PSA: G'day! Ghost here - wait Ghost who? - You heard me, where am I?
Okay joking aside, thank you so much for your kind words about my Special Episode, I have been sitting on it since February and am glad you all like it - look me up here on FF for more of my style - Huh? Who said that?
Okay so here's what's been happening, 1. A joyful accident in my opinion but Helljumper forgot to tag the S-EP as non-canon upon initial release, and 2. The conspiracy theorists here went wild… again. So after some talks, ideas, and convincing; we're gonna canonize it - Sort of!
Think of it like how it is implied that Amphibia is connected to The Owl House. (And no, please don't go nuts at the mere mention of Amphibia, or even Gravity Falls, we're keeping between these two stories, thank you!) More special episodes to follow will be brush encounters, perhaps a subplot, I do have an idea for that. But mostly they will not impact each storyline too heavily.
Okay, hope you enjoy this news as much as I do, and now back to your regularly scheduled programme!
Over the night skies of Ord Mantell, a single salvage ship flew over the many warehouses. The vessel was blocky and ugly, made for unitarian jobs rather than pleasure. It floated over to an unused landing pad before descending and occupying it. A hatch on the side opened, and a ramp extended to the ground.
The first to descend was a short human male wearing brown scrubs, a cap, and a vest. Black-tinted goggles cover his eyes, steel headphones over his ears, and a big bushy beard covers most of his face.
The man looked around for the contact that was supposed to meet him and felt a bit of worry creep up as he didn't want to linger.
"You, Hurd Coyle?"
The voice spooked the human, and he turned to the voice talking. He saw four armed men in different shades of dark gray armor approach. All led by one with half a skull painted on a clone trooper helmet. Likely a battle trophy, if the junk salvager would guess.
"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?" Hurd challenged.
"The name's Hunter." Hunter pulled off his helmet to reveal his face, surprising the junker.
"A clone?! Shouldn't you be out with your buddies off killing Jedi?" Hurd challenged.
"Not all of us follow orders," the clone with the one arm, Echo, answered. "Now, did you have them?"
Hurd looked a the four of them with suspicion. Not knowing if this was some Empiral trap. "And what word do I have that I'd be safe?"
"By Quinlin Vos' word, we won't bring harm to anyone."
The junk salvager looked between the four-person squad before backing up to his transport. "It's clear. Come out."
A moment passed by before a tiny head poked out. A small little girl with blond hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a small set of tan robes that Jedi wore. She wasn't the only one. The clones were stunned when thirteen more younglings came out of hiding. None looked to be no older than eleven or twelve. The Jedi younglings saw the dark clone trooper armor, got afraid, and were ready to bounce.
"Woah, hold up now, kids. We ain't in the business of killing kids." Hunter tried to assure them. "My name is Hunter. And I was instructed by another Jedi to escort you all to her."
The younglings didn't look entirely convinced. One stepped forward, a human boy with messy brown hair. "How can we trust you on this? With our safety when the clones killed most of our fellow Jedi?"
"You can't," Hunter admitted to the younglings. "Trust is hard to come by, especially these days, and anyone can question our actions. How we move forward is all up to us to rebuild that trust. Will you allow us that chance at redemption for our brothers' actions?" He said this all the walking forward and offered his hand.
The brown-haired boy looked at the offered appendage with conflict in his eyes. Before he could act on his digestion, the blond-haired girl that appeared first from the ship took the clones with a bright smile. "Nia?!"
"Oh, come on, Bon. They aren't like the others who attacked the temple." Nia looked over at Hurd with a smile. "Thank you for caring for us when no one else would."
The old junker gave a smile showing his crooked teeth. "Been a trip, young lady. You and the others take care of yourselves, now. I'll be seeing you." He tipped his hat before entering back into his ship. A minute later, it took off and disappeared into the sky.
With the transport gone, the clones led the younglings between warehouses. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination at another warehouse. It was like the others that surrounded them, but this had two individuals waiting for them. One was a young girl armed with a Zygerrian energy bow, and the other was a small furry creature with an exposed horned skull sitting on the girl's lap. The two watched as they approached. The small furry creature hopped off the girl and ran up to the soldiers.
"Hey, guys, what took you so long?" the creature said in his squeaky voice.
"Had to make sure we weren't followed, King," Echo said to the little demon. "Can't be too careful these days."
King was about to reply when he suddenly found the shadow around him darkening. Looking up, he saw the girls hover above him and "Weh?"
All the girls in the group heard his squeaky voice softly and softly squealed at the adorable creature.
"What is he?"
"I don't know, but it's so adorable!"
"The urge to scratch his belly is strong."
The demon's foxy-like tail puffed up in alarm. The looks the female padawans were giving King matched when he first met Luz. Knowing where this was going with their wide starstruck eyes, the king of demons gave a sigh of defeat before holding his arms up like he wanted a hug and surrendered himself. He could give out a yelp of surprise before being snatched up and subjugated in an assault of cuddles and tummy scratches. The other male younglings could only shrug in confusion to one another and chalk it up as a girl thing. The clones were also confused, aside from Omega, who just looked at the scene in amusement. After spoiling the young demon, the clones led the younglings into the warehouse, where they were treated with considerable surprise.
Clones, nearly a hundred of them in green and yellow painted armor, with brown cloaks draped over their shoulders. They were doing checks on weapons, their backpacks, or each other.
"You sure you want to do this, Drake?"
The female voice drew the youngling's attention to a conversation between a teen with a Padawan braid and another clone.
"Many of my brothers are still entrapped by those chips, and the rumor before you freed me was that clones were being fazed out with nowhere to go. They are going to need help," Drake explained. "And those clones from Force 99 believe Captain Rex is the man that needs all the help he can get."
The Jedi rubbed her chin with a thoughtful expression. "I still want all of you to go in with a plan of action. You will be facing a whole government with a strong military, and then there's you with seventy-four and whoever Rex has freed. But I won't stop you from doing what you think is right. I'd be calling myself a hypocrite if I did. Just wish I could do more."
Drake looked over at the new arrivals. "Don't worry, Commander. Something tells me you're about to have your hands full." He jerks his head over to the younglings. Luz turns to them, and a bright smile adorns her face.
She quickly approached them and pulled the first two younglings into a hug, who turned out to be Bon and Nia. The girl happily accepted it while the boy stood awkwardly as he had never expected something like this.
"I'm so glad you all are safe." She looks at the others and sees they are all younglings. None of them were adorned with Padawan braids or armed with lightsabers. Meaning none of them were old enough to have attended a Gathering and built their lightsabers. "Is there no one else?"
Some shook theirs while others bowed their heads in sadness. A youngling approached to speak. "The others defended the emergency passage for us to escape. They never followed..."
Luz lowered her head in recognition. "I see... I wasn't at the temple when it was attacked but I saw the aftermath of destruction caused there. To survive such an encounter and survive these past months must be hard on you all. Now I ask you to trust me to take you to a safe place." Luz led the younglings to a strange door with a big, creepy yellow eye on it. She opened it, and the kids gasped in surprise at seeing a snowy landscape on the other side. Much different than the hot hair outside.
On the other side was an older woman with a lot of gray hair wearing cold-weather clothes. Next to her was a pile of coats of different colors. When she saw the younglings, the lady gave them a sad smile.
"Heya, kids! I'm Eda, The Owl Lady. Welcome to your new home."
{Play Music: Escape (Beat Saber soundtrack trailer)}
The camera zooms in to see a dirty deadeye Luz walking in the rain, passing many dirt mounds with sticks planted in them with brown cloaks of Jedi robes wrapped around them or blaster rifles with clone trooper helmets hanging on them. The smoking aftermath of a battlefield in the background. Photos of Luz with several clones hanging out in a barracks. Luz on a ship's Bridge. The backsides of a younger Padawan Luz and a human male with short black hair in a Knights robe with thick sideburns and a confident smile. An armored Luz riding on her BARC speeder bike with her lightsaber out with several other clones on speeders following her into a battle.
