Welcome to the second episode of The Lost Episodes, 'Friends Again'. Warning: This is story contains slight blood and violence in later chapters. There is also a moment that some may consider transphobic, along with body image and self-hatred. These may be sensitive to certain readers. You have been warned.

Chapter 01: Numbers

Vee sat on the top bunk in the girl's room, reading a book on Latin culture on her tablet. Camila had bought her one after Vee had decided to not leave the house following the incident with her form (and the whole bear thing). Two weeks had passed since the incident and Vee was already getting bored. The only places she went to were their house and the Portal House, which Camila had only just yesterday allowed them to return to, and even then, only if she accompanied them.

Without a steady source of magic, Vee was stuck at home. Luz and the others stayed home with her, but it wasn't the same as going outside. She squeezed the tablet in frustration. The others were downstairs, watching television. They asked if she wanted to join, but she declined. They were more Luz's friends than hers, anyways.

Vee had instead decided to read up on Camila's cultural background. As a Basilisk, Vee didn't have a culture of her own. All that information had been lost hundreds of years ago. So, to compensate, she decided to take on Camila's. She was the closest thing she had to a parent, the closest thing to family she ever had.

She wasn't particularly close to the other Basilisks; they had been locked up and brutalized for so long, many of them had become just as bad as their jailors. Vee had seen them attack a group of Witches who had done nothing, simply because they needed magic. Ivy, or Number 4, was especially mean. Vee actually had to stop her from draining a kid!

A knock came at the door. "Mija?" It was Camila. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Of course," Vee said. She clicked her tablet off as Camila entered. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong." Camila walked over to her bunk, resting her forearms on the bars and her chin on them. "I just wanted to check on you. You haven't come out of your room since the whole bear thing."

"I've been out," Vee replied.

"I mean besides going to the bathroom and getting something to eat. You haven't hung out with Luz and the others; you haven't watched any television. I'm getting worried."

"I'm fine, Camila, really." Vee sat up. "I just wanna spend some time by myself. Read up on a few things I want to... read up on."

"Like what?"

"Well," Vee said, turning on her tablet and showing Camila the screen. "I've actually been reading about Latin culture."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were interested in Latin culture!" Camila said happily, taking the tablet. "Luz never showed much of an interest. More interested in her fantasy things. Though, I'm not sure if fantasy is the right word since we know it's all real now."

"Well, I like it," Vee told her. "I never had a culture of my own. It's nice seeing people embrace their heritage."

"Once we get you enough magic, we can take some Latin dance classes down at the community center." Camila handed her back the tablet. "Speaking of which, I heard at work today that the Gravesfield Historical Society is opening back up tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll head over there and see if I can find more magic stuff you can eat. Maybe they have more of those cards, or maybe even magic chips!"

"That'd be great!" Vee said. She hadn't eaten any magic since the whole bear incident. While the others had returned to full strength, Vee still wasn't comfortable draining them of magic. She refused to do so, even with their insistence and blessing. It reminded her too much of the rats back in the Boiling Isles, their painful little squeaks. "But how are you gonna tell what has magic and what doesn't?"

"I'll take Luz and Amity with me," Camila told her. "Amity says she can detect magic, so it'll be easy. Assuming there's something to find."

"I really hope you find something," Vee said, lying back down. "I told my friends from camp that I'd play games with them at the arcade."

"You said you smelled magic last time you were there," Camila said. "Which means it's probably still there. You just have to think positive."

Masha looked at themself in the mirror. They were finally going back to work after the whole bear fiasco and were actually excited to go back. There were a few reasons. The paycheck. The routine. The interesting books and lore. But the biggest was the magic. Or at least, the magic they hoped to find.

Masha turned to looked at their body. The shirt was nice and clean, free of any wrinkles and hair, the bumps from their chest pads helping give them a better figure. Their black skirt went down to their knees, despite their aunt's insistence on bringing it up (which they found funny; most parents, adults in general, would insist the opposite). When they were satisfied with the way they were dressed, they went to their dresser and opened the top drawer.

Covered by their collection of underwear was the wand they used against the bear two weeks prior. They picked it up and inspected it. They hadn't used it since then, despite their strong desire to do so. They saw how powerful it was, capable of blasting a massive bear several feet into the air. How it didn't die, let alone even bleed, was beyond them. They looked for a dial, or a button, or anything they could use to lower the power setting on it, but they couldn't find anything. They could tell it still had some power left; they could feel it whenever they held it. If only a little bit.

