The Owl House
The early mornings in the Owl House were usually signified in two ways: The first was a gradual waking. The loudest noise being someone's alarm clock going off while the others were still fast asleep.
The second was when Hooty yelled out to the ends of the world that the sun was shining.
"HOOT HOOT! RISE AND SHINE, EVERYONE! IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!"
Unfortunately for everyone in the house, it was the latter this day.
Hooty opened the windows of the house forcing everyone to take in the morning sun without warning. They groaned and tumbled in their beds in response.
Luz opened a weak eye and gazed at an alarm clock on a desk. Just barely six o'clock. She grumbled and covered herself with her pillow, both to shield her face from the morning rays and to shield her ears from the incessant yelling of Hooty. Next to her, King grabbed some napkins and crumpled them up, stuffing them inside his ear and then grabbing some earmuffs and putting them on top for extra noise canceling.
It wasn't long before the snake-like body of Hooty sneaked through the window of the room to continue his pestering, "Luuuuuz! Wake up!" He said, "It's time to get up, Luz!"
The teenager groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow, "¡Cinco minutos más!"
"You're gonna miss breakfast!"
"It's six in the morning!"
"The early bird gets the worm!"
She just groaned some more. Meanwhile, King pressed down on his earmuffs even harder as Hooty kept blathering on. It wasn't long before they just admitted defeat and got up, proceeding to get ready for the day.
In Eda's room, said owner had already gotten up. She yawned and gazed into the mirror and began brushing her now nappy hair free of loose branches and leaves she acquired from the tossing and turning in her sleep.
The witch has been finding it quite hard to get a decent night's sleep lately. Luz's encounter with the Hellspawn a week earlier still had her quite shaken, especially seeing all the news reports that its rampages were getting worse and worse. An entire nightclub burned to the ground, for Titan's sake!
To what end did these slaughters serve? A message? A threat? For who and what? Her thoughts then dwelled on her sister. She just visited her yesterday, but what if she was found by him? What would it do to her? What if her own home was found? What would happen to Luz?
She sighed, putting her brush down and taking the deepest breath she could have mustered. She isn't going to start her day with worry on her mind. She went to the bathroom, splashed some cold water on her face, brushed her teeth and went downstairs to prepare breakfast.
After all, a crappy beginning to a morning can always be solved with a good breakfast.
Police Precinct 128
"YOU DID WHAT!?"
Al's hands covered Steve's mouth like a vice grip at his sudden yelling.
"Calm. Down."
Steve nodded before Al let go of him and continued the story he told, "yes, I did kick her ass, but it was all a big misunderstanding," He sighed, "she thought I was going to hurt her kid."
"You mean Luz?"
"Yes, Luz." he responded before sighing once again, "I ended up retreating away that night. I didn't want things to escalate to where I would actually hurt the girl. Since then, I haven't seen them. They do a good job hiding."
Steve rubbed the back of his head, "yeah, they're technically wanted fugitives, so they have to."
Al glared at him, shutting him up. He growled, "in any case, no doubt Lilith told her about last night by now."
"Probably."
Spawn put a hand on his chin thinking of what could happen and how he could approach this situation. It was inevitable that their paths would cross soon. How could this be approached in the least hostile way?
"I heard something over here!"
Both of them perked their heads at the sound of other officers approaching the alley.
"Oh, crap!" Steve whispered, "I didn't think they'd show up so fast!"
Before Steve could say anything else, the Hellspawn grabbed Steve and opened the manhole to the sewers below in one fell movement. By the time the half-demon realized where he was, he recoiled from the awful stench.
"Ugh! You couldn't have just picked the rooftops!?" He whinged, pinching his nose.
Al grumbled, "Stop your whining and follow me." He gestured with his cape, which still flowed around in the air despite there being zero wind in these parts.
Steve followed him down the dank sewers, sucking up the fact that they were mere inches away from falling in that filth below.
The Laboratory
Griffin applied a healing potion to a cloth and rubbed on the stump that was Tyran's arm. The ogre didn't seem to mind the stinging at all. Losing the arm was far more painful than remedying what was left of it.
Griffin then stepped back, returning the cloth to Three-Eyes, "your injuries should be treated by the end of the day. You'll be free to return to Wilkes-"
"We're not done." The ogre rudely said.
"Yes, we are. I've done all that I could to remedy your injuries."
The ogre raised his voice "No. You haven't. I know what you can do! Wilkes has told me of your basement! Those… things you keep in storage."
"My projects, yes," Griffin crossed his arms, "what of them?"
"The flesh golems… Perfected with Crowley. You create things like him all the time!"
In the distance, Three-Eyes wondered just what the heck they were talking about. What things in the basement? He was practically his number 2 and even he wasn't allowed to go in there… The question of what things were so sick that only a few were allowed to see echoed in his mind as the two kept talking…
The scientist remained neutral, "You are suggesting that I attach a limb to you?"
"Yes!" the ogre beamed, "just find the right size for me in your freezer or wherever you keep them and I'll be off!"
