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

All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy the fic.

Chapter 121: Coming Off a Little Shystream

Then.

Emily Tricks was in her cart with Stella, Nina, Tito, and Cain. The cart stopped in front of Glandus High as Emily looked up at her school.

"It's time," Emily said, stepping out along with her Top Students. It was the first day back at Glandus High, hers and Stella's senior year.

"Ghoul Squad, hut!" Tito shouted as his cheersquad was summoned along with the other Bards. "March forth, into the school!"

Inside the school hallways, all of Glandus would begin to hear music being played by the marching bard band. Turning toward the music, they saw not just the band, but their cheerleaders dancing and jumping around.

"Make way! For Emily!"

"Say hey! It's Emily!"

Coming up in front of the procession was Tito, who turned to the students that got out of the middle of the hallway to allow them to pass. "Hey! Clear the way in the hallways, hey you! Let us through! It's a bright shining star!" The students all lined up in front of the lockers. "Oh come! You'd wish she was your pal!"

Nina smacked the lockers like drums as Tito continued. "Make way! Here she comes! Get stomped! Out with it ya bums! You will all remember this gal!"

Coming down the hall was Emily Tricks. To her left and her right were Stella and Cain as they marched down the hallway together.

"Oh Emily! Fabulous she! Queen of Glandus!" Tito sang out loud.

"Better show some respect, or you get decked, in your teeth!" Nina sang while punching her fist.

"Now, try your best to behave and stay calm, and please put away your wand!" Tito sang.

"Okay, that actually came off wrong, but look out for she~!" Nina pointed out.

"Queen Emily! Mighty as she! Queen of Glandus!" Tito and Nina sang together. "She'll throw a punch, if you even hunch, in front of your queen!" Tito sang.

"She's a Flyer Derby champ," Nina added.

"The competitions are stamped," Cain noted.

"Who won a lot from Hexadorus Camp!?" Tito asked as he showed a picture of Emily winning a trophy while at camp during Fall Break. "Why Emily!" he declared as a chorus joined him, all while Emily gave a stoic look as Stella followed her.

The students then started to sing about her accomplishments. "She's won plenty of golden trophies!"

"She's just a shining gold star, ya think?" Weaselton asked.

"Blue ribbons she's got thirty-three!" another group of students sang.

"From IFWOT, you know?" Goregon asked.

"But when it comes to Hexsidian enemies," Tito pointed as he sang.

"But whacha gonna do?" Nina sang.

"Imma telling you," Tito sang back. "She's going to make them shivering~!"

Emily gave a nod while passing by some nerds who sang. "Emily! Beautiful as she, Queen of Glandus!"

"She's just so hot, too bad she's got some pretty geek," the admirers sang while Stella lowered her head.

"Hey, you better not say that unprepared!" Nina sang to those admirers. "Or else Emily will ensnare,"

"She's a merciless witchy-queen, oh Emily!" Tito and Nina sang while Emily passed through another hall.

"She's got five plaques made from golden honey(She's got the honey! Bet the money!)," the students sang while the Graux Sisters sang and danced in the background.

"She'll put you in your place in the hierarchy(She's not generous, just merciless)," the students in the lunch hall sang as they saw Emily passing by.

"She's got tons of minions and flunkies!" they all sang as they bowed to her. "We bow to her whim, forced to serve her, she's a tyrant who let us live oh EMILY!"

In the gym, Gavin and Angmar heard the commotion and they looked up toward the doors.

"EMILY!"

They ran from the double-doors as they burst open. "Queen Em-i...LY! Amorous she! Queen of Glandus!" The cheerleaders, marching band, and all who worshiped Emily burst through the doors. They jumped and cheered for joy at Emily's entrance.

"The teachers can't do nothing bout her crime spree!" Tito sang while holding up Gavin and Angmar.

"And that, good witches, is why, she's a better witch than you and I," Nina told the two as all sang.

"She's an EC favorite, she's got motivation! You better watch out, she's a domination!"

"She'll tear down Hexside, and then the Epidermites! She's the golden student, she'll smite to compete!"

All the students gathered around, Emily and Stella in the center, closely surrounded by Nina, Tito, Cain, Weaselton, Goregon, Bangles, Kadabe, and Ruth.

"Make Way for EMILY~!"

Emily smiled as she heard everyone calling her name as the song came to an end.

Oh, yes. It was good to be Queen.

Now.

ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!

Emily, no longer the Queen of Glandus, woke up to the blaring and annoying alarm of the demon clock ringing her ear. It caused her to shoot up from her bed. She turned angrily to the clock and punched it in order to get it to stop. After calming down, she looked around at the room she was in. At first, she was puzzled, since the room was unfamiliar to her… before she realized where she was.

"Right… Lindsay's home," Emily said, remembering the previous night.

"Emily! Breakfast!"

Hearing Lindsay calling her name from downstairs, Emily got up from her bed. She saw some clothes that had been left for her, neatly folded on the chair. She quickly started to change before heading down to eat.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Emily Tricks couldn't help but think about how she had gone from being the Queen of Glandus… to hiding out with the Shystreams.

The question was: where would she go from here?

Now wearing a yellow sunflower shirt with gray baggy pants and brown boots, Emily was ready to head downstairs for breakfast. There, she saw the Shystreams except for Uncle George gathered around the table and she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Good morning…" Emily said as everyone turned to her.

"Emily, good morning. It's nice of you to come join us for breakfast," Bloom said as she helped set a chair for Emily. "Come on, have a seat."

As the Tricks girl went to have a seat, she looked around the family. They seemed to be avoiding looking at her and there was some awkward tension in the air that did not go unnoticed by her. She did try to eat her breakfast in silence until Lindsay moved to sit beside her.

"How was your first night in?" Lindsay asked her.

"It was… a different experience," Emily replied quietly before looking up at Bloom and Colt. "They've… been pretty quiet."

"Hey, don't worry, I've already got my parents up to speed about everything," Lindsay reassured her. "They just want to give you your space."

"Morning, y'all," Uncle George greeted as he came and spotted Emily. "Oh, uh… good morning, Emily. Um… we don't want any trouble around…"

"Georgie, I swear," Aunt Dorothy hissed at him before turning to Emily. "Don't mind him, Emily. We know that you're not here to make a fuss."

"No, it-it's fine, ma'am," Emily responded while looking down at her food. "I… promise to not cause any trouble for you all. I'd like to thank you all for your hospitality."

"It's no problem, Emily," Colt reassured her.

"I-I could help around your farm," Emily suggested. "I am a hard worker and I want to pull my weight rather than be a burden to you all."

"Hey, you're not a burden to us, Emily," Colt reassured her.

"Yeah, you don't have to help out. You are a guest in this house, after all," Bloom insisted.

"But you have been so kind to me in taking me in, I have to do something for you," Emily insisted. "I… I can't just take advantage of your generosity without doing anything in return."

"But dear-"

"I can put in the hard work!" Emily kept on insisting. "Just… please, tell me what I can do around here. Teach me what needs to be done. Please, I want to be helpful."

Bloom and Colt looked at each other. They did feel sympathetic towards the green witchling teen that came to their home. And it did seem that she really wanted to help. Bloom looked back to Emily. "Alright, if that's what you want, then you can help out with the chores."

"And I'll show you around the farm," Colt said.

Emily smiled, "Thank you, all of you," she said.

"Now come on, your panflakes are getting cold," Aunt Dorothy said as she handed Emily a plate. Emily tasted the panflakes… and was in awe. They were the best thing she had ever tasted in a long while and she began shoveling the panflakes into her mouth, much to the amusement of the Shystreams.

Back at the Shystream farm, Emily had begun her first day on the job working around the farm. She wore a sun hat and work gloves as she stepped outside, looking at the farmland before her.

"Alright," Emily said with a determined look. "Let's do this."

For her first task, she went to the spider-cow. Sitting on a stool with a bucket, she milked the spider-cow. She made sure to calmly milk her, given that this spider-cow was easy to get startled.

Her next task was feeding the demon-chickens. She spread the seeds around the coop as the demon-chickens came out to eat the seeds. After that, she went to pour out slop for the unipigs. She watched the pigs with horns munch on their food before going to feed the flying goats.

Another task was weeding out the garden. She grabbed some weeds to pull them out but when she pulled out one, she ended up pulling something else.

"Hey, whadda ya think yer pullin'?!" spoke the ground creature with the weed on their head. "I was just having a nap!"

After that, Emily went to clean the barn house. She swept the wooden floor and the scattered hay. She then saw some cobwebs and went to sweep them until the spiders spelled out a message on the cobwebs.

'Don't sweep us!' the cobwebs said, causing Emily to stop. 'We're Lindsay's friends!'

"Oh… sorry," Emily said to the spiders.

'No worries,' they reassured her through their writing. 'Just remember to close your mouth tonight if you don't wish to swallow one of us.'

Emily resumed her sweeping of the floors, though she looked a little more disturbed now.

After that, she grabbed a shovel and began to dig a spot on the ground in order to place a young tree in.

"Need a break?"

Hearing Bloom's voice, Emily turned to the mother of Lindsay. "No thanks, Mrs. Shystream. I'm good," she said as she kept digging, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

"You know, Emily, we appreciate the hard work you've done around, but maybe you should take it easy a little," Bloom encouraged.

"But there's still so much to do around here, Mrs. Shystream," Emily said. "I got to repaint the fence, brush the pegasus, help with the vegetable garden-"

"Emily," Bloom interrupted her, looking concerned. "You have been working hard, but it is fine to take a break every now and then rather than working non-stop. Look, there's some lemonade and bicker doodles that Aunt Dorothy made, so why don't you come inside for some refreshments. Okay?"

Emily looked reluctant. She wanted to be useful to the family, but the woman was pleading with her to take a break. "Of course, ma'am. I'll… take a break."

Bloom smiled. "That's great, hon," she said, as she led Emily back inside.

Emily sat in the family room where Bloom handed her a plate of cookies and lemonade. Emily took a bite out of them and hummed at how good they were.

"These are very good, Mrs. Shystream," Emily commented.

"Thanks, dear," Bloom replied as Colt came in.

"Hey, having a cookie break?" Colt asked them while checking the mail.

"Yeah, I thought Emily deserved one after working hard at the farm," Bloom said as she and her husband kissed while she was still seated across from Emily.

"Really? Well I hope you don't mind the spiders at the barn house. They're Lindsay's friends," Colt said.

"Yeah, I've… met them," Emily said while looking at her tray of cookies. "Thank you for allowing me to work here."

"It's no problem, Emily," Bloom reassured her. "But I gotta say, you have a pretty good work ethic. My eldest son, Hendrick, doesn't even like feeding the chickens."

"Which reminds me, I got a letter from Hendrick," Colt said while holding up a postcard. "Says here that he's coming back home for the Day of Unity next week."

"Oh, that's great! Lindsay and Jojo will be thrilled," Bloom said happily.

Emily looked at the two for and for a moment she was reminded of her own parents in happier times. When Bloom turned back to her, she noticed her look.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Bloom asked her.

"Huh? Oh, um… I'm fine," Emily responded. "I was just… wondering how you two met."

"Oh, really?" Bloom asked in surprise as Colt sat down. "Hmm, alright. So… who should we start?"

"You should go first, my Blooming Flower," Colt commented, which made Bloom chuckle.

"Oh, Colty," Bloom said as she patted his arm playfully before she cleared her throat. "I guess… I was mostly raised here on this farm under Aunt Dorothy's roof. She has been good to me, ever since my mama died after I was just a toddler."

"Oh… I'm so sorry to hear that," Emily replied. "What about… your father?"

"Never around," Bloom said, making Emily wince. "But Aunt Dorothy has been both my mama and my daddy for as long as I've lived. Sometimes she can be tough, but she is a kind and sweet woman. I didn't attend the big three schools of the Isles, so I settled for a small school house at the old temple. Since I'm mostly into Beast-Keeping, I was mostly taught in the barn houses."

"Really?" Emily asked in shock.

"Yeah, around here you don't get some of the fancy stuff. We're not like the city folk, no offense, Colt," Bloom told her husband.

"None taken," Colt replied as Emily turned to him.

"Wait, you're from the city?" Emily asked him.

"Guilty as charged," Colt replied while hanging his arm around Bloom. "I came from a rich but modest life. St. Epidermite and with an epiphany for gardening. It's how our Lindsay can afford going to St. Epiderm."

"We met at a country fair around here, his family came in hopes of making business with some of the local farmers," Bloom explained. "We meet when waiting in line for the Broom-Go-Round, when I looked at his good eye."

"And I looked at her two perfect eyes," Colt continued. "We talked, got to know each other, and went on some rides together."

"At the end of the day, I gave him my number." Bloom added. "Though at the time, I didn't really think a simple farm girl would appeal to a city slicker like him and he would just forget me."

"But we kept in touch and made time to go on dates," Colt said as the two smiled at each other. "I even attended the barn house dance with her."

"It was like a Skinderella story," Bloom said as the two held hands. "Then after Aunt Dorothy shot him in the foot, we got married, had our kids, and though we lived in the city for a while, after Lindsay was born, we moved back to my family farm."

"Then once Hendrick moved out, we adopted Jojo into the family," Colt explained. "Lindsay always wanted a younger sibling, but since we couldn't have any more kids of our own, we decided to let Jojo come into our lives."

Emily was surprised by the story between the two. "That's great… though, why did Aunt Dorothy shoot you in the foot, Mr. Shystream?"

"Oh that's what happened when I knocked up Bloom out of wedlock," Colt explained, which caught Emily off guard.

"Hopefully Hendrick doesn't make the same mistake," Bloom replied while crossing her fingers "Please, Titan," she whispered.

Colt then decided to ask Emily something. "So Emily, I am curious where you got your strong work ethic from, if you don't mind me asking."

Emily looked reluctant, as she didn't want to reveal too much about her… dark past. Her look of discomfort was evident, but she chose to tell them regardless.

"It was… just something I had to learn as a kid," Emily explained. "It probably sounds worse than it was, but I had to pull my weight around where I grew up.."

"Emily, dear, remember to dust the curtains," Margo told Emily as she prepared to go out. "And when I get back, I want to see the bedrooms and kitchen spotless."

"Yes, mom," Emily said while hitting the dust out of the curtains with her broom, causing her to cough violently from the dust.

"I mean, it is pretty normal stuff, right?" Emily asked the Shystreams, looking awkward as she tried to downplay her living situation. "Every kid has chores…"

In the Tarot Guild's torture room, a guild member found the pre-teen Emily on her knees scrubbing the blood on the floor.

"Make sure to bleach it good," the member told her.

"Okay." Emily said while scrubbing the bloody floor, her clothes looking dirty… and not from dirt or dust.

"It was pretty self-rewarding, honestly," Emily said. "I mean, sure I get the occasional blisters and sore muscles, but good hard work always pays off, doesn't it?"

Bloom and Colt could both tell that there was something more to it, more that Emily was telling them. However, they didn't say anything about it.

"Well, just try not to overwork yourself," Bloom advised.

