Champion of the Isles
"So, remind me again why we have to sit here watching you play, Hexis Holdem?" Midori questioned, watching Eda playing the card game against Owlbert.
"So you kids can learn how it's done, and how to hustle someone when you need to play." Eda stated. "You especially need to learn this, if you're gonna keep living here, and being a Bounty Hunter, Midori."
"Right… well it's clear Owlbert's gonna win this round, unless you're hiding a wildcard, in which that would both tank his chances of winning, and give you reason to gloat some more about being a master of Hexis Holdem." Midori said, looking at the cards displayed on the coffee table.
"You already know how to play?" Eda asked in shock putting one of her cards down.
"As I mentioned the other day at the Covention, being a Bounty Hunter, you learn a few things when waiting for a bounty." Midori stated as the cards began to attack one another.
"Well, even so you're right. I do have a wild card." Eda smirked pulling out the card, Hooty's cards bursting into flames. "Whoa, I win."
Hooty hopped back up onto the coffee table, and respectfully bowed to Eda, accepting defeat like a good sport.
"In your adorable owl face." Eda said, pointing at Owlbert. "I love the feeling of victory. It feels… fluffy?"
"Uh, Eda it's happening again." Luz said in concern.
"What's happening again?" Eda questioned.
"Your curse is returning." King pointed out.
"Ah." Eda gasped, realizing her arms were covered in feathers.
"Please tell me you restocked on your elixirs." Midori groaned, realizing they might be in trouble.
"I did…"
~Upstairs~
"A month ago." Eda said, opening up the chest she kept her elixirs in, showing there were nothing but empty bottles in there.
"Then you're out of elixirs."
"Uh, last time this happened you turned into this thing." Luz said, holding up her phone, showing a picture of the cursed Eda.
"I know I should be repulsed, but dang I look fierce." Eda smiled.
"Eda."
"Okay relax, we can just go to the market and get some more from the apothecary." Eda said. "But before we go, does anyone wanna play one more hand of Hexis Holdem?"
"No." Midori said, grabbing the cards, and eviscerating them with lightning. "We're going now."
"Come on Midori, just one more hand."
"I said no." The Champion groaned. "Sometimes I question which of us is the adult in this household."
~Day Market~
"Yo, Apothecary guy open up." Midori called out, banging on the cage of the window.
"You heard him Morton, open up.
"Just a second." Someone called out from inside the shop.
"Is there anything better then people watching in the Demon Realm?" Luz questioned, sitting on a bench with King next to her.
Across the street there was a group of demons waiting for transportation, before a giant egg rolled up, blocking Luz and King's view of them. A second after stopping, the egg hatched and out came a giant baby bird, that flew away instantly with a screech before the demons stepped into the egg, and closed it as it began to role away with a familiar tiny creature running after it.
"Wait, wait." She called out before giving up. "Aw man."
"The curse of tiny legs." Luz said.
"I know the pain." King stated.
"Hey, watch it." Midori exclaimed as he was shoved out of the way by someone.
Luz looked to who had shoved her friend out of the way, and gasped when she saw a bunch of dark dressed witches and demons in robes, hauling a giant bug monster strapped to a cart with ropes.
"Whoa, that is one dark parade." Luz said.
"That's not a parade Luz." Midori said with a sneer. "Those are Demon Hunters. I've had a few run ins with them during a couple of my jobs. They're a band of ruthless mercenaries who consider themselves all high and mighty, while hunting down the most dangerous beasts on the Isles. I've had a couple of scuffles with their boss, Eyepatch on some of the jobs I've taken. He's never seen me outside my Champion form, so he doesn't have a reason to cause trouble here."
"Speaking of dangerous beasts, that is something I'm about to become if you don't open up, Morton." Eda called, banging on the cage of the apothecary store.
"Sorry Eda." Morton, the store owner said opening up the cage. "I was up all night poison tasting, and for some reason I don't feel great."
"Gee, you think it's because of all the poison you were testing on yourself?" Midori questioned.
"I'm all out of my juice pal." Eda said, handing him the empty bottle.
"She needs more of her Elixir, pronto." Midori said.
"Oh gee." Morton said with worry in his voice. "Let me see what I can do." He stated before he went searching through his inventory.
As Morton went searching through the inventory, Luz and Midori spotted their friends from across the street.
"Willow and Gus." Luz smiled, before she and the Champion went over to the two classmates. "Heya friends. Wait, what's wrong? Who hurt my babies?"
"Them." Willow said, pointing to Amity and her group of friends. "Amity's throwing a Moonlight Conjuring and invited everyone but me."
"An' Boscha keeps posting about it on her Pinstagram." Gus said, bringing out his pinstagram, and showing the post.
"Eh, who needs them? We can have our own fun." Luz stated. "So what is a moonlight conjuring?"
"You spend the night at someone's house, telling stories, playing games."
"Like a slumber party." Luz gasped with a smile. "We have those."
"Then you bring something to life with Moon Magic." Willow said, holding up a book showing the ritual.
"So like a slumber party with magic." Midori smiled. "We don't have magic in the human realm, but we do have slumber parties. Wait, maybe we do have magic there an' I'm just not aware."
