Author's Note: Hello, everyone. Here is a brand new update for my most popular fanfic. Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

Poor Gus was down on his luck. After a failed attempt in using his illusion magic to help his friend, he was left wallowing in his own self-pity in his bedroom. He had never felt more down in the dumps.

Gus barely moved until he heard a knock at his door. When he opened it, there stood Stephen, Luz, and Clea.

"Gustopher! Gusteban! Augustabeth!" Luz greeted with various versions of Gus' name. "Any of those working for you?"

"You need my library card to visit Amity, don't you?" Gus guessed with a blank face.

Luz chuckled. "I haven't been doing a good job of hiding that, huh?"

"It's not just that, Gus." Clea said.

"Come on. We'll explain on the way." Stephen said.

Curious, Gus shrugged and followed his friends out the door. They began walking downtown in Bonesborough.

"What's going on anyway?" Gus asked.

"Do you remember when Luz destroyed the portal to the Human Realm?" Stephen asked. Gus stared blankly at him for a second. "Okay. Stupid question. Well, we've been trying in vain to find a way back home since, but nothing we tried worked."

"Then Eda's mom showed up." Clea said. "She told us that back in the 1600s, there was another human who visited the Boiling Isles. His name was Philip Wittebane. He disappeared, but he may have left something in the library, something that could help."

"Yeah, okay." Gus said glumly. "Looking through old newspapers is about all I'm good for anyway."

Luz stopped walking to confront Gus. "Spill it, Gustonimo. Are you okay?"

"I've just been thinking. What if it's time for me to explore different kinds of magic?"

"What?" Clea asked. "Why? What brought this up all of a sudden?"

"Oh, that's right. Clea, you don't have to return to Hexside until Monday, so you haven't heard." Stephen said.

"Haven't heard what?" Clea asked.

"Willow got attacked by pixies the other day." Stephen said. "Gus tried to use illusions to drive them away from her, but he only angered them."

"Not just that." Gus said. "I tried sending miniature versions of me to cheer Willow up, but they were even bigger pests than the pixies. That's when I realized that illusions are just so… You know."

"Yeesh. Now, you're sounding like the head of the Illusion Coven." Clea said. "I remember he visited my home once to talk business with Mordo, and he was unbearable. Try not to be like him."

All of a sudden, the entire area shook thanks to the loud roar of a monster underneath the bridge the four were standing over. They looked down and saw a familiar beast breaking free from Animal Control.

"Is that the Slitherbeast?" Stephen asked. "Looks like those bozos finally caught him!"

"Not for long, it looks like!" Luz stated watching the Slitherbeast break from its bonds and run down the street.

Down the street, a little demon kid was crossing while carrying a green, demon-shaped balloon. He stopped and froze as he noticed the Slitherbeast running his way.

"The kid's in trouble!" Stephen said. He reached into his backpack to pull out the Cloak of Levitation, but before he could, Clea grabbed his wrist.

"Wait! Look!"

Two teenage witches jumped in between the demon kid and the Slitherbeast. One was a humanoid who wore purple collar and leg sleeves indicating his specialty was abomination magic. The other was a smaller, orange beast kid with green leg sleeves, collar, and headphones which indicated his specialty was plant magic.

Sure enough, the purple-collar kid waved his hand and conjured up a puddle of abomination gunk to make the Slitherbeast slip. The orange kid then casted a spell to create a net of vines to make it bounce away.

While the Slitherbeast was done, one last teen appeared jumping over it. It was a girl with purple hair. As soon as she hit the ground, she punched it and created a dome around the Slitherbeast made of the earth beneath it.

"Good work, guys!" the girl in the purple hair congratulated her peers.

The three teens gained a loud roar of cheerful applause for their amazing show of heroism. Gus, who was also impressed, lost his breath.

"Wow." Stephen commented. "Who are those guys?"

"I don't know." Clea said. "But judging by their uniforms, I'm guessing they're Glandus students."

"Glandus." Luz repeated. "Aren't they Hexside's rivals?"

"Only in sports… and academics… and Emperor's Coven recognition. Other than that, they gotta be okay people."

"Still," Stephen said, "Just to be safe, we should probably stay out of their…" He turned and realized they were one friend short. "Wait, where's Gus?"

While the young demon kid was embraced by his father, Gus headed down and met up with the three.

"Wow! Just wow!" Gus commented. "Plants. Abomination. Construction. Potions. You guys took down that Slitherbeast like it was nothing."

"Nah. It wasn't that easy." The construction witch said humbly.

"Yeah, looked like you had a real hard time out there." The abomination witch said to his friend.

"You're Glandus students, right? I go to Hexside. Name's…"

"Gus!" Stephen called as he hovered down with the Cloak of Levitation. He landed right next to his friend. "Gus, I get that you're starstruck by these three, but you shouldn't bother them."