"I'll try not to," Emily said with a nod as she drank her lemonade. After a sip, she looked back up at them. "Well, I should get back to work…"

"Now, hold up, Emily," Colt said as he stopped her. "I think me and Bloom have something else that you could do instead. Something fun."

Emily looked back at them with a confused expression, wondering what they could want her to do.

Back in the farmlands, Emily was with Bloom and Colt. They were now at the farmer's market on the road of a small town in Satorius Acres, where Emily, in her blue skinned disguise, looked around at the many farmers selling their goods.

"Legguce! Get yer legguce! Fresh from my garden!" spoke a demon witch who had a stand filled with leg-shaped lettuces.

"Buy our fresh trees to plant in your yard," spoke a hippy witch woman who was surrounded by a variety of plants. "It'll improve your vibe."

"We gnomes are good for protecting yer garden from vermin and evil spirits," one monstrous-looking gnome with a large bat said while he stood with many other Boiling Isles gnomes.

As Emily looked around, she noticed that this was far different from the marketplaces she had been to, which included the Night Market and the Latissa Market. She had never been to a farmer's market before and it was… nice.

"Colt! Bloom!" spoke up a chicken hen demon who walked up to them. With her was a young bird demon boy with glasses, reading a big book. "How are you folks doing? That lockdown really shook us up, especially mah boy Eggbert Jr."

"We're doing fine, Mrs. Crissy," Bloom replied. "But it's good that everything is open now."

Mrs. Crissy then noticed Emily. "Oh, and who is this? I've never seen her with you before."

"Oh, this is… our new farmhand," Colt said.

"Y-Yeah, I'm… my name is…" Emily tried to think of what to call herself. "E….Mildred. Mildred… Tracks?"

"Well, nice to meet you, Ms. Tracks," Mrs. Crissy greeted her. "And where are you from?"

"Metropelvis," she lied while turning to her son. "That is… a big book he's reading at his age."

"Oh, the Titan has blessed me, since Eggy Jr is a little genius boy," Mrs. Crissy said. "Why he's so smart, he gets to move up to the classes with the older students."

"Colt, my one-eyed devil, you," spoke a Basset hound-like biped demon who walked up to Colt. "How's the kids?"

"Doing great, Lucky," Colt replied. "And you seem happy today."

"Well, I heard that old mean Cluckington has been exposed, his reputation ruined," Lucky replied. "That big ol' rooster demon used to bully me when we were kids with his pranks, including swatting me with a wooden plank!" He was angry for a brief moment before smiling again. "And now he's on the run. Karma really is finally up to him."

"I just can't believe that he would eat his own kind," Mrs. Crissy said while hugging her boy. "Why we used to date, just imagine what would have happened if I had left him alone with my Eggy."

"Yeah, we heard about that this morning," Bloom commented.

"It was pretty shocking," Colt agreed while his wife turned to Emily and gave her some snails.

"Here, take this to buy some apple blood fritters from the Cortland stand," Bloom told her while pointing at the stand with an apple sign. "We will be here chatting with our friends."

Emily nodded. "I'll be back," she said before she walked over to the apple stand that Bloom had pointed at. As she walked over, she spotted a teenage demon in front of it. "Excuse me,"

"Oh, a customer." she spoke while turning around to reveal her strawberry blond hair with frontal horns that had black tips. She had red eyes with yellow sclera and black eyeliner. She wore short gray overalls and had black wings and a tail with black blotches on the side of her arrow-shaped tip. She was also wearing sandals. "Welcome to Cortland 's Apple Stand, mah name's Apple and I recently moved here, how are you doing?" she asked in a fast-talking manner.

"Uh… yeah, I'm here for some apple blood fritters for the Shystreams," Emily explained.

"Oh, you know the Shystreams? Hold up, let me get Jackie," Apple said before she called out. "Jackie!"

"What is it, Apps?" Jackie Cortland said while walking over from behind the tent.

"This girl claims to be from the Shystreams and wants to pick up their order," Apple told her.

Jackie turned her eyes to Emily, who looked nervously as she saw those eyes narrow. "Say, ah don't think I've seen you around here…"

"Oh, um… well, I'm their new farmhand, Mildred," Emily said nervously. "I'm just… recently hired."

"Have you met Lindsay yet?" Jackie asked her.

"Actually, she's the reason why I got the job," Emily revealed, which surprised Jackie. "We knew each other and… well, she decided to help me out…"

"Really?" Jackie asked while grabbing the fritters. "Well, maybe when our friends have our usual meet up, you could come along and Linds could introduce you to us."

"Her… friends?" Emily asked her.

"Yeah, you should totally meet them, they're really cool. Especially the pink one," Apple commented while her eyes looked relaxed.

"Is Lindsay with you right now?" Jackie asked her.

"Actually, I'm with her folks," Emily admitted, pointing at them talking with Lucky and Mrs. Crissy.

"Well tell them I said hi, and I'll text Lindsay to let her know that I met her farmhand," Jackie said while handing the order to Emily. "I'll be seeing you around, Mildred."

"And if you're ever feeling stressed out from working, just meet me up at the old barn house…" Apple offered Emily as her tail stroked her chin.

"Apps, quit flirting with the customer," Jackie scolded her, which made Apple back away.

"It was… nice meeting you," Emily said before she started to walk back to the Shystreams with the order in her hand. She waved back at Jackie. "See you around as well."

Later, back at the Shystreams, Emily was helping Lindsay to set up the dinner table.

"Alright, dinner should be ready soon," Aunt Dorothy said as she came in with Jojo. "Jojo, you go wash up."

"Yes, Aunt Dorothy," Jojo said while walking down to the bathroom.

"And thank you for helping to set up the plates, girls," Aunt Dorothy said, turning to Emily and Lindsay.

"It's no problem, ma'am," Emily responded while turning to Lindsay. "Oh, Lindsay, if you don't know already, your older brother said he would be coming home soon."

"Yeah, mom already told me," Lindsay replied. "It'd be nice to see him again and to introduce you two."

"What is he like, by the way?" Emily asked.

"Well, he's a bit of a…" Lindsay tried to find the right words.

"He's a slacker," Aunt Dorothy interjected. "He's a nice boy, but he doesn't work as much around the farm, he's pretty much a freeloader. I bet you that that's probably why he is coming home now and I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up early."

"Oh come on, Aunt Dorothy, he's not that bad. Why he's probably at an audition right now," Lindsay said, only to hear the doorbell ring. "I'm sure it's one of the neighbors," she said as she went to answer the door…

"Hi, little sis!" shouted a tall, mint-skinned demon witch hybrid with two-vertical eyes, an aftershave, and blond hair tied into a bun. He wore a tie-dye shirt with baggy gray pants and sandals. He appeared to have bead wristbands wrapped around his arms. "How's my young sunflower doing?" he asked, hugging the surprised Lindsay.

"Henry… I thought you were coming back in a week…" Lindsay said.

"Oh, yeah, but I thought that it'd be a breeze if I showed up early," he said while entering the house with his suitcase and bag, which he handed to her. "Here, hold this for me."

"Oof!" Lindsay fell while holding the heavy bag.

"Aunt Dorothy! Jojo! Good to see both again!" Hendrick shouted while spotting Aunt Dorothy and Jojo. Also coming downstairs were Bloom and Colt. "Mom! Dad! How's it hanging?"

"Hendrick… you're here so soon," Colt said while coming down.

"Your postcard said you'd come here in a week," Bloom pointed out.

"Oh yeah, well turns out I was able to come back sooner," Hendrick said while turning to Emily, who had quickly disguised herself with her illusion. "Huh, I don't recall seeing you here before. Don't tell me that mom and dad adopted another kid."

"Uh… I'm Mildred," Emily introduced herself. "I'm their new farmhand."

"Really?" Hendrick asked, looking at her with suspicion. "Well… nice to meet you, Mildred," he said, smiling at her. "Say, have you heard about the Melvins?"

"The… Melvins?" Emily asked in confusion.

"The Melvins! You know, that new cult this Batters kid is preaching about, they worship some goddess named Mel," Hendrick said, which causes Emily's eyes to widen.

"You joined another cult?" Bloom asked Hendrick in an exasperated tone.

"Relax, I promise not to drink the poison punch this time," Hendrick reassured her before he was suddenly tackled against the wall by Emily. "HEY!"

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU JOIN HER CULT?!" Emily shouted in anger, losing her cool. "DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT THAT BITCH DID?! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WORSHIP THAT $%^#!?"

"H-Hey, w-what are you-?!" Hendrick asked, looking scared.

"EMILY, STOP!"

Lindsay's voice reached through to her, snapping Emily out of her anger. She saw Hendrick's terrified look, then turned around and saw everyone looking at her in shock. Realizing what she had done, she let go of Hendrick. Her hands shook as she backed away.

"Emily…" Lindsay tried to reach out to her, but Emily ran past her.

"Excuse me," she said while running upstairs.

"Emily, wait!" Lindsay called out as Emily ran up to the guest room.

"What was that all about?" Hendrick asked, shaken by all of this. "And did you just call her Emily? I thought her name was Mildred?"

"Henry, come over here and just… sit down," Bloom said as she escorted her son to the table, while Lindsay looked upstairs with a concerned expression.

"I'm going to check up on her," Lindsay said as she started walking upstairs.

"Be careful, sis," Jojo warned her. "Who knows when she'll snap next."

"Jojo," Lindsay said while turning to glare at him, silencing Jojo before she continued to walk up the stairs.

In her guest room, Emily was reprimanding herself.

"How could I be so stupid?!" Emily said to herself. "They're… they're going to kick me out for sure. The way they looked at me… I'm not…"

"Emily?"

Hearing Lindsay's voice again, Emily turned around and saw Lindsay standing in the door. "Lindsay… I-I'm so sorry for causing a scene, I didn't mean to hurt you brother-"

"Hey, it's alright," Lindsay reassured her. "My parents know what you've been through, especially with Mel."

"So… they're not going to kick me out?" Emily asked.

"Not while you are clearly hurting," Lindsay said while Emily sat on her bed. Lindsay went to sit beside her. "Are you better right now?"

"I'm… fine," Emily admitted while looking down at her own hands. "I think I'm just… going to spend the rest of the night here."

"Okay, I'll check up on you after dinner. I'll even bring up something for you to eat," Lindsay promised as she started to leave the room.

"Wait," Emily said, causing Lindsay to stop and turn to her. "Can you tell Hendrick… that I'm sorry for my outburst."

"Don't worry, I'll let him know," Lindsay reassured her before she went back downstairs.

Emily silently watched Lindsay leave while still sitting on her bed. Once Lindsay was gone, Emily gave a tired sigh and laid back on her bed, trying not to dwell on her darker thoughts and memories…

The next day, Emily and Lindsay were doing their morning chores together. Emily didn't say a word though, which Lindsay noticed as they were picking out the eggs from the coop.

"So… how are you feeling right now, Emily?" Lindsay finally asked her.

"I'm… doing better," Emily replied while carefully collecting the eggs. "I think… I think I should apologize to your brother for last night."

"I'm sure that he didn't mean any harm, he didn't know about your situation until we explained it to him," Lindsay said. "He knows not to tell anyone."

"That's reassuring," Emily replied while picking out the eggs from the nest. "But, um… how does your brother feel about me staying here?"

"Well, he is understanding, at least," Lindsay replied with a sigh. "I'm so sorry about him. I do love him, but sometimes he can be a bit… much. He's not the kind of guy that enjoys doing farm work around, instead preferring to goof off. Ever since he moved out and started to pursue a career in Titanwood, he became prone to join any new-age cult that he learned about."

Hendrick was at the front door with some scouts, his head shaved.

"Hey, I know what it looks like but believe me, the cult I was in wasn't really much of a sanctum..."

He was now wearing a robe while behind him were a group of masked hooded figures.

"...so I know that continuing to join them is not a fresh move, but they were so charismatic," he said. "So if you just-"

"-let me try to convince you that they're all not that bad," Hendrick said while an effigy of some kind of god was burning in their backyard. "If you get to know them as well, maybe you will want to be a member!"

Emily's eyes widened. "Your brother is prone to join cults?"

"Yeah…" Lindsay admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Not for long though. Thankfully he joined a coven before he could get into any more trouble. I'm sure this 'Melvin' cult nonsense won't last long either."

"So... what coven is he in?" Emily asked her.

"He's in the… um, oh fiddlesticks, I think I forgot," Lindsay said. "I should go and ask him."

After they finished collecting eggs, Lindsay and Emily went to find Hendrick, who was cleaning the ratworm. "Henry, do you mind if we asks you something?" Lindsay asked.

"Sure, but I don't have any autograph photos," he responded.

"Actually, I'm wondering which coven did you join?" Lindsay asked him.

"None," Hendrick admitted. "I haven't joined one yet."

"Oh, thank you," Lindsay replied while turning to Emily. "You see, he's in the-" She paused, the realization hitting her. Slowly, she turned around to her brother. "I'm sorry, but did you say you… didn't join a coven?"

"Not yet," Hendrick said while humming happily.

"WHAT?!" Lindsay shouted, startling Emily and Hendrick as her shout echoed throughout the farmland. "What do you mean you didn't-" She looked around before she whispered to her brother. "-join a coven?"

"Well, I was going to join one after my auditions, but they didn't work out," Hendrick admitted. "But don't worry, I managed to fool everyone with my peel on and off sigil." He showed them his wrist as he peeled an Illusion Coven sigil off it. "See, I peel one off, and then I place on another," he said, placing an Oracle coven sigil on his wrist. "Got it from this guy that does tattoos. Though I do wonder what happened to him…"

"Oh my Titan this is not good at all," Lindsay said, looking and sounding worried. "Okay Henry, you do know the Day of Unity is coming. You have to join a coven if you don't want to be arrested, alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll join a coven when I get the chance, little sis," Hendrick said before noticing Emily. "Oh, Emily… um… how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Emily responded, trying to be polite. "And… I just want to apologize for my outburst last night."

"Hey, it's no problem," Hendrick reassured her. "After mom and dad laid it all out for me, I think I'm gonna quit the whole Melvin nonsense."

"Are you… not bothered by my presence here?" Emily asked.

"Well, if I can be honest, I'm not that surprised that Lindsay befriended you," he admitted with a shrug. "It's just how my sister is. She's like… a personification of kindness. She's got a history of making friends with the unlikeliest witches."

"It's nothing, really," Lindsay said while rubbing the back of her hair.

"But it is, Linds," Hendrick insisted. "Why I remembered how you got my old bully Jerky Turkey to stop messing with me by talking out his feelings with him. Nowadays, he sometimes offers to fix around the house. And that Dilburn boy, he was even more uptight before you helped him out on his election and became a part of his student council. Not to mention how you even befriended that mean pitbull demon that got loose once. We found you having tea with that guy."

Hearing this, Emily looked impressed. "You do make a lot of friends, Lindsay."

"Thank you," Lindsay replied bashfully.

"So Emily, how long will you be staying here?" Hendrick asked her.

Emily and Lindsay exchanged unsure looks, as they don't know how to answer that.

