All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy the fic.
Chapter 96: Blight vs Blight
At a tavern, a couple of certain scouts were at the bar amongst the other patrons. Kikimora drank up some ghoul-aid, accompanying her was Pugsley.
"This whole thing stinks, Pugsley," Kikimora ranted while sighing. "All of these lowly duties we have to do. Street traffic this, settling disturbances that, and not to mention finding someone's lost cat!"
"But Kiki, aren't all these duties in service of the Titan?" Pugsley asked her. "I mean, some folks don't take too kindly to scouts these days, so doing these smaller duties can help our rep and the rep of the Emperor's Coven."
Kikimora looked at Puglsey. "Puglsey."
"Yeah?" The larger scout leaned closer, only to get smacked in the head. "OW!"
"Shut up!" Kikimora scolded him. She then looked up at the crystal ball showing the advertisement of B.I.G.
"Go BIG! The Boiling Isles Guardians are at your service!"
"Ugh… B.I.G.," Kikimora said dismissively. "It's bad enough that the Owl Lady is now running the orphanage as a local town hero, all because she took down that Tarot Guild! But now we have to deal with this crap? B.I.G. aren't real scouts, they're just… products!"
"I don't know, they got some good merchandising," Pugsley replied. "I'm thinking of asking Krampus for their action figures!"
"Oh my Titan, Pugsley, just shut the fuck up…" Kiki wasn't feeling like smacking the bumbling scout this time.
"Excuse me, Kikimora," someone said.
The diminutive demon turned around and spotted Felicity Fox approaching.
"Felicity Fox, Head of the Media Coven, nice to meet you, would you spare some time with a little chat? Alone?" the fox demon asked.
Kiki looked at Felicity and groaned. "Look, I don't know what you want, but I'm not that kind of demon!" she told her off.
"But I wish to learn about one of your former colleagues…" Felicity told her.
"Really? Who?" Kikimora asked. "If you wish to know about Steve…"
"I'm talking about… Lilith," Felicity said, which got Kikimora interested.
"Um sorry, ma'am, but Kiki isn't-" Pugsley tried to say.
"No-no, Pugsley, let me talk to this… nice lady," Kikimora said as she stepped down before leading Felicity to somewhere private. "Follow me, I'll be glad to tell you all about my old friend Lilith," she said with a happy, but evil tone…
Later, Felicity was in her office. The fox biped had pulled out some photos she kept in her desk and she grinned while looking at them.
"Whoever sent these photos has a good eye," Felicity said while looking at the photos she received earlier this week. "This is just… perfect! This will be better than that botched interview with the Owl Lady…"
She slammed the photos on her desk and she couldn't help but feel excited. "Oh, this is going to be the biggest scandal the Boiling Isles has ever witnessed!" she declared while thinking over the kind of story this would make. The lives she'll ruin, the sins she will reveal…
"Uh, Felicity," said a voice.
"What do you want, Todd?!" Felicity shouted, her moment was interrupted by his call through the crystal ball.
"Um, just letting you know that Mr. Blight is here to see you…"
"Oh," Felicity realized as she leaned in her chair. "Send him in…"
Later at Blight Manor, Odalia heard a knock on the door and she went to answer it.
"Yes, can I… help you?" Dalia asked the dark hooded figure with glowing red eyes.
"Odalia Blight…" he spoke in a dark tone while holding up a piece of paper. "You have been summoned… to court." He bowed and began to walk away. "Have a nice day."
Odalia took the summoning paper and looked at it, frowning.
Later at Geist's bar, Luz and Amity had met up with some of their friends.
"How are you two doing healing up?" Willow asked them.
"We're pretty good, those healing patches did wonders for those bruises the Goblin gave us," Luz replied while eating.
"Well, glad that you two are alright," Geist responded.
"Yeah, but the Goblin is still out there, unfortunately," Luz responded while looking at Amity, whose thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. "Hey Ams, how are you holding up?"
"Oh, it's… well, I'm okay," Amity responded. "Odalia has been summoned to court and I just hope that she will be able to keep Arthur and Destiny away from Alador."
"Yeah, they're already calling it the trial of the century," Gus said while reading his scroll. "All of the Coven Heads will be present to watch the trial, which will be held by Judge Brudy."
"I've heard of her before," Luz mentioned. "Me and mom used to marathon her show before."
Also in the bar were Skara and Nina, the latter enjoying a fish filet. "Mmm, oh man, this fish filet is good," Nina hummed.
"Glad you like it," Skara replied.
Nina looked at Skara and then to her friends. "You know, you can sit with them if you want. I don't want to come between you and your girlfriend…"
"No, it's fine," Skara responded. "Besides, I think you could use a friend right now."
Nina nodded, knowing what Skara was referring to. The events of the dinner from last night were still… fresh in her mind, in addition to everything else that had happened to her this week. "Thanks, Skara. I… appreciate it."
"Hey, Amity, think you can check your brother?" Geist asked his niece.
"Sure, I'll go check up on him," Amity replied as she left to look for Ed.
When she went upstairs, she went to look in Ed's room. She was about to knock on the door…
"Come on, let me see it!"
Amity heard the voice and became confused. "Ed?" she called out while opening the door. "Ed, is someone-"
When she opened the door, she saw Mel with Ed on the bed and she was pulling up his shirt…
"Hi Amity," Mel said as she waved to her, causing Amity to back away.
The pale looking Amity Goodfellow rushed out of the room and downstairs, staring blankly ahead. She looked sick by the time she made it back to the bar. Luz noticed and looked worriedly at Amity.
"Ams… are you alright?" Luz asked her.
"Where's the bleach potion?" Amity asked. "I saw… what I didn't need to see…"
"What are you talking about?" Luz asked her.
"One of my siblings… was about to perform…!" Amity was stammering while Nina noticed her expression
"Oh don't tell me you saw them doing it again," Nina spoke up, causing Amity to turn to the werecat.
"Wait… you knew?!" Amity exclaimed in shock. "And do you mean again?!"
"Nina!" Skara turned to Nina, looking embarrassed.
"What? You know that beast-witches and even lycans can smell someone who's done the dirty deed," Nina told Skara, who blushed. "I can't turn off this nose!"
"We were supposed to respect their privacy!" Skara scolded her.
"Wait… you also knew-" Amity looked at Skara, and then turned to where Barcus sat. "You also knew?!" The dog demon lowered his head onto the table. "Oh my Titan… when?!"
"Amity, calm down…" Luz said to her girlfriend.
Nina just shrugged. "Eh, she was bound to learn that Viney was banging her sister eventually," Nina said, which made Amity's eyes pop out like plates.
"THEY WHAT?!" Amity shouted, now unable to get the image out of her head. "Oh my fucking….!"
Just then, Viney came into the bar, choosing the absolute worst moment to do so.
"Sorry, I was late, I-" Viney noticed Amity staring at her intensively, which made her nervous. "Amity…"
"Hey babe, you're here-" Emira came in before she felt the tension in the room as everyone turned to her. "Um… what?"
"Emmy, um… I think it's… best if you um… explain things to your sister," Geist responded awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"What?" Emira turned to see Amity with a disgusted look.
It was then that Ed and Mel showed up. "Amity, it's not what it looks!" Ed shouted while Amity looked at both of her siblings in disgust.
"…I think I'm gonna puke," Amity said as she rushed out of the bar to the back, with Luz following her.
It took Nina a while, but when she saw Ed with Mel, it finally clicked together. "Oh… my… TITAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" She hollered in laughter, holding her stomach until she felt a shock from her collar. "AAHAAHAHAAAAH!" She cried out in pain and laughter, causing her to fall to the floor. "Oh man… I feel so bad for her now-AHAHAHAHAHAA!"
Emira looked at Ed. "Ed… what were you-" She turned to Mel, who gave an innocent look.
"I was just looking for his birthmark," Mel responded while Ed avoided everyone's gaze.
Out in the back, Luz helped Amity gag out in the corner, holding her hair up while patting her back. Emira showed up to see them.
"Hey, how's she doing?" Emira asked Luz.
Hearing Amity continuing to gag, Luz turned to Emira. "Well… why don't you ask her."
Amity managed to look at Emira, who awkwardly waved at her. "Hey, Mittens…"
"Emira," Amity responded as Emira handed her a handkerchief to clean the mess around her face.
"I'm so, so sorry about this," Emira responded. "Look, I didn't think that you should know but…"
"When did it… happen?" Amity asked her.
Emira sighed. "It was when you went missing," she explained. "I was… a mess at the time. Then Viney showed up and let me know that you were alive and in the Human Realm. I didn't have my concealment stone… but she was here for me. I was vulnerable, emotions were high, and before we even really knew what we were doing, we just… did it."
Amity looked at her sister in disgust. "I don't want to know the details," she said while pinching the bridge of her nose. "For rabies' sake, I don't know what's worse. Learning that you and Viney did… that, or the 'talk' that you gave me."
The young Amity sat in a chair while Emira brought something in her bag.
"Well Mittens, since mom and dad haven't bothered to give you the talk about the birds and the bees, I'll teach you!" Emira said while pulling out certain magazines and handed them to her sister. "There! Succubi Monthly and Playwitch should tell it all!"
Amity gave Emira a sour look and the Blight girl looked apologetic. "Well, at least you know your preferences…"
Up on the rooftop, Ed and Mel chatted.
"So… is your baby sis going to be alright?" Mel asked him.
"Yeah, she's probably fine," Edric responded. "Probably scarred for life, but otherwise fine. I hope she didn't get the wrong idea of what we were doing…"
"Yeah, over finding a birthmark you said was shaped like a cat," Mel said nonchalantly before she noticed how Ed was staring off into the distance. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good," he replied.
Mel was unconvinced. "Is this about… the trial?" she asked. He nodded. "How are you feeling about all of this?"
"Honestly, I don't really know how to feel," Ed admitted. "I mean, even though mom and dad are my parents… a lot of times, they don't even act like it."
Mel patted his back. "Honestly, I know how you feel," she said. "I have parental problems of my own..."
He looked at her. "Really?"
She nodded. "Sometimes, I think my parents actually don't care about me at all. When I was young, I would constantly try to get their attention. But my mom never gave me the time of day and my dad was always busy. I was never at the forefront of their minds."
"Oh… sorry about that," Edric responded.
Mel shrugged. "I think it is partially the result of my parents living separately, since they just pass me off between them as a way to avoid taking full-time responsibility for me," Mel admitted, which surprises Edric.
"Your folks are split?" Ed asked her.
