For Manny, living in the Boiling Isles was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. It was thrilling because all his life, Manny had always yearned for there to be more than the humdrum world in which he lived. As a child, he'd been extremely religious. So had his father. He had decided to prove his devotion to God by hitting Manny every time he "sinned." Manny's faith took quite the tumble in the subsequent years, but he never quite lost it. Slowly, bit by bit, he regained it. Manny refused, in the core of his heart, to let a wicked man rob him of his faith. In his ironclad belief in the existence of God and the salvation that awaited him by following his teachings.

Manny carefully nurtured his faith until it became the bedrock of his existence. His desire for a world beyond the mundane manifested not just in the enrichment of his faith, but in a devoted love of science fiction and fantasy. It was that love that led him to his life partner, the woman who he was devoted to beyond all else, the lovely Camila. When he was exposed to the cruel realities of war, he didn't lose his faith in God, much to his surprise, though he certainly lost faith in the wisdom of quite a few high ranking individuals in the Pentagon. Though, granted, Manny's service in the Defense Intelligence Agency meant he didn't really see combat as often as some of his fellow soldiers.

Even learning of the Demon Realm hadn't diminished his faith. He knew very well the word demon was a product of the Church's determination to literally demonize the concept of daimons, spirits who could be as good or evil as humans, by changing the word to be associated solely with evil spirits. Thus, he didn't have the same hang-ups comparably religious people might have with dwelling in such a realm. The creatures there were no more evil than humans. Granted, that was not a high bar to climb.

Living in the Demon Realm was a positive delight. He was meeting creatures straight out of his favorite fantasy books, making friends and feeling honestly more comfortable in his own skin than he ever had back on Earth. It felt like a huge weight had somehow lifted off of his shoulders. He felt like a free, complete man. And, bonus, he wasn't going to die of a horrible disease anymore!

Even if he'd been dreadfully uncomfortable in the Demon Realm, it would have been more than worth it for the positive changes the Boiling Isles had brought to Luz alone. Manny had always felt so helpless and frustrated when Luz had troubles relating to her classmates. He knew very well that Luz had so much to offer. Anyone should have been honored to be her friend. But Luz hadn't quite figured out how to, well, tone things down a little, to be perfectly honest. She was a whirlwind of energy that never, ever seemed to slow down for anything.

All of this had been a huge problem for her in the Human Realm, but it would seem that Luz's overpowering personality was ideally suited for the Demon Realm. Luz was apparently one of the most popular students at Hexside now. Manny suspected a sizable chunk of this was because people were more interested in befriending a human than they were befriending Luz, but it could not be denied Luz had made two extremely strong and genuine friends, which was two more than she'd made back on Earth. Willow and Amity seemed extremely nice, though Amity was rough around the edges and her mother had apparently given Luz the shivers.

Manny was giving serious thought to the possibility of just…not returning to Earth. To staying in the Boiling Isles for the rest of his life. As a father, wasn't it his responsibility to do what was best for his daughter? If Luz wasn't meant for a life on Earth, maybe she was meant for a life in the Demon Realm. Maybe the way she'd blossomed there was a sign that should continue. But still, Manny did worry about the consequences of such an action. Luz didn't have magic. That wasn't so much of a problem for her now, since it was rare for her peers to have magic themselves at their age. But later, when they manifested magic and Luz didn't…she'd be left behind. He wasn't even sure she could be taught without magic.

The obvious solution seemed to be making a compromise between the two realms, to return to Earth but visit the Isles on a regular basis so Luz didn't have to give up her friends. For most people, that would be a no brainer. But not for Manny, because such a plan collided headfirst into the reason why Manny was terrified about being in the Boiling Isles.

After leaving the military, Manny got into DEEP. More specifically, he joined a top secret subdivision of the CIA called the Department of Extrasensory and Extraordinary Phenomena. DEEP investigated the paranormal, essentially. If Area 51 was a thing – and it really made Manny disappointed to learn it was not – they would be the ones operating it. DEEP was the descendent of the DIA's psychic research division. Started during the Cold War and known by many names, including the Stargate Project, the division was publicly shut down in 1995 because it was completely useless.

At least that was the story the public got told. In actuality, the division was transferred to the CIA under the auspices of Benedict Alexander. Alexander still led the organization to this day, a living fossil who'd spent the last fifty years trying to fight a war that was over thirty years ago. He was, to put it charitably, mad as a hatter. He believed ardently in the existence of paranormal phenomenon. The CIA would have put him to pasture long ago, but Alexander had blackmail material on just about everyone of any importance. It was said that if he released it all, the United States would immediately be at war with seventeen countries, including itself. As such, the powers that be had deemed it to be safer to just give him whatever he wanted and pray he didn't cause any deadly incidents that could be linked to them.

DEEP had never, in all its history, found the slightest shred of proof in the paranormal. It was honestly disappointing. Manny loved learning about all the things DEEP held under its purview and it was a crushing disappointment to learn that none of them were real. He had often thought about transferring to another department or maybe just leaving the government altogether and finding some job in the private sector. But there were a couple of things that prevented him. First and definitely foremost, Alexander may have been an unstable lunatic, but he was an unstable lunatic who paid well. Manny had Luz's college expenses to think about. And second, Manny saw it as his responsibility to contain Alexander and prevent him from unleashing his murderous impulses on unsuspecting citizens.

