Hey, here's chapter 9 of Rise of Zeo. This will be the adaptation of Adventures in the Elements.
"What's with the pamphlet?" Zeo asked Luz while designing a new card.
"I want to find out as much about Hexside as I can before the next semester starts" Luz said excitedly.
"Pfft. You're not even going there yet and you're already a nerd" Zeo chuckled, tapping the glyph on the back and creating the new card. It was a black dire wolf, standing on a cliff as it howled at the full moon, "Night Howler, nice" Zeo said, looking at the lupine beast.
"Well, can you blame me?" Luz asked.
"I guess not" Zeo shrugged, "Night Howler, arise!" he tossed his latest card, summoning the large wolf who released a howl.
"Cool" Luz said upon seeing the lupine beast, while King just screamed.
Night Howler was a level five beast. It was an all-black dire wolf with icy blue eyes. Like Knight Owl and Tracker Tick, it was also a dark type. The large wolf then spotted King. Upon catching first glance of the small demon, Night Howler's pupil's turned into hearts, panting with a wagging tail.
"Hey freeloaders! Guess what today is!" Eda said as she entered through the front door.
"Is it your birthday?!" Luz asked excitedly.
"Is it my birthday?" King asked.
"How do you not know when your own birthday is?" Zeo asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"It's my birthday" Hooty said.
"No, it's…" Eda began, Owlbert flying in with a large bag which he dropped the contents into a large pile, "Human trash day!" Eda jumped on to the pile, "Ahh, fresh garbage!" she said with a sigh.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zeo asked, petting the wolf beside him.
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it. Nice wolf by the way, new card?" Eda asked.
"Yeah, this is Night Howler. He's a good boy" Zeo said, only for the wolf to reply with a bark, "Oh, you're a girl? Sorry. She's a good girl" he said, scratching the wolf behind the ears.
"Awkward" Eda couldn't help but chuckle.
"Did you know Hexside was built on the bones of its rival school? One it literally conquered!" Luz told Eda.
"Yes, I know all these things, I went there. It was the most harrowing period of my life" Eda replied, "Now, come on, your trash pile is getting cold. While mine's getting hot!" she pulled out a hanger, "I have never seen such an extravagant earring"
"That's not an earring, it's a hanger. Humans use it to hang their clean clothes up in their closets" Luz told her.
King then went into the pile and pulled out a teddy bear, "Ooh, perfect! Another recruit for my army of darkness!" King said.
"You mean your army of dorkness?" Zeo shot.
"Don't mock me!" King said.
"Kind of hard not to when your so called "army" is nothing more than a collection of stuffed animals" Zeo retorted, "Whereas I have what is essentially an actually army of beasts way scarier than yours" he said, petting Night Howler.
"Knock it off, you two!" Eda said, "Zeo, why don't you pick something out?" she offered.
"I don't think—" Zeo was cut off by Night Howler walking up to the pile. The wolf pulled something out and brought it to her creator, "What's this?" Zeo questioned, taking the item from Night Howler. It appeared to be a bracer with a half disk attached, the half disking having slots and buttons, "Where do you get these things, Owlbert?" Zeo asked the tiny owl.
"Hey, don't say bad things about Owlbert. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here!" Luz spoke up for the palisman.
"I'm not, I'm just saying" Zeo said, "What is this thing even for anyway?" he asked, placing the device in his left arm.
"It's merchandise for a card game that we play in the human world" Luz told him, "That's just a toy though. If it were the thing, the game would be as cool as the show it based off of… and probably just as dangerous" she added.
"Hey, if it's from the human realm, suckers might be interested" Eda said with a shrug while admiring herself in a hand mirror.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I'm supposed to meet Amity to get my Azura book back!" Luz said, putting the pamphlet away and heading towards the door.
"I'll come with you. Come on, Night Howler" Zeo said, putting the disk thing away and joining her, the wolf beast following close behind.
Bonesborough…
Luz and Zeo spotted Amity in the middle of town as they rode on the back of Night Howler. They ran over to her, only to be blocked.
"Hi Luz!" the familiar figures of Amity's older siblings, Edric and Emira appeared, startling Luz as she fell off Night Howler.
"Ooh, cool dog!" Emira said, petting the lupine beast, Night Howler licking her face.
"Edric, Emira, didn't expect to see you here" Luz said as Zeo hopped off Night Howler and Amity joined the group.
"Sorry, guys, they insisted on coming for some reason" Amity told them.
"Because we love you, baby sister!" Emira nuzzled her cheek against Amity's while pinching her other cheek, only for Amity to shove her away.
"They've been extra protective and nice towards me to make up for the library incident" Amity told them.
"And we still apologize" Edric said.
"You're afraid of Knight Owl, aren't you?" Zeo asked the twins with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually, I think he's awesome" Emira walked up to him, "Almost as awesome as you, Zeo. Almost" she said, affectionately running her fingers through his hair.
"I, on the other hand, am completely terrified" Edric spoke up.
"Anyway, here's your book" Amity pulled out Luz's book.
"So, what did you think?" Luz asked, interested as she took her book back.
"It was… fine" Amity said.
