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 110: For The HECK of It
It was morning at the Owl House. Luz, Eda, and King were having breakfast along with Kay and Maurice, who was resting on King's shoulder. An awkward silence hung over the breakfast table.
"It's weird not having Amity and Camila here," Eda commented, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, it's been a while since it was just the three of us," King said.
"Four of us!" Hooty shouted, butting in.
"Yeah, the four of us," Luz replied while feeding Kay. She sighed. "But… we know that it was for the best for mom to stay behind in Gravity Falls…"
At the reception, Luz and Eda were talking with Camila, who had made her decision.
"So you're staying here?" Eda asked her.
"Yes," Camila responded while turning to Luz. "Mija, I have loved living in the Owl House with you and your family. I have loved seeing your life and being a part of it. But… I have forgotten that I need to be my own person as well. So I think I am going to take the agents' offer to help me find a new life here. And I think some time for myself would be nice and I could get ready while you settle your business at the Demon Realm, Luz. I just… think I need to do this."
"Are you sure?" Luz asked her, a bit worried.
"I'm positive," Camila nodded as she patted Luz's hand. "I want to spend some time with Gail and Clara anyway. You have your people, Luz. I want to find mine."
Luz gave an understanding nod to her mother. "I get that. Don't worry, Mom. You take care of yourself. I promise that I'll see you once my business in the Demon Realm is settled."
"And I'll be waiting for you," Camila replied, as the two shared a hug.
"Yeah, I'm going to miss Cammy," Eda said while eating.
"Me too, she was a lot fun to hang out with," King replied as Maurice chipped. "Maurice also misses her."
Eda turned to King, remembering something. "So, King, I think it is about time we discuss something that needs to be addressed."
"What do you mean?" King asked.
"Well… since you're old enough, I think it is long overdue that you get a job," Eda told him, which made Luz snicker a little.
"Ha! That's a good one, mom!" King snickered as well before he looked at Eda and saw that she wasn't snickering. "Wait… you're serious?!"
"Yes, I'm serious," Eda responded. "You're much older than Luz despite your size, so I think you're old enough to get yourself a job and help pull your weight around here. I don't think sitting around the house all the time will do any good for you, so what you need is experience in getting into the workforce."
"Aw come on, Luz doesn't have a job!" King pointed out.
"Luz goes to school and already has her future planned out," Eda pointed out.
"That's right," Luz replied. "I'm already planning on spending my autumn break with mom, Abby and Clara, though I might get a job in Gravity Falls if anyone is hiring."
"Plus, I'm sure there are some jobs around Bonesborough that don't require magic," Eda said, "And thanks to my new connections with the PCA and Donna's parents, they might give you some job opportunities. You could work at a deli, or as a janitor, or a life coach. Maybe Morton could use some assistance."
"I… think about those," King responded.
After everyone finished eating, Eda and Luz head out of the house.
"Good luck at school, Luz," Eda told her while bringing her staff up.
"And good luck at the orphanage, mom," Luz replied while spreading her wings. "Ready, Maya?"
"Ready," Maya answered as they flew up, mother and daughter going their separate ways.
Outside the orphanage, Eda landed in front of the entrance. Waiting for her there was Donna.
"Hi Eda!" Donna waved to her. "Glad that you came!"
"You're still not at school?" Eda asked her in surprise.
"Yeah, they're still working on the repairs and the investigation after the Goblin attack," Donna replied. "Though honestly, a lot of the parents, including mine, are still reluctant to let their kids go back to school. They don't think it's safe after the Grim Goblin attack and the Bonesborough Brawl disaster."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good call," Eda commented. "Though, the fact it happened to St. Epiderm of all schools…"
"Yeah, the St. Epiderm's PCA don't know if they can trust the school to keep their kids safe, considering that the Goblin was able to breach it, even with coven scouts present. Most of the kids don't mind being off from school… except for our class president, he's banged up about it the most. But until it does reopen, my schedule is free and I can continue helping around here."
"Great," Eda replied as they went inside and saw the children playing around.
"Hey, Ms. Eda!" Beans waved to her, along with the other children.
"Hey, kiddos!" Eda waved to them as Ban walked up to her.
"Eda, Donna, thank goodness you're all here!" Ban said as he walked towards the two. "We're short on snacks right now…"
"Don't worry, I can order pizza later," Donna suggested.
"Great! The kids will love it!" Ban responded. "You're a lifesaver, Donna."
"Hey, the least I can do," Donna replied.
"And since it's nice and sunny, maybe we can have the kids do some outdoor activities today," Eda suggested. "I know some outdoor games we can play."
"Ms. Eda," spoke Aldolphus, who startled Eda from behind.
"Aw geez, kid, you almost popped my bile sac," Eda said.
"Where are your papers?" he asked her.
Eda looked nervous. "Uh… what?"
"Your papers, Ms. Eda," Aldolphus said. "Vhere are your papers? It is a very simple question."
"Um… I'm not sure what you mean…?" Eda said nervously before noticing some construction paper in his hand. "Ooooh, construction paper! I think there's some in the cabinet."
"Of course I meant construction paper," Aldolphus responded, confused by Eda's expression. "Vhat do you think I am, a secret police or something? Adults, geez…" he said while walking away in a march-like manner.
Eda gave a sigh, then looked over to Jak. "Hey, Jak, how's it going?"
"I'm fine," Jak responded while looking at his own fingernails. "So how long has Amity been a Fae?"
"Uh… why are you asking me that?" Eda asked him.
"Just curious," Jak replied.
Eda felt uneasy and uncomfortable about talking about Amity. "I uh… no comment."
"Hey Eda, listen, I'm gonna need your help with a little something," Donna said as she grabbed Eda's arm, pulling her away from Jak.
"Thanks, Silvy," Eda whispered to her.
"Anytime, Eda," Donna replied.
Luz had flown over to Hexside, spotting Cat, Amelia, and Simon before landing in front of them.
"Hey Luz!" Amelia waved to her.
"Sup guys," Luz said while landing. "Hope I'm not late, I had to deal with some business with the scouts this morning."
"Oh. Is everything okay, Luz?" Cat asked her in concern.
Luz sighed. "In all honesty, I have a lot on my plate right now. Especially if I have to possibly face you-know-who today…"
"Let's not worry about that. Instead, let's just enjoy a quiet day in school," Cat replied while everyone headed into Hexside.
"If we can," Amelia added as they went inside.
As they tried to head for their classes, Luz split off from the others and noticed some of the students looking at her. She could hear them whispering to themselves about the brawl and about Amity.
'Just keep walking forward and try not making eye contact,' Luz thought as she continued walking before Gavin called for her.
"Luz!" Gavin shouted as he walked over to her. With him was Angmar. "Is Amity alright? Boscha said that she was fine, but we couldn't help but worry."
"Relax, you two," Luz reassured them. "Amity's safe off the Isles."
"But where off the Isles?" Andrea asked as she popped up, startling Luz. "Like, did she just go poof and disappear? Is she living on an uncharted island somewhere? And is that her necklace?" She pointed to the Azura medallion.
Luz quickly hid it under her shirt. "It is something I'm holding onto for her at the moment."
"Oh, for a minute, I thought you had eloped with her or something," Andrea said.
"Okay, I think I should go!" Luz shouted as she walked past the pink-haired cheerleader. However, she couldn't avoid her other classmates.
"So wait, are you really eloped with Amity?"
"Is she okay?"
"The school wants to know!"
Looking mildly annoyed, Luz held up an invisible glyph and took in a deep breath, holding it. She then slapped on the glyph, making her disappear in front of the sea of students.
"Where'd she go/Did she disappear/We should get to class," the students muttered to themselves as they began to disperse. The invisible Luz managed to sneak away, finding a hallway that was empty. Once she breathed out, she was visible again in the empty hall.
"Luz?"
Or so Luz thought before she heard a voice behind her. She turned around and saw Nina, causing her to sigh. "Great… well at least it's just you, Nina."
"Yeah, right now you and Amity are the talk of the school," Nina said while looking at Luz with her eyebrow raised. "So… is Amity alright? I haven't seen her since you guys left for Hell, though Skara told me that she's doing good."
"Because she is doing fine," Luz responded. "She's far from the Emperor's reach, so she's safe."
"Well, that's good news." Nina replied. "Look, I understand full well what her situation is like. It's… not fair that someone like her would have to go through all of this because of something she has no control over. She can't help being a Fae."
"Thanks, Nina," Luz thanked the girl before remembering something else. "Um… there is… one thing you should know… about when we came back from the Underworld…"
"Is this about Emily?" Nina asked her.
"Yeah," Luz replied awkwardly. "So the thing is that we did rescue her from Mel, but after that she… left. I have no idea where she is now, but I don't think she'll return to the Emperor's Coven."
"So basically, she's on the run," Nina snarled, having a pissed off look. "Ugh. Of course she escapes justice again…" She then looked angrily at Luz, surprising her. "And why would you just let her walk away after all the pain she caused both of us!?"
