Author's Note: Okay. This chapter was without a doubt the longest I have ever written. I didn't expect to make one this long. But considering what I filled it with, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Anyway, this is the last Owl Sanctum chapter I'll be working on for a while, and I thought long and hard about how this one would work out. I've never been more nervous about how a chapter will be received, so I hope you all like it. I'll be covering the rest of the Owl House seasons in this fanfic when we return here. And once we do, I promise, we'll have a lot more fun and adventures that I've got planned.
In other news, it's great that I managed to make it this far before the Owl House series finale. On April 8, we say goodbye to one of the greatest shows in modern animation. So long, Owl House. You've been an inspiration.
Now, I'd like to go over my future plans for the Young Avengers series. So far, I'm working on seven fanfics that make up the series. Once I'm done with them all, I'll connect them to one epic crossover finale. But for now, I'm working with these seven. I've made significant progress with the Owl Sanctum and the Ghost, the Trickster, and Molly McGee, but as for the others, they only have a handful of chapters. So before I continue the other two, I need to work on the others. So after this, I will be working on Iron Hero 7 until I get done with the events of the original movie. After that, I've got four stories left: the Black Panther of Amphibia, Marvel Falls, America and Star vs the Forces of Evil, and Howard's Ducktales. Once I make progress with Iron Hero 7, I will get working on either of these last four, probably two at a time.
So that's all I have to say so far. For now, enjoy this chapter and I really hope you do. Any and all comments are welcome.
It was tough with Eda's Owl Beast size and form, but the family managed to get her back inside the Owl Sanctum and into her nest in her room. That's when they told Lillith the situation.
"So let me get this straight, Edalyn," Lillith said, "You've actually been in contact with Nightmare, the lord of the Dream Dimension? How is that possible?"
"Side effect of the curse, I guess." Eda said. "It's always had a weird effect on my dreams, I guess it must have weakened Belos' seal protecting me a bit giving Nightmare the chance he needed to haunt me."
"I can't believe it." Lillith said despairingly. "I had no idea. If that monster hurt you…"
"It's fine, Lily." Eda said. "That pasty-faced weirdo may talk to me, but he's still unable to hurt me. Though, that still doesn't stop him from trying to make a deal with me. He told me he could free me of the curse by separating me from the Owl Beast, but in exchange, he would control it instead."
"With the Owl Beast's raw strength, he could break into the castle and destroy the seal giving him access to every dream in the Boiling Isles." Lillith said.
"Yeah. That's why I repeatedly told him to bite it." Eda said. "But he always comes back."
"And that's what we're going to fix." Stephen said.
"You said you had a plan to stop Nightmare?" Luz asked.
"I did and I do." Stephen said. "It's why we can't allow you two to share the curse just yet. We still need Lillith's magic for this."
"What's your plan?" Lillith asked.
"Well, like Eda said, the curse weakened Eda's protection from Belos' seal." Stephen said. "So what we need is to reinforce it."
"How do you plan to do that?" Eda asked.
Stephen pulled out his phone and scrolled to his picture gallery. He selected his photo and showed it to the others. "Recognize this? I took this picture during the castle tour the other day."
"That's the seal that Emperor Belos made to drive Nightmare away from our dreams." Lillith said.
"I thought it looked familiar in some way, but I couldn't put my finger on it until recently." Stephen said. "Luz, look at each part of the seal. Tell me if it looks familiar to you."
Luz took the phone and zoomed in on the seal. She thought hard studying it until the realization caught her by surprise. "Wait. Is that… the light glyph?"
"Right." Stephen said scrolling through the photo. "And there's the fire glyph. And the ice glyph. And the plant glyph. And another light glyph."
"Wait. What's going on?" Lillith asked.
"You know those papers that Luz uses to perform magic?" Stephen asked. "Well, the same glyphs she draws make up the seal. It looks they all connect in some kind of circuit. Several circles that connect each glyph together."
"So Belos used a glyph combo to keep Nightmare at bay?" Eda asked. "How did he even know glyphs in the first place?"
"I don't know, but that's not the point." Stephen said. "Now, we have this combo on my phone, so perhaps we can use it again?"
"You really think another seal is going to save Edalyn?" Lillith asked. "That seems a bit of a stretch."
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Lily." Eda said. "How can you guarantee that this will drive Nightmare out of my head?"
"If it does, then the best way it can work is if we apply it inside of your head." Stephen said.
Eda widened her eyes. "Wait. What?"
"What?" Lillith asked.
"What?" Luz asked.
"You heard me." Stephen said. "If we go inside of Eda's head and imprint the glyph combo into it, then perhaps it will be able to reinforce the original seal and fortify your mind so that Nightmare can't come back."
"Are you nuts? That's a suicide mission!" Eda protested. "Besides, what makes you think you can just get in my mind? The curse sapped out all my magic!"
"But not me." Lillith realized. "I can get you into Edalyn's mind. That's why you wanted to postpone the sharing pain spell."
"If you shared the curse, you would lose your magic too." Stephen said.
"It… could work." Lillith said.
"Then let's do it!" Luz cried out.
"Hold it, kids." Eda said. "Listen, I want you to think about this. I'm going to have to go to sleep to leave my mind open for visitors. That means Nightmare's going to make an appearance. And if he finds out what you two are up to, he won't be giving up the Owl Beast without a fight."
