Luz Clawthorne: Two Worlds, One Family Chapter 120: Meanwhile, an owl house fanfic

Happy 3rd anniversary for Luz Clawthorne. Working on this fic series for three years has been a blast.

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 120: Meanwhile in the Emperor's Coven

Earlier that week…

In the Emperor's Castle, Hunter was fast asleep in his bed until he heard Flapjack chirping and felt the Palisman pecking his face.

"Alright, alright I'm up," Hunter responded as he got up. Looking around, it took him a moment to register that he was no longer in his bedroom in the old Clawthorne home. Instead, he was back in his old room in the Emperor's Coven. "Oh, right," he muttered as he got up.

This was strange to the boy. He knew this room as the one he had grown up in. But now it just felt… empty. Like there was something missing now. Or perhaps something was always missing and he didn't realize it until now.

Knock-knock-knock!

Hunter looked toward the door, hearing the knock. Gulping nervously, he walked over to the door as he opened it. Looking out into the hallway, he saw that someone had a cart with a tray of breakfast for him, along with a note. He grabbed the note with his robot hand and opened it.

'Come by the throne room after you finish eating. -Belos.'

Hunter took a deep breath and turned to Flapjack, who sat on his shoulder and gave a look of concern. "Everything's going to be alright," he reassured his Palisman as he grabbed the tray and carried it into his room so he could eat his breakfast.

He said it again, this time to himself rather than his Palisman.

"Everything's going to be alright…"

**Intro by Crash-X-Fusion/Crosshot*

The Clawthornes' new portal appears and opens. In a flash of light, Luz is free-falling before extending her wings and dive-bombing towards the ground until she lands in front of the Owl House. As she stands forlorn in a crater, Eda, Willow, and Gus fly down on their staves next to her and King jumps into her arms. Luz smiles at everyone and looks toward the sky. Cut to Amity looking up at the sky in the Human Realm as Ghost and Acorn comfort her. Camila walks up and places her hand on her shoulder before gesturing to their friends in Gravity Falls. Amity smiles before running toward them.

The symbol of the Tarot Guild is shown as all of the guild's forces stand together with Terra front and center, smirking. The Alchemist and the Ninja Supreme charge forward in a flash which transitions to Nina facing forward before a rotation shows Donna standing behind her, the girls facing away from each other. As they both turn around Nina fades away, Donna's face falling as her key glows in a dark aura. The aura envelops the screen before Draco appears with Seth and his army, Tres looking ready to fight as Megan and Ivy look conflicted.

Belos is shown with Hunter and Abel by his side and the Horned King above him, Hunter looking up as if he can see him. Belos raises his staff and suddenly, Emily is shown smiling softly as Lindsay stands next to her surrounded by the other Shystreams, Lindsay's shadow resembling Madstream. Emily shoots off blue flames which turn red and clear up to show Cross with his own family before he and Zee are surrounded by fire and water, which takes shape to resemble their dragon forms roaring.

Amity is shown fighting Sly on Earth as part of her Fae training. Next, Luz is seen sparring with Willow, Skara (partially transformed), Nina, and Simon all at once as Gus, Boscha, and the Human Appreciation Society cheer them on. Then, Donna is shown suited up as she, Nina, and the founding members of LOWTH battle against Draco, Sonya, and Lupe while the rest of the team fights the other Tarot Guild members. Finally, we see Eda with Lilith and Raine in front of the Covens Against the Throne. The Clawthorne sisters look toward the sky and from their perspective, Angel is seen standing atop a flying Exbot as several more are shown en masse, one flying forward.

Eda and Lilith are surprised to find themselves in front of the Owl House as Terra looms over them, Nicole, Arthur, and Destiny with her along with an army of abomatons and cloaked figures. The Hexsquad and Hooty surround the sisters while King pops out of Eda's hair, the adults taking their harpy forms. Luz steps forward with King and while Amity leads the others in launching their signature attacks, the siblings let out twin sonic screams which combine with the other spells and cover the screen in a flash of light. The light fades away to show the logo, Luz Clawthorne: Two Worlds, One Family, in pale gold before it crumbles away. The logo is now dark purple with the "C" (now a claw) glowing white.

After breakfast, Hunter entered the throne room while wearing the hood of a scout uniform, which Flapjack hid under. He found Belos seated on his throne. Standing off to the side were Abel and Eclipsa, the latter spotting Hunter and smiling at him. Belos was facing a demon camera as he gave a live statement.

"Children of the Boiling Isles," Belos spoke. "I know you wish to know my thoughts on the last Splatterday's Bonesborough Brawl incident. First, you can be assured that the threat has passed and the lockdown has ended. And after consulting with the Titan, I have decided… to be merciful to Amity Goodfellow." He removed his mask, revealing his sympathetic expression. "We recognize that she is just as much a victim of the Fae and because of this no harm shall come to her. We must not forget that she is still a child of the Titan."

"And… cut," the demon camera spoke. "Gotta say, Emperor-B, it has been a pleasure to film your again." The demon camera walked away, passing by Hunter. "Hey, Golden Guard, glad to see you here."

Belos and Abel turned to Hunter, noticing him. "Hunter, good morning," Abel greeted.

"Good morning, Abel," Hunter acknowledged before turning to his uncle and kneeling before him. "My Emperor." He felt really awkward doing this, especially with what he knew now.

"Rise, Hunter," Belos told him as Hunter lifted his head to look up at his uncle. Belos sighed. "We need to talk."

"W-we do?" Hunter asked nervously.

Belos nodded. "Yes, I must ask… why didn't you tell me that you were alive? I thought you were dead, Hunter."

Hunter was taken aback by this and he felt more awkward now. "I'm… sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, sir. But at the time… I was in critical condition. Lilith was the one who found me after I got mauled by… a Slitherbeast," he said while holding up his robot arm. "As you can see, this is the result of the attack."

"You poor dear," Eclipsa said, sympathizing with him.

"Lilith and her parents took care of me while I recovered. I know I should have told you that I was alive, but I… wasn't ready. Not after I disobeyed orders and left the Emperor's Castle to find you Titan's Blood. I didn't think I could come home empty-handed after that. But Lilith and her parents… they did help me, sir. And it was my idea to keep my survival a secret, not theirs."

Belos gave a smile. "Lilith… I am grateful to her for taking care of you. Despite everything that happened between us … I still consider her part of this family."

Hunter couldn't help but feel something… off putting from his uncle. He decided to change the subject. "Another reason I didn't let you know I was alive was because I was worried that I had already been replaced. What can you tell me about the… other Golden Guards? Cross Drakescale and Emily Tricks."

"Oh, them?" Belos asked, not surprised. "Do not worry about them, Hunter. You were not replaced by them. No one can replace you. Cross and Emily were just stand-ins to help keep up with appearances. The Drakescale boy was a… volunteer, while Emily was doing it under parole and under Head Witch Graye's mentorship. Though unlike you, Hunter, I can afford to lose Emily Tricks…"

Hunter looked down, thinking about how Belos's tone implied that he could care less about Emily's life, even though she was just a teenager. But he chose not to bring up though.

"So Hunter, you were saying that you didn't let me know you were alive because you thought you were replaced?" Belos asked.

Hunter shook his head. "Well, the main reason was that… I was ashamed, sir. Not only did I fail to find Titan's Blood, but Amity got kidnapped by the Tarot Guild, though I… I ran away before the attack." He gripped his robot arm. "After that, I didn't think I deserved to come back."

Belos's eyes fell and in them were hints of sadness… and guilt. He stood up and walked over to Hunter, trying to reassure him. "Hunter… I don't care if you didn't find the Titan's Blood. All I care about is your safety and well being. I… I'm sorry for making you feel otherwise. Perhaps this whole thing, maybe… maybe you shouldn't be the Golden Guard anymore."

Hunter's eyes widened at that. "What?"

"Me and Abel have talked and… I've realized that I've put too much weight on your shoulders, Hunter," Belos told him. "This is my fault. I should have known that this kind of responsibility… it was too much for a boy at your age."

"No, no you can't take this from me!" Hunter yelled, shocking Belos. Hunter realized this and took a moment to calm down. "Uncle, I… I am grateful for what you've done for me, really."

"There is no reason to put you out in the field and endanger you anymore, Hunter," Belos argued. "You could have died."

"But I didn't!" Hunter pointed out. "And there must be a reason for that, right? A reason that I am still here. I came back because I have a responsibility to the Isles, for my friends… and to my family." And that responsibility is being the Golden Guard."

A part of him was saying this because he did not want to pull Cross back into this life in the Emperor's Coven. But another part of him still felt the need to be useful to his uncle, even if he was playing spy for Luz.

"Being the Golden Guard isn't just a title, it is a birthright," Hunter argued. "Unlike Emily and unlike Cross, I've earned and inherited this position from my father."

He looked down as he continued. "I've realized how important it was for me to come back, sir," he said. "Especially with threats like the Tarot Guild still present. I wish to deal and weed out any remaining members that could be a threat to the Isles. So please… let me keep this job."

Belos was quiet for a moment, Eclipsa and Abel turning to him as Belos thought about his decision. "Very well, I will allow this," he concluded.

"Thank you, sir," Hunter responded. "Though, I do wonder… Emily was revealed as the Golden Guard in public. Should… we be worried about the witches starting to question this?" he asked, wondering how Belos would deal with a situation like this.

"Yes, I do know that the witches have been questioning that, though I haven't given a statement about it yet," Belos responded with a sigh. "That Mel girl really shook things around, but the most important matter to me is whether you are up to the task of resuming your duties. Are you ready, Hunter? Are you committed to doing as I say and following the will of the Titan?"

Hunter gave a nod. "I am committed."

Belos had his gaze on Hunter, as if he was trying to sense any deception. "I am curious, well, puzzled about one of your requests last night," he mentioned. "About the release of Tito Jackwitch… why him of all witches?"

Hunter knew he couldn't tell him who requested Tito's release, so he lied. "Cross requested it, sir. Since he and Emily worked together, and he learned about Tito being her old friend, he asked me to have him up for parole. In honor of Emily."

"I see," Belos said. "So Hunter, how did you even meet Cross?"

Hunter shifted his eyes away. "Um… well…"

"Was it through Lilith?" Belos asked him.

"Y-Yes! Yeah, through Lilith, sir," Hunter replied.

"Hm, I'm not surprised, really," Belos admitted. "After all, they are family."

Hunter's eyes widened in shock at this and he looked back up at Belos. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed before calming himself down. "I… I had no idea. That… how… I had no idea that they're related."

"Really? I assumed that Lilith told you," Belos said in surprise. "But nonetheless, the Drakescales are related to the Clawthornes through his mother's side."

"This is… wow," Hunter said, wondering how Luz would react when she learned about Cross's family being related to hers.

Belos nodded. "Yes, they are just another interesting branch of the Clawthorne family tree…"

Later, back in his room, Hunter started to put on his Golden Guard gear. He put on his boots, gauntlets, and golden cape along with his armor. He then held up his mask, seeing the reflection of himself in it.

It felt like it had been such a long time since he was the Golden Guard last. Of course, he knew the risks of being there. But those risks were worth it to fulfill his promise… to help his friends.

Flapjack chirped at him, snapping Hunter out of his reflection-staring.

Later, Hunter was having a session with Abel in his office. He had only agreed to this because he knew that if he kept avoiding Abel, he would look suspicious.

"Well, Hunter, it has been a while since we've had our last session," Abel said. "And it seems that you have been through a lot since then."

"Y-Yeah, I have," Hunter replied while trying not to look nervous, since he was worried about giving away too much to Abel.

"How do you feel after your recent experiences?" Abel asked him. "Do you feel… changed by them?"

"I mean…" Hunter said while looking down, avoiding Abel's gaze. "I guess. I have a new arm now." He lifted up his mechanical arm. "So that took some getting used to."

"Hmm, I imagine so," Abel agreed. "What about Lilith? You two did not have the best relationship while she was still in the Emperor's Coven, from what I understand. And yet… you lived with her."

"Yes, I-" Hunter said before pausing, considering her words. "She's been… really nice to me despite our previous relationship."

"How do you feel about her, Hunter?" Abel asked him.

Hunter hesitated again before answering. "I… care about her, Abel. I think she saved me because despite our past, when I was hurt she realized that I was a kid that needed help. So I owe a lot to her… and her family."

"What was your time with the Clawthornes like, Hunter?" Abel pressed.

"Well, they respected my boundaries and gave me space when I needed it. Dell and Gwen were more than happy to give me a place to stay while I was recovering," Hunter commented. "Um… sometimes I would help Gwen around the house or Dell would teach me about his craft."

"As I recall, Dell Clawthorne was once a great Palisman carver before his retirement," Abel pointed out.

"Y-Yeah, he's got good craftsmanship, well, he did back then," Hunter said. "But we also went out and fished a lot! And um… played Hex Hold'em." He was lying, since he didn't want to give away too much about what he really did during his stay with the Clawthornes, including his Underworld trip. "You know, like what old people do… um, no offense."

"None taken," Abel responded. "Though, be honest with me, how do you really feel about coming back to the castle, Hunter?"

Hunter looked up at Abel, worrying that he would be able to tell if he was lying. He had to tell him the truth… or at least a version of the truth.

"To be honest, it feels… weird being here again," Hunter admitted. "I know I was only with the Clawthornes for a short time, but it felt longer. And even though this was the place where I was raised and trained, I think it will take some time before I truly feel like I am back home."

"Does any part of you wish that you had stayed with Lilith?" Abel said.

"Um, n-no," Hunter denied. "I mean, I appreciate what she's done for me, but I'm needed here in the castle. This is where I belong. Not with her. She has made her choices and I needed to make mine."

"I see," Abel said before asking Hunter another question. "What about Luz?"

Hunter tried to hide his nervousness again. "Wha… what about Luz?"

"Have you been able to speak to her at all during your time with her family?" Abel asked him. "After all, you two were once friends. Did you use your chance to speak to her and perhaps patch things up?"

"Oh, um… we're… still not in speaking terms," Hunter lied, thinking about how while he and Luz were still awkward around each other, he had made a promise to Luz.

"Okay, I do have one more question for you," Abel said to him. "Tell me… what is it that you really want, Hunter? Have you priorities changed at all?"

