Hey everyone, here's chapter 24 of Rise of Zeo. This'll star our favorite plant witch and her cute beast. Enjoy.
It was another day on the Boiling Isles as we find Zeo hard at work, trying to think up new cards. He was deep in thought when his scroll began to ring. Taking it out, he saw that he was receiving a call from Willow.
He answered and greeted, "Hey, Willow, what's- wait, what? Hold on, slow down, what happened?" he asked and heard her reply, "Did you check in the window sill where you keep your other plants?" he asked her, "You're welcome" he replied after hearing her thank him, sighing as they hung up.
"Something wrong with Willow and Grimrose?"
He looked up to see Luz and King standing close.
"Eh, Willow was just looking for Grimrose in her room. She found her, nothing major" Zeo said with a shrug.
"Oh, ok" Luz said, "You know, that Grimrose is really cute" she commented.
"Luz, you think all my level 4 or below creations are cute" Zeo rolled his eyes.
"That's, like, what, the fourth time she's called? I swear, she's very overprotective of that shrub." King remarked.
"King, I don't recommend you call Grimrose a shrub. You remember what she did to you when you accidentally shrunk us, don't you?" Zeo asked.
The self-proclaimed "King of Demons" was about to reply, but could think up of a comeback.
"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Zeo smirked.
"Come on, guys, can't we just hug-" Luz tried to say, when the clone of Eda gave her a deadpan stare, "Not even one arm over the shoulder?" After no response, she conceded.
"It's time for school. Knight Owl, arise!" Zeo summoned his ace monster and hopped on his back, Luz climbing on soon afterwards, "Let's go, buddy!"
With a powerful screech, the armored owl took off for Hexside.
Hexside Academy…
Knight Owl descended in front of the steps of Hexside. As luck would have it, that's where they met Gus and Willow, Grimrose perched on top of the plant witch's head. Soon as the vegetative creature saw Zeo, she immediately brightened up.
"Gus, Willow, morning. And good morning to you, Grimrose, have you been good to WIllow?" Zeo asked, scratching her where the bottom of her chin would be.
*Chirp* "Yes, I've been good for Momma," Grimrose replied.
"She really has. She's a sweet plant creature" Willow said with a cute giggle.
"Wait, you understood her?" Zeo looked at WIllow with surprise.
"Mm-hm" Willow nodded, "It's weird. Ever since you gave her to me, I've slowly started to hear her talk little by little. More recently though, I've started to understand her completely, ever since she used that beam to kill that gargoyle" she informed them.
"Hm. You triggering your inner plant magic that time must've channeled some of that energy into Grimrose, which must've been why she was able to use such an attack. It might also explain why you've been able to understand her… that and your natural ability with plants" Zeo said, rubbing his chin, "It's a theory at least" he shrugged.
"Willow" they all heard a voice, turning their heads to see Boscha at the front door of the school, dread filling the air.
"And I thought this morning would be peaceful." Zeo remarked bitterly. Getting in front of his friends, Zeo crossed his arms, "What do you want now, Boscha? Tormenting your entourage got boring?" He questioned, glaring down the potionist witchling.
"Maybe it is. What's it to you, Owl Boy?" Boscha raised an eyebrow. It was here that she noticed Grimrose, then smirked, "Aw~ Look at that. Half-a-Witch grew a pet weed." Though she found it funny, her "entourage" didn't think it was funny like she did.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't pick on my friends" Zeo told the triclops.
"Or what? You'll sick your overgrown pets on me?" Boscha challenged in a tone of mockery.
"Do you really want to find out?" Zeo countered, holding up one of his cards between his fingers.
Grimrose growled at the potionist witchling; she was much worse than that hairball from the Owl House. Unbeknownst to everyone, the botanic creature's eyes began to glow somewhat. Before anything could escalate further, the first bell rang.
"Well, time for class. See you around, losers" Boscha said, laughing as she walked away with her gang.
*chirp* "I hate her," Grimrose said.
"We all do, Grimrose," Willow said, stroking her leaves.
The others went inside to head in class. Willow was about to follow, only to stop when Zeo held his arm out. The plant witch looked at the card wielder as he pulled out a familiar card and handed it to her. It was the same card he used on Razor-dillo when they were shrunk and had to fight those animals.
"Here. Something tells me you might need it someday" Zeo told her. Willow opened her mouth to something, only to be cut off when Zeo spoke again, "Don't worry, I made extra copies" he added.
