Hey guys, here's chapter 17 of Rise of Zeo. This'll be a chapter centered around Zeo and Eda since they haven't had much time together.
Some adventures ended with finding treasure. Others ended in finding clues to the next step in whatever quest the person was on. The adventures of the residents of the Owl House, however, usually ended in a fight or something. In fact, they were fighting a few creatures right now. Actually, it was more like a miniature army since they were currently surrounded by a horde of goblins! Eda was using her magic to keep them away, while Zeo slashed them down with his Dragon Blade and Luz used her glyphs. King, just rode on Eda's shoulder and ordered them to stay away… to no avail, of course.
"How many of these things are there?" Luz asked.
"I know. It's like if we slash down one, two more appear in its place" Zeo said while decapitating one, "Mom, can't you use an extremely powerful spell to wipe them all out?" he asked Eda.
Eda winced a little upon being called that. Nevertheless, she shook it off, "I could, but with such a small space, there's a chance I'd destroy this place and probably us along with it" Eda replied.
"Damn! Well then, looks like we'll call upon you-know-how" Zeo looked over his shoulder at Luz with a knowing smirk which made her squeal in delight.
"I love it when you suggest that!" Luz beamed.
"Suggest what?" King asked.
"You'll see" Zeo said. He looked at Luz and nodded.
"Luzura, arise!" Luz tossed the card, summoning her witchy doppelganger.
"Luz's doppelganger?" Eda questioned.
"Yeah, and check this out. Mind Meld!" Luz tossed the card between herself and Luzura. Within a few seconds, the two girls combined into their merged form.
"How is that going to help us?" King asked.
"Just watch, runt" Zeo replied, "Knight Owl, arise!" he tossed card, summoning his armored bird.
"Ready for this, Knight Owl?" Luz asked the dark owl.
*Hoot* "Whenever you are!" He said.
"Cool, I actually understood that! Must be because of the Luzura thing, but still" Luz said, "Ok, ready, Zeo" he looked at the card wielder.
"Fusion Vortex!" Zeo tossed the card between the two.
King and Eda watched as Luz and Knight Owl transformed into wisps and entered the vortex. The vortex then exploded in a swirling pillar of light and darkness. Once the pillar faded, Luz, with her wings folded over her body, appeared.
"Whoa!" King said.
"Luz?" Eda tilted her head.
Luz then spread her wings out, revealing the Owl Paladin in all her splendid glory, "Luzura the Owl Paladin is here!" she said.
"The Owl Paladin?" Eda questioned under her breath.
"Hmph. And here I thought the Owl Lady was strong enough to destroy these pathetic weaklings on her own. Looks like I was wrong" Luz said out loud with a smirk. Luz then covered her mouth and faced the others, "Sorry! That was Knight Owl talking!" She told Eda.
"I'll let it slide... for now" Eda said with narrowed eyes.
"Beast Weapon: Owlcalibur, arise!" Luz summoned her owl-themed weapon and aimed it at the goblins, "EAT COLD STEEL, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" She yelled, charging.
"Ok, that's definitely Knight Owl talking" Eda said.
"Oh, yeah, for sure" Zeo said, nodding in agreement.
"I don't know about you guys, but I am downright terrified." King admitted, watching as Luz slashed down goblin after goblin.
"Time to test out my new move" Luz said, running her talons along the blade of her sword. As she did so, the blade started glowing with mana. "Soaring Moon Blade!" She cried, spinning in a circle, taking out every remaining goblin with an ever-growing sword.
"Damn, Luz. That was actually pretty cool!" Eda said.
"Thank you." Luz said, heaving her sword over her shoulder. Just then, the ground started shaking.
They all looked at a giant goblin wearing a crown and a necklace.
"Which one of decimated my followers?" The giant goblin asked.
"ME! You got a problem with that, fatass?!" Luz, but mostly Knight Owl, said.
