Happy 2024, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter for Hunter Noceda.
The chapter occurs during the episode "I Was a Teenage Abomination." I changed the title since the installment would focus more on Hunter's adventure at Hexside since Luz's side stays the same. I added Eda and King's part since I thought it helped with the flow more.
Anyway, disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own The Owl House or its characters. I only own this story and any OCs I throw in.
Now, on with the story!
The sun was out on a new day as King, Luz, Hunter, and Eda stood on the beach.
"Well, kids! Did you ever in your life think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?" Eda elbowed Luz before gesturing to the sight before them.
In front of them was the corpse of a trash slug that towered over them. It was surrounded by trash and muck as flies audibly buzzed around the corpse.
"I don't like this." Luz shook her head.
"I've eaten some pretty gross-looking things here, but none of them have made me want to throw up more than this moment," Hunter added.
"Yes, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the trash slug." Eda walked up to the trash slug as the teens plugged their noses.
"It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside…" She pulled a rubber chicken from the trash slug's mouth before tossing it aside. "Until, blam, it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt. And then we get to sell the stuff it ate."
She then pulled out a pickaxe and held it out to the Nocedas, who leaned away.
"Please don't make us," Luz begged.
"I would literally do anything else, even go to that stupid camp." Hunter rejected.
"Aw, come on, guys," King walked away, unfurling a beach towel on the ground. "It's not every day you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass."
"It's hard to tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Hunter side-eyed the little demon.
"Ah, nuts to you all," Eda said before swinging the pick at the trash slug, making the teens recoil.
"So Eda…" Luz started.
Some glass shattered from a swing, causing the siblings to flinch again.
"What if we tried some new lessons for our apprenticeship? Like…"
They cringed when something crashed.
"Read ancient scrolls or mix together potions, or–"
"Ugh. That sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff." Eda grumbled while tossing things from the trash slug's mouth.
"Wait. Is there a magic school here?" Luz asked, becoming excited. "Like winding towers, cute uniforms–"
"Magic sports?" Hunter interjected, hopefully.
"And dark plots that threaten your life kind of magic school?"
"Mm-hmm," Eda nodded. "What's worse, they force you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper. It's wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful."
The teens stared at her, their smiles gone as she ranted.
"I didn't finish school, and look at me! Who wouldn't envy where I am right now?" Eda said, flies flying around the pile of trash she was currently standing in.
Luz's expression fell while Hunter looked at her skeptically. Seeing they disagreed with her, Eda changed tactics.
"Uh… Hey, here's a lesson." She dropped her pick and walked over to them, taking Luz's hand. "A great witch is resourceful, like this."
She stuck Luz's hand in a puddle of trash slug bile, grossing the teens out. Eda dragged Luz's hand back and forth for a minute before letting go. Luz continued digging until she pulled something out.
"Oh, hey. Greasy slime ball." She said unenthusiastically.
"Use your slime ball wisely, young witch…" Eda closed Luz's hand around the slime ball. She then stood up and headed back to the trash slug. "Back at it! We'll hit the stink nodes first."
"Actually, if it's okay," Luz stuffed the slime ball in her pocket before backing away. "I think I'll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still… alive."
"And I'm going with her." Hunter agreed, not even trying to be subtle.
"Love you, King," Luz walked over to King, petting his belly and making him giggle. "You little beach peach."
She continued into the woods with Hunter right behind. King sighed contentedly as he got back to sunbathing.
Eda shrugged. "More for me, then."
She climbed into the trash slug, sending several things clattering. "There we go. Okay."
She tossed out a cheese grater, an electric fan, and a tuba, the last of which landed on King's head.
"Ow!" King cried as he struggled to free himself.
"This is awesome!"
(With the siblings)
A monster that looked very distantly related to a butterfly flew across the woods, panting. Luz and Hunter walked down the path, the former glaring at the slime ball.
"Ugh! If magic's all about digging for slime balls, maybe I don't have the stomach for it." She pocketed the slime ball.
"I'm starting to suspect Eda just wants us around for free labor," Hunter said.
Suddenly, a voice caught their attention, causing them to look around. "You can do it! You can!"
"Mysterious voice of encouragement?" Luz questioned as they walked towards the source of the voice. They looked through the bushes and saw a girl witch with glasses and blue hair wearing a black and lilac outfit. "No! Little witch girl."
"Shhh." Hunter shushed her.
"You can do it." The girl stood up, pacing around. "Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch. And my parents are right. There are better opportunities on this track. Now, get to school!"
