Author's Note: Hello, everyone. I'm back with another update on my most followed and favorited fanfic, the Owl Sanctum. Today, we will be going over a certain sports episode with a few surprise twists I've added.
After this, I plan on doing an original chapter that will lead up to the penultimate episode of season 1. Be ready.
Any and all comments are welcome.
This was the day that Boscha has been looking forward to all year. Today was the start of grudgby season. As the team captain and star player of the Hexside Banshees, she was confident enough in her ability.
When she woke up, Boscha admired her various trophies before tying her hair back in a bun. She looked at her mirror with a fierce smile.
"You are talented. You are a star. You may be hated, so long as you are feared." She told herself. "Most important of all, you are a winner!"
Boscha eagerly slammed her fist on her table making it shake. When it did, she noticed a small slip of square paper reveal itself. She pulled it out and her expression became a frown. It was a photo of her and her grudgby team. Among them were Amity and Clea, the latter holding up one handle of the trophy to lift it high while Boscha held the other. They all looked really happy.
Boscha lamented for a bit before forcing a grunt through her teeth. She turned the photo over and slammed it down before leaving her home.
Once she arrived at Hexside with her team, Boscha expected a line up of fans to praise and worship her. However, everyone was too busy gathering around Willow while she was showcasing her new plants. Furious over being ignored for someone on the plant track, Boscha was just about to pass by and ridicule her. However, she stopped when her three eyes caught onto Stephen Strange, who waved bye to his sister as they separated to different hallways. And just like that, Boscha decided to make her move.
Stephen was on his way to his first class when Boscha walked up in front of him blocking his way. He was slightly annoyed at this interruption from this girl.
"Hey, Stephen." Boscha greeted. "Fancy seeing you here."
"At school? Where we were bound to cross paths anyway?" Stephen asked.
"Well, I thought I'd stop by and give you something." Boscha pulled out a sports ticket which was outlined in gold. "This here is a season's pass to this year's grudgby games."
"They have season's passes for school sport events?" Stephen asked taking the ticket.
"Well, sort of." Boscha said. "Of course, admission is free, but this ticket will grant you the best seat on the stands at every game, and it will give you the access to the Banshee team backstage. So you know, I basically made you the luckiest guy on school, and you can repay be by taking me on a da…"
"Pass." Stephen said taking Boscha by surprise.
"I'm sorry?" Boscha asked.
"I said I pass. As in I pass on your pass." Stephen said giving the ticket back.
"Um, hello. Don't you have any idea what you're throwing away?" Boscha asked.
"Look, if I accept any gift from you, then Clea's going to give me an earful." Stephen said.
"Clea?" Boscha asked even more shocked. "Who cares what she thinks? She's just a devil spawn! I know you went to Grom with her out of pity, but…"
"Actually, no. I didn't." Stephen interrupted once more. "I actually like her."
Boscha's eyes widened. "You're kidding me? What does she have that I don't?!"
"Charm. Kindness. Intelligence. Take your pick." Stephen said.
"You actually think she's kind?" Boscha asked. "Please. Compared to her, I'm a saint."
"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class." Stephen said walking away from Boscha, who then became angry.
"Oh, she is not getting away with this." She vowed.
Over at the history class, Clea took detailed notes on the empire's beginnings while listening in on Luz conversing with Willow and Gus over a DVD.
"I can't wait for grudgby season to start." Luz said. "I've studied up on all sorts of magical sports. Like this. 'Good Witch Azura 2: the Field of Deadly Fates'. A classic underdog tale."
Willow took the DVD case and read the description on the back. "Azura challenges Hecate in the smibbitch championship. But will she risk it all by taking a chance on the deadly Thorn Vault?"
"So now, that fictional witch you admire so much even has a sports movie?" Clea asked turning her attention away from her notes for a second. "That's cute."
"Just don't eat the round, shiny things inside the box." Gus said. "Luz and Stephen have told me repeatedly that those aren't cookies."
The teacher cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, since you love to talk, let's hear your voices. Which of you can tell me what it is that built and paid for the council headquarters?"
"Oh. That's easy." Clea said. "The Pixie Dust Taxes."
"Very good, Clea." The teacher said.
Clea turned to her friends. "Yeah. Being raised by the head of the Emperor's Coven lets you in on some of the political world."
"Speaking of which, are they still trying to take Eda?" Luz asked.
Clea sighed. "Yeah. Well, Mordo just left the Isles on an important voyage for the week, so at least he's not involved in it for now."
