As the small group made their way to Hexside, Skara filled them in on what had transpired once the kids returned to Hexside. "We discovered all the teachers had been taken by the Collector. The scouts who came back after the Day of Unity were also captured."

Matthomule continued the tale. "Only one adult made it back here. Hunter's healer friend Daria. The little kids were starting to become too rambunctious to keep in her home."

Hunter winced as he thought back to when he dropped the little kids off. "I guess they didn't behave for very long, huh?"

Skara replied they had lasted at Daria's for a month before she brought them back. They had expected her to run off after returning the kids. Instead, she had stayed stating someone had to keep the kids from killing themselves.

"She spends most of her time in the Healing homeroom. She'll come out to settle disputes and such but most of the time we're on our own. According to Viney, Daria's been busy trying to figure out how to heal the Boiling Isles."

Hunter was confident that Daria would figure something out. After all, the reason she went into hiding was because of her research into removing sigils.

Soon enough the group came to a standstill next to a hill. Skara started playing a tune on her harp. Part of the hill slid away, revealing a tunnel. "We discovered these tunnels under the detention pit by accident."

"How did you get past the detention monster?" Gus asked curiously. He didn't notice Camila raising an eyebrow at him. It appeared the kids had glossed over a few facts when they told her their story.

"He's gone into some kind of hibernation cycle. He buried himself under tons of rock. Boris said that the cycle can last up to a year depending on the environment he's living in," Matthomule informed them.

It was lucky the group had Skara and Matthomule leading them, otherwise, they would be hopelessly lost. There were a lot of tunnels with many parts being completely dark.

Finally, they reached the pit. A set of stairs had been installed to make it easier to get up and down. With a dramatic flair, Matthomule welcomed them to the new Hexside.


It was a tad chaotic. The greenhouse plants had swarmed the hallway and the plant track was trying to beat them back. There was a group of bard students playing a lullaby to the little kids.

Potions students would pick up the sleepy students. They would give a small dose of sleeping potion to the kids to give them good dreams. It appeared the Bard homeroom had been converted into a playroom for the kids to sleep in.

As they walked through the halls there were more signs of chaos. Abominations were breaking up fights, while Healing track students ran through the hallways carrying medical supplies. The Beast-Keeping students were trying to herd the magical livestock back outside.

The Construction kids were working on converting classrooms to bedrooms. The illusion students were trying to make school homey. The oracle track students were busy running the impromptu market.

Camila was shocked that no one had died yet. "Shouldn't the healer, Daria, be helping you more? Clearly, some adult supervision is desperately required."

"We do our best. We formed a student council to establish order. Each track has a representative and the tenth is the president. Things were running satisfactorily for a while. Then trouble arrived," Matthomule quipped.

Before they could ask what kind of trouble, several of their friends appeared. Viney hugged Willow while Amity reunited with her siblings. Numerous illusion students came over to greet Gus and asked Vee about her shapeshifting abilities.

Hunter started to talk with the other patrol teams while Luz held back. She was unsure how to approach her classmates. Her mom gave her an encouraging smile which made Luz feel better.

Jerbo and Barcus came over to Luz. "Hey, it's been a while since we've seen you, Luz. How are you doing?"

"Physically or mentally?" she replied to Jerbo's question. "Honestly, I'm feeling pretty drained. I want to help, but I don't know if I can. I don't have any magic.

"I was wondering why your scent had changed. Your fully human again?" Barcus inquired.

Luz nodded and told them it was a long story. "I'll tell you another day. Jerbo, Barcus, I would like you to meet my mom, Camila Noceda."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Camila said. She shook Jerbo's hand and reached out to pet Barcus who growled. "I'm sorry! I'm a vet back on Earth and you resemble the dogs I treat."

Barcus barked a few times and Jerbo translated. "Barcus understands why you tried to pet him. Nevertheless, he would like it if you just shook his paw in the future."

Skara's boyfriend, Balthazar, waved hello and the bird-faced student, Thoth, shouted that it was great to see Luz again. Even Mary came up to welcome her back.