She stepped forward and pointed confidently but stopped short when she realized she stepped on a flower.
"Oh, no!" She knelt beside the plant. "Oh, little friend! I'm sorry!"
She repeatedly traced a spell circle as small green lights descended on the flower. Seconds later, the flower perked back up and fully bloomed.
The Noceda siblings gasped quietly in amazement.
The girl's ears wiggled until something rumbling caught her attention. She turned as a wagon, being moved by magic, rolled to a stop in front of her, carrying a pot and a girl reading a book.
The other girl wore the same outfit and had dyed green hair pulled back in a small ponytail. She looked away from her book and faced the girl with glasses with a condescending smile.
"Willow!" She greeted, closing her book before hopping off the pot. "Wow. You're so unnoticeable I almost rolled into ya."
Ponytail chuckled meanly as the flower Willow healed wilted again.
"Hi, Amity," Willow said weakly, standing up.
"Uh, shouldn't you get to class early to prep your…"
A rattling sound cut her off. They turned to Willow's own pot and wagon as it spilled, pouring out a purple substance and an eyeball that blinked and groaned.
"Oh, Willow. You don't have anything to show, do you?"
"Witch drama!" Luz whispered.
"Shhh!" Hunter insisted.
Willow pulled up her hood, blushing.
"This is why people call you Half-a-Witch Willow." Amity sighed before her pot started rattling. "Oh, looks like someone wants to say something to you."
She took the cover off her pot before snapping her fingers. "Abomination, rise."
Her abomination rose as the purple substance, like in Willow's pot, became more solid until it was humanoid in shape. It bent out of the pot to poke Willow's forehead, leaving behind abomination matter in a star shape.
"You're a… star."
"Aw. It's like mine." She readjusted a star-shaped badge that read 'Top Student.' "But much smaller and meaningless."
Hunter glared from his spot. He never liked bullies, whether they were picking on him, Luz, or someone else.
"As top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it. Even you could get a passing grade someday," Amity continued, putting an arm around Willow. She then turned and pointed at her abomination. "Abomination, cower."
It groaned as it melted back into the pot. Amity replaced the pot lid and took hold of the cart.
"See you in class, superstar." She walked away as Willow removed her hood.
Luz stuck her tongue out at her as the mean girl left while Hunter glowered at her back.
"'Oh, see you in class, superstar!'" Willow mimicked Amity before wiping the star from her forehead. "I hate when she does that."
Luz and Hunter flinched as they watched.
The wind blew leaves around Willow as she started ranting. "I hate making abominations. I hate getting bad grades. Ugh! I can't stand this anymore."
She shouted as her eyes started glowing green, causing the siblings to gasp in shock.
Suddenly, the flower from earlier got lost among giant thorny roots that burst out around it. They surrounded Willow, glowing and writhing angrily.
Two snaked out, surprising the siblings when they appeared behind them before they were caught by their ankles. They screamed as the roots dragged them out of hiding and dropped them on the ground a bit behind Willow.
The Nocedas looked up at her before she turned and glared at them, her eyes still glowing.
(Meanwhile)
Back at the beach, Eda was tying a sack to her staff as King watched.
"Not a bad haul. That oviduct was loaded." She said, pleased with their find.
"Ah. Lose apprentices, gain garbage eggs. Fair trade." King cracked.
Eda scoffed. "I didn't lose anything."
"If you don't teach Luz and Hunter right, you will. And that's when I come in, make them my apprentices."
"Ha! And what would you teach? How to get stuck in the arm of a sweater?"
"Hey, that only happened once! I'd teach them about demons. How to identify them, talk to 'em, raise an army with them, and tear apart the world!"
"After they tear you out of the sweater arm, right?"
"You think you're so smart! Well," He hopped off the trash he was sitting on and marched towards Eda. "why don't we make a little bet where I can prove that I'd make a better teacher."
"Okay." Eda nodded before reaching into her hair. "I'm obligated to remind you that I only use our bets to utterly humiliate you."
She pulled out a book called "Eda + King One-Sided Wagers" before kneeling in front of King.
"And…" She continued, opening it to show previous wagers with gold stars under pictures of Eda. "that you've never won."
"I like those odds." King nodded confidently.
"So, how's this?" Eda grabbed a stray trash slug egg. "Teach this trash slug to be your loyal soldier in one day. Prove that you can be a better teacher than me, and the siblings are all yours. But if you don't, I change your name from King to… Mr. Wiggles."
"Well, when you lose, you'll have to…" King paused to think up his end of the wager. "Wear a shame hat and sleep in a shack, and never come into the Owl House again! Ha!"
