The "knocked-down" Holiday Spectacular:
The 12 Days of Soulmas
Before we begin today's tale, I would like to sit down and have a real talk with you, my dear readers. As you know, I was out for a while due to health issues. Unfortunately, these issues messed with my schedule, so I missed certain holidays I wanted to write about.
So, to that end, I have made the heavy decision to knock this story's content down to a fourth of its ordinary length. What does that mean… Well, it means this, and the chapter following this one will be the last in this story.
That said, I hope you have a merry Christmas and horrifying Soulmas!
"You're ready, boss?" Steve asked as he stepped into my apartment.
"Almost," I replied, standing. "Just need to put on a face."
Steve nodded as I walked into my bedroom to change. I left my bedroom a few minutes later in my Michelle/Aunt Milly form. I spotted Steve at my kitchen table talking with Manny and Papa Titan.
"Okay," I called to my otherworldly cousin, "Let's hit the trail."
Steve nodded and then bid the two spiritual fathers a horrifying Soulmas and got up. We then walked over to my apartment's door, and I pressed my realm gate against it. The pathway to my own little corner of the Owl House Fandom opened, and we stepped through.
(SC)
Mysterious singers: On the First day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me a cursed beast!
"Did you hear that, Steve?" I asked as we stepped into the Owl House.
"The only thing Steve hears is the sound of crunch when Steve devours those sweet, sweet cookies," my loveable cousin replied.
I shook my head as I looked around. I frowned when I noticed something was off; the living room was quiet, too quiet for a house filled with a "knocked-down" family. Also, the lights were off.
Steve must have sensed something was wrong as well, as he used a spell to create a light orb, and I wasn't too far behind him. Our two light spells lit up the room enough to see it, and we couldn't help but cringe at the state of the room.
The living room was a mess; red glitter covered nearly every wall, and the decorations for Soulmas were scattered and tattered. Probably the most disturbing thing to see was the Owl Familia, scattered across the floor, moaning lightly.
"Luz!" I nearly screamed as I ran to the "knocked-down" human. "What happened?"
I helped the girl sit up as the current four-and-a-half-year-old rubbed her head. Luz blinked and then looked up at me.
"Auntie Milly?" she asked groggily.
"Yeah, Squirt," I said with a relieved smile. "Can you tell me what happened here?"
Luz's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she was shaking. "M-M-Mama Edy," the current toddler choked out.
I frowned and looked around. I did a quick head count and noticed that Eda was missing. I also saw the three empty trays with cookie crumbs on them, and I realized three things: Eda, the Isles's most impulsive prankster, was on a sugar high, and I had a strong urge to chase her down.
That meant PT and Manny had hijacked my story again, and I sighed as I looked at Steve.
"Steve," I told him, " Make sure everyone's okay and get things back in order. I'm going Eda Hunting."
Steve gave me an "Are you sure?" look, but I didn't give him a chance to ask anything as I made for the door. I summoned my witch's staff with a Palisman that looked like a certain fox-like Pokemon and took a quick breath before stepping outside.
Mysterious singers: On the second day of Soulmas, my true love gave me two Charmed spirits and a cursed beast.
I looked to the sky but just shook off my awkwardness and hopped onto my staff.
"...I'm not looking forward to seeing what a sugar high Eda Clawthorne had done to the place," I dryly muttered as I flew to Bonesborough.
(SC)
Mysterious singers: On the third day of Soulmas, my true love gave me three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
I shook my head as I listened to the mysterious song and then focused on the approaching town. I would be in Bonesborough within a minute, and I still wasn't looking to what awaited me.
I suddenly came to a dead stop and couldn't help but deadpan at the sight; Bonesborough had been painted red…literally!
"OH, you rank-amateur writers!" I screamed into the air. "Can't you think of anything more ordinary?"
Like answering my cries, a Soulmas-themed bomb went off under me, knocking me out of the sky. I screamed as I fought to regain control before I had a nasty meeting ground.
I regained control and stopped a mere three feet from the ground. I put my feet on the ground as I breathed heavily. I took a minute to calm my racing heart as my Eevee-like Palisman became animated.
My palisman jumped into my shoulder and voiced her concerns.
"I'm fine, Eva," I replied, patting her head.
With my heart rate under control, I looked around for Eda. I didn't need to wait long as a small explosion happened before me, and Eda soon emerged from the smoke.
I grimaced when I saw the wide-eyed, sugar-induced manic smile on Eda's cookie-covered mouth. In the "knocked-down" witch's hands were potions, and around her shoulder was her bag of tricks, no doubt loaded with potion bombs of all kinds.
