Lucio Noceda is an ordinary sixteen-year-old teenager who loves video games, comics, and baseball. He has messy hair and a mole on his right cheek. He wears blue jeans with a white T-shirt over a black vest. He lives in Gravesfield, Connecticut, with his mother, Camila, and younger sister, Luz.
He's just a regular guy who didn't want to be a hero or anything at all.
Currently, he was at school, standing near the Principal's office, waiting for his mother and sister, who caused problems again. This time, Luz brought live snakes to the school for the presentation of her favorite book, but unfortunately, they fled and bit the students.
Lucio could only see through the door as his mother asked Luz not to do it again, and Luz promised. But then, her snake jumped and attacked Principal Hal.
Later, Camila explained to her son that Luz would be sent to summer camp as a consequence of this incident. Mom talked to Luz and said goodbye, leaving only her and her brother on the street.
"You know none of this would have happened if you hadn't brought live snakes to the school where you got them in the first place?" Lucio asked Luz.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Luz told him, pouting with her head down and her shoulders slumped. Although Lucio was annoyed with his sister, he still loved her.
"Come on, don't get upset. Summer camp isn't the end of the world," Lucio said, trying to cheer her up by putting his hand on her head.
Luz didn't feel much better, but then she remembered that she had thrown her book in the trash and began rummaging through the trash to find it. Suddenly, they saw a small owl holding Luz's book in a bag with its beak. When it saw them, it began to fly away.
"Give that back, you tiny trash thief!" Luz called out and chased after the owl.
"Luz, wait!" Lucio called out as he followed her. They continued to pursue the owl, which led them into the forest and an abandoned house where the owl flew inside. "Let's go!" Luz called out to her brother, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside the house.
"Luz!" Lucio called out, feeling that something was wrong. But before he could finish his sentence, they had already entered the house and were followed by a strange glow. "Stop adorably hopping away, you-" Luz stopped when they saw what was inside. "Huh? Whoa."
The inside of the house looked like someone's barn or garage, filled with various rubbish and looking more like a tent than a house.
"What kind of place is this?" Lucio asked as he looked around.
"I know. I thought I had a lot of weird stuff," she said as she held up the creepy-looking doll. "But this? This is impressive."
"Finally, you're back," a female voice came from the other side. Luz gasped and dropped the doll. Her brother gestured for her to be quiet. Then the two of them approached the flaps.
"Now let's see what we've got here," the woman said as they opened the curtains. She was terribly skinny, with ivory skin and orange nails that looked more like claws. She wore a burgundy sleeveless dress with a torn hem and gray leggings. There was also some kind of stone on her chest that looked like an ornament, but her main feature was her long and thick gray hair. An owl landed on top of a wooden staff. The woman then started spinning the owl, and it ended up being made of wood, which shocked Luz and Lucio.
Lucio took Luz's hand. "Luz, we have to get out of here," he whispered to her, pointing to the door that led them here.
Luz was about to do so when she saw the woman pull her book out of the bag. "And this... Oh, this'll make good kindling," she said, holding the book up over the candle flame.
Seeing this, Luz gasped, pulled her hand away from him, and ran towards the woman. "Excuse me, sorry, it's mine, thank you," she said, snatching the book from her hands and running back to the tent.
"Luz, come on!" Lucio called out as he pointed to the door. Suddenly, before they could get out of there, the door closed and folded into the suitcase and floated up. The siblings turned and saw the woman holding a key and still wearing glasses. "You two are not going anywhere," she said, taking off her glasses and looking at them with an evil look.
The kids screamed, and Luz stuffed the book into her bag while Lucio grabbed her arm and lifted the tent. They went out but stopped when they almost fell off a cliff. What they saw shocked them. Standing on the edge of a cliff, the brother and sister saw a city that looked like something out of a horror movie. It consisted of a large number of arms and teeth, and when a creature flew by, one of the arms grabbed it and thinned it.
The residents themselves looked no better; they weren't people, they were monsters. One monster ordered ice cream and it consumed him. There were giant birds, giant heads with only legs, and a centipede with a human face that kissed a flying creature that flew out of its mouth.
"Oh no, no, no, no!" Luz said, shaking her head as they backed away.
"Where the hell are we?!" Lucio exclaimed, also scared by this place.
"I don't know!" Luz answered fearfully, and then a tiny and cute-looking fairy flew up to them. "Oh, hello, little fairy. Are you going to tell me this is all a fantastical dream?" she asked with a shrug and a nervous smile.
"Give me your skins!" The fairy suddenly shouted, showing large teeth.
Luz screamed, and Lucio responded by punching the fairy, sending her far away.