"Deal." Eda agreed, holding up the book for King to sign.
King squeaked as he stamped his paw to a page.
Eda got up and tossed the egg at King's head, breaking it and leaving a baby trash slug between his horns. It slipped down his skull before King caught it, making it coo at him.
"Ha ha!" Eda laughed as she walked away.
(Back in the forest)
Luz and Hunter watched in awe as the roots were still writhing around Willow. She finally seemed to snap out of it, leaning forward worriedly and letting the roots fall.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! I'm so sorry!" She ran towards them, kneeling beside the siblings as she made the roots still wrapped around their legs retreat.
"It's okay," Luz assured as she rubbed her leg. "The thorns only went through a few layers of skin."
"Yeah, we're fine," Hunter added as he got up, dusting himself off.
Suddenly, Willow got very close to Luz, forcing her to lean back.
"So… circly." She said, noticing the human girl's ears.
Luz squealed and covered her ears.
"You're human! This is astounding!" Willow gasped excitedly and grabbed Luz's face. She helped her up and walked around her, moving Luz to inspect her like she was the newest toy. "A human on the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here? What are you doing here with another witch?"
Suddenly, a bell pealed, catching their attention. Willow flinched and put Luz's arm down.
"Uh, I'm sorry. I can't stay. I have to go disappoint my teacher. It was nice to meet you, human. You, too, other witch." She walked away, half-waving.
Luz half-waved back before grabbing Hunter's hand and rushing after her.
"Wait!" She called, getting the witch girl's attention. "I'm Luz. This is Hunter, and you're Willow, right? What you did with that flower and those plants, it was… wow."
"Thanks, but…" Willow managed to smile for a minute before frowning. "I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic. My parents put me in the abomination track at school."
Luz squealed, grabbing Willow suddenly and surprising Hunter. "Like, magic school?"
Willow nodded, and Luz's smile grew.
"That's so cool!" The human girl gushed, letting Willow go. "I'm so jealous. We have a teacher, but her lessons are a bit… untraditional."
"And that's the nice way of putting it," Hunter stated bluntly.
"I bet she wouldn't even let us enroll. But I wish I could spend one day there."
"I wish I could get a passing grade for once. Then people would stop calling me Half-a-Witch Willow." Their new friend kicked her spilled abomination, which groaned in response.
"Hey, wait. I know how we can both get what we want." Luz got an idea as she bent down. She picked up abomination goo in both hands and splashed it on her shirt. "Make me your abomination. I'll get you a good grade, and you can get me into magic school. It's fiendishly clever."
"What?" Willow gasped.
"I saw that girl's thing. It's just chunks of stuff that talks weird. I'm chunks of stuff, and I talk weird!"
"That's true." The glasses witch agreed, giggling.
"That works for you, but what about me?" Hunter asked. "I wanna see magic school, too."
"Oh, right. I forgot about you." Luz giggled sheepishly.
"Gee, thanks, Sis." The blond crossed his arms.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Willow spoke up, pointing between them. "You two are siblings?"
"It's a long story," Luz answered. "But first, we need to figure out how to get Hunter into magic school, too."
"I don't know… but if it helps, my class is on the ground floor. You can watch us through the window."
"How come you get to go inside, and I just have to watch through the window?" Hunter complained, looking at his adopted sister.
"Because I'm the one who came up with the abomination idea," Luz said smugly.
The blond sighed tiredly. "I hate you sometimes, you know that, right?"
"Oh, you love me." His human sister elbowed him playfully.
"Then, we have a deal," Willow stuck out her hand. "Luz."
The girls shook hands.
"This is a great plan," Luz said.
They tried to pull their hands apart, but the abomination goo on Luz left them stuck together.
"Oops. Abomination goo." Willow said.
They tried to pull themselves apart, Hunter wrapping his arms around Luz to help. The human girl used her foot for leverage and was able to free them, but the force sent her and Hunter splashing in the goo on the ground.
"Eww." Hunter groaned as Willow looked at them worriedly.
"Great plan." Luz chirped, making the witch girl perk up.
(A short time later)
After walking through the forest, the trio was in front of Willow's school.
"Welcome to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics," Willow introduced as they walked towards the entrance. "Remember to stay hidden, okay?"
Luz, from inside Willow's abomination pot, squealed and giggled excitedly.
"Will you be okay out here?" Willow turned to Hunter, who was walking beside them.
"Don't worry, I'm a sneaky sneakster," Hunter assured her. The blond soon broke away from the group and headed to the side of the school.