Hunter took a deep breath. "I… want to protect the Boiling Isles… and my family," Hunter confessed, which wasn't even an untrue statement. He did want to protect his family.

And he would.

After his session with Abel, Hunter went back to his room. The look of relief on his face was evident as he laid back on his bed.

"Thank Titan," Hunter said with a sigh. "Glad that's over with, huh Flapjack?"

"Chirp-chirp!" Flapjack chirped in response.

"Yeah," Hunter said while looking over at the calendar on the wall. When he noticed the date, his eyes widened in realization. "Wait… it's Willow's birthday!" He shot up from the bed. "Okay, I… do not have anything for her this year. What should I give her? Um… plants? No, I already gave her plants… like last year… and the year before…"

"Caw! Boscha's Calling!" cried out a crow that flew through the window.

Hunter grabbed the crow and answered it. "Hey, Boscha?"

"Hey, creep," Boscha responded on the other line. "Just wanted to call you and say… thank you, for getting my mom and Tom released."

Hunter smiled, just happy to hear her voice. "It's no problem, Boscha. What are friends for? Though, I'm sorry that I couldn't get your brother out."

"Hey, I won't hold it against you," Boscha reassured him. "He's still alive, is he?"

"Yeah, I checked and he's still in his cell," Hunter responded.

"That's great!" Boscha replied, sounding relieved. "So… how about you? Are you okay? Please tell me that you're okay."

Hunter looked down at Flapjack as he responded. "So far, I'm fine," he admitted. "My uncle hasn't tried to hurt me, if that was what you were worrying about. But it feels… strange to be back. Strange to fall back into my old routine."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Boscha responded. "Look, I appreciate you going back to help me out, but if you ever feel like you are in danger… please get out of there. Put your safety first, because anything you learn there isn't worth getting yourself killed."

"Don't worry, I got it," Hunter responded while looking back over at the calendar. "Say, um, did you know… it's Willow's birthday?"

"Yeah, I think I heard about it," Boscha responded.

"Do you… have any ideas on what to give her? I mean, if you were to attend, or if not, what could you send her… other than usual botany." Hunter seemingly asked.

Though Boscha saw through his ruse, she still did answer. "Well, she's part of the Flyer Derby team, and she's captain. So maybe give her something Flyer Derby related."

"Of course!" Hunter said, getting an idea on what to give to Willow. "I-I mean, of course, something flyer derby related. I definitely had something in mind for her."

"Right…" Boscha said. "So are you. like, going to attend her party?"

"I… probably won't be able to," Hunter admitted. "But I could send a gift to her home. What about you? Are you going to her birthday party?"

Boscha sounded awkward over the crow. "I… I don't know… I mean, me and Willow are square nowadays. But that only happened recently and I'm not sure if I should…"

"Hey, listen, you encouraged me to do a lot of things I didn't think I was capable of," Hunter reminded her. "Like talking things out with Gus and then Luz. And you were right to encourage me. Go to the party. I'm sure Willow will appreciate it if you come."

Over the line, Boscha gave a smile. "Thanks, Hunter. I'll give it some thought," she responded. "And good luck finding a gift for Willow."

"No problem, and thanks-" Hunter realized that Boscha had seen through his excuse. "Oh… um… I will find it."

Thankfully, there were a few stores around the castle, places where coven scouts could buy new equipment and uniforms from. Hunter walked into one of them.

"Hey, welcome to Hick's Sporting Goods of the Emperor's Coven, a part of a branch with seventeen stores established across the Isles," spoke a scout clerk as he greeted Hunter. "Look around for anything you like, sir!"

Hunter and Flapjack looked around the store, seeing that amongst its offerings were sports items, jerseys, helmets, and many other sporting goods. Flapjack asked him something through his chirping. "I'm… deciding. It's gotta be something not just for Willow, but for the Emerald Entrails." He then noticed a printer hooked up to a crystal ball "Say, what is this?"

"Oh, that's for creating your own sports team designs," the scout clerk answered. "Lots of people use it to create their own logos for their teams, sometimes for family, basically it's for fun."

"Hmm, you're thinking what I'm thinking, Flapjack?" Hunter asked as Flapjack gave a nod.

And so, Hunter proceeded to create team jerseys for the Emerald Entrails before he placed the jerseys on the counter. "Can you get this sent as a gift?"

"Of course," the clerk replied while tapping on the register. "I'll have it put under your tab."

"Great," Hunter replied as Flapjack chirped to him. He then turned around and saw a guard coming up to him.

"Mr. Golden Guard, sir," the guard said, saluting to Hunter. "Emperor Belos has summoned you."

After picking out a gift for Willow and arranging for it to be sent to her, Hunter went to meet with his uncle in the empty meeting room of the castle while telling Flapjack to wait outside. There he found his uncle staring at the fireplace.

"You… summoned me, sir?" Hunter asked him.

"Yes," Belos responded, still staring intently at the fireplace. "There is something that I must tell you. Have a seat."

Hunter looked at the chair and slowly went to sit down. His uncle turned to him and Hunter saw that he had removed his mask again. "What is it that you needed to tell me?" he asked Belos, trying not to make his nervousness too obvious. Fortunately, the Emperor's thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

"It is something that… I should have told you a long time ago, and that… I think you deserve to know and are ready to know about," Belos said as he took a deep breath and sighed. "Hunter… I am a Clawthorne."

Hunter didn't know how to react at first, since he already knew, but he hadn't been expecting Belos to straight up tell him. "Oh… Oh! Wait, really?" he said with fake shock. "I… wow, I can't believe… that is… surprising."

Belos looked down at Hunter, his eyes narrowing. "You already knew, didn't you?"

"What? Uh… no, I am-"

"Don't bother hiding it, Hunter," Belos said with a sigh. "Flapjack must have told you." Hunter stayed silent, but he managed to give Belos a nod. "And the Clawthornes must have told you as well, since they should have found out by now…"

"Wait… how would they find out?" Hunter asked, worried.

"I always knew they would figure it out at some point, thanks to a little trip back in time through the Time Pools," Belos admitted, his tone surprisingly nonchalant. He shrugged. "It couldn't be helped."

"Time Pools…" Hunter said as he remembered when Lilith told him about her, Luz and Odalia's trip to the Deadwardian era.

"Yes, those rumored puddles of time aren't rumors at all," Belos admitted. He let out a small chuckle. "I was so confused at the time when 'Lucy' attacked me, but now it makes perfect sense. Though sometimes I look back and wonder if I could find those pools myself and change history… but I knew that risking the timeline would have serious consequences."

"Do you… intend on doing something about the Clawthornes knowing?" Hunter asked nervously.

"You think once they knew about my past, they would have told the entire Isles about it by now, wouldn't they?" Belos pointed out with another shrug. "But they know that it would be a huge risk that they couldn't afford to take. They know to stay quiet and as long as they remember that, they're safe, and fortunately for them-" He smiled. "-they're family."

"That is reassuring…" Hunter admitted.

"This was one of the reasons you chose to come back, wasn't it?" Belos asked Hunter. "You felt betrayed because of how much I kept from you."

Hunter looked down. "Yes, sir," he confessed. "I needed… time to process everything."

Belos sighed. "Understandable," he told Hunter. "I am sorry that I kept this from you. I wasn't sure if you were ready to handle the truth, but keeping it from you was my mistake. You should have heard it first from me, not from your father's old Palisman or from his descendants." Hunter looked up at this, intrigued. "Tell me, Hunter, how much did you learn about my past while you were with the Clawthornes?"

Hunter thought about what he could tell Belos. Obviously he couldn't tell Belos that he learned he was possibly a Grimwalker… but there were still some things he could tell him about. "Well… I learned about Adam."

At the mention of Adam, Belos's face suddenly fell. His expression became pained… but when he saw the way Hunter was looking at him, he quickly composed himself. "Adam… what happened to him was all my fault."

"He… really means a lot to you, does he?" Hunter asked him.

"Remember when I told you that I once had my own Edric?" Belos asked him and Hunter nodded. "I was referring to him. I loved him… but because I trusted those humans I brought to the Isles, my Adam was killed in cold blood." He sat down on his own chair and gave a sigh. "I fell into a deep depression after that. I looked for answers and found none. I even ruined my relationship with my sister…" He looked back up at Hunter. "Did Flapjack tell you about that?"

Hunter slowly nodded. "He said you went to a temple…"

"Just another dead end," Belos admitted. "I was desperate, not thinking clearly… so I turned to wild magic. I would have died as well… but the Titan saved me and your father."

"He did?" Hunter asked, surprised.

Belos nodded. "The Titan kept me and your father alive for centuries. And in return, we became his servants. But in the process, I tried to distance myself from my past. It is… hard to talk about." He let out another sigh. "You know, when Adam died, I decided to take care of his Palisman. But she left me…"

Hunter was quiet for a moment. When he saw his uncle like this, allowing himself to be vulnerable, he wanted to trust him, wanted to believe him. It was tempting. "Why are you telling me all this?" he asked. "Why now?"

"Because I believe that I drove you away," Belos admitted. "Because you didn't think I trusted you. And I wanted to show you that I do trust you, because I don't want to drive you away again, Hunter. I want you by my side when the Day of Unity comes. When I will assume a new form and unite the Isles, becoming powerful enough to defend the Isles from all of our enemies."

Before Hunter could respond to this, he heard another voice.

"Everything alright?"

Belos and Hunter turned to see Eclipsa coming in. "Eclipsa, thank you for coming," Belos said, nodding to her.

"Of course," Eclipsa responded before looking at Hunter and giving him a polite smile. "Have you told Hunter about how we're such good acquaintances yet?"

"I was just getting to that," Belos said.

"I am… curious about that," Hunter half-lied, since he did want to learn more about his and Eclipsa's relations.

"Back then, Eclipsa Butterfly was, at her time, Queen of the Mewni Realm," Belos explained. "And when we first met, I was still known as Philip Clawthorne at the time…"

Mewni, centuries ago…

Outside the Monster Temple, a battle was in full swing. A battle between a Mewman army and a Monster army. Leading the Monster army was a large buff monster. He had red skin covered in dark red stripes, long white hair tied into a topknot, four yellow eyes with slitted pupils, pointy ears and nose, short horns, and fanged teeth. He wore a black boxer-briefs-like garment, gold wristbands, and a ring on his left ring finger. He also has a tufted tail.

He was Globgor. The Monster king.

He held back the Mewman army, kicking them away. He knew he had to keep them from entering his temple at all costs. There was nothing the Mewmans could do to phase him… until he felt a blast of magical energy and he turned to see a peach-skinned Mewman with long purple pigtails, green eyes, and the same kind of armor the Mewman warriors had on.

"You're going down the slippery slopes of the Underworld, Monster!" Mina Loveberry declared as she kept shooting magic beams at him, only to be blindsided and hit by a reptilian fist. She turned and saw who had punched her. "Ow! That was cheap, you Septarian shit!"

"I'm no Septarian," spoke Philip Clawthorne in his 'cambion' form as he drew a spell circle to shoot light beams at Mina, knocking her back. He flew over to the large red monster. "Are you alright, Globgor?"

"I'm good, Phil," Globgor responded while swatting away the Mewmans with the help from his Monster allies. They then saw a portal cut open in the sky and his eyes widened in dread as duplicates of Hekapoo dropped out of the portal, engaging the Monster army. With her was Rhombulus, who began shooting beams to imprison monsters in crystals with his snake hands.

"Take that, you monsters!" Rhombulus declared.

"The Magic High Commission," Philip said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Don't engage, you won't stand a chance against them!" Globgor shouted while he was suddenly punched in the face by the larger hand of Omnitraxus Prime, who had taken a larger form.

Philip went to try to help, but he was blasted by Lekmet. Philip turned to see the goat high chancellor narrowing his eyes at him. "BAAAAA!" he cried as he cast another magic high beam at Philip, knocking him into the temple.

Philip groaned before he saw the hand of a cat Monster. "Are you alright?" the Monster asked him.

"Yeah, just… sore," Philip said as he grabbed the hand. They turned to see the MHC absolutely decimating their army. It looked helpless…

"We have to continue to fight, my comrade! For Queen Eclipsa!" the cat monster declared before he was shot in the head by an arrow from a Mewman soldier, instantly killing him.

Shocked, Philip turned and saw the same soldier about to shoot him. Philip quickly cast an ice spell, shooting an ice shard into the head of the Mewman, killing him. He then looked back at the fight. Despite the Monsters being overpowered, they kept on fighting. It was admirable, but it was clear that with the MHC's help, the Mewman Army had the upper hand.

They were losing.

Philip came to Mewni after the death of Adam, hoping to come to Eclipsa for help. When he learned how bad the situation was for Eclipsa, he decided to help her. But there was only so much that he could do.

With one last look at Globgor and the chaotic battle, Philip rushed inside the temple. Maybe they couldn't win this battle. But he could still protect Eclipsa… and her daughter.

Finding his way to the nursery, Philip saw Eclipsa tending to her child. "Eclipsa!"

"Philip?" Eclipsa asked in concern while holding her baby girl. "What happened to my Globgor?"

"He's still defending the temple," Philip explained. "But the Magical High Commission has joined the fight."

"No… nonono, he's not strong enough to take them on!" Eclipsa shouted with a worried look.

"I know," Philip admitted, looking down. "I wish I could do more… but I have to make sure that you and your daughter are kept safe. Come on, we can still escape from here." He heard sounds of shouting and footsteps nearby. "They may have already breached the temple, we don't have much time…"

But much to his surprise, Eclipsa handed Meteora to him, the baby cooing at him.

"E-Eclipsa, what are you doing?" Philip asked her.

Eclipsa sighed. "I can't let them get to my daughter," she told Philip. "I can hold them off and try to help Globgor, buy you and Meteora as much time as I can."

This shocked Philip, who saw Eclipsa getting out her wand. "N-no, I'll hold them off," he offered. "You take Meteora and-"

"I won't let you sacrifice yourself, Philip," Eclipsa said, her expression pained. "Enough lives have already been lost because of me. They won't kill me, but they will kill you. I'm sorry it has to be like this…"

"But… what if-" Before Philip could finish his question, Eclipsa gave him a hug.