"I… I don't know," Luz responded, a bit taken aback. "I didn't want to even save her, but that would mean giving Mel what she wanted." Luz frowned and looked down. "Mom said we had to be better than Mel and Emily. But Emily knows that if she messes with me and my family again, next time I won't be merciful."
"There shouldn't even have to be a next time," Nina pointed out before she took a deep breath. "First Sonya, and now Emily is lurking around… I need to clear my mind, see ya," she said as she walked away, deciding to head to Ms. Traveler's office.
After seeing Nina off, Luz suddenly felt a sudden chill down her spine…
"Luz Clawthorne…"
Turning around, she found herself under the intimidating glare of Principal Faust. He did not look happy. "Come with me…"
Despite the office being still haunted with ghosts, Faust still brought Luz there so he could interrogate her, forcing Luz to sit in front of his desk. The two glared at each other in silence.
"You think this is funny, don't you?" he asked her while a ghost flew around his head.
"A little," Luz replied. "I mean, I thought we'd have to take another room instead of making your office the meeting place."
"I am not talking about my office, Clawthorne!" Faust shouted, slamming his fists down on the desk. "You are going to tell me what you know about Amity Goodfellow!"
"Oh, funny that you mentioned that," Luz said while sitting up. "I'm surprised you still want to know more about her, considering that you already expelled her from here so why does it matter? Also, pretty bold move from an acting principal."
"I am upholding the school rules around here, Clawthorne!" Faust declared while standing up. "Belos may give her leeway, but in my school I don't! Especially since Amity deceived everyone by hiding her true nature-!"
"She didn't ask to be a fae!" Luz told him off. "And you know, ever since you came here, all you did was undo the goodwill Bump created with his students. Because you don't care about the students or their progress, you're nothing but a pussy-ass d-hole who wants to run this school like a tyrant! Well guess what? You're not my principal… Bump is."
"You better watch your tongue, Clawthorne, or it's-!"
"Detention? Nah, I think I'll just quit," Luz said.
"Quit? You plan to drop out?" Faust asked her in shock.
"Well, I don't see a reason to stay here much longer if Amity's expelled. Might as well expel me too," Luz declared. "I'd rather do what Amity did and get off this Titan-forsaken carcass and go off the Isles! You can tell your superiors at the Emperor's Coven that I have gone renegade!" she declared while standing up from her chair. "Just grab my file and have me kicked out of this school."
"I'll make sure no other school will ever accept you," Faust declared.
"I think I can manage being homeschooled again," Luz replied nonchalantly. "Besides, you should have learned from my mother that you can't keep a leash on a Clawthorne."
Faust looked down at Luz, his face unfazed "I'll admit, that is true." he said. "You Clawthorne women can not to be contained."
"Glad we have an understanding," Luz said as she was about to walk off.
"However, while I know that I can't really threaten you with anything… I can threaten your friends," Faust said, causing Luz to pause. "I could still punish Willow, Augustus, and Everscence for their absences. And Boscha for her stunt earlier… and perhaps Ms. Harwitch as well, given that she started a riot at the Coven Day Parade…"
Luz turned around, her eyes glowing burning red as her claws extended. She placed her knee up on Faust's desk, her claws in Faust's unfazed face.
"Threatened my friends again, and I will make sure no one finds you…" Luz threatened with a pissed off look.
"You are… bold," he commented. "Don't worry, I promise to find a… special punishment for you."
Luz just glared at Faust before she retracted her claws. "This ain't over," she muttered.
"Oh, I know it is, now get out of my office," Faust demanded while Luz turned around and left the office, shooting one more glare at him before she was gone.
Back in the Owl House, King looked over the newspaper for job openings while playing with Kay.
"Let's see, Ratworm Cleaner, Grudgeby Ball Boy," King read. "Ooh, I can be a griffin driver… though I would need a griffin. What do you think, Maurice?" he asked the demon squirrel, who just shrugged.
"Hey, maybe try to close your eyes and point randomly!" Hooty suggested.
"Eh, you know what? Why don't I apply for all of them!" King suggested
"Yeah!" Hooty agreed. "Though, who's going to watch over Kay with Camila gone? It could just be me and her…"
King shuddered, not liking the idea of leaving Kay alone with Hooty. He then looked outside the window and spotted some coven scouts playing Hexes and Hold'Em. An idea popped in his head.
King left the Owl House, marching over to the scouts while holding Kay. "Hey you scouts! Do any of you know how to babysit?" he asked them.
Gidget raised her hand. "I've helped take care of my sister's kids whenever I'm off duty."
"Great! I need you to watch over Kay for me," King said, handing Kay to Gidget. "Hooty's over there when you need him."
"Wait, what about Camila?" Megs asked.
"Oh um… she left us," he replied, surprising the scouts.
"What? No, she was so good at making conversation!" Cle cried out.
"It's so hard to believe that she gave birth to such a troublemaker," another replied.
"Well, I have to go job hunting," King said while walking away. "Don't lose Kay, okay?"
"So, Mr. Clawthorne," spoke a manager while King sat down in front of him with a tie. "What makes you worthy of working for our company?"
"Well, I may not have magic, but I got experience!" King declared. "I have led armies of loyal followers. I even once fought against pirates with my trusty companions!"
Another manager gave him a look while checking out his profile. "It says here that you don't have any magical abilities."
"Yeah, I may lack a bile sac, but I do make up for it with glyphs!" King said while holding up a glyph. "Now what does this do again?" He placed it on the manager's desk, which suddenly granted it life. "Gah! I made it alive!" he exclaimed as the desk took off running and jumped out of the window.
Moving onto another interview, Roden looked at King's resume.
"Do you know how to serve food?" Roden asked him.
"Of course… I can even offer to eat the leftovers!" King suggested. "Well, hopefully I don't eat the orders first…"
"Now I'm not so sure about having you on the team," spoke a professional grudgeby player.
"Then I can be your water boy," King suggested. "Or even better, your towel boy!"
"All I'm saying is that there should be a worker union," King said during another interview. "I mean, are there any employee benefits in working for your company?"
The one he was speaking to was Gibson, who didn't look happy. "Don't call us," he said dryly.
"I'm sorry, but we're not looking for anyone for hire right now," spoke a manager who handed King his resume back.
"But I just saw another guy come in!" King pointed out.
"Well he has magic, and… well… good luck next time," the manager said before walking off, leaving King with his resume.
Back at the orphanage, Eda and Donna were trying to calm the kids down.
"Alright, everyone please calm down!" Eda shouted while feeling her dress pulled. She looked down to see Jesse.
"When's the pizza coming?" she asked politely.
"It's coming, kiddo," Eda reassured her.
"But we're starving for pizza!" Beans cried out.
"What will we do without pizza?!" another kid replied.
"Timmy's already trying to eat Ban," Jak pointed out, smirking in amusement as Ban cried in pain while Timmy kept biting him.
"AAAH!" Ban screamed.
Eda sighed, trying to think of a way to calm the kids down. She got an idea. "Okay, look, if everyone calms down… I can tell you all a story!"
This caused the kids to pause as they looked up at Eda, their attention on her.
"Looks like you got them," Donna said.
"Huh… I did," Eda responded while going over to sit in a chair. "Now sit down and let me tell you a story of… well…" She was at a loss until she heard Donna give a suggestion.
"How about the day you met Raine Whispers?" Donna suggested.
"Raine Whispers… you mean, she knew the Raine Whispers?!" Beans asked.
"Oh you gotta tell us that, Ms. Eda!" Jesse demanded.
"Yeah, I'm curious as well!" Ban said while sitting down, Timmy sitting in his lap.
"Alright, I guess I can tell you that story," Eda said with a smile while Donna sat next to Jesse. "Gather around and listen up. Because this is the story of how I met the coolest, baddest, kick-buttiest witch of all time: Raine Whispers."
Seven months before Eda's Curse…
The young Eda and Lilith were walking through Bonesborough, Eda holding a pack of flashcards in her hands while kicking a grudgeby ball.
"Okay, Titan's five humors," Eda read.
"Hmm… earth, bone, blood, bile, and uh…" Lilith sighed while trying to remember. "I always forget the last one! It's on the tip of my tongue, it's…"
"It's…haaahhh." Eda made a snake-like sound.
"Snakes…?" Lilith guessed.
"Breath! Ah…" Eda breathed on young Lilith before she laughed.
"Eda, you have smilk breath. Gross!" Lilith complained in disgust while Eda continued to laugh away. "Give me another question."
"Alright, alright," Eda replied while flipping to another card. "On Scaburary 40th, the day Belos declared the Isles an empire… think fast!" she said while kicking the grudgeby ball towards Lilith, who caught it.
"Eda, we don't have time to play around," Lilith said while handing the ball back to Eda and taking the flashcards "Tryouts for the Emperor's Coven are just around the corner."
"Seven months isn't around the corner," Eda said while balancing the ball on her head.
"Your turn," Lilith said while reading the card. "It's a half-moon, and you're mixing a leadfoot potion. What ratio of Blackroot Quills to Iron Ash do you use?"