Eda saw me, and her smile grew tenfold, and I knew what was coming next. I gave Eva a silent command, and she turned into her staff again. I got into a batting stance and readied myself as Eda threw a potion at me.
Mysterious singers: On the fourth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
Startled by the sudden singing, I missed when I swung, and the potion exploded in my face. I groaned as I felt the paint covering my face, and I didn't need to look to know that my face was now pink.
I groaned again when the smoke cleared, and I saw Eda was gone. Thankfully, the "knocked-down" ex-wild witch was leaving a trail I could follow.
I sighed as I made a spell circle and summoned two low-level spirits for some aid.
"All I wanted was an uneventful Soulmas dinner with my favorite fictional, found family," I blinked as I realized what I said and looked at the readers. "Try saying that five times fast."
I cringed at what I had just done, got on my staff, and hurried after Eda.
It didn't take me long to find Eda; she was messing with Tarak and Bill using those Kraken balloons seen in the show. While I was all for some good-natured hazing of fictional bad guys, the way Eda was doing it was just plain wrong.
So, I ordered my spirit to help the Titan Trappers as I confronted the ex-wild witch.
"That's enough, Edalyn Clawthorne!" I commanded in a scolding voice. "It's time to go home and sleep off your sugar high!"
Eda looked at me with her manic grin as my two spirits took the Trapper someplace safe. She tossed one of her balloons into the air and threw it at me. I dodged to my right and gasped as I realized my mistake.
A tentacle snapped out from the puddle formed and got me right in the back of the skirt.
"HA!" I exclaimed, pointing to the sky, "Take that! I pulled a Misaka and wore shorts over my panties!"
Another balloon was thrown at my feet, and a Kraken Tentacle shot up, ripping through my favorite sweater.
With my hand still out, I awkwardly looked down and flushed scarlet when I saw my unicorn-themed bras.
"Well played, you two," I committed begrudgingly, zipping up my jacket.
I looked up when I heard a noise, and my eyes snapped open when I saw abomination goo speeding toward me. I couldn't move fast enough, and the sludge slammed into me, sending me flying into a wall, Eva falling to the ground.
Mysterious singer: On the fifth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me five rampaging Abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
I moaned as I gave my head a quick shake and looked at the cackling Eda with a glare. I watched as the "knocked-down" bard skipped down the road, and a thought popped into my head.
"...Would the fandom hate my guts if I let Krampus take that one?"
"Sister," I heard the Anti-Santa pipe in, causing me to look to my right where said figure was, "You couldn't pay enough to take that one away!"
I let out a sigh and looked at my hands. Thankfully, my left hand was free, allowing me to make a spell circle. I summoned two more spirits and had them take Krampus and me down.
The dark Santa figure bolted the second his feet were on the ground, screaming about retirement. I sighed again and focused my attention on what mattered.
"Eva!" I called to my Palisman, and she transformed back into her animal form.
The Pokemon-like familiar jumped onto my arm and ran up to my shoulder as I chased after Eda.
Mysterious singers: On the Sixth Day of Soulmas, my true love gave me six poison plants, five rampaging Abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
I stopped short of rounding a corner as a potion was thrown at me. I ducked behind the corner as the vial shattered against the wall, and I was meant with the smell of rotten eggs mixed with burned leathery bacon.
I made a spell circle and summoned a minor spirit, commanding it to look around the corner. With a 'meep' noise, the spirit did as instructed and moved away from the corner. It looked quickly and then waved to me, making more noises.
Suddenly, a mass of rampaging vines came out of nowhere and bowled my poor spirit down. I shook my head and looked at my partner. Eva got my silent message and turned it back into staff form.
I hopped on, and we rose above the buildings. I did a quick search and spotted Eda running down a street. I grinned when I noticed she was moving a little slower. Good, it looks like her sugar rush was finally wearing off.
I figured it would be another five minutes before Eda completely crashed. I should be able to hold out until then.
Mysterious singer: On the seventh day of Soulmas, my true love gave me seven off-keyed bards, six poison plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast.
I growled as I suddenly realized what all the singing meant, and soon, Eda, riding on her staff, was rocketing toward me. I darted to the right, and the "knocked-down" witch blew past me.
I turned around and gave chase. I quickly closed the gap and reached for Eda. The ex-wild witch suddenly darted to the right, and I missed her by an inch. I growled as I turned around and went after Eda.