"Just… promise me you'll watch over her, Philip," Eclipsa told him. "Take the secret passage, take her as far away from here as possible, and protect her no matter what."

Philip managed to nod. "I promise," he said quietly before he placed Meteora in a basket and activated the secret passage. Before he went into the secret passage with Meteora, he looked back at Eclipsa one last time…

And she had tears in her eyes as she looked back. Then she wiped the tears away, pulled out her wand, and went to confront the Mewman army.

Rushing down the secret passage, Philip tried to calm down a fussy and scared Meteora. "There, there, Meteora. Your parents will be fine," he reassured her. "We'll make it out of here, a-and maybe you'll live with me in my Realm. You'll like it there."

Once he made it out of the temple, he found himself in the woods. Philip continued to run, all the while clutching Meteora protectively. For a moment, it did look like they would make it… until he suddenly felt stiff.

"What… what is… what is happening?!" Philip cried out, feeling that his legs had stopped. Then he lost feeling in the rest of his body as well. "No…" he said as he became paralyzed. His body fell and Meteora fell out of his arms and into the air… only to be caught by another pair of hands.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said the one who had caught Meteora.

Oberon. Lord of the Fae.

"My, a little Mewman and Monster hybrid, I don't think I've ever had one of those before, have I, Puck?" Oberon asked his minion.

"No sir, you have not," replied his minion, who appeared to be a man with two horns on his balding head, pointy ears, and a one-strap furry pair of pants with fur boots. He was a Puck, not our Puck, but another one.

"And look at this," Oberon said as he pointed to Philip. "She's being taken away by some ghastly fellow. Now we shouldn't leave her in the hands of this unkempt looking man, should we?"

"No, I believe we shouldn't," Puck said, giving Philip a pitiful look. "What should we do with him?"

"Leave him be," Oberon said as he kicked Philip in the face, making him roll around. "He is nothing to us." He started tending to the baby Meteora as he levitated Philip back up. "But don't worry, we'll take good care of the girl. She is with the Fae now, just as was promised to me."

Philip was in absolute despair as he saw Meteora taken right in front of him, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he was pushed back to hit a tree, the Fae laughing at his misfortune.

"Pathetic," Oberon said as he and Puck flew away from the scene with Meteora. "Now come, child, maybe you'll be of use to me…"

Philip watched helplessly while he was still paralyzed, remaining there long enough for the MHC and Mewman army to catch up and surround him…

When Philip opened his eyes, he found himself locked in chains. He was now facing the Magical High Commission in their courtroom, with the members of the MHC looking down at him.

"What is this?!" Philip shouted while looking around. "Where is Eclipsa? And Globgor?!"

"Philip Clawthorne," Omnipraxus spoke up. "You have been found guilty of aiding the enemies of Mewni and the traitors to the throne."

"What?! Where is Queen Eclipsa and her husband?!" Philip demanded.

"Baaaaa," Lekmet declared.

"Lekmet's right, they're not of your concern, you… human, devil, whatever you are," Rhombulus said.

"They have already been dealt with," Hekapoo said, which shocked Philip. "And as for you-"

"YOU BUNCH OF PIGHEADS!" Philip called them out in anger. "What gave you the right to call Eclipsa a traitor?! You were the ones that betrayed her!"

"She married the King of Monsters and had a child with it," Rhombulus tried to explain.

"She fled from a loveless marriage and you damn her for it?!" Philip shouted. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "All because she fell in love with a Monster and had a half-Monster child? You are no different from those humans. Damn hypocrites, all of you! Especially since you've allowed that damn Fae to take Eclipsa's child away! How can you all live with having a child taken away from her parents?!"

"ENOUGH!" Omnipraxus declared, silencing Philip. "We are the Magical High Commission! We will not be talked down to! And we have had enough of you."

"Baaaaah," Lekmet stated.

"Lekmet's right," Hekapoo agreed. "Lucky for you, since you are not Mewman, you will not face Mewni Justice."

"Aw man, I want to freeze him in crystal," Rhombulus complained.

"However, you will be banished from Mewni and cast back to your own realm," Hekapoo told Philip. "You've caused enough trouble in our realm."

"Case dismissed," Omnipraxus declared while hammering the gavel.

Philip noticed a portal open, a portal to the Demon Realm. Hekapoo and Rhombulus grabbed hold of him as Philip began to scream. "No! You can't do this! This isn't fair! You all will pay for this, someday! YOU WILL PAY!" he shouted while trying to shake them off, but they kept a tight grip.

"Yeah, yeah, get out of our realm, ya bum!" Hekapoo said before she and Rhombulus threw Philip through the portal, sending him back to the Demon Realm.

Philip was thrown through the portal as his chains and locks disappeared. After landing in the Demon Realm, he turned back to the portal, only to see it closed in front of him.

"No, wait!" he shouted, but he was too late. The portal was gone. He looked down, realizing that he was now on the shores of the Boiling Isles. He paused for the moment, letting it all sink in.

Eclipsa was gone. Globgor was gone. Meteora… was gone.

"If… if only I…" He then began to punch the ground in anger before he unleashed a yell. "DAMMIIIIIT!"

Back to the present, Eclipsa and Hunter listened quietly as Belos finished recounting his story.

"My Titan…" Hunter whispered. "How can they act so callously?"

"Philip, it wasn't your fault," Eclipsa said, trying to reassure him.

"If I had been stronger, I could've stopped that Fae from taking her away," Belos said. "Just… why did they have to involve that Fae? He had no business on Mewni… then again, the Fae love to take our children away from us. Just like with the lost generation."

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Hunter decided to break the silence. "Uncle, I… just wanted to say… thanks for telling me all of this."

"You're welcome, Hunter," Belos responded, forming a small smile. "It's actually a relief to finally share this with you, Hunter. I promise that I'll be more open with you from now on."

Hunter also formed a small smile. "I appreciate that."

The next day, Abel led Hunter to meet up with Leonte, who gave a salute.

"Head Witch Abel and Golden Guard, sir," Leonte spoke.

"At ease, captain," Abel responded to him before turning to Hunter. "Well Hunter, are you ready to meet the team you'll be in charge of?"

"Yeah, I'd like to see what's the big deal with… BIG," Hunter said to the two. "No pun intended."

"They're all in here in the lobby," Leonte said as they entered the lobby.

Hunter looked around and saw the BIG members: Venoma, Alburno, Thunder, Joana, Scameron, Le'Belle, and Skrap, who was bound to what appears to be a pike machine chair with red and green light bulbs.

"Golden Guard, sir!" Scameron saluted, getting up.

"Wow, you are back from the dead," Venoma commented, giving her own salute.

"So, you guys are BIG," Hunter commented, looking at each member before noticing Skrap and being alarmed by his appearance. "What happened to him?"

"Trying to take down that Fae at the Brawl last Splatterday sent him to a house full of Shark demons," Joana answered with a sympathetic look. "He had to be placed in the P.I.K.E. chair."

"The Protecting Immobile Kinetic Engine, made by the Healing Coven," Scameron explained. He felt bad for Skrap, as did Thunder who stood next to him. "He can communicate using the buttons. Red button means no, green means yes. Skrap, are you feeling alright, today?"

Skrap looked unresponsive, but the red light blinked as it shot out a light with the word 'NO.'

"I'll admit, I do feel bad about Skrap's current condition," Alburno admitted with sympathy. "That shark attack left some serious damage and… who knows if he'll ever recover."

"Yeah, even I don't think this is funny," Venoma admitted as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Same," Le'Belle agreed while looking down. "Skrap was like this all because we failed our mission to take down the Fae named Mel. She completely wiped the floor with us. It was embarrassing."

"Does this mean that BIG is over?" Thunder asked with uncertainty.

"No, it doesn't," Hunter told them. "I still intend to lead this team, especially since right now there are other threats to deal with other than a Fae goddess."

"Like what, sir?" Scameron asked them.

"The Tarot Guild," Hunter explained. "They're still a threat, especially Dr. Sonya Mera on the loose. We have to go legit. That means, you'll do more than just commercial shoots or posing for publicity under my leadership."

The others turned to each other, nodding in agreement. "I like that idea," Le'Belle said.

"Yeah! Can't be any worse than Graye and Tricks, right?" Joana suggested.

"But what about Skrap?" Thunder asked, pointing to Skrap. "Thunder thinks we should find a replacement."

Skrap pressed a green light as it said 'AGREED.'

"Don't worry, Skrap. You will be honorably discharged with paid leave," Hunter said as Skrap, while his face remained unexpressive, his green light blinked with a smiley face.

"Speaking of Graye," Alburno brought up. "No one has really seen him since last Splatterday."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he got kicked out," Venoma said while crossing her arms. "He really made the Emperor's Coven look bad…"

In the headquarters of the Illusionist Coven, Adrian Graye was still in his office. He had only just woken up to find his desk covered with empty bottles of apple blood. He groaned as he experienced a bad headache, a result from his hangover.

"Dear Titan…" he groaned as he heard the ringing in his head. "AAH! Fuck!" He looked around and found his scroll, picking it up and seeing that he had a lot of missed messages.

Graye also looked at his mirror, which also showed a large number of missed calls. "How long… was I out?" he asked before he realized that he had not left his office during the lockdown. His stomach then growled, but it wasn't a hungry growl.

He immediately found a trash can and started to throw up just as Cutburn let herself in.

"Graye." Cutburn said while looking at all the Apple Blood. "Geez, you drink more apple blood than the Owl Lady does from the rumors."

After throwing up, Adrian turned to the Healing Head. "Cutburn," he said while wiping his mouth. "What is today?"

"Toesday," she responded, making Adrian's eyes widen.

"But… that would mean… or dear Titan, I've slept through an entire day, haven't I, Hettie?" Adrian asked her as Cutburn helped him up.

"Pretty much," she replied as she got him on his chair. "I should get you up to speed about what happened."

Adrian listened to what Cutburn had to explain, the Illusion Head reacting in shock.

"The golden boy has returned?" Adrian asked her.

"Yup," Hettie confirmed. "Looks like he'll be retaking his position from Tricks and Drakescale. Plus, I hear that he's going to be taking charge of BIG along with Captain Leonte."

Adrian then brought out his scroll. "Wait, if Hunter is back as the Golden Guard, then-" He looked through his messages until he found one. "'Head Witch Graye, we'd like to inform you that by order of the Emperor, Cross Drakescale has been let go by the Emperor's Coven…'" He gave a displeased look. "They let him go?!"

"Yes, which I do admit is a bit of a waste," Cutburn admitted. "He would've been a fine Golden Guard stand-in, no offense for your apprentice who's… well… probably deceased," she said with a shrug.

Adrian glared at her for that. "GET OUT!"

Hettie was startled. "Whoa, wait a sec-"

"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE RIGHT NOW!" Adrian shouted at her, causing a confused Cutburn to quickly leave, closing the door behind her. Adrian was still giving a pissed off look as he glanced at the mirror in his office. He saw how unkempt he looked, especially with the apple blood stains. "Titan's crack…"

Back in the Emperor's Castle, Hunter was in an office looking over some files on the current members of BIG along with potential members for BIG who could replace Skrap. Beside him was Leonte.

"Alright, remind me what you offer as one of the Boiling Isles Guardians," Hunter asked, deciding to interview each current member.

"Easy," Venoma said with a sinister look as she sat across from Hunter and Leonte. "I came with a set of skills. Intelligence gathering, sense of smell through my tongue, and I can easily wipe out our enemies with my poison Abominations."

"What can I bring to the BIG's table?" Alburno asked while leaning in his chair. "My burning passion to follow the will of the Titan. To take down wild witches and the Tarot Guild with our fiery hearts, and fists."

"I put the boom in thunder!" Thunder declared. "Cause the Emperor's Coven ain't got no other scout like me!"

"This team needs to be stronger if we're going to deal with some godlike horrors like that Mel chick," Joana declared. "What I'm suggesting is an eight-week exercise program to make sure BIG gets in top shape, and be more prepared to face off Faes and Gods and whatever horrors that lie beyond the Boiling Isles."

Scameron had brought with him a transparent billboard which he used to make calculations and formulas. "So, what I was thinking is if we could use less magic to focus on our critical thinking, come up with more plans and plan out situations ahead…"

Le'Belle looked determined. "What I bring to the table is simple," she said. "I may just be a captain-in-training, but I'm ready to give my all for BIG. I hope to make the Emperor's Coven proud for what I- I mean, we can achieve together."

Later, after the interviews were concluded, Hunter looked at the profiles while discussing them with Leonte.

"So… about the team…?" Hunter asked him.

"If I'm going to be honest, they are an egotistical bunch," Leonte declared. "Venoma and Alburno are most likely doing this for themselves, Thunder is a moron and I'm not sure about Joana and Scameron. The latter may be a smart boy, but I doubt he could keep a secret to save his life. Then there's Le'Belle… she's just doing this to get a promotion. I do not consider any of them fit for BIG."

Hunter considered Leonte's opinion. "Well, I can see your point. However, I think we should still keep them… to keep an eye on them, at the very least."

Leonte looked intrigued by this. "Do you believe that some of them are part of the Tarot Guild?"

"I don't think all of them, but some of them could be," Hunter said. "I knew Venoma and Alburno from scout training, they are skilled in the field but they are willing to backstab anyone, even each other. They are the ones to look out for the most… which I think is why we should keep them as members of BIG."

Leonte gave a nod. "Although, it isn't always easy to tell who's going to be a traitor and who isn't," Leonte said while looking down. "I've learned that the hard way."

Hunter realized what Leonte meant. "Is… this about… Steve?"

Leonte sighed. "I thought he was one of the good ones… I know that he isn't a member of the Tarot Guild, but he did leave. I am… disappointed in him."

Hunter nodded. He could tell that Steve meant to Leonte, something similar to himself and Darius. Leonte was Steve's Darius…

"Look, right now there's nothing we can do but to continue to do our jobs in the Emperor's Coven," Hunter said. "So after consideration, I think we should keep them all in the team. You may not think much of them, but witches can surprise you."

Leonte frowned, but accepted the decision with a nod. "Very well."

"On that note, we should still look for a replacement for Skrap," Hunter said. "Looks like we'll have to look into the audition echo-mice."

