I'm honestly embarrassed of myself for updating this after so many months. I got no long, drawn-out excuse; I just simply had work to worry about. Honestly, my job will make any future updates a tad slow as well, but I promise that I won't be canceling this story, especially not since we're close to the end after this chapter.

The only thing I can do is thank you all for being patient.

Now, onto the chapter...

Note: This chapter is told in Luz's POV

"Luz!" I heard a quiet voice that sounded like King's call for me. I stirred a bit in my sleeping bag, but I didn't wake up.

"Luz!" The voiced called again in a hushed tone as I felt my left arm being pushed by a small pair of hands.

A sharp breath escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered open. The room was dark, but in front of me I could almost make out the outline of King while also spotting a faint gleam of light from the window reflecting from his round eyes.

I sat up and scratched the side of my head, then yawned lightly. Why was King waking me up when it was obviously still nighttime?

"King?" I asked the cute puppy demon.

"shhh!" he said sharply.

I narrowed my eyes at him from the rude gesture. Though it was still dark, my vision had adjusted enough to see that he currently wasn't staring at me, but he had his head turned towards the closed door leading to the hallway.

I then stretched my body and the feeling of some of my bones popping made me groan. I smacked my dry lips and tried speaking to King again so I can find out why he's waking me up at this ungodly hour.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

My eyes widened as I heard the steps coming closer to the other side of the door. These didn't sound like footsteps I'm familiar with. They sounded heavy, heavier than someone stomping around with work boots. And whatever this was had to have some big feet.

"oh no..." I heard King whisper. He stood very close to me and I could feel his little body shaking like he just came in from the cold.

"What's going on?" I asked him, my eyes not leaving the door.

King looked back at me.

"We need to get out of her now!" he whispered hastily.

I watched as King tiptoed towards the window and jumped up, grabbing the edge with his paws. He pulled himself up and opened the glass panel.

"Hooty!" I heard him call as he tried to be both audible and quiet at the same time.

I snapped out of my daze. Something had King all jittery, and he wanted us to leave, and we couldn't just leave through the door because of the source of the footsteps being right outside.

I got up quickly while making sure to not make too much noise by rubbing against the slick fabric of my sleeping bag. I put on my shoes and was about to grab my jacket until I noticed my sketch pad on the floor. The memory of myself actually making magic from the palm of my hand made me smile as I looked forward to showing Eda when the sun was up, but giving what was happening now, that would just have to wait.

I grabbed the sketch pad because I didn't want to risk whatever was out there coming in here and ruining it. I hugged it close to my chest and looked at the window where I saw Hoot stretched through the window with King clinging to his neck, the latter motioning for me to come with them.

I nodded and took the first step towards them. The room wasn't really big, but trying to sneak away from a potential danger made it feel like the floors have stretched in length.

The footsteps came closer until they stopped behind the door. I briefly froze for a few seconds and heard nothing, so I continued. But I took a wrong step on an old floorboard that let out a faint squeak. I cringed as what would be a small sound felt like banging a trash can lid with a baseball bat.

Then, from behind the door, I heard the loud sound of something sniffing the bottom of the door repeatedly. It sounded like a dog; a really, really big dog.

For some reason, I felt the need to say something dumb like "Nice doggy." but I fought against it. I took a few more careful steps which thankfully didn't make a sound, but as I was just one step away from Hooty lowering himself down for me, my foot pressed down on another floorboard that was worse than the last one as it gave out an even louder squeak that would've been impossible to not hear.

The sniffing stopped and was replaced by growling that became louder by the second.

"LUZ, NOW!" King shouted.

That's when I heard a loud shriek from behind the door followed by loud banging that almost drained the color from my skin. Before I knew, my body set itself to auto-pilot as I jumped towards Hooty with my arms legs wrapped tightly around his body.

The banging grew louder and harder as Hooty recoiled out from the window. I tucked my body just enough to fit through, and right when Hooty's beak left the window is when I heard the door being blasted off its hinges and slamming hard on the floor.

I was still holding on to Hooty as he lowered King and I to the ground. When we were low enough, King hopped off and landed on his feet as I untangled my legs and didn't release my arms until I felt my feet touching the cool surface. My body suddenly shivered; I didn't expect to feel a chill in a place called the Boiling Isles, but life is funny like that.

Our only source of light was the pale glow of the full moon which allowed me to see the front of the house. I noticed that the front door where Hooty extended himself from was still closed shut. Did that thing from upstairs break in somehow?

I looked down at King who was pacing around in circles with his hands planted on his head. He looked stressed. I knelt down on one knee next to him, ignoring the cold dirt caking against the fabric of my sweatpants, and petted him on his back. King jolted up in surprise, but he seemed to calm down seconds later.

"Thanks." he sighed without making eye contact.

"King... What in the sweet hades was that thing? And where's Eda?" I asked while looking up to the open window we escaped out of. Oh no, I suddenly realize that Eda isn't out here with us!

"King! Eda is still in there. We have to help her!" I pleaded.

