Luz's attire in this story: A red sleeveless open hoodie/hoodie vest, black sports tank top that goes to her stomach, dark blue shorts, black leggings to her calves and black steel toed slip on sneakers.
Luz's Glyph Gloves: Wrist length grayish black gloves with a texture mix of paper and leather, smooth yet tough.
Light Glyph: Located on the palm, below the middle and ring fingers, center.
Fire Glyph: Located on the palm, in the area below the thumb.
Plant Glyph: Located on the palm, above the wrist at the base of the hand below the center of the palm.
Ice Glyph: Located on the palm, in the area between the thumb and pointer finger.
Power Glyph (symbol of Construction Coven): Located on the back of right hand.
Healing Glyph (symbol of the Healing Coven): Located on the back of left hand.
Invisibility Glyph: Located on the wrist of the left hand
Her Kickboxing stance: Fists in front of her face, knees slightly bent, right foot back and her left foot forward.
Eda's and Lilith's Glyph Gloves (1 each):Fingerless gloves that reach the forearm with the four glyphs down the center of the arm in the order of light, ice, plant, and fire.
Eda's Glove: Right hand.
Lilith's Glove: Left hand.
Luz Noceda, The Fighter Opening: Believe in Myself Cover By NateWantsToBattle (I do not own this song)
Luz stands before the cliff over the boiling sea next to the owl house, letting the wind blow through her hair and clothes.
Believe in myself
And my dream this world
It will never end
Luz lifted her hands up, looking at her glyph gloves before she clenched them into fists, gaining a looking of determination.
I'll chase it
I'll speed up!
Speed up!
She activated her fire glyphs and slammed her fists together in a flash!
I'm running faster
Chasing what's in front of me
Now I'll just believe in myself
Luz is now walking through Bonesborough, thinking of her life.
You light my fire
Your touch ignites
The flames in my heart
Makes me want to feel your emotion
Her life on Earth, lonely and full of anger with the only person by her side being her mother, Camila.
Whatever will be, will be
How our hearts are crashing waves
And our souls are vast like an ocean
Her life in the demon realm however, was full of adventures, close friends, and love with Eda, King, Gus, Willow, and Amity by her side.
With the strongest tides we'll drown our sorrows
In a dark void, Eda and Lilith side by side while facing a shadow silhouette of the owl beast, pointing their glyph gloves at it.
Take my hand and tell me
Are you ready to play fair?
Luz and the Golden Guard stood on the battlefield, ready to fight each other!
Believe in myself
And my dream this world
Luz blasted towards G.G., throwing a punch and a kick that he dodged before he jumped into the air.
It will never end
Golden Guard fired a barrage of red energy blasts at Luz, creating a smokescreen!
I'll chase it
I'll speed up!
Speed up!
Luz jumped from the smoke and punched at Golden Guard, clashing her fist against his staff!
Believe in myself
You're not alone now
A transparent silhouette of Luz was running as she passed by all the friends she made (Eda, King, Willow, Gus, the Blight twins, Boscha and her crew, the Human Appreciation Society, the dual track students, and Amity).
And our future is near
It's coming
Luz was now running past a line up of her enemies, the Emperor's Coven (including Kikimora and the Golden Guard).
Let's speed up!
Speed up!
The ultimate enemy rose like a giant, Belos, with his eyes glowing before lightning flashed before him.
I'm running faster
Chasing what's in front of me
Luz was back at the cliff near the owl house, sitting as she looked up to the moon before Amity walked up to her.
Now I'll just believe in myself
She sat down next to Luz before holding her hand, gazing at the moon with her.
SIDE NOTE: This chapter takes place after Multiverse Madness by Mr. Hardcor3 and I.
Inside the Emperor's Castle... nine people wearing cloaks entered the throne room. All of different heights and genders but all powerful witches beyond compare to anyone but themselves and Belos. They were the nine coven heads of the main nine covens.
They stood around a table in front of the Emperor. On his left was Kikimora, on his right, was The Golden Guard.
"Head witches of the nine covens, I would like to thank you all for attending his special meeting." Belos said to them. "The Day of Unity is approaching, and for your dedication and loyalty, I will show you what the fruits of your labor will be."
It's a wave of his hand, a fire pit grew in the middle of the table and ignited between the coven head with nine slots for each one of them. Seemingly knowing what to do, each coven head pulled out a small medallion that had their coven symbol on them and place them into the slots.
Their eyes glowed as they were shown a vision... the Titan. The very creature that gave them all life. It was... on Earth? It seemed that the Day of Unity was a unification of the realm, making the humans, witches, and demons live in harmony in one world as one united species. It was such a beautiful and glories day, one that could create a bright future for both words when they become one.
Belos watched from his throne, smiling under the mask as everything was coming together... until he felt immense pain in his chest. He grabbed his heart and started coughing.
"Emperor!" Kikimora said as she and Golden Guard went to his sides.
"That will be all for today, the Emperor needs his rest." He said, helping Belos stand up and lead him away.
Kikimora tried to follow but the Golden Guard waved her back.
"I'll handle this." He said to her.
The two went into a seperate room.
Once the doors were shut, the room filled with nothing important, Belos moved away from the Golden Guard as his chest tightened more and he began screaming in pain!
"Aaaaaa! ROOOOOAH!" He screamed then roared, his form changing into that of a beast as his second in command looked away.
Whatever state Belos was in, he began smashing his fists against a wall over and over as some kind of mud was left until he calmed down and returned to his original form.
Golden Guard handed him a palisman, which he snatched away and broke open.
The magic with in, a green mist, wafted from the palisman into Belos's nose as he took a deep breath.
"Aaaaah." He said in relief as the palisman turned to dust. "Another."
"I'm……afraid I can't. That palisman was the last one in our reserves." The Golden Guard said with caution.
Belos turned and started to walk away.
"Uncle, let me help." Golden Guard said.
"You can't help with this, Hunter." Belos said to him.
