AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I'm crossposting this on here now! It's the story that I'm dedicating 80% of my focus on right now and I think it is the most interesting, so I hope you readers like it as well!
TOH Insta: lumitylucas
NO TURNING BACK Chapter One: Don't Leave Me
Luz stood confident in front of the man that dared to threaten someone she loved. She felt none
of the fear she would have mere months ago. No, now she felt something different, something new, fury. She was pissed.
The staff that she rode on when she first got the Isles was gripped tight in her palm, with Owlbert proudly perched on the tip. It was time to strike.
"You have no idea how foolish this is," Emperor Belos calmly said from the opposite end of the room, sitting in his typical spot, on the throne. He held his white, mechanical-looking staff in his left hand as he stood up. Unlike any other witch her age, Luz didn't falter, not even a little bit. In fact, she took a step forward in response, showing her intentions as clearly as she possibly could have.
"Yeah, foolish is basically my thing now," Luz exclaimed as she wore a steady smirk across her face. Belos was the first to attack, sending a pure beam of crimson magic in the direction of the ambitious witch. Dodging as quickly as she could, she managed to only be grazed by the incredible attack.
Luz was quick to fire back some magic of her own. Now that she had the staff, her magic was amplified ten-fold and she was able to do some things without glyphs when she had it on her. Luz's magic was bright yellow, much like the matriarch that she was fighting for, and it was just as powerful after she spent so long practicing. Ever since Eda lost most of her magic, Luz had used the staff, which happened an entire month and a half ago, meaning that she had spent more time with it than without.
Belos didn't even try to dodge. All he did was wave the magic away with his right hand and redirect it directly at Luz. She was no match.
Due to the fact that it was her magic, it was much smaller and easier to dodge, which she did. She gracefully dipped below the beam, sliding and gaining several feet of ground on the now enraged emperor.
Belos wasn't having it though. He gripped the staff with both hands, focusing all of his magic at once into a beam of insane proportions, and it was heading right for her.
She gasped as it only continued to grow. After using all of her effort to jump off to the side, Luz realized that Belos was right from the beginning. This was foolish, and she knew it now. The magic connected, hitting her directly in her lower back as she attempted to pirouette through the air.
She screamed in pain as a large chunk of skin was disintegrated directly off of her, leaving nothing but blood, leaking everywhere. It turned out that her confidence was misplaced. She had no clue what she was getting into.
She fell to her knees, temporarily unable to stand as she gripped at her back, finding only liquid where there should have been flesh. She gagged at that. Belos, now wearing a smug expression that she could read even when he wore a mask. He spoke.
"You should have known, human. I warned you after all. You never should have been here, and now, nobody will ever know that you were."
Luz couldn't meet his gaze, it would only be a cruel reminder of just how wrong she was to even consider coming here. She was becoming numb, which was a terrible thing. With her mother being a doctor, she knew that it was bad. If she didn't get to a healer soon, things… might… not last much longer for her.
She ignored it for now. She needed to do what she could, especially with the implication that she might not live long enough to make that choice again. At that moment, that was all that kept her going. She couldn't imagine what her friends would say, not to mention what Eda would say. She had been told to never be a martyr, but it was seeming more and more realistic by the second. Luz coughed hard, feeling a pang of pain before speaking.
"And you're making an even bigger mistake. You have no idea what happens after you go through with this."
For a moment, even Luz believed it, but it was only a moment. Belos pointed the tip of his staff into her neck, slicing her slightly. He pulled it back very slightly after she said this, but she was quickly stripped of any hope that she had at that moment. Belos spoke again, still in his cocky tone.
"Neither do you, but I know one thing that you don't…"
"And what is that?" Luz questioned.
"I know that you will never live to see it!" Belos practically screamed as he stabbed Luz through the chest with the staff. He held her up with it, she grabbed it for support. When the staff was at its peak height, belos sent a surge of magic through the staff, causing Luz to vanish from the throne room instantly. All that was left was a puddle of thick, crimson blood.
,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,
Hours passed. There was quiet surrounding the Boiling Isles, but it was nowhere near peaceful. Emira had arrived at the Blight Manor only minutes ago, but the effect of her arrival was felt instantly. She couldn't keep what she knew from her dear sister Mittens. She just... couldn't, and for what it was worth, Amity needed to know, so whether she said it or not, she appreciated it.
It took only a few moments. Amity was packed, and no matter what anyone said to her on the way out, she wouldn't stop for the world, because her world was out there, getting herself killed. She grabbed only the bare essentials, which to her was only her bare fists, along with... other items.
