Alright, here's chapter 28 of Rise of Zeo. I've been excited to post this one for a while, mainly due to the new beast weapon that our favorite witch/warlock/warrior gets. Expect this to have Devil May Cry vibe. Enjoy.
It was another Saturday afternoon at the Owl House and everyone was doing their own thing. On the couch, Zeo was staring at his cards, Luz was on her phone… and King was being annoying, so Zeo summoned Nigh Howler to keep him distracted.
"Hmm…" Zeo muttered as he continued to stare at his collection of beast summons.
"You okay, Zeo?" Luz asked, looking up from her phone.
"Well, honestly, Luz… No," Zeo answered as he sat up from laying position on the couch. "I feel like I'm missing something in my life."
"Please be love. Please be love. Please be love…" Luz repeated in her mind with fingers crossed and her eyes closed.
Lately the human girl had been craving some attention from her boyfriend. With all the drama of fighting monsters, going on quests and other stuff like that, she could use a little romantic affection.
"I've got magic. I've got experience fighting monsters and experience exploring some of the most dangerous locations on the Boiling Isles," he explained listing things off of his fingers.
"Not to mention, you have the charisma of a hero, who never gives up and protects those he cares about," Luz added with a cute smile.
"That too," Zeo answered in agreement. "So, what am I missing?" As if a spiritual titan above heard his question, fate worked its magic as the front door was kicked in.
"OW," Hooty said from the familiar boot that was still extended beyond the door.
"Hey, kiddos. I'm back from the human world," Eda announced sticking her head in the doorway.
"What'cha get this time?" Zeo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, come on outside and let me show you," Eda encouraged with a wave of her arm. With curiosity getting the best of the duo, they got off the couch and headed outside.
"I did grab a few do-das, but I felt like that I needed a something new to spruce of the place, ya know," Eda said, trying to feel like a winner at something as she brought out several different things from a small pile of stuff in front of her.
She pulled out a bunch of miscellaneous things from the human world.
First was an umbrella that was full of holes, an alarm clock, and a one-piece leather female outfit that looked like it was for mature audiences only. Thankfully, Luz covered Zeo's eyes before he'd even comment about it, nevertheless, see it.
That is, until Eda pulls out a heavy motorcycle that looked like its seen better days.
"Oh, cool. A motorcycle," Luz said with a giddy smile on her face. "Eda, how did you get this?!"
"It was lying on a mound full of broken cars and such that looked worst off," Eda answered, making Luz sport a frown.
"Oh, so she passed by a junkyard on her way here. That explains why it looks a bit rusted. But at least, she didn't steal one," Luz muttered to herself, now knowing that this ride won't work without some maintenance and an auto shop. But maybe there could be a silver lining with this.
"Zeo, get on it," Luz suggested, grabbing his hand and ushering him to the motorcycle.
"What?" Zeo asked in surprise, not knowing what Luz has in store for him.
"I want to take a picture of you on it. Trust me. This might help you get out of your "bored out" state," she suggested.
"If you say so," Zeo sort of agreed as she started instructing him on his bike.
Luz told him most of the parts about the motorcycle before she told him to put his hands on the handlebars and his feet on the bike pedals. Thankfully, the pile of stuff was preventing the cycle from falling over, but she needed to work fast, so it doesn't happen.
She got pictures of his front, sides, back, low, high and even selfies of her on the ride with him to make it look badass authentic. But now, Zeo just needed either a coat or a sleeveless vest to officially pull the look off. But that may come later.
While Zeo was still examining the bike, Luz went to talk to Eda about some Earthly customs about this situation.
"If you want to know, Eda, in the human world, it's almost considered a parental rite of passage to teach your children how to ride a bike," Luz said with a smirk as Eda stopped digging through the pile and looked at her apprentice as if she were joking, "Not to mention, it's even a bigger rite of passage when parents give their kids a new bike or car...like this," Luz added as Eda just went wide-eyed and looked at Zeo examining the motorcycle as if it was his newest toy, despite it being rusted and broken down.
"You know there is no way in this lifetime I'm giving him Owlbert, right?" Eda said in an annoyed tone.
"It's not like he needs it, Eda. I'm just saying," Luz defended as Zeo didn't really need a staff.
"Look, why don't you and Zeo go out on a date or something? Have the afternoon to yourselves. I need the place to myself for a few hours," Eda said as she waved Luz off as Zeo.
"Let's leave your mom alone. She sounds like she's having one of those days," Luz said.