"We just came face to face with Belos." Luz said. "Compared to that…"
"Nightmare isn't Belos." Eda interrupted. "He's the ruler of the Dream Dimension. He has the power to haunt you just as much as he's been haunting me these past thirty years. He's likely going to use your worst nightmares against you."
"I did think about that, but we still have a chance." Stephen said. "I gamed it out. Luz and I already know what our greatest fears are. Remember? Grom showed us. I'm scared of reliving my mom's death and Luz is scared of confronting her mom. As long as we can mentally prepare for that, we can probably get through whatever Nightmare throws at us."
Eda sighed. "There's no convincing you to stop, is there?"
"Have you met us?" Luz asked.
"Good point." Eda said. "Well, if you're going to do this, you're going to need to know a couple of things. You're going to have to apply that glyph combo not just anywhere. You're going to have to imprint that into a memory, a treasured memory, one that is most precious to me. I can't figure out what it is up the top of my head, but perhaps the Inner Eda will know. Try to find her before Nightmare finds you. Understood?"
Stephen and Luz nodded ready for their newest adventure.
"All right then." Eda said. "Lily, put me to sleep."
"Sweet dreams, sister." Lillith said before casting a little beam of light at Eda's forehead. The Owl Lady collapsed and fell to sleep instantly. She then passed a bell to Stephen and Luz. "Here. Ring this as soon as you are ready to leave."
"This is it, Luz. Get ready." Stephen said. "We're about to venture into the creepiest, most disturbing place in the Boiling Isles: Eda's mind."
Lillith twirled her finger, and suddenly, Stephen and Luz were whisked into Eda's ear.
When the two of them woke up, they looked around seeing the gigantic mess made all around them. Reaching high into the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see, there were nothing but piles of assorted junk on top of each other. Chairs. Coathangers. Fidget spinners. TV sets. Shoes. Anything that would be considered garbage everywhere.
"This is Eda's mind?" Stephen asked. "I guess maintenance isn't a priority."
"Well, we always knew that Eda was a horder." Luz said. "But where are we going to find her memories?"
"Look." Stephen pointed behind the two and showed a clear pathway which stretched into connecting roads. And along with the roads, connected to the piles of garbage, there were doors that looked exactly like the portal door.
"I'm guessing those doors lead to Eda's memories." Stephen said.
He and Luz headed over to the nearest door and looked at the image shown in the doorway. There was a younger Eda and a younger Lillith. They were both screaming in fright over an older man who was on his knees in pain and holding his bleeding left eye.
"Yeesh." Luz said. "Eda said we should be looking for her most treasured memory. I don't think this is it."
"Good call." Stephen said. "Let's just…"
All of a sudden, a flash of green filled the sky. An electrical burst spooked Stephen and Luz solid. They turned around and peeked their heads around one of the garbage piles. They found a lone man there, one who's ghastly appearance already answered their question of who it was.
Nightmare.
The dream demon turned around in every direction while the kids hid themselves as best as they could. He looked confused.
"Well, this is different." Nightmare said. "Usually, I head right into Edalyn's dream. Yet now, I seem to be in her mindscape. Something's different."
"Is that Nightmare?" Luz whispered to her brother.
"Either that, or Eda has he ugliest bat in her belfry." Stephen replied.
Though they tried to be quiet, their whispers caught the attention of Nightmare, who turned his head slightly towards them. They freaked out and hid their heads, but Nightmare was already aware of them at that point.
Nightmare displayed a toothy grin. "Well, well, well. It seems I'm not the only visitor." He began hovering from the ground and approaching where he heard the sounds.
"Let's get out of here." Stephen whispered to Luz. The two of them were careful to avoid making any sudden noises while also avoiding Nightmare's gaze.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Nightmare hissed just missing the kids wherever he turned. "I just want to say hi. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting? Could it be… the humans who Edalyn took under her owl wing? We have a lot to talk about since we're here."
Stephen and Luz continued to elude Nightmare until they returned to the door with the wounded man on it.
"Might as well use it as a hiding place." Luz suggested.
Stephen nodded and hurried in. Luz entered the memory right behind him.
Stephen and Luz suddenly appeared in a family dining room. The table was being set up by a teenage Lillith and an adult woman.
"Mother, do you like my napkin folding?" young Lillith asked holding up a napkin folded into a swan.
"That's nice, sweet flea." Lillith's mom said not even looking at the napkin.
"That must be Eda's mom." Luz assumed.
"Then where's Eda herself?" Stephen asked looking around.
His search came to an end when Eda climbed down a nearby set of stairs. She groaned weakly while walking a bit groggy.
"Edalyn, help us set up, won't you?" Mrs. Clawthorne asked.
"I'd love to, Mom," young Eda said, "But I don't feel so well. I think I'm gonna hit the hay early."
Mrs. Clawthorne chuckled. "You're going to say that, the night your dad leaves for the mandible?"
"Oh, my Titan!" Eda gasped. "Was that tonight? I totally forgot! He's not gone yet, has he?"
"Her dad?" Luz asked.
"Wait a minute." Stephen said remembering the image covering this memory. "Could this be…"
Suddenly, the front door opened and an adult man entered the house carrying a bag on his back.
"Hey, pumpkin. Here to see me off?" he asked.
"Hey, Dad!" Eda greeted happily. "I thought you left already."
"I was only gone for an hour." Mr. Clawthorne said. "Hey, I know I won't be home for a while, so that's why tonight, I'll be leaving in style."
