AN: For fandom blind readers: this crossover fic is primarily fandom blind friendly for The Owl House readers with no knowledge of the Homeworld games and their stories. However, I did what I could to make the story followable for Homeworld-only readers as well, though as a result of the premise, chosen point of view and setting in the timeline of both fandoms this is not as valid for them. Ultimately whether you want to give this story a try, based on how well you know either fandoms, is up to you.
Spoiler warning: as an addendum to the note above, do keep in mind that this crossover takes place after The Owl House's series finale and during the midpoint of the first Homeworld game's plot. I've written the story in a way where references to past events are not described in detail, but some spoilers are inevitable, especially for key events that play a role in the story itself and therefore needed to be presented clearly. These spoilers will cover both fandoms, so keep this in mind if you care about spoiler content!
Additional warnings: this story is rated 'T' for some suggestive themes that will be referenced, such as large-scale displacement, war and genocide.
This was written as a one-shot that got long enough to be split into three chapters. All three parts have been completed and edited together, so right now Part 2 and Part 3 already exist in a form that is close to completion. I may end up needing a bit more time to reread and revise them, but the plan is to do so hopefully in the span of a few days.
Someone from Afar
Part 1
"Status report, Fleet Intelligence."
"The Taiidan have come to know our movements after we fought off the strike force that attacked the bentuse. A hunting fleet from them continues to chase after the Mothership, even after multiple hyperspace jumps. Our hyperspace speed is currently unable to keep up with their pace; we've been working on this, but finding the means to outmanoeuvre the Taiidan likely will take too long. We expect contact within three jumps at most."
"We don't have the weapon capabilities to face the Taiidan hunting fleet head-on. We are still recovering from our encounter with the Taiidan raiders who attacked the Bentusi and our own surprise sortie against the imperial research station."
"We may be able to muster a splinter squadron of frigates and fighters to engage the hunting fleet and buy us time, but... our options are still limited. The cost of such a decision would only result in a delay of the inevitable confrontation, and the cost of such a plan may not be worth the advantages."
"There is another option. The Bentusi have told us about other areas of the galaxy that the Taiidan armies steer out of, like the Great Nebula. Our sensors indicate that we are at two-hyperspace-jumps away from one such region."
"That is correct, however... we cannot exclude that the reason why this region of the galaxy is avoided a source of danger, like the Kadeshi were for the Great Nebula. Another battle with a such an enemy would be dangerous in the current state of the Mothership fleet."
"This does not appear to be a region comparable to the Nebula. The Bentusi mentioned that the systems in this region are mostly uninhabited—unlike the Nebula, explorers have come back, though few and far between and... altered, 'wounded in the mind', according to the Bentusi. The Empire defines it as 'dead space', with too poor planets and dangerous enough to not be worth of conquest or attention."
"We cannot confirm or deny the information from the Bentusi with the data we have available. Nonetheless... it may be our only viable option to regroup in relative safety and perhaps find a location where we can gather resources. Once we're sure the hunting fleet is no longer chasing us and we are ready to depart, we may devise a plan of action to prepare for a future counter-attack and resume our travel towards the galactic core."
"Then, the decision is taken. We will follow through with this and plan our next moves ahead of what we find in the new sector. Switching to fleet channels.
"This is Fleet Command. Hyperspace module has finished charge-up phase. We have a new plan of action, and will move into another region of the galaxy shortly. Prepare for hyperspace."
Luz observed with wonder the town below.
Albeit yet to be finished, the rebuilding of Bonesborough had turned out to be a surprisingly fast process. Every time she came back to visit the Boiling Isles, she saw the place getting closer and closer to its former shape—when not striving to an even better form, now that it was no longer under the crippling influence of the Emperor's Coven.
It almost felt like her own contributions to the reconstruction were no longer needed. It had been several months since the Boiling Isles had been saved from oblivion.
Of course, even if true, that thought was not going to stop her.
"Okay, we've enjoyed the sight for long enough. Let's move!" she exclaimed, pulling herself up from the ground.
The hand that was wrapped around hers stopped her from walking away. Luz looked down to meet Amity's eyes.
"We've been sitting here for, like, three minutes, Luz," she deadpanned.
Luz simply smiled apologetically. "More or less. That's not the point, though, Amity... it just doesn't feel right, to stay here and do nothing. You are still all busy with reconstruction and restoring the islands back to where they were before... before everything, and whenever I come here... it just feels unfair, to see you all still busy trying to fix the damage without me lending a hand."
"Luz... we've already talked about your role in what happened back then, if you still feel you have any kind of obligation after—" Amity stood up to join her, adjusting her hair behind her pointed ears.
"No, no, I don't mean that!" Luz quickly interjected to correct her. "It's different, Amity. It's been months and most of the witches who live in the Isles don't have a proper place they can call home yet. You even don't have a proper home either!"
Amity raised an eyebrow. "Uuh... I don't understand how my family life is related to this."