"Where are we? Did we die?! Are we... in the bad place?" Luz asked, startled. Suddenly, a hand was placed on the kids' shoulders.
"You wish you were," the woman said as they turned and she looked down at them.
"We're so sorry! I just wanted my book! If you're gonna eat our skin, just make it quick! Just do it now!" Luz yelled as the woman dragged them back into the tent and set them on the table. Luz started to panic with fear while Lucio was a little calmer as he had a baseball bat in his backpack, which he played baseball with, and wasn't afraid to use if the woman was really going to eat them.
"Eat you? Why would I eat... two potential customers?" The woman suddenly smiled, pointing to a sign above her that read "Human Collectibles."
Luz and Lucio looked confused.
"Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes?" she asked, pulling out a green croc sandal. "A bar of green human candy?" She pulled out a case of deodorant. "Oh, oh! How about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" She held a battery-operated television to show the children their reflection on the black glass.
Luz giggled and got up from the table while Lucio was still sitting, thinking, what's going on? "That's not all it can do. Here, let me see it," she said, picking up the TV, removing two batteries from a bowl labeled "Human Candy!" and putting them in the TV, and turning it on. "Voilà!"
This attracted the attention of people who heard the music on the TV and started offering money, called snails, for the "screaming box."
The woman looked surprised and happy that she had so many customers. She looked at the children and asked, "What did you say your names were?"
"I'm Luz Noceda, and this one is my brother, Lucio," replied Luz, pointing at herself and her brother and smiling.
"Don't get too close to her, Luz," said Lucio, still tense from the situation and eager to get home.
"Well, Luz, Lucio, that was pretty clever," the woman said as she collected the people's money. "For humans."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucio asked, crossing his arms. It sounded like an insult. "Who are you anyway, and what is this place?"
"Who am I?" The woman said, removing her green bandanna wrapped around her forehead, revealing her pointy ears with orange spherical earrings. She then climbed onto the table to introduce herself. "I'm Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."
"A witch?" Luz said.
"The Boiling Isles?" Lucio also said.
"I am respected, feared-"
"Busted!" Another voice shouted, and someone's fist smashed the TV. People fled from the counter, shouting that it was a guard. The creature was huge, dressed in dark white clothes with a metal cone mask on its face. "Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors," the guard said, looking at her and holding her wanted poster.
"Whoa! Witch criminal!" Luz said.
"You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium," the guard said, grabbing Eda by her waist and trying to pull her.
"Would you guys quit following me around?" Eda snatched her arm away from him with a glare. "I haven't done squat."
"And you two are coming too..." the guard said as he grabbed Luz by her hood and Lucio by the hand. "...for fraternizing with a criminal."
"What the hell, we don't even know her!" Lucio said, trying to pull his hand away.
"Yeah, that's not cool!" Luz said, trying to break free too.
"Oh, all right, all right, you win. Just let me get my stuff," said Eda, reaching under the table, grabbing her staff, and slamming it into the guard. He immediately fell to the ground, releasing the children. She then thumped her staff, causing all her belongings to float in the air. At this time, Luz and Lucio were already up.
"Whoops. Can't forget this," she said, pulling the key that closed the door out of her hair and pressing the eye button to summon the door. Then she wrapped it all up in a green cover, slipped the staff through the knot, and started to run away. "Follow me, humans!"
Seeing the guard getting up, they ran after her. "This is crazy. If I die here, my Mom is gonna kill me!" said Luz, panicking.
"No, Luz, if you die, Mom will kill ME!" Lucio responded.
"Ha! I won't let 'em hurt you. Humans like you are much more valuable to me alive than dead," Eda said, smiling.
Lucio heard this and said, "What do you mean-" Before he could finish his sentence, the witch grabbed the two kids and jumped into the air, raising her staff high over her head. The owl talisman opened its wings, and after placing the kids on it, Eda flew off into the sky just before the guard could grab them. "You won't get away with this, Owl Lady!" he yelled with a raised fist. "Yeah, all right. You did. You got away with it. She got away with it, everybody! Typical."
"You can open your eyes now, human," said Eda. The two teens sat in front of her. They opened their eyes and, seeing how high they were flying, held on to the staff even more so as not to fall.
"Dios mío, we are high up!" Lucio panicked.
"You asked me what this place is?" Eda said, looking at Lucio. "This is the Boiling Isles." The brother and sister saw the land while flying, looking up at the blood-red trees, the violet sky, and strange rib-like mountains. "Every myth you humans have is caused by a little of our world leaking into yours."
A second later, a giant griffin flew up next to the staff and screeched, clawing at the sky. "A griffin!" Luz gasped in amazement. "I knew it!" she exclaimed happily.
"Yep. Griffins, vampires, giraffes," Eda listed.
