Ignoring Amity's warning, Luz headed straight to Blight Manor. Once she got there, Luz grabbed some of the flowers from the front yard as a makeshift bouquet. With flowers in hand, Luz knocked on the door to the manor and waited. After a couple of seconds, the door began to open.
"Hello Mrs. Blight, I – whoa…" Once the door had opened completely, she was greeted by an Abomination, with some of its goo forming a bowtie like a butler. "Oh, okay. Um, are Mr. and Mrs. Blight home?"
The Abomination groaned and nodded.
"Can you please take me to them?"
The Abomination groaned and nodded again, and ushered Luz into the home. Luz followed the Abomination butler, it grabbed a tray that had a teapot and cup, offering some to the young girl.
"No, thank you," said Luz as she sniffed the air. "Ooh, this place smells a lot better than the Owl House."
The Abomination led her through the living room, and it was there that Luz saw a portrait of the family hanging over the fireplace. Amity was not smiling in it, if she had seen that a while back, she would have wondered why, but she did not need to wonder now. The Abomination stopped before a door and pointed to it. To show her appreciation to the construct, Luz messes with its face until it resembles a cat, but then the face droops.
"Well, I tried." Luz opened the door and found some stairs that led down into a basement. The Latina followed the stairs all the way down, but when she got to the bottom step, a severed Abomination hand flew close to her and splattered against the wall near her left. Luz let out a little yelp, and that's when she spotted Odalia sipping tea while sitting on a workbench, and Alador elbow deep in the body of an Abomination.
Odalia, unfazed by the appearance of Luz, greeted the young girl. "Luz Noceda, wonderful to see you here. Oh, and don't mind him, dear. He's just getting ready for our big demonstration tonight." Odalia turned back to her husband, who was struggling to tear something out of the Abomination. "It's look good hon!"
Luz shook off the initial shock, steeled herself, and walked towards Odalia. "I'm here to appeal to your hearts, Blights."
Odalia took a sip of her tea before saying, "That's sweet, but let's get to the deal. Shall we?"
Luz crossed her arms and said, "Alright, what's the deal?"
"We have an important presentation tonight, showing off some of our new products," Odalia explained.
"Like Abominations?" Luz asked.
Odalia's gaze shifted just a bit. "Something like that. Normally Amity helps us with these things, but she's busy catching up on some schoolwork. So, I was thinking…"
"Don't do it, Niña, I can smell the deception on this woman."
If there's even the slightest chance that she might honor this deal, then I have to do it, Lala.
"Aye, Niña, sometimes you're too selfless."
Luz sighed as she said, "I get it. I'll help you show off your weird Abomination gunk. But you have to promise me that you'll let me and my friends back into school!"
Odalia smile and nodded. "Don't worry, human, a Blight always upholds their end of the deal. Now, since we have an agreement, why don't you stay, that way you can come straight to the factory with us."
"Alright, I guess I'll just…wait upstairs," said Luz.
"That's a good girl, rest up." Odalia watched as Luz exited the basement, her brow furrowed as a devilish smile appeared on her face. "Alador, how is the new Abomaton looking?"
Alador snapped another piece of the construct and placed something else into it. "This new model will be much more efficient, much more powerful, far deadlier than its previous iterations."
"Good."
Alador glanced over his shoulder and asked, "Was that one of the kids that we expelled from Hexside?"
"Yes, dear, why?" Odalia asked.
"Why was she here?"
"Oh, she just graciously volunteered her services in place of Amity tonight."
Alador raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, odd, I thought you said that Amity was the best choice for showing off our products."
"And she is, hon, she is." Odalia assured. "But I think we can spice things up a bit with a human test subject."
Alador hummed as she went back to work. "I don't believe Amity will like that."
"Pardon?" Odalia asked, surprised by his statement.
"Humans are physically weaker than witches and demons. She may not be able to handle the full presentation. I also believe Amity holds that human and the other two witches in high regards. Perhaps we should stay with Amity as per the norm," Alador suggested.
That honestly took her by surprise. Was Alador taking Amity's feelings into consideration? Normally the man never showed interest in other people's emotions, much less his children. But just now, he seemed to advocate for Luz's exclusion from this presentation. Odalia shook her head, that was absurd, of course Alador was not thinking of Amity's feelings. If you approached his argument logically, he did have a point. The human girl might sustain injury far easier than a witch would, and without the ability to control Abominations, like Amity, there was less of a chance that Luz Noceda could minimize any potential harm or damage that may befall her.
However, that was the point of this. The human was at the core her daughter's recent change, and if Odalia was successful tonight, the human might just never want to be near Amity again. "I see what you are saying Alador. But trust me, I believe our products will receive greater attention if shown with something as exotic as a human. It's all about appealing to the masses."
"Hmm…" Alador was not so sure, something felt off about it. But, Odalia had been right so far in their business dealings and other things. "If you say so, dear."
"But don't you ever have your own opinion?!"
"I just thought we were…connecting better."
Amity's words still echoed in his head, which was causing him a strange sense of unease about what his wife had planned.
With that out of the way, Odalia used her crystal pendant to psychically contact her daughter. "Amity, when you get home head straight to your room and do your work until I come and get you for the presentation tonight."
"…Yes, mom."
It took a few hours, but Luz and the Blights headed to the factory. Night had fallen over the town, and the cloaked investors had returned. Odalia peeked around the corner of the stage and saw that Mr. Carthwright was in attendance this time. Her nerves were a wreck right now, this presentation had to go off without a hitch, and if she was really lucky, Odalia would be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Odalia glanced over her shoulder and saw Luz, the human girl was nervous, as she should be. "Alright, human, are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," said Luz.
"Heh, there's a good girl."
"Just remember our deal, Mrs. Blight, I do this, and you let me and my friends back into Hexside," said Luz.
Odalia nodded her confirmation, she then nodded to Alador who drew a spell circle and created at least four large Abominations. Each of the constructs began picking up various items and wheeling them out onto the stage. The matriarch of the Blight family centered herself and waltzed onto the stage with Luz and Alador following behind her.
"WELCOME, ONE AND ALL!" Odalia announced. "So glad you could come back for another night! We have some special items on sale today, and towards the end, an even better surprise. But first, let me introduce you to our new assistant tonight! A human girl from the Human Realm!"
Luz nervously waved to the crowd.
"How much for the human?!"
"I'll pay eight-hundred snails!"
"A thousand!"
Luz's eyes widened, did these people want to buy her like she was merchandise? Were these the kind of people that her teachers and mom warned her about? Luz looked at Odalia, the older woman briefly looked Luz's way, and the look on Odalia's face made Luz tense. It looked as if she might actually consider their offers.
"Sadly, dear friends, the human is not for sale. She's simply an assistant tonight. You know we don't deal in that sort of thing here," Odalia lightly scolded.
Luz sighed in relief, but something told her that may have been premature.
"Alright I hope you're ready, because we have a long night ahead of us!"
Luz turned her gaze to Alador, who was currently standing to her left, and asked something that she probably should have asked before agreeing to this presentation, "So, Alador, what would you say is the specialty of Blight Industries?"
"We make a variety of Abomination-based accessories for home security," Alador answered.
"Oh, that sounds pretty safe," said Luz.
"But we specialize in weaponry." As Alador walked off the stage with his Abominations he added, "You may want to duck."
"Huh?"
"DUCK!"
Luz reacted too slowly and was suddenly blasted with Abomination gunk that stuck her against the wall behind her.
