A/N: Okay everyone, in order to maximize the number of chapters I do for both fics, I will be alternating between them. So today and tomorrow you will get two Witch chaps/eps. Next week it will be two Amphibia Riders chaps/eps. As per usual, next update will be tomorrow at noon USA CST. Now to answer some reviews.
I've seen this pop up so I will address this, in Episode 32, reread the part where Luz fakes killing the Selkidomus, the part about her getting her ring back is there. Kind of a blink and you'll miss it kind of deal.
And Kosuke Nitoh will NOT become Heka/Amity's mentor. The only reason Luz/Witch has a mentor is due to Haruto "downloading" his knowledge into Luz's mind to give her an edge in fighting against the Phantoms. Granting her a lot of combat knowledge in just a short period of time. And she has the ability to draw on his wisdom whenever she needs to. On the other hand, Amity is flying blind. She has to find her own way of being a Rider, and Luz will eventually help her, becoming the mentor that Amity needs.
Writer of Crossovers: You are correct! That battle was from Kamen Rider Decade the World of Hibiki episodes, love that song, loved that whole sequence. I gotta pay homage to my fave Rider.
Explosions rang out in the woods of the Boiling Isles one after the other. Two figures moved through the darkened woods; their silhouettes only visible due to the flashing of light. Flames spewed one way, while a wave of energy cleaved the ground. Ice formed multiple sharp glaives while the resounding rumble of a bell echoed and flattened several trees. All the while to the backdrop of rhythmic, almost tribal drumbeats. The pounding of the drums grew louder, along with the marching of feet, which only caused the explosions of magical energy to continue to erupt more and more.
The two figures continued to run around in the forest for a good while before both burst into a clearing up ahead. One was Kamen Rider Witch, and the other, Kamen Rider Heka. Witch brandished her WizarSwordGun, while Heka wielded her magical staff, Lady Luck. The two Riders stared each other down, tightening their grips on their weapons and widening their stances. Without a word spoken both heroes dashed towards each other, weapons raised in preparation to strike.
One would wonder, "How did these two heroes come to blows?" Will, to arrive at the answer, it may be more prudent that we start at the beginning…
It had been a day since she had returned from her seafaring adventure, and Luz was looking forward to selling that selkigris. Eda assured Luz that once they had managed to get some money from the selling of the selkigris she could attend school again. Thankfully, Eda had been keeping in touch with Principal Bump via letters sent by messenger owl, in this case, Owlbert. Principal Bump informed Eda he understood the reasons why Luz was not attending and assured her that once their affairs were in order, Luz would be welcomed back.
Luz couldn't wait to go back, so far, the Emperor and the Golden Guard had not done anything to Willow, Gus, Skara, or Amity during Luz's time away. It stood to reason that the Emperor knew of her affiliation with those witches, and the last thing Luz wanted was to give the Emperor a reason to go after them. While part of her was happy that she would soon return to school, another part of her was not looking forward to all the make-up work she was going to have to do once she did. I mean, she did want to learn from every magic track, so that's nine different magic tracks' worth of material to make up.
I'm starting to wonder if I should've just stuck to the one track… Luz pondered. Maybe Amity could help me get caught up? I mean, at least when it comes to the Abomination courses.
"Hmmm, interesting. Your first thought is of her and not of your other friends?"
Luz chuckled nervously. It's just that Amity's really smart and she's an ace when it comes to Abomination magic. I-I don't expect her to be able to help me with other courses. I'll more than likely ask Willow for help with Plants, Gus for Illusions, Skara for Bard. I'll ask Viney for her help with Beast Keeping and Healing, and Jerbo for Oracle and Potions. See, all rounded out.
"Uh-huh, and yet, the very first person you thought about was Amity Blight. Come now, Niña, just be honest with yourself and say what you mean. You have feelings for that witch," La Lechuza teased.
Luz blushed ever so slightly, but it was gone just a quickly as it appeared. We've been over this Lala, Amity's into guys. I know there's no hate or bias against same sex relationships here, but that doesn't mean that telling Amity that I might have a crush on her won't make things awkward. I mean, how would you feel if your friend suddenly blurted out that she likes you out of the blue?!
"I would not know. My race is incapable of feeling things like love." Luz could hear La Lechuza hum for a second. "Actually, scratch that, we do feel love."
Luz's eyes sparkled at the idea. You can! You do?! I knew you guys weren't all just evil, what do you love, Lala?!
"We Phantoms love causing despair in the lowly creatures that serve as our Gates. We also love reveling in the misery of our enemies. And we absolutely love visiting destruction upon those we hate."
The sparkle disappeared in Luz's eyes. And here I thought you were changing.
"You're asking me to change my very nature, Niña. That is not something easily done, I am a creature of despair and destruction. That is all Phantoms have been for untold millennia. The sooner you accept that about me, the easier things will be for us going forward."
Luz smiled as she headed to the bathroom to wash up. You say that, but I'm not going to. Because giving up hope that you can change, is the same as giving up on myself. And I'm not about to do that. One day, you'll find something to care about other than destruction and despair.
"If that happens it will not be in your lifetime, Niña."
Luz reached the bathroom and started to brush her teeth. By the way, what happens to Phantoms who become imprisoned inside people like me? I mean, I know you die if I die, but does that mean that if I grow old and die, you'll go, too?
"Natural death does not count. Unnatural or untimely death does. We're tied into the life cycle of our hosts. Upon your death, be it by some disease or just old age, my bonds will be broken, and I will be free to exit through your gateway back to the ethereal plain. Where I will wander until I can find another Gate to exit from."
Luz spit into the sink and then began to wash her face. I'm surprised you wouldn't just try and take over my body after that. If you're free, then that means you could, right?
"In theory, yes, but a strong and relatively lively host is preferrable to an old one. When we manifest, the host body no longer ages, it remains the same age it was for all time. Some of my brethren aren't picky about their Gates, but I am. I like certain gates that are young, strong, and have potential."
Ah, so you're saying that I have potential, and that's why you were inside me? Luz asked in a teasing tone.
Luz could almost feel La Lechuza's feathers getting ruffled. "I-I-I didn't say that! You were just the most convenient choice at the time!"
You're such a tsundere, Lala.
"I curse the fact that I know what that means now because of you. And for the record, I am NOT a tsundere!"
So, tsun.
