A/N: Just putting this in here because I forgot to last chap. Yes, the scenes were inspired by MoringMark's comic, shoutout to him and his awesome work!
Glad everyone seems to like how I've approached Skara's character. I honestly never thought she was a "mean girl", since the few scenes we do get of her show her being a mostly cheerful person, and she mostly just follows whatever Boscha and Amity say, like the alphas in a wolfpack. Plus, considering Amity said that Skara and Boscha's parents work with her parents, this friendship was most likely foisted upon her like Amity.
Anyway, glad you guys are lovin' this so far, now it's time for the FINALE.
It was Saturday, the day of the Bard Music Competition. Several contestants had shown up, all with the hopes of victory. But Skara would see to it that all the glory would be there's. Since she decided to hang around Willow more, the pranks had completely stopped. Of course, this did earn her the ire of Boscha, like right now.
"I can't believe it; you seriously entered a competition with those losers?!" Boscha barked.
"I…I did," Skara admitted.
"You were hanging out with Willow all yesterday, and the day before, too. Are you ditching us?" Bo asked.
"No! I mean…I still like you guys! It's just…I like Willow, too. She's cool, and strong, and really kind! And she's a great singer, you'll see soon!"
Boscha groaned loudly. "Ugh, first Amity, and now you?! What is sooooo great about being around them?! Being in a group with that human, 'Luzzer', a half-pint Illusionist, and half-a-witch?! Skara, this better be some elaborate prank you're pulling or you're out of the group!"
Skara didn't get a chance to reply as the Potion Track witch walked away with the rest of their friends. I wonder if this is how Amity felt when she decided to play on their side during the Grudgby match? Skara inhaled and then released a calming breath, steadying her nerves. Well, she seems happy with her decision, so that means she must've made the right choice.
With that affirmed, Skara left and joined up with the group. Everyone was just dressed in their casual wear, again, there wasn't enough time to come up with a flashy uniform, but that hardly mattered. Once Gus started making his illusions, the crowd's focus would be on the constructs and their music. They waited for a few minutes, watching one group after another go on and play. Some of them were good, others were terrible, and some were so terrible that the audience threw gorematoes at them. The gorematoe vendor would make good money today.
The announcer for the competition was a Bard witch who also doubled as a news reporter, Gus new her as Halina Hroth. She was half as tall as his father, and a demon. She had single brown colored bat wing that acted as her hair, which covered her left eye. She was slender, and had talons on her hands, and exposed feet. Halina also wore a red dress that shimmered in the light of the sun, giving off a dazzling show whenever she walked around.
"Well, that was…something…now give it up for our next contestants!"
Finally, it was their turn.
"Okay, is everybody ready?" Skara asked excitedly.
"I'm ready to go!" Gus exclaimed.
"As Witch would say, 'It's showtime!'" Luz stated as she struck a pose.
Amity giggled at the action and nodded her readiness.
"Mmm…I'm still a little nervous, but yeah, let's do it," said Willow.
Skara squeed excitedly as everyone got on stage. Three microphones were set up in the center of the stage, Luz took the right, Willow the middle, and Amity the center. Gus took his position at backstage and prepared his spell circles. Skara set up behind them, already conjuring her magic and making the instruments float in the air, she did a brief sound check with each of them, demonstrating to the crowd that this wasn't a trick, she could really work all these instruments at once.
"This group is from the Hexside School, with an Illusionist special effects artist, so this is sure to be an exciting song. Now give it up for…" Halina turned to the girls and covered the mic as she asked, "Um, do you guys have a name, or…?"
"Oh…we didn't think of one," said Amity.
"Uh, I'm kind of drawing a blank here," said Willow.
"Yeah, we do have a name," said Luz.
"We do?" Skara, Amity, and Willow asked.
"We're…" Luz struck a dramatic pose and proclaimed, "The Rider Girls!"
Gus gave a thumbs up from backstage in definite approval of the name.
"Huh, okay then. Everybody, give it up foooooor…The Rider Girls!"