"Gus and I have never been to one. You need at least three people, and there's only ever been the two of us in our friend group until you two." Willow said.
"Wait, I'm three people, I mean we're three people, and Midori makes four. We can have our own Moonlight Conjuring." Luz said. "We can have it at the Owl House."
"Oh, I've never been to a Moonlight Conjuring before. This will be so exciting." Willow smiled. "Can we do it at the Owl House? Please?"
"I'm in." Gus smiled. "I can't wait to bring something to life."
"Great, wait here while we go ask Eda for permission." Midori said, as they headed back to Eda and Morton, to which Eda looked a little more feathery and fluffy.
"I've got good news and bad news." Morton began. "Bad news is, I'm all out of your elixir until next week, good news is feather's are a good look for you."
"Morton." Eda said, as a feather popped out of her hair.
"Well gee, E. Why'd you wait to re-up 'till now?" Morton questioned.
"She's been on an addicts streak of Hexis Holdem." Midori said. "A complete nut job of obsession over here."
"I am not obsessed." Eda said.
"You're playing it right now." Luz said.
Eda looked down at the counter and saw the cards laid out between her and Morton.
"Am I winning?" Eda asked with a smile.
"How the hell did you get your hands on more of those? I thought I destroyed them? Midori questioned.
"You know, I wouldn't suggest this to just anybody." Morton said. "But if you need your elixir that badly, you could try your luck, later this evening."
"In the night market?" Eda questioned.
"There's a guy with a stand. Goes by Grimm Hammer." Morton said.
"Sounds like an imported cheese." Luz said.
"If anyone has what you need, it's him."
"Alright." Eda said.
"Eda, while you're here. We wanted to ask you if we could host a Moonlight Conjuring with Gus and Willow at the Owl House?"
"Sorry, no can do. I need you both to watch the house tonight while I'm out." Eda said. "Besides, Moonlight Conjurings are a childish thing."
"Eda, please. Gus and Willow have never been to one because they've never had enough people to do the Moonlight Conjuring with, and this is their only chance to do it." Midori said. "Tell you what, I'll watch the Owl House, while they have their fun, deal?"
Eda just looked at Midori, then Luz who was giving her puppy dog eyes, before she sighed.
"Well who am I to deprive them of this? Everyone deserves to do the Moonlight Conjuring at least once in their life." Eda said. "Fine, you can do the Moonlight Conjuring at the Owl House, so long as one of you is able to watch it, while the other keeps the guests entertained. But if any mess is made, or if my house is destroyed in anyway because of the conjuring, I will never trust either of you again, and I'll be very disappointed in you."
"We promise not to break your hard earned trust." King said.
"You're coming with me." Eda said picking King up by his scruff.
"Weh, why?"
"I need an extra set of eyes to look out for pick pockets." Eda said, before she smiled. "An' an extra set of hands in case I wanna, pick pockets."
"Pick Pockets." Eda and King cheered, before heading back to the Owl House.
"Luz, Midori, what'd Eda say?" Willow asked.
"She said it's a go, so long as one of us watches over the house." Midori stated. "Which means, you three will have plenty of fun with the Moonlight Conjuring."
"Oh this is gonna be so good, you can only do the Moonlight Conjuring once a year. I'm so excited." Willow smiled.
"I can finally check this off my bucket list, right under owning a real human bucket." Gus said, pulling out said list.
"That's a weird thing to want." Midori said.
"Thanks you two. This is gonna be the best night ever." Willow smiled before turning to Gus. "Let's head home and get ready for tonight."
"We'll see you later tonight you two." Midori said, as they parted ways.
"You sure you're gonna be okay with missing out on the fun?" Luz asked.
"I'll be fine. Besides, I get the feeling I should skip out of the conjuring anyway." Midori stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't know. I just feel like, the magic that'll come from the moon, might affect me in some negative way if I joined in on the conjuring." Midori said.
"Well, at least you're being smart about it." Luz smiled.
~That Night~
"Midori, you're in charge while I'm out." Eda said, throwing on her robe. "Be sure to keep an eye on the house, and keep watch over Luz and the other two while they do their Moonlight Conjuring, so they don't destroy anything in the house."
"Right." Midori said as Kohaku jumped into his lap as he was sitting on the couch.
"An' make sure Hooty doesn't get into any trouble." Eda added.
"Hoot-hoot." Hooty said, before opening up. "I don't need a babysitter, I'm a big boy house."
"You can count on me Eda." Midori said.
"Where's Luz?"
"Using your portal to get snacks from the human realm for the Moonlight Conjuring." Midori said. "She should be back any minute now."
"So long as she follows the rules, then that's fine." Eda said.
"Where's King? I thought you were taking him with you?" Midori asked.
"He's right here." Eda said, opening her robe to reveal King was in a baby carrier, sleeping away. "His little body just conks right out when he's weightless. Look at this." She smiled, swaying her body side to side, and making King's arms and legs swing back and forth.
"Oh, he is so cute and adorable, like that." Midori smiled, taking a pic with his phone. "Luz is gonna love this."
"Anyway, really going now. Remember what I said about destroying the house." Eda said, heading out the open door.
"Right, don't do anything destructive, or you'll never trust Luz and I again." Midori said following her out.