"You could say that I'm the result of a one night stand," Mel clarified. "They weren't together long. They were too much alike, my dad getting together with my mom because he thought he could only be with someone like him… someone who hurts people. They ended up hurting each other and then they continued to hurt me. Since neither of them wanted to take full responsibility for me, they decided to share custody. But because of how hands-off their parenting is, I had to learn how to take care of myself pretty early on. I also eventually learned that I can basically do whatever I want without receiving punishment and that most of the time I can disappear for long periods of time without being missed. And honestly, I don't mind that too much now since I like my independence." She had a distant look as she hugged her knees close to her. "Though sometimes, I think that my dad sees me as nothing but a mistake, especially since he's married and I just serve as a reminder of his ex, a reminder that he has to put up with for half of the year, which is why he's fine with my absences and will let me do my own thing as long as I don't bother him or his work."
"Titan," Ed said while patting Mel's hand. "I'm so sorry, Mel."
"Meh, I'm over it, but thanks, Ed," Mel responded while looking at him.
"But hey, at least you've found some friends that hang out and support you now, right?" Ed asked. "By the way, how did you meet your friends? You haven't told me yet."
"Oh, that's a long story," Mel responded dismissively. "But they are not my only friends. You know, you and your sister actually remind me of another pair of siblings I used to hang out with… but it didn't end well." Her expression became pained with guilt. "And now the sister blames me for something that was in no way my fault."
"What… happened?" he asked her.
"I don't like talking about it," Mel responded.
"Oh, okay, I won't pry you about it then," he reassured her.
"Ed! Come down to the bar!"
Hearing his sister calling for him, Edric turned to Mel. "I gotta head back down."
"Hey, I understand," Mel replied while kissing Ed on the cheek. "Sounds important."
Once Edric made it back downstairs, he joined up with Emira, Amity, and Geist, who were in front of the same hooded figure who held up a summon paper.
"Emira Blight, Edric Blight, Geist Blight, and Amity Goodfellow, you four have been summoned to court…"
Geist grabbed the paper and read it. "Well, looks like we're going to court, kids."
"We know, Uncle Geist," Emira responded.
Luz held Amity's hand. "Hey… sorry that I can't come with you to court. There is still that thing I have to do with… Nina…" She turned to Nina, who was talking with Skara and Willow.
"Hey, it's no problem," Amity reassured her. "What you're doing is more important."
"Sure you're going to be okay?" Luz asked her.
"Don't worry, there's nothing big I couldn't handle," Amity reassured her.
At the Clawthorne residence, Lilith and Hunter were looking through a box that had been sent to them. When they opened it, Hunter looked surprised.
"What's in there?" Lilith asked him.
"This is… a box of my stuff," Hunter responded while picking up his notebooks and a sewing kit. "They must've sent it here after they realized where I've been."
Lilith looked through the stuff, picking up a pink frog plushie. "Huh, this thing reminds me of someone…"
"Oh, let me have him," Hunter said as he quickly grabbed his plushie, hugging it while Flapjack chirped at him. "No, I'm not embarrassed!" he told his Palisman, his face blushing in embarrassment.
Lilith smiled before she went back to looking through the box. "Hey, are these…?" She indicated the Captain Coven comics in bags.
"Oh yeah, these are mint condition, but I make sure to buy some copies to read as well," he said while moving the comics and finding some action figures. "Oh man, they even delivered these! And my trading cards!"
"You really are a big fan of Captain Coven," Lilith commented.
"Y-Yeah, they're… pretty meaningful to me," Hunter said. "Have you ever been a fan of things like Captain Coven?"
"Well when I was young, me and Eda were really into Bloodberry Little Pie, it's like a series of dolls connected to a cartoon where they teach you how to make bloody treats while they go and beat the scheming Apple Butcher," Lilith explained. "I hear they've been trying to reboot the franchise for a modern audience, but I guess witchlings these days don't appreciate the classics."
"I think I get what you mean, especially with Captain Coven now becoming a… propaganda piece," Hunter said while looking at his toys. "Of course, I guess that is what he has always been…"
Lilith looked at Hunter, thinking. "Do you wish to talk about… Abel?"
Hunter looked at her. "I… don't know what to think of Abel right now," he admitted, sounding unsure. "But I can reassure you that I'm not going back there, Lilith. I know that I can't trust my uncle, though… I'm worried that he might try something if he gets impatient." He looked worried. "You don't think Abel knew about the… p.o.r.k.a.l. k.e.y.?" he asked in a whisper.
"I don't think so," Lilith told him. "If Belos knew, he would've had it taken by now."
Hunter nodded in agreement before a thought came to his mind. "Um… one thing I didn't get to ask, but… what's the Human Realm like?"
Lilith thought about her answer. "Well, I wasn't there long, but it's quite different from the Demon Realm. The skies are blue, the trees are green, the humans are… interesting," she said. "There are also magical creatures that live in secret, including one called the American Dragon, apparently a magical guardian whose family Eda is friends with."
"Really?" Hunter asked her. "She knew dragons?"
"My sister knows a lot that she hasn't told me about," Lilith admitted, while pausing for a moment. "There was also someone I saw during my time in the Human Realm… a girl named Vee." She looked back at Hunter. "What do you know about Basilisks?"
"Well, obviously they are dangerous creatures that present a threat to witch society," Hunter said plainly. "Everyone knows that."
Lilith sighed. "Hunter, it's a lot more complicated than that," she told him. "What do you know about the Basilisk Revival Project?"
Hunter paused for a moment. "I… heard about it."
"Then you will know it was a collaboration between the Emperor's Coven and Hieron Labs that secretly revived and experimented on Basilisks. And by experimented on, I mean tortured," Lilith told him.
"Well, they deserve it," Hunter said, shocking Lilith. "I mean, they aren't like us. They aren't… people. They're monsters that need to be recaptured or destroyed. Like the one that attacked Hexside, I remembered how much of a threat she was!"
"Yes, one bad Basilisk did do that, but that doesn't apply to the others," Lilith told him.
"What?" Hunter asked in confusion.
"Listen, I was involved in that project and I am not proud of it," Lilith told him. "I turned a blind eye to the torture being performed on those creatures, but despite what you were told… what was being done to them was unjustified and unacceptable. My complacency was unacceptable. I actually met a couple of Basilisks that were a part of Raine's previous rebellion. One of them held a high hatred towards me, and I couldn't blame him. He had every right to hate me and he wanted to kill me, but he spared me before he escaped."
"He… he did?" Hunter asked her.
Lilith nodded. "He came back to ask about rescuing his friend, who had been brought back to Hieron Labs. Me and Luz helped them out and sent them off to a place where not even the Emperor's Coven can find them. Then I met Vee… who is also a Basilisk, living in the Human Realm."
Hunter's eyes widened. "That girl… she's a Basilisk?! And in the Human Realm?!"
"Yes, Luz and Eda helped her out and she's living peacefully there, and was even adopted by a human family," Lilith explained. "She's more safe there than she is here." She looked down. "She… also doesn't forgive me for turning a blind eye at Hieron Labs, which I'm fine with. But I still think about her and the others. I'm… glad that they are safe."
Hunter was quiet for a moment as he thought about what Lilith said. After a while, he looked back up at her. "What did Belos even want to use them for?"
"I think he wanted to study their magical draining abilities," Lilith suggested, which made them both curious. "But I don't know why..."
"I have… no clue either," Hunter admitted.
Knock-knock
Lilith and Hunter looked to the door. Lilith walked over to answer it. "Yes?"
"Lilith Clawthorne," said the hooded figure with the summons paper "You have been summoned to court…"
The Bonesborough Court House, run by the Emperor's Coven, was where many witch disputes were settled. From custody battles to incidental lawsuits to libel cases. If the denizens of the Boiling Isles had a small dispute, they go to court to settle it.
But this was a special court case.
Landing in front of the court house was Lilith. who flew down to her staff. She spotted Geist there along with Ed, Em and Amity.
"Lilith!" Geist waved to her. "How have you been?"
"Doing fine, Geist," Lilith responded while looking up to the court house and seeing the crowd gathered out front. "Looks like everyone's come to see the court case."
"Well yeah, it does involve a dispute between the Blight family," Emira pointed out.
"And since I… was a Blight, I'm probably going to have to testify," Amity said while Lilith looked at her in concern.
"Will you be alright?" Lilith asked her. "Going in there would mean facing… Arthur and Destiny."
Amity nodded. "I'm not going to let them get to me," she said as they entered the court house.
Inside, they saw Odalia and Mary in one booth. In another was Arthur and Destiny with a rooster-biped demon in a white suit with an Oracle Coven sigil. A special seat was placed where the Coven Heads watched, including Alador, sitting beside Terra and Adrian. Only one missing was Calypso, Sunny taking her place as a substitute.
Amity then noticed that amongst those seated was Gibson Oscorne, who noticed her and gave her a glare. Amity glared back while taking her seat with her siblings, Lilith, and Geist.
"Looks like they're here," Odalia said while noticing Lilith, the Blights, and Amity. She turned to Mary. "With their testimony, we'll win this case."
"Don't count your griffin eggs yet, Odalia," Mary Regal told her. "Because we're up to Roosten Cluckington III, a high-profile lawyer that's known to be very charismatic and persuasive. And um, kinda my personal hero." She adjusted her papers. "But I can rest assured you, we will win this case."
"All rise!" spoke a scout as everyone rose. "Presenting the oh majestic judge of the Oracle Coven… Judge Brudy!"
Coming up to the stand was a kangaroo biped demon with brown hair, glasses, and a long black robe. She was holding a gavel.
"Alright, you can sit down!" Judge Brudy shouted as they all sat. "Now then, what's the case for today?"
"The dispute is the plaintiffs Arthur and Destiny Blight, vs the defendant Odalia Blight, on the accusation of child neglect, domestic abuse, and other charges."
Odalia's eyes widened. "What?!" She rose up. "Wait, this has to be a mistake, they're the ones on trial!" she points to Arthur and Destiny.
"Mrs. Odalia Blight, I demand that you sit down!" Brudy shouted as she hit her gavel, which screamed at each hit. "I will allow you to give your opening statements, starting with Arthur and Destiny."
"Why yes," Cluckington said with a Southern accent as he rose up. "I say, I say, my clients here have concerns over the… disturbing treatment Odalia Blight has extended to her family."
"What?!" Odalia asked in shock.
Cluckington continued. "I guess you didn't realize it, Odalia. You see, the whole intent of this trial is for Head Witch Alador to make a claim at divorce and cut you out of the company as well as the family, making you… nameless!" he said in a dramatic fashion. "Or, go back to your last name, Grunhar."
Amity, Ed, Em, Lilith, and Geist all looked shocked.
"I… I thought this was against Arthur and Destiny?" Lilith asked.