When Manny had been ordered to move to Gravesfield to investigate incidents that, in retrospect, had been caused by Eda, he hadn't expected anything to come of it. It was just another hoax, despite Alexander's adamant insistence that this was the one. These things had a tendency to build on themselves. But Gravesfield had a great school system and Luz had been struggling deeply back in Los Angeles, so Manny had gone along with the move anyway. Now, however, he knew the truth. He knew the Demon Realm was real.

And he also knew with absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the American government in general and especially Alexander specifically could never, ever learn of its existence. Manny loved his country with all his heart, but he was not blind to its flaws. If the government learned of another realm with valuable resources they could exploit, they would colonize it in a heartbeat. The carnage that would ensue would be incalculable. And that was assuming they just didn't decide to nuke the place once they found out it was a Demon Realm. So even if they kept the portal operating, every time they used it, every moment they spent on Earth in general with this secret put the Demon Realm at risk of discovery.

For now, Manny was taking a wait and see approach. They didn't even know if the potion was going to work. Eda still wasn't anywhere close to being able to brew it. For all Manny knew, the potion wouldn't work on humans and he'd be back to square one, dying of a horrible disease that would kill him in an excruciating manner. Manny had the whole summer to figure out what to do. With his diagnosis, there was no way anyone would get suspicious, not even the legendarily paranoid Alexander.

"Something on your mind, handsome?" Eda called out with a flirtatious wink. "You've been staring at that wall for the last ten minutes."

Manny couldn't help but blush a little. He didn't like the way Eda made him feel. Or, more precisely, he liked it a bit too much. He kept on getting butterflies in his stomach whenever she flirted with him, which she still did often, though thankfully not very much in front of Luz anymore. It was alarming, to say the least. Manny was fiercely devoted to Camila. The idea of cheating on her was impossible for him to parse. But Manny kept on thinking about what it would be like for Eda to kiss him. He felt deeply ashamed. It felt like a betrayal, even in his head. Eda was a stunningly beautiful woman with a unbeatable zest for life. If he was single, he would have made a move on her in a heartbeat. But he wasn't.

"Just thinking about what I'm gonna wear to the parent teacher conference," Manny lied. It was somewhat surreal, doing something so mundane in such a magical land. Manny loved it.

Hooty suddenly emerged from the door and got uncomfortably close to his face. Hooty was, to put it mildly, the coolest person Manny had ever met. He had so many fascinating anecdotes, his stories were absolutely enthralling, and he had wisdom beyond the ken of mere mortals. Outside of his family, Manny wasn't a very social person, but he gladly made an exception for Hooty.

"It's MAKEOVER TIME!" Hooty warbled.

"It's been nice knowing you," Eda muttered.

Manny cast her a disapproving look. He didn't like the disrespectful way she sometimes spoke to his best friend, like he was annoying for some reason. How could such an incredible person ever be thought of as annoying? "I'd be delighted for you to give me a makeover, Hooty. I really want to knock them dead tonight."

After rejecting a full suit of armor bristling with spikes that looked like something Sauron would have worn and explaining to Hooty he had, in fact, meant knocking them dead as a metaphor, Hooty did his literal and metaphorical magic. It took the better part of the afternoon, but by the time he was done, he looked better than he ever had before. His outfit was an adroit, beautiful blend of classic human and demonic fashion. Even Eda looked shocked. That'd teach her to doubt the wonderful fashionista that was her house demon.

"Well, suddenly I feel underdressed," Camila said upon seeing him, after she'd managed to pick her jaw off the floor. "I didn't know this was a formal event."

"Neither did I," Manny said with a grin. "Hooty just decided to go the extra mile, and since I look damn good, I went along with it."

"I'm a visionary, hoot hoot!" Hooty announced.

Camila tried her best to stifle laughter. "Maybe I should change into something fancy myself."

"Anything you wear looks fancy, mi amor," Manny said smoothly.

"Nice one, but I'm not going to let you upstage me," Camila said. She steeled herself. "Hooty, style me."

Hooty let out a high pitched scream of delight and proceeded to swallow her and then take her to parts unknown. Manny just shrugged and waited patiently on the couch for her to return. In the meantime, even Eda decided to change into a new outfit. It wasn't quite as fancy as Manny's, to be sure, but Manny had to admit (just to himself, of course) she looked quirkily charming in her brown blazer, slacks, red shirt, and yellow bow tie.

It turned out that Hooty's fashionista prowess was right on the money, because despite Camila having meant it as a joke, she was absolutely right about parent teacher night. It was actually the social event of the season. When the three of them showed up at the school, Manny was shocked to see that everyone was dressed up in clothes that wouldn't have been out of place at the Met Gala. If anything, the three of them were probably underdressed. Manny was glad Hooty had styled him. He would have looked ridiculous showing up in his original plan of jeans and a Cosmic Frontier: Subsequent Generation T-shirt.