First, they interviewed Cle Ironwood while Hunter read from his file. "So, your fathers are well known in the Emperor's Coven, Cle. Says here you're specialized in ordinance and Beast-Keeping, along with cooking skills."

"Right," Cle confirmed. "Having grown up in a large family, I wish to make my folks proud as a coven scout. And I was hoping this would help me calm my fears."

"Fears?" Leonte asked. "What kind of fears should we know of? Like heights? Snakes?"

"Oh, not snakes. In fact, I have a pet snake," Cle said as he summoned a snake out from his sleeve. "See? His name's Hugabees, he won't bite."

Grip was next to the auditions as he began to strum a solo song.

"I'm just one man," he sang. "I'm just a… one wo-man man. Yeah! That's all I am~! And if I can, I just want to find that one wo-man!"

Hunter and Leonte looked at each other before Hunter spoke. "Uh, you can stop now, Grip. Um… that is some singing, though I don't know if this song is for BIG. Also, aren't you already in a coven?"

"BIG? Wait, this isn't for a talent show?" Grip asked, as they shook their heads "Ah crap…"

"Um… well, I guess I am looking for a change of position," Severine said while trying to not look nervous. "I haven't had a good year so far and I have been requesting a transfer for a while. Specifically away from Head Witch Graye who can be… too much."

One scout gave his salute to Hunter and Leonte. He was heavily built with a blond buzz cut, unibrow, and black eyes with complex beige skin. He had a dog nose and ears.

"Scout Trooper Dogma Taggs at your service, sirs!" Dogma shouted. "I am here to lend my services to BIG!"

"Okay… what would you say are your best qualities?" Hunter asked him.

"I follow my own code: no scout is left behind!" Dogma declared. "I follow that code as if my life depends on it!"

'Seems promising,' Hunter thought. "It says here that you have completed twenty successful missions over the past year. We could use a guy like you-" But then the lights went out in the room. "Great, black out."

"YAAAH!" Dogma shrieked before Leonte performed a light spell to lighten the room up. They saw Dogma in a fetal position, rocking back and forth. "I hate the dark…"

Hunter and Leonte looked at each other and they both gave a sign.

Another candidate was a female witch woman with a muscular physique, brown hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes, and a red tracksuit.

"You should consider having me on the team," she said. "Especially since I can carry the whole team myself, unlike that Thunder and especially Joana."

Hunter looked unsure as he checked her file. "Well, Chantey, it says here that you are prone to anger and-"

"Who said that?!" Chantey shouted while banging her fist on the table. "If I find whoever said that about me, I'm going to pull their intestines out and force feed it back to them!"

"How am I most likely to be a BIG member? Simple," Hugh said while placing photos of himself on the table. He gave a smug look. "Check it, my profile pics. You could say that I was a bit of a rockstar in my band days. I also know Head Witch Napoli personally, we go way back."

"I would be so stoked to be a part of BIG!" Bowen declared happily. "Cause you know, I'm big, the team's called BIG, does it make sense for me to be part of it? I think it does."

"Um, I like your enthusiasm," Hunter said while looking unsure.

"I am filled with enthusiasm!" Bowen exclaimed. "Just ask my friend, Carter!"

During his interview, Carter sat back in his chair while looking boredly at Hunter and Leonte.

"So… Carter, I heard you are highly knowledgeable and have spent a lot of time in the castle's library," Hunter said. "What else can you tell us about yourself?"

Carter shrugged. "Just that I have zero interest in the whole thing."

The last audition was with a young witch girl with short bobcut red hair, four blue eyes with the upper eyes smaller than her bigger lower eyes, and moonlight skin with red lips and fangs.

"Hi, I'm Barbara, but most call me Barb or Bar, or Ra," she said awkwardly. "Um… I grew up in a small town, they say that I am easy to get along with… though, I don't have a lot of friends. I do like to collect vintage memorabilia and I aspire to be an indie artist in my freetime, when I am not serving the Emperor, of course."

Hunter read over her file. "It says here that you excelled during the survival training courses and the training at the Knee and that you are a skilled archer. Also says here you're good at acrobatics, Abominations, Oracle…"

"Yeah, I am good at card reading," she said humbly.

"One concern though," Leonte spoke up. "According to your file, there was an incident during training. Something called the 'Commando Barb' incident." He pointed to the photo of Barb wearing a red head-tie, markings, and shooting arrows while her fellow scouts screamed.

"Yeah… that one was back when I was… pushed to my limits," Barb replied, looking embarrassed. "But I can rest assure you, that's all in the past."

After the auditions, Hunter and Leonte looked over their files.

"So… these scouts…" Hunter noted.

"I will admit, they are… an odd bunch," Leonte said. "But I'm not sure if any of them would be a good replacement for Skrap. I thought Dogma was perfect… until he revealed he was afraid of the dark."

"They all seem like good scouts," Hunter replied. "They… they just want to find their place here. I mean, can't you relate to that?"

Leonte thought about what Hunter said and gave a sigh. "Do you have any ideas?"

Hunter gave a nod as he looked over the files, pointing to one in particular.

Later in the training room of the castle, Hunter and Leonte oversaw the members of BIG as they prepared for sparring.

"Alright, let's see what you got," Hunter said. "Venoma, you vs Thunder."

Venoma was in her black sports top and shorts as she faced off against Thunder in his blue jersey shirt and pants, both wearing sparring gear. "Don't expect me to go easy on you," he told her.

"Please," Venoma responded as she stepped up to deliver a punch, which Thunder blocked, just as she expected. She instantly used an opening to get behind him and bite him in the back, causing him to get paralyzed.

"Ack!" Thunder groaned as he fell.

"Um… way to go, Venoma," Hunter said while turning to Alburno and Scameron. "Alright, you two are up."

Alberno was wearing his red tank top and gray pants as he faced off against Scameron in his green sleeveless and black shorts. As the bell rang, Scameron drew a spell circle, creating a bubble around him for defense. He then created circles through the bubble and shot vines towards Alberno.

"Interesting trick," Alburno said as he used his own flame spells to burn through the vines. "But I can do better," he said while stomping down on the floor, drawing a spell circle with his foot causing him to be shot up in the air by a stone pillar, launching himself down to deliver a flaming kick towards Scameron's bubble defense.

Knowing he couldn't take it, Scameron drew a spell circle to escape from his bubble, which Alberno popped with his kick. Alburno chuckled. "Nice escape, comrade."

"Oh, thanks," Scameron replied, a bit surprised by the compliment. "And, uh, nice kick."

"Alright, not a bad job on the defense, Scameron, and you did well on the offense, Alburno," Hunter announced as he walked over to where Joana was on standby. "So how is your side going?"

"Captain Leonte's not giving Case an easy time," Joana responded while wearing a red tracksuit.

"Oof!" Le'Belle cried out as she fell onto the ring. She was in her gray sports bra and pants, getting up while seeing Leonte in his purple tank top and jersey black pants.

"Come on, Ms. Case, I know you can do better than that," he told her.

"You want better? I'll give you better," Le'Belle said while drawing a spell circle and shouting through it, creating a sonic scream towards him which Leonte dodged. She rushed towards him as she delivered a kick, but he simply grabbed her leg and threw her out of the ring. "Ack!" she cried out.

"Might I suggest changing up your strategy, little cricket," Leonte suggested as she got back into the ring.

Le'Belle considered his suggestion while looking for a way she could get a hit. She then had an idea and she drew a spell circle to blast a flash spell. Leonte and the others covered their eyes while Le'Belle tried to get behind him, only for him to grab her wrist.

He turned his head to her. "Nice try, little cricket."

"I know," she smirked, while drawing another spell circle and shouting through it, hitting Leonte right in the face with a sonic scream and launching him back.

"Are you alright, sir?" Hunter asked, seeing Leonte down. Joana went to help him up.

"I'll admit, that was not bad," he commented, rubbing his head as someone else came in.

"Sorry I'm late," Barb spoke up as she came in with her gym bag. She was in her red top and jersey shorts. Everyone turned to her. "Had a call my parents to tell them I made the cut. But then I lost track of time and I, uh, hope I don't get in trouble for this."

"Just remember to be on time in the future, Ms. Marlo," Hunter said.

"Got it," Barb said while turning to Scameron with a smile. "Hey, Scameron, guess who made it to the team."

"Barb!" Scameron shouted while running up to her. The two shared a hug. "How's Spencer?"

"Doing well in the Oracle Coven," Barb replied. "He says hi."

"Hey, who's the redhead?" Venoma questioned while Alburno helped Thunder up.

"This is Barbara Marlo, our new blue scout," Hunter explained. "Though she'll be known as the Blue Walrus now."

"Walrus? That's your pick?" Venoma questioned.

"You got a problem with walruses?" Barb asked. "I've read that they're real monsters in the Human Realm. They have large tusks that they can use to attack war ships."

"It was Marlo's choice, and that we needed a new aquatic animal after receiving complaints from the shark demon community," Hunter pointed out.

"So what can she do? Does she have what it takes in this team?" Joana questioned, arms crossed.

"Only one way to find out, with you sparring with her," Leonte said, pointing to Joana.

This made Joana grin. "Oh, you just made my day, Leonte…"

Soon Barb and Joana were facing each other in the ring. Joana cracked her neck. "Try not to cry when I knock your lights out."

"Something tells me we'll be great friends…" Barb said hopefully as she got into a fighting stance.

"Ready? Fight!" Leonte declared.

Joana marched up to throw the first punch, her fist about to hit Barb's face. But much to her and everyone's surprise, Barb grabbed Joana's fist before ducking under it and passing by her. Joana turned to Barb and threw another fist towards her, which Barb shielded with her arms. This stopped Joana's fist when making contact and Barb didn't even budge.

"Huh, you're stronger than you look," Joana commented.

"Yeah," Barb replied with a smile as she flipped herself up in the air. To the shock of the others, except for Scameron, they see her swinging herself up over Joana. She seemed to move more slowly through the air, as if she was… floating.

"What the…?" Joana couldn't believe what she was seeing and Barb smiled at her before she instantly disappeared. Joana looked confused as Barb appeared behind her, her eyes glowing red. She delivered a knee kick to Joana, who turned around and blocked the attack, just in time. However, Joana was still pushed back, despite being larger than Barb. She then saw Barb jump up to deliver fast-paced kicks to Joana and even though Joana blocked them easily, she was still sent tumbling back, surprised by the power of those kicks.

"Alright, you want to get serious?" Joana asked as she pounded her own fists and drew spell circles. "Let's see what you can do," she said while stones formed around her arms, transforming them into gauntlets.

"Of course," Barb smirked as her eyes glowed while she drew a spell circle, shooting light and wind magic towards Joana. Joana dodged these blasts and swung her gauntlets at Barb. The redhead saw this and instantly dodged as she drew another spell circle. This time, some eye-bats were summoned, causing Joana to swat them away.

The jock girl then saw Barb shoot out blue light spells at her. Barb was blasted back, but she stood her ground as she saw Barb levitating up. The two continued to exchange spells and blows, Joana noticing that Barb wasn't even breaking a sweat. Instead, she had a peaceful smile on her face, which Joana found unnerving and pushed her determination to beat her.

Their spar had turned the ring into a battle ground as the others were surprised by how much Barb could keep up with Joana. Eventually, Leonte called out. "Alright, you can stop now!"

The two paused, both of them breathing heavily as they looked at each other.

"Nice spar, don't you think?" Barb asked, smiling.

"Well… I gotta admit, that was a little exciting," Joana responded, betraying a smile. "I never faced a sparring opponent like you before. What's your training plan, featherweight?"

"Oh you know, I drink plenty of liquids," Barb responded with her hand up. "Nice sparring with you, by the way."

"Yeah," Joana shook her hand, nodding. "Next time."

Seeing this, Hunter turned to Leonte. "So… what do you think?"

Leonte looked at them and dropped his skepticism for a moment. "Well… they do show promise."

The next day, Hunter went to the castle's library. He passed by the librarian, who made him nervous due to her slithering appearance. "Hi, Ms. Jitters-"

"Shh, be quiet in the library, or else you'll be doomed… doomed… doomed…" she echoed herself. The tall librarian with a gray bun, glasses, and a coven robe glared at Hunter as he walked away.

Hunter hurried through the shelves. Rather than looking at any of the books, he was looking for a witch. Perhaps the one witch who knew more about the myths and legends of the Boiling Isles than anyone else. To his surprise, he spotted Adrian Graye laying facedown on a table. "Head Witch Graye?"

Graye heard him and looked up at the boy. "Oh… hello, golden child."

"Um, hi Head Witch Graye," Hunter greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while…"

"Yes, welcome back to the castle," Graye told him. "Now excuse me, I need some quiet time," he said while laying back down, trying to get over his hangover.

Hunter gave a sheepish nod as he continued his way through the library. While looking through the shelves, he spotted someone taking a book from the other side. Hunter looked at the hooded figure reading the book and noticed the tall figure wearing an unusual mask. "Excuse me."

"Hmm? Ah, the Golden Guard," the man responded as his mask shifted between various constellations. He wore an Emperor's Coven gown and was as tall as Belos. "I almost didn't recognize you without your mask."

"Heh, yeah, and from your mask, I know that you're Howard Hatesew," Hunter responded. "I've been meaning to talk to you, cause I need your help with something.

"Hmm, follow me so we'd be out of Ms. Jitter's earshot," Howard Hatesew said as he walked towards the back of the library, Hunter following him.

When they came to a stop, Hunter looked up to Howard. He had to, since Hunter could now see that the rumors about him being just as tall as Belos were true. And if the other rumors were true, he might have given his uncle the creeps…

"So young guard, what do you wish for me to help you with?" Howard asked him.

"Well, I know that otherworldly beings and Boiling Isles myths and legends are your expertise," Hunter said. "Do you know anything about the Isle's pagan gods?"

"Oh, yes, I may know a thing or two about those," Howard said. "For example, I have studied on the rumors of whether or not Lokitown's own town-namesake hero was either a powerful witch or a god from another dimension…"

"Yeah, something like that," Hunter said, making a mental note to ask Luz about that at some point.