"My Titan, we've been had," Geist said, covering his mouth.
"Does that mean… we have to testify against mom?" Ed asked while turning to his sisters.
"We'll just have to… help mom out," Amity told him. "If we can, we could turn this against Arthur and Destiny."
Emira looked down. "I don't… know if we could."
At the Coven Booth, Terra noticed that amongst the Coven Heads, one was missing, and in their place is their aide… Sunny.
"Excuse me, dear," Terra said to Sunny. "Where is Head Witch Calypso?"
"Oh, she's on an important mission right now, so she's unavailable for the moment." Sunny responded.
"Oh? More important than this case?" Terra asked, looking miffed.
"Well, she's doing a sting operation, and has Abel's permission to be excused from observing the trial." Sunny said while taking notes. "So I'm just filling in for her."
"Oh, yes, of course," Terra responded, giving a frown before looking at the trial.
It was then that Mary Regal stood up. "Might I make an opening statement?"
"Proceed," Brudy responded.
Mary began. "Your honor, this is clearly an attempt by Arthur and Destiny Blight to seize control of Blight Industries from Odalia."
"I object," Cluckington interjected. "Might I point out that has nothing to do with whether or not Odalia is a good partner and parent. This has nothing to do with the company."
"Indeed, it doesn't," Arthur claimed. "Me and Destiny were just so aghast over the control that scheming no-good woman has control over our son and our grandchildren!"
"Yes! We warned Alador about Odalia, but she kept him under her little finger! Seduced him into spoiling the good Blight name!" Destiny claimed, pretending to be sad. "She is toxic!"
"Oh brother…" Amity said with a shrug while rolling her eyes. "Do they honestly think anyone will believe them?"
Tiny Nose, who was in the benches, stood up. "Oh the howwor! Down with Odalia!"
Arthur and Destiny went up to give their testimony as Mary Regal questioned them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Blight, what are your accusations you want the court to believe about… Odalia?" Mary asked.
"Well, Mrs. Regal, what we can tell you is that Odalia turned our son against us, using him like a puppet to seize control of the Blight legacy," Destiny explained.
"When we first saw her hanging out with him, she claimed to be just his friend," Arthur added. "We didn't think much of it at first, but the woman was ambitious. She joined the Oracle Coven and then used her relationship with Alador to cut us out of both him and his children's lives!"
"We could have gotten to know our grandchildren! But now, because of her, the family is shattered!" Destiny declared. "Only now do we realize the extent of the damage she has done."
"Well, that may be what you want the court to believe, but there is evidence to cast doubt on your claims," Mary said while holding papers. "You too have a long history of abusing and neglecting your children as well. There are several cases with Alador-"
"Oh that, well yes, we admit that we were a little hard on the boy," Arthur admitted. "But you have to understand, we were only trying to toughen him up, turn into the strong witch we knew he could be. We didn't realize how much he would resent us because of it and that was something Odalia took advantage of. She coddled him and used his issues with us to her own benefit. We are trying to learn from our mistakes now, if that means anything."
"And what about his siblings?" Mary pointed out, causing everyone to look around in a stir.
"Siblings?" Emira asked.
"I didn't know dad had siblings," Edric responded.
"Oh… I didn't tell you guys…?" Amity asked them while they looked at her.
"His sibling turned out to not have been dead like you claimed, but they were in fact still alive!" Mary declared while showing images of Alador's siblings. "Because of the lack of safety precautions when Arthur previously ran Blight Industries, they were all blended with abomi-goo that turned them into misshapen monsters!"
"That is quite an accusation. Does the plaintiff have anything to say?" Brudy asked.
"Your honor," Cluckington said as he stood up. "May I like to point out to Mrs. Regal that while it is true that Alador's siblings were turned into these crimes against the Titan and their survival was covered up, they were still being fed and taken care of for years after accidents."
"That's right," Arthur responded with a 'regretful' look. "We thanked the Titan that they were alive, even if there was not much we could do to help them in their current state except keep them safe."
"We had to keep them hidden from society to protect them," Destiny claimed. "We didn't want them to get experimented on by those who would wish to exploit and profit off of them, which is what we feared Odalia would do."
"And we have agreed to work alongside our son in the hopes of finding a cure for their conditions," Arthur said, sounding sincere.
Witness Stand: Emira Blight
Emira stood in the witness stand while placing one hand on a Titan totem and raising her other hand up.
"Do you solemnly swear on the Titan to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the bailiff guard asked her.
"I swear," Emira responded.
"Now, Ms. Emira Blight," Cluckington spoke. "As the eldest child of the latest Blight generation, has your mama ever… mistreated you in any way?"
Emira was silent for the moment before responding. "Mistreatment is too much of a nice word for it," she said with disdain. "I can say that while she was busy with being the madame boss, I had to take care of Ed and Amity throughout my childhood. I pretty much had to be the mom."
"Why now that is just terrible!" Cluckington replied while glancing at Arthur and Destiny with a wink. They had this in the bag.
"But let me make this clear," Emira spoke up. "Mom may not have been a good mother, but Head Witch Daddy ain't so much better." This caused the audience to gasp, while Alador's eyes widened at what Emira said. "They, along with those two old fart sniffers over there." She pointed to Arthur and Destiny. "They're all pieces of shits, and I can give you plenty of reasons why."
"Um, objection, your honor!" Arthur spoke up.
"Overruled," Brudy responded while turning to Emira. "Give us the juicy details, what can you say about your folks and your old folks, Ms. Emira Blight?"
Emira began. "For as long as I can remember, our parents tended to be the absent type…"
Young Emira and Edric were with a baby Amity, seeing their parents leaving them with a babysitter. Baby Amity just cried while the babysitter tended to her.
"Since we were little, work kept them away. While they did leave people with us, we still ended up watching out for ourselves… or I had to watch out for them."
The young Emira had to make sure that Amity and Edric didn't get hurt. One instance was pulling Ed's hand out of a jar while preventing Amity from going down the stairs. She gave off a stressful look.
"They neglected us, finding their work more important…"
Emira at age five, tried to show Odalia her drawing but she was too busy with her crystal ball. She went to show it to her dad, but Alador had his Abomination pick her up and send her to her room.
"And when things didn't go her way, mother tended to guilt trip us for our failures…"
The young Emira stood by while her mother shouted at her. "This is unacceptable! How can you improve your magic with results like this? This is the kind of thing that almost got your poor baby sister killed over her sickness!"
Emira couldn't help but flinch with guilt.
Later in her teens, Emira was scolded by her mother.
"This is the tenth friend I've had to apologize to their parents for, Emira," Odalia responded while marching back and forth. "They were our clients! And you had to pull that stunt! Didn't you learn anything from the incident with the Masterskull's daughter?!"
This made Emira flinch with guilt again.
"Not to mention the punishments! Especially what she used to do..."
Emira was shoved into a room as Odalia closed the door behind her. When she went to open it, she found it was locked. "Mom! Please, let me out!" she cried out.
"You're not coming out until I say so!" Odalia told her.
Emira kept hitting the door. "Let me out!"
Emira gave a distant look, everyone looking shocked while Odalia looked down in guilt, even Mary looked surprised about what she was told. "For years, she would lock me in that room. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for longer. Sometimes even overnight!" She glared at Odalia. "Dad didn't bother to try and put a stop to it, he enabled her horrible behavior. He has no backbone, just like how he lets those two old ass-clowns run all over him." She glared at Arthur and Destiny.
"Um… might I point out that you hardly even know your own grandparents, Emira," Cluckington said.
"I know enough that they chased around my baby sister in an attempt to groom her to run the family business," Emira countered. "If anything, they're no better than Odalia." She turned to her father with a glare. "None of them are."
Witness Stand: Edric Blight.
Edric took the stand, while Mary questioned him.
"Now Edric, just tell the court your honest opinion about your mother," Mary inquired.
"Do… do I have to?" he asked her.
"Just be honest," Mary assured him.
Edric turned to his mom, then he turned to Emira and Amity, spotting Geist giving him a thumbs up.
"Well, I don't… feel as strongly as my sisters do, probably because I was never close to my parents," he admitted. "Sometimes… I do worry that Em was more of a mom to me… but I did sometimes try to get their attention. However, they were always busy… or I wasn't good enough."
The young Edric came into his father's lab, speaking up. "Dad! You have to see this!"
"Not now, Edric, I'm a little busy with work," Alador responded.
"But you have to see my latest firework rocket!" Edric tried to shove it in front of his father, which broke his concentration.
"AH!" Alador felt a zap and winced. "Please Ed, I'm trying to work!"
Startled, Edric looked down. "Sorry…"
"My dad never gave me the time of day. I doubt he even knows his own children. As for mom…"
A mother-son race was being held in Bonesborough and a young Edric looked excited to participate in it.
"One time there was a mother-son three-legged race being held at the park, and I was so excited to participate in it after mom brought me down there. I thought we were going together, but…"
"Mom? Where are you-" Edric saw his mother, who turned to him.
"Oh, Edric, just who I was looking for!" Odalia spoke kindly. "I need your help with advertising."
"Advertising?" Edric asked as Odalia had him wear a cardboard sign over him before handing him pamphlets.
"There, you can go around handing out these while I have this Abomination replica of you to help me win the race!" Odalia declared while showing an Abomination replica of Edric.
"But… I thought we were racing together?" Edric asked.
"Ed, don't take it personal," Odalia told her son. "I've seen your gym class reports, and I think it's just better this way. Besides, I needed a win."
As Odalia took the Abomi-Ed to the race, all the young Edric Blight could do was glare angrily.
Later on, Edric was forced to watch the Abomi-Ed help Odalia with the race and other games, glaring hatefully towards the clone that Odalia had in his place.
"Hey, Ed," Emira said while walking up to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just steamed, Em," Edric responded. "My rival took my place to win the race with mom…"
Emira looked at the Ed-clone. "Want to get rid of that thing? Cause honestly, the last thing I need are two Eds."
"Yeah, we should," Edric said with a nod.
And so, the twins spotted Odalia and Abomi-Ed doing the egg throw toss. Once Odalia threw the egg to the Abomi-Ed, who stretched its head to catch it, a javelin pierced its head clean off from its body, causing it to splat on the grass.
"AAAAAHHH!" the moms and sons all screamed while Odalia looked shocked
"Who could have done this!?" Odalia demanded, while in the distance, Ed and Em hid behind a tree.
Edric looked to his mother. "You'd rather take some… slimy clone of me over your own son to the race?!" he called her out.
"Edric, I'm sorry, I-I've realized that was a mistake at the time," Odalia apologized.
