AN: Well, here we are. Not my first fanfic, but hopefully the first one that I don't eventually become ashamed of. It's a bit more dialogue heavy than I'd like, but that was probably inevitable with this premise. Hopefully I didn't write anyone too OOC (I don't think I did, but I've never been the best judge of that sort of thing).

"GET BACK HERE!"

These were the words spoken (read: shouted) by one Luz Noceda as she chased a small owl carrying a bag of several times its weight of trash (and one priceless book) through the woods. Her chest ached slightly from the exertion, but she refused to give up. She was getting her book back from this feathered jerk if it killed her!

...Okay maybe she wouldn't go that far, but still.

The chase came to a brief lull when the bird flew into an old decrepit cabin. Luz paused briefly, the old building giving her a sense of unease. But her face quickly turned back to one of determination, and she resumed her sprint to the door.

In another timeline, this would be the start of an epic adventure, filled with danger, magic, and even— eventually — love. In another timeline, Luz would go on to play a key role in foiling the machinations of a madman seeking dimensional annihilation.

In another timeline, Luz's haste didn't lead her to trip over a stray rock on the ground.

Luz let out an "EEP!" as she plowed belly-first into the ground. She stayed that way a few moments before shakily pulling herself up with a groan, ignoring the protests of her body parts that took the worst of the tumble. Azura now, pain later.

Staggering up to the door, still winded from her fall, she took a moment to examine the door. It was a rather unique design, what with the giant yellow eye in the middle. It also looked oddly pristine, which didn't match up with the rest of the building at all. Luz gathered herself and took a step forward…

And that was as far as she got before the door exploded outwards and a green blur rushed through. Said blur either didn't notice Luz or was too fast to stop, because it slammed right into her and – for the second time within about a minute – she was sent tumbling down.

After once again taking time to process what just happened, Luz shook off the dizziness and attempted to untangle herself from the pile of entangled limbs and scales she found herself in.

Wait, scales?

Looking to the side, Luz was shocked to find herself face-first with a… snake… person… thing? Well whatever it was, it was just as surprised to see Luz as she was to see it. After taking the few seconds needed for their brains to process what they were seeing, the two both jumped to their feet/tail (a process made more difficult with said tail having inadvertently wrapped around Luz's body). There was a moment of silence, as Luz stared at the creature (Naga? Luz thought it looked like a naga) in awe while the eyes of said creature darted around frantically. It then looked directly into Luz's eyes with a panicked expression before blinking… sideways?

The silence was broken by Luz, who cautiously raised a hand in greeting. "Uh… hi?"

This apparently broke the being out of its stupor, for it immediately turned tail (literally, in this case) and slithered away at high speed.

"WAIT, DON'T GO!" Luz cried after it.

Surprisingly this seemed to work, as the creature halted and, after a moment of hesitation, turned back to look at the girl, adopting a look of confusion when they saw Luz's giddiness. At least, Luz thought it was confusion. She wasn't exactly an expert on snake-people body language.

"You…" they started, "you're not… scared of me?" Ironically, it was fairly obvious from her (at least, Luz thought the voice sounded like a her) tone that she was the scared one.

The reptilian girl didn't think it was possible for the human to look even more excited but somehow she found a way. "YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!" she asked/screamed.

The unknown creature was taken aback by the sudden increase in volume. "Uh… I guess?"

Luz started wandering around in a small circle as her speech devolved into a muttering storm. Despite the low volume, the mysterious being was still able to pick out a few phrases repeated over and over, such as "Oh my god!" and "This is so cool!" as well as a few sentences in what was probably another language but may as well have been gibberish to her.

Eventually the human managed to collect herself (to a certain extent), and eagerly offered out her hand. "Hi, I'm Luz! Luz Noceda!" she excitedly introduced herself.

The presumed-naga looked down at the extended arm and nervously backed away a few inches.

