Heya, been a while. I am glad to announce that Chapter six is here after two weeks of writing over eleven thousand words over thirty pages. I realized very quickly that this would become the longest chapter by far. Like I said last chapter,I'm back in college, so my free time just took a nose dive.

Also, thanks for the birthday wishes everyone, I appreciate it. But enough talk, I'll let you get on with the story.


Chapter 6: In Between the Lines

It had been a few days since Royal had been rescued from the Emperors' Coven and he had spent most of that time recovering. Normally, it should've been a quick process, but it had taken Lancer a long time to fully repair the damage that the Vex tech had done to him. Now, Royal was finally back on his feet and ready to get to work. He was currently sitting on the floor in the living room, performing some maintenance on his armor systems. While it was mostly operational again, the comm unit and a few other minor functions were still down. Luz stood on the couch, reading one of her books to King.

"Azura, Hecate began. Our paths have crossed only in battle. But today I stand before you seeking an ally," Luz read aloud as she held the book in a single outstretched hand.

"Luz, you're getting all swoony again," King interjected.

"I can't help it. Azura is able to befriend everyone. Even her biggest rival. I wish I had that kind of power."

King scoffed, "Rivals are meant to be annihilated, not befriended." He waged his tail excitedly, "Now keep reading. I've been sucked into your awful fandom."

Luz acquiesced. "Okay. Suddenly the door swung open."

The door did, in fact, swing open.

"Ding-dong. Ding. Hoot! Hoot!" The resident house demon chanted.

"The book has come to life! Royal, burn it!" King yelled, pointing at Hooty.

The Guardian held up his hands as Luz clutched the book close to her chest. "Woah, I'm not burning anything." Luz nodded in gratitude before dropping down from her perch on the couch and checking outside. She soon walked back in carrying some kind of basket. She carried it into the kitchen, being followed by King. Royal continued to work on his armor, half-listening to the conversation in the next room.

"Eda, you got a package. It looks like a giant gift basket."

"Probably an offering. Ah! Being the most powerful Witch in the Boiling Isles has its perks."

Royal couldn't see what happened next, but he guessed that they opened the package.

"Mm, Fresh meat." That was King.

"No, not eating that." Then Luz.

"Witches eating babies is so 1693. What is this?" And lastly, Eda. Royals' hands froze in place as he realized what she said. Leaping to his feet, he raced over to the kitchen.

"What babies are you not eating?"

"About time you showed up Tincan. Where's Lightbulb at?"

Lancer transmatted in right next to her, causing the Witch to jump slightly. He spun his shell as he greeted Eda, "Yo."

"Don't do that."

"Hang on, there's a note." King reached into the basket and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Take care of my child until morning. Yi Yi," he read off. Eda grimaced, turning her thumbs downward in disapproval.

"Nope. Babies are awful. Not happening." She protested.

King ignored her and continued. "You will be handsomely rewarded. X-O-X-O-X-O-X. Bat Queen."

"Bat Queen, huh? Who's that?" Lancer asked as King pulled out a bag of Snails.

"Only the richest Demon on the Boiling Isles. If you get in good with her, you'll be set for life," Eda explained as she grabbed one of the Snails and inspected it. "If we keep this sucker alive for a few hours, we'll be rewarded handsomely."

"Our greatest adventure yet!" Luz proclaimed, "Learning about love and life through a child's eyes."

"Not you," Eda said, shooting down her ward's hope, "you have to return the books I checked out from the library." A quick spell circle opened a portal that dropped a large stack of books into Luzs' arms. She leaned in closer to King, whispering just loud enough that Royal could only barely hear her. "I don't want her getting a cut of the loot."

"Well," Royal said, clapping his hands together, "I'll take my gear out back so I don't disturb you." He began to back away, only for Eda to grab him by the collar.

"Oh no you don't. You still owe me and I'm cashing in. And don't even think about snagging any of my loot." King coughed slightly into his claw. "Sorry, our loot. Now, let's take a look at this little darling." She pulled the blanket off, startling the baby and causing it to wake up. It opened its' mouth and let out a piercing screech that shook the room.

"On second thought, maybe we could use your help," Eda shouted to Luz.

"Well I better get to the library! Got to go! Bye!" Luz raced out as fast as she could, leaving Eda to grumble.

"Whatever, we can handle this on our own." She ducked as the baby spread its wings and took flight. "We can handle this, right?" Royal grabbed King and huddled under the table.

"Lancer, got any ideas for this?" He asked, only to receive no response. "Lancer? Where did you go?" Eda slid in next to the Guardian.

"Lightbulb ditched us for the kid, didn't he?" She asked. Royal nodded glumly.

"That little son of-" Edas' swear was interrupted by the baby promptly flying into her face.


"Glad I got out of there," Luz said as she stumbled slightly under the stack of books.

"Tell me about it." Lancer chirped beside her. Luz jumped, accidentally dropping her stack, causing the Ghost to immediately break down laughing.

"Lancer? What are you doing here?" she asked a little red in the face from embarrassment.

"You saw the little devil in there, no way in hell I'm sticking around for that. So I figured I'd tag along with you to the library. Not to mention that I don't think you even know where the library is," he explained as Luz began picking up her fallen books.

"Here, let me get that for you." With a quick scan, he transmatted the books, storing them away.

"Thanks for that little buddy. So, how do we get there?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll get you there in no time," Lancer said, though Luz failed to catch the mischievous glint in his eye.


Cold, harsh winds swept through the frost-covered trees. Empty stone ruins from a forgotten society stood long since abandoned. A few small creatures dashed through the snow. Survival in this frozen place was difficult, though not impossible. Witches and Demons rarely visited, unless they had a specific reason. And when they did, they rarely ventured far into the forest.

One such Witch crouched over a pair of tracks. They didn't match anything he had ever seen before. Recent chatter had told of some strange things stalking around the Knee. He believed that it may be the same creature that had killed his guard dog recently. Now he was here for revenge. A branch snapped nearby, alerting the Witch and causing him to raise his palisman. He shifted his stance hesitantly as the bushes rustled. Drawing back his arm, he prepared to attack. The bushes finally grew still and a small animal lept out.

The Witch laughed, lowering his staff. "Hello there little friend, have you seen anything suspicious around here?" Suddenly, a sharp crack roared behind him and something tore through his arm. The small critter scurried back into the underbrush as the Witch fell to the ground screaming. His arm had been severed at the shoulder and he clutched the bleeding stump desperately.

A single Goblin stomped through the trees towards him. Their gait was slow but purposeful. Suddenly, the Goblin stopped. It cocked its' head to the side as if it was listening to a nonexistent song. In reality, it was receiving a transmission from the Vex Domain. An overwhelming presence slammed into it. It knew that had the force desired it, the Goblin would have ceased to exist.

The Goblin twitched mildly. Synegorus was displeased. The Guardian had continued to be a nuisance and progress on the Conflux was slower than anticipated. Fortunately, the Harpy unit had been providing the Paradoxical Mind with a myriad of useful information.