After she was done in bathroom, Luz went back to her room to change. Once that was done, she headed downstairs where she heard Lilith and Eda talking.
"I don't like it, Edalyn," said Lilith.
"It's the only way for us to get any money for the selkigris, top snail at that," Eda countered. "We're down to our last few snails, and we can't wait for a proper channel to buy it, on top of that, you and I both know that they take a hefty finder's fee from what you sell at the Day Market."
Luz stood in the archway and saw King sitting there watching the two sisters. "What's going on?"
"Eda wants to sell the selkigris off in the Night Market, but Lilith wants to do it in the Day Market," King answered.
"Is there any real difference?" Luz asked.
"A BIG DIFFERENCE!" the Clawthorne sisters exclaimed.
Lilith stood up and looked directly at Luz. "Luz, I know you're used to doing certain things a certain way when it comes to Eda and her…business practices, or lack thereof." Eda stuck out her tongue in response. "But moving that much selkigris is a bit tricky and does require it to be moved through the proper channels. If we go to the Day Market, we can find a proper seller and get quality snail for it. No back room dealing, nothing illegal."
Eda leaned against her sister and said, "Aaaaaaannnnnd?"
Lilith sighed. "Okay, yes, there is a fee that we have to pay out that will be deducted from the amount of selkigris. But as you put it, sister, it's the 'price of doing business'."
"How much?" Luz asked?
"Oh, nothing much – fifty percent!" Eda grossed.
Luz scratched her head, she was not that good at math, and she really did not know how much selkigris was worth, but from what she gathered it was a lot of money, so giving half away was probably not that bad. "If it's only half, then it shouldn't be all that bad right?"
Now it was Eda's turn. "Yeah, not all that bad, if we had other means of income, but we don't. The bounty hunting gig wasn't panning out, and without my magic I can't make potions as potent as I used to. Don't get me wrong, I can still brew a mean potion, but there are some stronger ones that involve infusing magic and without that I can't do 'em. And neither can Lilly. The fact we have a scrying spell cauldron is a wonder right now. Thanks for that."
"You're welcome," Lilith replied.
"Anyway, that's the Day Market. But if we go to the Night Market, we can get top snail for it! All we need is a broker who can find the right seller, and then once they do, we'll get all the money its worth!" Eda explained.
Luz blinked in surprise. "Wow, really? No 'finder's fee'?"
"Nope! I'll be honest, the people who by this stuff at the Night Market are kinda shady, but more often than not, shady people have a crap ton a snails to throw around. Selkigris has its uses, and people who know what they are and can afford it will pay for it. Not just take half of it and pay you for the rest. But the first thing we need to do is find a broker at the Night Market so that they can sell it to the right person."
"It's also dangerous," Lilith added. "People like that could just as easily just take what you have rather than buy it from you. In the past, that wouldn't be a problem for you, Edalyn, but right now, in our current state…"
Eda hated to admit it, but Lilith was right. She had no reason to be wary of the Night Market because she had the magical power to back up any threat she made, and those who knew her knew not to try and swindle the Owl Lady. Unfortunately, everyone in their grandma knew that Eda was powerless, so even if she found a reputable broker, and a buyer, there was no telling if that buyer would play nice.
"I can go!" Luz chimed. "I'll go with you to the Night Market and watch your back!"
Lilith shook her head. "Luz, it's dangerous enough for child. I know you're exceptionally capable, but it'll only take one wrong misstep and you're both in trouble, and your powers won't be able to save you."
Eda walked until she was standing next to Luz and brought her into a half hug. "Look, Lilith, until we can find a way to get Luz back to the Human Realm, she'll need to learn how to survive here. Sheltering her from all things here on the Isles won't help her. And in the worst-case scenario that we aren't able to find a way to get Luz back home, Luz will need to know as much as she can about how things work around here if she's going to live here long term." Eda walked closer to Lilith so that she could whisper into her ear. "And let's face it, with this curse, who knows how much longer we'll be alive to help her out."
Lilith gritted her teeth. That was another unfortunate aspect of this curse that she had wished to forget. Along with transforming her and Eda into mindless beasts and zapping away their magical powers, the curse also accelerated the aging process. Whenever the two sisters stood side by side, you would think Eda was the older of the two, but in reality, she was the little sister, the curse aged her body far more than what her actual age was. Resulting in Eda's grayed hair and some signs of aging on her face. It was annoying, but despite the accelerated aging, her younger sister still managed to maintain an air of allure. Lilith was starting to see the effects on herself as well, a gray streak forming in her hair, along with some age lines on her face.
It did make the former Coven Head wonder how much time either of them had. Their bodies were falling apart, in this case literally. It had its advantages, but it was just another sign that one day, the curse would consume them, and either death would take them, or the Owl Beast would take them over. In the short time that Lilith had been in the Owl House, she had grown a little fond of Luz, and the thought of her being left alone to fend for herself in a world that was not her own was troubling to think about. She could only imagine how Eda felt about it.
Reluctantly, she agreed with Eda. "You're right, Edalyn. Go to the Night Market and find a broker." Lilith knelt before the human girl and placed her right hand on her shoulder. "Be on your guard while there, Luz."
"Don't worry, we'll be a-okay!"
An explosion went off down below Blight Manor, Edric and Emira were in the living room, watching the crystal ball, while Amity was sitting in the armchair reading a book. The three siblings looked at each other for a moment.
"Who's turn was it to check on dad?" Edric asked.
"I did it yesterday," said Emira.
"No, I did, you did it the day before yesterday, it's your turn," said Amity.
"Wait, no, it's Ed's turn," Emira countered.
"Nuh-uh! I did it the day before yesterday!" Edric rebutted. "Mittens, go check on dad."
"I just said I did it yesterday, one of you is going," Amity replied.
The three Blight siblings stared each other down, all three got up from their respective sitting places and walked until they were in the middle of the living room.
"So, none of us are backing down then," said Amity.
Emira crossed her arms over her chest and answered, "Seems like it."
"Then I guess we have to settle this thing the Blight fashioned way," Edric suggested.
All three siblings got into a stance, each one ready for battle. They're eyes shifted between one sibling and the next, looking for even the most minute hint of premature movement.
"One…"
"Two…"
"…THREE!"
All three siblings drew a spell circle, and out of those three circles appeared three different images. One was a cloaked being, the second was a fiery beast, and the last was a large snake.
"Druid commands Djinn," Emira stated.