"Wait, did you just say giraffes?" Lucio asked.
"Oh yeah. We banished those guys. Bunch of freaks," she said, bringing the staff down to the ground. Eda stood up, and immediately her hand, which was still holding the staff, separated from her.
Luz screamed at this and fell off the staff, accidentally pushing Lucio, and he fell too.
"Oops. That happens sometimes," Eda said, grabbing the hand and putting it back on like it was no big deal. Then Lucio got up from the ground and helped Luz get up too. "Well, it was kind of nice to meet you, but we kind of need to go home; otherwise, Mom will scold us."
"Yeah, I think I've had enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So, can you help us get back home?" Luz said. Immediately, Eda abruptly raised her staff over them, startling them. "Only if you help me first," she said, grabbing her staff in one hand and then using her magic to have the green bag float in the air and follow her. "Now, come along, humans."
Lucio and Luz shared a glance before following her as they approached a large house made from white brick with a sloping blue roof. A stained glass window above the door gives the impression of a large orange demon eye. Much of the house consists of a crumbling stone tower with orange moss growing on it.
"Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" Luz asked as they approached the door.
"Nope, my house has a state-of-the-art defense system," Eda bragged proudly.
"Hoot-hoot!" Lucio winced when he heard a high-pitched squeaky voice. He saw the head of an owl with brown eyes and an orange beak at the door. "Password, please!" it said before Eda poked it in the eyes with two fingers. "Aah!"
"We don't have time for this, Hooty. Let us in," Eda said, deadpanning.
"All right, all right! Geez! You never want to have any fun! Ow! Hoot!" Suddenly, the Talking Door retched and opened its mouth to the size and shape of a doorway. Eda, Luz, and Lucio walked inside before the Talking Door retched again and closed its mouth, burping at the end.
"Welcome to… the Owl House." Eda held up a hand and snapped her fingers.
The siblings were surprised when they entered the much larger house. The first room was the living room, and when the candles were lit, the whole space seemed to come alive. A fire ignited in the fireplace as the broom swept and the wooden spoon swirled in the cauldron. The massive owl art on the ceiling began to glow brightly, giving the room even more light, revealing two sofas, a wall of artifacts, and a wanted poster for Eda.
"...where I hide away from the pressures of modern life. Also, the cops. And ex-boyfriends." Eda snorted a chuckle.
"This place is beautiful!" Luz said.
"I think 'beautiful' is an exaggeration," Lucio added. "And you live here?" he asked Eda.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking with the sound of thudding footsteps. Eda crossed her arms. "Actually, I have a roommate."
Lucio turned to the doorway leading to the hall. "Who dares to intrude upon I-" said a deep voice as a large shadow could be seen on the walls. But when the creature appeared, it was about two feet tall and wearing a ducky towel. It was holding a rubber ducky. "-the king of demons?"
The "King of Demons" himself looked more like a dog, although his torso and the tip of his tail were covered in light gray fur. It had three fingers and two toes that (except for the thumbs) looked like white claws. He wore a red collar with a yellow tag and pink eyes with yellow scleras. His main feature was a buffalo-like skull with a broken horn. Lucio just stared at it as it gave its ducky a few squeezes, making it squeak. But the moment Luz saw him, she gasped and blushed.
"¡Ay, que lindo!" Luz exclaimed in Spanish, rushing over and picking up the small demon and started hugging him tightly, rubbing her face against his. "Eda, he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?" She asked, gushing over the demon.
"No! I don't know who your little guy is!" He exclaimed, freaking out and desperately trying to get Luz away from him. "Eda, who is this monster?"
"Okay, Luz, that's enough," Lucio said, pulling her back as she tried to hug the demon again. Then he turned to Eda. "Can you bring us home now, please?"
But Eda ignored his question. "Alright," she said with a hearty laugh, turning to the demon. "King, this is Luz and her brother, Lucio. They're humans, and they're here to help us with our little... situation."
"Oh! Hooray!" King exclaimed, finally understanding.
Lucio's eyes widened before he and Luz stepped in front of Eda. "Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean by 'situation'?" Lucio said.
"Yeah, I don't like the sound of this 'situation'," Luz said with air quotes.
"Just... let me explain," Eda said, stepping into the middle of the room. With both hands, she used her fingers to draw a circle of light, which took on the appearance of gold flames in front of her. In that ring, she showed an image as she told a story. "King was once a mighty king of demons until his crown of power was stolen, and he became... this."
"You mean he turned into a dog?" Lucio asked, pointing to King, who was hugged again by Luz.
"Don't call me a dog!" King shouted back, pointing at the boy with his claw.