From his bag, Mr. Clawthorne pulled out a party popper. He pulled the string at the end and set off bright purple lights that burst out of it. It was so sudden and so bright, that something awakened inside of Eda.
It all happened so fast, but young Eda's body changed until the Owl Beast stood in her place. It filled up the room and screeched at Mr. Clawthorne who stood petrified in fear. That's when the Owl Beast attacked.
"Luz, let's get out of here!" Stephen grabbed his sister and pulled them both out of the memory.
The two kids took deep breaths after escaping the memory. They looked back and saw the image which clearly showed the aftermath of the attack.
"Eda told us what happened to her dad," Stephen said, "But it was still horrifying to see it happen."
"Obviously, that's no treasured memory." Luz said. "We gotta find it while making sure Nightmare doesn't find us."
"Then let's not stand here like statues." Stephen said. "Let's go."
After leaving the scarred father memory behind them, Luz and Stephen continued down the path looking at more memory images to see for themselves. Many of them didn't look promising. There was an image of her running from the cops. There was an image of her losing her head for the first time.
Every time they made it to a turn on the path, the kids were cautious enough to peek around the corner to make sure Nightmare wasn't found. Once they were in the clear, they kept their search going until…
"Hey, look at this one." Luz said pointing at a doorway.
In it, there was an image of a young adult Eda sitting on a hilltop during a beautiful day. The young adult Eda was sitting next to a non-binary witch with green hair and glasses.
"That must have been someone she dated." Luz said. "That looks treasure enough."
"Is that really the reason, or do you want to peek at Eda's love life?" Stephen asked skeptically.
"Can't it be both?" Luz replied.
"…All right. It is the best we've got so far." Stephen said before going in with Luz.
When Stephen and Luz entered, they found themselves on that very hilltop with Eda and her date. Luz was excited, but her smile dropped noticing the sad expressions on their faces.
"Eda, you've got to tell me if there's something wrong." The date said.
"Nothing's wrong, Raine. I'm fine." Eda said, but she was clearly lying. Raine noticed that too.
"You're lying again. It's like I don't even know you. So I've made a decision."
Eda lowered her head and turned away from Raine, who said what they needed to say.
"I'm joining the Bard Coven, and…" Raine paused clearly already regretting their decision. "I think we should see other people. I'm sorry, Eda. It's over."
Stephen and Luz widened their eyes regretting coming in this memory. They then looked over at Eda who started struggling with herself. She hid her claws and feathers and grew out of her hands and tried to stop the growling from inside herself.
Raine realized Eda's struggle and stood up to try and comfort her. "Are you okay? Is this the curse?"
Eda panted before laughing nervously. "Haha! It's fine! Everything's normal! You can leave now!"
Raine gave up on trying to reach out to Eda and turned their back to her. "I can't do this anymore." They said before walking away.
"Okay. We clearly misjudged the situation." Stephen commented before leaving the memory.
"Okay. So far, our choices in finding the right memory haven't been very successful." Luz said after leaving the break-up memory with her brother. "We're lost, Eda's got a lot of complicated memories, and we're being hunted by an evil dream vampire."
"No kidding. I didn't expect this to be easy, but we're literally down in the dumps." Stephen said.
"Hey! That's my head you're talking about!"
Stephen and Luz shot their heads up and turned them to the source of the voice. Eda slouched on a junk pile covered in a yellow glow.
"Eda!" Luz cheered. "Or… Inner Eda!" She jumped and hugged the Owl Lady.
"Whoa. You know, I thought the hug thing would be better in my head." Eda said removing Luz. "So I hear you two knuckleheads have been snooping around my least favorite memories."
"It was an accident." Stephen said. "Eda, we're sorry all that happened to you. What…"
"Save it. You kids had nothing to do with it." Eda said. "All the fault goes to the Owl Beast for attacking my family and driving my partner away."
"We need to find your most precious memory so we can make that Nightmare-proof seal." Luz said. "Do you know where it is?"
"Oh, sure. In fact, I'm surprised you two didn't figure it out sooner. It's over at…"
Eda was interrupted by black smoke which coiled around her and tightened. She was lifted up from the air before she could comprehend what was happening. Luz and Stephen were snatched up as well by their waists.
While the three were captured and held in the air, Nightmare made his appearance. He hovered in between the three snickering.
"So that's your plan, then." Nightmare said looking over at Luz. "Find Eda's most precious memory to be able to drive me away. It is clever, but I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that. And speaking of afraid…"
"Do your worst, chalk-face. We're not scared of you." Luz challenged.
"Ooh. Somebody likes to act fearless. Then again, that's just another word for foolish." Nightmare commented before turning to Eda. "All right, Edalyn. I've been patient with you for three decades, but now, all that comes to an end. Let me remove the Owl Beast from you, and I'll let you go."
"Dream on, Nightmare." Eda said.
"I don't do dreams. I do nightmares." Nightmare said. "Besides, I don't thin you're in a position to defy me anymore."
"Don't listen to him, Eda!" Stephen yelled.
"Don't you cross me, humans." Nightmare said getting eerily close to the kids. "I am Nightmare, ruler of the Dream Dimension. I am leagues above…" Luz interrupted him by smacking her hand on his chest. "What is this?"
"An ice glyph." Luz answered removing her hand.
The paper she left on Nightmare's chest glowed and he was suddenly covered in a block of ice.
"Nice shot, kid!" Eda said before using her staff to break the shadows that held her and the kids up. But as they returned to the ground, the ice surrounding Nightmare began to crack.