"But Basilisk stone freezes Druid," said Amity.
"But Djinn kills Basilisk," Edric added.
The Blight siblings looked at each other and said, "Again! One, two, three!" This time Edric and Emira summoned Druid and Amity summoned Djinn. Amity sighed and defeat as she headed towards the basement and her older siblings went back to watching the crystal ball. Amity headed down into the basement, briefly wondering if the explosion came from the subbasement. However, that theory was over the moment she saw the splattering of Abomination goo everywhere, and some smoke.
"Dad, cough once if you're still alive!" Amity called out.
"Over here, Amity," said Alador.
The youngest Blight child walked over to where she heard her father's voice. His arms and legs were sticking out from a pile of Abomination goo. Amity drew a circle and commanded the goo to rise off her father, where she put it in a pile to the side. Alador dusted himself off and said, "Thank you for the assistance."
"What happened?"
"The core for this new Abomaton is a bit unstable and I–"
"Alador, what was that ruckus about?" Odalia asked.
Amity glanced over her shoulder and saw her mother walking down the stairs. "It's fine, mom, dad's invention just blew up."
Odalia could see that much. "Was it the new Abomaton model?"
Alador nodded.
The matriarch of the Blight family pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. "We have a presentation on Monday, dear. We have to have at least a working model to show off before we can begin mass production!"
"I am aware, but the power core for this new model is unstable compared to the last one," Alador explained.
"Will it last long enough to do a showcase before it explodes?"
"No, if we did use it, it'll explode about three minutes into the presentation. Not enough time to show it off, and even less time for the audience to leave and not see it happen."
Odalia groaned in annoyance, the presentation for the Abomaton was in two days, it was already Saturday and they only had tonight and all of Sunday to get the machine ready. Monday was pushing it. "What do you need to make it stable?"
"Selkigris."
"Selkigris?" Amity parroted.
"Why would you need something like that?" Odalia asked.
Alador began cleaning up his experiment while he answered, "There are special properties contained in the selkigris that can stabilize the reaction between the negatively charged magicules of the Abomination energy, and the positively charged magicules of–"
"Okay, okay, I get it dear! You need it to make it work, fine."
Amity could tell that her mother was under pressure, she had been hyping the upcoming presentation for quite a while, and no doubt she wanted this to go off without a hitch. But selkigris was not easy to come by, even for nobles like them.
"By the way, Alador, how much of it do you need?" Odalia asked.
Alador stopped what he was doing and did a quick calculation on his fingers. "About five hundred pounds of it."
Amity jumped when she saw her mother grip at her heart. "FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS?! It'll take at least a week going through proper channels to get the necessary amount!"
Alador shrugged. "I'm sorry, but if we're going to do mass production, we'll need that amount one way or the other. That being the case, the only viable option is to go to the Night Market."
Amity's eyebrow rose. "The Night Market?"
"You know I detest going through such channels, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We'll have to go tonight and find a broker. At least that's what I would like to say if I wasn't needed back at the factory, apparently our event staff is too incompetent to set up proper stage lighting!"
"I can go," said Amity.
Alador and Odalia looked at their youngest daughter.
"Mittens, sweety, the Night Market is no place for an up-and-coming young witch like yourself. The last thing I need is for someone to see you out there and spread nasty rumors that you're dabbling in something unbecoming of you. Plus, I need someone who will keep your father in line and make sure someone doesn't swindle us out of our money," said Odalia.
Amity crossed her arms. "I am more than capable of doing both those things. Plus, do you really want Ed and Em to go to the Night Market of all places?"
Odalia thought about that for a moment, her twin children, with their father, in the Night Market, unsupervised. "Wear a cloak as black as night, and a mask if you have to, but make sure your father does not give away all our money."
"That happened?"
Odalia shuddered as she recalled the memory. "Came dangerously close to doing so, too close for me to risk it again."
Amity looked at her father who replied, "There's a reason why your mother is in charge of finances."
The young witchling pinched the bridge of her nose in the same fashion as her mother. How these two managed to stay married this long, is a miracle.
"The power of money at work Little Miss Perfect. Although, I must say, watching these two is very entertaining."
"Alright, I'll go and find a cloak to wear."
"All black, your clothing as well, nothing identifiable. That goes for you, too, Alador!"
"Yes dear."
Now that they were hip deep in selkigris, the residents of the Owl House needed to find a buyer for it. Selkigris was extremely valuable, but Eda knew that if you wanted to get any good money out of it, you had to take it to the Night Market. The only real problem was, finding a buyer. Eda brought Luz with her, as for the time being, Luz was stuck in the Demon Realm, so the Owl Lady figured that her apprentice should learn a few things, just in case.
Luz found that the Night Market was a much different place than the Day Market. There were things sold in some of these shops that weren't exactly, nice, or kid friendly. It was at this very market that Lilith found the scroll that she used to curse Eda with, so it was more than likely that this place held some unsavory characters.
"You sure there's no one in the Day Market that we can sell that stuff to?" Luz asked.
"I'm sure. If we want top snail for it, then the Night Market's our best bet," Eda replied.
Luz and Eda were garbed in black robes and hoods as they walked along the path and glanced at the different shops. It had taken most of the night, bordering on five in the morning, but Eda had gotten word of a potential selkigris broker, and tonight they were going to meet them. They continued walking until they were at a vacant corner of the Night Market. Both witches were on guard, anything could happen tonight. Just then, Eda noticed movement from around the corner and glared at the figure. The figure continued walking towards them, still hidden in the shadows. Luz decided to keep things visible and used her Light Glyph to create a ball of light.
Once it was formed, Eda made a deadpan expression and groaned. "You got to be kidding me…"
Standing before them was none other than little pig-gremlin demon, Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III, or Tibbles, as he preferred to be called. "Hello, Eda."
"Okay, yeah, we're leaving," said Luz.
"Right there with ya," Eda agreed.
"Wait, wait! This isn't a trick; I really do want to help you move your selkigris!" Tibbles quickly stated.
"Uh-huh, yeah, the first time we met. You wanted to sell me the Emperor's Coven and keep King as your pet."
"And the last time we met, you tricked King into spraying my friends with your weird shrinking potion and fed us to your shrunken beasts!"
Tibbles tapped the tips of his fingers against each other in a sheepish fashion. "Well…yes I-I did do all that. But let's just bury the hatchet, we're here to do business."