"I can't believe this is such a big deal," Camila said. "It's a good thing we left Luz and King with Gilbert." Manny spotted Harvey in the crowd and gave him a wave. "They'd stand out like sore thumbs here." Indeed, all of the children who had been brought to parent teacher night were dressed up to the nines. Amity was standing next to two older children who must have been her siblings, looking absolutely miserable.

Eda found them a table, and by found, Manny meant blackmailed some random demon with a rhinoceros head into giving up his seat. Manny would have objected, but some of the things Eda had blackmailed him with sounded truly foul and he unquestionably deserved it. Eda leaned back in her chair with a contented smile on her face.

"Ah, parent teacher night," Eda said. "Nothing like a whole room full of marks to fleece. I think in honor of my human guests, I'll try to run some human style cons…"

"I'd really like to keep plausible deniability, Eda," Camila begged her. "Can't you do your conning another night?"

Eda scoffed. "When am I going to get another night like this." She looked around the room and then her eyes widened almost comically. "Oh, crap."

Manny peered over to where she was looking. He didn't see anything particularly strange. Two glasses-wearing witches, one with mint hair and the other with black hair, were sitting at a table, chattering away. If Manny had to take a stab at it, he'd guess the two of them were married or at least in a relationship. Did Eda owe them money or something?

"That's my ex," Eda whispered. "Raine Whispers, the enby with the mint hair."

"So…?"

"So they have a date," Eda said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Not only that, it's Perry Porter. Star reporter, great dad, total catch! I'm gonna look like such a loser next to them."

"Now, Eda, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being single," Camila told her.

Eda's eyes widened as Raine got up from the table. "Crap! They're coming here! Look, just go along with everything I say. Please. Do it for me!"

Raine walked over to them. They appeared genuinely delighted to see Eda. "Eda! Wow, I didn't know you had a kid."

"Uh, hi, Raine," Eda said, her cheeks blushing furiously. Manny pushed down a decidedly inappropriate spike of jealousy. The part of him that wanted to make those cheeks blush for him wouldn't get a say in anything, he vowed. "Yeah, uh, kid, well, I'm here cause my partners have a kid here!"

"Partners?" Camila practically shouted. Eda covered her mouth with her hand. Camila promptly licked it, but it took more than that to gross out a woman who dealt with trash slugs on a regular basis. Eda gave the most pleading eyes Manny had ever seen in his life, and he was Luz's father.

Camila winced and then wrapped an arm around Eda's shoulder. Manny did the same with a worrying lack of hesitation. "Yep. Manny and I, we're definitely with Eda."

"Yeah, this is my girlfriend Camila Noceda," Eda bragged. "And her husband, my boyfriend Manny." Manny tried his best, with very little success, to ignore the warm and fuzzy feeling hearing that he was Eda's boyfriend brought him. This, he realized, was going to be a problem.

If Eda's goal was to make Raine jealous, it didn't seem to be working. They seemed perfectly at ease. Whatever sparks had been in their relationship back in the day, they seemed to be entirely faded now on Raine's end. "It's a pleasure to meet you," they said, giving both Manny and Camila a firm handshake. "I've always hoped Eda would meet someone to settle down with. She's a heck of a lady. You lucked out with her."

"Yes…yes, we certainly did," Camila said with a weak smile.

"So how long have you been dating Perry?" Eda said, trying her best to affect a conversational tone.

Raine gave a fond grin at the very thought of their boyfriend. "Just a couple of months, but gosh, it seems like we've been together for much, much longer."

"I thought he was with Sonja. Didn't they have a kid together? Galadriel, I think her name was?"

"His name is Gus," Raine said patiently. "And I'm afraid Sonja is no longer with us. She looked into a painbow three years ago."

Eda seemed genuinely saddened to hear that. "Oh, man, that sucks. Sonja was a nice girl."

Camila raised a hand. "Sorry, but what the heck is a painbow? Is it like a rainbow?"

"Yep, but it turns you inside out when you look at it," Eda said, like it was just an ordinary part of life. Of course, in the Isles, it most likely was. "Well, uh, give Perry my regards." Raine went back to their table.

Eda gave a sigh. "Well, now I feel like a jerk. I can't believe Sonja's dead. I mean, I could probably count the number of conversations we had on our hands, but still, it makes you think."

A somber silence filled the room for a few moments. "Ah, well, life goes on!" Eda said, trying to try for a jovial tone. "Who's up for a game of Hexes Hold 'Em?"

"I think we need to have a discussion first," Camila said in a tone of voice that made Manny instinctively gulp, even though he wasn't on the receiving end of it for once. "Eda, you really stepped over a line here. To implicate us in…in such a relationship, it wasn't appropriate."

Eda tilted her head. "I don't get it."

"You know what I mean!" Camila said. Manny could tell she was wrong. "To say we were both cheating on each other with you, it's just…it's just not acceptable."

Eda scratched her head. "Wait, you don't have poly relationships in the Human Realm?"