The audience clapped in excitement. While up on the stage, Luz spotted Eda, she hadn't expected her mentor to come here today, considering how tense things were, but she was happy to see her all the same. Skara looked out into the crowd and saw Boscha and the rest of their friends sitting there, watching her, waiting for Skara to make good on a nonexistent prank. If there was any time to make a statement that she wasn't going to follow Boscha's lead anymore, then this was her defining moment.
"Kick us off, Luz!" Skara announced.
"Uno, dos! Uno, dos, tres, quattro!"
Before the first note could be played, a large bucket of gorematoe juice drenched the three girls like a waterfall. Everyone gasped when they saw this, Skara's concentration was broken as the instruments fell to the floor. She was well out of range of the splash zone, so all she could do was watch helplessly as her bandmates got completely soaked in the red paste. A few more seconds and the bucket finally spilled the last of its contents. Leaving Amity, Willow, and Luz painted red.
And as if this couldn't have gotten any worse.
"OH YEAH, WAY TO GO SKARA!" Boscha yelled, breaking the silence of the crowd. "IT WAS A LONG WAIT, BUT THE PAY OFF WAS WORTH IT!"
Willow turned around and glared at Skara dead in the eyes.
"Willow, I swear, I SWEAR on the Titan that his was not me! I didn't–!"
"I trusted you, Skara…We trusted you!" Willow seethed. "I can't believe I was so stupid to think that you wanted to be our friend, but NO! You were just setting us up for this all along, since the beginning!"
"Willow, stop, I don't think–!"
"JUST LEAVE US ALONE, SKARA!" Willow shouted.
*Crack*
Skara's entire body suddenly broke out with visible fissures that released ethereal violet light. Followed right after that were the screams of pain as her body was subjected to the soul destroying, physical transformation of undergoing a Phantom metamorphosis.
"SKARA!" Amity cried as she ran to Skara's side.
Willow's eyes widened with horror as she realized that she just gave the Phantom what she wanted. "W-What have I done…?"
"Bravo, bravo! You performed your parts quite well, but now it's time for the final curtain call!" Halina's body erupted into crimson flames, and from them appeared Kitsune. "Now everyone, sit back and watch as a new member of the Phantoms is born right before your very eyes!"
Willow rushed to Skara's side, panicking as she said, "SKARA, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T BELIEVE YOU! IT'S NOT YOU, JUST TRY AND FIGHT IT!"
"Ha-ha-ha, a little too little too late, my dear. I must admit, she did put a damper in my plans when she started to hang around you more, left me zero chances to push your buttons. But not today," Kitsune then pointed towards Boscha and said, "And thank you young witchling, for adding the cherry on top of this cake!"
Suddenly, several Emperor's Coven Scouts appeared in the crowd, surrounding the stage and square. Lilith Clawthorne appeared via a raven construct and landed in the middle as the crowd was ushered away. "Phantom, we won't allow you to harm anyone else on this island!" Lilith twirled her staff around and pointed it at the monster. "By order of his highness, Emperor Belos, you are to be executed where you stand!"
Kitsune laughed mockingly at Lilith's proclamation. "Oh, how fun this will be. Maybe one of you is a Gate, in that case, please fight me." The Phantom widened her stance as crimson fireballs appeared in her hands and at the tips of her tails. "I want to see you fall into despair when you realize just how utterly powerless you are to save this child!"
The Coven Scouts brandished their spear weapons and fired mana bolts at the Phantom. Kitsune enshrouded herself in crimson fire just as the bolts made contact with it, causing a small explosion before revealing she was gone. The Scouts looked around but didn't have to look long as Kitsune appeared in a burst of fire, two of her nine tails turned into pure fire, acting like whips as they lashed towards two of the Scouts. They were grabbed by the ankles, hoisted into the air, and then thrown towards a building. They crashed through the roof, where they disappeared. Another three Scouts prepared to attack, but Kitsune created more fire clones that appeared behind them.