Masha hoped to find some books on how to use the wand. They hoped Jacob had some books on the subject, since they couldn't find anything useful online. There was far too much information to go through, and most of it was probably useless. They doubted Jacob actually knew what the wand could do, since if he did, he definitely would've showed everyone. Or he did know, and he was too stupid to do so. Honestly, either one was possible.

Masha threw the wand into their purse and exited their room. They went downstairs, finding their Aunt Rose cooking breakfast. She was an exceptionally beautiful thirty-year-old woman, with long black hair and lightly tanned skin. She was also very fit, with a skinny waist and toned body, all thanks to her exercise routine, despite her poor diet. "Morning, Masha!" she said loudly. "You ready for work?"

"I am," Masha replied, taking a seat at the table. They looked at Rosie, their dog, eating out of her bowl in the corner of the kitchen. Their aunt didn't like feeding Rosie food from a can, preferring to give her a healthy piece of baked chicken (and the odd table scrap), preferring to save the cans for when they were in a hurry.

"How's your arm?"

"Good." Masha curled their purse as if it were a weight. "No pain at all."

"Thank Goddess!" Aunt Rose walked over put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of Masha. "Enjoy!"

Masha ate as Rose grabbed a plate for herself. Rosie walked over and sat between them, giving them her best begging face as they ate. Masha passed her a couple halves of bacon as they ate, Rosie gently taking them out of their hand.

Masha moved in with their aunt after their parents' deaths about three years ago. Despite having been a party girl with no real responsibilities, Rose had taken them in the moment they were orphaned. Masha had always admired their aunt, seeing her as a fun-loving spirit. She was only twenty-seven when she took them in. That admiration only grew when Masha had told her about their gender and sexual identities last year, and she responded with nothing but support. Not only did she help them with their clothes and make-up, but she was also looking into doctors to help in their transition!

"I honestly can't wait for work," Masha said. "Can't believe I've been off for two weeks. It's weird."

"I still can't believe you wanna go back. Not after being attacked by a bear."

"I'm not gonna let something as dumb as a near death experience stop me from doing what I want," Masha told her. "It would take something WAY bigger than a bear to do that. Maybe a werewolf."

"You're a brave kid," Aunt Rose said.

"I'm an open trans-kid in a world where some people publicly hate me just for being me," Masha said with defiant smile. "Bears are NOTHING in comparison."

The two laughed at the (sadly true) joke.

Once they finished eating and the plates were all in the sink, they headed for the car, the two of them petting Rose as they exited. Rose drove Masha to work first. The car was hot, the two occupants opening the windows to let some cool air in.

"We seriously need to get the air conditioner fixed," Masha said. They put their right arm out the window, bringing it up and down, as if surfing.

"This car uses special freon," Aunt Rose told them. "The garage I go to needs to special order it."

"Why does it need special freon?" Masha asked. They put their now cold hand against their face, enjoying the cool touch.

"They do that, so you have to buy from them. Like Pineapple computers, they want you to only use THEIR products. Screens, batteries, mouses, it only works with THEIR products." Masha shook their head at that. When they arrived at the Gravesfield Historical Society, Masha stepped out of the car. "I'll be here at five to pick you up. Oh, and I got you something to for work." She opened her purse and fished out a piece of metal.

"What is it?" Masha asked, taking it from her through the car window.

"It's a name plate," she replied. "It has your pronouns on it. That way you don't have to keep telling people. It must be annoying having to constantly tell people."

"Cool! Thanks, Aunt Rose!" Masha inspected the nameplate, touched the emboldened THEY/THEM letter, then put it in their purse.

"See you after work!" Rose blew Masha a kiss and drove off.

Masha waved goodbye as Rose drove off, blowing her a kiss. When she was out of sight, Masha went inside. They were greeted by the owner, a heavy-set woman with red hair, which was starting to go gray. She showed them the repairs that were done following the bear attack, as well as some added protection measures. The bear had not only damaged the security room and some of the exhibits, but it even made a large hole where one of the windows was. If it wasn't for the fact that the owner was wealthy and loved the place so much, it would have probably taken far longer than a simple two weeks to repair.

"This is for emergencies only," the owner told Masha, stressing the point. She took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the safe she kept in the back office. She reached in and pulled out a big, metal spray bottle with a picture of a brown bear on it. "This is bear mace. I bought it after the whole bear incident. If that wasn't obvious enough."

"Whoa," Masha said, taking the bottle. It wasn't as heavy as they thought it would be. "I've only seen this stuff in television."