Bury the hatchet in our backs, the two thought.
"Look, I really need this, I need this money, Eda the Owl Lady!" Tibbles begged.
Luz took a closer look at the little pig-gremlin and noticed that his normally pristine outfit was less than pristine. He looked disheveled, some parts of his clothes were torn, and there was a crack on the left lens of his glasses. "What happened to you?"
"Okay, in all fairness, I should not have been focusing my resources on getting back at you." Tibbles nodded to Luz. " That being said…I have been hitting a string of bad luck as of late…my items have been going missing, my customers driven away, and right now I'm desperate. I am not exaggerating when I say I need the money from this."
Luz raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wait, how does he get money from helping us find someone to sell selkigris to?"
Eda crossed her arms and said, "Brokers are paid twenty percent of the sale, while we get the other eighty percent. But even twenty percent of selling selkigris is a butt load of snails either way. Considering that you're having this supposed bad luck, that would be a hefty amount. And considering the fact that you have a vendetta against us, why should we take pity on you?"
Tibbles got on his hands and knees and bowed his head to the witch and her apprentice, surprising them both. "I need this, desperately! I will literally do anything if you let me be the broker and find you a buyer!"
Eda took a step back when she saw the pig-gremlin demon beg her. Not that she didn't like it, especially after the grief that he put her and Luz through. Luz, however, wasn't liking it, for a different reason. Even though this guy did almost kill her and her friends, and almost turned in Eda to the Emperor's Coven, the part of Luz that was optimistic and caring would not allow her to turn a blind eye to his plight.
"Let's do it," said Luz.
"Luz, are you nuts?!" Eda exclaimed.
"I know, I know, he's a jerk, and he's probably going to backstab us the moment we let our guard down–"
"I won't!"
"But!" Luz added, "Two wrongs don't make a right. Yes, he tried to sell you to the Emperor's Coven, but my friends and I did smash his shop. This is just going to go around in a circle if we just keep one upping his bad stuff with doing something bad back to him, soooo…yeah. Let's just see where this goes."
Tibbles was practically crying as he crawled over to Luz. "Oh, thank you, thank you, human chi–!" The pig-gremlin demon was cut off when Luz formed a saber of light in her hands and pointed it at his face.
"Just because we're doing this, doesn't mean I completely trust you. I'm a nice person, and I believe in second chances, but I'm not a fool, understand?" Luz warned.
Tibbles quickly shook his head in understanding. "Yes, perfectly understand!"
Luz dismissed the light sword.
"N-Now, wait here, I might have someone in mind!" Tibbles stated as he rushed off.
Eda smiled and patted Luz's head. "That's my apprentice."
"Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, get kicked in the face!"
Amity did not realize how much of a chore it was to keep her father on task. Alador was constantly getting distracted by the various items that were being hocked at the Night Market, things that the Day Market didn't sell, or couldn't sell because of potential illegality of their wears, and, in some cases, the decency. The poor girl had to avert her eyes from a few risqué booths, thankfully her father never went near them, that would have been a whole other level of embarrassment.
"Is Little Miss Perfect feeling a little embarrassed about seeing such things?"
Shut up, Bast! I have enough on my hands dealing with dad, I don't need your commentary!
"Just saying, maybe you should look into some of these things. Luz is oblivious as all get-out. Maybe you need to take a less subtle route? Oooh! There's a nice little number that would be perfect for your figure!"
Amity dared to look in the direction Bast suggested and immediately went bright red when she saw it. BAST! NO! Are you trying to make me look like a – The young witchling turned to her front and saw that her father was gone, again. Amity facepalmed herself and groaned loudly. And now I got to track him down, AGAIN! I should've made sure to seal your mouth before anything else.
"Aww, you know you'd get lonely if I wasn't talking to you."
Amity searched the area for her father, occasionally, she would get an odd look from a demon or another witch. She knew the Night Market was not always visited by unsavory folk, but that did not mean that it did not have its fair share of them lurking about. And with Amity doing what she could to conceal her identity, any of these unsavory types could just attack her without warning. If they knew she was a Blight, there was no doubt in her mind that they'd try to ransom her, but thanks to her recent upgrade in power, there was no way any of these demons or witches could possibly match her in a fight.
It took Amity a long minute, but she eventually found her father, and he was talking to some kind of pig-gremlin demon. Amity ran up to her father and said, "I told you to stick close to me while we're here!"
"Oh, sorry, but I found us a broker," said Alador as he pointed down to the demon.
The pig-gremlin demon bowed to them and said, "I am Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III. But you may call me Tibbles."
"He really wants to be called that?"
Amity crossed her arms and gave the little demon a serious glare. "Is this true? We're not joking, we want to buy selkigris, quickly, and with as little questions asked as possible."
"If you're serious about buying, then I may have a seller who's looking to do business, right now!" Tibbles informed.
Amity looked up at her father for a moment, Alador nodded to his daughter and prompted her reply, "Alright then, inform your seller. But…" Amity drew a spell circle and conjured a sword made of Abomination goo. "Any funny business, and we will have some serious words."
Sheesh! This kid looks to be the same age as that human, what's with these kids today, they're scary! Tibbles thought. "No funny business, I promise!" Tibbles walked ahead of them and drew a spell circle.
Amity could not tell who he was speaking to on the other end of the spell, but she hoped it was not to some gang leader informing them that they were bringing someone to a trap.
"You handled that well, Amity. You remind me of your mother, somewhat," said Alador.
Amity furrowed her brow. While he may have meant that as a compliment, the last thing that she wanted was to be compared to her mother. She was well on her way to becoming like her if Luz had not appeared in her life. Sure, she could channel that part of her old self, even some of her mother's ruthlessness, but if she did, it was only to help someone, not herself.
Tibbles clapped excitedly as he practically pranced his way back to them. "Good news, they've agreed to meet you, right now! I have already given them directions to an out of the way spot, no prying eyes, no interruptions."
"Alright, lead the way," said Amity.
Tibbles proceeded to lead Amity and Alador to an abandoned house close to the outskirts of town. The forest was off to their left, while to the right was the lights of the town in the distance. The house itself was dilapidated, with overgrowth, showing that the place had been abandoned for years and that nature was reclaiming it. There were holes in the roof allowing some moonlight to seep through, the shutters were either gone or hanging on, by a thread, on their hinges. Crows cawed in the distance, along with the chittering of bugs, and other animal sounds associated with the Boiling Isles. Tibbles walked up on the house and knocked three times, and then got a reply knock.