"Ah. Say no more. Let's go," Zeo said, grabbing her hand as they headed towards town.
"Can I come?" King shouted, finally getting away from Night Howler.
"No!" the teens shouted as Night Howler caught up to King, grabbing the poor house pet and brought him back inside.
"Oh, come on!" he shouts in disapproval.
Bonesborough…
"I can't get that motorcycle thing you showed me earlier out of my head and I think I can turn into a new card," Zeo admitted as he and Luz walked down the street, holding hands.
"That's good," Luz said with optimism as she looked at the shops that they haven't been to yet.
"Where did you learn about that motorcycle stuff anyway?" Zeo asked with a curious expression.
"My dad has one. He's had it since before I was born, so everything I know about motorcycles, I picked up from" Luz told him with a small smile and a slightly embarrassed blush to boot.
"Oh. Well, he seems like a cool guy," Zeo said, smiling as well, "But I need some more inspiration before I start drawing," Zeo admitted as he went deeper into his thoughts.
Then, he remembered one of the things that Eda had earlier. It was a statue of a dragon in a crouching pose that Eda had pulled out of the pile, similar to how the motorcycle's frame was on the wheels. He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and began drawing the dragon, but with the paws of the dragon connected to the wheels.
"Hmm. You said people ride these all the time back in your world, so it would be a secondary mode of transportation. So, should anything happen to Knight Owl, I'll have a backup ride...that can't fly. Damn it!" he said in realization as he muttered the ending. "Oh, well. Maybe I need to keep my nose to the ground, anyway. I might see something that I'd missed before."
"Hold it right there, heathen," a familiar voice shouted, catching his attention from behind.
"Aunt Lily?" Zeo asked, recognizing the voice as he quickly turned around and of course, saw Lilith chasing someone in a witch's robe who had a hooded cowl to prevent people from recognizing their face. The pair was heading in Zeo's direction in a sprinting pace.
"Zeo! Luz! Stop him! He's a detainee that has a date with the Conformatorium," Lilith shouted as she pointed to the supposed perpetrator out in front of her.
"I'm never going back to that hellhole," the detainee shouted as up ahead, Zeo quickly turned around and was ready to tackle the hooded person.
He didn't need his summons just to slow someone down, but the escaping individual quickly swirled a spell and the ground erupted underneath Zeo, trapping his legs in a cluster of vines as he fell forward onto his stomach while Luz got tangled up right behind him before she could reach for her glyphs.
"Crap! Plant magic," Zeo said as the criminal jumped over them with left over vines giving him a boost up for some extra hang time over someone's carriage.
"Should've seen that coming," Luz added until the vines slowly glowed and retracted back into the ground.
"I got you guys," a voice said nearby. It was Willow in her casual clothes.
"Thanks, Willow" Zeo said while dusting himself off, "Where's Grimrose?" he asked, noticing the botanical creature wasn't around.
"She's back at home, asleep. I thought I'd give her a little break" Willow replied with a small shrug.
"Aww, that's adorable!" Luz gushed, "We owe you one! Now, let's get this guy," Luz said, ready for a foot race chase.
"Already covered, Luz," Zeo said as he stared at his new card before taking a deep breath, "Hope this works," he says as he threw the card to the ground, "No time now like the present," he thought as a bright light formed, "Beast Weapon: Drago-cycle, arise!" he shouted as a bright light erupted.
When the light died down, a black motorcycle was seen. Although, it was more than just a motorcycle. The entire body of the cycle was made of a black dragon's body with silver horns for handlebars and the head letting out a roar, showing everyone around it that it was sentient. Its eyes were blank and glowed an electric blue, it having the dual element lightning and darkness. This was a wingless dragon, looking like it was something out of Game of Thrones or even Skyrim. As Zeo hopped on his new motorcycle, the girls were frozen in astonishment.
"What..." Lilith began in shock.
"The..." Willow continued in disbelief.
As Luz said the next word out loud, Zeo revved the gas pedal (well, horn) for the dragon cycle so hard, it blocked out the word Luz said as it left her mouth, leaving Willow and Lilith wandering what the human just said. The cycle quickly accelerated and continued the foot chase, sending some dust in their direction behind him, forcing them to cover their faces as Zeo went on ahead.
"Sorry!" Zeo shouted in the far distance, not knowing the power behind his newest vehicular weapon, leaving everyone witnessing in shock.