"Glad to know we're on the same page." Eda said, before flying off on Owlbert's staff.
"Glad to have a chance to prove she can put her faith in us." Midori said.
"Hey Midori."
The Champion looked to Willow and Gus, as the duo came up to the Owl House.
"Hey you two, good timing. Eda just left for the Night Market." Midori smiled, leading them to the door.
"Where's Luz?" Willow asked.
"Human realm, getting some snacks for the night." Midori said.
"Oh boy, company. Finally there are some people who will listen to my stories." Hooty said. "Okay so this one a bird flew into my mouth and…"
"That happened just this morning Hooty." Midori stated opening the door.
"So?"
"Just head on inside guys." Midori said.
"This is gonna be awesome." Willow smiled.
"Aw yeah." Gus cheered, running into the house.
"I'll listen to your story later Hooty, alright?" Midori asked.
"Alright." Hooty stated, before the door closed.
"Wow, it's so neat in here." Willow said.
"An' we've got a real human bucket." Gus smiled, popping up from behind the couch with a bucket on his head.
"Alright remember guys, once Luz returns, you need to head upstairs to do the ceremony, while I stay down here to make sure the house is okay." Midori said.
"Got it." Willow said.
"Understood." Gus added.
"I'm back." Luz called out, coming in through the portal. "Gus, Willow. You're here."
"Hey Luz." Willow smiled.
"We got a bucket." Gus said.
"Alright now you three, up stairs." Midori stated. "Kohaku and I will be down here if you need anything."
"Before we go, I brought you some treats." Luz smiled, rummaging through her plastic bag, and pulling out a jumbo pack of gummy bears. "I brought you your favorite."
"Oh yes. You are amazing Luz." Midori smiled.
"I try." Luz said, before leading her friends up stairs.
Setting the gummies on the couch, Midori sat in the center of the living room, and began to mediate. Something told him the light of the blue moon would have some sort of affect on his champion form, so there was no telling what might happen.
"If I can learn to control whatever may happen, then maybe I'll have a better understanding of my powers." Midori said.
Meanwhile up above him, Luz, Willow, and Gus were forming a circle to bring a Beefy Bob action figure to life.
"It's surprising how much of Midori' old things Eda actually has." Luz said. "This was his before he tossed it when he learned his parents dug it out of the trash, and cleaned it up to give to him as a present."
"Why would they do that?" Willow asked.
"It's not my place to say." Luz stated. "C'mon, let's join hands and get this Moonlight Conjuring started."
"Right." Gus smiled.
Joining hands, the trio began chanting the ritual needed for bringing the doll to life, as the moon rose to it's highest point. None of them were aware however, that the moon magic enveloping them, traveled into the ritual circle, consuming the action figure, and through the floorboards bellow. With the magic seeping through the house, it leaked through the ceiling above Midori, before it came down and washed over him. Midori's eyes widened when he suddenly felt a strong pressure envelope him, and he looked around himself, finding his body glowing a blue ethereal hue.
"What is going on?" Midori questioned, before he began gripping his head in pain.
Kohaku watched this from the couch, their eyes stuck on Midori, as he writhed on the floor, before the teen's monstrous shadow fell over the feline, and he let out a beast like roar. The moment the roar ended, Kohaku jumped down from the couch and went running up the stairs to the second floor, stopping in front of Luz's door, and scratching at it, before someone opened up.
"Oh, hello little cutie." Willow said, before Kohaku ran in past her. "Hey."
Kohaku ran into the room, and saw the blue glow surrounding the Beefy Bob action figure, before she lunged at it, and swatted the toy away, out of the circle.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gus asked.
"Bad Kohaku." Luz said.
"Listen here you three." Kohaku said, her voice high pitched, and sounding adorable.
"You can talk?" Luz gasped.
"Listen!" Kohaku hissed. "You used an item, a personal belonging to Midori, filled with negative emotions for your Moonlight Conjuring ritual. As a result, you've awoken his inner beast."
"What do you mean?" Gus asked.
Before Kohaku could answer, the sound of a monsters roar pierced the air, before Hooty screamed and the sound of something crashing echoed through the house.
"Hooty." Luz cried out, running out of her room, with Gus, Willow, and Kohaku following close behind.
When they got to the living room, Luz gasped when she saw it was a mess. The couch had been shredded and there were claw marks everywhere.
"Hooty?" Luz gasped, seeing the Owl Demon lying on the ground, like he had been a few days ago during Eda's curse outburst.
"Is he okay?" Willow asked. "Where's Midori?"
"Midori?" Luz questioned, looking around. "Where'd he go?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Kohaku said, hopping up on the couch. "Because of the negative emotions he had connected to the figure you were trying to animate, the moon magic transferred through the object, and straight to Midori. Forcing his inner beast to awaken, and create a monster, who unless we can calm down and return here before sunrise, will haunt the isles, turning it into a living nightmare, until the end of time."
"What do you mean, why before sunrise?" Gus asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kohaku asked. "Noceda seems to get it."
"Luz?" Willow asked, looking to her human friend, whose expression was one of horror. "What's she talking about?"
"Unless we get Midori back to the Owl House, and return him to normal before sunrise, he'll be stuck as that monstrous beast, forever." Luz said.