Luz unknowingly walks through the portal door and falls on her knees. She looks up to see a hand in front of her to take. She looks up to see a hand in front of her to take. Looking at the hand's owner, Luz sees a smiling Eda with a happy King on her shoulder. Life is brought back in Luz's eyes, and she smiles back before taking the offered hand.
The door where Hooty was opened as Luz steps outside in her sleeveless yellow vest, with Luz twirling and posing with Eda's staff with one hand and her lightsaber in the other in a low guard. But then Eda took her staff back with an amused grin while Luz gave a sheepish smile. King popped in front with his own pose.
A Boiling Isle mural was seen as Gus, Willow, and Amity are seen briefly before it burns away to show King commanding an army of stuffed toys, which all fall on him. The scene burns away to reveal Luz in front of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, looking at it in sadness. The silhouettes of the Jedi Council, along with other Jedi, stood before disappear, leaving only their burnt robes and lightsabers on the ground.
Emperor Belos raises his staff as he foreshadows behind his castle as red lighting thunder from the sky. His army of Coven guards, numbering by many at his call, standing ready for a fight.
Now Luz was on her BARC speeder, racing past across the landscape. She zooms down the Boiling Isles passing, Gus waves at her, Willow smiling, and Amity looking surprised before she smiles softly. Passing by several Coven guards as they try to chase her. Then Eda, with King on her shoulder, hopes on behind the Jedi. Then they hang on for dear life as a massive, monstrous worm-like monster, mouth wide open, lunges at them. Everyone screamed in horror as Luz turns the throttle up and guns it.
Then the scene changes back to the Owl House, where it's nighttime with stars twinkle in the sky as the three are on the roof and looking up into the sky. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of magic light and let it float to the sky.
Several lights flashed of fire and ice before the title appeared.
Jedi of the Isles
Episode 20: Of Witches and Jedi
'I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.'
'I keep my eyes wide open all the time.'
'I keep the ends out for the tie that binds.
'Because you're mine, I walk the line.'
Over at the Owl House, in Luz's room. The Jedi bobbed her head along with the tempo of Cash's voice as she typed silently on her terminal. She was typing up all the younglings' names and preparing them for school at Hexside. Why was she doing this? Well, it was simple. The group arrived without any senior Jedi, such as a master, knight, or Padawan, to act as a chaperone. This left them without a caretaker in a new and unfamiliar world, which could lead to disaster. Additionally, being stuck on a snowy mountain with nothing to occupy their time is unsuitable for young children who need stimulation and activity. Purposes.
Especially ones that are Force-sensitive.
Thus, she will prepare them for their future enrollment at Hexside in the coming weeks. Going to a local school allows them to meet new people and socialize with other kids their age. That meant teaching them her glyph magic and helping them integrate into society. Luz would need to make more room off her busy schedule to aid them. Between her duties with the clones and arranging for the construction of a settlement, she wouldn't have much time to look over the younglings. Another thought occurred.
"Maybe Amity could help?" Luz muttered. "She has experience being around children. We can even use the time to learn more about each other." The idea made her heart flutter.
Luz put a hand over her chest at the new feeling. She had never gotten attached like this to another person before. The Jedi never allow attachments for fear of causing them to fall into the dark side. To a young mind like Luz, it never made sense. A Jedi was to commune with the Force, and the Force is joined with everything around them. From a point of view, everything about the Force is about attachments. Why would a Jedi cut themself off for such a thing?
Ultimately, she can only wait and see how these feelings develop. Whether what she and Amity feel towards one another remains to be seen. Something to look forward to.
Finishing up and powering down the terminal, Luz grabbed her bag for school herself. Even if she was running a military faction and a new Jedi sanctuary didn't mean she should blow off her education. After all, that would be irresponsible of her.
Making her way downstairs and entering the living room, she was greeted by the sight of Eda sipping from a mug and binocs in the other, watching out the window. She was also wearing a yellow scarf over her shoulders.
"Oh, Hootie. You are a pain in my back most days, but somehow you worm your way into my heart."
"Do I even want to know what you are talking about?" Luz inquired as she approached the head of the house.
"Probably not."
Luz shrugged before noticing a pot on the caf table. It was filled with some kind of strange purple noodles or string.
"What's this?" Luz got close to examine it, only for Eda to block her with an arm.
"No touchy. For you see, my dear apprentice, this is witch's wool. A magic resistant fabric that can repel even the most powerful spells, many witches weaved this into clothing for its magical protection. Every witch worth their salt has their hands on this stuff," Eda explained, scooping up a handful for Luz to see up close.
Luz became very interested in the stuff and got close to the shiny string. "Magic protection?"
"Despite your friend's threat to Lilith, the Emperor's Coven is stepping up their attacks. With the Emperor's goons banging on our doorstep, we could use all the protection we can get," Eda said, looking out the window. "They've been attacking more frequently lately."
Luz frowned at that. "It's almost borderline obsessive with what they are doing."
"Obsessive is a good word to describe it all. Since coming into power, Belos has made it his mission to seek out and control all wild magic with his coven system," Eda said as she grew determined, looking to Luz. "He ordered my capture years ago and others like me because I refused to follow his system."
"And he's not gonna stop until he catches you?" Luz said with a bit of worry.
Luz admitted that Eda was powerful, but she was still one person.
"If that's the case. Shouldn't we be better off moving the house and you away to another area for protection?" Luz suggested.
"Oh, don't look so worried. I'm a master escape artist from my years on the run, and the only thing that could slow me down is my curse, but that hasn't bothered me for weeks!" Eda said, throwing her arms in the air.
Black-gray feathers suddenly popped out of Eda's arms, armpits, and hair as she suddenly lost her smile.
"Aw, crap." She said before she began changing into the owl beast.
"Oh... Kriff, KING!" Luz shouted, taking a step back!
"Eh? What's going on-" He said, poking his head in, a nightcap on his head before he noticed Eda beast! "WEH!"
"GET THE ELIXIR!" Luz jumps high and lands on Eda's back.
"RAAH!" The owl beast roars as it tries to buck Luz off. The young Jedi grabbed a handful of feathers as she held on desperately for dear life.
"Oh, this was a bad idea!" Luz cried from her spot between the beast's feathery wings.
Between bucks, Luz lunges for supremacy and straddles upon the beast's neck. Like riding any animal to gain control, she presses her legs against Eda for a grip to keep her from flying off. Eda beast screeched as she began shaking Luz from side to side to throw off the Jedi.
"I. Don't. Feel. So. Good!" Luz said as she felt her breakfast starting to return for vengeance. "Oh, AGggmmm...gulp. Definitely doesn't feel good coming back up."
She held out just long enough as King brought a box full of Eda's elixirs. "Luz! I brought the medicine!"
"Throw me one!" Luz called out as she grabbed Eda's face.
With a grunt, King threw the potion to Luz and watched as she caught it before forcing it down Eda's mouth!
"Down the hatch!" Luz emptied the contents before jumping off and tossing the bottle.
The two watched as the owl beast shutters as the elixir does its magic. But unlike before, when they would see their Eda back to normal, the owl beast stayed in control and looked at Luz with pissed-off eyes. The Jedi felt dread as they had to duck under a sipe from the beast.
"Was that the correct elixir King!" Luz asked as she began to run from the attacking cursed women.
"It was!" King responded back from behind the overturned couch. He brought out the rest of the Owl Lady's stash. "She must need more elixir!"
The beast noticed King and made a grab for him. King squeaked in fear before he found himself mystically pulled away into Luz's awaiting arms. Making the demon sigh in relief. Luz takes the box of extra elixirs from King and sets him down by the kitchen door.
"Stay here out of sight!" Luz said before sprinting at the owl beast.
"You go, sister!" King called out before running.
Luz called upon her connection with the Force with her hands and slowly cupped them together. It looked like she was trying to condense a ball in her hands. In reality, she was using the Force to restrain the owl beast. The Jedi would have attempted to influence the beast to take the medicine, but it was too angry to convince. Now she was going for restrainment.
Eda beast roared as it struggled against the invisible hold while Luz furrowed her brows in frustration. Slowly pulling her hands back before thrusting them forward with the Force made the Owl Beast stumble over in surprise. It rolled onto its back and exposed its belly, giving Luz the needed opportunity. Hopping onto it with two plant glyphs, she summoned multiple green vines that encased the struggling owl monster.