I don't think I should really be worried about the witch's safety. After all, she did spend years hiding from the Emperor's Coven, so she may have this in the bag... right? But I listened and realized everything in the house is silent and I doubt Eda would let this intruder roam around her house and knock down her doors without a care in the world, so what's going on?

King took a deep breath and looked up at me. His eyes were widened, and his pupils dilated, but he spoke with a calm tone.

"Eda's got this, but I'm still going inside to help her out. And Luz? For a completely unrelated reason, where's that elixir Eda bought in the market?" he asked.

I noticed it was pretty odd to ask what he claims to be "unrelated" especially given the circumstances. I may be an "ignorant teen" as many old people at home would say, but I can tell this elixir has some importance to it, but what? It's just medicine.

"Oh, yeah," I began by making a voice suggesting I wasn't catching on. "I think Eda left it on the coffee table. It may or may not be wrapped with the stinky cloak."

King nodded. "Thanks. Though I wonder why Eda has never considered tossing that thing out yet?"

The little demon moved his little legs over to the door, but I followed him.

"I should go with you. Eda could use my help too." I suggested. King replied, but not in a way I expected.

"NO!" he shouted before slapping his hands over his mouth. All three of us stood incredibly still. Somewhere on the other side of the wall, I could hear the faint sound of what might've been snarling or a long growl. It sounded far, definitely not close enough to be in the living room; but we stood till until it went silent and even then, we stayed still in case whatever is in there was waiting to ambush us.

After a while, maybe seconds, maybe minutes, King spoke again but with a quieter voice.

"No... Eda would never forgive me if I got you hurt. Besides, I've lived here for years, so I'm better at sneaking around." King responded. And though his reasoning was understandable, I'm too stubborn to comply.

"I can sneak too, King. And I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to Eda while I just stayed out here." I spoke back. King looked at me with his eyes half-lidded. He definitely has something to say back, but it was like he was searching for the right thing to say. Something to convince me to sit tight? Calm my worries? Maybe something blunt like "Just shut up and listen to me!"? I don't know, but I'm getting tired of waiting.

"Just... trust me." That's all he said. He didn't want to argue any further. It was evident he wanted to keep me safe, but what is he not telling me.

I nodded, but I still had something to ask.

"Can you at least tell me what we're dealing with?" I pleaded.

King was hesitant, but he still answered.

"It's just something that gives Eda major headaches, but she knows what to do." That was his answer. A very ominous one.

I quietly groaned, but still took it. Seeing I wasn't making a fuss, King took it as his cue to proceed.

"Ok, Hooty. Open the door." he instructed to the bird worm.

Without a word, Hooty sunk himself all the way back into the door, regaining the appearance of a highly detailed knocker before it slowly cracked open.

"Be careful, King." said Hooty.

Seeing something that always seemed so happy and energetic as Hooty now racked with nervousness made me feel sorry for the creature.

King nodded at him and went for the crack leading into the darkness. He slipped through silently and carefully closed the door behind him.

Now it was just Hooty and I outside. Now obviously I wasn't going to stay out here; especially not when I'm only wearing my pajamas without any shoes on, and I can feel the cold dirt on the bottom of my socks. Blech!

I took two steps towards the door which caught the wandering eyes of Hooty. Before I could reach the handle, he slinked forward and blocked my path.

"What are you doing? King said to stay out here." The house demon spoke with his high-pitched voice conveying worry.

I can understand Hooty sharing King's feeling of keeping me safe, but I am no damsel in distress nor a bystander!

"I have to help Eda whether King wants me to or not. We have no idea what that thing in there is or what it can do." I explained, hoping it gets through to his possible brain (I know this may sound mean on my part, but I really don't know if Hooty has a brain let alone organs).

I then noticed Hooty shiver; his eyes shifting in nervousness. I scowled; he definitely knew something.

"Hooty, maybe you know what this thing is?" I asked him with a knowing tone.

The house demon's eyes widened, and I could swear I saw beads of sweat trickling down his head. His body shriveled and shook like he was going to explode, and that's just the answer I needed.

King and Hooty seem to know what's going on, so why can't they just tell me? Does this involve Eda somehow? My mind quickly conjured up possible explanations as to what this thing is and why it's here, specifically for Eda.

What if it's a monster Eda had ticked off sometime in the past, and now it wants payback? Or a member of the Emperor's Coven that has tracked Eda down? Or maybe it's a really aggressive tax collector?

Then my mind came up with a sillier possibility: What if this thing was Eda's ex-boyfriend who's here to win back her love... by breaking into her house in the dark of night. I stopped myself from smirking. Now wasn't the time for jokes.

I looked back at Hooty, and I noticed how scared he looked. Poor thing looked chilled to the bone! I instantly felt sorry for him, and I believe I know just what he needs.

I grabbed Hooty's head and pulled him closer towards me. I held my arms around him and hugged him gently. He yelped, and his body fidgeted, but he didn't try to escape my hold.