"Well, more or less until the next Moon Magic night comes around in one year. But by then he'll be too strong for anyone to try and ensnare, which essentially will trap him in that form forever." Kohaku said. "Not even the Great Wizard of Shaz, or his siblings would be able to stop him, especially with all that TB flowing through his veins."
"TB?" Gus asked.
"What is that?" Willow questioned.
"Not something you need to worry about right now." Kohaku stated. "At the present moment, we need to worry more about getting Midori back here, and reverting the moon magic that's been placed on him. Everyone stand in a cluster, and hold hands like you were in the ritual."
Gus, Willow, and Luz did as instructed, before they grabbed each others hands.
"What now?" Luz asked.
"Now this." Kohaku stated, jumping onto Luz's shoulder, before glowing with an ether blue energy. "Whosoever holds this power, if they be worthy, shall obtain the Power of Shazam, for the remainder of the night."
A light of magic energy began to glow around them, and the trio found themselves enveloped in a golden aura, before it died down.
"What did you do?" Gus asked. "I feel amazing."
"I temporarily gave all of you the same powers as Midori. Without a staff for you to say the name through, this is the best I can do." Kohaku said. "Come sunrise, the powers will vanish, and you won't have to say Shazam to access them."
"Time's slipping by then." Luz said, propping Hooty up on the wall. "We need to find Midori, before he's stuck as that monster, for the rest of his life."
"Right. We caused him to turn into a monster, so we're the ones who're gonna end it." Willow said.
As they left, Luz looked back at the couch, and grabbed what had been sitting there, before turning to the door, and closing Hooty behind her, following her friends on the hunt for Midori.
~Forest~
The sound of growling, and the snapping of twigs, echoed through the air, as a strange beast, swiftly and stealthily, made its way through the forest. Its snarls and guttural growls, scaring away any wildlife, within hearing range of its sound.
Creeping through the foliage, the beasts ears perked up, as the sound of someone's voice reached them, drawing the beasts attention towards them.
"Ugh, yes mom I'm going to a Moonlight Conjuring. No mom, you can't come. An' yes mom, it's sad that you're asking." A three eyed demon girl said, before the sound of a crow flying off, echoed through the air.
The creature watched through the trees, as the magenta haired demon girl made her way through the forest, towards the location that would be the Moonlight Conjuring party at Amity's house.
All the while the beast was stalking its prey, he was unaware of the fact that the hunter, was also the hunted.
Off in the distance, a green skinned man wearing an eyepatch, kept his eye on the shadowed beast, through the magic telescope he used to locate his quarry, as he let off a growl while following the beasts movements.
~Eda~
Eda was slowly walking through the market, making her way through the hustle and bustle of the streets, while stopping every once in a while to recover some of her strength, and keep the cursed owl beast at bay.
"The curse. I need that Elixir, quick." She said, before spotting someone crouched behind a crate. Thinking they may be able to help, she approached the being with caution. "Hey you, you know where I can find a Grimm Hammer?"
The stranger nodded to her request, and a small creature popped out of one of the empty eye sockets, pointing them in the right direction, a booth with the top half of a giant skull, and covered in curtains. As Eda made her way there, she missed the fact that, the stranger ate the creature, living within its skull.
~Luz~
"So, what are you exactly, if you don't mind me asking." Luz inquired, walking through the forest with Kohaku still on her shoulder. "Because you're not like any white tiger I've ever heard of."
"To answer simply, I'm a Palisman." Kohaku stated. "But I am much different from your average Palisman."
"How so?" Willow asked.
"For one, I'm not made of wood. I was sculpted from clay."
"Clay? What kind?" Luz asked.
"The kind found deep within the walls of the Rock of Eternity." Kohaku said. "But the clay I was molded from, was soaked in a special liquid for five hundred years, before I took shape, and awoke, seeking out my partner."
"Your partner being Midori, as he's the current Champion." Luz said. "Makes sense in a way, when you think about it."
"I've never heard of a Palisman that could speak out loud like this before." Willow said.
"Guess it just comes with the territory of being a Palisman made from clay, rather then wood." Gus added. "But it's a good thing you're so small."
"An' adorable." Willow cooed.
"This is my more miniature, travel sized form." Kohaku said. "Just wait until you've seen my true form."
"It's nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure." Luz smiled. "So, if you're a Palisman, where's your staff?"
"I don't have one." Kohaku stated. "While I am a Palisman, I'm made of clay, not wood. Which means I don't have a staff."
"So, you're more of a Familiar type Palisman then." Luz said.
"You get it."
"What's a Familiar?" Gus asked.
"There are a lot of myths and lore about witches and demons in the human realm. Some of them, involve being able to summon beasts to fight at the witches side, and forming contracts with them." Luz said.
"Basically, a Familiar is a witches pet, or partner. Similarly to how Eda the Owl Lady, has Owlbert." Kohaku simplified. "The lore about Familiars, most likely originated from someone who saw a Witch or Demon from the Boiling Isles, with their Palisman out of their staff form."
"That does make the most…" Luz began, only to stop when a loud scream echoed through the air. "What was that?"
"That sounded like Boscha. C'mon." Willow said, running in the direction the scream came from.