"But I've been studying some books on wild magic and if I can try a controlled-"
"It's too risky. You know that wild magic is dangerous, especially with what it did to our family." Belos said, looking back at Hunter.
"I know but I just……want to help. I don't want to lose you." Hunter said, looking down sadly.
"I just need more palismen." Belos said, walking to Hunter and putting his hands in his shoulders. "That is more safe than experimenting with Wild Magic. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes... I can do that." Hunter said with a nod.
Outside the door, Kikimora was listening, very easily earning her nickname and species, Gremlin. She smiled evilly under her collar and began to form a plan.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a certain human was in the backyard of the Owl House near her workout shack. Doing some little morning exercises before school started, nothing to strenuous so she could work up a nice sweat.
She was doing push-ups and was quickly approaching 50, when she was called by Eda.
"Hey, Kid, you ready?" Eda asked.
Pausing and looking up to her, Luz saw that Eda was standing at the back door while wearing a brown blazer.
"Oh yeah, I'm ready. Just need a quick drink of water." Luz said, getting up from the ground and rolling her
"Well, hurry up, today is a big day." Eda said, smiling at Luz. "It's Palisman Adoption Day."
"Palisman Adoption Day?" Luz asked.
"You heard me. I called in my favor to Bat Queen and arranged it with Bump! So you better come on and get dressed or else you'll be without one!" Eda said with a smirk. "And I KNOW how much you want one."
Within seconds, Luz rushed into the house and was at the front door.
"Come on, Eda, let's go!" Luz said, dressed and ready in her Hexside uniform.
"Holy shit, what is in your legs?" Eda asked in shock.
"A magic infused metal rod!" Luz said, pointing to her right leg.
Eda rolled her eyes, assuming it was a joke.
"Right." Eda said, walking forwards Luz. "And I'm the queen of Palismen."
Luz rolled her eyes at Eda's joke, not finding it funny in the slightest or finding it amusing.
At the school, everyone was on the grudgby field, standing before a sort of small fence structure,... except Amity.
"Hey, guys, you seen Amity?" Luz asked as she stood next to Gus and Willow.
"No, sorry, Luz." Willow said, shaking her head.
"I haven't seen her either." Gus said, shrugging.
Boscha nudged Luz.
"I heard she's staying home today, Teach." Boscha said.
"Stayed home? Is she sick?" Luz asked Boscha.
"Don't know. She just said it was for something important." Boscha said with a shrug.
"Huh, well that's upsetting." Luz said, frowning.
After a long, exhausting, and emotionally scarring adventure through several universes, Luz would've loved a nice and normal day at Hexside with all of her friends and girlfriend but it seemed fate just wouldn't let it be today.
Suddenly, with the air kicking up, the Bat Queen arrived, with a large nest in her feet before landing it in the fence. Soon after, Eda and Bump came walking up before the students.
"Good morning, students. Today is a very momentous day for Hexside." Bump said with a smile.
"Today, you get your palisman." Eda said, gesturing to Bump. "I've talked with Bumpy here and we've set up this for you to adopt your own palisman."
"This is a crucial step in your magical development as future witches. Palismen are not lifelong partners, they are both your best friends and most powerful tool. Such as my palisman." Bump said before snapping his fingers.
Suddenly, his hat came to life and jumped off his head to reveal that Bump had long, lucious black hair, a scar over his shiny brown right eye, and his left eye closed shut. Everyone but Eda gasped in awe of their principal's true appearance, not expecting such an old man to look so youthful.
"Holy fuck….." Luz muttered lowly.
"My palisman, Frewin, helps me see." Bump said as his palisman stood on his shoulder.
It was a imp-like creature with a spade-tipped tail and two horns on either side of his head, with a cat-like mouth showing two fangs and a dull blue tongue. His skin was dark purplish-red with paler spots circling his eyes. His eyes, originally thought to be Principal Bump's, are dull sea green, with pale yellow sclera.
"Normally, we would have you carve your own Palismen from special palistrom wood but it's endangered and under heavy guard." Eda said before looking to Bat Queen. "Which is why, with Bumpy's permission and a favor repaid, we bring to you-"
"Palisman Adoption Day!" Bat Queen said with glee.
The nest opened and several adorable palisman came out. The students began talking about them, mostly about how adorable they were.
"Who wants to go first?" Eda asked, gesturing to the palismen. Come up, and state your deepest desire."
As excited as they were, the students were also nervous about stepping forward for a palisman. What if one didn't choose them? What if their desire was foolish? So many questions and so many outcomes to think about.
"Awww! To Hex with it!" Boscha said, stepping forward and taking a breath. "My desire is to be the strongest witch around and to be the best grudgby player around!"
The bat queen chuckled.
"A competitive Spirit. Maya will be pleased."
A crab palisman, with its eyes on its claws, floated out and became a staff in Boscha's hands. Boscha blushed a little and smiled.
"Okay... this is pretty cool." Boscha said.
Everyone mumbled in agreement as Willow stepped forward next, kneeling before the fence and the Palismen.
"My desire is to be strong too but to use that power to protect my loved ones. MAYBE make my enemies feel my wrath too if they cross me." Willow said with a small smile.
'Hot.' Boscha thought, still blushing as she looked at Willow.
A kind yet dangerous soul... Clover will be perfect for you." Bat Queen said with a smile.
Flying up to Willow, a bee shaped palisman with a stinger for her nose. Buzzing with glee before transforming into a staff for Willow to catch.
"Wow! I'm gonna take good care of you." Willow said to her palisman.
Several more students came up and got palismen, each that went perfectly with them.
Gus got a blue chameleon with a large curled tail for wanting to study the human world, Viney got a tiny manticore for wanting to open a clinic mythical pets, Skara got a red cricket for wanting to be a musician better than even the Bard Coven Head, and Jerbo received a dog with a unicorn horn for his dream of creating a brand new species of plants.
And then there was Luz.
While her friends knew what they wanted for the future, she was still a bit confused on what she wanted for herself in the future. A pro kickboxer? A powerful witch? Or a mix of the two?