"So fine you drew yourself with Malingale, the mysterious soothsayer?" Luz showed a drawing of Amity in the arms of one of the characters. Embarrassed, Amity drew a circle that destroyed the drawing, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Amity. Hey, maybe we could start an Azura book club when we're classmates" Luz said in her usual glass half full attitude.
"When we're what?" Amity raised an eyebrow.
"Surprise! Zeo and I are enrolling in classes at Hexside this upcoming semester!" Luz said, "I was thinking about enrolling in the Abomination Track like you" she added.
"Ooh. Sorry, Luz, but in order to join my track, you guys need to know at least two spells" Amity told them.
"Say what?!" Luz said with disbelief.
"Before you are able to be on the same class level as me, you both need to pass a test that involves you proving you know at least two spells" Amity told them, "I know you have your light thing, and I'm sure Zeo has something involving that thing…" Amity pointed to Night Howler who was currently getting belly rubs from Edric and Emira, who kept saying "Who's a good doggy? Who's a good doggy?", much to Zeo's embarrassment. "Do you have anything else?" Amity asked.
"Uhh…" was all Luz could say.
"Of course Luz has two spells, Mittens" Edric said.
"Actually—" Zeo started saying before Luz elbowed him in the stomach.
"Well, I hope so, because if you don't, you'll be placed in the baby class" Amity showed her a pamphlet.
"I just remembered, we have to go. Come on, Zeo" Luz said.
"Alright, see you later" Amity said.
"And bring that cuddly doggy with you!" Emira added.
"Ok…" Zeo made sure the Blight siblings were out of earshot, "Why didn't you tell them that your light spell was the only one you know?"
"I don't want them to think I'm lame" Luz told him.
"Well, what are you going to do?" Zeo asked, "My cards can technically count as two spells, but you only have the one" he said.
"I know. Don't remind me" Luz said, hanging her head.
"You could ask Mom to help you with learning your next spell" Zeo suggested, "Also, the next time you want to cut me off midsentence, just put your hand over my mouth" he added.
"You're right. Although, putting my hand over your mouth isn't really subtle, which is kind of the point of cutting someone off" Luz said as she got back on Night Howler.
"Maybe you could grab my junk or something" Zeo muttered jokingly, hopping back on Night Howler as well, Luz sitting behind him.
"What was that?" Luz asked.
"Nothing" Zeo replied, flicking Luz in the forehead, "Night Howler, take us back to the house" he told the lupine beast. The wolf howled before taking off.
The Owl House…
Eda was in the kitchen, preparing to make a stew or soup of some sorts, having various vegetables on the table.
"Wow, a surprisingly peaceful domestic moment. When will it be ruined?" Eda said the second part in a monotone.
"Eda!" Luz's voice called, disturbing the Owl Lady as Night Howler crashed through the window, "I need you to teach me a new spell immediately!" Luz said, hopping off.
"Sorry, kid, I'm a little busy. These vegetables aren't going to cook themselves… yet" Eda said before pouring magic potion on the vegetables, causing them to come to life, "Alright, everybody in the pot!" she told the vegetables, on for them to scream and run, "Why do I always think that's gonna work?" she asked herself.
"But I need to know two spells to get into decent classes at Hexside. I can make light glyphs" Luz activated the glyph which turned into a ball light that caused Eda and Zeo to shield their eyes before vanishing, "But at the end of the day, that's the only spell I know!" Luz whined as she slid to the floor.
"And whose fault is that?" Eda placed a hand on her hip.
"Yours!" Luz pointed at her.
"Ha! Yeah, you've got me there" Eda chuckled.
"Not surprising. You're kind of a crappy teacher" Zeo said.
"I heard that!" Eda said.
"Mom, just teach her a damn spell!" Zeo yelled, "If you don't, she'll be thrown into the baby class and it'll be all your fault. Not to mention it'll make you look bad by showing how crappy of a teacher you are" he added.
"Yeah, Eda! You're the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, how would it look if you apprentice got thrown into the baby class?" Luz chimed in.
"Hmm, weaponizing my pride, well played" Eda smiled at the two, "Well, in that case, this looks like a job for magic boot camp" she said.
"Did someone say boot camp? I agree to run it" King said, Night Howler's tail starting to wag at the sight of the small demon, "We'll rise at dawn! You'll carry me on your back as I yell hateful things about your performance!"
"No way, runt! You're staying here with your army of darkness" Zeo told him.
"Zeo's right" Eda said in agreement, "Luz needs to focus and I can't have her go all weird when you do something adorable" she told King.
"I am not adorable!" King yelled, stomping his foot.
"Aww, he stomped his little foot!" Luz beamed while Zeo laughed.
"Face it, King, you're just way too adorable to be taken seriously" Zeo said, before pulling out one of his cards, "Razor-dillo, arise!" he tossed the card, summoning the armadillo, "You look after him while we're gone" he said.
"Don't worry, your beast is in good hands" King reassured.
"I was talking to my beast about you" Zeo corrected.
"Ohhh! You just got burned!" Eda mocked King, "Now, no time to waste. You'll have to follow my teaching exactly" she looked at her apprentice, "We gotta go somewhere special. A place where magic energy just flows. A place like…" Eda began.
The Knee…
"The Knee!" Eda said, she, Luz and Zeo arriving at the snowy area. "The earliest witches came to the Knee to develop their magic, drawn to its natural power" she told them.