"The Boiling Isles has seen the rise of many cults made up by those who do not worship the Titan," Howard explained. "During his rise to power, Belos stamped out many, many pagan religions, making sure that the Titan was the one true god of the Isles. He made sure to erase evidence of their existence as well, to avoid the cults from rising ever again. And now we have that new cult, the Melvins…"

"Do you think it'll catch on?" Hunter asked with worry.

"I don't believe so," he said. "A small faction can be easily snuffed out."

Hunter nodded. "So Mr. Hatesew, can you help me learn about these old pagan gods I've been hearing about?"

"Hmm, anyone in particular?" Howard asked while his mask changed to another constellation.

Hunter hesitated, not sure if he should tell Hatesew or not. After a moment, he made up his mind. "I have been looking for information about a… horned pagan deity."

"Oh… interesting," Howard said, looking interested. "You know, you are not the first witch who asked me about this horned pagan deity before."

"Really? Who else?" Hunter asked.

"A scout named… Artemis," Howard answered.

This got Hunter curious. "Oh, is there a way I could find this Artemis? Would she be still in the Emperor's Coven?"

"Afraid not," Howard said with a sigh. "She died nearly thirty years ago."

"Oh," Hunter said, disappointed.

"But I can help you in your search," Howard offered. "I'll just have to consult with my collection. If I find anything, I'll tell you."

"Thank you, Mr. Hatesew," Hunter said with a respectful bow. "I'll be hearing you back later." He started to head to the exit to the library, but as he turned around one aisle he ended up bumping into someone. "Oof, hey-" He paused, noticing that the person he bumped into… was Head Witch Graye.

"Watch your step, young guard," Adrian advised, though Hunter noticed there was something… off about his eyes.

"Head Witch Graye… were you just listening in?" Hunter questioned, noticing his expression.

Adrian's eyes shifted away. "Excuse me," he said as he quickly made his way out, away from Hunter.

Adrian rushed out of the library and through the halls of the castle, not stopping until he knew for a fact he was alone. He then came to a stop and laid his back on the wall, grabbing his own hair while looking panicked.

"Shit, shit, shit…" Graye cursed.

This was not good. This was not good at all.

Thirty years ago…

The young Adrian Graye Vernsworth, who went by Walter Wildes back then, was hanging out in the woods with his friends, the original Shadowy Secret Exposers. He sat next to Professor Cuddlebuns while they ate some candy bars from the malt shop.

"Well gang, we busted another case," Bobby Bones declared.

"It, like, feels so good to have helped out that old guy from those capitalist goons, man," Stacy said.

"Oh Stacy, your trending vocabulary will always make you unique," Cuddlebuns declared. "Isn't that right, Walter?"

"I guess," Walter said while looking down, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Excuse me," said a voice.

Everyone turned to see who had called them. A figure approached the SSE, wearing a hoodie with the hood covering her face, baggy pants and boots, and gloves.

"Can we help you?" Vanny asked.

"Yes, you're the Shadowy Secret Exposers, right?" she asked them.

"Yeah, that's us," Bobby Bones responded. "Do you have a case for us, perhaps?"

"And do you have a name?" Cuddlebuns required.

The hooded figure briefly hesitated, but concluded that they were who she needed. "My name is Artemis… and I need your help," she said, removing her hood, which caused the team to gasp.

She was shown to have short red hair and dark magenta eyes, with a face that looks similar to Marilyn Clawthorne… but it was scarred. The scars started from the left side of her face and ran horizontally across half of it while having a crack-like appearance.

Walter's eyes widened when he saw her. But not in shock at her scars. But in… awe.

Meanwhile, in an isolated part of the castle, Hunter went to meet up with someone while holding up a light glyph. Spotting a shadow, he used the light glyph to expose the shadow before sighing in relief. "Thank Titan, it's just you."

"Don't worry, I'm unarmed," Eclipsa joked as she walked towards Hunter. "How are you doing, Hunter?"

"Doing well, thanks," Hunter responded. "And what about you, Eclipsa?"

"Oh, all's the same with me," she responded. "So have you had any luck on your end?"

"Well, I managed to meet up with Howard Hatesew, a high-ranking member here who promised to help me look into information I can get about the Horned King," Hunter said. "How about you? Any luck in figuring out Belos's true plans?"

"I'm afraid I've come up empty-handed, since Philip is frustratingly tight-lipped about this," Eclipsa admitted while looking down. "Quite honestly, I'm not very keen on doing this."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"Hunter, I'm still processing the shock about how Philip became Belos," she said. "While I may have been frozen in a crystal for centuries, to me it feels like I only saw Philip a few days ago and now he is this completely different person," she said. "And that is something that I still have to reconcile, my memories of Philip with all the dreadful things I've heard…"

Hunter looked sympathetic. "I know how you feel, Eclipsa," he reluctantly admitted. "I also have to reconcile who I thought my uncle was with who he really is. Just as I have to reconcile with my own identity issues." He looked down to Flapjack, who was scratching himself with his beak. "Sometimes, a part of me wishes that it could just go back to how it used to be, that I had never learned about my uncle's past or about Grimwalkers. But… I do know that my uncle has done bad things and is hurting people, and I was complacent to that for a long time…"

Eclipsa saw Hunter's remorseful look and guilt flickered across her own face. "I know that feeling, Hunter. Believe me, I sometimes wonder if my actions were what doomed Mewni. I wonder what I could have done differently, how things hadn't played out if I hadn't been selfish and put my own happiness first…" She shut her eyes while thinking of Globgor and Meteora, the ones she lost, and everyone else that suffered as a result of her choices. She sighed. "It's the reason why I'm doing this, to make up for what I caused so many years ago."

"You don't have to blame yourself, Eclipsa," Hunter said. "But… at least we are in this together, right?"

Eclipsa smiled. "Yes, I suppose we are."

Hunter then remembered something else. "When I spoke to Howard, he mentioned a scout named Artemis who was after the same thing as I was. I decided to learn more about Artemis after that… but the strangest thing is that… she doesn't exist."

"Really?" Eclipsa asked him.

"I've looked and there never was a scout named Artemis in the past registry. No records, no dates, no coven census… it's as if she's only a ghost," he explained.

"That does seem strange," Exlipsa noted, not sure what to make it of either.

Thirty years ago…

The original SSE led Artemis to the Bonesborough Library, where Vanny held up her ID in front of the large, gated door… to the Forbidden Stacks.

"No one but the employees of the Bonesborough Library can go into the Forbidden Stacks," Vanny said while using her ID to access the doors.

"Do you think this is where we'll find what you're looking for, Artemis?" Stacy asked her.

"I already checked the library in the Castle, so if it exists it has to be here," Artemis said as the gang went inside the Forbidden Stacks.

"Alright, gang, let's split up to look for that book," Bobby Bones said to them. "Me, Stacy, and Vanny can check out the left side. Walter, you, Cuddlebuns, and Artemis can check out the right side."

"Just be careful not to get caught by Malphas," Vanny told them. "Or else we'll get kicked out… or be fed by the book worms."

"Got it," Walter said as they split up, with him, Cuddlebuns, and Artemis sneaking down the aisles. The young Adrian looked around while casting an invisibility spell around them. "This should help us," he said to Artemis.

"Excellent idea, Walter," Cuddlebuns said as he looked around at the many bookshelves. "Hmm, this is a lot to cover between the three of us. Perhaps we can do this faster if I go off on my own while you two search together."

"Yeah, that sounds fine, just don't wander too far," Artemis advised while Cuddlebuns went to check one shelf while she and Walter checked another row. They pulled out several books to look at them while a few echo mice passed by.

"So they don't have something like this at the Emperor's Castle, do they?" Walter asked.

"The library isn't anything like this, honestly," Artemis admitted. "I read every book in that place and they're all the same, like they were all written by Belos himself. Nowadays I just use the place to take naps." She then paused, pointing toward the mist that accompanied someone approaching them with a cart full of books. Walter gasped before Artemis covered his mouth, pulling him against the shelf. The two stayed silent as they were invisible while Malphas passed by them with his lantern.

Once they saw he was gone, Artemis made sure that the coast was clear. Once she confirmed it, she looked at Walter, realizing how close she was to him. She took a step back as she apologized. "Sorry, I was… making sure we don't get caught."

"Y-Yeah, I get it," Walter responded while he hid his blush.

Artemis hid her blush as well and the two fell into an awkward silence. When she glanced at him, she spotted something on the shelf behind him. "Hey wait, behind you," she said which reaching out to pull up a book.

"What is it?" he asked as Artemis opened the book and flipped through it.

"I think we've found what we're looking for," she told him.

Walter and Artemis went to find Cuddlebuns, who was still looking through a few books when he saw them. "How's your search?"

"We found the book," Walter said, surprising Cuddlebuns.

"Oh… you did," Cuddlebuns said, looking at the two. "Well, let's regroup with the others." He let Walter and Artemis go ahead of him, however, so they wouldn't see him stashing a few pages into his pockets…

After the trio managed to meet up with the rest of the gang and sneak out of the Forbidden Stacks, they gathered around a table as Artemis and Walter showed the book to the others.

"This is what I was looking for," Artemis said while handing the book to Vanny. "It is all about a civilization that predates anything we have on the Isles. A civilization that was built by the Titans themselves. And one of the things they left behind is this." She pointed to the illustration of a circular disk covered in strange markings… similar to the markings that were on King's collar. "It is called the planispheric disk and it is said to be a map that leads to a great treasure."

"Wow, this is interesting," spoke Vanny as they looked through the book. "This could lead us to the biggest mystery of them all."

"This is bone-chilling, gang," Bobby said.

"No kidding," Stacy commented.

"Hello, Stacy," said another voice.

Everyone looked up from the book and saw a red demon with short black horns and hair coming over to them. He wore a St. Epiderm uniform with the Abomination Track colors. "I thought I saw you guys here earlier. Solving mysteries again, I see."

"Oh, hey Gibson," Stacy replied with a friendly smile. "What brings you here?"

"Just doing some research of my own," Gibson admitted to Stacy, smiling at her. "So what are you guys doing this time?"

"Oh, we're helping out with a case," Bobby answered, his eyes narrowing at Gibson. "A private case. As in, confidential."

"Oh, I see," Gibson responded, frowning slightly while turning to Stacy. "Say Stacy, I was wondering if you would be available some time in the future? It has been a while since we last hung out and-"

"Gosh, I wish but right now I'm, like, busy," Stacy responded while Bobby secretly grinned. "Sorry, Gibby."

"Come on gang, let's discuss our next move outside at our Mystery Worm," Bobby suggested as he led the gang out of the library. "See you later, Oscorne."

"Yeah, later," Gibson responded, watching the SSE and Artemis leaving the library. As they left, he noticed Bobby moving closer to Stacy… and his eyes narrowed…

Adrian looked into his tea cup while seated in a greenhouse.

"How are you feeling, Head Witch Graye?" Terra Snapdragon asked while pouring her own tea across from him. "Still on with that hangover?"

"My… mind is getting clearer now," Adrian responded while rubbing his temple. "Thank you for inviting me, Head Witch Snapdragon. Things haven't been good since the weekend. Especially with Emily…"

"Yes, I'm so sorry for what has happened to dear, poor Emily Tricks," Terra replied with fake sympathy while patting Adrian's shoulder. "I do feel somewhat responsible for this, since I was the one who suggested that you take her in as your apprentice…"

"Yeah, you did," Adrian remembered while he stared down at his tea. "It was a way to help keep her out of trouble, and with the golden child missing, I saw a chance to earn the Emperor's favor by suggesting my apprentice as a stand-in. I can't imagine how mad the Emperor must be with me after she was exposed…" He glanced up at the ceiling of the greenhouse, noticing the entrapped Perry Porter. "Oh, he's still up there."

"Yes, but nevermind him," Terra waved it off while she watched Adrian drink the tea. She smiled. "So tell me, Vernworth…"

"Titan, don't use my last name," Adrian told her.

"How long did you know that she was your daughter?"

Adrian paused, slowly looking up at Terra as her smile formed into a… frown of fake concern. Adrian was completely caught off guard about her question.

"How…?!" Adrian asked her.

"Oh, don't worry about how I learned that she's your daughter," Terra told him while intertwining her fingers. "I'm just wondering, if you knew that you had a daughter… why didn't you do anything for that poor girl sooner? Why didn't you help her when she needed you?"

"I…" Adrian looked down, sweating nervously. "You must understand-"

"Understand what? That it would lead to a scandal?" Terra suggested. "Yes, I suppose that is understandable. But it can't be helped, can it? That poor girl is a living scandal to the Isles, and since her exposure, people have been asking questions. But hey, neither you nor anyone else has to worry about her anymore, will they?" She saw the guilt-ridden look on Adrian's face, which left her cackling inside her mind, since she found it hilarious. "Honestly, you should be grateful to that Mel girl. Especially since if Emily had found out the truth about you… well… she wouldn't take it well, would she?"

Adrian kept his gaze lowered. "No… she wouldn't," he admitted in a quiet voice.

Terra gave him a nod, her smile returning. "Perhaps… maybe everything has worked out for the best. Oh, and you don't have to worry about me exposing your secret, Adrian. Your true relations with her, I mean. After all, I see no point in doing so since it doesn't benefit me all that much."

"I… thank you, Snapdragon," Adrian said while Terra comforted him, patting her hand over his. "I just wish I could've done something…"

"Oh poor Adrian," Terra said with a fake sympathetic tone. "There was nothing you could have done… actually, there were a lot of things you could have done," she pointed out, which only made Adrian feel worse. "But there's no use in thinking about what could have been, is there?"

Adrian looked up at Terra, then back down at his tea again as he reluctantly replied. "Perhaps… you are right, Terra…"

Thirty years ago…

An old temple sat on the edge of a cliff. But underneath the cliff, the original SSE and Artemis were walking through a large cavern with their light spells. Walter was in his turquoise vest with blue sleeves, gray pants, and boots as he walked alongside Artemis. The two were close, which Cuddlebuns seemed to notice.

Stacy was in her red mid-sleeve dress with a black waist belt, black leggings, and red boots with a locket hanging around her neck. Next to her was Bobby Bones in his grudgeby letterman jacket, white shirt and blue pants with grown boots as he walked alongside her. Vanny wore a light-blue turtleneck shirt and gray jagged skirt and black heeled boots with skull buckles as they walked through the cavern.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Stacy asked.

