Hey everyone, here's chapter 12 of Rise of Zeo. This will be an original chapter, enjoy.
It was another day in the Beast Keeping track at Hexside. This track had been one of many of Luz's tracks, as well as Zeo and Viney's secondary tacks. Speaking of which, the three students were even assigned to the same table, with Zeo sitting in between the two girls. They listened closely as the Beast Keeping teacher prepared the lesson.
"Ok, class, today we'll be starting a new project" the Beast Keeping teacher said.
"This weekend, you will all be taking care of Roc eggs." The instructor said as a cart full of round, purple eggs was wheeled in. As usual, Luz was excited.
"Ooh, I know of this assignment, we have a similar one in the human world. Only difference is it's usually either a sack of flour or an unfertilized chicken egg." Luz said.
"Thank you for the interesting lesson on how things are done in your world, Ms. Noceda," The instructor said. "Now, normally you would each be given one egg, however, due to an unfortunate mix-up this morning with the cafeteria…"
[Cutaway]
Outside of a restaurant, a goblin in a chef's outfit was being led by Lilith to the Boiling Isle's version of a police car.
"I swear, I had no idea those eggs were for the Beast Keeping track! I thought they were part of this morning's delivery!" he told her.
"Tell it to the judge." She said throwing him in.
[End of Cutaway]
"There's only enough for half of you, so for that reason, you will be put in teams of two." The teacher said, several hands shooting up, "And yes, this will go towards both your final grades." The instructor said as all the hands went back down.
"Two questions. One, aren't Rocs those giant birds that eat young dragons? And two, do we get to choose our partners or are you going to choose for us?" Zeo asked, leaning back in his seat with his foot against the edge of the desk.
"Excellent questions, Mr. Clawthorne" The Instructor said before shuddering, obviously still traumatized by what Eda did when she was a student, "Yes, Rocs are as you said they are. Fortunately, when they are young, they are harmless… unless you're either a small mammal, insect, or frog" the teacher muttered the last part under their breath, "And as for your other question, I've already taken the liberty of choosing your partners, so don't complain if you get someone you aren't particularly fond of, or if you get Mr. Egg-sitter over there" The instructor said, pointing to a student far in the back.
"I told you, my mom thought they were eggs I picked up in the market!" he replied.
"Tell that to the Roc rancher we had to pay 10,000 snails in reimbursement to." The instructor said.
"Isn't this exciting, Zeo? If we get to be partners, it'll be like I'm the mommy, you're the daddy, and the egg will be like our baby!" Luz said excitedly.
"Heh. Ok, take it down a notch, Luz" Zeo said, pushing her back a bit with two fingers against her forehead.
"Ok, here are the groups" the instructor began. The instructor then started listing off pairs, soon, only a few were left. "Let's see, Zeo." The instructor pointed to him. "You'll be partnered with..." Luz started getting excited. "Viney." The instructor said, pointing to the Healing/Beast Keeping Dual Track Student. "And Luz, you'll be partnered with the egg-killer over there." She told the human, much to her disappointment.
"Great." She muttered. Luz looked to her partner.
Zeo bumped fists with Viney, "Sorry, Luz. But hey, your partner looks nice." Zeo said to his human friend.
Later, Zeo and Viney were walking down the, their egg in Viney's arms.
"So, how do you want to do this? Do you want me to take care of it today and tomorrow and you can take care of it Sunday? Or do you want to take care of it today and tomorrow and I take care of it Sunday? Or do you want to take care of it together?" Zeo asked.
"Why don't we start by going to your house, for now?" Viney offered.
Luz looked at the two from afar with a twitching eye.
"Hey, Luz, right?" She heard a voice, looking down to see the boy she had been assigned as a partner.
"Oh, hey Keith" Luz greeted him.
Keith was a short, slightly chubby gargoyle that was half Luz's height that wore glasses.
