Amity was walking up the stairs to the council building swiftly, Boscha trailing behind, though neither of them noticed a small group of people gathering across the street with how focused they were. Even though Boscha was not nearly as on board with the plan as Amity was, she knew it was a pointless endeavor to try and convince Amity to change her mind. Everyone always thought of her as the stubborn one, but Boscha knew if Amity set her mind on something, it would take a miracle to try and convince her to do something else, even if she believed it was pointless, wouldn't work, or was just a bad idea.
And trying to get the council to change their mind on something fit all three.
Amity entered the building, easily pushing open the heavy wooden doors, and walked straight past the little history gallery and turned down one of the hallways to the smaller of the meeting rooms. Eda had let Amity use them for homework while she was in school and Darius sometimes had their lessons be there, so Amity knew her way around the council building better than most of the public. She knew the gist of the weekly schedule of the council, what was in each room, where all the offices were, and how to find anything. Not only was it helpful on school tours where her knowledge made the need for finding a guide or convincing one of the councilors to show a bunch of small kids around obsolete, but it also meant if Amity knew she needed to talk to any or all of the councilors, she just needed to know what day it was and she would know exactly where to find them.
Amity reached the regular room where the council had their smaller meetings, quickly listening to make sure she heard voices inside to be safe, and waited for Boscha to catch up before going in. Boscha did, looking lost and tired from trying to keep track of and catch up with Amity, so she waited for her to pull herself back together.
"Man, you were not exaggerating all those times you've told me that you knew this place like the back of your hand." Boscha tiredly chuckled, "But before you go in, are you 100% certain you know what you're doing? After these past few days, the council might not be…willing to help. I mean, you saw how Eda acted the other day."
"Do you not think that I can convince them?" Amity asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"They're stubborn, is all I'm saying. I know you want to do this, and I know you care about Luz, but it might just be a waste of time. So instead of riling up the council, you and I can just go back to the apartment. We can take a break, maybe a nap, then we can talk and…and maybe we can see what we can do so that you actually move on from Luz?"
"Okay, I see how it is." Amity scoffed, tired and over everything that wasn't her plan, "You're jealous of Luz. You think that she's going to somehow steal me from you so you want me to just give up."
"What? No! I mean, maybe a little, but mostly I just- Look, you saw how Luz was. I don't think you can save her. Even if you convince the council of whatever you want to convince them of, who's to say she'll even be responsive to any help? You can't help someone that doesn't want help! We're both tired, physically and emotionally, and we probably aren't thinking clearly. How about we go home, get some sleep, and sleep on what to do? Is that better?" Boscha tried to reason.
"I need to do this now." Amity sighed, "And you don't have to join me. This is something very personal for me. And once I finish, then we can go home. Alright?"
"Alright. I'll be out in the atrium. You go do what you need to. For Luz."
Boscha gave Amity's hand a quick and encouraging squeeze, though the look on her face had a hint of sadness on it. Amity just nodded, and as she reached for the handle, Boscha let go of Amity's hand and walked back a few steps, letting Amity go in alone to talk to the council about Luz.
Amity opened the door to see the council members themselves bickering. However she noticed that not all of the council was there. Darius, Eberwolf, Asclepius, and Cassandra were all missing. Eda, Raine, Lynn, Finn, Lexi, and Talia were still there, but most of them were arguing and the only ones who weren't, Raine and Lynn just looked generally tired and over the arguing respectively. Eda also looked tired but instead of just sitting back like her partner, she appeared to be choosing violence, at least verbally. With them all talking over each other Amity could only hear snippets, but she was able to piece together that they were talking about something to do with the basilisks and how that somehow had something to do with the absent council members.
After a bit more arguing, Talia was able to shut everyone else up by slamming her hands on the table and just glared at Eda, Raine, and Lexi.
"Look, if you still think it's some funny little coincidence that all the people who are missing today were against the basilisk vote from a few days ago, you're delusional." She said, venom in her voice.
"Eberwolf and Asclepius both went on record abstaining from voting because of a lack of information. And if people who are against the movement are being targeted, why are you, Lynn, and Finn still here? And don't say that it's to mitigate suspicion so a bunch of councilors don't go missing all at once, because forty percent is still a decent chunk of the council!" Eda shot back.
"Plus it's a dumb move to do anything to people who haven't decided their stance. It'd be in their best interest to leave Eber and Asclepius alone and instead just go after Dari, Lynn, Finn, Cass, and you." Lexi added.
"Oh come on Lex, it's just a bunch of animals. Less than that even. You really think that they have the cognitive faculties to think through all of that?" Finn countered, "I love you hun, really you're like my best friend, but those things are just dumb, dangerous creatures that should have stayed extinct."
"Oh I didn't know you were also into beast keeping, Finny." Eda said with a sarcastic sweetness, "Of course you have the most authority in deciding what is and isn't a sentient creature that is capable of complex thought. And you're right, just because Belos brought them back from being extinct means that nothing good can come from them. I mean, it's not like there's another creation of Belos just waltzing around, being friends with my kid, and being all buddy-buddy with the kids that are practically mine. No, that would be absurd! Because if that existed then by the "everything Belos makes equals bad" logic would be flawed, or you'd need to imprison and/or kill it, just like you want to do with the basilisks."
"Oh come on E, you're really going to bring Hunter into this?" Finn scoffed, "You're damn lucky Darius is too busy being kidnapped or something to go off on you for that little sentiment. And since when are you the authority on what basilisks are like? You made damn sure you were never close to the Emperor's Coven, and you never got the chance to study beast keeping formally. Are you, I don't know, harboring a basilisk or something? If you are and can tell us for certain that they aren't a threat with actual proof, please share with the class."
"Hey! That's enough." Raine finally said, sitting up from the slouch they were in, "Look, this conversation is getting us nowhere. We need to just drop whatever opinions we may hold on the basilisks, the protests, and all of that stuff and just work on figuring out why four of us aren't here to share in this delightful conversation."