"RAAAH!" Eda beast screamed at the teen's face. The Jedi responded by shutting up the creature by shoving another elixir's contents into the beast's mouth.
Seeing no change, the Jedi poured another elixir, then another. And another.
And another.
And another…
And another...
After reaching the double-digit number of bottles, they see Eda returning to normal. Eda blinked in confusion before spitting out an empty potion bottle. "Phew, thanks for that, kid."
Eda pulled herself out of the vines before noticing them and the other dozen bottles on the floor.
"Oh! And… for those too." Eda said as her scarf came undone and revealed the usually golden gem.
"Hold it right there." Luz pinned the older lady to get a good look at that gemstone. Instead of the usual amber-colored rock that the witch was known to wear all the time, it was now half-filled with a dark substance like a container. "Eda, explanation. Your gem is half-dark! Why?!"
"Uh.. you're seeing things! My gem is fine!" Eda said, moving to quickly cover it!
"Don't lie to me, Eda. I saw it myself and how you didn't change after one elixir! Your curse is getting worse, and now you're trying to hide it, right?!" Luz asked as she pointed an accusing finger at Eda.
Eda sighed in defeat, letting the scarf go and showing her half-dark, half-amber gem.
"You're right, kid. Lately, it's been taking more elixir to hold the curse back and more my magic to keep that beast at bay." Eda said to Luz.
"Meaning that your elixir is not enough. So what happens if you run out of magic and can't hold the beast back?" Luz asked in frustration.
"Well, I won't die. I'll just turn into the Owl Beast… forever." Eda told her in a slightly grim tone before giving a sheepish smile. "It won't be bad per-say. It would just be a fate worse than death. Ahahah!"
"This is no time for jokes, Eda. I've seen you caged up in that form. It's not a pretty sight for me, and I don't want to see that happen to you again. As someone who cares for you, we deserve to know when you have a problem so we can all find a way to fix it," Luz stated firmly.
"Now, don't you worry about your little head. I just need to limit my magic a bit from now on to get a better grip on things." Eda said as she touched Luz's shoulder before pointing to herself. "I just gotta limit my magic a bit, is all. Now come on, where's that smile that makes my day?"
Eda tried pushing a grin up Luz's cheeks, but the young Jedi didn't feel like smiling., and hated how casually Eda was treating this. The witch picked up on this and felt guilt build up.
"Look, I'm sorry this happened. Let's talk this over when you're done with school. Our heads would cool off by then, and then we could settle this." Eda offered in an attempt to calm the Jedi.
"Oh ho, you bet your hide we will settle this. If I wasn't already dedicated to going to Hexside, we'd be on a transport to the medical frigate to have you look over from top to bottom to get this sorted out." Luz had a few ideas she would put forward to help the witch in crisis.
"Whoa... there now. Let's not go breaking out any knives." Eda raised her hands in mock surrender. "If it makes you feel better, we can talk about this after school, okay?" She asked as Luz looked at her.
"You promise?"
"I promise," Eda said with a hand in her gem.
"Hmmm." Luz hummed for a moment before nodding and suddenly hugging Eda. "You better keep your promise."
King ran into the room and started hugging Eda's left leg. "King demands hugs too!" King said, hugging Eda.
The little action from the demon uplifted Luz's previous mood, and she laughed before breaking the hug for school.
"Have a good day!" Eda called out from the doorway!
"I will, Eda! And no magic while I'm gone!" Luz said to her as Eda shut the front door.
Looking towards a blue bush, Luz moved the leaves aside to see Hooty and five wounded Emperor's coven members having… A tea party?
"The roughhousing was fun but I like this part of our play dates even better." Hooty said, holding a pot of tea with his snake-like body and pouring it.
The tea spilled on the ground as one of the five wounded members tried to crawl away, but Hooty wouldn't let him. This scenery made Luz move away from the bush slowly, disturbed by Hooty's "play date" before she took off running to Hexside in a panic. As quick as she could, Luz hopped on her speeder bike and launched herself towards school.
Along the way, her mind tried to distance itself from Hooty and focused on the owl beast and everything she could think of about it. The teen remembered the time after the conjuring when she tried to calm the beast down in the dungeon. When Eda was in that state, Luz figured it was the primal side of the witch, but when she got close, it felt like a whole different entity.
"Two minds in one body. Magic is something else..." Luz muttered silently as she rode.
Luz arrived at Hexside and rode up to the school's stables, where other students rode beasts to school. Dismounting and storing her speeder in an unattended corner. Luz spots Viney caring for Puddles as she sets him up in his stall and decides to approach them.
"Hey, Viney," Luz greeted the multi-track girl.
"Hello, Luz." Viney greeted her. Puddles sees Luz and squawks at her.
Luz laughs softly in amusement and pets the grown beast. "And good morning to you too, Puddles."
The griffin leans into Luz's hand as he chirps happily at her touch.
"How did you report on the spidercows go?" Viney asked as they walked out of the stables together.
"I think I did pretty good on it. I understand that these creatures are significant producers of products for the food economy as they help contribute most of the baby food made throughout the Isles. So I've got this in the bag," Luz loosely explained. The duo made it to the front of the school to see a strange flying ship. Several students mingled around it as Principal Bump held a clipboard going over something she couldn't see.
"What's with the transport bus? Is there a field trip scheduled today that I wasn't made aware of?" Luz asked. This may have been true as she has missed a few school days due to her other obligations.
"That's right... You missed the announcement in class that day." Viney confirmed Luz's assumption. "Principal Bump surprised everyone that he got permission to send a group from our school to tour the Emperor's castle."
"We're heading there... today?!" The news set a cold chill up the girl's spine. With good reason, as she was living with the most wanted witch on the Isles. The coven knows that Luz and Eda have a connection with one another. One wrong move could spell disaster.
They got closer to the transport, where Luz spotted her other friends.
"Luz, you ready for the field trip of a lifetime to the one, the only, Emperor's Castle!" Gus said excitedly.
"Yeah, I may have to step out for this trip. Not exactly a fan of the head coven at the moment," Luz said with caution in her voice.
Gus then proceeded to shove a book in Luz's face. "But you're gonna miss out on all the cool stuff!"
Luz takes the book and looks it over. "Like what?
Willow comes over and flips a few pages to one that shows what looks like a hand prosthetic made of wood. "Like ancient relics! Look, it's the Plant Coven's Green Thumb Gauntlet! It can grow whatever you imagine." The Plant Witch was looking at it with glee as the book showed a picture of regular trees captioned "BEFORE" and the "AFTER" section, where the treetops now act as heads, they all have arms and abs, and one is holding an owl's nest.
Gus then comes back and flips the page to show a white-pink sphere. "And the Oracle Sphere! It shows you which path will help you become your best self!"
Luz smiled at the young witch's enthusiasm before another picture caught her eyes. A royal blue pointed hat and brim with a gold band around the cone. An image of an open hand on a patch stuck out of its side.
"The healing hat. Made from the magic of the Savage Ages. It is said to cure the deadliest diseases... and heal any curse?!" Luz snatches the book from Gus for a better look.
This was it! A way to rid of Eda's curse and restore her back to normal.
"All aboard, students!" Bump called out.
The others head for the ship while Luz looks at the article of the healing hat. "You helped me when I was at my lowest, Eda. Now it's my turn to return the favor."
Luz joined the other students before they took off. While they traveled, the Jedi reviewed everything she could think of to get that hat. She didn't doubt that it would be under heavy guard with some kind of magic protecting everything. Assuming it was a castle, doing any frontal assault would be costly if not outright suicide. So a silent approach was required for this mission.
She was so focused on her current development that she almost missed her name being called out.
"Luz?" A voice called out, bringing the Jedi out of her mind.
Looking at the person next to her was Luz's student/girlfriend, Amity. This surprised her as she must have retreated so far in her head to not notice her presence.
"Oh, Amity! Sorry, I didn't hear you. What were you saying?"