Luz started to chill. No one was accusing her of ruining the world. None of them hated her. Maybe her luck had changed for the better.

"Attention! All members of the student council please assemble in the gym for an emergency meeting. Also, bring the new refugees with you, Matt!" Boscha's voice echoed across the school.

"Boscha's a member of the student council?" Amity whispered to Skara. Her friend sighed and told her it was worse. That Boscha was the president of the council.


In the gymnasium, there was a hastily assembled round table. Sigil marks dotted the table. The spot that would normally be reserved for the Emperor's Coven had been replaced with the school logo.

As Skara sat down in the Bard seat, Amity notice her friend no longer wore purple leggings. "You're not a multi-track student anymore?"

"Multi-track students aren't allowed on the council to ensure each track is equal. Since I'm the top Bard student, I had to give up Oracle magic."

That's incredibly unfair. Students shouldn't have to choose one track over the other. Especially after learning the truth about Belos, Camilla thought to herself.

Amelia and Cat entered the gymnasium and took their seats next to Skara. Mary, Boris, and Matt took their seats on the opposite side of the table. Edric, Selene, and Grim, (green potion student with tentacle hair), sat at the base of the table.

Seated at the upper part of the table was Boscha. Two weirdly dressed people stood behind her chair. There was something familiar about them, but the group couldn't figure out what.

"Alright let's get this meeting underway already," Boscha snapped. "Looks like your back losers. I hope you had a miserable time as us wherever you've been hiding. Frankly, I don't even know why we should let you stay."

"We got stuck in the Human Realm because of the Collector! It took us months to find a way back!" Amity yelled at her former friend.

"We had to make a lot of adjustments just to blend in. We could have been captured or experimented on if someone had discovered what we really were," Willow added.

Boscha scoffed. "Whatever you say losers. As president of the council, I say we kick them out. Let them deal with the Collector. The only reason they took over was that the stupid human agreed to release…Ouch!"

Boscha was startled when she was slapped very hard with a sandal. Before she could recover, she was slapped a few more times before being pulled up from her chair.

Camila's eyes bore into all three of Boscha's. Somehow the adult human was making herself look bigger than she was. "I have heard enough from you, mocosa insolete!"

"You have no right to speak like that to anyone, especially my daughter! I don't how you were raised, but you better learn this lesson. Mess one more time with my daughter of her friends, and I'll use my chancla to beat you senseless. Am I clear?" Camila demanded.

For the first time in her life, Boscha felt powerless. She nodded frantically and was dropped into her seat. She and the other members of the council were now quavering in fear of Luz's mom.

Hunter snickered a little. "Since we're staying here for now, let me update you on what we have learned so far. I'm not sure if you are fully aware of the situation."

The council had known vaguely about the magic of the Boiling Isles dying. Learning that it was possible to correct the problem gave them hope. Only for it to be dashed away when they were informed that Belos wasn't dead and had come back to finish what he started.

"We should start preparing a rescue team immediately. The sooner the Isles are back to normal the better," Selene voiced.

There was a loud cough drawing everyone's attention to the lady next to Boscha's chair. "President Boscha, a rescue mission would require a large group of students to leave the safety of the school. It is an unnecessary risk."

"It's more of a risk if we do nothing, Miki!" Matt snarled.

"Hey, don't talk to my guard like that!" Boscha retorted. "Since Miki and Roka arrived, I can be assured nothing will happen to me."

Amelia stood up and reminded Boscha that everyone should be protected not just her. She also stated that Boscha hadn't been listening to anyone but Miki lately.

"We formed this council to make the best decision for everyone, not just one. We've been barely surviving and with no plan to defeat the Collector. Now we have a chance to take back our home, you are hesitating because of a stranger?"

"That's not the Boscha we know and love," Cat added.

Edric addressed the council next. "While a rescue mission is important, we can't forget that Belos is loose somewhere on the Isles. We need to capture him before he does more damage."

"Why not just kill him on sight?" Boris grumbled. Grim waggled a tentacle hair at his fellow demon. "I know, we need to interrogate him then kill him."