They were all made sure to wear the proper clothing. Eda was wearing a gray coat and spider themed hat, along with brown gloves; Luz wore a beige coat and hat, along with brown gloves; and Zeo was wearing a black coat with red fur trims and cuffs, black gloves and gray raccoon skin cap.
"Frost Lizard, arise!" Zeo tossed the card, summoning the ice reptile. The lizard looked around and hissed in excitement, "You should be right at home here, buddy" he told the reptile. Frost Lizard let out a squeak of joy as he ran alongside his master.
"It's so sweet how they're all so loyal to you, Zeo" Luz remarked.
"I know, right?" Zeo said, "I would summon his brother, but he'd probably melt everything" he added.
"Brother?" Luz asked with a bit of confusion. He showed her Magma Lizard's card, "You consider them brothers? That's so sweet!" Luz said, making Zeo blush a bit.
"So, this place can help Luz tap into her magic?" Zeo asked, trying to change the subject as Frost Lizard jumped on his shoulder.
"Yep" Eda nodded, "Like I said, the earliest witches came her to tap into its natural power to develop their magic"
"Cool. Literally" Luz said.
"Just be careful, both of you. This place is strife with danger, like that thing over there" Eda said, pointing to a large, white creature, "That's a slitherbeast, and one thing you should remember when traversing the Knee is never anger a slitherbeast" she warned.
Frost Lizard then let out a concerned growl.
"I hear you, buddy" Zeo said, scratching the reptile behind where his ear would be, "Continue, Mom" he told Eda.
"Right, follow me" Eda said, albeit with a bit of a wince, "The first thing we'll learn is how to identify the different types of snow by taste" she told them.
"You're… You're joking, right" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"Nope!" Eda said, picking up a pile of snow.
"She's not…" Zeo cringed, only to see her lick the snow, "She is" he said.
"At least it's not yellow" Luz whispered to him.
Zeo scooped a ball of snow into his hand, "Tell me how this taste" he held it close to Frost Lizard.
"You're seriously leaving it up to an ice elemental?" Luz asked.
"Why not? Doesn't it kind of make sense?" Zeo asked.
"Ice and snow, he's probably not very picky with either" Luz said. Proving her point, Frost Lizard was munching on the snow in Zeo's hand.
"Better than eating it myself" Zeo shrugged, "Besides, what else would you have me do? Have Knight Owl eat it?" he asked rhetorically.
"Good point" Luz said.
"So, what's the verdict, buddy?" Zeo asked, Frost Lizard then letting out a few chirps of joy, "Well, that sounds good to me" Zeo said as he picked up more snow and licked it.
He tasted it and shrugged. Not bad, but not great either. He offered the rest to Frost Lizard. Suddenly a bolt of fire shot out nearby.
"What was that?" Luz asked. They looked behind some rocks to see the Blight siblings, with Amity holding a wand, "Oh no, they're here! I can't let them see me! Eda, make me disappear please!" Luz said.
"Alright, but I have 60/40 chance of making you reappear" Eda told her.
"I don't think she meant that literally" Zeo told her.
The Owl House…
"Army of darkness? I'll show Zeo!" King said, looking at his stuffed animal, "I am not too adorable to be taken seriously! You hear me?!" he asked Razor-dillo who just yawned, "You're mocking me, aren't you?!" King asked, Razor-dillo blowing a raspberry at him, "I'll show you! I'll make my own boot camp!" King said.
"Ooh, can I join?" Hooty asked.
"Ugh. No, you are too desperate" King waved him off, "Sorry, I have more suitable choices in mind" he said, "New Guy, Aloysius Turtle, Chip, Beefy Bob…" he listed off the line of toys before looking at his stuffed bunny, "Francois, you're perfect already!" he picked up the stuffed rabbit.
"Razor-dillo, join my rising army" King said. Razor-dillo then shook his head, "Come on!' King said, walking up to the creature, only for Razor-dillo to growl and spin the blades on his back, "Why won't you obey me?!" King asked.
"Because you don't possess his command cards" Hooty said.
"What? How do you know?" King asked.
"It's pretty obvious that only one who possess their command cards can get obedience from Zeo's beasts, and since he took all his cards with him, there's no way Razor-dillo is obeying you" Hooty said, Razor-dillo nodding in confirmation.
"Then they wouldn't listen to Eda wither, would they?" King asked.
"Only if she possesses the command cards" Hooty answered.
"Well, I don't need you" King told Razor-dillo, "I've got these guys!" he said, pointing to his army. Razor-dillo walked up to the stuffed bear and proceeded to pee on it, "Stop that!" King said.
"Told you" Hooty said.
King growled in anger, "You're just lucky that wasn't Francois!" King said, pointing to his beloved stuffed rabbit.
Then he noticed the vegetables Eda brought to life tossing the pot over a cliff. King got an idea. He grabbed the elixir Eda used before, pouring it on each of the toys with the exception of Francois. This earned him confused and worried looks from Razor-dillo.
The Knee…
"I've got the feeling King just did something stupid… again" Zeo said, "I also have a feeling the house is going to be a mess when we get back" he added while pulling out his Night Howler card, "Alright, time to see what this puppy can do" he smirked, "Night Howler, arise!" he said, summoning the dire wolf. The wolf released a mighty howl, "Mom, care to help me test out Night Howler's power?" Zeo looked at Eda.