Amity gave her a concerned look. "I asked if you were alright. You were just sitting there with a focused face that made you look like a statue." She explained to her. "You want to talk about it? You can talk to me if you need to vent."
The offer made Luz give a small smile at Amity's caring nature. "Thank you. As for my problem...It's Eda... She has an issue that has been bothering her for a long time. Today, I learned that the problem got a lot worse. I want to help her, but she's too stubborn to accept it and it worries me. She's done so much for me and asked little in return. I want to help, but I don't know what I can do."
Amity nodded along as she got the gist of it. "I understand. But you also have to realize that Eda knows what she is doing and wants to keep you from worrying about her. I'm sure she will come around eventually."
"Yeah...I guess you are right on that. Doesn't mean I won't stop worrying though," Luz responded.
"Of course not. Your heart always goes out to help others. It is what I love about you." Amity admitted that made the Jedi snap her head to the witch.
"Love?" Luz felt her cheeks become warm like she never knew they could do. Meanwhile, Amity realized what she had just said made her whole face a big blushing mesh.
"I meant like! Yes, like. You are a very likable person. Anyone that knows you would no doubt like you after meeting you the first time! Oh! Looke there, a castle!" Amity panics and points out past Luz. Trying her best to change the subject, no matter how much her heart pounded in happiness.
And indeed, there was a castle. Specifically the Emperor's castle at that. The structure stood tall from the center of a chasm or deep moat located around the Titan's upper torso. The building itself had multiple layers of primitive battlements. Banners of the Emperors sigil decorated the walls. A single crossway stretched across the chasm, showing the only visible entrance to the fortress.
Principle Bump angled the ship down and landed at the castle's entrance before ushering everyone off. "Now, the Emperor's assistant, Kikimora, will be your tour guide. Don't make me regret taking you here," The educator warned.
The castle gates opened wide, and a short demon came walking out. The demon had red skin and appeared to be a young female. She was shorter than Gus and had a childlike appearance. Her arms and legs had three toes and dark brown talons resembling those of a bird. Only her left eye was visible, which had a yellow sclera and a brownish-red iris. Her hair was styled in a bun that looked like two hands connected at the wrist, with the top resembling a closed fist.
"Children of Hexside, Emperor Belos welcomes you to his castle. We're honored by your visit. Soon you will be part of a coven; a few may even find their home here, at the Emperor's coven!" Kikimora told the group, "You are the future of the Isles, and it's my responsibility to ensure that you are familiar with its history." She then led them inside.
Some of the students were visibly excited at that and began commenting happily to one another. Even Amity was drawn in the excitement as it was a long-time dream to join a strong coven. Something they all wanted in life.
As Kikimora and the students walked through the castle's hallway, guards stood on either side, saluting them. Meanwhile, other people walked on overpasses. The castle walls were adorned with tapestries, murals, and statues to depict the tales of the Boiling Isles.
"Today, the Isles are a place of peace and prosperity, but it wasn't always like this," Kikimora said as they came to their first stop, a mural portraying witches dancing around a fire and casting magic freely. "50 years ago, during what we call "the Savage Ages," witches and demons practiced wild magic without direction or purpose. They used corrupted knowledge of magicks that displeased the Titan."
Kikimora continued to tell the history of the isles to her classmates. Luz was only partially paying attention while she tried to mentally map out the castle's layout and make mental notes of anything useful. Window locations, ventilation ports, and guard patrol sizes. Anything to gain an edge in what she hoped to get that hat.
Then the Jedi blinked in sudden realization at what she was doing and everything she's done these last few months. Breaking Eda out of prison, stealing lightsabers out of the Jedi Temple, murder of military officers, and stealing multiple capital-grade starships. Now she was planning out a heist to steal some magic healing headwear.
If the Jedi council could see her now, they would believe she had fallen to the dark side and strip her of her status as a Jedi and Republic officer. Lock her up for the crimes and never see the light of day. All for a witch that likes to pickpocket and badly con people for their money. Life sure was strange, that was for sure.
Luz was returned to the present just in time to hear Kikimora's next part of the tour. "Our next stop is the Emperor's personal collection, the sacred relics of the covens."
"Oh Luz, you'll like this! Come on!" Willow said as she, Gus, and Amity hurried to catch up with the tour group.
"Right behind you guys." Luz said, taking one last look at the witches "celebrating" Belos' power.
But it didn't look like they were celebrating, if anything the way all the witches and demons held their arms up in front of them made it look like they were shielding themselves from an attack. And there's the way they were colored. Rather than be an assortment of colors they were lifeless gray making them look like stone statues, why was that? It made the painting more sinister looking.
'I got a bad feeling about this place.' Luz thought as she ran to catch up with the group.
Kikimora guided them to the relic room and opened the doors to reveal a spacious area with 8 pedestals. Each pedestal held a floating item, known as a relic, with a beam of light shining down upon it in some glorious fashion. Each artifact represented a theme from a coven. Luz recognized the Green Thumb Gauntlet from the Plant Coven, the Oracle Sphere from the Oracle Coven, and her target, the Healing Hat from the Healing Coven.
"Behold, the Relic Room. These items are reminders of our great Emperor's overwhelming power." Kikimora said as she gestured to the Oracle Sphere. "From the curious and mighty."
"Oooh!" Gus said in awe of the sphere.
"The resourceful and handy," Kikimora said as she gestured to the Green Thumb Gauntlet.
"Wow. I could grow such beautiful plants with that," Willow said with small stars in her eyes.
"To even the extremely rare and valuable," Kimora said, pointing to the Healing Hat.
Luz stares at the hat with a critical eye. It was just sitting there in a way that anyone could take it. Knowing its location, a plan would take place when she separates herself from the group.
"Luz, you have to see this!" Before her thoughts can continue on the heist, her girlfriend grabs her by the arm and drags her to the pedestal with a glass ball with a golden stopper filled with an ethereal purple liquid. It was memorizing in its own way, and Amity looked enchanted by it.
"What's this?" Luz asked her girlfriend.
"This Luz is vile of Primordial Clay. Made by mixing special and extinct substances from around the Titan in such a way that it is now lost to time. It is said it can make a hundred abominations with the amount it takes for an average Witch to summon a small abomination!"
Amity grasped her hands in front of her face with eyes twinkling like stars! "I... could make an army whenever I want without preparation."
The sight made the young Jedi throw a hand over her mouth to keep her from laughing. Her girlfriend was so being so cute at this moment that she didn't want to make any noise to bring attention to herself and embarrass her. Stars, she wishes she could take a picture of Amity without being noticed.
"Come along, children. Our next stop in the tour awaits," Kikimora said as she began leading the children out of the Relics room.
The group moved down a corridor of torches and tapestries with the coven symbols, along with a few statues of Belos to pass by.
"Here at the Emperor's Coven, we require members with the highest sophistication, elegance, and grace," Kikimora explained as they went.
A large door opened to the right of the group. Standing in the doorway was Lilith, the head witch of the Emperor's Coven, with leaves in her disheveled hair and a feather near her mouth. She spits out feathers and makes her staff vanish before walking down the corridor. Luz quickly side steps behind Amity, hiding out of Lilith's direct sight as the rest of the group steps out of her path.
"Ahh! Students, make way for Miss Lilith Clawthorne. The head of our coven." Kikimora said with her eyes shut as Lilith stopped in front of the group.
"Oh my gosh, it's her! The head of the coven! She's even cooler in person!" The students said, minus four.
Gus and Willow because they remember what happened at the Covention, Luz because she was hiding from her, and Amity because after the Covention, she found it hard to trust anything with Lilith. The Blight girl clenched her fist in anger, hating how she felt that day before she felt someone slip their hand in hers.
"Hey, it's alright," Luz whispered, making Amity gasp a bit as she met her gaze. "Remember, breathe. I got you."
A spike of pain and anger in the Force alerted Luz over to her girlfriend and saw the pained expression adorn her face, probably from seeing her mentor and still feeling the sting of betrayal. Luz knew what that felt like and did not blame her one bit for this and made it known through the Force.
Amity felt her calming presence and took a slow deep breath before leaning closer to Luz.
"Thank you," Amity whispered, smiling.
