Hunter had been trying to look into the footage concerning Witch and Heka, but so far no leads. Despite the use of his authority as the Golden Guard to acquire resources to track down whoever uploaded that video, not a single one of the Coven Scouts could find who the original uploader was. And efforts to try and pinpoint a location based on the footage were at a standstill, even with numerous rewatches, there was no discernible landmark, or object in the footage that gave even the slightest hint of where this secret lab was.
The young Coven Head was getting understandably frustrated by all of this. He wanted to show his uncle, the Emperor, that he was a capable righthand man. That he was worthy of this position as the Golden Guard and as a Kamen Rider. But time and again, the words of the human girl would make him wonder. He was investigating this footage from the angle of it being faked, but what if it wasn't? What if the human was trying to trick him into believing it was fake?
"And what if I was gullible enough to believe it," Hunter spoke aloud.
Currently, the young man was on his way to the throne room, having been summoned by his uncle. He wondered what it could be about, but Hunter had a pretty good idea. Most likely, it was to admonish him for his lack of progress in the Phantom disposal and the investigation into Witch and Heka. Honestly, it would make better sense if they all just attacked them at once. They knew who they were, they knew where they lived, all it would take was a well-timed ambush and they could capture the human and the youngest Blight before anything happened.
Hunter arrived at the doors to the throne room, took a deep breath, and pushed them open. As per usual, the Emperor was sitting on his throne, with the heart of the Titan beating rhythmically overhead. The young man walked further into the throne room and knelt before his Emperor once he reached the center of the room.
"I am here, my Emperor," Hunter announced.
"Hunter, I have a mission for you, rather, something that needs cleaning up in a manner of speaking," said Belos.
Hunter raised his head and asked, "What is it that you would have me do?"
Belos arose from this throne and walked down the steps as he said, "Tell me, Hunter, do you remember the facility where we were keeping those basilisk creatures?"
Hunter thought about it for a moment, but then raised his head and nodded.
"I do, you created that facility to study the ancient basilisk species, but some escaped. One of them, the Greater Basilisk, is currently in our custody," said Hunter.
"Indeed, but we are still missing three others. However, I have a lead on where we might find at least two of them."
Hunter immediately rose to his feet as an excited expression befell his face.
"This is good news, that means we can finally round up those things!" Hunter came to a realization after saying that and looked to his uncle. "My Emperor, what if those basilisks have something to do with that footage?"
"Pardon?" Belos questioned.
"We haven't been able to find out who it was that uploaded that footage of Witch and Heka to Penstagram, nor have we been able to figure out where it was filmed at. What if the reason we can't find who uploaded and filmed it, is because it was made by the basilisks?!" Hunter proposed.
Belos rubbed his chin as he thought about Hunter's theory.
"It is possible, but whether they were the ones responsible or perhaps working with Witch and Heka, will be determined once we've captured them and taken them for questioning. Go forth, my young Crusader, and bring them in." Belos reached into his cloak and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Hunter. "This was their last known location, start here, and work your way from there."
Hunter gratefully took the piece of paper and nodded his head with vigor and determination.
"I won't let you down, Emperor Belos," Hunter exclaimed as he rushed off to take care of this task.
Belos watched as Hunter left the room, with the latter not realizing how his dear uncle was showing a malicious smile.
A couple of weeks had passed since the incident on Cagile Island, and things were relatively back to normal. Well, as normal as things get on the Boiling Isles. Unfortunately, the fake footage of Witch and Heka being behind the creation of the Coven Phantoms was still making the rounds, and some were obviously divided on the validity of the footage. Some believed it was true, but they were considered among the fringe believers in the conspiracy. Looking for a reason to hate Witch and Heka, believing that there was no one could be so altruistic without having an ulterior motive, and as such were desperate enough to latch onto the smallest hint of anything to the contrary. Thankfully, there were those who did dismiss the ramblings of these conspiracy theorists, considering Witch and Heka have only ever protected the people of the Isles from Phantoms.
"I say, it's real!" shouted a demon. "You can't tell me that a so called 'hero' like those two would just do this for no reason other than helping us!"
"Ugh, seriously, you can't honestly think that crap is real. There's no proof that it's real, and no one's owned up to recording it," replied the witch. "The whole thing is sketchy as all get out."
"Feh!" the demon glanced at another person standing next to the vendor's stand.
This other person was, at least to the demon's eyes, a witch. She had a fairly muscular build and was tall. Her hair was sandy brown in color, with small tufts of her hair having a tan coloring on both sides of her head. Her skin tone was a lighter shade of tan, and the coloring of her eyes was black, save for a yellow pupil in the center. The witch was wearing a sky-blue tunic, with dark brown pants, and black boots.
The witch seemed a little nervous when put on the spot and replied in a slightly raspy voice, "Oh, I really don't have much of an opinion on the matter. If she's keeping us safe from the monsters, then she can't be all bad. At least that's what I think."
With that opinion given, the witch promptly left the fruit vendor's stand. Having nabbed a couple of apples in the process without anyone noticing. The witch continued to move through the crowd until she went down an alleyway, and entered into an abandoned home, well, maybe not so abandoned. Once inside, the witch began calling out to someone.
"Three, you there? Three?"
