Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took a while, people. You see, this chapter is deeply connected with the next one, and I wanted to make sure I had it figured out before I could upload this. As you can see, I have, and thankfully, it was just in time before the second episode of season 3. And before you ask, no. I didn't watch the leaks. I try my hardest to avoid those.
Also, you may have noticed that I have decided to change the cover art on this and the other Young Avengers stories. They were created by a Deviantart user called Framraw, who has generously given me permission to use them for my stories.
After this chapter will be an original chapter which will take place right after "Understanding Willow". Hope you enjoy the fanfic. Any and all comments are welcome.
Stephen groaned as he walked in on his least favorite time of the morning: Luz and King's comedy hour. He already regretted his timing as soon as he saw King with a tube stock on his nose and a piece of bread on his face.
"Oh, dear. I've gotten a tube stuck on my nose. Will I ever eat again? It looks like I'm toast."
Luz and King shared a laugh over that, but Stephen and Eda only exchanged a cringe.
"Heyo, dough boy, quit loafing around." Luz joked.
"Why don't you 'bake' me?" King laughed.
"Stephen, for the love of Titan, get these two to stop." Eda pleaded to the human boy.
"I got this." Stephen said. "Hey, circus acts, it's eight o'clock."
"Oh, right. School." Luz said suddenly realizing the time.
"Over already?" King sighed sadly.
"Don't worry. We'll still finish when I get home." Luz said. She gave King a kiss to his skull before heading out the door. Stephen followed.
"See you this afternoon." Stephen said before closing the door behind him.
Once they were gone, King scurried over to the base of the door. "You really think she's coming back this time?"
"Yes, she'll…" Eda started to say before noticing something. "Wait. 'She'? You do know there's more than one human staying with us, right?"
"I know," King said, "But I'm not as enthusiastic about Stephen as I am about Luz. It feels like we don't click or something."
"Oh, that's just because you haven't had that many adventures together. Just spend some time with him, and you'll be as close to him as you are to Luz."
King was about to say something else when the door opened up behind him. Luz and Stephen stood at the doorway both surprised and confused, but not as much as Eda.
"Hey, you're…"
"You're back!" King cheered before scurrying to rest himself on Luz' head. "I didn't miss you at all."
"Apparently, there's an infestation of pixies at Hexside." Luz explained. "So school's been canceled."
"Weird though." Stephen said. "The announcer said the pixies just appeared in a puff of red smoke. It's like they came from out of nowhere."
"Huh. Well, that is peculiar." Eda said.
"Not as peculiar as what I'm about to throw up." Hooty said as he reached his face into the kitchen. He hacked up trying to force something out grossing everyone out. Suddenly, several envelopes and a package fell out of his mouth. "The mail!"
Eda picked up the packages sifting through them until one caught her eye. She held up a poster that read "Bonesborough Carnival. 1 Day Only". "Well, look at that. A carnival's in town today. Talk about good timing."
"That sounds fun." Luz said. "What do you say, Stephen? We've been busy with school lately. We could use a little fun. And King, we could take this comedy hour on tour."
Stephen groaned at the thought of it which Eda noticed.
"Uh, Luz. A word." Eda said pulling her away. She leaned in and whispered. "Maybe you should make some time for Stephen and King to do something together."
"What? Why?" Luz asked.
"I'm worried that King might be a little resentful to Stephen because they don't spend enough time together."
"Oh. Right. I guess I have been hogging King lately. Maybe I'll give them something to do while we're there."
"Um, you ladies trying to plan something?" Stephen asked skeptically.
"Nope." Luz lied. "We're just ready to go out on a carnival trip! We'll be having fun and growing closer!"
"Hopefully not too close." Eda said.
The Bonesborough Carnival was packed with witches and demons from all corners of the town. Luz, Stephen, Eda, and King just happened to be the latest four.
"Was this place here yesterday?" Stephen asked.
"The poster did say 'one day only'. Guess it was set up overnight." Eda guessed. "One thing's for sure, while you kids go and play your games, I'll be pulling off some of my latest scam schemes."
