King knew Luz was going to be over her head if she tried to sneak into the Emperor's castle alone. She needed to learn more about him. He took out an old history book entitled, "The Unauthorized History of the Boiling Isles". Conveniently, the author's name was burned off.

"'The Boiling Isles is named after the raging hot water of the Boiling Sea, and is composed of the bones of a fallen Titan. This original magic was so potent, all life on the Isles evolved to wild magic too. For years, we explored those power freely. Until, a mysterious Witch appeared who declared that he, and he alone, could speak to the Island. He said that we were using magic all wrong. His teachings took hold, his strength grew, and he became Emperor Belos. Belos said that mixing magic was wrong, that only he had that right. So he created the coven system. And there, our knowledge was restricted, and our potential sealed away. Those who resist are called wild witches, and they face harsh punishment. Emperor Belos has since retreated into his castle, there are whispers that say he's planning something BIG.'"

Whatever that "BIG" plan was, King didn't want to see it come to full fruition. "I wonder if catching Eda was part of his big plan. What do you think, Luz?" No response. "Luz?"

Luz didn't respond. She held the cape Eda made for her in one hand and the card in the other. Written on it were the words, "To a young witch from her proud mentor. Eda." She made a face of determination as she put the cape on. "I don't care what Belos is up to." Then she put the broken half of the Mask on, resulting in the left half her face turning green, her left eye turning red and her hair turning partially wild. "Because today, I'm saving Eda and Strix!"

Luz headed for Eda's secret weapons closet and tried to take a big axe from the wall. "Luz, what are you doing," King asked.

"This is serious King, Eda used her power and Strix sacrificed himself to save me and got caught by Lilith! Now she's the Owl Beast and is being taken before the Emperor! I don't know what he's planning to do with Eda and Strix, but I'm going to rescue them!" The heavy axe slammed onto the floor when she tried to lift it up.

"Haven't you been listening to me? He's the Emperor! He's the most powerful witch alive!"

Luz knelt down to his level and said, "King, please try to understand. Eda and Strix are in this situation because of me. Because of my stupid choice. I have to make up for it."

"But she's in her Owl Beast form! How will she even recognize you?"

"I don't know, but I have to try anyway."

King thought for a moment, then said, "Well then, I'm going too."

"King..."

"Me, Strix and Eda don't always see eye to eye, but I do consider them family. I want her back as much as you do."

Luz smiled before she raised up her hood, hiding the green half of her face and saying with a determined frown, "Alright. Then we got no time to lose!" She grabbed King and the two went out the door. Selwyn let out a low rumble. Luz said, "Not you, girl. I know you want to help, but you're too conspicuous." The dragon let out a sad groan. Luz quickly hugged her. "Don't worry. I'll save Eda and Strix. Just wait here. If we're not back in fifteen minutes, come rescue us."

In the Emperor's Castle's throne room Lilith was trying to control her out of control sister, which was hard considering she had been transformed into a giant owl. "Edalyn! Stop that this instant! Strix! Control your mother!"

Poor Strix was chained to a pole and his wings were tied together. He frowned and huffed. "It's your curse. YOU deal with it!"

"Ugh! You're impossible, just like Edalyn!" Lilith cast a bubble spell, trapping the Owl Beast. She growled at Lilith who responded, "Don't look at me like that. This is for your own good. Emperor Belos will heal you, and we'll be in his coven together. Isn't that wonderful?" The Owl Beast blew a raspberry at her. "I will not fall prey to your childish games!" Lilith blew a raspberry at her.

Strix couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, that's actually pretty funny."

Suddenly, the door opened and Emperor Belos, accompanied by Walter, Kikimora and a squad of soldiers entered the room. "All kneel before Emperor Belos!" announced the little red demon.

The Owl Beast let out a roar and broke through the spell. She charged at the Emperor, but Walter stopped her with a single punch. "Walter, I did not order you to brutalize her," the Emperor chastised him. Walter responded by stabbing himself in the back of his hand with a screw. "I know your methods are quicker," said the Emperor. "But I want her in one piece."

The Emperor approached the fallen owl monster but Lilith blocked his path and lowered her head. "My Lord, I apologize for my sister's rash behavior. She is still in her cursed form! Once you've healed her as promised, I'm sure she will become a useful asset to the coven!"