As Hunter walked by some of the windows, he saw other students walking through the halls and… tickling their lockers? He also saw a few magic classes with potions, crystal balls, and musical instruments.
"Whoa…" He breathed in amazement.
Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a couple of witches duck around the corner.
"Huh?" Hunter questioned before running after them. But when he rounded the corner, no one was there. "What the…?"
The blond looked around in confusion as he moved along, not noticing a piece of wall move aside slightly.
(The Owl House)
Meanwhile, King was working on his own classes as he gave the baby trash slug a treat.
"Aw. Who's a good Prince, Jr.? Who's a good guy?"
"Hey, Mr. Wiggles," Eda called from her lounge chair as she drank from a coffee mug. "You're not gonna teach it anything doing that."
"It's called positive reinforcement, Eda. And it works wonders." King countered.
Prince Jr. grabbed the treat King was dangling in front of it, eating it before doubling in size.
"Ha ha! See? Now watch this," King said before taking another dog treat out of the box. "Prince, Jr.! Attack Eda! Knock over her drink! Mess up her hair!"
"Oh, no. Please stop." Eda deadpanned.
"Well, I haven't seen your students in forever. For all we know, they're not even loyal to you anymore." The little demon countered, not noticing the trash slug take the treat from him.
"Ha-ha-ha, you wish," The Owl Lady retorted before realizing King was right about one thing. "But yeah. Where are they?"
(Back at Hexside)
After a bit, Hunter was finally able to find the abomination class. He saw Willow towards the back and Amity near the front. By that point, they were in the middle of a test.
A female student with ram horns stood at the front of the room with an abomination with eight feet sticking out of it in various places.
The teacher, a small demon man being carried by an abomination, scrutinized it for a minute. "Hmm. Too many toenails in unexpected places. Fail. Pathetic!"
The abomination and the student deflated. She wheeled her abomination off the platform at the front of the room.
"The biggest abominations are all of you!" The teacher declared, pointing at the class. "If the next abomination is a failure, everyone gets extra homework for a month!"
Hunter saw the students grumbling, feeling sympathy for them. Clearly, this guy was a demanding teacher to please.
The professor cleared his throat. "And the next one to come up is…"
"Excuse me, sir," Amity stood up, raising her hand. "but I am ready to present my abomination. Rise!"
It rose from the pot, groaning at it did a pose.
"Teacher's pet." Hunter rolled his eyes.
The teacher chuckled. "I've always saved the best for last, Amity. You'll have to wait your turn. How about… Willow."
Willow must have been nervous because she pulled her hood over her head. Hunter also noticed the students grumble again as he moved closer to Willow's position.
The blond witch saw his sister peek out of the pot and said something encouraging to Willow. The witch girl noticed Hunter outside the window, who gave her a thumbs-up. She returned it with a small smile and nod before wheeling her pot to the front of the room.
The professor watched as Willow set her pot down nervously. "Uh… Abomination, rise."
Always one for dramatics, Luz punched the lid off, making the professor and Willow flinch before she jumped out. "Ta-da!"
Hunter saw everyone straighten up with wide eyes. Even Amity looked dumbfounded.
A little more confident, Willow gave the next command. "Abomination, bow."
Luz grunted as she did what she was told. "Blah!"
"Very impressive. But does it speak?" The professor asked.
The girls froze for a moment, caught off guard before Luz improvised.
"Uh, I may be your abomination," She said before moving to hold Willow's hands adoringly. "but you're my a-mom-ination."
Hunter giggled, covering his mouth to keep from being too loud.
The teacher laughed as he walked closer.
"'A-mom-ination!' Splendid wordplay." He wrote an 'A+' on Luz's forehead. "A plus!"
The students cheered while Hunter pumped his fist. "Take that, Little Miss Perfect."
"Watcha doing?" A male voice asked behind him.
Hunter jumped and barely stopped himself from yelping as he turned around. Behind him was a boy and a girl witch about his age who looked alike. They both had green hair and wore Hexside uniforms with light blue sleeves and leggings.
"How long have you been there?"
"Not long," The girl said. "We saw you pass by the hidden entrance and noticed you weren't wearing a Hexside uniform."
"Figured you were a lost new student or something until we saw you spying on the abomination class." The boy added.
"I-I didn't come to cause trouble," Hunter stammered, trying to explain himself. "I just–I've never been to magic school before, and I wanted to check it out. Plus, my sister found a way to sneak in, so I wanted to make sure she was okay."
"Aww, that's sweet." The girl cooed.
"Anyway, I'm Edric, and she's Emira." The boy introduced them.