One swept the legs of a Scout and punt kicked him into another group of Scouts. The second, which was in feral form, grabbed the Scout's right arm with her jaws and tossed him up into the air. The original started unleashing blasts of crimson fire, while also fending off the incoming Scouts with martial skill, throwing punches, and kicks, and leaping over some of them. She landed on the shoulders of one of the Scouts before using her sharp clawed feet to grab him by the shoulders and tossing him like a ragdoll into more of his regimen.
Lilith growled in frustration and began firing off several of her own mana blasts at the monster. Kitsune 1 and 2 dodged the attacks with ease, but Lilith, using her index and middle finger, redirected the attacks, closing off the clones' escape as they were bombarded from all sides.
"Heh, clever, but don't think my clones are the same as me. They're only made to withstand so much before they disappear," said Kitsune.
"Then show me rather than tell me," said Lilith as she released her battle aura.
At that same moment, a golden magical energy blast came roaring past Lilith and struck Kitsune, pushing her back and making her dig her heels into the ground. When the blast ended, Lilith found herself standing side-by-side with her sister, Eda.
"This is the second time we've had to team up, dear sister," said Lilith.
"We're not making this a habit, but if it helps to get rid of these freaks, then I'm all for it!" Eda stated.
Lilith's reply was drawing a spell circle at the same time as Eda, the two sisters combined their spell and fired off a joint magical energy blast. Kitsune gathered her magical flames, condensed them, and released them in a roaring stream of crimson fire. The two attacks slammed against each other as they fought for supremacy, but it was clear to the two skilled witches that the magic that this Phantom wielded wasn't just different from theirs, it was stronger.
Luz was panicking, all her rings were with Eda, and she couldn't save Skara without them. She shifted her attention towards the battle, watching Eda and Lilith fight against Kitsune, and while they seemed to be holding their own, Luz knew it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. The only thing she could do at this point was defeat the Phantom, but that was only half the problem.
The heck with it, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, thought Luz.
"Luz…" Gus whispered.
The Latina glanced to her young friend and saw that a small blue spell circle was wrapped around his finger. Luz nodded and hoped she read his cue correctly. The human girl stepped away, and noticed a blue aura line over her body, and in front of her was a double of Luz.
Gus, eres el mejor (Gus, you're the best)!
Luz ran until she was as far as she could be from Gus' spell, once the aura line disappeared, she ducked into one of the empty alleys and slipped on her rings.
[Driver On, Please.]
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin! Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
"Henshin!"
[Fire, Please.]
[Hi~HI~HIIIII~!]
A red magic circle appeared below her feet, that same circle rose and began changing her form. Once the circle had fully risen, Luz was transformed into Kamen Rider Witch, Fire Style. The helmet had an angular and squarish shape, the eye shapes had a flame-like design, and the crystals were now a ruby red to match the chest plate. Witch could already feel something was different with this form, it was like her magic was raging inside of her, like the very flames which this form represented.
The world fell away to gray, and Wizard appeared before her. It was a brief meeting, as Wizard nodded approvingly at her newest form. Witch realized that her form was of the same element as her second mentor, which felt amazing. The world shifted back to color and Witch jumped straight up and onto the roof. She dashed across the rooftops until she was back at the square. There she saw Eda and Lilith on the defensive, raising shields and lobbing blasts of ice and water to try and douse Kitsune's flames. However, it was doing very little to slow her down.
Eda's going to be ticked, but she can be ticked at me when this is over!
Witch jumped into the air, somersaulted, and came down with a flying kick. The kick struck Kitsune in the face and sent her flying into the side of a building, smashing right through it and creating a hole. Witch landed on the ground gracefully and entered and attack stance, ready to fight the Phantom. But right about then Lilith appeared next to her, pointing her staff at Witch.
"Halt, Witch," said Lilith.
"Lilith Clawthorne, this is not the time! You need to protect those kids up there on the stage, I'll take care of the Phantom!"
"Do you really think I'm just going to ignore you?! You're not any more dangerous than the Phantoms, and the Emperor has ordered your capture!" Lilith stated.
Eda pressed her staff atop of Lilith's, forcing her to lower it. "Give it rest, Lily."