She stepped out the door, ignoring whatever her family had to say on the matter. If Emira knew to tell Amity about this, she had to understand why she had to do this. Her relationship with Viney wasn't a secret to everyone after all.
The journey to the Emperor's Castle went by in a terrified blur for Amity. She could only see the path forward, ignoring any and every detail that she passed. It took a while on foot, but she was so focused that it seemed like mere seconds.
Once she arrived, she noted the remarkable darkness that loomed over the castle. She had heard about it in folktales but never imagined that even the ruler of the Boiling Isles could live somewhere like this. It was at that very moment that she remembered her task. A wave of determination rolled over her. She couldn't stop, not to be scared, not to worry, not to plan. She needed to go, now. There was no turning back.
She was met at the front gate by several guards, all the exact same size, wearing the exact same boring coven clothing. They stared down at her incredulously before asking "What's a little girl like you doing all the way out here? It's not safe you know."
If there was something worse that they could have said to her, she didn't know it. That only served to anger her more. She answered their offensive question with one of her own, "shouldn't you be inside, at Lilith's becking call?"
The guard, clearly flustered by the mention of Lilith, shot her a glare. Amity didn't have time for this. Before the guard could shoot back some stupid snarky remark, Amity spoke again.
"Listen, I have to get in. My… friend is in there and I need to make sure she's safe."
The guards looked at each other, knowing what was going on inside only moments ago, then looked back at her.
"Kid, you really shouldn't be here."
Amity wasn't having this any longer.
"Oh my Titan, just let me IN!"
All but one of the guards moved aside, but the one that didn't, Steve, spoke again.
"I'm afraid that I can't let you in, Amity."
The matter of the guard knowing her name was irrelevant at the time. If he wasn't going to let her through, he also wasn't going to get in her way. She gave him one more chance.
"Step. Aside."
He didn't. His last mistake of the night was made.
Amity only had to raise one hand, summoning a massive abomination hand. The hand did her work for her, punching all of the guards to the side and incapacitating them in one fell swoop.
Her path was cleared. The pained grunts of the guards left behind were mute to her. She only continued her stroll, casting aside any lingering guard that dared to oppose her. All she had to do was remind herself of who she was fighting for, Luz. The girl that changed her for the better. The changes that she made would not cower away in the direst of times, instead, it would show brighter, prouder, stronger for the one she needed.
She knew her way to the Emperor's throneroom after visiting the castle so many times in her training with Lilith, so it didn't take long for her to reach her destination.
She spotted the door at the end of the hall, tall and golden. She eyed it with her lingering determined expression. She took a step forward, touching the door, ready to push it open when sound returned to her.
A familiar voice.
"Maybe you should just turn back while you still have the chance."
It was a voice that she had become accustomed to after her many visits here, the Golden Guard. He was the next person in line to be the Emperor's Coven leader if anything were to happen to Lilith, and he made sure to hang it over every single person there, including Amity.
"I should say the same to you."
She didn't need to see him grip his mechanical staff, because she heard it very clearly.
Equally loud was the summoning of magic, prepared to hit her while she wasn't facing him.
"Big mistake."
At the moment, the boy unleashed a flurry of red magic, aimed right for her back, which she easily dodged. She summoned a small abomination hand, which grabbed at the guard's ankle, pulling him quickly to the ground, his face being the last thing to hit the ground.
He got up quickly, with a bloody nose to show for it. He then tried to use his magic to go for her legs, another mistake. Amity jumped over the blast and used her abomination once more to grab the boy's staff. Rather than catching the staff and using it for herself, she had the abomination snap it in half, which clearly didn't ease the mood of her opponent any, good thing that wasn't her goal.
She was growing bored with the weak attempts to fight from the now disarmed teenager. In one final attack, Amity sent him reeling, causing no further damage to the poor boy, only knocking him out so she could finally reach her goal, Luz.
All she could do was hope. She needed Luz to be alright. She didn't know what she would do if she wasn't. She pushed the foul thoughts out of her mind, allowing her to open the giant door finally.
The Emperor was waiting for her, sitting calmly in his chair. Luz was nowhere to be found. He was silent, scheming, and clearly waiting for her to speak first.
She waited a while before considering speaking. She needed to search for anything, any lingering sign that Luz had been here. She needed Luz to be at home, safe in the Owl House.
Her eyes drifted around the room until she finally saw the floor. There was no blood puddle, but there was something that did belong to Luz, one, just one of her ball earrings. Amity would recognize them anywhere. She felt so many emotions in that moment, from anger to despair. She wouldn't, couldn't control herself. She felt herself losing restraint, her hand glowing bright pink. She could swear that she was being lifted off the ground. Her eyes began to glow pink as well, but then, finally, out of nowhere, Belos spoke.