The Emperor ignored her and raised his staff. A red beam shot out and hit Eda in the head. She groaned and opened her eyes. They were back to normal and she suddenly found herself speaking normally, though she was still a monster. "Where am I? What is this?" Then she remembered. "Aw farts, I got caught." Her eyes turned to Strix and gasped. "Son! What are you doing here?! I told you to stay home!"

"Mom, I..."

"Enough." The Emperor slammed his staff into the ground before he spoke to Eda, "Edalyn Clawthorne, the infamous Owl Lady, the wild witch of Bonesburough. Mentor of Luz the Human and mother of Strix Aluco Clawthorne."

"If you touch her," Strix shouted angrily. "I swear on the Titan, I'll shove a muffler into your mouth!" The Emperor gave him a glare and the poor boy went silent when he felt the bloodlust coming from the ruler of the Boiling Isles.

"That's better." Belos turned his attention to Eda. "You've got it all wrong. The human's safe, for now. I just want the portal where she came from. Along with the other half of this." He held up the broken Mask.

"Why do you want the Mask?" Strix asked. "On second thought, I don't want to know."

"Tough, cuz I ain't telling you nothing," Eda snapped at the Emperor.

Belos let out an impatient sigh. "Well I suppose I could ask the human herself." He snapped his fingers and guards began to drag Eda and Strix away.

"NO!" Strix shouted. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Lilith, don't let him hurt her," Eda cried out. "Lilith!"

"Oh, taking her to the healing ceremony?" Lilith asked Emperor Belos hopefully.

"I will not be healing her or her son."

Wait. What? "But, you promised me!"

"Don't be so naive, Lilith. This is the Titan's will. All wild witches must be dealt with with before the Day of Unity. And Strix's existence hampers the progress we've done. You understand, don't you?"

Lilith heard the threat in his voice. "Of course..."

"Good. Oh, one more thing. Destroy the Owl Lady's staff. She won't be needing it anymore."

Belos left, leaving Lilith alone, staring down at Eda's staff in her hands. She knew now she'd made a huge mistake.

As Luz snuck her way through Bonesborough, she saw some crystal balls in a shop's display window showing a news report. A group of people were huddled around the display window, watching them with shock. The headline said, "First petrification in 30 years!"

The reporter said, "Perry Porter coming at you live from outside the Emperor's castle. Edalyn Clawthorne, known commonly as Eda the Owl Lady, and her son Strix Clawthorne have been captured and has been brought before the Emperor."

Kikimora appeared and said into a microphone, "For the crime of attacking a coven leader and refusing to join a coven, Edalyn and Strix Clawthorne's bodies shall be petrified in stone! Today at sundown, at the Conformatorium."

"Today is a grave day for Bonesburough."

Everyone watching this gasped.

Amity, who was still recovering from the broken leg, made a nonverbal response of shock.

Gus, who was watching the news on his own crystal ball gasped with horror. He immediately contacted Willow on his scroll. "Willow, are you watching?"

"Yes, we have to do something."

Luz asked King with dread, "Please tell me that's not as bad as it sounds."

King explained, not sparring any details, "Petrification is only done to the worst criminals, and once that spell is placed, it can't be reversed."

Luz gasped. Then, her dread turned into anger towards one witch. "Lilith. She cursed Eda and Strix, she captured her own family! She is the worst! If I ever see her again-" She grabbed one of the crystal balls and smashed it onto the ground.

King put a hand on her shoulder. "Luz, you need to calm down. We need to think about saving Eda and Strix first!"

She exhaled, composing herself. "You're right, but how will we get to the Conformatorium in time?"

"We'll have to do something SO diabolical, SO criminally insane, that they'll have to send us to the Conformatorium."

A guard was doing his rounds when he heard someone shout out, "Hey, you!" He turned and saw Luz and King dancing on a patch of grass. Nearby was a sign that said, "Don't step on the grass!" The guard grabbed them and threw them into a paddy wagon.

Luz and King smirked as they felt the wagon move. All according to plan. "Yep. Perfect plan," said Luz.

As the duo was brought to the Conformatorium, they looked out the window of the wagon and saw a garden with statues in it. Statues posed in pleading positions and faces frozen in permanent fear and sadness. Then they saw it: two pedestals with Eda and Strix's names on them.