"We're twins, in case you couldn't tell."
"Uh, I'm Hunter. Nice to meet you." The blond said shyly before realizing something. "Wait, aren't you guys students here? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"
"We are, but we got bored and left illusions in our places," Emira said.
"Let me guess, you're the school troublemakers," Hunter said, smirking slightly.
The twins giggled. "You got it."
The blond snorted a little before asking, "By the way, what hidden entrance were you talking about?"
"Oh, that. Let's just say troublemakers have a system all their own here." Emira said slyly. The twins looked at each other before nodding, then turned back to Hunter. "Speaking of troublemaking, we have an offer for you."
"If you want to get a better look at Hexside, we can sneak you in if you help us with some of our mischiefmaking," Edric said.
"Are you sure about that?" Hunter asked. "Won't helping a trespasser inside get you in serious trouble?"
"Oh, our antics know no bounds."
"Besides, we haven't caused enough trouble this week. We have reputations to uphold." Emira added.
"So, what do you say? You in?" Edric held out his hand.
Hunter stared at his hand for a minute before shaking it. "I'm in."
"Great. Then, follow us." Emira led the way as the trip slinked off.
She led them back the way Hunter had come and stopped where he had seen people earlier. The girl twin drew a magic circle on a section of wall, and Hunter watched in amazement as a small entrance revealed itself.
"Watch your head." She cautioned as she ducked down to get inside. Edric went next while Hunter brought up the rear.
Hunter's eyes widened as he looked around a surprisingly big room for a small entrance. There was a winding stone pathway with many other doors and windows that probably went to different places in the school.
"Whoa…"
"Welcome to the Secret Room of Shortcuts." Emira introduced.
"What's this for?" Hunter asked as he looked around.
"No idea," Edric answered as he closed the door they used to get in. "It was made by an old student called Lord Calamity, and the detention track kids use it to spy on the classes."
"Detention track?"
"Someone call?" A new voice said as one of the doors swung open, and a skinny witch boy with a dark gray Hexside uniform poked his head in.
Hunter yelped in surprise from the sudden entrance, making Edric laugh before waving to the other boy. "Hey, Jerbo."
"Hi, Ed." Jerbo greeted before looking at Hunter. "Who's your new friend?"
"This is Hunter." Edric wrapped his arm around the blond's shoulders. "He wanted to poke around Hexside a little, so we showed him the back way in."
"Are Viney and Barcus around?" Emira asked.
"We are now." A new voice said as a door on the floor opened. In came a girl and a dog with glasses, wearing the same dark gray as Jerbo.
"Hey, V. Mind if we use the shortcuts for a bit?" Emira asked the girl.
"Alright," Viney shrugged, climbing out of the door. "Just don't leave a mess like last time."
"Geez, you hold a grudge," Edric commented, making Hunter chuckle a little.
Barcus started barking at the blond, making Viney realize someone else was there. "Em, who's that?"
"Oh, this is Hunter. Don't worry, Barcus, he's cool." The girl twin said.
"Wait a minute, he's not wearing a Hexside uniform." Jerbo pointed out.
"Not yet…" Edric said before casting a spell circle. In a puff of light blue smoke, Hunter was disguised in a light blue Hexside uniform like the twins with his boots.
"Whoa!" Hunter gasped, looking at himself.
"Now he is!"
"Now, enough chit-chat, we've got chaos to cause!" Emira said, grabbing their wrists as she dragged them toward another door.
"See you later." Hunter waved to the detention kids as they left.
"Oh, Titan, what have I unleashed." Viney brought a hand to her face, Barcus yipping in agreement.
(Meanwhile)
Eda slammed open the front door of the Owl House.
"Ow!" Hooty cried.
"Have you seen Luz and Hunter?" Eda asked the house demon.
"I heard their tiny mouse feet walking close by. Or that might've been some mice. Anyway, someone started moving in that direction." Hooty said, gesturing slightly with his head. "Hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo."
"Are you trying to point, or–?"
"Look at the weather vane!"
Stepping outside, she does and tries to gauge what's in the direction it was pointing.
"But the only thing that way is the…" She started to say before gasping. "No."
The Owl Lady ran off, chanting, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
She reached Hexside and looked into various windows. The first was a kindergarten classroom.
"Okay, everyone," The teacher said. "Recite your runes."
"Krom, Zix, Elgrim, Zenomide–" The kids started reciting.
"No. Blind obedience." Eda grumbled before moving along.
The following classroom had several older students writing at desks while a snake-like teacher spoke, "Heximal system time! Let's get memorizin'!"