"Like I said, it's for EMERGENCIES! ONLY! Spray this on a person, and you could face some serious criminal charges. Keep it in the safe and take it out if anything wanders in."

"I doubt that bear will come back," Masha replied. "I read about rabies while I was off, and according to the internet, most animals die from it in a week, two at best."

"Yes, and the internet is such a great place to find medical information," the owner said sarcastically. "I read some animals can last more than a month. Some, though rare, can actually survive for years, or even just live with it. There's so much information, I don't know which to believe."

"Yeah, I guess the internet's not the be all end all everyone thinks it is."

After showing Masha the new computer in the lobby, which was now connected to the security cameras around the property, she left for the day. Masha spent the first hour relaxing, scrolling through their phone, looking at social media, watching YouTube videos.

As they scrolled MyFace, their favorite social media app, they decided to look at Luz's. They saw pictures of her and her new friends, including some of random girls, who Masha realized was Vee in different forms. They could tell from the way she was always smiling, giving a peace sign; she always did that in their photos. She also mostly stayed in the background.

They felt bad for her; she didn't really seem that close with them, more like a third wheel (or sixth wheel?). They also saw pictures of Luz and her pretty girlfriend, the one with purple hair, whose name escape Masha. Something with an 'A'. They were still annoyed at her for the way she acted towards them a few weeks back.

Around 11 am, their friends, Marco and Darko, showed up. Marco was dressed in cargo pants and blue and white striped t-shirt, while Darko was wearing his purple shirt and black denim shorts.

"Hey, Masha!" Marco said happily. "How's work?"

"Eh, you know, pretty good," Masha replied.

"Seems kinda dead in here," Darko said sullenly.

"That's why it's pretty good," Masha told him. "You should see this place when it gets dark. Nice and spooky!"

"I still don't get why you get a night shift," Darko said. "I mean, why be open at night?"

"The owner gives me a night shift since she likes me," Masha replied. "I told her how spooky atmospheres help me write and do my drawing, so she keeps it open later for me. She even pays me more since I essentially work as night security."

"Wow, she sounds cool," Marco said.

"She is. Good thing she's loaded, otherwise this place would've been closed for weeks, maybe months. Assuming it even opened back up."

The three sat in the front room, talking about games, television shows, and whatever else they liked.

"I can't believe you actually came back here," Marco said, adjusting his glasses. "I think I would've quit."

"You sound like my aunt," Masha replied. "I'll tell you what I told her; only a werewolf is big enough to make me quit this job."

"I heard how big that thing was," Darko said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it really was a werewolf. How'd you even scare it away? You never gave us any details."

"I didn't, did I?" Masha looked at their purse. They picked opened it up, taking out the wand and showing it to them. They hadn't told their friends about it so much was going on, but now seemed like a good time. "Okay, you might think I'm joking here, but I swear to Goddess, this is the thing that scared away the bear."

"A wand?" Darko asked. "Looks like something you'd buy in a Halloween shop."

"Is it one of those flashlight wands from The Good Witch Azura?" Marco asked.

"NO, it's not a flashlight!" Masha told him. "It's a magic wand! A REAL magic wand!"

The two friends looked at each other. They laughed.

"Sure it is," Marco said. He took off his glasses and held them up. "And these are a scouter from Phoenix Cube X!"

"I'm being serious!" Masha told him. "I was against the wall, I felt this in my hand, pointed it at the bear, and BOOM! A huge energy blast just flies out of it!"

"Should be easy enough to prove," Darko said, swiftly taking the wand out of Masha's hand. "We'll just test it out."

"No, stop!" Masha yelled, trying to take it back. "That thing blew an enormous bear clear across a room! It'll probably blow a hole in the wall!"

"I'll just shoot a small one, then," Darko said, aiming it at a vase with flowers in it.

"NO!" Masha tried to grab the wand out of his hand. "It's too dangerous!"

The two looked at Masha quizzically.

"You ARE kidding, right?" Marco asked.

"No. I am NOT kidding," Masha stated matter of factly. They held up the wand. "This is a REAL MAGIC WAND! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!"

"Okay, first off," Marco began. "You sound like a little kid saying that. And second." He gestured to Darko.

"Can you prove it?" Darko asked. "No offense, I know you're not a liar, or crazy, or anything, but that's a little hard to believe."

"Not without using it," Masha replied, putting the wand back in their purse and buttoning it closed. "Like I said, this thing is dangerous. If it blasted a 1,000-pound bear clear across a room, I don't even want to THINK about what it could to do a person. It'd probably blow them Hell and back."