"Shhhh. It'll be alright." I told him softly and went the extra step by gently caressing his head. The feeling of him was odd to say the least, I didn't even know how to accurately describe it, but it felt like a mix between smoothed wood, fuzz, and flesh of some kind. I didn't let this bother me too much though.

After a few seconds, I felt Hooty's shivering slow down until it stopped; he had calmed down.

I stopped grooming his head and relaxed my arms which allowed him to move freely.

"There! Feel better?" I asked him sweetly.

He nodded with that recognizable smile.

"Y-Yeah! But I still think it's best if you stay here with me. King won't be long." Hooty tried to reason with me, but I wasn't backing down.

I looked at him sternly and spoke.

"Hooty: If you care about Eda then you will let me pass and allow me to help her."

Hooty's smile fell as he looked distressed.

"But you don't know what you're dealing with!" he said, hoping to get through to me (he didn't).

"Regardless, would you stand by if it were King and I in peril? Would you let anyone stand by if Eda needed assistance in something?" I pressed on, my expression stoic.

Hooty tried to argue, but he couldn't find what he wanted to say. All that came out were tiny gasps. His beak then closed as he looked down in defeat.

"Just please stay safe." he quietly begged.

I then softly smiled and patted his head.

"I will. I promise." I replied.

As the house demon moved out of the way and slinked himself back into the door, it opened by itself like it did for King and I immediately went for it.

I slowly opened it more and poked my head inside. The entire living room was dark, but I I could spot King just inches away from me searching for the elixir.

"I can definitely smell that thing, but I can't find the table! I sure wish I had a light." I heard him complain.

I smirked as I snuck through the door and closed it behind me. Remembering I had my sketch pad and which end had the symbols, I ripped one page out as carefully and silently as I could manage and tapped my hand on it. In a second, the paper illuminated the room as a newborn light spell which allowed King to spot the table with the cloak-wrapped elixir.

"Oh, there we go!" he said cheerfully before glancing back at me. "Thanks!"

"No problem." I answered without missing a beat.

King toddled towards the table but immediately froze. He then turned to me with wide eyes.

"Luz?!" he silently shouted.

I cheekily waved at him which didn't amuse the little demon.

"I told you to stay outside!" he fussed which I shrugged to in response.

"What can I say? I stink at following rules."

King facepalmed and sighed.

"So first you ignore my simple instructions, and then you sneak in here with me when there's a monster in the house, and now you're lighting up the room with a light spell! I mean, really! And another thing-"

King stopped talking as his attention went to the light orb hovering next to me.

He looked at it, and then his gaze went to me and then back at the orb. He looked both astonished and confused at the same time. I wore a toothy grin on my face as I felt amused by the sight of the metaphorical cogs turning in his little head.

"Luz... W-Where did that light spell come from?" he asked faintly. I knew he had his suspicions deep down, but the doggy demon needed to hear it out of my mouth.

"From me! I made it." I replied proudly.

King blinked once, and I guess I didn't see his mouth hanging open because I heard the sound of smack from his dry maw.

He stared at me in disbelief. He wanted to ask how I managed it, but he couldn't form the words because he was so amazed, so I demonstrated by tearing out another sheet and touching it. And, like before, the paper birthed a light orb.

"OH. MY. TITAN!" he exclaimed loudly. But that proved to be a great error as we heard something roar from the upstairs hallway.

Dang it! I cursed to myself. We both got distracted and forgot what we were doing. And I just had to show off.

King's body went stiff in fear, and so did mine, but thank the Lord I regained control instantly. I raised my right hand and slapped the second light orb, which took it out, but in doing so, the gust of wind made by my quick movement made the other orb drift away.

I tried to go after it as the distance between it and I increased, but the sounds of heavy footsteps quickly approached the living room. But unlike before, this didn't sound like someone stomping on two feet, but something big running on all fours, and this time, I could definitely hear claws clacking and scratching on the wooden floor.

Thinking quickly, I noticed the floor between the coffee table and the front of the couch had a dark shade between it, so I grabbed King and dove onto the ground with him. My body made a light Thump on impact, but I don't think it was loud enough to hear anyways. Though we were covered in shadow, it still didn't feel like enough to cover us, and that's when I noticed the coffee table was elevated above the ground enough to where I could squeeze under with my light frame, and King was already tiny, so he'd fit perfectly.

We then heard something huge barrel down the stairs like a wild animal and entered the dark hallway, so I forced my body into overdrive and found myself already under the table. It was so quick I barely even remember moving. That's adrenaline for 'ya!

And I was right on time as the footsteps came into the hall and suddenly stopped right in front of the entrance to the living room. It was silent...

King and I watched the shadowy doorway in fear and anticipation. My heart was racing, and I could feel King's doing the same from my hand on his furry chest as I held him close to me. I made sure to stroke his fur just to calm him down as I myself realized I was breathing heavily and was close to it being too loud. I closed my mouth tight and breathed through my nose as quietly as possible.

We still watched, waiting for whatever this monster is to enter. What was it doing? Did it leave, or was it still standing there and waiting? Waiting for one of us to make a sound or move a muscle so it can barge out and strike?