Another witch appeared from around the corner of the archway into the living room. She was female, and a witch. This witch's skin tone was a shade darker than her friend's. Her hair was deep maroon color, with two of her long bangs having a purple coloring at the ends. Her clothes consisted of a scarlet tunic, with pair of gray pants, and dark brown shoes. She also had the same eye color and pupils as the other witch.
"Were you followed, Four?" she asked.
"Of course, not," Four replied. "Here, breakfast."
Four tossed Three the apple, having snatched it out of the air with her left hand, and then taking a bite out of it.
"Ugh, I kinda want something else for breakfast," said Three.
"Do you want to draw attention to us? Most of these witches and demons have forgotten about One attacking the other magic schools, but if we start doing what she did, we'll start having Belos sending more specialized witches to come hunting for us," Four argued. "Now she's captured, and we don't even know if she's alive or not."
Three sighed, she understood what Four was saying. One, also known as the Greater Basilisk, had gone on a revenge spree, and started hunting witches and demons. Siphoning their magic until they were weak husks, barely able to move or do anything. Somehow, she was defeated when she tried to drain Hexside's students and faculty of their magic, under the guise of being a member of the Emperor's Coven.
"If you need magic that badly, we'll find an animal and drain some of its magic, but nothing big," said Four.
"I get it, I get it…Do…Do you think Five's okay?" Three asked.
Four didn't want to think about her, at least, she didn't want to think what might've happened to her.
"She was young, Four, just a kid. I still think we should look for her again, at least before we go with your crazy plan," Three stated.
"It's been months since we've seen Five. I want to believe she found a way to hide, heck, she might've even found a way to get farther than we have. We've been stuck in this town for months, and then add in these Phantom attacks, things have just gotten crazy," said Four. "But we need a crazy plan if we want to get out of this crazy situation."
"But you really want to trust her of all people? You've heard the rumors about Witch and Heka," said Three.
"You really believe them?" Four inquired.
"I'm just saying, what if we're running towards someone worse than Belos?"
Four sighed heavily as she replied, "Can't be helped. Like I said, sooner or later, Belos is going to want to clean up his mess. We aren't even supposed to exist anymore, and yet, he explained away One's existence by just saying she was a basilisk that had gone unnoticed for years. Only one basilisk is easy enough to get away with, but if more than one is discovered, and we point the finger at him…well…I honestly don't know what that guy is planning, but it's gotta be something that he doesn't want anyone to know about, and by extension, he doesn't want anyone knowing that he brought us back for experimentation."
Three took another bite of her apple and gave a slow nod of her head. All the basilisks knew that they were just test subjects, nothing more and nothing less. Their entire existence, as far as Belos was concerned, was to be experimented on, testing their magic draining abilities. To a degree, Three understood One's need for revenge, but she took it too far going after the witches and demons who had nothing to do with their imprisonment, or their torture.
"Alright, so, when do you want to do this?" Three asked.
"The sooner the better. I've got a pretty good idea of where we can find her, but we'll need to act fast," said Four. "If she realizes we're there to take her, she'll just transform and take us down without a second thought."
"I don't know about this, mi amor…" Luz uttered nervously.
"But it was your idea, plus, you've met my father before," Amity reminded.
"True, but at that point, we weren't together, and now…"
Luz and Amity were standing outside of the door to the basement laboratory for Alador Blight. The Latina had an idea to strengthen her girlfriend's arsenal of spell rings, but to do so, she needed the help of Alador Blight, the one who made Amity's Driver and rings. But upon arriving at the Blight Manor – after verifying that Odalia was not in – Luz started to get nervous. True, this would hardly be the first encounter she has had with Amity's father, but this would be the first time speaking to him as not just Luz Noceda, but also as Kamen Rider Witch, and as the human girl who was currently dating his daughter. The young teen had seen many a TV show depicting father figures becoming protective of their daughters, and while Luz didn't believe herself to be someone to worry about, if anime was anything to go off, she imagined that her meeting with Alador Blight might go something like…
Scenario 1
"LUZ THE HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU BRING MY DAUGHTER INTO THIS DANGEROUS WORLD OF MONSTER FIGHTING! ONCE THE PHANTOMS ARE DEFEATED, YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED TO SEE HER AGAIN!"
"Nooooo!"
Scenario 2
"I'm sorry, Miss Noceda, but you must prove yourself as someone worthy of being my daughter's partner. You must battle me for her hand! No rings, no transformations! A one-on-one duel with the future of my daughter on the line!"
"I-I-I can't fight you, Mr. Blight!"
"Pity, because I want to fight you! Abominations, attack!"
"AAAAH!"
Scenario 3
"Oh, Luz. Amity has told me so much about you, and your exploits together. Thank you for keeping her safe through your various missions together."
"Oh, it's no big deal, we watch each other's backs."
"Indeed, and you'll continue to do so even after your marriage."
"That's right…Wait, what?"
"The caterers will be here in an hour, we have a dress ready for Amity, but I wasn't sure if you preferred your own wedding dress or a tuxedo? Eh, probably split the dif and make it a dress tuxedo."
"W-W-Wait! Mr. Blight, I'm only fourteen and so is Amity! W-We can't get married right now!"
"You don't want to marry me Luz…?"
"No, I mean I-I do – I would!"
"What is the problem then Ms. Noceda?"
"Yes, Luz, why won't you marry me?"
"AAAAAAAH!"