"There's not gonna be any new statues going up today," said King. "Right, Luz? Luz?" Luz said nothing. She growled in anger at the sight of an Emperor's Coven recruitment poster with Lilith's face on it.

After the paddy wagon was brought inside the facility, the driver called to Warden Wrath. "Sir, the Owl Lady's human student has been apprehended."

"Very good." The masked warden chuckled to himself as he approached the paddy wagon's doors. "Ahh, Luz the Human. How I've waited to see you again. Now I'll have my revenge and you'll have front row seats to Eda and her son's demise." But when he opened the door, a barrage of baseballs shot out and hit him in the groin. Before he could have the chance to recover, a huge branch pinned him down.

Luz stepped out, holding a pitching machine. She lowered her hood, revealing her half green face and got up in the warden's face with the machine. "Where's Eda," she growled.

"She's in the holding cell in the dungeon," he squeaked.

She gave him a piece of paper. "Draw me a map."

Outside the Conformatorium, a huge crowd of people had gathered to witness a rare and very grim event. "Do you really think Eda deserves a petrification," someone in the crowd asked.

"I don't know...this is all happening so fast," said another.

"And a kid! They're going to petrify a kid!"

"The Emperor wouldn't go that far, would he?"

In the crowd were Willow and Gus, their hoods raised. "If we know anything about Luz, she's going to be here trying to save Eda," said Willow.

"And we'll be here to save her when she needs us," said Gus.

"Let's split up and find her!"

They didn't know they were being overheard by Lilith, who was looking out the window. She went back inside to find Kikimora berating the warden. "Fools! You let the human escape! And you drew her a map?!"

"Worry not, Kikimora," said Lilith. "I shall capture the human."

Luz left a trail of carnage in her wake as she went to the holding cells, thanks to her spell glyphs. Guards were wrapped up in vines, trapped in vines, set on fire and temporarily blinded by bright light. Finally, she and King reached the holding cells. She lifted King off her shoulder and set him on the ground. "King, watch the door."

"Weh!" King said randomly with a salute.

Luz placed an ice glyph on the lock, freezing it over and smashing it to pieces. She opened the door to find Eda and Strix chained to a platform. "Eda! Strix!"

Strix opened his eyes and he gasped when he saw her. "Luz! No! Stay away!"

The Owl Beast snapped her eyes open and let out a roar. Before she could slash at Luz, the girl activated a light spell and held it up to her. "Eda, wait! It's me! It's me..."

The spell seemed to work. Eda's eyes regained their normal color and her mind was brought back to normal. "Luz? Oh no, oh no no no no no wh- what are you doing here?"

"It's okay guys, I'm here to save you!" Luz put fire spell glyphs on their chains and activated it. But the spell did nothing, not even raise the temperature a bit. She tried it again but the result was the same.

"Forget it, Luz," Strix said. "Your magic's not strong enough. Just go!"

"But, but I can't! It's my fault you needed to save me, it's my fault you got captured."

"Actually...nah, you're right, it is your fault."

Eda glared at her son. "What kind of pep talk was that?" She said to Luz, "Listen to me. I'm here because of my own actions. I went against Belos's law, and for a while I was able to get away with it. But, ah without magic, I can't do much. I don't regret anything. I lived freely, and I got to meet you."

"That goes for me too," said Strix. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the chance to be a witch."

"Eda...Strix..."

"But if you stay here, we won't be able to protect you. You need to leave."

Luz held onto the Clawthornes' hands. "But we're a family! Us weirdos stick together, remember?"

Strix sighed and held up his half of the Mask. "I slipped this out of the Emperor's pocket when he wasn't looking. I see you're wearing the other half." Luz nodded and took her half off. "It can be repaired by putting both halves on at the same time."

Eda reached into her hair, pulled out the key to the human world and pressed its button. The door slowly rose out of the floor. "You have a family already," said Eda, handing her apprentice the key. "Go back to them. And when you're home, use your fire magic to destroy the portal door. I don't know why the Emperor wants it, but we can't take any chances."

"That goes for the Mask as well," said Strix, handing both halves to her. "Bury it, toss it into the ocean, drop it down a well; I don't care. No one, not even Belos can get his hands on it."

With tears forming in her eyes, Luz hugged both Clawthornes. "I love you."