'Uh... guess I'll just pick one and go from there.' Luz thought as she walked forward.
"I want to be a witch." Luz said simply.
Everyone stopped speaking from this, looking at Luz in confusion from her somewhat lackluster answer.
"Um, okay but what kind of witch do you want to be, kid?" Eda asked her.
"There are many types of witches in the world. You must be more specific with your answer if you wish for a palisman to bond with you." Bump said to her.
Bat Queen didn't say anything as she studied Luz with calculated eyes, almost glaring at her.
'Her heart, it carries great conviction but also great hesitation.' She thought as Luz looked down at the palisman.
All different in shapes, sizes, and appearance. Just like everyone else in the world and all of their dreams, but……what was Luz's dream? What was her desire?
"I…….I don't know what kind of witch I want to be or what the future will hold for me. But I don't think that's a bad thing. There is still so much for me to learn and so much room for me to grow, I think becoming a witch could help me along the way but I don't think it will be the end." Luz said, speaking profoundly and wisely beyond her years.
"But... can you even do magic in the human realm?" Boscha asked, not trying to be rude, but actually curious.
This made Luz realize that she couldn't do magic in the human realm. She remembered from her adventure that her glyph gloves didn't on earth, even if it was an alternate version. What if the same applies on her Earth and applied to her palisman as well?
"I………I need some time to think." Luz said, standing up and walking away.
She wasn't in the mood for Palismen right now, she needed to think about her future more.
"Kid?" Eda said, before Luz sprinted away.
Luz ran all the way to the Owl House and grew angry.
"Ugh!" She let out, grabbing her hair! "What, did I think I could be a witch back in Connecticut!? My glyphs don't work in the human realm, it's highly unlikely that my leg works there too! I... UGH!"
Luz used her right leg and kicked a large stone and sent in flying into the sea.
"FUCK!" Luz screamed, her cruse word heard for miles.
Luz walked inside the Owl House and up to her room. She looked at the Echo mouse and laid in front of the tank.
"You got anything for me?" Luz asked.
The mouse just looked at her and tilted it's head.
"Guess not." She replied.
Luz rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling, sighing a bit before she decided to take a nap to try and clear her mind.
'At least things can't get any worse today.' Luz thought as she closed her eyes... and heard chirping.
"Huh?" Luz let out, opening her eyes.
She heard more chirping as she sat up, looking around for the source before seeing her bag moving and coming out out of it was a red cardinal with a scar over its right eye.
"Well, looks like someone slipped into my bag when I wasn't looking." Luz said, looking at the bird.
Luz recognized this cardinal, a palisman from school, and guessed it must've gotten into her bag before she ran off.
'No doubt Principal Bump and Bat Queen noticed he's run off by now. Better get him back before they panic.' Luz thought, getting up from the floor. 'But first, I need to get out of my uniform.'
"Okay, you, stay here." Luz said, pointing to the palisman. "Just... don't move."
The bird palisman simply tweeted to Luz, either agreeing or disagreeing with her order to simply stay in the room. She let out a sigh before going to her clothes and changing out of her uniform.
Rummaging through her clothes, Luz found a good outfit to sleep in and get this task done with before anything bad happened. Some nice black jogging pants and a red shirt. A quick change and she came back for the bird palisman and her witch wool cloak.
"Come on you, let's get you home." Luz said, picking up the palisman and walking out of her room.
As she was leaving, she noticed that Eda and King weren't home yet.
"Huh... weird." Luz said, "Probably robbing someone."
Luz opened the door and began to leave.
"Bye Luz!" Hooty said, inside of the front door. "Have fun like on your multiverse adventure!"
Luz froze in place and spun her head around, moving so fast it would've have given her whiplash like a car crash!
"How do you know about that?!" Luz shouted!
"All Hooty's of the multiverse are connected, we are creatures older than space and time, all holding the memories of each other... forever and ever!" Hooty said.
Luz stood there, stunned and scared, as Hooty got very close to her face. They stared at each other in silence.
"... Just kidding!" Hooty said, grinning jokingly. "You talk about it in your sleep! Hoot!"
Her stun and fear turned into annoyance and anger, making Luz flip off Hooty before she continued back to Hexside.
"Goddamnit, Hooty." Luz mumbled to herself as she shook her head.
'I also got to find a way to stop sleep talking.' Luz thought.
Thankfully, Eda and King are too heavy sleepers to hear her talking in her sleep.
After a long walk to the school, where day had turned to night, Luz and the palisman were back at the Grudgby field with the nest surrounded by a magic energy dome.
"Alright, now to find a way to get you inside." Luz said as she stopped over the small fence. "Maybe I could make an ice shovel and dig us a way under it?"
The palisman didn't tweet at her suggestion as he flapped down to the ground, walking up to the doom and pecking at it. Suddenly, the dome expanded brightly before shrinking and retracting to allow them inside.
"Or you could do that." Luz said with slight awe.
Luz watched the palisman hop inside, figuring she was done... but, there was just a small tingle of interest in the back of her head. A small part of her still wanted a palisman, forgetting the possibility of not working in the human world even if she didn't know it for sure. She still wanted to try and bond with one, even if she doesn't exactly know what she wants.
'A little peak inside won't hurt, right?' Luz thought, turning back to the nest.
She couldn't resist. She crawled through the opening and sat right in the middle of the palismen. This caught all of their attention, turning to Luz with curious eyes as she closed the door.
"I'm not going to try to bond with one of you, I just need to rest a bit before heading back home. I figured it was better to be warm inside than cold outside." Luz said, crossing her eyes as she closed her eyes to think. "Just pretend I'm not here."
Luz didn't realize how tired she was, because shortly after she closed her eyes, she was asleep. The Palismen began getting the same idea as they all began to fall asleep as well, the only sound being Luz lightly snoring which was actually pretty calming to them.
Unfortunately, that got disrupted as the entire nest shook. It woke Luz and she threw a punch out of reflex. Thankfully she didn't hit anything.