Just as suddenly as it had come, the presence vanished. The Goblin turned back towards the still whimpering Witch as he tried desperately to crawl away. Thoughtlessly, it grabbed him by the throat and began dragging him back to the Conflux site. The Witch screamed in equal parts rage and pain as he was dragged away to horrors unknown.


Luz had been wandering around Bonesborough for an hour. Wrong turns, getting caught in loops, accidentally backtracking, all of it had added up quickly. She had very quickly learned not to trust Lancers' directions. He enjoyed watching her struggle.

"You'll need to take a left here."

She rolled her eyes, disregarding his suggestion. Like she was going to fall for that again.

"Are you still ignoring me?"

Luz continued walking, more focused on not listening to the Ghost than where she was going.

"Alright, seriously, it's directly to your left."

Luz glanced to her left. Sure enough, there it was. She gave a small hmph and continued walking straight. Lancer flew around in front of her.

"Fine, you win."

"What exactly do I win?" Luz asked with a cheeky grin.

"My eternal respect," Lancer replied. Upon realizing that Luz wasn't impressed, he quickly continued, "and the knowledge that you are far better at this than Royal."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, it would've taken him three hours to get this close."

The two laughed at that before Luz accepted his apology. A few more steps and they were finally entering the library. The pair approached the return desk and Lancer materialized the stack of books. The librarian didn't even look twice, simply levitating them through a glowing red circle.

"Late. Late." He paused, grabbing one of the books out of the air. "Coffee grass and bloodstains? These are Eda's aren't they?"

"Huh. That was a crazy night."

"You don't wanna know."

The Librarian sighed, "I'll put them on her tab," he said, pulling out a scroll to write on, "By the way, we're closing early for the Wailing Star meteor shower."

"Ooh. what's that?"

"You're in a library," he said dismissively, "read a book."

"I am in a library," Luz declared as she began to run off, "I will read a book!"

"Hey, wait for me!" Lancer chirped as he followed. The librarian shushed the duo in vain. As the two delved further into the library, they split up. Lancer browsed for a book to read, though how he intended to read without hands, Luz didn't know. Luz herself immediately got distracted. She fed candy to the Demon Decimal System, hitched a joyride on a floating book, and watched as some other patrons used Crystal Balls like computers.

"This place is amazing," she squealed. Her revelry was interrupted by an accusatory voice.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Gasping, Luz tensed up. "I've been caught. Pretend to be a book." She pressed herself against the bookshelf in an attempt to make herself as small as possible. Instead of more scorn, she was met with the sound of children laughing. Her curiosity now peaked, she crept closer to the source of the noise. To her surprise, she saw Amity reading to a crowd of children.

"We're your friends and we wanna help, said the Tin Boy with a yelp. Otabin smiled and paced the floor. I've never had real friends before."

"Amity reading to kids?" Luz wondered aloud. The mint-haired Witch continued.

"Then we'll be your first, the Chicken Witch clucked. Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship and that's the end."

"Amity seems so… nice and smiley." She gasped in realization, "Maybe I can befriend her like Azura befriended her rival."

"What're you up to?"

Luz barely stifled a shout and spun, smacking Lancer out of the air.

"Hey, blue-on-blue!"

"Sorry, sorry. You really gotta stop sneaking up on people."

Lancer huffed, "Oh yes, the fault is clearly mine." Readjusting, he continued, "You have one hell of a swing. That or I have a glass jaw."

"What are you doing here, Human?" A third voice interrupted. For the third time that day, Luz stumbled back in surprise as Amity made her presence known. Quickly recovering, she leaned against the nearby bookshelf in an attempt to look suave.

"Amity," Unfortunately, the book she was leaning on slipped out from under her, "Whoop. Reading to kids. Wow. Looks like this sour lemon drop has a hidden sweet center." Lancer slowly shook his everything in disappointment.

"It's for extra credit," Amity replied tersely as she picked up the book. "Don't get your leggings in a bunch." With that, she turned to leave. Not one to be so easily defeated, Luz called out again.

"Hey, I could help with the kids. We could take turns reading. And do voices. I do the best monster voice," Luz offered excitedly, even putting on a robotic voice at the end.

"Wow, I think that was racist against Exo's," Lancer muttered dejectedly. Amity was not amused either, slamming her books on the table and turning to face Luz.

"Human! Do you see me going to the Owl Shack and bugging you while you… fry up owls? Okay, I don't really know what you do there, but every time you come near me, I get in trouble. Just leave me alone."

Luz backed up, a little taken aback. "I'm sorry," she apologized. She turned around and walked off dejectedly. "I'm sorry." Amity seemed to reach out for a second, only to pull her hand back.

"That was painful to watch," Lancer stated in a dead tone. Amity finally seemed to notice him.

"What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm your conscience," Lancer replied pointedly, "We haven't talked in a while." The Witch rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I have to get going. So go bug the Human, whatever you are," she said dismissively. Lancer fixed her with a look she couldn't quite decipher.

"Are you proud of yourself?"

Amity blinked, having been caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, I didn't think so." With that, he flew off to follow Luz, leaving Amity alone. The Ghost flew back through the bookshelves to catch up with his Human companion. As he drew closer, he saw that she had run into two more Witches with similar hair to Amity, one male and one female. The two were nearly identical, marking them as likely twins. Then again, considering magic, he couldn't be too certain. As he flew closer, he managed to overhear their conversation.

"Who are you?" Luz asked. The two took turns alternating their responses.

"Well-wishers on a mission," the male spoke first.

"A noble quest," the female followed up.

"Watch this," the male said before calling out, "Hey Mittens. Mom says stop forgetting your lunch. And stop being mean to your friend." He held up a lunch bag that was clutched in his hand. From behind Lancer, an indignant Amity stalked over and snatched the bag away from him.

"She is not my friend."

As Luz looked down in disappointment, the older girl slung her arm around the Humans shoulder.

"Yeah, makes sense. She seems too cool for you."

"I am?" Luz asked incredulously. Lancer flew up next to her.

"I thought you were cool way before they did." The twins looked over at him, surprised as Luz grinned a little.

"Thanks, buddy."

"You can leave now. All of you," Amity commanded before turning on her heels and walking back into the Kids Corner. Lancer bunched up his shell in an effort to stick out his tongue. As he did not have one, he came away from the effort rather disappointed.

"So you're the Human we've heard so much about," the male directed at Luz.

"I'm Emira," the newly named Witch introduced, "And this is Edric. We're Amity's older siblings. And you two are?"

"I'm Luz the Human, and this little bundle of joy here is my friend Lancer."

"Sup."

Edric leaned in closer to inspect the Ghost. He reached out to poke Lancer, only to have his hand swatted by his sister.

"What exactly are you? I've never seen anything like you before."

"Apparently, I'm a little bundle of joy."

Emira turned back to Luz. "We heard about how you embarrassed Mittens at school, then again at the Covention. Though I don't think we can pin that one entirely on you."