"He left you alone?" Willow asked.
"Well, no. He left Lillith in charge of me." Clea said. "I have nothing against her, but it feels like she's got too much weight on her shoulders recently. Guess she's more pressured than I thought." She brushed her hair revealing a small, purple hair clip. "Though, she does give me nice little gifts."
All of a sudden, the hair clip flew right off of Clea's white hair and landed right in Boscha's hands. The three-eyed grudgby captain sat in her chair in an arrogant pose holding up the hair clip like it was a trophy she had won.
"Hey! Give that back!" Clea demanded.
"Oh, is this yours?" Boscha asked smugly. "Well, I guess we live in a world where we take things we don't deserve."
"Taking things from me now, Boscha?" Clea asked. "Just how petty can you be? Even Amity wouldn't do that."
"Yeah, and she's cool with us now." Luz added.
"It's weird that Amity hangs out with you now. Ever since Grom, she's gone soft." Boscha said. "But don't worry. I'm still here to show you who's boss."
Gus sneaked up behind Boscha and swiped the hair clip she stole. He then tossed it back at Clea.
"Don't you dare threaten Clea again, Boscha." Willow warned.
"Oh, so the devil spawn's friends want in on this." Boscha said. With a twirl of her finger, Willow's bag hovered over their heads and spilled all the school supplies over them. She laughed while Luz and the others shook Willow's stuff off of them.
The teacher turned when he heard the laughter. "Is that laughter? Hey! Learning's not supposed to be fun!"
"We are having zero fun, I swear!" Luz said. "Boscha's picking on us."
"My apologies, sir." Boscha said not dropping her smile and throwing her eraser at Clea's head. "I was practicing my aim for grudgby."
"Boscha, how could you throw things at them…" the teacher said before drawing a circle on his chest, "…when you could throw things at me? Am I over here? Or over here? Anything for the captain of the Banshees!"
"Thanks, but I already have the perfect targets." Boscha asked before throwing gum at Clea's white hair.
"Are they serious?" Luz asked.
"They are." Willow said.
"Well, it's not like Boscha can follow us around all day."
Later that day, Stephen Strange was looking over his notes just outside the front door. That's when he took a look at the front steps and gasped. He saw Luz, Clea, Willow, and Gus covered in trash and graffitied with insults.
"What in the…" Stephen gasped as he rushed over to his friends. "What happened?"
"She followed us around all day." Luz said. "She literally followed us around all day!"
"Who did?" Stephen asked.
"Boscha." Willow said. "She began picking on Clea. We tried to defend her, but we ended up in the same mess as her."
"Couldn't you just tell the teachers?" Stephen asked.
"They're no help." Clea said. "Boscha's the captain of the grudgby team, and with the season starting, the school needs her at her A-game, and that usually means following her lead. Boscha could get away with murder if she wanted to."
"What's this? Boscha got away with murder?" asked Principal Bump as he passed by. "I can't say I approve, but at least she's trying new things."
"So Boscha can do whatever she wants, and the faculty just encourages her?" Stephen asked.
"I'm afraid so." Clea sighed. "I knew Boscha would be difficult around this time of year, but I didn't think she'd come after me this soon. It's hard to believe she and I used to be friends."
"Oh, right. You and she used to be friends, didn't you?" Stephen asked. "You said so back at Grom."
"Right. I did." Clea replied sadly.
"What happened?" Willow asked.
Clea hesitated, but then took a deep breath. "Okay. When I got accepted into Hexside, I had a hard time fitting in. Thankfully, Boscha was there to let me into her friend group. I guess being the daughter of one of the Emperor's Coven heads had some perks. Now, Boscha was no saint, but she wasn't as bad as she is now. I guess I was the group's moral compass or something, someone who kept her from going too far. I guess that's why she asked me to join the grudgby team."
"Whoa. I never saw that side of Boscha." Willow said.
"So if you two were such good friends, what happened?" Gus asked.
"Last year, at the end of grudgby season, the Banshees won the tournament and brought home a beautiful trophy for Principal Bump to display. To celebrate our victory, Boscha called for a party the next day. Soon after, I receive a message from her saying that the party has been postponed by a day, so I waited. But when I arrived at the meeting spot, I didn't see any of my friends there. Instead, I come across a trashed room with devilish markings everywhere and hateful photos of myself. Hanging above the mess was a banner that was written 'devil spawn' in bold, capital letters. I felt both hurt and threatened by that.