"You're sorry?" Edric scoffed. "Sorry doesn't make up for all the neglect you and dad have done over the years. I don't want your apology! I wanted your approval! I wanted to be your son!" he shouted while for a second, his eyes flashed red.
Witness Stand: Amity Goodfellow.
Amity was placed at the stand while Cluckington paced back and forth.
"Now I see here, Ms. Amity Goodfellow, that you chose your own last name after you disowned the Blight name, correct?" Cluckington asked her.
"Yes," Amity answered.
"And pray tell why did you disown this most high-prestige family name?" he asked her.
"Well, at the time I was… mad at my grandparents and Odalia, to the point where I couldn't handle her trying to control my life anymore and I thought that the Blight name was toxic. I wanted to be my own witch, even if it meant I could no longer be a Blight," Amity answered. "Look, Odalia may not have been the… perfect mom, but I do believe she can come around."
Mary stood up. "Your honor, if I may."
"Proceed," Brudy responded.
"Amity, would you care to elaborate?" she asked her.
"Well, for one I was dating Luz Clawthorne, which I'm pretty sure all of you know who she is by now," Amity replied while hearing some mutters. "Odalia decided that if she made me happy, then she would allow the relationship, especially since she was worried about my mental health after a recent scare, even agreeing to sign me up for counseling. She was also fine with me staying at the Owl House after… certain events that I'm sure many of you are familiar with."
"The petrification ceremony where you prevented the Owl Lady from getting petrified?" Napoli asked from the Coven Head booth.
Brudy knocked her gavel. "Silence!" she said, making Napoli sit down. "You can continue, Amity."
Amity continued. "Then when Nicole Hieron got me, Luz, Willow, and Gus expelled, it was Odalia who helped reinstate us back in, and she and Alador did save me from when Arthur and Destiny tried to keep me prisoner. Sure, we had our conflicts, but after the school war and me being missing for over a week… we started talking again. She has shown me that she wants to be better and… I think it is possible that she can be better."
Odalia and Mary smiled, as it seemed like Amity's testimony could help their case…
"Your honor, if I may," Cluckington requested.
"Proceed, Cluckington," Brudy responded.
Cluckington held up a crystal ball. "Now, Ms. Goodfellow, do you remember how you were captured, as your previous testimony to the Emperor's Coven Precinct stated, at the Knee?"
Amity gave a nod. "Yes, I've already told them what I-"
"Now, here's something that everyone should know and find funny," Cluckington said while holding up the crystal ball. "What I have here contains footage from the Scal-Mart. days ago before Amity Goodfellow's capture, when Odalia had a little meeting with this man right here…"
He raised up the crystal ball as it glowed. It blinked as it projected a video image of Odalia being handed a card to Grimhammer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that is the late Tarot Guild's boss and leader, Grimhammer, who owned the Scal-Mart establishment before it shut down! And what appears to be he made some kind of deal with Odalia!"
"What!?" Odalia rose up. "I object to this! He came to me!"
"Your honor, this is clearly taken out of context!" Mary Regal pointed out.
"And look at the context," Arthur spoke up. "Odalia, a businesswoman, spoke to Grimhammer, a businessman. Shortly afterward, her daughter was captured by the Tarot Guild before she was eventually found in a conveniently abandoned safehouse. And by then, she realized how much she missed her dear old mother!" he accused.
"What?! Odalia had nothing to do with my disappearance!" Amity claimed.
"You see, your honor?" Cluckington pointed to Amity. "Because of her traumatic experience, she is not in the right state of mind to determine whether Odalia has bettered herself or not! Her words cannot be taken as fact!"
"And she did awful things to poor Amity before, like making her end her friendship with her dear friend Willow," Destiny claimed. "Isn't that right, Aladorable?"
Alador gave a nod as he rose. "I can confirm that, though I was involved in it as well. It… wasn't one of my finer moments."
"But… that's not-!" Amity tried to say anything, but the rooster biped continued.
"Tell me, do you even remember why you were mad at Odalia enough that you decided to disown the Blight name in the first place?"
Amity paused, looking at Odalia. "I-I… well…"
Witness Stand: Head Witch Alador Blight and Kikimora.
Both Alador and Kikimora were in separate booths as Cluckington spoke up. "Now tell me, Kikimora, can you answer me this oh, so, unrelated question?"
"Of course, I'll be happy to," Kikimora responded while grinning at Lilith, who looked nervous.
"Care to tell the audience… who cursed our folk local town hero Eda the Owl Lady?" Cluckington asked her, causing Lilith's eyes to widen. "It was not the Titan, was it?"
"No, it wasn't the Titan, but I do know who it is," Kikimora responded in a sing-sang tone. "She's an… old acquaintance of mine, here in this courtroom right now… you could say that she and Eda once had a… sisterly bond?"
The audience in the courtroom gasped, while Mary and Geist looked very shocked at this "WHAT?!"
"Lilith… you cursed your own sister?!" Geist turned to Lilith, who lowered her head in shame.
"It is true," Kikimora responded. "Poor Lilith, jealous of her own sister and her power. Jealous enough to curse her while she was just a teenager… so young…"
"My, that is a shock, that is a shock!" Cluckington said while Geist covered his mouth and Mary looked at Odalia with a questionable look. "But I know many of you are wondering, how does this relate to the Odalia's case? Well, let's hear it from dear old Head Witch Alador!"
All turned to Alador, whose face was stoic. "While it is true that Lilith cursed Eda, she wasn't alone. She was influenced by Odalia back then, who suggested cursing Eda in order to get an advantage over her in the try-outs for Emperor's Coven." He narrowed his eyes at Odalia, who looked at her husband in shock. "I never knew up until when Amity disowned the Blight name. Odalia had kept that secret for years, which is why… I grew conflicted."
"Ain't it so?" Cluckington asked sympathetically.
Alador nodded. "This secret, that Odalia had kept her entire family in the dark from, is the reason that she and I are separated. It's the reason that our family is now broken." He looked down with a shameful look. "And I don't think it can be repaired…"
Brudy then hits the gavel. "Any further questions?"
"No need, your honor," Cluckington responded. "But I say, I say I believe that this calls for a recess!"
"Let the recess commence then," Brudy said.
Recess.
Outside of the courtroom, Amity, Edric, and Emira were talking.
"This is not good," Amity said as she marched back and forth. "Now the entire Boiling Isles knows about Odalia and Lilith's role in Eda's curse, which now Arthur and Destiny can use to their advantage." She turned to the twins, who were looking down. "Don't you guys think that you were a little bit harsh out there?"
"Sorry Amity, but we're just being honest," Emira pointed out.
"Even if mom's genuine about changing, we're not really that interested in giving her a chance," Edric admitted.
"Guys… I know that you had bad blood with Odalia and Alador-"
"No, no you don't get it, Amity," Edric spoke up, turning to his sister. "You're only more open about how much 'good' mom was to you because you were the favorite!" he pointed out.
"Ed," Emira hissed at him.
"No Em, she needs to hear this," he told her while turning back to Amity. "Both me and Em have no reason to be kind to either of them, unlike you. We had to put up with their favoritism towards you for years, because you were Little Miss Perfect to them!"
"Ed!" Emira argued.
But he continued. "You know, Amity always had the attention from our parents, unlike me. No matter what stupid stuff I did that got me sent to the Healing Coven, they barely paid me any attention. But when Amity burned her memory photos, she was suddenly everyone's priority! When Amity left everyone to live in the Owl House, everyone was concerned about her and our parents didn't even care when I introduced my boyfriend to everyone!" He wiped his own nose while looking steamed. "They never took the time to have a heart-to-heart with me like they did with you after Luz broke up with you! They never gave me the time of day, it was always you! Always Amity!"
Amity had never seen Edric this angry before. "E-Ed… I didn't know you… felt that way…"
"Well of course you don't know, because you don't know what it has been like for us," Edric responded, still steamed. "Not that I blame you, but I know you want as little to do with us as possible, you even left us to live with your girlfriend and her family and raise a kid!"
"Ed, that's enough! You are crossing it!" Emira told him off. "Go cool your head off!"
Ed looked at Emira, then shrugged and turned away. "I don't need this…" he said while walking away from them.
Emira turned to Amity, who looked at her in concern. "I'm… sorry, Amity," she said while rubbing her own arm, "I know that we're supposed to make sure that dad's folks aren't supposed to win… but the thing is, we never had a positive relationship with mom and dad." She looked away from Amity. "You were the youngest and the favorite, but we don't blame you for it."
"No, I… I understand." Amity replied while leaning against the wall. "What do we do now?"
Emira sighed. "I don't think there is anything we can do."
"Oh Titan, oh dear, dear Titan." Mary was pouring some apple blood from the tray of drinks, having a drink while turning to Odalia. "I can't believe this… how could you do this, Odalia? All these years and you never bothered to mention what you and Lilith did to Eda for this case?!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't think-" Odalia replied while looking down. "It doesn't matter anymore, does it?"
"It kinda does!" Mary pointed out. "You and Lilith will not get any saving grace from this! Oh, especially Lilith, her entire career at the Emperor's Coven is now seen as built on a lie! And you had a part in ruining her sister's life! I can't… I can't!" She dropped her drink as she grabbed a paper bag, breathing in and out.
"Mary, just relax, we'll go through with this," Odalia reassured her as opening the door was Arthur and Destiny.
"Odalia! Such a lovely court case we're having, hmm?" Arthur asked. "Your kids put up quite a show, especially Amity who is convinced that you've… 'changed'."
Odalia glared at them. "You know, it's fine. I may deserve this and I can accept that you're dragging my name through the mud. But I still have a case against you two and I can still take you down with me."
"You hear that, Arthur? She thinks she can take us down," Destiny commented.
"Oh yes, of course!" Arthur responded while walking towards Odalia. "My dear, you have no idea how much we've prepared this case, especially since we know something that you wouldn't want the public to also know about…"
"What… what do you mean?" Odalia asked nervously.
"Oh it's just…" He leaned into her ear, whispering. "You wouldn't want the public to know what really happened to Gretchen and Griffin Grunhar now, do you…?"
Her eyes widened and she backed away. "You… you wouldn't!"
Arthur leaned back while joining his wife. "We would… unless you let things play out the way we want them to."
"Play things… out?" Odalia questioned.
"Just sit back and relax, dear." Destiny responded with a smile. "Drop whatever case you have been building against us."
"And try something, and we will… blab it all to our hearts content!" he declared while Odalia grew silent as she glared at the two. "Or your brother will. Whatever comes first…"
"Are you alright, Al?" Gibson asked while comforting Alador.
"I'm just… stressed over this," Alador responded while rubbing his eyes.
