The Sisters' Family Vacation:
Making Plans, Departing
"Hunter, are you sure Odalia's behind this?" Amity asked skeptically, and Hunter nodded.
The Owl Familia was back at the Owl House, talking about everything that had happened to them in the last couple of hours.
"It's like I told you, Amity," Hunter replied, "Odalia Golddagger has been out for about two months now."
Amity frowned as she went over this new information. She found it hard to believe Odalia was behind this mess. That woman loved nothing more than to be in the spotlight.
She was also finding it hard to swallow that her ex-mom would spend the last two months lurking in the shadows studying the Familia.
Amity sighed and tilted her head upwards. She lazily scanned the ceiling, and her eyes landed on the spot where her Aunt's room was. She smiled as she thought about the three "knocked-down" mothers sleeping in the nest, cuddling their daughters' favorite "knocked-down" toys.
Shortly before returning home, Lilith, Eda, and Camila had lost all their energy. The excitement proved too much for them, so they all needed a good nap.
This was a good thing; sleeping children meant the others could talk without fear of curious ears listening in. Still, thinking about the sleeping current kids was enough to bring a smile to Amity's face, and best of all, Luz had taken a picture of the scene.
Her mind was now more at ease from thinking about the scene, and Amity returned her attention to the task at hand.
"If Odalia really is doing all of this," Luz inquired curiously. "Do you think she's working with the others we run into today?"
Vee frowned and played with an ear. She remembered something she heard when fighting Tibbles and Bria.
"I don't think so," she said after a second, "I remember that Glandus student saying something about getting paid."
Hunter nodded and added his two cents. "And all of Odalia's funds, personal or otherwise, was taken by the Boiling Isles's chairmen after they learned of her plans."
Amity frowned as she thought about something she didn't find weird until this point. She remembered how Odalia downsized Blight Industries' workforce by nearly 35%! That was a few days before she cursed Amity.
"And we all know Odalia doesn't like to share things," Amity added.
Luz and Hunter nodded, and the group became silent as they thought things over.
Vee went from playing with her ear to hugging her tail. She never meant the woman in question, but the stories she heard from her family made her fear Odalia just as much as Belos. Just thinking about the man who ordered her kind and her's torment was nearly enough to send Vee into a panic attack.
"So, what do we do now?" the basilisk asked timidly.
Hunter sighed and stood up, stretching his back out.
"At the moment, we plan," The grimwalker replied seriously. "This is the second time that woman has caught us off guard, and we can't let it happen again."
The group nodded their agreement, and Luz frowned as she decided it was time to bring up someone who had been missing since Hunter got to the Owl House.
"Wasn't Boscha with you?" the human witch inquired.
Hunter sighed and took his seat back on the couch. "Boscha is continuing to look into things on her own. We found something in Odalia's cell that's a little concerning. But, I promised Boscha I would keep it between us until she had something solid."
Luz, Amity, and Vee exchanged worried looks beofre they turned their attention back to the grimwalker.
"Do you think that was the right move, Hunter?" Amity asked uncertainty. "Boscha's still isn't in a good place yet.
"Of course I don't," Hunter retorted, "But you know how that witch gets when something gets into her head. There's no stopping her when she's like that."
The group grimaced when they remembered when someone commented on her mom at school. Boscha fought with that student and was nearly expelled for seriously injuring the guy.
"But," Hunter added with the shadow of a smile, "I have some of the others watching over her."
The grimwalker looked at the group and turned serious.
"Now I think we need to plan our next move," Hunter explained. "What do you think we should do?"
The group fell silent as each thought this over. If Odalia could somehow bypass Hooty, they were at a loss as to what to do next. It wasn't like they could go to a whole different-
"THAT'S IT!" Luz screamed and jumped to her feet.
The Owl Familia was slightly startled by the human's outburst, but no one jumped. Instead, they turned their attention to Luz.
"We can go to Gravesfield!" The human witch exclaimed with a wild smile.
"That's not…a bad idea," Hunter said after thinking it over for a second.
Amity nodded and got to her feet as well. "Yeah, everyone in town knows us, and I bet they will want us to help us out."
"And I can see Masha," Vee muttered with a dreamy smile. She frowned when she thought about something. "What about school and Aunt Lily's job?"
"We will just tell them that it's number 16 on the list," Amity replied offhandedly and noticed the sour face her future wife was sending her.
Hunter nodded and stood up. "That's a good plan. I will stay behind and watch the portal. That way, I can catch Odalia if she tries to enter the human realm."
"And Steve will help!" the ex-scout said as he appeared next to Hunter.