"First off, I want to clear things up." Keith said, "That whole egg killer thing was not my fault! I thought I could make some easy snails by helping everybody with their eggs, but I forgot to tell my mom, and as a result, she mistook them all for eggs from the market and, well, let's just say as a result, I got held back a year. Which is why I'm having to do this again." He said with a solemn look on his face. "But I'm determined not to let that happen again!" He said.
"Yeah, great." Luz said, casting a glance at Zeo and Viney as they left.
"Something wrong?" Keith asked.
"It's... nothing important" Luz said with a shrug.
Keith then looked where Luz was looking. "Oh, I get it. You're upset you got me as a partner instead of your boyfriend over there." he said.
"What? I'm not upset to have you as a partner" Luz replied, "And Zeo's not my boyfriend, he's just..." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Jealous much?" Keith asked teasingly.
"Uhh..." Luz said.
The Owl House…
"So, this is Lord Calamity?" Viney asked, summoning an old picture of Eda and comparing it to her, who is currently snoring on the couch. "I always imagined her to be more, you know." She said.
"Just be glad this is one of her good days" Zeo said. "Trust me, you do not want to see what inspired me to make this." He said showing her his Knight Owl card.
Just then Owlbert flew on to Zeo's shoulder. With a hoot, the little owl nuzzled his cheek.
"Heh. Hey Owlbert, what's up?" Zeo greeted him. Owlbert released a small hoot, "What is it?" Zeo asked. Owlbert leaned in closer to the card and hooted, "Oh, you want to play with Knight Owl?" Zeo asked, Owlbert replying with a nod, "Mom's right, you are adorable" Zeo smirked.
"Aww, is that her Palisman?" Viney asked.
"Yep, and since he asked nicely… Knight Owl, arise!" He said, tossing his card, summoning his armored owl.
"Whoa..." was all Viney could say.
"Why do you think Principal Bump kept trying to pressure me into enrolling in the Beast Keeping track before I agreed to his compromise?" Zeo asked.
"That's actually kind of cool!" Viney said.
"Thanks" Zeo smiled.
"What does he eat?" Viney asked, looking at the beast with awe.
"All the usual stuff owls eat. Plus, I like to threaten to sic him on King when I get mad at him." Zeo said, making Viney chuckle, "Why don't you two go outside and play while we get this project taken care of?" Zeo told the two owls as they left to do just so.
"So, you can just summon him by throwing a card?" Viney asked.
"Yeah. I have others too, including a few dog-based ones" Zeo told her.
"That's awesome!" Viney said.
"You know what's not awesome?" they heard a voice call out as they turn to see King, "How I don't get any respect from you!" King said pointing to Zeo as Viney had stars in her eyes.
"Kind of hard to respect someone who is WAY too adorable to be taken seriously, King." Zeo said.
"I AM NOT ADORABLE!" King yelled while stomping his foot.
"Ahh!" Viney shrieked in delight. She ran up to him and scooped him into her arms, "So adorable!" She said, hugging King's head against her large chest, nuzzling her cheek against his head.
"Aw, come on! Not another one!" King cried.
"Heh heh" Zeo chuckled, "Oh, I think you and I are going to get along just fine" he said, placing a hand on Viney's shoulder.
Keith's House…
"Don't worry, Luz, I have made extra precautions to make sure last semester's incident doesn't happen again. I've given my mom advance warning, and I've made a special area for the egg." He said pointing her to a pedestal, with the words: School Project, DO NOT TOUCH.
"Way to be prepared" Luz commented.
"I do not want to be held back again, Luz. You have to understand, my father is a master beast keeper, I want to make him proud." Keith said.
"Master Beast Keeper?" Luz turned to him, "What do Master Beast Keepers do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow of curiosity.
"In The main nine covens, there are masters. People who have perfected their art in a way that it's impossible to surpass them, only join their ranks. My father is one of them, and for as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a Master Beast Keeper like him." Keith said. "So, you can imagine how he reacted after the incident last semester."
"That couldn't have gone well" Luz cringed a bit.
"It didn't" Keith replied, "After that, I promised myself and my Dad I'd work harder. It may take while, but I will become a master like my dad!" He said with a clenched fist of determination.