"Sorry." Gus said bashfully. "I just…"

"It's okay, dude." The construction girl assured. "He was no bother at all. Hey… Wait a minute. Aren't you Stephen Strange, the human who can do magic?"

"You've heard of me?" Stephen asked.

"Duh. You're pretty much a sensation among the schools all over the Boiling Isles. I know that Glandus even offered you a place with us, but you turned it down."

"Yeah. Sorry." Stephen said. "The thing is, Hexside had more to offer."

"No hard feelings. The plant guy here is Angmar, abomination boy is Gavin, and I'm…"

"BRIA!" yelled out a familiar boy who ran to join in on the conversation. He ran at them with a piece of paper in his hands and heavy breaths. "I would've helped, but, like, there was this other baby in danger. You probably couldn't see."

"Mattholomule?" Gus asked recognizing his old rival from the Human Appreciation Society.

"Augustus? And Strange too?" Mattholomule gasped.

"Oh. You know each other?" Gavin asked.

"Unfortunately." Stephen replied. "Matt here tried to get me thrown into a detention pit, but I turned the tables on him."

"Back off, you two!" Mattholomule said. "This operation is Glandus kids only!"

"Glandus?" Stephen asked. "I thought you attended Hexside."

"I'm a transfer student."

"Hey, Matty, it's all cool." Bria said. "Did you get the map?"

"Yes!" Mattholomule answered holding up his paper. "And I only had to endure 35 noogies from my older brother."

"Nice work." Bria congratulated taking the paper and unfolding it to study.

"Well, sorry for this crazy encounter." Stephen said. "If you need us, we've got an appointment in the library and…"

"Wait!" Bria interrupted. "Have you ever heard of the Galderstones?"

"They're powerful relics." Gavin went on. "Many witches and demons have sought them."

"But they've all returned empty-handed, haunted by its guardian." Angmar said. "Until us."

"Our principal tasked us with gathering them," Bria said, "But it'll be rough going. We could use the extra strength. What do you two say?"

"That sounds awesome, but I can't." Gus said.

"Neither can I." Stephen said. "Like I said, we need to get to work someplace in the library."

Suddenly, Luz appeared out of nowhere having finally breathing her way out of the invisibility glyph she placed on herself. Clea ran behind her having catching up.

"Luz! Why did you turn invisible?" Stephen asked.

"Sorry, bro. Gus ran away so fast and you floated down on your cloak. And when I caught up with you, I didn't want to interrupt, so… Gus, I think you should go."

"Well, he can't!" Mattholomule protested. "Gus is just an illusionist. He'll only hold us back."

"HA! Shows what you know." Luz retorted. "Gus here is a regular super-witch."

"He is?" Stephen asked.

Gus pulled Luz away to whisper to her. "Luz, I see what you're doing, and it's really sweet, but I don't actually know any spells besides illusions."

"No problem." Luz said handing Gus a packet full of spell glyphs. "Come on, man. You know I'm all about proving jerks wrong."

"That's true. She is." Stephen said.

"I can't argue with her there." Clea said.

"All right." Gus said turning to the other kids. "I'm in. Where do we find these Galderstones?"

"We're journeying to the Looking Glass Ruins." Bria said.

Stephen's eyes widened at the sound of that name. He quickly jerked his head around to join in on the conversation. "Hold on. Did you say, the Looking Glass Ruins?"

"Yep. That's what the place is called." Bria said. "It's hidden deep in the Forearm Forest."

Stephen dropped his jaw and pulled everyone in for a group huddle. "Guys, I think I should go too."

"What?" Clea asked. "Why?"

"It's all in here." Stephen said pulling out the Ancient One's journal. He opened it up and looked inside at a certain page that had a drawing of a scroll on it. "Here it is. The Mirror Scroll. Whoever reads from it is capable of entering the Mirror Dimension, a parallel dimension where the laws of physics can be manipulated without affecting the real world at all. It's the last Ancient One relic we need to find other than the Eye of Agamotto."

"That sounds awesome," Gus said, "But what does that have to do with these guys?"

"There's a passage on the Mirror Scroll written on this page. It reads 'To find where the scroll is so you can claim, search the ruins with the synonymous name. Within its fog, the Caretaker will guide, so you may find the scroll where the Dreamcaster lied'."

"The ruins with the synonymous name?" Luz asked.

"Exactly." Stephen said. "Another name for a mirror is a looking glass. Therefore…"

"The Mirror Scroll must be there." Gus said.

"But who are the Caretaker and the Dreamcaster?" Clea asked.