"We love you too, kid," said Strix.

Suddenly, an alarm blared and the platform began to rise up to an opening in the ceiling. "Luz, get away!" Eda pushed Luz away just as bars formed around the platform.

"NO!" Luz grabbed onto the platform. "Not yet!"

Strix walked up to Luz and said, with tears in his eyes. "Adios, amigo." And he kicked Luz in the face, making her fall.

"EDA! STRIX!" Luz cried as the platform raised up to the surface. She fell to her knees and wept.

Suddenly, the door opened and Lilith barged in, holding King by his collar. "Hey, let me go!"

"Drat," Lilith cursed. "I'm too late! At least I found you, human."

Grief and sadness turned to anger and hate. Luz slowly stood up and put on both halves of the Mask. "You...you hurt Eda and Strix. You put them in chains. And now, I will take you down!" She let out a scream of rage and blasted her with a light spell, but Lilith blocked it with her staff.

"Wait! I just want to talk!"

"Talk to the glyph, witch!" Then she pulled out a jack-in-the-box and opened it; a boxing glove on a spring shot out and punched the older woman in the face. Luz tossed the toy aside and tackled Lilith through the portal.

"Luz!" King cried out, chasing after them.

Luz, King and Lilith suddenly found themselves outside the shack where Luz first came through the portal. It was...surreal being back in the human world. "Luz, watch out!" King tried to help only to be wrapped in vines Lilith summoned.

Luz ducked out of the way and activated a fire glyph. "FIRE!" Nothing happened. "What?"

Lilith tackled her to the ground and tore the Mask off her face. "Please, just listen to me!"

"No way! You deserve to be petrified! Not Eda!"

Lilith's face softened then she got off Luz. "You're right. I deserve to be in Edalyn's place."

Luz got up to her feet and asked suspiciously, "Why did you do all this?"

The older witch sat on a stump and explained, "When Edalyn and I were younger, we were, best of friends. Whatever pain she had, I shared with her with the help of a spell. Being in the Emperor's Coven was my dream. I wanted to work along side the most powerful witch on the Isles and make the world a better place. Eda wanted to be with me, but there was a problem. They had only one spot available. The interviewer said the one who would win the duel the following day would get the position.

"I knew Edalyn would beat me, she was younger, but worked twice as hard. She met me at my level. Emperor Belos always said, 'To be great, you have to do sacrifices.' What would he do in my situation? I found a spell that would take away her powers. I though it would just be for a day. But then..."

On the day of the duel, the two teenage Clawthorne sisters entered the ring. Lilith was about to make the first attack when Eda suddenly raised her hand up and said, "No." Lilith stopped, shocked and confused. "I refuse to battle my sister! I've decided that covens aren't really my style." She turned to her sister and said, "Hey don't forget me when you're big shot, sis."

She turned to leave...but she didn't take even five steps when the transformation began. She transformed into the Owl Beast in front of thousands of people. They called her a monster, started throwing garbage at her, scaring her away.

"EDALYN!" cried out Lilith. She tried to chase after her when an Emperor's Coven soldier grabbed her and held her hand high. "Lilith Clawthorne, we welcome you to the Emperor's Coven!"

The crowd cheered for Lilith's victory by default. But Lilith wasn't happy. This was all her fault.

"I made my sacrifice for the Emperor, and it was time to receive my reward," Lilith said. "And much later, when Eda laid Strix's egg, my guilt grew. I cursed my sister and her child. My nephew. I've been pursuing Edalyn because if she joined in the Emperor's Coven, Emperor Belos told me he would heal her and Strix's curse, but he lied to me. I know how to rescue Edalyn, but i can't do it alone."

Luz narrowed her eyes. "How do I know I can trust you?" In response, Lilith handed her Eda's staff. "Owlbert! You're okay!" The little palisman hooted and nuzzled her face. She placed him on the staff and said to the older Clawthorne sister, "All right Lilith, I don't like your whole 'deal', but...we need your help to save Eda."

Lilith nodded. "Thank you." She snapped her fingers, releasing King from the vines. "Now let's head back."

Luz was about to follow Lilith and King back to the portal, when she paused to look back at the direction of her old home, possibly the last time. "Hey Luz," King called out. "You...need a minute?"

"No. I'm coming."