Amity snapped her fingers in front of Luz's face, bringing her back to reality. The Latina put on a nervous smile as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Don't worry, it'll be okay," Amity assured.
Luz nodded, still nervous, but nodded.
The lilac haired witch opened the door to the basement, leading Luz down the familiar stairwell until they were in the basement laboratory. It was the same as she remembered, kind of messy, but orderly in a chaotic kind of way.
"So…where's your dad?" Luz asked.
"Over here," said Amity as she directed Luz to a bookshelf.
Amity drew a spell circle and made the bookshelf shift to the left, revealing a secret doorway that showed some stairs that led further down.
"I see you and your dad have a thing for secret doors behind bookshelves, huh?" Luz teased.
Amity blushed as she said, "Total coincidence."
"Uh-huh."
"Uh-huh."
"Uh-huh."
Amity huffed a little, still blushing red as she walked down the second flight of stairs, with Luz right behind her. After descending into the sub-basement, Luz gasped. There was much more equipment in the hidden room, mechanical contraptions and experiments that Luz wouldn't even begin to know how they worked. Amity led Luz further in, and as they approached the center of the sub-basement lab, Luz managed to spot Alador Blight, currently tinkering with something while his back was turned to them.
"Dad…? Dad!" Amity called out.
Alador stopped his work and turned around to face the two girls as he raised his goggles up and looked at them directly.
"Oh, Amity, you're here. Or have you been standing there long?" Alador inquired.
"No, we just got here." Amity then waved her hand towards Luz. "Dad, this is Luz Noceda. The human girl I told you about, she's also Kamen Rider Witch."
Alador regarded the human for a moment, making Luz chuckle nervously as she awaited his response.
"Oh, yes, I remember you. You were the girl who stood in for Amity during the demonstration of our products not too long ago," Alador stated.
That incident brought up a variety of emotions in the two girls. While it was the incident that allowed them to realize each other's feelings, it was also the incident that almost got Luz killed due to Amity's mother.
"And she is Witch?" Alador asked.
"She is," Amity confirmed.
The older witch man took a few steps forward and looked at Luz up and down for a moment. It wasn't in a creepy way, more like a scientist being presented with something interesting and new.
"I see, for a human like yourself to wield such power is truly remarkable. I'd like to study you more if you'd permit me," said Alador.
"Uh…heh…m-maybe another time. I was here to see about helping Amity with some new rings," Luz reminded.
"Ah, yes." Alador turned around and then stepped to the side to reveal four blank rings. "Amity informed me about your desire to create rings for her to use, and I am curious as to how you will do this."
"You and me both, actually. I've only ever created my rings when I go into a trance. I draw a magic circle, and then use my magic to forge them with a magic stone. Not sure how this will work with my powers," Luz admitted.
"There we may have a solution," said Bast.
"Perhaps together we can manage," said La Lechuza.
"Not as if we have other options, better to try and fail, then to not try at all," Amity suggested.
With that in mind, Luz and Amity walked to the workbench where Alador had created the rings. Once there, Luz took out her Healing and Illusion rings.
"So, here's what I figured. In case one of us gets poisoned or injured, I think it would be good if you had a way to heal like I do. And for those moments where we can't get away so easily to transform, you'll have a copy of my Illusion ring," Luz explained.
Amity had to agree, the last incident with Boscha becoming a Hybrid Phantom, and her girlfriend getting poisoned, it took someone like Hunter using Luz's rings to heal the human girl. If a situation like that were to happen again, and Luz needed healing, she would not be able to do the same thing that the Golden Guard did, as Luz's rings were not compatible with Amity's MagiDriver.
"So…how do we do this exactly?" Amity asked.
"For that, I may have to consult a third party. Batata, would you please give me your hand?" Luz requested.
Amity, without hesitation, gave Luz her hand. Once she had, Luz closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. A few seconds after doing so, the world around her turned to black and white, with only herself and Amity remaining in color. Amity was a little taken aback by the sudden loss of color in the room, and even more so due to how everything had gone very, very still, as if frozen in place.
A flash of fire went off before the two girls, and when it had, a person appeared. It was a Kamen Rider, and this Rider's suit looked very similar to Luz's. They even had the same WizarDriver.
"Hello, Blight-chan, I've heard only good things about you from Noceda-chan," Wizard greeted.
Amity raised her right hand and gave a little wave towards him, and nervously replied, "Hi, Mr. Souma, sir. It's nice to see you again."
Amity glanced to her right, and suddenly felt a weight on her right shoulder. That's when she noticed Bast, but a shrunken down version of her Inner Phantom, roughly the same size as Ghost. "So, I take it he'll lend us a hand."
"That is what we are hoping for," said La Lechuza as she appeared on Luz's right shoulder. "Wizard, we would like to create copies of some of Luz's rings. Is it possible?"
"Which in particular?" Wizard asked.
"Well, one is my Healing ring, the other is my Illusion ring, and, well, I want to create a new ring from my Wonder Style magic," Luz mentioned.
"Wait, that's why you wanted my father to create four rings?" Amity asked.
"Something else that I wanted to take care of. In case I'm not around and you need to separate a Hybrid Phantom from their host, I wanted to try and convert some of my Wonder Style magic into a ring for you to use so that you can separate them if I'm not around," said Luz.
Wizard cupped his chin and nodded.