"He's getting out." Stephen pointed out.
"Yeah, I didn't expect that ice to hold him for long." Eda said. She entered a battle stance. "You two go and find the memory. I'll hold of this freak."
"But where is your memory?" Luz asked as Nightmare's hand was free quickly.
"Just go all the way down there! You can't miss it!" Eda asked pointing at the far end of the path.
"Be careful, Eda!" Luz warned before she and Stephen ran away from the fight.
Right as they left, Nightmare broke out of the ice which only held him for a short while. His gritting teeth and ghastly growl showed he was not happy.
"That was unpleasant."
"Now, you know how I feel when you invade my head." Eda said. "If you want those kids, you'll have to go through me."
"All right. I can wait ten seconds." Nightmare said.
Stephen and Luz ran down the open path as quickly as they could. They didn't slow down to browse the memories they passed by. Within a matter of minutes, they stopped to breathe when they reached the end of the path.
As Eda promised, at the very end of the line, a single memory door stood. There was one other memory halfway across, but the kids were only focused on the one at the end.
"We're almost there." Stephen said. "Let's save Eda."
"Right." Luz said.
The two of them ran toward the same direction as the door, but just as they were halfway there, something interrupted them. A pair of black claws shot out right in front of them stopping them in their tracks.
A monstrous screech got their attention. The kids turned their heads to the left seeing a feathery beast with gray-and-black feathers and a white owl face with pure black eyes. Like Eda, it was also glowing yellow. It was trapped behind a set of orange prison bars which only allowed its arms to reach through.
"What the hay is that?" Luz asked.
"I… I think that's the Owl Beast." Stephen said. "Eda's elixir must have built this prison in her head to keep it from controlling her mind."
"It sure looks different from how Eda looks." Luz said.
The Owl Beast screeched again and tried another attempt to claw at Stephen and Luz, who backed away from it.
"Careful." Stephen said. "That thing looks…"
The Owl Beast swung its claw again, and this time, Luz stumbled backwards and fell onto her brother. The two of them tripped over backwards and were knocked right into the memory behind them.
Stephen and Luz fell through the memory portal and landed right at the edge of a cliff. They manage to keep themselves from falling into the ocean and observe their surroundings. The sun was glowing in the horizon right past the long skull sticking out of the water. The skull itself was the size of a mountain.
"What is this place?" Luz asked.
"I don't know, but I don't think this is the Boiling Isles." Stephen said. "The Titan's corpse only has one skull, and that's not it. But the bigger question is what does this place have to do with Eda?"
Stephen and Luz were then caught by surprise when a loud screech startled them. They jumped out of the way just before the Owl Beast crashed at the edge of the cliff. It was breathing heavy and was exhausted.
The Owl Beast rested for a few moments before it was surprised by the purple blasts that hit the ground in front of it. It stepped back, and all of a sudden, a black net formed around it and pulled it back. The Owl Beast was dragged back until it stopped right in front of a hooded figure.
This figure had an astronomical theme. Their hooded cloak was half-black and half-gray, and it was decorated with symbols shaped like stars, the moon, and the sun. Even the band around their collar had a full moon decal in between two crescent moons. Their face was hidden in their dark hood, but there was a crescent-moon shaped glow seen inside of it.
"Don't bother, beast. You can't run away anymore. It's over." The hooded figure laughed.
"Who's that?" Luz asked.
"I don't know, but I've got a thousand more questions." Stephen answered.
The Owl Beast managed to break from its net and fly off into the distance. Stephen and Luz stood at the cliff's edge seeing the Owl Beast try to escape. However, its wings began to catch fire and burn. The Owl Beast panicked and plummeted into the ocean. The kids looked closer and witnessed something strange.
As soon as the Owl Beast hit the water, it instantly shrunk and got a lot thinner. It rolled up into a sealed scroll and got carried away by the ocean's waves.
That's when Stephen realized something. "Luz, I don't think this is Eda's memory. I think it's the Owl Beast's."
"What? I thought the Owl Beast was just a curse." Luz said.
"That's what I thought too. But did you see the way it glowed out there? It was just like the Inner Eda. Perhaps that was just the Inner Owl Beast or something. It looks like the Owl Beast was once an actual living creature until it was cursed by that hooded guy and turned into that scroll. It must have washed up on the Boiling Isles and found by the merchant who then sold it to Lillith."
"Who then used it on Eda." Luz realized. "That's bananas. So who was that guy who tried to hunt the Owl Beast in the first place?"
"Questions for later." Stephen said. "Let's just get out of here and get Nightmare out of Eda's head."
When Stephen and Luz exited the memory, the Owl Beast glared at them and growled without trying to strike them.
"Take it easy." Stephen said trying to ease himself and Luz out of the Owl Beast's reach. "We get you. Life hasn't been a picnic for you either. But we've got just to…"
"Not one step further!" Nightmare interrupted. He appeared suddenly, and with a wave of his hand, shadows appeared coiling around Stephen and Luz again. This time, they were wrapped around their arms. Eda was tied up too, lifted behind the Dream Demon.
"I really didn't appreciate being frozen." Nightmare said. "So now, I'm going to make an example out of you."
"You wouldn't!" Eda shouted. "If you harm one hair on their heads, I…"
"Relax, Eda. I'm not going to hurt them. Not physically anyway." Nightmare said.