"So it's true then,"
Amity faltered. Her eyes returned to their normal golden glow as she slowly fell back to the ground, landing softly on her feet. She looked to him pleadingly, hoping that what she was thinking wasn't the case.
"Where is she?"
Belos responded, "Not here, not anymore."
Amity was hoping, praying to whatever godly forces there may be that it wasn't true. That Luz wasn't… she couldn't bear it.
"Where IS she?"
Belos must have been surprised by her persistence, despite Amity having ripped through his forces only moments ago.
"I told you, not here, and at this rate, she won't be anywhere."
What he meant was instantly caught by Amity, either she was dying or she was lost. She couldn't tell which was worse, at least if she WAS dying, Amity could find her and save her. She believed what he said at face value. What else COULD she do?
"I need her. Tell me where she is," Amity fell to her knees and looked to the ground before continuing, "please…"
Belos was pleased, twice in one day did such great opportunities befall him. First, the human that caused him so much trouble was gone, likely dead, and now, that Blight girl, the one the treacherous Blights hold so dear had simply walked into his throne room, and she was far weaker in wills than the human.
"Is that so?"
Amity nodded, Belos continued.
"What are you willing to lose in order to be with her?"
Amity took a few seconds before responding.
"Everything…"
It didn't take long for Belos to formulate a response, "Then we might be able to come up with a deal then."
Amity looked up at the man, confused at what he meant. She was falling apart at the seams, feeling tears come to her eyes, threatening to come out in a matter of seconds. Belos took this as an invitation to continue.
"If you wish to see her again, you must promise to not come back, nor will you let her come back."
Amity's tears dissipated. This meant that Luz was alive, and it wasn't a matter of yes or no, Amity would see her again. She didn't even consider saying no, how could she. It wasn't much of a choice anyway.
She wordlessly nodded once and the Emperor started maniacally laughing as he stood from his throne with his staff gripped in his left hand. He pointed it at her and smiled under his mask before finishing the deal, sending her away with one beam of magic. To evils dealt with in one day.
All was dark for a moment, save for a single speck of light, which she knew very well. She knew the source, the person behind it, Luz Noceda, the girl who stole her heart with no intent on returning it. She was being pulled toward the light in the void she was in. She didn't fight back.
The light was dimmer than usual, possibly losing its life, which terrified Amity beyond belief. Once she left her limbo, the worst was proven. In the middle of a bright green forest, in the dead of night, Luz Noceda lay unconscious, bloody on the floor, without much hope of waking up again.
Amity nearly vomited at the sight. It was both her worst fear and the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen. It was a good thing that Bump never cut her open because the sight was the source of nightmares. She couldn't think about that now, nor could she think of how Belos could have done this to her. She needed to help. She wasn't a healer, nor was she even good at the magic. She didn't know how to help. There was only one spell that she knew, but if she used it, there was no telling how this could end. It was a spell that Lilith had taught her about long ago.
It was called the "Pain Sharing Spell," Lilith described it as something that took half of the pain from the victim and brought it onto the caster. Amity knew it was her only option, again, no choice.
She knew exactly how to say the spell, due to Lilith's teachings. It was now or never, and yet never was never an option. She needed to go, now. She put both palms on Luz, one on her forehead and one on her heart. She started the spell.
"With this spell declared, let the pain be shared."
Immediately, she felt a surge of sharp pain through her lower back and her chest, as if she had been stabbed right through. Whether it was the fact that Amity was running out of magic to use for the day or if she was going into shock like Luz did, she was beginning to fade out. Her last action before finally collapsing was probably the smartest, she changed her ears, something she had done at home many times while thinking about Luz.
She collapsed.
All was dark and quiet, there was no light this time, but Amity knew that she wasn't dead. She just wasn't. One would be able to tell if they were, right? Either way, all Amity felt was numbness, the pain had subsided as she floated in the dark abyss, totally and completely alone.
Her surroundings were changing. She could see her memories, her life playing out before her as she floated weightlessly. She saw her first birthday, where the only attendants were Blight Industries employees and associates, which Amity didn't mind at the time. On her second birthday, her first gift would be received, a friend. Several years later, she was forced to hurt that same friend, then there were more friends or acquaintances at least. Willow's dads were fired from Blight Industries and Amity was forced to befriend Skara, Boscha, and a few other young witches, none of which were particularly pleasant.
Then, she was reminded of the light that returned to her life when Luz came flailing in, tearing down her walls and stealing her heart. She never understood how it happened so fast after she spent so long setting them up, but she did. The memories paused after they finally caught up to where she just was. She stared into Luz's eyes as she cast the spell, and awakened. With a gasp for air, she found herself awake once more, hearing the same noises she was making coming from her left. She turned to face the noise, spotting Luz. Amity fell out of whatever bed she was in.