"Or maybe we could notice the witch who has been standing in here watching us for the past minute." Lynn said.
Everyone turned and finally noticed Amity standing there, who was now feeling significantly more awkward than she had been before listening to the most powerful authority on the Isles bicker like teenagers and having learned that apparently four of them were kidnapped, allegedly by basilisks, which was quite disconcerting considering the last time Amity saw Vee was when she was storming out of the public meeting.
Eda leaned back in her chair and groaned, rubbing her temple. Everyone else sat down if they were standing and got into a much more proper looking position.
"What do you want, kid? You know that this is a private meeting day." Eda said.
Amity took that as her cue to come forward and moved to the front of the curved table the councilors all sat at. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she cleared her throat and tried to think of what to say.
"It's about Luz." She said nervously.
Everyone's faces morphed from whatever they had been into confusion, frustration, annoyance, curiosity, or a mix of any or all of those.
"Amity, what was decided is decided. If you wanted to talk to me about this you should have done it privately. There's no need for this to happen here and now."
"No, this isn't about that. I…I went to Luz's island, with Boscha, after learning about what decision was made. And I got lots of information on her cult, and her, that I feel like the council should know. Straight from the snorse's mouth instead of retold by someone who wasn't even there."
Eda started to stand up from her chair but Raine made a quick and sharp whistle which somehow got Eda to sit right back down. Finn leaned forward on their elbows, propping their hard up on laced fingers and slightly narrowed his eyes at Amity.
"And how exactly did you learn all of this?"
"Boscha and I snuck into an induction ceremony that King had told me was happening after I called him to get more information. We were caught at the end when Luz, who was running it, recognized Boscha and I exposed myself by yelling out to her. I was then locked in what appeared to be Luz's office or something, Luz entered, and told me that she would answer whatever questions I had. She did, but the conversation got heated and, because she unlocked the door as a way to try to convince me she was trustworthy, I left. She didn't chase after me or anything, but I was able to hear how angry she was, even as I sprinted away. Boscha and I escaped the island and we came here straight away."
"And why isn't Boscha here too?" Lynn asked, sounding less like she was questioning her and more just concerned about her daughter.
"Because Luz is a bit of a personal matter to me she…she let me do this alone. Back about Luz, I was able to gain a decent amount of information on the workings of Luz's cult and her motive. But please understand, she is incredibly broken and not thinking clearly, I doubt she has for a long time. She's stuck with the Collector and a bunch of people who worship her as a god, and that's not even including how her curse is making her anger incredibly volatile. She's not insane or completely changed, I was able to witness that she can still feel empathy, be apologetic, and also be her regular joking self."
"But is she dangerous, would you say?" Lexi asked.
"Lex!" Eda hissed.
"What? It's an important question. Is Luz in any way, shape, or form a threat? Do we need to defend ourselves against her? Do we need to inform the public? Or do we need to go on the offensive?"
"No! No, not at all. She gave no indication that she was planning on coming here. She said she'd never come back with me. She seems to think that I'll go back, she said that she thinks we'll meet again, so there is the chance that her and her followers are going to be ready for an invasion or attack from us. She does have a few followers here, but according to her they have had no success in getting anyone to come with them to her island. It's how she was able to steal a recent invention of Gus Porter. Well, that and her mini portals. She doesn't want to come back here but with both Boscha and I and King managing to infiltrate her island her defenses will undoubtedly be stronger. And with the Collector able to spy on us and report back to her-"
"What?!" Finn yelled, "That nuisance is spying on us?"
"Don't worry, they don't tell Luz everything. I don't know how they decide what to and what not to tell Luz, but I know for a fact that they leave things out."
"Backing up, what was that you said about…mini portals? Does she have some access to Titan's Blood? Is the supply on whatever Titan she lives on not dried up or something?" Talia asked.
"What do you mean? She has Titan Blood in her system. That's how she was revived after Hunter killed her when she ditched the hideout and later defeated the Collector. It's how she can do portals and why she's basically a full on witch now, bile sack, pointy ears, the whole package."
Lexi, Talia, and Finn were all different flavors of surprised at that, but Eda and Raine seemed nonplussed. However, confusingly, Lynn was just nodding knowingly at the information. Amity wasn't the only one who caught onto that and Finn gave her side eye right away.
"Lynn, care to share why you aren't experiencing any shock or disbelief at the news that Luz the human is now Luz the witch?" He asked.
"I didn't know, but I'm not surprised."
That got everyone suspicious of her, and Lynn began to look a bit nervous.
"Look, when she saved everyone from the Collector, I was able to see her before she flew off on her staff, I will add it did look artificial, as did the other one she held. And when she left, the wind knocked back the hood on her cloak and I was able to see what looked like pointy ears. I didn't believe what I saw, I had been turned into a puppet so there was bound to be minor delirium, but that's why I'm not that shocked to learn I wasn't seeing things and she did have pointy ears." Lynn explained.
"Well that would have been helpful to know, and yet neither you nor Eda shared that fact. Not to mention apparently you didn't decide to share just how bad Luz's curse had gotten, did you Eda?" Finn said.
"Maybe I would have been able to share it if you all took more time to listen to me instead of just yelling. Also I don't see how those would have been relevant when the point of what I was telling you guys was because at the time I thought getting Luz help would be the best option."
"What do you mean that's what you thought at the time?" Amity asked, a little concerned by the implication.
Unfortunately for Amity, it seemed like nobody noticed Amity's question and if they did, they didn't care enough to answer.
"Lynn, is there anything else you would like to share with us?" Lexi asked, "Any other little things that you've neglected to inform us of that could be helpful?"