"I thought that sort of thing only happened in fanfics," Camila said.

Manny shook his head. "It's uncommon, but not unheard of back home. But there's a lot of stigma around the concept, Eda."

Eda looked genuinely remorseful, an expression that was certainly a rarity to see on her. "Well, sorry about that, but it's pretty common here. I mean, just look around you." Now that Manny's attention had been drawn to it, he saw that Eda was actually right. A sizable portion of relationships among the parents did indeed appear to be polyamorous and no one was making even the slightest of fusses.

A daring grin appeared on Eda's face. "Besides, a part of you kind of liked it, didn't you?"

Camila's face blushed a brilliant scarlet and…wow, did that mean what Manny thought it did? Was it possible that – no! No, that was a silly idea. It was stupid to get his hopes up like that and he was going to shove those hopes down into the depths of his subconscious where they belonged. "Regardless, it was not appropriate of you to just pretend we were in a relationship with you without even asking first."

"Sorry about that," Eda said, not sounding especially sorry. "Hey, it's all over with. Now which one of you is gonna dance with me first?" Both Manny and Camila, in eerie sync, gave her a withering glare. "Yikes! Sorry I asked."

The festivities lasted through the better part of the evening, featuring, as Eda had indicated, a chance for elegant music and dancing. To their slight bewilderment, both Manny and Camila ended up succumbing to Eda's pleas to dance with her. Manny tried his best to ignore the fluttery feeling he got in his heart, but it was really getting harder and harder. He was going to have to talk things out with Camila eventually, he realized. It would have been unfair to her not to do it.

Eventually, they finally got to the actual parent teacher conferences. As Luz had told them, Phoebe was indeed a vampire, though quite unlike the portrayal of vampires in Earthly mythology, she was a sweet, caring individual who seemed the exact opposite of a bloodsucking monster. Phoebe clearly cared deeply about the welfare of her students and was filled with glowing reports of Luz.

"So she's not been…difficult for you to handle?" Camila said, sounding as if the idea wasn't computing for her. Manny suppressed a sigh. It wasn't often that Camila and he disagreed, but they'd always disagreed about who was the most responsible for Luz's difficulties with school. Camila believed it was Luz herself whereas Manny felt it was the neglectful and sometimes even hostile administration.

Phoebe blinked. "No? She's been a positive delight. Everyone in the class adores her. Sometimes, she finds it difficult to focus, but I believe that's because she has…hang on a sec, I've got it written down somewhere." She pulled out a notepad from a drawer. "ADHD, I believe you humans call it."

Camila looked a little gobsmacked. And no wonder. It was a chore in the Human Realm to get Luz's teachers to even believe she had ADHD, much less actually be inclined to do anything helpful about it. "Yes, actually. I'm surprised you know that."

"Ah, well, when I heard we were going to have a human student, I bought some human psychology books from the Owl Lady's stand," Phoebe explained. Manny's respect for her went up more than a few notches. "Say, is it true the two of you are in a triad with her?"

"Our relationship," Camila said haughtily, "is none of your concern."

Phoebe nodded. "I'm so sorry. I'm just an inveterate gossip! Anyway, I've prepared a list of accommodations that I thought might be helpful for her." She showed them the notepad. Camila's jaw was on the floor and Manny's wasn't far behind. It was almost identical to the list of accommodations they'd been planning on asking Phoebe for. Manny said almost because there were a few things on the list they hadn't even thought of!

"I mean, it's just a starting point," Phoebe said awkwardly. "If there's more you need, you just have to let me know. Principal Bump is very zealous about making sure everyone gets the disability accommodations they need."

Manny was stunned speechless. Every time Luz had a new teacher, every year, it was a shitstorm trying to get them to comply with Luz's IEP. Every time! The principal was barely of any help and they'd always had to threaten him with legal action to even get the barely. This was a total 180 from their usual experience. A part of him wondered what the catch was. (Of course, he knew the answer to that: the utterly barbaric detention system Manny had thankfully managed to opt Luz out of.)

"Um…hello?" Phoebe said, waving her hand in front of his face.

Camila cleared her throat. "Yes, right. This is very good! We just aren't used to such excellent treatment for our daughter. We haven't…had the best luck with such things."

"Wait…people in the human realm try to avoid giving people the accommodations they need to succeed?!" Phoebe said with a horrified look on her face. "That's simply monstrous! I mean, next you'll be telling me you have giraffes there!"

"Yeah, wouldn't that be wacky!" Eda said with a horribly nervous laugh. Manny had decided to bring her along in to help bring any cultural misunderstandings that might turn up and definitely not because her very presence made him feel all tingly. "So let's move on from that obviously silly idea, shall we?"

After some more small talk and discussion of what was coming up next in the curriculum, the parent teacher conference came to an end. The idea of staying in the Demon Realm was starting to look much, much more attractive to Manny now that he knew Luz was guaranteed to get an educational experience that was suited to her needs. But this wasn't the time to raise the subject. It had been a long evening and it was time for Manny to get some sleep.