"Is it a waning or a waxing moon?" Eda asked while drawing a spell circle in the air that caused a stem to sprout from her head.
"Oh, uh… I don't think that matters," Lilith said.
"Yeah, sure it does!" Eda argued while they stopped walking. "If it's a waxing moon, it's a 2-to-1 mix, but if it's a waning moon, the blackroot quills lose their umph, and you gotta double down to a 4-to-1."
Lilith checked her notes. "You're… correct… on both accounts," she said dejectedly. "Huh." This seemed to bother Lilith, but she tried to make herself get excited instead. "Imagine us both getting in. We'll train together…"
"We'll prank together!" Eda declared while tossing the flashcards into the air as Lilith summoned them back neatly into her hand.
"Study ancient history together," Lilith listed
"We'll kick butt together!" Eda declared.
"Help demons and witches together," Lilith listed.
"Take over the world together!" Eda added. "Nothing can stop the Clawthorne sisters! Our rivals shall be crushed beneath our feet! Even the Titan shall gasp in fear!" She then heard Lilith gasp. "Yeah, like that!"
"No, look!" Lilith pointed upward at the clock post. "We're gonna be late!"
Eda turned to see the clock and she gasped when she realized they had only minutes before school started. "Crap, we gotta go!" she said as she and Lilith rushed to Hexside.
When the two sisters made it to Hexside, they spotted their peers hanging outside. The younger versions of Odalia, Alador, and Darius were hanging out together playing an Abomination game on the steps of the school. The young Perry Porter was hanging out with a demon biped pig. A young Nicole and a young Athena were walking together. And a young Calypso was locking her kirin which she had rode to school on with her younger sister Scandalyn, who followed her as they passed by a young Slasher who was playing music with his friends.
"See? We're gonna be fine," Eda said while punching Lilith's arm.
But then as the school bell rang, a burst of flames suddenly appeared in the front entrance. The students outside gasped as they turned around and saw the infamous Principal Faust. The flames extinguished from behind him while he grabbed a clipboard and scratched it with his pointy fingernails. The frightened students immediately started to hurry inside under the gaze of their principal, who saw corruption and vice everywhere except within.
"Detention, detention, suspension!" he declared after each student walked past him. A younger version of Bump, back when he was vice principal, came up from behind him.
"Principal Faust, don't you think you're judging these students a touch… harshly?" Bump asked him.
"Not at all," Faust dismissed. "These students are already late to being early, and that's a slippery slope."
"But if you keep expelling students, we won't have a graduating class," Bump pointed out nervously.
Faust turned around his neck at Bump, his cracking neck unnerving the vice principal. "I'm just enforcing school policy."
"That you added to," Bump nervously pointed out. "Y-You expelled the captain of our grudgeby team because his shoes didn't meet your 'appropriately squeaky' regulation."
"Too squeaky? A distraction. Too quiet? Can't hear them, can't trust them. Some students are… irredeemable," he said while Nicole nervously walked past him.
"None of them are beyond redemption, sir. I would stake my career on it," Bump declared.
Suddenly a flying grudgeby ball started attacking the both of them. "What is that thing?!" Faust demanded while trying to swat the ball.
While the adults were distracted by the ball, Eda and Lilith snuck into the bushes around the school. Eda drew a spell circle, moving the bushes aside and revealing a small secret door. She opened it for Lilith and then went inside as well, both of them making a clean escape from Faust's wrath.
"That was a close call," Lilith said while Eda shut the small door behind them. They were now in the Secret Room of Shortcuts, which could take them anywhere in the school.
"Yeah," Eda agreed. "Come on, let's head to Potions."
"Greetings, Edalyn and Lilith," said a voice.
The two were startled and they turned around. They then sighed in relief. A young Cuddlebuns had spoken and with him were the original Shadowy Secret Exposers, who had just climbed into the Secret Room of Shortcuts through one of its many entrances.
"Geez, Cuddlebuns, don't scare us like that," Eda scolded him.
"My apologies, Edalyn," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Let me guess, you two were trying to avoid Principal Faust again, right?" the young Vanessa Pierce suggested.
Lilith nodded. "You too?"
"Well, you know Faust doesn't like us meddling kids a lot," Walter Wildes, aka Adrian Graye, responded with a cowardly look. "Like, I don't want to be on his radar."
"Come on, gang, let's not let Faust get us down just because he doesn't appreciate us solving mysteries," Bobby Bones declared.
"Bobby's right, we shouldn't, like, let Faust kill our vibes," Stacy Le Fette agreed. "We should totally split into our teaching areas and hang later to get our jive on."
"...I did not understand a word of what you said," Eda said, while she and Lilith found their door. "See you guys around!"
"Later Clawthornes!" Bobby waved as he turned to his friends. "Alright, gang, let's split up and head to class!"
Eda and Lilith emerged from a locker, looking around to check if the coast was clear. After confirming that it was, the two Clawthorne sisters made their way to their Potions Class, going into the classroom and seeing that Nicole and Athena were already there.
"Ha! Made it before the teacher came!" Eda declared.
"The teacher was here before, just had to head out," Nicole pointed out while narrowing her eyes at the Clawthorne sisters.
"Yeah, yeah, but we made it before they came back," Eda said while she and Lilith went to sit at their regular lab table. Behind them was a young dark-skinned girl with long black hair and blue eyes. She was a quiet girl, keeping to herself…
The Potions Professor soon showed up. "Alright, after settling some business, it is time for class! Get out your cauldrons!"
During class, Eda and Lilith proved to be at the top of their class while Nicole tried to compete against them.
"Now who can tell me the right amount of firebee honey for a growth potion?" the professor asked as Eda's hand was raised along with Nicole. "Hmm… Edalyn?"
"Depends on how tall you want to be," Eda answered. "Like if you want to grow 10 scarameters tall, you'll need 5.2 quarts of honey with a 3 to 1 dash of skinnamon."
"Correct!" the professor declared, making Nicole glare at Eda.
Later the professor handed out assignments for potion brewing. Nicole and Athena managed to make a rainbow colored liquid in their cauldron, which the professor inspected.
"Very nice," he said before he walked over to the Clawthorne sisters' table, seeing that coming out of the cauldron was a rainbow followed by another rainbow. "Wowzers, a double rainbow from a cauldron! You two get A-pluses!"
Eda and Lilith high fived each other while Nicole jealously fumed at them. "Clawthornes…" she muttered while Athena patted her shoulder.
"Alright, who can tell me the right time to use a summoning demon spell from one's cauldron pot?" the professor asked later in class, turning to Nicole who immediately raised her hand. "Yes, Nicole?"
"A blood red moon," Nicole said.
"Actually, that's a misconception," Eda pointed out while raising her hand up. "A ruby red moon is the right color to perform a summoning spell. Like the motto: ruby ain't gloomy, while blood leads to a flood."
"You are right on the misconception. A blood red moon would only summon disaster," the professor said while Nicole fumed in silence, angry at herself and angry at Eda. No matter how hard she tried, she was never able to be good enough to be the top of her class or beat Eda.
Later, the bell screamed as everyone left their classrooms. Eda and Lilith were at their lockers when Eda realized something was missing.
"Aw beans, I think I left my notebook in class!" Eda said as she rushed back to the classroom. "I'll see you later, Lily!"
"Don't be late for Hex Studies!" Lilith shouted after her.
Eda ran back to her Potion classroom and went inside, spotting the girl who sat behind her still in the classroom. She was working on something in a cauldron, not noticing Eda behind her.
Growing as curious as a werecat, Eda decided to sneak up to the girl. She saw her mixing something in her cauldron pot while having a pink flower on her table…
"What'chu making?" Eda asked out loud, which startled the girl.
"Gah!" She jumped and turned around to see Eda. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Well I was just curious," Eda responded. "What kind of potion are you making?"
"None of your business," she told her while Eda looked at her table and picked up a flask. "Hey, don't touch that!"
"Why do you need this much rose oil?" Eda asked before the girl grabbed it from her hand.
"Give me that!" she snarled at Eda. "Just get out and leave me alone!"
"Why are you so defensive?" Eda asked her.
"Because it's none of your business!" She shoved Eda away, which caused the Clawthorne girl to knock the cauldron over and spill its contents on the floor, along with many other flasks and tubes. "No!" she shouted while looking at the mess. "Look what you did!"
"Hey, you're the one who pushed me, you dumbass!" Eda countered angrily.
"Why you little-!" She jumped onto Eda, grabbing her by the cloak while Eda fought back as the two started to fight in the classroom. This resulted in them knocking over some more tubes of potions that got spilled on the same puddle, sparking a fire. The two stopped when they saw the flames on the ground. "Oh Titan, put it out!" the girl shouted.
Eda grabbed the fire extinguisher "Got it!" she declared, only to throw it at where the fire was. The girl looked at Eda in disbelief. "Why did I think that would work?" Eda asked herself before they saw it was going to get worse.
Moments later, an explosion launched the two girls out of the classroom and into the lockers. The Potions classroom now had smoke coming out of it and the sprinkler system was set off, covering them with water.