"Yes, if I'm right, Miss Lilith is on her way to see the Emperor herself. Let us all wish her luck," Kikimora said, secretly embarrassing Lilith.
"Good luck, Ms. Lilith." They said as Lilith blushed away from their faces.
She took a breath and remained professional for their young minds.
"Thank you, students. Good luck with puberty," she said before she continued walking.
"This way, children," Kikimora said as everyone began walking their way again.
Everyone but Luz. She had other options in mind as she turned her gaze to the direction where Lilith disappeared too. If she was going to talk to Belos right now, it must be about the failed attack on the house this morning.
'If they're going to talk about another attack on the house, I have to warn Eda. I may have to signal Pit for air support or extraction if things worsen.' Luz thought as she let go of Amity's hand and ran off after Lilith!
'Luz?' Amity thought as her girlfriend suddenly let go, running off before she could react or see where.
Luz quickly found Lilith and followed the head witch from a distance as they traveled through the castle. Going down corridors and up flights of stone stairs. There was more than one incident where the Padawan had to hide from a patrol going in the opposite direction. Luz noticed the walls getting thicker around the support beams as further down they went. Meaning they were around the center of the palace.
Luz trailed behind Lilith until they reached a spacious hallway that led to a set of double doors adorned with touches and metallic pipes of an unknown function. As Lilith turned her head, Luz quickly retreated after peeking around the corner. She didn't want to be caught following her. Peeking again, Luz saw Lilith facing the doors and fixing her hair.
As Lilith opened the doors to the room beyond, a dark and sickening presence made itself known to Luz through the Force. So strong that it made her throw a hand over her mouth from the shock at the sudden feeling of losing her last meal.
'By the Force! What is that?!' Nothing in the demon realm had ever come close to making her feel this way. It was like the Force was sick and pleaded for help. Not even the dark times in the war could ever make her feel this.
Hearing the doors shut against her better judgment and a warning through the Force, Luz held herself, pushed the feelings aside, and moved to the door. Seeing a keyhole she could look through, she peered into the room.
Upon seeing the room, one can immediately spot a large throne where a person in a golden-horned mask sits, with guards surrounding him. Overhead, many pipes connected to a green, pulsing heart above two burning braziers. One of the guards, positioned behind the throne on the leaders' left side, stands out due to their golden owl mask, in discrepancy to the crow masks worn by the rest of the coven. Lilith approaches the throne and kneels before him.
"I am at your service, Emperor Belos," Lilith said. The room had enough echo for the human girl to hear from behind the door.
"So that's Emperor Belos," Luz said as she gazed at the most powerful political witch on the Titan.
And the source of her bad feeling.
"One moment, Lilith." Belos said as he took deep breaths.
A guard moved to bring something to Belos on a tray.
Luz narrowed her eyes in morbid curiosity as Belos picked it up, letting her get only a blurry glance, but it was enough to see what it was. 'A palisman?'
What happened next shook Luz to the core as Belos dug his finger into it and cracked the head off. Pouring its green essence, its magic, into the eye holes of his mask as a sigh of relief escaped his throat.
"Ahhh, much better." He said as his eyes flashed bright green.
Luz backed away from the door in surprise, shook, and disgusted at what she just witnessed. The madman just ATE a palisman! Absorb its magic in him like the sun on skin.
A spike of fear, real FEAR, emanated from her heart. One she hadn't felt since order 66 or when her first master died.
Believing she had seen enough to know staying here was a bad idea, Luz turned tail and ran. Backtracking as best she could to the relic room, for she was going to get that healing hat and get the heck out of this place. She didn't care if she called in Pit to send the fleet down to pick her up as long as it didn't involve her being around that monster of an Emperor. After a few minutes of running, Luz stopped near a window to catch her breath and think again about what she just witnessed.
But it wasn't just that. It was also about what Luz sensed through the Force that gripped her heart. When Belos cracked open the palisman and exposed its magical essence, the wooden totem screamed in pain that riveted through the Force before being silenced forever.
"He's the leader of the Boiling Isles?! This is crazy, even on a bad day. And those guys still follow him!" Luz wasn't happy, and memories of all the talks she spent with Eda and discussing the lifelong bonds witches have with them. "Just what kind of witch is he?"
As Luz's mind raced, she looked out the window to see her class was leaving the castle. The tour was over, the class was returning to Hexside, and she... was with them?
"What, huh?" Luz said as she leaned closer, seeing herself standing with Gus, Willow, and Amity as the bridge extended them back to the bus carriage. She then noticed that Luz turned to face her and stuck her tongue out mockingly at her. This stupefied the Jedi before feeling she felt her shoulder tapped by someone.
Jumping into action, Luz pulls out and ignites her lightsaber.
"Whoa, Luz, calm down. It's just us!"
Luz stopped whatever attack she would do as she noticed Amity, Willow, and Gus in front of her. Amity and Willow were making calming motions with their hands while Gus was spinning four blue illusion magic circles.
"Guys, what are you doing here?" Luz quickly shuts off her weapon.
"We should be the ones asking you that. What are you thinkin, trying to steal the Healing Hat?" Willow asked and caught the Jedi flat-footed.
"How did you guys know?" Luz asked.
"I told them," Amity admitted. "After you broke off the group, I told Willow and Gus what was happening between you and Eda. We brainstormed on what it could be, and that was one of two ideas that stuck out to us. Luz, what are you doing? Why break off from the tour group and sneak around the Emperor's castle?"
Luz bit the inside of her cheek at her sudden situation. She could deny the allegations and tell them it doesn't concern them. They would likely not take this down and be emotionally hurt by it. Luz couldn't do that, not after the times they've been through together. Especially Amity and Willow, as they risked much to fix her head. She owed them that much, and Gus would probably cry if she denied him, and witnessing the young witch boy cry was not something she was eager to see.
"Okay, you caught me. I came here to steal the Healing Hat from the castle's relic room," Luz admitted, surprising her friends. "When Eda was a kid, someone put a curse on her without her knowing. Now if she doesn't drink a special elixir daily, she turns into a big ferial Owl Beast. Lately, her curse is getting stronger, making those elixirs less than adequate. By using the Healing Hat that is said to heal any curse, we can get rid of Eda's and have her get an ordinary life...Well, as ordinary as one like Eda could get."
"Look, Luz, we get why you are doing this, but you can't steal the Healing Hat," Willow said.
"But you can borrow it?" Gus said with a sly smile.
"Hey, I wanted to say that!" Willow wined.
Amity rolled her eyes playfully at the two. "I still don't see the difference between the two, but it's not a crime if we don't get caught."
Luz looked at each of her friends with disbelief. "Let me see this straight, you guys wanna commit a crime with me?"
"It's for a good cause. Besides, we're totally going to help you," Willow said with a wide smile.
Luz felt touched by this and brought them all in a hug. "Thanks, guys. Even if I said "No," you would still follow me regardless."
Amity huffed at the Jedi's observation. "You got that right. As your girlfriend, if you had done this without me, you would be sleeping on the couch."
The touching moment was ruined as Luz looked at Amity in confusion. "Why would I be sleeping on the couch? I have a bed to sleep in."
Amity went silent while her face went atomically red at what she just said. Looking over at Gus and Willow, Gus looked just as confused as their Jedi friend was, and Willow was sending the most kriff-eating-smile at Abomination Witch.
Luz decided to get them back on track. "Since you guys won't go away, let's start this heist. And I think I know where to start." Luz said with a smirk. "Also, out of curiosity, what was the other idea you thought I was doing?"
Amity was about to reply, saying not to worry about it, but Gus beat her to it. "Stealing documents for your plans to invade the isles, destroy the Emperor, and rule over the titan yourself," Gus said offhandedly.
Luz didn't know how to react to that while Amity and Willow shot annoying looks at the witch boy.
The quartet excellently maneuvered through the labyrinthine corridors of the coven castle, skillfully evading detection. They cleverly utilized potted plants as inconspicuous cover, donned coven disguises to seamlessly blend in with the guards, crawled through the air ducts with effortless precision, and masterfully conjured an illusion of Kikimora to distract and divert attention away from their true objective. Their hard work and dedication paid off as they ultimately reached the coveted relic room, where Luz could triumphantly claim her prize.