"My calculations don't lie, Stacy," Cuddlebuns said before he saw everyone else pause. "Why are we stopping?"

"Because of… that," Bobby said as he pointed to a large pile of bones and skulls that sat across an underground river. On top of the pile was a large chest.

"The planispheric disk," Cuddlebuns said in awe.

The gang were careful as they made it across the river, jumping from rock to rock. Walter was the last to jump and he almost slipped before he was grabbed by Artemis.

"Are you alright, Adrian?" Artemis asked him, using his real name.

"Yeah… thanks," Walter replied, blushing in the dark.

Vanny was about to walk on the pile of bones, but Cuddlebuns used his magic to pull her away. "Hey, what gives?" she asked.

"Look," Cuddlebuns said as he held up a stick and threw it at the pile of bones… causing spears to pop up out of it. "I was merely saving you from a trap."

"Holy hex, that's one deadly trap!" Walter declared.

"I can get through this," Cuddlebuns said as he prepared his feet. Using a bit of his beast-keeping magic, he enhanced his feet to hop up higher, flipping around as he landed near the chest. He then used an open-lock papyrus on the chest to unlock it. The chest opened, showing a glowing light. He looked into the light… and was disappointed.

"I don't understand," Cuddlebuns said while seeing a single piece of the planispheric disk. He looked confused. "There are supposed to be six pieces… where are the other five?"

"Maybe they're underneath," Stacy suggested. "Like the chest has a false bottom."

"Hmm, I'll try that," Cuddlebuns said as he picked the piece of the disk up… and triggered a trap in the process.

Soon, they saw a gush of water coming from the holes in the walls around them, causing Vanny to shout. "It's a booby trap! Run!"

Everyone scattered as they fled for the exit, avoiding the arrows being shot at them. Cuddlebuns hopped up front while the gang followed him. An arrow grazed him through one of his ears. "Gah!" he shouted as he continued to lead the gang out of harm's way. The cavern around them started to collapse as it filled with boiling water, but the SSE and Artemis managed to escape before they were buried or boiled alive.

Once they made it outside, the young Adrian laid on his back while looking stressed. "Out of all the booby traps… this was the deadliest."

"Eh, this is not nearly as bad as the murder mazes from scout training…" Artemis admitted while Cuddlebuns held up the disk.

"Good job, children," he declared. "Now all we need is the other five pieces, and the treasure will be-"

"MINE!"

Everyone looked up and gasped when they saw the horned being appearing before them. "You…" Cuddlebuns said, just as shocked as the others when they saw creature before them… a freakish, bestial creature surrounded in mist, wearing a bleach-skinned mask with antlers and a red cloak.

"That belongs to the Horned King!" he growled, pointing at the disk.

"Like we'll give it to you!" Bobby declared, drawing a spell circle to shoot up wired ropes at the Horned King. However, the Horned King melted down to the ground to avoid capture. Then he rose back up and knocked Bobby Bones to the ground.

"Bobby!" Stacy shouted as she summoned a harp to use a Bard spell on the Horned King, shooting musical notes like arrows. The Horned King twisted his body to dodge the attack. When Vanny and Cuddlebuns tried to use their spells on the Horned King, he melted again and rose back up behind Walter, who was paralyzed with fear.

"Walter, look out!" Artemis shouted, but it was too late as the Horned King managed to grab Walter as he rose back up with his mist surrounding him.

"YAAH! Let me goooo!" Walter cried out in a panic as he struggled in vain.

"Give me what is mine!" the Horned King shouted.

"Or else what, skull face?!" Artemis shouted.

The Horned King said nothing, merely demonstrating his intent by grabbing Walter's arm and bending it the wrong way.

"YAAAAAH!" Walter cried out in pain.

"WALTER/ADRIAN!" the gang shouted, with Artemis and Cuddlebuns using his real name.

The Horned King demonstrated more as his hands glowed around Walter's body. Walter starts to feel a reacting shock around his body.

"GAAAH!" Walter cries out. "HELP! MY INSIDES… THEY'RE ON FIRE!" His blood-curdling screams got to the gang as they heard the monster torturing their friend.

"Stop it!" Stacy cried out in tears.

"Leave him alone, you bastard!" Bobby shouted while shooting light spells at him.

The Horned King laughed as he dodged and blocked the attacks while continuing on torturing Walter. "Your friend is weak and there is no place in the Isles for the weak!" he declared while continuing on torturing the poor boy.

"WAAAH! Make him stop! MAKE HIM STOP!" Walter shouted. "GIVE UP THE DISK!"

"But Walter…!" Cuddlebuns cried out.

"Do as he says… or else I'll devour his soul!" the Horned King declared, his eyes glowing while his jaws opened as he held up Walter's head.

Cuddlebuns was extremely worried as he looked at the disk in his paws. "Alright! Just stop hurting him!" he said while holding up the disk.

The Horned King lowered himself, dropping the shaken Walter to the ground before he grabbed the planispheric disk from the rabbit demon. "Heed my warning," he said while looking at him and the gang. "Do not pry into the biggest mystery of the Boiling Isles or else…" he said before melting back to the ground while the mist surrounded him.

Bobby tried to go after him, but when he ran over to the spot where the Horned King was, he saw nothing there. "He's gone!"

"Guys," Artemis spoke up and they all turned to see her tending to Walter, who had left in a whimpering state. "Adrian… I'm so sorry."

"I… h-h-he…" Walter tried to say as tears leaked from his eyes. Adrian Gray Vernworth had become a shivering mess.

The next day, Hunter was training with the other BIG members. He was practicing with a sandbag, punching it while Joana held onto it while the others were either sparring, doing training exercises, or doing yoga practice.

"Come on, earn those gains!" Joana shouted, coaching him.

Hunter focused on the sandbag as he kept on punching and kicking at it. He was getting a lot more mileage on his mechanical arm, putting more force into his punches. Joana felt his fist go through the sandbag and she had to move her head to avoid being hit.

"Whoa, now that's a tough arm there," Joana commented as Hunter wiped some sweat. "Gotta say, I didn't think you'd be so tough but you proved me wrong, sir."

"Yeah, just… getting used to training with this arm," Hunter responded while looking at the arm given to him by Dr. Bride.

"How did you get that cool arm?" Joana asked him, intrigued.

"I… got it during my recovery," Hunter said. "Thanks to my doctor."

"Huh, I wonder if I could get a robot arm…" Joana wondered out loud.

"Alright, this training session is over," Leonte announced. "Good job, all of you. You are free to go, but be ready at a moment's notice in case we have to go out."

"Come on, Noma, let's go get some coffee brew," Alburno said while Venoma rolled her eyes at him.

"Sure, but only because I was planning on getting some anyway, not because you suggested it," she told him while walking out with him.

"Ugh, my body is going to be sore," Scarmeron complained to Barb. "I don't know how you can pull off all those yoga stretches, Barb. Or maybe I'm just not built for it…"

"Come on, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Barbara replied while noticing that Hunter was getting ready to leave. "Say, you think we should ask him if he wants to hang out with us?" she asked, pointing to Hunter.

"The Golden Guard… hanging out with us?" Scameron asked while looking unsure. "Two lowly scouts?"

"Come on, he's our leader and, well, we would work better as a team if we knew each other a little better," Barbara encouraged while Scameron thought it over.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Scameron admitted.

A few minutes later, Hunter came out of the locker room with his gym bag. Flapjack flew out of his gym bag and landed on his shoulder. On his way out, he was intercepted by Barb and Scameron.

"Hi, Golden Guard!" Barb and Scameron shouted.

"Gah!" he shrieked, startled.

"Ooh, sorry for startling you," Barbara apologized. "That wasn't our intention."

"Uh, no… worries," Hunter responded while collecting himself. "Do you want something?"

"Well, we were wondering if you were not busy or anything…" Scameron asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because we figured that since we're teammates, maybe we could go hang out," Barb said, though she suddenly looked a little bit more shy. "If that's okay with you."

Hunter was taken aback by this. He never really figured that any of the scouts would want to hang out with him. Well, except for maybe Steve. As he thought about the offer, he heard Flapjack chirping at him, encouraging him to accept their offer.

Hunter looked Barb and Scameron over. They seemed friendly enough. Really, they were the most outwardly friendly of the BIG members. "Um… what do you guys do off duty?" he asked them.

Not long after that, in the castle's food court, Hunter was with Barbara and Scameron, grabbing a bite from the Newt Burger.

"Mmm, this is the best burger they have here," Barbara declared after biting her burger.

"I'll say," Scameron replied while eating his own order. "How's your food, Golden Guard?"

"Uh, pretty good," Hunter admitted, though he was more interested in his teammates than his food. "So… when did you guys join the scouts?"

"I got recruited after passing my classes," Scameron explained. "I'm in the honors roll at the Construction Track and I decided to join the Emperor's Coven because I wanted to research all of the nine types of magic. I am especially interested in studying fauna, bugs, and the spiritual medium…"

"Wow, all of that?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, living in a bubble for years will make you long for more," Scameron admitted.

"… Bubble?" Hunter asked.

"His folks are super overprotective," Barbara admitted.

"So how about you, Barb?" Hunter asked her. "You mentioned someone named Spencer…"

"Oh, he is my boyfriend," Barbara admitted. "He's a scout at the Oracle Coven who specializes in helping out young witches who have trouble controlling their magic. I guess you could say he is like a counselor."

"Really? Sounds like a great guy," Hunter commented. "When did you two meet?"

"About over a year ago," Barbara admitted. "I first met him and Scameron around the same time, during our scout training days. We stuck together and became something of a trio. Me and Spencer were both pretty shy and awkward at first, but we managed to build up enough courage to give dating a try."

"What's he like?" Hunter asked, curious.

"Well, when he isn't counseling he's an Oracle Contractor," Barbara explained. "You know, like those types of Oracle Witch that have made pacts with spirits that they can summon at any time. The spirits he uses would often possess him to help assist him on his missions and duties."

"I've read about them," Hunter replied. "When a witch makes a pact with a spirit, they allow those spirits to possess them either when they are in need of a boost of their magic, or depending on the spirit, a set of skills for a specific task. I've heard that you can only use one spirit though…"

"He has his own unique kind of magic," Scameron explained. "Who knows, maybe someday you'll be able to meet him and his spirits."

"Yeah, maybe," Hunter replied, nodding.

"So… what can you tell us about yourself, Golden Guard?" Barb asked him.

"Yeah, cause well, to be honest, we've been curious about you," Scameron said.

"R-Really?" Hunter asked nervously. "What's… there to know about me?"

"Well, you are kind of an enigma," Scameron pointed out. "Nobody knows where you came from, Belos suddenly promotes you to the rank of Golden Guard despite your age, you go missing and rumors are thrown around that you're dead, and then you return out of nowhere with a mechanical arm. Heck, you are even allowed to have your own Palisman." He pointed to Flapjack. "I mean, we had to give up our Palismen."

"Yeah, it was… hard for us," Barb said, looking down as she was reminded of having to give up hers. "But you're the talk of the other scouts, Golden Guard. There are plenty of rumors, like how you are connected to Belos and how you got that robot arm. Maybe you could clear it up to us if you are okay with answering or not…" she said in a whisper.

Hunter thought about it while turning to Flapjack, who gave him an encouraging chirp. He did think about how before the incident at the Knee, he thought it was important that nobody knew who he was under the mask or that he was the Emperor's nephew. But since his return, he hadn't been wearing his mask all the time or changing his voice like he used to, leading to some scouts recognizing him from training, including Alburno and Venoma. He was making less of an effort to hide his life as the Golden Guard, which only led to more rumors and speculation.

After some consideration, he decided to put that speculation to rest.

"First, you can just call me Hunter. And my relation with Belos… is that he's my uncle," Hunter said, which shocked them.

"What?!" the two exclaimed.

"Yeah, some of the veteran scouts can probably tell you that I have lived here my entire life," Hunter admitted. "My father… was the previous Golden Guard, as the rumors say."

"No way…" Barb said in shock.

"As for my arm," Hunter said, pointing to his robot arm. "It's a… result of a Slitherbeast that attacked me."

Scameron picked up something in Hunter's tone. He wondered if there was more to it but decided not to pry. "And your Palisman?"

"Flapjack was my father's, actually," Hunter admitted. "My uncle allows me to keep him just as long as I don't have him around in front of him."

"Reminds me of when Lilith got to keep her Palisman," Barbara brought up. "So the Emperor does make exceptions."

"Yeah," Scameron responded. "Though I figured that two had to do some kind of special task in order to keep your Palismen."

"Y-Yeah," Hunter responded, while thinking of Lilith. He smiled as he thought of her. "By the way, don't believe the rumors about Lilith. She's actually pretty great. I would actually be dead if it wasn't for her."

"Really?" Barbara asked him, surprised.

"Yeah," Hunter responded with a nod. "She found me after the Slitherbeast attacked me and got me help. We didn't always get along, but I owe a lot to her and she doesn't deserve to have her name dragged through the mud like it did."

"Gosh, you're lucky that you know Lilith personally," Barbara said while looking down. For some reason, she looked sad. "I never got to talk to her while she was still in the Emperor's Coven. I had a chance, but I didn't have enough courage to. I wish I could have introduced myself and gotten to know her…" She sighed.

"So… what were your Palismen like?" Hunter asked.

"Well, mine was like a blue horned turtle named Ethan," Scameron said. "He was practically my only friend while I spent my childhood in a bubble."

"And mine, Cherry, was a velvet magpie," Barb said, remembering her own Palisman. "Growing up as an only child, Cherry and I were close." Her expression became pained with guilt. "Sometimes I think that a part of me died when I gave her up. But I had to… right?" She seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince the others. It wasn't working.

Hunter and Flapjack looked at them with sympathy as Hunter replied. "I'm… sorry for your Palismen. You have my condolences."

"Thank you," Barb said before deciding to change the subject. "So what is Belos really like?" she asked, taking Hunter aback.

"Yeah, since you personally knew him, what is the real Emperor Belos like?" a curious Scameron asked while Hunter looked nervous.