"Come on! We gotta keep up with him," Luz shouted, encouraging the others to follow his lead.
"Right," Willow said in agreement while Lilith slowly took up the rear.
"That nephew of mine will never cease to amaze me at this point," she muttered in realization. What more could Zeo create and summon that she isn't prepared for?
Zeo was zooming down the street, making people in front of him dodging to the sides to avoid being run over or knocked aside.
"Wow! This thing is fast! Really good for pursuits on the ground," Zeo commented as he shifted the cycle to the side, narrowly avoiding a merchant cart.
"Got you," Zeo muttered with satisfaction.
As the criminal kept running, he didn't notice the person he trapped in vines not too long ago was riding a new card summon and was closing in on him. Just as the criminal made it to a spacious area, he heard something fast approaching, but before he could turn around, he was knocked to the ground with a roll.
"Remember me?" Zeo announced as the criminal was shocked to see him again so soon.
"How did you get out of those restraints?" the criminal asked in shock.
"Maybe I know the right people to assist me when it comes to plant magic," Zeo answered.
His answer enraged the criminal as he drew a circle and vines erupted from the ground and attacked Zeo, who quickly revved the cycle and began circling around his new opponent for any apparent openings, while everyone around them ran away to give the fighters some space, excluding...
"Found them," Luz says as she rounded the corner, down the road from where the action was. She could recognize the sound of a motorcycle anyway.
"You think Zeo will be okay?" Willow asked with concern.
"He'll be fine. Besides, I want to see this. It may not be a Witch's Duel, but it's the best thing to see how Zeo fights against criminals, who won't show any mercy in fights," Lilith said as the girls looked at her with worried looks.
Zeo could only rev the cycle and zoom forward, barely being missed by the thick, prickle vines as he continued to ride donuts around the criminal, who was trying to keep this kid stationary long enough with his plants to hit this kid and knock him out. He doesn't want to let this fight drag on, otherwise, he'll be swarmed with Emperor Coven guards soon.
"Hold still, would ya," the criminal said in an aggravated tone.
"No way," Zeo called out as a plant missed him, then his tires. One did wrap around his body, but he maneuvered his bike to wrap around the other vines to tie them up together, forcing the vine on him to let go since it reached its limit, annoying the plant witch further.
"Come on, there gotta be a way for me to counterattack and fight against those vines," Zeo muttered as he heard the dragon head on the front of his bike growl.
*growl* "Just say "alternate"," he heard the dragon say.
"Um, ok? Alternate!" Zeo shouted and then his bike revved itself.
The bike took control and zoomed towards the criminal, and then gained enough momentum to jump up and force Zeo to do a forward flip. Midway through the flip, cerulean lightning surged around the bike as it began to split and the horns began to slide to the spot where the gas tank meets the seat as the motorcycle splits in half and the tires open up into large spiked buzzsaws.
As Zeo descended, the criminal quickly summoned a barrier full of vines to protect him from the saw blades that replaced the tires of his vehicle.
So, when the blades made contact, it began scratching and cutting through the vines like a weed whacker with bits of plant and thorns erupting from the points of contact. The criminal became shocked that this kid was using his vehicle as a weapon and he knew he was on the defensive because the tires are so huge, he can't see clearly enough with Zeo's buzzsaws cutting through vines.
Zeo swung and drag his buzzsaws across the ground, on purpose, to cut these vines at the root as he kept twisting his body while keeping buzzsaws active and the momentum going to brutally cut through vine after vine that made up the barrier. But the criminal had a strategy, he kept healing the vines after Zeo's buzzsaws kept slicing and dicing through the thick plants' stems.
But the real question was, who was gonna give in first? Or run out of mana first?
Zeo quickly reverse grips the buzzsaws and brought both buzzsaws up vertically before quickly crossing them over again for a big "X" leftover the faded horizontal strikes on the vines. Zeo was making progress because the vines were healing slower than usual, meaning the criminal was running out of mana.
"One more," Zeo said as he back up and jumped as high as he could.
Zeo brought both buzzsaws down on the vines like a mallet, eviscerating any plant that got in the clone's way. And once the criminal heard the sound of his vines being ripped to pieces and witnessed the serrated buzzsaw blades that came through the barrier, he knew he was in trouble. When the blades came through vines, they came down like a newly cut down tree, crashing down on the criminal. But he quickly pops back up through the vines albeit a little more tired than before.
