SIS 1
(AN: The story begins right before the 'Scrying Potion' scene in 'Separate Tides.' Minor spoilers/hints of spoilers ahead)
A Pirate's Life for Us!
It had been two weeks since the 'Bird Beast' debacle: Belos had been injured by a mere human, humiliated by an otherworldly Palisman and a grand majority of his formerly petrified 'prisoners' were now free and running amuck in the Boiling isles, forcing the Emperor's Coven to work overtime to capture them.
Lilith, formerly Head Witch of that coven, only felt bad for Steve and Severin; the only two with both brains and hearts in the Coven. She was otherwise delighting at the Captain and Kikimora trying to hide their blunders and slowly coming to realize how much work she had saved them from when she had been in charge.
Heck, she'd even gotten a few letters from the Palm Stings diplomat offering her a 'consultant' position, in other worlds, begging her to come back in any sort of capacity. And she was considering such….when the Seas stopped Boiling!
Besides, the Plantars were due to arrive either tonight or the next morning (Titan bless Olivier for creating a teleportation spell/glyph through Titan blood) and she had to make sure the house was immaculate by the time they arrived. Yes, it would no doubt not last long but it was the principal of the matter,=.
The elder Clawthorne sister was currently lounging in the living room of the Owl house, reading a journal she'd found: Most of it bored her to tears; it was as if this Professor P had lived under a rock his whole life, until she saw what were clearly designs for a portal of sorts.
"And Edalyn gave this to Olivier for reading material…from an ex?" Lilith had asked herself for the 10th time. More concern and regret filled her mind at that; maybe her sister's off
"Lulu! Guest!" Hooty suddenly announced, a hint of free in his voice as he opened the door and stayed as far as possible from the newcomer.
"Hello, Miss Lilith." A familiar voice, shaky but still trying to remain cordial, made its presence known.
"Amity! What a pleasant surprise!" Lilith beamed, realizing that evidentially, the house demon was still reeling from the beatdown he'd gotten from the Blight heiress during the Grom incident.
Speaking of incident, Lilith's joy dissipated; the last time she and Amity had spoken was right before her duel with Edalyn and everything that followed that. Not the best place for their bond to be at.
"Did your mother send you to try and get me to pay her back…?"
"Not this time, no." Amity admitted, a slight smirk on her face. "She's with Skara and Boscha's parents about taking on that mystery business wiz who popped up, dad's sleeping for the first time in a week and the twins snuck out to Claw Za's for a party."
Ah, right.
How quickly Lilith forgot that her sister was still owner, proprietor and patent holder for pizza: A food that had taken all but Belos by storm, last she recalled. This meant that the Owl House residents were not hurting for money and even if she and Edalyn were weakened, they were still at least respected, since Eda had NO problem banning/denying sales of pizza to anyone who vexed her.
"How far did your bodyguard last this time?" Lilith asked, trying to remain professional and not assume all was good between her and her protégé.
"The Abomiton Prototype? Actually, it made it to the Owl House being in view." Amity smiled. "And don't worry; dad sees it any data he gets as something to improve."
Lilith smiled at that; Alador always had been a glass half full fellow, unlike Odalia…..
"Amity…I know…." Lilith started, but Amity was already sitting down on the couch.
"I'm still angry at what you did." The witch-ling made clear. "I now understand why, and before Luz and Ollie came back, I'd have probably done the same. But…Why did it have to be Luz?"
Once, Lilith would've been able to easily retort: She'd NEVER hurt Ollie and Luz was far more expendable/weaker, so of course Edalyn would fight for her. But now, after spending two weeks with Luz, who had forgiven her even more quickly than Olivier did (the boy hadn't addressed her by 'Aunt' or 'auntie' since before he and Luz went to sea), she was disgusted to have ever done such.
"HEY LILY!" Eda's voice came over through a crow that came in through an open window. "And Blight."
Amity grimaced at that.
'Well, she dropped the 'brat' at least.' Amity mused.
"Lookie what WE got!" Eda retorted as the Crow then dropped what it had been carrying: A golden, shiny liquid of sorts that made Lilith gasp.