"No! Pointless busywork!"
Still covered in abomination goo, Eda found Luz was in the last classroom, writing along with the rest of the class.
"No! Why! School!" Eda cried in anguish.
(Later)
Lunchtime had rolled around, and Hunter, still in the illusion disguise, was hanging out with the twins and the detention track kids in the Secret Room of Shortcuts.
The blond had an exciting, hilarious time with Emira and Edric. They switched the signs on the classroom doors and confused half the school, followed by the twins casting illusions on different portraits to make it seem like they were moving, scaring the daylights out of passing students. Hunter's sides hurt from how hard he laughed when their final trick was messing with the intercom system to make the person's come out either really low or squeaky.
In between pranks, Hunter got to know the detention trio and listened in on a couple of classes with them. Viney even introduced Hunter to her pet griffin, Puddles.
Now it was lunch break, and since the detention trio didn't like eating in the cafeteria, they all stayed in the shortcuts room.
"Man, you guys are a riot," Hunter told the twins as Edric handed him an extra PB&J.
"And you're a great partner-in-crime, Hunter."
"Yeah, we're definitely inviting you to our next wave of mischief," Emira added.
"Please, don't. Two tricksters in this school are enough." Jerbo groaned, getting a laugh from everyone else.
"I wish I could actually go to school with you guys," Hunter said.
"Oh, yeah, you said you've never been to magic school," Emira remembered. "Are you and your sister homeschooled or something?"
"Uh, yeah, something like that." The blond replied, not ready to go into detail on the matter. Thankfully (or unthankfully), Puddles provided a distraction by trying to take his sandwich. "Hey, no. This is my sandwich. Not for you."
"Puddles." Viney chastised but smiled despite herself.
Everyone laughed again as Hunter played keep away with his PB&J.
(Outside the Owl House)
Meanwhile, King tossed handfuls of dog treats to Prince Jr as their "training" continued.
"Roll over! Yes!" King cheered as he led the trash slug around. "Heel!"
Prince Jr. did neither command, focused only on the treats. He now towered over King.
"Yes, yes!"
Prince Jr. roared as King kept feeding him treats. At that moment, Eda returned, catching King's attention.
"So, did you find your runaway students?"
Eda didn't reply, her arms crossed with an upset look.
"By your expression, I can tell Luz and Hunter have gone and found themselves someplace else to learn. Which means… I have won!" King cheered, tossing more treats into the air, which Prince Jr. caught with a roar.
"Yes, great, you won," Eda said bitterly as King threw a handful of treats to the side, Prince Jr. chasing them. "You have a giant soldier thing, and I have nothing. Congrats!"
"Oh, Eda. Don't say that. At least you have this!" He pulled out a shame cone, cackling.
"Ugh." The Owl Lady groaned as she snatched it up and stalked away.
King watched her go before laughing again, the trash slug crawling up behind him as Eda entered the shack attached to the Owl House.
"I am so funny!" He said before turning to Prince Jr., "Ah, well, Prince, Jr. training complete. Go forth! Make the world tremble at your feet–or worm stubs."
Prince Jr. didn't move.
"Go forth?" King commanded confusedly.
He still didn't move.
"Oh," He chuckled. "Right."
He picked up the dog treat box and shook it but discovered it was empty. Prince Jr. moved closer, growling while King realized he might be in trouble.
The trash slug snarled as King looked back in fright. "Ah!"
(Back at Hexside)
"Out of the few magic types I've seen so far, bard magic is one of my favorites," Hunter said as the group walked down the ramp in the Secret Room of Shortcuts.
"Yeah, I love listening in on the bard class. Especially on performance days." Viney agreed.
"Thanks again for sneaking me in," The blond looked at the twins. "You really didn't have to."
"Nonsense. If we hadn't, today wouldn't have been nearly as much fun." Emira smiled, playfully punching him in the arm.
"Well, as fun as this has been, school's out, so I should probably track down my sister if she hasn't been found yet."
"You said she snuck in as an abomination, so the best place to check would be the Abomination 101 classroom," Jerbo suggested, remembering what Hunter explained earlier.
They reached the door to the classroom they were looking for, but when Hunter tried to open it, he was surprised to find he couldn't.
"What the–?" He questioned, jiggling the doorknob.
"That means the door is opened outside the secret room," Viney explained. "We can't get in until the door is closed."
"Don't worry. There's a trapdoor that leads to the hallway outside," Emira mentioned. "We can see what's going on."
As they started to walk away, they jumped when they heard crashing coming from behind the door.