Luz, realizing she may have derailed the conversation, rushed into damage control mode. "F-Forget about that, bad timing."
Rather than keeping her glare up, Amity's expression softened up. She reached up and put her arms above Luz's shoulders, and pulled with just enough strength to invite her to come closer.
"Don't worry about it. I just want you to be aware that, even if there are still issues we are working out and it may feel as if we're slowing down, we're getting closer and closer to fixing everything. Besides... with most magic not being as strong as it used to be, it's a given that we need a bit longer than planned. Not even the Collector has managed to recover his own powers to their fullest, yet—and they're an immortal being!"
"I... I guess that makes sense."
Her tone was a clear giveaway that Luz didn't believe in what she said. Amity slightly tilted her head.
"I can tell when you're not convinced, Luz."
"...am I that easily readable?"
"I dunno about you in general, but at least for me, that comes with a relationship that lasted several months."
Luz chuckled at the remark. "Yeah, that makes sense." She then stared into Amity's eyes dreamily for a moment.
However, Amity kept looking sternly at her, with quickly made Luz realize that her girlfriend still didn't forget about the subject of their conversation.
"...in any case, I'm just worried," Luz said. "But... but I don't want you to feel worried about me, either."
Amity sighed. "I'm not worried, but I'd just like you to feel at ease, Luz. You really shouldn't feel you have a duty towards any one in the Boiling Isles—not at this point in time, at least."
Luz nodded. "I... I don't think duty is the right word. It was, but now..."
She smiled. "I just think it makes me happy to be there and help out whenever I can."
Amity didn't seem to expect that reply. It took her a few seconds before she hummed. "Well, if you put it that way, then I trust that it's not a burden for you to feel this way."
She gave a look to the town below the hill. "I do think that the others won't mind if we show up a bit earlier."
"Now you're speaking my language!" Luz said, content with Amity's resolution. The two separated from each other, then took a look around. The two girls were not carrying much with them—Amity had fetched Luz from the Owl House and the two had spent an hour together wandering around the wilderness of the isles on their own before moving to check out the town from the hills—so they didn't need to bring much with them.
A familiar hiss and meow came up as their animal palismen, Ghost and Stringbean, showed up shortly after the two girls started looking for them. Luz smiled as Stringbean hissed as if to mirror her own excitement, before she morphed into a perfect witch staff. Grabbing it, she nodded to Amity, who had her own witch staff with a cat figure at the top ready as well.
A moment later, they were in the air and moving fast down the hill.
Bonesborough was not very close, but via flight It took them little time to arrive in town. As soon as they started to quietly fly over the main roads, multiple people waved or called out to Luz.
"The Titan Girl is back! Welcome!"
"Noceda! This may sound repetitive, but thanks again for your help!"
"Hey, mom, look! It's Luz the Human!"
Luz had met and had befriended many people in the Boiling Isles, but she had yet to get used to her new 'celebrity' status. Unlike her first months spent here, she now was a well-known name even among people whose existence she was barely aware of. She always waved back and replied warmly, though sometimes she wondered who the heck she was talking to.
Other than the rare awkward moments, though, she didn't mind. As long as everyone was happy and recovering, she was happy herself—friend or stranger.
"We should probably go check on Willow first," Amity began, adjusting her position on the staff to look at her while they kept flying. "She probably is already working to help with the rebuilding in the outskirts to the south, probably with one of those groups of veteran Construction Coven specialists."
"Hmm-mmh! Sounds good to me!"
An afternoon spent helping the Witches along with her friends was an afternoon well-spent. To Luz, there was no better way to spend her days in the Boiling Isles, whenever she had the chance to visit. Seeing everyone—not just Amity, who was anyway the person she saw the most since they regularly visited each other—but Willow, Gus, Hunter. And Eda and King, who still were kind enough to give her a place to crash in!
And everyone else.
Every time it was a breath of fresh air from her life on Earth, a feeling far different from how it felt when she first came to the Isles, when they were not yet a place free of the oppressive rule of the Emperor's Coven and its old master.
Here, Luz could let the best version of herself live fully—as long as she avoided the dangers innate to the Isles, that is. But that was part of the charm!
What was not part of the charm, though, was the giant shadow that suddenly hid the sun.
Luz and Amity halted in mid-flight, startled. Below them, lines of witches and demons stopped their activities to look up in the sky. The two girls followed their gazes.
At first, Luz felt a jolt run through her body, and an almost primal fear envelop her being.
Was the Titan's hand moving? Again?!
The Titan's body that made up the bulk of the Boiling Isles still had one of its arms reaching up high in the sky—high enough to cross the atmosphere. It was another result of the events that eventually led to the liberation of the Isles, and since then the limb had stuck to its place, acting as one of the last proofs of what Belos had tried to do.
Luz's thoughts made the connection because the Titan's hand was the only thing large enough to create such a shadow. But at this hour of the day, it would've worked only if it had moved all of a sudden to cover the sun. What could possibly do that?
Was... was he back, somehow?