"Edalyn?!"
"Have we put a single scratch on that monster since we've fought?!" Eda shot back.
Lilith growled, knowing the answer was no.
"Let's just get out of her way for the time being."
"Fine…but we're not through here," Lilith warned.
As the two skilled witches walked away, Eda gave Witch a look that she couldn't decipher. But that was for later as Kitsune burst out of the hole and glared at Witch.
"Back for more punishment?!"
"Don't think it'll be the same as last time." Witch took up one of the new rings and slipped it on her right hand. "I'm about to fight fire with fire!"
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go! Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
[Flare, Please.]
Witch's hands ignited with flames, along with a fiery aura surrounding her body. Kitsune growled and charged for Witch, the hero of hope did the same and the two of them met in the middle. Kitsune struck with her fist, while Witch attacked with a flaming palm strike. The two attacks met, creating a small thundering boom that kicked up embers around them. Witch and Kitsune engaged in a fist fight, blocking, and striking, sending flames bellowing forth from their hands with each attack.
The two opponents broke from their fist fight, allowing Witch to sweep the ground with her legs, sending waves of fire at Kitsune. The Phantom channeled her flames to her hands and brought them down in a flame stream that cut through the waves and continued towards Witch. The hero of hope struck with both palms and released a burst of flames that dispersed Kitsune's attack.
Kitsune made familiar hand signs and said, "Honō ga Baizō (Flame Doubles)!" Two of her clones separated from the original and took positions at different parts of the square. All three made new hand signs and uttered their next attack in unison, "Toriniti no Gisei (Trinity Immolation)!"
Witch watched as a fire trail formed between all three Kitsune, forming a triangle. The triangle suddenly burst into the flames as a triangle pillar of fire rose into the air, burning everything inside it. Witch managed to block it by expanding her fire aura and use it as a makeshift shield.
Really missing my Defend ring right now! Witch thought. At that moment, the second ring began to glow. Alright, if you think you can help, then let's go! Witch took off the Flare Spell ring and replaced it with the second of the two rings.
[Rubber, Please.]
Witch started to feel weird, she looked at her right arm and it started to wiggle. "What the?" This effect seemed to have spread through her body, as when she pinched parts of her clothes and her body, they stretched. "Rubber? Huh…I wonder?"
The magical Rider cocked back her right arm and thrust it forward to where the Kitsune clone was. Her arm quickly stretched, getting longer and longer until Witch's hand grabbed ahold of Kitsune's left wrist, causing the Phantom to yelp in surprise.
"Oh, yeah, this I can work with! It's showtime!"
Witch shot out her left arm and grabbed the second clone, she then snapped her arms forward like a rubber band and slammed both clones into the original, knocking Kitsune for a loop and ending the attack.
"What, sorcery is this?!"
"The fun kind!"
Kitsune roared as her nine tails turned into pure fire, each of them lashed out a Witch, hoping to slice her apart. However, the rubberized hero managed to wiggle and weave around each attack, contorting her body in ways that made the group of witches on stage cringe.
Witch waited until her tails stopped lashing, and when they did, she took that opening and launched her arm at the Phantom, grabbing Kitsune by her dress and reeling her in. Witch then whipped her into the side of a building but kept her grip as she reeled her in again. The hero of hope let go and started attacking Kitsune with rapid fire punches, the impact caused her punches to rebound which just brought them back again and again.
Eda watched as Witch fought, she knew Luz was under that helmet, and even though it was her under that older form, she showed no fear. She fought head on while keeping her own safety and theirs in mind. Eda reached into her hair and found the pouch that had Luz's rings, one of the rings glowed a bit, as if telling her that was the ring that Witch needed. Discreetly, Eda plucked the ring from the bag, stepped back a bit until she was out of Lilith's view, and then tossed the ring up at an angle so that it would land in the center of the square.
Witch ended her rapid-fire attack, but she knew it wasn't enough to finish the Phantom off. However, that's when she felt it, the familiar sensation of her rings calling out to her. Witch's HUD lit up and notified her that her ring was in the air. Witch smiled under her helmet as she jumped into the air and grabbed the ring.