"I see, that does make sense. Well, if that is case, then the method should be simple. Use the original rings and copy the magic onto the rings you wish to use. For the new ring, you may need to combine your magic together to create the new ring."
"Understood, sir," said Amity.
Wizard gave the four a little salute before disappearing.
The world returned to its full color, and everything that was once still was now moving again.
"Sorry, that took so long, Dad," Amity apologized.
Alador looked confused as he said, "What do you mean? You two just held hands, closed your eyes for a second, and then opened them."
Luz giggled a little and answered, "When I call on Mr. Haruto, time is accelerated in our minds, making everything around us seem like it's just standing still. What felt like a minute or more of talking, was really a second for everyone else."
Amity was surprised but accepted it. At this point, strange magic was a given when dealing with Kamen Rider related things. With the instructions given to them by Wizard, Luz took out her Healing ring first, and placed it next to the blank ring. She took out the Light Style ring and slipped it over her left middle finger. Amity did the same, taking out her Heka transformation ring, and putting it on her left middle finger. Once on, Luz held her left hand over the blank ring and Healing, with Amity following her girlfriend's lead. Both girls closed their eyes and envisioned the power of the Healing ring transferring over to the blank ring.
That's when something began to occur. The rings on both young girls' hands started to glow, and the Healing ring glowed as well. Particles of blue light started to float off the ring and to the blank ring. It was slow at first, but after a couple of seconds, the particles started to move at a much faster rate. The blank ring started to glow as well, turning the same color as the Healing ring. With a flash of blue light, the job was done. Amity and Luz opened their eyes and pulled their hands away and saw that they had done it. The second ring was in the style of Amity's rings, but it had the Healing Coven sigil on it just like Luz's ring.
"We did it!" Amity exclaimed.
"Yes, it worked!" Luz excitedly shouted.
Alador walked up to the workbench and stared at the newly formed ring, completely fascinated by how the two girls were able to copy over the properties of the ring into a new one.
"No magic circles, no incantations, truly, these Kamen Rider powers are on a different level," said Alador.
"They are something," Luz commented. "Shall keep going, batata?"
"Of course."
From there, Luz and Amity applied the same technique to the second blank spell ring, and successfully copied the Illusion ring. Now Amity had two rings she could use to help Luz and herself depending on the situation.
Next came the ring that Luz really wanted Amity to have. Following Wizard's instructions, Luz put on her Wonder Style ring, and both girls placed their hands over the blank ring. Luz focused her mind, thinking of the power to separate Hybrid Phantoms from their hosts. She had to give it a tangible name and meaning, since, whenever she did the separation, it was just Luz using her magic. So, she decided to see it a different way, and with that in mind, she applied that concept onto the ring. A flash of gold and pink lit up the room, and when the light subsided, Luz and Amity beheld a brand-new ring. Amity gently took hold of the new ring, noticing a pattern that looked like a body with something being expelled from its chest.
"We did it! What do you call it?" Amity asked.
"The Exorcism ring! I tried thinking about the closest word or concept of what I do to the Hybrid Phantoms, and 'exorcism' seemed appropriate," Luz explained. "Hopefully it'll work."
Amity smiled as she leaned over and kissed Luz on the cheek.
"Of course, it'll work."
Luz blushed a little harder than normal, mostly due to the fact that Amity's father was standing not too far away. But from what she could tell, he didn't seem to mind it all.
"O-Okay, now it' time for what I promised Bast," said Luz.
"YES!" Bast exclaimed in jubilation.
"Calm down, cat," La Lechuza scolded.
"Oh, lighten up, Laly! I'm going to be able to walk around on the outside! Even if it's not exactly in a humanoid form. I'll take what I can get at this point."
Both girls chuckled at the banter between their Inner Phantoms. With all that said, Luz swapped the Wonder Style ring for the Twilight Style ring. She then produced the Owl Re:Rise ring and placed it next to the fourth and final blank ring. Utilizing the same method as before, Amity and Luz focused their magic on the rings, and with a mixture of gold, purple, and yellow light, the rings flashed, and the last ring was forged.
"Use it! Use it, use it, use it, use it, use it, use it, use it, use it, use it!" Bast urged.
"Okay, okay, just hold on a second," Amity replied. "You're like a kid on Krampmas morning."
Amity took the ring and slipped it over her right middle finger. Both girls took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was now or never. Amity placed the ring into the right side of the MagiDriver and turned it like a key.
[ Bast Arise-Rise! ]
A magic circle appeared on the ground before Amity, the golden circle released a shimmering light as something began rising from the center of it. After a few seconds, the Phantom, Bast, appeared in the center of the circle, taking on her normal mechanical form. The cat Phantom studied her body, taking a moment to stretch her limbs, and swung her long tail back and forth.
"Aha! Success! I'm out! Well…kind of," said Bast.
Ghost appeared on Amity's left shoulder, and when she did, the cat Palisman leaped off her partner's shoulder and stood before the new cat creature before her. Ghost and Bast took a moment to regard each other, walking in a circle around each other, as if to take in the other's features. Once this was done, the two cats raised their paws and touched them to each other. Ghost smiled and meowed in delight, and Bast smiled as well.
"You captured my likeness in her very well, Amity, it's like I have a sister," Bast said Happily.
"Now, all Bast needs is a disguise," said Luz.