The goblin King charged. Luz responded by leaping into the air, doing a corkscrew before delivering a swift kick to his jaw which made him hack up spit. Once again, Luz ran her talons along Owlcalibur's blade, but this time, she held it up in a slashing position.
"Avian Slash!" She shouted before jumping up and slashing down.
Luz landed. There was a line running straight down the goblin king. A geyser of blood spewed out from the Goblin's body.
"Man, am I glad she's on our side." Eda joked, surrounding herself, Zeo, King, and Luz in a forcefield that prevented the blood from reaching them.
"Yeah, I'm so glad a half-naked Owl girl isn't trying to kill us" King said half sarcastically, "She's like an escort" he commented. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab him and lift him up by the throat.
"Say that again and you're my next appetizer!" Luz growled with her nose pressing up against King's, her irises glowing.
King felt a tap on his shoulder. "Considering the fact that he can easily swallow you whole, I'd watch what you say around Knight Owl, no matter what form." Zeo told him.
"But this is Luz" King said.
"Yeah, she's Luz, but not entirely. She's Luz, but due to their fusion, she also has some of Knight Owl's essence within her" Zeo explained, "And right now, that part's not happy about what you just said." he added.
"I... I'm sorry" King told Luz.
"You'd better!" Luz said, flinging him against a nearby wall.
"Geez, Luz" Eda said, surprised.
Luz shook her head. "Sorry, Knight Owl took over me for a bit there." She said sheepishly.
"Well, what do expect? You're fused with an owl beast... And a dark one at that" Eda told her.
"True, but it's only a minor inconvenience in my book." Luz said.
"Minor?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"Compared to the length of the sarong mini skirt and what happens to me after I come out of the Mind Meld, this is no problem." Luz said in her usual cheerful attitude.
"Ok…" Zeo said.
"Race you home!" Luz said, taking off and flying out towards the house. King and Eda looked at Zeo.
"She really likes being in that form" Zeo told them.
The Next Day…
The Owl House…
The following morning, got up out of bed, yawning as she walked downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, she was met by the scent of bacon hitting her nose. She saw Luz and King sitting, eating.
"Hey Eda. Have a seat, Zeo made breakfast" Luz said, Eda looking to see her clone at the stove.
"You made breakfast?" Eda questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah" Zeo replied, placing bacon on two plates, one for him and the other for Eda.
Eda took out the homemade apple blood and poured herself a cup. She sat down next to Luz as Zeo placed the plate of food in of her, Zeo sitting across from her on the other end. The meal consisted of bacon, eggs, and buttered toast. She took a bite of the eggs.
"Wow. Zeo, this isn't half bad" Eda told him, taking another bite.
"Thanks, I've been getting cooking lessons from Viney" Zeo said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, have any plans today, Mom?"
Eda almost choked upon being called that word. She swallowed and cleared her throat.
"Well, I'm running low on elixir, so I'll have to go out and restock" Eda told him.
"Eh, I've got nothing better to do. Mind if I join you?" Zeo asked.
"Sure, why not?" Eda replied with shrug.
"That's nice. I think a little bonding time will do you two some good" Luz said in an upbeat tone, Zeo and Eda looking at her then at each other.
Bonesborough…
Zeo and Eda walked through town, the hoods of their cloaks up so that they wouldn't be recognized should guards come around. The whole time there had been a silence between the two. Eda had occasionally glanced at Zeo, trying to start a conversation with him, but just couldn't find the right words. She was about to open her mouth to say something, when they arrived at Morton's potion shop, the place where she got her elixir.
"Hey, Eda" Morton greeted, who was possibly, his best customer. He then sees the boy beside her and quickly notices how much he looks like Eda, "Is this your kid?" Morton asked her.
"Just get my elixir, Morton, I'm running low" Eda replied a little forcefully, avoiding the question.