I fought my body to stay perfectly still, and I knew King was doing the same.

After what felt like forever, I saw movement from the shadows.

An odd-looking paw that looked eerily similar to a deformed human hand with sharp black nails slowly revealed itself out of the darkness. The palm alone is clearly bigger than my head and the very visible talons that looked sharp enough to cut bricks in half. Though in my rising anxiety levels, I did notice that instead of fur like I was picturing, it looked like... feathers? Yeah, definitely feathers that were dark gray.

Then, more of this thing came into the room. The pesky light orb had floated itself into the opposite side of the room. And though it wasn't very big and just dimly lit the room, it was still enough for me to make out more of this creature's features.

...

For every inch of this monster that came into the light, the more I wish to be surrounded in complete darkness, so I won't have to see it anymore.

Whatever this thing is, it's massive! Like almost the size of a large truck. Just a mountain of feathers that grew in size the more it protruded from the door. The sound of it sliding against the entire doorframe just showed its size, I can't tell if the body is that large, or it was the abundance of feathers. Its arms were crooked and had enough strength to lift the beast's large body above the floor despite the arms slim appearance.

The beast was now in the living room with King and I only a few feet away, hopefully unaware of our location. I was low enough to the ground to where I could peak from under the coffee table. I was now able to see this thing more clearly and I wish I hadn't.

On its back were huge, dark gray wings. I felt sick knowing this beast can possibly fly if it wanted too. Its back feet were different from the front; It looked almost bird-like, similar to a falcon or an eagle where they grab their prey with their talons.

Actually, given the feathers it almost looks like a giant owl. An Owl Beast, maybe?

I tried to see what its face looked like, but my current position including the faint darkness makes it hard for me. Now I know it sounds strange that I would want to see the face of the owl beast. Like, do I want to see how big its mouth is before it swallows me whole? It's just from what little light is available, I can barely see the Owl Beast's face, but something about it just seemed too familiar to me for some reason.

The Owl Beast's head was turned away from King and I as it watched the light orb float aimlessly around the living room. It didn't try to attack it or anything else, it just watched. This is a shot in the dark, but is this thing mesmerized by the light? Like a moth to a flame sorta thing?

I then noticed the light orb slowly drifting closer to us with the Owl Beast's head following along as the same snail's pace. I was still curious about the face and watched with a strange sense of anticipation. My patience was lowering because the movement of the orb is SO. DANG. SLOW!

Then, finally, the light orb was now on the opposite side of the beast's body that we were facing. I squinted my eyes to get a better look as possible as its head finally turned to us. And right as the small light revealed the face of this beast, my eyes shot wide open.

This thing... its face... it looked like Eda!

The shape of her face with her pointed chin and ivory skin were still present, but everything else looked like a monstrous reflection of the foxy witch. Her shiny, golden eyes that were once full of life were now black as night. Her ears were longer and pointier. and a long strand of gray hair going down her back. And her mouth was bigger and wider with two rows of sharp teeth lining the top and bottom; and one of the beast's large fangs was golden just like Eda's.I couldn't wrap my head around this. How and why does this thing have Eda's face? Did it steal her face? Wait - No... I suddenly came to a dark realization, which I tried to deny but couldn't ignore. King and Hooty refused to tell me what this Owl Beast thing is as if it was a secret to keep, and Eda is referred to as the Owl Lady.

Could it be... Could this thing really be Eda? The same one who welcomed me into her home and treated me like a friend?

"Eda?" I thoughtlessly called out.

I heard King gasp as the Owl Beast immediately let out a deadly snarl. Their attention was no longer on the light orb, I realized this as I saw their now narrowed black eyes staring down at our hiding spot. Cold terror gripped my chest as I came to turn at my grave mistake.

The Owl Beast took one step forward as it slowly approached the coffee table. I felt cold sweat drench my face in my hands as my heartbeat accelerated. King grips my arm tight as he prepares for the inevitable, and this just makes me hate myself for being so stupid. In a matter of seconds, King and I will become owl chow. I felt scared, more scared than I ever have been in my life.

Flashes of my life played before my eyes. I remembered every time my mom has ever hugged me, or the sweet words my dad spoke to me before he died. I then felt regret for my past actions when I would get in trouble for the dumbest things because I wanted to make others around me laugh or to just look cool; I felt regret ever following Owlbert through that portal.

I wanted my mom... I wanted her to hold me and tell me that everything would be alright. But that can't happen because both of us are in completely separate realms, and our last words were some pointless disagreement. My mom will have no idea what happened to me.

And King, he's in this predicament now because of me! But that's just the life of Luz Noceda; I screw things up and now another person will get hurt because of me,

I saw the Owl Beast take another step towards us as I heard low, deep growls seep through its hungry jaws. Hot tears leaked from my eyes as I quietly accepted my fate. I buried my face on the back of King's head and wept silently. Out of nowhere, maybe from desperation or hope, I began praying to the heavens above.

King probably couldn't understand what I was saying because I was mumbling along with him being afraid for my life, but I knew what I was saying. I begged for a miracle, I begged for our lives. Or at least allow King to be spared.