"What was that?" Luz asked, looking around before feeling another shake! "What the fuck is going?!"
Standing up with a crouch, Luz moved to the door of the nest and opened it only to see the nest was miles in the air!
"Oh fuck!" Luz said, before looking up and seeing a ship.
A ship with the Emperor's Coven symbol right on top! This wasn't just a random kidnapping, it was a mission to steal the palisman to feed Belos! And there was no way Luz was going to stand for that.
"All of you, stay here where it's safe." Luz said to the Palismen. "I'm going to turn this ship around."
Tapping the power glyph on her right glove, Luz gained a boost in strength and climbed out of the nest before shutting the door. She continued to climb up the claw that had the nest in its grip until she reached the body of the air ship, looking to see only one person was doing this! A person Luz was more than familiar with, the Golden Guard.
"Ugh, him again." Luz said, climbing on to the ship.
Luz kept low to the ground, approaching him as quietly as she could while forming a ball of plant vines in her hands.
'I'm going to enjoy this.' Luz thought, smirking a bit.
Once she was close enough, Luz grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him away from the stirring wheel!
"Whoa!" He let out before Luz slammed his stomach with the plant ball to send him tumbling back.
"Gotcha." Luz said, smirking,
"Human?! What are you doing here?!" He asked, raising his staff before noticing the plant ball. "And what is this?!"
'And three, two, one…' Luz thought as he grabbed it, making it explode and wrap him up tightly in a bundle of vines!
"Ugh!" He grunted, falling to the floor!
"That was too easy." Luz said.
Luz turned to the controls and began looking around, wondering what she needed to do to make the ship turn around or at least land.
'Damn, maybe there's a user's manual around here or something.' Luz thought before looking around the console for the manual.
"Uh, maybe this?" Luz said, looking down at a cabinet.
She opened a small cabinet under the panel, taking her eyes off the Golden Guard as he was struggling to use his staff.
'Tie me up will you?!' He thought, teleporting out of the vines and appearing behind Luz.
"Finally found it." Luz said, pulling out a manual as she stood up. "Now to find out how to stop this thing."
"Oh, I don't think you'll be needing that." Golden Guard said, making Luz go stiff.
"Goddamnit." She mumbled.
It wasn't long until Luz was tied up and thrown to the ground.
"There, now after I get this mission done, I'll take you to the conformitorium." Golden Guard said.
"I've broken in AND out of there, numerous times." Luz said, not afraid of the threat.
"Then I guess I'll just vaporize you and toss your ashes into the boiling sea." He said, poking Luz with his staff a bit.
"Okay, that's a better threat." Luz said, actually impressed by the threat.
"Darn right it is. So sit back, be quiet, and enjoy your last ride." G.G. said, walking back to the controls of the ship.
Luz looked at the floor and saw a bit of dust. Her hands may be tied up, but her feet weren't. She began to use her heel and drew in it.
"Say, how did you get free?" Luz asked.
"Staff, duh." Golden Guard said.
"Thought so." Luz said, before slamming her left foot down on the ice glyph she drew.
An ice spike sprang from the floor and knocked the staff out of the ship!
"NO!" G.G. shouted, reaching for it but couldn't stop it.
"Hehehehehe. Looks like you're gonna need a new magic stick, too bad it's not a palisman." Luz said with a smirk.
"Grrr! If you think that will stop me, you have another think coming, human!" G.G. said as he pointed to Luz. "A coven scout is already prepared."
Wanting to test this, Luz stood up with ease and bounced on her feet.
"Bring it on then, I can kick your ass all the way around the world if I wanted." Luz said, readying her right leg.
As the two of them were about to fight, hand to feet, something shook the ship as they both stumbled to the sides!
"What the heck?!" Luz asked in shock, looking at the Golden Guard. "What did you do?!"
"This isn't me!" He replied before seeing a glimpse of some sort of beast on top of the ship! "What is that?!"
The beast bit into the balloon.
"Whatever it is just destroyed the ship!" Luz said, grabbing the railing with her leg! "Brace yourself! We're going down!"
"WAAAAH!" The Golden Guard screamed as the ship and the palisman nest crashed to the ground.
Darkness was all that could be seen as Luz was sent out from the ship, knocked unconscious for who knows long until something was pecking at her head!
"Huh?" Luz let out, opening her eyes as the pecking continued hitting her forehead. "Hey, knock it off!"
She opened her eyes and saw the cardinal palisman.
"Oh, it you." Luz said, "Where-"
Luz heard the beast again and jumped over a fallen tree to hide behind.
She looked over the the tree and saw the beast sniffing around, looking through the wreckage before finding a piece of the Golden Guard's armor and eating it.
'So this thing's just hungry?' Luz thought as the bird pecked her ropes and freed her. 'But if it just wants a golden snack, where is that golden prick?'
Luz found the golden guards staff and grabbed it. She slowly walked away from the beast and found the body of the golden guard.
'Wait, is that... HUNTER!?' Luz thought.
Lo and behold, the person she was seeing was her universe's version of Hunter. A good person from the universes she saw with a connection to Belos, a witch that just needed to be put on the right path or else something horrible could happen to him. Like getting eaten by some crazy beast.
'I gotta get him out of here!' Luz thought before walking to Hunter and shaking him.
"Hey, wake up." She said carefully and quietly.
After a good ten seconds she let out an annoyed breath from her nose. She raised her hand and slapped him, hard, across the face.
"Wake up!" Luz shouted.
"Ugh!" He let out, shooting up to look around before seeing Luz. "Yo-"
Luz quickly covered his mouth and gesturing to the beast the brought down the ship.
"Look, I don't have time to explain but listen. You need to trust me and we need to get out of here before that thing finds us." Luz said before feeling something wet on her hand. "Dude, are you licking my hand? You do know I can use magic with these, so you might want to watch where your tongue hits."
Luz grabbed him by the hair and began pulling him away from beast.
"Ugh!" Hunter grunted, his cape falling off as the beast heard this.