She didn't have Titan powers. Her glyphs were still non-functional. She didn't have anything—
No, it couldn't be him. It did not make sense!
"Look!" a shrill voice from below shouted. "There's something beside the hand!"
Luz gasped for air. She didn't even realize she'd stopped breathing.
It wasn't the hand. Belos did not return. That... that was a great relief.
Not fully, though, considering that something had indeed appeared beside the Titan's hand.
It was very, very far, and yet, whatever it was, Luz could still recognize the shape as something akin to a compressed crescent moon.
But if it was that clear, and it was right beside the Titan's claws, then... that thing had to be enormous. She'd have to use miles to measure that thing!
"L-Luz?"
Luz looked away from the dark shape afar to check on Amity. The girl was looking at her with wide eyes.
"Do you... do you have any idea...?" even Amity herself was shocked by the sight, and her voice clearly betrayed her initial fear.
She didn't blame her. Luz was frightened herself as well, by now.
She shook her head. "No, I don't know... but..." she looked at the thing again. Large enough to cover the star that lit up the day in the Boiling Isles, appearing out of nowhere and floating up there, almost in space.
Then, it clicked.
"I-I can only guess, but... I think that thing isn't from this world."
"Yes, I mean it! Dozens of planets with millions of people in them, most of 'em sporting entire fleets of giant ships that can soar the stars and beyond!"
'Hunter and Gus would probably enjoy this... as would Mama,' Luz thought to herself as she listened to the Collector's rambling.
She was sitting among a crowd of witches and some demons, who sat or stood in a circle in the main hall of the Archives. Beside her were Eda and King, who were currently also listening what the Collector had to say. Other than them, the only people Luz recognized among those present were Raine and Lilith. Lilith, Eda's sister, was barely visible, hidden behind a group of tall and bulky demons a few steps away from them, while the former Bard Coven head sat opposite of them in the chamber and in front of everyone else, as they had taken the role of speech directors of sorts.
The Collector hovered in the air at the centre of the chamber. He gestured excitedly towards a constructed image that floated above him, one that essentially acted as a space map of sorts. In it, hundreds of dots identified stars and their own star systems. Suddenly, the entire map moved suddenly, and Luz saw hundreds of those dots move quickly and being replaced by others. The Collector moved a hand as the image moved, as if scrolling through the map—not unlike a finger scrolling down a touchscreen.
"Not all planets are full of people, of course," the Collector mused, but then he shrugged. "But there are enough out there to fill more than a mortal's life to explore them all, for sure."
"That's preposterous! Are you telling me that there are entire nations out there that we had no idea of up until now?" A person cried out from the crowd. Narrowing her eyes to focus a little, Luz recognized him as the last head of the old Abomination Coven, Darius—she hadn't realized he was present at first. He looked quite in disbelief.
"Well, you can thank my siblings for that," the Collector grew stern all of a sudden, the comment distracting him from his own dreams. "The Archivists were always interested in more items to catch and study, so imagine how willing they were to fetch some of these strangers whenever they showed up around here! No wonder they stopped coming after a while..."
The Collector snapped their fingers, and the galactic map construct disappeared while normal lighting was restored in the Archive main hall.
Raine stood up, taking the initiative before the befuddled Darius could reply to the Collector's words. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess we were lucky that none of them showed up while there was nothing stopping them from doing so."
"Actually, Raine..." the Collector corrected him. "In the last few months, I kinda tried to, uh, make people not show up here?" They then opened their hands in defence. "No kidnapping, of course! I'm not my siblings. I just used the usual, you know... some spectacles, messing with their mind a little, filling their mind with nightmares and—"
"Collector!" Luz found herself shouting throughout the crowd as she snapped. "I thought we were over the whole 'make people do what I want no matter what they feel about it' phase!"
She shrunk back upon noticing that her outburst had gained the attention of the entire crowd, rows of witches and demon staring at her. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact they all knew her by now.
The raised eyebrows certainly showed that they didn't expect their heroine to act like a mother lecturing a child.
The Collector did not appear to be as worried as her by the collective reaction, though. He beat everyone else on a reply. "Hey, they deserved it! These people are not necessarily good guys, and are not good play mates either. There's this Empire out there and all it does is conquer planets and destroy whoever tries to stop them."
A familiar chill ran down her spine.
"So I thought that making sure they kept out of this part of space was a good way to help you guys," the Collector finished. "Now, these guys, the ones who are flying up there by the hand... they, uh, they managed to slip through, somehow. By the time I realized they were around, they already showed up here... which is why I came here myself. I guess things changed in the last few centuries... I don't think I recognize them from what I remember of the other space people, either!"
Darius pinched his nose. "So, after all this story you kindly told us, it turns out that you don't know that much more than us about that giant, uh... spaceship?" he glanced towards Luz for a moment, who made a thumbs-up. Considering her friends, including the sci-fi enthusiasts, had been excluded from this meeting, she had been tasked with filling up the vocabulary where required before the meeting itself. "You don't know the intentions of whoever is manning that thing?"