Making their way through the forest, Gus, Willow, Luz, and Kohaku made it to a clearing, and found a monstrous beast standing over a terrified looking Boscha, with claws ready to swipe at her, intending on taking the girls head clean off.
"No." Luz shouted, running at the beast extremely fast.
Slamming her shoulder into the beast, she knocked it away from Boscha, and sent it flying through a couple of trees, before it stopped and rolled along the ground, allowing for Boscha to run, escaping her near death experience.
"Whoa." Luz gasped. "I really do have his powers."
"Luz look out."
Luz looked up, her eyes widening when the beast came charging at her. She held up her arms to shield herself, and braced for the pain, only to feel nothing. Moving her arms, and looking past them, Luz gasped as the moon light shined through the parting clouds, revealing the beast that stood in front of her.
The beast had a humanoid muscular build, standing around 8 feet in height, with white and black striped fur covering the body. The legs looked akin to that of an animals hind legs, with claws extending from the toes, and he walked on all fours like a gorilla. The beasts face looked like that of an anthromorphic lions or tigers, while the eyes were a pure blue. On its chest, was a large black stripe, that was just the same shape as the scar on Midori's chest from Vice Warden Wrath's blade.
"Midori, is that you?" Luz asked, slowly stepping back. "It's okay, we're not here to hurt you. We're here to help."
"Luz, what are you doing?" Gus asked.
Midori stepped up towards Luz, sniffing around her like an animal searching for something.
"Oh, you smell something on me?" Luz asked. "Could it be…"
"Luz, lookout." Willow shouted.
Luz looked up, just as a net of magical energy came out of nowhere, and was heading straight for her. The nets approach was stopped, as the Latina girl was pushed out of the way, by Midori, resulting in him being wrapped up in the net.
"NO!" Luz cried out, as Midori fell to the ground.
~Eda~
"Hello? I seek the one they call, Grimm Hammer." Eda said, poking her head through the curtains.
"I'm the one the call Grimm Hammer." An eerie little voice said, before the curtains opened up, to reveal the shop in all its glory, with a sign that said Mud and Sundry on top. "Welcome, welcome, welcome. I've got weaponry from the Hinterlands, curses from the Winterlands, and jelly beans." The little pig like demon said, throwing jelly beans into the air.
"Jelly Beans." King cheered, catching a red one.
"They're lethally delicious." The demons said, resulting in Eda smacked the candy out of Kings paw before he could eat it.
"You, are Grimm Hammer?" Eda questioned.
"Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer 3rd. Please, call me Tibbles."
"He wants to be called that." King said with a laugh.
"Okay, Tibbles. I need some of this Elixir." Eda said, holding up an empty bottle of her Elixir.
"Oh, this is one wicked brew, lucky for you I just stocked up." Tibbles said, bringing up a couple full bottles of the Elixir with his tail.
"Hozam." Eda cheered. "I'll give you twenty snails for both bottles."
"Add two more zeroes, and it's a deal." Tibbles said.
"Two thousand snails? What kind of game are you playing?" Eda questioned.
"Capitalism." Tibbles stated, turning to leave the counter. "Where everyone wins, except you."
"Hey." Eda stated, slamming her hand on the counter, before noticing the cards there. "Say, you play Hexis Holdem?"
"Really? Now?" King questioned.
"Oh, is that what that game is called?" Tibbles asked, turning around and returning to the counter. "I was just using these as coasters."
"How about we make it interesting." Eda said. "I win, you give me the Elixirs. You win, you can take something of mine, that isn't King or Owlbert."
"Oh what fun, you're on." Tibbles said.
~After a Quick Game~
"Oof, that was painful to watch." King said, as Eda's cards burned in front of her.
"You card shark, you hustled me." Eda exclaimed.
"Looks like you forgot about my Wild Card." Tibbles said with a laugh, before his wild card jumped from his hand, roared, then turned around and tore the shirt off a demon on its back. "In any case, I'd like my prize now. An' I choose, the little bone boy." He stated, pointing at King.
"Not gonna happen. I stated clearly that two items on my person, were off limits from anything you could take if you won." Eda hissed, crossing her arm over King defensively.
"Well that's too bad." Tibbles smirked, snapping his fingers.
From out of nowhere, Eda found herself wrapped in a chain comprised entirely of magic, unable to do anything as Tibbles took King, right before she fell to the ground.
"I've always wanted a tiny servant, to model my line of baby clothes." Tibbles said.
"No, I don't look good in clothes, I'm all natural. Eda, do something." King said.
"I can't King. My magic's depleted, and I can't get out of these bindings." Eda grunted, struggling against the chains. "You think this can stop me Tibbles, I can still bite your ankles."
"You don't think I know who you are, Eda the Owl Lady?" Tibbles questioned, causing Eda to gasp. "That's right, I've seen your wanted posters around here. I wonder how much the Emperor's Coven, would pay me to hand you over."
~Luz~
The sound of a horn blaring echoed through the air, as Eyepatch, and his crew carted Luz, Gus, Willow, Kohaku, and the beastly Midori, towards a cliff near their hideout.
"Why can't we break free?" Luz questioned, as they struggled in their bindings, Gus biting them.