"Sure" Eda said with a one shoulder shrug.
"Just be quiet. I don't want them to know we're here!" Luz said, referring to the Blight siblings.
"Hey Luz!" the familiar voices of Edric and Emira once again rang in Luz's ears.
"Too late" Zeo said.
"Oh, and you brought your doggy with you!" Emira said excitedly upon seeing Night Howler, "And Frost Lizard!" she scratched the icy reptile under his chin. Amity then joined the group.
"What are you guys doing here?" Amity asked.
"Just doing some training. I'm here to see what Night Howler can do" Zeo gestured to the wolf, "And Luz is here to brush up on her powerful spells" he slowly turned his head to the human girl.
"Ooh, powerful spells!" Edric and Emira said in excitement.
"Can we see?" Edric asked.
"Uhh…" Luz was at a loss for words, wishing she could smack across the face for bringing that up.
"She can't. She just did some a few minutes ago. If she does another, she might pass out" Zeo lied.
"Thank you" Luz quickly mouthed to Zeo.
"What about you guys? What brings you here?" Zeo asked.
"I'm training too. I'm trying to beat Ed and Em's highest score on the exam" Amity told them.
"Aw, Mittens. That's impossible!" Emira said, playing with Night Howler's face as she was licked by her.
"Heh, Mittens. That's still funny" Zeo chuckled, causing Amity to blush with embarrassment.
"We're here to teach her some fire spells" Edric said.
"What's with the training wand?" Eda asked, noticing the limited magic wand in her hand.
"Let me guess, you can't do the fire spells without it?" Zeo said. Amity nodded, "Well, maybe I could help. Like I said, I was about to do some training with Night Howler here, and we could help while Mom and Luz do some training of their own" Zeo offered.
"That'd be nice" Amity smiled with an embarrassed blush.
"Great. But since you're practicing with fire, why don't we fight fire with fire?" Zeo said, holding up a card, "Magma Lizard, arise!" he tossed the card, summoning Frost Lizard's brother.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" Emira asked.
"Let's just say I have my own type of magic" Zeo winked at the older Blight sister, "You guys will be fine without me, right?" he asked Luz and Eda.
"Eh, we'll be fine. Go on, kid" Eda ruffled his hair.
They all then split up.
The Owl House…
"Alright, soldiers…" King began, "First things first, pamper me!" he said.
Soon, he and Francois were on the couch as the other stuffed animals were delivering snacks to King. Razor-dillo was just looking at him with a look that said "seriously?". Razor-dillo rolled his eyes with a shake of his head and lied down.
"Ah, this is the life. Here Francois, share in the revelry" King said, pouring some chips on the stuffed rabbit which caught the attention of the stuffed bear he got from Owlbert's latest scavenge.
Razor-dillo saw how it was looking at King.
"Hey, Private New Guy! Back to work!" King said. Unnoticed by him, the bear's eyes turned a blood red before turning away. Razor-dillo looked at the stuffed animal with suspicion.
The Knee…
"So, each of these cards can turn into a different creature, and each one has its own set of powers?" Edric asked Zeo with fascination.
"Pretty much. I also have beast weapons. The main beast I use is Knight Owl" Zeo showed the black card with his armored owl, "Alright, Amity, you ready?" he asked the Abomination student.
"Ready" Amity nodded.
"Alright, ladies first" Zeo insisted.
Using the wand, Amity drew as spell circle that summoned a stream of fire.
"Command Card: Shadow—" Zeo was about to use one of Night Howler's command cards, when Magma Lizard leaped in with his mouth open, swallowing the fire stream, "Huh. Wasn't expecting that" Zeo said. The fire of Magma Lizard's mane and the tip of his tail then burst upward like crazy, "… or that" he said, "Command Card: Magma Blast!" he tossed the card into the reptile.
Magma Lizard then shot out a blast of flames from his mouth, one more powerful than usual. Thinking quickly, Amity rolled out of the way. Once finished, the flames on Magma Lizard's body returned to their normal size. The fiery reptile then let out a few growls.
"I see. Magma Lizard says he doesn't find this very sporty" Zeo said.
"What?" Amity asked. Magma Lizard then let out some more clicks and growl.
"He says in order to truly master this spell, you need to try it with your own power, without the wand" Zeo told her, "And considering the fact that he's a fire elemental, it's safe to say he knows what he's talking about" he added.
"I guess you both do have a point" Amity rubbed the back of her head.
"Now, let's try Night Howler on for size. Ready, girl?" Zeo looked at the wolf, who barked in response, "Alright! Command Card: Shadow Blizzard!" he tossed the card into the wolf.
With that, Night Howler turned into a blizzard of black snow that charged straight to Amity. Night Howler then found herself on top of a pinned Amity. The wolf then proceeded to repeatedly lick her face.
"Seriously, girl?!" Zeo said in exasperation.
"Ok, so, I got all the stuff you asked for and found your glove… and your hand" Luz handed Eda the items as well as Eda's detached hand.
"Oh, I was wondering where that was" Eda said, reattaching her hand.
"What does this have to do with learning my second spell?" Luz asked.
"Like I said, ancient witches came here to harness their magic. Tell me, do you know what mana is?" Eda asked.