"Here, drink your tea." Gibson handed him the tea, which Alador drank. "I'm so sorry, my old friend. This is all Odalia's fault, especially for what your children said about you."
"I… I should've been the best father to them," Alador said to himself while Gibson hushed him.
"Oh don't say that," he dismisses the claim. "All you were doing was trying your best, like I was trying for my Terrorance. We both know what is best for our children…"
After Recess
Witnessed Stand: Gibson Oscorne.
"That woman is a monster," Gibson was explaining. "She overworked and abused not only her other workers, but Alador as well. I heard she also used her kids to model for her products for her secret buyers in the black market. And I can't forget how she unfairly fired me along with half of the research team, who were only doing their jobs." He gave a sorrowful look. "If I hadn't had enough to build my own company then, I wouldn't be able to support my son who's now missing."
"Any other statement?" Cluckington asked him.
"That would be all," he responded while getting up from the stand, smirking at the glaring Amity.
Witness Stand: Lilith Clawthorne.
Lilith sat in her booth while Mary cleared her throat. "Now Lilith, can you give the court an… explanation about your… role in cursing Eda? Like, why did you do it?"
Lilith looked down in shame. "I wanted to get ahead. At the time, I thought there was one place on the sign up sheet. I didn't want to fight my sister, and I didn't mean for the curse to ruin her life." She sighed. "I apologized for everything, for what I put my sister through and all the lying… it wasn't worth joining the Emperor's Coven. And I am responsible for my actions."
"So you would not blame Odalia for the suggestion?" Mary asked.
"She had no idea what kind of curse I would give her. We both thought it would be temporary," Lilith said. "Of course I don't blame Odalia for my actions, I take full responsibility for what happened to Eda, who deserved better..."
"So does Eda know?" Mary asked her.
"Yes, and while it was difficult to process, she still forgave me and I think she would forgive Odalia as well," Lilith replied.
"I do not think you speak for your sister, Ms. Clawthorne," Cluckington said as he came in. "And I would like to bring some very special evidence up…"
The doors to the court room flew over and a fox biped strode down the aisles.
"Felicity Fox?" Odalia said in shock.
"Wait, what are you doing here?" Mary demanded to know.
"I contacted her," Cluckington said. "She's a part of this case."
"That's right, Clucky!" Felicity declared while pointing at Lilith "Your honor, I have incriminating witness testimonies from Hexside students I had my daughter interviewed to reveal how this woman once used Amity to spy on the Clawthornes!"
"WHAT!?" everyone shouted in shock.
"Lilith did what?!" Geist exclaimed, while Amity looked down awkwardly.
"Crystal ball, show the footage!" Felicity ordered while the crystal ball projects the footage of the random Hexside students.
One student was speaking. "Yeah, I was shocked when it was revealed that the former Head of the Emperor's Coven used poor Amity to spy on her own girlfriend's family! Like, that makes me shocked!"
bzzt!
Elliot was interviewed "It happened around the time when Boscha had used the megaphone to expose what Amity and Lilith's deal was… wait, I'm not supposed to say that, am I?" He looked at the camera. "Oh taters…"
bzzt!
"Yeah, it was heartbreaking, alright," Tamme responded while with Andrea.
"Heart-breaking? More like, dramatic!" Andrea exclaimed while waving her arms. "We were at cheer practice when we heard all about it! Who knew that former Head Witch Lilith was an opportunist bi-"
bzzt!
"She practically blackmailed Amity into spying on her girl," spoke a gossipy student. "Like, poor girl, that Lilith woman really is an opportunist, you know?"
bzzt!
"I've known Lilith cheated in the Emperor's Coven try-outs," Principal Faust declared while he was interviewed. "She was a coward, but I didn't say anything, cause you know why? Because I don't need to tell someone who's truly evil…"
Once she revealed the witness footage, Felicity then spoke up. "Lilith Clawthorne has used and abused her power to use a child to be her own personal spy towards the Owl Lady's family. If you ask me, that is the most unethical and shameful act she performed towards that poor young girl."
"Now hold on!" Lilith spoke up to counter "Odalia had no idea what I was doing at the time, and she didn't approve of it! I'll admit, what I did was wrong and stupid and shouldn't have happened."
"Yeah, this is far from relevant in this case!" Mary points out.
"You're right, it isn't relevant," Felicity states while walking up to Lilith. "Let's get back on track. So tell me, Lilith, what was your… relationship with Odalia?"
Caught off guard by the question, Lilith began respond. "Well, we first met when she started Hexside, we used to date before she married to Alador, but that's about it. I also became Amity's godmother-"
"But do you still have some… feelings towards her?" Felicity asked her.
"What? No, we're no longer together, and she's married," Lilith pointed out.
"Crystal ball," Felicity spoke as it rose again. "Show the photos…"
The photos were projected, shown for everyone in the Isles to see. Lilith and Odalia looked very pale from those photos, which depicted them doing… adult activities together. Alador looked shocked, while Amity, Ed, Em and Geist also look shocked from this as well as feeling sick about looking at them. The entire court room began to erupt in chaos.
"That… that's absurd!" Mary pointed out, turning to the fox biped. "Those photos are obviously fakes!"
"No…" Odalia looked down as Mary turned to her. "They're not…"
"What?!" Mary exclaimed.
"She confessed!" Cluckington declared while Lilith stood up.
"But we weren't in control at the time!" Lilith tried to explain. "Someone may have put something in our food, like a spell-"
"In any case, this isn't help either of your cases, Ms. Clawthorne," Cluckington declared. "This just confirms that not only is Odalia a bad mother, but a bad partner in marriage, as she cheated on Alador with her ex!" He pointed to Odalia, who looked down in shame.
"What the fuck…?!" Amity muttered while Ed got up, and started to leave the court room.
"Ed!" Emira stood up to follow her brother. "Ed, come back!"
Edric ran out of the court room and fled outside. Tears fell from his eyes, he just couldn't stay there much longer. He just couldn't…
He ran down to the steps and took a breather. He couldn't believe the pictures he saw even though they were just… displayed for all the Isles to see. He felt overwhelmed and he certainly couldn't look at his own mother the same way before…
"Edric?" someone asked.
He heard his name and Edric looked up to find that Mel had appeared next to him. "Mel? You're… here."
"Yeah, I have been here for a while," Mel admitted. "I wanted to be here in case you… needed me."
"Oh… thanks," Ed responded with a tired look as he smiled at her.
She looked at him in concern. "Ed, are you alright? Do you need anything?"
"No, no it's… good that you're here," Edric responded while trying to keep it together.
"Is everything okay?" she asked him, seeing him shaken.
"I...I…" Edric's face winced as he came down the steps… and broke down.
On instinct, Mel came over to Edric, holding him in a hug. "Ed! Are you okay?"
"N-N-No, obviously I'm not!" Edric cried while hugging Mel tightly.
She patted him on the back. "There, there, it's okay, I'm here for you," she said to him while helping him up. "Let me take you away from here…"
By the time Emira came out of the building, Ed and Mel were no longer there.
Concluding Statements
Odalia was brought up to the stand as she looked down in shame.
"Well, Odalia, is there anything you'd like to say to the court?" Cluckington asked her.
"…I did have a lapse of judgment with Lilith," Odalia confessed, still looking down. "I know that I haven't been a good mother… or a good wife. This is all my fault that this family is as broken as it is even though I want to fix it… but I don't even know if that's possible now." She looked up with a sincere expression. "I am so, so sorry for everything I've done. I do love my children and my husband, and I do want to do better!" She looked up to Alador with begging eyes. "Alador, please reconsider, the divorce will only make things worse!"
Alador looked at his wife with a stern expression while Cluckington intervened. "Dear old Head Witch Alador doesn't have to speak to you, Odalia," he told her with a glare and a smirk.
"Does the defendant have any final statements?" Brudy asked.
Mary stood up, clearing her throat. "Your honor, witches of the court, can't you see that Odalia has realized her mistakes and wants to make up for them? No mother is perfect, every mother has their moments where they think they're doing right for their children only to learn that they're not. I should know from experience myself that realizing your mistakes shows progress. Odalia knows that the things she's done won't make up for everything, but I believe she deserves a second chance. Because she does love this family and her children, despite what you may have heard from… less than reliable sources."
Brudy then turned to the plaintiff. "And what would the plaintiff?"
Cluckington made his stance. "Let me remind this court room who Odalia really was. A woman who has neglected her children, pushed them around, and abused them to get what she wanted from them. She is an unfaithful wife to a husband she overworked. If anything, she doesn't deserve redemption, she doesn't deserve a second chance, and more importantly-" He turned to Odalia with a glare and a smirk. "She doesn't deserve the Blight name or its assets. She doesn't deserve anything, and after what we've learned why should she? If we turn a blind eye to her actions, we'll only be letting her go free on just her word alone and we will be enabling her evil. That is not fair to her children, her husband. and everyone that has grown displeased by this unpleasant gutter trash from the blackest pits of the Titan." He adjusted his suit, giving a huff. "That is my statement, your honor."
"Alright," Brudy said as she turned to the jury. "The jury shall make the final decision," she said while the hooded members of the jury, who wore different face masks, left to make a vote.
Geist, who looked around, realized something. "Wait, I didn't make a statement…"
"Does it even matter?" Emira asked him and while Geist wanted to say something, he knew his niece was right.
"No…"
Final Jury Decision
After the jury came back, Brudy spoke up. "Has the jury reached a final decision?"
"Yes," spoke the hooded figure holding up a paper. "We of the jury have made a decision… that Odalia Blight… is guilty!"
"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!" the jury chanted while the crowd cheered for the decision.
"Yeah!/Take that, heifer!/Victory!" the audience cheered.
Odalia looked down, having accepted her defeat. Mary shut her eyes, taking the loss.
Amity looked upset at the loss, while Emira looked down and stood up, leaving the court room. Geist looked just as upset about all of this while turning to Amity. "I'm so sorry, kiddo."
"No, it's…" Amity gripped her fists and turned to stare at her father, who looked conflicted.
Arthur and Destiny looked around, both sharing smug looks. "We did it, my Destiny," Arthur whispered to his wife. "We got her."
"Indeed, we did, love," Destiny replied while holding Arthur's hand.
"Then it is decided," Brudy said while making the final decision. "Head Witch Alador Blight has the absolute rights to file for divorce against Odalia and take all of her assets. Odalia, for what I've heard from this court, you shall be stripped from the Blight name immediately, all custody of your children shall be withdrawn and all of your assets would fall to your former husband. You have brought shame to the Titan and his will." She slammed the gavel and it grunted. "Case dismissed!"
And so, everyone got up and started leaving the court room. Odalia walked over to Mary.