"This... is... something... else..." Zeo said in shock at what his motorcycle can do. "And man, my arms. Well, I am carrying the weight of a motorcycle between two hands. I guess that means I better start lifting weights soon or continue using these as my dumbbells." He half-joked.
"That... was... something... else..." Luz said with a shocked look on her face as Willow had her mouth agape while Lilith could only shake her head with a grin. Her nephew did it again. Twice. She must be underestimating her sister's side of the family.
"Take this!" the criminal said as more vines began to erupt underneath Zeo.
"Oh, boy! Alternate!" Zeo shouted as he twisted his body, lightning surging around both parts of the cycle and slowly formed together into his motorcycle that he previously summoned before, "So that's how it works," Zeo muttered in shock as he looked at cycle then back to the criminal, "This is something that I definitely need to get used to for future fights," he says as he started to rev the cycle a few times to get the criminal's attention, then Zeo accelerated towards him, not slowing down.
The criminal had no mana left, so all he could do was try to jump over Zeo's charge attack. Too bad for the criminal that the dragon head was perfect centered right in front of him, so when he tried to jump over, he was too slow on the jump and the dragon grabbed him from the scrotum of his pants, scaring everyone in attendance, even Zeo. Thankfully, the dragon's grip was enough to keep the criminal off balance as he was being dragged by the cycle with his head nearly touching the moving ground until the dragon head let him go and Zeo could get some distance from him.
"Not exactly what I was planning, but if it works, it works," Zeo said in a confident, yet confused tone.
He was tempted to try that charge attack again as the criminal got back on his feet, but when Zeo accelerated forward and got within striking distance of the criminal, the guy was scared right off of his feet and onto the ground, in a fetal position.
"Please. Don't hurt me," he said as he held his non-dominant arm out in a pleading motion, signaling everyone that he was defeated.
"He did it," Luz said with a cheerful smile as Willow exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Ms. Lilith. We're here," an Emperor's Coven guard shouted from afar.
"And that's our cue to join him," Lilith said with a pleased smile as the three ran over to Zeo, joined by backup.
Zeo could only sport a look in disapproval and rev the cycle further and leave a giant skid trail in the dirt as he maneuvers the bike in a circle to further intimidate or scare the criminal.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, but the next time you trap me in vines, I'm going to. And believe, I'll make sure of it that you will never use your arms to cast a spell again. Understand?!" Zeo asked with a glare.
"Yes! Alright! Okay, I surrender," the person says as he got on his knees and held out his arms. "I surrender," he repeated in a softer tone with his hands raised.
"Good," Zeo said in an exhausted breath as he heard various footsteps and turned around and saw Luz, Willow, and Lillith with lots of Emperor Coven Guards behind them.
"Amazing job, Zeo. You got him," Lilith said with a supportive smile at her nephew's handiwork. Minimum collateral damage, no lives were lost and the perp is incapacitated and in custody.
"What took you guys so long," Zeo asked halfheartedly as he pointed at the Emperor's Coven guards, making Lilith raise an eyebrow and turning her attention to her subordinates, making all of them getting a sense of fear into their system.
"First, secure the area and put the criminal in chains...then I want a deep, well-written report from each and every one of you about where all of you were while a civilian was able to do all your jobs better than all of you today! Understand?" Lilith said rather sternly.
"MA'AM," they shouted in unison and got to work containing the scene.
"Now, get to work," she shouted as she held her hands to face to calm herself down.
She didn't want Zeo to handle all of that by himself. She really wanted the Emperor's Coven to interrupt the fight, but now she has to save face and deal with this outcome personally. Who knows what would happen if the media caught wind of this?
Numerous Emperor Coven guards were keeping the spectators back as they drew boundaries and maintained control of the scene.
"Make sure of it. He gets a special isolation cell in the Conformatorium with a special rehabilitation session with Warden Wrath," Lilith addressed at her Coven guard underlings, who nodded and threw the criminal in the back of a prison transport carriage.
"I'll be back, Lilith Clawthorne! I'll get you and that silver-haired freak with the weird contraption," he vowed as the carriage pulled away. Not before, Lilith zapped him through the bars with a knockout spell to keep quiet.
"Nobody insults my nephew," Lilith muttered underneath her breath as she eyed her nephew in question, who was busy talking to Luz and Willow.
"You okay, Zeo?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. I think that's the first time I've ever faced a Plant Coven witch...in combat, outside of a witch's duel," he began, eyeing Willow and gave her a sincere wave out respect since he hasn't fought her yet, "Either I'm getting better at these encounters or the summons and/or weapons I create are giving me a fighting chance."