The Collector made a pompous and yet very honest shrug. "Beats me. But at least you know where they are from now! Sort of... I don't know which planet they're from, either. They don't feel like they're from that Empire, at least... but other than that, I have no clue."
Murmurs ran through the crowd as Darius muttered something under his breath. Luz could understand their feelings—it wasn't like she had a better understanding than them on the matter.
In fact, she barely could wrap her mind about the fact that the Boiling Isles were apparently placed into an area of space (a star cluster? A galaxy? A universe?) that was inhabited by space-faring civilizations. The world of the Witches had gotten even more complex all of a sudden, as if the history of the Isles wasn't already an engaging collection of events to begin with—even before her arrival here.
Luz didn't know exactly how to take it. Should she be relieved or concerned?
"Well, I gotta say, I don't really know whether this is good or bad news," Eda commented.
She wasn't the only one with such thoughts, indeed.
"It's incredible, though," King said. The little demon looked more curious than worried, compared to the two women. "There are thousands of people out there that we could meet... and there's no portal separating us from them, like it works with Earth. They're just... very far."
"Hey, don't tell me you're already having thoughts about restoring your old reign or something like that, Titan-guy." Eda gave him a small smirk.
King simply let out a snort. "You know I'm over that, Eda, but still, think about it. New worlds, hundreds of them according to the Collector! You were the one who liked to visit Earth because it was different from the usual fare here, right?"
"Eh, more like it was a good scrapyard to scavenge stuff to sell at home," Eda shrugged.
"Hey, you know I'm still here, right? That scrapyard is my home!" Luz protested, interjecting into their conversation.
"Indeed, and it looks like some of the scraps here can be pretty good items," Eda replied without skipping a beat. Right afterwards, she proceeded to grab Luz and give her a noodgie.
"Haha, hey! Time-out, that was uncalled for!" Luz said while chuckling at Eda's antics.
She let her go. "There was a time where you used to fight back, actually."
"Well, I still can—" Luz smiled, but then her expression grew serious again. "Seriously though, about this thing with the aliens... maybe we should pay attention to the conversation until we're sure everything is all right."
"That's new," Eda said. Her tone was playful, but her eyes focused back on the centre of the meeting anyway.
"Are you worried, Luz?" King questioned her.
"Kinda? I don't know, it's just that I thought you guys wouldn't have to get involved in something like this again. I thought that as soon as he was gone, things would be okay. But now... I'm not so sure."
King hummed, though Eda beat him on replying to Luz. "Right now we don't know whether this is a big problem or not, but you don't have to think that much about it, kid. We'll find out, don't get me wrong, but until then we can't just dwell on it while expecting the worst. Especially not you, since you don't even live here."
Luz nodded absently, her worries not really being quelled by Eda's attempt at reassurance.
"Now let's keep quiet, I see Raine is taking the stage again. Let's hear what they have to say."
Indeed, Raine had moved to the centre of the room, taking the place that was occupied by the Collector. The moon kid was still nearby, though he now hovered in the air above the crowd while waiting for the witches to sort things out. His pout showed that, albeit somewhat aware of the gravity of the situation, his patience was still one of a young kid.
"All right, people, may I have your attention?" Raine called out.
As everyone else turned to regard them, Luz could immediately tell that Raine did not fully move on from their awkwardness when the attention was put on them. They had made a lot of progress on that front, though, and they were able to carry on after a few seconds to recompose themselves.
"Now, uhh... we all heard what the Collector has told us about these 'visitors'. The next step is to make a choice regarding what to do with them, since, well... I don't think we can't ignore the matter."
"Well, what do you suggest?" a witch stood up among the crowd, to the left of Luz, Eda and King.
"As far as I can understand, we have two options. We can try to make contact with them, and hear directly from them what their business is in the Boiling Isles. That way, we can avoid to create an enemy that we certainly don't need right now and at the same time learn more about these unknown civilizations that inhabit the worlds beyond ours."
"What's the other option?"
Raine sighed. "That's the one I like the least but... if they are up to no good, it... it may be best to strike first. They don't know the Boiling Isles or us, so we have the element of surprise, one we cannot let go to waste as if it wasn't of any value. We could force them to retreat, and afterwards the Collector could try to keep acting as a deterrent towards any future visits, but... I don't think that's going to work forever. I'd rather not do that."
"And why do you think that's not gonna hold, exactly?" A witch walked towards Raine. While most witches by now didn't wear colour-coded clothes, and the coven system essentially was no longer enforced, some were still staying faithful to old traditions. This witch was such an example, since their brown-coded attire showed him as part of the Construction coven.
It was pretty much a given, since this was not just any witch, but Mason, the former head of that coven itself.
"These 'visitors' may not be part of the civilization that the Collector spoke of, the one that conquered planets, but they may very well involved with them. Do you want to risk them leading this 'Empire' to us? That word alone should make some alarm bells ring in all of you!"