"Well, it can't get any worse," Eda said before a shadow loomed over them.
"Edalyn Clawthorne and Jennifer Wretch," spoke Principal Faust, who glared at the two. "My office… NOW!"
This causes the two girls' eyes to widen in fear, knowing how much trouble they were in…
"Wait just a minute!"
Eda paused, seeing Jak with his hand raised. "Yes, Jak?"
"I thought this was the story about how you met Raine, why do we need to know what you learned in class and why are you introducing some characters we don't know?"
"Yeah, I'm confused by the structure of the story," Socrates said.
"Why did you think throwing an extinguisher to a fire was a good idea?" Donna questioned.
"Hey, who's telling the story here?" Eda asked them. "Save your questions when it's over. Now then, where was I? Ah yes, Principal Faust…"
In Principal Faust's office, Eda and Jenny were sitting in front of the desk of the criminally-insane principal, who glared at them.
"Firstly, Miss Clawthorne," he said while looking at Eda. "Do you know why I keep you around?"
"Um… my innate talents? My unbeatable charm?" Eda asked him.
"No," he replied quickly as he pulled a string beside him. Suddenly, a stack of books landed on the desk in front of her. "Because to fight evil, you must understand evil. All your misdeeds, pranks, schemes, they have given me insight into the depravity that lurks within the minds of children."
"Wow, this is really shocking… I thought there'd be more," Eda replied with a cat-like smirk.
Faust then turned to Jenny. "And you, Jennifer Wretch, you've kept to yourself since your transfer from the Riberton Academy. The quiet ones are always the ones you have to watch out for…"
"I was just minding my own business until Eda ruined a project of mine, sir," Jenny replied while looking uneasy, shifting her eyes from the principal to the floor.
"But what were you really doing in there? Mixing potions without teacher supervision is a huge offense," Faust told her, but Jenny said nothing. She didn't need to though. Faust knew she was guilty. "Very well then… maybe I should consider expelling you two."
Eda and Jenny's eyes widened. "What?! You can't do that!" Jenny told him.
"Yeah! If you expel me, I'll be separated from Lily and we won't be able to try out for the Emperor's Coven together!" Eda exclaimed.
"Maybe you two should've thought of that before blowing up the Potions classroom," Faust told them.
"Come on, isn't there anything we can do to remain in school?" Eda asked him. "I'll literally do anything!"
Faust considered this before he turned to Jenny. "Would you do anything to remain in school?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" Jenny responded.
He chuckled evilly, which caused the two girls to exchange nervous looks. "Very well then," he said as he knocked on the wall behind him, a part of it sliding away and allowing Bump into the office.
"Uh… yes, sir?" Bump asked him.
"No child is beyond redemption… didn't you stake your career on it?" Faust asked him while looking down at the two nervous girls.
In the hallway, Faust led Eda, Jenny, and Bump to a trophy case. Several students like Athena hid from the principal when they saw him coming.
"Every year, Hexside participates in a special training program called Instructing Future Witches of Tomorrow," he said while opening the glass case, bringing out a blue ribbon and looking at it in admiration. "I attend with our most gifted students and we return with blue ribbons as a testament to my… I mean, our excellence. But unfortunately…"
"You expelled our most gifted student for chewing too loudly in the cafeteria," Bump pointed out.
"Disgusting monster," Faust muttered before turning his head around at a ninety degree sideward, which went back into place when facing Eda and Jenny. "You two will represent Hexside this year. Bring back a blue ribbon, and you can remain students here. Come back empty-handed, and I will savor the expulsions… with Bump going along with you two! Oh, and let's make this interesting." He called out for two students. "Samwitch! Orange!"
Coming over was a young Samwitch Saltstar in his Construction Track uniform. He was a lot taller than Faust, with a large black trenchcoat with a black cap. Next to him was Orange, a Beast-Keeping student who suspiciously resembled Dusty Bring'ems.
"You called us, sir?" Samwitch asked.
"Yes," Faust said to the two. "I want you two to go to the IFWOT with Edalyn and Jennifer. Since you two are Hexside's best at your tracks, it make sense for you two to compete with Hexside's worse…"
At the convention center, where the IFWOT is being held, Bump, Eda, Jenny, Simon, Orange, and Athena were waiting in line with the other students from different schools.
"This will be fine, perfectly fine…" Bump replied nervously while turning to Eda. "You can go five minutes without setting anything on fire, right?" Eda was already summoning a flame from her fingertip before she quickly extinguished it. Bump sighed. "I know you have a reputation around school, Edalyn, but I just see a talented young witch. And I'll wager those stories about you turning the school inside out are just urban legends."
"Didn't she do that though?" Samwitch asked.
"Heh, that was a fun day," Eda reminisced.
"We're going to get expelled," Jenny muttered.
"Ah don't worry about it! I have faith that we will get that blue ribbon and then you two will remain in Hexside!" Dusty, or Orange, reassured them with his usual optimism.
"Thank you for the word of encouragement, Orange," Bump replied. He then got an idea. "Let's try this." He pulled out a toy octopus and squished it. "This is a stress toy." He handed it to Eda who. "Anytime you feel the urge to cause chaos, just squeeze." Eda immediately squished it until it popped, surprising Bump.
Soon they had reached the front of the line and had gotten their badges. Before they went inside, Bump turned to the students. "Now then, prepare yourselves my students. The IFWOT is a battleground of magic and skill. Witches who successfully complete these courses have gone on to do incredible things… you will face some of the greatest competition here."
"I'm prepared for anything," Samwitch said.
"Same!" Orange replied.
"Hmph," Eda hummed before they walked into the convention center.
To say the least, the place looked a lot more… boring than they were expecting. The banner fell off from one side, the snacks there didn't look pleasing, and some scouts dropped the mic by accident. The mic was picked up by one Glandus student.
"Hey, what's up, this is Craigy boy here!" spoke a young Craig in an Abominations track uniform. "I just came back from my flight from Palm Stings, place got the best finger-food around there! Eh? Eh?"
No one responded to his joke.
"Wow… I grossly misjudged the tone here," Bump said while the Hexside students looked around.
Eda walked alongside Athena and turned to her. "So what are you doing here again, Athena?"
"Oh, I'm just here to support my brother," Athena replied. "Where's Lilith? I thought she would be here."
"I, um-" Eda said somewhat awkwardly. "I did ask earlier, but she said she would be busy studying with Odalia." She paused for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off. "But I'm sure I'll be fine without her."
"So and then I said 'Hey bud, don't let me slap a curse on ya for that-'" Craig didn't get to finish his stand-up as he felt a rumble beneath his feet. Vines sprouted from the stage causing Craig to fly off. "WAAH!" he screamed. The stem grew from the stage, along with the head. Opening the head up was a much younger version of Terra Snapdragon.
"Greetings, students and educators!" she said with a bow. "I am Terra Snapdragon, Head Witch of the Plant Coven! But today, I am head proctor for the-" She looked up at the banner, displeased by the name. "IFWOT? Seriously?"
With the snap of her fingers, vines covered the banner and replaced it with a new acronym.
"There," she replied while turning to the crowd of students. "I'm here to 'Help Enhanced Coven Know-how!' Welcome… to HECK!" She received some applause. "This is my first year hosting, which I am thrilled about! Today, you little sweet peas will go through your rigorous exercise that will enhance your intelligence, strength, and creativity! Are you all excited?"
The students cheered in excitement.
"Lovely! Now remember, this won't be a bed of roses," she said while a scout opened a suitcase with blue ribbons. "Only the best of the best will be rewarded. The failures will be grounded into mulch for my garden!"
This caused everyone to gasp, the children looking terrified by what she just said.
A scout quickly rushed onto stage to whisper something to Terra, who gave a shocked look. "Illegal? Seriously? Oh, we'll see about that, won't we, children?" She smirked like the deviant she was. "Let the activities begin!"
As the students scattered, a young Gilbert in his Glandus uniform gave a determined look. "I'm going to get me that blue ribbon."
"In your dreams, Glandus flunky," said another boy. Gilbert turned and saw a young Sully in his St. Epiderm uniform. "Like someone of your rough exterior would be able to match up an Epidermite like me."
"Oh, you think you're smart, do ya, you Epidumbass?" Gilbert barked at Sully, who looked offended by this.
"You better watch your tongue, you Glandus goon!" Sully warned as the two glared at each other. Then they both turned away with a huff before splitting up.
Nearby was a young fox girl in a St. Epiderm Oracle Track uniform writing down on her notepad. "A bloodthirsty Head Witch is leading this year's IFWOT. Why this is the scoop the St. Epiderm newspaper is here for!" the young Felicity Fox said while turning around and spotting another girl in the same St. Epiderm oracle uniform. She was holding a clipboard. "Delara! How's my classmate doing?"
"Oh, Felicity," Delara replied, though she looked a little pale. "Everything's alright, though I think I might have tuberculosis. Hopefully our classmates will be able to get the blue ribbon and-" She coughed and spat out a spray of blood in front of the young Felicity, shocking her. "Oh… sorry, Felicity!"