A heavy stomp of the Owl Beast's paw made my body jolt in surprise. It was right in front of the table, and I could hear its heavy breaths on the other side of the wood sitting above me. It wouldn't take much for the owl beast to get to us. Just simply swat the table aside, and the feast begins, but neither of this happened.

I calmed myself down enough and listened, that's when I heard the Owl Beast above loudly sniffing. I knew that meant it must've had one of our scents and was searching for us, but you would think it would've found us already. It almost sounded like it was sniffing at something on the table, not under it.

I heard the beast take a large sniff only for it to recoil in disgust. I watched in confusion as its big body took a few steps back and started rubbing its nose and gagged loudly like it was gonna blow some chunks.

Then, the beast let out a small whine from its terrifying mouth, followed by its body shivering. I'm guessing something made it lose interest in looking under the table as it retreated towards the kitchen and disappeared into the darkness within.

My eyes followed her until it was no longer in the room with us, but we have yet to make a move. Both King and I kept our current position under the assumption that the Owl Beast would return, but all we heard was the sound of pots and pans being pushed aside and knocked down.

Good. It's distracted.

My heart was still slamming against my chest, but I did regain control over my breathing. My body was stiff and a little sore from laying under here for this long, and I can feel my right arm becoming numb.

"It's gone. This is our chance to move!" King whispered as he squirmed out of my arms and crawled out from under the table, I followed along and stood up. My legs felt numb and sore, so I held onto the armrest of the couch to keep myself from toppling over as I tried to regain the feelings back into them.

I looked back to see King jumping onto the table next to the cloak with the elixir bottle sitting on top like an egg in the nest. King quietly gagged at the smell of the cloak and slapped one of its flaps aside. He then grabbed the neck of the bottle and held it up.

"Got it!" he said happily as his tail wagged.

Though I wasn't smiling with him. I had some rather pressing questions, and I was expecting to get some answers.

"King," I started as I moved towards him now that my legs felt normal once more.

The little demon's tail froze in place as his bug, round eyes looked up at me. I leaned down at him and spoke with a low yet serious voice to show him that I wasn't messing around.

"What the heck was that thing, and why does it have Eda's face?" I asked.

King didn't reply to me immediately. It looked like his mind was scrambling to find a convincing answer, something to keep me from hearing the truth, but I beat him to the punch.

"If you don't tell me in the next few seconds, I'll make this room sound like a 4th of July parade." I warned.

By the way King looked at me, he had no idea what I was talking about, but he knew what I meant involved making loud noises, so he fessed up.

"Okay, okay. Just keep quiet..." he said to me. His eyes gazed down a bit for whatever reason, but he talked soon after.

"Don't freak out, ok? But that thing IS Eda!" he revealed.

That shouldn't have come off as a surprise to me. I had the sneaking suspicion as soon as I saw the face from under the table, but having it confirmed to me was still enough to make me pause.

My mind caught up with me finally as I spoke again to King.

"H-How did she turn into THAT? Is this like some kind of werewolf thing?" I questioned.

King shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. Well, sorta, but she wasn't bitten; she... is cursed."

...

"Cursed?" I replied. I definitely heard that right, but I just didn't expect it as the answer. I guess it makes sense because, y'know, witches magic, so curses are just part of the package. But even so, this revelation about Eda was something I never could've expected.

"Yeah." said King, "And this elixir is what keeps her from turning into that monster for a limited period of time."

Well, that explains why Eda was so protective over it earlier. And there I was thinking it was just fancy medicine.

"So, a curse? That makes some sense of the giant owl beast's random appearance and why Eda isn't here to kick its butt, but how exactly did Eda get cursed to become that thing? Did she tick off the wrong person?" I asked.

"Eda never told me the full details, but none of that is important right now. The elixir can still change her back to normal, but we have to get her to drink it." King explained.

I silently crouch down at King's eye level while also making sure I kept myself obscured next to the couch in case the owl beast decided to peak into the room.

"And you have a good plan on how to get her to drink the elixir, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah!" he replied which made me smile.

"Well, what is it?" I asked impatiently though ready to help Eda anyway I can.

"Just find me a bowl for me to pour this stuff in and then we wait for Eda to get thirsty so she can drink it." He explained with a voice full of confidence.

However, I wasn't so convinced about this idea which King noticed judging by a frown replacing my grin.

"Is there a problem?" he asked with a scowl.

"Yeah," I nodded. "This idea sounds a little silly. Has this ever worked before? Like, at all?"

King looked at me, offended, but his glare stopped when his eyes looked away from mine.

"Well, I... no. I've never actually had to use this plan, especially since Eda has been really good with keeping her curse under check in the last few years."

"So that's the best you could come up with?" I asked him, my voice revealing just how unimpressed I am.

King pouted and let out a loud puff of breath.

"Well, excuse me! It's not so easy making ideas for these kinds of issues when you're only knee high."

I rolled my eyes and ignored his tantrum, but King wasn't through yet.