Odalia was holding a weapon that looked like a cross between an Abomination and a grenade launcher. "Yes, our sticky launcher can peacefully subdue any foe! And, if peaceful isn't your thing…" Odalia flipped the switch on the side all the way down. When she pulled the trigger, instead Abomination gunk, it released a bellowing stream of neon green flames.
Luz managed to wipe of the gunk from her face, which went pale when she saw the flames. What did I get myself into…? Luz managed to get herself unstuck from the wall and looked at Odalia who gave her a wink. Oh, she's planning something.
"You think?"
"Next we'll showcase Blight Industries' Abomination Launcher." One of the Abomination constructs walked onto the left side of the stage, wielding a four barreled rocket launcher-like contraption. Odalia hopped off the stage and took her place next to Alador. "This releases Abomination coated explosive ordinance, and we have four different kinds of ordinances for you to see. The first two will be of the nonlethal variety. The first salvo!"
The Abomination took aim at Luz and pulled the trigger. The first rocket flew straight towards her, Luz dodged to the right, letting the rocket sail past her as she sighed.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, once you have designated your target, the ordinance will continue to track down your target until it hits."
"Oh! dame un descanso (Oh give me a break)…" Luz groaned.
The rocket did a complete one-eighty and headed straight for Luz again. Luz decided to go on the defensive as she took out an Ice Glyph and slammed it onto the stage floor. The glyph created a dome of ice that surrounded Luz just as the rocket impacted against it. The moment it did, the missile released its ordinance, which was a concussive, kinetic blast that sent Luz flying onto her back. The young Latina's body ached all over, it felt as if she just got hit by a truck.
"That was our concussive ordinance that releases a powerful kinetic explosion that will rattle anyone close to the epicenter. And if you manage to hit them with that, I suggest you follow up with the next round. FIRE!"
The Abomination did as ordered and fired the second rocket. Luz pushed herself to get back to her feet, she readied to blast the rocket in midair but was unable to as the rocket exploded right above her, releasing a sonic screech the bombarded her ears. Luz yelled in pain as she went down on one knee, covering her ears in an attempt to dampen the sonic attack.
"Once you've been hit them with kinetic ordinance, it makes them susceptible to the second round. It releases a sonic screech that assaults their hearing and disorients them further, now recognize that only those who were hit by the original first shot are affected while the rest of us only hear and annoying whining sound, but to our dear assistant, she's hearing a Titan awful screeching sound. That's because of the enchantment on the first round. A nice one-two punch for anyone trying to invade your property. And if you want to get the message across that you don't want to see them again, here's our next two.
The Abomination fired another salvo, but this time Luz managed to see it. Forcing herself through the pain, Luz grabbed her Fire Glyph, channeled her mana into it, and released a blast stream of flames that roared towards the rocket. When the rocket hit, it released a powerful explosion that knocked Luz onto her back. The Abomination fired the last round, making Luz have to act quickly. The young teen used her Light Glyph, once again funneling mana into it and using it to create a light shield in front of her. The rocket exploded before it could reach her, but that seemed to only be the first stage, as the second fired of several shards of hardened Abomination goo straight for her. Luz braced herself as the hailstorm of shards rained down on her, embedding themselves in her shield and on the stage floor. Once it was over, Luz saw that there were several of the small shrapnel everywhere.
Odalia grumbled under breath but continued with her stage act. "The third ordinance is your average explosive, but the fourth releases dozens of shrapnel onto your target. Good for getting the point across to never come back, am I right folks?"
The crowed laughed at her joke, which only made Luz worry. She could have been killed, but these guys did not care in the slightest, they were here to see the products, and they were happy to get to see them tested on a live subject.
"Next we have the Aboma-Gatling."
Amity, I know she's your mom, and I respect that she is. But, Amity, your mom is crazy!
Amity headed downstairs from her room, it had been an hour and a half past the time when they should have gone to the factory for the sale.
"Mom? I'm ready for the show tonight! Mom?" Amity called out.
The green haired witch headed into the living room as she removed her uniform hood and dropped it on the floor. That's when she spotted a note on the mantle that read "We found a replacement."
A twinge of fear shot through her heart. One of the Abomination butlers was behind her, and for whatever reason was dusting her head. Amity turned around and asked the construct, "Did anyone come to the house today?!"
The butler lowered the feather duster, revealing its reshaped cat face and head. Amity growled; she knew exactly who came to their house. LUZ! I can't believe you! The youngest Blight child put her hood back on and ran out of the house, she needed backup if she was going to storm the factory and save Luz.
"Or, you know, you could do it yourself, Little Miss Perfect. Even without transforming, your magic is strong enough to do the job."
I can't take the risk of something happening, I might need Gus' illusions, or Willow's Plant magic! I wish I could say 'I can't believe my mother would do this', but I'd be lying to myself! She's willing to do whatever it takes to punish me, and if that means hurting Luz, then I know she'll do it!
"To what end?" Bast asked.
To teach me a lesson, to show me those around me are inferior to me, that they'll only get hurt around me! But I'm not going to let her win this one! She crossed the line tonight!
Amity's first stop was to the Porter household. She heard that both Willow and Gus were grounded, so Amity had to be stealthy in her actions. The young Blight drew a spell circle and had an Abomination catapult her right onto the roof of the Porter house. Once there, she made another Abomination construct arm to carefully lower herself to Gus' room. The olive-skinned witch boy looked depressed, and she could not blame after what her mother did. Amity knocked on the window gently, gaining the Illusion witch's attention.
Gus was confused as he walked over and opened the window. "Amity? What are you doing outside my window?"
"Luz is trouble, and I need your help to save her!" Amity stated.
"What? How? Why?!" Gus asked.
"Look, I'll explain on the way to Willow's, but we need to go, now!"
Gus did not think twice about it, he hopped onto the large Abomination hand and let it lower the two of them back to street level. Once on the ground, the two hoofed it to Willow's house.
"So, what's going on?" Gus asked.
"When you two got taken away, Luz was talking to me about coming to my house and wanting to make a deal with my mom! But I know for a fact that my mom has no intention of honoring whatever deal she made with Luz! If anything, she's going to hurt her and make it so Luz will never want to be associated with me again! And in the same breath, make sure I never associate myself with you guys either!" Amity explained.
"Whoa…that's twisted," said Gus.
"She's crossed the line this time."
Soon enough they arrived at Willow's house. Gus took this one and drew a spell circle, sending one of his illusion doubles into Willow's room to convey a message. It worked as Willow opened the window to her bedroom and looked down at them.
"Luz is in trouble!" Amity whisper shouted.
"Again," Gus added. "And without us!"
Willow drew a spell circle and conjured some vines from the nearby flowerbed. The vines molded themselves into a slide that allowed Willow to join her friends on the ground, afterwards she undid the construct to make sure her other father, Gilbert, did not notice. Once the team was assembled, Amity led them to Blight Industries and along the way Gus filled in Willow on what was happening. It took them about thirty or so minutes on foot to get there, with each of them wishing they had their own witch's staff so they could have flown there.
Once they arrived, they stopped at the gates. The trio glanced around the corner and saw the entire front entrance was littered with Abomination guards, all well-armed and ready to attack anyone who was not authorized to be at the private sale. The doors were wide open, allowing them to hear the yelps and shouts of their friend, along with various explosion sounds.
"Okay, I can use the root system underground to tunnel our way in," said Willow.
"That'll take to long. I'll rush the guards, and you two head in, once I'm done, I'll join you," Amity countered.
"No, no, no, I'll distract them with illusions of beautiful lady guards," Gus suggested.