"It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Felicity said while handing Delara a handkerchief. "I'm going to go clean up, you go sit down somewhere," she advised. She turned around to look for the restroom while hiding a disgusted look. 'Just endure this, Felicity. You have until graduation to latch onto the most popular girl in school…!'
Soon Eda was with a group of kids at a stand with a hippy-looking instructor.
"Tell me, what makes the covens strong? Strength in numbers? A dark pact?" he asked them. "Well, it is all of those things but also-" He fell back and a coven scout caught him. "-trust. Trust in our fellow covenmates. So, we'll begin doing the trust falls. Any volunteers?"
"Sounds easy enough," Eda said while raising her hand. She walked to the front.
"Very good, very good," the instructor said. "And this young fellow will be your partner." He gestured to a blob student who came up. Eda gave a disinterested look. "Now, close your eyes, and trust that your covenmate will catch you."
"Whoo!" the blob cheered while Eda groaned. The Clawthorne girl turned around and let herself fall, but her body just passed through the body of the blob. "Huh?" They looked down and saw that the upper part of Eda's body had turned into a skeleton.
This caused the other students to run away and scream while the blob cried out. "Not again!" they wept before Eda's skeletal body poofed away, revealed to be just an illusion. The real Eda popped up.
"Ta-da! I'm here all night, folks!" she joked, which caused the instructor and the blob to glare at her while a proctor wrote something on his clipboard. "Hehe… oh." She looked disappointed when she saw no one liked her prank.
"You should take this seriously, Eda," Samwitch pointed out after seeing her prank.
"Aw who asked you," Eda said with a shrug before walking towards the venue.
She got a drink from the venue while looking around in disdain. "I never should have come here," she said while noticing that Terra was talking to someone nearby. Curious, she crept over and tried to listen while keeping herself hidden. When Terra moved away, she spotted who she was talking to and she gasped. "Hey, I've seen you before!"
Vina Charmspell looked at the young Clawthorne and sighed. "Here we go," she muttered while Eda walked over to her.
"No way, you're the Vina Charmspell! The Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven!" Eda exclaimed in excitement. "I'm Eda Clawthorne, my sister and I are big fans of you!"
"Terrific," Vina replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"What are you doing here? I'd think someone like you would be in charge here," Eda asked her.
"I'm just here to watch from the sidelines," Vina replied. "Since Snapdragon was picked to be in charge this year, someone has to keep an eye on her. And I prefer her taking the lead, I would rather not host this myself."
"So what happens if she actually tries to mulch us?" Eda asked.
"Oh she knows she can't do that, part of the reason she is doing this is to make up for a 'non-disclosure' incident," Vina replied while she sighed. "Honestly, coming to these events every year is pointless. This is just a way to set these witches up for future failure."
"Yeah, I get that," Eda tried to agree with her. "They made this thing sound exciting, but this is just your usual rec center activity. Like, how will this help me become a part of the Emperor's Coven?"
"The Emperor's Coven? You?" Vina looked down at her, stiffing a laugh. "Of course you would, every witchling your age wants to be part of the Emperor's Coven, and almost every time they just don't cut it."
"And I wouldn't… cut it?" Eda asked her.
"We're looking for the best of the best witches to join our coven," Vina said while looking down at Eda, "And after seeing your display from the trust exercise, I highly doubt you'll make it as a scout. You would serve better flipping newt-burgers."
Young Eda gasped, she couldn't believe she was hearing this from someone she looked up to. "But… one of your quotes from your book is that everyone has the potential of being a great witch," she pointed out.
"Not everyone," Vina clarified. "That quote may look good on the back of a book, but in practice there are so many witches that are just… useless."
Eda's ears dropped down and she decided to end her conversation with Vina, looking rather disheartened from it. She ended up finding herself in a smaller hallway, where she looked down at her cup while wondering what she would tell her sister about one of their heroes.
"Guess I shouldn't tell Lily about this," she whispered to herself, not wanting to destroy the illusion.
"Tell who about what?" asked someone.
Eda looked up to see a St. Epiderm student with short mint hair, glasses, and a St. Epiderm uniform with bard sleeves and leggings, and gray boots. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you. I just saw you walking away from Vina Charmspell…"
"Oh, were you stalking me?" Eda asked them.
"What? No! I mean, I just saw what you did earlier during that trust exercise and I wanted to talk to you. I thought you were a riot."
"Thank you!" Eda said before she sipped her drink and reacted in disgust. "Blech! Even the free junk here is junk!"
The St. Epiderm student chuckled. "Yeah, they always give us the off-brand junk. Let me try something." They walked over to Eda's cup and they whistled in it. "Don't worry, I didn't spit in it."
Eda tasted the drink and found it tastes better. "Whoa!" She sipped some more. "Hey, that's actually good! How'd you change the flavor?
The St. Epiderm student walked over and sat on a cardboard box next to Eda.. "Little trick I taught myself: changing the chemistry of a liquid with sound waves. See, bard magic can be cool! People just don't give it a shot!"
Eda chuckled and snorted. "All right, I get it. If you whistle loud enough, can you make all this.. less of a drag?"
The St. Epiderm student gave a bored sigh. "I wish. I've been here three times, actually. Same boring activities, same faces…" They turned and saw that Eda's face had turned into a skull. "GAH!"
"Hehe, til little ole me?" Eda asked as her face appeared again.
"Yeah," they laughed before Eda spotted the ribbons tied to their uniform.
"No way, so many ribbons… how'd you get those?!" Eda asked them.
"Oh, these are from last year," they said after holding up a ribbon for her to see. "And maybe if you stick with me, I'll show you how to get one of your own."
"Alright, I'm Eda Clawthorne!" Eda held her hand up.
"Raine Whispers," the young Raine Whispers replied while shaking Eda's hand.
And so Eda and Raine began working their way through the activities. First there was an intelligence activity where they were with two other students, one of them being Craig. The proctor pointed to the board, asking the students to draw what they thought was behind the question mark. After they drew what they guessed, Eda showed that she had a butt, much to the disgust of the proctor's, who covered Craig's eyes. Raine however, connected their drawing to Eda's, making it look like a grudgeby ball. When the proctor revealed the answer, he gave them a satisfied nod.
Next was creativity, where the two assembled a miniature Rube Goldberg machine that resembled the worlds 'THIS STINKS'. The goat proctor saw this and shook his head disapprovingly. However, Eda started the chain reaction of the machine, which ends with a fountain of water that transferred through from a cup to another cup held by Raine. When they gave it to the proctor, the proctor drank it and gave the two a thumbs-up. While Eda and Raine fist bumped, Felicity spotted the two and made a note about it.
Next was a strength activity where Eda, Raine, Samwitch, and their three opponents were dressed as sumo wrestlers. Facing each other's backs, they walked off in a different direction after the scout blew the whistle. The opposing team turned around and paused, seeing Raine rolling Eda like a bowling ball to topple their opponents down. They were knocked out like bowling pins. Samwitch looked disappointed that he did not get a chance to fight against his opponents while Eda and Raine did a special handshake.
Felicity, who was with Delara, watched Raine's progress. "Who is that girl Raine is with?" she asked, only for Delara to cough up blood again at Felicity. "YAH!"
Later, outside the convention center, Eda and Raine were playing with a grudgby ball.
"I wonder what I'll get a ribbon for," Eda commented while setting her foot on the ball. "Strength, with… radiance?" She did a pose.
"You'll get one for being a dingus!" Raine joked.
"Well, you're gonna get one for… think fast!" She kicked the ball towards Raine, only for them to catch it swiftly and throw it back to Eda, who blushed. "Whoa…" she said before throwing the ball back for Raine to catch. "So why do you come here? You're not like the other kids! You're… I don't know, you're cool."
"St. Epiderm isn't cheap. But if I make the school look good, I get a scholarship. What about you?" Raine asked while throwing the ball back to Eda.
"Made a deal with the devil." Eda caught the ball and spun it on her fingertip. "Me and another girl got into a tumble that resulted in our Potions room being blown up. My principal's gonna expel us unless either of us comes back with a ribbon."
"Whoa… you blew up a classroom?" Raine asked and Eda nodded. "So this is like, a chance of redemption?"
"Nah, I think I'm being used to embarrass our vice principal. As if he doesn't do that to himself already," Eda said as he pointed to Vice Principal Bump, who embarrassed himself when one teacher waved and he waved back, only for the teacher to walk past him to talk to the scout she was actually waving at. "It stinks, but I've got a sister at Hexside. She's kind of my only friend. It'd be a bummer if that got taken away."
"Well you won't have to worry about that," Raine said, walking over to Eda and nudging her. "Cause after the closing ceremony, we're home free."
The attendees had now gathered in a stadium, Eda and Raine smiling to each other while Eda noticed Orange walking them up to them.
"Hey, Eda! Bump just wanted me to let you know that he is relieved you haven't gotten into too much trouble or anything," Orange said.