Drums started rumbling as the petrification was about to begin. Willow and Gus were still searching for their friend. "I don't see Luz anywhere!" said the former.

"Do you thinks she got caught?" asked the latter.

The platform was raised up to the surface and the people could see the Owl Lady and her son trapped in the cage. The reporter spoke to the microphone grimly, "Well folks. Eda the Owl Lady and Strix Clawthorne have appeared on stage, which means the petrification process is about to begin."

Kikimora walked toward a level and pulled it. A machine rose out from the ground. It looked like a fountain with statues of people writhing in agony. Centered in it was a large green gem.

"Mom?" Strix whimpered.

Eda held him close. "Stay with me, son."

Lilith led Luz and King down a hall with what looked like fleshy tendrils to a platform in the middle of a hallway. "You can take this up to the stage where they're holding Edalyn and Strix."

"Thank you, Lilith. What would you do know?"

"I will stay in the Emperor's coven, but I'll make sure nothing like this ever happen again."

"That's good to hear." It was then Luz realized something. "Wait. Why are there no guards around?"

POW! Something punched Lilith in the face and kicked King in the gut, sending them sliding across the floor until they came to a stop in front of Emperor Belos' feet. Luz gasped and looked behind her. There stood Walter, his face remaining that blank, emotionless stare. "Oh, no..."

The Emperor shook his head. "Ah, Lilith. You chose the wrong side." He snapped his fingers and the fleshy tendrils grabbed Lilith and King and pulled them into the ceiling.

"NO!" Luz tried to reach for her only for Walter to grab her.

"Ah, bub, bub," tutted the Emperor. "I'd actually like to have a word with you, human."

Lilith and King were dragged into the cage where Eda and Strix were. "Hello, Edalyn, Strix," Lilith greeted them.

Eda had murder in her eyes. "Lilith, you hurt Luz, you cursed me and Strix! Before anything turns me to stone, I'll tear you apart!"

King blocked her before she could kill her. "NO DON'T!" Eda froze. "She was trying to help! She even betrayed the Emperor for you!"

Lilith got on her knees and said, "If I knew something like this would happen...Eda, I..."

Suddenly, the machine began to glow and a whirring sound came from it. Strix's heart raced. "It's starting!"

Down in the crowd, Willow and Gus gasped. "We've got to do something!"

"And in a shocking turn of events," said Perry Porter to the camera. "Head Coven Leader Lilith is in the holding cage escorted by what appears to be a deranged cat." Someone tugged on his sleeve. He looked down to see Gus. "Augustus? I'm live!"

"Dad, you have to stop!"

Willow took the microphone from him and spoke, "Yeah! What's happening to Eda isn't right! She might not always follow the rules but she hasn't done anything worthy of a petrification!"

The crowd, who was hesitant before, now started to side with Willow.

"Eda helped me escape jail," said the guy who eats his own regenerating eyeballs.

"She helped me stay in business," said Morton.

"She helped me love teaching again," said Principal Bump. Then he added, "After she left."

"And Strix," continued Willow. "What has he done to deserve this? All he ever wanted was to be a real witch! And now he's about to be petrified for something he can't help! Are we going to let them do that to kid? The Emperor should let them go!"

"Let them go," chanted the crowd. "Let them go! Let them go!"

Down below, Luz growled at the Emperor, "Let my friends go or ELSE!" She slammed the staff into Walter's eye, making him release his grip on Luz. The giant glared at her then punched his fist into the ground and ripped a pipe out.

"Let's play, big boy," Luz said as she slapped the Mask on her face. She did rapid punches at Walter's punches until she jumped back, panting. "Had enough?" Walter responded by slamming her into the ground with the pipe. "You know, I had a feeling that wouldn't happen. Let's get back to using spells!"

Luz cast an ice spell, forming a sword and she clashed with Walter's pipe. "You know, you're really starting to tick me off!" Walter tripped her with the pipe and slammed it into her chest. Then he shoved a fire bomb into her mouth. An explosion went off and she coughed up smoke. "Spicy." Then she produced a comically large sledgehammer, shouted, "FORE!" and hit Walter with it, sending him flying into a wall.

"Enough." The Emperor slammed his staff onto the ground, sending a shockwave that shook the whole room.