Willow blushed as she accepted, "Th-thank you, Zeo." The plant witch then left to get to class.
As she walked into the Plant Magic room, Willow set Grimrose on a table. As she turned, a speck of dust flew past the botanical creature. Despite having no nose, Grimrose reacted the same way any living creature would… she tried to hold in a sneeze, which seemed to work at first. After a few seconds, she made a loud sneeze, and some thistles flew off.
One happened to fly at one of Bosch's friends, Amelia and another Plant Magic student. She and another unfortunate student yelped when they felt the prick of the thistles. The two took out the thistles, Amelia found herself the center of attention when everyone saw she had a thistle bush.
"Oh, think you're…. Funny… huh..?" The student slurred as he fell to the floor, unconscious.
"But it wasn't-" Amelia didn't have time to defend when she suddenly felt her body lock up, causing her to fall to the ground as well.
"Grimrose!" Willow whispered to the plant beast.
*chirp* "Sorry, Willow. It was an accident" Grimrose said, an apologetic look on her face.
"Aw, it's ok, sweetie," Willow said, gently stroking the plant creature's leaves.
"What should we do about them?" Willow asked, looking at the fallen students.
*chirp* "We can either leave them like that and wait until someone comes and pulls the thistles out, or we pull the thistles out ourselves" Grimrose said, *chirp* "I vote for the first option. Mainly because…. I don't really know how I did that."
"You're probably right. Plus, it's better if no one knows it was you that did it" Willow whispered.
At lunch, Willow had met up with her friends, Grimrose sitting next to her tray of food. Her tray consisted of chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, peas, a side of jello, and a carton of non-alcoholic apple blood.
"You hungry, Grimrose?" Willow asked, offering the botanical creature one of her chicken tenders.
"*chirp* Thank you." Grimrose took the tender and munched on it.
It was here that Boscha and her crew walked by, "And here I thought pets weren't allowed on school grounds." She jeered then stopped to look at Willow, "And by the way, Willow, I was talking about you." She laughed at her own lame joke.
Willow looked hurt at the comment, which made Grimrose snarl at the three-eyed witchling. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, the botanical creature flung another one of her thistles at Boscha's table. Right as Amelia joined them, all the girls felt little pricks, making them cry out a collective "Ow!". Each girl plucked a thistle out, including Amelia, who dropped her bag… revealing a plastic bag full of thistles.
The group glared at the Plant Magic girl, when they realized something…. They were starting to itch all over! Almost as if an army's worth of insects were chomping down on them all at once!
"Amelia! I swear, soon as I stop itching, I'm going to annihilate you!" Boscha threatened her plant witch friend.
Grimrose released an evil snicker that only Zeo and Willow heard.
"Itch thistles, nice" Zeo smirked.
*chirp* "I also have sleep, paralysis, explosive and poison- both slow and fast acting" Grimrose informed them.
Willow noticed the two talking, "What are you two talking about?"
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Zeo waved off, giving a thumbs up to Grimrose.
"I hope you're not encouraging her to be a troublemaker, Zeo" Willow eyed him suspiciously, "Mama wants her to be a good girl" she said, referring to herself as she stroked the plant creature's leaves, Grimrose purring in delight.
"I'm not. But if she does become one, just remember that she was created by yours truly, so can't be helped" Zeo warned her.
"I guess I'll just have to take my chances" Willow said before looking at Grimrose with a small smile.
After lunch, everyone went about their usual class work; Amelia still receiving the blame for the thistle incidents that had been occurring. Now Zeo would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad for the poor Plant Track girl, not that he'd admit it to her or the rest of Boscha's crew in front of their three-eyed leader. Currently, he and Willow were in art class, painting a portrait of whatever they chose. Zeo chose Armadrillo, while Willow chose Grimrose.
"You know, this is actually pretty relaxing" Zeo commented as he painted the body of the evolved armadillo.
"Not to mention fun" Willow said with a small giggle, having just finished painting Grimrose's eyes.
Willow took a quick glance towards Armadrillo. Razor-dillo had changed form due to the card Zeo had given her earlier. Granted, the transformation was temporary, but still made the plant witch wonder… just what would Grimrose look like if she evolved? Maybe it'd be like a giant piranha plant that breathes fire. Or maybe it'd be a giant plant dragon with wings made of leaves.