"Or you are just that lucky," Lilith said, walking over and joining the conversation.
"I make my own luck, Aunty," Zeo retaliated with a humorous smirk.
"That's exactly something Eda would say, if she were in your place right now," Lilith said with small giggle. "But anyway, thanks for the help and don't worry about our troublesome prisoner, he's headed to the Conformatorium under strict guard, so he won't be getting out anytime soon.
"That's relief," Luz said with a sigh.
"I will try my best not to make it a habit of asking for your help, Zeo. Not when it comes to handling matters that involve the Emperor's Coven," Lilith explained, feeling worried she might drag her nephew into her affairs with the Emperor's Coven and, eventually, choose between capturing Eda or protecting her.
And at the end of the day, it's a family member versus a family member with another family member caught in the middle to choose what's best for everyone in the family.
"It's alright, Aunt Lilith. Besides, I had a feeling that I would get caught in the middle with the Emperor's Coven eventually," Zeo said, making Lilith get an uneasy feeling.
As far as Zeo knows, Lilith does want him to join the Emperor's Coven, but the last thing she needed was Zeo gaining the undivided attention from THE Emperor himself. That's the last thing she needed on her mind. The best thing to do right now was to keep him at arm's length when it came to the problems that plague the Emperor's Coven.
"Regardless, you were a great help today. Now, I suggest getting back to my sister before more of my coven guards ask for unnecessary witness statements," Lilith said as Zeo had that feeling of overstaying his welcome in a non-active crime scene.
"Agreed," he said as he hopped on the ride, revving it to make sure the bike was ready to roll. But there was another issue...
"Sooo...who gets to ride with Zeo," Luz asked out loud as Zeo, Luz and Willow looked at each other.
"I'm not part of this conversation. This is between you three. Until next time, nephew," Lilith said as she waved goodbye to talk to another coven guard about damage control.
"Maybe, you should ride with him, Luz. You are his girlfriend after all," Willow suggested. "I only came into town to run an errand to the store, but what I needed wasn't available. So, when I walked out of the store that's when I saw you and Zeo being encased in vines. Besides, I know how to get home from here," she said, but Zeo knew something was up.
"How far do you live from here, Willow?" Zeo asked, and he got his answer when Willow said nothing as her head tilted to the ground, meaning she was shy and embarrassed to give him an answer. In other words, she lived far from here.
"But you helped us out of that vine trap, we owe you one," Luz argued at Willow's suggestion.
"Don't worry, I have an idea. Sort of…" Zeo said with a so-so handshake as both girls looked at him with confused faces.
"Zeo! This is your best idea yet," Luz announced as they rode through the streets of Bonesborough at a safe speed.
Apparently, Zeo was sandwiched between Luz, who was seated in front of him, nearly on his lap with her hands upon Drago-Cycle's horns on top of Zeo's for balance while Willow was holding Zeo's waist from behind.
Not the safest idea, but it was good to experiment to see how many people he could fit on this thing without it affecting the speed of the motorcycle. Also, because Zeo didn't want Willow to be left behind, missing out on riding a vehicle from the human world. The only problem was he had to nearly stare at the back of Luz's head most of the way and had to go slower than usual, so they wouldn't crash. Can't have an accident on your first day with your new toy, it's considered a bad omen for future endeavors.
As they rode closer to Willow's house to drop her off, they noticed some familiar faces from school.
"Hey, is that..." Luz said as Zeo eased on the throttle.
"Yep," Zeo answered with a smile as the cycle slowed down to the crowd up ahead for a quick chat. "Let's go say hi."
"My mom is finally suggesting that I will be able to have my own ride to school, if I wanted, as long as I keep my grades up," Boscha said to her two friends, Skara and Amelia.
The group of girls had their own bags, backpack, and purses on them as they walked down a residential road towards Boscha's house for a sleepover.
"I just hope she lets me get to pick out my ride, so I don't look a loser when I come to school. Image is everything in school, not just sports," Boscha said as her two friends just rolled their eyes without care as they heard something creating a weird revving noise approaching from behind them on the road.
"Hey, Boscha..." Luz announced with a wave.
"...And friends," Willow added with a shy wave.
"Hey, girls! What's up," Zeo said with an encouraging smile as the trio of girls went wide-eyed at what they were seeing as Amelia secretly took out her phone/scroll thing and quickly started recording.