"Yes, I do. I have an idea on how she formed the cult in the first place." Lynn began, "After she left, she gave me a bunch of letters. Almost all of them were for the people closest to Luz, like her friends, her family, and Eda, however the one on top didn't say who it was to, it just had instructions on where to leave it. The Bonesborough police station. There was some known Titan Trapper activity that had been going on in the area, but as you all know after the Collector was defeated they disappeared. Well I believe that that letter had instructions of them on what to do, and maybe even had Luz explaining her plan to fake her death."
"And why didn't you tell us?" Eda asked.
"I did. I told you that there was a letter that I dropped off there. And at the time, without the context Amity has now given us, I was unable to piece this all together. I told you about the letter right away but you didn't care. You took the letters, told me what to do with the other people freed from the Collector, and left. You didn't even question anything when I told you that the Trappers had vanished!"
"Okay, you're right, but that still doesn't change the fact that when I told everyone about Luz the other day and gave my proposal, you didn't ask or share anything with your theories."
"Now you're just being overly defensive! And can you really blame me for not sharing that? Look at how much drama we're already having. If I had thrown in my theories while we were still only working on what you said King said, we would have gotten even less done. Look, I don't want to start or be in any drama, okay? I'm doing this job to help my family and help everyone else on the Isles. Being in drama was never my goal with this."
"Oh honey, you lost the ability to not be in drama by joining this council."
"While hearing all the people I used to hold in high regard bicker is quite entertaining, I still had a point that wasn't just giving you guys ammo to use against each other." Amity cut in, sounding quite annoyed.
"Sorry kid, please continue." Talia said.
Amity was annoyed by all these people calling her kid despite the fact that she was as old as Lexi, but she just ignored it so she could try to get them all to do something instead of just arguing.
"We need to send someone to get through to Luz." Amity said, "She's open to reason, it just takes care and thought to not get her curse to flare up. Since I had such a long conversation with her, I can talk to someone who was close to Luz through on how to navigate conversation with her carefully and get her to stop the destructive behaviors she's having. It might take a few visits, possibly even staying on her island for a few days, but before she found out I was taken she was completely open to moving back here if that's what I wanted. The cult would be a minor problem, but one that could be handled."
"And who do you propose to be the one who goes?" Lexi asked.
"Well King and I can't go, our visits basically ruined any chances we'd have with her, Boscha can't go because Luz hates her, and Willow hates Luz and Luz has been messing with Willow for fun, so she's out too. However, Hunter could work. Luz feels at least a little bit bad for what she did, despite her self-justification, and they were practically siblings with how close they got. Not to mention Hunter has never stopped seeing the best in her. The only obstacle is getting Willow to let him go."
"Well, I mean, there's also the problem of the public." Finn said, "We can't send Hunter. It's known information by those who saw her at the hideout before she ran that she is in possession of Belos' curse. While they don't know how bad it's gotten, they know she has it. And Belos being literally inside her head is also known by a few and speculated by even more. What happens when we send Belos' nephew to try and talk to her?"
"Belos is dead. Luz told us in the letters, and told King he was dead. And Luz told me that she'd never lie to or hurt King, and I'm sure she meant it with how she said it."
"I agree with Finn." Lexi said, "Sending the one person left who can go that doesn't hate her that she also maybe doesn't hate? There are already people who are just giving him the benefit of the doubt from his actions as the Golden Guard, but if Luz and Hunter come back together, there will definitely be people thinking that both of them are untrustworthy and assume that Belos is back and is manipulating Hunter through Luz. He'd lose any public favor that he had."
"And how are you so sure of this?" Amity asked, raising an eyebrow.
"One, I'm the youngest of the council and thus am closest in age to the gossipers. Two, I'm the Illusion magic head, it's my job to know people, what they think, and stuff like that. And three, I handle most if not all public relations and public opinion stuff so, again, it's my job to know. I know you wouldn't know all that because I joined the council after you stopped helping out here and being trained by Darius, so I can excuse you not knowing. Obviously not everyone thinks like that, there are plenty of people who love Hunter, plenty who don't on grounds of him having been the golden guard and/or him being a grimwalker, and some who don't feel any strong way about him. But you're his friend, you should know just how long it took him to gain the favor he has. How it took months of him working with Dell on the palismen and doing all the public service he could for people to trust him en masse. Him publicly helping someone like Luz…not exactly great for his reputation, wouldn't you agree?"
"No. I wouldn't." Amity said firmly before turning to Eda and walking closer to her, "Eda, please, you have to listen to me. I know that there's something we can do to help her. Just the other day you were in the position I am right now. And I can now corroborate with you that Luz needs help. But to give her that I need help from you. I know that it didn't go great for you when you did it, but I'm here agreeing with you with proof that supports what you tried to get. So please, you have to help me out here."
Eda looked at Amity for a few moments, glanced over at Raine, then shook her head and sighed. She looked back at Amity in a way that filled her with panic and dread at how she was going to respond.
Surely Eda would agree with her, Amity tried to reassure herself, surely she was just getting worked up over nothing and Eda's look was because she knew the council would react poorly, not Amity.
"Thank you for giving us all this helpful information." Eda began, "It will certainly prove useful when and if it's needed. Though I hate to say it, I must agree with Lexi. Not on the Hunter being a bad choice part, but on the her being a potential danger part. And bringing up public opinion is valid considering how people must feel about her since even though she did save the isles, she also publicly murdered Hunter, even if he got better. When we find Cassandra we will have her look at a few of the possible futures and, if it seems like the best option, we will take action against Luz and her cult. Of course if Cass sees that it isn't, then we won't, but there is a possibility that we will have to. Especially with the information that the Collector could at any moment be spying on us, and not just that but being able to lie to Luz about what they see, it might be a good idea to get a jump on the situation."
"A good idea? Did you ignore the part where I said that Luz could be preparing a defense right now so that that won't be a good idea? And weren't you the one who was so defensive about doing a peaceful mission to get Luz? Weren't you the one who broke council procedure so you could let Camila know what had happened and asked her what she wanted you to tell the council? Why are you so anti-Luz now?!"