"If you're going to scare us with our fears, don't bother." Stephen said. "Luz and I are more than ready for that."
"Yeah! I've been preparing to confront my mom and Stephen's ready to face the car crash." Luz said.
Nightmare gave a small chuckle which then grew louder until his maniacal cackle echoed in the mindscape. Stephen and Luz started to get uneasy.
"You poor, simple fools." Nightmare said. "You think you can rid yourself of a nightmare just by expecting whatever scares you most? You think nightmares are only made of your worst fears? Come. Let me correct you."
Nightmare held up his hands which each began to let out a black mist of shadow. Eda tried to plead with him, but her words fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, a large, shadowy vortex surrounded the entire area. Everyone closed their eyes expecting the worst.
Stephen found himself in a very dark environment. Everything about it was pitch black. On the bright side, he was no longer tied by shadows.
"Hello!" Stephen cried out into the darkness. His voice echoed. "What is this?"
"It's over, Stephen."
Stephen quickly turned around to find just one person standing right across from him. He widened his eyes in disbelief before shaking his head.
"If this is the worst, Nightmare can do, he's insane." Stephen said. "What makes him think that I'm scared of myself?"
Stephen kept his eyes locked on the teenage boy who's the exact height and body shape as himself. Though they were colorless, the figure's clothes were exactly like his was, but without the Cloak of Levitation. And despite his identical appearance, the figure's skin was a lot more gray. This figure was a colorless Stephen Strange.
"So what?" Stephen asked. "Are you, like, a Dark Strange or something?"
The Dark Strange chuckled. "You still don't see it, do you, Stephen? How could you not? After all, you did make all this up."
"Make all this up?" Stephen asked. "What's that supposed to mean? Didn't Nightmare create you to scare me or something?"
"How can you possibly be scared of yourself?" the Dark Strange asked. "Face it. All of this is in your head. Nightmare. Eda. The Boiling Isles. None of it is real. You're in a hospital bed in Gravesfield, and you're not going to make it."
"What?" Stephen asked. "You're nuts. That doesn't make any sense."
"What makes more sense?" Dark Strange asked. "That you entered a magic realm of witches and demons, and that you're some kind of sorcerer? Or that you're hallucinating from the snake bite?"
"What snake bite?"
"Don't you remember? You and Luz were preparing to go to summer camp when an owl stole Luz' fantasy book. You followed her and chased it into an abandoned shack in the woods. And I guess from there, you must have believed you stumbled into a portal to the Demon Realm. But the truth is, after Luz snatched her book away from the owl, a venomous snake shot out of the floorboards and sank its fangs into your leg. You suddenly collapsed, and Luz carried you home where Camilla called 911. You've been hanging on for your life ever since, but at this point, it's a losing battle."
"I… I…" Stephen shook confused by his counterpart's words. "No. Wait. That can't be right. There's no way a snake's venom could make me comatose for a month."
"Can you be certain of that?" Dark Strange asked. He walked slowly circling Stephen. "Listen to yourself, Stephen. You're a man of science. Don't you think a snake-bite is easier to believe than an entire dimension full of magical creatures? All of this is just generated by the snake venom along with a reaction from your brain."
"But I've been through so much."
"That's because it's what you've always wanted. Though the snake venom warped your mind to make you believe that magic's real, your consciousness has been giving you everything you needed. It knows you're not going to make it, so it's been giving you the best life you could ever want."
"No, no, no!" Stephen shouted latching onto his head. "This is Nightmare! He created you to make me doubt myself! Yes, my mom's death hurts me more than anything and I was prepared for that, so he created a new fear for me! He wants me to believe that nothing I ever encountered was ever real!"
"Listen to yourself. Even now, you refuse to believe it. You need to let go. It's a lot less painful if you do. But you should be happy. Your mind created this adventure, where in just one month, you were able to come to terms with your flaws and open your heart to doing things that you never got the chance to do. To learn an exceptional amount of new things. To help people. To be closer to your sister. And above all, to have a family again."
Stephen struggled to speak, but his words failed to escape his mouth. His eyes began to swell up and he fell on his knees breaking down into tears.
Luz also found herself in a pitch-black environment. But this time, Nightmare didn't bother hiding himself. He floated in front of her with a nasty smirk on his face.
"What did you do with Stephen?" Luz asked.
"The thing is, nightmares aren't just made of your worst fears." Nightmare said. "You don't just have to be afraid of something the most for it to be a bad dream. It can be something else that you're afraid of, or something that causes misery or despair. In your brother's case, he's being struck with the painful truth that everything he's been through is all just a figment of his imagination."
"No, it's not!" Luz shouted. "Everything's real!"
"And he doesn't need to know that." Nightmare said. "He's going to to slowly accept what's being whispered into his ear until his will is broken. Much like how yours is going to be."
"I'm not scared of you, Nightmare!" Luz shouted. "Take your best shot!"
"If you insist." Nightmare said waving his hand.
Luz turned and her eyes were instantly locked at the Gravesfield Memorial Hospital. The doors opened up and Luz lost her breath seeing who walked out.
"I believe it's someone you know." Nightmare said. "A man who believed in you, and was taken before he could finish watching you grow. A man who was taken from you, and there was nothing you could do about it. Welcome to your nightmare, Luz Noceda."
The man who walked out was an adult Hispanic with brain hair and beard. He wore a green short and brown shorts that matched his shoes. Luz couldn't believe her eyes seeing who it was.