There were more mumbles as Mason continued to speak. "I understand your grievances, Raine, but we can't just exclude the option outright. Not when we risk undoing all of our progress because another Empire seeks to replace the old one!"
"I'd rather make a friendship than to create an enemy," Raine replied sternly. "And I would not make the mistake of underestimating them. We witches have magic, sure, but these people apparently have a flying vessel that dwarf Bonesborough itself."
"If I could add something to that," Darius had moved into the centre as well by now, "we have no reason to think they have hostile intentions. From what we can see from down here, they're just... there. Floating near the Titan's hand. That's better than just coming down to rain a firestorm on us, so maybe we should consider—"
There was a loud 'slam!' as a door hit a wall. Darius stopped his speech as he and the entirety of those present turned hastily to look at the source of the disturbance.
A woman rushed into the chamber, one that everyone immediately recognized.
"...Snapdragon?" Darius let out, once again surprised.
"What are you doing here, Terra?" Raine questioned, frowning immediately at the sight of the former Plant Coven head. "I don't recall you being invited to this meeting."
"Well, it's nice to see you as well, Raine," Terra waved Raine's unwelcoming greeting off. "Let's skip the formalities. I have come to warn you. These... strangers up there in the sky. There's not just that single thing up there—"
"Spaceship."
"...yes, that 'ship' hovering in the sky, however you want to call it. They don't have just that: they have dozens of ships that are coming in and out of it as we speak. And they are... they are consuming the Titan's hand!"
The news had the effect of turning the murmurs into a chaotic mess of heated clamour and exclamations of shock.
"They are consuming it? What do you mean?"
"Wait, are they—destroying it? Taking it up for themselves, while ignoring us?"
"They are thieves!"
"Wait, though. it's not like... the Titan is of concern to us, after what happened."
"But it's still part of the Boiling Isles, of our home! This is clearly a sign they are after our world!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves—!"
"We should attack them, now that we have the chance!"
"No, wait, that could be unwise. She said they have an entire fleet of smaller ships, those could be armed!"
"What are we waiting for? We have to move now and—!"
"RAAAWWR!"
Silence befell into the room. Eberwolf retired his canine teeth and sat down beside, now that the crowd had been silenced. The former Beast Keeping Coven head still had enough authority to make people listen, at least.
"Thank you, Eber," Darius told him, before he turned to address Terra again. "Explain yourself cleary. They are 'consuming' it?"
"That's the best word that describes what's going on," Terra replied. She brought a hand to her face. "I don't... don't know what is going on, but I can tell what I saw: some of those flying ships are making routes back and forth to the Titan's hand. They are using some kind of technology, or even magic, to do that. And, I swear to you, I saw rock vanishing under it, as if being sucked away."
Murmurs went throughout the crowd as Darius nodded. "That's better. Now... your words may be grave, Snapdragon, but why should we believe you?"
"I climbed up there to check them out myself," Terra explained, frowning at the lack of respect. "You may not trust me, but I know what my eyes have seen, what my spines and leaves have felt through the earth and bone that make up the Titan's limbs. The aliens are consuming the hand, and likely are taking chunks of it into their ships with those strange magical beams. In my opinion, they are taking the matter that makes up the Titan for themselves!"
"So we should believe what you saw up there, on your own? Ignoring the instructions to not go and risk an incident before this meeting happened that we gave in Bonesborough hours ago?"
That seemed to hit a nerve. "You think I should subject myself to some commoner announcement? I was the head of the Plant Coven, I am not—!"
"You were the head of a Coven, yes, but you no longer are that, just like the rest of us," Darius interrupted. "And considering your past actions, you'll need something a bit better than that to support your words, Snapdragon, whether you like it or not."
"I can vouch for her."
A person had slowly followed Terra as the confrontation between her and Raine and Darius occurred, so much silent that Luz had completely failed to notice her.
But as soon as she saw the palisman staff with a feline shape at the top and the familiar head of dyed purple hair, she recognized her immediately.
"Amity?!" Luz abandoned her post beside Eda and King before she knew it, accidentally hitting some disgruntled witches in the process. "Sorry, sorry, coming through!"
"Amity Blight? Were you...?" it was now Raine's turn to look confused.
"No, I'm not... helping her," Amity made a face that was very close to a gag. Terra huffed beside her, but made no attempt to deny her words.
"However, I did find out what she was up to, and when I realized what she was planning, I decided to follow her just to make sure she didn't pull anything reckless. Terra has been... surprisingly cooperative, once we saw what the aliens were doing to the Hand."
"You may not like me, but I respect the place I call home as much as you all do," Terra added. "And this is a case where that home is in danger."
"So... you confirm what Terra said? That the aliens are 'consuming' the hand?" Raine asked.
Amity nodded. "Yes... I do. I saw the ships going back and forth, and using that... 'extraction magic' of sorts. It was as if the fingers of the Titan were being... turned to dust, then collected by those ships."
There was a moment of silence after her confirmaiton.