"The Healing Hat. Your Eda's last hope." Luz takes the magic hat in hand and feels her skin tingle at its touch. "Whoa... I can feel the magic flowing through me. It's amazing!"
"Me too!" Gus had gone over and picked up the Oracle Sphere from its pedestal. "Finally, I can see the road to becoming my best self."
Using the orb, a blue copy of Gus appeared beside him and leaned to his ear. "You're always your best self." Copy Gus whispered into his ear.
This made Gus emotional. He began crying into his shirt sleeve as his copy pats him on the back.
"Gus put that back! You shouldn't be playing with it." Amity said to him before Willow grabbed the Green Thumb Gauntlet. "Willow!"
Willow had a guilty smile before making a large, muscular tree arm, which flexes intensely before returning to the glove. "Sorry, just wanted to try it once," she said before returning the gauntlet.
Amity deadpans her childhood friend while Luz puts a hand over her mouth and stiffens a laugh at the cute moment. The Jedi then gasps in surprise, drawing Amity's attention.
"What's wrong?" Amity asked before looking at where her Jedi girlfriend was staring at it. It was just her hand, plane, ordinary... and scar free.
The Abomination Witch gasped in shock at getting the meaning and took her girlfriend's hand into her own. Looking it over, there were no longer the burn marks from their witch's duel. It was soft and clean instead of the ugly magical burn she put there. "It's gone..."
"Guess that proves the Healing Hat's namesake." Luz sets the Healing Hat over her head before looking into Amity's eyes that looked like she was about to cry. "We will talk about this later. Right now, we should leave before anyone knows the hat's gone."
A voice suddenly rang in all their ears, freezing them in place as a voice echoed in their minds.
"I would know."
'Belos!.' Luz thought, remembering that voice.
"We need to leave. Now." Luz said to her friends and girlfriend, backing to a door.
Suddenly, both doors to the relic room were covered in iron barricades! Trapping them inside!
"Huh!" Gus' and Willow gasped as Amity shouted, "No!"
Luz hands the Healing hat to Amity. "Keep this safe," she instructed.
"Luz, what are you planning?" Amity asked.
"Getting this door open. You three be ready to move." With her hands raised, Luz reached out with the Force around the door and pushed up. The gate raised from the ground slowly before there was enough clearance to pass under. "Go!"
Willow and Gus moved instantly and went to the other side. Amity hesitated for a moment before following behind. Once the three were on the other side, they waited for Luz.
"We're clear, come on!" Gus shouted.
Luz gritted her teeth as she suddenly found herself struggling with the gate. Something was working against her, pushing it down. Like it didn't want her to go.
"Don't worry, I'm right behind you, guys," Luz assured as she slowly inched forward.
"I'm afraid you, little thieves, aren't going anywhere."
Luz turned her head back and saw a white raven staff pointed at her face.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Edalyn's human apprentice," Lilith said as she smiled darkly. "How fortuitous. It seems the Titan has granted me an opportunity I need with you here."
Looking over to the others over at the gate, Lilith saw that the ones with Luz were Willow, Gus, and Amity, much to her surprise.
'Amity?! What is she doing here?!' Lilith thought in shock, seeing her student with the human and holding the Healing Hat.
Thinking quickly, Luz throws her hands down and closes the gate separating Amity, Willow, and Gus from Luz and Lilith.
"Luz!" Her friends shouted from the other side of the gate.
"Get that hat to Eda! I'll hold Lilith off." Luz ordered.
"No! We're not leaving you!" Amity shouted. She summoned some abomination goo to try and lift the gate, but it wouldn't budge.
Luz smiled confidently. "Don't worry about me. I'll find my own way."
The two locked eyes as if they were sending silent messages to one another. But it was interrupted by Lilith approaching them.
"None of you will be leaving if I have anything to say about it." Lilith sent forth a wave of blue fire toward the human.
Luz used the Force to repulse it away. Turning back to her friends, she used a Force Push to send them away from the gate!
"Luz!" Her friends shouted in fright.
"I'm sorry." Luz reached out for the doors and drew them in, closing the relic room from the rest.
The Jedi ignored her friend's pleas as they banged on the door. As she turned around to face the head witch, the older woman looked at the teen with a raised eyebrow.
"Sacrificing yourself to save your friends? How noble for a human." Lilith observed.
"It's one of my best quirks." Luz drew and ignited her yellow lightsaber. "Now get ready to see my worst."
"Luz! Luz! LUZ!" Amity banged on the door. She summoned an abomination goo fist and started punching the door.
"She locked us out. We can't get through!" Gus stated as he looked over the door.
"Luz locked herself in with the Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven. Come on, we need to leave!" Willow told them.
"But what about Luz? We can't leave her here." Gus shouted in dismay.
"I don't like it either, but we need to go." Willow approached and gripped her shoulder, which made the green hair girl stop. "We have to get this hat to Eda right away. If we can heal her of her curse, she will have the power to free Luz. We've seen Luz face worst odds. She can take care of herself."
The green-haired witch clenched her fists in frustration. Amity knew Willow was right about Luz, but it did not mean she liked it. Turning away from the door with reluctance, the three silently vowed to bring back help to their trapped friend.
The Head Witch and Jedi exchanged a fierce magic battle inside the relic room.
Luz used her superior athletic abilities over Lilith to get in close with her lightsaber. While the Head Witch weaving her spellcraft around herself to keep the Jedi from approaching her with its deadly weapon. Luz jumped, cartwheeled, and somersaulted over magic blasts while throwing a few fire glyphs she had for emergencies. Lilith spun her staff to block the attacks. She didn't flinch at them before launching a small fireball at Luz. While Luz slapped a plant glyph on the floor, a tree trunk sprung up and shielded her.
"I expected more from Edalyn's human pet."
"And I expected better from Eda's evil sister that serves a jacked system."
It was true for both parties.
Lilith needed only to incapacitate the human to draw her sister. Killing her pet would make things more problematic for her sister to join.
Luz was holding back due to not wanting to permanently hurt the older witch on the account that she was Eda's sister. Another was she was trying to buy time for Willow, Amity, and Gus to escape.
Luz threw a trio of ice glyphs in the air. The ice shaped up from the magic and turned into big spikes.
Lilith back peddled away from the attacks as they impacted against the floor. "Edalyn has also been passing her corrupted ideas onto you."
"She has made a compelling assertion about your system of government while also doing some digging of my own." Luz hid behind the burnt-out tree and pulled out her pen and notepad to make more glyphs. She didn't have much at the start of the fight and had been throwing so many that she was almost out. "And after everything I've witnessed. I'm inclined to agree."
"You have no authority to judge our ways, human." Lilith approached Luz with her raven staff held up like a spear. She drew a spell circle and sent a destructive magic blast. Luz hoped out of the way before fanning three fire glyphs.
"Oh really? Then how about you slapping Amity's neck with that power glyph before our Witches duel." The Jedi threw the magic cards around Lilith and created a firewall.
"I put that there because I knew my sister would cheat!" Lilith tapped her staff, and the fire was extinguished. She quickly ducked back to avoid the swipe of the lightsaber, only to gasp from the sudden pain in her stomach as Luz back sidekicks her.
"Eda had complete faith in me, unlike you with Amity." Luz brought her saber up readily. "Makes me wonder if you cheated a lot to get where you are now."
Luz appeared to have triggered something as Lilith suddenly got very angry. She summoned a wall of magic that was too big and coming too fast for the young Jedi to doge. Unprepared for this level of attack, Luz attempted to use the Force to at least divert its path away from her but failed as Luz underestimated its strength, sending her flying into the wall. The stone was unforgivable to Luz's body as she slammed back first before her head bounced off it, causing a slight concussion for the girl. Luz fell and flopped on the floor.
Glancing up, Luz saw that she had lost grip of her lightsaber and had rolled in front of her. She raised her hand to reach for it before another came and plucked it out of the ground. Luz looked up to see Lilith's glaring face with her lightsaber in hand.