Later, Emily was brushing the Spider-Cow with Lindsay.

"See, gentle strokes," Lindsay said while leading Emily to calmly brush the spider-cow. "Just enough to make sure she doesn't panic when you milk her."

"I… didn't know there were specifics," Emily replied before they heard a knock on the barn door.

"Hey, you two," said a familiar voice as the two girls turned and saw standing in the doorway-

"Cross," Emily said in surprise. "It's… a surprise to see you here."

"Well I thought I would come by to check up on you," Cross said. "But… I didn't come alone."

"What's up, everybody!" Zee announced as she stepped into view, much to Lindsay's surprise.

"Zee?" Lindsay asked, while Emily was surprised to see someone with Cross. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I am Cross's ride and I wanted to see this other girl that I've heard so much about," Zee replied, while turning to Emily, who looked nervous.

"Um… hi," Emily replied awkwardly.

"You must be Emily," Zee responded with a smile, stretching out her hand. "Cross already filled me in about it, glad that you're alright. Name's Zee Drakescale, his eldest sister."

Emily managed to control her nervousness as she shook Zee's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Zee."

"It's always nice to meet another cute girl my brother knows," Zee commented, much to Cross's dismay. "So it's nice to meet you, Mily. Hope you don't mind me calling you that."

"I don't mind," Emily said while turning to Cross who walked up to her while Zee went to talk to Lindsay. "How is everything with you, Cross?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine," he responded. "One of the reasons I came was to let you know that the Emperor's Coven has decided to let me go."

"That's great," Emily nodded with a smile, glad that Cross was out of the Emperor's Coven's grasp. "I'm glad that you got out."

"Yeah, thanks," Cross responded, smiling. "So… how about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… but," Emily said before she looked down with a frown. "I… lost my cool last night, in front of Lindsay's family."

"Really? What happened?" Cross asked in concern.

"Well… Lindsay's older brother came home last night, Hendrick," Emily said, pointing to Hendrick, who was sleeping by a tree. "He announced that he had joined a new cult… the Melvins. Just thinking that Mel has a cult now…"

"Oh…" Cross said. "I heard about them. Since the Brawl, they've been popping up, though mostly in Bonesborough. Emily, I'm so sorry that happened."

"It's fine, and thank you, Cross," Emily responded, forcing a smile.

"Hey, since we've finished, why don't we all go inside for refreshments," Lindsay offered, getting their attention.

"Yeah, that'd be great, Lindsay," Cross said.

"Yeah, I could use a drink," Zee said in agreement.

"I… could use a break," Emily admitted before the four headed inside together.

After washing up, Emily started to head to the kitchen. It was then she bumped into Zee while in the hallway.

"Oh, Mily, sorry to bump into you," Zee whispered.

"What are you doing out here in the hall?" Emily asked her.

"Oh, nothing much, just leaving my brother alone with Lindsay," Zee responded while looking behind her, then back at Emily, her voice still a whisper. "Trying to leave them alone for the mood."

"Oh," Emily responded. "Is… that why you came here?"

"Well, not just that," Zee admitted. "My real reason for tagging along with Cross was to check out and meet you."

Emily looked surprised by this. "Really?"

"Yeah, I wanted to meet the girl that my brother literally went through Hell for," Zee replied. "It's sort of romantic in a way… oh, don't tell me it's like a love triangle thing…"

"Actually, no, there's nothing romantic between me and Cross," Emily clarified.

"Really? Not even a bit?" Zee asked.

"No!" Emily told her, while shifting her eyes away. "I respect Cross and I am grateful to him. But I don't have any romantic feelings for him. We were colleagues, nothing more."

Zee looked hard at Emily before she sighed. "Alright, I believe you."

"Thank you," Emily responded before looking up to Zee. "So… what do you think of me? Especially since you must know about my… infamy."

"Oh, um," Zee said as she brushed the back of her hair. "Geez… okay, if I'm going to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of you when I first heard about you."

"It's… expected," Emily admitted while looking down.

"Let me finish," Zee also admitted. "I am sure that you still did a lot of bad stuff, but I did want to give you a chance since my brother obviously cared about you and meeting you now… you're not really what I was expecting. You're not the Emily Tricks you hear about from word of mouth. You seem more… humbled."

"Well, thanks for the honesty," Emily said while rubbing her own arm. "And I won't deny it. Most of what you heard about me is true. I did a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of people, believing that it was justified by my own ambition. But now… it wasn't worth the lives I ruined, the relationships I damaged beyond repair. And I honestly don't deserve to be forgiven, not after everything I did."

Zee gave Emily a concerned look. "Cross told me about some of his experience in the Underworld… but I think he left out some details. What was it like down there? If you don't mind me asking."

Emily looked up to Zee and sighed. "When I was sent down there, I was trapped in my own personal hell. That place… it forced me to relieve every bad memory I've ever had. From my childhood to my time in the Tarot Guild." She frowned, pausing for a moment before she continued. "It kept replaying every bad decision I've ever made. I was even forced to witness and experience all of the pain I inflicted upon others and all for… what? Revenge? Approval? Power?" She shook her head. "And what do I actually have to show for it?" She closed her eyes and took a deep sigh before opening them and looking back up at Zee. "I almost stayed down there, but your brother helped me. You want to know why he went through Hell for me? I think it was because we were both trapped in the same bad position, which meant we did have to rely on each other, even if we were also being pitted against each other. But even then, he didn't have to do everything he did for me. And he still did."

Zee nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like my brother," she admitted with a smile. "So… do you have any plans on what to do next?"

"I… I don't know, honestly," Emily admitted. "I think that… if it wasn't for Cross and Lindsay's support, I might as well leave the Isles, get a fresh start somewhere else. But I haven't really figured out anything and I'm not confident about any of it. Not anymore."

As Zee listened to her, her expression softened. "I know how you feel, Emily."

"You do? How?" Emily asked her.

Zee looked down. "So, I know full well how corrupt the Coven System is. Their dogmatism and propaganda, I can see through just how much deviancy there is to it. I often worried for my brother when he ended up 'volunteering' for the Emperor's Coven. As for me, I am in my senior year, and I'm most likely to flunk out on purpose so that I don't have to join the Beast-Keeping Coven. But beyond that… I'm not all that confident in where I'm going."

Emily looked concerned for Zee. "Have you ever talked to Cross, or your parents about this?" she asked.

Zee shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't," she admitted before deciding to change the subject. "So has Cross ever mentioned me to you before?"

Emily thought about it, frowning. "I'm sorry, but I don't think he has mentioned you… or anyone else in his family."

"Oh… well, that's not surprising," Zee admitted. "I'm not hurt about it, it's just the way he is. He's a closed off witch that doesn't like people getting too close to his family. Been that way since we were kids."

"I… do know of his… heritage," Emily brought up.

"Our heritage as in…?" Zee asked.

"The… dragon thing," Emily whispered.

"Oh, that," Zee replied with a nod. "How did you know?"

"Back in the Underworld, he saved me from Mel when he changed into his… dragon form," Emily admitted before looking at Zee. "So… do you have that ability too?"

"Well, I may be his half-sibling, but we both share the same dad so," she said as she changed her hand into a blue, reptilian claw, showing her scales.

"Amazing…" Emily whispered. "So your family…"

"We're pretty much the last of our kind," Zee admitted before giving a sly smirk. "You know, if you're interested in seeing my full dragon form, I could show it to you sometimes. But it'd have to be… private, you know?"

Emily couldn't help but slightly blush. "T-Thanks for the offer, Zee." She turned away, hiding her blush. "I'll… consider it."

While Zee conversated with Emily, Lindsay prepared refreshments for everyone.

"Thanks for inviting us in, Lindsay," Cross said as she handed him a can of soda brew.

"It's no problem, Cross, and…" Lindsay said before she grabbed more soda brew. "There's something we should talk about."

"What's that?" Cross asked her and Lindsay took a deep breath before she continued.

"I know you were a stand-in for the Golden Guard as well," Lindsay said, which caught Cross off guard "And that it was you back at the beach, not Emily." She sat down beside him. "Am I right?"

"Oh…" Cross looked nervous as he realized that he hadn't told her about him and Emily sharing the position of the Golden Guard. "Titan, I'm sorry, Lindsay, it must have slipped my mind." he apologized. "Yes, I was the Golden Guard back at the beach. Me and Emily took turns filling in for him." He sighed. "Again, I'm sorry for not telling you. It wasn't like I didn't trust you. I guess I just didn't have a reason to bring it up and I forgot to told you."

"Well, it's alright," Lindsay replied, patting his hand. "I understand, so I forgive you. Also… I never got to thank you for saving me at the beach…"

Cross blushed and looked a little shy. "W-Well… it's no problem. I was just looking out for you… and our classmates," he stammered nervously.

Lindsay smiled. "For what it's worth, you were a hero back then and you are still one now, even if you're no longer one of the Golden Guards," she said as she leaned over to Cross… and kissed him on the cheek.

This surprised Cross, eyes widened from what Lindsay did. "Um… right, um… so," Cross said as he decided to build up the courage to ask her out. He knew this was as perfect of a moment as any to do so. "Um, Lindsay."

"Yes?" Lindsay asked him.

Cross took a deep breath. "Would you-"

"Hey guys! Woke up from my nap!" Hendrick announced, making his way in the kitchen. This startled Lindsay and Cross as they turned away from each other while Lindsay's brother walked past them "You know, that's what a hard day's work is, huh?" he asked, grabbing a drink while noticing Cross. "Say, are you that Cross feller that everyone was talking about? Nice to meet ya!" he shouted, offering a handshake to him.

"Nice to meet you too… Hendrick," Cross replied, shaking his hand, though internally he was groaning about how the moment had been ruined.

Later, in the Shystream yard, the Drakescale siblings were with Emily and the Shystream siblings playing a game.

Jojo and Lindsay were sneaking around as they held up green goo in their hands, reloading it to their sling-shots.

"See them where they are, Lindsay?" Jojo asked.

"No, Jojo," Lindsay replied before she spotted Hendrick. "There's Henry."

Hendrick turned to them, but then suddenly he got covered by green blobs. "WAAH!" he cried out, with the ones that pelted him with the goo being Cross and Zee.

"Surprise attack!" Zee declared.

Cross turned to Lindsay and Jojo, grinning. "Sorry, Linds," he said, aiming the goo at them.

"Run!" Jojo shouted as he and Lindsay tried to run, but Jojo got hit by the slime. "Oof!"

Lindsay laughed and rushed around the barn. She held her goo ready, waiting until she spotted Cross with his goo aimed at her. "Oh no… don't… EEP!" She then got blasted with goo from Cross.

"Sorry, Lindsay," Cross apologized.

Lindsay laughed. "It's fine, it's all in a good game of Bloball."

"Yeah… wait, where's Emily?" Cross asked, looking around.

"Surprise attack!"

Cross turned to see that coming out of a stack of hay were Zee and Emily who launched their blobby gooballs at him. He ended up getting covered in them. "GAAH!" he cried out as he got hit by multiple shots. "You betrayed me, Zee?!"

"Sorry bro, but me and Emily had already decided we would team up," Zee said with a chuckle.

"You should've seen the look on your face," Emily said, letting out a laugh. "Eh! Heh-heh-heh-heh!"

"Huh, never heard someone laugh like that before," Zee commented.

Emily covered her mouth. "Oh… um, I don't usually laugh."

"Well, I think it's a unique laugh, Mily," Zee said as she patted her shoulder, which made Emily blush. "I like it."

Emily smiled. "Well, it was fun teaming up with you against your brother. I had… fun."

"Yeah, and I like having someone new that can help me mess with Cross," Zee declared as the two laughed together.

Cross looked at the two with a deadpan expression. "I regret introducing you two to each other," he said, though he couldn't help but form a smile of his own. He was glad to see Emily enjoying herself.

After that, Cross and Zee were saying their goodbyes on the front porch.

"Thanks for having us over," Cross said as Lindsay gave him a hug.

"It was nice to have you two come over for a visit," Lindsay admitted.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Zee asked before Lindsay hugged her.

"We promise to come back to check up on you later in the week," Cross said while turning to Emily.

"Yeah, that would be good," Emily replied as she and Cross shook hands before Zee went to give Emily a hug.

"Nice meeting ya, but I will be seeing ya, Mily," Zee said while Emily was surprised by her hug. "Try to stay out of trouble for me, okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Emily responded before Zee summoned her staff for her and Cross to hop on. "Bye Zee and Cross."

"Be careful out there!" Lindsay waved to them while Zee flew off.

"We will, and good luck!" Cross waved back as the two siblings headed back home.

During the flight, Zee turned back to Cross. "So… have you asked out Lindsay yet?"

"I… didn't," Cross admitted, while looking down to Lindsay, who he could still see.

"Well, you better make your move at some point," Zee told him. "Or maybe another girl can just ask you out first, because then you'd be obligated to say yes."

Cross sighed. "I don't see that happening, Zee…"

The next day, Lindsay was taking Emily with her to meet up with her friends.

"Are you sure that your friends will… like me?" Emily asked with an unsure and worried look while she was in disguise.

"Don't worry, they will understand after I explain your situation," Lindsay reassured her.

"I'm just afraid of how they'd react," Emily said while looking down, her arms crossed. "I've only met one of them and she doesn't even know that Mildred Tracks is actually Emily Tricks. I am worried they will react similarly to your LOWTH friends…"

"Well, this time we'll just introduce you in a more calm environment," Lindsay reassured her as she spotted something up the road ahead. "Well, we're here."

Emily looked up to see the Cortland home, which was surrounded by apple trees. She then noticed that coming out of the shed, with buckets of apple blood, was a big, buff looking witch with blond hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, wearing only blue overalls, brown boots, gloves, and an apron. He was holding an ax and was covered in apple blood. To say the least, his appearance frightened Emily, but not Lindsay. "Billy Bob! How's apple butchering going?"

"Great," Billy Bob Cortland responded.

"Is Jackie home?" Lindsay asked him.

"Yup." Billy Bob responded simply.

"Great, thanks!" Lindsay said while leading Emily toward the house. "That's Billy Bob, her brother. He handles apple butchering."

"I see…" Emily responded while seeing him pouring the apple blood into some barrels.

After a knock on the front door, Jackie opened it. "Well hey there, Lindsay, and I see you brought Mildred with you. Tabby already made it, and Tracy should be here any moment with Andrea."

"That's great," Lindsay said as Jackie invited them in. "How is your baby sister, Blossom?"

"Oh she's just learned how to crawl," Jackie said. "Mama and Daddy had managed to catch it on film."

"Really? That's great!" Lindsay said excitedly as they made it to the dining room where they found Tabrella having tea. "Hi, Tabby!"

"Oh, Lindsay darling, good to see you," she said as Lindsay sat down with Emily. "And who's this new friend of yours?"

"That's Mildred Tracks," Jackie said. "She's the new farmhand. Met her at the market."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, Mildred. I am Tabrella," she said as they heard the door open. A rainbow blur burst into the room, causing a wind. "Oh goodness!"

