow's team. With the score matched evenly at six to five, Boscha was charging forward with the ball, flanked by both Cat and Amelia with Luz and Willow in their way. Amity had gotten split up and crowded when she had nearly made it to the goal, and was in no position to help. Seeing a chance at a long range goal, Boscha ignited the ball in her hands to make sure it wouldn't be intercepted and threw it forward. Acting quickly, Luz placed one of her glyphs on the field, erecting a column of ice that stopped the ball mid flight. The fire surrounding the ball fizzled out and it melted through, falling gently into Luz's waiting hands.

Amity could see Boscha's frustration, and she called out, "Luz! Here!" Somehow, Luz ignited the ball again herself and tossed it back, forcing the surprised trio of Banshee players to dodge to the side as the fire ball swept past. Luz's aim was off, and was going to fall well short of the goal despite her still impressive throw. Amity stuck her tongue out in concentration, pumping a fist and summoning a large abomination hand to 'bop' the ball the rest of the way to the goal. "Yeah!" she cheered as Luz and Willow joined in.

Gus had remained in the bleachers for the game, creating multiple illusions of himself with his little blue and gold flags. He had filled the seats with a cheering crowd, and it was almost like Amity was playing with her old team. Except that she was having more fun than she'd ever had actually playing on the Banshees. She wanted to win, of course, if only to stick it to Boscha in the hope she might actually leave Willow alone, but it was less about wanting to excel, and more about the people she might share that win with.

Amity took her place, casting a glance at the six - six scoreboard before crouching down, digging her fingers into the dry dirt and grinning at Boscha. She was starting to feel the scrapes and bruises that she had gained in just the last few minutes, with beads of sweat trickling down her arms, forehead, and legs. "You're rusty, Boscha. I'll bet you were expecting a shut out, huh?"

Boscha had her own collection of minor injuries. Her third eye had the beginning of a dark ring beneath it, a large yellow bruise was forming on her thigh where one of the field's tentacles had grappled her, and her exposed knuckles were red and skinned from sliding across the dirt after a vine had grabbed her ankles. She was panting, though not as hard as Luz and Willow, and seemed more focused on her goal than Amity had ever seen her before. Surprisingly, her only response was a gob of spit on the ground.

The grudgeby ball launched into the air, bouncing off of several player's hands before coming to rest in Amity's. Expecting Boscha to come for her directly again, she spun quickly and handed the ball off toward Willow. With blinding speed, Cat intercepted the pass, a ring of blue magical energy encircling her as she sped away, cleanly passing by traps and obstacles. "Wow! Healing magic!" Luz shouted, watching Cat make a goal before nearly falling to her knees. Luz and Willow jogged to her side to help her to her feet, and Amity trailed behind. "You've got mad buff skills, girl!" she exclaimed with a grin. "All your guy's magic is so cool!"

Cat shook off the fatigue that her healing magic placed on her and smiled, accepting Luz and Willow's help. "Thanks! That's a tough one." she replied, slowly regaining her strength enough to jog ahead to join her team.

Amity passed her with a quiet nod and a smile that she was surprised to see returned. "Luz! Did you just learn fire magic last round?"

Luz's face beamed. "I did! There was a new glyph left on the ball from Boscha's spell! I'm like Thorda, the Cinder Queen!" she roared, getting a laugh out of her companions.

"We've got two minutes left and we're trailing by one." Willow announced through her panting. "Think we can do this?"

"Heck yeah, we can! Let's show Boscha what for!"

Amity nodded, but she was having her doubts. Both she and Willow were tired, having spent a lot of their magic during the first half of the game while the Banshees were only now having to bring out their more powerful spells in order to surge ahead. They had paced themselves wisely, and were remaining strong, especially with Cat's healing magic.

The trio reached the centerline and fell into place again, and Amity readied herself. Boscha took her position as well, grinning. Her bruises and scratches had all disappeared, and she was barely breathing heavily like she had been the round before. Cat had obviously given her a quick recharge while Willow's team was gathering, and were now fresh to play. It was a tactic often frowned upon in the professional field, though it was hardly against the rules. "Check it out, Amity. Fully charged. Still think you've got a chance?"

Amity cricked her neck to either side and crouched. "You bet, I do."