"Magical energy?" Luz asked.
"It's more than that" Eda said, "While witches get their magic from their bile sacs…" she started, Luz shuddering at that, "Magic is all around us. In the sky, the sea, and the land; and mana is the focus of that. If you can realize that, you the second spell will come to you" Eda told her.
"Does that apply to Zeo, too?" Luz asked.
"Of course. The creatures he summons are living beings made of mana. While I don't entirely understand how his magic works, I know this too" Eda said
"I need to think about this for a bit" Luz said, walking away.
"Alright, don't take too long" Eda said.
"What am I going to do?" Luz asked herself as she saw Amity and Zeo's training session.
"Command Card: Shadow Missles!" Zeo tossed the card into Night Howler's back, causing hardened strands of fur and shadow to launch at Amity.
Amity tried to form a spell circle on her own, but the fire fizzled and she rolled away.
"I wish magic could come to me as naturally as those two" Luz said to herself.
"You were really close that time" Zeo told Amity.
"Thanks" Amity said.
"Amity, time to eat" Emira told her sister, walking up to them.
"I found a bat!" Edric chimed in, holding said creature by the wings.
"Care to join us, Zeo?" Emira offered, "You can sit next to me. If you get cold, you can cuddle up to me for warmth" she said in a sultry tone while caressing his cheek.
"Uhh, tempting offer, but…" Zeo blushed at that. That's when he spotted a deer nearby, "I already have dinner plans, sorry. Command Card: Magma Blast!" he tossed the card into the fire reptile, causing him to shoot a beam of flames from his mouth, burning the deer alive, "Have fun eating your bat" Zeo told the Blight siblings before approaching the dead deer.
"Don't even think about it" the Blight sisters told their brother.
"Hey Mom, Luz, dinner's ready!" Zeo called out.
"Coming!" Luz and Eda said.
"Hope you like deer" Zeo said.
"Venison! Yum!" Eda said as she dug in. Zeo then pulled out the deer's heart and took a bite of it, some of its blood running down his chin, "That's disturbing…" Eda cringed a bit, "I like it!" she smiled.
"You eat snow, I eat hearts" Zeo joked, offering her some of the heart.
"Thank you!" Eda said, biting a piece of the offer.
"What's wrong, Luz? Don't like venison?" Zeo asked the human girl.
"More like I don't like eating meat straight from the carcass" Luz replied, "Can you at least cook it a bit more?" she asked.
Zeo took a large chunk of meat, grabbed a nearby stick and skewered the meat. He handed the stick to Luz.
"Just roast it over Magma Lizard's flame" Zeo told her, lizard lying down in front of her, his fiery mane and tip of his tail acting as a campfire.
Seeing no other option, Luz did so. A few minutes later, the meat was done to her liking. But she was still thinking about something.
"Still thinking about that second spell, aren't you?" Eda asked while using a bone as a toothpick.
"Mm-hm" Luz nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it" Zeo said.
"Easy for you to say. Thanks to your cards, you don't have to worry about being in the baby class" Luz said, biting off a piece of meat, "Hm. Not bad" she said, tasting the meat.
"Cards…" Zeo pulled out his deck, "Hey, why don't you just use my cards? It's not like they'll know" Zeo suggested, "Speaking of which, I made three new cards" he held up three cards, each being a level four dog-based creature.
The first was a fox, a fire type named Inferno Fox; The second was a jackal, an electric type named Storm Jackal; and the final was a wolf, and ice type named Blizzard Wolf.
"No, that would be cheating" Luz said.
"In what way?" Zeo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I want to be able to use my own spells" Luz said, "The cards are your thing" Luz soon finished her piece of meat, "I'm full, thank you" she said.
"She's a real goody two shoes, isn't she?" Zeo whispered to Eda.
As the two were talking, Luz came across the wand and book Amity was using. Upon noticing the Blights were too occupied with their dinner, which didn't contain the bat Edric found, and noticing Eda and Zeo were still devouring the deer, Luz found herself in a moral quandary. She took the book and wand. Unknown to her, a certain wolf had been watching her.
Luz then went to a nearby cliff, "One time shouldn't hurt" she said as she used the wand to draw a spell circle in the air, which caused a fireball to fire, "I did it!" she said in excitement. She then heard growling and turned around to see Night Howler in her face, "What are the chances you're just a normal wolf that only looks like Night Howler?" Luz nervously asked.
Night Howler shot her a deadpanned expression.
"You aren't going to tell Zeo about this, are you?" Luz asked.
"She already has" Zeo said as he and Eda hopped off Night Howler.
"Oh, crud" Luz said.
"Wanted to use your own spells, huh?" Zeo cocked an eyebrow of disapproval.
"Ok, I know this looks bad, but in my defense, I'm only borrowing it" Luz said.
"Borrowing it without asking. That's stealing, Luz" Zeo said sternly.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have had to do this if Eda's lessons were any help!" Luz said.
"Ok, I'll admit, my lessons are a bit different, but so is the magic you both possess" Eda said.
"She's got a point" Zeo said with a shrug.
That's when they heard a roar. Turning around, they saw the slitherbeast approaching, a burn mark on the side of its head.
"Oh, nice going, Luz!" Zeo glared at the human girl.