"Friends, welcome!" A certain pig demon jumped from above wearing a red showman jacket and a top hat. It was a certain pig that the family knew very well. "I see you got my postcard."
"Tibbles?" Eda asked. "You sent the poster?"
"Mm-hmm." Tibbles nodded cutely.
"Aren't you mad at us for destroying your stand?" Luz asked.
"Even though you had it coming?" Stephen added.
"Ooh. And destroying his life." King said. "That was the best part."
"No, no, no. I should thank you." Tibbles said. "After my stand was destroyed, I reevaluated y life and found my true calling. I'm now ringmaster of… Tibbles Tent of Tiny Terrors!"
"What does that entail?" Stephen asked.
"Very simple. These beasts from all corners of the Titan were collected and stored for all to admire as they put on a show. And the best part: they're incredibly tiny. Like, you can fit them in your pocket."
"That sounds adorable." Luz said.
"Luz, do you remember the day we met?" Stephen asked. "You thought snake skin was adorable."
"I don't buy it." Eda said skeptically. "What kind of con are you running, Tibbles?"
"No con here, Owl Lady. Only pros." Tibbles said before holding up a vial of purple, glowing liquid. "In fact, why don't we toast our newfound friendship with this totally innocent bottle of water?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure." Eda said taking the bottle. But instead of drinking it, she threw it far behind her. "I know poison when I see it. You can't scam a scammer. Now, speaking of scams…" She turned to walk away and take over a stand.
"Well, what about you three?" Tibbles asked picking up his bottle. "Would you like a taste?"
"I don't know what you think is going to happen, Porky." Stephen commented.
"Come on. Let's see what this carnival has in store." Luz said bringing Stephen and King with her.
Tibbles was left alone sighing over his failed attempt. That's when he heard the slow sound of clapping which made him stiffen his spine. He turned to see a certain demon in a fedora watching him.
Tibbles gulped. "B-B-B-Bitterhorn. What brings you here?"
"I made this place, you dolt." Bitterhorn said. "After casting a spell to make this carnival appear and unleashing that pixie infestation onto the school, I'd say my part of the plan is over. I'm just here to make sure you don't screw anything up like last time."
"This won't be like the last time." Tibbles said in a panic. "I'll have the little demon for you this time. I promise."
"Maybe," Bitterhorn said, "But the boss has a contingency plan. He needs you to send the human boy over to the Veil of Identity. It's the black tent over at the northwest area."
"Why? What's in the tent?"
"That's none of your concern for now. Just make sure the boy gets in there. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, make this a carnival experience they'll never forget."
From a dunking booth that gives skin to skeletons to tooth-shaped roller coasters, the Boiling Isles carnival was filled with the most bizarre rides and games.
"So what do you want to do first, guys?" Luz asked. "We could brave the molar coaster or eat a mysterious blob."
"Ooh. What's that?" King asked running to she prizes. He had his eyes on two necklaces. One had a pendant that was shaped like half of a heart. The other had a pendant that looked like the other half. "Some kind of deadly string weapon."
"They're clearly friendship bracelets… I hope." Stephen said.
Luz' face brightened up as an idea hit her head. "Yes! That's it! It's basically a declaration to the whole world that you're the best of friends."
"Whoa. That's way safer than becoming blood brothers." King said. "We must have those bracelets!"
"Yes, you two certainly do." Luz whispered excitedly.
Stephen sighed turning to the prize vendor. "So what do we need for the friendship bracelets?"
"The bracelets are worth one million tickets." The vendor said.
"A million tickets?!" Stephen asked. "I've seen game stations at the carnivals in my world that are cheaper than that!"
"Sorry, kid. Carnival rules."
"Don't worry, Stephen." Luz said. "There's still three of us. We'll earn three times as many tickets as a single person."
Stephen groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Better than just lounging about. Let's play some games."
"Games!" Luz cheered. But when Willow and Gus walked on up, she gave another cheer. "Friends!"
"What are you two doing here?" Stephen asked.
"Tibbles invited us." Willow said.