Zeo glanced at Eda for a moment. While he didn't show it, inside it hurt a little that she'd dodge that subject. With a small sigh, Zeo reached into his satchel and pulled out a rubber ball. He had merged with his doppelganger just before he and Eda left the house. This was the second step involved increasing one's energy volume and density and shatter the rubber ball. Which was easier said than done since a rubber ball had a thicker exterior compared to a water balloon.
Unlike with the water balloon, with the rubber ball, Zeo put both hands on it, his dominant hand on the bottom and his lesser hand on top. Zeo channeled his energy into the rubber ball through both hands. He rotated the energy counterclockwise, putting more power into than he did with the water ball. However, a hole popped out of the side, causing the rubber ball to deflate.
"Damn it!" Zeo said with irritation.
"Ok, got the elixirs" Eda said, carrying a small crate of elixirs, "Ready to go?" she asked. They heard Zeo's stomach growl.
"Can we get something to eat first?" Zeo replied.
"You just had breakfast not too long ago" Eda looked at him quizzically.
"Yeah, but it wasn't very filling. It was a light breakfast at best" Zeo told her.
"Fine. I could use a little more food in my stomach anyway" Eda gave him a small smile.
Applebeast's…
"This is a nice place" Eda said while looking around, she and Zeo sitting at a booth, "So… your friend Viney works here?" she asked, trying her best to start up a conversation.
"After school and on the weekends, yeah" Zeo replied, "So, what did you think of the Owl Paladin?" he asked.
"Oh, she was amazing! Powerful, sassy, surprisingly sexy for her age. Basically, how I imagined she'd be when she's a full-grown woman… except, you know, as a young teenager" Eda said, "She's kind of like me in that form"
"Yeah, can't argue with that…" Zeo muttered in agreement.
That's when the waitress came, holding their food. She wore white apron over a white, unbuttoned polo shirt and a black skirt. On her feet, she wore black stilettoes. She wore black eye shadow and had pink eyes. She had long black hair that was tied into a bun, bangs running down the sides of her face that stopped at her chin. The look was complete with a hot pink streak in her hair. This was Wendy, the owner of the restaurant, and Viney's aunt.
"Here you go, two sets of burgers and fries" Wendy said, placing their food in front of them, along with to-go boxes just in case.
"Thanks, Wendy" Zeo smiled.
"No problem, hon" Wendy said, affectionately running her fingers through his hair. "Have fun with your child, Eda" she told the Owl Lady as she walked away, causing Eda to shudder.
Eda looked back at Zeo and saw she was giving him an irritated look.
"What?" Eda asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"What do you mean "what"? The hell was that about?" Zeo asked with a glare.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Eda replied.
"She called me your child…" Zeo said flatly, making her shiver once more, "See! You're doing it again!" he pointed at her.
"Zeo, I…" Eda started.
"Just what do you see me as anyway?" Zeo asked.
Eda opened her mouth to say something, but was unable to. There was a small pause. Zeo sighed in defeat and placed his food in the to-go box. He then gathered his things.
"Where are you going?" Eda questioned.
"I'm going for a walk to clear my head" Zeo reached into one of the pockets of his satchel, "That should be enough to cover the meal" he said, placing a ton of snails on the table.
Eda watched as Zeo walked out of the restaurant. When she was alone, Eda sighed with a hang of her head.
Bonesborough…
Zeo walked through town with his hands in his pockets. He kicked a small rock a far distance away. On one hand, he had told Lilith he'd see Eda as his mother even if she didn't. Yet on the other, it stung a little whenever she did something like that. Sighing, Zeo pulled out another rubber ball, placing both hands on it as he channeled his energy into it. However, just before, a hole popped in the side of it which caused it to deflate.
"Damn it!" Zeo tossed the deflated ball away. "Hm?"
That's when something caught his attention. Taped to a nearby pole was a flyer. The flyer depicted a manticore, which was a lion with bat wings and a scorpion's tail. It was one of those reward flyers too, offering up 2000 snails. The flyer also requested that the person bring the manticore to the address alive.
That's when Zeo received a vision. It was a silhouette of a large dog with massive wings and a reptilian tail. Zeo shook his head and cleared his thoughts.