"What is that thing?!" Amity asked, her and her siblings joining them, "And what are you doing with my wand?!" she asked, taking back the items.
"It doesn't matter!" Eda said.
"It's so cute!" Emira said.
"Let's capture it and make it into a pet!" Edric said.
"Or, here's a thought, we could kill it!" Zeo suggested.
Unfortunately, neither of them listened as they both drew spell circles, creating ropes that they used to tie up the beast's arms.
"Come on, Luz, use those powerful spells you were talking about" Edric said, struggling.
"Uh, funny story about that…" Luz said.
"Uggh, I'll take care of it" Amity said, pulling out the wand, making a spell circle to summon a fireball, only for it to fizzle. She then looked at the power level, "Did you use up all the power in the wand?!" she asked Luz.
"I don't know" Luz said.
"Nice going, Luz" Zeo sarcastically remarked.
"How was I supposed to know?" she asked.
The beast then grabbed the twins.
"Edric! Emira!" Amity cried out.
"Magma Lizard! Frost Lizard!" Zeo called out as the lizard brothers ran towards them, Zeo pulling out a card, "Fusion Vor—" he was cut off by the slitherbeast grabbing him, causing him to drop his card, "Damn it!" he said.
"Zeo!" Luz said in shock. The lizard brothers released a series of worried chirps. The beast even managed to get Eda, "Eda!"
Night Howler tried to pounce on the beast, while Magma Lizard shot a stream of fire. However, their efforts were futile. Thinking quickly, Zeo pulled out two more cards.
"Tracker Tick, arise. Command Card: Tracking Beacon" he whispered before deliberately dropping another card as the slitherbeast ran off.
"What're we going to do? That thing has Eda and Zeo!" Luz said to Amity.
"Not to mention my brother and sister!" Amity added.
*Chirp* *Chirp* they heard, looking to see Magma Lizard and Frost Lizard before something.
"It looks like they found something" Luz said. She went over and picked up the item, "It's one of Zeo's cards!" Luz said, "But I don't recognize the design"
"What's it called?" Amity asked.
"That's the weird thing, there's no name. Just this" Luz said, the card in question depicting a slow, blinking light. That's when Luz realized something, "Wait, a minute! Zeo has a creature called Tracker Tick. I wonder…"
Luz pointed the card in the direction the slitherbeast went off in. Once she did, the blinking picked up in speed.
"Right. Tracker Tick. Zeo must've planted one on the slitherbeast before it ran off! If we use this and Night Howler's keen sense of smell, we can find them no problem!" Luz said.
"What do you mean "we"?" Amity asked.
"The two of us. We can save them together" Luz told her.
"I think you've done enough!" Amity said, taking the card out of Luz's hand, "I'm taking Night Howler to follow the signal. You're staying here with the lizards" she told her. Amity then drew a spell circle, causing a pillar barrier to form around Luz and the lizards, "The last thing I want or need is for you to get in the way or get hurt" Amity told her.
"But Night Howler won't obey you without her command cards!" Luz pointed out.
"You mean like this one?" Amity asked, holding up the command card for Shadow Missiles.
"How did you…" Luz began.
"I found it on the ground here, not far from where you found the tracker" Amity answered.
"Damn it, Zeo…" Luz muttered.
Amity then hopped on Night Howler's back, "Come on, Night Howler. Yah!" she shouted, tapping her heel into the wolf's thigh.
Night Howler then took off, using her sense of smell and the tracker's beacon to follow the slitherbeast's trail.
"Well, at least I've got you guys" Luz said, rubbing the lizard brothers.
The Owl House…
King was relaxing on the couch with Francois. Unbeknownst to him, Private New Guy was staring at him with angry, red eyes. King looked at the stuffed animal.
"Hey, turn down the eyes!" King said. The stuffed animal approached him, "Uh, what are you doing?" King asked, catching Razor-dillo's attention. Soon the rest of King's army rose up, "Stand back!" King said, grabbing Francois, Razor-dillo watching curiously, "No. No, stay back! I command you!" King said as Razor-dillo chuckled to himself.
The stuffed animals threw King out of the window. He groaned when he felt Razor-dillow land on top of him, the beast having jumped out of the window on his own. Razor-dillo shot King a smug expression.
"How about instead of mocking me, you go in there and show those traitors how you got your name" King said.
Razor-dillo gave King a toothy grin, revving the sawblades on his back. The sawblades on his back emanated the sound of several chainsaws working at once.
"Hey, can I help?" Hooty asked.
"How?" King asked.
"I can attack them" Hooty said.
"Yeah, no. I mean, Razor-dillo here's got freaking saws on his back, that's all I need" King said.
"Yeah, but I don't think he's revving those blades to take down the traitors" Hooty said.
King then noticed Razor-dillo was looking at him, not the door, "Oh, crap…" he said.
"Razor-dillo, how about I toss them to you and you use your sawblades to destroy them" Hooty offered. Razor-dillo then made a chattering noise, "He says he'll agree to that on the condition he gets to chase you afterwards" Hooty told King.
"You understood that?" King asked.
"Yep" Hooty said, "Also, he says he's going to chase you anyway for your sheer stupidity, so you might want to agree so we can rush this"
"Ugh… fine" King groaned.