Willow released a frustrated sigh as she said, "This isn't a cartoon from the forties Gus! Plus, they're Abominations, fanservice isn't going to do anything for them! We need a better plan!"
"We should just bust our way through!" Amity stated.
The three them argued for well over a minute before said argument was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Here's an idea!" The three looked to their right and saw Edric and Emira standing there. "Why don't you just walk through the front," said Edric as he tossed Gus a green cloak like the other investors.
Emira tossed Willow and Amity cloaks of their own. Amity stared at the cloak for a second and then looked to her older siblings. "Ed, Em…"
"Hey, we like Luz, too, Mittens. So go in and help her. Just don't tell mom we helped," said Emira.
Grateful for the help, the kids donned their cloaks and started heading towards the entrance, but not before Edric conjured three "Hex Me" signs on the backs of Amity, Willow, and Gus. The twins chuckled, but then Edric was assaulted by the very same three pieces of paper, knocking him onto the ground. Emira was shocked for a moment, then she turned to where the papers flew from and saw that Amity was glaring at them, she made a gesture with her hand that told her big sister that she was always watching.
Thankfully the cloaks worked, allowing the trio to enter the facility. Once inside they gasped, on stage was Luz, her uniform was torn and tattered in some places, with scratches, and some minor burns here and there. The human girl was panting, having had to dodge, counter, and defend against a myriad of Blight Industries' latest weaponry. Currently their friend was dodging an Abomination that was firing a crossbow at her. The Abomination was forcing her to the left of the stage, but Luz managed to roll out of the way and get into a more open part of the stage. The Abomination turned around fired two shots, the first made Luz angle her body to the right, the second made her duck. The construct fired a third shot, but Luz pulled out another of her Ice Glyphs and slammed it on the floor, creating a wall of ice the stopped the Abomination goo arrow in its tracks. However, a reaction took place as the hardened arrow released a burst of energy that caused the wall to shatter and release several Abomination shards. Thankfully they all missed, allowing Luz to get up, but before she could, a large Abomination fist rose from the stage floor and flung her into the air. When she came back down, it was into the awaiting hand of that construct. Now pinned, the Abomination that wielded the crossbow took aim at her. Luz scrunched her eyes in preparation for what was to come.
It was at this point that Odalia decided to finish this all in style. The older woman made her way to the stage and signaled the Abomination to stand down. "Thank you, thank you. And they said we couldn't make crossbows more fun! Next, we're very excited to show you our last product from this line. The crown jewel of you will."
Luz was released from the construct, relieved that this ordeal was almost over and her deal with Odalia would be squared. "Oh thank goodness, only one more to go."
Odalia smiled as she announced the final product. "My husband has been toiling to bring you…" Odalia left the stage, and when she did, the stage floor split apart, forcing Luz to scramble to move away before she fell in. A platform rose from the bottom, and from it was presented a juggernaut of a creation. It was an Abomaton, but at least two to three feet larger than the previous iterations, its armor was more pronounced and bulkier, and at the center of the creation was a glowing pinkish-purple orb, the construct's core. "THE ABOMATON 2.0!"
Amity's eyes widened with fear, she remembered how strong the prototype was, the first version was not as strong as that one, but this one, Amity could sense, was more dangerous than the past two. Without uttering a word, the young witchling hurried off, leaving Gus and Willow behind as she climbed the nearby stairs.
Meanwhile Odalia continued with her explanation of the Abomaton, noticing the pleased look on Mr. Carthwright's face. "It's bigger! It's better! The Abomaton 2.0 is the perfect soldier. It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"
Luz chuckled nervously as she looked upon the juggernaut before her. "You're a big boy, aren't ya?"
The Abomaton's response was to shapeshift its left hand into a spike studded mace, and its right hand into a four-pronged claw. Luz released a squeak of dismay as she hurriedly ran from it. The Abomaton shifted its limbs back into hands and fired them straight towards Luz. The Latina managed to dodge the first two, but as she tried to move, the Abomaton's right hand managed to grab ahold of her left leg, tripping Luz and making her fall hard onto the stage floor close to the right edge of the stage.
Luz opened her eyes and saw Mr. and Mrs. Blight and said, "Okay! It's super strong! I think the crowd gets it!"
Alador glanced at the sales bar sign, noticing how it was rising quickly. He was a bit confused now, the girl was right, the Abomaton 2.0 had shown off its strength rather easily. He did not see much of a reason to continue this presentation. "She has a point, Odalia. The sales have passed the halfway mark and are still going."
Odalia put on a sinister grin as she looked directly into Luz's eyes and answered, "Didn't you hear me? It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"
She…She's trying to kill me!
"I told you!"
The Abomaton reeled Luz in and then tossed her straight up into the rafters where she landed and sighed in relief. "Okay, at least it can't get me up here…" The Abomaton proved her wrong by leaping straight up and onto the same rafter she was on. "Luz…YOU FOOL!"
Luz turned around and saw the Abomaton turn its right hand into a seven-foot-long blade. Luz rolled from away just in the nick of time and sprang to her feet. Panting heavily as she took a moment to assess how she was going to take down this thing.
"Here's an idea, Niña, transform and demolish this thing!"
If I do, everyone will know I'm Witch!
"Well, it's either that or this thing kills us both! And I am not about to die because of that vindictive wench!"
I can do this; I've faced worse than this thing!
Luz took out two of her Light Glyphs and funneled her mana into them. In her right hand she formed a light sword, and with the other a shield of light appeared around her left forearm. "Let's dance big boy!"
The Abomaton came swinging at her, bringing down its blade on Luz. The Latina raised her shield and her legs nearly buckled from just the sheer force of the Abomaton's blow. Despite this, Luz managed to push back on it, and use the opening to slash it with her light sword. The Abomaton seemed to anticipate this and formed a second blade with its left hand, blocking Luz's attack. The Abomaton raised its right leg and kicked Luz in the chest, nearly knocking the wind from her lungs as she was sent flying backwards. Luz landed hard against the platform but smiled a little as she looked down at the Abomaton's foot.
An Ice Glyph had been stuck to its leg; a delayed reaction occurred that caused the glyph to encase the Abomaton's lower half in ice. However, that was but a mere stopgap measure as the mechanical creation smashed the ice around its lower half and continued its rampage, transforming its right hand from a sword and into a flail. The Abomaton spun the weapon around and flung it towards Luz. The young teen continued to dodge one attack after the other as the spiked ball at the end smashed through the pipes and railing with each blow. Luz whipped out a Plant Glyph and willed it to shoot vines towards some overhanging pipes up above. The vines reeled her up just in time to miss what might have been a fatal blow.
But Luz wasn't done, she swung back around, Fire Glyph in hand. Infusing it with mana, Luz released a bellowing blast of flames that took on the form of a dragon and roared towards the Abomaton. The mechanized creation transformed its right arm into a cannon, the barrel glowed bright green and released a powerful energy blast that met the flame dragon. The result caused a powerful explosion that caused much of the rigging to collapse back onto the stage. The spectators scattered as the stage was demolished, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process.
When the dust settled, Luz found herself hanging onto her vine for dear life, but when she opened her eyes, she saw that the floor was only a couple of inches away. The vine snapped and let her fall the rest of the way, Luz patted herself down and said, "Hey, I'm alive!" Unfortunately, so too was the Abomaton, which reached out and grabbed her by the leg. The juggernaut rose to its feet and transformed its left hand into a large crescent shaped blade. "I'm so dead!"