"Hey, sorry we're late!" Tracy said. In her arms was Andrea, who held on to her.

"But we've made it just in time!" Andrea announced as she jumped out of Tracy's arms. "Good old Jackie, Lindsay, Tabby, and-" She noticed Emily. "Say, I don't think I know you…"

"Uh…" Emily said nervously.

"Oh that's Mildred, Andrea," Tabrella said. "She's the new farmhand for the Shystreams."

"New farmhand, huh?" Tracy asked, offering a hand shake. "Well nice to meet you, I'm Tracy Speedemon. Might have heard of me, was on the CB once at the Brawl. Which me and Andrea made out safely."

"We had to hide out in my school's gym locker room all weekend," Andrea said with a smile. "It was a good lockdown for us."

"I see…" Emily said, still nervous.

"But there is something funny that I can't put my finger on," Andrea said while looking at Emily. "Like, it's the same kind of feeling I had when Luz Clawthorne made it back to school this morning and I noticed her wearing Amity's necklace and I had a suspicion that they may have eloped. Sometimes my Pinkjoy senses can tell when something's up with someone who's hiding something… like a surprise waiting to happen. Do you have a surprise, Mildred?"

Emily nervously turned to Lindsay. After the cyclops girl gave her an encouraging nod, Emily took a deep breath. "Actually, I do have a surprise, really…"

"Ooh, what is it? Is it cupcakes? Cakes? Is it a vanilla flavor?" Andrea asked.

"Actually… my name isn't really Mildred Tracks," Emily said while she drew a spell circle, dispelling her illusion. The girls looked at Emily in shock when they saw her true, green-skinned appearance. "I am… Emily Tricks."

Everyone fell silent… well, except for Andrea. "Whaaaaaaaat?!"

"Wait, the Emily Tricks? The one that was causing trouble for Hexside and was apparently the Golden Guard, Emily Tricks?" Jackie asked her.

"Yes," Emily said while looking down.

Tracy suddenly sped over to Lindsay, pulling her away. "Tracy!" Lindsay gasped.

"Stand back, Lindsay," Tracy told her while glaring at Emily. "I don't know how you're back, but if you think you can take advantage of Lindsay's kindness…"

"I'm not! Really!" Emily insisted.

"Tracy, calm down!" Lindsay told her.

"Calm down? Lindsay, this 'Mildred' fooled you into being her farmhand-"

"I already know that she's Emily!" Lindsay pointed out, causing Tracy and the others to look at her in shock.

"Wait, what?" Tracy asked as Lindsay managed to get out of her grasp.

"Look, I know that Mildred is Emily… because I helped save her," Lindsay explained.

"You mean, like, 'travel to the dreadful Underworld' saving her?" Tabrella asked.

"Of course," Lindsay nodded before she started to explain. "Me and Cross traveled with Luz and her friends through Hell and the Underworld to save her and Amity's brothers and Emily from Mel. Before that, I got to know her when she was standing in for the Golden Guard. She may have done a lot of bad stuff, but she needs help, not hostility. Which is why me and my family agreed to take her in for the time being."

"Wait, when you say Cross, do you mean that handsome Plant track boy that caught your fancy, Lindsay?" Tabrella asked, making Lindsay blush.

"Y-Yes, that Cross," Lindsay replied bashfully. "But that's beside the point!" she shouted, trying to stay on topic. "I want to introduce Emily to you guys, because I thought that meeting up with you guys could help her get out more and interact with folks."

"Well… I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise since you are able to make friends with anyone," Andrea pointed out.

"I'm still not sure about her," Tracy said with her eyes narrowed. "For all we know, she could be planning on eating you, Lindsay."

"I'm not a cannibal…" Emily said. "But… I do get the mistrust. I… haven't given you any reason for you to trust me."

"Well, I don't know about you since we just met, 'Mildred,'" Jackie said with her arms crossed. "However, I do trust Lindsay's judgment."

"Yes, I'm still not quite sure about you either," Tabrella admitted. "But I do trust Lindsay's judgment, even if I am a little worried for her and her family's safety."

"You do have to earn our trust though," Andrea said while pulling up a chair. "Like what's your resume? What is it that you got to have Lindsay befriend you of all witches?"

"Um… well…" Emily looked nervous, but Lindsay came to her defense.

"The Coven Day Parade incident," Lindsay pointed out. "When that Grim Goblin took me, it was her as the Golden Guard who saved me from him."

All of her friends were shocked by this realization. "Oh… wait, that was you?" Tracy asked Emily, who nodded.

"You mean to tell us you saved Lindsay?" Jackie asked. "Now that I think about it, the Golden Guard did flash some fancy illusion lights before the attack," she recalled.

"I was a stand-in for the real Golden Guard at the time," Emily admitted.

"I guess that makes you a hero in my book," Andrea said as she walked over to nudge Emily. "You know, maybe I can give you a chance after all."

"Really?" Emily asked her.

"And from the looks of your hands, you've been working at the Shystream's farm recently, have ya?" Jackie asked, pointing to Emily's hands, which evidently had some blisters. "You know, I could use some help with gathering apples."

"I can do that!" Emily replied. "I can even help plant some trees if you need that."

"Wow, she's starting to sound like Jackie," Tracy whispered to Tabrella, who giggled.

"Well, I guess we can give you a chance, dear," Tabrella said. "After all, you can't be any worse than Discord."

Emily looked confused. "Who's Discord?" she asked while everyone who wasn't Lindsay groaned.

"It's a long story…" Tracy admitted.

"But enough chatter for now," Andrea said while hanging her arms around Tracy and Emily. "Let's have some fun!"

"Okay, what do you guys do for fun?" Emily asked them.

Outside, the girls were tossing bean bags into holes. Tracy threw hers too far while Jackie threw hers perfectly.

"Your aim's not getting any better, sug," Jackie told Tracy with a smirk.

"Oh you can bet yer hat that I will get it this time, J.C.!" Tracy declared as she threw a bean bag into one of the holes to earn a point.

"Then I'll just get the point above ya!" Jackie declared as she threw her bean bag into the hole.

"Are they always like this?" Emily asked the others.

"You have no idea how competitive they can be, darling," Tabrella said while they threw their own bean bags.

Later, the girls were gathered in a circle playing truth or dare.

"Alright Tabby, I dare ya to… transform your dress into red polka-dots!" Tracy dared her purple-haired friend.

Tabrella gasped. "Oh no… but this is a Hexmierre original dress, I wouldn't…"

"You have to do the dare, that's the rules," Andrea pointed out while the other girls agreed.

"Hmm, very well," Tabrella said as she drew a spell circle, changing her white jacket and purple mid-length dress to have red polka-dots all over, down to her purple boots. "There, are you happy now?" she asked while her friends snickered.

"Well, at least you did it," Tracy said with a smile. "Alright, who's turn is it?"

"I believe it's Emily's turn." Tabrella said, turning to Emily "So what will it be? Truth or dare?"

Emily considered her options. "I choose… Truth."

"Alright, what's a… good truth…" Tabrella asked while trying to think.

Andrea raised her hand. "Oh! How about if she ever regretted eating something? Like a bad notdog or terrible take out one day."

"Yeah…" Tabrella said before turning to Emily. "Have you ever regretted eating anything?"

"I… have actually," Emily responded with a thousand yard stare. "I regret eating… my tail."

"Excuse me, what?" Jackie asked while Lindsay gasped, remembering that Emily did have a tail when she saw her younger self in her memories.

"I was starving, I was out of food, and I didn't have any rats to eat, so I cut off my tail and ate it so I wouldn't starve," Emily explained before looking up.

Everyone was silently staring at her with a fix of shock, disgust, and pity. Realizing what she had done, Emily attempted to lighten the mood.

"Okay… but you know, I also regret eating this one grim reaper pepper one time… I think that was a dare," Emily mentioned as she saw Andrea raise her hand up. "Andrea?"

"What did your tail taste like?" Andrea asked curiously.

"Andrea!" her friends scolded her, getting Andrea to lower her hand.

Later, they went back inside to play a board game and have refreshments. Lindsay picked out her card. "I'm supposed to trade my soul for five snails."

"Alright, here's five snails," Jackie said as she handed the fake snail money.

"And here's you my soul," Lindsay said as she handed Jackie a heart-piece. She then turned to Emily. "Having a good time so far, Emily?"

"Yeah," Emily responded. "Though I've never played Soulopoly before."

"I'm just here for the snacks," Tracy responded while stuffing her face with junk food.

"I am curious though," Emily admitted while looking around at everyone "How did you all become friends?"

"Well, for starters I've known Jackie since we were kids," Lindsay explained.

"Yeah, we grew up in the same part of Satorius Acres," Jackie confirmed..

"Me and Jackie are distant cousins, so I met Lindsay through her," Andrea explained. "Also me and Tracy grew up in the same neighborhood as kids, even if we ended up going to different schools."

"And I met Lindsay when we attended St. Epiderm together," Tabrella said with a smile. "Though we didn't become really close until only a year ago, when she helped me out in my time of need and introduced me to her friends, who were a big help when I was going through some… stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Emily asked her.

"Let's just say… my ex-boyfriend left me," Tabrella said with a frown.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Emily apologized.

"It's fine, Emily." Tabrella reassured her, though not without a sigh. "I'm just lucky to have these four as friends."

"Sounds like it," Emily responded, though she did have another question. "So what schools do you guys attend?"

"Well, I attend a smaller school house down here, instead of one of those big schools," Jackie admitted.. "And you know Lindsay and Tabs got to St. Epiderm."

"I go to Merlin Meadows," Tracy commented.

"My first choice was going to Glandus for Construction like my sisters, but then I ended up going to a different school to learn Bard magic," Andrea mentioned.

"Construction… wait," Emily said as she got a better look at Andrea. "I thought you looked familiar… you wouldn't happen to be related to Maude, Blistera. and Amanda?"

"Yup!" Andrea confirmed. "My sisters were Glandus Constuctionists before graduating! Now they're professional rock researchers! Did I mention I come from a rock farm?"

"Wait, so if you didn't go to Glandus, which school did you attend?" Emily asked her.

"Oh yeah, silly me, I forgot," Andrea said with a giggle. "I'm from Hexside!"

Emily's eyes widened at that, remembering that she declared war on Andrea's school. "Oh… um, I'm sorry for declaring war on your school."

"Hey, bygones be bygones as my friend Korn once said," Andrea said, smiling. "But hey, at least now we got some former Glandus students in our school, we even have this cute werecat girl named Nina in our cheersquad."

This surprised Emily. Not just the fact that Nina was apparently part of a cheersquad now, which she could never imagine Nina doing, but the fact that Nina was also attending Hexside. "You… know Nina?"

"Yup! We even spend quality time with each other after cheer practice, and she came to my temple for my youth group games," Andrea explained before feeling Emily's hands on her shoulders.

"Andrea," Emily spoke to her, giving her a serious look. "Promise me that you won't mention meeting me to her. It's very important that no one, not even her, knows that I'm staying with Lindsay and her family. You have to swear not to tell her that I'm here!" she said, her voice sounding desperate. "Please?!"

"Okay! I pinkie promise to not tell anyone, not even Nina, about your whereabouts!" Andrea swore. "You have my Pinkjoy honor!"

"Good," Emily said, sighing in relief while letting go of Andrea. "I appreciate it."

"Do you and this… Nina, have history?" Tracy asked, curious.

"We were both top students at Glandus… and she was one of my best friends," Emily admitted, her tone regretful as she turned to Andrea. "How is she, by the way?"

"Oh, she's doing well," Andrea confirmed. "I think she's gotten the hang of being a cheerleader. Oh, and she's currently dating a friend from my youth group, Lambi."

"Is she a Healer?" Emily asked her.

"She is multi-tracking in both Healing and Abominations," Andrea said, nodding, "How'd you figured?"

"Nina's got a soft spot on Healers," Emily admitted, giving a little smile. "Even back in Glandus, she never lifted a finger at the Healer students… even the ones that tried to take your kidneys." Her smile vanished and she let out a sigh. "At least Nina's doing well…"

This sparked Andrea's curiosity as she wondered about Emily and Nina's deal. "So… I'm sensing some kind of strife between you two. What are the details?"

Emily briefly hesitated before she looked over at Lindsay, who already knew about their falling out. She took a deep breath. "Like I said, we were best friends once. Back when we were all picked on back then, we had each other's backs… at least, until I backstabbed her when we were losing the school war and I saw her as dead weight."

"Maybe you could try apologizing to her," Andrea suggested. "Because that's always the first step toward repairing a friendship!"

"I doubt it'll do any good," Emily responded, lowering her head. "My old friends hate me now. Stella won't talk to me, Nina probably wants me dead, and Tito…" She paused, shutting her eyes. "I don't think he'll ever forgive me. None of them will."

"Not even after a sincere apology?" Andrea asked, her tone hopeful.

"I think I should just keep my distance from them. Some friendships can't be repaired, mine especially," Emily told her before she noticed Andrea tearing up, which startled her.

"Oh Titan… that is such the saddest thing I've ever heard!" Andrea cried as she began to wail, tears flooding from her eyes.

"W-wait, don't cry," Emily said as she tried to stop her crying. "Um… Lindsay, can you help me out here?" she asked, turning to the cyclops girl.

"Oh, um…" Lindsay tried to think of something. "Hey, it's alright, Andrea," she said, hugging her friend. "How about… you show Emily your cupcakes?"

Andrea sniffed. "Which ones?"

"The ones you baked!" Tracy clarified as Andrea calmed herself down.

"Oh, right! Silly me, they should be on the counter," Andrea said as she left the room and came back moments later with her cupcakes. "I've made enough for everyone to try. I'm also good at baking and I have been thinking of joining the baking coven if Bard doesn't work out."

"You should try them, Andrea makes the best sweets." Lindsay said to Emily as Andrea passed her cupcakes around.

Emily looked at the pink top cupcake with green icing in the shape of a flower. She slowly took a bite out of it… and her eyes widened. "Mmm, this is… this is really good, Andrea."

"Thank you," Andrea replied with a proud smile.

Later, near the end of the day, Lindsay and Emily began to leave the Cortland farm while saying goodbye to their friends.

"Thanks for having us here, Jackie," Lindsay said.

"No problem, and it was nice meeting and getting to know you, Emily," Jackie said.

"Yeah, you're pretty alright, I guess," Tracy reluctantly said with her arms crossed.

"It is nice meeting and getting to know you all too," Emily admitted, smiling. "I honestly wasn't sure if you guys would give me a chance."

"Well, consider this a fresh start at new friendships," Andrea told her as she surprised Emily with a hug. "You're just as fun as Nina. I wonder if all of the Glandus kids are fun."

"Not everyone…" Emily admitted before she felt Tabrella pat her shoulder.

"Just stay safe, darling," she told her. "And if you ever need anything, we will help you out in any way we can. A friend of Lindsay's is a friend of ours."

"Thank you," Emily responded gratefully. "I hope to see you all around," she told everyone before she turned to Lindsay and they both stepped off the porch.