"Willow? Willow! You still with us?" Zeo snapped his fingers a few times.
The Plant Track girl blinked, "Y-yeah, sorry 'bout that. Just thinking about a few things." Willow told him, coming out of her daydream state.
"Alright" Zeo said with an accepting tone.
It was then that something slowly moved past the window behind them; sensing something was amiss, Zeo and Willow turned to the window. Unfortunately, whatever was there had long since moved out of sight. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, especially by the Boiling Isles' standards, the two shrugged then got back to work.
"My dads are going to love this. What about you?" Willow asked her card wielding friend.
"Eh, my mom might be indifferent. She's more impressed when my beasts actually come to life" Zeo gave a small shrug, "Though given the power they possess, I can't say that I blame her.'' he added.
"Yeah, your beasts are certainly something. Some, like Knight Owl, are fierce; while others, like Grimrose, a just plain adorable" Willow gushed at that last part while looking at the botanical creature.
Zeo couldn't help but chuckle. It was almost like Willow was Grimrose's mother or something. Willow and Luz both like cute things, he could understand why they're friends. Also, they both had cute giggles… Willow's a little bit cuter though. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud, especially in front of Luz. So far, except for the Boscha stuff, today has been a pretty decent day.
The school bell, signalling the end of the school day and for all the students to head home.
"Today went by surprisingly quickly," Willow said as she and her friends exited the school, "I feel a little bad for Amelia though" she added.
"*chirp* "Sorry. A series of accidents" Grimrose said, perched on the plant witch's head.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Zeo dismissed, when he realized who he was talking about. "…. Okay, maybe not fine, but…. Something?" Knowing the Plant Track girl's leader.
Speak of the devil, and not in a good way, the Potionist Track appeared in front of the two; Luz and Gus joining them.
Not in the mood for her garbage, Zeo glared, "Did you need something, Boscha? Because I have better thing to do than deal with you right now."
"Well, you better clear your schedule, Owl Boy, cause we've got unfinished business." Boscha rebutted rudely.
"Yeah! Deal with it!" yelled one of the members of Boscha's group, a boy from the Oracle Track. The clone knew who he was, 'Beta male' didn't even come close to what he was.
"Hey! Do you mind? I'm trying to be threatening!" Boscha sneered, causing the Oracle boy to whimper.
"Yeah, like I'm going to be threatened by someone that has to pick on others just to feel good about themselves" Zeo said mockingly.
The others chuckled at Zeo's comment, making Boscha glare at the card user.
"Oh, you think you're clever, Owl Boy?" Boscha said, stepping forward, "Then how about a witches duel? Right here, right now" she challenged.
"A witch's duel? You and me?" Zeo raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, but I don't fight amateurs" he smirked.
"Oh-ho!" Gus chuckled.
"Burn!" Luz chimed in.
"Amateur?!" Boscha repeated angrily, an annoyed blush crossing her cheeks, "I'll have you know I rule this school. I'm captain of the Grudgby team. I'm-" the three-eyed girl's rant was cut off by a loud grumble.
Seconds afterward, everyone could feel the ground shake underneath their feet. The trembling only got worse as they heard large footsteps approaching. Grimrose growled, having sensed a large presence. It was like that of both a plant and an animal. It was at that moment that a large shadow loomed over them all. Everyone looked up in shock at what they saw, more specifically Zeo and Willow. It was the giant plant lizard thing that they faced in the forest some time ago. The very sight of the creature made Boscha and her lackeys scream and run away like frightened children.
"What the hell is that?!" Gus pointed to the creature.
"Uh, Willow, isn't that the giant plant lizard that got away from us last time?" Zeo asked the plant witch.
"Uh-huh" Willow nodded in confirmation.
"Cool…" Zeo pulled out the card for Knight Owl, "Now we can finish what we started" he said with a confident smirk.
However, before he could summon the armored avian, Grimrose hissed and jumped off Willow's head, now standing in front of them. They all looked at the botanical creature, who growled at the larger plant monster with her teeth gritted.
"Grimrose?" Willow looked at the small plant creature with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"I think she wants to fight that thing," Zeo said.
"But Grimrose is so small and adorable, she'll be crushed. Literally" Luz pointed out, a bit of concern for the small plant beast in her voice.
"What do you say, Willow?" Zeo looked at their Plant Track friend.