Thank you, Eda. "The finale!"
[ VERY NICE, KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS! ]
Witch's right foot ignited with intense, roaring flames. The rubberized Rider began spinning in the air rapidly, creating a small fire twister. When Witch built up enough momentum, she stretched her right leg and struck Kitsune with a stretchy, flaming roundhouse kick. The kick sliced through Kitsune, and in the next moment, the Phantom exploded, ending its existence. When Witch landed, the crimson flames that were still lingering faded away.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Witch looked at the stage, remembering there was still one more issue that needed to be taken care of. However, while their attention was on Skara, no one saw how Owlbert came flying towards her. Witch saw that the Palisman held a pouch in its talons, she held out her hands and Owlbert quickly dropped the bag into her hands. Owlbert gave a little hoot and swiftly returned to Eda. Now with her tools back, Witch quickly changed to save Skara.
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
Once Witch was back in Light Style, she jumped onto the stage. "Everyone, stand clear!"
Lilith glared at Witch and said, "What are you going to do?!"
"Save her," said Witch.
"Ms. Clawthorne, please let her help, she did the same thing and saved me," said Willow.
Amity looked at Witch and then back at Lilith. "Ms. Clawthorne, ma'am, I've seen her save Willow. She can do it; I swear on my family name!"
Lilith was reluctant to let Witch do anything, she didn't know what this person's magic would do to such a young witch, but the bespectacled witch looked fine. "Do it then, but if you harm her…"
"Don't worry, now, everyone stand back." Witch waited for them to move away, and once she had enough breathing room, she knelt next to Skara's right side. "I know you're in pain, and you feel as if everything's coming to an end. But just hold on, I'll return your hope." Witch detached the Engage ring and slipped it over Skara's right ring finger, she then moved Skara's hand so that the ring was over the Hand Author on her Driver.
[Engage, Please.]
Immediately the pain that Skara's was feeling was relieved, but not gone. Witch stepped back as a magic circle appeared over Skara's body, she gave a nod to the others and jumped up and disappeared into the circle.
~(SKARA'S UNDERWORLD)~
Witch dove down the tunnel of light and landed in Skara's Underworld. It seemed the Underworld was different for each person, while Willow's was a vast forest, Skara's was an amphitheater. There were stands set to hold sheet music, and instruments stacked in different positions as if waiting to be used. There were cracks all over this world, and some parts were chipped, the Inner Phantom had to be there. Just then, Witch heard a beautiful singing voice.
Just then a mermaid-like creature smashed through the stage. This Phantom had a fish lower half, with golden scales and yellow, translucent fins. Her skin was flawless, a light shade of yellow, and smooth, with a shell bikini top. The Phantom had a beautiful face, with rose colored eyes, long eyelashes, and curly golden locks.
"…Seriously? This is the second attractive Phantom I've faced today…"
The Inner Phantom looked directly at Witch, giving her a come hither look for a moment, before her eyes shined red. Her mouth shifted and split apart, becoming big with rows of sharp teeth. Her nails grew into sharp claws and spikes formed the spine of her fish tail.
"And there's the monster I was waiting for," said Witch in a deadpan tone.
The Inner Phantom, Siren, inhaled and released a long melodic sonic blast. Witch hurriedly dodged the attack as the sonic blast ripped through the stands and blew through a wall. Witch decided it was time to call in backup.
[OwlRise, Please.]
A huge magic circle appeared in the sky, and from it flew out La Lechuza. The mechanical owl Phantom flew around and landed on the edge of the theater. Once she was there, Witch took out the Ride ring and activated it.
[Ride, Please.]
A second circle appeared next to Witch, materializing the Witch Speeder. Witch mounted her vehicle and flew up to meet La Lechuza.
"Nice to see you again," said Witch.
La Lechuza began preening herself, pretending not to notice Siren. "So, it seems you got your rings back? I still can't believe you let that old hag take them away from you."