"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through - a human, like you two," Eda finished, making the ring and the images disappear. "If you help us retrieve his crown, we'll send you back to your realm. So whaddya say?" Eda picked up King and held him up by his head. "Plus, who could say no to this cute face?"
"No! Please don't encourage them!" King screamed before Eda dropped him.
"I mean, we're kinda your only way home," Eda said.
Lucio thought to himself about the situation in which he and his sister found themselves. First, they ended up in a world full of monsters and demons. Then they met a woman who turned out to be a witch, and now it turned out that she needed their help. This whole situation was like some kind of fantasy movie or anime.
"Um, one minute," said Lucio, turning his back and facing Luz. "I don't trust her. What if she doesn't bring us home?"
"Come on, hermano, I think she's a good person. She already saved us from that guard," Luz said to her brother.
Realizing that they didn't have a choice anyway, Lucio and Luz turned back and said, "Okay, we agree."
"Alright! Now, we've got no time to lose," Eda said, grabbing the two kids before they could react, placing them on both of her shoulders, and starting to walk them to the front door. Before following them, King picked up his rubber ducky. "Soon, Mr. Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us," he said before following.
"Where are we going?" Luz asked.
Eda suggested, "Somewhere super fun!"
As the group stood in front of the ominous, dark prison, thunder clapped in the darkened sky overhead. The prison was surrounded by giant rolls of sharp teeth and looked like something out of a horror fantasy book or a video game.
"This is the Conformatorium, a place for those considered unsuitable for society," Eda sarcastically explained, finding the idea ridiculous.
Luz, with King on her head, ripped off a poster from a wall. It was another one of Eda's wanted posters with a bounty of one billion. "Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you," she said.
Eda winked. "Yep, but we were never caught because we're too slippery."
"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little fella," King said before slipping off and falling to the ground.
Lucio took the wanted poster from Luz and looked at it for a moment before turning to Eda and King. "So, what's the plan?"
"We'll sneak up to the top of the tower, where they're holding my crown," King said, pointing to the tower.
"And I'm going to make sure the warden's distracted," Eda said.
Luz gasped happily. "Will I need a disguise?" Eda raised an eyebrow. "I've been waiting to use this." The girl then pulled her cat hood over her head and flicked the ears up. "Meow, meow!" She happily exclaimed while Lucio facepalmed.
"You look hideous," King said, and Lucio frowned at him.
"Oh, you'll fit right in," Eda said before raising her staff and slamming the bottom of it into the ground, forming a magic circle of light underneath them. "Hang tight." She stepped off the circle.
Luz and Lucio almost lost their balance and nearly fell off when the circle suddenly lifted into the air and floated into the sky. The circle took the two of them and King to a window in the tower before suddenly disappearing. The siblings quickly grabbed onto the ledge, and King held onto their legs.
"Meet you guys at the top of the tower," Eda said, flying away on her staff.
"Why didn't you just take us with you!?" Lucio hissed at her. King climbed up their bodies before crawling in. Luz helped him go first, and when he did, he helped her inside. However, it resulted in the two falling onto the stone floor.
"Ha-ha! Cats don't do that," King laughed before Lucio pushed him with his hand, and he fell too.
He and Luz stood up and gasped at the sight of the prison tower's interior. There was a path that spiraled along the walls that would take people up and down. In the walls were hundreds, if not thousands of prison cells that housed many prisoners on each section of the walls, till you saw a large skylight window that allowed the only source of light into the building.
"Hey, cat lady, how did you get out of your cell?" asked a woman's voice from behind them. The two humans in disguise turned around and saw that it was one of the prisoners. She was a slender girl with pointy ears, dark skin, black hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and fangs. She wore a purple shirt/dress that bared her shoulders and covered all of her upper arms and about half of her forearms. She had a gold band around her neck.
"Oh no, no, no. I'm not a cat," Luz said, taking off her hood to reveal herself.
"Yeah, we're also not criminals," Lucio added.
"Not yet, you're not," King said.
"Neither are we. The stupid warden likes to lock up people who don't fit in," the woman said before grabbing a book and opening it to a random page. "Like, I write fanfics about food falling in love. I like food, I like love... just let me write about it!"
Then a monster with more than two eyeballs, some of which had sockets missing, joined the conversation. "I'm here because I like eating my own eyes," he said, plucking one of his eyes and eating it.
And then it popped right back into its socket.
"We are agents of free expression!" yelled another person with some form of rhotacism. The two kids turned to see a small, round creature with large bluish eyes, a rather prominent nose, and reddish hair. She was practically just a big head without a body, with her limbs coming out of it. "They will never silence us!"
The fanfic writer pointed her thumb at her. "Yeah, she's really into conspiracy theories," she said, rolling her eyes.