"...this complicates things," Darius resumed. "That means they are insterested in our planet. And if they are smart enough to do that, then... they got to know this planet is inhabited. Which means that they ignored us. Ugh..."
Raine nodded. Both him and Darius gestured for Terra to join them, though it most likely was to keep an eye on her. Then, they looked away from Amity to focus on the crowd, which had fallen into another session of discussion, though this time there was less shouting at least.
Amity didn't mind being done. Her attention was diverted away as soon as she saw Luz emerge from the crowd, stumbling and almost risking losing her equilibrium as she did so.
"H-Hey!"
Amity waved at her, slightly amused by Luz's hurry.
Luz waved back, then rushed to meet her. "O-Okay, I'm here... first off, why? I thought you and the others said you didn't mind not taking part in this meeting!"
"That was mostly valid for me, to be honest," Amity confessed. "I met up with Willow, Hunter and Gus not long after you left with Eda and King. They wanted in much more than I did, but before we could agree on a compromise, Willow saw Terra using her plant magic to climb towards the hand and the alien ship."
Luz couldn't help smiling. "So the others are on it too, after all." She glanced towards the crowd once again, wondering about whether their friends had managed to find a way to listen to the discussion without being discovered.
"To an extent. I did go escort Terra on my own, but I joined back with them after we came back and we decided I'd go on my own with Terra. As I already said, Terra actually has not caused any problem. She was willing to follow me ever since we both saw what the visitors were doing, so there was no need for more witches to escort her. Besides, four unwanted guests crashing here probably would not be welcome when one could do the job just fine."
"...I guess that makes sense, but you didn't need to! I'm sure Raine wouldn't mind you and the others joining, after all you did back then."
"Well... there's a reason for being cautious, Luz." Amity said. She rubbed at the back of her neck. "Better not to press Raine's kindness already when we plan to convince them to let us tag along."
...did she hear that right?
"...what?"
Amity simply let out a small chuckle at her reaction. "We didn't know what was going on, but we assumed that you would want to join them into whatever will happen afterwards. And, well, Luz... there's no way me or any of the others are letting you face this on your own."
After a few seconds, Luz's mouth turned into a big smile. She wrapped her arms around Amity, hugging her tightly. "...thank you. Take it as if I'm hugging Willow, Gus and Hunter, too."
"I'm sure they're spying from a window or something right now... but sure, I will," Amity returned her embrace, nuzzling her nose into her hair.
They spent just a couple of seconds hugging, though, as the voices around them raised in pitch, taking their attention away.
"We can't let them do as we please. How about a showcase of power?" Terra proposed.
"That's madness, Terra!" another voice replied. This was not one of the old coven heads. In fact, the speaker was Lilith, who had walked into the centre of the stage while Amity and Luz were busy reuniting with each other. "The Collector has mentioned that these people have technology that rivals our magic, you said the way they're damaging the Hand looks like magic. You think they'll be impressed by a swarm of a hundred witches when they have a giant mechanical war machine per every one of us?"
"What about the Collector? Yes, you, kid," another witch piped up. "I heard you moved the entire moon with your powers."
"I could, but that'd be boooring!"
"...you realize this is serious?"
"I'm just messing witih ya'," the Collector grinned, though he became despondent right after. "Actually... I can't do it yet. I'm still recovering my powers... they're enough to open a portal to Earth for a short while and to go explore the stars not that far from the Boiling Isles, but I'm not strong enough yet to just blink that thing out of the sky."
"...we should still consider sending some envoy of sorts before taking things the hard way."
Mason shook his head. "This isn't worth the risk, Raine. You said it yourself, we have a chance to take the initiative and strike first when they expect it the least. I won't let that chance go to waste, not when they're doing something to our home!"
Terra clapped her hands. "That's how I'd approach it myself. These people think they can do whatever they like? We should make them realize how big of a mistake that is!"
"...your input is not helpful, Terra," Darius growled. However, he then frowned. "However, Mason does make a good point, Raine. Besides what he said, we'd be taking a risk either via the pre-emptive attack or the diplomatic approach. And we can't choose both."
"Well, let's put it to debate then. Who thinks attacking first is our best bet?" Mason spoke up.
Multiple voices came to reply, either in agreement or open opposition. As she listened to the discussion, Luz immediately knew that things were spiralling out of control.
Everyone was on edge, and she could distinctively feel how many of the witches deeply feared the visitors.
The memory of what had happened under Belos' rule was still strong, strong enough to drive their decisions via fear and make them turn to the fastest solution.
No, she could not let this happen. The Isles were moving on, and she wouldn't let the leftover influence of his actions hurt people again!
"Hey, hey, hey, guys! Friends!" Luz, stepping away from Amity, shouted into the crowd. She was not as commanding as Darius, nor was her voice strong enough to rival Eberwolf or Mason, but nonetheless the shouting slowed down as multiple faces turned to face her.
Why was it so hard to speak all of a sudden?
"Luz?" Lilith's voice made her snap out of it.