"Dad?" Luz asked in a cracking up voice.
Manny Noceda looked down at his daughter before smiling at her. "Hey, Mija. Glad you're living your dream."
Luz smiled back with tears filling her eyes and hugged her dad. "Oh, Dad. It's great to see you."
Nightmare's smile dropped and he scratched his head. "'Great to see you'? This is haunts your mind, making you feel pain on a regular basis. This is your nightmare!"
"Yeah, you said that." Manny said. "Who's this idiot?"
"Mr. Pasty? He's just pathetic." Luz said turning to face Nightmare. "Guess all those years of being cut off from the Boiling Isles made you rusty. You don't know my dad, and you definitely don't know me. You think this is some buried secret? Yes, I lost my dad, and every year, on his anniversary, I feel bad about it, but I always hang on to the fact that I'm never alone. And even though he's gone, he's still a part of me. Before he died, he gave me something to always remember him by."
Luz reached into her bag. Once she grabbed what she was looking for, she pulled it out. She held up the first book of the Good Witch Azura and pointed it right at Nightmare, who stared with great surprise.
"I wouldn't be the magic-loving, adventuring witch without my dad, and as long as I remember that, nothing you do will scare me! Not even this!"
Luz threw her book at Nightmare, who instantly vanished before it could hit him. Once he was gone, Luz turned back to her father.
"It looks like I gave you a great gift." Manny said.
"Thank you very much, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, Luz. Oh, and don't forget to turn on the light." Manny said before disappearing. The hospital disappeared too.
"Turn on the light?" Luz asked. "What does that… Wait." Luz reached into her bag again and found what she was looking for. She pulled out a stack of papers which all had the light glyph written on them. She tapped one of them, and it changed into a light ball which drove away the darkness around her. "Well, would you look at that. Espera, Stephen. Voy a buscatre."
Stephen was still crying on his knees not wanting to believe what his dark doppleganger was telling him. Dark Strange walked up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"There, there, Stephen. It's all right. Look." Stephen looked to where Dark Strange was pointing, and a white light began to shine. It was very bright, but the sight of it made Stephen feel peaceful.
"What is that?" Stephen asked.
"The end." Dark Strange answered. "Don't worry. It's a paradise. You're ready. Let's go together."
Dark Strange helped Stephen up to his feet and started to slowly push him toward the light. Stephen hesitated, but he began to walk along. He closed his eyes tightly as he walked. But then…
"Stephen!"
Stephen stopped and opened his eyes suddenly. "Luz?"
"Stephen!"
Stephen looked around. His sister's voice echoed from the shadows and there was no sign of her, but he definitely heard her.
"Come on, Stephen. Time to let go." Dark Strange said. He tried to push Stephen again, but this time, he couldn't budge and inch. Instead, Stephen broke out of his grip and stepped away from the light.
"NO!" Stephen shouted. "This isn't in my head! I'm not in Gravesfield right now! I'm in Eda's head trying to help her!"
"You're trying to talk yourself out of it." Dark Strange argued. "Do you honestly believe…"
"It doesn't matter what I believe in! What matters is how much I believe!" Stephen interrupted. "I may be a man of science, but I'm also a man who finally sees the value of family, and there's no way I'm going to give that up! I am Stephen Strange, a human who can do magic! All my loved ones are counting on me to pull though, and I will not disappoint them! THIS IS WHO I AM!"
Stephen traced a large circle in front of him and formed a powerful light spell which lit up the entire environment. Dark Strange cried out in pain and he instantly changed into Nightmare. The Dream Demon yelled his loudest as his illusion fell apart.
The black vortex died down and everyone returned to the junkyard that is Eda's mindscape. Luz, Stephen, and Eda both landed on their feet safely while Nightmare collapsed on the floor. The heroes surrounded the Dream Demon who gasped in surprise moving away from them.
"What's the matter, Nightmare?" Stephen asked. "I thought you were supposed to be the one to make people afraid."
"Guess the tables have turned." Luz said.
Eda turned to Stephen and Luz. "You know, you two keep finding ways to surprise me."
"This cannot be!" Nightmare ranted. "I am Nightmare, lord of all fear, ruler of the Dream Dimension! How could I be bested by a couple of children?"
"And one animal." Stephen said.
"What?" Nightmare asked before suddenly getting his answer.
Suddenly, the Owl Beast reached its arms out and grabbed Nightmare by his limbs. He tried to fight his way out, but the Owl Beast slammed him to the iron bars.
"You wanted the Owl Beast, Nightmare? Here's a free sample!" Eda laughed. "All right, kids. Time to work your magic."
Stephen and Luz turned to the final memory, the one they had been looking for.
"Ready to see what Eda's most treasured memory is?" Stephen asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Luz said.
The two of them joined hands and entered the memory together.
Stephen and Luz found themselves in the marketplace in Bonesburrow. They looked over and found a crowd of witches and demons approaching Eda's stand. It was a recent memory, one where Eda was getting money from a TV set that the past versions of Luz and Stephen made work.
"Well, kids, I gotta say, I'm impressed." Past Eda said. "What did you say your names were?"
"We didn't." past Stephen said.
"I'm Luz. And this guy here is my brother, Stephen."
"Luz!"
The real Stephen and Luz smiled recognizing the memory. They looked at each other and shared a nod. Stephen held out the photo of the Emperor's Nightmare-proof seal from his phone. Luz traced a copy of it on the ground with her foot. It took a few minutes, but eventually, it was complete. All that was needed was to tap it. The brother and sister looked at each other and slapped their hands on the seal together.