"I don't know." Stephen said. "But if the Mirror Scroll is there, it's worth investigating. And if there's danger awaiting us there, maybe these Glandus kids can help. Sorry, Luz, but I'm gonna have to sit out of this library trip."

"No problemo, Stephen. In fact…" Luz said pushing Clea closer to him. "Take Clea with you. You'll need all the help you can get."

"You sure?" Clea asked.

"Oh, yeah. Totally. This smells like a couples thing, and you two are a couple. So… Good luck." Luz said as she turned and walked away.

Stephen, who wasn't convinced, asked, "We all know she just wants some alone time with Amity, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Clea said.

Stephen turned to the Glandus students. "All right, you four. We're in."

"Super!" Bria said. "To the Looking Glass Ruins!"

The kids ventured into the Forearm Forest where Bria took the lead with her machete. She used it to chop her way through the trees and bushes that blocked her path.

"This will be a breeze once we get the Galderstones." she commented.

"What can the Galderstones actually do?" Gus asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually curious myself." Stephen said. "I know I'm looking for something else in the ruins, but…"

"Pfft! Whatever it is, it can't possibly match the Galderstones." Mattholomule said. "If you're holding one, any spell you cast gets a big power boost."

"I can grow an entire forest and make my own butterfly sanctuary." Angmar said.

"I could create the biggest abomination ever." Gavin said. "I bet Dad will pay attention to that."

"Just don't forget, guys." Bria said. "Our principal is the one who sent us to get some. Don't worry. I'm sure we'll all get a piece as a reward."

"Your principal?" Clea asked.

"Yeah. He's a pretty serious guy. He said we've been 'falling behind' on our studies and sent us to get the Galderstones for extra credit." Bria said. "Don't worry though. We're sure to put him in a good mood once we get the stones for him."

"Sorry that Gus can't have one." Mattholomule said. "Doesn't do squat for illusions. Can't enhance what's not actually there."

"Pfft. I know that." Gus said in a nervous sweat.

"Hold up, guys." Bria said. She stopped at a large wall of thorny branches. "We've come to our first challenge."

"It's no issue." Stephen said. "I'll just cast a fireball and clear us a way."

Mattholomule then grinned while looking at Gus. "Actually, why don't we let Augustus handle this? What did the human girl call you? A 'super witch'?"

"What?" Stephen asked. "Really, that's not necessary."
"Actually, that's a great idea." Bria said bringing Gus to the front. "Go on, Gus. I know you can do it."

Nervously, Gus stepped forward and faced the thorn wall. He secretly pulled out one of the glyph papers that Luz gave earlier. He was unsure which one it was, so he took a shot in the dark.

"Fireball!" Gus cried out as he cast the glyph while making it look like he casted it himself. Sure enough, a big ball of fire was blasted and created a circular tunnel in the briar.

The Glandus students cheered in appreciation at Gus for his remarkable feat, except for Mattholomule who just stared in disbelief.

"I knew it was a good idea to bring you!" Bria congratulated.

"I don't know what's going on," Mattholomule said suspiciously, "But I've got my eyes on you."

Once the Hexside students passed, Stephen and Clea caught up with Gus.

"That was pretty risky, Gus." Stephen said. "What if you casted a light spell instead?"

"I know." Gus said. "But hey, it worked. No illusion required."

"Gus, I know you're having a bad time with illusions, but you shouldn't let it get to you." Clea said. "Did I ever tell you about my first time on the healing track?"

"No." Gus said.

"Well, I've always wanted to help people, so I decided to be a healer. The problem is, my first few experiments where I had to heal something didn't turn out so well. I ended up causing more bruises than I can make them disappear. I was on the verge of switching to an easier track. That's when an accident occurred before my eyes. Skara accidentally fell over the railing in the grand hall and fell two stories until she hit the ground. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. There were no healers around and she was fading fast. With no other choice, I went to work on her. It was stressful, and admittedly, there were times when I was second-guessing myself. But despite it all, I trusted my instincts and made the right choices. I managed to save her until she could be treated by the nurse. The funny thing is, the nurse told me that she wasn't needed after I helped. Skara would make a full recovery soon, and it was thanks to me. And if I could get praise from a professional, then I knew I would make a good healer."

"I see what you mean." Gus said with a sigh. "The problem is, I don't think there's any professional illusionist who'll like what I make. I'll… I'll think about it." He walked along ahead leaving Stephen and Clea alone in the back.

"Pretty nice story." Stephen complimented.

"Thanks. Believe it or not, that's how I ended up on Bosha's friend group. Because of Skara's injuries, she was unable to play on the Grudgby team for a couple of weeks, so I thought I could take her place. One thing led to another, and you know the rest."

"Boy, do I ever?" Stephen asked with a chuckle. "You lead a pretty good life."

"Yeah. Thanks." Clea said before kissing Stephen's cheek.