"Uh, yeah, yeah! Sorry. Soo... I listened to most of what everyone said today," she started. Luz tried to scan the lines of people around her to show she was talking to everyone, but eventually she decided to put her focus on Raine, Darius, Lilith and Eberwolf, as they were essentially acting as representatives. She made sure to ignore the glares coming from Terra and Mason.
"I know your feelings may be... strong, after what happened months ago. However, I still believe you should double-think it over before deciding to pick the hostile path."
"That's respectable, human, but this is our home that is on the line," Mason glowered at Luz, forcing her to face him. "You're asking us to welcome someone who's shown already to care not about our opinion."
Luz bore the witch's glare, though she couldn't help flinching a little at the tone. It wasn't very common to meet witches who for some reason or another did not like her, and she had yet to get used to that.
"I'm not asking you to just wait and let them do whatever they want. But please, think about this... if they are really seeking conflict, then they wouldn't have waited for so long up there. And all they're taking is... well, they picking parts of the Titan, and that's a bit uncalled for, but they may not even know that what they're taking is important to you. They likely don't know us as much as we don't know them."
"So that means they consider us savages?" Terra hissed.
"...that's now what I said—hey, don't change the subject!" Luz retorted, irked a little by the uncalled observation. "What I'm trying to tell you here is that it's worth trying to have a talk with these strangers before we decide to do anything reckless. It's risky, but it's risky to just go there guns—uh, staffs ablaze, too!"
She paused, taking a moment to regain her breath. "It's hard, I know. I... I'm worried, too. This entire situation, and what the Collector said... it feels way too much familiar. However, I also believe that we should not let our past influence our decision this much. Just... think about that."
With her speech ended, Luz waited for the crowd to take her words.
Some hushed comments came through the witches and the few demos spread throughout, but no one tried to speak up. Even Mason stayed silent, deep in thought after hearing Luz's replies, while Terra was conveniently surrounded by a few witches whose presence made her less willing to speak up again without request.
"...you make a good point, as usual, Luz." It was Raine who finally broke the ice. "I would also add that other than personally agreeing with your view, we may not have this choice in the future either, going by what Collector said. These visitors may very well be our first view into the worlds beyond, and I'd like to start with something other than a battle with those who may become our neighbours, at some point in the future."
Darius and Eberwolf both nodded. "I figure we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt," Darius said.
"There's... something else," Lilith spoke up, taking Luz by surprise. "It's possible that these people have... sinister intentions, but do not plan to share those with us immediately. They may be here to study our world first, as explorers. I thought they could be adventures seeking fortune, but the space ship is too big for something like that... no, they could be the scouting party that precedes the arrival of the invading force."
This elicited a few gasps, but Lilith continued to speak. Her voice was laced with regret. "I say that based on my... my own experience in the Emperor's Coven. It was among the directives of some of my subjects—to infiltrate the common witchfolk and learn about their ways of life in order to understand how to control them better. It was basics, and... something like that may be the strategy applied by these visitors."
"If that's the case, how do you suggest we handle this, Clawthorne?" Darius asked.
"Doing it the Clawthorne way. Specifically, my way."
Eda was the last person to join the increasingly larger group of people in the centre of the hall. Luz could not help brightening up at her appearance. "I've lived as a wanted wild witch for years, and I learned to recognize the signs when someone planned to dupe me or just wanted to extract information behind my back for something else. These alien people may be proud of their technology, but we got the smarts." She winked. "Well, I do at least."
Luz and Amity couldn't help letting out a giggle at the remark, but the rest of the adults didn't laugh.
"I'm happy to see you this confident, Eda, but this is not the time for jokes. We have to make a decision carefully, here," Raine said.
"That's what I'm offering you, an option. Take me with whatever group you're sending up there to have a chat with the space-heads. If there's anything weird going on with them and their intentions, I'll catch that."
"Sister, you may trust your judgement, but maybe—"
Eda waved off Lilith's reply with a hand, adding a snort for added effect. "That's why I know I can do this—I trust myself enough to not trust strangers."
This time, Raine smiled as well, whereas Eberwolf shook his head and Darius passed a hand over his forehead.
"No chance we can convince Clawthorne to just stay out of this, I assume?"
"Yup... she's put her mind on it, I'm afraid," Raine noted. Darius groaned.
"I suppose that settles it, then," he looked away from the group and regarded the crowd again. "If there are no other suggestions, then I propose we immediately begin setting an envoy group with an escort that will travel up to the Titan's hand to intercept the visitors and put an end to this, if they don't leave before we finish. Any one against that?"
There was no attempt to strike down the new decision. The Construction Coven witch who protested earlier had long since abandoned the centre of the stage.
"I'll take that as a no. Let's get this over with."
Darius started to converse with Eberwolf and Lilith while Mason came to join them. Terra was accompanied out of the archives not long after, while the crowd dispersed around the room and multiple witches came up to the group leaders to volunteer.