Mysterious singers: On the eighth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me eight shaky buildings, seven off-keyed bards, six poison plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charms spirits, and a cursed beast!
I had nearly caught up to Eda when she suddenly dropped off her staff, and I could only gasp in fright. I felt like cursing Manny and Papa Titan as I realized Eda's sugar rush had finally run its course, and she crashed.
I quickly jumped off my staff and dove after the "knocked-down" witch. I caught up to Eda and wrapped my arms around her as the ground rapidly approached. Thinking fast, I made a spell circle and summoned a spirit. I ordered the spirit to grab me and slow my fall.
The spirit did as instructed and grabbed me by the waist. Unfortunately, we were still falling too fast, and I feared my spirit wouldn't slow us down fast enough.
I closed my eyes and held Eda tighter, hoping to save her from most of the impact. It was nearly a minute when I realized I hadn't hit the ground and dared to open an eye. I could only gasp when I saw the ground a mere inch from my face and realized my spirit had pulled off a Soulmas miracle.
Mysterious singers: on the ninth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me nine unhealed wild witches, eight shaky buildings, seven off-keyed bards, six poison plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charm spirits, and a cursed beast!
"Oh, come on, you two!" I screamed into the air. "Gave me a second to-"
I didn't get a chance to finish my thought as a Titan Skull with a Santa hat came right down on me.
"I am not okay!" I screamed angrily.
(SC)
"Okay, kids!" I heard Steve cheerfully say as I approached the Owl House. "We're nearly done here!"
I threw open the door and didn't care if I scared anyone as I stormed into the house with Eda over my shoulder. I ignored the stares I was getting as I walked up to the couch and dumped Eda on it.
Steve looked like he wanted to say something, but I shut him down with a sharp glare as I made my way to the kitchen. After everything those two put me through, I needed the hard stuff.
I had just stepped into the kitchen when I heard the singers again.
Mysterious singers: On the tenth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me Ten Coven Head plotting, nine unhealed wild witches, eight shaky buildings, seven off-keyed bards, six poisons plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
"That is it!" I screamed, my frustration reaching its limits.
I ran to the back door and slammed my realm gate into it. The second the inter-realm portal was opened, I barreled through it and into my apartment just as Papa Titan and Manny sang the next part of their song.
Manny and Papa Titan: On the Eleventh day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me eleven petrifications, ten coven heads plotting, nine unhealed wild witches, eight shaky buildings, seven off-keyed bards, six poison plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits, and a cursed beast!
"Do you know what you put me through all because you wanted to sing a Boiling Isles version of the 12 Days?" I screeched. "And let's not forget putting everyone's favorite TV mom in danger!"
Manny looked apologetic, while Papa Titan looked a little smug. The spiritual being leaned back in my computer chair and gave me a look.
"Don't worry, your skirt off, boss," Papa Titan said casually. "I was in complete control."
I growled at the Titan, clenching and unclenching my hands for nearly a minute. I could feel my blood boiling, but then I let out a strained breath as I tried to get my anger under control.
"You know what," I said tiredly, "I simply don't care at the moment. Finish your song while I try to save what's left of Soulmas."
I turned and was about to enter my own little corner of The Owl House Fandom when Manny called to me.
"So, you're not mad?"
"Oh," I replied without looking at them, "I'm mad. But I think I will wait until Owl House Day to get some payback."
I didn't need to see my "roommates'" faces to know I put the fear of god in them. Still, they shakily began singing as I stepped through the portal and back into the Owl House.
Manny and Papa Titan: On the twelfth day of Soulmas, my true love gave to me twelve Emperor's orders, eleven petrifications, ten coven head plotting, nine unhealed wild witches, eight shaky buildings, seven off-keyed bards, six poison plants, five rampaging abominations, four unknown potions, three faulty illusions, two charmed spirits and a cursed beast…And a cursed beast!
(G Corner)
Like I said before, I have decided to cut the content of this story by a fourth, so this adventure and the one next will be the last ones. But that didn't mean I didn't have plans for other stories based on the holidays. So, here's some teasing about the other stories I was forced to scrap. Scout Day would have been released on Labor Day, and the Owl Familia honored our favorite scout with an award. Next up would have No Magic Day, and it would have been released on Halloween. The story behind that was that all the witches on the Boiling Isles decided not to use their magic for a day while trying to scare each other human style.
Finally, there was True Unity, released on Thanksgiving, and it would figure all the Isles coming together to celebrate being truly unified after Belos's reign was over.