"We figured it was a trap since we squashed his stand with a walking house." Gus said.
"But who cares?" Willow said. "This place has a scare-is wheel."
"It's like a human Ferris wheel, but it gives you long-lasting nightmares." Gus said.
"Why would anyone look forward to that?" Stephen asked. "So are Clea and Wong here?"
"Fraid not. Clea's got to get on with her studies and Wong is working overtime at the library." Willow said. "But they're still with us in spirit."
"Not exactly the same thing." Stephen said. "Anyway, we're trying to earn some tickets for friendship bracelets for these two wombats." He pointed over at Luz and King.
"We can help with that." Willow said.
"Aww. Does the widdle guy wanna win a prize?" Gus asked cutely toward King.
"Hey guys, huddle please." Luz said pulling Willow and Gus away. She whispered to them. "Listen. The friendship bracelets are actually for Stephen and King."
"I didn't think Stephen liked prize stand jewelry." Willow said.
"That's not the point." Luz said. "Look, Stephen and King haven't hung out much. I want to help them grow closer together, and having them earn those bracelets together might just do it. So do you think you can help me get those two to play their games on their own?"
"Ooh. Sneaky. I like it." Willow said.
"This is perfect. We can go on the rides while they play their games." Gus said. "It's a win-win."
"You know, you people are making me more nervous every time you huddle without me." Stephen called out.
"Sorry." Luz said. "We just agreed that five heads are better than three. What do you say?"
"I don't really care. I'm for it." Stephen shrugged.
"Um… Sure, Luz." King agreed nervously.
"Yes! Approval!" Luz cheered as the five of them raced across the carnival.
Throughout the hour, the kids had gone through several fun places to be at the carnival. They had stopped at a demonic ski-ball aisle. They poked their heads through a portrait with their picture taken. They ate a mysterious blob that they shared. They played a game there they had to throw darts at blobby bits.
They were earning tickets, but not at the rate that King wanted. He noticed that while he and Stephen were playing, Luz, Willow, and Gus were conversing and having fun without him. He lowered his head sadly walking away.
"What am I going to do? Those bracelets were supposed to be for me and Luz. And now, she's busy with her friends while I'm with her cold brother."
"Oh, my, my, my. You seem troubled."
King looked over at a blue tent that opened up. The pig demon that emerged was clearly Tibbles with a fake mustache, but King didn't see that. He was fooled by the hardly-clever disguise.
"Who are you?"
"I am Obvioso, the all-seeing psychic." Tibbles lied.
"Haven't I seen you somewhere?" King asked. "It's almost so…"
"Obvious?"
"That's what I was gonna say. Wow. You really are psychic."
"You're right. And Obvioso can see that something is bothering you, little friend."
King groaned. "You got my number, Obvioso. Today was supposed to be about me and Luz, see? And now, she's distracted by her cool new school friends and I'm stuck with her brother who is hard for me to connect with."
"What if I were to tell you that there was a way to make all those problems disappear?"
The idea caught King's attention. "I'd say that sounds illegal. I would also say, go on."
Tibbles reached behind the curtain and pulled out the bottle of purple liquid which had a spray nozzle added to it.
"Behold!" he presented. He gave a spray over to a nearby winged demon which then disappeared in a flash of purple fire.
"Holy bones! You poofed it!" King cried out. "Call the cops! This guy's crazy!"
Tibbles laughed. "Hey. The spray is only temporary. I just give my cheeks a tap and then…" He patted his cheeks with both his hands. Once he was done, the demon suddenly reappeared back to where it was before. "It returns safe and sound. Take this." He passed the bottle to King. "Enjoy the carnival without the problems."
"Sounds tempting." King said. "But there's still one problem: Stephen. He's right next to me the whole time. He's going to notice if I make two of his friends disappear."
"That does sound like a pickle." Tibbles said. "Thankfully, I have a solution. Nearby is a black tent called the Veil of Identity. That should keep him occupied just long enough. He, Luz, Willow, and Gus will be none the wiser."
"Whoa! You even know their names. Guess there's no use arguing with a fortune-teller. Thanks, Obvioso."