It can over to where they once were and found the cape, licking its lips and eating the cape. They made it away from the beast, but just enough so they could see what was happening.
Among the other wreckage of the ship, a group of coven scouts was looking over the nest and seeing it was in good condition. They even checked inside to see the Palismen were safe too, unaware that one of them were missing.
"Everything is accounted for, Kikimora!" A scout said to the leader.
"Excellent." Kikimora said with a nod. "And the golden guard?"
"We... don't think he survived the crash." The scout said.
"Explain." Kikimora said but she was smirking under her collar.
"We…….could only find his helmet. Nothing else." The scout said as another cam up and presented the helmet. "We can only assume the worst."
"Oh, how tragic." Kikimora said with clear sarcasm. "I guess I'll have to deliver these palisman myself."
"And the news to Emperor Belos as well?" The scout asked as Kikimora took the mask.
"Naturally. It will be hard but someone must." Kikimora said as she held the helmet. "Return to the outpost and prepare the nest for transfer."
"Yes, Kikimora!" The scouts said, saluting her before rushing off.
Hunter started sputtering, in complete and total shock from what he just saw and what he just heard!
"Kikimora! What did I do to her to make her want to kill me!?" Hunter said.
"I don't know but maybe we can find out later." Luz said softly, watching Kikimora pull out a strange, finger shaped whistle and blew into it.
A few seconds passed before the beast the brought the ship down came to her, revealing itself to be some sort of dragon made of hands and fingers!
"Excellent work, girl. Now track down the rest of him and you can have a nice, big reward for your work." Kikimora said, feeding the finger dragon the helmet and patting its snout. "Who's my little baby? You are. Yes you are!"
"Come on, let's get out of here." Luz said, before noticing Hunter still staring. "Hunter, come on!"
Grabbing him by the hair again, Luz dragged him away from away from the scene.
"H-h-how do you know my name?" Hunter said.
"That's not important, and you probably wouldn't believe me anyways." Luz retorted.
"Try me!" Hunter said to her.
Luz ignored him as she kept moving, looking around for any form a civilization nearby. If Kikimora said something about an outpost, then they must be a town around here somewhere.
"Hey, is there a town nearby?" Luz asked him.
Hunter slapped her hand off him, releasing his hair.
"I shouldn't even be talking to you!" Hunter said, pointing to Luz. "You attacked me and therefore you are under arrest for assaulting a coven official!"
"You were stealing palismen." Luz said to him.
"Palismen made from dangerous wild magic! It was my duty to take them before they fell into the wrong hands!" Hunter said to her.
'Belos IS the wrong hands!' Luz thought getting angry at how blind Hunter was before calming down.
This was something she couldn't push, he had to learn the truth on his own. Still, she needed him to take her to the nearest outpost so she could save the palismen.
"Okay, fine. So if you were to arrest me, just where could you take me?" Luz asked him.
"Quiet." Hunter said, taking the lead.
Following his lead and "letting" him capture her, Luz followed hunter through magical woods towards a town called "Latissa."
'Well, this place looks nice.' Luz thought.
Obviously being sarcastic since the town looked like a lawless place full of criminals and low life dealers of all sorts of shady things. It honestly surprised Luz that there was even an Emperor's Coven outpost in this town. Speaking of which, the duo has arrived at already as Hunter walked up to the guards.
"Excuse me, I'm in need of aid." Official coven business." Hunter said before showing his coven sigil to them.
"Coven business, huh? What's your member number, kid?" A guard asked.
"The Golden Guard himself, Belos's right hand witch." Hunter said to them.
Processing his words for a moment, the two guards look at each other before coming to a similar conclusion. Laughing. The guards just laughed.
"Yeah, right." A guard said, not believing him.
Hunter growled and turned to Luz.
"Staff." He demanded.
Luz just looked at the staff in her hand and smirked. She put it behind her back. And to add insult to injury, she used the invisibility glyph on her left glove to make the staff vanish into thin air as well while she held her breath. The guards didn't seem to notice as Hunter looked shocked at this.
"Hehehe, nice joke, kid. The temporary tattoo was a nice touch too but you need to get home before we arrest you for juvenile disturbance." One guard said.
Luz was trying to not laugh, before Hunter turned to her and glared. Luz started to slowly step back, before breaking into a sprint.
"Later!" Luz shouted, taking a breath as the staff was visible again!
"Get back here!" Hunter shouted, running after her!
They ran all through Latissa, disturbing the people and causing a bit of trouble before Luz seemingly ran into a dead end but she didn't seem to care. Luz was enjoying this.
"Try and keep up, Golden Guard." Luz said, before slamming her hand down and making a pillar of ice to launch herself upwards.
She landed on the roof of the building and gazed down at Hunter, who caught up with her and gazed at her from below. She taunted him to come up to her, wanting to see what kind of skill or spell he would use to propel himself up to her.
"Come on, Hunter, show me what Belos' right hand can do." Luz said.
Hunter just crossed his arms and looked down. Luz realized something... she never saw any Hunter perform magic without a staff.
"Can... can you not do magic without this?" Luz asked.
He sent a glare up to Luz before he turned to walk away, confusing her before he turned back around and ran to the wall. Using impressive parkour, Hunter jumped and climbed up the walls to get to the roof without touching the ice spike once. Luz actually whistles as she was greatly impressed by his skills.
"Damn, you ARE good." Luz said to him.
"Not that o card for your opinion but thank you. Now, my staff." Hunter said, glaring at Luz as he caught his breath.
"You want it? You'll have to take it from me." Luz said, handing the cardinal palisman the staff, "Come on, I've been itching for a fight."
Hunter glared at the palisman as it flew back, landing on the edge of the roof with the staff in its feet.
'Titan damn palisman!' Hunter thought before glaring at Luz.
"Fine but when I beat you, I'm going to throw you into the deepest dungeon I can find!" Hunter said, putting his fists up as he squared his shoulders.
"Keep saying that, it'll only make beating you all the sweeter." Luz said, assuming her kickboxing stance. "Go ahead, take the first swing."