"USE YOUR RINGS!"
Luz reached into her pockets, preparing to usher in her last resort. However, before the Abomaton could act, its left arm began to glow. The construct mech looked as if it was struggling, like it was fighting for control. Soon the right hand began to glow, forcing it to release Luz. Both of the Abomaton's limbs burst apart into goo, making it fall backwards.
What just happened…?
"HEY!" Luz, Odalia, Alador, and the crowd looked straight up into the rafters, and it was there they spotted a cloaked figure. That same figure threw off her hood and revealed herself as Amity Blight, dual wielding spell circles in preparation for a fight. "STAY AWAY FROM MY LUZ!"
"AHA! ¡SABÍA QUE LE GUSTABA ESA CHICA (I knew I liked that girl)!"
Luz was shocked, honestly, not by the fact that Amity just saved her, but by the words she yelled while doing it. She said, "my Luz". She didn't say, "Stay away from my friend" or "Stay away from Luz", she said, "Stay away from MY Luz". She said it in a possessive kind of way like…like. Luz's eyes widened as the realization struck her like a lightning bolt from on high. Amity likes me.
Amity jumped off the rafter and grabbed a nearby rope, she slid down and landed on the ground, putting herself between Luz and the Abomaton.
Odalia glared at her daughter angrily, small cracks formed on her body that released ethereal light. The older woman grabbed her crystal pendant and psychically spoke to her daughter. "AMITY BLIGHT, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH–!" Amity cut off her mother by taking off her own crystal pendant and crushing it in her bare hand. Odalia gasped in utter shock of her daughter's actions.
Alador, on the other hand, was also surprised. He felt relief that Amity appeared to put a stop to this, but just as much, he was impressed by just how much more powerful her magic had gotten since sealing her Inner Phantom.
Amity glanced over her shoulder, the crosswinds that blew in response to her magical energy being stirred made her cape and hair flow in the wind as she turned her head and asked, "Luz, are you okay?"
Luz was stunned, for lack of a better term. Amity looked so…heroic right now, it made her heart flutter, and caused her face to heat up. The feelings that were like a flickering ember for this witch were quickly starting to turn into a flame. However, the moment did not last a Luz spotted the Abomaton getting back to its feet. "AMITY, LOOK OUT!"
Amity turned her attention back onto the Abomaton, which had reformed its limbs and readied itself to fight again. The juggernaut raised its right fist and threw a punch towards Amity. The green haired witch used both of her hands to draw a larger spell circle and released a wave of her magical energy at the Abomaton. The juggernaut fought against her control, the Abomination goo that it was made of bubbled as it resisted her efforts and forced itself to complete its task. Amity struggled a bit, this thing was relentless in its pursuit, just as her mother said, but Amity was not exactly using her full power either.
"AMTIY! Get away from the human, right now!" Odalia ordered.
"NO!" Amity replied.
"Now listen –!"
"NO! You're going to listen to me for once!" Amity interrupted as she stood tall before the Abomaton. The magical aura that was coating the creation glowed brighter in intensity, so too did the circle around Amity's hands. Amity switched to only one hand as she channeled the mana of Bast through her, easily helping her overcome the persistence of the Abomaton. "Luz, Gus and Willow are my friends! They're nice to each other, they listen to each other! They make me think about the kind of person I really WANT TO BE!" Amity raised her hand into the air and brought it down, forcing the Abomaton to practically bow before her.
Luz smiled when she heard Amity's words and rose to join her, taking out some of her remaining glyphs, holding two in each hand as she went back-to-back with Amity. The two girls glanced at each other for a moment before both broke out into bright pink and red blushes.
Odalia glanced back at the sales bar and noticed how it was steadily dropping. All while Alador had a grin on his face. "UGH! What do you want?!"
Amity threw a glare at her mother and said simply, "You know what I want. And I'd decide quickly before your precious investors watch me tear this thing apart, bit by bit! And if you think I'm anywhere close to my limit right now, I assure you, I haven't even come close!" To emphasize her point, Amity used her left hand and slashed in the direction of the Abomaton, causing some of its Abomination goo to come flying off from it.
"Whoa…Amity," Luz remarked.
Odalia glanced between the sales board, the crowd, and the Abomaton. Her mind raced, she had to do something or else this entire thing was going to flop, hard. With an aggravated growl, Odalia shouted, "FINE, IT'S A DEAL! Just stop with all the theatrics already!"
Amity smirked and then said to Luz, "Follow my lead," before releasing her hold on the Abomaton.
The juggernaut rose back to its feet and transformed its right hand into a giant hammer. The Abomaton raised the hammer high and swiftly brought it down on the two girls. Right before it did, Amity grabbed ahold of Luz and drew a spell circle, hollowing out the hammer at the last second just as it came down and smashed the floor around them. Inside the hollowed hammer, Amity brought Luz down to the ground with her. Luz understood Amity's plan and played dead along with her. When the hammer rose, it appeared as if Amity and Luz had been rendered unconscious, or dead, which was probably what the crowd thought. As soon as said crowd saw the result, they broke out into cheers just as the sales sign shorted out from all the Abomaton units that were being ordered.
Luz and Amity opened one eye to look at each other, smiled, and then went back to playing dead. They heard Gus and Willow call out their names in distress and heard their footsteps getting closer to them. Despite all this, Odalia was seething from this, and the cracks on her body started to spread quicker.
Once the show was over, the investors all left, leaving Amity, Luz, Willow, and Gus behind. The latter two helped the former get out of the hole, hugs were exchanged as they were thankful that their friends were alright.
"I can't believe you survived that," said Willow.
"Amity hollowed out that hammer at the last second. It was, really cool," said Luz with a blush.
"O-Oh, uh, y-you think so?" Amity asked as she blushed as well.
"Looks like our rescue plan didn't go over as planned, as usual," Gus sighed.
Luz placed her hands on her hips as she said, "Well, good news, we can now all go back to Hexside!"
"AS IF I'D ALLOW SUCH A THING!" Odalia yelled.
The four kids looked in Odalia's direction as she stomped her way towards them, making Amity put herself between her mother and her friends. "We had a deal, mother, and a Blight always upholds their end of the deal! Always. Besides, you sold everything, even the Abomaton. You won, and I won."
"You insolent little–!"
"Odalia, Odalia." Everyone paused when they heard the voice of someone new, at least new to Willow, Gus, and Luz. Mr. Carthwright walked towards them, hood down. He shook his head back and forth in a disappointed manner as he said, "That…was quite the spectacle."
Odalia's anger quickly evaporated as she became humble and nice. "Oh, Mr. Carthwright, I'm so glad you enjoyed the show."
"I said it was a 'spectacle', I never said I enjoyed it," he corrected her.
"Uh…B-But we sold out, Blight Industries made more money tonight than in previous private sales," said Odalia.
Mr. Carthwright crossed his arms. "And look how close you almost came to losing it all. Look at you, you can't even get your own house in order." Egerton Carthwright motioned with his hand towards Amity. "Such a rebellious nature she has, if she is the future of Blight Industries, then I fear what direction the company will go in, and what she might do to it. It could be the end of a dynasty. And I don't think the rest of the board would like that very much."
Odalia's eyes widened as her lower lip trembled. "B-B-But Mr. Carthwright, please, I promise that I'll do better with her! I promise I'll strictly discipline her for her actions tonight! This will never happen again!"
"No, no it won't. As chairman of the board, I'm going to see to it that Blight Industries' bottom line is protected. Even if it means it goes on without you as the CEO," said Mr. Carthwright.