King left Tibbles, who then gave a maniacal laugh. "Perfect. Let's hope whoever's in that tent knows what they're doing."
King returned to Stephen after putting the bottle into his fanny pack.
"There you are." Stephen said. "Where were you?"
"I, uh… Got turned around." King responded. "Hey, I know a place that I would like to try out. Wanna see?"
Stephen shrugged. "Might as well."
King grabbed Stephen and lead him down the aisles. He searched around until he finally had his eyes on a black tent that stood out from the stands around it. There was a sign on top that Stephen read from.
"The Veil of Identity. What's that mean?" Stephen asked.
"Why don't you go in and see for yourself?" King asked.
Stephen raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I feel like this is some kind of trap, but I doubt it'll do much damage since you would be the one who masterminded this, so I'll go in." He entered the tent while King ran off.
King made a mistake. He accidently coated Willow and Gus in the purple liquid and made them poof. After that, he lied to Luz and they went off to earn more tickets. What they didn't know was what was really wrong with Willow and Gus. They didn't disappear. They shrank. Both kids were small enough to fit in one's inner pocket. Those two tried to get Luz' attention, but they kept being distracted. But when their eyes were set on the hall of mirrors, an idea was inspired.
After the games, Luz and King took their tickets to the vendor. While he counted, Luz noticed her brother walking up towards her holding his head in exhaustion.
"Oh, Stephen. You're here." Luz greeted. "King told me how you went into the mysterious Veil of Identity. What's it like?"
"I… Well, I…" Stephen tried to answer trying to force himself to think. "I don't know. I entered the black tent, but everything after that seems to have escaped my memory. I don't remember what happened."
"That's weird." Luz said. "But hey. It looks like they gave you a nice temporary tattoo."
"What?" Stephen looked at the back of his hand to find a circle on it with a horned figure inside in front of fire. "Where did I get this?"
"Well, anyway, King and I are about to collect the friendship bracelets. You ready?"
"For what? They're your bracelets." Stephen said.
"Yeah. They're ours, and no one else's." King proclaimed. "I'll kill anyone who tries to take Luz' bracelet."
"Oh. Right." Luz chuckled nervously. Suddenly, she felt something fall in her hair. She checked it out and saw that it was a piece of cotton candy. "Ugh, gross. I'm gonna need a mirror. I'll be right back."
Luz walked off to the hall of mirrors leaving Stephen and King with the vendor. Stephen finally managed to recover from his lost senses and regain his posture.
"So it looks like you and Luz had a lot of fun." Stephen said.
"Oh, yeah. Tons of fun." King said. "Sorry you had to miss it."
"Miss you and Luz make more bread puns even though breakfast was hours ago?" Stephen asked. "Sounds like I dodged a bullet."
King sighed rolling his eyes. "You know, Stephen, Eda said something earlier that kinda burned into my brain. She says you and I don't spend enough time together."
"To be fair, I barely spend time with anyone other than Luz. She needs me there in case she gets too close to a snake she likes."
"That does sound like her. Look, I know you and I don't have a lot in common like me and Luz…"
"Well, to be fair, I don't have a lot in common with her either." Stephen interrupted. "But if I can get along with that fantasy-loving weirdo, I don't see any reason why you and I can't. At least for Luz. Does that sound good?"
Under his skull, King smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good."
"One million." The vendor said counting the last ticket. "Yep, I just counted to one million. The bracelets are yours."
King accepted the bracelets and held them up proudly as though they were trophies. "Yes! Now, Luz and I will share a bond as mighty as these trinkets… with the help of Stephen Strange, of course."
"Naturally." Stephen said. "Now, where is that girl?"
"I think she went into the hall of mirrors" King said.
Together, the two of them entered the hall of mirrors. Stephen observed that each mirror reflected a variation of him. One mirror showed him as an adult. One showed him all in black wizard clothes. There was even one that made him look like Benedict Cumberbatch. However, the strangest one of all was that one of the mirrors made him look like Stan, the head of the Cameo Coven. Seeing that bizarre reflection made Stephen pause for a moment before continuing.