"Hey, Eda isn't old! She's foxy! And I was kind of knocked out when she did it," said Witch.
La Lechuza finally acknowledged the giant Phantom, Siren's mouth stitched back together and flashed the mechanical owl a smile. La Lechuza visibly shivered. "Well, that thing needs to go. I don't like how she's looking at me." The Phantom spread her wings and soared down towards Siren.
The Inner Phantom's mouth opened wide again and fired off a sonic blast, La Lechuza barrel rolled away from the attack and slashed at Siren with her talons. The giant Phantom hissed in pain as her left arm bled violet light, but then it healed almost immediately. Witch came in and started firing off her mana bolts, exploding against the Siren's body. La Lechuza came from behind and readied to gouge it with her claws. However, the Inner Phantom raised its tail and smacked the giant owl into the side of the theater, while it slashed the air with her left claw and knocked Witch into a tailspin.
Witch was thrown from her Speeder and sent crashing into the stands. The hero of hope groaned from the rough landing but froze when the shadow of Siren was cast over her. The Inner Phantom grinned evilly as it inhaled and prepared to fire another sonic blast. However, La Lechuza flew in and grabbed Siren by her hair and jerked her head upwards, forcing Siren to fire her sonic blast into the air. Witch willed the Speeder to come to her, the vehicle rose from the ground and sped towards her. She jumped into the air and landed flawlessly onto the Speeder as she pulled up.
La Lechuza screeched as she tossed Siren against the stage, temporarily disorienting her. "Ugh, human, do it!"
Witch nodded and flew around until she was behind her Phantom. La Lechuza's back began to open, and the Witch Speeder went into autopilot as it flew down to La Lechuza and docked with her back. The moment she did, La Lechuza's feather panels opened, and hard-light feathers appeared from the gaps. La Lechuza flew into the air as she flared her wings, the constructs began to glow brighter with each second, and with a mighty flap, La Lechuza fired several light beams from her wings that rained down on Siren. The light beams struck all around the monster, creating multiple explosions all around the Inner Phantom.
"Let's finish this, La Lechuza!"
[ VERY NICE, KICK STRIKE! FABULOUS! ]
Witch jumped straight into air, when she did, La Lechuza underwent a transformation, becoming giant mechanical boot. The magical Rider extended her right leg and came down, connecting with the seat of her Speeder and forcing the entire contraption to descend. Particles of yellow light formed around them as a silhouette of Witch appeared around it. Siren could only watch as a giant Rider Kick came down on it, driving Siren into the ground. A mighty explosion went off as particles of yellow light washed over the entire landscape of the Underworld, seeping into the cracks and closing them, returning the realm to its pristine state.
The Speeder ejected from La Lechuza's back, and the giant mechanical owl flew into the sky and through a magic circle to return to Witch. Witch looked down at the amphitheater and watched as the instruments all began to play a beautiful song. It seems Skara's soul was beautiful, just as she had hoped.
~(OVERWORLD)~
Everyone on the outside was pacing, with Amity and Willow kneeling next to Skara. Gus was looking a little tired, he had been keeping up the Luz construct for a while and wasn't sure how much longer he could make this last.
"Look!" Amity exclaimed.
The cracks on Skara's body all mended, as the violet light faded away. At that same moment, Witch jumped out of the magic circle and landed a few feet away from them. She walked up to Skara removed the Engage ring from Skara's finger. "She'll be okay now."
A moment after saying that, Skara's eyes began to flutter open. The Bard Track witch groaned as she slowly sat up. "Oh…wow…did I have the worst dream." Skara looked at Witch and the destruction that had occurred around them. "Okay, maybe it wasn't a dream."
"Skara," Willow spoke, "I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I should've had more faith in you, you've never given me a reason to doubt your intentions, and I should've believed you instead of flying off like I did earlier."
Skara smiled at Willow and gently placed her right hand on the Plant witch's shoulder. "It's okay, when you hang around Boscha you tend to get seen in the same light. I don't blame you, Willow. But I would like to start being friends if you don't mind? Start over?"