"According to the map," Mattholomule said leading the way, "We should be getting close."

Suddenly, a white tail wrapped around his ankle and yanked him up. He was held upside down staring face to face with a white snake that hissed in his face. He couldn't help but scream at it.

"I'll take care of this." Stephen said pulling out his Axe of Angarruumus and threw it at the tree right next to the snake. The serpent was so startled, it released Mattholomule letting him fall to the ground.

"Come on, dude." Gavin said as he and Angmar picked him up.

"I'm not surprised he couldn't handle Glandus."

"What did they mean by 'couldn't handle Glandus'?" Gus asked Bria.

"Things work differently at Glandus." Bria answered. "Weak students are pushed around by the strong."

"Sounds like a real piece of work." Stephen said.

"It usually is." Bria said. "But if I had a Galderstone, I might be able to change things for the better."

"That's pretty noble." Clea said. "So what about the principal? What does he gain from the Galderstones?"

"Well…"

"Hey! Over here!" Angmar cried out.

The students followed and quickly found themselves at an ancient gateway with a smiling face on one door and a frown at another. Above it is a partially broken archway that read "Looking Glass".

"Safe to say we found the place." Clea said.

"Okay then. Angmar, you're on lookout duty." Bria said before realizing that her classmate was distracted by a wandering butterfly. She then spoke in a tone that sounded sweet, but made Angmar look afraid. "Angmar. I said you're on lookout duty. And if I catch you playing with any more bugs, I'll make you eat them, okay?" Angmar slightly whimpered letting the butterfly drift away. "I believe in you."

As the kids opened the gates and entered, they noticed a collection of statues of hooded people who's bottom halves were covered by a very dense fog. Along the way, Stephen joined up with Bria for a talk.

"Hey, what was that with Angmar? You sounded playful, but he acted like you were threatening him."

"Oh, that?" Bria chuckled. "Nah. I was just teasing him. It's just something we do in Glandus."

"Ooooookay." Stephen said. "Well, you guys can look for your Galderstones while I look for my thing."

"Just be careful, all right?" Clea asked. "I'm getting a funny feeling about this place."

"So do I." Stephen said. "Don't worry. I'll keep my guard up." He then turned and walked ahead deeper into the ruins while the others went in a separate direction.

The students found themselves in a circle of hooded figure statues that surrounded them. They watched in amazement at them. They then noticed a big, blue gemstone held in each of the statue's hands, mostly covered by leaves.

Bria headed to one of the statues and climbed up one of them. She grabbed the stone and yanked it out accidentally breaking a piece of the statue's hands in the tug. Although, she didn't seem remorseful about that. After that, she jumped back down to the ground to face her peers.

"Well, we did it, everyone." Bria said. "The power of the Galderstones is ours." She activated the stone in her hands which glowed along with her gloves. She slammed her hand on the ground, and all of a sudden, a massive piece of land the size of a tower burst from the ground.

"WHOA!" Clea gasped out. "That's, uh… That's a lot of power."

"I know." Bria squealed. "The legends were true. Come on, everyone. Take as many Galderstones as you can."

"Actually…" Clea started to say, "I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."

"What are you talking about?" Gavin asked. "Did you see how powerful Bria was with that thing?"

"Yes, I did." Clea answered. "It was a fun idea to use these Galderstones, but seeing them work up close… I don't know. They seem too dangerous for anyone to use."

"Oh, you worry too much." Bria said. "I mean, who's going to stop us?"

During the conversation, Gus noticed something at the base of each statue, which was covered by foliage. He pushed the leaves away and found a plaque on one of them.

"'Mari, the Phantom Bringer'?" Gus read curiously before gasping. He then went to other plaques and read from them. "'Aleth, the Vision Creator'. 'Khari, the Mirage Maker'. But these titles are for… Oh, man!"

Despite Clea's protests, the other kids had already picked out four Galderstones before Gus ran up to them.

"STOP!"

"Gus, what's wrong?" Clea asked.

"These aren't ruins." Gus told everyone. "This is an illusionist graveyard."

"Ew!" Mattholomule exclaimed dropping his Galderstone while Bria just giggled.

"Aw, Gus. You're saying that as if it's a bad thing."

"What?" Gus asked. "Of course, it is. These stones were theirs. We shouldn't take them."

"Gus is right." Clea said. "We're practically graverobbing. And these stones appear to be sacred. So not only is it illegal, it's not right."

"Even if these witches were alive, what would illusionists use Galderstones for? High-def party tricks." Bria asked. She gave one of the stones to Gus. "Come on, Gus. Don't you want to power up those cool spells of yours?"

Gus looked at his reflection in the Galderstone and answered. "No. This isn't right. I won't let you steal these."