"Heh. You kind of remind me of Zeo" Luz said.
"You really like him, don't you?" Keith asked, causing Luz to blush.
"I mean... He's a good friend" Luz said with a small chuckle.
The Owl House…
"Alright, I think the first thing we need to do is make sure this guy is nice and warm." Viney said.
"Got the perfect thing in mind…" Zeo said, holding one of his cards. "Magma Lizard, arise!" He said, summoning his fire lizard.
"Aww, I remember this little guy" She said, looking at the lizard.
"Yeah, his powers over fire should help us." Zeo said.
"I mean, we also could've had Knight Owl sit on it" Viney commented, "But this little guy works too" she said, scratching the fiery lizard under his chin.
"Think you can help us out, buddy?" Zeo asked the creature. Magma Lizard then made a sound, "He says he can." Zeo said.
Zeo placed the egg on the ground, Magma Lizard wrapping himself around it, letting out a nice, low heat.
"Cute." Viney said, she then noticed some more of Zeo's cards. "Wow, did you make all these?" she asked.
"Yeah" Zeo said, "Thunder Snake was the first one I made, but Knight Owl's the main one I use. He and I are kind of like Mom and Owlbert" he commented.
"Wow, they're all so cool looking." Viney said, "Hey, what's this one?" she asked showing him the Luzura card.
"Oh, that's just a card I based off Luz. Only used her two times though" Zeo told her.
"You really like her, don't you?" Viney asked.
"What makes you say that?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"I've seen the way you look at her in class, and the fact that you actually made a card based on her, that tells me that you've got something for her." Viney said.
"What? No, I made that card to make her feel better after King idiotically changed her story, killed off her character and passed the story off as his own for a writing competition they were entering" Zeo informed her, leaving out the part where Luz had mentioned getting trapped by an evil publisher dude. "I mean, she's cute, but I was just being nice. That's all"
"Whatever you say, Zeo" Viney said, and then gave a sly smirk "But just so you know, Luz isn't the cute girl at Hexside" she turned her head while batting her eyes at him, making him blush.
"Uhh… So, do you think we'll ace this project?" Zeo asked.
"Oh, definitely" Viney nodded.
Then King's scream could be heard, followed by a mighty roar.
"Oh, great." Zeo said as he and Viney walked into the living room to see King dangling from a lamp as Eda in her cursed form tried to get at him.
"Knight Owl, come in here, quickly!" He called out to his beast, the armored bird flying in through the door with Owlbert coming in close behind, "While she's distracted, I need you to go upstairs and grab a box full of bottles with a yellow elixir, quickly!" He told Viney.
"Right!" She nodded, running upstairs.
"I've always wanted to see a fight between these two" Zeo said with a smirk and a hint of excitement as he held Knight Owl's command cards, "Command Card: Shadow Rush!" He tossed the card into Knight Owl's back.
Knight Owl transformed into a shadow and charged, slamming into the owl beast. The owl beast roared as she was knocked onto her back.
Soon Viney arrived downstairs with the elixir, "I got it." She said.
"Good, now we have to try to get as many of it as possible in her mouth." He said pointing to Eda.
"How?" Viney asked.
The two of them watched as the two owl creatures went back and forth attacking each other. He remembered how the first time he saw Eda in this form, Luz used her light spell to temporarily blind her. Luz… light spell… Luzura!
"Luzura, arise!" Zeo tossed a card, summoning the human girl's doppelganger.
"Hey Zeo" Luzura greeted the card wielder telepathically with a hug, a small blush on her face as her heartrate increased a bit in happiness.
"Wow, except for the eyeshadow and the shape of the earrings, she looks exactly like Luz" Viney commented, amazed.
"I know, right?" Zeo replied, "It nice to see you too, Luzura. But, uh, we have bigger problems" he told Luzura.
"Oh, crap, the owl beast!" Luzura said telepathically. She saw Zeo looking at her questionably, "Let's just say Mind Meld does more than just merge my and Luz's minds" she told him.