Luz held up her hands in a placating manner. "Whoa, hey, it's okay; I'm not going to hurt you!" This didn't seem to fully convince the snake-like creature, but seeing as she didn't make any further move to escape either, Luz continued. "What's your name?"

"Nu-Number Five…" the naga stammered.

Luz raised an eyebrow. "Your name is 'Number Five?'"

The so-called "Number Five" winced. "N-no it… it's Vee." Vee looked down. "My name is Vee now," she added in a murmur, too softly for Luz to make out.

"Well, Vee, it's nice to meet you!" And then the glee in her voice was back. Luz paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next. There were just so many things she wanted to ask! Best start with the basics then. "So, uh… are you a naga?"

"…Basilisk, actually."

Luz was going to be honest, she wouldn't have guessed that. Still, at least the now-known-as-a-basilisk was talking to her now, so progress! A chirp came from her pocket, but she ignored it in favor of approaching closer and asking more questions. "Where do you come from? Are there more of you? What other creatures are real? Is magic real? Oh my god this is the best day EVER!" Okay, so that last one wasn't a question, but that didn't make it any less true.

Vee was caught off-guard by the rapid volume of questions suddenly thrown her way. "I- sorry, could you slow down a bit?"

Luz stopped talking for a moment and, noticing how she had unintentionally come up very close to the basilisk, stepped back. "Sorry, I… it's just that this is so COOL! I can't believe I'm meeting a real-life monster!"

Vee flinched back and Luz, realizing what she just said, felt rather guilty. "Sorry, I-" she said softly, looking away. "I didn't mean to call you a… you know."

"It's fine," Vee said in a tone that suggested it wasn't. "But… I prefer the term 'demon.'"

"Okay," Luz replied. Personally she'd imagine that being called a demon would be just as bad as being called a monster, but if that's what she wanted… Still, best change the subject. "So where do you come from?"

"A place called the Boiling Isles," Vee said, in a slightly less nervous tone. "It's in the Demon Realm."

Well, that explained her word choice. But wow, an entirely different realm… Luz knew that was a possibility of course, but it was still a toss-up between that or a hidden community somewhere on Earth. She was glad to hear it was the even better one of two awesome options. "Does that mean there are other types of demons?"

"…Yeah, there's… quite a few…" Vee trailed off, thinking of the countless species she's been "introduced" to over the years.

Luz, to engrossed to notice Vee's hesitation, pried for more details. "Can you give me some examples?

"Well," the demon started, trying to distract herself from the memories of the tests by focusing on what was said between them, "there's three main types; beast, biped, and bug. And then there's also witches, bu—"

Luz perked up at the mention of witches. "Like the Good Witch Azura?"

"Uh… I don't know who that is," Vee admitted.

Luz beamed. "Oh, it's the best series ever!" she exclaimed, happy to find yet another excuse to gush about her favorite series. "She's fierce but kind and always finds a way to win even when everything's stacked against her… You'll see, I have the whole series," well, most of it now, "I can lend you the first book later!" She gasped as she came to a realization. "Oh my god, I get to be your human guide!"

Vee, while less tense now that the human had found another fascination to obsess over rather than her, was confused. "My what?"

However, the hyperactive girl was too engrossed in her musings to answer the basilisk directly, and began pacing once more. As she did so another chime came from her pocket, but she was too engrossed to notice that either. "I get to be the first person to show a demon around the Human Realm! I can show her everything; the best movies, the best food! And the— Oh…" Luz paused as she realized the problem with that. Well, two problems actually, but she was (reluctantly) willing to wait a few months for one of them to resolve itself. And the other one was… probably fixable.

Vee, trying to ignore the fact that the human was talking about her like she wasn't there (a situation which was unfortunately familiar to her), spoke up. "Is… something wrong?"