Bria's happy expression changed into annoyed. "Oh, you're just as ungrateful as Strange."

"Hey, we might as well treat him the way we're going to treat Strange, huh, Bria?" Gavin asked.

"Gavin!" Bria yelled out.

"Wait. 'Treat Srange'?" Clea asked in a concerned tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bria sighed before answering. "Well, I suppose you're gonna find out sooner or later. You see, your human boyfriend is very special. He would've been the most respected student in Glandus. We offered him every benefit we could've given him. Instead, he chose Hexside over us. We've got to show the Boiling Isles that we can't let such disrespect go unpunished. So with these Galderstones, we're going to catch him by surprise and teach him a lesson."

"WHAT?!" Gus and Clea gasped.

"What?!" Mattholomule gasped as well. "Hold on! That wasn't the plan!"

"Well, the plan changed ever since we ran into Strange and convinced him to come with us." Gavin said.

"How could you possibly think I was okay with this?" Clea asked angrily. "You think I'd just sit back and let you beat up my boyfriend?"

"No, we thought the opposite in fact." Bria said. "Thankfully, we're the ones with more Galderstones than you."

All five kids were readying for a fight. Gus and Clea looked hesitant while Mattholomule looked hesitant. Suddenly, Angmar ran in from out of nowhere with a face full of fear.

"It's real! The guardian is real! And it's coming this way!"

Just as Angmar warned, a beast came out of the graveyard mist forcing everyone to hide behind the gravestones. They watched as the mist swirled around into a vortex before changing into a blue beast with bright-blue fire burning out of its tail, fins, ears, and wings.

"I heard it has the power to control weather." Angmar whispered.

"And summon ghosts." Gavin added.

"Well, I wonder if it can handle a couple expendable witches." Bria said before pushing both Gus and Clea out of their hiding places.

With the two out in the open, the guardian turned and faced them. It howled as it flew into their direction.

Gus reached into his shirt and pockets, but he pulled out his empty hands. "I'm all out of glyphs."

"Good thing I don't need them!" Clea said before casting her own fire spell. She launched a fireball toward the guardian, but she was shocked as it passed through as though it were a ghost itself. "What the…"

The Guardian roared creating a rain of electrical storms around them. Clea and Gus ran around to avoid the lightning before they could strike them. They then took their chance and hid themselves behind a boulder.

"We're getting creamed out there, Gus!" Clea said. "Clearly, my magic has no effect on it!"

"Maybe…" Gus stammered for a second. "Okay, I got an idea. It's kind of a long shot, but maybe I can scare the guardian away."

"Worth a shot." Clea said.

Gus ran out of his cover and launched a spell of his own. From his hands, he created an identical creature that resembled the guardian, but with a more purple shade. He made it roar before it poofed into a puff of smoke.

"Well, that didn't work." Clea said. "Any other ideas?"

"I… I don't know… I… Wait. What?"

Gus and Clea watched as the guardian itself started to turn out of focus. Like Gus' illusion, it suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving a single old man in its place.

"Oh-ho. I am the Caretaker, keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard. And it has been a very long since I've had visitors. And to think, one of them would be another illusionist. Though, I don't remember them being so small."

"Wait a minute." Clea said coming out of hiding. "You're the Caretaker? My boyfriend's looking for you. He's following the instructions left to him by the Ancient One."

"The Ancient One?" The Caretaker asked. "You found the Ancient One's journal?"

"Did you know her?" Gus asked.

"Oh, yes." The Caretaker said. "I knew her when I was just a kid. She told me that when the time comes, she would send a good witch to the graveyard where I can lead him to the Mirror Scroll, which is buried with the Ancient One's most loyal illusionist."

Gus gasped. "The Dreamcaster."

"Exactly. Along with protecting the Galderstones, my most sacred duty is to make sure the Mirror Scroll fell into the right hands."

"But why an illusionist?" Clea asked. "No offense to your craft, but why are you entrusted with protecting the Galderstones."

"Well, the Ancient One thought it would be the most logical choice. Illusionists gain no power from the Galderstones, so we're the least likely to use them for evil. Probably. But don't worry. I know better than to defy her will."

"Well, we gotta get out of here. Now." Gus said.

It was too late. Clea, Gus, and the Caretaker soon found themselves surrounded by Bria and her gang, each using a Galderstone to boost their abilities.

"So, the big bad guardian is just another useless illusionist. Today just keeps getting better." Bria said while Gavin used his magic to summon an abomination to squeeze the three together. Angmar then used his magic to tie them up with thick vines.

"You won't get away with this!" Clea shouted.

"We'll see about that after we make Stephen beg for mercy, of which we have none." Bria said as she and her group continued to grab more Galderstones.