Amity took that as her cue to use the Illusion ring. Like before, she placed the Illusion ring into the right side of the Driver and turned.
[Illusion!]
This was the first time that Amity had to use Illusion magic, but she decided to give it a try. She focused on giving Bast a believable cat appearance, imagining changing her form into something else. After a moment, a light blue glow surrounded Bast, and a moment later, Bast transformed into a black cat with violet eyes.
"Hmm, not bad, Little Miss Perfect, not bad at all."
"'Little Miss Perfect'?" Luz snickered.
Amity blushed and replied, "Ugh! Bast, you know I hate it when you call me that!"
"Oops, forgot I'm not just talking in your head anymore. Better take care to watch my mouth."
"I can relate to that, believe me."
Luz chuckled again, remembering La Lechuza's little slip up when she was in the physical world after her first appearance.
Suddenly, Bast's fur stood on end as she felt a presence.
"Why do I feel as if I'm being leered at in a very uncomfortable manner?"
Bast glanced to her left and deadpanned as she saw Alador Blight with some tools in hand and his goggles down.
"Ah, that's why…"
Bast suddenly bolted from her spot and went off to hide somewhere inside of the lab.
"Dad! Don't scare Bast like that!" Amity admonished.
"What?" Alador looked at the tools in his hand. "Oh, I guess I could see where this would be intimidating. That aside, Amity, you remember your end of the deal, correct?"
Amity sighed heavily and answered, "Yes, Dad…I do."
"What deal?" Luz asked.
"Luz, in order to convince my Dad to let you into the lab…he wanted to study you…I'm so sorry!"
Now Luz felt what Bast felt as Alador's gaze now fell on her.
"¡Oh, Titán, ayúdame (Oh, Titan, help me)!"
Luz looked exhausted as she trudged out of the Blight Manor, with Amity looking very apologetic the whole time. Bast was walking alongside Amity, and for fun, Luz had called out La Lechuza, giving the Phantom her silver owl disguise as she perched on her young ward's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Amity apologized, again.
"It's okay…I didn't think he'd ask that many questions or hook me up to that machine that scanned my magic and stuff," said Luz. "At least he doesn't hate me anything for dating his daughter…he doesn't hate me, right?"
Amity shook her head and replied, "No way. My Dad…is hard to read sometimes. But I know he doesn't hate you, trust me. My Mom on the other…might be a different story…"
Luz knew Odalia didn't like her, the whole Abomaton demonstration was proof enough of that. She apparently disapproved of their friendship, so she couldn't imagine what the matriarch of the Blight family would do if she knew that Luz was actively dating Amity.
"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I mean, I also have Boscha as a love rival," Luz joked.
Amity rolled her eyes.
"Please, declaring you as her rival was…surprising…to say the least. But there isn't a thing she can do or say that would make me break up with you, and that includes my mom," Amity stated.
"Rawr, my little kitten has claws," Bast commented.
"Heh, truly a keeper, wouldn't you say?" La Lechuza teased.
It was now that both young teens realized, having their Inner Phantoms now out in the physical world, meant that they could more easily tease them than they could normally when they were just voices in their heads.
"I'm suddenly starting to wonder if letting you walk around was a good idea?" Amity pondered aloud.
"Ah! I'll be good! Promise!" Bast then whispered, "But only here and there, heh-heh."
Just then, the sound of some branches snapping made Bast's ears twitch, and La Lechuza's head turned in the direction of where she too heard the sounds.
"What's up, Lala?" Luz asked.
"Not sure…thought I heard something," she replied.
Bast remained vigilant, like any cat that was suspicious of something. But considering she was also a predator; it made her even more cautious of a potential threat. Unfortunately, Bast's suspicions turned out to be correct as several flasks came flying out of the bushes and smashed onto the ground around the four of them. A cloud of thick violet smoke rose into the air, causing the two girls to cough as their eyes stung a bit. Thankfully, Bast and La Lechuza were construct beings, not made of flesh and blood, so the smoke didn't affect them. At least as far as making their eyes water or making it hard to breathe.
La Lechuza quickly took to the air and got above the smoke cloud to get an aerial view of who had attacked them, while Bast jumped out of the smoke to do the same. As they exited the smoke, two figures hurriedly dashed into it. The first figure seized Luz, wrapping her up in something that bound her arms and legs, and forced her to the ground. Once on the ground, she was immediately picked up and taken out of the smoke. Amity managed to see this happen and was preparing to draw a spell circle, but that's when the young witchling felt her magic take a nosedive. She felt dizzy and weak, and fell to her knees, unable to stand. That's when the second figure burst out of the smoke and ran to catch up with the first.
"LALY!" Bast exclaimed.
"I see them! Stay with Amity! I'll keep track of them!"
The silver owl quickly flew in the direction of her partner's captors. This was the one time she was glad she wasn't in her giant form, otherwise she wouldn't be able to maneuver through the trees as easily as she was now, nimbly moving between, over, and under branches as she kept up with Luz's captors. It seemed as if the first figure had managed to place a gag over Luz's mouth, preventing her human from crying out for help, and with her hands bound, she couldn't use her rings or her glyphs.