Mary timidly spoke up, "Before we plan any missions, we should at least improve the security around the school. If the rescue mission fails or Belos gets loose in the school, we need to ensure students' safety.

Skara agreed with Mary. They had only made it this far because of the sacrifices of others. "None of the kindergarteners should be involved in any of our plans. They're the ones who need the most protection."

Boscha rolled her eyes but agreed to hold a vote. "All in favor of creating a three-part plan, raise your hands." All the councilmembers raised their hand though Boscha hesitated for a couple of seconds.

"The motion passes. We're going to divide our resources equally. Which tracks want to be involved with securing the school?"

Matt, Amelia, and Cat raised their hands. The construction and plant tracks were the best at creating defenses. They would also need healers if the school was attacked.

"You three are dismissed from the meeting. Draw up your plans and return tomorrow morning to show me. Miki and Roka will assist you with preparing our defenses."

Luz noticed how Miki stiffened upon hearing this. She seemed very enraged with Boscha's pronouncement. As the track heads left, Miki shot Luz and Hunter dirty looks.

A chill went down Luz's spine. Inside her fanny pack, Mousy stirred as the egg inside shifted position.

Boscha demanded to know which tracks were willing to hunt down Belos. Selene and Boris immediately put up their hands. A few seconds later, Mary raised her hand. They were dismissed so they could come up with a plan. That left only the Illusion, Potions, and Bard tracks.

"Ugh, of course, the lower tracks would volunteer for the rescue mission. I mean potion students can hold their own. I do wonder how some illusionists and musicians are going to be any help."

Edric stuck his tongue out and Skara huffed at the triclops. "We will have the mission plan ready for review by tomorrow," Grim assured his fellow potion master.


Boscha waved the others off saying she needed to be alone. As soon as they were out of the gym, Camilla let loose a string of curses. "Why hasn't something been done about that bully? It obvious she made herself president by force."

Amity pointed out that since Boscha was the Grungby captain it was logical to let her be president of the council. Even if it made her even bossier.

Edric suggested that his sister and her friends go have lunch. "You're in luck today. We're serving blood blossoms and crispy flying pig wings. Meet up with us in the library when you're done."

"Um, I need to eat some magic," Vee said shyly. "Regular food is good, but I do need to replenish my magic reserves."

"Hmm, hold on a second." Edric drew three spell circles. Three illusions materialized in front of the group. The illusions were of Matt's old classmates from Glandus.

"Is this enough magic for you?" he inquired. Vee nodded as she slowly started to feed on the illusions. It was great that some students didn't see her as a monster.

Half of the cafeteria had been divided into the main market. The booths in the hallways were for the night market items. It seemed since there were no snails to use as currency, the students had to trade for what they wanted.

In the cafeteria section, a group of rotating students were serving meals. Willow, Gus, and Amity were thrilled they would be getting a chance to eat a decent witch-designed meal.

Luz was happy to introduce her mom to the witch foods she liked. "Blood blossoms taste similar to strawberries and the pig wings taste similar to seasoned pork chops. Don't be afraid, this is one of the meals that humans can eat."

Camila was still hesitant to try the food. The blossoms were leaking real blood. She swore the wings were trying to flap away. Watching Luz scarf down her meal, she reluctantly tried a blood blossom.

She shivered as she felt the blood drip down her throat. The petals were extremely chewy. There was a slight aftertaste that reminded her more of raspberries than strawberries.

Camila cut off a tiny slice of meat. She popped it into her mouth quickly. At once the new taste was overwhelming her. It did taste similar to a porkchop but with too much seasoning.

She started coughing badly. Willow summoned some crab-pumpkin juice. Camila poured the drink down her throat. Eventually, the human stopped coughing.

Luz was concerned about her mom. "Are you okay? Did the food not agree with you?"

"Luz, how can you eat this stuff? I don't enjoy the taste of blood nor do I like overly seasoned food."

"It's an acquired taste, Camila. Luz struggled the first time she ate it as well. But eventually, she liked it," Gus replied for Luz.


As soon as Hunter finished his meal, he went to look for Daria. He would meet the rest of the group in the library when he was done.