"I'm not anti anyone, I just have more information now kid." Eda sighed, "And I've had more time to think about what King told us about his trip, and more time to consider the reasoning the other councilors used when they decided against my proposal. More time to talk to…other council members about their choices."
"So you flipped in the day I've been gone?"
"I didn't flip. I simply learned more information and broadened my perspective. I stopped going off of instinct and my gut reaction and instead took time to really critically think through what happened, unlike you who just left when you found out what you wanted didn't happen without a second thought."
"You told Camila, no, you promised Camila that she'd be able to see and hold her daughter again. And that Luz would be alive when it happened."
"And I will absolutely keep that promise. I would never hurt her by breaking it. Camila will get to do everything I said she'd be able to with her daughter, but there'll be bars between them when it happens."
"You know what, you're pathetic Eda. You can't even get yourself to say her name." Amity scoffed.
"Ms. Blight," Talia said, "What exactly would you have us do if, when we get the other councilors back and have Cassandra look into the future, it seems that attacking will have the most net good?"
"Maybe we just leave her alone? Ever thought about that? Don't attack her but don't try to give her therapy either." Finn said, "Like I said at the last meeting, live and let live. I mean, we should still do something about the Collector and try to find the cult members that are on this island, but Luz herself? Let's just leave her alone. It's what we agreed on last time, right? I don't see why that has to change. She hasn't provoked us, only that creepy shadow kid and the cult members sneaking around here."
"Are there any identifying features for these cult members?" Lexi asked, going with Finn's suggested plan.
"Yes. They all have handprint burn scars. It's a branding that every member has. Boscha and I saw a whole ceremony. The higher the burn marks are, the higher ranking they are. Because of how sacred they are, most members don't try to hide them, and hiding them, at least on the island, is viewed as a sign of embarrassment."
"Higher burns mean higher rankings, huh?" Lexi chuckled, "If it hadn't been for the work you did, you would probably have been viewed pretty highly when you visited thanks to the number Luz did to your-"
Before she finished that sentence, she noticed Eda, Raine, and Lynn were all glaring at her, which was a strong sign that it would be a bad idea to finish that sentence. Amity didn't glare at her, instead just awkwardly fidgeting with her bracelet. Lexi cleared her throat and gave Amity an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. That was a bit much. However, I do agree with Finn's plan. Take care of the Collector and the invading cultists and just leave well enough alone in regards to Luz."
"I haven't changed my opinion since the last meeting." Talia said firmly, "I still say that between Luz, the Trappers, and the Collector, there are too many crimes that have gone unpunished. If she is going so far as to brand people and try to convert people from other islands, not to mention this volatility, we need to take action against her before she can against us."
"We can't just launch an attack against her!"
"I was sure before but I'm more sure than ever now. It's clear that she poses a potential for danger. We can't just let her and her cult run around unhandled."
"When we find Cassandra, we will see what decision leads to the best outcome for the majority." Raine said, "And we'll do that. Even if you don't like it."
"She's still young. She hasn't had time to develop mentally or emotionally after all she went through, after all she's going through. We can't attack her. She's a kid!" Amity pleaded before turning to Eda, tears in her eyes, "Eda, she's your kid!"
"Oh give me a break!" Eda snapped, slamming her hand on the table.
Everyone was taken aback by Eda's yelling. They all had heard her mad and frustrated before, but it seemed different. Raine especially looked in disbelief, though it seemed like Eda's outburst wasn't the only thing that was surprising. What else that could be, Amity, and frankly everyone but Raine and Eda, had no idea.
Amity took a few steps back from Eda but maintained eye contact the whole time, looking at her with pain and betrayal. She thought Eda would be the way for her to get the rest of the council to listen. But it seemed like something happened. In so short a time, something changed. Eda saw how disappointed Amity looked, almost as disappointed as Eda was in herself, and just sighed. She leaned forward and held her head in one for her hands.
"Look Amity, for a long time I would do anything to protect, to save my kids. To be there for King. To be there for her. But I'm not allowed to only care about a few people anymore. After the Day of Unity, I thought the two of them were dead or gone to a place so far out of reach that they were functionally dead. So, I just focused on protecting others from the Collector. Then they both came back, she came back, and I had to juggle taking care of them and continue taking care of the massive amount of people who looked up to me. But not like a mother, or a caretaker or however she viewed it, but like a leader. Then she left and died, the Isles were saved, and I had King wanting a mother to be there for him and the whole of the Isles not wanting just a protector, but a leader. A politician. Then King left too, leaving me with my role not as some guardian, but as someone more for everyone. So I have to put the Isles before a potentially dangerous witch of unknown power who had been presumed dead for a decade. I know, really I do know, that you want me to be there for her. But when I had to make a memorial for her, mourn her, for the second time? I had to stop thinking of her as my kid just so I could wake up every morning and be the leader people needed. Just so I could wake up every morning and function at all."
"So you finally admit she's your kid." Amity huffed, turning away from her.
"Maybe she was once. But I had to move on, get over it…and I finally did. And you should too. I recommend working on that. Being attached will only make what needs to be done harder for you to handle."
"I still don't get it, how in Titan's name did you change your opinion on what had to be done so quickly?" Amity asked, turning back to her.
"Look kid, I thought I knew her well, and look what happened. I thought I was doing the right thing, that I knew what I was doing at all. But I didn't. And sometimes I still don't. Don't think I want to do what I have to, but I will. I'm part of this council, and I have to act like it."
"That wasn't my question." Amity said firmly.
"But that's my answer. And you have to accept that."
Amity and Eda just stared at each other in silence for a few moments, as they did Amity noticed it looked like Raine was holding Eda's hand from under the table. The silence was cut off when Lexi, who had been looking at their scroll the entire time Talia and Eda were arguing with Amity, dramatically gasped.
"Lexi, do you really have to be on your scroll right now? This is a serious discussion." Raine said.