Hunter ran at Luz and she dodged it, using her left leg and delivered a strong kick to Hunter's side.
"Ugh!" He grunted in pain and stumbled back.
"Come on, Hunty. You can do better than that." Luz said with a teasing smirk.
Hunter growled and charged at her again. Luz planned on doing a judo flip, but when she did, he managed to land on his feet and held onto Luz's arm. He tossed her to the ground.
"Ugh!" Luz let out as she rolled back up. "Not bad."
"I've been training my whole life to reach the rank of Golden Guard, you surprised me last time but you won't get me again!" Hunter said to her.
Luz got into her stance again and gestured for him to come at her.
"We'll see about that." Luz said, not using her glyph gloves to make this a fair fight.
It had been a while since she really had a challenge without magic and she was going to enjoy every moment of this.
The two of them charged at each other. Hunter threw a punch, but Luz dodged it, which made Hunter retaliate with a spin kick in order to take Luz off her legs, but when his leg hit her right leg, it felt like kicking a tree.
'What the heck is her leg made of?!' Hunter thought as Luz punched him in the face!
She continued with three more jabs, a kick to the knee, and a knee to his stomach of make him stumble back!
'Let's see him stop this!' Luz thought, jumping up and going for a flying axe kick!
Hunter rolled out of the way and over to his staff. He reached for it, only for Luz to use the Plant Glyph on her glove to raise the staff into the air.
"No, no magic in this battle." Luz said.
"What do you call what you just did?" Hunter asked.
"Keeping the playing field even." Luz replied.
She flicked her wrist to throw the staff back the the palisman, which caught it and flew to the other side of the roof.
"Now, where were we?" Luz asked, gesturing him to come at her.
"Urgh! Quite wasting my time!" Hunter shouted, charging at her with wild swings.
Luz dodged them continuously before blocking work her left arm, spinning around and elbowing Hunter in the stomach! As he groaned, Luz span back around to kick him off his feet and punch him in the face to force him to the roof floor!
"Stay down!" Luz said.
"No!" Hunter said.
'Why did I get stuck with the stubborn Hunter?' Luz thought.
Luz back away as Hunter kicked himself up, rushing back at her with various jabs and kicks that she dodged or deflected.
'He really is trained but they're not refined enough.' Luz thought ducking a punch and deflecting a kick before punching Hunter's chest. 'I can read them all like a book!'
"You have skill, but you're predictable." Luz said, blocking a kick and pushing Hunter back. "Join my class and you can learn a thing or two."
"Join you? Never!" Hunter shouted.
He threw a punch and Luz caught the arm and took him to the ground, putting him in an arm bar. It was hard to get out of a submission hold she put before the metal rod in her leg, with it in there, it's near impossible now.
"Yield!" Luz said to him.
"Never!" Hunter said, trying to get out of it.
Luz was ready to cause more pain when a noise caught her attention. This caused Luz to turn to the side and noticed the coven station was in view and the large finger dragon was landing with the nest. Suddenly, she remembered exactly why she was here and quickly came up with a plan.
"Damn it." Luz said, looking back to Hunter. "I need to get down there."
"And do what? In case you forgot, that's a building filled with Coven Guards, make one wrong move and you will be surrounded... and I certainly won't help if you get arrested." Hunter said.
"Then would you help me if it meant you can get Kikimora back for trying to kill you and take the palismen?" Luz asked as Hunter blinked at this.
It was HIS mission to claim the palismen and she attacked him, just so she could gain favor with Belos and kill him for no reason.
"That would mean betraying the emperor." Hunter said, shaking his head. "I can't do that."
The palisman landed on Luz's shoulder and she realized something... she's seen this palisman before.
"I traveled through dimensions." Luz said, revealing how she knows him. "I saw several different version of you doing these amazing things, not because someone told you too, but because it was the right thing to do. I saw you do it with this palisman... so I'm want to know, are you like those other versions of you that are willing to do anything help others, or are you just a person that will do as their told, regardless if it results in the death of dozens of innocent creatures?"
Letting him go and moving away, Luz rose to her feet as Hunter looked up to her. Her eyes showed nothing but truth and conviction, making Hunter's faith in Belos waver a bit. If she was telling the truth………would he really be doing the right thing by helping her?
"So let me ask... who am I talking to? The Golden Guard... or Hunter?" Luz asked, holding out a hand.
"…………..Hunter." Hunter said, grabbing her hand t get up. "I don't entire believe you but I trust you. I don't know how but I do trust you."
"Well, don't get it wrong, the feeling is mutual." Luz pulled him close, "But if you break my trust in any way, shape, or form... I will show you why you weren't able to kick my feet out from under me. Got it?"
Hunter suddenly found himself shivering in fear, seeing Luz's glare and the conviction behind it. Almost like she was beyond him, not in years but in strength, will, and determination!
"U-Understood." Hunter said with a nod.
"Good. Now I've got a plan." Luz said, smiling a bit.
A few minutes later, Hunter returned with a flower.
He wondered why he was just told to go find sleeping nettle but he didn't want to question Luz, mainly because he fired her leg and he didn't have any kind magic without his staff to fight back with.
"Here's the flowers you asked for." He said before pulling out said flowers. "Sleeping nettles."
While Hunter got the sleeping nettles, Luz was using her glyph gloves to burn a special glyph combination into the wall of building. A large circle connecting a fire glyph and an ice glyph with a small hole in the center at the bottom.
"Great, I'm just about done." Luz said.
"So, what is this going to do?" He asked, looking at the glyph combo.
"Well, after discovering the glyphs and reading a few books on wild magic, I discovered with some slight alterations a new spell could be made. With my gloves, I create water with the ice and fire glyphs but with this combination, I should be able to create a mist like steam to fill the area." Luz said before looking to Hunter. "The sleeping nettles you found-"
"Will be filtered into the mist and cause everyone to fall asleep, allowing us to retake the Palismen nest." Hunter said, figuring it out with a grin as he handled Luz the flowers. "You know, I actually read something like this in some old texts myself."