"Ok, that'll be a good distraction" Zeo muttered to himself, "It says the manticore was last seen near the library" he read the flyer.
The Library…
Zeo walked towards the library in search of the creature from the flyer. Just before he left, he had purchased a manticore whistle from the, admittedly sexy, cat merchant Tabby. He blew the whistle which amazingly sounded like the roar that the beast produced. It didn't take long for Zeo to hear the roar of the real beast itself. Zeo blew the whistle and followed the replies that the manticore gave, the roars becoming louder and clearer as he did so.
As he walked around the building, there was the sound of a low growl coming from somewhere. Zeo looked at the ground and saw large paw prints. That thing must be close. He was ready to follow the tracks, when he was tackled to the ground by a large creature with a grunt and a thud. He looked up and saw the growling face of a lion with massive bat wings spread out on its side. He looked past the beast and saw a large scorpion's tail which was aimed at him. Ok, yeah, this was definitely the beast he was looking for.
The manticore would've struck him with its tail, only for the tail to be held back by a magical energy rope. Zeo used this opportunity to escape from the beast's grip. He saw three people wearing vests arrive. One was a green guy, one was a girl with pink hair, and the last one was a guy wearing an eye patch. It didn't take long for Zeo to realize who these guys were. These were the animal control guys that tried to capture Eda when King stupidly try to use her in her owl beast form.
The card wielder watched as the three formed spell circles with their index fingers and placed them on the ground. This created a giant ring around the manticore created a giant net, capturing the creature.
"What do you guys think you're doing?" Zeo asked the animal control guys.
"The owner of this manticore wants their pet back. There's a reward for its return. However, it'll be more money if we take it to the pound and sell it to someone else" the one with the eyepatch said.
"You're not going to even try to get it back to its owner? Dude, that's messed up!" Zeo said to them.
"Oh? And who's going to stop us?" the female animal control person asked.
"You're looking at him" Zeo narrowed his eyes at them, taking out three cards, "Blizzard Wolf, Inferno Fox, Storm Jackal, arise!" he shouted, tossing the cards, summoning the three dog bros.
"That's… different" Tom, the green one said.
"Hey, I think I heard of this guy. This is that kid that they say can summon beasts with cards" the female animal control person said.
"Yeah, and my three hounds are going to—" Zeo was cut off by the one with eye patch forming a spell circle, which made magical chains come out the ground and tie the dog bros' legs to the ground, as well as wrap around their mouths like a muzzle.
"And for extra assurance" the female drew spell circle which made energy chains wrap around Zeo's whole body, causing him to fall the ground and drop the remaining cards of his deck.
"Son of a bitch!" Zeo groaned.
Zeo watched as the animal control people tossed the manticore into the back of their truck, he and the dog bros struggling to break free. He couldn't just let them get away with what they were planning. That's when he received the same vision from earlier which made him look at the dog brothers. Zeo turned his head and saw a Fusion Vortex card right next to his face. He crawled towards it and picked it up with his mouth.
"Fusion Vortex!" Zeo shouted through his teeth before tossing it at the three dogs, right above Blizzard Wolf.
The three dogs transformed into cyan, red, and light purple wisps respectively. They entered the vortex which soon exploded into a swirling pillar of fire, ice and lightning. When the pillar dissipated, there stood an enormous black and white dog the size of an elephant. It had three eyes. Protruding from the top of its head were a pair of horns that curved back then pointed forward. On its back were a pair of massive wings like those of a demon. Rather than having a normal dog tail, it instead had the tail of a reptile. Around its neck, it wore a collar made of fire, ice, and lightning.
"Aw, yeah! I think I'll call you Elemental Cerberus" Zeo said with a smile of pride, the giant dog creature releasing a loud howl.
Elemental Cerberus approached his creator, using his claws to slash and break the chains that bound him.