"Know your place." Before Luz could respond, Lilith drew a spell circle.
'I hope I gave them enough time,' Her last thoughts were before the spell his and blackness set in.
Over in the Owl House, Eda was sitting happily in her living room, knitting a purple and blue cloth from the witches' wool.
Eda felt a sense of contentment at the moment. Something she hadn't had much of in the last thirty years since her curse first manifested. Probably was Luz's doing. That kid has a knack for throwing chaos into her world, and Eda loved every day of it. Crashing shows, stealing spaceships, making her a wanted multi-planetary criminal! Ha! The thought of half the things Luz had would never have occurred to her were it not for meeting Luz.
Not only that, but Eda's heart also went out to the kid she had come to care for deeply while resenting the ones who raised her.
The more Eda heard Luz talk about the Jedi Order, the witch couldn't help but compare it to Emperors Coven with how they do things. And that war! Making a young teenager lead grown men into battles on a scale that would scare many in the Demon Realm. The clones under the kid's command would be more than a match for anyone in this world.
She wouldn't be sad that her order was gone, but she also had to thank them. Like how would her life be like now without Luz in it?
Before the mental question could be answered, King came in with a big cake that dwarfed the demon. The little guy had been working in the kitchen all morning, wanting to surprise Luz. "Check it out, Eda! Luz isn't the only one with magic talent."
Hootie popped his annoying head through an open window.
"Eye spy with my little eye, something coming this way."
A big smile sprung from her face. "Luz!"
"Weh?! Quick, put me inside!" King grabbed the stool, and the top popped open like a container.
Ignoring the cute sight from the little demon to the door. Eda expected a worn-out Jedi at her door. Instead, she saw Luz's two friends and girlfriend, with Boots looking like she was about two steps away from crying. In her hands was a strange hat in her hands.
"Eda, we have some bad news..." Willow said.
Eda looks at the three before a sound of a loud impact on the ground behind the teens. Turning around, they saw a white staff implanted into the ground.
Eda glares at it.
On the castle bridge, Lilith awaited her sister while the Emperor's Coven watched from windows and perches. News of her plan spread, using the Owl Lady's apprentice to draw her out and defeat her in a Witches Duel like at the Convention. This time, she would be surrounded with nowhere to run.
"Come on, Eda. Why must you be late for important events?" Lilith said to herself as she looked up, seeing Belos standing on top of the battlements to watch the duel.
As if hearing her call, a flash of magic appeared as Eda materialized in midair, brandishing her staff, her angry eyes fixed on Lilith as lightning crackled around her.
'Aw, perfect timing.' Lilith thought as she smirked.
That is until Eda throws Lilith's staff, which barely misses her head and crashes into the castle wall, leaving a crater. Lilith briefly checks herself before refocusing on her angry sister.
"Edalyn! So good of you for accepting my invitation to a Witches Duel." Lilith said.
Her sister said nothing as she floated down and landed on the bridge. Her eyes never left her sister's sight.
"Where's my kid?" Eda demanded her sister.
Lilith felt a wave of cold blow over her, having never been talked that way by her sister before.
"She is fine." With a spin and a tap of her staff, Luz was brought out in a blue magic bubble. Shows the Jedi in a poor state as an untreated head wound has revealed itself, and a decent amount of blood has stained her school uniform. The jolt had woken Luz from a spell induce sleep to see Eda out of a blue haze.
"Eda?" Luz said as she raised her hand to reach out for her.
Lilith looked at the human and felt her body cringe at the poor sight of the human. She had done more to the human than she thought and put herself in a poor light with her sister. Looking back at Eda, Lilith couldn't have been more right in the situation. Eda looked enraged by Luz's condition. Never in memory had Lilith seen such anger from her younger sister.
Eda points Owlbert at Lilith. "You will release her at once!"
"You can have her back, provided you accept my demands," Lilith said as she walked in front of Luz. "Turn yourself in and join the Emperor's Coven! He can heal your curse if you just submit to his order."
"Don't believe everything that bonehead tells you. He doesn't want to heal me. He wants to control me," Eda said to her.
"Then I will have to take you in by force!" Lilith readied her staff to fight.
Eda's expression changed to a confident smile.
"You know, Lily, for years, you've always looked down on me because I chose the path of a wild witch," Eda said as she began channeling her magic. "But unfortunately for you, that made me work harder than you!"
With a forceful slam of her staff, she summoned an owl aura showcasing her magic to all and charged at Lilith, knocking her down. Spectators were transfixed as Eda teleported behind her sister, swiftly deflecting her attack and forcefully pushing her away. Lilith quickly disappears to dodge Eda's swing and reappears behind Eda, who disappears again to kick Lilith away and chase after her!
Luz observed with intensity as Eda and Lilith soared through the sky, their radiant golden and blue lights illuminating the atmosphere from within the magic bubble. The display of powerful spells being thrown around was something awe-inspiring.
Even in her semi-concussed state, Luz needed to get out of her prison and help Eda. Patting around her body, she found neither her lightsaber, writing supplies, nor her comlink. So cutting or blasting her way out of this bubble would be challenging, and she can't even call for support from the clones.
Luz looked back at the fight just in time to observe as Lilith aimed her magic at the protective bubble.
"Kriff!" Luz cursed as her world was thrown around in random directions as the bubble rolled down the bridge and toward the edge.
"Luz!" Eda prevents Luz from falling off the bridge by redirecting the boards. Lilith drops down, and Eda summons a Hooty Hydra to wrap Lilith up while spinning her staff and sending a giant blast at her. Lilith tries to use Luz as a shield, but Eda redirects the bolt, missing them both.
Eda growled at how dirty, how dishonorable this fight was going. Witch's duels were supposed to be something sacred between just the two parties, and here her sister was dragging someone defenseless into it to be a shield. If her sister had been anyone else, the Emperor's coven would be arresting her for this, yet they stayed back under the watchful eyes of their beloved ruler.
Eda's participation in cheating during a witch's duel could be excused to some extent. However, her sister's actions of taking a child hostage in order to cheat have left Eda feeling quite uneasy.
"Stop hiding behind Luz, you coward!"
"It's sad to see you slowing down, sister. Tell me, is it the curse?" Lilith tried to provoke Eda, hoping to make her angry and lose focus, causing her to act impulsively.
Eda growls, sounding half Owl Beast. The darkness in her gem grows.
Luz gasps at seeing this. 'Did the healing hat not work?!'
"Eda, your gem!" Luz called out to her in worry through the bubble, banging it with her fists, but it muffled the sound.
"Maybe it is the curse. But how pathetic are you that you can't best me at my worst?!" Eda spins her staff and summons a dozen rings of magic, creating an oversupply of lightning bolts to point at Lilith, who moved the Jedi out of the way and made a force field.
Luz looked around, gasping as she saw a spike nearby. Seeing her way out. Luz rolled up to the rock. After several attempts, the bubble finally popped, and Amity landed on her back, giving a small cry from her injured back.
"Maybe you are stronger than me, but that made me work smarter! I became smart, crafty!" Lilith sneered, hoisting up her staff, attempting to keep her barriers up.
"I am better than you!" Eda declared angrily, preparing one final strike against her sister's slowly shattering shield spell.
"THEN WHY WERE YOU SO EASY TO CURSE?!"
Lilith's retort reverberated throughout the battlefield, the words cutting like a sharp blade with the sole purpose of inflicting pain. All movement froze, and every onlooker held their breath. Even the Coven Guards stationed on the castle walls ceased to breathe. In Eda's mind, a dream she had been having for thirty years came back with clarity. What was before a black shade turned into her sister from all those years ago. Eda stood motionless, finally assembling the final pieces of the puzzle that spanned three decades.
Luz gasped in shock, covering her mouth with both her hands.
Lilith covered her mouth in shame as her darkest secret was revealed. "A-and I have the power to cure it if you'd just let me explain!"
Eda remained motionless, her arms still extended from the completed charging spell that slowly dissipated into the surrounding breeze. A sudden chill crept throughout her body, like she had been submerged in a freezing winter lake. Slowly standing up straight, a cold furry etched in her eyes.