"The next day, at Hexside, I find everyone in school giving me hateful stares. It was then that I found out why. Somebody took a picture of me in that ruined room and posted it on Penstagram. That's how the whole 'devil spawn' rumor started. I met up with Boscha for her help, but she just laughed at me and ridiculed me. That's when I realized, it was Boscha who was responsible. I quit the grudgby team, focused on my studies, and I never spoke to anyone again. I just had to hear people whisper behind my back."
"That's horrible." Luz said.
"So Boscha ruined your life for no reason?" Stephen asked. "That's incredibly low."
Clea lowered her head. "I couldn't agree more."
"I fly these sorrowful flags in your stead." Gus said conjuring several flags which he fluttered around solemnly.
"We can't let her get away with this." Luz said. "We'll find a way to stop her and clear your name." That's when her eyes stopped at a certain green-haired witch. "Amity!"
Amity turned to Luz already blushing. "Oh, Luz! You're here! I mean, obviously, you're here. This is school, and you go here now, with, uh, me… I've been talking for too long."
"We need your help." Luz said.
"Yes, I can help!" Amity said. "With what exactly."
"Boscha won't stop picking on Clea, and no one will do anything about it because she's the 'Star Captain of the Grudgby Team'." Luz said. "All of this started with that rumor that she started that Clea is a devil spawn. Do you anything about what compelled her to do that?"
"Sadly, no." Amity answered. "I was on a business trip with my family during the time, and I never got a straight answer out of Boscha."
"Well, you're friends with Boscha, right?" Luz asked. "Can you help us?"
"The hard part is, there's no reasoning with Boscha. She only speaks in grudgby terms."
Luz let out a smile not clearly understanding what Amity was saying. "Okay, okay. I'm picking up what you're putting down."
"I'm not putting anything down." Amity said.
"HEY!" Clea shouted. Everyone turned and saw her covered completely in garbage that fell from above. Boscha stuck her head out from the window looking down at Clea while tipping over a garbage can.
"Hey, Clea!" Boscha yelled from above. "I just thought all trash should stay in one spot!"
"Seriously, Boscha?" Stephen asked. "I wouldn't go out with you, and you're taking it out on her? How petty can you be?"
"What? I'm just showing the devil spawn her place." Boscha said.
"That's it!" Luz shouted. "Boscha, Clea is not a devil spawn, and you're going to take back every bad thing you've ever done to her!"
"And why would I do that?" Boscha asked.
"If you don't," Luz began to say, "Then Clea challenges you to… a grudgby match!"
"She what?" Boscha asked genuinely surprised.
"I what?" Clea asked sharing the same surprised reaction.
"She what?" Stephen asked also surprised. "Luz, I don't know what you think you're doing, but I know it's a mistake."
"I'm just following Amity's advice. Boscha only listens in grudgby terms." Luz said.
"I hardly think that's even advice."
"Just trust me. I have a plan."
At that point, Boscha and her teammates exited the front door to confront their challengers.
"Maybe it's the altitude of the second floor," Boscha said, "But I thought I heard you say that the devil spawn wanted to challenge me to a grudgby match."
"Don't knock it." Luz said. "After all, she was your teammate. And that is why we'll settle this once and for all on the field. If Clea's team wins, you don't get to pick on her any more, and you have to take back every last devil spawn comment you ever made about her."
Boscha chuckled arrogantly. "Fine. Let's do this. And when my team wins, then Clea has to stop hanging around you losers."
"Say what now?!" Clea shouted.
"See you after school." Boscha said. "Oh, and just to give you a sneak preview…" She jumped up and kicked a grudgby ball so hard, that it punched a hole through a large tree. That's when she left with her posse.
"Luz, this isn't a good idea." Amity warned.
"OW!" Luz yelled after Stephen smacked the back of her head.
"Yeah, I agree with her!" Stephen said angrily. "Clea isn't just a friend of mine, she's also been healing my hands. We're working on a permanent solution. That's going to be hard to do if she's not allowed to be with us anymore."
"Luz, I know I used to be on Boscha's team, but that ws a year ago and I was nowhere near her level." Clea said.
"Okay, I know it looks bad, but trust me. I've got a plan." Luz said. "I don't know much about sports, but I do know about sports movies. We, too, are a ragtag team of…"
"Wait a minute!" Stephen interrupted. "Are you telling me that this 'plan' of yours is based those childish underdog sports movies?"