"Um..." Boscha said, tongue-tied, trying to form words on what she was seeing.
Zeo was riding a new type of vehicle for transportation and has, not one, but two girls on it with him. He's officially made himself cooler than Boscha and she didn't even see it coming.
"Is that thing... yours?" Boscha uttered out in shock since she hasn't seen a special motorcycle like this before as Drago growled out in her direction, forcing the triclops to back up a step.
"Yep. I just made it earlier and now I'm taking it out on a test drive," Zeo said as he revved the horn a few times to prove his point, making the crowd of girls around him feel a little bit excited for some reason.
It made Skara's hair frazzle out and Ameilia felt like she wanted to hug the part that's making the revving sound while Boscha was wondering why she felt like she had butterflies in her stomach.
"Nice ride," Skara said with an interested smile.
"Thanks. But don't mind us, though. It's been a hell of a day and I'm just taking Willow home," Zeo said as Willow smiled and leaned further into Zeo's back, cheek first, making the duo sport some jealous faces, despite Luz unable to see since she was in front.
"Yeah. Can I call the next ride?" Amelia asked, interested in what it would be like to travel on Zeo's new vehicle while Boscha felt like she became old news within just one conversation between her friends and the so-called "losers".
"Sorry, ladies. Maybe next time. This thing's only a two-seater, almost a three, but I don't wanna risk it," Zeo explained as the duo sported frowns.
"Fine. But there's always next time to go on a ride with you," Skara said playfully as Luz and, surprisingly (and secretly) Bosha, slightly frowned at the thought. Willow gets a free pass because she's a good friend of the duo, but anyone else outside of Amity. Well...
"Anyway...," Zeo said, trying to ignore that under-the-radar sexual innuendo. "We'll see you guys at school, okay?"
"Alright," Skara and Amelia said together while Boscha still sported the confused face.
"Sorry to cut this conversation short, but we've gotta go," he said with a respectful tone as he waved one last time. "See ya," he shouted as he twisted the horn as Luz and Willow waved goodbyes as they zoomed on ahead, leaving a dust trail, sending a small gust of wind to blow up their skirts and jackets. As the vehicle accelerated down the road, the trio were left speechless while looking at each other until someone finally spoke...
"Well. Someone just got a whole lot hotter," Skara said with a small smile as she still watched the retreating dragon-theme vehicle.
"Indeed," Amelia added as she stopped the recording when the three were out of focus and posted it onto her social media account with the hashtag name up top being: #Zeo'sNewRide
"Shut it, girls," Boscha said with an embarrassed face as she felt her popularity was just absorbed into Zeo right when he showed, talked and left with a smile on his face.
Zeo easily just flirted with both of her friends without even trying and she never felt tongue-tied before. Though Zeo mainly did it just to piss Boscha off. That's when Boshca realized she wasn't as popular as she used to be. Boscha couldn't say it out loud, but she knew one thing as she saw them slowly disappeared down the road.
"I've got to get me one of those," the triclops said in mental determination. But first, she needed to know how Zeo got one of those things.
And just like that, thanks to Amelia's post, has now gotten multiple shares and likes from the students at Hexide, come school on Monday, Zeo will officially have the title of the "Coolest Bad Boy" on campus at Hexide.
Willow's House…
"We're here," Willow said as the cycle came to stop in front of Willow's house since he remembered the way last time.
"Nice place you got here, Willow," Luz commented with a smile. "It's really homey," Luz added with surprise.
They got off the cycle and walked to the front door while Luz followed behind, staying at the edge of the porch. It was customary for the boy to escort the girl to the front door after a date, but since Luz and Zeo were a couple, not to mention this wasn't a date to begin with, she decided to bring up the rear and wait for Willow to enter her house before she could have Zeo all to herself.
"Thanks for the ride, Zeo," Willow said sincerely.
"Anything for you, Willow," Zeo said, brushing it off as if it wasn't a big deal. He doesn't mind being a slave to the schedule as long as he gets something out of it, including helping his friends.
However, she gave him a lengthly hug as she brought her head into the crook of his neck. He didn't want the affection, but it was appreciated. Although, it made Luz inwardly frown at the scene in front of her.
"I feel like that should be me. Not her. Wait... what?" Luz said to herself, double-backing on what she just said to herself.
Meanwhile, Willow's fathers saw the scene from behind the front door window, but they didn't want to say anything about it. They didn't want to make things awkward between the kids. So, they wanted to give them a head's up.