The two boys eventually found Luz with her back to them. King held up the bracelets that he had won.
"Luz, I got the bracelets."
"King…"
"Yeah? What?"
Luz turned to hold out her hand. The miniature Willow and Gus stood on top of her palm. King and Stephen were both surprised at their tiny friends.
"Willow? Gus? What the heck happened to you?" Stephen asked.
"It was King." Willow said. "He splashed us with something to make us small."
"And now, I can't go on the big boy rides. You monster." Gus said to King.
"But… You weren't supposed to shrink. You were supposed to disappear." King suddenly realized what he said. "No, wait."
"What?" Luz asked.
"You mean you did whatever you did on purpose?" Stephen asked.
"No, no. I mean, that was my plan, but I had second thoughts, and the potion fell out of my bag and…"
"What potion?" Stephen asked.
"This one. Right here." King reached into his fanny pack and pulled out the purple liquid spray bottle.
"So that's what did it." Luz said in a disappointed tone. She set her friends down and approached King. "Give me the bottle, King."
"No, wait! I gotta explain!" King pleaded.
"There's nothing to explain." Luz returned. She grabbed the bottle and the two struggled for control over it.
Suddenly, the bottle slipped out both of their grips and fell to the ground. As it hit the floor, it burst out the rest of the potion inside and splashed all over King, Luz, and Stephen. In a puff of smoke, the three of them were just as small as Willow and Gus.
"Well, this is just perfect!" Stephen grumbled loudly. "Please, tell me you know how to fix this."
"Oh, yeah. I do." King said. "All I need to do is pat my cheeks and we'll all return to our normal size. Like so." He patted his cheeks and waited… but nothing happened. He patted them again with still no result. "Why isn't this working?"
"I'd say it's working quite well."
The five of them turned their heads surprised to see Tibbles towering over them. To them, he was a giant even though he was actually knee-high. He scooped them all up and held them in his hand as he carried them out of the hall of mirrors.
King kept slapping his cheeks, but like from the beginning, nothing was happening. Neither he nor his friends were growing back to their original sizes.
"King, would you cut that out!" Stephen shouted. "It's not working!"
"But it's supposed to." King said. "The psychic told me."
"Oh, did he? But what if he… LIED TO YOU FROM THE START!" Tibbles asked. With a twirl of his fingers, he conjured up a fake mustache and his psychic hat.
"You fiend! When Obvioso finds out you stole his mustache…" King stopped himself when the revelation struck him. "Oooooooh."
"Seriously?" Stephen asked annoyed. "You accepted a mysterious liquid from a total stranger and used it on Gus and Willow just because you couldn't be five minutes without Luz?"
"Well, when you put it like that, it makes me sound petty." King said.
"The potion was designed by me." Tibbles said removing his mustache. "Guess who's cheeks control it."
"Why are you doing this?" Luz asked. "Are you really that mad about us destroying your stand?"
"Yes, but that's not the point." Tibbles said. "In order to carry on the Grimhammer legacy, I had to start my business from scratch. But that was a lot harder than I thought it'd be. Luckily, I found a patron who was able to loan me all the resources I needed to build my stand. The only problem is that my patron wanted his loan repaid. I couldn't pay him back, but he was offering me a deal. I'll be clear of all debt in exchange of me bringing him your little demon friend."
"You mean me?" King asked.
"Why would your patron want King?" Stephen asked.
"I don't know and I don't care. Just as long as I'm free." Tibbles said. "But first things first, I'm going to take care of you kids while your friend watches."
Tibbles entered his Tent of Tiny Terrors and dropped Luz, Stephen, Willow, and Gus into the glass container with the tiny circus inside. He kept King in his hand.
"Welcome to the greatest show on the Boiling Isles!" Tibbles announced as he turned to an adoring crowd. Above him were television screens that displayed close-up shots at the trapped kids. "Will these children survive feeding time? Let's find out!"
Tibbles pulled out a bell and rang it. That's when the tent behind the kids was emptied by all its beasts inside. A manticore, a gryphon, and three unicorns left the tent. Though, Luz was paying most attention to the leading unicorn.