"See you guys later," Lindsay said as she waved to them and they waved back. After they were away, she turned to Emily. "So… what do you think of them?"

"They're really nice," Emily commented. "You have a great group of friends, Lindsay"

"I know, they're the best," Lindsay said with a smile as they walked back home together.

The next day, Emily was holding an ax. She raised the ax over her head… and then slammed it down to chop something in half…

A log. She levitated another log to replace it, since she was doing some wood chopping to help make firewood to prepare for winter early. While she worked, she saw Lindsay coming over.

"How's work going for you?" Lindsay asked.

"Doing well," Emily replied, while taking a breather, wiping sweat from her forehead. "I've cut at least… fifty logs split into a hundred pieces."

"I see that," Lindsay said with an impressed tone, looking at the piles of split logs. "Anyway, I just got a call from Tabrella, she says that she wants some help babysitting. So… I'm thinking you could tag along."

Emily looked surprised. "I… I don't think I'm familiar with handling kids."

"Then let it be your first experience," Lindsay replied. "And we can use this as a chance to get you to spend more time with one of my friends, since I don't want you to spend all day working at the farm."

"I… guess I see your point," Emily responded as she set the ax down. "So who is she babysitting?"

"Well, it's for both her baby… sister and a playdate of hers," Lindsay explained. "Tabrella just needs some extra hands since Andrea and Tracy are busy at the IFWOT today, and Jackie is too busy at the market."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped," Emily admitted as she walked over to Lindsay. "Sure, I will help you and your friend."

Lindsay smiled. "I'm sure Tabrella will appreciate your help."

Lindsay had Emily ride with her on her staff as they flew to Tabrella's place in Metropelvis.

"So where does she live?" Emily asked while in disguise.

"You'll know when you see it," Lindsay replied while leading her jackelope palisman down to a neighborhood area. "We're about… here!"

Emily was taken aback by the three-story house before her. The house looked cylindrical, resembling more of a carousel. It was a very decorative house with some pillars and a balcony. After they walked up to the front door, Lindsay knocked and Tabrella answered.

"Lindsay, Emily, glad you could make it," Tabrella said as she invited them in.

After being let inside, Emily looked around and saw the interior of the place. Lots of purple, white, and pink. There were portraits and paintings on the wall, diamonds everywhere, and glass cases of mannequins wearing fashionable dresses were up on display. Above the doorways was a diamond-shaped emblem of a unicorn's head.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Tabrella said. "The Diamanto estate is one of the many rich families that reside here in Metropelvis. My parents are known for their best work in Construction, which I am a part of. I know that some think that the Construction magic is all just about building and blisters from heavy work, but no one has seen the other benefits of Construction magic!" she said while bringing out small diamonds to hand out. "Customary diamonds for the guests?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Lindsay replied.

"You just… give these away?" Emily asked in quiet shock.

"Oh we've got more than enough diamonds around here," she replied. "The Diamanto family has been mining these since the Great Tooth Rush. I've invested and used these diamonds for my exquisite fashionable line," she declared as a light blue, Persian-cat with quills came up. "Oh, Percy here understands that quite well, don't you, Percy?"

"Meow," Percy said as the cat with quills on its back walked past them, revealing a lockhole on its paw.

While Emily was given the tour, the disguised girl couldn't help but feel a little… disgusted over Tabrella's lifestyle, over how this purple haired witch had more than she knew what to do with and just flaunted her wealth in the open while Emily also had the short end of the stick, being raised in a struggling lower-class home.

Tabrella led them to the living room where they noticed a lot of toys left out. They found Katie with Kay in the play pin watching a floating crystal ball. "Katie~! I'm back with help!"

Katie turned along with Kay as they babbled in baby talk.

"Oh, is this her playmate?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes, that's Kay," Tabrella replied. "Her guardians came by to drop her off since I did make plans with her godsister but um… she had to be away. It was going to be just me and Katie with my folks out for work before Kay was dropped off."

Emily looked down at the gillchild. Something about her seemed… familiar.

"Well, it's nice to see that your daughter has a new friend her age to play with," Lindsay replied, causing Tabrella's eyes to widen.

"LINDSAY!" Tabrella exclaimed as her cyclops friend realized her slip up.

"Oh… sorry," Lindsay apologized bashfully while Emily looked surprised.

"Wait… Katie isn't your sister?" Emily asked.

Tabrella looked at Emily and after a moment, she let out a sigh. "Okay, okay, it's… true," she said while sitting down on the couch. "You remember when I said that Lindsay helped me after my ex left me? Well… when I told him that we're having a baby and that I planned to keep it even though we didn't plan on it… he broke things off from me. Then to make sure I didn't get in contact with him, he went up and joined the Emperor's Coven. Haven't seen him since and it left me devastated." She wiped her wet eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you date a royal deadbeat like Duke Eadbeaton."

Emily gave Tabrella a sympathetic look, her earlier disgust immediately going away as she realized that she was abandoned by someone she had once loved. "I'm… I'm so sorry about that, Tabrella. Really."

"Thanks, darling," Tabrella responded. "When my parents found out, they promised to keep my pregnancy hidden. So they said that I was 'studying abroad' while I was sent to a private place we've owned. Only my friends came by to check on me and even though I didn't make things easy, they still stuck around."

"It was the least we could do, Tabrella," Lindsay replied while playing with Katie and Kay.

"Yes," Tabrella replied before she continued her story. "My parents made sure my pregnancy was kept secret to avoid the unwanted attention it would bring to me, especially since they still wanted me to complete school. They even made it look like my mother was the one having a baby through a concealment stone. There was one close call when Felicia Fox discovered it and Jackie made her promise not to tell anyone about it." She looked over to Katie, giving her a heartfelt smile. "My parents mostly care for Katie right now, though I still try to get time with her…" She then looked down sadly. "But… I'm not sure what I am going to do after I graduate."

"What… did you want to do before…?" Emily asked.

"Well, I've always dreamed of getting into fashion design," Tabrella said. "Using my family diamonds for it is often for my brand, I even have my own work studio. Katie's just as important to me in my life, but… I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a full-time mom or not." She sighed. "I don't know if I should put most of my life's ambitions on hold, or just… let my parents raise her for me. But that would mean Katie won't be a large part of my life or know that I am her mom…"

Emily sighed. "I think I might know how you feel…"

"You do?" she asked her.

"My parents abandoned me when I got sick," Emily admitted. "So I guess you could say I have abandonment issues. And then after the school war, my time in the Emperor's Coven, and… my experience in the Underworld, I don't really have a future anymore and like you I'm not sure what to do, especially since everyone but a few think that I'm dead." She turned to look at Katie and Kay, particularly Kay. "You mentioned that Kay was dropped off by her guardians…"

"U-Um, yes, they did," Tabrella replied, she didn't know how Emily would react if she knew who Kay's guardians were.

"Who are they?" Emily asked.

Lindsay and Tabrella exchanged a look before Lindsay decided to answer. "She was dropped off by Eda and Luz," she admitted, surprising Emily.

"Oh," Emily said, taking a moment to let that sink in. "Oh…" She looked back up at Lindsay and Tabrella. "I'm not going to do anything about her if that's what you're worried about."

"No, we're not worried about that, dear," Tabrella clarified. "We weren't sure how'd you react if you knew who Kay's guardians were… and that Amity is her godsister."

Emily just nodded. "I understand," Emily said while looking at Kay. "So how did they get Kay?"

"From what Luz and Eda told me, she was just an egg when they found her," Tabrella explained. "Amity knew her family, who were captured and imprisoned under the Emperor's Coven."

As Emily looked at Kay, she wondered just when Luz and Amity took Kay in. She frowned, not liking the implications. "How… long ago was that?" she asked.

"I think it was either before or around the time of the Gland Prix," Tabrella answered. "And I think she hatched right after the school war."

Emily felt her heart drop as this was confirmed. She knew that Craig and the Boss were going to attack the Owl House during the school war. She knew they were going to try to kill everyone in it… but she had not known that Kay would be there. And she was just… a baby.

And it made the witch feel worse.

"Hey, why don't you come play with them," Tabrella suggested to Emily while getting up to sit on her knees along with Lindsay.

"Yeah, if you'd like to, Emily," Lindsay offered.

"I…" Emily sounded unsure while looking at her own hands. She didn't know if she could hold a child with the hands that were soaked in blood. She feared that it would… taint them.

Luckily for her, she kept her farming gloves on.

After a moment, she joined Lindsay and Tabrella in playing with Katie and Kay. Tabrella played with her daughter while Lindsay played with Kay. Emily was just sitting in between, wondering what to do. She had no idea nor the experience of how to handle babies. She had to think about the last time she helped out with a kid…

Thinking back to the time she threw Gus off the roof…

… Okay, her brain is not helping her by reminding her of her bad deeds.

Lindsay noticed Emily's distress and turned to her. "Are you alright, Emily?"

"I'm… fine," Emily responded. "I'm just here if any of you need any help."

"Okay," Lindsay said while she returned to playing with Kay.

Emily watched as the two girls played with the babies, eventually looking at Tabrella and wanting to start small talk to interrupt this painfully awkward silence. "Um… Tabrella. I was wondering what you think."

"Think of what?" Tabrella asked.

"About… Amity being a Fae," Emily said.

"Oh," Tabrella said before looking down with an unsure expression. "Well… I don't know Amity well enough, to be honest. I don't have much of an opinion about the matter but Luz did tell me that she wasn't even aware of it until recently, and did put up a good defense for her." She patted Katie, who smiled at her. "But… I do think that I want to give Amity the benefit of doubt, despite all that anti-Fae talk going around."

"I have met with Amity, she's a very honest and nice girl," Lindsay said.

"And she did help save me from Mel, despite the grief I gave her," Emily admitted. "Although I don't think she really did it for me."

"Perhaps I could give Amity a chance when she shows up again," Tabrella said. "I do wonder if she's alright…"

"She is probably safer wherever she is than here in the Isles," Emily suggested.

While Lindsay and Tabrella continued to play with the babies, Lindsay began to feel as if Emily was being left out. She turned to her. "Would you like to hold Kay?"

Emily's eyes widened. "I… I'm not sure if that's okay…"

"Hey, I trust you," Lindsay said, holding up Kay in front of Emily. "And I don't think she minds."

Emily looked at Kay, who looked at her with a happy expression. "I… suppose," Emily said as she hesitantly held up her arms as Lindsay handed Kay to her. Emily managed to safely hold Kay in her arms and the green witch looked down at Kay, who just giggled at her.

"See? Nothing bad happened," Lindsay reassured her before she heard a sniffing sound. "Emily?"

Emily held onto Kay while tears began to leak out of her eyes. "I-I-I'm sorry, it's just…" she said, sniffing. "I… I don't know why I'm like this…"

Holding Kay was like getting struck by lightning for Emily as she realized how her own actions could have gotten this innocent baby hurt… or worse.

'If the attack on the Owl House had been successful, Kay would have been left all alone… if not killed.' She tried to calm herself down, but it was becoming too much for her as the tears kept going. 'Kay… she didn't do anything nor did she have anything to do with the school war or my feud with the Clawthrones! How could I have let this almost happen? I… a baby's blood was going to be in my hands! A baby had already lost her family… and she could have lost another and been left abandoned.' Emily teared up. "Dear Titan… I'm so sorry…" she whispered while Kay looked up at her in confusion.

Lindsay and Tabrella went to comfort Emily, Lindsay giving her a hug. "Hey Emily, it's okay." she told her, patting her back.

"Darling, if it's too much for you…" Tabrella offered.

"I… I don't know what is going on with me right now," Emily replied, but that was a lie. She knew exactly what was going on and what she was feeling.

Guilt. And she couldn't suppress it, not while literally holding Kay in her arms.

She noticed a bubble floating above her. It popped which confused her before she looked down and saw that it was Kay who was blowing bubbles.

"Brrr," Kay cooed as she blew bubbles.

Emily stopped crying as she looked down at the young gillchild smiling up at her… and it made her feel a bit better.

Later, Eda and Luz had arrived at the Diamanto estate after dealing with IFWOT.

"That was a weird afternoon," Eda said.

"At least it can't get any weirder," Luz replied as she knocked on the front door. Answering it was Tabrella.

"Oh, you're back," Tabrella said.

"Yeah, here to pick up Kay," Luz replied before just barging in, much to Tabrella's shock.

"Now wait just a minute!" Tabrella shouted as she tried to stop her before Eda just walked past her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how you rich types are all about the floor but my boots are as clean as-" Eda said before she saw that Luz had paused in the doorway when she saw who was with Kay…

"Luz, Eda." Lindsay said in surprise while Emily was still holding Kay in her arms.

Seeing Luz glaring at her, Emily looked down at Kay and immediately handed her over to Lindsay. "Excuse me," she said before she rushed out of the room.

"Um… was that Emily?" Eda asked while Tabrella caught up to them.

"Why is she here?" Luz asked quietly, sounding like a snarl.

"I'm so sorry, I was the one who called them," Tabrella told them. "I needed help watching over both Katie and Kay and, well, Lindsay was available…"

"I suggested Emily come over because I didn't want her to be working on the farm all the time," Lindsay explained while handing Kay to Luz. "But I can assure you that nothing happened. Except for the crying… well, from Emily."

Meanwhile, Emily was hiding inside the bathroom, pacing back and forth while looking at herself in the mirror.

"Okay, they're here." Emily said while trying to hold herself together. "Luz probably wants to strangle me for even being near her child… that's she watching over for another family." She gulped while trying to figure out what to do. "Should I just wait out until they're gone?"

Looking back at herself in the mirror and still emotionally reeling from her time with Kay, Emily realized that she couldn't run from this. She already did when she was in the Owl House, but she couldn't avoid it this time. "I should… I need to talk to… Eda," she said to herself. "She still hurt me, still ruined my life, and I can't forgive her for that." She sighed. "But I did take it too far by hurting Luz and allowing the Owl House to get attacked…" She looked down, thinking about what Lindsay had once told her. That she had been so focused on her goals that she didn't stop to think about who she was hurting and if they deserved it, which included Kay. And she had to accept that Lindsay was right. "Luz and Kay should not have been caught up in my grudge."

She knew what she had to do.

She left the bathroom and headed back to the other room where Eda and Luz still were. "Ahem," Emily clears her throat, earning everyone's attention. "Eda… I would like to have… a word with you."

Eda looked at Emily in concern and nodded. "Alright."

Luz turned to Eda. "Wait, mom, I don't think-"

"Don't worry, Luz," Eda reassured Luz before walking over to Emily, Luz holding Kay protectively as she watched the two leave.

Once the two were alone, Eda and Emily looked at each other. Neither of them spoke immediately, since there was a lot of awkwardness, tension, and other lingering emotions. "So… how have you been doing, Emily?" Eda finally asked her.

"I'm doing… fine." Emily responded, looking away. "I have been staying with Lindsay's family and I help out with their farm. They're… really nice."

"Well, that's great," Eda replied. "I'm glad that they're treating you well."