Unfortunately, Manny's plans for a quiet night ended up shattering. While Eda was in the bathroom (or supposedly in the bathroom; he was pretty sure spray paint was not needed for such things), a towering man in a plague doctor mask stalked over to them.

"What the hell are you doing with her?!" the man thundered. "Don't you know she's a wanted criminal?"

Manny gulped. "Um…no?"

"I know that quite well! For I am Warden Wrath, head of the Conformatorium." Manny's hand reached casually towards his back pocket where he'd been keeping pepper spray. "And one day, Eda will be…my wife!" Manny just stared at Wrath, his movement towards the pepper spray entirely forgotten. It was hard to know what to say to such a ridiculous statement. "We're meant to be! One day, she'll fall in love with me and the two of us will rule over the Conformatorium with an iron fist!"

Camila's face tightened and her fists clenched. "Well, for your information, Eda is already in a committed relationship. With us. So back off!" Manny was surprised Camila was even willing to pretend to go along with Eda's bluff, but he couldn't say he was terribly displeased either.

"Well, then you're under arrest for consorting with a known criminal," Wrath said after a few seconds.

Manny laughed in his face. "Oh, yeah? You and what army? Beating up her partners is sure a good way to win her heart."

"We'll see about that," Wrath said and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs.

"Ah, Jared!" the voice of Principal Bump called out. Manny had never been so relieved to see a school administrator in his entire life. "Good to see you again! Tarquin is an absolute delight to have in our school, and I understand we'll be having young Braxas here in a few years, yes?"

Wrath turned to face Bump. "I'm a little busy here."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure, but I was actually wondering if I could prevail upon your expertise for helping enhance our detention pit," Bump said jovially. "You see, I don't think it's torturous enough."

Wrath's eyes would have assuredly lit up if they were visible behind his mask. "I have been thinking it's disgustingly lenient. The first thing I'd recommend is…" The two of them walked away. Manny breathed a huge sigh of relief.

It turned out that, as he had suspected, Wrath was nothing less than a creepy stalker who'd been menacing Eda since high school. She wasn't particularly worried about him, though. He'd arrested her on no less than five separate occasions, and she'd managed to break herself out each time. If anything, she thought it was funny how persistent he was. Manny was less inclined to think it was humorous. What if Luz got hurt the next time he came after Eda?

Manny didn't get much sleep that night, so worried was he about the conversation he was going to be having with Camila. He had no idea how she'd react to his disloyal thoughts and feelings. Best case scenario, she'd be feeling the same way and want to start a – what was it again? – polyamorous relationship with Eda. Worst case scenario, she'd be disgusted with Manny and want a divorce. Okay, that was unlikely. But it had to be addressed regardless. He was going to be spending the next few months living with a woman who he seemed to have a crush on and flirted with him regularly. The elephant in the room needed to be addressed under controlled circumstances, rather than at the absolute worst time possible.

Manny had convinced Eda to play catch with King to give him space to have the conversation with Camila. (Luz was still asleep.) It didn't take much convincing to get Eda out there playing with the demon who, despite her unconvincing denials, was undoubtedly her son. Manny watched with fondness from the kitchen window.

"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Manny?" Camila asked.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" Hooty screeched before Manny could say a single word.

Manny watched with horror as masked and robed soldiers – coven scouts, he recalled – emerged from the trees, led by Wrath who was certainly living up to his name by the looks of him. Hooty emerged from the door like a battering ram, but before he could do anything, one of the scouts scooped up King and held a knife to his throat.

Manny cursed his decision to leave all his guns back on Earth. Manny was an absolutely fabulous shot. He had tried to become a sniper back in the army, but had failed because he didn't have the right mentality for it. He was sure if he had a gun, he could shoot the scout before he cut King's throat. But in the end, Manny had decided to leave his guns behind because he was worried Luz would stumble upon them and accidentally shoot someone. A great decision in the moment. Not so much now.

"You've evaded me for long enough," Wrath snarled at Eda. "If I can't have you, then no one can! You'll be fed to the basilisks!"

"Aren't those extinct?" Eda said.

Wrath laughed maniacally. "That's exactly what we wanted you to think!"

Eda looked ready to fight, but then she took one look at the squirming, terrified looking King and all the fight went out of her. She just nodded and held out her arms. Wrath put handcuffs on her and dragged her off with no resistance. The scout tossed King in the direction of the Owl House. Soon all of them were gone.

Camila quickly opened the door and brought King into the house. "Are you gonna rescue my mom?" he asked with big, pleading eyes as Camila placed her on the couch and wrapped a blanket around him.

"I don't know if we have what it takes to do that…" Camila said, biting her nails nervously.

"Oh, we do," Manny assured her. "And we will."

Camila looked over at him in a panic. "Manny, you could die if we try to rescue her!"

"And if we don't, I will die," Manny reminded her. Camila didn't have a retort for that one, though he could tell she desperately wanted to. "Besides, it's the right thing to do. She'd do the same thing for us. Get the children to the Parks. I'm gonna stop by our house and pick up some weapons."