Thankfully, he remembered the way to the Healing homeroom. The door was locked so he knocked.

"Whatever it is, it better be important Cat! I have my hands full right now!"

"Daria, it's Hunter. I'm back and want to talk with you."

The door remained locked. Hunter waited patiently but after ten minutes, it appeared Daria wasn't going to let him in. He started to leave when the door opened.

"Sanitize your whole body. I can't have any containments in here. Once you're down you can join me in my lab," Daria's voice called out through the door.

Hunter strolled inside and found himself in a tall glass box lined with nozzles. Suddenly, the nozzles started shooting blood liquid at him. He screamed as his whole body turned navy blue.

He was trying to wipe it off when the box started releasing high levels of steam. Hunter started to feel faint as his body released huge amounts of sweat. Right when he couldn't take it anymore the steam stopped.

Then the box grew extremely cold. He started to shiver as the temperature dropped. He felt like he was going to freeze to death.

Then the box resumed room temperature. Warm water fell from the top of the box as a set of towels appeared. After drying off, the right side of the box was lifted. There was a small table with a hazmat suit.

Deeply regretting his choice to come here, Hunter put on the suit. Once inside a second door opened revealing a plastic tunnel he had to walk through. He followed the tunnel until he came to a large enchanted metal door.

There was a beep and the door opened. Hunter stepped inside with the door closing behind him. He glanced around and for a minute thought he was in a human hospital.

On the left wall by the door was a table with normal healer paraphernalia, such as crystal bowls and a small knife for cutting up herbs. Above the table, glass cabinets held every known healing plant and liquid.

He was shocked to see refrigerators lined up against the wall near the door. Further down were two huge filing cabinets. A section of the wall had been turned into a mini clean room.

The right side of the room resembled a hospital operating room. Medical devices were neatly put away. Each cabinet drawer was clearly labeled detailing what was inside.

He finally turned his attention to what was in front of him. It seemed to be a mix of a chemistry classroom and a medical lab. Daria was sitting in a chair next to a counter with three microscopes on it.

She was wearing a full hazmat suit. She was looking at a sample under the microscope. She didn't acknowledge Hunter at all.

"Daria what is…" Hunter stopped in midsentence when the healer raised a single finger. After writing some notes, she put the sample back in the petri dish.

Once she was sure it was secure, she addressed Hunter. "I was wondering if you were going to show up, kid. Where have you been?"

"I got stuck in the Human Realm with my friends. We only made it back yesterday." He waved his arms all around asking what had she done to the homeroom.

Daria proudly proclaimed it was her medical lab. "I didn't just leave the Healing Coven because of my research on sigils. I also left because my coven mates believed I was insane for using human science to further my research."

Anticipating his next question Daria added she had made a deal with Eda long ago. The Owl Lady made special trips to medical facilities to gather textbooks, instruments, and meds for her to study.

In exchange, Daria agreed to give her rare potion ingredients from the clinic she worked at. She smiled reminiscing about times past.

"Thanks to Eda's contributions, I was making significant progress in my research on removing sigils. That's on the back burner since I'm trying to find a way to save the Boiling Isles."

She showed Hunter some pictures she had taken during her research. "I'm certain that you're familiar with the symbiosis magic cycle. The Titan's remains' gives us powers and a home, and we keep the body intact and alive so to speak when we die."

Hunter nodded even though Daria wasn't looking at him. She was busy collecting petri dishes from her freezer. "When Belos supercharged the Isles, he created an imbalance in the cycle. Before the Titan's body had a chance to recover it went into shock again thanks to the Collector."

She brought the dishes over to her microscope and increased magnification. "I believe the Titan's body couldn't handle the shock to its system. So, it started to release magic instead of storing it."

Hunter admitted that was fascinating but how did it help their current situation? Daria waved her hand at him indicating he needed to be patient. "About a week ago, I went with a patrol to collect soil samples in areas the Collector had used their magic."

She moved away from the microscope and Hunter took a look for himself. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking at. The sample had a mix of blue and purple dirt.