"Magic cancels out the champion magic." Kohaku said. "These ropes were designed and infused with magic to restrain beast far stronger then any of you are, without your Champion Strength. But since your strength is temporary, the ropes are able to nullify them. An' since Midori wasn't in his Champion form when he changed, they're extremely effective on him."
"Midori, please you have to snap out of it, and break free of that cage." Luz said. "Willow, can you use your plant magic to free him?"
"I'm sorry Luz. You shouldn't ask me to help with anything." Willow said, sounding kind of down.
"Willow." Luz said softly, before they were suddenly jostled as the cart stopped. "The cart stopped moving."
"Ugh, my insides didn't." Gus said, before Eyepatch came up to them with an evil laugh.
As he reached for the trio, Midori snapped at Eyepatch from his cage, causing the Demon Hunter to jolt in shock, as Midori growled.
"Pipe down, you damn beast." Eyepatch said, using an electricity spell to zap Midori, causing him to howl in pain.
"No stop. You're hurting him." Luz shouted.
"Shut your mouths." Eyepatch said, grabbing them by the ropes, and throwing them off the cart to one of his subordinates. "Take the cage, and sell that unique demon to the Emperors Coven. I'm sure they'll pay a pretty snail for a find like this one. They may also pay a little extra for the little cat demon."
"No. You can't sell him to the Emperor's Coven, they're just gonna dissect him like he's some sort of lab rat." Luz said.
"I don't care about what they do with what they buy, so long as I get the money we're owed." Eyepatch exclaimed.
"What do we do with the worms?" The subordinate questioned.
"Throw them over the cliff." Eyepatch smirked.
The subordinate laughed as he grabbed the trio of teens, and pushed them towards the cliffside. Midori saw all this from his cage, and roared as Luz, Willow, and Gus, were being shoved to their demise.
"Sha…" Midori managed to say, in a broken voice.
At the cliffside, the subordinate smirked as he forced the kids to their dooms.
"Alrighty kids. Here's the end of your short little lives!" He said.
"Wait, wait, wait." Gus said, managing to turn himself around to look at the man trying to end them. "Is this really what you wanna be doing with your life? Tossing kids from cliffs?"
"Actually yes." He stated with a smile. "It's been my dream since I was a boy."
"You can't be serious." Luz said.
"I was a strange child."
"More like a psychotic sociopath." Luz exclaimed.
"Enough talking." The man said. "Bye-bye." He smiled happily as he shoved them over the cliff.
"SHAZAM!" A broken, deep guttural voice echoed through the air, before a bolt of red lightning came down and struck the cage Midori was in.
The transformed beast let out a roar that would have made the Titan Quiver, before breaking free of his cage, and heading for the cliffside.
"It's going after the children?" Eyepatch questioned. "But what the hell was that? It looked different from the beast we captured."
"You fools." Kohaku called out, standing tall and proud, her voice more grown and womanly as she was in her true tiger form. "You've doomed this entire realm, by throwing those children off the cliff."
Flying through the air, the monstrous Midori swooped down, and flew towards the still falling trio, before grabbing them in his arms.
"Midori?" Luz questioned, her eyes widening when she saw he was more ferocious then before, as his teeth were protruding from both top and bottom halves of his jaw.
The lightning bolt on his chest was red, with black veins traveling through it, and the only thing that comprised his champion clothes, was the lightning bolt held up by a rope of gold, and a loin flap over a pair of short.
'He sort of looks like an Egyptian Deity!' Luz thought, before she and the others were put on the ground, after Midori flew up over the cliff.
Once they were firmly back on the ground, Midori used his claws to slice through the ropes, and freed his friends.
"Midori? Is that you in there?" Luz asked.
Midori didn't answer her verbally, as Kohaku in her tiger form, came running up and circled around the trio.
"Kohaku?"
"We must flee. Hurry, climb on my back." Kohaku said.
"But what about Midori?" Willow asked.
"It's too late. Once he accessed his champion form in that beastly state, he became lost to us. He's nothing more then a primal beast now, with an insatiable rage and blood lust." Kohaku said, as the three of them climbed on her back.
"Hold it right there." Eyepatch said. "You ain't going anywhere with our quarry."
"Not good." Kohaku hissed, as Midori turned to look over his shoulder, to see Eyepatch and his crew having surrounded them. "We must flee, now."
Taking off running, Kohaku aimed to make her way to the forest, a safe distance away from the chaos that was about to happen.
"Hold it right there." A purple haired hunter said, aiming her crossbow at them.
Before she could pull the trigger, the crossbow fell to the ground, as did the arms that were holding it.
"My… my arms." She gasped, before crying out in pain as it fully registered with her.
In the forest, Kohaku kept running as she had no intention of staying put. Unfortunately Luz was too stubborn, and hopped off, before running back to the battle.
"Luz." Gus called out to her, as Kohaku slid to a halt.
"Where are you going?" Willow questioned.
"I can't just leave Midori behind like this." Luz stated. "He'll be horrified of his actions yes, but we're the ones who caused this. We have to be the ones to make it right."
"No come back, it's too dangerous." Kohaku called out.
Luz continued to run towards the battle field, the echoes of screams and cries of pain and terror hitting her ears like a drum, but she wasn't about to stop. When she finally reached the battle field, Luz gasped as she slid to a halt, as all the Demon Hunters had been shredded to minced meat, with only a single figure standing in the center of all the chaos, his forearms soaked in blood.