"Well…" Luz turned back to face her, "…Let's just say we can't exactly go out in public with you looking like that," she said. "But we can probably come up with a disguise or something, then I can show you everything this world has to offer!" Her gaze turned analytical, which gave the displaced basilisk some uncomfortable flashbacks. "We'll need a lot of make-up," she said softly, talking just as much to herself as to Vee, "and probably a wig of some kind… The tail's the biggest problem, but we might be able to cover it with a long dress or something… That'd still look a bit weird though…"

"Uh, actually," Vee interrupted.

Luz was drawn out of her thoughts. "You have an idea?"

"Well, you see…" the basilisk took a deep breath. This was probably going to come out sooner or later, so it was probably better to just show the human now. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Luz looked in awe as Vee's form shifted. Scales became skin, her tail split in two, and suddenly Luz was staring down an exact copy of herself, right down to the clothes and the scrapes she received from her earlier fall(s). She squeed in excitement. Even when she thought this couldn't get any cooler, it did! Who couldn't separate fact from fiction now, Mom? "Oh my god that's amazing!" She moved back closer to examine… well, herself, gaining a quizzical look. "So is this just an illusion-type deal, or are you like, actually shape-shifting?"

"Shape-shifting," Vee confirmed, except now even her voice sounded exactly like Luz. "I can't cast Illusion spells. Or..." she looked down in embarrassment, "...any spells, actually."

Luz cocked her head. "That wasn't a spell?" Vee shook her head, and Luz frowned before quickly regaining her chipper attitude. "Well, maybe you just haven't found a spell that works for you yet!"

Vee shook her head once more. "No, I mean I literally can't cast spells. I don't have a bile sack."

Confusion showed on Luz's face. "A what?"

"A bile sack," Vee explained. "It's an organ witches apparently have. You can't cast magic without one."

"Oh." It took Luz a moment to process that implication. "Wait, does that mean I couldn't cast magic?"

"I'd… assume not?"

Even though Vee sounded unsure of herself on that point, Luz still slumped in disappointment as her dreams were crushed once again. "Awww, man…" Vee felt slightly guilty at that, but the girl quickly perked up and changed the topic. "So, can you like… change into anything, or just what you've seen before?"

"Well, I need a clear picture of what I want to look like, so I usually just copy who I've seen before." The demon paused in thought. "I could probably come up with an original disguise if I tried, I'd just need time to come up with a full mental image."

Luz hummed in thought and brought her gaze down to Vee's shirt. "So… are these clothes like… part of your body?"

"Pretty much." Vee pulled her short-sleeve back to her shoulder. Taking a closer look, Luz saw that there was a section where her skin and the fabric were essentially fused together.

"Huh." Luz pulled back. "So..." she lightly pinched the hem of the not-hoodie between her thumb and fingers, "...does that mean you can feel this?" she followed up, rubbing the fabric between her digits.

Vee made a so-so motion with her hand. "Kind of. It's like…" the shapeshifter paused, unsure how to explain this to a non-shapeshifter. "...Like when someone rustles your hair, and you can't feel their hand but still feel it happening, I think… if that makes any sense."

"I… think it does?" Apparently that was the last question the girl could think of, because she didn't ask any more.

For her part Vee wasn't sure how to feel about this girl and her questions. By all accounts she should hate it, it was scarily similar to them. And yet, there was just something about her, Vee wasn't sure what. Maybe it was how exited she was about the situation, maybe it was that her questions sounded full of genuine curiosity and not just the scientific variety. Heck, maybe it was just the fact that Vee was talking to someone actually around her own age for once (was she? Vee didn't know how humans aged). Regardless, the demon had a feeling that things could have gone a lot worse upon going through that door.

"Well, I'm glad I met you." Luz's adopted a melancholy look. "...Even if I won't be able to see you again for a while…"

"What…" Vee looked to her new friend with an uncertain expression. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted to show me around?" After actually spending time with this human, that option sounded a lot more appealing than it would have.

"I'm going to a summer camp." Luz let out a big sigh. "I won't be coming home for a few months. Bu-But after that I'd love to!" she tried to reassure.