"I know. But, uh, I didn't mean any of it. I thought we were as cool as cucumbers, but we're as sour as pickles."

"Luz, please," Lancer pleaded, "you gotta stop. You're embarrassing yourself in front of the Witches." She simply stuck out her tongue at him. He looked away, grumbling, "Oh yes, just go and show off your actually tangible tongue. I'm not jealous or anything."

"Don't waste your time with Mittens," Emira consoled, "Me and Ed, we're way more fun. Follow us."

"Where are you taking us exactly?" Lancer eyed them suspiciously.

"Relax little dude," Edric eased, "we'll show you two how to really have some fun."

The twins whisked an eager Luz away as Lancer followed reluctantly. Luz and Lancer watched as Edric wiped the "Non" part off a 'Nonfiction" sign. Right as he did, a librarian came through leading a tour group.

"And here we go towards our nonfiction section." He let out a gasp as he read the sign, "Fiction, fiction? Is our life but fiction? Then what in my life is real anymore?" The Witch broke down sobbing as they all slipped away. Not much later, the group snuck up on a librarian busy shelving books. As he placed one on the shelf, it became enveloped in blue light. The librarian absent-mindedly continued his work, unaware that Emira kept returning the book to his cart. Edric then used the same spell to swap him with one of his coworkers who was high up on a ladder inspecting the stock. Somehow, neither of them noticed for a few seconds. The same librarian from earlier was the first to catch on, suffering another breakdown. Lancer couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the man. He was just trying to do his job and he was getting tormented for it. The second Witch promptly proceeded to fall off his ladder.

"Oh my stars! Is he ok? That must've been a 15-foot drop at least," Lancer panicked. The twins were too busy enjoying themselves to care, already heading off to their next prank. Luz followed, too caught up in the moment to realize what had happened. Rather than follow, Lancer flew over to check on the downed Witch. He was lying on the ground, groaning.

"Hey, hey! You alright? Can you hear me?" Lancer asked worriedly. The Witch rubbed their head tentatively.

"I think so, I just wasn't expecting that."

"Maybe you should go take a seat, let yourself rest for a bit," Lancer suggested. The Witch shook his head.

"No, no. I'll be fine," he said with a tired voice. Before he could continue, Amity ran up from behind him.

"Excuse me, sir, some delinquents are making a mess of the Demon Decimal System," she reported, casting a suspicious eye on Lancer.

"Don't look at me, not my fault," he defended.

The Librarian dusted himself off. "Well, we better go sort this out."

A short walk led them back to the entrance where the twins and Luz had created an enormous storm of papers. The librarian shook his head tiredly as the twins high-fived each other.

"Hey!" Amity shouted, catching their attention as the librarian scowled fiercely.

"Wait, where's Gary?" he asked suddenly. One of his coworkers ran up from behind him.

"Coming," he panted. As he arrived, he caught sight of the mess in front of him, he fell to his knees and cried out in despair. His coworker patted him on the shoulder.

"All of you. Out. Now," he ordered, pushing Luz and the twins out of the library. When they reached the front door, he practically threw them out.

"And stay out!" He turned around, dusting off his hands and sighing.

"Do you need me to help with the clean-up, sir?" Amity asked. He waved his hand absently.

"No, no. I'll be able to take care of it all. Though Gary will likely need to take the rest of the day off for the sake of his mental health. Poor man, he's been having a rough day."

"If you say so, I'll get out of your way," she acquiesced.

"I'll get out of your hair as well, if it's all the same to you," Lancer added, "I gotta make sure Luz doesn't get herself into any more trouble." Amity didn't dignify that with a response, instead choosing to simply leave. Lancer shrugged and followed. As they left, he saw that Luz, Edric, and Emira were still outside talking. Before he could call out, Amity pulled him behind a pillar.

"Wait, I want to hear what prank they're planning," she explained as she stared at the trio intensely. Lancer, completely unable to move, mumbled into her palm.

"So, hey, we're coming back tonight," Edric said, "there's a certain book we forgot to… check out."

"And bonus, rumor has it the Wailing Star's supposed to unlock some rare magical event," Emira added, "You in, friend?"

"Sure," Luz said eagerly. The twins departed with Luz waving them off. "Bye. This is great. First, I befriend the siblings then I befriend the Amity," she squealed before running off. Amity watched her run away, her face turning red out of frustration. Her grip tightened around Lancer, causing the Ghost to cry out.

"Oh, sorry," Amity apologized, releasing him," I forgot you were here."

"How do you just forget… never mind. Look, I gotta go. You go do whatever it is you do." With that, he flew off in pursuit of Luz as Amity watched. She looked down at her hands.

"Are you proud of yourself?" She asked herself. To her own disappointment, she was unable to answer.


"You may enter."

Lilith took a deep breath. She cast a glance back to her companions. Steve flashed her thumbs up a while Sturme continued fiddling with one of his contraptions. At least he had the decency to tidy himself up a little bit for a meeting with the Emperor. Steve nudged him slightly, causing him to stumble.

"Are you two ready?" Lilith asked. Steve snapped a quick salute.

"Yes ma'am, we're both good to go."

With that, Lilith pushed open the doors and the three Witches entered the Emperor's throne room. He was resting upon his throne, hands crossed under his chin with his usual, chilling stare.

"Ah, Lilith. I trust the trip was comfortable?" He asked good-naturedly, though his tone made it very obvious that he had no intention of discussing small talk. The three Witches dropped to one knee.

"My Emperor," Lilith began, "There have been a few… developments that you should know about." Emperor Belos continued to stare right through her, so she continued. "Sturme and his team have managed to make incredible breakthroughs with the Vex technology." She waved her hand slightly, signaling for Sturme to step forward. He did so, handing his device over to Steve.

"My Emperor, please allow me to introduce the fruits of our labor to you," He gestured to Steve who held the rifle-like contraption across his chest. "This weapon, provided by the genius of the Vex, is capable of felling almost any foe instantly without the need for any magic from the user. Its projectile is nigh-instantaneous and incredibly precise. Allow us to provide you with a demonstration." The Emperor nodded slightly. Sturme summoned forth an Abomination. The golem towered over him, looking down at Steve, who powered up the weapon.

"Abomination, destroy" Strume ordered. The magical monstrosity lumbered toward Steve, who simply dropped to one knee and aimed the rifle at the Abomination. He pulled the trigger and the device roared to life. A beam shot out from the end and tore through the Abomination. The creature stumbled as the ooze near the impact point bubbled and disintegrated. Steve didn't hesitate, continuing to pull the trigger. After a few more shots, the Abomination was reduced to a puddle of smoking ooze, before even that disintegrated away. Steve stood back up and hefted the rifle up on his shoulder.

"Now, moving on to our next demonstration," Sturme said, drawing and expanding a Vex staff.