"Okay, wait right here, I need to set up some things," said Tibbles.
Amity and Alador waited about a minute and then were given the okay to come in by Tibbles. The two of them cautiously strolled in and were led to the living room, there they saw a shimmering veil of light that carved out half the living room. Amity could only make out blurry silhouettes, no defining shapes could be seen either.
"What is this?" Amity asked.
"An Anonymity Veil, it not only distorts your appearance, but also alters your voice. It's best used in closed spaces like this, that way you don't know who the seller is, and the seller doesn't know who the buyer is. But I, as the broker, can travel between both sides of the veil," Tibbles explained.
On the other side of the veil, Eda and Luz stood ready. They did not know how this negotiation would go, so they remained on edge. Luz leaned close to Eda and whispered, "Is this typically how these things are done?"
"Yeah, kid, sometimes it's best not to know who you're doing business with. Also, they'll still be able to hear us, but our voices will be so distorted that they won't be able to tell if it's a man or a woman talking," said Eda. "But we can hear Tibbles clear as day."
"Okay everyone, we're here to deal in selkigris, our buyer will go first."
Alador glanced down at Amity, the young Blight child cleared her throat and said, "We require five-hundred pounds of selkigris. And we're willing to pay for it. Before we even begin to talk prices, I first want to confirm that you have the amount we require, today, and that it is of quality."
"What say you, seller?" Tibbles asked.
Eda glanced at Luz, and Luz to Eda. They both nodded at each other, and Eda spoke, "First off, yes, we do have that much, and it's fresh, too. Tibbles will confirm the amount and bring you a sample."
Tibbles crossed over to Luz and Eda's side of the veil. Luz led Tibbles to a room where she had summoned the selkigris with her ring before they arrived. Tibbles' jaw dropped when he saw the huge pile of monster barf, sparkling like liquid gold. Tibbles took out a knife which made Luz jump back and ready to attack.
"Calm down, calm down! I'm just getting a sample!" Tibbles assured.
Luz remained in her attack stance. Tibbles pulled out a piece of cloth and shaved off a dollop of the selkigris. Afterwards he put his knife away and left the room, with Luz following behind him. Once they returned to the living room, Tibbles crossed the veil and presented the selkigris to Amity. The young witch girl gave it to her father, where then he took out vile from his cloak and released a drop of the liquid inside on the selkigris. The moment the liquid hit, it released a golden plume of smoke that rose into the air.
"This selkigris is indeed fresh, and very high quality at that," said Alador.
"And you confirmed that they have the necessary amount?" Amity asked.
"Like you would not believe!" Tibbles exclaimed.
Amity could tell by the excited look in his eyes that these two sellers did have a lot of selkigris, otherwise the demon would not be this overjoyed, he knew he was going to get a good amount of money from his. "Very well, let's talk price. What is your first offer?"
"I'm not going to waste our time low balling you, we'll just cut to the chase. Ten million snails," Eda stated.
Amity's eyes widened as she cried out, "Ten million snails?!"
"That's a lot of snails…" Luz said worriedly.
"It's actually a fair price, the full price of selkigris is about twenty million snails. I'd say this is a pretty good deal, you're getting premium gris for half the price."
Amity wasn't sure about that, she knew her mother said to get selkigris fast, but ten million, that was a lot. They were rich, but Amity never really asked how rich they were. She knew Blight Industries made a lot of money in Abomination weapons, research and development, and practical application of Abomination tech, but as far as how much revenue that brought into their family, it was an unknown to Amity. The young witch cursed herself, she should have asked her mother how much their family makes from the business. If she screwed this up, she could bankrupt their family.
The young witch steeled herself and said, "five million snails."
"ten million," countered Eda.
"I don't think you have that much room to negotiate. You clearly have a large amount of selkigris, and as my associate says, it's fresh. But since it's an organic item, the longer it sets out in the air, the less valuable and usable it will become. By the time you find another buyer, the quality of your product will have gone down significantly," said Amity.
"Ha!" Eda scoffed. "What makes you think we can't keep it fresh? Or, heck, what makes you think we can't get more?"
Amity smirked. "You brought a huge amount of it. I doubt you did that just to show off, so what I'm guessing is you have a lot of it, but you don't have the necessary storage to keep it fresh and are looking to sell it quickly before it goes bad, and you get less from it. Considering the pinch you seem to be in, I'll raise it a bit. 5.5 million."
Eda growled, it was true, she hated to admit it, but this person was right. Selkigris needed to be warm, cooling it would only degrade it faster, but they really had no place good to keep the selkigris long term before they found another buyer. Plus, this was their one shot at getting money to survive on. Without her weekend gig or normal potions gig, their household income took a severe nosedive. Whatever money they could get out of this deal was going to last them for the foreseeable future unless something else happened that brought them money. So, that meant that Eda had to squeeze this person for all she could get.
"You're one to talk," Eda rebutted. "You said you needed selkigris now, and here we have a big heaping pile of it. If you skip out on us, how long do you think it'll take before you find another buyer as generous as us?"
Amity growled; the seller was right. Personally speaking, she was not all that enthused about whether or not this little presentation worked or not. However, she did owe her father for creating the MagiDriver and giving her the ability to fight the Phantoms and protect Luz from them. So, at the very least she needed to try and get this for him. That, and she did not want to be the reason why their family business got ruined. Amity had no intention of running it, but still, it was her family's business.
"I see we're at a bit of an impasse," said Tibbles.
"Not really, they want the selkigris, I want the money. I told them the price, and all they need to do is pony up the dough," said Eda. "We're both a bit desperate to get what we want, it's all a matter of how desperate you are to get what you want?"
Amity clenched her fists, she had to figure out a counteroffer. Perhaps she could cover the rest with the promise of a favor or favors plural. But if she did, that would require her to reveal her identity as a Blight, no seller was just going to take the word of some unknown buyer for a favor if they did not know who they could collect from. But that also opened another caveat, what kind of favors could she offer? Or what could this seller ask of her family?
Just then, a creaking sound echoed overhead, making the two parties flinch in suspicion. Tibbles nervously stated, "Just some creaking everybody. It's an old house, it does that."
Another creak got their attention.
"Uh…perhaps an animal is scurrying around," said Tibbles.