Outside the memory, Nightmare finally broke out of the Owl Beast's claws and kept his distance from it. He turned at the sound of Eda laughing loudly.
"What's so funny?" Nightmare asked.
"Your defeat." Eda said pointing at the memory at the far end of the clearing.
Stephen and Luz walked right out of the memory with proud smiles. Nightmare gasped knowing what it meant.
Nightmare turned to the sound of junk shifting and turning until a hole was made. That hole instantly blew up a white light. The Dream Demon then felt a strong pull coming from it. He was barely able to keep his footing. He tried to escape, but his feet were already through. He kept the upper-half of his body in the mindscape by grabbing onto nearby items and using them as anchors.
"NO! DON'T!" Nightmare demanded. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"
"Already done." Eda said approaching Nightmare.
Nightmare kept his grip fighting against the pull. He growled angrily before yelling.
"FINE! Go ahead! Discard me! But know this! I would have been a mercy compared to what's coming! When the eclipse comes and the Boiling Isles suffers the wrath of the Imperator—or worse, the Lord of Darkness—we'll see how well you do without me!"
Eda immediately sent a kick to Nightmare's face making him let go. Nightmare bellowed out an insane laugh as he fell into the white void, which quickly dimmed out. The hole closed and all the garbage surrounding it collapsed.
"Is he gone?" Luz asked.
"Yep. Thanks to you two, Nightmare is back in the Dream Dimension where he belongs." Eda said. "Good work, you two. See you in the real world."
"Sure. And Eda, thanks for treasuring us." Stephen said before ringing the bell.
At the sound of the bell, Lillith twirled her finger, and Stephen and Luz were pulled out of Eda's ear. The Owl Lady woke up and yawned just after.
"Were you successful?" Lillith asked.
"It was a lot more difficult than I thought, but we managed to get the seal in." Stephen said.
"So Nightmare's out of Eda's head for good?" King asked.
"You got that right." Luz said. "Hey, Eda, thanks for making that your most precious memory?"
"Hey, it was a good one." Eda said smiling. "I always took my life for granted, only focusing on my get-rich-quick schemes and running from the law. But you all changed that the day you showed up."
"Now, all that's left is for Lillith to…" Stephen stopped himself and suddenly changed his expression from calm to concern.
"What's wrong, Stephen?" Luz asked.
"Oh, man. I don't think I thought this all the way through." Stephen said. "After Lillith shares the curse, she will be haunted by Nightmare just like Eda was. And this time, there won't be any way to enter Lillith's mind and apply the seal to her."
"It's okay." Lillith said. "To be honest, I did think about that while you were in Eda's mind. And I'm perfectly fine with that."
"You what?" Luz asked.
"Lily?" Eda asked.
Lillith knelt down to Eda and pressed her forehead onto hers. "With this spell declared, let the pain be shared."
Suddenly, a bright blue light lit up beneath both Clawthorne sisters. Another bright light made everyone around them turn their eyes away. Eventually, the light dimmed out and Eda and Lillith stood apart from each other. In place of the Owl Beast, Eda had returned to her original form, albeit with a gray right eye. Lillith also had a gray left eye along with a gray streak in her hair.
"Eda!" Luz cried out happily hugging Eda along with Stephen and King. "Can you still do magic?"
Eda tried to conjure a spell circle, but it fell apart quickly. "That's a no. It'll take some time to get used to this."
"I feel that I've been weakened as well." Lillith said.
"So I'm the only one in this group who can do magic on his own." Stephen said. "That's pretty ironic."
"It's okay. I can teach you what I know." Eda said handing Eda a paper light glyph. "And what we don't know, we can learn together."
Eda tapped on the light glyph and watched it turn into a light ball. "Thanks, kid. I'll look forward to that." She then turned to Lillith. "Why'd you do that, Lily? If you're not careful, Nightmare is going to haunt you in your cursed dreams."
"It was the only way." Lillith said. "You were cursed with both the Owl Beast and Nightmare for thirty years, and you did nothing wrong. Me, I cursed you, hunted you down, and didn't even take responsibility. It's about time I start repenting for my mistakes. Be glad, though. If your boy hadn't stopped me, we'd both be haunted by Nightmare. Now, you're safe from him because of his quick thinking."
"So there's nothing we can do to help?" Luz asked.
"Not that I know." Lillith said. "Entering someone's mind is illegal, so not a lot of witches would know how to do that. Only the coven heads and the emperor are able to at this rate."
"What about me?" Stephen asked. "Could you teach me?"
"Perhaps, but it's going to take some time to fully understand it." Lillith said.
"Have you seen him at school?" Eda asked proudly brushing at his head. "He's a quick learner."
"Thanks." Stephen said.
"And that's how we escaped from the Emperor and defeated Nightmare." Luz said to her video camera on her phone. "Everyone told me and Stephen that Belos was the most powerful witch alive, but Mom, we chipped off a piece of his mask. I know he's not invincible now. And compared to what Nightmare put us through, I doubt there's anything left that can scare us. It's a strange feeling having gone through so much and not having you here to share it with. And I don't know when or how we're going to see you again. But we will find our way home to you. I promise. Deja una luz puesta para mi. Te quiero."
Luz poked a light ball next to her to darken the room. She ended her video recording and turned her phone in for the night. But before going to bed, she thought of something.