"Aww. At least he's still my friend." Luz said. The unicorn replied with a savage roar. "That's how friends react."
"Luz, focus!" Stephen said. "We need to get out of here!"
"Didn't that book you found at the library talk about a cape that helps you fly?" Luz asked. "Did you find it?"
"No! All that journal said about it were the words 'He's already got it!' I don't know what that means. But let's focus!"
The tiny beasts chased the four all around the container. After a minute, Gus conjured up a fake vacuum cleaner to chase the beasts away from him. While he did that, Willow used her plant magic to pull down the water feeder for the gang to cover behind.
From outside, King watched from Tibbles hand in horror. "No, no, no! Tibbles, let them go!"
"Can't do that. The show must go on." Tibbles said. "Besides, my patron only wants you. I don't care what happens to your friends."
Back in the tank, the kids struggled keeping their cover while the beasts tried to reach them.
"We can't keep this up forever!" Luz said. "We have to do something?"
"But what?" Willow asked. "You heard Tibbles. The spell's only broken if he taps his own cheeks."
Just then, an idea hit Stephen's mind. He thought it through before deciding. "I'm going to make a run for it."
"What? Stephen…" Luz cried out.
It was too late. Stephen jumped over the water feeder and lead the beasts to chase him over at the corner. First, the unicorn pounced after him, but Stephen jumped out of the way and landed on its back. Then, the manticore pounced, but like before, Stephen dodged and got higher. The same thing happened with the gryphon. With all three beasts stacked on top of each other, Stephen made his way to the top of the tank's rim where he's sure King could hear him
"King! Are you committed to making things right?!" Stephen cried out.
"Weh?" King exclaimed. "Yeah. Of course."
"Then throw your bracelets away!" Stephen advised before the manticore climbed after him. Stephen managed to dodge out of the way.
"Throw my bracelets away?" King asked pulling out his newly won bracelets. "How will that… Wait, of course!" Realizing what Stephen was trying to tell him, King swung his bracelets and threw them right at Tibbles' cheeks.
Tibbles felt his cheeks get brushed. "Darn flies." He patted his cheeks in response to the brush, but he immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, no."
The shrunken kids felt a purple glow around their bodies. After a moment of waiting, the five of them grew back to their original size breaking out of Tibbles' grip and the glass tank. They all sighed in relief before the beasts grew to their normal size too.
"You shrunk the animals too?" Luz asked.
"It's the Tent of Tiny Terrors." Tibbles said. "Something needed to be tiny."
After some provocation from the crowd, the beasts that were normal-sized again rushed around in a hungry frenzy. They mainly went after the audience with their tempting caramel crab apples, so the gang kept their distance to be safe. But Tibbles was certainly angry and scared.
"No! No, no, no! I can't go back to them empty-handed again!" Tibbles ranted in a panic. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a second spray bottle with the same potion inside. "This time will be different!"
"Yoink!" Eda said as she appeared behind Tibbles and snatched the spray from his hands. "Sorry, Tibbles, but that's now how entertainment works. The bad guy always gets his just desserts." To demonstrate her pun, she dropped a box full of caramel crab apples all over the pig demon. She then called out to the hungry animals. "Hey, girls! This one's on the house!"
Tibbles quickly ran out of the tent chased by the animals he shrunk and enslaved. The entire gang was left alone in the hollow tent. After the chaos was over, King sulked down in a sitting position.
"Guys, I wanted to say I'm sorry." King said. "Willow, Gus, I'm sorry for poofing you. And Luz, I'm sorry I tried to take you away from your friends. I know you'll eventually have to go home, and now you're spending more time with your friends at school. I just wanted to spend more time with you."
Luz smiled and approached him. "That's okay. We're alive now thanks to you. And hey, that was really big of you sacrificing your bracelets."
"You mean these?" Stephen asked. He surprised everyone by holding up the same bracelets that King threw at Tibbles' face.