Odalia felt it, all that she worked for, all that she sacrificed, every decision she had made to make a name for herself, to make the Blight family name even stronger and more prestigious than it already was, it was all about to go away.
*Crack!*
Suddenly, Odalia screamed in pain as the cracks on her body became visible for all to see. Violet ethereal light poured from those cracks, making the older woman fall to her knees in pain. Without thinking, both Amity and Luz blurted out at the same time.
"SHE'S A GATE?!"
"MOM'S A GATE?!"
Luz looked at Amity, and Amity looked at Luz.
"How do you know what a Gate is, Amity?" Luz asked.
"How do you know?" Amity asked back.
"Ahahahahaha! I was spot on with this one!" Mr. Carthwright stated as he backed away. "I knew this wench was a Gate, and judging from her character, she just might merge with it instead of being consumed by it. Not sure if that's a good thing, but, oh well, one more Phantom to add to the ranks I suppose."
Forgetting the Gate question, Luz turned her attention to the demon before them and said, "You're a Phantom, aren't you?!"
The demon's body glowed, releasing sparks and star symbols as a rainbow of different colored lights enveloped him. When the light faded, the new Phantom was revealed. He wore a grass green top hat, with a pink strap around the bottom that held a paper card that read "In This Style 10/6". The Phantom had a permanent, pearly white, toothy smile on his face, in contrast to his gray skin. His eyes were yellow in color, with orange eyeshadow around them. The Phantom had wild red, curly hair that was shoulder length. He was dressed in a scarlet red coat, with a large bowtie that that was yellow and had orange polka dots on it. Under the coat was, what looked like, a green tweed vest. Further down he had on a pair of boots that went all the way up his thighs and flared out a the top.
"Indeed, you are correct my dear, I am Hatter, Mad Hatter! And tonight, I claim a new Phantom!" Mad Hatter stated. "Now, if you all would be so kind as to give us some privacy? I do like to watch new Phantoms being born without any lookie-loos."
Mad Hatter clapped his hands and released a wave of energy that blasted Willow, Gus, and Alador away from the area, but Luz managed to use her Light Glyph to form a sword and stab it into the floor, using it as an anchor to keep herself from flying away. Amity did the same, as she coated her hands and feet in Abomination goo and transformed them into claws that dug into the floor. Both girls hung on for dear life as their weapons carved grooves into the floor as the energy Mad Hatter released pushed on them. When the attack ended, Luz and Amity were at least twenty feet away from where they were.
Both girls panted from having to weather that attack, but they still stood. Currently their minds were racing, there was a Phantom right in front of them, and neither one could transform so long as other was there. But if they did not act quickly, Odalia would end up becoming a Phantom. Both girls tried to come up with some kind of excuse in their minds to tell the other so that they could leave and transform, but thanks to that last attack, a lot of the debris from the stage had been pushed away, leaving a wide-open space. Amity's father and their friends had been flung into the far back of the factory, they hoped they were alright, but none of them would be so long as the Phantom was there.
There's no other choice, they thought at the same time.
"Luz I'm–!"
"Amity I'm –!"
"HEKA!"
"WITCH!"
Both girls took out their respective rings and showed them to each other at the same time, eyes shut as they awaited the other's response. However, it finally clicked what they said to each other, and both girls stared.
"Luz…you're really Witch?"
"Amity…you're Heka?"
Odalia's screams broke them out of their shock and brought them back to the moment.
"I think we have a lot of explaining to do," said Luz.
"Yeah…a lot," Amity agreed. "But first thing's first."
Luz nodded and stood side by side with Amity as they both slipped on their Driver rings.
[Driver On, Please.]
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin! Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
[Driver On.]
Amity put on her Bast ring, while Luz slipped on her Light Style ring. The green haired witch widened her stance as she raised her left hand into the air, and right then, both girls glanced at each other, a smile formed on their lips before it shifted to one of confidence and determination.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
[Ready, Open!]
[Roar of the Heavens!]
[The Goddess Descends!]
A yellow magic circle appeared behind Luz while a purple magic circle appeared behind Amity. The two circles passed over both girls, transforming them into their heroic alter egos, Kamen Riders Witch and Heka.
"Amity, I need you to open a path for me to get to your mom. Then I'll use my Engage ring and take care of that Phantom inside her," said Witch.
"Luz…you're still willing to save her after everything she did?" Heka asked.
"Kamen Riders are heroes of justice, we save everyone."
Witch said no more than that, Heka did not need her to, she understood. No matter the person, a Kamen Rider saves lives first.
Mad Hatter laughed happily as he walked forward towards the heroes. "Well, what do we have here?! The famous Kamen Riders Witch and Heka. And as it turns out, their nothing but a couple of snotnosed brats."
"Hey, we're not brats! We're fourteen!" Witch remarked.
"Eh, whatever. I'll surely earn the favor of Lady Tiamat if I manage to kill them both! Let the fun begin! Ha-HA!"
Mad Hatter took off his top hat and reached inside, and from it he produced dozens of flintlock muskets, each one was ornate in appearance and had a crystal where the hammer would come down and fire the round.
"Oh, wow!" Witch exclaimed.
"Get behind me!" Heka ordered.
[Call to Arms: Sphinx Shield!]
Mad Hatter waved his left hand, commanding the muskets to fire. All two dozen of the muskets fired at the same time, but Heka called upon the Sphinx Shield just in time to defend herself and Witch from the barrage. While energy-based blasts exploded against Heka's shield, but she managed to hold the line against the barrage.
[Illusion, Please.]
Suddenly, the number of Hekas and Witchs multiplied as there were now ten of each running around the room and in different directions. Mad Hatter watched each one, but then he redirected his muskets to point in random directions and gave another order to fire. Each of the muskets blasted their rounds in a kind of death blossom fashion, rotating around him as they fired one after the other. The many Hekas and Witchs dodged to the best of their ability, but despite this some of the copies were destroyed. The blasts exploded against the walls and machinery inside the factory, causing even more damage than the presentation earlier.
[Potion, Please.]
Witch jumped into the air and created to flasks, and in those flasks appeared to concoctions of her making. She tossed both of them onto the floor where they exploded and created a huge smokescreen that filled the room. Mad Hatter chuckled as he took off his hat again and tapped it. Suddenly, the sound of a vacuum cleaner could be heard as the smoke was swiftly sucked into his hat in a matter of seconds, clearing the room of the obstruction.
[Ice, Please.]
[Kkkkkkori~! Kkkkkkori~!]
[Call to Arms: Scarab Saber!]
Heka surprised Mad Hatter as he narrowly escaped getting sliced by her saber, but he was not out of the woods just yet as Witch came in with her WizarSwordGun in sword mode and slashed at him. Mad Hatter nimbly dodged the next sword strike and weaved out of the way. Both Heka and Witch stood side-by-side as they brandished their blades and engaged Mad Hatter. The crazed looking Phantom danced around the two Riders, as he wiggled and twisted his body around, even rotating his entire head around to spot Heka about to attack him. Mad Hatter jumped out of the way, did a somersault and landed on the ground near Odalia as he took a bow.
"Did you all enjoy my little flutterwacken?"
"For an evil monster, he has some good dance moves," Witch commented.
"Dance moves that make it hard to hit him, and unpredictable at that." Heka looked to her mother and saw that the cracks were getting bigger. "We're running out of time…" At that moment, the ring loop on Heka's belt began to shine. Two new rings appeared on it, one of them resembled that of Witch's Engage ring, and the last one had a picture of Bast with a burning sun behind it. "What are these rings?"