"THE WORLD IS A SIMULATION! WE ARE BUT PLAYTHINGS FOR A HIGHER BEING!" the nose thing yelled while grabbing the bars.
"Wait, so you were all imprisoned here not for robbery or murder, but simply because of your hobbies?" Lucio asked, confused by the laws of this world.
"Yeah," Luz agreed. "None of you actually did anything wrong. You're all just a bunch of weirdos. Like me," Luz said.
Suddenly, thudding footsteps were coming from the other side of a door a few cells away from them. "It's Warden Wrath! Hide!" the fanfic writer exclaimed.
Lucio then grabbed Luz's hand and pulled her into an empty open cell. Luz hopped up, grabbed the bars, and pulled them down to close it just in time before the door opened and the warden stepped inside the tower.
Warden Wrath was a humanoid creature with a large, muscular build. He wore a hood that was non-standard for a guard and a mask with yellow button-like lenses, resembling a medieval plague doctor. He wore a white sleeveless tunic with brass buttons, a leather belt with a brass buckle, and black trousers tucked into dark purple shoes. On the uniform, one could also see a triangular brass badge, which apparently emphasized his position.
With his silhouette looming over the room, the light casting an ominous shadow, and his yellow lenses glowing, Wrath spoke in a deep tone, "I can hear you." Lucio stood protectively in front of Luz while she hugged King out of fear, and he hugged her back. "Just what are you fools whispering about?"
Lucio followed Wrath's gaze and his eyes widened. Luz dropped the wanted poster.
Suddenly, Wrath crushed the poster with a snarl from under his mask. His hand then transformed into a hammer and he slammed it against the teenagers' cell door, denting it badly.
"Ah, the Owl Lady. I'll get my hands on her soon enough," he growled, immediately looking at them.
Lucio was terrified and ready to pull out his bat when Tiny Nose caught his attention. "Fight against the oppressor!" she shouted. Wrath turned to her and reformed his hand back to normal, releasing the poster. "We will resist! We will conquer! We will never be afraid of you, you old creep!"
Wrath did not say a word and simply pulled a lever next to the cell door, opening it.
"Hooray! I'm free!" exclaimed Tiny Nose.
But that joy was short-lived when Wrath grabbed her. His large hand covered her arms, legs, mouth, and everything below her nose and eyes. "Let this be a lesson to all of you. There's no place in society for you if you can't fit in," he threatened the other two prisoners. Tiny Nose muffled a scream as he crushed her as if he was going to pop her.
Lucio and Luz were horrified to see him leave with her as she stared at them for help.
Without wasting a moment, Luz and Lucio opened the cell door and the three of them ran to the fanfic writer's cell. "Don't worry. We'll get you out," Luz said as she tried to push the door open. Turning to her right, she saw the lever and tried to push it up, but to no avail. "No, my weak nerd arms!"
"Step back, let me do it!" Lucio came and tried to move the lever himself with all his might, but it didn't even budge.
"Just get out of here while you still can, kid," the writer sighed. "Enjoy freedom for us." She then turned and walked away from the cell bars.
Luz was upset that she couldn't help them, while Lucio was angry that people in this world were punished simply for their weirdness, which was not even a crime at all.
Realizing it was futile to try and help, they turned and walked out of the tower, traveling down a hallway toward the location where Eda was waiting for them.
"Hey, I just checked. The warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature," she said with a smile, floating down to them on her staff. "He won't be coming around here anytime soon."
Lucio looked angry while Luz looked sad. As they passed the witch, she wondered what was wrong with them.
The two humans approached a large door boldly labeled with the word CONTRABAND.
"My crown! It's close! I can sense its power!" King exclaimed, rushing to the door. He scratched at it before noticing the large doorknob. Jumping up, he grabbed it and tried to turn it with his body.
"Aw, he gets so cute when he's thirsty for power," Eda gushed at the small demon. However, Lucio and Luz were not amused.
"It's not fair that they're all in here," Luz said, looking up. "They just want to be themselves. Why does everyone think that being a weirdo is so bad?"
Before the conversation could continue, King broke off the doorknob from the door. Cackling victoriously, he pushed against the door with all his might, opening it slightly before slipping in.
"Come on, before he hurts himself," Eda told the teenagers as they started walking to the door.
From outside the room, they heard a zap. "Ow!" King yelped.
The group entered the chamber. The massive room was empty, devoid of furniture or decorations. However, in the middle of the room was a large column of white light with a green aura.
King was in front of the light column. After his first attempt failed, he rubbed his head before trying again. Charging at the light for a headbutt, he made contact, but it deflected him, bouncing him back until Eda caught him.