"This staff allows for its wielder to channel any type of magic they could normally," he explained. He summoned an Oracle spirit, played a small Bard tune, and cast an illusion of himself. "Best of all, it can channel the users' magic more efficiently, requiring less energy and focus from the wielder. It also has another function." He tapped it against the ground, cycling through the different modes. The staff's tip glowed with Arc, Void, and Solar power.

"With the technology and knowledge of the Vex, we were able to harness power never before seen. Behold, the powers of the cosmos."

"Impressive," Emperor Belos commented, "How do they hold up against live targets?"

"Rather well, my lord," Sturme answered, "we have already tested them on our Guardian friend while he was in our captivity." The Emperor leaned forward.

"You captured the Guardian?"

"Temporarily, the Guardian, now identified as Royal-6, managed to escape with help from the Owl Lady. He had been caught while raiding one of our facilities in an attempt to destroy our research. Many members of the Coven valiantly gave their lives in an attempt to stop him."

Emperor Belos stroked his chin thoughtfully while his subjects waited. Finally, he spoke.

"Lilith, I am issuing a new bounty on the Guardian. He is wanted for espionage, assaulting Coven officials, and murder. Set the bounty as you see fit, but I want him brought to me alive. Understood?"

Yes, my liege," Lilith said with a bowed head. Internally, she was smirking. Eda was so proud of her bounty being the highest on the Boiling Isles. Lilith would be sure to hit her sister right in her oversized ego. The Emperor dismissed them with his hand and the group left his chambers. He tapped his chin pensively.

"So many new factors to consider. The Day of Unity must continue as planned," he muttered to himself before casting his thoughts back to the Vex technology. "However, only a fool wouldn't have contingencies."


Lancer struggled to keep up with Luz as she raced through Bonesborough back to the Owl House. All the time he kept calling for her, but she either couldn't hear him or was just ignoring him. Eventually, Luz arrived back at the Owl House and threw open the door. King was hanging over the backrest of the couch while Royal could be seen lounging on the side nearest to the door. Eda, however, was cradling the baby in her arms.

"I just had the best day," she announced, "Cool teens like me. Call me a library book 'cause they were checking me out." She looked over at her friends on the couch. "Aw, Eda, you look so motherly."

"Say that again and I steal your tongue," Eda threatened, the impact of which was only slightly lessened by the baby she was rocking. Luz walked up, gently prodding the infant.

"How could you say that around this cute little baby?" Unfortunately, due to Luz's disturbance, the baby woke from its rest. It heaved, spitting out a smaller version of itself, who did the same thing in turn. One baby demon quickly turned into three. The Demons took to the air and began to spray fire all over the room. Royal lept to his feet and caught the fire in his hand. Luz quickly backed up to the door while her friends scrambled for cover.

"Parenting sure looks rewarding. Enjoy your life lessons. Bye!" With that, she made her escape. As she turned away from the door, she saw Lancer finally arrive.

"How… the hell… are you so… fast?" he panted.

"How are you out of breath?" Luz countered. Lancer shook himself slightly.

"Not important," he dismissed, "Are you planning on returning to the library?" Luz nodded eagerly causing Lancer to sigh. "I'm not so certain you should. Those Blight twins rub me the wrong way. Those pranks they were pulling earlier, people could've gotten seriously hurt. I'm pretty sure Gary needs a full psychiatric checkup."

"It's fine," Luz calmed, "besides, it's not like you're any stranger to pulling pranks."

"When I do it, it's lovable and charming. And I'm not putting people in actual, physical danger."

"Lancer, please, this is my one chance to try and befriend Amity. I need you to back me up on this," she pleaded, putting on a sympathetic face. Lancer pondered the options for a moment before letting out a loud groan.

"Fine. I'll trust your judgment. But if anything goes wrong, we are leaving," he said firmly. Luz accepted his terms with a nod. "Now, I should probably let Royal know where we're going."

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," Luz objected hesitantly

"Why not?" As Lancer asked, large jets of flame erupted in the windows.

"That why not."


The journey back to the library was quick. Night had fallen and the streets were empty. Lancer was inspecting the door to the building. It was locked, barred shut with magic. If he was given enough time, he was certain he could crack it open. Luz, on the other hand, was pacing near a pillar.

"Gotta be cool," she muttered to herself, resting her arm on the pillar. "Cool? No." She then propped herself up against it. She dropped to her knees, striking a pose. "Cool." Eventually, she gave up, hanging her head and groaning.

"Keep going," Emira's voice cheered her on. Luz yelped, falling over slightly. She shot back to her feet and dusted herself off.

"Why does everyone keep sneaking up on me today?"

"It's fun to watch," Emira replied as her twin walked up from behind her.

"You ready to bring this whole, uh, whatever you're doing, inside?" He asked cheerily. Luz nodded excitedly.

"Lancer, we're going in."

"Sweet," he responded, "So do you have a special key?"

"Something like that," Emira said coyly. Edric pulled out a piece of paper.

"It says no trespassing, but I'm allergic to rules," he said, passing the paper off to his sister

"And dairy," she quickly added.

"Wow, okay. Just expose me."

Emira placed the paper against the lock. It began to glow with magical light before crumpling into itself. The lock expanded until it was large enough for them to all enter through. Or fly through in Lancers' case.

"That is quite the interesting key you have there," the Ghost commented, "I assume that it's one-time use?" His tone made it clear that he knew what they were doing.

"Relax little dude, no one will know we're here," Edric said, slipping through the lock. Emira and Luz quickly followed suit while Lancer looked on. He shook his optic, these twins were a bad influence. Unfortunately, Luz wasn't going to listen to him, so he would have to just tolerate them for tonight and try to minimize the damage.

Excited chatter drew his attention and he joined the others inside. They were all looking up through the stained glass window. A brilliant light shone through the multi-colored window as the faint sound of sobbing could be heard. The books around them began to glow with magical power. Luz grabbed one off a nearby shelf, titled Extinct Birds of the Boiling Isles. She opened the book and a swarm of birds shot upward. The avians flew around the room, cawing and pecking at each other. One of them flew over to inspect Lancer, but he shooed it off with a quick headbutt. The twins audibly wowed at the display.

"The Wailing Star magicked the books to life," Edric exclaimed. Luz closed the book, causing all the birds to vanish. The four quickly split into two groups, finding their own books to experiment with. The twins engrossed themselves in a fashion magazine, donning the appearance of wealthy aristocrats. Luz opened a magazine titled Witches Wares Weekly, causing Lancer and herself to become decked out in adventurers gear. Lancer gained an eyepatch and a small necklace wrapped around his shell while Luz donned the look of a fearsome warrior with a sword far too large for her to wield. As she collapsed under the weight of her new weapon, Lancer floated around aimlessly, unable to see anything. After the two got their new attire off, they regrouped with the twins. After a brief test of comic books, which produced speech bubbles for whatever they said, the four ended up in a snowball fight.

Luz snuck through the aisles, holding her book at the ready. She slowly crept up on the end of the row before jumping around the corner and opening her book, pelting Edric in the face with a flurry of snowballs. He fell to the ground with a dramatic gasp before opening his own copy to return fire. Luz quickly retreated to safety, unaware that Emira was sneaking up behind her.