Emily didn't answer for a while. Truthfully, she was having trouble looking at Eda, whom she had hated for so many years. And Emily still hated her, even though she knew her own actions were wrong. Eventually, Emily managed to muster up enough courage to speak to her. "Eda… I just want to say… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting and targeting Luz. And I was aware of what the Tarot Guild had planned to do to your house during the school war, but I did nothing to stop them."

Eda looked surprised by this. "I appreciate you coming forward to tell me this, but I should be the one to apologize to you," she told her. "I think I have already, but it still needs to be said. If it weren't for me, the Tarot Guild wouldn't have taken you in. I wish I could go back and do things differently… but the damage is already done. I hurt you, Emily. I may have not intended to hurt you, but that doesn't matter. I am sorry."

"I… appreciate that," Emily acknowledged, looking away. "But… I still can't forgive you."

"I know, kid," Eda acknowledged sadly. "I know."

Emily looked down. "But… I do want to say… thank you for coming to save me. Because of you, I got my life back. But even then, I have no idea what to do with that life."

"Well, you deserve a second chance after the bad hand fate gave you," Eda encouraged. "And maybe things will work out for the better. But let me tell ya something, kid, cause believe me I know how you feel." She looked down. "I know that you feel like you owe your life to Cross and Lindsay's family, but you shouldn't just live your life for them. You should live your life for yourself as well, because it is still your life."

Emily thought about what Eda said while they both stayed quiet for a moment. "Well, I should get going. I don't want you to keep you from your friends." She started to leave, "But it was nice talking with you, Emily."

"Yeah," Emily nodded awkwardly while seeing Eda leave.

"So, Lindsay, Emily hasn't caused you any trouble, has she?" Luz asked while rocking Kay.

"Oh no, she's been doing fine lately," Lindsay reassured her. "In fact, she's been staying with my family."

"And how do they feel about her?" Luz asked.

"They've been real nice to her, we all have," Lindsay responded. "Things are a bit awkward and it took some adjusting, but it is going well. She has been helping out at the farm a lot, but we've been trying to make sure she doesn't work all the time."

"Sounds like she's having a blast with y'all," Luz muttered, looking down.

"Luz…" Lindsay said, sensing Luz's hostility towards Emily.

"I don't trust Emily the slightest, Lindsay," Luz told her sternly, "My mom may give her leeway, but I don't. And I believe that as soon as Emily is done getting what she wants, she will ditch you and go for the next best thing," she said while Eda made it back to the room.

"Alright, let's head back home," Eda said while noticing Luz's look. "Hey, are you alright, Luz?"

"I'm fine." Luz replied while standing up and turning to Tabrella and Lindsay. "Thank you for taking care of Kay for us."

"It's no problem, dear," Tabrella replied. "You two take care of yourselves, alright?"

"Oh we will," Eda replied while summoning her staff. "Come on, Luz, let's head back home. Long day today, you know."

Luz nodded as she and Eda left the estate with Kay, flying off toward the Owl House.

With them gone, Emily came back to the room and two other girls noticed her. "How'd the talk with Eda go?" Lindsay asked.

"It… went better than I was expecting it," Emily admitted while thinking about Eda's advice…

That night at the Shystream farm, someone snuck out of the house. Rushing down from the farmhouse was a cloaked figure. After she looked around, she headed down to the barn. That cloaked figure… was Emily.

"Alright, just gotta borrow this spider-cow," Emily said while going to the spider-cow that was eating grass at night. "Alright, I may not know Beast-Keeping magic, but I have been working at this farm for a few days now and I think I can handle you."

On her first attempt to get on the spider-cow, the arachnid bovine shook her off from its back, making her fall.

"Alright, let's try this again," she said while holding up a saddle, trying to get on the spider-cow. However, the spider-cow wouldn't have it as it kicked Emily off of her with one of its legs. Emily was launched towards a pile of hay.

Groaning, Emily got up and walked back to the spider-cow. "Hey, listen here, Beverly!" Emily told the spider-cow. "Either you let me ride you so that I can do my business and we can come back or I will have to make you," she told the demon, who just stared at her blankly with its four eyes before she almost boredly shot webs at Emily. "Pfft-bleh! What the hell?!" she cried out while being covered in webs.

Emily, now covered in webs, gave a deadpan look. She knew that this was going nowhere with Beverly. Not having a Palisman left her very little options, but she had no Beast-Keeping magic, nor could she do any kind of magic besides basic spells and illusion spells thanks to the Illusion Coven sigil on her wrist. Not that she was even good at other spells…

Once she managed to get out of the webbing, she noticed a broom that had been left at the door of the barn and Emily remembered a moment from her childhood…

Young Emily Tricks looked outside the window, seeing some witches flying with their own staffs. She looked at this in awe and then noticed the broomstick on the floor. She walked over to pick up the broom and sit on it while wondering if she could make it fly…

It was then that Margo showed up. "Emily dear, have you seen-" She paused when she saw Emily levitating up on the broom.

"Look mommy, I got my own staff!" Emily declared.

"Emily, get down from there right now!" Margo told her daughter in a panic, rushing over to grab her away from the broom.

"But… I don't understand," Emily said in confusion while Margo set her down and gave her an angry look.

"Emily, I do not want you to do something like this again!" Margo shouted at her, her anger scaring the little girl. "Do you understand me?!"

The young Emily shivered. "Y-Yes, mommy…" she replied, while looking down with a look.

Back then, Emily didn't know why her mother didn't want her to ride on a broom. She had heard about how some witches tried to use brooms as a substitute for staffs, especially when Palistrom wood became scarcer, but it always ended in disaster for them. But Emily thought she could still give it a try…

She grabbed the broom and looked at it. It may not be a staff, but she could still enchant it with a basic levitation spell. The former Flyer Derby player got on the broom and Emily was about to draw a spell circle to cast a spell on it…

Only to feel the broom levitating on its own.

"W-What?" Emily asked in shock. She didn't remember performing a spell on the broom earlier, but somehow she was levitating on her own. "Did that… just happen?" she asked herself. However, she didn't question it for long. After she got the hang of it, she flew up high into the night sky… and began her hunt.

"Why do you want to know about him?" a scout asked the disguised Emily.

"I am a relative of his," Emily told him. "I just haven't seen him for a long time, so I want to know how he's holding up."

"Well, I can tell you that he's a big royal pain in the ass," the scout said. "You can probably find him at this bar he always goes to, the Appleblood Gates."

"Thank you," Emily responded as she started to walk away from the scout.

"Just be careful at night, alright?" the scout told her but she had already disappeared.. "Man, I'm surprised D-Bag Eadbeaton has anyone that wants to see him..."

At the Appleblood Gates, one scout barged out of the doors, drinking another pint of apple blood.

"Mhmm, now this is the good stuff!" he declared before smashing his glass.

"Hey! You better pay for that!" the barista shouted at him from inside.

"Put it in the Emperor's tab!" he shouted at her before walking away from the tavern. Removing his mask, he was revealed to be a blond young witch man with pale skin and blue eyes.

"Hey there…"

He turned and saw the disguised Emily in her cloak. "You wouldn't happen to Duke Eadbeaton, would you?" she asked him.

"Why yes, I am," Duke replied with an arrogant smile. "Duke Eadbeaton, the best scout in the Emperor's Coven!"

"My, I have heard about your exploits," Emily said while walking towards him with a smile. "I believe that you deserve a little… reward for your work for the Titan."

"Oh…" Ge gave a goofy grin. "Um, I don't think I have any money with me."

"No worries, this is for free," Emily said as she wrapped her arms around Duke, bringing him toward an alley.

"Wow, how generous of you," Duke replied as he allowed himself to be led into the alleyway…

Once they were alone, Emily let him go. "Now then… close your eyes."

"Oh, we're doing that, are we?" Duke asked as he covered his eyes while grinning, waiting expectantly for her to-

STAB!

He gasped when he felt a sharp pain. His eyes shot open and he looked down and noticed a knife embedded in his chest. His eyes widened as he looked up and saw the cloaked girl giving him a hateful look. "W-What…? Why…?"

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Emily told him as she pulled out the knife, then vanished before Duke could catch her.

"You bit-" His mouth was covered suddenly as Emily appeared behind him, stabbing him several times in the back before letting him fall down. He looked up to her. "W-Why…?" he asked weakly. He tried to crawl away, but she stepped on his leg.

"Because you abandoned your daughter when she needed you the most," Emily said angrily while holding her knife.

"Daughter…?" Duke asked before his eyes widened in realization. "The Diamanto girl…"

"That's right, asshole," Emily told him while raising the knife. "And I think she, her daughter, and this world are better off without a deadbeat like you," she declared before pouncing on him and stabbing him in the face.

Shortly afterward, Emily washed the blood off of her hands. As she washed the blood from her kill, she took a look at the Illusion sigil on her wrist…

She remembered that after Adrian took her in, he and the Emperor gave her the sigil and placed her in the Illusion's Coven. It was like a brand, a reminder that she now belonged to Adrian.

She frowned before putting her gloves back on.

The next morning, Emily was actually feeling good about herself as she helped out with the cooking.

"Is this about right, Aunt Dorothy?" Emily asked her while holding up the pieces of carrots.

"Yeah, that's about it. Put it in the cauldron," Aunt Dorothy responded as Emily placed the carrots in the cauldron.

"Hey, has anyone seen my glass?" Colt asked while his one eye blinked.

"Over by the counter, Mr. Shystream," Emily pointed out to him, smiling.

"Oh, thanks Emily," Colt replied, going over to the counter and putting on his one lens glasses. "Say, you're in a good mood today."

"Yeah, you seem less tense than usual," Jojo commented while Emily hummed happily.

"I had a great dream last night," Emily said with a seemingly innocent smile.

"Hey Emily," Lindsay spoke up from the stairs, getting her attention. "When you're done, mind if you come upstairs for a bit? I need an opinion on something."

Emily looked up to Lindsay. "Of course," she replied.

After she finished helping prepare for breakfast, Emily walked upstairs to meet up with Lindsay in her room.

"Lindsay, I'm here," Emily announced.

"Come in," Lindsay responded through the changing board. "I'm just about finished, you can close the door."

Emily looked confused as she walked in and closed the door. "Alright, what's-" She turned and saw Lindsay stepping out. To say the least, Emily was really caught off guard… as she blushed.

"What do you think?" Lindsay asked while showing off her hero outfit. She had on a green bandana over her head with her hair tied in a ponytail with her bangs sticking out and a white visor to cover her one eye. But what really caught Emily's eyes was her outfit… a green, long-sleeve one piece with a pink line from her turtleneck to the bottoms of her leotard, a green waistband around, green dark gloves, and knee-length boots.

"Um… Lindsay… that outfit…" Emily was stammering, blushing hard as she couldn't keep her eyes off of her.

"You don't think it's too much, do you?" Lindsay asked her. "I asked Florella to help with designing this and Potion Ranger helped make it so it could stretch out if I go Madstream again, something about unstable molecules or something." She then gave Emily a confused look. "Emily?"

Emily was too entranced by Lindsay's outfit, staring at it with a heavy blush… and a bit of drool. "I like what I see…"

"Oh, you do?" Lindsay asked, looking a bit more bashful as Emily realized what she was doing.

Emily quickly wiped her drool from her mouth. "E-Excuse me!" she said as she rushed out of the room, leaving Lindsay alone.

Later, after Cross and Zee's visit, Emily had finished working with Lindsay's help.

"Alright, that should be good for delivery to the Deli Coven," Colt states while gathering the crates into the cart. "Thanks for the help, girls."

"Well, it was Emily who really pulled through," Lindsay said. "I was just helping out."

"Which I appreciate," Emily responded with a smile.

Once Colt left with the order, the two walked over to the porch alone. Both sat on the bench. Emily looked over at Lindsay, who didn't seem to notice Emily was looking at her. Then Emily looked down on herself, thinking about how Cross had given her permission to ask out Lindsay. She took a deep breath. "Hey, Lindsay…"

"Yes, Emily?" Lindsay asked.

"I-I was… wondering," Emily twiddled her fingers as she mustered up the courage. "Since we've been hanging out with each other… would you… want to go out with me?" she asked her.

Lindsay was taken by surprise. "Oh…" she said while trying to think of a reply. Her face turned red as she remembered the kiss she had between her and Emily last Scumday. "That's… wow… I wasn't ready for this…"

"Oh, then nevermind…" Emily said as she looked down, but Lindsay interjected.

"Wait!" Lindsay patted her hand, having Emily turn to her. "I haven't given my answer yet."

"O-Okay," Emily replied with a blush. "I'll… give you a moment to think."

Lindsay considered her options. Throughout the week, she has been confused about her feelings for both Cross and Emily, especially after Emily kissed her. She developed a crush on Cross when she thought he was the Golden Guard who saved her during the parade, but then they turned out to be Emily, so did that mean she had a crush on Emily? Then Lindsay remembered her talk with Zee, how she had encouraged her to explore her feelings and discover herself.

After reaching her conclusion, Lindsay nodded and smiled. "Yes, I would like to go out with you, Emily."

In Emily's room, Emily was internally monologuing to herself as she got ready for the date.

'Oh my Titan, oh my Titan, she said yes!' Emily cheered while looking to pick out a dress, giving a cool look. 'Lindsay has said yes! I feel so alive… but… oh my Titan, she said yes.' A look of nervousness and dread was evident on her face while she looked at herself in the mirror. 'My Titan, what the hell was I thinking?!'

"Alright, breath in… breath out." Lindsay said while looking at herself in the mirror. "Now then… Emily has asked you out and you said yes. We are going to have a fun time together and…"

'Oh Titan this is not going to work out!' Lindsay internally freaked out while the one-eyed girl tried to keep it cool. 'What if I make a mistake? What if I see a poor animal get hurt and end up going Madstream again?!'

"She's too good for you!" Emily told herself in a panicked tone. "Well, I do like how her cute eye looks at me… but fuck, I don't think I can handle this! I've never been on a date since Stella and we all know how I fucked that up!"

"What questions should I avoid asking?" Lindsay asked while digging through her clothes. "What kind of clothes should I wear on my first date? Something formal or do I entrance her with my charm?" she asked, looking at a pair of long-pants overalls and a pair of short overalls. "I don't know what overalls to wear!"

"I bet Nina isn't having any dating trouble," Emily said while rocking back and forth. She looked at herself in doubt before she let out a sigh. "I don't know how this will turn out for us, but… Lindsay deserves a good date."

"Emily deserves a good time," Lindsay said to her reflection while picking out an outfit to wear for hers and Emily's date. "And I'm going to give it to her…"

"Or die trying," Emily finished.

Since she had some time before the date, Lindsay went to consult her parents about going on her first date.

"You and Emily… are going on a date?" Bloom asked her. "Wow, honey we're so proud of you!"

"So you don't mind that I'm going out with Emily?" Lindsay asked them.

"We weren't sure about Emily at first, but we have come around to liking her and we want to be supportive of you, Lindsay," Colt told her. "It's really good that you've come out of your shell and are trying out dating."