Hooty then opened the door and Razor-dillo eagerly formed a ball and charged in, tearing the traitors to shreds.
"Huh. I guess all that revving got him a little too excited" Hooty said.
The Knee…
Luz was sitting down with the lizard brothers, looking on with worry and concern. Luz sighed to herself.
"This is my fault. If I had just listened to Eda and tried to make the connection, she and Zeo wouldn't be in this mess right now" she said, feeling for herself. Feeling bad for her, the lizard brothers crawled up to either side of her and rested their heads in her lap, "Thanks, you guys" Luz said, caressing their heads, minding Magma Lizard's flame.
Trying to cheer Luz up, Frost Lizard used his ice powers to make a little heart. Getting an idea, Magma Lizard used a bit of his fire powers to make a design in the heart, careful not to melt his brother's gift. The brothers then handed the ice heart to the human girl.
"Aww, that's so sweet" Luz said, taking the gift from the lizards. The lizards snuggled up to Luz, chirping, "I just wish I could be like Eda and Zeo" Luz said, "Magic just comes so easily to Eda; and Zeo… well, you guys show that" sighing, she laid back and looked at the night sky, "I am such an idiot" Luz said, before noticing the stars forming a familiar looking constellation.
She had seen it before.
"Is that… the light glyph?" Luz asked. Then she remembered Eda's words, "Magic is all around us. In the sky, land and sea. If you can realize that, your second spell will come to you" she then noticed the carving in the heart, "I wonder…" she said, replicating the design in the snow. She tapped the glyph with her hand, causing a small tower of ice to appear, "An ice glyph! My second spell!" Luz said, "You two are geniuses!" she said, hugging the lizards—again, minding, Magma Lizard's flame, "I've got an idea, but I need your help"
The brothers nodded in agreement. Together, the three of them created a giant ice glyph that spanned the barrier. Luz then stomped on the glyph. This created an ice tower big enough to launch them out of the barrier.
"Thank you, Boiling Isles! Thank you, Eda! Thank you, lizards!" Luz smiled at the reptiles, "…Thank you, Zeo" she muttered with a blush.
Frost Lizard then found the Fusion Vortex card Zeo dropped and handed it to Luz.
"I like the way you guys think" Luz said.
In a cave, the slitherbeast glued its four prisoners to the wall with some gooey substance. It then poured leaves and garlic on their heads, causing Eda to sneeze.
"Ugh, I hate garlic" Eda complained.
"It's actually pretty good on toast. Especially when the toast is buttered" Zeo said, "But what I hate is being stuck here. The first thing I'm going to do when I get out of here is have Frostfire Dragon send that thing into oblivion, and then I'm going to have Night Howler rip Luz's throat out!" he said with anger.
"Let's not go that far" Eda said, "At least not the part involving Luz" she added.
Meanwhile, at the mouth of the cave, Amity and Night Howler arrived, "Perfect. He hasn't eaten them yet" Amity said, "Now I just have to think of a way to free them" she added.
Then Frostfire Dragon landed.
"What the?" Amity said as Luz hopped off the mighty beast, "Luz? How did you get passed the barrier? And what is that thing?!" Amity asked upon seeing the dragon the human girl rode on.
"I got passed the barrier with magic. Literally" Luz told her, "As for your other question, this is a fusion monster, the combination of Frost Lizard and Magma Lizard. Frostfire Dragon!"
"You mean those pipsqueaks can become that?!" Amity asked.
"I know, right?! You should see what I can do" Luz muttered that last part under her breath.
"We're going to have to work together if we're going to save everybody" Luz said.
"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right" Amity said in agreement.
"Great. Here's the plan: I'll use Frostfire Dragon and Night Howler to distract the slitherbeast, and while that's going on, you try to free the others" Luz told her.
"On it' Amity nodded.
The girls split up. Just as the slitherbeast approached its prey, it was hit with a rock. It turned to see Luz.
"Luz?" Zeo questioned.
"Hey ugly! If you want to eat my friends…" Luz said as Frostfire Dragon and Night Howler arose behind her, "You'll have to get through us"
Undaunted, the slitherbeast charged.
"Command Cards: Blazing Hail and Shadow Missiles!" Luz shouted, tossing the two command cards. Frostfire Dragon shot a barrage of fireballs from his mouth while Night Howler launched hardened shadow fur missiles, the attacks hitting the beast.
Meanwhile, Amity arrived to free the others.
"Amity!" the twins said, happy to see their little sister.
"I see Luz managed to summon Frostfire Dragon" Zeo commented.
"Thanks to the card you dropped" Amity said, struggling to get the goop off.
"Command Cards: Frozen Inferno and Shadow Blizzard" Luz shouted, tossing two more cards.
"All a part of the plan, Mittens" Zeo said with a sly smirk.
"Hey! Only these two can call me that!" Amity said, pointing to Edric and Emira, "By the way, nice idea planting one of those Tracker Tick things on ugly over there" she told him.
"Yeah, cute and smart" Emira looked at Zeo with half-lidded eyes, causing him to blush a bit.
"Dude, just get us out of here already!" Zeo told Amity.
"I'm trying! This stuff is stronger than it looks!" Amity said.
"Then use the fire spell. You don't need the wand, just believe in yourself and you can do it" Zeo told her.