"Oh, don't worry," Luz said, tossing the hammer away. "I haven't forgotten YOU!" She slammed Eda's staff into the ground, firing icicles at him, but he swiftly dodged them and reappeared behind her.

"Okay. I'll play."

With a flick of his wrist, he sent Luz flying into a statue. The statue cracked and the axe it was carrying slipped out. She dodged out of the way in time. Rocks and more of those fleshy tendrils flew out at her, but Luz destroyed them with a fire and ice spell respectively. She flew up into the air with the staff and charged at the Emperor, who summoned a snake with a human head that swallowed her hole. Big mistake. It exploded when she cast a fire spell that resulted in it combusting from the inside and she landed on the ground with a thud.

Then the Emperor summoned flesh tendrils which grabbed the poor girl and slammed her to the ground. She let out a giggle as she staggered to her feet. "You know, a couple of minutes ago, that probably would have jangled my nerves a little. But no, not this time. In fact, I KINDA LIKE IT!" She pulled out a flamethrower and blasted jets of fire at the Emperor, laughing like a maniac. "Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo! I'm going crazy don't try to stop me!" Suddenly she stopped and realized, "Wait. I'm not crazy." She groaned and rubbed her temples. "How does Strix control this thing?"

What's wrong, human? I thought you wanted to fight.

More of those tendrils grabbed her and brought her onto her hands and knees. Then the Emperor reappeared before her. "Had enough?"

"Not even close." An icicle shot out of the ground and struck the Emperor in the right eye, chipping off a piece of his mask. He let out an inhuman growl of pain before he chuckled. He faced her, revealing a glowing blue eye underneath the cracked mask. "I like your spirit," he said. "But try that again and things won't end well for you."

Walter reappeared behind the girl and pinned her down. "Enough, Walter. She won't hurt me again. She won't try it, not with her friends on the line." Walter glared at him. "Fine. But just restrain her. Don't harm her." The Emperor focused his attention to Luz. "Now, I'm just a humble messenger for the Titan. In the grand scheme of things, the Owl Lady and her son's lives are inconsequential. But then you showed up. If you want to save your mentor and her son, give me the portal to the human realm and that Mask you're currently wearing."

Luz looked at him with fear. Why does he want them so bad? And what will happen to her world? Her mother? "But...my home..."

The machine activated and Eda took the full brunt of its wrath. Eda screeched as her body slowly turned hard and grey and she felt her limbs begin to stiffen.

"MOM!" cried out Strix. "NO!"

"EDALYN!" screamed Lilith.

Luz could hear the screams. The Emperor chuckled at her growing concern. "You probably think we want to invade the human realm, but the Titan's will is not so boorish. You'll understand soon. Tick tock, human. The Owl Lady doesn't have much time left."

The screams grew louder. "NO!" Luz felt tears run down her face. "FINE!"

"Release her, Walter."

The giant backed off. Luz took out the key, pressed the button on it and the door appeared. Then she took off the Mask. "Lo siento, Mamá," she whispered. She handed them both to the Emperor. "Here. They're yours."

He took them from her and said, "The Titan will be pleased." The girl stepped onto the platform. "Go on then, go be a hero." He slammed his staff onto the ground and the platform slowly began to rise up.

But Luz got the last laugh. "I may have lost, but so have you." She tapped Eda's staff and the fire glyphs she discretely placed on the door combusted in the Emperor's hand. To add insult to injury, the Mask he had stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry at him.

Luz pulled her face off, revealing the green, skull-like visage underneath and glared at the Emperor, who sent a glare of his own at her. Walter was about to chase after her when the Emperor slammed his staff. "Leave her. Like she said, we lost. For now."

Luz rose up from the ground and cast a plant spell that wrapped vines around the petrification machine. Eda's body was only halfway petrified.

"What do we do?" asked King.

"The spell wasn't completed," said Lilith. "Maybe I can help her fight it!" Lilith placed her hands on her sister's body and it began to glow as the petrification process was reversed.

Kikimora was livid. "No! What is happening?!"

Luz, armed with a fire spell in hand, said in a threatening tone, "Free them. Now!" Kikimora was quick to obey her. Luz ran to her freed friends. "Eda! Are you okay?"

Eda said, still feeling a little weak, "As good as I'll ever be." Emperor's Coven guards surrounded them. Suddenly, a blast of fire shot out of nowhere and scattered them. Luz and her friends looked up to see a familiar dragon flying toward them.