Lindsay smiled at her parents as she hugged them "Thank you, mom and dad."

"It's no problem, Lindsay," Bloom reassured her, patting her back. "We're with you one hundred percent."

"Yeah! On your… first date." Colt's expression changed. "Oh dear… I don't think we ever had the talk with you… Oh Titan I dreaded this day."

"The talk?" Lindsay asked before her eye widened in realization. "Um…"

"Well, we can talk about that later, we don't need to make her extra nervous, Colt," Bloom reassured him.

"Oh but it's really important that she gets the talk, Bloomy," Colt said with a worried look. "Our little devil is growing up before our eyes. She needs to be prepared for any kind of situation she might end up in." He turned to Lindsay. "Okay Lindsay, here's what you need to know… about the griffins and the fleas."

"Um, I already know about that," Lindsay responded. "I learned about it in a health class."

"Well, there are some things that they don't teach you in health class in St. Epiderm," Bloom said before the two began to give Lindsay the talk…

Afterward, Lindsay had a shell-shocked look, her iris having dilated.

"Oh my… I had no idea it's that… complicated," Lindsay said quietly, while blushing at the thought of doing… those things, with Emily.

"And now you know," Bloom said.

"But please don't do any of this on the first date," Colt told her. "Remember to be responsible and try not to get in trouble."

"O-Okay, dad," Lindsay responded before changing the subject. "Um… care to tell me anything else before I go on my date?

In her room, Emily was picking out some clothes to wear. She used her illusions to see what she would look like based on the clothes laying on her bed.

"Should I go with this?" she asked while dressing like a goth before she changed to another appearance. "Or this?" She was wearing a flannel jacket with jeans when she heard a knock on the door, causing her illusions to disappear. "Come in."

Opening the door was Hendrick. "Hello, Emily!" he announced, inviting himself in.

Emily gave him an annoyed look. "What do you want, Henry?"

"Oh I just couldn't help but overhear that you're taking my sister on a date," Hendrick said, causing Emily to sigh.

"Please leave me alone," Emily told him. "No offense and this is the most polite way-"

"But hear me out!" Henry interrupted. "I wish to help you on your date. Like, I know my sister and what you can do on a date with her."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Hey, who knows Lindsay better than her older bro?" Hendrick asked.

After considering her options and despite her better judgment, Emily decided to give him a chance. "I guess you can help me."

"Great!" Hendrick declared. "Now, if you want to wear something for your date, it's just gotta be something casual. Lindsay's not much into formal, we're kinda zen that way… but she does like flowery dresses, so you can wear something in contrast."

"That is a good suggestion," Emily replied as she went back to looking through her clothes. "What else do you know?"

"Lindsay loves admiring scenery, so take somewhere pretty and with a nice view," Hendrick said. "And make sure that there are some flowers in the area, pretty flowers… did you know she's done some Plant magic?"

"I did not know that," Emily admitted.

"Yeah, Little Linds grows fruit and vegetables for the beasts as a hobby, and she knows some healing magic to treat them as well," he explained to her. "If only St. Epiderm opened up a multi-track, though I hear that's been something they have been debating about for a while."

"That would be cool," Emily admitted before looking at Hendrick. "So… why are you doing this? And for me?"

"Well, I want to help you out for my sister," Hendrick explained. "I want her to be happy, really. It's her first date and I hope you two have a good time since, well, I do trust her judgment when it comes to witches," he said with a smile. "So if she has a good feeling about you, then I support her."

This made Emily sigh in relief. "Thank you, Hendrick. For helping me and… giving me a chance."

"Hey, it's no problem," Hendrick replied. "Though… I do have one question…"

"Yeah?" Emily asked him.

"Well…" He looked down, briefly hesitating. "I was just wondering if… those rumors about you are… true…"

"Oh, those," Emily said as she looked down and sighed. "To be completely honest, whatever you heard about me is probably true. I was just as bad as they say I was. But I am trying to be a better witch now. And I wouldn't dare to hurt Lindsay." She looked up at him with a dead serious look in her eyes. "Because your sister is not only an amazing witch, but she fought to give me this second chance."

"Well, if you ask me, I think Lindsay did good in giving you a second chance," he admitted. "Besides, you basically gave me a second chance after we first met. I may have gotten off on a rocky start with you, but look at us now! We're fast friends already!" he stated optimistically.

"Right…" Emily said, not exactly sure she would call them friends. "By the way… I do have a question about you myself."

"Oh? Do tell!" he replied.

"Why do you have trouble joining a coven?" Emily asked him. "I mean, you do know that you have to join one, especially with the Day of Unity next week."

"Oh, I know that, and I got time," Hendrick said with an optimistic smile… that lasted barely a few seconds before his facade suddenly cracked, his smile becoming a frown as tears leaked out from his eyes. "Ooohhh who am I kidding," he said as he went to sit on the edge of the bed, covering his eyes as he cried. "I'm a failure!"

Emily was caught off guard by his reaction. "H-Hey, don't cry," she said, briefly hesitating before she walked over to sit beside him, patting his back. "Henry… are you… scared of joining a coven?" she asked in concern.

Hendrick sniffed. "I'm… I'm a failure, Emily. I've been living a lie this whole time!" he cried out. "I know that I'm not the most hard-working witch like you are, Emily. Truth is all this stuff about making it big in Titanwood… I just mostly spend time in the cults I've joined and being in relationships with girls from those cults before they get snuffed out by the Emperor's Coven." He wiped his eyes and looked down. "Truth is I've tried to join a coven. I've been passionate about my pottery, wanting to cut celebrity hair, and massage therapy. But they are from separate covens and I couldn't choose just one!" He looked up at Emily. "If I end up regretting my decision, I will be stuck in that coven for the rest of my life!"

Emily tried to comfort him to the best of her ability, but she wasn't great at it. This whole thing was incredibly awkward for her. "Hey, it's… going to be okay. You'll think of something," she said while Hendrick wept. She didn't know what to do in this situation except continue to do what she was doing.

When it came time for the date that night, Lindsay came downstairs in a pink flowery dress she had on along with sandal heels and a necklace. Her parents saw what she was wearing.

"My little Lindsay," Bloom said proudly as she looked at her daughter. "You look so beautiful."

"Yeah," Colt agreed. "Just like your mother on our first date."

"Thanks," Lindsay said shyly. "I wonder what Emily will think…"

"I think I agree with your folks."

Lindsay turned and saw Emily coming down in a black short robe over her black long-sleeve dress that has two-side splits. She was also wearing black and orange stockings and black heel boots with sun-buckles.

"Wow Emily," Lindsay said in awe. "You look pretty in black."

"Yeah, I… guess I do," Emily replied. She didn't know why, but wearing black just felt… right.

"Alright, you girls go on and have a good time," Bloom told them. "Just be sure to make it back before curfew."

"We will, mom," Lindsay replied as she picked up her jackalope Palisman.

"I will make sure your daughter's returned home safe," Emily reassured the Shystream parents.

"We know you will, just have fun," Colt told her.

And so, the two went out on their date through Satorius Acres, Lindsay leading her staff to fly around while Emily hung on behind her. Emily blushed when she held onto Lindsay as they flew over the farmland.

"Look," Lindsay said as she pointed to the windmills by the edge of the shore of the Titan. Emily looked in awe when she saw the lightning bugs flying around, lighting the place. "Aren't the lightning bugs great?"

"Yeah, it is," Emily replied with a smile. Lindsay smiled back as she raised her staff up while Emily hung on.

"Hold on!" Lindsay said as they went to see the sight of the Isles. They were now above the chest of the Titan, where they could see the lights on the the Right Arm from Bonesborough to Latissa, and they spotted the ever so busy lights of Metropelvis. Emily was amazed by how bright the Boiling Isles was with its cities and towns.

"It's… so beautiful," Emily commented.

"Yeah, it is," Lindsay agreed as the two sat on the staff together.

Later, up on a hill, Lindsay and Emily were having a nighttime picnic together. Emily spread honey on the bread as she handed it to Lindsay. "Want some?"

"Thanks," Lindsay replied while taking the honey bread and biting it. "Mmm, okay, this is great honey."

"Yeah, I got it from the market the other day," Emily said while the two were sitting close. "I was told that it's perfect for the season."

"It really is," Lindsay agreed while looking at Emily who was drinking soda brew. She then looked up at the stars above the Isles, finding them lovely. "You ever look up at the stars and realize how small our world really is?"

Emily was surprised by this question. "I… never gave in any thought. Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I went through Hell and the Underworld to get you, it sorta opened my eye," Lindsay replied. "As it turns out, there are many other realms out there, not just the Demon Realm and the Human Realm. Honestly, there is still so much in our realm that is unknown to us, since we've spent our entire lives in the Boiling Isles. There are other islands and other Titans that we know very little about. And what about space? What about the stars and other planets? I think we take it for granted how big our world really is. Just something to think about, you know?"

Emily thought about what Lindsay said, considering the idea. "Well… it's not something I've really thought about, though going out beyond the Boiling Isles, maybe to another Titan… I am curious about that." She then looked down. "But… just knowing that there are other realms makes me feel… powerless. There are gods, Faes, monsters, and other deities… it's just a lot to take on. I can accept a realm where humans like Luz exist… but a realm where those like Mel exist does scare me."

"Yeah, it is a scary thought," Lindsay admitted while patting Emily's hand. "But at the same time it is amazing. It is possible there is so much more life out there, yet we don't know what they're like. Maybe they're just a little like us."

Emily blushed when Lindsay reached her hand and she ended up gripping it. "I… I guess it is…"

After their picnic, the two decided to take a stroll through a nearby town. They saw that the market was up again, offering some night sales.

"This is nice, don't you think?" Lindsay asked her while they checked out the stands.

"Yeah," Emily replied. "I do like the atmosphere…"

As the two walked together, they passed someone reading a menu at a table. Once they were a good distance away, the menu was lowered, revealing the face of… Julia Traveler. And she was not alone.

"This is a lovely night," Julia admitted while sipping her tea. "So what do you think of the Boiling Isles… Alastor?"

"I have to admit, this Demon Realm does remind me a little of Hell, and I mean that as a compliment," Alastor the Radio Demon as he resembled his human form but with pointed ears. "So are those two of the girls you've told me about?" he asked while seeing Emily and Lindsay stop by a stand getting some treats.

"Indeed they are," Julia confirmed. "Emily and Lindsay."

"Hmm, the green witch girl who was dragged into the Underworld, and the kind, one-eyed angel who went through Hell to save her," Alastor said with amusement, looking especially interested in Emily. "From what I've heard about Ms. Tricks, she has done a lot of unsavory and unpleasant things that could easily earn her a one-way ticket to Hell."

"Except that Emily is not in Hell yet," Julia pointed out. "So she's not beyond saving. She's still young, and there is still a chance for her if she chooses it."

"Hmm, and why haven't you talked to her like you have done with other mortals?" Alastor asked her. "Why not reach out to her yet?"

"Because Emily doesn't know me nor does she trust me, which means she won't risk becoming vulnerable to a stranger," Julia admitted. "She did see me after coming back from the Underworld, but she almost immediately chose to leave with Lindsay and Cross. I suppose I could have visited her afterward, but I think that would have just scared her off. However, I have been keeping an eye on her and I know that she has a support group of positive influences like the Shystreams, Cross, and his sister Zee, which is a good start to say the least."

Alastor sported a grin. "You know, I think I see why you've chosen to spend your time here," he said, indicating Emily and Lindsay. "Why you want to be closer to the mortals so that you can interact with them on a more personal level, rather than being aloof and distant…"

"Well, being aloof and distant hasn't always worked in the past," she admitted.

"Yes, well, I still don't blame you because like you, I have also taken an interest in the personal lives of others," Alastor said while leaning on his chair. "But unlike you, who wishes to see the people become better, I prefer to enjoy the drama. I love to see the scum of the world struggle and climb up the hill of betterment… only for them to repeatedly trip and fall down to the fiery pits of failure…"

"You never change, do you, Alastor?" Julia asked.

He just smiled at her as he set his elbows on the table while looking at Emily. "But I must admit that you have more patience than me when it comes to children, especially the teenage youths. Me? I would happily slap a child for being a little shit, or scare the peepers out of them that would scar them mentally… though, I wouldn't dare to kill or try to seriously harm them. I don't usually believe in second chances… but since dear old Emily isn't in Hell yet, maybe there could be a chance for her."

"Maybe we should follow their example then. After all, it is a lovely night," Julia suggested.

Alastor smiled again. "Well, always the charmer, quite you are, Rosie," he said while standing up and bringing out his radio-microphone while offering his other hand to Julia. She shrugged and grabbed his hand as he started to sing. "Oh ain't it a glorious night, to look at these gruesome sights, it all just makes me want to fly~!" he sang while levitating up.

"Oh now Alastor," Julia said as she pulled him down and they began to walk. "None of your larking about."

"Have you ever seen grass made out of flesh, or the elusive purple sky~!" Alastor sang while looking at Emily and Lindsay as he and Julia strolled along. "Ooooh, she's having a jolly holiday with Lindsay~! Lindsay, oh she makes her heart so light~!" He stepped up on a lantern, taking a swing. "When Emily's day is gray and ordinary, Lindsay makes the sun shine bright!"

"Oh her kindness is blooming all around her," Julia began to sing. "The beasts and pixies are smiling from above." The two watched as Lindsay and Emily saw pixies flying past them, Emily holding her hand. "When Lindsay holds her hand, you see her feel so grand, Mily's heart starts beating like a big brass band!"

Alastor tapped his microphone on his head three times in his usual silly self, making Julia laugh. "Oh it's a jolly holiday with Lindsay," he sang. "No wonder that it's Lindsay, that she loves!"

Emily and Lindsay both jumped on some hopscotch on the ground while passing by witches the demons. The two shared a laugh before Emily started to sing.

"Oh it's a jolly holiday with Lindsay," Emily sang. "She makes my heart feel so light~! When my day is gray and ordinary… you make the sun shine bright~!"

"Oh your happiness is blooming all around you," Lindsay sang back. "The pretty abomiflies are smiling from above~!" she sang while some grotesque-faced bugs flew above them.

"When you hold my hand, I just feel so grand, my heart starts beating like a big brass band!" Emily sang while her heart beat loudly. "Oh it's a jolly holiday with Lindsay~! No wonder that it's Lindsay that we love!"

Lindsay smiled as the two stopped to get some notdogs on a stick. After purchasing them, the two continued on their walk while Julia and Alastor followed.

"Oh it's a jolly holiday for them, Alastor," Julia sang. "See how she is good to her,"

"Quite right, I see," Alastor said.

"Though she may be rough around the edges," Julia sang while the two were up on a bridge, watching the two passing beneath them "Remember that she's still just a youth…"

"Very common knowledge," Alastor said.

"She'd never think of pressing her advantage~! Forbearance is the hallmark of her creed," she sang. "Oh Lindsay needn't fear, when she is near, her sweet sincerity is crystal clear…"

"Oh it's a jolly holiday with Emily," Lindsay sang while she and Emily skipped along. "A jolly jolly holiday with you~!"