"Notice how the purple soil is penetrating the top layer while the rest is blue? I suspected the blue soil had properties in it that repelled the purple part. So, I ran more tests."

Hunter looked at her as she handed him the test results. "My suspicion proved correct. The blue soil is made from the Titan's dead skin cells. It repels the Collector based soil. Titans aren't affected by their kind's magic."

She went on to explain the only reason the top layer of soil was affected was because of the dwindling magic. Hunter told Daria about the plan to rescue King and put everything right.

The healer was skeptical. "I'm not sure the little guy would be enough to restart the process. Especially if the Isles haven't been treated for the initial shock to its system."

Hunter scratched his head in confusion. How did you treat an entire island that went through shock? Would a corpse even react to treatment?

"That's what I've been working on. My initial tests are promising but I need bigger samples. I believe a combination of human science and healing magic can heal the Isles enough for young King to attempt a restart."

Hunter would be happy to pass along Daria's data to the different groups. Before he left, Daria grabbed his arm. "There are two things I need you need to pass on to the groups."

"One, if Belos's body is molecularly destabilizing then he'll be on the lookout for a host. There were rumors he had a secret lab somewhere near the head. That's where the trackers should start."

"What is number two?"

"Don't trust Miki or Roka. They are giving me bad vibes."


Meanwhile, in the library, the rescue plan was slowly coming together. A quick stop in the photo classroom had allowed Willow to pull the memory of Belos's teleportation glyph from Luz's mind.

Now that they had the means to travel, they needed to figure out how to navigate the Collector's home. Possibly even find a way to rescue the puppet people.

Grim was discussing what potions would be the most helpful. "A standard fog potion would give the team some cover. We have to limit how much we use or were all going to reveal ourselves by coughing."

The other tracks nodded and asked what other potions should they use. "A reanimation potion would be helpful. It's an advanced potion so it's going to take several of us to make it correctly. Even then it would only be a small batch."

"What about a scrying potion? Wouldn't that be helpful?" Luz asked.

Grim said it would but unfortunately, the Collector's magic blocked the potion effects. "We tried to use one to find out what happened to the teachers but nothing happened."

"That's unfortunate. I can eat Celestial magic though. Hopefully, I can eat enough that a scrying potion would work."

Grim told Vee that would be very helpful. "Skara, it's your turn. What has Bard track come up with?"

Skara pulled a recorder from her cloak. "We've been busy enchanting instruments. This recorder for instance can be used to control someone's movements for a short time."

She laid it on the table along with a slide whistle and bell. "I didn't know if any of you could play an instrument so we chose to focus on simple ones."

She cut off Luz before she could ask. "Your clarinet was damaged when we were attempting to escape the Collector's spies. I haven't had time to work on fixing it."

Luz slumped next to her mom. She had really been hoping to show her mother how well she played. Camila put a hand on Luz's shoulder and gently squeezed it.

Skara continued by saying the slide whistle's enchantment was a simple shielding spell. The bell's enchantment was waking up people. She thought it might help the puppet people.

Edric gave them a few concealment stones and one audio stone. "We used the school yearbook to make disguises based on some of the missing students. They'll help you blend in."

"The audio one will disguise your footsteps for a short amount of time. To help you navigate, you can borrow Batric," he said. His pet bat-demon descended from the ceiling and rested on Amity's shoulder.

Edric had managed to keep his pet after Boscha forced him to stop studying the other tracks. The only reason was that Batric nearly destroyed her room. As long as the bat demon stayed out of her way, she didn't care who took care of him.

Camila was pleased to learn that bat demons used echolocation like normal bats. She was weirded out that they could telepathically reveal what they saw to others.

Gus asked the council members if this plan would get Boscha's approval. Because if it didn't, then they would do it anyways.

Skara was certain she could persuade her friend to approve the plan. Willow and Amity looked skeptical upon hearing that. Skara gave them her game face convincing them she had it handled.

Luz was wondering what was taking Hunter so long. Had he gotten lost somewhere in the building? "Guys, Hunter should have been here by now. Does he even know where the library is?"