"He doesn't have to worry about a thing, Orange," Eda replied while looking around. She spotted Athena watching from the audience, but she couldn't see her brother. "Wait, where's Samwitch?"
"Oh, he left after this St. Epiderm girl passed out," Orange replied. "So I guess we along with Jenny are the only Hexside representatives now!"
"That girl who passed out… wouldn't happen to be an oracle, right?" Raine asked, knowing that it must be Delara, who was also missing. Orange nodded.
Once everyone was in the student, Terra Snapdragon made her entrance just like she had before.
"Congratulations, students! It seems nearly everyone earned a ribbon. You must be so proud of yourselves…" Terra said happily… until her mood turned from polite to sinister. "Well, you shouldn't be!" she declared, shocking as the students. "This training camp is a joke! There's nothing 'challenging' about those challenges! And this-" She pulled up Eda's drawing of a butt from earlier. "-was the last straw!" She tore up the paper in anger.
Eda and Raine winced while everyone looked on in fear.
"So before we hand out any ribbons… I think we need one more activity…" She snapped her fingers and hedges sprouted from the ground around the students, creating a hedge maze that the students were now in. "We'll play my personal favorite game: Covens vs Wilds!" The students looked worried as Terra continued. "Look at your badges, and you'll see if you're a Coven Witch, or a Wild Witch."
Eda and Raine looked at each other's badges. Eda's badge changed to 'coven' while Raine's turned to 'wild'. The two looked scared for each other. Both teams ended up backing away from the other.
"Coven Witches, you have twenty minutes to capture every Wild Witch," Terra instructed. "If you succeed, everyone on your team gets a ribbon! Wild Witches, you may earn a ribbon… if you put on a good show. And to encourage your shrinking violets, I'll allow any use of magic! We're in HECK, people! Let's have some fun!" It was then the students started attacking each other. Many dodges the magic sent out to them, while others ran into the hedge maze to hide. Terra beamed at this. "Oh, I would've been such a good mom…"
Eda and Raine ended up separating as Raine drew a spell circle from their foot to the ground, disappearing in a flash of light. Eda ran through the hedge maze while avoiding the thorns. The other students kept dodging and attacking each other, Eda spotting two of them.
"You're going down, Glandus goon!" Sully declared while using his plant magic.
"You've made the mistake of earning my wrath, you Epidoofus!" Gilbert declared while raising the pillar he constructed. But Sully jumped over the pillar and tackled Gilbert, the two rolling across the ground while Eda tan past them.
'Aren't those two in the same team?' Eda thought as she used her fire magic to slice one thorn. She dodged several magic blasts towards her as she slid across the ground, knocking Craig over. She continued to run until someone popped up from the hedges.
"Hey there, Felicity Fox from St. Epiderm's school paper, care to consider an inter-VIEW!" Felicity Fox was launched away by Eda's magic. "I'm not even a participant…!"
Eda saw an Abomination coming at her and she used her magic to turn it into stairs to flip over, narrowly avoiding thorns as she landed. She backed away and hid around a corner, seeing a couple of students running to look for their opponents. She sighed in relief.
"Don't move!" someone shouted.
Eda was startled and turned to see two students walking up to her. "Wait a sec, she's one of us," the male St. Epiderm student said as they realized they were all Coven Witches. "Come with us. We've got a plan to catch all the Wild Witches."
"I'm not goin' anywhere!" Eda responded. "This is crazy! That plant lady is off her gourd!"
"But don't you want a ribbon?" asked the cyclops demon girl.
"My parents say if I don't come home with a ribbon, I better not come home at all," the St. Epiderm student said while they saw one student dragging Craig and another kid away. "They're just looking out for my best interest," he clarified.
The cyclops girl spoke up. "So, I heard there's this one kid who's been coming here for years."
"Yeah, that's Raine, my classmate!" the St. Epiderm student confirmed. "Somehow they always have the best juice! And they don't share it with anyone!"
"I heard they're one of the strongest witches here, and they're a bard! Crazy, right?" the cyclops asked.
"Not really. Bard magic can be cool," Eda tried to interject.
"If we take them out, the rest should be a breeze," the St. Epiderm student said, turning to Eda. "You with us?"
"Uh…" Eda was then dragged away by the two.
"We'll take that as a yes!" the cyclops indicated, taking Eda along with them.
Meanwhile, as Terra watched the battle, she saw that the Wild Witch group had been mostly captured, which included Gilbert, Sully, and Jenny. "Welcome, welcome. Oh, don't look so witted. You've got a great seats now!"
"Um, Miss Terra?" Vice Principal Bump asked as he walked over to her.
"Head Witch Snapdragon, if you please," she corrected while turning to him. "Enjoying the show?"
"Yes. Well, your show is actually in violation of several school rules, convention hall safety guidelines, and child safety acts," Bump explained while holding up his rule book. "I'm sure it's an honest mistake so why don't we just stop this activity and-" But Terra's vines destroyed the rule book before he could finish, much to his shock.
"I make the rules, sweet pea," Terra said while turning back to her game. "Oh look, there's only one crafty little Wild Witch left! Will the Covens win? Or the sprout?"
Eda and the two students creeped through the maze while hearing footsteps.
"That must be the bard," the cyclops whispered.
"We'll surprise them," the St. Epiderm boy said before they hid in separate walls. Eda was about to pass them both, but she got pulled in just as Raine came running from a Coven Witch team member. Once they were cornered, the Coven Witch was about to get Raine, who used their magic to inhale deeply and loudly whistle towards the mushroom-headed student. The Coven Witch was blasted away, knocked against the wall.
And it was then the cyclops and St. Epiderm student came out from their hiding spot, the plant student blasting Raine with a gush of water. Raine fell and saw the two Coven Witch team members marching up to them.
"We got you now," the cyclops girl said.
"For the Covens!" the plant student declared as he prepared to attack Raine. But suddenly, they both got lifted up in the air by Eda. "Hey!" he exclaimed, seeing Eda levitating them. "What are you doing?!" he asked before he and the cyclops girl got launched out of the hedge maze.
"Oh, an interesting development?" Terra asked, intrigued. "A showdown, perhaps? Let's give them plenty of room to fight!"
Using her power, she causes the hedge maze to disappear back into the ground as everyone cleared out. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" everyone in the audience except for Bump cheered as they watched Eda and Raine's stand off. The two narrowed their eyes at each other fiercely before they charged. Terra watched with glee as the two threw their fists at each other. But what happened next, shocked the crowd…
Their fists collided… into a fist bump. They two did a spectacular performance, Eda twirling Raine around as they did their special handshake. After they spun and twirled around together, as they drew a large spell circle together, it emitted a large flash of light and sent a magical blast aimed towards Terra. However, the Head Witch simply blocked the blast with her large vines, though some part of the fire reached her hair. She put it out, showing little emotion about it.
"Never a rose without a few thorns, I see," Terra muttered.
"Yeah, well. We got tired of your stupid little challenges!" Eda declared.
"And your lame plant puns!" Raine added.
Terra looked offended as she used her plant to slowly lower herself into the stadium to face the two children. Eda and Raine looked incredibly nervous as an angry-looking Terra… laughed.
"Ohohoho, delightful!" she laughed, much to their surprise. "Feisty witches do make the best leaders! I especially like you, sprout!" She poked Raine's nose. "But… I can't reward disobedience. So… everyone gets poisoned!" She raised her vines up, about to sic them towards the two as they looked panicked…
But there was a huge flash of golden light as a figure teleported between the kids and Terra, intercepting the vines and blasting them back. When the light died down, everyone gasped when they saw who had shown up. Holding up his staff, the person that saved Eda and Raine was none other than… the Golden Guard.
"Enough of this, Terra!" the Golden Guard declared.
"Old Goldy…" Terra said, looking annoyed. "What are you doing here?"
"Head Witch Charmspell contacted me and told me that you had gotten out of hand," the Golden Guard declared, glaring at Terra from underneath his mask. "Belos may have decided to keep you around, but I can still pass judgment upon you or any of the Heads that would abuse their power and position. I can have you expelled for trying to hurt these kids!"
"Now that is something I would enjoy seeing," Vina said with a smirk as she appeared in the stadium, walking up to stand at the side of the Golden Guard. "So which is it, Terra? Do you wish to go up against Belos's rules?"
Terra glared at the two, especially Vina. She lowered her vines down. "Fine, but since those two have, well, forfeit, nobody wins a-"
Suddenly, a hand popped out from the ground between them. They all looked shocked as they watched Orange pulling himself out from the ground.
"I live!" Orange declared, having a 'coven' badge on him. "Did I win a ribbon?"
While everyone just looked at Orange in shock, Terra groaned. "Well since twenty minutes are up and you didn't forfeit, I guess the Coven Witch team won their ribbons," Terra declared, though she didn't sound happy about it. She gestured to a coven scout, who handed Orange and Eda their ribbons.
"Hooray! I've managed to earn a blue ribbon!" Orange shouted while striking a victory pose.