"You are always so nice, it feels like a price, having to spend some time with me…" Emily said while looking down, but Lindsay held her chin up.

"Oh don't be so blue, I like hanging out with you, it's complimentary~!" Lindsay said, the two smiling.

"My what a sight." Alastor admitted, almost feeling warm.

"Indeed, that girl has shown a lot of kindness toward Emily," Julia replied. "Very rare to find someone like her."

"That is true," Alastor said as he rapidly sang. "Mavis and Sybil have ways that are winning, and Prudence and Gwendolyn set your heart spinning. Phoebe's delightful, Maude is disarming, Janice, Felicia, Lydia charming!" He jumped up onto the edge of the bridge as he continued. "Cynthia's dashing, Vivian's sweet, Stephanie's smashing, Priscilla's a treat! Tiana, Millicent, Agnes and Jane, Convival company, time and again." He counted with his fingers. "Drocas and Phyllis and Glynis are sorts, I'll agree are three jolly good sports! But cream on the crop, tip of the top." He turned to Julia. "I've eaten half of those girls and there we stop!"

Julia flew up to the edge with him and the two started dancing while seeing Emily and Lindsay continuing on their way. "When Lindsay holds her hand, you see her feel so grand, Mily's heart starts beating like a big brass band!" The two jumped off the bridge and landed on the ground. "It's a jolly holiday with Lindsay! No wonder that it's Lindsay that we love!" The two linked their arms together as they continued to dance. "No wonder that it's Lindsay that we love!" They started to dance away. "No wonder that it's Lindsay that she loves~!" they sang before they faded away to dance.

Back to Emily and Lindsay, the two girls shared a laugh. "This date has really been good so far, hasn't it?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah," Emily replied with a smile. "I am having a really great time with you-"

"LINDSAY, STEP BACK!"

Suddenly, bursting from the ground was an Abomination wall that split between the girls. They were both caught off guard before coming out of the purple puddle that appeared out of nowhere… was Gavin.

"Gavin?!" the two girls shouted.

"Stay away from her!" Gavin told Emily, sending her a glare. "You think I didn't see through your disguise?"

"Gavin, what is the meaning of this?!" Lindsay demanded, getting up.

"Boscha told me that she's back," Gavin told Lindsay. "I thought it was weird that you didn't show up at the clubhouse meeting last Toesday. But it didn't take long to piece things together after I learned that you were included on the trip to the Underworld, but not just to save Edric." He turned to Emily with a glare. "But you had to bring her back!"

"Gavin…" Emily said as she stood back up, giving him a pleading look. "I didn't do anything to her, honest."

"It's true, Gavin," Lindsay told him, walking around the wall and helping Emily up. "Me and Emily were just going on a date."

Gavin's eyes widened in shock. "A date?!" he exclaimed, looking disgusted. "How could you go on a date with her of all witches?! Have you forgotten what she did and what she's done? To Yuki, to Boscha, to Stella, to everyone who suffered under her rule in Glandus?!"

"Gavin-"

"Did you forget what she did to Riley's Palisman?!" Gavin told her, which caused Lindsay to give a pained expression.

Emily looked shocked that Gavin knew about that. "How… how did you know?" she asked before she realized that the only ones who knew were Stella, Tito… and Nina.

"Nina already told us every secret you have, since she has no reason to keep your secrets anymore," Gavin told her, sending her an ice-cold glare. "Do you honestly think that you should be with Lindsay? Because you shouldn't. She's too good for you and you don't deserve her."

Hearing this, Lindsay gave Gavin an appalled look and it was enough to make her mad. "Deserve? Now you listen here, Gavin Nightshade!"

Startled, Gavin turned to Lindsay. "But Lindsay-"

"SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" she angrily growled at him, causing Gavin to look scared of Lindsay. "You don't get to decide whether or not someone 'deserves' me or not. That is up to me and nobody else. You do not have that right to say that on my behalf because I didn't ask you to, just like I didn't ask you to interfere with my date!"

"But she could've done something-"

"Nothing happened!" she pointed out to him. "We were having a good time until you showed up. From where I'm standing, you're being the bad guy right now."

"I'm the bad guy? I was trying to help you," Gavin said, but Lindsay scoffed.

"From the looks of it, you're acting like, and pardon my language, a complete jackass," Lindsay cursed, which made Gavin flinch and Emily wince. "You assumed that I'm some girl that needed saving and that I can't take care of myself, like I don't have any agency."

"It… it's not like that, Lindsay," Gavin said.

"Then what are you even doing here bothering two witches having a good time?" Lindsay asked him in disgust. "And don't say you were looking out for my safety, cause it looks like you were the one starting trouble." She crossed her arms, giving him a scolding glare. "And this is the second time that you've done this."

Gavin looked around and looked at Emily, who had been quiet throughout all of this. He looked down on himself, gripping his own fists. "I… I'm sorry, for bothering you two," he said as he summoned his staff. "Come on, Artur," he said as he got on his own staff and flew off, leaving the two girls alone. The Abomination goo magically flowed back into his gourd.

Lindsay turned to Emily, looking concerned. "Are you alright, Emily?"

Emily didn't answer for a long time. "No… I'm not," she finally replied while looking down and frowning. The mention of what happened to Riley's Palisman had brought back the unpleasant memory to her.

Lindsay looked around before she grabbed Emily's hand. "Come on, let's go somewhere private."

She took Emily to a large moss tree. The two girls sat together under the tree as Lindsay looked at Emily in concern.

"When… did you know?" Emily asked her.

Lindsay gave a sad look, briefly hesitating before she answered honestly. "It was earlier in the week. I met up with my friends before going to Edric and Emira's uncle's bar and I was caught up to speed from when Nina told them everything when she came to them to ask for help in finding her friend Casey and Bria." She looked at Emily, who didn't look surprised at all.

"I should have known that Nina would tell you guys my secrets," she said with a sigh. "What happened to Riley… I did make them crash as revenge for them making me look bad… but I didn't intend on breaking their Palisman." She looked down and gripped her own dress. "But that's not really an excuse for what I've done."

"Emily…" Lindsay said while attempting to pat her back.

"I… I've threatened other Palismens before, Lindsay," Emily admitted, which caused the cyclops girl to pause. "I threatened my principal's Palisman to 'cancel' the Illusions Track to fool everyone, I threatened my own Palisman and he decided to ditch me afterward, not that I blame him. And as the Golden Guard, I led a mission to the Bat Queen's forest to capture the Palismen living there." She looked down, unable to look Lindsay in the eye. "I hurt others, you know that."

Lindsay was quiet for a moment, looking conflicted. Sometimes it was hard for even her to look past what Emily did. Especially since she loved her Palisman and couldn't imagine someone wanting to hurt their own Palismen and other Palismen. However, she put aside her doubts and sighed. "I've always known about all the bad things you've done, Emily. But that never stopped me from trying to help you, even when everyone said that I should stay away and not give you the time of day. But I don't regret meeting you, Emily. I don't regret helping you or saving you from the Underworld. Because there is a part of you that gives me pause and even scares me sometimes… but there is also a part of you that I really like, a part of you that wants to be better and wants help, even if she doesn't always know how to ask for it."

Emily looked at her. "Thank you, Lindsay, for defending me."

"Well, that's what friends are for, and I trust you," Lindsay told her. "I know that you won't hurt me."

This made Emily smile, until she suddenly remembered something. Sure, she couldn't possibly imagine hurting Lindsay… but there was a time when she couldn't imagine hurting Stella and Nina.

Those two girls were some of the people that she had hurt the worst.

But Lindsay was different… right?

Emily looked down, her doubt returning and becoming even worse. "Gavin is right," Emily said in realization. "You… you really are too good for me, Lindsay."

"Come on, Emily, don't let him get to you like that." Lindsay told her.

"No, because it's true," Emily said while looking at her own hands. "And not because he says so. Because I say so. Linds, I don't think I am ready for another relationship right now. My last relationship, which only just ended, was toxic and abusive and I was the abuser. I'm not sure if I can trust myself around you. I'm… damaged."

"No, you're not." Lindsay reassured her. "Emily, you don't have to do this."

"I've already made up my mind, Lindsay," Emily told her, patting Lindsay's hand. "This isn't you, alright, this is all on me. I… still have a lot of issues to deal with, and… I don't think I'm the right match for you. At least until I work everything out."

Lindsay gave Emily a sad look. "So… I guess it wasn't meant to be."

Emily sighed. "Yeah, I guess not," she admitted before remembering something else: her earlier conversation with Cross. She turned to Emily. "I'm going to ask you one thing… do you like Cross? As in like-like him?"

Lindsay was caught by surprise. "Um… well… I don't know… maybe…" she stammered shyly.

"Come on, Lindsay, I can definitely see that you're very fond of him," Emily pointed out.

Lindsay looked down. "Well… I actually do have a bit of a crush on him," she admitted. "But he's with Donna now. She already got to him first."

"Come on, don't give up already," Emily told her. "Donna may have beaten you to the punch, but she did not win the war."

"Really? But… I don't know if he likes me back," Lindsay said.

"He does, actually," Emily pointed out, which surprised Lindsay. "I can tell that as stoic and secretive Cross can be, he is still a young teenage boy that is too nervous to ask out a beautiful girl he likes."

"Oh, really?" Lindsay asked, smiling a little while looking all shy. "Then, why did he agree to go on a date with Donna then?"

"Well, she asked him out and he was probably too nervous to say no," Emily pointed out. "But Lindsay, even if he's going on a date with Donna, you still have a chance with him. So don't give up on him."

"Yeah… thanks, Emily." Lindsay nodded. "I never took you for a shipper."

Emily smiled. "Well, you and Cross are my friends, and I want you two to be happy," she said while looking up at the sky. "Besides, I think I want to work on being a better friend before I give being in a relationship another try."

Lindsay looked at Emily and smiled. "You know, I'm still glad that I'm with you tonight," she said while also looking up at the skies.

"Yeah," Emily agreed, both continuing to enjoy their company.

Soon afterward, the two headed back home to the Shystream farm, where they parted ways and headed back to their rooms.

"For what it's worth, I still had a good time with you, Emily," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, I feel the same," Emily agreed. "Goodnight, Lindsay."

"Goodnight, Emily," Lindsay replied before the two went into their rooms.

When Emily went inside her room, she closed the door. Now alone, her hands began to shake as she started to take heavy breaths. Then she lashed out.

She knocked all the things off a desk, then kicked a trash can in front of her. Anything that wasn't bolted down, she threw. All the while angry tears flowed down her face. All of the negative emotions and frustrations that she kept bottled up while with Lindsay and all of that ugliness she didn't want Lindsay to see was now out. She was lucky that her room is soundproof.

As she trashed her room, she grabbed her own pillow and ripped it open, causing feathers to fly all around. She gave a scowling look, but the tears kept flooding. Eventually she started to calm down and catch her breath, but she was still shaking. She looked around her room and fell to her knees.

She was crying harder now after her breakdown, covering her face as she wept.

After she finished crying, Emily got up and decided to start to clean up her mess. After all, she would be a bad houseguest otherwise…

And she didn't want to be a burden.

However, unknown to Emily Tricks, she was currently being watched.

A pair of green skinned hands tapped on a large crystal ball that they were using to watch the lonely Emily Tricks as she started to clean up her room.

The watcher, who had black sleeves, let out a chuckle. She knew that things were only going to get worse for Emily Tricks.

She would see to that.

Well another chapter to left out so here are some split facts:

OCs introduced:

-The Satorius Acres citizen are heavily inspired by the barn animals from the Fogforn Leghorn shorts from Looney Tunes. Mrs. Crissy and Egburt Jr are based off of Miss Prissy and Egghead Jr. Lucky is based off of the Barnyard Dog who is Foghorn Leghorn's victim of pranks.

Hendrick Shystream is the same older brother Lindsay mentioned in "Rings of Fire" who is based off of Zephyr Breeze, Fluttershy's little brother from MLP. Deciding to make him as much of as a moocher like Zephyr Breeze along with his slackerness like Francis from Malcolm in the Middle.

Apple is in fact the same succubus from Helluva Boss, and in the "Understanding Odalia" chapter where she makes a cameo in meeting Edric through speed dating. She is now the farmhand for the Cortlands. Thought it'd be interesting to have her being living in the Boiling Isles before she became part of Verosika's posse years later.

Katie being Tabrella's daughter has really been intentional since their introduction. It is based off of a fan theory of Sweetie Belle being Rarity's daughter rather than her sister that she has to look out for. Oh, and of course Duke Edbeaton is an expy of Prince Blueblood who was once Rarity's love interest in the show. Here he's a deadbeat lover of Tabrella and Katie's baby daddy who ended up meeting his demise.

Oh yeah, and Billy Bob Cortland is definitely based off of Big Mac, Applejack's brother. He's an apple butcher. And Percy is based off of Rarity's cat, as well as being Tabrella's family Palisman.

For the musical numbers, we have always wanted to use "Prince Ali" from Aladdin for Emily for quite a while. It's something that we've thought of that regretfully didn't get to used for the Glandus War arc. Now this chapter has finally gave us to use it. I have been inspired by some of the lyrics in from the Team Rocket's Prince Ali version video. I've also wanted to include "Jolly Holiday" from Mary Poppins, but Buck thought it'd be too weird to have it without Julia showing up, hence which is why we threw her in and Alastor for fun.

Don't worry, the events that's happening throughout the week is still building up to how Emily rejoined the Emperor's Coven. The next chapter will focus on Boscha and her friends and then we will finally catch up to everything up to the end of Chapter 119.

Now for answering reviews:

Krypton Writes: It's not filler when you have more to tell than the limits canon can provide you.

Crash X Fusion: Adrian only knows that Belos is, or was a Clawthorne, but doesn't know that Belos was a human. Plus we really appreciate your drawings of the characters along with the logo.

The Great Fossil King: Nice name.

Franco Almiron: More to come, so and so.

Guest: 1) Soon. 2) Well right now they can't since well, Anne just got back home and for the time being she, Sasha, Sprig and Polly has to stay home for an amount of time.

Shuffollower: We plan to do a lot more before we get to the Hollow Mind events.

Ultimate-drax: Hope you like what we did to the latest deadbeat.

Spantidem7: Belos is still guilty of horrible crime like genocide, reviving a species only to have them tortured, enables horrible behavior among his covens and only does something to them if it benefits him. Belos is still evil. He's beyond well-intention extremist, remember he did broke his promise to Luz to keep the rebels safe, only to kill Rick and his friends in doing so. He's still a piece of racist-shit stain that hates Faes, lycans, Basilisks, or anything that isn't a witch.

1) We do plan on it.

2) They're distant cousins, remember that Clair is Cross's mom and that the Drakescales are a family branch of the Clawthornes.

3) No spoilers.

4) They're not at that point yet. And I do think you meant hurting Luz like stabbing her in the stomach and beating her up.

5) She already did in Glandus War Part 4.

6) Yes.

7) Perhaps.