"Luz, on your six," Lancer called. Luz spun around, catching the other Blight by surprise.

"Nice call little buddy," she said as Emira succumbed to the flurry of snow. She held up her hand for a fist bump, too which Lancer obliged. The twins seem pretty fun, he thought, maybe I overreacted earlier.

The snowball fight continued for a while longer. Luz was hiding behind some bookshelves as the twins ran past. Once they were gone, she rose from her hiding spot. Taking advantage of the twins absence, she slipped inside the Kids Corner from earlier. As she walked in, she saw a book resting on a nearby table. As she grabbed it, she realized it was the same book Amity had been reading earlier. She opened it, causing the Otabin to manifest before her. The two looked at each other and Luz offered a small smile.


Things had not calmed down back at the Owl House. The babies were tearing the place up and the inhabitants had been forced to take cover underneath the couch. Royal peeked out for a second before pulling himself back to safety as a potion landed directly where his face had been.

"What silences children?" King asked frantically, "What if we invented a TV network for ages six to eleven-"

"That's insane," Eda cut him off, "There's only one way out of this." She reached into her tangle of hair and pulled out an intricate-looking knife. King and Royal both gasped, but Eda ignored them as she continued. "Apple slices and story time." She pulled out an apple and began cutting it. "King and I will keep them busy, you take this opportunity to get some of this chaos tidied up," she instructed Royal. Both the Guardian and the Demon nodded.

Eda and King crawled out of their cover. The babies stopped their rampage, turning their attention to the duo. As Eda began to read to them, Royal went around putting out fires, cleaning up spills, and preparing a small bed for the babies. As he worked, his thoughts drifted back to his time in captivity. He had been careless and it had nearly cost him dearly. He looked over the Eda as she read. Truth be told, he still didn't know what to make of the woman. He had never been one for dealing with Lightless civilians, but now he had no other options. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and refocused on the task at hand, there would be time to worry about this later.


"Otabin spends his days alone amongst the many books he'd sewn. With needle and thread, the pages he'd mend. But all the while he longed for a friend," Luz read while the apparition of Otabin knitted away. As she finished, he look up at her with a small expression in his eyes.

"Friend?" He asked, his voice tiny.

"Yeah," Luz said warmly, "Friend."

"Luz, check this out," Edric called from outside the Kids Corner. Luz snapped Otabins book shut and held it at her side as the twins approached.

"Look what we discovered," Emira said. She opened up a book, causing a little duck to materialize from the pages. It hopped down onto the floor and began to waddle around happily.

"Aww," Luz cooed, "cute little quackster." Emira held the book out to her brother, who quickly scribbled something down on the pages. The duck grew a long pair of humanoid legs. It began to panic, quacking madly as it ran around. Lancer flew in behind the Blight Twins.

"Hey guys, have you seen the- BY THE TRAVELER WHAT IS THAT?" He shouted in shock.

"Now he's extra cute," Emira said, ignoring him as she closed the book, silencing the ducks' cries. "Your turn Luz." The Human backed away slowly.

"I don't know," she said hesitantly. Edric held out the pencil towards her.

"Come on. Don't stop the fun."

She took the pencil from his hand and dubiously opened Otabin. She looked down at the drawing of him on the page. Glancing back up, she saw both of the twins watching her expectantly while Lancer shook his optic furiously.

She sighed, "I can't do it."

"Let me help." Edric snatched the pencil and book from her hands, opening it and scrawling a pair of angry eyebrows on Otabin. A formless mass began to writhe just above the pages before Luz slammed the book close.

"I don't wanna see it."

"Whatever," Emira dismissed, "we didn't come here just to doodle. Come on." She grabbed Luz by the hand, dragging her along as they left. In her surprise, Luz dropped the Otabin book. The twins led her and Lancer through the twisting aisles of bookshelves until they arrived at the romance section.

"Oh, wow. Boiling Isles romance. That's totally lame. I mean, unless you guys are into it," Luz quickly corrected herself.

Edric smirked, "I think I'm into this one." He reached up, grabbing a book titled The Lonely Witch and Secret Room. As he pulled it off the shelf, an audible click could be heard. The bookshelf slid back into the wall before moving out of the way, revealing a hidden chamber that someone had turned into a study. There were lights in the shape of stars dangling from the rafters, a small rug on the floor, and a table with a chair on the other side of the room. Along the side walls were more shelves, fully stocked with books.

"Wow! That's a good book," Luz said, awestruck.

"So it's like a mini-library inside a normal library. I can get behind this," Lancer chimed in. He flew over to the table, inspecting it while the others continued to converse.

"Your clubhouse is like my ultimate secret hideaway," Luz carried on, walking through the room with stars in her eyes. Lancer looked over at the candle resetting on the table. The flame sputtered, casting shadows around the room. As he looked at it more closely, he realized that the wax had hardly melted. Whoever had lit this had done so recently.

"Luz, I don't think this place is theirs."

"Little guys right, we wouldn't hang out in a library," Edric confirmed. As he continued, he put on a mocking tone, "Uh, teacher, I'm in love with a dictionary."

"I'm studying the dork arts," his sister followed suit before returning to her normal tone, "This is Amity's secret hideaway."

Lancer flew over to Luz, who was starting to become worried by what the twins were planning.

"What's your game?"

"Mittens has gotten too… full of herself. She keeps tattling on us when we cut class," Edric explained.

"She needs to learn not to mess with people like that. So we're going to find her diary," Emira continued.

"And then post the pages all around school for everyone to see," Edric concluded. The two had a hearty laugh at their plan while Lancer and Luz looked on in disbelief.

"Sorry, you're going to need to run that by me again," Lancer said in disbelief, "I do believe I misheard you. You want to humiliate your younger sister in front of her peers… because she told your parents that you were skipping school?"

"Isn't that taking things a bit too far?" Luz asked as well. Emira shook her head.

"No, it's tough love. She needs to learn to lighten up." The twins began to hunt for the diary, but Lancer wasn't going to let this conversation end. He continued to pester the twins, trying to keep them from making any progress. As he did, Luz passed a cursory glance at the bookshelf behind her. Something caught her eye and she leaned in closer to the shelf.

"Are these the Good Witch Azura books?" she wondered aloud, though no one else heard her. "They are! But only the first four. Wait, is this one's cover hand-drawn?" She asked as she pulled the book off the shelf. The cover was a stylized version of Amity, dressed in the same garb as the eponymous Good Witch. She opened it and a tiny version of Amity manifested from the pages.

"I saw that… Human girl again," she said, "I may have overreacted. I don't wanna come off as cruel. I just can't show weakness." Luz quickly snapped the tome shut. She had to hide it again before the twins noticed.

"What've you got there Luz?"

Darn it.