"What was that?!" Jerbo gasped.
A red light pattern converged on the walls around them as if replying.
"Trouble," Edric answered.
"And not the good kind," Emira added.
(Meanwhile)
Inside the Owl House's shack, Eda was sulking on the floor in the shame hat. She looked up when she heard King's voice.
"Help me, help me, help me!"
The little demon ran in and slammed the door shut. Eda sat up in surprise when he dived into her arms, whimpering. Her attention was drawn back to the door as it shuddered under Prince Jr.'s attacks.
"Trouble with your student?" She smirked.
"Yes, yes!" King admitted.
The banging on the door continued.
"Are you sure you need my help? Maybe he only wants more of your brilliant lessons."
The door shattered as Prince Jr. burst through. The trash slug roared as he approached the duo, making Eda lose her joking manner. He grabbed King by the tail, causing him to squeal as he was dragged out of Eda's arms.
"Please help me!" King begged as he tried to escape. "You can call me Mr. Wiggles!"
Eda stood, removing the shame hat and grabbing her staff. She smacked Prince Jr. in the face with the butt of her staff, making it release King. Prince Jr. retreated as King ran to cling to Eda's leg, whimpering in fear.
"Okay, Mr. Wiggles," Eda said as the little demon climbed onto her shoulder. "Here's what we're gonna do."
(Hexside)
Hunter, the twins, and the detention trio were trying to figure out what was happening. They split up and checked the different entrances, finding that the ones that led outside were blocked by red shields.
"What's going on?" Hunter asked.
"Principal Bump activated the security spells," Viney explained. "With them up, we're all trapped in the school."
"Hate to say it, dude, but I think your sister got caught." Edric turned to Hunter.
"I gotta go find her!" The blond stressed, worrying for his little sister.
"And we'll help you, don't worry." Emira placed a comforting hand on the blond's shoulder.
Barcus woofed to get their attention, pawing at one of the trap doors. Jerbo kneeled next to him, and they carefully stuck their heads through.
The other side led to the central atrium. The duo barely had time to look around when they saw abominations staggering down the hall. Gasping in fright, they quickly shut the hatch, holding onto the door for good measure.
"What happened?" Viney asked as the others looked at them.
"Abominations! In the hallway!" Jerbo replied, looking panicked.
"They smell like Principal Bump!" Barcus whimpered.
"Bump must be searching the school for your sister. Which means he hasn't found her yet." Viney said.
"So, what's the plan?" Hunter asked.
"If we can find a way to take Bump out, the security will drop. Then, you can find your sister and get out of here," Edric said.
"Whoa, are you sure about this?" The blond was hesitant despite the urgency. "I mean, I know you two thrive on taking risks, but attacking a teacher would bring suspension-level trouble. The rest of you are already in the principal's bad books. This could make things worse."
"He'll have to catch us first," Emira smirked confidently.
"Besides, we've stayed under Bump's radar this long. We'll be fine," Jerbo added.
Just then, there was another crash outside, catching their attention.
"Now what?" Viney questioned.
The lights sealing off the exits faded away.
"Looks like you won't have to worry, Hunter," Ed commented.
"Now, you should take this chance to get out of here," Em suggested.
"Wait, what about Luz?" Hunter fretted, not wanting to leave his sister.
"Don't worry, we'll find her," Viney assured him. "But you need to get away before Principal Bump finds you."
"If that happens, the best-case scenario is you'll be banned from school grounds, and we'll never see you again," Jerbo said. "The worst case is you get thrown into the detention pit."
"The what?" The blond questioned.
"You do not want to know." Barcus shook his head.
"Trust us," Emira smiled. "We're good at sneaking around. We'll find Luz and get her to safety."
Hunter looked at her, turning to all of them before sighing heavily. "That's a tall order since I just met you, but you haven't given me a reason to doubt you yet."
"We'll take it," Edric responded, getting a chuckle from the blond.
"You sure you guys will be able to find her?"
"Just look for a girl covered in abomination goo. Shouldn't be too hard." Jerbo said.
"Now go! Hurry!" Viney urged, showing the visitor to the exit.
"My illusion spell will break once you and I are far enough apart," Edric added.
"Got it." Hunter nodded. He turned to go before pausing to look back at them bashfully. "Hey, uh… This has been a lot of fun, in spite of the danger. Mind if I come back and visit sometime…?"
The twins and the detention trio were surprised by the request, looking at each other before smiling at the blond.
"Sure, you can come back." Viney agreed.
"Just knock on the door, and someone will let you in," Edric said.
"You are always welcome here, friend." Barcus barked.