She ran to Luz's side, noticing that she was breathing. Luz looked into Amity's eyes with terror, not understanding what was going on. She had just died, right? She looked down to her chest and found something terrifying, hospital robes. She lifted them quickly and spotted a closed wound. She couldn't breathe. She fell unconscious once more.
Amity, try as she might, was not able to wake the girl. She pressed her ear to Luz's chest, noticing that there was a heartbeat, nearly as strong as ever. She calmed down a bit and sunk to the floor, grabbing Luz's hanging right hand.
At that moment, a quiet, surprised woman finally spoke up from the corner of the room. She held a pile of hospital gowns in her hand while she wore a pale blue outfit. She wore red-framed glasses and a shocked expression. Amity instinctually let go of Luz's hand and scampered back into her bed.
The woman's gaze followed her the whole way through the motion, even when she finally sat down on the bed. Upon impact, the numbness faded. She winced in pain for a moment before finally talking for the first time in who knows how long.
"H- Hey, my name's Amity"
Amity waved, the woman did not reciprocate. Her expression grew more stern, something she was all too familiar with. The woman spoke up with an accent that Amity was almost unfamiliar with, almost. She knew it from somewhere.
"What were you doing with my daughter in the woods."
If there was any confusion about where the accent came from, it was gone now. This was Luz's mother, a healer apparently, and she was not happy to see her. Amity responded.
"I was- she- we…"
Amity couldn't formulate a sentence, which only served to anger the woman further. Her stern expression turned to one of contempt, which she was also familiar with. Of course, she hadn't hurt Luz, she had done the opposite actually, but she just couldn't manage to get the words out. She glanced over to Luz, who was visibly breathing still. She took a deep breath herself before trying to speak again.
"Someone attacked us, I don't know who or why, but they hurt her and got away."
The expression remained scornful. Amity couldn't look her in the eyes anymore, so suddenly the ground seemed more interesting.
"Oh yeah? And who was this 'person'" Camila asked as she used her fingers as quotations, showing that she wasn't buying Amity's story.
"And also, why is it that my daughter never showed up to camp? What did you do to her?!"
Amity wasn't sure how to react anymore, this was just too much. She knew she couldn't tell the truth, mostly because Luz had explained as much as she could about the human realm to her. She couldn't tell her about the horrors she faced, nor could she explain that she actually saved Luz. She couldn't tell her that Luz had been to the Boiling Isles, let alone the fact that she basically had a second mother named Eda. She couldn't do anything.
She lost it. She wasn't sure when, but she lost control. Hot tears started to stream down her cheeks beyond her control. She suddenly got up from the bed and sprinted past the woman, even bumping shoulders with her by accident. She ran out of the hospital and into the night.
…
It would be several minutes before Luz would wake up again, but sure enough, she did. She opened her eyes and felt far less pain than she should have. She looked down again, expecting to see blood all over the place, as she had the last time she remembered being awake. She could have sworn that Amity was there, but that must have just been a dream.
Her mother, in her typical nurse-garb, was tending to her wounds as she slept. She spoke, wearing a tense expression.
"You're awake…"
Luz was confused. Isn't that kind of… obvious, Luz thought.
"Um, yeah. I'm awake."
Camila softened slightly upon hearing her daughter's voice, which Luz noticed, but she quickly sunk back into the same stern expression that she wore when she was scorning her for her most recent school incident. She remembered it as clear as her battle with Belos, which she definitely remembered, vividly.
…..
"You scared me, Mija. Do you have any idea what it was like hearing that you weren't at camp, that whole time?"
Luz froze for a moment. She knows, Luz determined. How could she know? Who told her? Did she know where Luz actually was? These were all questions to be answered at another time. Her mother spoke again.
"Not to mention that strange girl that was with you in the woods? Did she put you up to this? Did she hurt you?"
Luz nearly jumped out of her skin. It wasn't a dream then, Luz decided. So this meant that not only was her mother flipping out far more severely than even Luz could have expected, but her best friend, a witch, was somewhere in the human realm, and it wasn't by her side. This was worrisome.
"Mom, I'm sorry, but we need to do this another time. Where did she go?"
Her mother was apparently not very happy about Luz's orders, because it was soon after them that she yelled back at Luz.
"NO! You tell me what is going on, NOW!"
Luz forgot about that. Things were different on the Isles, she must have forgot her manners. She tried taking a different approach.