Griffin only stared at him. Beneath his goggles, he blinked his eyes.
"No."
The ogre raised a brow, "I'm sorry?"
"No." He repeated, "You're not getting one."
The hunter snarled, in the distance, Three-Eyes was seen backing up, "I know you can do it. Just. Attach. A new. Limb."
"Tyran…" the scientist's tone was unchanged, "There is a difference between attaching dead tissue to other dead tissue and attaching dead tissue to live tissue," he intoned, "the decomposed limb will not be compatible with your healthy state."
He folded his arms, "If I were to attach a limb to you, all you would have is a slowly rotting arm, then you're back at square one. Not to mention the threats of disease from potentially incompatible blood types and… well, it being a rotten limb-"
The ogre had enough and stood on his feet, "I CAN'T FIGHT THAT HELLSPAWN AGAIN WITHOUT AN ARM!" Tyran roared, knocking aside a table of surgical equipment. The outburst forced Three-Eyes to hide under a table, while Griffin remained an emotionless statue.
The scientist tilted his head like a confused dog, "You wish to regain a limb purely because of your desire for a rematch against the opponent that nearly killed you?"
"Yes!" the ogre responded, "it was the greatest battle of my life! To fight him again… to KILL him… will be the greatest accomplishment anyone like me could ask for!"
The scientist rolled his eyes beneath his goggles. Such a foolish and illogical being, Tyran was. Regardless, he placed a hand on his chin, thinking of other methods. There was… No. That was untested and proposed by him of all witches. But it was viable…
"Surely, you have ONE solution." the ogre growled.
Griffin would be a fool to dismiss Wilke's prized enforcer. He and her weren't exactly on good terms… Come to think of it, aside from Draven and Crowley, he wasn't on good terms with any of the Syndicate members, and even the former had his limits with him, and the latter was dead.
So much work on him for nothing…
But he had enough musing to himself. He turned back to the ogre, "I may have a solution, actually."
The hunter had a smile, but Griffin held up a gloved finger, "BUT… it's somewhat experimental."
The ogre growled, "How experimental?"
"Only one other person has done it and I haven't spoken to him in years."
"Well, pay them a visit, then!" The ogre retorted in the most simplistic answer.
The scientist then smirked, which actually unsettled Tyran, "I think I will."
The Sewers
Steve thought that half an hour in this fetid place would let him get used to the stench, but no. If anything, he was just as disgusted as he was when he first showed up here.
Not helped that Spawn wouldn't answer any of his questions such as "where were they going?"
Eventually, the Hellspawn stopped, nearly making Steve bump into him by accident, "why are we stopping?" he asked.
Al turned, "tell anyone about this place and you'll regret it," he said darkly, his hand on a piece of the wall that pushed inwards like a button.
The half-demon gulped as the walls to Al's hideout revealed themselves. He followed him into the secret room and was rather shocked at the layout of everything inside. The maps with routes drawn all over, the crates of weapons, it was all the mark of a professional who knew what he was doing.
The half-demon looked around as Al opened a crate and stuffed the harpoons and arrows he collected inside of it. One crate contained explosive potions, another contained weapons like swords and maces. It wasn't until he went to one box constraining crossbows with drum magazines that he stopped to marvel at the contents inside.
"No way," he muttered, getting the Hellspawn's attention. He picked up the crossbow and aimed at, "I thought these things never left the prototype phase! They were said to be obsolete with all the upcoming Blight Industries tech!"
Al went up to him and grabbed the crossbow out of his hands, "in any case, it's not a toy." He then put it back and closed the lid rather rudely.
"Well, you're no fun."
Spawn grumbled and went to the map, grabbing a marker and scratching out the location of Precinct 128.
"What's that all about?" Steve asked, genuinely curious.
Al grumbled, "if one area of scum gets cleared out, I scratch it out," he then showed him the rest of the map, various locations dotted in red, "as you can see, I've been busy."
Steve whistled, impressed, "I'll say. This is all in, what, two weeks? You must never sleep."
"I've been doing this for a long time. I know how to get shit done."
The half-demon wondered what he meant by that. Did he come from another island that was filled with crime? If so, that would explain his efficiency…
"So now that that's done, let's get out of here."
His words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Right now?"
"Yes," the Hellspawn replied, hanging his giant sword on the wall, "I put away what I might need later and I need to look as least threatening as possible if I'm gonna talk to Eda."
"Yeah, good luck with that…" Steve remarked somewhat sarcastically which Al ignored.
Al continued, "besides, you need to go home and get some rest. You said your home wasn't far?"
Steve looked away, "well… I said that a few blocks ago…"
The Hellspawn growled, forcing Steve to backtrack his comment. "Uh, you know, but I can walk, I need the exercise anyways!"
The vigilante huffed before guiding the half-demon up to the streets above. It was a relief for Steve because he couldn't handle another minute of that putrid sewer stench.
"Finally, some fresh air!" he cried out as Spawn closed the manhole cover.