"You guys only did that once" Zeo noted, "Anyway, we need you to temporarily blind her" he told her, Luzura nodding in agreement as she armed her staff, "Commmand Card: Bright Magic Attack!" he tossed the card into Luzura's chest.
The crystal on Luzura's staff glowed with a ball of golden light before she shot it towards Eda. The owl beast shrieked in pain; the attack having hit her directly in the eyes. This gave Knight Owl the chance to tackle her and pin her to the ground by her arms. Zeo and Viney ran up to either side of her.
"Sorry, Mom, but you and I both know this is for your own good" Zeo said as he and Viney poured several potions down Eda's throat. Eventually, the owl lady had transformed back to normal, "Ok, that was close…" he said with relief.
"What was that?!" Viney asked.
"The very reason I'm in the Potions Track." Zeo explained, "Thanks for the help, guys" he told them.
"No problem" Viney said warmly.
Uknown to them, Luzura was looking at Zeo with a loving gaze, her cheeks slightly red as she held her hands over her chest. Knight Owl looked at her with a smug expression, knowing what she was thinking.
"Not one word, Knight Owl!" Luzura telepathically told the bird with a glare.
Keith's House…
Luz and Keith were setting up some heat lamps.
"There, that should provide some warmth." Keith said as they finished.
"Shame Zeo isn't here, he has a beast that's quite literally a living heat lamp." Luz joked. She then noticed some pictures on the wall. "What's with these pictures?" She asked, pointing to various pictures. Each one showed a different man receiving an orange robe with gold trimmings.
"That Is my life." Keith explained. "It's a long-standing tradition in my family for the men to achieve the rank of Master Beast Keeper, these are the days my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on did so." he said.
"Wow. Sounds like you have a lot to live up to" Luz said, impressed.
"You have no idea" Keith replied.
"I'm sure you'll get there" Luz placed a confident hand on his shoulder.
"As do I." A voice called out to them. They turned to see an older gentleman Luz recognized from the photo.
"Dad!" Keith said.
"I heard you were having to go through this assignment again, so I decided to check up on you." Keith's father said.
"So far so good, Dad" Keith gestured to the heating lamp which warmed up the egg.
"Not bad" Keith's dad smiled before noticing his son's partner, "is this the human girl I've heard about?" He asked.
"Yeah, this is Luz" Keith gestured to the human girl.
"It's nice to meet you sir!" Luz ecstatically said, reaching her hand out.
"Likewise" Keith's dad shook her hand, "Wow, soft hands"
"Well, I moisturize." Luz said, chuckling.
Keith's dad then looked at Luz's uniform. "Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen a Hexside uniform like that before." He said.
"They're letting me take every course" Luz replied.
"Oh, I've heard they recently let some students take more than one course." Keith's dad said.
The Owl House…
"And as you've seen, the elixir is losing its potency, that's why I've decided to take classes in the potions track, so I can find something that will work. The only reason I'm taking classes in beast keeping is because Principal Bump wouldn't shut up about how I'm "wasting my talents", so we agreed to a compromise." Zeo told her.
"Well, he kind of has a point. If you think about it, it kind of makes sense for you to be in the Beast Keeping track" Viney said, rubbing Knight Owl's beak, "Although, it is pretty sweet of you to want to help Lord Calamity. I still can't believe you're related to her" she smiled.
"Technically, I'm just a clone." Zeo said.
"If you're able to create and control beasts and make special attacks for them, that means you're more than just a clone, Zeo" Viney placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Luzura nodding in agreement.
"That and the fact that I don't disappear when I get hit, as mom continues to demonstrate." Zeo said, rubbing the back of his head.
Days Later
Hexside Academy…
The time came for the project to end. One by one, the instructor examined the eggs.
"Excellent, Keith and Luz. Keith much better than last time" the instructor commented, causing him to smile, "Now, Zeo and Viney..." The instructor approached the final two.
"Oh, thank goodness." Keith said as he and Luz left the instructor's desk. "I was worried I would have to repeat this again." Keith said.