Witch went around to her left side and looked at the two new rings that were now a part of Heka's arsenal. The hero of hope looked back at Odalia, and then back at Heka. "Amity, change of plans. You go and save your mom, and I'll take down Mad Hatter."
"What? B-But you have the ring that'll allow to save her!" Heka argued.
"Not just me, but you do, too. Trust me, you can do it, Amity," said Witch.
Heka glanced back at her mother who was still crying out in pain, and then back at Witch. She could tell that Witch was confident in her ability to do this. Heka steeled her resolve and nodded. "Okay."
"What's the matter? Given up already?" Mad Hatter asked mockingly.
Witch stepped forward and said. "Nope, just needed to revise our strategy." Witch slipped off the Ice Style ring and held up the Ice Owl ring.
[ICE OWL.]
[Hyoketsssssu~!]
An ice construct of La Lechuza flew out from a magic circle underneath Witch. The ice owl construct descended on her and wrapped Witch in its wings as a bright light flashed and revealed Witch in her Super Form, Ice Owl Style. "It's showtime!" Witch declared as she rushed towards Mad Hatter at double the speed of her last form. Mad Hatter was caught off guard as Witch struck him in the chest with a palm heel strike, causing sparks to fly from his body. "GO! NOW!"
Heka, still using the Scarab Sword, dashed past both Witch and Mad Hatter. The Phantom saw this and called upon his muskets to aim at Heka. Witch was not about to let them fire.
[Connect, Please.]
[Copy, Please.]
Now dual wielding two WizarSwordGuns in gun mode, Witch took careful aim and fired several ice energy infused rounds at the muskets. Each one struck the hammer and anvil, freezing them to the point that they were stuck, and rendering them all useless. Mad Hatter's smile turned into a frown as he angrily began to fight Witch, throwing wide kicks, and lunging punches, only to bounce back and attack again. If it was not for her speed boost in Ice Owl Style, Mad Hatter would be landing more blows by now.
Meanwhile, Heka reached her mother and dropped down to one knee beside her. A lot of mixed feelings were rising inside her right now. Her mother put Luz in danger, nearly got her killed, heck, she was sure her mother was trying to kill Luz, or at the very least severely injure her. Odalia Blight, her mother, almost hurt someone she deeply cared about and all for a petty reason. But…
"You may've done some monstrous things, but that doesn't mean you deserve to turn into an actual monster," said Heka. "So, instead, I'll burn that despair from your soul!"
Heka looked down at the set of rings she had, one of them glowed brighter than the others. She took that one and slipped it over her mother's left middle finger and pressed it against the right side of the MagiDriver.
[Engage!]
Heka's magic circle appeared over Odalia, and when it did, her pain eased. After taking a deep breath, Heka jumped up and dove into the magic circle, and descended into her mother's Underworld.
~(ODALIA'S UNDERWORLD)~
This was a new experience for Heka as she descended the long violet colored tunnel of light. At the bottom she could see a bright white light fast approaching, and in a matter of seconds she was deposited into a whole new world. There were jagged cracks that littered this Underworld, with violet light pouring from it. The world looked like a replica of Blight Industries, seeing this Underworld made Heka furrow her brow in disappointment.
"Even in the deepest part of her soul, all she really cares about is the company."
Just then a giant leg rose from behind the ruined factory, and then another, another, and another. In total, eight hairy legs appeared, pushing up and revealing the arachnid form of the Phantom. The giant Phantom was black and orange, resembling a tarantula, but where its head would be, was a humanoid torso. The torso had two long arms, pale blue skin, and raggedy hair that flowed from the creature's head, down her back and over her chest. The Phantom's hands were elongated claws that were black and transitioned to pale blue halfway up the forearm. The Phantom's face had eight eyes that glowed red, her mouth was filled with sharp fangs, two of which were protruding out from her upper lip.
Heka looked upon the giant Inner Phantom, although this was not the first time she had seen a large monster, it was still not something she was going to get used to any time soon. "Ookay, how do I fight something like that?!" He
"I would be a little more concerned about the hundreds of smaller spiders that are coming our way."
Heka looked ahead, and just like Bast said, there were hundreds of small spiders stampeding towards her. "Holy Titan! W-What do I do?!"
Bast sighed and answered, "I guess it's my time to shine. Use the other ring and let me have some fun."
The second new ring glowed, and Heka hurriedly put it on and pressed it into the right slot of her MagiDriver.
[Bast, Arise!]
A larger version of Heka's magic circle appeared behind her, and from it walked out her Inner Phantom, Bast. The gold and black cat released a loud roar, causing the spiders and Arachne to back away. "Don't tell me I just freed you?!"
"Calm down, Little Miss Perfect. I'm still tethered to you. But when you use that ring, I can come out and play. But only while we're in the Underworld." Bast eyed Arachne as she entered an attack stance. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Phantom to put in their place!"
Bast lunged at Arachne, barreling straight into the spider Phantom as the two of them smashed through some of the buildings that were still left standing. Heka turned her attention to the spiders that were heading her way and decided that she was going to get serious too.
[Call to Arms: Griffon Ax!]
The Griffon Ax appeared in Heka's hands, she then hefted the large battle ax and brought it down. When it struck the ground, it released an energy wave that surged forward and exploded, destroying many of the spiders. Heka swung again, and again, sending wave after wave as she eliminated the spiders by the droves.
Bast was busy tumbling on the ground with the Phantom, the giant spider Phantom pinned Bast beneath it, and was about to strike, but Bast simply smirked and released a burning heat wave that forced Arachne to jump off Bast. The golden feline got back to her feet and licked her front paw in a haughty fashion. "What's the matter? Can't stand the heat?!" Bast took the initiative and attacked again, this time setting her front paws ablaze as she slashed at the Phantom, causing sparks to fly from its body with each successful hit. The giant spider woman screeched and used two of her front legs to push Bast away. Arachne's hands glowed as she weaved a web of black and white energy. The Inner Phantom threw the web forward, casting it like a net out towards Bast. The web managed to fall atop of Bast, releasing black lightning that shocked the golden cat, causing her to release yowls pain.
Heka saw what was happening and shouted, "BAST!" The golden Rider jumped straight into the air, aiming herself for the strand that connected the web and Arachne. She raised her battle ax high and brought it down right on the strand, releasing a powerful energy wave that severed the web from its creator. The web that had encompassed Bast disintegrated, allowing Bast to shake off what was left. Heka landed in front of her Inner Phantom, but when she turned her head to look at Bast, she could see that the great cat Phantom had a smirk on her face. "What?"
"Awww, you do care about me," said Bast teasingly.
Heka rolled her eyes. "I care that I need you to beat this Phantom and save my mom. That's all."
Bast chuckled as she said, "Well then, we better get to it!"
The cat Phantom slammed her front paw on the ground, causing Heka to be shot into the air. Bast lunged forward and positioned herself right under where Heka would land, allowing the golden rider to land on Bast's back instead. Bast roared as she charged for Arachne, now with Heka on her back. Heka was confused for a moment but decided to go with it.
~(OVERWORLD)~
Mad Hatter managed to unstick his muskets and had them do a rotating artillery fire, creating seven rows of four muskets that formed a tower around him to keep Witch at bay. However, that task was proving more difficult than he had anticipated as Witch's Ice Owl Style granted her just the boost in speed that she needed to dodge the attacks, the beams might as well have been moving through molasses as far as she was concerned. For the ones that she could not outright dodge, she used her dual WizarSwordGuns to swat the beams away from her.