"We have humans, remember?" Eda said, gesturing to Luz and Lucio.
"Oh, yeah," King said.
Lucio frowned at the column and turned to Eda. "Are you sure this thing won't kill us if we try to enter?" he asked.
"Of course not," Eda said, casually waving her hand before adding, "Maybe." Before Lucio had a chance to think it over, Luz grabbed his arm and sucked in the air. Together, they stepped inside the barrier.
When they made it through to the other side of the light, the two teenagers opened their eyes and saw a mountain of various stuff in front of them. At the top was something shining. The two looked at each other and nodded. Together, they began to climb up the mountain.
Along the way, Lucio grabbed onto something, and it became loose. Losing his balance, he pulled it out and nearly fell down to the ground, but managed to grab onto something from the pile.
"Lucio! Are you okay?" Luz called down, having gotten ahead of him.
Still clutching onto what nearly caused him to fall, Lucio looked up at her and said, "I'm fine! Just go on without me, I'll catch up!" She nodded and continued upward. Lucio then looked at what was in his hand and his eyes widened with amazement and awe as he saw it was a sword in its sheath - a katana sword with a red hilt. "I'll take it as a souvenir," Lucio said as he tucked the sword between his back and backpack and continued to climb.
It wasn't long before Luz and Lucio made it to the top together. Luz looked down at the crown with a smile, but her smile disappeared when she and her brother saw the crown. "Wait a second," Luz said. "Is this a..."
"...You have got to be kidding me," Lucio interrupted.
"So, you risked our asses, dragged us to this place by a guarded psycho for a piece of paper?!" he continued, holding out the crown to reveal it was nothing more than a Burger Queen paper crown.
"My crown! Give me! Give me! Give me!" King begged the Dominican boy, jumping up and down to try and grab it. Lucio glared at him before tossing the crown aside. King rushed over to it and picked it up. Raising it over his head, he slowly placed it on for dramatic effect. "Yes. Yes! I can feel my powers returning!" He then pointed to a stuffed rabbit. "You, there. Nightmare critter. I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness. Ha-ha!" He giggled after picking it up.
Luz looked at him and took the opportunity to ask, "That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?"
"Uh, no," Eda snickered.
Lucio looked at Eda, still wanting to punch her. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You lied and used us to get a crown that's nothing but paper! Were you ever going to let us go home!?" Lucio yelled at her.
"Of course, I was!" Eda exclaimed. "Oh, it's just, look at us, kids. King and I don't have much in this world. We only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me. And besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?"
Luz looked at Eda in amazement and smiled, but Lucio still wanted to hit her as it didn't change the situation anyway.
"Well, we owe you two one. Now, let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head," Eda said before a dark, familiar figure emerged from behind her, towering over the witch.
"Too late," Wrath said as he turned his hand into a scythe and cut off her head.
Time slowed down for the two teenagers as they watched the head fly through the air before Luz caught it. She screamed, staring into Eda's face. But then, Eda suddenly came to life again. "Ow! Oh, I hate it when that happens," she said with an annoyed expression.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Luz and Lucio screamed in terror.
"Eda, are you okay?" Luz asked with concern.
"I'm fine. This just happens when you get older," Eda replied.
Lucio then noticed Wrath walking towards them. "Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady," he declared, grabbing King's crown off his head. The warden stepped closer to them while King tried to grab his crown back. Meanwhile, Eda's body was trying to find its head. "My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running."
He then crushed King's crown, causing the little demon to cry out in despair. "No! My power!" he wailed.
"What do you want with me?" Eda demanded, angry about what he did to King's crown. "I've never broken any of your stupid laws in front of you."
"I want you to go out with me," Wrath said, walking closer to them and pulling out a bouquet of flowers.
"Wha...?" Eda and Luz blinked in surprise.
"What?!" Lucio exclaimed, finding this to somehow be the strangest thing that had happened that day.
"Go, boss!" One of the guards cheered, all of them giving their warden thumbs up for support.
Wrath returned the thumbs up before turning back to Eda. "You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away. I find that alluring."
"I hate everything you're saying right now," Luz said.
"Now I've definitely seen everything," Lucio added.
"You brats stay out of this!" Wrath threw the flowers over his shoulder and then shapeshifted his arm into a mass of tentacles, which he used to grab the kids. Luz tried to break free, and Lucio hit and scratched, but to no avail.
"So how about it, Owl Lady?" Warden Wrath took Eda's head by the hair and lifted it towards him. "The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever. I mean, it's not like you can say no right now."