Startled, the grimwalker screamed and jumped slightly. Hunter lost his balance and had a rather nasty meeting with the floor. Everyone had a good laugh at this, and they soon broke up to start getting ready.
(A few hours later)
"Luz!" King said, barging into his sister's room. "Take my blood! Take as much as you need."
The human witch giggled as she zipped up her bag. Luz had finished packing for the trip to the human realm when King came into her room.
"Thanks, little bro," Luz replied warmly, "But I don't need to-whoa!"
Luz nearly launched into a giggle fit when she saw the position her Titan brother was taking. King had his back turned and his butt high in the air.
The human witch giggled as she walked up to King. She picked him up, which caused him to let out his trademark noise, and Luz took him over to her bed.
"Look, King," Luz said seriously. "I like that you want to help, but I don't need to take any of your blood. This magic battery that the Department of Magical Research made for me has me covered."
She pulled out a necklace from under her shirt to prove her point. The necklace was shaped like the Good Witch Azura's staff and glowed with magical energy.
"I know," King replied meekly, fidgeting with his claws. "I'm just worried about our family. I-I want to go with you all."
Luz smiled sympathetically and kissed King on the top of his skull. She hugged her little brother, and King snuggled into the embrace.
"And I love that," Luz said warmly, then turned serious. "But we can't risk it. Odalia had surprised us too many times. It is best that Hunter has all the help he can get. And you're good at being a lookout. So please, do this for me. For your big sister?"
King looked up at Luz and saw she was giving him puppy eyes. He would have agreed even if she wasn't using that face and sighed.
King was about to reply when they jumped at a noise. They looked at the open door and saw Hunter, covered in the glow of Bard magic, soaring by the room.
"WHAT DID I DO WRRROONNGG!"
Luz and Kind exchanged looks, and Luz picked up King as she stood out. She walked out and saw the trio of "knocked-down" mothers walking down the hall. Luz would have taken a picture of the cute scene; all three mothers still held their daughters' toys and looked sleepily.
But she didn't have her camera. Plus, the fact that her "cousin" went flying by her room was still on her mind.
"What happened?" the head witch asked calmly.
When Eda sheepishly hid her slightly red face behind the Otabin plush, Luz knew she was somehow behind this. Luz went into "parent" mode as she set King down and closed the gap between them.
She looked at Eda with a slight scolding glare.
"I'm not mad," Luz said in a warm but somewhat stern voice. "I just want to know what happened."
Eda still refused to answer her human daughter and pushed her face deeper into the plush toy. Lilith saw that her sister wasn't saying anything and looked at her niece.
"Hunter scared Edalyn when she was waking up," the "knocked-down" witch explained. "And you know how Edalyn is when she first wakes up."
Luz nodded at Lilith, and she turned her attention to Eda. She got close to the bard witch and took her into a hug.
"Like I said, I'm not mad," the humans said comfortingly. "I just wanted to know what happened."
"Not mad?" Eda asked worryingly, looking Luz in the eyes.
Luz giggled at the sight and ruffled her "knocked-down" mother's hair. Eda pouted in an angry, cute way with a hint of red on her cheeks.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Luz heard her fiancee ask good-naturally.
Luz smiled as she stood up and looked at Amity. "No, Mama Eda just had one of her-whoa!"
Luz lost her words when she got a good look at her future wife. Amity had Hunter with her, and he was covered in abomination goo. The grimwalker looked dazed, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Not that Luz noticed any of that; her entire attention was on Amity. The tri-track student was wearing an Earth realm outfit. It remained the human of the outfit Amity wore during the final days of Ghoul Breaks. Luz nearly groaned when she remembered she had ruined that outfit because of a potion accident.
Luz would have thought Amity had gotten an exact copy of her favorite human outfit if not for some changes. Amity had on a knee-high skirt and black leggings instead of pants. She had changed her usual footwear for a pair of black boots. Finally, she wore silver bracelets with rubies on them.
Also, instead of having the words "awesome girlfriend" on it, the shirt now had an "incredible wife in the making" written on it.
"See something you like, batata?" Amity asked playfully.
Luz was still at a loss for words and simply nodded. Amity giggled at this, and she walked up to Luz. The witch leaned in and gave her future wife a quick kiss.
Luz nearly shut down even more, and she might have fainted on the spot if not for the sound of gagging. She made a face and looked over her shoulder. Eda and King were gagging, and Luz just sighed.
"Well," Amity said, giggling, "Let's get started on dinner. We still have a lot to do before we leave tomorrow."