"Ok, you've been spending way too much time with Luz" Eda commented.
"I… I can't" Amity said.
"You can. We believe in you" Emira said.
Amity exhaled and formed a ring in their air which then turned into a pink fireball. To Amity's amazement, the fireball worked, melting the goop. They them heard a scream.
"Luz!" Zeo and Amity said with concern.
The slitherbeast was actually putting up a fight. While Frostfire Dragon and Night Howler were fighting him off, it wasn't enough.
"She needs help" Zeo said, pulling out a card, "Knight Owl, arise!" he said, summoning his ace, "Command Card: Shadow Rush!" he tossed the card into the owl.
Knight Owl transformed into a shadowy version of himself and charged at the beast, striking it from behind.
"Zeo! You're alright!" Luz said, hugging Zeo, only for them both to release with blushes on their faces.
"Uh, nice job summoning Frostfire Dragon…" he commented, rubbing the back of his head.
"Thanks" Luz said. Unfortunately, the slitherbeast was still up and even more angry than before, "I've got this" Luz said, "Hey ugly, over here!" she called, getting the beast's attention. With a roar, it chased Luz out of the cave.
"That girl's got spunk" Zeo said.
Zeo then held up a card that would take care of the beast once and for all. He looked over his shoulder at Frostfire Dragon for a moment before chasing after the slitherbeast and Luz. Soon, Luz had led the beast to a clearing.
"Gotcha!" Luz said, stomping on the ground she had previously prepped with a giant ice glyph.
Zeo and the others came out, along with Zeo's beasts. They watched as an ice tower launched the slitherbeast into the air. Seeing an opportunity, Zeo pulled out his card.
"Command Card: Frostfire Blast!" Zeo tossed the card into Frostfire Dragon's chest, "Die!" he shouted before the dragon fired a beam of white light from its mouth, beams of fire and ice swirling around it. As soon as the beam hit, the slitherbeast was vaporized.
"Did you see? I learned my second spell! I made the connection!" Luz said with excitement.
"And I obliterated the beast like I said I would!" Zeo said, equally excited.
"I saw. Nice work, kiddos" Eda ruffled their heads with pride.
"You showed some real bravery back there, sis" Emira said.
"Yeah, nice work, kiddo" Edric teased, playfully rubbing the top of Amity's head.
"Grr. Stop!" Amity slapped her brother's hand away, "So, looks like we'll all be in the same class!" she said to Luz and Zeo.
"Azura Book Club? Azura Book Club!" Luz asked excitedly.
"As long as it's a secret club, ok?" Amity said with embarrassment.
"It's not a secret!" Edric shouted.
"We're gonna tell everyone!" Emira chimed in.
Amity sighed in annoyance.
"That's cute, girls" Zeo said teasingly. Eda then sneezed.
"Alright, your adorable banter is literally making me sick. Let's go home already!" Eda said.
"Good idea" Zeo said, "Oh, and if you tell anyone about that book club…" he told the twins, "I will sic Knight Owl on you" he threatened.
"He'll do it too" Luz said, backing him up.
"It's true, he will" Eda chimed in.
To make their point even more, Knight Owl cast as menacing glare at the Blight twins.
"Noted" Edric said with a tinge of fear in his voice.
"See you around, hot stuff" Emira winked at Zeo, and then blew him a kiss.
Zeo blushed as he got on Knight Owl, while Luz prepared the ice glyph. Zeo took, flying on the armored bird while Eda and Luz launched into the air with the ice glyph.
"I think we can go the normal way" Emira told her siblings.
The Owl House…
"Yes! That'll teach you to betray me!" King said, the entire living full of stuffing and the bodies of destroyed toys. He then heard a buzzing sound. Turning around, he saw Razor-dillo still revving his blades, "Oh… right" King said.
"I knew it! I knew you did something stupid and the house would be a mess when we got back!" Zeo said as he, Luz and Eda walked in.
"What the hell did you two get into?" Eda asked with a hint of annoyance.
"Uhh…" was all King could say.
Angry, Zeo noticed Razor-dillo and, using his psychic link, saw everything that happened, "Sic him" he told his armadillo, who then proceeded to chase after King, who ran and screamed like a little girl, "By the way, Luz, nice job on learning your second spell" Zeo told the human.
"I can't take all the credit. Magma Lizard and Frost Lizard helped out in their own way" Luz said as King continued to run and scream.
"I'm glad they could help. You looked good commanding Frostfire Dragon like that. Attractive even…" Zeo muttered that last part under his breath.
"What was that?" Luz asked.
"I said you did a good job commanding Frostfire Dragon" Zeo half lied.
"Oh, thanks" Luz blushed.
Eda noticed this, "Hmm. I wonder…" she thought to herself as King ran out the door, still being chased by Razor-dillo.
And that's the end of this chapter. Looks like Zeo has a new wolf beast (If you've read any of my other stories, you probably saw this coming at some point). The other three beasts he created in this chapter will make their debut at some point. As always, I'm still accepting ideas for creature cards, as well as fusions. Just leave a review or message me.
Speaking of ideas, if you have any ideas for original chapters for this story, send me a private message detailing what the chapter is about (just click my name and you'll know what to do from there). And be sure to check your fanfiction inbox frequently.
This was co-written with JTWAS1994.
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