Willow looked at Grimrose, and then her friends then back at Grimrose. A small smile formed on the plant witch's face.
"Go get 'em, Rosie!" Willow said, faith for the plant creature in her voice.
Grimrose hissed as she unleashed her vines, wrapping them around the monster's neck as she swung into the air. She released herself, coming to eye level with the large creature.
"Command Card: Thorn Barrage!" Willow threw the card into Grimrose.
Grimrose shot a volley of thorns out of her mouth, hitting the plant lizard right on the nose. Sadly, it proved to be ineffective. It was like a small breeze of wind trying to move an enormous boulder. The plant lizard raised its arm, smacking Grimrose to the ground with its paw. The small plant beast skidded across the ground, stopping at Willow's feet. Grimrose chirped as she shakingly got back up, scuff marks all over her body.
"Oh, no, that was her only attack card, too! The other one is just a distraction move" Willow said, looking down at the small plant beast.
"Zeo! What're you waiting for? Summon Knight Owl and destroy that thing so it doesn't destroy Grimrose!" Luz insisted, tugging at her boyfriend's cloak.
*chirp* "No! I want to do this on my own. I want to prove I can protect Willow" Grimrose said in determination, surprising both Zeo and Willow. This made Zeo smile with pride.
"Let's give her the benefit of the doubt," Zeo replied to Luz's suggestion.
"Benefit of the doubt? That one attack injured her. If she takes another, she might revert back into her card form!" Luz shot back, "I'm helping her out!" she said while pulling out the ice glyph.
However, the glyph was smacked out of Luz's hand by a vine from Grimrose. She looked back at the botanical creature, who was looking at her with a serious glare. She was serious about this.
"How are you supposed to take this thing down, Grimrose? Your attack didn't even do anything" Luz said while rubbing the back of her hand.
"Yeah, you aren't a high level beast like Knight Owl, or a fusion like Frostfire Dragon" Gus pointed, "Your attack didn't even have enough force to stun that thing!" he added.
"Force?" Willow repeated. That's when she remembered the card that she received from Zeo earlier, Rank-Up-Magic Arcane Force. She then pulled out that very card, "Zeo… should I use it?" she asked, looking at the silver-haired witch-warrior while showing him the card.
"Unless you want Grimrose to revert to her card form, yeah, go for it" Zeo said with a shrug.
Willow nodded and cleared her throat, "Rank-Up-Magic Arcane Force!" she tossed the card upward, transforming it into a ball of white energy.
Willow looked at the ball of energy for a few seconds, and then took it in her right hand and crushed it, the power enveloping her hand. A green aura showed around her for a few brief seconds before quickly vanishing. She then opened her hand and aimed it at Grimrose, firing the power into the plant beast.
"Go, Rank-Up Beast Evolution!" Willow shouted excitedly as Grimrose's body glowed with a green light.
In that moment a giant rosebud sprouted out of the ground and swallowed up Grimrose. Seconds later, a pillar of bright green light blasted out of the center of the flower and into the sky. Out of the rose came the silhouette of a humanoid figure. When the pillar of light vanished, floating there was a human creature with dragonfly wings on their back.
The figure turned around, the group of friends were able to get a better look. It was a female with pale blue skin. She wore a strapless black corset that showed off the cleavage of her fairly large breasts, along with a slightly transparent green skirt that was decorated with leaves. She wore black high heeled boots that stopped at her knees with green soles and heels, a flower pattern on the toes of her boots. Her legs and hips were very thick. On her arms were green arm sleeves. On her head was a yellow headband, the lower portion of her hair tied into double buns (or odango if one wanted to be specific about the name) by yellow ribbons, the buns designed like roses. She kept the beady eyes of her previous form.
"Whoa!" Gus said in shock.
"That's Grimrose's evolved form?!" Luz said with equal shock.
It wasn't the evolved form itself that was shocking, more like the fact that the form… looked exactly like Willow! Except without the glasses. Luz, Willow, and Gus all looked at Zeo. The card user looked between each of them.
"Hey, don't look at me. I had no idea that this was going to happen!" Zeo told them.
"How do I look, guys?" the Willow look-a-like asked.
"Holy crap, she can talk now?!" Luz said with even greater shock.
"Ok, I definitely wasn't expecting that," Zeo said.
"You look lovely, Grimrose," Willow smiled at her.