"Um… yes?" Luz asked.
Stephen sighed pinching the space between his eyes. "Luz, I know you and I have gotten a lot closer these past couple of months and I've learned to be a bit more open about what goes on in your mind, but that's not even a plan. It's barely a concept."
"Let's just give it a shot." Luz said. "Please?"
Clea sighed the same way as Stephen did. "Fine. Guess we're in too deep anyway." She turned to the rest of her friends. "What about the rest of you guys? You in?"
"Well, I've always wanted to see Boscha get what's coming to her." Willow said.
"In seasons pas, these flags have waved in support of grudgby greats." Gus said holding up a pair of blue flags. "Now, they will wave for the greatest! Me!"
"What about you, Amity?" Luz asked.
Suddenly, Amity began to stammer very anxiously. "Me? On a team with you? Running around in cute uniforms? Sweating? I gotta go!" With a shade of red covering her face, Amity rushed away from the group.
"Man, she's crushing on Luz hard." Stephen commented in his head.
Clea lead her friends to the sporting arena where the grudgby court was prepped up. It wasn't time for the game yet, so this was the perfect time to explain how the sport works.
"So how exactly do we play grudgby?" Luz asked.
"Well, It's simple." Clea said. "The teams fight over a ball, and we score by getting it through the other team's goal. Whoever gets the most points by the end of the countdown is the winner."
"That does sound simple." Luz said.
"In the Boiling Isles?" Stephen asked skeptically. "What's the catch?"
"Well, there's this." Willow said before conjuring a leaf, which she then blew onto the field.
Once the leaf landed gently on the field, it was quickly attacked by fire pillars, plant vines, flying icicles, rock spikes, and several other magical traps that spontaneously sprang from out of nowhere.
"I said it was simple, not easy." Clea said.
After a short, but lengthy sessions to explain montages, the team was ready to train. However, at the first sign of a giant tentacle that burst out of the field, Willow and Gus ran in the opposite direction with the ball. However, they were chased away by a giant monster hand which grabbed Gus. Ever since then, everyone's been struggling to avoid he magical traps that nearly caught them off-guard.
"Luz, this is crazy!" Stephen shouted.
"Don't worry! All we need is the Thorn Vault." Luz said holding up a plant glyph and slapping it onto the ground.
"The thorn wha… AAAAAAAHHHH!" Stephen yelled as he was thrown way high up by a conjured, thorny plant pillar that burst from underneath him. It was a high fall from above, but he managed to save himself with his levitation magic.
By the time it was all over, Gus had stumbled over. "I think something's broken." It wasn't a bone though. It was one of this flags which was snapped in two. Strangely, to him, that was just as bad. "My flags! I never should have tried to play! You were always enough for me!"
"Come on, Gus." Willow said. "I have some floral tape in the greenhouse. We'll fix them."
"Guys, let's try the Thorn Vault one more time." Luz said.
"Luz, they're tired." Stephen said.
"But we're the underdogs. We have to stay upbeat and…"
"A good attitude isn't enough!" Clea cried out. "I'm sorry, but your underdog/sports movie plan was doomed to fail from the start."
"But I was just trying to help." Luz said.
"Help?" Clea asked. "Luz, I could have lived with Boscha picking on me until graduation. I would have endured all the devil spawn comments or the trash she threw at my head. Yes, it hurt, but it could never hurt more than it did every day of my life before I met Stephen. I like him. I like being with him. He was the first guy in a long time to ever need me. But now, I'm just one hour away from all of that taken from me." Clea choked up and lowered her head before turning to leave.
Stephen looked at Luz disappointedly. "She's right, Luz. You basically bet her entire social life because of some movies you liked. I know you don't mean to hurt her, but you could have planned this all better." He left the field. Luz was left alone pondering on her own guilt.
Clea looked on out at the horizon from the top of a nearby hill. She turned once she heard Stephen approach her.
"Mind if I join you?" Stephen asked.
"Sure." Clea accepted. "I like this place. You can see the Titan's skull from here."
She pointed and Stephen followed the finger. He smiled as soon as he saw the skull in between the trees.
"Wow. Nice spot." He commented.
"You know, I often wonder what the Titan's last moments were." Clea said. "After all, anyone will reveal what kind of person they are at the last moments of their lives. So what kind of person was the Titan? What were his last words? What was the last thing he really loved?"