"No. No more talking. Lilith...For years I have been alone, left in silence to suffer for no reason. Wondering every day that this would be the day that the beast would beat me and take over forever. All this time, I've wondered what I did to deserve this curse. Out of all the people I suspected that did this to me, never did it cross my mind that it was my sister who I would have sacrificed my life to protect. Never did I suspect my family was behind my suffering. Guess you really do belong." Eda said as her hand trembled.
"Edalyn… I didn't mean for this to happen." Lilith tried to speak but her words would reach.
"No, the time for talking has passed, and to act now would be a waste of effort. We're done, Lilith." Eda declared before turning her back on her former sister. "Luz, let's go home."
This act shocked Lilith and Luz, the latter sensing much anger and conflict from Eda. Worried about her mentor's mental health, Luz moved as quickly as she could in her state. The head witch saw Luz move toward her sister and an opportunity presented itself. Lilith coated Luz in blue magic and made her halt mid-step.
"What the!" Luz said, looking back to Lilith.
"Human. That orb was for your protection."
Lilith moves Luz over the edge of the bridge and throws her off.
"Luz!" Eda shouted. Using her staff, she blasted Lilith away before drawing a spell circle with her free hand to levitate the Jedi before she could get impaled. Eda tried with all of her might to get Luz back up. But launching those two spells was draining her.
"Eda, stop. You'll run out of magic!" Luz shouted, floating above a pit of spiked rocks.
"It's my power, kid. And before you showed up, I spent my whole life wasting it." Eda confessed with gritted teeth. Lilith floated nearby, pointing her own magic to push Luz both down toward the spikes.
Seeing this, Eda keeled, sat her staff down, and reached inside her hair. Rooting around her, she found what she was looking for and pulled out what Luz recognized as a Republic standard flare gun.
"More human junk, Eda. And what are you planning with that dear sister?" Lilith taunted.
"Send in the Clones." Eda pointed it upwards and fired off a flare.
Everyone watches as the world glows red as the flare flies to clouds. Everyone waited with bated breaths to see what would happen next. The light was enough distraction for Lilith that Eda took advantage of it and pulled the Jedi into her arms.
Luz hugged the witch in relief. "Good thinking on the flare. Where did you get it?"
Eda huffed like she ran a marathon but managed a sly grin. "Made a stop at the school before coming here."
"The school. Hexside?"
Her answer came in the form of a familiar sound of a repulsor engine. Looking up, she watched just as a LAAT dropship burst from the cloud ceiling towards the castle. Its twin forward-facing guns blared and peppered its stone walls. Many in the coven guard took cover while others ran. The few with enough discipline took to the fortress's defenses and began loading catapults and charging spells.
"Those soldiers sure are handy to have around, am I right?" Eda said at the sight of the ruined castle.
"They sure are. Now let's get out of here." Luz agreed.
The former Republic dropship made another pass before landing on the end of the bridge. The troop doors opened, and a squad of clones poured out and secured their landing zone. Eda and Luz helped one another across the bridge, one injured and the other magically worn out. The two needed to get away before the Coven guards decided to swarm the bridge.
Taking cover from the strange flying transport that shot death from above, Lilith rose from the ground and spotted her sister and the human walking towards a group of the same soldiers that ambushed her last week. None of this was going her way, and that human was at the center of it. Grinding her teeth in anger, she readied herself to launch another blast of magic.
Luz felt a disturbance from behind and pushed Eda away. Eda looked up and wondered why she pushed her off? This question was answered a moment later when an explosion engulfed the teen sending her flying to the ground beside her.
"Commander!" Several clones advanced and took potions around the witch and Jedi. They all aimed their blasters at Lilith with the intent to kill. "Blast her!"
Lilith conjures a blue shield, deflecting plasma bolts from the clones. She twirls her body and staff, unleashing a wave of magic that catches the troopers off-guard and sends them flying back, only suffering minor injuries. As the castle gate opens, a horde of Coven Shouts pours out. The clone troopers get back up and fire upon them, killing several scouts with deadly accuracy.
Lilith attempts another attack but is intercepted by her rebellious sister.
Eda maintained an amber-colored shield around herself and Luz. A few clones got back up and started shooting at the advancing scouts. Two clones checked on Luz, finding her clenching her shoulder in pain.
"Go get Luz out of here!" Eda ordered the clones through gritted teeth.
As they dragged her away, Luz looked at Eda and saw that her amber gem was almost entirely black. "Eda, no!" She reached her hand out to stop her.
The witch looked back as a blackness slowly encompassed the whites of her eyes. The witch knew what was happening then and gave a sad smile. "Listen to me, Luz! I'm going to be gone for a while, so I need you to take care of King for me. Also, remember to feed Hootie."
"Don't do it, Eda!" Luz pleaded.
"And Luz...thank you, for being in my life," She then roared as a bright yellow aura flashed, Luz and the clones falling back and knocking Lilith and the scouts away. The light was so bright that it showed across the landscape and into the distance.
Ignoring the pain in her back and shoulder, the Jedi ran to Eda as she lay on her back.
"Eda! Talk to me, please!" Luz said to her as Eda rolled to Luz./
She opened her black eyes, letting out a loud screech as she succumbed to the curse. Luz grabbed Owlbert while clones backed away as the Owl Beast grew to its full glory. They were all briefed on the Owl Lady's condition, but to see it themselves was something else altogether.
"Commander..."
A clone bearing a sergeant rank glanced at his Jedi officer for instruction.
"Hold fire! I have this." Luz approached the snarling Owl House. She tried to connect with Eda's mind with the Force, but red magic lines wrapped around her.
Luz looked to see Lilith had landed on the bridge and held her staff to Eda, using magic restraints to keep her contained.
"There, there, sister. It's alright. The healing can finally begin." She glanced up at Emperor Belos, who looked unmoved and then walked off.
"You MONSTER!" Luz lunged forward to attack Lilith with Owlbert, only for her to be grabbed by Lilith's magic and throw her away. The clones got ready to fight again, only for the castle defense to come online and start lobbying fire rocks at them. One flaming rock landed near the dropship and caused the soldiers to scatter. Not only that, Lilith had stolen it like a prize.
"Leave, humans!" She grasped Owlbert in her hand. "Edalyn is finally with her family. Her real family," She slammed down her staff, the bridge moving backwards towards the castle. "Go back to your world. This one is ours."
Luz looked eyes with Lilith as she slowly grew small in the distance.
"Commander, we need to go!" The sergeant shouted.
Luz glanced one last time at the castle before boarding the LAAT with the clones. The dropship launched from the ground before flying away. Other than giving the pilot a quick order of direction, the Jedi didn't utter a word for the entirety of the flight. The clones were also silent, as this mission was meant to rescue their Jedi Commander, but it came at a cost.
The dropship landed in front of the Owl House, and Luz disembarked with a quick word to standby.
Hooty yawned as he woke up. "Oh, Luz, there you are."
"Hi, Hooty," Luz murmured, opening the door. She looked towards the living room, gasping. Everything was decorated for a surprise party...there was a cloak on the table and a big cake. King popped out of it with a gasp.
"The cake is me!" He cheered, noticing that Lus was alone. "Hey, um, where's Eda?"
The Jedi stayed silent before approaching the young demon. She knelt before him before taking him in her arms and gave a strong. She gave him silent tears of sorrow.
"I'm sorry."
Oh boy. We all know where this was going to lead to, but I had to figure out the how part a few times before decided on what to do.
SO! Lot to unpack here. We have more Jedi, all younglings. We won't be sing them again in this season sadly but will play a few moments later in season two. Another is Drake leaving with the remnants of his unit to help Rex in rescuing more clones. The first regiment would be considered a scouting regiment meaning they would be light on their feet and would be a great help in freeing more clones. Luz still gets captured but is successful in stealing the healing hat but why didn't it work? The clones are exposed to the Belos and the Covens and have given them a punch to the nose. But Eda is still gets captured and Luz feels like this is her mistake that caused it.
Now how will things go for Jedi Luz oposed to cannon?
No spoilers! See you next time!
Credit to Ghost-G339 and Wesley9516 for cleanup and editing.