La Lechuza followed the hooded figures for several minutes before stopping at an abandoned house. The two figures quickly entered the home through a backdoor, while La Lechuza looked around for any way in. Thankfully, the roof had some holes in it, just big enough for her to squeeze through. The silver owl passed through one of the holes in the roof, she glanced about the room and found a hole in the wall that she used to enter the hallway. La Lechuza swiftly flew downstairs and did her best to hide amongst the rafters as she watched the two hooded figures bring Luz into the living room and place her in the middle of the floor.
"Whew, can't believe that worked. You did make sure not to drain too much of her magic, right?" the tallest kidnapper asked.
"I just drained her enough so that she couldn't run after us, she'll be fine in in a few minutes," said the smaller of the two.
Luz was trying to say something to her captors but only managing muffled sounds.
The tallest of the two rubbed the back of their head and said, "Look, human, I'm just going to go ahead and say it…we know you're Kamen Rider Witch."
Luz immediately went silent.
"We also know that your girlfriend is Kamen Rider Heka," said the second kidnapper.
Luz's eyes widened.
T-They know I'm Witch and that Amity's Heka?! How?! When?! Are they with Belos?! Did he get tired of sending Phantoms to take us down and now he's using assassins?!
"Calm down, Niña."
Luz heard her Inner Phantom's voice and did as she said.
Lala, did your body break down?
"No, I followed you. In the furthest corner to your left, just above the head of short one."
The Latina briefly glanced in the direction that La Lechuza had told her, and sure enough, she spotted the silver owl.
"We're too far away for me to communicate with Bast, and I don't want to leave you alone until I'm sure they won't move you. For now, try not to antagonize them. If they stay here, I can go and retrieve Amity and Bast. But if things go south, I'll swoop in, okay?"
Okay, I got it. They know that I'm Witch, and that Amity's Heka. I don't know if they just suspect that I am or know for sure. I'll try and play it off.
"I'm going to take off your gag, we won't hurt you, but promise not to scream or anything, 'kay?" the tall kidnapper asked.
Luz nodded her head.
The tall kidnapper walked closer to Luz, crouched down in front of her, and gently removed the tape gag over Luz's mouth. Once off, the kidnapper took a step back.
"Look…I-I don't know who told you that, but I'm seriously not Witch! I'm just a human! I can't even use magic," said Luz.
"Yeah, you can use magic," the second kidnapper retorted. "We've seen you on multiple occasions use paper with strange symbols on them to make light, ice, fire, and even create plant vines. We also know that that buckle on your hiding with your shirt is how you use your magic rings."
Luz looked down at her waist and noticed the Hand Author buckle and quickly replied, "Oh, this? It's just a prop! I'm a huge fan of Witch, so I bought some merch! I like to cosplay a lot! Heh-ha-ha-heh…"
The tall kidnapper added, "We also know that Heka is Amity Blight, she's been fighting beside you for the last couple of months now, and you two have been girlfriends for roughly the same amount of time."
"Okay, that's a bit creepy that you know that," Luz admitted with a deadpan tone.
The tall kidnapper sighed.
"Look, sorry if this sounds invasive and whatever, but we really need your help."
Luz looked between the two kidnappers in confusion.
"Okay…assuming that I am Witch, what do you think I could do to help you? And why would I help you?" Luz inquired.
The tall kidnapper looked to their partner. There was a brief pause before the two of them nodded to each other. That's when Luz watched them remove their hoods, revealing their identities. They were couple of witch girls, possibly two or three years older than herself, by appearances anyway.
"I still don't understand."
"We're not done yet," said the maroon haired witch.
The two witches removed their cloaks, and afterwards, their bodies glowed, and Luz gasped at what she saw. The tall one had sandy brown hair, with tan colored scales on its arms and top half of its body, and khaki-colored scales along its lower jaw, underbelly, frills and some spots along her back, and sandy brown spines along her back. Her eyes were an ocean blue color, with black irises, and yellow pupils.
The second "witch" had maroon colored hair, spines along her back, and on the tips of her ears. Her scales were purple in color, with her underbelly covered in faded purple spots. Lastly, her eyes were green in color, the irises and pupils matching that of her friend.
"Look, don't be scared, we're–!"
"Basilisks…you two are basilisks!" Luz exclaimed.
"Uh…We know you didn't exactly have the best run in with our kind, but–"
"Do you two know Vee?!" Luz asked.
Both basilisks looked confused.
"Who's Vee?" the sandy brown haired one asked.
"She's one of you! Oh, what was she called…? Oh, right! Number Five!"
The two basilisks gasped in shock when they heard the name of their long lost young one and immediately crowded Luz.
"You know Five?!"
"Where is she?!"
"Is she safe?!"
"Is she alive?!"
"I'll answer you, but can you back up a little?" Luz requested.
The two basilisks did as she asked and said, "Sorry."
After regaining her composure, Luz explained to the two basilisks how she knew Vee. Telling them that she was currently in the Human Realm, and acting as her stand in while Luz was in the Demon Realm. She wondered if she should mention the near fatal run in with the "demon hunter" Jacob, but considering how worried these two were for Vee, Luz decided not to bring that up.
"So, right now, Vee's safe with my mom. She knows that Vee is a basilisk, but promised to keep her safe, and now that she has some magic to fuel her transformations, she can keep impersonating me," Luz finished.
Both basilisks started to cry, for months they feared the worst, thinking that Vee had either been killed, or worse, captured and experimented on again. But to hear that she was living happily in the Human Realm, far away from Belos and his minions, brought them so much relief that they slumped onto the floor.