"E-E-E-Ed-Edalyn! Is that…?!"
"YUP!" Eda beamed. "We're rich now, thanks to Luz scamming the Golden guard! HA! You'd have seen through the trick in a second, that dumb kid."
Amity gasped
"Luz fought the Golden Guard?!"
"No. Ollie fought the Golden guard." Eda explained.
"Again?!" Lilith asked.
"Wait, he's done that BEFORE?!' Amity gasped in shock.
"Oh yeah. Brat broke into the house, tried to steal the Sunken isles music box…which he now has…."
"EDALYN!"
"Hey, Maddie gave it to him to make him scram, take it up with her!" Eda cut back in. "Anyways…weird thing though; his Palisman wouldn't go staff and neither would Fleetwing, so we got to see the Prince introduced to Muy Thai first hand. Did okay, to be honest."
"…Is he..?" Lilith started.
"Oh, Ollie's fine. Prince Hunter too; kid was giddier than King on Ice cream day with that stupid box. Kinda like the two of us after we won the Grudgby tournament all those years ago."
Warm memories filled Lilith and Eda; oh, those had been the days…
"And where's my nephew now?"
"Oh, he's just living out his childhood dream of being a pirate captain after we gave some selkigris to the saliors.." Eda smirked. "Now with a sister and lady friend!
Amity tensed at hearing that before she looked down at her feet. She recalled that childhood dream of theirs: Her, Olivier and Willow; sailing the seas, exploring the demon realm, fighting off monsters and pirates while living as bounty hunters, singing and dancing….
And now, when it was close to finally happening; Olivier at least wanted as little to do with her as possible and she couldn't blame him for that. She'd been replaced with Anne and Luz, and both of them would happily let Willow back in, probably because the Park girl, when she found out, would chase and tearfully (and playfully) pummel Ollie for doing such with out her.
"Oops! Better go!" Eda remarked. "Looks like the shanties are about to start. See you in a day or two, tell Blight brat she's graduated from 'scum of isles' to 'scuff off my boot', BYEEEEEEEE!"
The crow then flew away, leaving Amity and Lilith in an awkward silence.
Which was promptly broken by the Plantars.
BOILING AMPHIBIA
As had Eda ended the call, Anne Boonchuy had been rather enraptured by the sight of Olivier in the uniform of a pirate captain, being gently taught how to steer a ship, with Maddie on his shoulder.
"So, glad you tagged along?" Luz smiled.
"Oh Titan and Olm yes…" Anne answered, then realized why Luz and King were smirking so. "Um, I-I mean! Yeah, yeah! Of course! Only way this could be better would be if Sprig was here. He really wanted to travel the Isles."
"Well, with the Selkigres, he still might." King smiled. "I dunno know if you know, but Ollie's been saving up for a ship. And considering how Claw's Za is raking in the snails and how nicely Eda pays him for deliverary…"
Oliver then jumped down in front of the two girls.
"Well, Annie. See something you like?" He asked, channelling his mother as he posed.
"Heck yeah, she does." Luz teased, making Anne bluish and lightly slap the other girl away.
"Oh, shut up." The Thai girl beamed. "This is payback for the shanty cancelling, isn't it?"
"We will neither confirm nor deny such a blatant accusation." Luz and Olivier said together.
"But, if you were to allow for the singing…" Maddie hinted as a sigh escaped the only 'not truly magically inclined' child on the ship.
"…Okay, go ahead and sing it. I know you want to." Anne smiled.
Olivier and Luz shot each other a sneaky look.
"Luz, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the male Clawthorne asked.
"Are you thinking of a certain shanty from 1000 plus chaptered manga?" Luz replied.
"I am indeed."
The duo smirked and cleared their throats before they began:
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho!"
The crew turned to listen, smiles crossing their faces. They'd never heard this shanty before…And sure, it was starting off oddly, but yeah, they were human after all.
"Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's brew!" Luz began. "Sea wind blows. To where? Who knows? The waves will be our guide!
"O'er across the ocean's tide!" Olivier took over. "Rays of sunshine far and wide; Birds they sing of cheerful things, in circles passing by!"