"So I'm assuming you have a better idea?" he asked with his arms crossed.

My mouth opened but nothing came out. Turns out I had no idea what to do either.

"Okay, fine, maybe we can give the bowl thing a chance." I groaned. King smiled like the smug little punk he is.

"Great! Now there should be something in here we can use. While I find it, you go and put the light spell so Eda won't see us on accident."

I nodded and stood up. The light orb wasn't too far away, maybe a few measly steps, but I still took the necessary precaution of moving slowly and not making a sound. I made my way to it and held the glowing ball of light in my palms. All I have to do now is pop it like a bubble and head back to King.

Thankfully, the surrounding area is quiet enough for us to hear the owl beast coming.

Actually, it was really quiet now that I think about it. That's odd; I could've sworn there were sounds in the kitch-

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

My body froze stiff when I heard a low growl not far from me. My eyes shifted towards the source of the noise which was coming from the dark doorway leading into the kitchen. And in that dark doorway I could see two glowing eyes reflecting the light staring back at me.

The growling continued.

"King..." I called to him.

The little demon was facing away from us, his back to me. He was also still.

"Please tell me that was your stomach." he begged.

"It wasn't." I, the bearer of bad news, replied.

The Owl Beast slowly moved out of the doorway with its head being the first to emerge from the darkness. Its eyes were narrowed into dark slits which stared into my soul. King turned around to share with me the horror of watching a monster making its way towards us.

I made sure not to move my eyes off the beast as I took a step back, but this proved to be a bad decision when the beast snarled and moved closer to me. I held back a scream, and so did King as he hugged the elixir bottle tightly.

I felt cold sweat rolling down my face as pressure rose up my throat. I swallowed it down and held my hand out at the beast.

"Eda?" I tried to reach out to my friend. Despite her current appearance, I believed she could hear me deep down.

"Eda, it's me, Luz. Remember?"

The owl beast gave me a strange look, almost like it was confused as to why I didn't look afraid of it. I'm not going to lie, I am, but showing fear won't help me here.

I took a small step towards it while remaining cautious of getting too close. I could see King out of the corner of my eye frantically waving at me as a way to tell me to stop what I'm doing, but I saw no other way of getting through this without becoming a monster's dinner.

"You know me. Remember how we went to the market earlier today? Or how we embarrassed Warden Wrath at the conformatorium the other night?"

I stepped closer to the beast; Its ears raised up, and it looked at me curiously with the bestial malice from before now gone.

"Do you recognize me? I'm not gonna hurt you; you're my friend!" I spoke with a calming town and the warmest smile I could muster.

I drew closer to the beast with my hand reaching out at it. My goal was to try and pet it, maybe show it. I mean no harm. And things looked like it was going smoothly... until I got close enough and saw its eyes glare at me again.

I jumped back just in time as the owl beast screeched and swiped its right hand at me. It missed, but now it looked like it wasn't going to stand around anymore.

I could tell that I needed to act fast before I end up a red stain on the wooden floor. But what could I do?

I looked around, hoping I could find something blunt or sharp to defend myself with. I didn't want to hurt Eda even when she's like this, but I wasn't gonna allow myself to be someone's midnight snack.

My eyes landed at the fireplace. More specifically the fire poker leaning next to the brick surface. I tried reaching for it, but the Owl Beast rushed to the fireplace before I could move and stood in front of it.

Did it really know what I was trying to do? I wasn't expecting this thing to think!

Okay... that idea didn't work. Not like it would've anyways. I felt a lump of pressure rising in my throat, but I forced it back down; I needed to stay calm.

The Owl Beast growled at me and leaned back as if it was about to lunge at me, but I was saved by the floating ball of light that was still in the room with us. It had managed to drift closer towards the beast and, judging by the hungry glare on its face , was replaced with curiosity as it gaze was no longer set on me. The light was distracting her!

It all made sense now! Most birds such as Owls are attracted to shiny object, so the light spell works just the same. But I knew I had to work quick before the beast remembers that I'm here.

I looked aside and spotted my sketchbook still on the table; the next few pages within have more of the symbols drawn on them. I then looked back to see King and the front door. I motioned my head towards the door which the little demon quickly understood what I meant.

I stared back at the Owl Beast and felt glad to see that the light ball still had its attention. This was my chance to make a move.

I slowly raised my right leg and stepped forward and softly planted my foot on the floor. I heard a slight creak, but the Owl Beast didn't seem to notice. I took another step towards the table and while I managed to carefully land my other foot down, I didn't expect to step onto an older plank as it squeaked loudly.

The Owl Beast definitely heard it this time! The deep growl told me that its attention was now back on me. I fought back against my brain telling me to rush for the door, but I knew that was a bad idea; it would catch me easily on foot!

I look aside and saw that I was very close to the table, maybe four more steps at least. I kept my body stiff and my eyes on the monster while I took another step to the table, but this time slower than before.