Willow sniffled and smiled at Skara. "Of course, I'd love that."
Eda carefully stepped closer to Witch and whispered, "Get out of here, kid."
Witch nodded and carefully slipped on her Flash ring. "Since everyone seems okay, I'll take my leave."
"Hold on! We're not done yet, Witch!" Lilith stated.
"Sorry, but we are."
[Flash, Please.]
Willow, Gus, and Eda shut their eyes just as Witch's right hand released a blinding flash of light. Lilith yelped as she covered her eyes, Amity did same thing, unable to see through the light. Thankfully, the illusion of Luz was standing next to Witch, so while they were blinded, Witch cancelled her transformation. Gus cracked one eye open and saw Luz had changed back, he sighed in relief and released the illusion of Luz so that the real one could take its place.
When the light faded, Witch was gone, leaving Lilith to look everywhere to see where she went. "How did she does do that?!"
"Well, since we're all not dead, let's head to the Healing Coven to get you kids checked out," said Eda.
"I'm for that!" Luz stated.
"Probably a good idea," said Willow.
The group got up and were escorted by Eda, as they walked, Eda lightly jabbed Luz in the arm and said, "Good job, kid."
Luz smiled and Eda smiled back.
The time had come, Luz stood outside of the Owl House, along with Willow, Amity, and Gus. Willow and Gus were noticeably trying to keep it together, knowing that this was the last time they would get to see their friend again, but also because their protector was going too.
"We're going to miss me you, Luz," said Willow.
"Please take me with you! I at least want to see the human world once before…before my best friend leaves!" Gus wailed.
"I'd love to bring you with me, too…but you have family here, Gus, you can't leave them," said Luz.
The young witch sniffled and then hugged Luz fiercely, Willow couldn't stop herself as she too joined in on the group hug.
Amity stood there, she wanted to hug her too, but if she did, she wouldn't let go of Luz.
"Tick, tock, Little Miss Perfect. Your time's running out."
Willow and Gus separated from Luz, the Latina looked directly at Amity and walked up to her. "Amity, we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, and part of the time we did we weren't exactly on the best of terms."
Amity mentally facepalmed herself, remembering exactly how she acted towards Luz.
"But I want you to know that despite all that, I really liked having you as a friend," said Luz. "I just wish we had more time."
"I…I do too, Luz. Luz…ever since you've come here, you've thrown everything I've known upside down. And, honestly, I like that. You're not afraid to be you, and I admire that." Amity gripped the edge of her dress. It was now over never.
"Oh, wow, you're actually going for it?"
"Luz, I just want you to know that I love–!"
"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Eda broke in as the she threw open the door. "Jeez, if I knew you all were going to be whining about it this much, I wouldn't have suggested this."
"What?" Luz asked.
"Look, I…I overreacted. It's not fair to send you away like this, and after seeing Witch in action," Eda glanced at Luz. "I guess she has things under control. So, you can stay."
"REALLY?!" Luz exclaimed.
"Yes, you can – Hey now!" Eda soon found herself getting hugged by Luz, followed by Willow and Gus. "Okay, that's enough! I can only deal with one arm circle thing at a time!"
"Thank you, Ms. Eda!" Willow and Gus exclaimed.
"Gracias, Eda!" Luz added.
Eda sighed and just let it happen, she then flashed a smile and winked at the young Blight girl. To which Amity replied with a silent "thank you".
Luz, Gus, and Willow ended their hug, but Luz turned around and said, "This is great, Amity! I get to stay! Oh, I almost forgot, what were you going to say?"
"Yes, what exactly were you going to say before the love of your life was about to leave forever, but is not anymore?"
"I was going to say…that…I love having you as a friend! And apparently, we're going have a lot more time to become better friends," said Amity.
Inner Amity facepalmed. Willow facepalmed. Eda facepalmed. Gus had no idea why they facepalmed. Hooty, lacking hands, extended himself from the house and smashed his face into the ground.
"Uh, why did you do that?" Gus asked.
"Don't know, seemed right for some reason."