"You think about that kind of stuff?" Stephen asked.
"Sometimes." Clea said. "Hey, since this is the last time we're going to be hanging out, how's about we try one last time to heal your hands?" She readied her finger.
Stephen thought for a moment and looked out at the Titan's skull. He turned back to Clea with a soft smile and gave his answer.
"No."
Clea dropped her expression in confusion. "No?"
"No. You can heal me back at the Owl Sanctum after school." Stephen said.
"But… the game." Clea said. "Since I forfeit, then…"
"So don't forfeit." Stephen said. "Look, I know Luz didn't think this through at all, but she rarely ever does, and it usually works out in a way she didn't expect, that any of us ever expected. Like when she pretended to be Willow's abomination to help her be the class ace only to have her be transferred to the plant track. Or when she went to the Knee to learn a spell and ended up finding not only a new glyph, but the Wand of Watoomb."
"So you think Luz might have really been onto something with this silly underdog plan?" Clea asked.
"I'm just saying there's usually a method to Luz' madness, so I'm willing to see this through to the end." Stephen said. "You said you liked me. So don't you think I'm worth all the crazy madness?"
Clea understood Stephen and smiled. "Well, of course, you are. So what's the plan?"
"Well, school's over, so the Banshees should be at the court by now. If we rush it, we can…"
"Stephen! Clea!" Amity shouted as she ran over to them with Willow and Gus.
"Amity?" Clea asked. "What's going on?"
"It's Luz!" Amity said taking heavy breaths. "She's taking on Boscha and her team by herself!"
"SHE'S WHAT?!" Stephen and Clea asked at the same time.
"Having fun yet?!" Boscha taunted after she and her team cornered Luz. "'Cause I'm just getting warmed up!"
She threw a flaming grudgby ball at Luz, who prepared herself for the worst. However, at the last second, a tree miraculously sprung out in front of the ball and bounced it back. It was revealed to be Willow who grew it while Clea jumped out to confront her rival.
"No more games, Boscha!" Clea shouted confidently. "This is between you and me!"
"Clea!" Luz cheered happily. "Look, I'm sorry I got you into this mess. You're right. I got my head too stuck in that movie biz."
"It's okay. I know you were just trying to help." Clea said. "And as Stephen pointed out, there's usually a method to your madness."
Luz chuckled. "He said that?"
"Yeah. But now, I'm ready to finish this." Clea said before turning to Boscha. "So how about it, Boscha? Ready to finally settle this."
"I've been waiting all year for this." Boscha said. "So this is a four-on-four game. I'm with Skara, Amelia, and Cat. Who's on your team, devil spawn?"
"Definitely Stephen. Also Luz." Clea said. "As for our fourth…"
"Right here." Amity volunteered stepping beside her friends.
"You just destroyed your social life." Boscha said.
"No. I think I've made it better." Amity said looking at her teammates.
"Well, I guess it's game on." Stephen said twirling his fingers. Suddenly, he, Luz, Clea, and Amity were changed into grudgby uniforms.
Both teams headed to the middle of the field waiting for the grudgby ball to appear. On the stands, Willow and Gus cheered and the latter waved his fixed flags. At the side of the court, Stan appeared sitting on top of a very high chair.
"Well, this may not be an official game for Hexside, but it's sure to be a sensational one! I'm Stan, head of the Cameo Coven. Principal Bump hired me to referee this year's grudgby games, and I suppose this counts. These kids may be young, but their spirits rival the proudest professionals in the big leagues. Let's see where this goes."
"Hey, Boscha, your shoe's untied." Clea said.
"As if I'm falling for that." Boscha said. However, as she was about to move, she was ultimately surprised by how her foot was stepping on a loose shoelace and she fell on her face.
"Well, I tried to warn you, but you're just too smart for me." Clea said smugly.
On cue, the ball shot out of the middle of the court like a cannonball. While Clea was down, Clea took advantage and took the ball. Amelia and Cat tried to tackle her, but Stephen used his magic to create several Clea illusions to confuse them. This gave Clea the distraction she needed to score the first goal early in the match.
Over the next ten minutes, both teams traversed around each other and the magical booby traps exchanging scores. There was some good sportsmanship to most of the Banshees much to Boscha's chagrin.
The three-eyed witch threw a fireball at Luz, but she used an ice glyph to freeze it. When she caught the ball, she noticed a strange pattern on it in burn marks. It was a whole new glyph that she hadn't discovered before. She copied it on one of her paper slips and used it to light the ball on fire again. She threw it to the Banshees who dodged out of the way. That gave Stephen the chance he needed to knock the ball into the goal.