"Nothing," Luz lied, hiding the book behind her back, "It's just the fifth Good Witch Azura. I didn't know you guys had those here." Unfortunately, the twins didn't buy it. Emira spun a circle with one hand, pulling the book to herself, while the other clutched a struggling Lancer. The two opened it, causing another mini-Amity to appear. Emira let go of the Ghost while the apparition spoke.

"It's not fair, I'm the only one who knows Ed and Em aren't perfect. Why do they keep getting away with things?"

"This is it," Edric confirmed with a self-assured grin. Emira looked up at Luz.

"Why were you trying to hide this from us?"

"You've seen how she treats people," Edric added, "How she treats you."

"That doesn't change the fact that this is a massive overstep of personal privacy," Lancer protested, "Also, why are you Blights so grabby? Would you like it if I smeared my grimy hands all over you?"

"Lancers' right," Luz said, "We should put this back." She reached out, grabbing the diary to take it back. However, the twins weren't going to relent so easily.

"It's for her own good," Edric stated firmly.

"She needs this," Emira added.

"This is taking things way too far," Luz objected.

As they all struggled over the book, pages began spilling out, revealing more of Amity's inner thoughts.

"I wish I had somewhere to go."

"Why won't the Human leave me alone?"

"Called my teacher 'mom' again."

"Sorry I haven't written in a while. Wait, why am I apologizing."

"That stranger everyone's talking about showed up at the Covention today. I know Blights aren't supposed to show weakness, but I was afraid. I can't let anyone know, but I need to tell someone."

Lancer watched them struggle, unable to contribute himself. Eventually, he realized how he could help. He shot a beam of light onto the book. The twins and Luz stopped their tugging match, staring at the diary in shock as it seemed to disintegrate. Lancer spun his shell happily as he stored it in transmat.

"I did it! I win!" he celebrated, "That'll teach you to grab me again."

"What's going on in here?" A new voice cut through the room, interrupting Lancers' celebration. The group collectively turned to face the entrance, seeing a furious Amity framed by the doorway. She looked down at the floor, noticing the scattered pages with little versions of herself running around. Her head slowly rose back up, and if looks could kill, all of them would have been dead on the spot.

"You're here for my diary." It was a statement, not a question. She was staring specifically at the twins but as Luz stepped forward to explain, Amity shot her an equally murderous glare.

"I expected something like this from you two," she said, referring to the twins, "And I should've expected it from you as well, Human. Now, where is my diary?"

Lancer coughed awkwardly, "I got it right here." She held out an expectant hand and he transmatted it directly into her waiting grasp. She inspected the diary carefully, checking it for any additional tampering. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Luz.

"You know, I expected something like this from those two. But you? I still haven't been able to figure you out. I couldn't tell if you were a poser or a nerd, or whatever. But I know what you are now. You're a bully."

Luz stepped back in shock, stunned into silence. Amity turned back to the entrance and left, diary clutched in hand. Lancer watched her go, about to follow before deciding against it. He hovered over to Luz's side, nudging her shoulder.

"Come on, keep your eyes up. We can fix this," he comforted. Luz nodded half-heartedly. Unfortunately, the somber moment was ruined by the twins' laughter.

"Mittens killed the fun," Emira said in an amused manner.

"Again," Edric continued, "Oh well. We're headed out to go Goblin tipping. Wanna come?"

"You're just gonna leave?" Luz and Lancer both asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Emira confirmed, "With you." She took hold of Luzs' wrist, intending to lead her away. Instead, Luz pulled her arm free.

"Look, you guys are cool," she began carefully. The twins both nodded in agreement while Lancer looked at Luz like she was crazy. "But I," she glanced at Lancer, "Uh, we need to go talk to Mittens- I mean Amity." The twins stared at her for a second before shrugging.

"Alright then, see you around cutie. You too little flying dude," Emira said. As Luz blushed from the compliment, the two departed.

"I'm not gonna say that I told you so," Lancer quipped.

Luz sighed, "Thank you for being the bigger person."

"Yeah, I'm just awesome like that," Lancer admitted, "Now you might wanna, you know."

"Oh right, let's go."

The two ran back into the library, racing through the shelves to find Amity. As the two searched, Lancer cast his gaze over to Luz. He hadn't wanted to be right about the twins. Not for the first time in his long life, he cursed his incredible intellect. The two rounded a corner, catching sight of Amity. The Witch turned around as Luz called out to her.

"First you embarrass me. Then you wanna be my friend? I don't get you, just pick a side."

"Please, just listen to me," Luz pleaded.

"Just go away, before things somehow get worse." Unfortunately for the three, they were interrupted by a loud thunderous footstep. A colossal, monstrous creature stomped around the corner ahead of them. It had sickly pink skin with razor-sharp claws and fangs that glowed with magical power. Buried in the center of the creature's chest was an open book, with twisted flesh melting into the pages. Inscribed on the pages was a familiar set of scribbles. The monster glared at its prey with unholy glowing eyes. Amity was the first to speak up.

"Otabin?" She asked in disbelief. The monster now named Otabin stomped closer, growling as he did.

"With claws and fangs and breaking bones, I found a friend to make my own," he rhymed in a deep, guttural voice. With remarkable speed, he seized Amity in one of his massive hands. The Witch screamed in fear, dropping her diary and grabbing onto Luzs' outstretched hand. Luz attempted to reel her in only for Otabin to pull away before she could, causing Luz to fall to her knees. Otabin retreated into the halls of the library.

"LUZ!" Amity cried as she was dragged away, still reaching out for anything that could help her. Luz stuck her hand out, grasping at nothing as Amity and Otabin disappeared into the darkness. Luz wicked the diary up off the floor, staring at it in disbelief.

"What the hell was that?" Lancer cried. He looked around, panic filling his voice. "We need to get out of here. Oh, we should go get Royal, he'll be able to help."

"No."

Lancer looked at Luz in confusion. "What do you mean? We are not equipped to fight that thing."

"We have to try. It's my fault this happened, so I have to be the one to fix it," Luz stated in a voice that left no room to argue. Lancer looked at her for a few seconds before letting out a pained sigh.

"Alright, fine. What's the plan?" He asked. Luz simply held up a pencil. Lancer looked at it for a brief second before realization dawned on him.

"No, no more doodles."


To say that Amity was having a bad day would be an understatement. It seemed like everything was specifically coming together in the perfect way to completely screw her over. Otabin finally reached his destination, slamming Amity into the pages of a massive book. He pulled out his needle, drawing it back. The needle descended and Amity flinched. Instead of being impaled, Otabin began to sew her arm into the page. Once he is finished, he tightens the thread. Amity's arm merges with the book, becoming as flat as the paper she is bound to.

"Why are you doing this?" Amity pleaded, "I've been reading you since I was a kid. I know you're not like this. Someone changed you."

Otabin grinned madly. "But friends are what I've always sought. And now a friend my claws have caught."