*THUMP!*
"That's a big ass animal," said Eda.
"Language please!" Amity scolded.
Tibbles could start hearing something, the sound of drumbeats. He looked towards the open window and saw a ghostly figure walk by. The pig-gremlin demon's eyes widened when he saw the figure and hurriedly said, "C-Come now, w-we can make a deal, right?! S-Some kind of arrangement?!"
"So, we're just going to ignore that disturbance upstairs?" Alador asked.
"J-Just an animal I assure you!"
"Little Miss Perfect, I hate to be a bother–"
Too late.
"–but I sense one of my kind is nearby."
Amity's eyes widened with concern, her eyes darting around the room. A Phantom?! Here! Now?!
Meanwhile on the other side of the veil, Bast wasn't the only one.
"Niña, I sense Phantom nearby," said La Lechuza.
Luz got on guard as she looked around the room. Are you sure?
La Lechuza nodded in the Underworld. "I'm positive, but…"
"…It's hard to pin down." Bast added.
Without warning a smell started to waft through the air, a musky odor that reeked of death. Amity looked towards the window and saw something in the forest, a flickering of light. But what concerned her more was how that flicker of light suddenly multiplied into dozens of lights, as if several people with torches were mobilizing outside of the house.
"Hey, what is that?!" Amity asked as she pointed towards the window.
Tibbles panicked as he ran to the window and saw the torchlights moving in the shadows of the forest. "M-Maybe it's just some people up to some shenanigans in the woods! Let's pay them no mind and get back to business!"
"Something's not right here." Amity glared at the blurry figures behind the veil and said, "Did you bring other people here?!"
"What are you talking about? We came here alone!" Eda countered.
Luz moved closer to Eda and whispered, "We have a Phantom problem!"
Eda quickly changed her tone, "Uh, you know what, I think we should end this meeting tonight! Take time to cool off and try again tomorrow night!"
"That won't do, at the latest we need the selkigris tonight," said Alador.
Amity grabbed at her father so that he would bend down to her level. Once he had, she quickly whispered into his ear, "Bast says there's a Phantom in the area! We have to stop now!"
"Oh, yes, that is troubling." Alador rose and said, "Let us reconvene tomorrow night then."
"Cool! Thanks! Bye!" Eda and Luz stated at the same time as they ran to the room where the selkigris was.
"But-but-but!" Tibbles rambled.
"We'll try again tomorrow!" Amity assured Tibbles as she grabbed her father's wrist and pulled him along into another room.
"Dad, you stay here until I manage to drive the Phantom away, and then use that opportunity to head back home!" Amity instructed.
Alador nodded.
Amity put on her Driver ring and held it over her waist.
[Driver On.]
Amity raised her left hand into the air as she widened her stance and exclaimed, "Henshin!"
[Ready, Open!]
[Roar of the Heavens!]
[The Goddess Descends!]
Meanwhile, Luz and Eda closed the door to the room where they unloaded the selkigris.
"I'll send you and the gris back to the Owl House, I'll stay and take on the Phantom," said Luz.
Eda hated the fact that she was so powerless that she could not aid Luz in her battle. Well, to be honest, she could not do much back when she did, but at least she wasn't a potential liability. "Alright but be careful."
"Always am!"
[Connect, Please.]
Luz created a magic circle underneath the selkigris and let it fall into the portal. Eda followed it, but not before taking one last look at Luz before jumping in. Now that Eda was out of danger, it was time to go work.
[Driver On, Please.]
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin! Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
"Henshin!"
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
A flash of yellow light went off in the room, the door was kicked down and revealed Kamen Rider Witch. The hero of hope went out the back way and jumped onto the roof to get a better vantage point, but to her surprise, she was not alone up there. Standing right across from her, was Bones Borough's newest Rider, Kamen Rider Heka.
"You're…Heka, right?" Witch asked.
"Witch?! W-What are you doing here?!" Heka asked.
Witch slowly approached the new Rider and said, "I sensed a Phantom in the area and decided to investigate. Why are you here?"
"T-The same! I saw those lights in the distance and I got suspicious," said Heka as she pointed to the torchlights in the woods.
"Oh no…" La Lechuza groaned.
"What's wrong?" Witch asked.
"Uh nothing."
"Oh, sorry, my Inner Phantom is talking to me. She seems a bit on edge."
Dad was right, Witch does have an Inner Phantom, that's the source of her power! Amity thought.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Ugh, Bast, why the heck are you laughing so much right now?!" Heka asked her Inner Phantom.
"Oh, oh my sides! HahahahaahHAAAA! Of-Of all the Phantoms I would've thought Witch to have inside of her, YOU were the last one I could've imagined!" Bast laughed.
"Shut up you cackling hyena! You are the LAST Phantom I need criticizing my situation!"
That last part the two heroes could hear clearly, Heka and Witch looked at each other for a moment as a realization struck them.
"I think…"
"Our Phantoms know each other…"
"Oh, how ironic, the great La Lechuza, sealed like a bird in a cage!" Bast mocked.
"RRRUGH! Witch, take her out! Put that miserable feline out of my misery!" La Lechuza urged
"Uh, yeah, no. I'm not going to hurt Heka just because you two have a grudge," said Witch.
"Same for me, Bast, so don't bother asking," added Heka.
"Why would I ask that of you? Laly and I are good friends! Plus, this just got way more entertaining!"
Heka ran a hand down her helmet and said, "I apologize for Bast's behavior, she's…annoying."
"It's all good, Inner Phantoms take some getting used to." Witch turned her attention back to the woods. "But right now, we should focus on what's going on out there."
[Sight, Please.]
Witch activated her Sight ring, making her visor glow as her enhanced vision pierced the night. Her vision zoomed in closer on the woods, piercing through the canopy of leaves until she managed to see what it was that was holding the torches. It was a Phantom, multiple copies of the same one at that. The Phantoms all wore the same garb, a helmet was atop their head, it appeared to be made of wood, with rounded holes cut out for the eyes. Four molded teeth were on the front of the helmet near where the mouth would be, and from below the chin of the helmet were four white tassels that came halfway down their chests and gave off an eerie ethereal glow. A mohawk crest was on their helmets, the same color as the tassels, and gave off the same strange glow.