"Well, I think you guys will want to see this. In all our productive time bickering today, we haven't looked at the news. Turns out that…well, see for yourself."
Lexi drew a spell circle and projected the screen of her scroll, which was on the news network, into the middle of the table for all to see.
"-when earlier today councilor Darius Demonne, the abomination magic head, came in for an interview about the recent political discussion. In case you didn't catch it earlier, here's what happened."
The image changed from a reporter at a desk to one of the news networks interview rooms, which showed Darius and another reporter sitting in chairs across from each other.
"Mr. Demonne, over the past few days the basilisk protesters have shown up more and more. What are your thoughts on this, as you have openly shared your negative view of the creatures?"
"I think they're delusional to think that it'll change anything."
"Well, they are within legality to do it."
"I didn't say it wasn't legal, just that it seems pointless. I don't know why they'd spend so much time trying to defend those awful creatures."
Everyone in the room just stared at the projection, filled with shock and confusion. Not just at the fact that Darius wasn't, in fact, missing but had gone on the news to slander the basilisks. And while half of them were just wondering what motivated him to do this, those who know Darius well, Amity, Eda, and Raine, felt like he was acting almost…off for some reason. Something about him felt different and they couldn't explain it. Whether the reason for it had to do with his disappearance or something else entirely, none of them knew for sure.
"From what you have said about them, it doesn't just seem like you hate them. Are you perhaps scared of them?"
"I'm scared of a lot of things. Belos somehow returning, losing the family I've made for myself, the life I've made for myself, the Isles going back to the way they were, and me not being able to stop that from happening, even with where I am today. And basilisks are a symbol of all of that. They're dangerous predators. Anyone would have to be an idiot to not be scared."
"I suppose that makes sense. As a former coven head, you of all people should know what basilisks are like. What exactly was that like?"
"I was very close to and aware of what was going on. I witnessed those creatures, I saw how many of them were made. Selective breeding with each generation to make the most dangerous one that would be best suited for informing Belos on how to better block magic with sigils and craft the draining spell. 10 generations, each one slightly different than the last with different strengths, weaknesses, skills, and temperaments. Belos' sick lab experiment created 10 different basilisks, 9 ones crude changes to their original version with 1 selected from each generation and the rest slaughtered. Most of the time by Belos, but sometimes by high ranking scouts, whoever happened to be golden guard at the time, and occasionally even coven heads if they were on particularly good behavior. I never was selected to participate, but people like Terra Snapdragon, Vitimir, and Hettie Cutburn were. Adrien Grey Vernworth was offered, but refused on the grounds of it being so crude and messy. Which, as someone who witnessed one of these slaughters without outright participating, I can agree with. Not only were all but one per generation slaughtered by animals in front of all the other basilisks, but for the first 4 generations they were given prisoners and traitors to drain magic from for observation. Sure it was switched to rats and other small creatures by the fifth to ensure they didn't get too powerful or come to the conclusion that they could just drain the guards and escape, which is how they did escape I might add, but the first 4 basilisks were trained exclusively on witches."
"So would you say that the recent reports of witches in the woods by the Hips being drained are because of those four?"
"More likely 2 through 4, not the first. Also unlikely any of the ones past 4. What I will say is that that area is dangerous, the claims aren't being made up, and even though all the drained witches got their magic back, people should not go there. No hikes, no exploring, no peace offerings, no capture missions. I'd be surprised if most if not all of the basilisks are working together, so trying to do anything in that area would be stupid and a possible death sentence."
"Last question. Just last week Vee Noceda and Tinella Nosa made their proposal for a peace offering and rehabilitation and since then an unknown account on Penstagram has been organizing the protests. Many people have rumored that Tinella is behind this, but it could be either. If they were here right now, what would you say to them?"
"I have nothing to say to Ms. Nosa, only Vee."
Everyone in the room was dead silent as Darius turned from the interviewer to face directly into the camera, the camera even zooming in on his face. While they all were desperately wondering what Darius would say, Amity and Eda were also praying to the Titan that Darius hadn't somehow found out Vee was a basilisk and was about to expose her.
"I know that your proposal was your idea, not Tinella's. And as such, this is specifically for you and your little dream of integrating the basilisks into society. Give. Up. On. Those. Monsters."
As the camera zoomed back out, Lexi dropped the projection. Everyone in the room hadn't been expecting any of that. Amity didn't even notice the protests were happening with how busy her mind had been, so most of that interview was a shock. Nobody in the room was thinking about Luz anymore, only what they had just witnessed. All of them silently pulled out their scrolls one by one to see how other people were reacting to the interview online and were met with a torrent of posts both in full support and in complete hatred of Darius, news articles hastily written in the last couple hours, previously neutral people announcing that they're joining in support of the basilisks, and people tagging the protest account in clips and screenshots of the interview begging for action from them and wanting to know their thoughts. And, after just a little more scrolling, a viral post from the account a little over an hour old.
TheBasiliskMovement:
Today the abomination magic head Darius Demonne went too far. Both his actions and the total inaction of the rest of the council both today and the past few days must be answered for. They can not just sit around like this any longer. And I can not sit in the shadows any longer. In one hour right across the street from the council building I will be showing my face and we will force the council to finally listen. We will make them act.
#thebasiliskmovement #basiliskprotests #basiliskgate #facereveal #truth
"So…what's our plan?" Raine said awkwardly, desperately hoping that people wouldn't start fighting again.
"I don't care what your plan is," Amity began, "But I'm going out there and handling this before anyone gets hurt, like you should be doing."
Amity turned and stormed out of the room, not paying attention to the council or listening to what they said. As she began walking towards the exit, she dialed Masha on her scroll and hoped they had it on them.
"What's up?"
"Do you know where Vee is?" Amity asked, wasting no time on any casual greeting.
"No, she's been gone since the open session last week. Why? Did something happen?"