"Hmmm." the undead grumbled in response before walking to him, "well, Steve, I suppose this is where we part ways…"
"For now, at least…" the half-demon added, earning a nod from Al.
"Yes… For now... Where do I go to get to Eda's home?"
Steve answered, "it's somewhere on the cliffs just outside of Bonesborough. Once you see a little house at the edge of the forest, you won't miss it."
"Hmmm…" Al looked off into the fully illuminated sky, the shadows of the alley slowly disappearing. He turned back to the half-demon who was already walking away, "Steve…"
The aforementioned fellow perked up at his name being called and turned.
"... You're alright." Al said somewhat quietly.
The half-demon didn't know what else to say, "uhhh… thanks….You."
"Call me 'Spawn.'
"Hmm. Catchy." Steve offered a hand to shake but the vigilante just stared, "ok, we're not there, I guess…"
"No. We're not."
Spawn turned around and allowed his cape to shift into wings before taking off into the sun streaked sky, leaving Steve in the dust.
The half-demon sighed, "bye, I guess…" he muttered before turning to the long walk back home.
The Crypt
Draven watched his amphiptere's footage from last night play out in the mists it breathed out. He was almost in awe watching the Hellspawn fight. Brutal, efficient, faster than the naked eye, it was no wonder many vampires fell so easily to him. He was a truly experienced killer, like all the accounts of what little survivors said…
And just like the legends he knew…
It wasn't until he noticed footage of Orlok taunting him and some foolish coven guard with his pet beast that he took a noticeable interest. The words that played… He just so happened to mention the Syndicate in a passing manner. And judging by how he had not gotten any word from Orlok in a while, he presumed that he did not kill the Hellspawn and was either dead or licking his wounds.
The footage confirmed part of his suspicions. Rats and roaches suddenly swarmed him and his remaining bloodsuckers as the dawn quickly approached. Forcing them to retreat.
That's where the footage ended.
The necromancer clenched his decaying fists on the armrests of his throne, squeezing so hard that the bones began to crack, until finally, the ends shattered into dust from the pressure as he rose to his feet.
"IMBECILE!" he yelled, his voice reverbing across the catacombs and frightening his companion.
The lich took a ragged breath and stared at the serpent before calmly raising an open palm. The amphiptere seemed to chirp with a tilted head before flying straight into his hand and transforming into a broadsword, the serpentine body forming the hilt.
Draven swung his Palisman sword around a few times with a relieved exhale. It was like an old suit that still fit perfectly…
He turned the blade to the ground on an open area, scratching into the dirt and dust that accumulated over the years, a strange series of patterns that overlapped with one another. The strange glyph pattern glowed when Draven slammed his hand on it, causing it to glow an ethereal gold, with the other patterns glowing purple, green, and blue.
He stepped on it and disappeared in a flash. When the flash was gone, the glyph pattern was also gone.
It was time he paid Orlok a visit… Assuming he was still alive.
The Owl House
Maybe this morning wouldn't be salvaged so easily...
Eda looked through the fridge to see that the usual supply of Griffin eggs were not present and she was not going to risk her getting sick resorting to any other alternatives.
She groaned at this. Doesn't help that the two little buggers were arguing over the mystery of Francois' "disappearance" which could easily be solved by looking under a blanket or table.
"I know you have him! Where is he!?" King's voice grated all ears.
"I already told you, I don't know, King!" Luz responded, exasperated.
Eda groaned again. She looked to the cabinet and pulled out a jug of Apple Blood, intent on downing it all, before realizing she was going clean for Luz.
She groaned once more as she barely filled up her mug to barely a quarter before downing it all. That was much better… Now her headache went from piercing to just annoying.
"Eda!" Luz groaned, "I'm hungry!"
The witch did not groan, but sighed, "I know, sweetie," she responded, "I'm gonna go for a quick grocery run, I'll be back in a jiffy." She grabbed Owlbert and converted him to his staff form. She then turned, "promise not to eat each other when I'm gone?" She asked, half-jokingly, receiving a thumbs up from both of them.
The door opened, revealing Hooty with an eager smile, "you don't need to get me anything, Eda!" he exclaimed, "I'm on a filter feeding diet now!"
The witch remained neutral, "that's great, Hooty."
"By the way, there's a weirdo standing outside our lawn."
Eda groaned for the umpteenth time and went to the front, "for the love of Titan-"
She froze.
Emerging from the bushes was the figure of the Hellspawn, cape sprawled out and flowing like a calm fire, green eyes piercing her very soul.
Her nightmares had come true at that very moment.
Without turning, she whispered to Hooty, "hide King and Luz!"
"Wh-wha-"
"NOW!"
The bird didn't need to be told twice as it extended its body to where they were.
Eda turned back to the Hellspawn who just stood there… menacingly.
Spawn raised its hands out from under its cape slowly, holding them up in the air.
"Ma'am…" he called out, hesitation dripping from his voice, "let's talk."