Thankfully a distraction came by way of a flying telecrow. The crow hovered near Amity and opened its mouth, {Amity you there?!}
"Skara? Yeah, what's wrong?"
{They're restarting the competition in the square! Since we didn't get the chance to even start our song, we're being given a chance to start again!}
"Really?!" Luz asked in excitement.
{Yes, but you guys gotta get here now!}
"Eda?" Luz asked.
"Well, Owlbert can't carry all of you. I can carry two at a time," said Eda.
"Gus, Willow, go with Eda! Amity, let's hoof it to the square, and Eda, you can pick us up along the way!" Luz stated.
The Owl Lady whistled, calling her magic staff to her. The staff smashed through a window and appeared next to her. Eda mounted the staff, along with Gus and Willow, and together they took off into the air and headed towards the town.
"Let's go, Amity!"
Without thinking, Luz grabbed Amity by the hand and started running, Amity stumbled for a moment but regained her footing and began running with Luz. Yes, she knew she chickened out of that confession, but now she'd have a lot more chances to try. Eventually they all made it back to the square, thanks to the wonders of magic, everything was restored, and the damage was undone. After double checking for anymore gorematoe buckets, the "Rider Girls" got back on stage.
Skara got center stage and took up one of the mics. "So, originally, this song was just done because I thought it was cool, but after what happened yesterday, I want to dedicate this song. Kamen Rider Witch, thank you for saving my life and everyone's! This is for you!"
As Skara returned the mic, she flashed a smile at Willow, which Willow returned. Thankfully, Skara went back to the instruments before Willow could see her blush. She decided not to dive headfirst into asking Willow out, it wasn't the right time. Skara knew she had to build up her relationship with Willow, let her see the real Skara, and today was step one in that.
Luz looked around and spotted Eda in the audience, along with King who had stowed away in her hair. Apparently Boscha's crew was back in the crowd, probably hoping for a repeat of the fiasco from yesterday. She was happy to disappoint them today.
"Uno, dos! Uno, dos, tres, quattro!"
"Magic! The Magic! True Magic! It's SHOWTIME~!"
Gus used his illusion magic to create a replica of Witch's magic sigil as explosions went off around the stage.
"Inhibitions that cloud your mind.
Send them off, make the jump and you will define
your next move in life, polishing what once was unrefined~"
Silhouettes of faceless people appeared before them, showing how they were full of doubt and hopelessness.
"Light bending true, the stars will align.
Blazing through and revealing the sign
for you to continue the dispute,
awaiting now with the fear down the line!
3-2-1! SHOWTIME~!"
The images of monsters, Phantoms, appeared and showed the people running from them. But the stars in the sky came together and formed the magic circle of Witch like a constellation. Witch appeared in a flash of light from the circle and began fighting against the monsters that were threatening the people. The audience started to get off their seats and bob their heads to the song.
"Time for the magic! No clue to unfurl!
Just stage an OK! Play to show the world! (Let's shout it! Hallelujah!)"
You are the hero, the hope in everyone.
Don't give up what's only begun!
SHOWTIME!
Life is Show Time! Inescapable!
Show you're regardless, know you're capable! (Let's shout it! Hallelujah!)
All of the many who say you've gone too far,
in the end will learn who you are!"
The projection of Witch jumped into the air, shifting through her various Styles, and came down with a shining Rider Kick, destroying the monsters and saving the people.
"Their world's defender from all despair and grime.
Magic! The Magic! True Magic! It's SHOWTIME~!"
Gus ended the illusion and Skara played the final notes with a flourish. Luz, Willow, and Amity panted from singing with their passion behind it and were rewarded with thunderous applause. Eda smirked at Luz and gave a congratulatory nod of approval. After it was all said and done, Luz only had one thing on her mind.
This is so going to be my theme song!
A/N: Translated lyrics belong to Remy Tyndle on YouTube, the song "Life is SHOWTIME" belongs to Shō Kiryūin, Shoko Fujibayashi, Tatsuo and Avex Entertainment.