While the gang was distracted with getting as much stones as they could carry, Clea, Gus, and the Caretaker struggled to escape. They stopped when Mattholomule approached them.

"Hey." he said nervously. "Look, I didn't know she was gonna do this. The graverobbing. The hurt your friend. I just thought it was harmless treasure hunting."

"Yeah, and how's that working out for you?" Clea asked.

"Badly." Mattholomule said. "This is exactly how it was at Glandus. Always Bria's stooge."

"Better a stooge than a clown." Gus said sadly. "Bria was right. Illusions are nothing but high-def party tricks."

"Yeah, I used to think that too." Mattholomule said conjuring a knife with his construction magic, which he then used to start cutting the vines. "But then, your friend, Strange, he got the best of me with a simple illusion spell. Even though my plan to get rid of him was complex, he simply made a fake sticker to unravel my plan. And because of that… I don't know. He's… earned my respect, I guess. What I'm saying is, even the cleverest plan can be undone by a tiny illusion. So maybe it's not as useless as you think."

As he finished his speech, the vines were completely cut and Gus, Clea, and the Caretaker were free.

"Thanks, Mattholomule." Gus said with a smile.

"I can't believe out of all people, you got a cheer-up speech from Mattholomule." Clea said.

"I'd argue with you, but I'm just as shocked as you are." Mattholomule said. "Now, I believe they're probably looking for your friend by now."

"Then we gotta stop them." Gus said.

"I agree." The Caretaker said. "I'll call the hounds."

"With all due respect, Caretaker, sir," Gus said, "I'd like to try something a little more creative."

Stephen Strange walked along the foggy ruins keeping his eye out left and right.

"Let's see here. If I were a Caretaker, where would I be? Well, I'd obviously be not here. If I were the Caretaker, I'd probably fire myself for letting this place fall to pieces. I…"

"Oh, Strange!"

Stephen heard a familiar voice and turned. Bria stepped out of the fog to approach him with a smile.

"Bria?" Stephen asked. "What's up? Did you find the Galderstones?"
"Oh, we found them all right." Bria said holding one of the stones up for him to see. "And guess what. As it turns out, this place is a graveyard for illusionists."

"What?" Stephen gasped with bulging eyes.

"Oh, don't feel too bad." Bria said. "Let me put it this way. Since this is a graveyard, then it's the perfect place to bury you."

Before Stephen could process what she said, a pair of vines shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around his wrists. He struggled in vain as he was pulled to the ground. Just then, a giant abomination was formed behind him and stepped hard on Stephen pressing his cloak stuck to his back. While Angmar and Gavin emerged from the fog with their Galderstones, Bria approached Stephen creating a gigantic fist out of stone around her hand.

"What's going on?" Stephen asked.

"We're just playing Glandus rules, Stephen." Bria said raising her fist ready to punch. "And at Glandus, we don't stand talented witches turning their backs on us!"

Stephen braced himself for the incoming punch that was sure to give him a concussion. But suddenly, much to everyone's surprise, the vines holding his wrists released him and sunk back into the ground. Bria looked over at Angmar and caught him being distracted by a strange, glowing butterfly that he followed deep into the fog.

"Uh, was it just me, or did that butterfly look a little anime?" Stephen asked. "But now that I'm free…"

Stephen threw his hands and fired a fireball at the abomination that trampled him. It blew apart and he ran away to gain some distance between him and the bullies.

"You can't beat us, Strange." Bria said. "There's two of us and only one of you, and we have Galderstones. Right, Gavin? …Gavin?"

"Dad?!" Gavin gasped seeing a figure in the distance. It was a person who looked like Gavin, but with a big mustache under his nose.

"Gavin, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. Now, how about we grab some ice cream, son?"

Gavin gasped before happily running to his "dad". "That sounds great, Pops! Wait, when did you grow a mustache?"

"Hey, don't blow this chance."

Gavin and the person who he mistook for his dad walked into the fog unable to be seen again.

"What's going on?" Bria asked with clenching teeth.

"Not gonna lie, I'm just as confused as you." Stephen said.

Bria gasped before looking around angrily. "Of course. It's too obvious. Come out, illusionist! I'm not dumb enough to fall for these tricks!"

All of a sudden, the entire graveyard was surrounded by a dark shadow. Stephen was about to say something, but a hand covered his mouth and pulled him away. He turned and saw Clea, who lead him behind a gravestone.

"Shh." Clea whispered. "I'll explain later."

Meanwhile, Bria struck the ground and created a stone pillar. When she did, all the darkness reverted away and she found herself back at the graveyard.