Eda looked at her ribbon and then turned to Raine. "Sorry that you didn't earn a ribbon."
"Hey, I'm just glad I got to have fun with you," Raine replied with a shrug and a smile. "Don't worry about me, I am sure my parents will be able to work something out with St. Epiderm."
Eda smiled before she saw Bump walking over to her.
"Eda, I must say how proud I am of you," Bump said before turning to Orange. "And I am proud of you too, Orange."
"Uh…hello…"
Everyone turned around and saw Felicity Fox, who looked banged up but managed to hold up a camera. "Can I take a picture for my school paper?" she asked, though she looked like she was seeing stars.
While Bump, Eda, Orange, and Raine got their picture taken, Terra walked away from the stadium with a bitter look. But then she spotted Jenny, who looked dejected as she headed toward the exit. Terra smiled and intercepted her. "Hey you, little daffodil…"
Jenny turned around, looking frightened as Terra marched up to her. "Um… I don't want any trouble…"
"Oh, don't be scared, I'm not gonna hurt you," Terra said while creeping towards Jenny. "You see, you caught my eye during the challenges and I wanted a chance to speak to you myself…"
Back in the stadium, the Golden Guard was speaking with Bump and Eda. "I apologize for Snapdragon's behavior. This… isn't the first time she's done this." He sighed. "She did this to the scouts in training…"
"Well, at least we got our ribbons," Bump said. "So if Faust keeps his word, he won't have to expel Eda, and Jenny to add, and I get to keep my job."
"Maybe I can also put in a good word for you two," the Golden Guard said while turning to Eda. He stared at her for a few moments, almost like she reminded him of someone. "You're… a Clawthorne, right?"
"Uh yeah," Eda responded. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing just… I know about your family," the Golden Guard mentioned. "And if you ever decide to join the Emperor's Coven, you would be more than welcome in our ranks."
Eda smiled before she noticed Raine walking away. They turned to her and gave her a wink, Eda winking back to them.
A few days later at Hexside, Eda walked into the cafeteria in her letterman jacket. She looked around for Lilith. She spotted her at a table and walked over to her.
"Lily! Finally caught you!" Eda shouted as she took her seat. "I never got to tell you about that weird training thing over the weekend!"
"Uh-huh," a bored Lilith replied while focused on a book she was reading.
"I was horrified," Eda said. "If I lost, I was gonna get expelled and then we wouldn't be able to-" She was interrupted when she heard Lilith's watch ring.
"Ah, shoot!" Lilith stood up and grabbed her empty tray. "Sorry, Edalyn, I gotta go. E.C. study group is meeting. We can… talk later?"
"Go, go, go, don't be late!" Eda said as Lilith rushed off. But once her sister was gone, Eda's face fell. Now alone, she took a sip of her Ghoul Aid drink, only to be disgusted by its taste. "Ick, ugh…" she said, only to see someone offering her an Apple Blood drink.
"Trade?" asked Raine, now in their new Hexside uniform as they sat down with Eda, much to her shock.
"Raine?! What are you doing here? Oh- oh no, your scholarship!" Eda exclaimed in worry.
"Don't worry. I wanted to transfer out of Epiderm anyway," Raine reassured her. "And apparently, my parents always hated the cold on the Knee. So?" They shook the Apple Blood box for Eda to take. Eda smiled and two swapped drinks. "Okay, give me the rundown on this place," they said while tasting the Ghoul Aid, which they find disgusting.
This made Eda chuckle. "Oh, you'll love it. It's got all the secrets. And since the Golden Guard gave a good word to Fausty, I can get away with pretty much anything!" She tasted the Apple Blood and her eyes widened. "Mmm, never had Apple Blood before, this stuff is good!" She then noticed two new students walking by. "Huh, and it looks like you're not the only students who transferred here."
Carrying their lunch trays while in their new Hexside uniforms were Gilbert and Sully. The two glared at each other as they found an empty table to sit at. "What are you doing here, Epidoofus?" Gilbert asked.
"Got transferred, my folks got a new job in Bonesborough so I moved here," Sully replied with a scoff while looking around.
"At least you didn't get kicked out of Glandus for not getting a ribbon," Gilbert replied while looking around. "Though it won't be easy, being new meat here…"
Sully sighed. "Well, I'm new meat too."
Gilbert looked around the cafeteria, eyes narrowed at the other students. He then turned back to Sully. "Okay, look, Epidork, we're both new here, so that means it'll only be a matter of time before these Hexsidians try to eat us alive. So like we do in Glandus, I say we stick together for now to watch each other's backs. That way, we will be less likely to be picked on."
Sully considered this and nodded in agreement. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but you may have a point. Better stick together than be chewed out by the principal here…"
"With our skills, we could probably show these Hexsidian dorks that we aren't to be messed with," Gilbert declared. "Name's Gilbert. What's yours?"
"Harvey Park," he replied, causing Gilbert to cringe.
"Uh no, I'm not calling you that. I know like, four 'Harveys' already," Gilbert said. "What about your middle name?"
"Um, Sullivan?" he asked. "Guess you can call me H. Sullivan Park then."
"Alright, Sully, looks like we're partners-in-crime now," Gilbert said, patting Sully's back. "Now all we need is someone who can help show us the ropes of this school…"
"Hey, you two must be new here," a young Geist Grunhar said as he sat at their table. "The name's Geist, how ya doing?"
"And that's how I met Raine Whispers, and Gilbert and Sully, the fathers of one of my kid's best friends, as well," Eda finished her story.
"Wow! That is an amazing story!" Beans said in excitement. "It had action, drama, suspense! You even shot at a Coven Head!"
"That is a terrific story, even with all the extra characters," Ban agreed.
"Wow, you and Raine sound like you were close," Donna commented, intrigued by the story.
"Yeah, we were inseparable back then," Eda replied as they heard the doorbell. "Hey, pizza's here!"
The children cheered as Ban walked over to get the pizza. Eda smiled before she saw Donna walking up to her.
"Hey Eda, can I speak with you in private?" she asked.
"Of course, Silvy," Eda said while she and Donna walked away from everyone.
Meanwhile, Ban paid the pizza guy with a bag of snails. "There you go, this should cover for the pizza, Mr. Pizza-demon!" he told him.
"Thanks, and sorry for taking so long, they were short on staff today," spoke the pizza guy, who turned out to be King, who was able to get the job because of how short-staffed they were.
"Don't worry about it, and here's your tip!" Ban flipped a snail to King, who grabbed it.
King's eyes sparkled. "This is the best first day on the job I've ever had…"
Elsewhere, Eda and Donna were talking in private.
"Well… I'm just… curious to know if you know where Raine is," Donna was telling Eda. "I promise not to say anything, but it is just that… I am worried for them as well. They're still missing and if anyone might know anything about it, I thought it might be you."
Eda nodded and patted Donna on the shoulder. "Don't worry, they're alive. I don't know where they are right now though." She sighed. "I hope that they're doing okay…"
Meanwhile in Latissa, a cloaked Lilith and Odalia snuck through town, Odalia leading Lilith to a disclosed building.
"This is the place," Odalia said as they spotted a masked guard.
"This is where we'll meet the people that helped you?" Lilith asked her. "Solbi Park isn't a good place for meet ups…"
"Trust me, Lilith," Odalia said while they confronted the guard, who held up his staff at Lilith.
"Stop! None shall trespass unless you wish to lose your life!" the masked guard declared, his eyes glowing blue while sprouting from his back were large serpents that held swords. Lilith looked startled while Odalia just sighed.
"Enough, brother," Odalia told him as she uncloaked herself and Lilith.
The guard then poofed the serpents away and removed his mask, revealing himself to be a grinning Geist. "Odie, Lily! Sorry for scaring you, Lily, I'm just messing around."
"Geist…?" Lilith asked in confusion while Odalia pulled her inside. Once they were inside, Lilith saw that it was filled with people. She looked around and gasped, recognizing one of them. "No way… Bindell?!"
Bindell was talking with Bunker when she heard Lilith and looked up at her. "Oh, Lilith, hey!" she shouted, waving to her. Also in the room was Hikari, who was talking with Star and another girl who seemed to be around their age, though Lilith didn't recognize her. The girl wore a dark-blue bodysuit with a black mask that covered her mouth and nose. She had blonde bobcut hair and gray-blue eyes. As she looked around, Lilith spotted someone else and gasped.
"Steve?!" Lilith exclaimed as the former coven scout walked over to her.
"Hey Lilith," Steve replied as Lilith ran up to him and they hugged.
"I'm so glad that you're okay!" Lilith replied in relief. "I have been so worried about you ever since you were declared a wild witch. Is this where you've been all this time?"
"Not exactly. Me and Hikari were on the run, but we fortunately ran into an old friend of yours and their companion," Steve said, pointing to Hikari and Star.
"Hey, Lilith!" Star waved as she and Hikari came over. "Meet my new friends!"
"It is nice to meet you, Lilith," Hikari said, greeting the Clawthorne woman. "Steve has said good things about you. My name is Hikari."