"I am so sorry, Odalia," Mary told her. "But look, we can still make a case against Arthur and Destiny at a later date. We can use the evidence we still have-"
"Mary, just… drop it." Odalia told her, shocking Mary.
"What? But Odalia…"
"We've lost," Odalia pointed out while looking down in shame. "There is nothing we can do now… I knew that this could happen, I knew that there was a chance I might lose." She turned to the Blight grandparents, who went to console their son along with Gibson and Terra. "I didn't stand a chance…"
Mary looked at Odalia sadly, then looked down. "I'm so sorry, Odalia. If only I did better to defend you-"
"No, you don't have to apologize, this is on me," Odalia told her as she walked away while Felicity looked at Odalia with a grin.
Outside of the court house in the lobby, Amity was walking over to where Geist and Emira were waiting when Lilith called for her.
"Amity," Lilith spoke to her, but Amity kept walking. "Amity, wait! We should talk about this-"
"There's nothing to talk about, Lilith," Amity responds to her.
"Amity… what happened there-"
"I don't want to see you right now, Lilith," Amity told her while not facing her. She shut her eyes, trying to get those photos out of her head. "I've seen enough of you for a while."
Lilith's eyes widened in realization and she looked down. "Of course… I'm… sorry."
Amity didn't say anything, she just continued to walk over to Emira and Geist. "Where's Ed?" she asked them.
"I think he is still out," Geist responded.
"He's not responding to my texts," Emira replied.
"Come on, he should be home," Amity said while they left.
Lilith continued her walk of shame out of the building… only to be met with many reporters and flashing camera lights.
"Lilith Clawthorne! Care to give a statement?" one reporter demanded.
"How long have you and Odalia been involved?!"
"Did you curse your sister out of spite?!"
"What other dirty deeds did you do as a previous Head Witch!?"
"How many withclings did you groom while in position of your power?!"
"Were all of your accomplishments a lie?!"
"Leave me alone!" Lilith shouted while summoning her staff, flying away from the parade of reporters in disgrace…
Odalia watched Lilith leave and she sighed. It was then that Felicity marched up to her.
"Odalia, care to make a statement about this grand loss you've suffered in this case? I'm sure the public would like to hear what kind of a power mad-hungry monster of a mother like you-"
WHACK!
Felicity was punched straight to the floor, her nose broken from Odalia's fist. "Gah! Titan's…!?"
"Stay away from me, Fox," Odalia told her off, before leaving the court building in shame, much like Lilith.
"Is this the season of the witch~! Is the season of the witch, yeah!"
At the Scooter Crane orphanage, Eda was getting the kids to learn a song while she was on the piano, helping them practice for their show at the retirement home.
"Alright, alright, this is good," Eda replied while turning to the kids. "Remember, the old farts love to see you kids act cute, but also seem good. You gotta learn how to sell it, right?"
"Yes, Mama Eda!" the younger kids replied.
"Alright, recital over!" Eda said while the kids ran out of the recital room and she turned to the administrator. "Mama Eda… you know, I've never been called that name since… well, a girl I once knew. I think she was kind of a kid of an ex." She frowned. "I hope she's doing okay…"
It was then that Ban popped in. "Hey Eda! How's the kids choir going?"
"Oh, it's been good. In fact, they've been getting better," Eda replied. "All they need is a little encouragement and confidence, they'll win over those old farts down at the retirement home."
"Great!" Ban replied while looking awkward. "Um… okay, I'm just… wondering about something…"
"What?" Eda asked them. "Ban, why do you look concerned?"
"Oh it's… um, well you see-"
"Is it true that your sister cursed you?" Jak asked bluntly, causing Ban to look shocked.
"…What now?" Eda asked in surprise. "How… how do you know that?"
"Everyone's talking about it in the news," Jak pointed out, causing Eda to rush to the living room.
Once she made it there, she saw a group of kids watching the CB cover the trial.
"The trial of Odalia Blight has revealed a shocking scandal! Lilith Clawthorne, the former Head of the Emperor's Coven, cursed her sister Edalyn Clawthorne aka The Owl Lady, the ex-con turned local hero of Bonesborough, back when they were teenagers! Everyone in the courtroom was shocked by this revelation that the once beloved Lilith is now a no-good cheat! And not only that, but the now disgraced CEO of Blight Industries, formerly known as Odalia Blight, had a hand in it along with her revealed affair with Lilith!"
"What the…" Eda looked shocked as Ms. Hicky looked at the news with her.
"Wow… you think you know a sister," Ms. Hicky replied while Eda picked up the crow.
"I need to make a call," she said while contacting Lilith.
At the hangout of Mel's gang, they were watching the news coverage on their scrolls after Mel brought Edric in.
"Such a shame, how this turned out for you, Eddie," Eustace said while wiping a tear from his eye. "Even a pirate like me can have feelings!"
"Boy do I not pity that woman," Serpentina states while looking at Odalia in the news coverage.
"Now now, Serpentina, Edric just came over and it's our job to console him," Jackson said while turning to Edric, who was being tended to by Mel and Trini who patted him on the shoulder. "Are you alright, my friend?"
"I… I'm fine, just… a little upset," Edric responded while wiping his eyes.
"Oh, poor thing." Trini cooed while patting his back. "We're here for you, Eddie."
"Yeah," Blazer said while laying on Edric's lap. "Let us comfort you."
Edric stared at Blazer for a minute. "What… what are you doing?"
"Helping you calm down so you'd feel relaxed," Blazer said before Mel got him off.
"Get off of him, Blazer!" Mel told him while Blazer crawled away.
"I, uh, appreciate the… gesture," Edric said. "I'm… glad that you guys are with me."
Mel turned to give Trini a look. She gave a wave of her eyebrow, while Trini gave a nod. Mel then turned to Ed. "I'm sorry, Ed, but… if you ask me, this is for the best. It sounds like your folks were always going to get divorced."
"I… I figured it was inevitable but… not like this," Ed said as his voice cracked. Behind him, D-Josh has a pillow summoned before handing it to Mel, who gave it to Ed to hold onto. "Thank you."
"Why don't you let it all out," Mel said while brushing his hair. "You can just… let go of those feelings you've had for a while."
Ed sniffed and hugged the pillow. "Well… it's just… I feel like a nobody in my family," he admitted. "Mom and dad don't pay attention to me, since they don't even expect me to accomplish anything. And yet I have done so much in Illusions, Potions, and Beast-Keeping!" he shouted in anger.
"Yes, let it all out…" Mel said as her eyes glowed.
Edric's eyes glowed as well, his anger showing. "Emira may hate how our parents treat us, but at least she gets noticed. She was seen as the responsible one and not a tagalong." His resentment showed as he continued. "And Amity? Oh Little Miss Perfect was always the center of attention! When she gets hurt, everyone drops everything to check on her! But when I get hurt, no one gives a fuck!" He looked down while his eyes narrowed. "And she abandoned me and Em."
"She did? Whoa…" Eustace said while Serpentina nudged him.
"Amity not only left her family to deal with her mess after the petrification ceremony, but she was barely there for us after me and Em moved in with Geist! She preferred to live with the Clawthornes instead of her real family, which she disowned!" he declared while in tears. "I've been bottling this up for a long while, because I wanted to be a good son and a good brother… but now I've reached my breaking point!"
"You shouldn't have to take it from them, Ed," Mel told him while rubbing his shoulders to ease his tension.
"Sure, they did care after my break-up with Hunter," Edric admitted. "They were there for me then. But even then… Amity still had Luz, whom she moved in with, and Emira still had Viney, but I had no one." He sniffed. "And I was just… so afraid of being alone, so afraid Amity and Em only put up with me because they have to, because they're obligated to. And they'll still leave me… my family is falling apart and it's only a matter of time before everyone is gone. Leaving me… alone…"
He looked down. "All my life, I was stuck being the middle child of the family, the son that nobody wanted," Edric responded. "It's like I don't matter! Screw Odalia and… screw Alador who promised to make things right, but he broke that promise… and screw Emira for bossing me around, and… screw Amity, for being the one that everyone goes to!"
Mel then hugged him from behind, allowing Edric to catch his breath. "Ed… you are too good for them. They don't appreciate you like we do…"
Ed gave a nod. "Yeah, maybe you're right…" He turned to Mel, who caressed his face.
"Perhaps you don't need your family anymore…" Mel told him while her eyes glowed and his eyes glowed again as well. "They keep ignoring you, and taking you for granted… you shouldn't have to put up with any of that…"
At Geist's bar, the trio of Amity, Emira and Geist had made it back. The bar was closed while they sat in awkward silence, Geist looking at the two girls in concern as Ghost tried to comfort Amity, who was trying to keep it together, while Emira continued to check her scroll.
"Anything from Ed?" Geist asked her.
"I think he blocked me," Emira responded, still trying to contact him.
"I'm getting worried for him, he shouldn't be out at this time of night," Geist replied.
Amity looked down. "What happens now?"
"I don't know," Emira replied, looking up at Amity with a concerned expression. "Titan, this is hell…"
It was then that Luz appeared from the back. "Amity!" she called out while Amity stood up.
"Luz!" Amity rushed over and hugged her girlfriend, tears streaming from her eyes. "I… I'm just glad to see you right now!" she cried.
"I'm here, I'm here," Luz responded while looking worried. "When I learned about what happened at the trial, I came here as fast as I could. Is there anything you need?"
Amity looked at Luz, remembering what Edric had said. "I… I just…" She didn't know what to say, Ed's words still echoing in her head. She was tired, too tired to think. "Let's just spend the night here."
Luz gave her a nod. "Of course," she told her. "I'll call mom to let her know that we're spending the night here."
"I'll show you guys the guest room," Geist told them.
"Thank you, Uncle Geist," Amity responded, while still hanging onto Luz. She turned to Emira. "Are you alright, Em?"
"I'm just going to wait for Ed, in case he comes back," Emira replied, going back to trying to contact him.
Eda was flying around the Isles looking for Lilith when she saw Edgar flying up to her.
"Edgar?" Eda asked, spotting white raven Palisman cawing. "Where's Lily?" she asked worriedly as the raven Palisman led her to where Lilith was.
As Eda followed him, she realized where she was headed. "Oh no… please no…"
She saw fog up ahead, since she knew she was near to… the edge of the Forest of Fear.
And she spotted Lilith there.
Fearing the worst, Eda immediately flew down as she went to grab her sister and take her away from there. She flew as fast and far as she could, far from the Forest of Fear while carrying Lilith until they were a safe distance away.
"Lily!" Eda shouted once she got Lilith. "Why were you there?!"
"Edalyn, I wasn't going into the forest, honest," Lilith reassured her.