Camila sighed. The two of them had long pretended Manny's job was just pushing papers and Camila, for her part, had duly ignored all evidence to the contrary, such as the secret room in the house that was basically an armory. The time for such willful ignorance was past, alas. "Just…go before I change my mind."

Manny quickly went through the portal and ran back to the house, making sure he wasn't seen by anyone he knew in the process. He was supposed to be in the Dominican Republic after all. He scooped up at least half a dozen guns from the armory and stuffed them in a duffel bag. By the time he returned, Camila had returned from taking the kids to the Parks.

"I told Luz we were going to town to talk to a lawyer about getting Eda out of jail," Camila told him. "Is that a thing we can do? I mean, we're in a Demon Realm, right? It must have lawyers."

"I get the feeling Wrath considers himself a law to himself," Manny said grimly. He unzipped the duffel bag. Inside were two pistols, two sniper rifles, and three assault rifles. Camila took one of the pistols, looking sick to her stomach. Manny took an assault rifle and loaded it with the practiced confidence that only someone with an intimate familiarity with such weapons.

He looked over at Camila. "I know you probably have questions, but I can't answer any of them legally. It would be a felony. I'll do it if you ask, but please don't. It's not relevant. Yet. Though I'm starting to worry it might be in the future…"

"One thing at a time," Camila eventually decided. "I trust you, Manny. I always have." Manny beamed. However did he get so lucky to have such a wonderful woman in his life?

Camila, as it turned out, had very little idea of how to properly handle a gun. Her finger was continuously on the trigger, she pointed it every which way, and her hands were trembling so much that it was a wonder she didn't accidentally shoot someone. At least until she got to the Conformatorium and her finger finally slipped and she shot one of the guards guarding the front gate in the shoulder. The first guard took one look at his shoulder and then fainted. It was only years of professional training that prevented Manny from jumping into the air in total shock. Nonetheless, he pretended it had been deliberate and pointed his gun at the other guard.

The second guard dropped his weapons and took off his mask. He looked like an ordinary witch except for the horn growing out of the side of his head. Manny's stomach churned. It was just a kid. He may not have graduated from high school yet. "Don't hurt me!" he begged. "I'm not even a real guard! I'm just here on work experience. The name's Steve."

"Well, Steve, we're looking for Eda the Owl Lady," Camila said. Manny decided he would let her do all the talking because she looked way scarier right now. "She was arrested unjustly and we're going to free her."

Steve tilted his head. "She's…kind of a wanted fugitive, though? Not seeing the unjust part." Camila gave him a withering glare. Manny knew very well that Camila would never shoot a teenager on purpose, but she hadn't meant to shoot the other guard on purpose either. "Right, right, you're the one with the weird human weapon. Not sure where she is, though."

"Wrath mentioned feeding her to basilisks," Manny remembered.

"Never seen one of those around here. They're extinct, aren't they?" Manny just shrugged. "Well, if they're anywhere, they're in the basement. Only the highest ranking guards are allowed down there." He bent down and took a set of keys from the other guard. "Like this guy. You gonna let me go if I help you?" Camila nodded.

Steve led them inside the Conformatorium. He turned out to be extremely helpful. He stuffed the still unconscious guard into a closet and grabbed some spare guard uniforms for them. No one seemed to pay them the slightest amount of attention, even with Camila and Manny wielding human weapons. The whole operation was going swimmingly, and Manny didn't like that at all. One thing he'd learned in the army was that a smooth operation was generally a sign things were about to go FUBAR.

The three of them walked down the steep, narrow stairs leading to the basement. Screams and pleas and whimpers could be heard in the vast, echoey, and damp space. The whole thing gave Manny the shivers. He just hoped they weren't too late. He bet they weren't. Wrath seemed like the type to prolong Eda's suffering as long as possible.

Manny had gone down expecting horrible monsters that could kill you just by looking at you like the creatures from mythology, but as soon as they finally reached the basement proper, he discovered it wasn't the basilisks who were the monsters in this scenario. Each of them was in a cage. Some of them were defiant, roaring at the new arrivals. But most of them had a dull hopelessness to them. They'd been beaten down. All the fight had gone out of them. He could see it in their eyes (which, on the bright side, weren't fatal to him).

Then he turned a corner and things got a million times worse. All of the basilisks he'd seen so far had been adults, but this one was a child. If Manny's guess was right – and given the unfamiliar species involved, he readily admitted it might not be – then this poor innocent creature was no older than Luz! It made Manny furious.

"Hi?" a soft, feminine voice called out. Camila and Manny jumped. It had been the basilisk! Thank God she had holstered the gun. Manny's blood boiled. It had been bad enough before when he thought these creatures were mere animals, but this was a sentient being, a CHILD! "Are you gonna hurt me too?"

"No," Camila vowed firmly. Only the need to keep the basilisk calm was preventing her from screaming in rage, Manny knew. She snapped her fingers at Steve, who promptly unlocked the cage. "No one's ever going to hurt you again, sweetie. What's your name?"

"I'm Number Five," the basilisk said, as if that was a normal thing to say.