"I… um… not sure if I could answer that," Hunter admitted while looking down, his mood darkening. Both Scameron and Barb noticed that they should not press the subject.

"Oh, well… it's alright if you don't want to answer," Scameron responded. "We could talk about something else."

"Yeah, like… do you like comic books?" Barb asked him.

This piqued Hunter's interest, lighting up the mood. "Y-Yeah, I do. I used to be into Captain Coven before they changed writers and I am trying to get into some new comics. I used to have a friend who would lend me her comics… I think I still may have some."

"Ooh, I would like to see them," Barb said. "My favorite kinds of comics are the ones with horror in them. Especially if they come with a good twist, like the ones about the mandragoons that invaded from the marrow mountains..."

"And I've delved into the world of the pulp adventure genre and the Hex Science issues," Scameron said. "Like this one story about this guy who made a potion that transformed him into the ten-eyed skallobeast."

Hunter smiled. "Would you guys be interested in comics from the Human Realm?"

"Whoa, for real?" Barb asked excitedly. "Tell us more!"

"I will admit, I have wondered what kind of stories humans tell," Scameron said.

"Well, I have some, but more can be found at this comic shop I go to," Hunter explained. "My friend donated them. Humans really like making superhero stories… a lot…"

As Hunter and the two scouts talked on and on about comics, Flapjack smiled a little, since it looked like to him that Hunter may have made some new friends…

It was Frieday. Hunter as the Golden Guard led BIG to a coven station somewhere more remote in the Isles. When the captain in charge of the station saw Hunter and BIG, he looked surprised.

"G-Golden Guard, Captain Leonte, sir!" the station's Captain shouted, snapping to attention and giving a salute. "What brings you here?"

"We're here on a routine inspection, Captain Dmitri," the Golden Guard said as he along with the BIG members made their presence known. Barb was now donning the blue scout uniform with a walrus mask. "We have been visiting all the coven precincts and stations, coming ourselves so that you'll take this seriously."

"And to determine if your scouts and guards are loyal to the covens," Leonte added.

"W-Why yes, we are, sirs!" Dmitri assured, standing up from his desk. "We here at Coven Precinct-55 are loyal to the Emperor's Coven to a fault and everything here runs smoothly. Let me show you myself. Would you like a tour?"

Captain Dmitri led BIG to look around the station, the scouts giving their salute to them as they passed by.

"Not a lot of crime happens around this part of town," Dmitri admitted while leading them past some mostly empty cells. "Things are pretty quiet right now, but that doesn't mean we aren't ready to take on any wild witch that threatens the Titan's will and Belo's decree."

Things did look pretty normal for the most part… only for one thing.

"Hey, what's up with that girl over there?" Alburno asked as he pointed to one of the cells, which had a teenage witch girl in chains and a gag in it.

"Oh, her?" Dmitri asked dismissively while looking at the girl. "Oh that's… just a delinquent that caused trouble."

"Why is she chained up like that? And gagged?" Barb questioned.

"Obviously so she won't cause a fuss," Dmitri dismissed.

"Have you contacted her parents? Or at least allowed her one crow call?" Le'Belle questioned the captain, who started to look nervous.

"I… o-of course I have!" Dmitri said while turning to his scouts. "Haven't I?!" he asked and the scouts nodded in confirmation.

"Well, then I guess you wouldn't mind if we ask her some questions," Hunter said.

Dmitri looked nervous, but he tried to keep his cool… until one of the scouts shouted.

"Oh shit, the jig is up!" the scout panicked as he shot a spell at the Golden Guard, only for Joana to jump in to summon a structure to block the attack.

"Shit," Dmitri cursed as he and his scouts aimed their fingers at BIG, drawing spell circles. "None of you are getting out of here alive!"

"I think you have that backwards," Venoma said while her poison dripped from her arms and she waved her arms to shoot out purple-shaped arrows to hit at some of the scouts. Alburno, meanwhile, shot fire bullets at the scouts, knocking them down.

More scouts came in to join the fight against BIG. Scameron formed a bubble shield to block the attacks while Thunder shot lightning spells at the scouts. "One of you free the girl and check for more prisoners!" Leonte shouted as he protected himself.

Barb and Joana rushed to the cell, Joana kicking the door down. Barb flew up to use a spell to free the girl's bonds. "Are you alright?" she asked before the girl hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried out in tears. "But there are more around here. I heard they were keeping them in the evidence room."

"Then show us the way," Joana said while a scout crashed into the bars.

Magic was being blasted everywhere as Hunter summoned Flapjack, instantly teleporting behind the scouts and using Flapjack to shoot lightning blasts at them from behind.

Le'Belle shot seeds at the enemy scouts, tangling them up in vines. This did leave her open to get shot by one scout… if not for Venoma's Abomi-Viper engulfing that scout.

Le'Belle turned around, hearing the curdling screams of the enemy scout as the Abomi-Viper ran through him. "YAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed as he was covered in venomous goo, burning his skin like acid.

"A bit overkill, don't you think?" Le'Belle asked.

"They're traffickers, they deserve what's coming for them," Venoma told her. "And you're welcome."

The scouts saw how BIG was overpowering them. Two of the members tried to run, but Barbara stood in their way.

"Sorry, no running in the halls!" she said while delivering a kick towards them. When the other tried to run, he was met with Joana's rocky fist, knocking him out with his mask cracking.

The scouts, revealed to be Tarot Guild members, looked up in the air, surprised to see Leonte, Alburno, Thunder, and Le'Belle flying. "Holy shit! They're flying!"

"Shoot them down before they shoot us down!" another replied as they shot up the ceiling. However, once they hit them, they were revealed to be Abomination balloons that exploded and covered the scouts in goo. "What?"

POW!

The Tarot Guild scouts were knocked down by spells from the real Leonte, Thunder, and Alburno while Le'Belle uses a plant spell to wrap up the others.

"Gets them every time," Leonte declared proudly.

"Hold it right there!" someone shouted.

The BIG members turned to see Dmitri holding up a remote. Behind him were some Abomatons. "Good thing we got these issued!"

"Of course…" Hunter said before he got an idea. "Alright, Boiling Isles Guardians… combine your attacks!"

Alburno summoned flames from his hands, clapping them together as he shot out a roaring flame shaped like a bird. Venoma created spell circles and summoned large, purple poisonous abomination snakes that popped up to target the Abomatons. Barbara forms blue light and dark shadows from her hands, blasting like a beam to blast one Abomaton. Thunder charged some lightning magic, shooting it to create a large bolt to electrify another Abomaton. Le'Belle pressed and shifted her knees together to create a vibration sound wave that formed blades, stabbing an Abomaton down. Joana summoned a large boulder which was tied to a bear demon with a chainsaw to slice up an Abomaton. Finally, Scameron summoned a bubble that trapped an Abomaton inside and shot a spell inside the bubble, the spell bouncing off the sides of the bubble and hitting the Abomation over and over again.

While Dmitri watched in horror, Hunter raised his staff and shot a beam of light at the traitorous coven, knocking him underneath an Abomaton as it fell down on top of him, his remote bouncing across the ground.

As the damaged Abomatons started to get up, Barb flew over to grab the remote and use it to shut down the Abomatons. "And justice prevails again!"

Hunter and Leonte looked around at all the dead and injured scouts before they spotted Dmitri trying to crawl away. "Oh no, you don't!" Hunter shouted as he teleported himself in front of Dmitri, kicking him in the mask. Dmitri fell, his mask cracking open, revealing the face of a chimp biped.

"Ex-captain Dmitri, you and all of your Tarot Guild traitors are under arrest," Hunter declared while Dmitri glared at him hatefully… before he started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Thunder asked.

"Hehehehe, your victory is meaningless, Golden Guard," Dmitri declared. "All of this will be meaningless. He's coming for you…"

"He? Who are you talking about?!" Hunter asked, grabbing him by the collar.

"You'll see soon enough, I'm just glad I won't be around to share your fate…" Dmitri said and for a moment Hunter saw something in his eyes… a trace of fear before he bit something in his mouth, causing him to gasp. He started foaming in the mouth, his eyes rolling back as his body went limp.

"Hey, hey!" Hunter cried out, but it was too late. Dmitri had killed himself. "Dammit! He had some kind of capsule in his teeth."

"So did a lot of these chumps," Joana said as she and Alburno checked on the scouts who also died. "Are they really that loyal to their dumb guild?"

Hunter said nothing, but he couldn't help but wonder if Dmitri hadn't killed himself out of loyalty… but out of fear.

"Can you show us where the rest of the imprisoned are?" Barbara asked as she tended to their rescued prisoner.

The girl nodded. "Over there," she said as she led BIG toward the evidence room.

Making their way through the station, they found a metal door. Venoma used her acidic Abomination to burn through the lock, allowing them to open the door. Stepping into the other room, they did find all the usual contraband, but their attention was immediately drawn to the prisoners being kept in animal cages…

And much to the shock of BIG, they were all teenagers. Most of them were still wearing dirty Glandus uniforms, indicating they were the disappeared Glandus students.

"My Titan…" Hunter said in shock as his fist tightened.

"They're… they're just… teens," Barb stammered, frozen in place for a moment before she got over it and went to free them.

"And they're wearing Glandus uniforms," Scameron said as he helps, along with the rest of BIG as they free the covenless teens, "How long were you imprisoned?"

"Since the… war," one former Glandus student said. "Not all of us ended up in the juvenile hall of the Conformatorium. Some of us were sent here…"

"Some of us have been here even longer," another replied as Joana and Thunder helped them out of their cages.

"This is just messed up," Thunder said with a worried look when he saw the poor state the kids were in. Their clothes were dirty and torn and they looked malnourished, starving even.

"Yeah," Joana agreed, feeling unnerved about this.

"What do we do with all of them, sir?" Le'Belle asked Leonte, her voice betraying her sympathy for the teens.

Leonte just sighed. "We'll have to bring them in," Leonte told them. "Then we will get everything sorted and as per our new policy… they will be placed in a coven."

"What?" Hunter asked, turning to Leonte. "But… but they're just kids."

"Covenless kids," Leonte pointed out while looking at their wrists. "Their school fell, which will make it harder for them to continue to get their education. They're already almost adults, meaning they'll need to join one soon anyway. And their coven will help them get their lives back together after an experience like this and it will make them less likely to be targeted again. New policy for situations like this is to bring the kids into the covens to make them easier to keep track of. Especially since we are trying to make a push for coven membership before the Day of Unity."

"But what if they're not ready?" Hunter asked.

Leonte shrugged. "It's better than being stuck in here isn't it?"

Hunter stayed quiet, knowing that these kids were going to be forced to join a coven, whether they liked it or not. And he realized that this may be true for the rest of the Isles as well soon enough. Children being forced to join covens younger and younger.

And this really shook him up.

Later at the castle, BIG returned triumphant, but some of them didn't feel like celebrating their victory.

"Feels good to get a win," Venoma declared with a smile. "Honestly, this turned out quite alright."

"I know," Alburno replied, sharing the feeling. "It is nice to have a win for once, right guys?" He turned to the rest of the team… who were not in a celebrating mood.

"We won, but… why does Thunder feel… not like a winner?" Thunder asked.

"I think it's guilt you're feeling," Scameron pointed out, while he, Hunter, Barb, and Joana looked absolutely underwhelmed.

"Those kids… they're too young to be joining covens," Barb said, still shook about it.

"Look at the bright side, everyone," Alburno said, trying to lift up their spirits. "Those teens are saved, and with the Day of Unity so close they had to join covens anyway."

"Yeah, it was inevitable for them to be in the covens, right Le'Belle?" Venoma asked, while Le'Belle was taken off guard by Venoma's question to her.

"I… I think that…" Le'Belle didn't know what to think of all of this. After being quiet for a few moments, she looked down and just sighed. "All we can do is notify their families to let them know that they're alright. I mean, we did save them from the Tarot Guild." She turned to Hunter for an answer. "Right?"

Hunter didn't hear her right away, still dwelling on Dmitri's words to him. Realizing someone had spoken to him, he looked up at Le'Belle. "Yeah, we did do that," he admitted. The Tarot Guild were obviously the bad guys here… so didn't that make them the good guys?

"Greetings, Boiling Isles Guardians," said a voice.

Everyone turned to see that Abel had suddenly popped up. Venoma looked surprised. "Gah! Geez, Abel, don't scare us like that!"

"My apologies, Ms. Heathens," Abel said. "I just came by to give you all congratulations on a successful mission in busting that Tarot Guild. Hunter, Captain Leonte spoke very highly of you and the others."

"Um… thanks, Abel," Hunter replied.

"Anyway, I am here to announce that there will be a gallery event tonight," Abel explained. "Plenty of Coven Heads, Emperor's Coven officials, and celebrities will be attending. So it would be nice to see someone representing BIG at the gallery."

"An art gallery? Sounds fun," Alburno said while turning to Venoma. "What do you say, Venoma?"

"Well… it's not like I have anything better to do tonight," Venoma said with a shrug.

The others didn't look quite as onboard with the idea.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night," Barb said.

"Yeah, same," Scameron responded.

"I gotta hit the hay for early training tomorrow anyway," Joana excused herself while also wanting to get this mission out of her mind.

"Yeah, looking at art galleries ain't Thunder's thing," Thunder said while looking uneasy.

"Well, I'm good to go," Le'Belle said, forcing a smile. "I am always more than willing to represent the best of the Emperor's Coven. As a captain-in-training, I am-"

"Thank you, Ms. Case," Abel replied while turning to Hunter. "What about you, Hunter?"

Hunter looked down, thinking the art gallery could be an opportunity to get his mind off of those kids. "As the Golden Guard, I have obligations to represent the Emperor's Coven, so… I guess I could go."

"Great," Abel said with a smile. "Make sure you wear something nice." He then turned to the other four. "As for the rest of you, enjoy the rest of your night."

Later, before he went to the gala, Hunter had something he wanted to do first. He stood in front of the Porter Home, where the yard had been kept cut thanks to the neighbors. But he noticed tons of mail in the mail box. He heard Flapjack ask him why he was here again.

"I wanted to check it again for clues about Perry's disappearance," Hunter explained. "I know that we've been here before, but I feel like there is something here but I'm just missing it," he said while entering the house, using an unlock papyrus to open the door.