"What about Luz and her friends?" Marco asked. "Did they see it happen?"

"They were all out cold," Masha replied. "Listen, don't tell anybody about the wand, okay? NO ONE! Not your parents, not Luz and her friends, no one! We keep this between us. Promise?"

"Yeah, sure," Marco said.

"Darko?"

"Yeah. Totally promise."

"Good."

"So, you're serious about that wand?" Darko asked.

"I am," Masha replied. "It saved my life. Vee, too, as a matter of fact."

"She did?" Darko asked.

"Yeah. She jumped on the bear, grabbed it by its face. Told me to run." Masha then remembered the way Vee's hand had grown larger when she grabbed at the bears face. They slapped their palm against their forehead, exasperated by their own stupidity. "Oh, THAT'S why her hand grew! DUH!"

"What?" Marco and Darko asked at the same time.

"Uh..." Masha mentally slapped themself for saying that. They didn't mind telling their friends about the wand, but it didn't feel right telling them about Vee and her Elf friends. "Just... remembering Vee. How brave she was. I mean, jumping on a bear? That's seriously badass."

Masha let out a sigh. Marco noticed a dreamy smile form on Masha's lips as they recalled Vee's actions. "You know, she knew your pronouns," he said. "She didn't even have to ask. Said you had a vibe."

"That IS what I aim for," Masha said, pushing some of their hair back dramatically. "Oh! That reminds me!" They opened their purse and dug out their new nameplate, placing it in front of the desk.

"Where'd you get that?" Darko asked.

"My Aunt Rose," Masha replied. "Cool, huh?"

"Very," Marco said.

"Do you have Vee's number?" Darko asked. "Maybe we should invite her to the arcade. You should've seen her after you left; she trounced everyone, including that sunglasses kid always playing Immortal Combat."

"No, I don't," Masha replied.

"Luz should have it," Marco said. He couldn't but notice that Masha wasn't as angry as they would have been two weeks when hearing Luz's name. "Maybe give her a call?"

"I deleted her contact info," Masha replied. "I was so angry she stopped hanging out with us, I just deleted anything to do with her. Even the photos with her in them."

The door chimed as someone entered. The three friends looked to see who it was, finding Luz's mother standing there. "Hello," she said, going to the table. Luz and her purple-haired girlfriend, whose name still escaped Masha, came in right behind her. They were holding hands.

"Hi, Mrs. Noceda," Masha said. "Luz... Luz's girlfriend. What brings you here?"

"Hey, Masha," Luz said, giving a small wave. She looked at Marco and Darko. "Guys."

"We're gonna go," Marco said, dragging Darko by his sleeve towards the door. "Let you work. See you later, Masha."

"But I wanna see-" Darko started but was cut off by Marco pulling him out the door.

"See you guys!" Masha gave them a small wave as they left, then turned towards the customers. "So, to reiterate. What brings you here?"

"We're looking for some, uh... magical items," Luz told them. "You know, like those tarot cards?"

Masha smiled at the mention of 'magical items'. "We do have some knick-knacks with MAGICAL properties. We keep them in the back." Masha took their purse and headed for the back room. "I'll be right back."

Masha entered the back room and found two stacks of tarot cards. They recalled Jacob telling them he bought the cards from an old lady who was throwing them in a lake. They also recalled Luz, or rather Vee, asking about the cards a couple months ago. They wondered what they needed them for. Did they have magic in them?

Masha could hear them talking and stopped at the door, hoping to overhear why they wanted the cards.

"So, how do you tell if the cards have magic?" Camila asked.

Masha smiled excitedly at the question. They were right, they really were magic!

"I just have to touch them," Luz's girlfriend said. "I can't smell magic like Vee, but I can sense it through touch."

Vee could smell magic? Masha thought back to the night with the bear, recalling Vee's sudden sniffing. Was she smelling the wand? Was there more magic stuff in the security room?

"I hope they have more of those cards. Vee lasted a good two months on those."

"She said she smelled some last time we were here," Luz told her. "Hopefully Masha has some."

"She can't activate the magic, right?" Camila asked. She looked towards the door, then noticed the nameplate with THEY/THEM printed on it. "Oh, I mean they."

"Not with Hexas Hold'Em cards," Luz's girlfriend told her. "You need magic in order to activate them. It's the same way with most magical items."

"I wish I could sense magic," Luz said, holding her hands up to her face. "I can't sense anything with these hands."

"I can teach you," Luz's girlfriend said. "Give me your other hand." Masha peeked through the edge of the door, hoping to see what it looked like. They saw Luz holding her girlfriend's hands, but nothing else. "Yep. Definitely some here. A lot, in fact."