Eda, realizing that Wrath was holding the kids and King hostage, reluctantly agreed. "All right, Warden. You win. I'd just like to say something first. Come closer," she said, and he lifted her head higher. "Just come a little bit closer." He lifted it even higher to his face. "Just..." He lifted it even closer "Yeah, that's good." And then she blew a raspberry in his face, causing him to release Luz and Lucio.
"Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth!?" he complained.
"Get over it. You had your guards stalk me, and then you cut off my head. I am not going out with you," Eda fumed.
"If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to des-" he was cut off when Lucio whacked him in the back of the head with his baseball bat. It knocked him down to the ground, unconscious.
"Nice!" Eda said, smiling at him. At the same time, Eda's body got behind the two guards holding King, grabbed their heads, and slammed them against each other, making them let go of King.
"Okay, we're going now," Luz said while grabbing the staff, and Eda's head while King took Eda's body. Luz took her wrist, and they sat on the staff.
"Expecto... flying? Magicus... escapicus!" Luz exclaimed, trying to get the staff to take off, but it didn't.
Eda looked back at Wrath and saw him getting back up again. "Gun it, magic stick!"
The staff lifted off the ground and started flying out of the room, just as Warden Wrath stood back up.
"Owl Lady, I won't let you get away again!" Wrath yelled, transforming both of his arms into large masses of tentacles and using them to carry his body forward, chasing after them at fast speeds.
As they flew, Luz saw familiar faces in the cells. "Eda, lend me a hand!" she exclaimed, raising her hand up. Eda placed her hand on the back of Luz, and she pushed up the levers to the three cell doors, releasing the prisoners.
Soon, they slammed the tower entrance doors open and flew out of the prison. The staff pitched up before nosing down in a dive. Warden Wrath rushed out of the tower and jumped down to follow after them. He lashed out his tentacles at them, hitting the back of the staff, knocking them off, and sending them crashing. Warden Wrath stepped in front of them, his hand shifting into a blade again.
Eda dug into her hair and pulled out the interdimensional door. "Luz... Lucio... go back to the human world," she said, tossing them the key.
"What about you guys?" Luz asked worriedly. The rest of the guards were starting to come out to watch the fighting.
"If you think this guy is bad, you should have seen her last boyfriend," King said as he ran to help Eda dodge some attacks from Wrath.
"Not my boyfriend," Eda said as she grabbed King and rolled out of the way from a double attack from Wrath. She then rushed over to the teenagers and pushed them onto her staff. "Go! Go!"
"But- But I-"
Eda didn't give Luz a chance to speak as she slapped the back of the staff, and it took off with the kids on it.
They yelled as they took off into the sky. From up above, they watched the fight as Wrath removed his mask, revealing a huge mouth full of large sharp teeth and almost tiny eyes. From that mouth, he fired a breath of fire. Eda countered this by forming a ring of light before moving to the left. The fireball entered the first ring and disappeared before Eda made a second one. From the second one, the fireball came out and hit Wrath in the chest, knocking him back into a wall.
"Luz, come on, we've got to get out of here!" Lucio said, trying to control the staff, but Luz stopped him.
"No, we have to help them!" She called out to him.
"What are you talking about? We already helped her, and we even helped the prisoners. They are free," Lucio said, and then the two of them saw the prisoners who were just standing there.
"What the hell are you guys just standing there?! This is your chance to escape!" Lucio told them when he and Luz landed next to them.
"The warden'll catch us. He always does," said the prisoner eating his eyes.
"We belong here," added the fanfiction writer.
"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape from," said Tiny Nose, who had a big bruise on his eye from being tortured by Wrath.
"So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome. Don't you see?" Luz told them.
"Why are you helping us?" the woman asked.
"Because us weirdos have to stick together," Luz said as she put on her hood and picked up her staff. "And nobody should be punished for who they are."
They started to applaud her, and Luz turned to Lucio. "Lucio, I understand, but we have to help Eda and King. He will kill them!"
Lucio hesitated for a while, but nevertheless, he took his bat in one hand and his sword in the other. "Alright, let's do it!" He called out. Luz smiled at him. The brother and sister sat on the staff and began to fly.
"Now, let's get 'em!" Eda grunted as she was thrown against the ground. Wrath was too powerful. King was tossed to her by the warden, and she safely caught him. "No more running away, Owl Lady," said Wrath, raising both of his scythe hands. "Today, I capture you once and for all!" And then a bat hit his head. "Huh?"
Wrath turned and saw the group advancing on him. "Go, go, go, go!" Luz called out to them. The prisoners grabbed him and tied him up with his own hands and turned him on his stomach.
"You! Who do you think you are?" shouted Wrath, looking at Luz and Lucio as they jumped off the staff.