The Phantom's body was colored black as night, with white markings that seemed to be made to look like a skeleton. Red eyes shined from the holes of the helmet, but not much else could be seen inside. They wore no armor, aside from a kind of loin cloth. Each of the Phantoms had shark-like skin, were bulky, and had claw tipped fingers and toes. Some of them brandished shields that were big enough and wide enough to protect their torsos. Their weapons were different, some had spears, some had swords, others had clubs, and a few had knuckle knife looking weapons. But one thing they all had in common was that the edges of these weapons were riddled with shark teeth, which also emitted an ethereal glow.
"There are a lot of Phantoms, but it seems to be only the one multiplied," said Witch.
"How many?" Heka asked.
"Hard to tell, but I guess about twenty. The trees are making it hard for me to see further through, I can funnel more mana into the spell to pierce through them but…"
Heka shook her head. "No, save what you have. If there are more, we'll need all the mana we have to fight them off."
Witch glanced at the new Rider, smiling under her helmet. "I guess this means we're working together then, right?" Witch held out her hand.
Heka looked down at the offered hand and happily shook it. "I'm happy to be working with you."
"Alright then, let's go bash some bad guys!"
Witch jumped off the roof with Heka following behind her. Witch had probably seen her abilities in the news or was watching the battles to determine if she was a good Rider. Heka was determined to show Witch that even though she was a rookie, she could still be useful in the extermination of the Phantoms.
"I'll take on the first wave!" Heka stated.
Before Witch could say anything, Heka dashed ahead of her. Heka extended Lady Luck and drew a circle with it, a ring of purple energy appeared, and from it appeared an Abomination. It was sleek in design, with blades for arms and four sharp slitted eyes that glowed in the dark.
Witch skidded to a halt and marveled. "She can use magic like a Boiling Isles witch?!"
"It would seem that this Rider is native born."
"Abomination, ATTACK!"
The Blade Abomination dashed straight towards the line of Phantoms. A row of them stepped forward and formed a phalanx as the construct appeared before the line, charged up its blades, and slashed with both of its arm, creating dual crescent energy waves that grinded against the shields of the Phantoms. However, the cutting beams only managed to cut a groove into their shields but did not manage to cut all the way through. Heka clicked her tongue at this development and made another circle, this time creating a nine-foot-tall Abomination. This was a hulking creature, it had three eyes in the shape of an upside triangle, and its muscles sculpted to perfection.
"Abomination, SMASH!"
The Hulk Abomination charged for the line like a linebacker at a football game, barreling through with its shoulder as it crashed into the line of shields and tossing the Phantoms about. Blade Abomination capitalized on this and sped towards some of the downed Phantoms, slashing at them with its blades and leaving purple-colored gashes on their bodies. A moment after it landed the attacks, the Phantoms dispersed into particles of light and then disappeared. Hulk Abomination cocked its giant fist and smashed it into the ground, causing a seismic tremor that caused the earth to upheave, tossing a few of the Phantoms into the air.
Heka turned Lady Luck around so that the blade was pointed upwards. She ran towards the Hulk Abomination and used him as a springboard to jump into the air. With the grace given to her by her form, Heka sliced through several of the Phantoms, landing on top of her Hulk Abomination with the grace and dexterity of a cat. When it was over, she had downed at least ten out of the twenty Phantoms, she stood their triumphantly as she looked down at Witch, hoping that she impressed the veteran Rider.
For Witch's part, she was impressed, and slightly in awe of her skill. Despite being a new Rider, she certainly was not lacking in skill and talent. However…
[Connect, Please.]
Witch reached into her magic circle and pulled out the WizarSwordGun. She pointed the weapon at Heka, causing her to flinch. Witch swiped the WizarSwordGun through the air as she pulled the trigger multiple times. Eight light infused silver bullets weaved through the air in Heka's direction. The new Rider's eyes widened with fear. Was Witch trying to take her out? That thought soon died as the bullets zoomed out in different directions, sparks flew from different points in the canopy of leaves as eight different Phantoms fell out of them and onto the ground.
"Sorry about that, they were about to attack so I just acted!" Witch apologized.
"Y-Yeah, sorry, you're good!" Heka replied.
Witch ran until she was standing next to the Hulk Abomination, Heka jumped off and joined Witch on the ground. "That was impressive, but you need to be more aware of your surroundings. Your Rider armor should give enhanced visual range, expanding on your peripheral vision."
It does…? Heka took a moment to concentrate. It took a moment, but her field of vision widened itself, granting her a 270-degree viewing range. How did I not notice this?!
"Alright, now it's my turn!"
Witch dashed for the remaining Phantoms and jumped into the air, landing on a tree branch as she changed out her rings.
[Plant, Please.]
[Kooooooooo~jo~!]
A green magic circle passed over Witch, shifting her into Plant Style. With her physical strength enhanced, Witch jumped off the branch and headed straight for them. The Phantoms charged her as well, wielding their shark tooth weapons. Witch switched her weapon into sword mode and clashed blades with the first Phantom that attacked her. Two others tried to attack her from the back, but Witch merely sidestepped the first attacker and let him barrel into the two from behind. She switched the WizarSwordGun into a reverse grip and slashed at the chest of another Phantom, causing sparks to fly from its body as it fell onto its back.
Witch continued to battle her way through until she was in the middle of the ten warrior Phantoms, just like she wanted. "Alright you guys, you're on my turf now!"
[Fissure, Please.]
Witch dropped down to one knee and slammed her right hand against the ground. A pulse of green magical energy went through the earth, and in a matter of seconds, the trees came alive, roots tore themselves from the ground and lashed out at the Phantoms, while some of the tree branches became flexible and smashed the Phantoms or whipped them into another of the whomping trees. Witch motioned with her hands, commanding the trees to wrap up the Phantoms. With a wave her hand she made them bring all ten of the Phantoms into the air before she brought down her fist like a hammer, signaling the trees to do the same as all ten Phantoms were unmercifully smashed into the dirt, dispersing into particles of light.
Now it was Heka's turn to be impressed, most of the time she never got to see Witch's combat ability outside of the few encounters she had with the hero, but now she was able to see how strong she really was when she did not have to worry about civilians.
"Twenty up, twenty down! We got them all," said Witch. "Thanks for the help, Heka."
"No problem,"Heka replied.
"Stay on your toes, Little Miss Perfect, this isn't over yet!"
"The cat's right, I still sense the Phantom is here!"