"Midori?" Luz questioned.
Midori looked over his shoulder to Luz, her eyes widening in relief when she saw there was no blood on his face, before the beastly champion went running through the forest, in one specific direction.
"Midori wait." Luz called to him.
"Luz."
The Hispanic girl turned around to see Kohaku running towards her, with both her friends still on her back.
"Where's Midori?"
"He ran off in that direction. I think he's going towards a heavily populated area." Luz said.
"We have to flee. The human realm is our best chance for survival. If he's eaten the hearts of these demons then…"
"He didn't." Luz said. "I saw his face, he didn't have a speck of blood near his lips. Just blood splatter across his eyes."
"How can you be certain Luz?" Gus asked as he and Willow hopped down.
"Just take a look at what's he's already done." Willow added.
"I know Midori. He'd never consciously do something like this. But I do know he's still down there, and he hasn't devoured any hearts." Luz said. "I know the Midori I know is still down in there, somewhere. I just have to bring it out."
"Luz wait." Willow called to Luz, but the human girl had already raced off, using the speed of Mercury, chasing after Midori.
"What is she thinking?" Gus asked.
"She isn't." Kohaku said, revealing she'd been examining the fallen bodies. "An' she's right. All these bodies still have their hearts. An' despite their injuries, none of them are dead. They're all still alive, just fatally wounded. Luz Noceda may be thinking with her heart, but the wisdom it holds, is on part with that of the wisdom of Solomon. Go after her, I'll tend to their injuries."
"Hang on Luz, we're coming." Gus said, as they began running after her and Midori.
~Eda~
"King, I'm sorry." Eda said, looking up at King who was sitting on the counter wearing a little sailors uniform.
"King, who's King? I go by Little Bone Boy now." King stated.
"I know I have a problem, I get obsessed with Hexis Holdem." Eda said. "But I'm done with that stupid game, look." She stated, eating one of the cards.
"You promise?" King asked.
"I promise." Eda said, her mouth still full of card.
"Okay, okay." King said with a little laugh, before pulling his leg out of the cuff. "I'll grab you the Elixir and then we can bust out of here."
"Bone Boy." Tibbles called out.
"Huh?" King asked.
"You will do no such thing." Tibbles exclaimed, showing he was holding another outfit for King to wear. "The Emperors Coven, is already on its way, to send this witch here, to the Conformatorium. An' I just rustled up some more clothes for you to try on."
"Just because I have a models body, doesn't mean you can use me like this." King said, throwing his hat down.
"I can, and I am, Bone Boy. I've got the cards stacked against you." Tibbles said, unaware of the danger coming towards his stall. "An' nothing can stop me. Nothing."
Out of nowhere, the beastly Midori came charging through the stall destroying it with a single slice of his claws, before grabbing Tibbles, and slamming him into the ground, his claws digging into the pig demons flesh.
"What is that?" King questioned, sounding worried.
"That emblem." Eda gasped, spotting the lightning bolt on the chest. "Midori?"
"That's Midori?" King asked.
"Get this monstrosity… off of me." Tibbles pleaded.
Midori just roared in rage, scaring away anyone else in the night market, before he picked Tibbles up, and repeatedly slammed him into the ground, causing potholes to form, and become deeper with each impact.
"King, the Elixirs." Eda called out.
"Right." King said, before gasping as Midori picked him up.
"Midori stop." Luz cried out, reaching them.
"Luz, what's going on?" Eda questioned. "King no."
Midori used his claws and ran them over King, causing the little guy to tremble in fear, before he felt the clothes constricting him, fall to the ground. King was confused, before Midori put him down next to Eda.
"He… didn't hurt me?"
"I knew Midori was still in there somewhere." Luz said.
"Luz, you have five seconds to explain what the hell's going on." Eda said, before King popped a bottle of Elixir in her mouth.
"Long story short, when we were doing the Moonlight Conjuring ritual, we tried bringing a toy to life, but Midori had a negative connection with that toy, so instead of bringing something to life, we released Midori's inner beast. Then when the Demon Hunters caught us while we were trying to fix this, and threw Gus, Willow, and I off a cliff towards the ocean bellow, and Midori said Shazam accessing his Champion form, and now he's this, far more terrifying beast then he was before."
"But he's still in there?" Eda asked, breaking free of the magic chains.
"He is, and I think I might know how to control him." Luz said, before Midori came up to her, sniffing at her. "Alright, I know what you want." She smiled nervously, before reaching behind her, and pulling out the pack of jumbo gummy bears. "You're wanting some of these, aren't ya?"
Midori's ears perked, before he stepped back and waiting patiently for Luz to give him one.
"Say the word." Luz said.
"Help…" Tibbles wheezed out, before Midori slammed both his fists into the demon, knocking him out cold.
"Midori." Luz stated in a stern voice. "Say the word." She said, holding up a gummy bear, nearly as big as her palm.
Midori turned to Luz before bowing his head.
"Sha-zam!" Midori said, the red lightning striking him again, reverting him back to normal.
"Great job Midori." Luz smiled, giving him the gummy. "I thought once you smelled the gummies on me, you'd be easier to control."