There were thirty seconds left on the clock, and the score was 9-9. It was anyone's game now. Before anything though, the teams had one last huddle.
"There's time for one more play." Amity said.
"And this play could determine whether us underdogs win or lose." Clea said.
"Here's what I have to offer." Luz said. She held out four glyph papers, each with a different glyph; light, ice, plant, and fire.
"What do you say, team captain?" Stephen asked.
Clea blushed at the comment before looking over the papers. "I think we should do… this one."
Luz gasped when Clea pointed at the plant glyph. "Wait. You want to do the Thorn Vault? Are you sure?"
"I have the upmost faith in this." Clea said.
Meanwhile, over at the Banshees' side, Boscha was getting angry at impatient. "Come on, guys. We cannot allow that devil spawn to win."
"Easier said than done." Amelia said. "We're tied now."
"Tied is right." Stan announced from his seat. "It's anyone's game here, and…"
"Hey!" Boscha interrupted. "Why don't you say something more productive like what we should do now?"
"Because I don't like you." Stan answered.
Boscha mumbled in anger. "Let's get this over with."
The teams met up at the middle of the court for one last play. Their eyes locked eager to finish the game.
When the ball shot up, it landed in Luz' hands. Boscha tried to tackle her, but Amity pushed her out of the way and got tackled instead. It was a rough landing, but Luz pressed on. Once she was at the right distance, she placed the plant glyph on the ground waiting for Clea. She came with Cat behind her. Thankfully for her, Stephen ran beside her covering for her. And since he was close to her when she stepped on the plant glyph, both she and Stephen were thrown across the field by the plant pillar. Stephen managed to grab Clea and throw her across while he landed facefirst into the ground.
Clea gave one hard throw tossing the ball into the Banshees' goal. However, much to her surprise, the ball hit the rim of the goal and bounced off. The score did not count and the countdown had already ended.
"Dang." Clea said.
"Well, at least we don't have to lose you." Luz said looking at the scoreboard. "Looks like we tied."
All of a sudden, one of the scores went up drastically. Everyone was caught by surprise, even Boscha. The score labeled "VISITORS" had changed from 9 to 999.
"What the… How did it go up so fast?" Luz asked.
Suddenly, Stephen dug his head out of the dirt looking a little ill. He looked like he was about to throw up, but when he opened his mouth, he coughed out what looked like a golden beetle with a blue gem in it.
"Stephen Strange caught the Rusty Smidge!" Stan announced. "Clea's team wins!"
"The rusty what?" Luz asked.
"The Rusty Smidge." Clea replied couldn't help but smiling. "Catching it means we automatically win. All magic sports are like this."
Normally, Luz would be proud and happy, but this was a rare moment when she gets upset. "Hold on. That just invalidates all our efforts. If catching that thing is so important, why do anything else? There's no reason to watch any of the other players. That's such a stupid rule!"
"Hey, I don't make the rules, kid. I just enforce them." Stan said.
"Look on the bright side, Luz. We won." Stephen said. "Although, when we tell this story, let's leave out the part where I ate a bug. Hooty might think I'm his long-lost brother or something."
"Well, it's a good thing I didn't have to lose you guys." Clea said hugging her friends.
"What?! No! No, no, no!" Boscha objected. "I'm putting my foot down! Stephen, if you don't want to go out with me, that's fine! But there is no way I can just let you hang out with the devil spawn!"
"Hey, you know the deal, Boscha." Luz said. "You don't get to call Clea that anymore."
"She deserves it!" Boscha yelled out.
"Why?" Clea asked. "I never did anything to you."
"Oh, really?" Boscha asked in a tone of disbelief. "Well, then, explain those awful words to posted about us on Penstagram. Us, your so-called 'friends'."
Clea thought confusingly. "What are you talking about? When did I post anything bad?"
"The weekend after we won last season's tournament." Boscha answered. "We were waiting for you at the party, but then, you just posted some horrible things about us on Penstagram. Here. I'll pull it up right now."
Boscha summoned her scroll and browsed through it. After a minute, she turned it so that everyone could see, even Clea. Suddenly, their expressions changed to horrified and disgusted.
"Oh, gross!" Stephen gasped.
"They actually allow that kind of language on social media?" Luz asked.