"Good boy!" Zeo told him while picking up the rest of his cards. The card user was then tossed onto Elemental Cerberus' back, "Now let's save that manticore!"
With a growl, the giant dog took flight, a cloud of dust being blown behind it. Since the van didn't drive that far, it only took a few seconds for them to catch up with it. Elemental Cerberus flew above the van, knocking it over with a single swipe of his paw. Zeo tossed three cards into the air which were Lion Gauntlet, Eagle Axe and another Fusion Vortex, bringing out the Griffin Blaster. He aimed the blaster at the vehicle and pulled the trigger, firing a blast that blew a large hole in the side of the van.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" the animal control person asked he and the others climbed out of the now destroyed van.
"Saving the manticore and returning it to its owner" Zeo said while Elemental Cerberus lifted the manticore out of the van by the net it was in, placing it down for a brief moment, "And if you ever get in my way again…" Zeo snapped his fingers.
Elemental Cerberus snarled, lunged and bit off the leader's right arm, causing him to scream in pain as blood gushed out of his socket. Elemental Cerberus tossed the arm into the air before catching it in his mouth and swallowing it whole. The female drew a spell circle which quickly amputated her coworker's arm, stopping the bleeding.
"Next time I'll have him eat you entirely!" Zeo threatened, Elemental Cerberus snarling at them again.
The large dog then picked the netted manticore up by the net in his jaws before taking off to return the creature to his owner.
"How do we keep getting beaten my children?" Tom asked.
The Owl House…
Eda walked into the house, a small look of guilt upon her face. When she entered the house, she saw Luz sitting on the couch, reading her Azura book. Eda placed the crate of elixirs on the ground beside herself. Luz looked up from her book to see only Eda there.
"Where's Zeo?" Luz asked, tilting her head.
"I don't know. We had a little misunderstanding and the kid walked off in a huff!" Eda replied.
"What happened?" Luz asked.
"Nothing!" Eda said.
"Eda!" Luz wouldn't have any of that and pressed on for the full truth.
"Alright, alright!" Eda said with a sigh, "You know that word Zeo usually calls me?" She asked.
Luz slaps her own forehead, knowing what the argument was about. " Are you serious!? Eda, you already know that's who he sees you as. Why is it so hard to accept that!?"
"I can't help it. I'm still not used to being called that" Eda replied, looking away with her arms folded.
"Eda, what's so bad about called Mom?" Luz questioned with a confused expression, "I mean, you might not exactly be perfect, but to Zeo, that's who you are to him. "
"Don't get me wrong. I like the kid and I care about him, but..." Eda looked away.
"But what?" Luz raised an eyebrow.
"I... I never expected to be a mother, ok? I'm not exactly the motherly type" Eda admitted.
Luz smiles hearing that. She gets up and puts a hand on her mentor's shoulder.
"You might not realize it, but you got your own motherly charm. Plus, I think you'd make a great mom." Luz told her with a sympathetic smile.
Eda smiled back, "Thanks, kid" she said, "I'm not sure what do about Zeo though..."
"You already do, just go try to talk him and I guess show him that your willing to listen." Luz told her reassuringly.
"I guess you're right. Thanks, Luz" Eda smiled.
Westside of the Isles…
"Come on. Where is he?" Eda asked while flying side-saddled on her staff.
Immediately after her talk with Luz, the Owl Lady had gone in search of her card wielding clone, having looked all over the Boiling Isles for him. The sun was setting and she hadn't found a trace of him. That is until she saw a child with silver hair sitting at the edge of a cliff, the ocean down below. Eda flew down.
"Hey, kid" Eda said to him.
Zeo glanced over his shoulder at her for a second before turning his attention back to the sunset. He had gotten the reward for returning the manticore to its owner.
[Flashback]
Elemental Cerberus landed in front of a house, dropping the netted manticore in front of it. The giant dog then used its claws to destroy the magic net. Zeo hopped off Elemental Cerberus, right beside the manticore, who gave him a lick of gratitude to his cheek, making him chuckle. Zeo knocked on the door which was immediately opened by an old lady.