The process was slow and grueling, but it didn't cause the Owl Beast anymore alarm. It still growled at me and continued to stalk me. The fact that I wasn't already owl chow tells me that this beast is waiting for a particular moment to get me instead of a frontal assault. This is like some sorta sick game of cat mouse to the Owl Beast. Well, I refuse to be the prey!

The Owl Beast kept its gaze on me as it hunched down like a lion. It looked like it was getting tired of waiting for an opening and was about to end it here and now, but I was thankfully close enough to the table in order to reach my notebook.

Carefully, I reached down for it. I felt my fingertips glaze the cold metal spiral that keeps the pages of the notebook together. I traced my hand down the spiral until I felt the papery edge of my notebook and gripped it.

I raised it up from the table and held the back cover on the surface of my right hand. I then gently flipped open the cover and sighed in relief when I found one of the pages with the light symbol that I drew a few hours ago. I already had a plan formulated in my head, now I just have to hope pray it works.

My eyes never left the horrid face of the Owl Beast as I moved my free hand to the edge of the page and lifted it up. I then gently pulled on it to where the paper slowly ripped off of the spiral little by little to not alarm the beast into attacking too early.

Rip

Rip

...

RIIIP!

I felt the spiral's hold on the paper finally give away; an internal cheering rang in my head. I touched the symbol as swiftly as I could just as the light orb was reaching its final seconds of life. The paper crumbled as its glow replaced the light before it.

As I expected, the Owl Beast's attention was immediately taken by the light. Oh, my plan? Well, it's simple: I sneak towards the door with King while making more light orbs appear, that way the Owl Beast will continue to be distracted by as many lights as it takes so we can make it to safety. I looked back at King, who was wondering what I was going to do next. I widened my eyes at him and directed my pupils at the front door and then back at him. King didn't need words to understand my plan.

I looked back at the monster and began to move backwards. One cautious step followed by another and then another...

CREAK

Oh, for the love of-

...

I accidently stepped on an old, wooden floorboard. One of the dumbest mistakes anyone can make and I'm the one who did it; and because of this the Owl Beast was once again staring back at me with a deadly glare.

The monster tried to come towards me, though I noticed how it had to pry its sight away from the light orb. Okay, I know this isn't the time to mess around anymore. I need to get out of here NOW!

... Hopefully there's enough pages to guarantee I see the sunshine again.

I tore out another page, and this time slapped it instead of a gently tapping it. The page crumbled and lit up into a new light orb, and for added effect, I blew at it, causing the orb to float towards the Owl Beast. And yes, that caught its eye.

I backed away quicker while trying to keep my noise level low, but judging how the Owl Beast has once again forced herself to look at me again, I realized that slow steady was no longer an option.

"King, the door!" I shouted.

King nodded as he jumped up and grabbed the doorknob with one paw to turn it.

The Owl Beast growled in frustration as it fought to focus on me instead of the pretty light. Its black, soulless eyes were continuously gluing itself onto two separate targets, which was starting to enrage the beast within.

Eventually, it had enough of these distractions and showed this by lifting its big paw and struck the light orb with its sharp claws, which popped the light orb like a bubble.

"OH-" I yelled, almost letting out a good ole' fashioned curse word. I snatched out multiple papers at once and frantically slapped them all at once hoping there were more symbols instead of blank papers. Some fell on the ground, but five more light orbs were created in the process.

The Owl Beast tried to look away from one light orb only to get a face full of another. It shrieked in anger as I found a few more symbols and activated them to join the others.

"LUZ, RUN!" King screamed at me as he got the door open.

I took one last look at Eda's monstrous form and felt sorry for her. She could be trapped like this for all I know, but right now, she isn't in the right mind to accept any compassion. I turned around and raced for the open door; the Owl Beast heard my loud footsteps hitting the wooden floor and had managed to see me making my escape past the lights.

The Owl Beast's eyes narrowed into deadly slits as it roared (showing off her fangs in the process) and used its primal willpower to push itself past the lights and charged at me. I was almost to the door, almost to freedom, until I heard a loud shriek behind me.

At the very second, my body was about to pass the door frame, and the giant body of the Owl Beast crashed against the door, forcing it to slam shut, which now left King and I trapped

King was shoved away from the door; knocking the elixir from his hands, as I was shoved aside and fell onto the floor. I looked back to see the Owl Beast staring up at me, and it looked hungry.

My eyes widened in terror as my fight or flight kicked in. I was too terrified to get up and run, but I knew that would help me anyway. I turned onto my back and kicked my legs against the floor to scoot myself away from the monster who was ready to make me its meal.

Through my terror, I remembered I had my sketchbook in my hand still. I ripped off a page and, thank the heavens, it had a symbol! I touched it, which birthed a new light orb.

The Owl Beast saw it and immediately tried to look away; I took this as a chance to scoot farther away in hopes of salvation from this nightmare. The Owl Beast swiped its paw at the light orb and made it float away from her view as it continued to prowl.

I found another symbol and activated it, but the Owl Beast had enough. It stood on its hindlegs, and with a shriek, it slapped the sketchbook out of my left hand with one paw, and with the other, she swiped her claws at my right arm. I felt sharp, burning pain spreading in my arm. I screamed and clutched my freshly wounded arm as I felt warm liquid ooze against my hand from the fresh wound.