He scouted through the house, trying to check every corner and cranny. Flapjack chirped again, asking why they couldn't just ask Belos about it.

"I don't think I could talk to him about this," Hunter admitted. "If Boscha's brother is of any indication… my uncle may not be forgiving towards rebels."

Flapjack pointed out they were still alive.

"Yeah, for now," Hunter said. "But the fact that I haven't found any record of Perry's arrest is very suspicious… like they're hiding something."

He used a light glyph to look around as he walked through the kitchen. However, during his inspection he noticed something on the floor… a strange powder-like substance. He knelt down to get a better look at it while Flapjack asked him what it was as he pulled out a tube.

"A clue, old chum." Hunter replied while taking a sample of the strange substance. "This may be a lead, though I'll have to find someone we can trust to analyze this…" He then looked at his watch, noticing the time. He sighed. "But first, I got a gala to attend."

At Oscorne Industries, Gibson was alone in his office while looking at the newspapers on his desk. The controversy surrounding both Oscorne and Blight Industries were on the front page, making Gibson grumble. Without Alador, he couldn't continue with the Abomitonium project. Even with his parents' help, he'd still prefer working with Alador. Dark minds think alike, after all. With his son still missing, his partner unavailable, and the controversy connecting him with the Grim Goblin, Gibson felt utterly defeated. Turning the page of the newspaper, he saw a photo of Eve and the SSE when talking about their encounters with the Grim Goblin, causing him to growl.

Turning away from his desk, he moved a painting that was on the wall, revealing a vault. He tapped on his keypad, which opened up the vault on the wall. He pulled out his most prized possession from the vault. "To think it all started with this," he said to himself while looking at his prized possession. "Terrorance… Stacy… everything I did was for you two…"

In his hand was a piece of the planispheric disk.

Meanwhile, in Lokitown, Vanessa Pierce returned to the film memorabilia store after she left the gala and dropped off her nephew. Her conversation with Adrian was still fresh in her mind as she dug up a box of mementos from her SSE days.

She smiled at the rubber masks and old clues her old team had collected. She found photos of them hanging out, their first Grom, and of course an old photo she found that has her hanging out with her best friend… Stacy. She frowned while looking at the old photo of her dear old friend.

"Oh Stacy… you and Bobby were so great together," she said as she set the photo aside. "I still don't understand what you saw in Gibson." As she held the photo, she remembered the last time she saw Stacy and Bobby. She was one of the witches to see them before Stacy died and Bobby went missing…

Setting her box of memories aside, she decided to walk over to the break room, where she looked over at the statue bust. She opened the head of the bust, revealing a button on the stub of the neck. She tapped the button and the wall opened up, showing a secret passage that led downstairs.

She walked down the steps of the secret passage, which took her underneath the shop. She kept a few things here, but she walked over to one chest in particular. Opening the chest, Vanessa pulled out a pizza slice-shaped artifact and looked it over.

It was a piece of the planispheric disk.

"What is this even good for?" she asked while looking at the symbol on the disk, which was similar to the symbol on King's collar…

Meanwhile, in an old cemetery obscured by fog, a hooded figure stood in front of a certain tombstone. Underneath the hood was the face of Adrian Graye. In his hand was a flask of apple blood. The man looked down at the tombstone in front of him. This was not his first time visiting this cemetery and he often came here when he wanted to think about her…

Artemis in her scout uniform entered the throne room. She had been summoned by both the Emperor and the original Golden Guard, who cleared out the throne room so it was just the three of them.

"Hello, Artemis," Belos greeted.

"My Emperor," Artemis responded as she knelt down and bowed her head.

"Come now, you know that you can call me… uncle," he encouraged her.

"For what reason have I been summoned?" she asked while turning to the Golden Guard.

"Belos figured that we could have a private chat among family," the Golden Guard suggested.

"Yes, it has been a while since we've really talked," Belos said as he removed his mask, revealing his face. "You have been so busy with your duties, both of you, that we've hardly ever had the chance to spend any time together."

"Oh, that's it?" Artemis asked while removing her mask. "Is that all you want to talk about?"

When the two looked at Artemis, their eyes widened in shock upon seeing her face. "Artemis!" the Golden Guard shouted.

"What…?" she asked as she reached up to feel her face. Her scars had seemed to grow, covering even more of her face. And when she felt it and then looked at her hand… she saw blood. "GAAAAAAH!" she screamed in shock as she began to bleed from her face. "W-what is happening to me? What is happening to me?!"

"Artemis!" Belos said as he stood up, realizing what was happening. "Oh no… she's deteriorating!"

"…deteriorating," Artemis responded before looking back up at Belos and the Golden Guard, her expression becoming angry. "You knew. YOU KNEW!"

"Artemis, calm down!" the Golden Guard said as he and Belos approached her. "You're only going to make your deterioration worse by-"

"Stay back! Both of you!" Artemis shouted as she drew a spell circle, causing a wall of fire to spring up between her and the two brothers. However, that strain only made things worse as Artemis began to scream in pain, her whole body shaking. She pulled off her gloves, revealing that cracks were appearing on her hands as well, much to her horror. And as she panicked, it only sped up the process as the cracks spread across her whole body… and she felt her body start to rot. She looked up at Belos and the Golden Guard with bloody tears falling from her eyes. "You knew this might happen, and you still decided to create me?! What is wrong with you?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" she cried out while in pure agony.

"Artemis!" Belos cried as he and the Golden Guard tried to do something to save Artemis while she was in this state… but it was too late.

"I'M DYING AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" she cried out, her last coherent words as blood gushed out of her mouth. Her head then shook violently as her body seemed to swell up and become bloated… before it burst. She exploded right in front of them as blood splattered everywhere.

"ARTEMIS!" the two shouted in anguish. But there was now nothing left of Artemis but blood and bits of organs that were now all over the throne room. Such was the result of Grimwalker deterioration…

Adrian stared in silence at the grave. After taking a drink, he sat down in front of the tombstone and sighed. "Hey, it's me again."

As he said this, he looked at the name on the tombstone: Marilyn Clawthorne.

Meanwhile, Hunter had returned to the castle after his visit to the Healing Coven. He looked absolutely devastated from not only what happened at the gala with Head Witch Brooke, but from what Luz and Eda told him about what they learned about the creatures from Belos's vision. The realization that his uncle is responsible for setting up the events that could doom the Boiling Isles really shook him up. He collapsed in his bed, groaning.

"Caw-Caw!"

Hunter looked up at the crow flying towards him. He grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Hunter, it's me, Howard Hatesew," spoke Howard on the other line. He spoke quickly, his tone panicked.

"H-Howard?" Hunter asked in confusion.

"Listen, I can't say much right now, but I have found something that you may want to see," he told Hunter. "Come to my office. Make sure nobody follows you. And Hunter… you asked nobody else about this horned pagan deity, right?"

"…yes," Hunter answered reluctantly. "What's going on, Hatesew? Is everything okay?"

"Just come to my office and I will explain everything," Hatesew said before hanging up.

After his call with Hatesew, Hunter rushed through the castle until he found Hatesew's office and let himself in. "Mr. Hatesew, it's me, Hunter," he said as he looked around the office. It was absolutely filled top to bottom with all kinds of strange artifacts and books around. He saw the skull of a grootsnag, a stone tablet with ancient writing, and many, many books of research and ancient history. He then spotted Howard sitting on his chair in silence.

"Um… so… did you find what I was looking for?" Hunter asked him, but Howard didn't reply. "Mr. Hatesew?" he asked again while walking up to him. "Hey, Mr. Hatesew," he said as he walked around his desk, trying to get his attention. "Why are you so quiet?!" he yelled, while moving his arm… only for Hatesew's body to fall out of his chair, his mask tumbling off. Hunter gasped in shock when he saw Hatesew's face without his mask. "Titan…" His eyes widened as he looked at the man's unremarkable… and lifeless face.

Howard Hatesew was dead.

BuckJohnson here.

So... this chapter requires an explanation. Our original idea was for a chapter that switched between Hunter and Emily's perspectives, leading up to Emily rejoining the Emperor's Coven. But as we developed the chapter, we realized that we had to give Hunter and Emily each their own chapters, to make it less overwhelming for the readers and to get this chapter out on time for the third year anniversary of Luz Clawthorne. Fortunately, a lot of Emily's scenes have already been written, so you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter. But your patience will be rewarded.

And yeah, Emily Tricks and Cross Drakescale are now promoted into the main cast.

This chapter did introduce a few new Total Drama expies: Dogma Taggs (who is based on Brick), Chantley (who is based on Eva), and Barbara Marlo (who is based on Zoey). Another expy named Spencer (who is based on Mike) is also mentioned.

The other notable OC introduced in this chapter is Howard Hatesew, who was submitted by Trickster3696 and was based on Howard Lovecraft. Hopefully they don't mind that Hatesew died so quickly before he knew too much, highlighting the potential danger that Hunter is in.

Another OC would be Ms. Jitters, the Emperor's Castle's librarian who is a parody of Ms. Bitters from Invader Zim.

Now let's talk about Artemis... as some of you have no doubt speculated, Artemis was a Grimwalker of Marilyn Clawthorne. She's actually loosely based on an OC named Hazel who was created by winter_berry132. In their AU, Hazel was one of the Grimwalkers before Hunter. She knew that she wasn't a witch, but because of imperfections in the formula, her health started getting significantly worse very fast until she began to literally rot alive and Belos had to kill her because her existence only brought pain to her. This is what inspired "Grimwalker deterioration", which as we saw with Artemis, isn't pretty. While Artemis lasted longer than Belos and Sir William's past attempts to create Grimwalkers, she was also the first Grimwalker they were able to get attached to and her death was why Belos promised not to try to create anymore Grimwalkers, because of that deterioration. However, Belos chose to break that promise when he made Hunter. More about Artemis and her situation will be revealed in later chapters, especially since Graye did know that she was a Grimwalker.

And yeah, it's the three year anniversary for Luz Clawthorne. How 'bout that? In honor of it, me and JP have decided to announce the five winners of the fankid contest, who will be drawn at some point.

Anne (daughter of Emily and Zee) - Submitted by Shuffollower

Icilyn Masterscale (daughter of Cross and Donna) - Submitted by Crosshot/Crash-X-Fusion

Caronte Tholomule (son of Steve and Sunny) - Submitted by Jack_Skeletron_4ever

Menthel Case (son of Meg and Le'Belle) - Submitted by Jack_Skeletron_4ever

Eden Brooke (daughter of Willow and Skara) - Submitted by Jack_Skeletron_4ever

That's it for now, but before we go, we do have one more treat for you...

Next time, on Luz Clawthorne Book 2...

On a boat, Luz hangs her arm around an unenthusiastic Cross, "Come on, what's one adventure gonna hurt?" she asks him.

"With you, a lot." Cross respond.

"Come on, please?" Luz keeps asking him.

"No," Cross respond while walking away.

"Please?" Luz keeps asking.

"No." he replied dryly.

"Just give up, you're a part of this, might as well live with it." King told Cross as Amity gave a nod.

"It's inevitable." Amity states.

["Save Me" by Remy Zero plays]

Luz, Eda and King are in the Human Realm, looking up in front of them is an antebellum mansion.

"So this is where the party is happening?" Luz asks Eda.

"Well that's what I've been told." Eda respond, while looking curious.

Emily and Zee are seen hanging out together, as the two share a laugh.

Tom and Boscha are seen having a date together, the two were holding hands together as they smile together.

Boscha, Gavin, Angmar, Ulka, Tom and Hunter faces off against Nicole and her shadows.

Emily was in tears, as she sees the red flames coming out of her hands. She unleashed a yell…

Nina fights off against the Silver Sentry, slashing at her armor while the Silver Sentry uses her magic.

Donna clashes her keyblade against Cutburn's large surgeon knife as the two battle.

Cross using his dragon wings, flew up against the Grim Goblin as he shoots flames from his mouth. The Grim Goblin laughs while dodging the fiery attack.

Luz and Beel ends up fighting against some carnivorous plants, with Luz using her fire and ice magic.

Cross in his dragon form, fights off against a bunch of Titan Trappers using his magic.

The Inner Demon laughs as he over towers everyone in front of him. Luz, Amity, Eda, Lilith and Snope all stand on their ground, facing off against the dream demon.

Things will get weird…

…

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm back, bitches!" declared Bill Cipher.

Luz Clawthorne: Two Worlds, One Family.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" Sasha shouts while standing along side Anne, Sprig and Polly while in Anne's home.

Also on a head's up for those who don't know, the recently new LC Presents: Helluva Dad chapter is out way before this chapter came out.

Now for reviews:

Krypto Writes: Hollow Mind is still happening, just not right away. We've got a lot more to cover before we get to that point.

Crash X Fusion: Well, we are both fans of the TMNT franchise. And also, you can expect Quirky Guy to live more. And also to mention that both Cross and Emily are now part of the main cast of LC. Hope you're a proud papa to see Cross being part of the main cast. And thanks for the intro.

OMAC001: No spoilers

Matteso585: 1) Amity doesn't completely lose fate in Kitsuni and the authorities, since she has already forgave Kitsuni and learns that it was out of her control. Besides, everyone else already fought against the Guild members, no reason to hurt themselves more. Plus the Yokai Realm is Kitsuni's home realm, so it made sense to tip the Supreme Daiymo about their location.

Richardo Alfredo Almiron: This isn't the end of the Tarot Guild Arc yet. Also 1) No, The Alchemist's motivation is simply wanting a mutant army, not some misguided attempt to save the world. That's already Belo's motivation. 2) Eventually. 3) Yeah.

Ultimate-drax: More chapters to explain their situation soon...

Shuffollower: Well, all that matters is that the heroes are safe and the Alchemist and Ninja Supreme won't be heard for a while. Todd probably have seen glimpses of Kitsuni's memories.

RJWritingInk: Well, of course Donna will screw it up since she never knew much about human pop culture.

Spantidem7: 1-3) We don't do song requests. Also we believe that Scrappy Doo is very overhated. 4) You'll learn soon. 5) You'll see him probably later on. 6) Sometime soon. 7) No, Ghost doesn't hate Luz.