"Nice to meet you," Lilith replied, though she was surprised that this girl was so young and was the same height as Amity.
"Hikari was a wild witch when I met her," Steve explained. "She was the reason why I finally defected, since I did not want to be part of something that was branding and arresting kids."
"Your Emperor is a creep," Star said, crossing her arms.
"He is indeed," Lilith agreed while realizing something. "Wait, if you're here, Star, then that would mean…"
"That I'm here as well?" spoke up Raine, who made their entrance. With them were the Bat Queen, Eberwolf… and Darius.
"Raine… Eberwolf…" Lilith said in shock. She went up to Raine to hug them before looking up at the Abomi-monster, not recognizing him at first.
"Lilith…" the Abomi-monster said, causing Lilith's eyes to widen.
"Darius?! You're alive!? But how?!"
"Lilith… I…" Darius tried to speak but started groaning in pain, clutching his head as he struggled with his words. He turned to Odalia. "O-Odalia…?"
"Right, I can help explain for him," Odalia said as she turned to Lilith. "Well you see, Darius was in his Abomination form when he was… splattered. They tried to find as much of him as they could for the funeral, but they didn't get all of him. And after a while, he managed to reconstitute himself from these small parts of him. Though he is now stuck in this form and it is still taking him a lot of effort to maintain it."
"Oh Titan…" Lilith heard the ghost of Vina say.
Lilith looked sadly up at Darius. "I am so sorry, Darius," Lilith said as she reached out to touch him, only to pull her hand back and see that she had a bit of abomi-goo stained on her hand. She turned to Raine. "But what is all of this…?"
"A new rebellion against Belos," Raine declared.
"A lot has happened, Lilith," Bindell explained. "And while I don't know what it means for you at the museum, we thought that you could help us out."
"How did you all get involved in this?" Lilith asked her.
"I got in contact with my old classmate Bunker and Raine managed to convince him to help them rebel against the throne," Steve explained.
"And I got Bindell in and she got her friend," Bunker said, pointing to the girl with Hikari.
"She doesn't talk because she took a vow of silence and she doesn't like to use her real name," Bindell explained. "So you can call her Shadow Wolf."
Shadow Wolf just nodded at Lilith before turning back to Hikari.
"Does Flora know?" Lilith asked Bindell, who shook her head.
"She doesn't have a clue."
Lilith then turned to Odalia. "And… how did you get involved in this?" Lilith asked her.
"Well, Darius saved my life and brought me to Eberwolf and the Bat Queen," Odalia explained. "They had been looking for Raine and living near her woods after Darius broke Eberwolf out of the Healing Coven. And when I learned about Raine, I decided that I wanted to help take down the Emperor's Coven as well. I'm doing this to make sure Arthur and Destiny get taken down and to make sure that Amity's safe from Belos. I know that as long as he continues to rule the Isles, Amity will be in danger. After I agreed to join, I contacted Geist, letting him know that I was alright and asking him to join me."
Lilith looked around at everyone. "Wow, this is…"
"Treasonous?" Vina suggested.
"It is a start," Raine told Lilith. "The BATs may be gone, but in its place is …"
"Wait… no…" Darius realized what they were doing.
"The Covens Against the Throne… aka…"
"Not… the… name…" Darius groaned at this.
"THE CATS!" Raine declared as Star, Bindell, and Eberwolf made hissing noises.
"Well… they're all gonna die," Vina commented, unimpressed.
Lilith looked down, thinking about how crazy this was. Darius was alive. Bindell was working with rebels behind Flora's back. And Odalia had decided to help undermine the Emperor's Coven. It was to take in.
"So you want to let me into… the CATTs?" Lilith asked.
"You were the Head of the Emperor's Coven," Steve pointed out. "Your inside knowledge would be valuable."
"Even though you were bad at your job," Vina suggested. "If I was still in the Emperor's Coven, I wouldn't let a rebellion like this happen under my watch…"
"And I believed you wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to help protect our families," Odalia pointed out.
Lilith nodded. "What about Eda? Have you gotten in contact with her about this yet?" Lilith asked them.
"No, we were worried that it would be too dangerous," Raine said. "For hers and Luz's safety, I can't get them involved again. And the less involved they are, the farther away from Belos they will be."
"Just as how you've made sure Amity is far from Belos' reach," Odalia added.
Lilith thought about it. While she didn't like keeping her sister in the dark, it would be a huge risk to bring Eda or Luz into this. She nodded. "Alright, I'm in."
Meanwhile, it was the end of the school day and Luz had been called in once again by Faust.
"Hello again, Clawthorne," Faust said while Luz took a seat. "Do you know why you're here?"
"My 'special' punishment, I'm guessing?" Luz asked. "So what will it be? Staked to the cross? Wear a barbed wire crown? Thirty lashes or make me watch reruns of Splaturday Night Live?"
"Actually, I've come up with a perfect punishment for you," Faust declared. "Tell me, are you familiar with the annual IFWOT?"
"Yeah, Amity once told me about participating in them," Luz replied. "And my mom participated in one to get herself off the hook from you."
"Indeed," Faust replied while cracking his neck. "You see, the IFWOT was originally going to be on a different date, but because of some… recent events, the date has been moved around and rescheduled to the point where it was nearly canceled… but I've personally made sure that it would still happen this year. And that's where you come in!"
"Oh boy…" Luz replied while Faust got up and turned to look at his own portrait.
"I'm familiar with your history of making bets," Faust explained. "I am interested in conducting an experiment. So how about this: you'll be participating in this year's IFWOT. If you come back with a blue ribbon, then your friends are safe, and I will rethink Goodfellow's expulsion… if you return with a blue ribbon."
"That doesn't sound too difficult," Luz replied.
"Depends on which Coven Head you end up with," Faust explained. "However, like your mother, I am assigning you a partner. A top student… or at least, a top student from her previous school…"
"Previous school?" Luz asked before she heard someone enter the office. She and Faust turned to see who it was.
"Hey, I got called in, I'm not in trouble or anythin-" Nina noticed Luz. "Uh…"
"To keep it short, Ms. Fangs, I'm sending you two criminals to participate in this year's IFWOT tomorrow. Your futures are in each other's hands to make sure that you both come back with a blue ribbon, or else."
Luz and Nina looked at each other and they both had the same thing on their minds. "Aw shit."
Thirty years ago…
Vice-Principal Bump was at the door to Faust's office. He looked nervous and when he opened the door, he saw that the chair was turned with its back to him.
"Um… did you call me in, Principal Faust?" Bump asked, only for the chair to turn around… and show Bump that someone else was sitting in it. "Wait, you're not Faust…!"
"I'm not," spoke a woman with a parrot palisman. "My name is Julia Traveler. I am… someone from up top. As for what happened to Johnathorn Faust, I convinced him to step down as principal of Hexside and pursue his goal of fighting evil differently."
"I… what…?" Bump looked confused. "Are you saying that… Faust really stepped down?!"
"Yes, which means that this school is in need of a good principal that will help these students grow and become well adjusted talented witches," Julia said as she got up and walked over to Bump. "Faust was not a good principal. But you will be."
"Me?" Bump asked, pointing to himself.
"I have paid attention to your career and I must say I am impressed, especially with your philosophy that no child is irredeemable. That is something that I personally agree with," Julia said as she headed for the door. "I will be following you with great interest, Principal Bump. You may even see me again someday, but I do have other projects to check on first. But until then… have a good day."
Bump was still surprised and he turned to ask Julia a few questions, but by then she was already gone…
Okay, so this chapter turns out to be the "Them's the Break's Kid" rewritten. Though we will say that even though it does still follow the canon episode very closely, the flashbacks will have ramifications in the future. You probably have some guesses.
Seeing that Gilbert and Sully have met together at the IFWOT, we've decided to have this also be in addition for how they've met as well as how Eda and Raine met in HECK. This also shows a reference to how Samwitch and Delara met.
As for Dusty going by Orange, it is a reference to how Ash was Red in the games. Another reference is Samwitch's appearance is based off of Jotaro Kujo of JoJo's Bizarre Adventures.
That's about as much to say, nothing else came of importance.
So let's answer some reviews:
61394: Well, Meteora has visited the Isles so she doesn't stay there for long whenever she came.
Spantidem7: Um… kinda?
Crosshot: I would say Swan as Jamila's descendant as well.
Franco Almiron: Who knows…
Matteso585: 1) No spoilers. 2) Not like we were hiding or anything
Shuffollower: Jamila arrived after the Whittebanes. I don't think Amelia's Palisman is the same as Jamila's. Yes. We will see. Yes. That question about Angel… we don't know what you mean. Like, she has been spying on them through Purgatory and the Blind Eye Society to keep an eye on Gravity Falls. So without them, she wouldn't have a means to spy on everyone, especially with a team of agents taking base in town. And we didn't make any movie references in the HAS meeting.
Ultimate-drax: Appreciated that you'd like a sidetrack chapter like this.
Next chapter, Luz and Nina goes to the IFWOT, meeting faces old and new…