"Whoa! Are you two okay?!" Luz asked worriedly.
"It's okay, we're just really glad that she's alive and happy."
"And relieved, we've been worried sick about her."
"So, what are your names?"
The two basilisks got up and looked at each other.
"Well, I'm Four," the tall one said.
"And I'm Three. We really don't have names, like Five – uh – Vee."
"Great! Three and Four, we'll workshop real names later. So…could you guys untie me since we're cool now?"
The two basilisks blushed and apologized over and over again as they released Luz. While they were doing that, Luz nodded to La Lechuza. The silver owl knew what Luz meant, and quickly left the house to go and fetch Amity. Once untied, Luz stood up and stretched out her limbs.
"This is perfect, we can just go to the Human Realm like Vee, Belos won't find us there," said Four.
"Heh, good luck finding us a world away, ya jerk!" Three exclaimed as she made a rude gesture in the direction of where the palace would be.
"Uh…yeah…there's a problem with that…" Luz rubbed the back of her head, sad that she was about to dash their hopes. "You see, I kind of had a fight with Belos a few months ago…and he got his hands on the portal door I used to come here. I didn't know what he was planning on doing with it, so…I blew it up."
"You what?!" Four and Three exclaimed.
"That's why I've been searching for a way to create a new door or anything else to help me get back to the Human Realm," Luz explained. "I'm sorry, but right now there's no way for me to take you to where Vee is. I know she'd be happy to see you two, but even so…neither of us can get there."
Three swiped her tail at some debris and groaned in frustration.
"Figures, we finally find out Vee's okay, and then find out that there's no way to get away from that psycho!"
"Hey, hey, calm down, we're not down and out yet," said Four.
"She's right, look, for now, why don't you two come to the Owl House with me? You can stay there for the time being until we can figure out something else, okay?" Luz suggested.
*Hoot! Hoot!*
The three occupants of the rundown home turned towards a broken window and saw a silver owl fly in. Luz held out her right arm and had La Lechuza perch on it.
"Lala, that was quick," said Luz.
"For the record, I tried to stop her. Good luck."
La Lechuza disappeared, leaving Luz wondering what the heck she meant. Her answer was given in the form of the door getting blasted off its hinges as a torrent of Abomination goo came pouring into the room, forming huge walls of goo at each wall of the room, completely enclosing all three of them. Kamen Rider Heka walked through the front door, the eyes of her helmet glowing as she brandished Lady Luck and stared down the two basilisks.
"I'm giving you until the count of three to release Luz Noceda or you're going to regret every life decision you've ever made! One…two…!"
"AMITY! MI AMOR! I'M ALRIGHT, SEE, SEE!" Luz hurriedly got in front of the two basilisks and threw her arms out in a protective manner.
"Luz?!" Heka hurriedly rushed to her lover and knelt before her as she looked Luz over. "You're alright! But…what's going on?"
"It's kind of a long story, but for now…let's talk back at the Owl House."
"And…uh…could you make the pointy Abomination goo go away, please?" Four asked.
Luz looked behind her and saw that there were several Abomination tendrils hovering around the two basilisks, all of which had very sharp points. The Latina glanced at her girlfriend and groaned, causing the Rider to chuckle apologetically.
Eda was standing in the middle of the living room, glancing between Luz, Amity, and the two basilisks that she brought with her. The Owl Lady had just finished hearing Luz explain why she had brought the two basilisks into her house, which caused her to pinch the bridge of her nose as she tried to make sense of this.
"So, you want to hide two basilisks here, in my house, where Belos knows you're Witch and could at any point send Coven Scouts to come after us?" Eda questioned.
Amity leaned to her right as she whispered to Luz, "Well, when she puts it that way…"
"I get it, Eda. But they don't have anywhere else to go. Plus, with me here, they're definitely safer than they are out there," Luz argued.
"Can't deny that," said King.
"We promise to keep a low profile," said Four.
Eda hummed as she thought before rubbing her thick head of hair and sighing heavily.
"Fine, but you two will have to share a room, I only have one other spare room, either that or someone can stay in the basement."
Luz rushed over to her mentor and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Eda!"
"Yeah, yeah. On that note, how are you two fixed for food? 'Cause I'm tapped out."
"Oh, we're not really that hungry," said Three.
That's when both basilisk's stomachs growled.
"Uh…well…we can manage," said Four. "We can just go hunting in the woods for a little bit."
"Oh, wait, I think I have an idea! I thought about it on the way up here." Luz took out one of her glyph papers, specifically, the Light Glyph. The two basilisks watched as she tapped the paper. The paper transformed into a ball of light that floated before the two basilisks, making their eyes widen with awe. "Try it."
"Are…Are you sure?" Three asked. "We don't want to drain you."
"You won't, it's not actually coming from me. So, you won't hurt me," Luz assured.
Four and Three glanced at each other and then shrugged. Carefully, both basilisks opened their mouths and used their magic draining power. Slowly, the ball of light began to diminish in size and vibrancy until the entire orb was reduced to particles that floated into their mouths. A moment after, both Three and Four smacked their lips with satisfaction.
"Hmm! That was good!" Three exclaimed.
"Yeah! And you're, okay?" Four asked.