Hunter smiled back at them before climbing out the door. After looking around to make sure the coast was clear, he started running toward the Owl House.
(Later)
Once Hunter made it to the other side of the woods (the illusion uniform was gone), he skidded to a stop at the scene he came across. "What the–"
Eda was fighting Prince Jr out front. It spat lava at her, which she easily dodged. She then smacked it in the face with her staff twice as it backed her toward the front door.
Meanwhile, King was pushing a barrel on the roof.
"Pour the salt, now!" Eda yelled.
"Baby boy!" King looked at the trash slug.
Prince Jr. looked up at King, whimpering before it roared at him.
"I have no son. Eat salt!" He shoved the entire barrel full of salt into Prince Jr.'s mouth. It shivered and made noises of protest before shrinking back to its original size. It then whimpered as it ran off.
"Yes, I did it! I'm amazing!" King danced around before slipping off the roof. "Ahh!"
Eda caught him, making the little demon chuckle sheepishly. "You helped, too. You are a good teacher."
"I wish Luz and Hunter thought that, too," Eda commented forlornly.
"Excuse me?" Hunter spoke up, alerting the duo that he was next to them. "What the heck did you two get up?"
"Oh, look who's back," The Owl Lady said, obviously not amused. "Have fun on your little adventure?"
"What are you–?" Hunter started to ask before he was cut off by Luz.
"Eda!" She cried as she ran toward them, still covered in abomination goo.
"Whoa, Luz!" Her brother gasped as the human hugged all three of them.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What is this?" Eda complained. "Ugh! I never understand when you and Hunter do this."
"Your lesson worked! Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life!" Luz told Eda as she let go before gasping in horror. "But wait. My new friends. They're in danger."
"In danger?! What do you mean?!" Hunter fretted, worried she was talking about the twins and the detention track trio.
"Luz!" They heard Willow cry as she and a witch boy Hunter had never seen before ran up to Luz and hugged her, which she happily returned.
"Seriously, what is that?" Eda asked again.
"And who's the new guy?" Hunter added.
They pulled out of the hug, and Willow said, "You won't believe it, Luz. Everything is perfect now!"
"It's true. I don't believe it."
"Principal Bump was so impressed by my plant work he's switching me to the plant magic track! Look!" She backed away and snapped her fingers. With a glow of green magic and a twirl, her sleeves and leggings went from magenta to green.
"Yes!" Luz hugged Willow again, making her giggle as the human girl cheered loudly. "Whoo!"
"Congratulations, Willow," Hunter said, smiling.
"Who are you?" The new witch asked, noticing the blond.
"Oh, right," Luz remembered they hadn't met yet. "Hunter, this is Gus, a friend of Willow's. Gus, this is my older brother, Hunter… It's a long story."
"Does that mean he grew up in the Human Realm?!" Gus suddenly got really close to Hunter, his eyes big and sparkly with excitement. "Tell me everything!"
"Uh…"
"Wait. What about Amity?" Luz questioned, recalling the reason they did this charade.
"Last we saw, she was asking Bump if today could count as extra credit," Gus replied.
"Well, I can't wait to see you in action next time I sneak in."
Behind her, Willow winced.
"Uh, about that. You're kinda, sorta… banned." Gus pulled out and unfurled a poster reading "BANNED" with a picture of Luz covered in abomination goo under it.
"That's my girl!" Eda cheered.
"Why am I not surprised?" Hunter brought his hand to his forehead.
"But we could come here and teach you what we learned." Willow offered comfortingly.
"Aw. That would be nice. But…" Luz looked at the Owl Lady. "I have a pretty great teacher already."
Eda looked shocked for a second but quickly shook it off.
"Yeah, that's right. Luz is my student." She stole the poster, making Gus back up. "Back off, academy twerps."
Everyone laughed as Eda admired Luz's poster.
"Ah, baby's first wanted poster. Good job, kid." She patted the top of Luz's head. "Looks like I taught you something after all."
"Uh, you high-five with your hands, not your head," Gus commented, Luz and Eda's eyes widening as the younger witch smiled.
"How come she's getting all the praise?" Hunter grumbled. "I'm the one who snuck in and didn't get caught!"
"You what?!" They all yelled as the blond just smiled slyly.
And that's the end of this chapter.
I'm using a new writing system now that will have me working on three different projects at a time. Hunter Noceda is on list two, which contains only stories I've already posted and is open to multi-chapter updates. I will keep working on this until we're at the Covention episode. So, two more chapters on this one before we move on.
See you all soon with the next chapter!