Camila grimaced. "Well, that's not a good name for such a strong girl like you. How about…?" She cast her eyes about wildly. She was not a very imaginative person, Manny knew. She would be hard pressed to come up with a good name. Finally, Camila's eyes hit upon the sign with the letter five in Roman numerals, V. "How about Vee?" she suggested weakly. "No, that's a stupid name…"

The newly rechristened Vee jumped up and down in her cage with excitement. "I love it! I'm Vee!"

"Well, then Vee it is," Manny said. "We're going to be taking you with us, honey. Would you like that?" He looked over at Camila, expecting her to have some objection, though only a token one, but Camila seemed to be in total agreement. "Excellent! Oh, you'll like it at the Owl House, Vee. You'll have your own bed and you won't have to be locked up anymore."

"Yay!" Vee said, clapping her hands. "I don't like it here. They make me hurt people. I don't like hurting people."

"We'll never do that," Manny vowed. A part of him wondered if he was seriously going to be adopting a snake creature now, but that part of him was drowned out by the part of him that was laser focused on the idea that Vee must be protected at all costs. In fact, it was so focused on protecting the adorable snek before him that he'd almost forgotten why they were there in the first place. "Do you know where they put Eda the Owl Lady?"

Vee directed them to one of the cages on the far side of the room where Eda was lying face down, unconscious. Despite her unconscious state, it looked like Wrath hadn't gotten along to torturing her yet. Manny tried to wake her up, to no avail. "Steve, are you gonna help me here?"

Manny was faintly surprised when Steve indeed walked over to him and carried Eda over to Camila. The two of them worked together to keep her upright. "I thought you were on their side," Camila said.

"Dude, these guys torture children," Steve said. "They can take this job and shove it! New career path for Steve!"

Manny couldn't help but be impressed with Steve's change of heart. Also a tiny bit suspicious, but he was a paranoid person by nature, so he dismissed it. "We need to let them all go."

"No," one of the other basilisks said. Number Four by the number on his cage. "If you let us all go, they'll never stop hunting us. But you can pretend Vee is dead and just sneak her out. They won't look for her anymore."

Manny really, really did not like the idea of leaving them behind, but Four had a point. Besides, even with their advanced weapons, they only had so many bullets and there were a lot of guards. If this turned into a battle, there was a decent chance they'd lose. Maybe they could do something about the basilisks through other channels. Wasn't Eda's ex's boyfriend a reporter? Maybe he could try to kick up a fuss. As Manny's fellow soldiers had often said, any battle you can walk away from was a victory.

While Camila and Steve carried Eda up the staircase, Manny held Vee close to him and listened as she gave quiet adorable, contented hissing sounds. She pretended to be dead, with her eyes closed, but Manny could practically sense the feeling of love and comfort and safety Vee was feeling right now. This was, he realized, the first time anyone had ever cared about her ever.

Unfortunately, as soon as they emerged from the door to the basement, their luck ran out. Wrath was standing before them with over a dozen guards. Camila shoved Eda into Steve's arms, drew her pistol and pointed it at Wrath with an unsteady hand. Manny did the same with his assault rifle, but with a rock solid grip.

"You think we're going to be intimidated by your human weapons?" Wrath said with a maniacal laugh. "Dream on!"

"You killed this poor innocent child!" Camila screamed at him. Manny was impressed. Eda's conning skills had clearly been rubbing off on her.

Manny could practically sense the sneer on Wrath's face. "Yeah, and what are you going to do about it? It's mine. Everything is mine if I want to own it. The Owl Lady, the basilisks! Heck, even your daughter would –"

Camila let out an animalistic cry of fury and shot Wrath in the head. It was not an accident this time. She had very deliberately shot him. Purple blood erupted outwards and the insane warden fell to the ground, almost certainly dead. "No one move another muscle!" Camila snarled at them. "Or you'll be next!"

A guard tried to charge them anyway. Manny put several bullets into his chest. The armor he was wearing was completely useless to prevent it. Manny didn't feel a shred of guilt. Now, anyway. Later would be a different story. But not much of one. The guard had, at best, condoned the torture of children and at worst participated. Every one of them, except Steve of course, was complicit in his eyes. "Anyone else want a piece of us?!" No one else wanted a piece of them. They stepped aside and let them all pass.

Well, in Manny's humble opinion, the rescue mission had gone extraordinarily well. They'd not only rescued Eda, they'd rescued an innocent child, killed a very evil man, set a wayward soul back on the right path, and hadn't taken a single casualty in the process. Of course, it could have gone quite badly if things had gone differently. If the guards hadn't been such cowards and chose to fight them, chances were good things wouldn't have ended well in the slightest.

Hooty turned out to have a solid knowledge of potions from his time with Eda and diagnosed her a being under a sleeping potion that would keep her unconscious for at least another sixteen hours. In the meantime, Camila and Manny had to figure out what to do about Vee. The two of them thought it over, trying to consider every single angle, but in the end, there was only one choice. There was no one who could look after Vee but them. Despite the nifty shapeshifting powers Vee had, if she was being raised by someone else in either realm, she ran the risk of discovery, which would be awful in both realms. If Alexander got his hands on Vee, she'd be right back in another cage.