"Yes, something did. I'll get back to you once I know more."
Amity hung up and kept walking, going right past Boscha who was standing in the building atrium, like she said she would.
"Hey so across the street there's-"
"I know."
"Is that why you're-"
"Yes."
Boscha just nodded and followed behind Amity. As they went towards the exit, Amity was fuming. But not at Darius, instead at Vee. Darius would never do or say anything like what he had on the news. He was into petty revenge, not publicly bashing specific people. At the public session he was more so against basilisks, not Vee. So clearly Vee had done something to some of the council members, shapeshifted to look like Darius, made him look as awful as he could in the public eye, all so the protests, which she could have easily started while she'd been missing, would garner more support and she could get what she wanted.
Now, Amity herself knew just how out of character that would be, but nobody had ever really seen her as mad as she got before and with something so personal…nobody could predict how she'd react and what she'd do.
As Amity pushed the doors open, she saw across the street a crowd of supporters, people holding signs, opposers, and reporters surrounding a makeshift stage as the presumed leader stood on it holding a megaphone.
And that leader was Vee.
Amity immediately went straight for the group to try to get to Vee. As she shoved through the yelling mass of protesters, someone in a jeans and yellow hoodie shoulder checked Amity, but she paid no mind to it and was solely focused on figuring out what in Titan's name was going on.
Amity finally got to the front of the crowd, but with how loud everyone was she knew that it would be difficult to get Vee's attention. So instead, she just listened hoping maybe she could learn something, anything about all of it and get more of a clue on why Vee was going so far.
"The council members are a bunch of hypocrites!" Vee yelled into the megaphone, "They say basilisks are dangerous and hope we all forget that all of them, and many of us regular citizens, are close to another creation of Belos. One of my best friends, Hunter Park, who was adopted by Darius after the Collector's defeat is a grimwalker. A clone made by Belos with the sole purpose of following orders. One could argue that he's less natural than basilisks, because basilisks are just demons that went extinct, not creations of pure magic made to replicate someone else who wasn't even a witch. Basilisks were revived, not created. We all know what Hunter is, he told everyone himself years ago, and a majority of us still accept him and treat him like everyone else. Why? Because he proved that he's good and is close to the council. Everyone just shut up about his purpose or creator after a combination of proving himself to be good, the support of respected figures, and the knowledge that he was adopted by one of the more influential council members so any hate towards him could be met with the classic petty revenge of Darius Demonne. And yet basilisks are evil because of their purpose and creator? Bullshit. They haven't even gotten a chance to show everyone wrong and I'd bet if a basilisk openly approached a member of the council, especially now that we know how some members feel about them, they'd be imprisoned. What would happen if someone tried to capture Hunter for the fact that he's a grimwalker? He'd obviously defend himself and then that person would be arrested for attempted kidnapping. And yet the council wants to do the same thing to basilisks and believes that it's be proof of their threat level if they defended themselves. If grimwalkers aren't dangerous, neither are basilisks."
"But basilisks are dangerous!" someone in the crowd yelled out, "They can drain magic!"
"Yeah, and everyone here can do magic. Isn't that even more dangerous? Draining magic can't kill you, it only weakens you. And in all the recent cases of drained magic they recover, which is only possible by the basilisk who drained them releasing that magic. Those basilisks likely just felt threatened or territorial, drained the person's magic, got away, and gave it back when they felt safe. I mean really, what's more dangerous? A being, only 10 of which exist might I add, who will temporarily weaken you if they feel threatened, or a being that makes up the entire rest of the permanent population who can do any number of things to you with a circle. Even glyph magic has the potential to harm. Mainly with the fire glyph but also any of the others, and there's also the glyph combos such as the petrification glyph that Belos made. And these glyph combos that replicate regular spells are easy to look up and new ones are created regularly! Not to mention how glyphs leave no trace of the user unlike spell circles which, with refined enough magic, can be somewhat traced or at least the user possibility being narrowed down. So yes basilisks can drain magic, but witches and even beings without bile sacks like humans or magicless witches can use that magic."
"What do you think about Darius specifically?" A reporter called out, "You've only been talking about the council in general so far."
"Darius is a liar and a coward." Vee responded, venom in her voice, "He said that it's pointless to defend them, called them awful creatures and monsters, said trying to reach out to them is a death sentence. He called me out specifically and told me to give up. Meanwhile he admitted he was scared on a live broadcast. And he's the one we're listening to? Fear makes you ignore facts and yet we're getting our facts from the man who's afraid. So why are we listening to him? They need to listen to us. Instead of saying it's pointless to care, instead of only one of them being the face of their opinions, the council as a whole needs to take accountability and act. And that's why we're here!"
All the supporters in the crowd cheered, along with some of the reporters. Even a few of the people who seemed to have been opposing at first softly clapped.
Vee lowered the megaphone and looked across the crowd. And she smiled. She was filled with such pride. After so long of just being on the sidelines, the only member of the Hexsquad to not go to hexside, the one who mainly lived in the human realm, and the one who's only personal connection to the rest of the group was through a dead person, and somewhat through someone who stood by during her torture while in the Emperor's Coven. She was eternally the odd one out, and yet, in that moment she wasn't one of the group, she made the group. She was doing something. And it felt incredible.
As she looked up further, she looked at the council hall. The large, imposing building across the street. It felt colder than usual, more intimidating. After days of planning, coordinating, preparing, and waiting for the right moment to actually show up and it finally came…and nothing. The doors stayed shut, the building stayed cold, and none of any of the 10 people who could come out were.
Then, her gaze went back down and, finally, she noticed Amity standing in the very front of the crowd with Boscha right behind her. Not only was she standing there, but her expression appeared to be a mix of amazement and fury.
Vee carefully sat down the megaphone and knelt down so she could get closer to Amity. None of the crowd cared really, they seemed to have shifted their attention to each other and the council building, so Vee didn't have to worry about anything.