"See what I mean?" Boscha asked. "As soon as we saw how you truly felt about us, that's when our friendship ended."
Clea's disgust returned to confusion. "Hold on. I didn't post that. I didn't even have my scroll with me that weekend. Mordo confiscated it from me because he thought I was going over my limit. Anyway, that's not when our friendship ended, Boscha. It ended when you took that photo of me in that 'devil spawn' trashed room and started the rumor of me being a devil spawn."
"That wasn't me. After that was posted, I thought it was karma getting back at you, so I went along with it." Boscha said. "But if you didn't say that horrible stuff, then why didn't you come to the victory party like we agreed?"
"What are you talking about?" Clea asked again. "Didn't you reschedule the party a day later?"
"No. Who told you that?"
"Mordo. He said that you sent a text to my scroll saying that you moved the party date."
"Well, I didn't."
"Hold on. I'm confused. What's going on?"
After hearing both arguments, Stephen finally spoke up. "Wait. It kinda sounds like neither one of you did anything wrong to each other, but it was made to look like you did."
"What do you mean by that?" Boscha asked.
"Well, here's what I'm picking up." Stephen said. "Somebody made sure Clea and Boscha couldn't get in contact with each other first. Then, they made Clea believe that the party was at a different date, while at the same time, post a fake message on Clea's account trashing the rest of the Banshees. The next day, that same person trashed where Clea was going to end up at and then post that image of it all over school to humiliate her. Boscha, if you didn't post that image, do you know who did?"
"Well, no. It was from an account that I didn't recognize." Boscha said confusingly. "Wait, what are you saying?"
"It sounds like somebody did all that to split the two of you up." Luz said. "But who?"
"Well, I could be wrong," Stephen said, "But it sounds to me like there was only one person who had the access to pull this off: Baron Karl Mordo."
Clea widened her eyes. "What? No, no. It can't be him. That's ridiculous."
"I'm just saying, he had the means to." Stephen said. "You did say he confiscated your scroll before the whole incident started. You also said that Mordo was the one who told you that Boscha moved the party time."
"You're saying that the devi… Ugh. That Clea's dad broke apart our friendship?" Boscha asked. "Why?"
"I don't know." Stephen said. "Like I said, I could be wrong. But he is the right position to do all that."
Clea and Boscha looked at each other. For the first time on a while, they didn't look angry or hateful toward each other. Instead, they exchanged confused reactions.
"Uh, Well…" Boscha said nervously. "Sorry, but I'm going to need to process all of this. Come on, team." She turned to walk away still pondering hard.
"Good game." Skara waved before leaving with the rest of the team.
The rest of the group turned to Clea, who had the most conflicted expression on her face. Did the man who raised her really sabotage her social life? Was he really the one who started the devil spawn rumor? The possibility made her anxious to even think about.
"Are you okay?" Stephen asked.
"I… I don't know." Clea said. "I can't be sure of anything until I hear the truth from Mordo's mouth myself. But I'm going to have to wait until he comes back from his voyage."
"Sorry to have to put that in your mind." Stephen said.
"You did nothing wrong." Clea said. "Look, I admit, it's impossible to believe something that insane, but I admit, it does explain a lot. Maybe not everything, but a lot."
"Well, whatever's going on, we'll find out together." Luz said.
The sound of heavy groaning got everyone's attention. They turned and saw Amity struggling to stand back up, but to no avail.
"Amity!" everyone gasped rushing to surround her while she cared for her leg.
"I think I hurt my leg." Amity said.
"Let me take a look at it." Clea said caressing the leg with her glowing hand. "Well, something's sprained. Probably from when Boscha tackled you. I can help you recover, but you may not be able to walk for a few days."
"Can I help, Amity?" Luz asked. "I could help carry you if you want."
That made Amity blush and chuckle nervously. "I'm fine! Who's Amity?"
"And… scoop." Luz said as she picked Amity up in her arms.
"Oh, wow. Sports." Amity said.
After the game, everyone met up at the Owl Sanctum. Amity had already got her hurt leg casted, but she was happily welcomed in the friend group. All in all, this turned out to be a very productive day. Sure, there were more questions that popped up, but there were just as many answers.
However, there was one question that lingered in Stephen's mind the moment he entered the Owl Sanctum. It was a question that he had the moment he saw King wearing a golden top with a matching skirt and pom-poms.
"Why is King wearing a cheerleader uniform?"
"For laughs." Eda chuckled.