Raine and Eda let them focus to the task, instead moving over to join Luz and Amity.
"Pretty well-spoken, Luz." Raine added a small clap to their words. "It's refreshing to see someone able to put my own thoughts into words better than I could."
"Aw, shucks, don't say it like that... I was just honest about what I thought!"
"Well, I think that's why I and many people liked what you said," Raine replied. "Everyone felt that you spoke from your heart."
"True that. To be honest, kid, I thought you'd intervene sooner," Eda said. "Oh, and by the way, Raine, she's coming up there with us of course."
Luz jolted. Did she hear that right or—?
Raine shared her feelings, apparently, as he stared at Eda for a moment with raised eyebrows. "W-Wait a second, what do you mean she's coming? Eda, I don't think—ugh..."
They rubbed their forehead. "I know what you're doing, but let me remind you we never agreed to involve her or any of the younger kids from the isles in this matter. Luz has already given a lot to this world, and I think one life-threatening adventure is enough for her."
Eda shook her head. "You don't know her as well as I do yet, Raine. Here, take this."
She bowed a little, putting her head face-to-face with Luz's. "Wanna go meet the space-faring civilization, Luz?"
She didn't have the time to think straight, so she just let out the first thing that came to her.
"K-Kinda?"
"Uh-huh. So, do you want to go just out of curiosity and for the feeling of adventure, or because you want to help out with the matter at hand?"
"...a little bit of both?"
Standing upright again, Eda threw a knowing glance at Raine.
"She doesn't look very convinced to me."
"That's because we are technically interrogating her right now, so she's a bit under pressure," Eda conceded. "However, trust me, letting her join is our best bet. You try push her out, and as soon as you take off she'll find a way to stow away in an airship or something like that. We may as well give her a proper role in it."
"Uh... Eda, you know I'm still here, right?"
"Right you are, kiddo."
Raine shook his head, though he did so while hiding a smile. "Let's leave aside Eda's antics. Luz, tell me, and be honest. What do you really want?"
This time, Luz did have the time to think over her answer. She was surprised by how quickly she came to a conclusion anyway, though.
"I want to go. I... I think I can give another point of view, as a human. I was a stranger to your world, too, at some point, after all."
Eda snorted. "Knew it. Also, Raine, I'd take for granted her girlfriend and friends are coming, too."
"W-What?!" Raine, Luz and Amity cried out together. Raine at this point just kept looking at Eda with resignation.
"I guess that something similar applies to them, too?"
"It'll help you more than you think. Now if you excuse, I have to get back to King. I asked him to stay back and the poor thing probably is exploding with anticipation. Toodles!"
As she departed, Luz and Amity were left alone with Raine, who looked somewhat miffed about Eda's behaviour.
"Ugh... she really is an endless source of surprises, isn't she?" They mumbled under their breath, though their tone became softer right after. "Heh... I guess that's what makes her charming."
They then looked at Amity. "What I asked Luz goes for you too, Amity. But I imagine you want to come, too... do you not?"
"I... I do." Amity nodded. "If I could help out in any way, then I will, if only to support Luz. I'm sure the others would think the same, too."
"Clear enough... I really don't like the idea of bringing you kids when we don't even know what the intentions of the visitors are, but... I guess that Eda's right. You'd find a way in anyway."
They turned around to check on the group. "I'll have to convince Darius and Eberwolf and make sure no one else is opposed, but for now you can assume it's okay for me. Go back to fetch your friends, then come back as soon as you can—I doubt we'll need much time to set everything up and prepare the envoy group. That clear to you?"
Amity and Luz nodded as if they were soldiers standing at the ready.
"Good. See you soon."
The two girls remained immobile as Raine left. After a few seconds, Amity spoke up.
"That... was something. Is that how it feels to see things happen beyond your control?"
"You kinda get used to it when you live around Eda for long enough," Luz observed.
"I'll take your word on that. Let's go meet the others, okay?"
Luz nodded and followed Amity towards the exit to the chamber.
Despite her vicinity, Luz's thoughts ran amok. There were a lot of things she'd both learned and achieved here with the witches, but in truth, when it came to the people in the space-ships, things didn't change very much.
Honestly, despite all of the worries she was also a bit excited, not unlike how she was the first time she came to the Boiling Isles. But a lingering fear was still present in her.
She could only wonder how the spaceships would feel from up close.
AN: In the setting of this fic I took the decision to consider certain characters from The Owl House to not be yet back to full power after the ending of the show. I'm not familiar with the fandom's most popular interpretation of the aftermath of the ending, but in any case, this essentially is an idea from me applied to the little we know from the show itself. It was also somewhat required in my opinion since, if that was not the case, the fic would probably end in 500 words (if you're an Owl House fan you probably know what I mean, this is even referenced in a dialogue exchange bit in this chapter).
I did not specify the size of the 'alien' ship deliberately. Reasons are: first, there are at least two contradicting sources from Homeworld canon when it comes to all ship sizes, and second, I believe going too specific was not needed here.