"Yep! No drain." Luz then whipped out some paper and a pencil. "I can show you two how to draw glyphs, that way, you won't need to drain anyone of magic. You can just make your own food whenever you want."
"Seriously?!" Three and Four exclaimed.
"C'mon, we'll head to my room, and I'll teach you a little bit tonight."
Amity, King, and Eda watched Luz lead the two basilisks up the stairs, and to her room. Once they were out of earshot, Eda glanced down at Amity.
"Real talk, Boots, what do you think about all this?" Eda questioned.
"I think Luz has the right idea, but it is risky. Those basilisks didn't ask to be brought back into this world, they didn't ask to be experimented on, and they don't deserve to be recaptured to go back to all of that. The problem is, at some point, they won't be able to hide anymore. If you're asking if I trust them, I still have issues from the Greater Basilisk incident, but I trust Luz," Amity answered.
Eda sighed and then smiled.
"Yeah, I can get behind that. And if Luz can teach them how to use glyph magic as an alternative to sucking magic from witches and demons, then even better," said Eda.
Amity stretched as she said, "I'll head back home. Take care, Eda, King."
Eda and King watched as Amity walked out of the front door, summoned Ghost, and flew off into the air.
Luz and brought the basilisks up to her room, and from there, she began teaching Three and Four some basic glyph fundamentals. The two basilisks listened intently to Luz's instructions, extremely interested in the prospect of being able to devour magic without having to get it from a living creature and possibly exposing themselves to capture.
After about thirty minutes, Luz managed to teach Three and Four how to make a Light Glyph. Three and Four had some trouble drawing the Light Glyph, mostly due to the circle, but after a few tries, they managed to get it right and now made several balls of light float in Luz's room. The Latina watched with a smile as Three and Four fed on the orbs of light, getting their fill for the first time in months.
"So, do you think that Five – uh – Vee, is doing alright?" Four asked.
"She's like a little sister to us, we couldn't do much to protect her," said Three.
"I know she's safe with my mom. Trust me, she's willing to protect Vee, and she's apparently blending in really well in the Human Realm…" Luz lowered her gaze a little. "Better than I ever could…"
Four and Three noticed the self-deprecating tone in Luz's voice.
"You okay, Luz?" Four asked.
"It's just…back in my world, I was – am – considered the 'weird girl'. Not a lot of people want to talk to me, and at the same time, a lot of people want to make fun of me. And yet, Vee was somehow able to be more normal than me…and she's a demon…"
Three rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Don't take it personally. We basilisks are good at adapting. We have to be, or else we couldn't hunt our prey as well as we can. And we didn't exactly know much about witches and demons until we got out and started watching and memorizing. So, when Vee entered your world, she just did what basilisks do. Memorize and adapt."
Luz sighed.
"I figured that was the case, I mean, she adapted so well to being human in just a few short months, I was wondering if it was because she was just that good at being human or because she could adapt really well. But if I'm being honest, it's probably a combo of both either way."
Four rubbed the back of her head and asked, "Say, when you do get back to the Human Realm, are you…are you going have Vee come back here? I wouldn't blame you if you did, she did take over your life and all…"
Luz immediately shook her head and responded, "No way! I mean, is it going be a little confusing and complicated to try and explain why I have a twin sister running around…? Yeah. But I would never force her to come back here. I saw how sad and terrified she was at the idea of me coming back and pushing her away into the Demon Realm. I'm not going to do that to her. Besides, I've always wanted a sister, and – I dunno – maybe Vee would like to be mine? If Mom adopts her that is…"
Three and Four blinked.
"You…You would consider Vee family?" Three asked.
"Of course, she's adorable!"
Four chuckled, she was glad that Luz didn't see Vee as a nuisance or as an enemy for what she did. She seemed to genuinely regard Vee as a family member, someone to protect.
"I do have one question for you two. Do you have any idea why Belos brought your kind back to life? I mean, it just doesn't seem…logical? I guess. Bringing back a species of demon that was basically a natural predator of witches," Luz questioned.
"I honestly wish we knew," said Four.
"It's one of the things we've been wondering about ever since we escaped. At the time we didn't care about it because we were more concerned about escaping. But after getting out, it has been buzzing like a fire hornet in the back of our heads," said Three.
"He mostly studied our ability to siphon magic from witches and demons, but other than that, not much else. You'd think he'd want to look into our shapeshifting as well, but no," Four added.
Luz hummed as she thought.
"This gets more curious by the second with that man."
Seriously, he specifically experimented with their magic siphoning. For what? Ugh! I can't figure him out!
"Probably for the best that you can't think like he can."
Well, that's not true…I could if I was really pushed to…Luz could feel La Lechuza sighing. I know, I know. Things are different from Alt Luz's timeline. But…
"You fear that Belos's framing of you and Amity is creating a flashpoint for you to become Oscura in this timeline, am I wrong?"
No, you're right. And I know things won't turn out the same here as they did there. I have my friends, I have Amity, and I have that ring to remind me not to deny that I have some dark in me.
"It is okay to not deny it, but whether you choose to embrace it or not is just that, your choice."
Luz nodded and said, "Alright, let's get you two set up in the spare room. And tomorrow we'll brainstorm ideas about a safer and more permanent place for you two to live."
"Thank you, Luz," said Three.
"We really do appreciate this. And sorry for the kidnapping thing earlier," Four apologized.
"Eh, water under the bridge."