"Hey, big and ugly! Over here!" A new voice shouted. Both Otabin and Amity looked over at the source, revealing a familiar little floating sphere. "Yeah, that's right. Look at me big boy, look how shiny I am!" Otabin began to swipe at the Ghost to grab him. Lancer ducked and dodged, narrowly avoiding the lumbering monstrosity. While Otabin was distracted, Luz dropped in from atop a nearby bookshelf. She rushed over to the bound Witch and began tugging on the threads to no avail.

"Curse my frail arms," Luz wailed. Unfortunately, Lancer's distraction came to an end when Otabin caught the Ghost in a backhanded wing. He was sent flying into a small pile of books that collapsed on top of him. After Lancer failed to remerge, Otabin turned back to face his prey, catching an unprepared Luz in his sights. With a malicious grin, he plucked the Human off her feet, binding her to the book just like her rival.

"Making friends, taking friends, never be without my friends," Otabin continued rhyming as he sewed.

"You can't rhyme friends' with friends," Luz protested, "thats not how rhyming works."

"Wow, great plan," Amity snarked, trying and failing to mask her fear.

"To be fair, it was Lancers' idea," Luz offered weakly.

"Doesn't really matter anyway," Amity sighed, "I'm going to be bound forever with you." Luz flexed her arm, seeing the page move with it. Otabin turned his attention to his needle, attempting to run a new line of thread through it. It was rather difficult, considering that his fingers ended in talons the size of swords.

"No, we're not," Luz said, "Follow my lead." While Amity looked at her in confusion, Luz began to rock herself back and forth. As she did, the book began to sway. Amity quickly caught on and joined in. The book tipped past the point of no return right as Otabin finished running the thread through his needle. Just as he turned around, the tome slammed down on his malformed head. As the monster staggered, dazed and confused, the two girls landed on their feet. The colossal tome on their back forced them down into a hunched position. The two ran off as quickly as they could while Otabin came too. The creature roared, charging after their retreating silhouette.

"COME BACK!" He roared as the two slipped behind a bookshelf.

"Now what?" Amity asked, panting heavily.

"I don't know, I didn't even think this would work," Luz respond, equally as winded, "I was all like roaaar!" Amity giggled a little at that, causing Luz to smile. The moment was unfortunately ruined when Otabins needle pierced through the book right next to Luzs' head. Otabin growled as he heaved, pulling the two across the library towards himself. The girls screamed, with Amity just barely managing to grab onto a nearby ladder. As she did, the threads binding her arm to the page tore free. She fell against a cart, watching helplessly as Otabin continued to drag Luz away. Luz attempted to kick at his chest. He ignored her futile attacks and resumed his weaving. Eventually, all of Luz's libs were tied down and flattened.

"You squirm and fight, and scream and shout," Otabin cackled gleefully, "But friendship will always win out." He tied the final loop around Luz's head, preparing to finish his work. Before he could, however, a book cart propelled by Amity rammed into him. Otabin stumbled, falling into a nearby bookshelf. It collapsed atop him, pinning him in place. Amity freed Luz from her binds.

"Oh three dimensions, how I missed you," Luz cheered.

Otabin roared as he finally lifted the bookshelf. He lashed out, snatching Luz again. Thinking quickly, Amity pulled a pencil out of her pocket and kneeled over to the massive book.

"Luz has to right a wrong," Amity said, writing in the book as she spoke. A large eraser appeared in her hand. Calling out to the Human, she tossed it. Luz reached out, barely managing to wrap her fingers around her newfound weapon. She swiped the eraser across the book in the center of Otabin's chest, wiping away the scribbles that had turned Otabin into this beast. He froze for a second before suddenly shrinking down to his normal self. Luz let out a groan of pain as she impacted the ground. Amity lifted the now harmless Otabin in her arms.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," he apologized. Amity smiled warmly at him.

"It's ok, we're still friends," Amity comforted him, nodding to Luz. She closed the book, causing Otabin to disappear. Luz walked over to Amity, smiling over their victory before a panicked look overtook her face.

"Oh snap, Lancer!" She raced back to the Kids Corner and narrowed down the pile the Ghost had landed in. She began frantically digging through it as Amity watched from a distance. Eventually, she found the unconscious Ghost. Reaching down gently, she carefully lifted him up to eye level and shook him lightly.

"Lancer? Are you alright in there?" Luz asked, fear beginning to grip her once again. Fortunately, the Ghost's optic light flickered to life. He rose slowly, hovering just in front of Luz.

"Did we get 'em?" He groaned weakly. Luz let out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if Lancer had gotten hurt and she didn't even want to know how Royal would've reacted.

"Yeah, we got 'em, little buddy."


The night had come and gone, with the three spending the entire time cleaning up the mess that had been made. Technically it was mostly Luz and Amity, Lancer was still a little drowsy. While he was useful for moving lots of books at once, he did have a habit of flying into bookshelves. The two girls exited into the morning sunlight. Lancer rested on Luz's shoulder, completely powered off.

"What an adventure," Luz prompted as Amity walked past without making eye contact.

"This never happened," she said coldly. Luz reached into a satchel she had grabbed from the help desk, retrieving a book Lancer had accidentally transmatted earlier. She had asked him to pull before he went offline.

"Wait," she called. Amity turned as Luz extended her copy of The Good Witch Azura part five. "I know it doesn't make up for reading your diary, but I thought you might want to borrow this. I noticed that you only had the first four volumes."

Amity gingerly accepted the offering as her brow furrowed in thought. "Thank you," she finally said, "Maybe you're not a bully. I haven't exactly been the friendliest Witch either. To you or your little… what did you say he was? A Ghost? I'll think on it." With that, she walked away. Luz watched her go, her chest swelling with pride.

"Mission accomplished."

The return trip to the Owl House was uneventful. Hooty greeted her upon her return and swung open to let her in. She could see Royal busy sweeping up a small pile of trash while Eda slept on the couch with King resting on her knees and the babies wrapped in her arms. Royal looked up, nodding in greeting before placing a finger over his mouth in a shushing motion. His movements seemed more sluggish and his eyes were dimmer than usual. It seemed that even the Exo needed to sleep sometimes. She plucked Lancer off her shoulder, holding out his slumbering form. The Exo shook his head. He would want an explanation later.

The quiet was ruined by Hooty loudly swinging his door open. A large creature forced its way through the doorframe. It was a woman's head, with fangs protruding from her mouth, a pair of stubby legs, and two titanic wings. Long, dark hair partially covered an amused expression. Royal quickly stepped forward, putting himself between Luz and the newcomer.

"You must be momma," Luz said, still taken aback by their guests' appearance.

"Yi Yi. Mama is I. And I is the Bat Queen," she confirmed. Her voice was laden with an accent neither Luz nor Royal had heard before. The Bat Queen let out a whistle, waking the babies from their rest. They latched onto their mother's hair as she welcomed them back warmly. The Queen then turned back to the two and retched as though she had something caught in her throat. She continued retching for a few more seconds before throwing up a chest filled with treasure and a small whistle.

"For troubles. Eda is owed one." And with that, she left. Royal kneeled before the chest, inspecting the whistle. Luz placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you go get some rest, you look like you need it."