Heka and Witch were confused, they just destroyed all twenty of them, unless there was another one that eluded them. Suddenly, more torchlights filled the forest, and now the sound of war drums beating filled the air. Witch switched her weapon back to gun mode as she joined up with Heka, the two Abomination constructs got on guard while Heka and Witch stood back-to-back. The Phantoms that bore the torches came closer, revealing that there were more than just twenty of them, there was a small army surrounding them.
"What's going on?! Are the Phantoms coming out in force now?!" Heka asked.
"Don't panic, it might be self-multiplying Phantom. It could be that these are just the clones, and the main body is somewhere among them. We just need to find that one and take it out. Don't waste your mana if you don't have to," Witch instructed.
"Foolish heroes, you stand before my army, my army that refuses to stay down, no matter how many times you fell them. For we are the Nightmarchers."
"This might be difficult…"
Witch and Heka were fighting like crazy; they had been separated due to the constant waves of enemies that kept coming at them, yet, despite their best efforts they were not able to locate the main body of this horde. Heka was getting worried, they had been battling for a while, she stopped and leaned up against a tree, getting just a bit winded from the prolonged battle. The HUD in her helmet flashed her a warning that read, [5 Minutes Remaining.]
Heka growled in frustration; this time limit was starting to become a tad inconvenient. The beating of the drums got louder as Heka ran again, a few of the Nightmarchers came at her from different directions, but Heka managed to dodge them and cut them down with Lady Luck. She continued to run until she burst out into a clearing, and from the looks of it so, too, did Witch. Heka was not sure if she was tired as well, but she must be getting low on mana with these constant waves of Phantoms.
Heka's eyes widened and she quickly dashed towards Witch, the hero of hope was the same way and dashed towards Heka. The two Rider's raised their weapons, preparing to strike. And just as they reached the center, they passed each other by. Heka deflected the club of a Nightmarcher with Lady Luck, backflip kicked it in the face, dashed forward, and then swiped its legs from under it. Once on the ground, Heka stabbed the monster in the chest, dispersing it. Witch was currently engaged with the Nightmarcher that was after Heka, the dual wielding Phantom slashed at Witch, but thankfully her heightened defense managed to tank the damage as she cocked back her left fist and punch the monster in the face. She switched the WizarSwordGun into gun mode and fired five shots at the Nightmarcher, destroying it on the spot. The thirty-foot-wide clearing was slowly being surrounded as more Nightmarchers emerged from the tree line, forcing both Riders to get back to the middle.
"This is getting worse by the second," said Heka.
"Yeah, this is not ideal," Witch concurred.
Witch knew that her Super Form could easily wipe out these Nightmarchers, but without knowing the location of the main body that was creating them, she'd just expend a lot of mana and leave herself wide open for counterattack.
Heka got another warning on her HUD that read, [3 Minutes Remaining.] The new Rider was about to transform back, if that happened, Witch would have to worry about her and the Nightmarchers, but if she left now, that would mean leaving Witch to the mercy of this army and look like a coward. Heka gripped her staff hard, she didn't want to do it, but she was left with little choice in the matter. "Witch, please forgive me, I can't stay and fight any longer!" Heka switched out her Driver ring for one of her Armament rings.
[Call to Arms: Scarab Saber!]
Lady Luck was replaced with the Scarab Saber, upon gripping it, Heka immediately felt lighter. Before Witch could ask what Heka meant, the golden armored Rider ran, she pierced through the army at incredible speed, carving a path out from them and continuing into the distance.
"Did she just ditch me?!" Witch exclaimed.
"It seems the newbie got scared," said La Lechuza.
Now alone, Witch was left with little choice. "Alright then, we go big or go home! I may not know where your main body is, but I can at least slow you all down!" Witch removed her Plant Style ring and replaced it with the Ice Owl ring.
[ICE OWL.]
[Hyoketsssssu~!]
An ice construct of La Lechuza arose from a magic circle before wrapping its wings around Witch, when the ice shattered, Witch had entered her Super Form, Ice Owl Style. Wasting little time, she took off the Fissure ring and replaced it with the finisher ring for her current form.
[ VERY NICE, COCYTUS! FABULOUS! ]
Another ice construct of La Lechuza appeared, it flew around until it merged Witch's body, creating the Owl Tail, and generating a blizzard around the hero. The Nightmarchers Phantoms started to move in closer, but at the same time, Witch started to generate cryo magical energy into the tail. Once the Nightmarchers were close enough, Witch released the energy as she did a single pirouette. The Owl Tail fanned out and created a hellish blizzard the exploded outwards, instantly freezing everything in the immediate area, as well as some of the trees a few feet beyond the clearing. Witch made sure that the attack did not reach any further than that, and instead focused most of it upwards, creating a blizzard tornado that lasted for a good minute before disappearing.
Witch stood there alone in the icy field, satisfied that all the Nightmarcher Phantoms had been frozen solid. They stood in place like ice sculptures, completely immobile, and hopefully, that attack managed to catch the main body of the clones. However, her relief was short lived as more torches were seen in the tree line, and from that tree line marched out more of the Nightmarcher Phantoms.
"Oh! dame un descanso (Oh, give me a break)…"
"Have you not learned, Witch? Nothing will stop the Nightmarchers from their goal. That creature will fall into despair and give rise to a new Phantom," said Nightmarcher Prime.
"I knew it, so you are after Tibbles! He's a Gate and you've been messing with his business to make him fall into despair!" Witch accused.
"Yes, and sadly, you will not be around to save him. And that new Rider, heh-heh, the coward ran. The last Phantom was obviously weak if she beat him."
Witch scoffed. "Oh yeah, because it's totally fair that you can make a whole army of yourself, and I'm only one Rider!"
The Nightmarcher Phantoms drew their weapons as they prepared to deliver the final blow. "All is fair in war, Witch. Now, DIE!"
The army charged straight for Witch, the hero got on guard and readied herself for brutal final stand, however, at that moment, the sun rose. The Nightmarcher Phantoms all stopped in their tracks. There was a dissatisfied look on their faces as they turned around and headed back into the forest, disappearing along with light of their torches. The drumbeats slowed until they stopped completely, and even the frozen Nightmarchers began to disappear as the rays of the sun hit them, causing their ice shells to shatter and fall apart. Witch did not know what to make of this, but for now, she was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
[Connect, Please.]
Once she made the portal, Witch jumped into it and returned to the Owl House.