Luz pointed at him. "Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human warrior of-"
"JUST DO IT ALREADY!" Lucio yelled at Luz, who glared at him before saying, "Now eat this, sucka!" She then threw the firecracker she was going to use for the presentation at school into his mouth. Thanks to the fire in his mouth, the firecracker launched into the sky, sending sparks flying. Wrath ran away with the firework still in his mouth, and the prisoners began to celebrate.
"And here's some advice for you before you ask a woman out: DON'T CUT HER HEAD OFF!" Lucio called out to the fleeing Wrath. Eda, with King on her shoulder, walked over to Luz and Lucio, putting her hands on their shoulders.
"That was actually one of her better breakups," King said.
"Not a breakup. Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me," Eda said, and everyone agreed. When they returned to the Owl House, Eda leaned her staff against the sofa. "Well, a deal's a deal. Let's get you two home." Snapping her fingers, she called upon the key in Luz's bookbag. Luz and Lucio watched as the key flew toward Eda's hand. Pressing the eye button, she summoned the door and opened it.
"Ah, finally," Lucio said, turning to Eda and King. "Well, it was nice to meet you. Now I have something to write in 'How I Spent My Summer.' Let's go, Luz." Lucio stopped when he saw that Luz looked upset.
She looked at King, who sadly looked down at the ground, upset that he wasn't going to see his crown again. To make him feel better, Luz dug into her bag and pulled out the head of her Azura doll that had a toy crown on it. "Before I go, I know it's not the same, but... a king shouldn't be without a crown," she said with a smile. Taking the crown off the doll's head, she handed it to King. He looked at it for a moment and then placed it on his head. "This shall suffice," he told the two humans. Then he pointed to a plant. "You there, plant! You are now under my command."
While her friend trotted over to the potted plant, Eda picked up Luz's book and the summer camp brochure. "Oh, and don't forget this."
Luz took the brochure and looked down sadly at it as she and Lucio walked towards the door. Then she looked at her novel. Then she looked at the door.
"Luz," he asked, walking back over to her. "What's the matter?"
What was the matter? She had just been on an adventure that was unlike anything anyone would believe. She fought evil, saved the innocent, and it was a miracle to be a part of it. And now she was just going to leave it all behind.
Luz looked at the mirror on the wall behind the door and gasped. Then she held up the book, staring at it before lowering it down. She realized that she, Lucio, Eda, and King were all just like the characters on the cover of the book. That's when an idea struck her, and she turned towards Eda and King.
"Okay. I know you got your head cut off, and started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I've ever had. I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we could not fit in together," Luz offered. Lucio's eyes widened as she pulled out the brochure and crumpled it. "I'm not going back to summer camp."
"Luz? What do you mean?" Lucio asked, confused. Eda chuckled at first. "What's summer camp? What are we talking about here?" she asked, confused.
"I'm saying that I want to stay and become a witch like you! And Azura!" Luz stated, holding out her book to show Eda.
Lucio looked at his sister in shock, his jaw fell open, and Eda laughed. "What? All right, that's crazy," Eda said, pushing the book away from her. "Humans can't become witches."
"Maybe that's because they haven't tried," Luz said with a wink. "If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want."
"Let her stay!" King tugged on Eda's dress before whispering. "She can make us snacks."
Eda picked up the little demon and said, "Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards. But what about you, boy?"
Luz drew her attention to her brother as he stood near the door. How could she have forgotten about him? After all, it was she who dragged him into this world just to get her book back.
"Lucio, I understand that you don't want to be here and you want to go home, but please let me stay here," Luz said, looking at her brother.
Lucio thought about the whole situation. They had almost died several times, and Luz still wanted to stay here? He definitely didn't want to, but Lucio knew he had to stay to protect her.
"Well, if that's what you want, I'll stay too, but just to make sure no one kills you and eats you here," Lucio said, while Luz was delighted.
"All right, I'll teach you two how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells. Deal?" Eda said as she held out her hand to them. Luz responded by trapping them all in a bone-crushing hug they were trying to break out of.
Eda showed them the room where they would sleep. They opened the door and saw that it was an attic.
"This is where we will sleep?" Lucio asked, starting to regret his choice. But Luz, on the contrary, was glad. They spread out their covers and lay down. Lucio was already trying to sleep while Luz smiled, looking at the photo of them with their mom that she had taken out immediately after receiving a message from her mom.
How's summer camp? her mom had asked.
Luz thought about what to answer and then the door opened. She saw King holding Francois. "Your sleep cocoon looks fluffy," he said. Luz moved over and patted the sleeping bag. King sat down next to them, curled up, and fell asleep. Luz smiled at him and replied to her mom: "I think I'm gonna like it here." Smiling, she turned and looked at her brother, who was also already asleep, and closed her eyes.