"Well, don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to move on. And one day, you'll be a master just like your father, grandfather, great-grandfather and so on." Luz told him.
"Thanks Luz." Keith smiled.
"Hm. Excellent. Not single—" the instructor was cut off by cracking sounds. A crack then appeared on the egg.
"What the hell?" Zeo raised an eyebrow, he and Viney looking at the egg as the crack grew deeper. Soon the egg hatched, revealing a baby roc.
"Oh my, this has never happened before." The instructor said.
"Uggh. Magma Lizard's heat must have worked a little too well." Zeo groaned.
"Magma Lizard?" The instructor asked curiously. Zeo tossed the card, summoning the fire reptile. "Ohh..." The instructor said, amazed.
"So, are Viney and I going to be graded for this or..." Zeo began.
"Well, considering the fact that there's no rules against using this kind of thing," The instructor said examining the lizard. "And I'm seeing nothing wrong with this little guy." The instructor said, examining the healthy baby roc. "I have no choice but to not only give you both A's for a job well done, but extra credit for doing something I've never seen before in all my years of teaching." The instructor told the two.
"Awesome!" Viney shouted, hugging Zeo. Luz's eye then started twitching at the sight of that.
"I must say." The instructor said. "This is the best one I've had in all my years of teaching. Much better than the last one." The instructor said. "Which Is why I'm happy to announce A+'s for everyone!" the instructor said as the class cheered.
"Well, it was fun working with you, Viney" Zeo told her.
"Same. Maybe we could work again on future projects" Viney offered.
"Maybe." Zeo said. As the class let out, Luz and Zeo met in the hallway.
"Hey Luz" Zeo greeted her, "Boy that was a fun project. Wasn't expecting our egg to hatch though; that was totally unexpected" he said.
"Uh-huh" Luz replied nonchalantly.
"Something wrong?" Zeo asked.
"Oh nothing." Luz said sheepishly.
"Are you upset you didn't get me as your partner?" He asked
"I... W-Well, I..." Luz looked away with a blush.
"I noticed the way you were acting when Viney was chosen to be my partner and how your eye twitched when she hugged me" Zeo said "Hmph. You know, you're kind of cute when you're jealous" he teased slyly, turning her head to face him with his thumb and index finger on her chin.
Luz chuckled at that, "I can assure you, I was not jealous" she said.
"Then why are you blushing?" Zeo pointed to his cheeks.
"It's... It's hot! That's what happens when you summon Magma Lizard" Luz said, looking away.
"I put Magma Lizard away after Viney and I got our grade." Zeo pointed out. Luz simply looked away, "Yeah, you're jealous. That's cute, Luz" Zeo said, pinching her cheek.
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Luz said, attempting to smack him on the head, only for Zeo to quickly grab her wrist.
"That only furthers my point" Zeo said, "Look, I'm sorry I brought it up." He told her, "I don't even like Viney that way."
"You don't?" Luz looked at him.
"No, she's just a friend." Zeo assured her, Luz sighing in what sounded like relief under her breath.
Luz then thought to what Keith talked to her about her being jealous about Zeo and Viney's partnership.
"Maybe I was jealous." She thought to herself.
And there you have Chapter 12. I enjoyed writing this chapter. Out of the three detention students, Viney's my favorite. So, expect see more of her in future chapters (Barcus is a maybe, and Jerbo I'm not entirely sure of). And while Zeo says she's just a friend, that doesn't mean there won't be any cute moments between the two, so don't count her out just yet.
Also, I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Let's just say one of Zeo's creations is going to become a lot more badass.
And to ReptileEdge: I like your ideas for creature cards, most of them are pretty good. I sent a few PMs to you, but you never responded. You might want to check your inbox on your fanfic account, as well as your inbox on your email. When you do, let's chat.
As always, I'm accepting ideas for creature cards, fusions, beast weapons, etc. You know what they need: Name, Level, Element, and Description of what they look like. Also, it wouldn't hurt to mention their gender (for the creatures and fusions).
Remember to Read, Review and Favorite/Follow.