"Willow? Is that you?" Gilbert asked from behind the door to sound like he just heard them come to the door. The fathers slowly opened the door and came outside, "What was all that noise coming from?" Gilbert asked he came out of the house, possibly from hearing voices—and the Drago-cycle behind the door and "saw" Willow with her friends out in front, "Our little blossom! We thought you would be back an hour ago. We heard there was some trouble in town involving a Plant Coven criminal and the Emperor's Coven."
"Don't worry, dads. My friends were there to keep me safe while the Emperor's Coven did their job," Willow answered while her dads eyed Zeo with interest before Gilbert looked at the Drago-cycle on the street before them.
"What's with that contraption? Did he make that?" Gilbert asked.
"Yeah. Luz called it a "motorcycle" from where she comes from, so Zeo got inspired and made one for himself," Willow explained, stunning the fathers.
"Interesting," her fathers said in unison as Zeo knew it was time to leave before he had to start explaining how he did it to Willow's dad and they didn't have the time for it. Not today.
"Please, don't mind us. We were just dropping Willow off," Zeo said as he and Luz headed back to the motorcycle.
"Come on, ya owl knight in shining armor. Let's head home," Luz said as she got behind him and hugged his torso while putting her head on his back.
As Zeo revved the horn and the cycle slowly accelerated, Luz just wanted this moment to last a lifetime. It was like a recreation of a happy ending in a romance film with a sun setting peacefully over the horizon in the distance as the couple drove through town with the credit beginning to roll up.
After Zeo and Luz headed back to the Owl House and Willow went to her room, Willow's parents wanted to have that talk about Willows' friend after his previous visit to the house.
"What do you think about him," Gilbert asked his life partner as he took a deep sigh.
"He must be a bad boy. I think he probably has a tough guy demeanor while caring so little about the rules in place." he answered.
"Perhaps, but maybe he's a bad boy with a heart. He wants to impress the people around him to show everyone that he can do something and not be treated like he's weak. And, I bet he's not weak. Far from it, actually. I mean, I just don't want a repeat of the "Blight Incident." That's all," Gilbert answered, trying to sound civil on the matter.
"Don't remind me, but I know what you know mean. You...no, we don't want Willow to end up alone again after her first friend broke their friendship apart. Yet, I think that's the last thing we would need to expect from him," he said.
"He's been keeping an eye on Willow and making sure of it that she comes home safe. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave us a few adventures about him and his style of magic," Gilbert said as his husband chuckled.
"I think that's something that should be discussed at the dinner table. That way, we can throw some pointers her way to stay safe when she goes on her next adventure," he suggested as both agreed on the thought.
Bonesborough…
"You know what, Luz?" Zeo said. "I think I found what I was missing."
"And what's that?" Luz asked, wanting to know the answer.
"A ride to call my own," Zeo answered, "Plus, some alone time with the girl I love" he added.
"Aww!" Luz gushed nuzzling him from behind.
"Now, let's grab some lunch, and then head home. I want to rub it in Mom's face when she sees my badass ride!" Zeo said malicious smirk.
The Drago-cycle released a powerful roar as it rode off into the distance, its rider and his girl enjoying the time that they had together.
Alright, I think that should do it for this chapter. This chapter was really fun to work on. As of this chapter, Zeo now has a new favorite beast weapon in the Drago-cycle, as do I (Sorry, IrishKatana, Dragon Blade's been demoted to number 2). I mean, it's the combination of my favorite mythical beast (dragons) and my favorite mode of transportation (motorcycles), how could it not be my favorite? Plus, it doubles out of a weapon, which makes it even cooler! Zeo's going to be using this thing a lot, probably almost as much as he uses Knight Owl. This story is going to be a lot more fun to write.
This marks the first dual-element Beast Weapon, as well as the first sentient Beast Weapon… depending on how you look at it anyway.
Normally this would be the part where I'd say which of my friends this chapter was co-written with. Sadly, that's not the case for this chapter. This chapter was written entirely by my friend Clock King 10, so all credit for this chapter goes to him… I just made a few minor edits. He's also the one that came up with the idea for the Drago-cycle. It's based off the Dragoncycles from Star vs. The Forces of Evil, but it's mainly based off Dante's motorcycle, Cavalier from Devil May Cry 5.
I had Luz bring up her dad because I seriously doubt they're ever going to bring him up in the show.
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