"Amity! Boscha! You came! What's with the sour face? I'm sorry for disappearing, but I had to do this alone. This was my mission." Vee said, a half smile on her face.
"Vee, you went too far." Amity said firmly, her frustration slightly morphing into concern.
"What? I'm just calling out Darius for his crap. What's wrong with that?" Vee laughed.
"I don't know, doing something to multiple council members, pretending to be Darius on TV to make him look bad, and doing it all to serve your cause."
"Wait, what? I've been hiding out and barely left where I was for days. What are you even talking about? Missing council members, pretending to be Darius…"
"Vee, don't play dumb, there's no other explanation. Eberwolf, Asclepius, Cassandra, and Darius have been missing for a day, at least I think that's how long I was busy at Luz's island, and then suddenly Darius shows up on the news and-"
"Luz's island?" Vee said, now completely baffled by what Amity was saying.
When Vee said that, the realization hit Amity. Vee had been gone for days after all. She left after the public council meeting, four whole days before the news that had been on her mind constantly since then broke.
She didn't know Luz was alive.
She didn't know anything.
Boscha noticed that Amity had frozen, so she stepped up slightly in front of Amity to explain for her.
"Look, this isn't the time or the place especially with how public this is but you need to know and everyone is being loud so it should be fine. She's alive, she's been alive, and she's on the Titan Trapper island. When this whole thing is over, we'll tell you what we know."
"Oh…Titan. I missed a lot, didn't I?" Vee awkwardly chuckled.
"Yeah, you did." Boscha admitted with a shrug.
"And it seems like we did too with how much you've been up to." Amity said, feeling a lot less stress with Boscha covering for her by telling Vee the news.
Suddenly, everyone around them went silent. At first Boscha and Amity worried people did hear what they had just told Vee. But, when they turned around, they saw the crowd parting. And when it fully opened, leaving a clear path to the stage, they saw a very disgruntled Darius standing there, angry, muddy, and shockingly unkempt. Slowly, he walked past everyone and towards the stage. It was obvious that even if people hadn't gotten out of the way he would still be walking in a straight line towards the stage and just walking over anyone in his way. He was completely focused on Vee, not even glancing at anyone else. Even Amity and Boscha stepped out of the way and just watched as Vee stood up from her crouched position and glared down at Darius, who glared right back up at her.
"Ms. Vee Noceda." Darius said with a nod, utter disdain in his voice.
"Yes, councilor?" Vee replied, speaking in a purposefully aloof sounding tone.
"I bet you must be awfully pleased with yourself."
"And why ever would that be?"
"Oh I don't know, but your support finally got the proof you need. Not only that, but you got it by the creatures you love oh so much doing what they could to help you."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I mean, you laid out all the reasons I would need to reveal myself as being the one behind the account. That interview really was revelatory, so thank you for that."
"Well, here's a shocker, that wasn't me. I was knocked out by someone, likely a basilisk, and either them or one of their cohorts pretended to be me in an attempt to make me look worse than you and the group of supporters you already believed me to be."
"And why do you think it was a basilisk who knocked you out? I mean, as a large political figure and the fact that, clearly, there are people who are not basilisks who are in support of them. Who's to say a regular old witch didn't knock you out and then used an illusion to pretend to be you?"
"It makes more sense that it would be a basilisk. I was knocked out on my way back home from the emergency meeting Eda held and woke up dumped in the woods a few hours ago."
"Funny, because the interview was less than two hours ago. You would have time to use your abomination teleportation to return home, get cleaned up, and do the interview before dirtying yourself up again to sell this story as a reason to make your story hold water. So, pray tell, how many hours is a few?"
"I was in a place where I couldn't identify where I was, and not knowing where I am doesn't allow the spell to work, and spent the time getting out of the woods, was accosted as I returned to town by people telling me their thoughts about a supposed interview which I promptly watched, then I discovered this little meeting of your posse and came here."
"Why would a basilisk even risk knocking you out? Attacking a political figure is a risky move, especially with someone as skilled as you who, if they failed to sneak properly, I know you'd be able to handle."
"After my rejection of your basilisk rehabilitation and integration proposal, it makes sense that sooner or later those monsters would come after me."
"You're really quick to call them creatures and monsters. Aren't they demons? Their original versions before they were genetically changed were simple beast demons."
"Exactly, they were genetically changed. After all that Belos did to them, they are no longer demons. They're simply creations. Creatures. Monsters."
"Okay, so clearly neither of you believes the other and you're just running in circles here. How about you go somewhere more private where you can vent your feelings in a healthy and productive manner? Maybe have a private cage match?" Boscha cut in.
"I will do nothing of the sort. Ms. Noceda should acquiesce that one of her believers attacked and kidnapped me, and from what I've gathered several other council members too."
"Well I just want Mr. Demonne to admit that this is all a ploy to save his skin and make basilisks look worse after all the work I've done to try and make them look as good as they actually are."
"Nothing I could say would make them look worse than they've made themselves look. The hexside attack a decade ago and more recently the draining of hikers around the Hips. What have they done to make them look good? You want them to have the chance to prove themselves, but why couldn't they take it upon themselves? You love to compare the basilisks to Hunter, but he went out of his way to prove himself. And what have they done? Not even tried to vouch for themselves, not even online with your little account gaining such popularity."
"I don't know Darius," Vee said, dropping the sarcasm and being completely serious instead, "Maybe because of the hostility you and the people who listen to you have shown. Maybe because of all the years of propaganda from Belos about how dangerous they are after they escaped their torture. Or maybe it's just some understandable paranoia about witches after having Belos, Golden Guards, coven heads, and scouts watch and participate in their torture with glee, that they never want to even risk experiencing again."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. And who knows, maybe they have." Vee said, starting to tear up, "Maybe they have already been entering common society, shapeshifting to look like an original witch instead of someone else so they can live among others and are just waiting for the time where they can can show themselves and not risk everything, the lives they built, their safety, their friends, and the ones they know who don't know the truth."