"Yeah," his voice had the slightest tinge of static, "that sounds nice right about now." He stood back up and began to walk away. He didn't even make it three steps before he collapsed to the floor. The sound of the Guardians' body impacting the ground startled Eda and King from their sleep. The two searched frantically for a moment in an attempt to find the Bat Queens' children.

"Where did the babies go?" Eda asked with a frantic look in her eye. Luz used her hands to create the shape of a bird, showing it flying away.

"Your night looks very successful. Look at all the money you made. And she also gave you this cool whistle. Though I would recommend cleaning it off before using it."

"Yeah," Eda responded dejectedly, "we did it all for the money."

King was a little less graceful. "I miss my babies," he cried, hugging Eda tightly.

"I actually got you something for that," Luz said, reaching into her satchel and grabbing a copy of Coping With Empty Nest Syndrome. She handed it to her mentor, who grinned slightly at the gift.

"Thanks, kid. So, how was your night?"

"Good," Luz answered, "The bad. Then maybe good again."

The door creaked open once more as Hooty spoke in his usual grating voice. "You guys wanna hear about my night?" The three of them all shouted back in unison.

"No!"


Royal was in a field of flowers. They came in a variety of colors; bright pink, vibrant purple, bold red, and many more. On the other side of the field was a large building. Royal had never seen it before, yet he knew its name like it was his own. The Deep Stone Crypt. He began to traverse the field, taking in the scenery around him. For the first time in years, he felt at peace. Naturally, it couldn't last. Humanoid figures appeared from the air before him. At first, they were content to watch him. As he kept walking, they started doing so as well. As they drew closer, he became able to make out their faces. All of them were familiar, though he didn't recognize most of them. There was a mixture of Humans, Awoken, Exos, and even a few Witches.

One of them stepped directly in front of him. It was another Exo with a blue and yellow face. Multiple small antennae protruded from his head. Royal recognized this one. He and Banshee-44 regarded each other for an unknowable amount of time. Without warning, Banshee swung at Royals' head. He ducked under the blow and grabbed onto Banshee's arm. He planted his boot in the other Exo's side and pulled, tearing off his arm. He then swung the limb like a bat, completely destroying Banshee's face.

Another figure approached, this one a Human male he didn't recognize. Royal reached out, summoning his Glaive from nothing, and swung. Blood splattered all over the pristine flowers as the man's head tumbled off his shoulders. The rest of the horde charged him and Royal fought like a man possessed. One swipe of his glaive cleaved an Awoken male's gut open. A thrust of his other hand sent an orb of condensed void energy into the chest of a familiar Exo woman with a cloak similar to a Hunter.

Royal kept fighting for what felt like an eternity, yet it didn't even seem like a Plank Length had passed since he started. He killed hundreds, yet the crowd never seemed to grow thinner. He could feel his swings beginning to slow as his assailants started landing blows. As they piled onto him, he called down a bolt of lightning, searing everyone nearby into little more than free-floating particles. He hovered over the ground as electricity danced over his body. He raised his hands and shot bolts of lightning that arc through the crowd. Eventually, he felt his power drain fully, and he dropped back to the ground. He was nearly at the entrance to the Crypt.

At that point, a pale Witch with long grey hair lunged at him. Without thinking, he sidestepped her attack. Summoning his Glaive again, he beheaded her. Another fist hit him, though he could hardly call it a powerful strike. With a quick turn, he skewered his last foe with his Glaive. They spat blood upon his chest as he stared them in the eye. For the first time since he had arrived in this field, Royal spoke. His voice was horrified, broken, and empty.

"Luz?"


Well. That's one way to end. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Also, Lightfall. Let's talk about that real quick. It looks super dope. Talk over.

Senor Oogway: Yes you are absolutely correct. I completely forgot to include that Royals comms had been damaged in his capture, which sucks because I knew I needed to mention it, but I just forgot to. Needless to say, it's been fixed now. I guess that's what I get for doing my proofreading at midnight.

OMAC001: Well let's not count our favorite genocidal dictator out just yet, he has a few tricks up his sleeve.

DarkMegatronXX47: Previous comment being what it was, this sure as hell ain't gonna be good for him. Or anyone really.

Guest: Exo's do actually sleep and dream, though it's not quite the same as Humans or Awoken. I basically thought of the sleep spell hitting Royal being like if you unplugged your computer right in the middle of a big update.


"What's this one?"

"That's the Huckleberry, killing someone with it will refill the magazine"

"And this one?"

"Sleeper Simulant, it charges up a high-powered laser that devastates anything in its path."

"What about this one?"

"The Armored Fist, a custom-built fusion rifle with a bit of a temper."

Royal was currently performing maintenance checks on his gear in the clearing behind the Owl House. Or rather, he was supposed to be. Instead, he was chatting with Luz and King. The two had decided to accompany him and had quickly distracted him by asking about his Exotic weapons. After a quick explanation as to what the Exotic tier of weapon classification meant, that being incredibly rare and unique wargear, he had begun going through what each of them could do. King found the weapons themselves fascinating while Luz was more interested in their strange properties. He didn't mind the distraction in all honesty, it was nice to have friends he could chat with.

"What's a fusion rifle?" Luz asked. Royal rubbed his chin for a second, thinking about how best to explain it.

"It's like a shotgun, except the projectiles are energy based. Even though there are energy shotguns, but that's not important. The main thing that distinguishes the two is that fusion rifles tend to have a longer range at the cost of needing to be charged up."

"Sounds powerful," King commented, "Are there any Exotic versions of these fusion rifles?"

"Of course," Royal said cheerily, "There's Merciless, which gains a faster charge rate as you fire so long as the target remains alive. Oh and the Jotunn, which fires a tracking orb of solar power. There's Bastion, which just fires kinetic slugs."

"Don't forget Telesto," Lancer interrupted.

Royal froze, staring at his Ghost with a haunted expression. Luz and King both looked at Royal, confused.

"What's Telesto?" Luz asked.

Royal closed his eyes and counted for a few seconds, trying to calm his nerves. Opening them, he spoke with a hollow voice, "Telesto is no ordinary fusion rifle. It is a paracausal being in its own right. Many have attempted to tame its power, all have been consumed. Wherever it goes, the fabric of the universe unravels before it. Some even whisper in dark corners that it created the scourge known as Pocket Infinity to hold a mere fraction of its power. Telesto is not simply a gun, it is the End of Days. Telesto is the Final Shape and if you are wise, you will never speak of it again. And if you are so foolish as to incur its wrath, then may the Traveler have mercy on you. For Telesto most certainly will not."

He fell silent as soon as he finished, staring blankly at the ground in front of him. Luz and King both shared a glance. It was clear that Royal wasn't joking. Luz had seen all manner of horrors on the Boiling Isles, but this was something else. The group sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Eda swung open the door and walked out.

"So this is where you all are hiding," She said, receiving silence in response. She placed her hands on her hips, eyeing the group curiously. "What's gotten into you all?"