"Yes?" the old lady greeted him, "Oh! You found my Fluffy!" the old lady said with delight.
"Fluffy?" Zeo repeated with a mutter, giving the beast a quick glance, "Uh, yeah, I returned your pet to you" he gestured to the large creature, who walked into the house.
"Thank you, young man. Here's the reward, as promised" the old lady handed him a pouch full of 2000 snails.
"Cool, thanks!" Zeo smiled at the reward.
[End of Flashback]
Sighing through her nose, Eda approached him, sitting beside him at the edge of the cliff. Zeo glanced at her and scoots away. Eda placed a hand on his shoulder, only for Zeo to smack it away. Eda sighed under her breath, a hint of guilt in it.
"What do you want?" Zeo asked bitterly, not even pleased to see her.
"Zeo, I know you're a little upset with me, and I don't blame you" Eda began, "Truth is... I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. Part of me is still a little uncomfortable with it..."
"Really? I never would've guessed, Eda" Zeo says with bitter sarcasm, emphasizing her name. "I've noticed how you reacted each time I called you that word..."
"Zeo I..."
"No!" He cuts her off " You know what? I get it. You never wanted a kid of your own. And then, all of a sudden, I came around and that pretty much threw your life through a whole different loop" He then pulls out the Knight Owl card, "Well, I'll be more than happy to get you out of that loop" he says, about to throw it. Realizing what he's thinking, Eda grabs his arm.
"Zeo, just listen to me!" Eda says while taking the card out of his hand.
"Why should I? I looked back on the past recording that Tracker Tick has. This is exactly what wanted, isn't it!?" Zeo asked.
"Yes. No. I... I don't know" Eda says, "Look, it's true that I never planned on becoming... Well, you know. But that doesn't mean I don't want you around" she told him.
"Do you know not how hard it is?" Zeo asked honestly. "It hurts every time when you do that. I mean, technically you're my own flesh and blood... And you just keep shunning me away. I know, I wasn't supposed to be here, but yet somehow, for some reason, I still am." He turns his attention back to setting sun. "Only thing I wish is that it could've been more natural..."
"I had no idea you felt that way..." Eda says honestly.
"Can I ask you something?" Zeo asked, Eda nodding in response as he still keeps his gaze on the sun. "If you were the one to actually bring me into the world, would you have treated me any different than I am now?"
"I... I'm not sure how to answer that" Eda said, "I will say this though. I may not show it, but deep down I still care about you. Same way I care about Luz"
" I know, I know. But how long are you gonna keep doing this? I mean, in terms of close family, you're all I got. Aside from Luz, King and Hooty. I mean, there's also Lilith, but she and I aren't that close… yet" Zeo sighs shaking his head. "Look, the point is that out of everyone around me, I feel more connected to you, and yet it doesn't seem to feel like it at all" he said.
"I mean, do I have to put my own life at risk and come near death in order for you to see me as your son?" He asked.
Eda gains a solemn look and looks back at the sun. "...Zeo, throughout my whole life, it's been a one thing after another and I was fine with that. But Zeo, look at me, I don't admit it much, but sometimes I'm a hot mess and sometimes my luck isn't so good" she told him.
"Where are you getting at with this?" Zeo looked at her.
"I never considered myself good "mother material"." Eda told him.
"What're you talking about? You worry about and protect Luz, don't you? That's something a good mother does" Zeo tells her.
"Yeah, but...that's different. She's my apprentice. My first and only one I've ever had. Having a kid of my own is, well… something I never really looked forward to. " Eda replied.
"Why not?" Zeo asked.
"One thing I do know is that children should be cared for and loved, they deserve to have a good life. Which is something I can't exactly provide." Eda admitted, hanging her head.
"...is that what you're worried about? That you won't be able to provide for me?" Zeo asks her, Eda replying with a nod.