"Selwyn," Luz cried in joy. "Whoa, has it been fifteen minutes already?"

Eda knelt down and allowed Luz, Strix, Lilith and King to hop onto her back. "Let's fly!" she shouted.

The people down below cheered as they watched the dragon and the Owl Beast fly away with their friends.

The cheering stopped instantly when Emperor Belos appeared. Kikimora quickly bowed. "My liege!"

The Emperor ignored her and spoke to the crowd, "Children of the Isles! The Titan has told me to spare the Owl Lady and her son's lives! But in return, their curse shall strip away all their powers! Let her monstrous form be a lesson about the dangers of Wild Magic!"

Selwyn landed in front of the Owl House with ease while Eda crash landed. She looked so weak, she could barely get back up on her feet.

Luz took the Mask off. "Here, Eda, put this on. Then we'll get the elixir and..."

Lilith put a hand on her shoulder. "No, human. The Mask won't help anymore and neither will any amount of elixir." She took Eda's hands and said sadly, "Oh, sister. I should have done this a long time ago. Strix, take my hand." The boy glared at her. "Please, it's the only way to help you and your mother." But he didn't budge.

"Do what she says," Eda groaned.

"After everything she's done, you expect me to-"

"I AM ORDERING YOU AS YOUR MOTHER! NOW TAKE HER HAND!"

The boy made a scoff then took Lilith's hand. "Just for the record, this doesn't entirely make up for what you've done, Aunt Lilly."

"I understand." Lilith closed her eyes and her hands began to glow. "With this spell declared, let the pain be shared." Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Luz and King shielded their eyes. When they looked again, she saw Eda and Strix were back to normal. Well, not entirely. Strix's wings had shrunk down to a considerable size and Eda's left eye was grey and her gem was still black. Even Lilith had gone through some changes. Her right eye was grey like her sister's and part of her black hair had a white streak.

"Eda, Strix!" Luz ran to her mentor and friend and pulled them into a hug. King hugged their legs. "Can you still do magic?" Luz asked.

Eda tried to make a simple light spell, but the spell circle broke. "That's a no. It'll take some time getting used to this."

"I feel that I've been weakened as well," Lilith said, looking at her hands.

"Welcome to the club," said Strix humorously.

"It's okay. I can teach you what Strix and I know," said Luz, handing the Owl Lady a light spell glyph card. "And what we don't know, we can work together."

Eda tapped the card with her finger, activating the light spell and creating a ball of light in her hand. "Thanks, kid. I'll look forward to that."

"And that's how we escaped from the Emperor," Luz said to her phone later that night. She was making a vlog for her mother since the door back home was gone. King was asleep at her feet. "Everyone told me he was the most powerful witch alive. But look at this, Mom!" She held up a piece of the Emperor's mask. "I chipped off a piece of his mask! I know he's not invincible now!"

She made a thoughtful face and said, "It's a strange feeling having gone through so much and not having you here to share it with and I don't know when or how I'm gonna see you again." Then she smiled. "I will find my way home to you. I promise. Deja una luz puesta para mí. Te quiero." She turned off the light spell and tucked herself in to sleep.

Strix was awake, staring down at the Mask. "Selwyn, do you think I still need this?" The dragon rumbled in her sleep. "I mean, for a long time, I thought that if I had this Mask, I could finally catch up with Mom and be a witch. But ever since Luz came into the picture, I don't really need it that much now. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still love to cause chaos with this thing." He exhaled then placed the Mask in a glass box. "But I don't think it's that worth it. I'll become Lord Calamity my own way, with Luz." He yawned and stretched his arms. "Well, time to hit the hay. Good night, Selwyn."

Kikimora was still adamant as the Emperor and Walter led her to the lower chamber of the palace. "Sire, those miscreants are still at large! Please allow me to capture the-"

"Worry not, Kiki. We'll be keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the Owl House." The Emperor nodded to the man with the golden owl mask, dismissing him. The masked man nodded and left. "In the meantime, the Day of Unity is almost upon us. And we have much work to do."

The Emperor, Walter and Kiki glanced at the huge archway being constructed around the portal door to the human realm, which was in the process of being painstakingly reconstructed.