So they brought Luz back to the house and explained they'd be looking after Vee from now on. Vee hid behind Camila's back, looking frightened. It was shocking how easy it had been to get used to the idea of thinking of Vee as another daughter. Manny couldn't explain it. He had taken one look at the basilisk and she had him wrapped around her fingers. Which, by the way, was still a strange thing for a snake to have.

"So, honey, I want you to treat Vee like she's your very own sister," Camila finished. "Do you think you can do that?"

Luz jumped up and down. "Are you kidding me?! I've always wanted a sister! Oh my gosh, Vee, we're gonna be best friends!" Vee gingerly stepped out from behind Camila and gave a tentative smile at Luz. Perhaps unconsciously, Vee shifted into Luz's form. They were absolutely identical. "AND TWINSIES!" Vee winced from the volume.

"Luz, can we talk to you for a moment in private?" Camila said. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

Vee looked worried for a few seconds, but nodded. She looked so shy and small and vulnerable and it took all of Manny's willpower not to just cuddle her forever.

"Luz, you remember when we watched Stranger Things?" Manny asked. Camila glared at him. She had not approved of Luz watching the show so young. "Well, Vee is like Eleven. She grew up in a laboratory too. Bad people hurt her. So things that you're okay with, like loud noises, will be very frightening to her. Do you think you can make her feel safe?"

Luz nodded solemnly. "I won't let you down, papi." She walked over to Vee. "Do you want to read a cool story? Amity showed it to me. It's called the Good Witch Azura."

"I don't know how to read," Vee said, simply, with no shame in her voice.

Luz, bless her heart, didn't miss a beat. "That's okay. I'll read to you! Everyone always says I do the best monster noises!"

The two sisters walked up the staircase. Manny watched over them with pride. It was a strange thing, having another child just like that. But it was right. He felt it in his heart. Vee was a Noceda now. And he'd fight for her right to remain one with his life.

"So what did you want to talk to me about earlier before all this started?" Camila asked.

In all the chaos, Manny had almost forgotten telling her about his crush on Eda. A part of him wanted to just set it aside. After all, they had a traumatized basilisk to look after now. But that was the coward's way out. "Eda has…well, I'm starting to maybe feel things for her."

"Me too," Camila confessed. Manny blinked. He knew, objectively, Camila was bisexual. She'd been pretty open about it from the start. But somehow, he'd never really thought about her actually getting a crush on a woman before, let alone the same woman he was crushing on! "But look, it doesn't mean anything."

"It doesn't?"

"Not if we don't want it to," Camila said firmly. "Look, things have been…confusing. We've had so many changes in our life – look at what happened today alone! And Eda's been a great friend and she's very, very attractive. But it's just a harmless crush. It doesn't mean we have to date her. These things fade."

Manny nodded, not feeling even a fraction of the confidence he was trying to show on his face. "Yeah, I mean, it's not like we lay awake at night thinking about her."

Later that night…

Manny and Camila shared a worried look, each of them instantly knowing what was going through the other's mind. "Uh-oh," they said simultaneously.

It wasn't enough, Philip Wittebane thought, that the inhabitants of this wretched realm were godless creatures of the devil who all had to be exterminated to the last individual. No, they were also total morons. The rescue team against Eda had been composed of two people. Plus a traitorous guard who he wasn't even going to bother going after because he'd be dead eventually anyway. It was only right, he decided, that all the guards at the Conformatorium would all get fed to the basilisks. After all, they certainly hadn't complained when they'd been feeding people to the basilisks. What right did they have to complain about getting eaten themselves?

The forensic analysis of the scene, however, was much more troubling than the usual level of incompetence he was used to. Oracle magic had indicated that humans had been involved. The Memory Mirror in the hands of whatever pawn was now in charge of the Illusion Coven – Philip could never remember their names – had confirmed it. Two humans had attacked the Conformatorium and killed Wrath with firearms far more advanced than the ones he remembered. One of the guns had fired out at least a dozen bullets in seconds, far, far more than any musket ever could.

And worst of all, the humans were not decent English folk like him but papist scum! Spaniards. Philip hated Spaniards. He would have used the Draining Spell against all of Spain if he could get away with it. The two Spaniards were not the only humans in the realm, though. They had a daughter. His spies in Hexside said her name was Luz. Philip could not help but recall the strange girl Luzura, who'd been accompanied by that hateable sorceress who'd broken his nose. Were they one and the same? He didn't know. But the humans were a serious concern. They had advanced weaponry. According to Odalia Blight, the male human worked in a governmental capacity, and he could think of only one Spanish government agency that would be interested in the Demon Realm.

Philip needed more information. Fortunately, he knew just the person to get it. Caleb – uh, Hunter, his loyal Golden Guard-to-be was young enough to infiltrate Hexside and spy on Luz. A few words of encouragement and Philip would get Hunter totally devoted to his task. Philip refused to be caught blindsided again.

It wouldn't do to not expect the Spanish Inquisition, after all.