Skara volunteered to look for him. "He probably got turned around by Daria. She's not the best at giving directions. Be right back."

Before she reached the door, they were slammed open. Smoke bombs laced with sleeping nettles filled the room. Everyone started coughing or fainting.

Luz stayed low to the ground and pulled out a wind glyph. She was about to activate it when her arm was violently wrenched behind her. A silhouette of a short figure appeared in front of her.

"I'm going to enjoy finally ending your life, human."

"Kikimora," Luz whispered before she passed out.


Hunter was on his way to the library when he saw kids running in packs. They had a terrified look in their eyes. They were being chased by a flying Abomaton.

The missing puzzle piece fell into place. Miki and Roka made up the name Kikimora! No wonder, Daria had been having bad vibes.

He took off running back to the Healing homeroom. The flying Abomaton changed direction and came after him directly. "Not good, not good at all!"

"Use the magic my brother gifted to you!" Waffle warbled to him.

Hunter didn't know what she was talking about. He hadn't felt any magic inside him. Yet, this wasn't the time to ponder what Waffle meant.

He visualized himself dashing about. His body felt energized and suddenly he was dashing around as if he still had Flapjack. He made it back to the Healing homeroom and threw himself inside.

Before the sanitizing process started, Hunter made a spell circle and added a second door lock. Bars came crashing down and a padlock was chained to them.

The Abomaton pounded on the door trying to break them down. It tried pulling them off with no success. It couldn't even melt down to get under it.

The creation admitted defeat and returned to its main priority. Collecting the council members then lock up all the other students.

"Daria! We've got a rose gold situation!"


Luz woke up and groaned. She had a monstrous headache. She tried to remember what happened but her mind was still fuzzy.

"Mija, you're alright!" Camila exclaimed as she hugged her daughter. Vee joined them squeezing her sister extra tight.

"Uh, what happened? I can't remember."

"I'll tell you what happened," Willow said. She glared up at three figures standing on the edge of the pit. "Boscha backstabbed all of us for Kikimora!"

Indeed, Boscha was standing next to Kikimora, who was sitting inside her flying Abomaton. That's when Luz realized that it wasn't just her group in the pit. The rest of the council members were here also.

"What the heck is going on?!"

Kikimora laughed madly. "What is going on human is a coup. The students here need a proper leader. Someone with the knowledge on how authorities should act."

Gus snapped at her. "You think you should be ruling us? You threw your lot in with Belos and tried to kill Hunter and Luz multiple times! The only place you belong is in the deepest jail cell at the Conformtorium."

"Silence you inconsequential insect! All your plans were destined to fail! I simply pointed that out to Boscha and she agreed that the council should be disbanded."

Boscha just stood there not making a sound. She was examining her nails as if what was happening was normal. Amity and Skara wished they had laser vision to burn a hole through the triclops' heart.

The council members all started shrieking that no one would ever follow Kikimora as a leader. That their fellow track students would rescue them. The demoness responded they were naïve to think she hadn't locked everyone up.

Camila was getting weary of the demoness's grandstanding. "Have you lost all your senses? Your home is dying! People are trapped and your former emperor has returned to finish what he started!"

"This is not the time to have a power trip. You need to act like a responsible adult and help save your home. Now, get off your high horse and free the students."

Vee quickly pulled her mom back as a powerful magic blast struck where she had been standing a second before. Kikimora blasted magic beams all across the pit. The prisoners ran around to avoid being struck.

"I can't wait to watch you break when I kill your atrocious daughter for all she's done against me! I really must thank the Titan for answering my prayers. I will take your bones human, and make a throne out of them."

Luz stuck her tongue out. "You talk big, but you have no originality. Besides, you're not the only adult here. I bet Daria can beat you!"

Kikimora thought that was ludicrous. That traitorous eccentric healer couldn't do anything against her. "Once you're all dead, then I'll break into her lab and kill her where stands. After that, I'll stuff the Golden Guard and hang him on the wall!"

Things were looking pretty bleak for the captives. They were in desperate need of a miracle. Otherwise, the Boiling Isles would be doomed.