"That…was not what I was expecting." Anne confessed. "Oh, what the hay?"
She raced to join her boyfriend and Luz, and sang along:
"Bid farewell to weaver's town! Say so long to port renowned! Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off!
Olivier made an illusion of both Willow and Sprig to join in.
"Cross the gold and silver seas, the salty spray puts us at ease! Day and night to our delight, the voyage never ends!"
Eda, her head now bobbing and weaving to the song with a smile on her face, tuned out the chorus, now being sung by the ship's crew.
"Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's brew!" "Saliors we, eternally are challenging the sea!"
"With the waves to rest our heads, Ship beneath us as our beds!" The Captain sang. "Hoisted high upon the mast our Jolly Roger flies!"
"Somewhere in the endless sky, Stormy winds are blowin' by! Waves are dancing, evening comes,It's time to sound the drums!"
A family of sea monsters swam alongside the ship, the baby chirping along and its parents smiling at the tune.
"But steady Witch may never fear! Tomorrow's skies are always clear! So pound your feet and clap your hands till sunny days return!"
As the chorus returned, Olivier looked over the sunset, memories coming back: Him, Willow and Amity studying and playing together.
"Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Bink's good-bye, but don't you cry, our memories remain..."
Anne and Luz joined him, memories of their own: For Anne, it was of Marcy and Sasha. For Luz, it was her father Manny.
"Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem, beneath the moon we'll meet again, the wind's our lullaby…"
Returning to a happy tone, the sailors wrapped up the song.
"Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's brew! Sing a song and play along, For all the ocean's wide! After all is said and done, we all end up as skeletons! So spread your tale, from dawn till dusk, upon these foamy seas! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hoho-ho!"
BOILING AMPHIBIA
Meanwhile, the Golden guard was flying back to the Emperor's castle, delighted at how this mission had gone: He had the necessary part of Uncle's potion, had scrapped with the legendary Owl Lady before coercing her, the humans and Olivier to do his job for him and NOW he was coming back with the Sunken Isles Music Box!
He recalled how the box had taken away the gem from his old staff, which his uncle told him was the twin of the gem that powered his own….And then he recalled something that had been bothering him for a while now:
Strange that uncle hadn't mentioned…or even seemed to recall…Flapjack, wild magic that he was. It was as if, after that first day, he seemed to forget or be under the impression that Hunter still had that artificial magic staff.
As the Golden Guard flew back to the Boiling Isles, he failed to notice he was being followed.
They were Frogs, dressed in the fur of rats and riding Dragonflies.
BOILING AMPHIBIA
Anne stepped out for some fresh air later that night. The ocean breeze was cool and smelt funny, but when you've spent five months in Amphibia, you learn to tune that stuff out.
"Can't sleep?" Maddie asked.
"Nah." Anne said. "Sides, Oliver and Luz are tuckered out from all the make up shanty singing and Eda's counting up the new fortune, so this is some me time….You excited to see Sprig again tomorrow?"
Maddie blushed but didn't deny anything.
"Hey…Anne? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what?"
"…How come you're not jealous of Ollie and Luz?"
This question was a surprise.
"Why should I be jealous?" Anne asked.
"Well, its just…" Maddie asked. "You're bouncing between here and earth, Luz is here all the time and she and Ollie can bond over magic…"
"Well, first off, Luz ain't into boys." Anne responded. "Second, yeah they're close, but like siblings. I can totally live with that. And, this is just me asking you; what brought this up? Last I heard, you, Sprig and Ivy were kind of like me, Ollie and Luz."
Maddie's blush returned and she wanted to deny that she and Sprig were like Anne and Olivier (not that she'd mind), but then she recalled that, yeah, Ivy Sundew had always been a friend to Sprig and her first…
"NOW!"
BLOP!
A hand suddenly clamped over Anne's mouth as a burly arm held her in place. Maddie found herself lifted upwards and saw the ship being boarded by…Toads?!
One of them, who looked like Bog, held up a crystal to a struggling Anne, which glowed her blue aura.
"She has the Calamity magic in her. Bring her and the other human to the General. Kill everyone else."