"That's right! Who's strong now?" Bria exclaimed proudly. "I never needed those losers anyway. I can use these Galderstones to beat Strange to the ground by myself and finally gain the respect of Principal Kai…"

Suddenly, Bria was interrupted again by a sudden fog that rolled in. She looked back and saw that along with the fog, all the hooded statues turned their heads and groaned in her direction. Their eyes glowed red and blood dripped from their sockets and mouths.

One of the statues, which was laying facedown on the ground, crawled its way over to Bria, who tried to keep a brave face on and fight the fear that made her tremble. She tried to cast a spell, but just as he was about to cast it, her circle dissipated into nothingness. She tried again, but it still didn't work.

"Why isn't my magic working?" Bria asked looking at her hands, which appeared to be turning to stone. She gasped and screamed stepping away from the Galderstones she tried to steal. As her hands crumpled into pieces, she was even more afraid. "What's going on? No, no. This is all just an illusion. It can't actually hurt me. It can't even touch me."

All of a sudden, the crawling statue reached out its hand and grasped tightly around Bria's leg. As she felt its grip on her ankle, she gasped. The statue looked up, and her fears became final when she noticed that the stone head matched that of her own.

"CURSED! THIS PLACE IS CURSED!" Bria screamed freeing her leg. She proceeded to turn and run as fast as she could out the front gate. She gave a loud scream while leaving through the fog.

As soon as Gus was sure the Glandus students were gone, he dropped his illusion, which was cast around the entire graveyard. He even cast an illusion on himself to disguise himself as the stone Bria.

Once the illusion fell, Gus looked tired. "Man, that took a lot of concentration."

The Caretaker and Mattholomule stepped out of their hiding places to help Gus back up.

"Laying an illusion over the whole graveyard to make it seem like the sones weren't working. Very clever." The Caretaker praised. "Keep honing your powers of observation, child, and there's no limit to what you'll be able to do."

"Wow. Praise from a fellow illusionist." Gus said happily. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I told you." Clea said as she emerged with Stephen.

"Now, would someone please tell me what the heck's going on?" Stephen asked.

"Right. Introductions." Gus said. He gestured his hands to the old man. "Stephen Strange, meet the Caretaker."

Stephen quickly turned his eyes at the old man. "You? You're the Caretaker?"

"Indeed, I am. And you must be the Ancient One's chosen one. I gotta admit, I kinda expected you a little older. But hey, who am I to judge someone by their age?"

"Right." Stephen said. "Anyway, I was told you would help me find the 'Dreamcaster' or something?"

"Indeed, I can." The Caretaker said. "Follow me."

"You go on ahead." Mattholomule said. "I'm gonna stick around and help repair the damage my classmates did."

"Is Mattholomule volunteering to help someone?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. It's a crazy day." Clea said.

"I'll stay behind and help him." Gus said. "Besides, this Ancient One stuff seems like a 'you' thing.

The Caretaker lead the way across the graveyard with Stephen and Clea behind him.

"So, the Ancient One made you the Caretaker of this place, huh?" Stephen asked.

"Well, actually, it's a title given to the most honorable illusionists." The Caretaker explained. "This is a sacred place for people who practice my craft, and the Ancient One knew it. That's why she trusted her student to be buried here with her treasure."

"So you weren't a student of hers?" Clea asked.

"Not really. My teachings came from the previous Caretaker. The only time I ever saw the Ancient One was when she gave me my task of protecting the Mirror Scroll until the time came. Ah, here we are."

The Caretaker stopped when he approached a flat grave with a plaque written on it.

"Tarin, the Dreamcaster."

Together, Stephen, Clea, and the Caretaker removed the tomb's lid revealing a skeleton inside. It was dressed in a dark-blue hood with a scroll in his hand. Stephen nervously reached in and carefully pulled the scroll out of its bony hands without touching the dead parts.

Once he succeeded, Stephen unraveled the scroll in his hands and gazed at the words written on the scroll. He gasped as they glowed before him. It only lasted a moment before reverting back to normal.

"Well, that's that." The Caretaker said. "You finally know the spell for entering the Mirror Dimension."

"What?" Stephen asked. "I don't know squat. Not to mention, I can't make heads or tails of what this scroll is saying."

"From what I heard, the spell is meant to be imprinted into your mind as soon as you read it. When the time comes, you'll act on instinct and be able to enter the Mirror Dimension in to time."

"So… can we keep this?" Clea asked pointing at the scroll.

"I don't see why not."

After returning to the central area of the graveyard, Stephen, Clea, and the Caretaker looked in surprise seeing all the broken statues restored to normal. The two witches responsible stood proudly side by side.

"Nice work, you two." Stephen said.

"Thanks." Mattholomule said. "I'm quite proud of it."

"Thank you for defending the Looking Glass graveyard, witchlings." The Caretaker said. "Now that the Mirror Scroll has finally been uncovered, perhaps it's time to I hid this place for good."