"Oh…" the demon looked down. "Could…" she looked back up, cautiously optimistic, "...I come with you?

Luz broke into a grin. "I would love that!" And then, just as suddenly, the grin vanished. "But no… it's way too late for new people to sign up."

"So… what happens to me now?" Vee's voice shifted back to the scared tone she had when first speaking.

Luz raised a finger "I…" she lowered it, "may not have thought of that," she admitted with embarrassment. "But… What was your plan when you came here?"

Vee averted her eyes, "I… didn't really have time to come up with one… I just saw an opportunity to escape, and I took it."

"Escape?" Luz became a bit concerned at the implications of that. Although come to think of it, it did explain some of her earlier behaviors. "From what?"

Vee hugged herself tightly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Luz said, ignoring her curiosity just this once. "…I guess… we could…" Honestly, Luz had no idea what to do. So, she fell back to what most children her age did when they weren't sure on a course of action, even if recent events made her not a fan of said course right now. "… ask my Mom?"

"Uh…" It was rather obvious Vee was not… enthused about this suggestion. "Are you… sure we can trust her? I mean…" Vee held up her arm and briefly showed its natural form before reassuming her Luz-guise.

"W-we don't have to tell her everything!" Luz quickly clarified. She took a deep breath and continued to explain. "First we need to get you a disguise that's… you know, not me. Then we just tell her you need a place to stay for a bit."

Vee thought that sounded like a decent idea, but was still a bit hesitant. "But… what if she says no?"

"Even if she says no, she'll still help figure things out." Luz averted her eyes. "I hope" she muttered.

Apparently she shouldn't have said that last part, because Vee only became more panicked. Luz placed a hand on her shoulder. Vee tensed up, but didn't make any effort to remove it. "Hey, hey, it's okay, just take a deep breath." Vee did so. It actually seemed to help. "Better?" Vee nodded. "Okay. We'll figure this out, alright?"

"Okay…" Vee gave a shaky smile. "Thanks… Luz..."

"Luz!?" A panicked call drew the pair's attention was drawn back towards the direction Luz came from, where they saw a woman dressed in blue approaching. The woman's frantic face became one of relief upon seeing he daughter. She said "Oh, thank god, I was looking everywhere..." her voice trailed off as she noticed that there were twice the amount of Luz she expected. "...you?"

The Luz on the right froze and went pale, while the one on the left chuckled nervously. "Oh… Hi… Mom…" she scratched her head, "So, funny story…"

Camila's mouth opened as she raised a finger, then closed as she couldn't think of what to say. She tried once more vocalize her confusion, but whatever words she was about to say died on her tongue when the one on the right blinked sideways!

The Luz on the left leaned over to the right one. "I think you broke her," she whispered.

AN: So I was just letting my thoughts wander when I realized that Vee would have had a rather limited time to slip through the portal before Eda closed it, then I wondered "Hey what would happen if Vee went through the portal before Luz did?" So here's my answer; an AU where Luz meets Vee but never enters the Demon Realm.

Unfortunately, as much as I would love to see a whole story made out of this, I won't be writing any more. Both because I don't know where to take this from here, but also because I know I won't be able/willing to finish it to the conclusion. And I've never really been that great at holding a cohesive plot for a whole story length; I find writing individual scenes to be easier, more fun, and have end results that I can actually be somewhat proud of. That said, if anyone wants to use this premise, feel free. All I ask is that you let me know so I can take a look at what you come up with. Heck, I'd even be willing to spitball some ideas with you (I already have a couple ideas where this could go, but nothing concrete enough to feel confident putting down). Also, if anyone knows of an existing work with a similar plot-line, I'd appreciate it if you could point me in its direction.

Anyway, thanks for taking a look at my fic, and I'm sorry if you thought it was terrible (because it probably is).

Edit: So yeah, I'm probably going to make this a series. I'm not sure when I'm going to get the next installment out though, but in the meantime I've started a series of short scenes, which you can find on my profile.