"What of this one with magic?" A solider asked, holding up a squirming Maddie and Fangora who was trying to bite her way out of the grip.
"Throw her in the wilds." The commander offhandedly ordered. "NOW, MOVE!"
Luz and King were still fast asleep when the Dominican girl suddenly felt her covers being brought up with her in them, then hoisted over a burly shoulder. King joltyed awake, but a dart to the neck knocked him out.
Unfortunately for the Toads, Oliver and Eda were LIGHT sleepers, and where ready to fight back with gusto. Even without magic, Eda was faster and stronger than most and with his dark mode; her son sent many flying off the ship.
But amidst the chaos, one millisecond makes all the difference.
"OLIVIER!" Maddie screamed, alerting Eda to a horrible sight: Her son and a boloed Fleetwing being thrown overboard. Motherly instincts took over and she hopped onto Owlbert with one goal: Save Ollie, then Anne and Luz.
She didn't see the feathers overtaking her form or her eyes darkening…nor the potion one Toad threw into the power keg of the ship.
Anne, through her gag and even as her and Luz's captor took off on a fly, screamed and tried to reach for Olivier against all hope, even trying to power up…but a club hit her right upside the head and knock her out.
Eda reached for her son, who reached desperately for her as well. Their hands almost touched..
Before speed and gravity picked up and the younger witch boy vanished beneath the boiling and acidic waves.
The Owl lady let out a pained mix of a roar and sob
"OLIVIER! LUZ! ANNE! MADDIE!" Eda sceamed tearfully as the tides took her further and further from the ship, her transformation taking over…and the ship exploded.
BOILING AMPHIBIA
When the magic frog girl came to, her head was bandaged, and she could see a fire. Along with someone else in the cave she was in.
"Hello, Maddie." A familiar voice said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
BOILING AMPHIBIA
"General. We have the box along one of the humans to power it and the other reported to be the Owl Lady's apprentice."
"Any sign of the Owl lady herself?" Asked their leader, one of his eyes glowing red.
"No sign of her…but her son fell into the sea…right at the point where Boiling and Acid meet."
"….Son? S-she bred?" For a millisecond, fear entered his one working eye before a cruel smile crossed his face. "Oh well. Now she knows what I felt all those years ago…. Did you find the body."
"..I..I'm sorry sire?"
"The body. Do you have it?"
"No, we assumed…"
SLICE!
THUNK!
The now headless solider's body fell to the floor, scaring his comrade.
"Do. You have. Clawthorne's. Child's. Body?" The leader asked.
"…D-divers will be sent shortly. They're currently searching for the Golden Guard."
This seemed to put his master at ease.
"Thank you solider. Remember; assumption leads to failure."
"Understood, my lord. "
"Now, send a summon to Barry and then take a few days off."
"At your command, General Grime." The solider bowed before leaping away, allowing the General to return to his throne.
Once properly seated, Grime took out a flipwart set and placed it at his side. He then reached into his pocket and added a few more figures: A music box, two humans shaped like Anne and Luz, the Golden guard and the Owl beast.
"Soon. Soon, all will be made right."
To be continued…
How's THAT for an opening?
'Bink's Brew' from One Piece for the win! Couldn't help it!
And not to worry, in the chapter itself there WILL be more shanty's tied to Disney. I just thought the song worked not only as an upbeat tune but for reflections of the past, a major theme of this story.
On the matter of Sprig, Ivy and Maddie. As of this post, MetroXLR hasn't published anything to properly describe their bond (aside from in the 'No Way home' verse where Ivy and Sprig do marry and love each other, but everyone knows Sprig's heart truly belongs to the deceased Maddie). So, my headcanon is that while Ivy and Sprig DID go on a date in season one's finale, they ultimately decided they were better as friends at some point (probably shortly after Ollie came to Wartwood) and remain close but with no ship tease. I'm also of the idea that if Ivy was childhood friends with Sprig, the Wartwood 'weird kid', she probably would've gotten along fine with Maddie and maybe even ship her and Sprig together.
Now my biggest question: Was the attack on the ship too intense? Be honest.
See you soon! Stay safe!