"Why would you bother trying to save this woman?! Either of you?! She's vile and wicked, no different from me and my kind! This is just the inevitable conclusion for someone like her! It's no real loss to anyone!" Mad Hatter argued.
Witch slashed in an "X" pattern as she parted a blast and made the remnants divert around her and explode behind. "It doesn't matter if that's the kind of person she is! Despite everything she's done, she's still important to someone!"
~(ODALIA'S UNDERWORLD)~
Heka slashed through another net before it could entrap Bast, while the golden cat released a heat wave that burned away the spiders that were trying to surround them.
"Remind me again why we're going through this much effort?!" Bast asked.
"Because!" Heka jumped off Bast's back and slashed Arachne across her chest, causing sparks to fly from the creature just as it retreated. "Despite all that she's done, she's still my mother, the one who gave me life!"
~(OVERWORLD)~
Witch pointed her left sword at Mad Hatter and said, "And because, no matter what kind of people they are…"
~(ODALIA'S UNDERWORLD)~
"It's our sacred duty to stand up for those who are in danger!"
~(OVERWORLD)~
"THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A KAMEN RIDER!"
~(ODALIA'S UNDERWORLD)~
"THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A KAMEN RIDER!"
~(OVERWORLD)~
Witch dismissed her two weapons and slipped on a new ring to finish this fight.
[ VERY NICE, COCYTUS! FABULOUS! ]
An ice construct of La Lechuza arose, screeching as it flew around and then merged with Witch, creating the Owl Tail. Witch began to hover a few inches off the ground, and with a flap of the Owl Tail, she was propelled forward towards Mad Hatter. The Phantom decided to pull out all the stops, taking off his top hat and pointing the hole in Witch's direction. The hat released a chaotic energy wave that consisted of orbs, laser beams, and playing card shaped cutting beams.
With the grace and agility of a figure skater, Witch dodged each of them, gliding through each of the attacks as they came her way. A wall of beam attacks was about to hit her, but at the last second, she leaped forward, folded her Owl Tail, and kept a straight form as she passed through the narrow opening and exited out the other end with nary a scratch to her body. Witch started to skate circles around Mad Hatter, kicking up a blizzard tornado all around him which caused his rotating muskets to stop in midair as they were frozen. The muskets all fell to the floor and shattered like fragile glass, leaving Mad Hatter exposed.
Witch jumped straight up into the air above the opening of the vortex as her Owl Tail glowed bright blue. Mad Hatter looked up at the last second as Witch descended through the vortex, Mad Hatter jumped up to meet her with his hand stuffed into his hat as if he were about to pull something out to defeat her. Just then, Witch increased her speed with a flap of the Owl Tail, taking Mad Hatter by surprise as she passed right by him as a flash of blue went off right before she landed on the floor. The blizzard tornado dispersed the moment she hit the ground, while Mad Hatter was suspended in the air. A delayed reaction occurred as ice suddenly sprang up and covered his entire body, right before a dozen or more blue slashes cut through the ice and shattered both it and the Phantom in one fell swoop.
~(ODALIA'S UNDERWORLD)~
Bast was running around the battlefield, leaping from one ruined building to the next as she gathered momentum. The golden cat jumped straight into the air until she was right above where Arachne was. Heka pressed her left ring into the left slot of the MagiDriver and activated the final attack. "This is your final curtain call!"
[ LET'S GO! KICK STRIKE! ]
Heka jumped off Bast's back as the golden cat underwent a transformation. Bast's body began to reconfigure itself, until she had turned into a giant leg and foot. Heka extended her left leg forward and connected with her foot. A large silhouette of Heka appeared around them as an aura of energy, creating flames that lapped off the construct as they descended for their target. Arachne could not move due to the number of attacks they had landed, with the burn effect of Bast's power sapping the evil Phantom's power. Their foe had no other choice but to receive its punishment as Heka's giant Rider Kick struck and plowed it into the ground as a fiery explosion took place and incinerated the remaining spider minions.
A wave of golden flames washed over the entire area as Heka and Bast landed back on the ground, with the cat Phantom returning to her original form. For a second, Heka thought she messed up when the golden flames washed over everything, but that fear was dispelled when the flames revealed that they were in fact healing the Underworld. The last embers of the golden flames evaporated into nothingness after a few seconds and revealed a fully healed Underworld, with no signs of the Inner Phantom.
Bast stretched in a very cat-like manner and said, "Well, that was fun, and I managed to get some good exercise. We should make this habit; I like traipsing about in other people's Underworlds." Heka's magic circle appeared before Bast, the great cat Phantom walked towards it, but paused to say, "Not bad, Little Miss Perfect," before exiting through the portal.
Another portal opened above Heka, indicating that it was time to leave. However, before she left, Heka wanted to see something. She walked deep into the factory where her mother's office would be. Heka did not know why she was doing this, this world was basically a reflection of her mother's soul, and it was clear that her mother valued the company that she built rather than the children she birthed. Perhaps Heka just needed a reminder to this, to realize that no matter what she did, that herself, and her siblings, were always just a means to an end.
Heka opened the door to the office and was surprised at what she saw. The door led to somewhere else, to their home. There she saw her mother, but she looked kinder and less severe, her father was there too, messing around with some new invention, but instead of it being a weapon, it looked rather whimsical, almost toy-like. Heka saw her siblings, who just came in after school let out, and right behind them was herself, but instead of her green hair, it was brown, its original color.
Is this what mom really wants…?
Perhaps not all was as it appeared, did this mean that the factory was a defense? A shell to protect their family. Or did it mean that this industrial empire was just something that grew beyond her control, but at the center of it all, this is what her mother wanted. Heka sighed heavily, there was too much to decipher here, and really, she did not know what to think of this right now. Maybe this was a sign that her mother could change, but Heka was not about to think that would happen in the near future.
The portal appeared again for Heka, and this time she jumped up and straight through it.
Odalia groaned as she managed to sit up. "Oh…what happened?"
"A Phantom appeared, Mrs. Blight." The voice of Luz Noceda caught the older woman's attention. She looked to her right and saw that Amity, the human girl, Willow Park, and Augustus Porter were there. "The Phantom tricked you into falling into despair, and you were in the process of turning into a Phantom."
"I…I was…but who…?"
"It was Mr. Carthwright, turns out he was the Phantom all along. He must've been for some time now," Amity answered. "We were lucky that Witch and Heka sensed him when he revealed himself, they managed to defeat him and get rid of the Phantom inside you. You're safe now, mom."
Odalia began to stand, with the help of Alador. The older woman dusted herself off and looked down at the children. "I see…well…at least this incident happened after the investors left. We'll have to come up with some excuse about Mr. Carthwright's untimely passing, we can't have it known that Blight Industries was infiltrated by a Phantom."
Amity crossed her arms and sighed. "Yes, because we have to protect the image of the company. In any case, mom, a deal is a deal. You managed to make more than enough money through the Abomaton sales, and everyone knows how strong it is. Luz held up her end of her deal, and so did I."
Odalia growled angrily, now being reminded of how she was outsmarted and outplayed by her own daughter. "Amity Blight, as if I would agree such terms! Forgot it, I'll call every authority I know to make sure that–!"
"Odalia!" Everyone turned to see that it was Alador who interrupted her. Amity and Odalia both were surprised by that. "A word in private, please." Alador walked away from the children and Odalia followed, but not before shooting them a sneer. Once they were far enough away, Alador spoke. "Are you going back on a deal?"