"But there's so much history here." Gus said.

"What if we came back on the weekend to help build your defenses?" Mattholomule offered.

The Caretaker smiled at the idea. "I would like that very much. The four of you are welcome to come back whenever you please." He returned into the graveyard fog while the kids waved back at him.

"He is definitely a ghost." Mattholomule surmised.

"So, level with me, you two." Clea said toward Gus and Mattholomule. "Are you two friends now, or what?"

"I… don't know." Mattholomule answered.

"Me either." Gus said. "But at least we're no longer trying to get each other in trouble, right?"

"I suppose so." Mattholomule said. "In that case, there's probably something you should know. It's probably not a big deal, but if the worst happens, then you should probably have a heads up."

"What is it?" Stephen asked.

"As bad as Bria is, the Glandus principal is much worse." Mattholomule said. "The whole reason he wanted the Galderstones was to get a leg up on every other school in the Boiling Isles. He wants as much power as he can get his hands on, and once he hears how you guys pretty much ruined his chances of getting the Galderstones, he's surely going to go mad."

"Like angry-mad or crazy-mad?" Gus asked.

"Yes." Mattholomule answered. "Trust me. You do NOT want to cross Principal Kaecilius."

After saying bye to Gus and Mattholomule, Stephen and Clea returned to the Owl Sanctum where they went straight to the bedroom where they found Luz with burn marks, a couple of bruises, and a paper stuck in her hair. She was just sitting on top of her sleeping bag with her eyes widened.

"Luz, guess what." Stephen said. "We finally found the Mirror Scroll. That's almost all the Ancient One artifacts found. All that's left is to find the Eye of Agamotto, and this one is definitely the hardest. But hey, at least we can cross one more item off our list and…"

Clea stopped Stephen by grabbing onto his arm and pointing at Luz. As soon as he realized his sister's expression, he carefully approached her.

"Um… Is everything okay, Luz?"

"I… I don't know." Luz answered. "I mean, probably. But also… Oh, I don't know!"

"Okay. Take it easy." Stephen said. "What happened? Did you find the diary in the library?"

"Well, yes, kinda." Luz said. She then held up a little mouse that looked like it had a skull for a head. "By the time Amity and I found the book, this little guy ate up all the pages."

"It did?" Stephen asked followed by a groan. "So why…"

"It's okay." Luz said. "Amity called it an echo mouse, which eats books and plays them back. Look."

Luz scratched the mouse's head and let it flash its eyes at the wall like a film projector. Stephen and Clea watched in amazement as a set of images appeared on the wall like a movie. There was also a man's voice that narrated the images.

"My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today, I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry 1: May 21st… I think. My name is Philip Wittebane, and I have found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have, but perhaps they shall, for the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today, I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm."

Once the show was over, the mouse ended its projection and yawned before tucking itself to sleep.

"Whoa!" Clea exclaimed. "That was… Whoa! It's not exactly what we were looking for, but it's just as good."

"Clearly, this means we'd have to wait a little longer to figure out how to get home, but this is progress. Good work, Luz." Stephen said before noticing that Luz' expression had not changed. "Uh, Luz? Everything all right? I thought you'd be more excited about this."

"Oh. I am. Definitely. This is the best news I've had in weeks." Luz said. "It's just that… something else happened today. I… Oh, it's very embarrassing."

"Luz, I'm your brother." Stephen said. "Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me."

Luz took a breath before confessing very quickly. "Okay. So you could probably tell that I kinda have this attraction towards Amity ever since the whole fight at her parents' factory. So, she helped me find the diary in a forbidden section and was fired for it. She was upset, so I went through a bunch of trials before her boss, Malphas, was willing to hire her back. So I went to her house, she had a purple dye job which is honestly super cute, and she showed me what the echo mouse could do. Then she said 'You always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts', and then she… kissed me."

Stephen and Clea followed every word as much as they could, but when they heard that Amity kissed Luz, their eyes widened.

"She… kissed you?" Clea asked.

"Well, not on the lips. It was more of a cheek thing, but you know, it felt like it meant something. I think. I don't know. Amity rushed back into her house before anything else could be said. But what does it mean? Does this mean that I like her? Does this mean she likes me? I don't…"

"Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy." Stephen said trying to calm her down. "Look, I don't know the right answer for this. All I can tell you is, take your time to figure it out. Okay?"

Luz took a breath. "All right. Gracias, hermano."

"De nada." Stephen said. "I'll give you some time alone." He and Clea walked out of the room to leave Luz alone with her thoughts.

This day was full of an assorted amount of unexpected events. Gus' confidence in his abilities were reassured by his rival, all but one of the Ancient One's relics have been uncovered, and Luz and Amity's affection has been ignited. Only one question remains…

What comes next?