Luz looked at her fiancee with a smile and nodded. The human then went over and picked up King. Together, the family walked down to the kitchen to start dinner.
(The next day)
"Why did we donate our portal?" Eda grumbled.
The Owl Familia was at the portal station, waiting for their turn to enter the human realm. The wait was too much for Eda at her current age; the "knocked-down" bard witch was sitting on the ground with her arms crossed.
Lilith frowned at her sister's antics and looked ahead. The Familia had been in line for about 5 minutes, and only one person was before them. So, she didn't see the need for the fuss.
Still, as the know-it-all big sister, it was Lilith's duty (to her current youthened mind) to set Eda straight.
"Because," Lilith stated matter-of-factly, "It was in good faith."
Eda just grumbled and then blew a lock of hair out of her face.
Luz watched all of this happen with a small smile. She then turned her attention to the portal. The witch was finished, and now it was their turn. The human witch blinked when she saw who was watching the door.
"Steve!?" Luz exclaimed.
The ex-scout gave the human a grin. "Steve said Steve would help. So, here's Steve!"
Amity and Luz just stared at Steve as he did jazz hands. The Owl Familiar didn't know what to make of the entire thing, so Amity handed Steve their papers.
"Oh, that's not needed," Steve said, shaking his head. "Hunter already set everything up. You could have even cut in line, and I wouldn't have said a thing."
Eda groaned when she heard this and threw her hands into the air. The bard witch was ignored as the group picked up their belongings and entered the portal.
Steve watched as the portal door let out a flash and then turned his attention to the surrounding area.
"Yup," Steve said to himself. "Nothing would get by ol' Stevie-boy. Steve would be like a proud griffin mama watching over her newly hatched pup. Steve would be as laser-focused as Puffy when it dine-dine time."
"Hey, handsome," Zoe called to Steve in an alluring voice, "Like to take a celebrity out for dinner?"
Snapping to attention, the ex-scout created two spell circles and aimed them at the fashion model. Zoe didn't react to the spell and walked up to Steve. She wore a seductive smile as she got as close as Steve would allow.
"State your business here, ma'am," Steve said professionally.
Zoe felt a hint of anger at not being instantly recognized, but she pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to get angry at some nobody.
Now was the time to put on the charms.
"I just noticed how a big strong big witch like you was all alone, and I thought we could have dinner together," Zoe said, adding a sweet tone to her voice.
"Sorry, ma'am," Steve replied seriously. "I don't think my girlfriend would like that."
Zoe's mouth dropped at this. There must be something wrong with this witch; her charms and alluring nature had never failed her before.
You know what, forget this," Zoe muttered to herself.
The fashion model put her hands behind her back and made a spell circle. The ground rumbled, and a second later, a giant fist of plants punched Steve from beneath him.
The ex-scout went flying, and Zoe gestured for her family.
Chloe and Shin hurried over, and together the entire family entered the portal. Steve came down a second later and landed on his back. He shot up and looked around punch-drunkenly.
"It's a good thing Steve's a reborn god and is hard to kill," the ex-scout said punch-drunkenly, "or that could have killed Steve!"
He fell onto his back and was out like a light a second later. Severine walked over to the portal door and looked down at her former co-worker.
"Why didn't they just pay the toll?" the cat-like demon asked as she fished around her pocket.
She took out the nails for the toll payment and wrote a quick note. She placed the money and the message on Steve. She stepped into the portal.
"Why did you choose him to be your eyes and ear again?" Manny asked as he and Titan appeared next to the ex-scout.
"Eh," Titan replied with a shrug, "His antics made the perfect cover."
The ghost of Manny Noceda frowned as he looked at Steve. He next turned his attention to the portal, and his frown deepened.
He wanted to jump into the portal and be there for his family. But he knew that wasn't possible; the human realm didn't have enough magic to keep him in the living realm.
So, Manny sent all his love and support to his wife and daughters.
"Stay safe, my captain, my little witch, and my cute little snake," The spirit said with all the love in his not-beating heart.
(M Corner)
Well, with the Owl House's Series Finale come and gone, I have some things to unpack.
…CHEESE AND CRACKER SAUCE, BROWN CRACKER SAUCE! What an ending, and to keep this from becoming a 90-page love letter to one of the best-animated series in recent years, I will focus on three things.
First and foremost, I was blown away when Lilith went harpy at the end of the special. I knew I wasn't the only one who thought Lilith would gain a harpy form, but seeing it on screen made my day. Next, who else cheered when Papa Titan appeared on screen? Finally, who else besides me was beside themselves when we learned that glyphs were the actual language of the titan… or, at least, the language of Papa Titan?