"Aww, thanks!" Grimrose winked at her. The plant lizard swung its tail at her, only for Grimrose to effortlessly fly out of the way, "Whoopsie! You'll have to be quicker than that!" she told the beast.
"Be careful!" Willow said with concern as Grimrose flew around the creature.
"The magic card you used and the bond we share allowed me to transform. Willow, you're a very special girl. Even though your wardrobe sometimes clashes" Grimrose lightly joked with that last part.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow asked.
"Uh, later. Right now we have an overgrown lizard thing to take down" Grimrose told her.
"Right!" Willow nodded as three new cards appeared in her hand, "Command Card: Stem Whip!" Willow tossed the card into Grimrose.
A whip made of the thorny stem of a rose was produced, the weapon surrounded in green light. Grimrose went on the offensive and whipped at the trunk-like body of the creature, causing it to roar in pain. It once again tried to attack the now evolved Grimrose, who promptly flew out of its reach. Grimrose flew underneath its chin and swung twice, the creature roaring in pain again as the whip left a large X in the center of its chest.
"Let's try this one out. Command Card: Seed Bombs" Willow tossed a second card into Grimrose.
In a brief flash of light, a seed the size of coconut appeared in each of Grimrose's hands. She flew around and chucked them at the creature's trunk-like body where she had left the scars with her whip. The seeds exploded upon impact, making the beast roar in pain as the attacks split its wounds open even further. You could even see its flesh which was a light green, oozing whatever passed for blood which was a lime green.
The plant lizard tried to counter-attack. However, due to Grimrose being smaller and faster than it, every one of its attacks missed. Grimrose flew under its chin again, albeit at a further distance, and chucked the seed bombs and chucked them at the large wound on its chest. When the smoke cleared, everyone could see into the creature's chest cavity, its large, beating, sickly green heart on display.
Grimrose floated several feet away in front of the plant lizard, her eyes narrowed in a glare. The two stared each other down like in one of those old western movies.
"Time to end this!" Willow said, holding the last card between her fingers, "Command Card: Flower Cannon!" she tossed it into Grimrose.
Grimrose cuffed her hands together, a large golden yellow rose encasing them, a large barrel in the center. Cerulean-colored light gathered in the barrel, generating a large sphere. Grimrose yelled at the top of her lungs as she fired the energy in a large, powerful beam. The creature roared in pain for the final time as the attack pierced through its body and obliterated its heart completely.
"Mama! Papa! Did you see what I did!" Grimrose cheered happily.
Zeo was about to reply, when all color drained out of him, "... I beg your pardon?" He asked in a squeaky voice.
He was caught off guard even more when she flew towards them and hugged both him and Willow at the same time.
"You were great, sweetie! Momma's so proud!" Willow said as she returned the hug, "Right, Zeo?" she looked at the card user who remained silent with his mouth agape, "You're dad's proud, too" she whispered to Grimrose with a giggle.
Soon as Luz and Gus heard this, they just stared blankly at Zeo for a few minutes... Then began to laugh out loud. Okay, it may have been odd for one that looks like Grimrose to call two early teens her parents, but it was also funny since there was some truth to this statement.
"Awe~ Whittle Wose is growing up so fast, right papa?" Gus jeered, unable to hold it in.
Luz joined in as she teased, "She looks like mommy, but has daddy's eyes."
"Grrr…. SHUT UP, YOU TWO! Or, I swear, I'll sic my new creatures on you!"
Grimrose released the hug on her "parents" and noticed that a piece of the plant lizard was still around. She approached the piece and took it in her hands, it being a bark-like substance. She was then hit with a wave of information from the now dead creature.
"Hm. Interesting…" Grimrose muttered to herself in a curious tone.
Alright, that's the end of this chapter. This one was pretty fun to write, especially the final part with Grimrose evolving and calling Zeo and Willow her parents. Technically speaking, they kind of are. This chapter was co-written with my friend King of 2211. He thought of the concept of Grimrose's evolution, while I came up with the evolution's outfit, and we both agreed to make the evolution look like Willow.
I based the evolved form off Lillymon from Digimon: Adventure 01. Hell, she even has the same English voice as Lillymon (the one from Adventure 01, not Adventure 02 because the one from Adventure 02 is too high… even though it's still the same voice actor). Expect to see this evolved form of Grimrose to appear occasionally.
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