"Lo siento, mami. I need to follow her. She's going to get hurt. I promise that I'll come back."
Wrong choice of words.
"You promise? Like you promised to go to camp? I don't believe it."
"Mami, I'm sorry. I know that it must be confusing, but I have to go find her, please just let me do this one thing before you get mad at me."
Her mother seemed hurt by this, but she finally resigned to sitting back down in the chair she was in before.
"You better come back," She paused before continuing, "She went outside and to the right, at least that is what Pamela told me."
Luz nodded and jumped out of her bed, grabbing at her wound as she started her journey. Her mother stopped her. She held out a change of clothes for Luz as well as a rain jacket. Luz gladly accepted the clothes and quickly threw them on before running out of the room, down the stairs, and outside of the hospital entirely.
She knew that her mother was breaking several rules by letting her out, which she appreciated, but it meant that she had to hurry. She just knew where to go. Despite having no idea where Amity went and forgetting where some places were, she knew where Amity would be by now, the library. It was close.
It was only just down the street in fact, which was the absolute best-case scenario for Luz's purposes. She started her sprint and didn't stop until her destination was in sight, as well as the person she was looking for. She was there, in a corner, avoiding the rain for obvious reasons, and she was… was she crying?
Luz approached slowly, fully understanding what was going on, or at least she thought she did. Amity looked different, not that Luz hadn't seen her cry before. She saw the ears, which initially caught her off guard, but the more she thought about it, she was thrilled that nobody knew about her...secret.
She finally reached Amity, which Amity must not have noticed because it was only when Luz put a hand on her shoulder that she reacted. She flinched at first, a bad sign, but Luz didn't let go. She knew Amity, she knew how to calm her down. She has noticed over the past few weeks that Amity seems to be calmed by contact, but only her's for whatever reason. Luz was flattered, albeit surprised, but she didn't complain.
Few words were exchanged, in fact, none were at first. As Amity leaned into Luz's touch, Luz took the hint and turned it into a soft hug, which stopped Amity's trembling. Luz let out a sigh of relief, but it wasn't over yet. Amity spoke.
"I thought that he hurt you…"
The tone behind it was soul-crushing. Amity thought she was dead, likely at the hands of Belos, which she would have been right about if things hadn't gone the way they had.
"Amity, y- you don't have to worry about that, you won't lose me."
Amity pulled out of the hug and held Luz's shoulders sternly before responding.
"But I do! I almost did! You would have died if I didn't-"
Amity didn't finish that. She didn't want Luz to know about that. She knew Luz. She knew what would freak her out. Hearing that she took half of the pain would only make things worse.
Luz respond, "If you didn't what," Luz asked, hearing no answer, she shook her head and continued, "Listen, I can handle myself. I don't want you to worry."
That was the last thing that Amity wanted to hear, for a number of reasons.
"No, you listen. I worry because I care. I can't lose you, not after everything you've done for me."
Luz didn't agree. She wasn't sure what she ever did to help Amity besides fixing her friendship with Willow, which was more for Willow at the time. She was incredibly dense. No matter how dense she was, it didn't make hearing those words any less meaningful to her. It was sweet, unnecessary, but most of all, appreciated. It was great to hear how much Amity cared, but Luz was supposed to be the one that was there for Amity, so she pushed the sentiment down for the time being.
"Thank you," Luz said with a slight blush before continuing, "Either way, we need to get back to the hospital, it's not like the Isles, but it's still not safe for someone to be out this late at night."
Amity didn't want to go back, but she knew that she didn't want to stay out here either. She suddenly remembered Luz's mother, who was so hurt by something that she hadn't even done. She couldn't face her. She was weak, or at least that was what she told herself, despite having literally faced off against the entire Emperor's Guard to get there.
She refused Luz's offer, "I- I can't go back."
"What? Why not? I know that it's weird in there, but-" Luz questioned.
"Luz, I just… can't, okay?" Amity interrupted.
Luz didn't know what Amity's reasoning was, but she knew that they needed to go. Amity of all people was not safe here.
"Amity, please. We-," Luz paused, trying, desperately, to find a way to get the girl to follow her, before continuing, "We can't stay out here. I can't leave you alone out here."
"Then stay…" Amity said, not thinking twice. After it came out, Amity thought that she should have felt guilty, but she didn't. Inside that hospital was the last place she could be that night.
"I- Okay," Luz answered.
"Fine then- Wait what?" Amity was utterly confused.
Luz knew she couldn't leave Amity alone, even if it meant disappointing her own mother. She felt guilty. She had already done so much to hurt her mother that night, but Amity, something inside her just wouldn't let her hurt Amity.
"Okay, I'm not going anywhere."