"Then why were you there?!" Eda demanded while Lilith looked away in shame.
"I went there… to think." Lilith answered. "That place is where I was found by Puck and Hooty, back where I was…" She didn't want to finish.
"So how are you holding up?" Eda asked after letting Lilith go.
"Awful," Lilith admitted, hugging herself. "I am now responsible for hurting more people… Eda, what happened between me and Odalia… it wasn't of our own free will! I suspect someone drugged us in order to set us up, but I have no proof and the damage has been done! The Blight family is broken… all thanks to me. I hurt Odalia, I hurt Amity, and now the entire Isles knows that along with the fact that I cursed you!" she shouted, covering her face while Eda came to comfort her.
"Lily, it wasn't your fault," Eda reassured her.
"But it is, Eda," Lilith sobbed while yelling. "It is absolutely my fault!" She was shaking, looking angry with herself. "The irony of everyone loving you now while I'm the hated one hasn't escaped me… and I truly deserve nothing less." She sniffed while turning to Eda. "How could you even forgive me in the first place? I ruined your life…"
"Well, that's because I love ya, sis," Eda reminded her, patting Lilith's shoulder.
This caused Lilith to look at her sister, tears in her eyes as the two hugged. Lilith broke down. "Eda… I don't know how to fix this…"
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Eda promised. "Want me to take you home?"
Lilith nodded while Edgar flew onto her shoulder. She sat behind Eda on her staff and they flew up, Lilith hanging onto her sister. "You are too generous, Edalyn."
"I know," Eda replied while giving a serious look. "You think that someone may be behind what you and Odalia did, right?"
Lilith looked down. "When me and Odalia… came back to our senses, we promised to never speak of it again. Both of us realized that something had come over us and we weren't in the right state of mind when it happened. But… it didn't matter, since the truth still came out thanks to someone apparently taking photos of us."
Eda narrowed her remaining eye. "I'm going to make that someone pay…"
Odalia Grunhar, for she was no longer a Blight, had left Bonesborough. She knew that she couldn't return to Blight Manor… not after it was repossessed.
While she could have asked one of her friends if they would let her spend the night, Odalia just wanted to be left alone at the moment. And there was only one place she could think of where she would have privacy.
A small cottage in the woods.
Her childhood home.
She never thought she would be here again. Seeing the cottage home brings back memories. Some good while the rest… not so good. She opened the door and saw that the place was empty. Fitting for how she was feeling right now.
She looked around, still remembering when this cottage was full of life. All the times she would catch her parents watching the crystal ball together. And when she entered her former room, she was reminded of all the times she and Geist comforted each other.
She stood in her old bedroom, letting the events of the day wash over her…
And she broke down. Odalia fell to her knees as she cried and cried. Holding her face, she had never felt so humiliated in her entire life. She wanted to change, she wanted to make things right… But in the end, she lost…
But she wasn't alone.
"Odalia…"
Hearing the familiar voice, Odalia looked up and saw a figure emerge from the shadows. She fell back while finding herself meeting face to face with someone she never thought she would see again…
"Nicole?" She asked as the Hieron woman towered over her.
"Get a hold of yourself," Nicole said, her hands behind her back. "Is this what you sunken to? Crying in a cottage? And what happened between you and Lilith… honestly, I was not shocked, considering how much in shambles your marriage was." She hid a grin while looking at Odalia. "What did shock me was you and Lilith being the ones who cursed Eda…"
"You… did you have something to do with those photos?!" Odalia demanded, suspecting the woman.
"I wish, but it wasn't me," Nicole admitted. "But this… this is what happens when you cross the Clawthornes, they ruin the lives of everyone around them! Your downfall is their fault!"
"No it isn't!" Odalia countered. "It is more my fault than theirs."
"Perhaps," Nicole replied. "But it doesn't have to be this way… we can still get back at our enemies…"
"What?" Odalia questioned.
"I say we team up! The Boiling Isles is becoming tainted by weakness! Eda is hailed as a hero while those like us end up being hated!" Nicole declared. "But we can take back our glory! Our status! We can both have what we rightfully deserved!"
"Forget it, Nicole!" Odalia shouted as she got up. "I am never teaming up with you, nor will I ever go along with what you're planning! Because unlike you, I've come to terms for what I've done and I accept the consequences of my actions."
Nicole narrowed her eyes to Odalia and sighed. "Pity… I'm quite disappointed in you, Odie." She gave a chuckle. "I was hoping that by teaming up, we could save ourselves and our families from what's to come…"
"What's to come?" Odalia asked in confusion.
"The Day of Unity," Nicole revealed. "Everything about it… is nothing but a lie." Odalia's eyes widened as Nicole continued. "You wouldn't believe what I've learned, Odalia. But it looks like you'll have to join like the rest of the Isles… "
"What… what are you talking about, Nicole?" Odalia demanded while Nicole returned to the shadows. "Nicole? Nicole!"
But Nicole was gone, leaving Odalia with a worried look on her face…
Eda looked at her old family home after taking Lilith back there. She sighed before looking at her upset sister. It was very hard for her to come back here… but she needed to be here with her sister now.
Knocking on the door, Gwen immediately opened it. "Edalyn?" she said in surprise before looking at Lilith. "Oh my, Sweet Flea!" She went to embrace Lilith, who cried in response.
"M-Mom…" Lilith teared up while Eda and Gwen helped her in.
Dell and Hunter both walked over to her. "Lily, are you alright?" Dell asked.
"N-No, dad, I was… I'm never going to be…" Lilith stammered while breaking down.
"Come on, let me help you to your room," Gwen said while escorting Lilith upstairs, deciding to stay with Lilith while she was still upset.
Watching them walking up, Hunter turned to Eda. "We… saw the news. Now everyone knows about… did you hear anything from… Amity and her family?" he asked her.
"Luz texted me and said she and Amity are going to be spending the night at Geist's, but that's all I know," Eda said while looking around.
"Pumpkin," Dell spoke up, causing Eda to turn to him. "It's… good that you're here."
"Yeah, well… I just wanted to make sure Lily is going to be alright. Even if it means coming back here…" Eda responded, looking down awkwardly. "Huh… it's been… ages and I don't know how much has changed around here."
"Your room is left untouched," Dell said while noticing her look. "Are you okay, Eda? When did you lose an eye?"
"Long story," Eda said as she looked up to her father, rubbing her arm.
"I'm, uh, going to my room," Hunter said, deciding to leave the two alone to talk…
As Hunter walked upstairs, he heard Lilith continue to cry while her mother tended to her. He peeked into her room and spotted Gwen hugging Lilith.
"I just… I can't keep doing this, mother…" Lilith sobbed.
"Lily, it's not your fault…" Gwen reassured her.
"But it is!" Lilith cried while burying her face on her mother's shoulder. "I've done nothing but hurt others…"
The blond witch boy looked concerned as he turned away. He spotted Flapjack flying up to him before heading back to their room. Hunter followed the cardinal Palisman and when he reached his room he saw that the window was open… and a crow was on his bed.
"Hunter," the crow spoke in Abel's voice.
His eyes widening, Hunter quietly closed the door and went to grab the crow. "Abel?" he asked.
Back to Eda and Dell, an awkward silence hung over them.
"Dad… I think I should maybe spend the night to make sure Lilith is alright and while I am here I think we should talk… about my wild witch days," Eda admitted.
"Are you sure?" Dell asked.
Eda nodded. "I think now is the right time… to tell you, mom and Lilith about what I was up to during that time," she told him while looking upstairs. "You guys deserve to know."
Dell gave her a nod and the two walked upstairs together to Lilith's room. When they entered, Gwen was still there, hugging Lilith.
"How is she doing?" Eda asked her.
"She's calming down," Gwen said.
"Are you alright, Sweet Flea?" Dell asked while embracing his eldest daughter.
"I… I don't know," Lilith responded, while looking up to Eda.
"Lily, mom, dad…" Eda said while sitting next to Lilith. "It's time I tell you all a little something… about myself. Something that… I think you should know what happened to me and… what I've done over the years. But it can wait if you guys want."
Lilith wiped away her tears. "It's… fine, Edalyn," she responded while adjusting herself/ "Just… tell us what you want to tell."
Eda looked at them, trying to bring herself to begin. She took a deep breath. "After I found the portal door… the first place I went to was a small town called Gatesfield…"
"How is Lilith doing?" Abel asked, as if he already knew Lilith was there.
"She just came home and… is upset," Hunter responded.
"Yes, we have heard that the knowledge of her cursing Eda has now been shared with the public," Abel responded. "At least she has her parents that would take care of her in her time of need. Just remember that the Emperor's Coven will welcome you back if this is becoming too much to handle for you."
Hunter looked at Flapjack before turning his head to the door. His fist tightened
"Actually, Abel… I'm gonna have to stay here at least a little longer," Hunter responded. "Until I make sure that Lilith's completely okay."
"You don't have an obligation to get involved with Lilith's business, Hunter," Abel told him.
"Maybe, but it is my choice," Hunter responded. "She helped me and, well, I think I should help her. I can't leave her. Now not."
"Hunter, it is not-"
"My place?" Hunter interjected, his face angry. "What do you know about where my place is? What, I am expected to follow orders without question when Belos wants me to spy on my then friends, but when I want to help someone out it is suddenly not appropriate? This isn't about me right now, this is about Lilith."
"Hunter…"
"Tell my uncle that if he wants me back, send scouts to drag me back, cause I'm holding him accountable for letting Kikimora reveal Lilith's secrets that weren't hers to tell!" Hunter told him off.
"Are you blaming your uncle for what was revealed to the Isles about Lilith's character?" Abel asked him.
Hunter shivered. "No… I'm just… mad."
"Understandable," Abel said. "We can talk later. Take care, Hunter."
"Yeah, thanks," Hunter said before the crow flew off. The former Golden Guard went to his window, watching as the crow vanished into the distance…
In the Fox household in Metropelvis, Felicia was talking to Todd, who was watching over her while her mom was out.
"So you've been having a good week, Felicia?" Todd asked her.
"Yep," Felicia confirmed. "I became the manager of the Emerald Entrails, I made a deal with the Emperor's Coven to promote B.I.G., I got an exclusive interview with the leader of LOWTH, and I even got a chance to help my mom out. What about you, Todd? How's your friend doing?"
"Copper? Well, he and his dad are still on their hunting trip, but they will be back this weekend," Todd responded as they heard the door open.
They turned to see Felicity, who had a bandage wrapped around her snout. She was talking on a crow. "Yes, I have everything in order for the program tomorrow!" she declared as she walked in.
"Mom!" Felicia rushed over to her mother. "Did I do good? I heard that you used my footage and-" Felicity just walked past her. "Mom?"