"Really? You study wild magic?" Luz asked, taking the flowers and putting them in the slot.
"It's uh… just a hobby." Hunter replied, looking away.
"Okay but I thought it was illegal?" Luz asked him as they sat down.
"Well, I'm allowed to study it for personal reasons. Reasons……as to why I can't use magic without that staff." Hunter said, flicking some dirt off his gloves. "From what my uncle has told me, our family was cursed by wild magic and haven't be able to do it for generations. I honestly thought I wouldn't have a place in a world like this until I was brought into the coven and was given a staff with artificial magic."
"Artificial magic? That's a thing?" Luz asked in surprise.
"Yep, it's the only way I can do magic." Hunter said while Luz looked at the cardinal.
'Not for long if what I think is going to happen is going to happen.' She thought.
"From that point, I have trained to become the Emperor's Golden Guard and right hand witch." Hunter said, looking away. "All in the name of the Titan as he would say."
Luz sighed a bit, looking away as Hunter already had a path laid out for him. A wrong path but a path none the less, unlike her.
"At least you know a future for yourself right now." Luz mumbled.
"At least you can choose a future for yourself." Hunter replied.
Before Luz could respond, there was a roar. Both her and Hunter turned to see Kikimora preparing to fly off with the palisman nest. It was time for them to put their plan into action or else they'll lose the nest for good.
"Let's get ready. You got the masks too?" Luz asked him.
"Right here." Hunter said, pulling out two facial masks to cover their noses and mouths.
Which they both put on.
"Alright, it's nap time." Luz said, pressing the glyph combo.
Right as the finger dragon took flight, the blue mist began to fog up the area and slowly cause the coven members to all fall asleep.
"It's working. Now we just need to get to the dragon." Hunter said, pointing to the dragon and Kikimora.
"I know and you're gonna get us there." Luz said, handing Hunter back his artificial staff. "Just remember what I said, are you the Golden Guard or are you Hunter?"
Hunter nodded as he took the staff. They both climbed on the staff and flew after the dragon as the cardinal flew after them, watching the dragon waver in the air because of sleeping mist.
'Why do I feel so tired all of a sudden?' Kikimora thought, rubbing her eye as she felt the mist's effect as well.
Luz watched closely as she began counting down in her mind, the sleeping mist taking full effect soon.
'In three... two... one.' She thought.
The dragon began to fall to the ground.
"Down it goes." Luz said as they saw Kikimora and the dragon fall.
Kikimora tried her best to make her dragon fly but he was too tired to listen. Soon they crashed, knocking Kikimora from the dragon as it laid on the ground and the palisman nest still in its claws.
Hunter and Luz flew down on Hunter's staff, where Luz immediately hopped off and ran to check on the Palismen inside the nest.
"Okay, you guys don't look harmed." Luz said before a bright glow was pointed at her from behind, making her sigh. "I should've guessed."
Luz turned around, seeing Hunter there with his staff pointed at her.
"Do you really want to do this?" Luz asked, not afraid of the staff. "Result in the slaughter of all these innocent creatures? I know there's good in you, I've seen it! I've seen you fight to protect people, with a palisman by your side!...But I guess I was wrong, you'll always be the Golden Guard."
Hunter's eyes lowered and his staff did as well.
"I never saw you or the nest." He said, turning around to look away from Luz.
Luz was slightly surprised by this but quickly smiled as her theory was proven right. This Hunter was a good person, he just needed a push in the right direction.
"Look out!" Hunter said, quickly blocking a random magic bolt from hitting Luz.
Apparently, Kikimora was still awake even after the fall and she could "see" the two of them near her prize.
"I can't see you but I know you're here!" Kikimora said, firing more random magic bolts around the area.
Luz was about to rush in and punt the bitch like a football, but Hunter put a hand up.
"You get out of here, I'll deal with her!" He said.
But!-" Luz couldn't say anything else as Hunter teleport rushed to Kikimora, dodging and fighting her as she watched them fight.
'How am I going to get the nest out of here? I can live it with my power glyph but how am I gonna get it all the way back it Hexside?' Luz thought before remembering Kikimora's dragon and the whistle she used to summon it! 'That's it!'
"I need her whistle!" Luz shouted to Hunter!
Nodding and teleporting to her back, Hunter kicked her towards Luz as the whistle snapped away from the imp's neck. Allowing Luz to catch it in her right hand.
"Thanks!" Luz said before rushing to the dragon, climbing in the seat as she brought the up whistle. "Alright big guy, let's see if you obey my commands."
Taking a deep breath, Luz blew into the whistle and awoke the finger dragon from the sleep mist. Opening its eyes, took dragon took off into the sky with the nest in its grip.
Luz took the reins to try and stir, looking back to see Hunter and Kikimora still fighting, but also seeing the cardinal palisman watching from from a tree.
'What happens now, it's up to fate. Even if Eda says fate is just coincidence.' She thought before focusing on flying the dragon.
She flew all the way back to Hexside and dropped the nest off, the nest got its barrier back and Luz looked around.
"I should get out of here before anyone sees me." Luz mumbled.
She looked over to the finger dragon and saw it fall asleep a few moments later, collapsing against the bleachers of the grudgby field.
"You………I think I'll just let you rest for a while." Luz said before pulling out its finger shaped whistle. "But I may keep this, just to be safe."
She quickly put it in her pocket and ran out of the field to the owl house, ignoring the rising sun that was shining in her face as it just occurred to her how long she had been gone.
'When I get back, I'm going to be sleeping until 3.' Luz thought, running as fast as she can.
After about 20 minutes of running, Luz made it back to the owl house and slowed down to a walk before she opened the door. Hooty was just snoring away until she shut the door.
"Huh?!" He let out, looking around before falling back asleep. "Must've just been my imagination."
Meanwhile, Luz trudged up the steps before kicking the her room door open.
"Home sweet home." Luz muttered, removing her witch's wool cloak and glyph gloves as she walked to her sleeping bag.