"Amity!" Luz said in an overly dramatic tone. "Not in front of my mom!"

AMITY! That was her name!

"¡Qué adorable! Camila said. She hugged the two tightly. "Oh! I can't believe my daughter found such an adorable girlfriend!"

"Mooom!" Luz whined. "Not in front of Amity!"

Masha gave a small grunt of annoyance at the sight. Even with the knowledge that their Luz was really Vee, it still bothered them a little seeing the two together. They opened the door, careful not to let the tarot cards slip out of their hands. Camila released the girls when she saw them.

"Here're the cards," Masha said, handing them over.

Amity took the cards, giving Masha a small, mean smile. She was still mad at Masha over their attitude from two weeks ago. Masha gave her a look in return. Amity looked through the cards one by one, then shook her head.

"You got anything else?" Amity asked.

"The cards not magic enough for you?" Masha asked.

"No." Amity handed them back to Masha. "My awesome girlfriend deserves something more magical than these."

Amity was clearly marking her territory. Masha wanted to make a mean comment, but bit their tongue, instead giving a fake smile loaded with barely hidden annoyance. "I'll check the back. I'm sure we have more stuff."

Masha went to the back, closing the door behind them. They stayed behind, hoping to overhear something again. Something juicier. They were a bit of a gossip.

"You don't have be so mean, Amity," Luz said. Her voice was slightly muffled thanks to the door.

"I'm sorry. I'm just still a little mad over their attitude from before."

Masha left, not caring about what Amity had to say about them. They dug through some of the magic stuff they had; more cards, though not the same as the ones they wanted; a pair of spy sunglasses, which revealed invisible ink; even some magic sand, which was one of their biggest sellers, but only worked in water. But none of it was REAL magic. Masha looked at their purse, then sighed in defeat. They grabbed their purse, opened it, and took out the wand.

They didn't want to give the wand away, but from what they'd heard, Vee needed it. The headed back to the front, showing them the wand.

"I found this in the back," Masha told them, handing it to Amity. "Is that magic enough for you?"

Amity inspected the wand, feeling it all over with her hands. She ran her thumb over the blue part, which suddenly showed a small battery symbol, which was almost half full. Masha wondered how she made it appear, then assumed it must've been magic.

"This'll work," Amity said, handing it to Luz. She looked at Masha, squinting her eyes. "Where'd you get this wand, anyway?"

"It was in the back," Masha replied, squinting right back. "Probably left over by that psycho, Jacob. He collected a lot of stuff."

"Do you have anything else?" Amity asked again. "My awesome girlfriend-"

"I get it, she's your girlfriend," Masha interrupted, rolling their eyes and resting their chin on their hand. "You can stop marking your territory. As for if we have anything else, the answer is no, you'll have to come back later. We're still sorting through everything. For now, all we have are the tarot cards and that wand."

Amity grunted and made a face, but was cooled down by Luz, who grabbed her hand.

"Thank you very much, Masha," Camila said. She opened her purse and took out her wallet. "How much?"

"No charge," Masha replied.

"We can't just take it," Luz said. "What would your boss say?"

"She loves me, she'll let it go. Consider it an apology for the way I acted last time you were here," Masha told her. "Besides, it's technically not in the inventory, so I can't really sell it to you to begin with."

"You don't have to apologize," Luz told them.

"Maybe not, but I'm doing it anyway," Masha said. They then thought about Vee. "You know, if you really wanna give me something, you could always give me your sister's phone number."

"You mean Vee?" Camila asked.

"Yeah. If you don't mind." They lifted themself off their hand and sat normally. "My friends and I had a lot of fun playing games with her. I'd love to play with her again."

"Yeah, I think she'd like that," Luz said. She opened the book she was carrying and wrote down Vee's number. She ripped out the page and handed it to Masha. "Here it is."

"Sweet," Masha said, looking it over. They jotted their own number down on a post-it note then handed to Luz. "Here's mine. Do me a favor and thank her for me, by the way. I don't know if she told you, but she actually saved me from that bear two weeks ago."

"She did?" Camila asked.

"Yeah. She jumped on its back when it approached me. She could've run, but she stayed behind instead. REALLY cool."

"We'll tell her," Amity said. She squeezed Luz's hand tighter, still trying to mark her territory.

"Oh, I'm so proud of her!" Camila said. "And at the same time, very mad."

The three of them left, leaving Masha alone. They looked at the number and smiled.