"Not now, I'm busy," Felicity told her daughter while passing by Todd, who she shoved away.
Todd glared slightly at Felicity before turning to Felicia and noticing her looking down. He sighed sympathetically. "Are you alright, kit?"
"Yeah," Felicia replied nonchalantly before she started to walk up to her room while pulling up her scroll. On her way up, she then noticed a message appearing to her and as she tapped it… she realized it was from Luz.
'Tomorrow, 8 o'clock. I know where to find your ass.'
This made the fox girl gulp.
At Blight Industries, Alador was looking around while being accompanied by Arthur, Destiny, and Gibson.
"Well son, you've done it!" Arthur said as he patted Alador on the back. "You're finally free from Odalia's toxic influence!"
"Now that woman will never hurt you or your family again!" Destiny told him. "Now you can run the company the way you want without that horrible woman over your neck!"
"Um… thank you, mom, dad," Alador replied while Gibson patted him on the back.
"Come on, Al, let's go make your ex's office into your new office and talk business," Gibson said while escorting Alador away.
Once they were gone, Arthur and Destiny looked at each other while holding hands. "Isn't this great, my beautiful work of Art?" Destiny asked. "We finally have our son back."
"Indeed, my greatest Destiny," Arthur responded to his wife. "And with Odalia out of the way, we can finally move forward…"
The two looked up at the Blight Industries logo, already thinking about the… improvements they intended to make to the factory.
At the Masterskulls, Donna was watching the news about the trial after being healed up by her moms.
"Donna," Gladys said to her. "Dr. Midnight's here."
"On my way," Donna responded as she tapped on her scroll to send a text.
Nina, after coming home with Calypso, saw Skara, Slasher, and Scabrina all sitting together with shocked looks. She and Calypso turned and saw what was on the mirror.
"Oh shit…" Nina said while Skara stood up, pulling up her scroll.
At the Owl House, its residents were watching the crystal ball.
"I got a text from Luz, she and Amity are spending the night at Amity's uncle's bar," King said while holding up a scroll. "And Eda said she is spending the night with her parents and sister, so we will be having the house to ourselves tonight."
"Poor Amity," Camila said with a sympathetic tone. "She and her family must be going through a lot…"
Acorn looked just as concerned for Amity, while Hooty's cries could be heard outside.
"WAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Hooty cried while rolling his neck around the ground.
At the Regal residence, Mary came home and saw Amelia and Harlan waiting for her.
"Mom…" Amelia spoke as she looked up at her visibly upset mother. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just, it's just…" Mary wiped her eyes while giving a sigh. "Okay, I'm a little upset right now…"
"Oh, come here," Harlan said while he and Amelia went to hug her.
At the Park household Willow and Gus were watching the news on CB with the Park parents.
"Oh man…" Gus said in shock.
"I never thought that things could turn out like this…" Sully said.
Willow stood up, which Gilbert noticed. "Willow?"
"I'm gonna text if Amity's alright," Willow announced as Gus pulled out his scroll as well to send Luz a text.
At Geist's bar, Emira couldn't reach out to Edric, so instead she texted Viney on her scroll.
Emira: Hey, are you available right now?
Viney:…
Viney: I can't come over right now…
Emira looked concerned, wondering what her girlfriend's message meant. Without Viney to keep her company and with Geist out looking for Ed, all she could do now was continue to wait for Edric to return…
In the guest room, Luz was in bed holding onto Amity, who was silently crying onto her chest until she fell asleep. Luz heard her scroll buzzing and she pulled it out for a second.
Beo: Hey, is everything alright?
Luz … Yeah, me and Ams are okay. At her uncle's.
Willow: Luz, is Amity okay?
Cat: I saw the news.
Gus: Are you alright?
Donna: Hey, is Amity okay?
Luz tried to read the text messages on her scroll as they kept pouring in. She shrugged and set her scroll aside, deciding to focus on Amity right now. While she hugged her poor girlfriend from one side, Ghost rubbed against Amity from another.
Odalia laid on her bed as she teared up, crying over the events that had happened.
This was who she was now. Odalia Grunhar. Forced to return home.
But outside of the old Grubhar home, watching from the forest, was a misshapen Abomi-monster…
Hunter could hear Eda downstairs talking to her parents as he crept out of his room and headed for Lilith's.
He saw the door slightly open and he peeked in to see Lilith sitting on her bed looking at the wall. "Lilith?"
She turned to Hunter. "Hey, Hunter."
"How are you feeling?" he asked her.
"I'm… I'm fine, it's just-" Lilith wiped her eyes. "Just… don't worry about me, okay?"
Hunter looked at Lilith and then looked down, thinking to himself. But then he shook his head, marched over to Lilith, and did something she was not expecting… he hugged her.
Lilith looked at Hunter in surprise before shutting her eyes and hugging him back.
At the warehouse, Edric had fallen asleep and was bunking with D-Josh while Mel walked away to talk with Trini in private.
"So… what happens now?" Trini asked her. "Since you've alienated him from his family and all."
"Well, tomorrow is the Brawl," Mel pointed out. "Our chance to cause a little trouble and havoc. Maybe see which one of us should participate…"
"Yeah, but what about him?" Trini asked while looking at Edric. "You know, I could slip in a little something for your boy toy…"
"Absolutely not!" Mel hissed at her cambion friend. "We are not pulling the same stunt on him that we did to those old buzzards."
"Fine," Trini said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, I just thought that you would want to avoid making the same mistakes you did with Aurore and-ack!" She felt Mel's hand grabbing her neck as she was lifted off the ground.
"Never… mentioned… their names," Mel warned her, while Trini only gave a smirk as she looked as if she was… enjoying this. Mel let her go once she heard Trini moan. "Freak."
"Oh come on, I can take more than Serpy," Trini replied with a flustered grin.
Mel just shook her head before looking back at the sleeping Edric, a smile forming on her face as she watched her new… pet. He looked so cute while he was sleeping. She was going to make him hers… and no one was gonna stop her.
Not even her dad.
Quite the downer ending, ain't it?
So now you know what these glows Amity has been seeing around Emira, and Viney… they were pretty much doing the Titan's Tango. And yeah, Eda and Raine probably did it as well before Raine left.
Now for OC explanation, Roosten Cluckington III is an obvious parody of Foghorn Leghorn.
Judge Brudy, a demon kangaroo judge, not only is that on the nose but is a parody of famous television judge, Judge Judy.
Now to point out the days this week takes place in before the Brawl, as accordance:
Sunday- Luz and Camila's visit to the Human Realm, Odalia and Lilith's affair.
Monday- The club fair that leads to the formation of the Emerald Entrails, and the Emperor's Coven recruitment drive.
Tuesday- Nina's cheer tryouts, Nina's meeting with Mao, Luz and Amity's date at Peter's Art House.
Wednesday- Donna and Nina's fall out, Luz and Amity facing the Grim Goblin, B.I.G. revealed to the public.
Thursday- Donna's meet up with Jackson, Beocrow and Lindsay taking the Slitherbeast back. Nina meeting her parents up to her fall out with them.
Friday- The trial, Nina busting Sonya, Donna's encounter with Lupe.
Eda helping Donna home would occur before heading back to the orphanage, which is where she would learned about the news of Lilith cursing her would be revealed and Odalia's part in it, leading up to her talk with her family about what she's been for the past 30 years.
Thursday would be of nothing significant that day, as nothing happened other than the minor events. So Luz and Amity were healing up that day while Donna and Nina have some plot-heavy stuff going on.
While on the topic, while writing this chapter, we've come to the conclusion on about what does Emira and Edric feel about their parents. The show does only focus on Amity's relationship with her parents, but not Ed and Em. But thanks to fanfiction, there's tons of potential in how we can describe their relations with them, which are more negative experience than positives unlike Amity would have a bit of both. So here, it's shown that Emira has to take up being the mom in the family while Edric… yeah, he's the middle child. The son that is expected to not do much, which his admiration in getting a compliment from Eda shows how much Ed feels good in finding someone who gives him the attention he needs for his accomplishments.
Which brings up from the flashback of the whole Odalia using an Abomination version of Edric for a mother-son race is a reference to an unmade episode by the TOH crew that was rejected by Dana, which would've been a musical episode where Eda and Odalia are fighting over a crush(don't know who but possibly Raine) as Odalia uses an Abomination replica of Edric which made him angry and how he and Emira planned to sabotage the clone and giving it a death… and honestly, while I wouldn't mind a musical episode from The Owl House would be nice(if not for the cancellation by fucking Chapek), but the plot itself sounds only better on paper in my own opinion. I don't know, it does sound it could have potential, with a bit of tweaking.
It was always going to be Arthur and Destiny winning the trial since coming up the idea of having a trial chapter, with Odalia losing. Then Buck had a thought of if Lilith could be exposed after writing Eda's interview with Felicity who spark interest in wanting to expose who cursed Eda. Then we doubled on how Odalia and Lilith would be exposed especially with Trini snapping the pictures of them having an affair and sending them to the Media Coven, and with news of the trial, this helps alienate Edric to Mel's gang, with Mel having him feel more welcome and understood with them than he had with the Blights…
One thing to note that despite all of the awfulness that Arthur, Destiny and Nicole have displayed… they're not Complete Monsters. Like, Arthur and Destiny at least love each other genuinely, unlike canon Odalia with Alador, and Nicole in her own sick and twisted way, does care about her family. This is… sad, that they're less evil despite being awful, but not in the level of awfulness as canon Odalia.
Nothing much to say, but compare to the other chapters, this one felt more short.
Now for the reviews:
Gamelover41592: One fear…
BlueKnight-X2: You'll see.
Matteso585: 1) Um… not really? Also I'm sure Gus would just be surprised about Archibald's return. 2) The Goblin hung around after Teri's meeting with the Golden Guard. It was then he overheard LOWTH confirming that Emily is the Golden Guard, which has him set to set up the trap for Emily when he comes out as the Grim Goblin again. 3) Wouldn't be that impactful.
Franco Almiron: Thanks, especially that the first hints of Teri being the Goblin would have been noted especially since the Goblin recites poetry, like Teri does…
Crosshot: Star can be listed as part of Raine's new rebellion for now. The aura visions she has comes with her Fae powers, that even Acorn can tell when someone had… sex recently. Viney's absents would hold a much deeper meaning.
Arsenal: Yup.
Shuffollower: All will be revealed…
Ultimate-drax: Can confirmed that Eda and Raine did.
Alamout: You've already asked this on AO3.
Next chapter, we'll be taking a break from the Isles, while we take a look at what's happening at Gravity Falls…