Hot tears filled the bottom of my eyelids as the agonizing pain in my arm halted me in place. I was exhausted and had no more strength to move. I looked up and saw the Owl Beast looking down at me with a horryfying grin. It had finally caught her prey, and it was ready to celebrate with a meal.

It was at this point that I knew there was no escape. My life is over. I'm only 15, and this is where it ends for me.my mind went back to my mom, and I realized that the only thing that hurts far worse than my life coming to close so early is the fact that my mom will never know what happened to me. She'll think I'm still at the camp instead of a magical world where I'll take my last breath. I silently wept on my back, yearning to feel my mother's warm embrace one last time.

The Owl Beast savored the site of my broken state as it licked her lips and stood up. It opened its mouth to reveal its sharp teeth and two big things and let out a loud, vicious growl as it was ready to come down on me in a second.

"LUZ, NO!" Hooty screamed from the door.

The worm tube shot out of the door hole and rammed his head against the Owl Beast's side. The force of the strike caused the beast to fly across the room , crash against the opposite wall, and fell onto the ground. The monster struggled to get up, but the sudden attack left it dazed. In a few seconds, it had managed to snap out of it enough to look at her attacker.

Hooty stretched himself towards the Owl Beast. He easily dodged the monster's claws and struck its back legs with his neck. This caused the Owl Beast to fall onto the ground, which granted Hooty the opening to wrap his ever-extending neck around the Owl Beast, beginning with its waist and working his way up. Hooty binded the Owl Beast's body with surprising speed and made sure to tightly wrap around its arms while avoiding her teeth.

"Get the elixir!" Hooty yelled as he kept the Owl Beast down. He was doing a good job keeping it trapped, but the Owl Beast's brute strength and its determination to break free was making it hard to keep his hold for much longer.

I was still grasping the fact that I'm only alive now because Hooty saved me, but the glowing elixir bottle resting still on the floor stole my attention.

I ran up and grabbed it all the while fighting to ignore the intense stinging feeling I felt in my arm as I pinched the cork and pulled om it as hard as I could.

POP!

The cork came loose and flew out of my hand from how hard I was pulling. The open spout released released a unique aroma that met my nostrils. It smelt like cold medicine but with a certain sweetness to it.

If I wasn't already close to death, I'd take a sip!

"Luz!" Hooty called as he struggled to keep his body from losing its grip on the Owl Beast.

I ran up close to the Owl Beast, who was pinned close to the ground. It saw me and roared as it knashed her teeth. I attempted to aim the bottle over her mouth to tip and pour the elixir inside, but its constant thrashing and snapping jaws made it hard, and I could risk getting closer without getting chomped.

"I got it!" King said as he ran past me. He leaped up and landed on the Owl Beast's chest. It tried to snap King with her teeth, but he completely dodged it with another well-timed jumped and landed at the top of its head.

King gripped the fur on top of the monsters head and pulled back with as much strength he could muster. The Owl Beast opened its mouth and screamed in pain.

"NOW!" Both King and Hooty yelled to me.

I wasted no time when I held the bottle over the wide mouth of the monster and tilted the bottle over, allowing the golden liquid to pour down its throat. The Owl Beast choked and gagged at the liquid involuntarily, entering its mouth and unwillingly swallowing just to be able to breathe.

I got closer and kept pouring until every last drop left the glass bottle. I took a step back and watched as the Owl Beast thrashed and coughed.

All three of us watched and waited until we noticed the monster's movements slowed and its attempts to escape from Hooty became less frequent.

Then, after a minute of waiting, the Beast was limp. Hooty slowly but cautiously loosened his grip and laid the beast on the floor, but he was ready to tangle it back up if she made any sudden movements.

The Owl Beast didn't movie an inch fortunately, but it was breathing hard and her chest inflating and deflating frantically. I carefully stepped in front of its head and looked down to see the Beast staring right back up at me.

What caught my eye the most was that the looks of animalistic rage were gone and instead replaced with exhaustion... and fear.

Was the beast scared of us?

Its eyelids started to shut little by little as the beast's breathing became slower. The elixir is causing it to fall asleep.

I knelt down and looked into the dark eyes of the monster.

"Eda... Come back to us." I pleaded with my eyes still wet with tears.

It wasn't a few seconds later before the Owl Beast's eyes finally closed. But for a brief instant, I could've swore I spotted a single tear drop from its eye.

Welp, Owl House has finally come to a close after four years (counting the year of debut). This show was great and had a few groundbreaking moments, such as the portrayal of Luz and Amity's relationship. And with the final episode now said and done, I know a lot of you fans are saddened that the show is over, but don't be. Owl House will always live on in your heart... It's a shame it got messed up. With the entirety of season 3, I know some of you may be expecting me to adapt a few key events that took place. Well, you're partially correct. Some things from the three final episodes have given me further inspiration for this AU, but I don't want to completely copy what we've seen on the screen.