"It's not just that. You just came up when I least expected it, and it took me a while to try and face the fact that now, I got more responsibilities, as much as I hate to admit it."
Zeo chuckled lightly as he scootches next to her. She was a bit hesitant at first but she let it happen. Both of them still looking out at the sun set, he put a hand over hers lightly grasped it.
"You know what? It's fine. I trust you" Zeo told her.
"What?" Eda looked at him, slightly surprised.
"Mom, I understand. You've got a lot on your plate, especially with your curse, and how you're worried that your gonna hurt us. I get it. You're not exactly perfect, and neither am I. But that can't stop us from trying right? Can't we?" Zeo asked.
"I... I guess we can try" Eda shrugged with a small smile.
"Cool" Zeo said, tilting his head on to Eda's shoulder.
Zeo then took out another rubber ball for what was the third of fourth time today.
"Oh, Luz mentioned you were trying to learn a new move. Is this a part of it?' Eda asked, noticing the ball.
"Yeah, I'm trying to increase the volume and density inside the ball and rotate it until it shatters. Which is easier said than done" Zeo said.
"Oh, I know how to help you with that" Eda smiled.
"You do?" Zeo looked at her with surprise.
"Mm-hm" Eda nodded.
The Owl Lady scooted around him, Zeo sitting in her lap. Eda reached into her hair and took out her lipstick, uncapping it and using it to draw an X on the top of her left hand before the lipstick and putting back in her hair. She then cupped the tops of Zeo's hands in hers which held the rubber ball.
"Now, focus your gaze on the X while channeling your energy into the ball" Eda instructed him.
"Alright…" Zeo said, turning his gaze to the top of Eda's hand.
Doing as he was told, Zeo focused on the mark on Eda's hand. He channeled his energy through both hands and into the rubber ball. He rotated the energy in the ball while keeping focus on the mark, channeling more and more energy as he did so. Zeo had put in enough energy to the point where temples started to sweat. The ball pushed around in all directions until…
*BOOM*
The rubber ball shattered in an explosion that sent Zeo and Eda flying backwards. Eda skidded across the ground for a bit, holding Zeo in her arms. They stopped upon hitting a tree. Eda opened her eyes and looked down at a panting Zeo.
"I did it. I achieved the second step!" Zeo beamed, "Thanks" he looked up at Eda.
"No problem" Eda replied before taking notice of something, "Looks like the force was so great that it scuffed up your gloves and burned your fingertips a little. This must be one hell of a move you're trying to learn" she said, both shocked and amazed.
"From Luz told me, yeah" Zeo replied, "There's one just one more step left and she says it's the hardest to master"
"Eh, I'm sure you'll get it" Eda said with a shrug, "And if you're made from my blood, that saying goes double. Trust me, you've got this, Zeo" she smiled.
"Thanks. It's only been a minute and we're already off on a good start" Zeo said as he shakingly stood back up.
"Yeah" Eda stood with less effort, ruffling his hair, "Come on, let's go home" she said while summoning her staff.
Eda hopped on. She looked as Zeo and gestured her head for him to hop on. Zeo climbed on the back of the staff which took off to the sky towards the Owl House.
For Zeo, the day was ok. Not only did he get a new fusion monster, but he got more money for saving a beast which turned out to be an old lady's pet. Why an old lady had a manticore for a pet was beyond him, but he wasn't going to question it. Plus, he had, albeit an awkward, bonding moment with the person that he saw as his mother.
He wondered, just what was in store for him tomorrow?
And that's the end of this chapter. This chapter was a combination of ideas given to me by IrishKatana and Chance Green G King. Speaking of IrishKatana, like the dog bros, the idea of their fusion Elemental Cerberus was thought up by him. Granted, he's not a tradition Cerberus with three heads, but he'll be a Cerberus in a different way.
Looks like Zeo's achieved the second step in learning Naruto's signature move, albeit with the from Eda near the end. The final step won't be as easy though, we all know that. But when he does master it though, it'll be worth it.
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