"What's going on?"
"When Midori's like this, he's basically the same as an unbroken house pet, only a lot wilder." Luz said. "But he's able to listen to the commands of those he holds in high regards. Try it." She smiled, holding the bag of gummies out to Eda.
Eda took one of the gummies, before stepping up to Midori.
"Sit." He sat. "Lay down." He laid down. "Pee on Tibbles."
"No, no, no." Luz said, shoving a gummy in his mouth. "Ignore that last one Midori."
"You're no fun." Eda said.
"We have to get Midori back to the house, before the sun rises, or he'll be stuck like this, until the next full moon for Moonlight Conjuring." Luz said.
"Then let's hurry." Eda said. "Midori, carry King and Luz back to the Owl House."
Throwing the gummy she'd been holding at Midori, the beastly teen did as commanded, and grabbed both King and Luz in his arms, before he went running through town, back to the Owl House. While he was doing that, Eda bent down behind what remained of the counter of Tibbles stand, and grabbed the crate of Elixirs that had been hidden there, before taking off, sitting on Owlbert' staff. Moments after she left, Gus and Willow managed to get to the market, only to find no one.
~The Owl House~
"Gus, Willow, where are you?" Luz questioned, pacing around the living room, waiting for her friends, while Midori was lying on the couch, sleeping similarly to a curled up animal. "It's almost sunrise."
"I have an idea that may work." Eda said. "This transformation is similar to my curse, right?"
"Yeah, but it was caused by Moon Magic." Luz said.
"Then this should work." Eda stated, popping the cork off an Elixir bottle, and shoving it into Midori's mouth, waking him up as he drank it.
"Eda, what are you doing?"
"I grabbed enough Elixirs to last me until Morton restocks. I can spare one or two to bring this big guy back." Eda said.
Slowly, Midori's body began to shake, before shrinking as he returned to normal. The beastly teen was slowly returning to his old self, with the transformation reverting entirely, just as the sun began shining through the window.
"What happened?" Midori questioned, as he began to stir.
"It's a long story." Luz said. "Head up stairs, and get some proper rest, after cleaning up."
"Right." Midori groaned, heading for the stairs.
"So, I guess we lost your trust huh?" Luz asked.
"I'm giving you a pass on this one." Eda said.
"Why?"
"Because you didn't know what was gonna happen." Eda said. "You had no clue Midori's strong negative emotions were connected to that toy in such a way. I'm just glad you're both safe."
"Yeah, me to." Luz smiled.
"Luz." Willow shouted, as she and Gus ran into the house. "Please tell me we're not too late."
"It's okay." Luz said. "Eda managed to figure out another way to revert Midori back to normal, without the need for Moon Magic."
"Oh thank goodness." Gus said. "An' good news. Kohaku said that the Demon Hunters were just injured, none of them were dead. So Midori doesn't have to live with that on his conscious."
"That's a relief." Luz said.
"Luz I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Willow stated.
"Willow no." Luz smiled.
"But it is. I was the one who pushed you and Midori to let us do the Moonlight Conjuring at the Owl House, when we could have easily done it at my place, or Gus's." Willow said.
"No, we offered to do the Moonlight Conjuring with you, so none of this lies with you two." Luz said.
"Well except for one thing." Eda said, before drawing a circle in the air, and summoning cleaning supplies. "You three are responsible for turning Midori into the beast that made this mess, so you'll be cleaning it up."
"Yes Ma'am."
"An' another thing." Eda said. "I'm totally joining you for next years Conjuring."
"I wanna join too." King said.
~The Following Day~
"I probably should have specified to E that next week, meant today." Morton said, restocking his supplies of Elixir.
"Morton. Open up."
"Coming." Morton said opening his doors, to see Midori standing there, with patches of fur covering his arms and neck, with the fully grown Kohaku at his side. "Whoa, what happened to you?"
"You could say, Eda and I share something in common now." Midori said putting a bag of snails down. "I need double Eda's order of Elixir."
"You got it." Morton said. "What caused your curse?"
"A Moonlight Conjuring gone wrong, awoke my inner beast." Midori said. "Or so Kohaku says."
"Well then you're gonna need something other then E's Elixir." Morton said, putting down a vial of blue Elixir on the counter. "First one's on me, you look like you could use it."
"Thanks." Midori said. "Know of any way to revert this curse?"
"The only way to truly rid yourself of a curse caused by Moon Magic, is with Moon Magic. You're not the only one to have ended up cursed by Moon Magic." Morton stated, putting down two crates of Elixirs, one of them orange, the other blue. "You'll have to wait until next year to get rid of it, an' you'll need the people who caused the curse, to be the ones to remove it."
"Thanks." Midori said, drinking his Elixir. "Mind giving me the recipe. I travel to the human realm quite a bit, and might need to make my own while there if my stock runs out."
"Of course." Morton said, writing down the recipe. "Here, ingredients and instructions as requested."
"Appreciated." Midori said, loading the crates onto Kohaku's back, as the fur on his body vanished. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you remained quiet about my curse. Eda and Luz think it was removed, so I'm not wanting to worry them."
"Sure thing. Thank you for visiting, and please come again." Morton said.