Amity and Boscha began to panic as they once again wondered if Vee was about to expose herself. It was her choice at the end of the day, but they knew once she did…she could never undo it.
"You seem awfully passionate about some hypothetical basilisk who did all that."
"Well, maybe it's not hypothetical. Maybe that basilisk exists. Maybe they're even here right now."
"Oh please, if you know about this supposed basilisk who can prove me wrong, one who can debunk everything I've ever claimed point by point, one who can prove that your proposal has ground to stand on and all that you've done hasn't been a pointless endeavor, I'd love to meet them."
"Really?"
"Yes, I would if you can find them."
"Well we don't need to look for them. You're already talking to them."
Darius' face dropped. Vee's form shifted from her disguise into her true form. The crowd gasped. Anyone who wasn't already recording either the protest in general or Vee and Darius' argument pulled out their scrolls to take photos and record. Amity and Boscha just held their breaths and hoped that Vee knew what she was doing.
"You want me to disprove you? Go point my point and prove you wrong? Fine. We didn't only want to feed, we wanted freedom. We learned that draining magic was something that was unique to us, not that it was dangerous. And we weren't taught that it was our only way to live, but that it was our only way to survive the situation we were created in. We're not dangerous predators, we only attack when it feels like our only choice. Except in scenarios, like the Hexside attack from a while back, where thanks to the image we've had forced onto us and ingrained in our mindsets, we attack because it feels like the best option all things considered, leaning into the image and such. Despite all the changes made to us, that doesn't change that at the end of the day we're just demons who were engineered to be scary and assist Belos' sick plans. We aren't monsters. The basilisks you claim are simply creatures are not just me, but the family I had to leave when we all escaped and scattered for the sake of protecting the others. I refuse to give up on them. I am living proof that basilisks aren't monsters, that they can live in common society. You. Are. Wrong. And the proof has been in front of you for years, you just never noticed. And all you had to have done to avoid the regret and humiliation you and your overly inflated ego is experiencing right now is to have respected me and my family instead of judging us for how we acted when imprisoned and tortured."
Vee just stared at Darius, waiting for him to respond. Say something, anything. Give her the finishing touch to the catharsis of finally being able to speak her mind to him. And yet he just looked back at her in silence.
"Well? Do you have anything to say?" Vee scoffed.
After a pause, Darius sighed and gave her a sympathetic look.
"Vee…I'm so s-"
Darius was cut off as someone in a yellow hoodie and jeans had ran up to the stage, shoved Darius out of the way and onto the ground, lept on stage, grabbed Vee, pulled her close, and smacked a small piece of paper against their chest and, in a flash of light, both of them vanished.
Instantly, chaos broke out. Boscha and Amity were quick to pull Darius off the ground so he wouldn't get stepped on. Between the sudden chaos and bright flash of light, the councilors that hadn't gone missing came out of the building. When they saw what was going on, they were quick to get to work.
Raine summoned their violin and played a sharp note that made everyone freeze. Finn created a large plant that spewed a pollen that made the crowd calm down. Talia drew two spell circles, placed them against the ground, and created two walls that split the crowd down the middle and separated them so there was a straight path to get to where Darius, Amity, and Boscha stood by the stage. Lexi created illusions of large signs pointing away from the area and began to yell out directions for the crowd to leave. Eda changed into her harpy form and shot over from the door of the council building, down the steps, across the street, and up to the stage.
"Darius, looking awful but good to see you're okay. Based on your face I can tell that you just got proven wrong, which always makes me feel happy, especially in these times. So kids, what did we miss in the few minutes you were alone?"
Amity and Boscha didn't really know how to respond to that, just glancing at each other. Seeing she wasn't getting anything from them, she looked at Darius and raised her eyebrows at him, silently asking him the same question.
"She's a basilisk." Darius said, barely speaking above a whisper like his voice was caught in his throat, "And someone took her because of it."
Eda closed her eyes and just sighed, shaking her head slightly.
"Well…shit."
Far away, or maybe not, Vee couldn't really tell, Vee and the stranger landed in the middle of the woods. Vee pushed herself out of the stranger's grip and shifted back into her disguised form. Being in her basilisk form felt strangely exposed considering that she had just gotten kidnapped. She squared up to fight, ready to throw down whoever the psycho who grabbed her was.
"Alright bozo, what's your game? What do you want with me?" Vee demanded, "I can't do magic, but I know how to do glyphs and while I don't have my bag on me there's an awful lot of wet ground I can draw in."
The stranger held their hands up as a gesture of non-hostility. Vee carefully looked them up and down. They looked fairly normal, but were wearing a lot of clothing that covered most of their skin. With the shape of their hood, Vee could hardly see their face, only their soft yet confident smile. What she could see was that they were holding a few pieces of paper in their gloved hands, most of them small but another that was larger and folded up and looked like a map or something was drawn on it. But the small paper was not just plain paper. Glyphs were drawn on them.
"You know how to use glyph magic?" Vee asked, slightly lowering her arms while still staying defensive.
"Yeah, I do. I'm so glad that the teleportation glyph worked. I had to fiddle with it to make it smaller and more subdued." The stranger shrugged, their voice strangely familiar.
"You could have just done a spell. If you can modify a complex glyph you can probably figure out teleportation."
"Oh you flatter me, truly. But yeah, I couldn't do a spell the normal way for the same reason you can't." The stranger chuckled.
Vee looked at them confused, trying to figure out if what he was implying was actually what she thought they meant. They slowly lowered their hood, revealing yellow and red eyes with pale yellow speckles on their face and large, floppy, hooded ears poking through their fluffy, red, shoulder length hair. They smirked at her look of confusion and slow realization.
"You can call me Trey, by the way." they said before shifting into a basilisk, "But you probably know me as number 3."