"I don't believe it!" King cried out accepting the gifts. "How did you…"
"After you threw them, I immediately casted a protection spell to stop them from shattering." Stephen said. "I know you worked hard to get them and how much they mean to you."
"Thanks." King said before turning back to Luz. "Hey, Luz. I'm sorry again for tricking you. Hope this makes up for it." He offered one bracelet to Luz who chuckled nervously.
"Yeah… About that… The truth is… those bracelets weren't really for you and me." Luz admitted. "They're supposed to be for you and Stephen."
"Weh?"
"Come again?" Stephen asked.
"It's just that… Well, I know you two aren't as close to each other as you are to me. I just wanted to bring you guys closer, and these bracelets seemed like a good way to do it."
"So is that why you left me and Stephen alone together for most of the day?" King asked. "You wanted us to be closer together?"
"Pretty much." Luz said. "I just wanted you two to love each other just as much as I love both of you."
Stephen and King shared a surprised look at each other before letting out happy laughs. Once they calmed down, Stephen spoke up. "Sounds just like Luz."
"Yeah. But that's why we love her." King said. He then offered one of the bracelets to Stephen. "Does that sound good?"
Stephen smiled accepting the bracelet. "Yeah. Sounds good."
"Aww. That's sweet." Willow commented.
"Nice. Stephen's got his own jagged piece of cheap metal." Gus commented as well.
After pocketing the bracelet, Stephen finally notced that Eda was wearing a purple gown. "Uh…"
"Don't ask or I'll eat you." Eda warned.
Tibbles was able to lose the beasts right next to the black tent that was labeled "The Veil of Identity". He took a few deep breaths in relief, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He turned and gasped loudly when Bitterhorn appeared to him.
"You lost the demon boy again? That's a real shame." Bitterhorn shook his head feigning pity.
"Look! Just let me explain!" Tibbles pleaded desperately.
"You don't have to. We already expected this." Bitterhorn said.
"THOSE KIDS ARE CRAFTY! THEY'RE THE ONES WHO… Wait." Tibbles calmed down after processing what Bitterhorn said. "You expected this?"
"I told you. The boss had a contingency plan. You already did your part bringing the human boy to this tent, so your debt is extended for now. But this will be the last time."
Tibbles looked over at the black tent. "What's inside anyway?"
"Go in and find out." Bitterhorn opened a tent flap guiding Tibbles in.
Nervously, the pig demon crept his way into the tent only to find a singular round table with a large, black-hooded figure on the other end. Tibbles felt scared approaching him.
"Um… Hello. I was wondering…" He stopped when the figure pulled his hood off of his head. Tibbles face shrunk full of the most intense fear seeing the blood-red head, the pitch-black hair, and the demonic, yellow eyes. He stammered as he flashed a toothy grin at him. "Me-Me-Me… Mephisto?! Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?"
"Playing a personal part in your redemption, little one." The red demon replied with a charismatic and suave voice. "I set things up so that you would have one final chance at paying me back what you owe. Just remember, this is your last chance. If you fail, you'll have to pay me back with certain… collateral."
Tibbles shivered in fear. He placed his hand on his chest feeling his intense heartbeat. "I… I understand, sir. What can I do?"
Mephisto smiled softer. "Good boy. Now, earlier, when the human came into my tent, I planted a seed of discontent within his heart. And tomorrow evening, it will sprout. His friends in the Owl Sanctum will be working on saving him, and while they're distracted, that's when you take the demon that they call 'King'. Bitterhorn…"
The fedora-wearing demon reached into his jacket and pulled out a silver amulet with a red jewel at the center which he gave to Tibbles. "This trinket will send a signal to the boss. Once you have the demon, activate it, and he'll arrive to collect his payment. Just remember, this thing doesn't grow on trees. You lose it, you lose your soul."
"I understand." Tibbles said. "Thank you. And don't worry. I won't fail this time."
He quickly ran out of the black tent leaving Mephisto and Bitterhorn alone. Mephisto gave a little chuckle which Bitterhorn took notice of.
"You seem to be excited, boss."
"What can I say? The days that are coming... They really bring out the devil in me."