"Hmm. Stephen's not in his bed yet. Better see if he's all right."
Luz left her room and headed downstairs. After entering the living room, her eyes caught two figures out the window and standing beside each other at the front of the Owl Sanctum. One was her brother. The other was Clea. Luz slowly opened the door to listen in.
"So where's Wong?" Stephen asked.
"We went back some." Clea answered. "He said that after today, he'd want to spend time with his family. Lucky guy."
"Still thinking about Mordo?" Stephen asked placing his hand on her shoulder.
"How could I not? He lied to me. He used me. He tore me apart from my friends. And just an hour and a half ago, he tried to kidnap me. I can't ever go back to the manor. Not after that."
"Well, Eda said you're more than welcome to stay with us." Stephen said. "And honestly… I'd rather have you here too."
Clea smiled at that. "Thanks, Stephen. I'm glad you came to see me that day at Hexside. You really changed my life."
Both Stephen and Clea didn't say another word to each other. They just stared at each other for a long second. Their faces got closer until they closed their eyes and locked lips. The moonlight shined on the two.
After a few moments, Stephen and Clea finally broke their kiss. They looked at each other until Stephen turned his eyes behind them. He widened his eyes in shock to find the front door wide open and Luz watching from within the doorway. She had sparkling eyes and a smile along with a dropped jaw. She let out a happy noise coming from her mouth.
"Oh, boy." Stephen said. "She's having a joy overload."
After repairing his mask, Emperor Belos entered a darkened lab within the sanctum of his castle. He looked up at the top of a flight of stairs to see the portal door. Though it was mostly destroyed, it was being repaired along with a white, winged ring being built over it.
When he entered, Belos was approached by Kikimora. "Sire, those miscreants are still at large. Please, allow me to capture them."
"Worry not, Kiki." Belos said. "We'll be keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the Owl Sanctum, especially Stephen Strange. Who knows? That boy could be useful soon."
Belos turned to the doorway and nodded at a white-hooded teen with a golden mask standing in the doorway. The hooded teen nodded back and turned away.
"In the meantime, the Day of Unity is almost upon us." Belos said looking back at the portal door. "And we have much work to do."
Baron Mordo finally returned home still dreading over the events of the day. Seeing the place empty wasn't unexpected, but he still wasn't happy about it. After his moment of quiet, he headed to the bookcase and tilted one of the books. The bookcase opened revealing a hidden set of stairs. He knew no one was watching, but he looked around anyway before entering.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, Stephen continued walking through the dark hallway and used a light spell to light the way. He stopped when he entered a circular area. There was barely anything there. There was just a black-and-red mirror which hung on the wall and a candle resting beneath the mirror.
Mordo picked up the candle and lit it up with a small flame. He then carried the candle so that it would brush on the reflective glass on the mirror. That's when the mirror reacted. Suddenly, it was like the mirror was on fire, like a wall of flames shot out behind the glass. The flames changed into a black spot of nothingness taking up most of the mirror. Suddenly, three more flames appeared with unusual shapes. Two of them looked like eyes and the last looked like a grin beneath those eyes.
Mordo set the candle down and bent down to one knee at the mirror. "My lord. The Empath Stone has done its job. We have just enough potion for the plan."
"Excellent work, Mordo." The flame-headed entity in the mirror said. "Yet, I sense shame within you. What else happened?"
"I'm afraid it's Clea, sir." Mordo said. "The girl found out I was lying to her."
"Does she know about your connection to me?"
"Unlikely, but she is no longer in my care. She chose to take shelter from me in the Owl Lady's care."
"It is no trouble. You can get her back for the Day of Unity, can you?"
"Of course."
"Very good. Her presence at the Titan's skull is crucial for the plan. I will finally have the Demon Realm, and you, my loyal zealot, will finally have your revenge."
Mordo bowed his head lower before picking up the candle he lit up. "As you command, Lord Dormammu." He blew out the candle, and the flamed face at the mirror disappeared. "Nothing will stand in our way."
EARLIER…
At the Petrification Ceremony, Stephen and Luz made it to the stage and freed Eda, Lillith, King, and Wong from their cage. Although, Eda was still partially petrified.
"Hold on. The petrification wasn't complete, so maybe this can work." Stephen said scrolling through the Book of Vishanti. "Here! It's a spell that can fight petrification. Hold on…"
Stephen began to read an incantation, but all of a sudden, he felt a great pain in his hands. It made him miss the blast and send it flying somewhere else.
While Eda was being cured and the gang flew away to safety, the blast that Stephen missed with flew over to the far side of the petrification garden, the more solitary part. It kept going until it struck one of the statues.
Everything was quiet for a moment until the statue's eyes began to glow red. Just then, their stone body became flesh. Starting from their fingers, the petrification was miraculously reversed until the entire body was flesh, blood, and clothes again.
The figure that just regained its body fell from their pedestal and took a second to breath. The figure stood up and was revealed to be a woman with long, red hair and a red outfit. Her hands glowed red and a red cape was conjured on her shoulders along with a red tiara on top of her head. She pointed her hand over at the pedestal she dropped from and fired a red blast at it. It was shattered into pieces.
With that, the woman in red hovered into the sky with her magic and disappeared into the westward distance. There was nothing left in her wake but the stone pieces of the destroyed pedestal and the plaque left behind with a single name on it, the name of the woman who was revived.
"Wanda Maximoff"