She face planted into the pillow and was asleep in seconds... until the window opened.
"Rise and Shine kid!" Eda said.
"We could've used the door!" King said.
Luz groaned.
"Fuck off." She said, too exhausted for this.
"Oh, is that any way to talk to someone trying to give you a gift?" Eda asked with a smile.
Luz groaned again as she rolled over, looking up to see Eda and King in her windowsill. They both look roughed up with leaves around their bodies like they fell into a bush or through a tree.
"What's the gift and why are you both covered in leaves?" Luz asked.
"We got a generous donation from the Boiling Isles Nature Society-"
"We robbed them!" King said, like it was no big deal.
"Hush, you." Eda said to him before looking back at Luz. "Anyway, we got you a bit of... this!"
She tossed a blue log into Luz's lap. Luz stared at it for a moment before she sat up, holding it in her hands.
"You got me wood?" Luz asked, unimpressed.
"That's not just any wood, kid. It's PALISTROM wood. Remember from yesterday?" Eda asked Luz, tapping her head. "All palismen are carved from it before the trees became endangered. Since none of the palisman bonded with you, I made the parental decision that you can carve your own!"
"Make……my own?" Luz asked, looking at log in her lap. "Carve a palisman myself?"
"Yep. I'll even teach you how myself, like my dad taught me." Eda said, still smiling at Luz.
"Thanks...but I'm a bit tired, so I think I'm just going to go to sleep. Think about this later." Luz said.
"Well, enjoy your rest kid." Eda said, climbing down.
"I heard Hooty say she talks in her sleep and I don't need to hear about her talk about her girlfriend." King said.
'Goddamnit, Hooty, you blabber mouth.' Luz thought as King and Eda left her room.
Looking at the door shut behind them and back at the log in her lap, Luz got up and went over to the treasure trunk inside of her room. She opened it before placing the log inside.
She wasn't sure what she wanted to carve, she saw all sorts of palisman here and in other dimensions, but she wants something new, something unique, something that... was like her.
'Maybe I'll dream of what you want to become.' Luz thought, moving back to her bed to sleep.
Meanwhile at the emperor's castle, Hunter was bowed before Belos as he gave his personal mission report on what happened last night.
"After the ship crashed and I came to, the nest was gone. I couldn't find a single palisman in the surrounding area." Hunter said.
"I... see." Belos said, digging his fingers into the throne.
He NEEDED those palismen, he needed their wild life essence to keep himself stable and calm. To keep himself looking like a witch, not a monster.
"I……..I know I've disappointed you and I am sorry for my failure. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." Hunter said, clenching his hand on the floor.
"No, it's not your fault. Not even you could've predicted an attack by unknown witches. What matters most is you're back and safe." Belos said, calming down and pointing to the door. "Return to your chambers, rest up for your next mission."
Hunter bowed and stood up, quickly leaving the room. Belos watched as he did, trying to hold it together.
'Just a little while longer.' Belos thought, moving to hold his chest.
Hunter went into his room and closed the door, when he heard a chirping noise.
Turning around, he saw the palisman from before waiting for him in his room.
"You shouldn't be here, it's not safe for you." Hunter said, walking to the palisman.
He grabbed the palisman and held it, a little too tightly as he chirped uncomfortably.
"Sorry." He said, apologizing quickly.
Luz's words rang in his mind.
'I saw several different version of you doing these amazing things, not because someone told you too, but because it was the right thing to do. I saw you do it with this palisman.'
'This exact palisman? But why?' Hunter thought, releasing the palisman as he sat on his bed. 'How are me and you connected, even in other universes?'
The palisman chirped and became a staff.
Hunter was surprised by this as he caught the staff, looking at the palisman in awe and feeling the wild magic power from inside it. He should've been scared of it, having been told by his uncle that wild magic was dangerous, yet it just felt………warm. Almost like the palisman was comforting him and keeping him safe. So many questions went through his head as he gazed out his window, wondering just what will happen next in this new chapter in his life.
One thing he did know... he would see the human again.
Kickboxing Class Students: 16
Flicker/Hitman stance: Amity, Boscha, and Edric.
Peek-a-boo stance: Eileen, Asriel (goat cyclops), Willow, and Viney.
Kick stance: Amelia, Skara, Bo, and Emira.
Sway/Step Back stance: Gus, Jerbo, Barcus, Cat, and Kyle (skull cap kid).
Light Glyph Uses: Illumination, blinding light blasts, flashing punches
Fire Glyph Uses: Fireballs, flaming propulsion, fire punches, fire barriers/pillars, fire flight
Plant Glyph Uses: Vine ropes/whips, giant plant constructs like a fist, fixing palismen, plant bomb to capture enemies
Ice Glyph Uses: Ice creation, ice cage, ice spikes/pillars, ice encasing, ice punch, ice wall, ice weapons
Power Glyph Uses: Increased bodily strength and magic output
Healing Glyph Uses: Healing/recovery ability to oneself or to others by touch
Invisibility Glyph Uses: Turns user and anybody they have close by invisible to the naked eyes, so long as their breath is held
Glyph Glove Combo Spells:
Light and Fire = Golden Flames
Fire and Plant = Fire Whips
Ice and Fire = Water Blast
Power and Healing= High Speed Recovery
Ice and Power= Large Ice Gauntlets
Special Moves:
Nature's Wrath: a giant plant arm and fist that Luz can control for a powerful punch.
Esperanza Brillante/Shining Hope: a spiraling orb of all four glyph elements, used as a projectile or as a striking object. Effect may vary.
The Glyphing Gun: a red leaf blower with an empty paint roller was attached with a layer of duct tape at the bottom to the front nuzzle tube while a two point handle is attached to the top of the tube with two screws.
T.P. Glyph Ammunition: Fire Glyphs = Flamethrower
T.P. Glyph Ammunition: Ice Glyphs = Armor Piercing Spikes
T.P. Glyph Ammunition: Plant Glyphs = Grappling hooks or Vine Rope Shots