"What?!"
"You have always said that a Blight always upholds their end of a deal. Are you going back on this family's motto?" Alador asked.
"Alador this is no time for your silly questions," Odalia scoffed.
"It is not 'silly'; I am trying to understand why you are going against a long-established principal of our family."
Odalia gestured to the offenders behind her and said, "Look at what has happened since Amity has gotten involved with those three! If this continues–!"
"She'll get stronger."
That caught Odalia off guard. "What?"
"You saw how much stronger she was, she managed to bring the Abomaton 2.0 to its knees as if it were nothing. I have read that those who fight for themselves are strong, but those who fight for others can become even stronger. At first, I thought it was nothing, a philosophy of sorts that never really resonated with me. But it seems that there is truth in those words. Amity has always been gifted and strong, but she has become stronger since it seems she had a reason to do so other than herself." Alador moved closer and placed his hands on his wife's shoulders. "At this rate, she may become far stronger than Darius, stronger than the heads of both the Abomination and Emperor's Covens."
Odalia calmed down for a moment as she mulled over her husband's words. Looking at the situation from a business perspective, she had noticed how much stronger Amity was when she defended the human girl. It was quite astonishing if she was being honest. Could being friends with those three really have pushed Amity to become that much stronger with her magic? If that was true, then that meant that Amity could very well indeed become the heads of either of those Covens, heck, she could be the head of two Covens. Was that even allowed? Odalia believed that it could be if Amity showed the Emperor just how gifted she was. The possibilities of what could come of this started to push out the thoughts of vengeance and payback for the human.
"Wise words, Alador, I knew there was a reason why I loved you," said Odalia as she kissed him softly on the lips.
The older man blushed a little, but it quickly left.
The two Blights walked back to the kids, with Odalia wearing a satisfied grin on her face. "I have given it some thought, and I realize I may've overreacted a bit."
Amity raised an eyebrow, and Luz deadpanned.
"I have been under quite a bit of stress with this presentation and sale, and it seems I have unfairly taken out that stress on you all," said Odalia as she gestured to Luz, Gus, and Willow. "A Blight always upholds their end of a deal. That has been our family motto, and it is one that I lost sight of for a moment. But no longer, Luz Noceda, Willow Park, Augustus Porter, as of tomorrow I will go to the PCA and personally guarantee that you all will be reenrolled into Hexside School of Magic and Demonics by day's end tomorrow."
Luz, Gus, and Willow all cheered happily upon hearing the news. Amity eyed her mother, she knew that there was more to this, but for now she allowed herself to show her mother a grateful smile.
"Now, then, I believe you all should return home, Alador and I have to call in some workers late to get this factory cleaned up, and I'm sure the Emperor's Coven will need to know about this as well," said Odalia. "Amity, if you would, please go with them and see that they return home safely."
"Okay, mom. C'mon guys, I'll explain what happened to your folks."
Amity did explain to the Parks and Porters about what happened, but a less scary version of what happened. Thankfully they did not ask many more questions as Willow and Gus' parents were just happy to hear that their children would soon be able to return to Hexside. Now it was just Luz and Amity, the two girls walked in silence most of the way. There was so much to ask, so much to go over.
"So," Amity finally spoke, "how long have you been Witch?"
Luz sighed and said, "Since that day in the market when I fought Wendigo."
"Do Gus and Willow know you're Witch?"
Luz nodded.
Amity rubbed her right arm as she said, "I see…"
Luz could see that Amity was hurt by this knowledge and quickly said, "It's not because I don't trust you, Amity, I promise that was not the reason!"
"Then…why didn't you tell me?" Amity asked.
"Because…I wanted to keep the circle small. Willow found out first, kinda sorta by accident, then King, also by accident, and then Gus found out when we were tracking down Dracula and I was left with no choice but to transform with him there," Luz answered.
"What about Ms. Eda?"
"She knows…you remember when she said she wanted to send me back to the Human Realm?"
Amity nodded.
Luz hung her head low and said, "That's because she found out that I was Witch. She took all my rings away and said that I shouldn't be putting myself in danger because I'm a human and not a Boiling Isles born witch like you and her."
Amity now understood Eda's reasoning behind wanting to send Luz back to the Human Realm, and honestly, she kind of felt the same way. This whole time Luz had been fighting these dangerous monsters, on her own, and at any time she could have been killed by them, and Amity would have never known the truth about it.
"I didn't want to put you in danger in case my identity came out, or if it did, and the Emperor's Coven came after you, you'd be able to truthfully say you had no idea. I was more so willing to keep the secret after the Petrification Ceremony, let's just say I did not endear myself to Emperor Belos."
Amity nodded. "I get it, but I want more details about what happened at the Conformatorium, later though."
"Got it…And how long have you been Heka?" Luz asked.
"Just a few days now, my MagiDriver was something my dad made after studying you and the Phantoms from a distance. He suspected that you might have an Inner Phantom, and – Wait a minute!" Amity stopped in her tracks. "That day, when you were acting strange, was…was that your Inner Phantom?!"
"Oops."
"What did you do, Laly?"
"Lala, what is she talking about?" Luz asked.
"Yes, fine, it was me! This one here hurt her head pretty good, so I took over while I used my mana to heal her. As a result, I went for a little…joyride in her body, if you will."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Laly, and you say I'm the prankster!"
Amity blushed hard as she facepalmed herself. "I can't believe I let a Phantom tease me that whole time!"
"I knew something was up with her, but THAT, oh my sides that was great!" Bast chortled.
The girls just stood there, faces bright red. Since the two Phantoms brought it up, now was as good as any to bring up the other topic of the evening.
"Amity?"
"Yes, Luz…?"
Luz wrapped her left arm around her stomach as she asked, "W-When you said, 'Stay away from my Luz'…w-what did you mean exactly by that?"
Amity blushed as she recalled the words she said in the heat of the moment, she grabbed the hem of her blouse and tightened her grip as she said, "I…I meant…I…" Amity sighed. "That was a heat of the moment thing to say, and when I look back on it, it sounds so…possessive."
"Oh…I see…heat of the moment thing. I guess I read too much into that, for a second I thought you meant it as you liked me, and I know that's not possible because you said–!"
"I lied back then!" Amity interrupted, causing Luz to stare at her wide eyed. "Back in the Healing Coven Hospital, I panicked! I…I was emotional after what happened to you and I was planning on telling you how I feel and junk, and at the last second, I blurted out that I liked boys when you asked me if liked girls! I lied, Luz, I lied, and I hated myself for saying that you! And that wasn't the first time either! I've tried to confess you, but each time I've made a stupid excuse to myself to stop."
Luz face was scarlet now, all this time Amity has had a crush on her, and she did not even know it. Oh man, I've been acting like a cliché oblivious anime protag! "How long have you…have you felt this way about me?"
Amity walked to a nearby rock and sat down on it. "It didn't happen suddenly, it's been gradual. The duel at the Covention, the library, what happened at the Knee, I've been slowly falling for you. Do you remember Grom Night?"
"Some of it I try not to," Luz confessed.
"Fair enough," Amity chuckled. "But do you remember that note that Grom tore up?"
"Yeaaaahhh…" The cogs in Luz's mind turned and then finally fell into place as she remembered the torn half of the note. "Was…Was that note for me?! Was I the reason you couldn't face Grom?!"
Amity interlocked her fingers together as she looked down at the ground. "I didn't want you to find out that I liked you, at least not like that. My greatest fear was your rejection…"
Luz knelt before Amity as she said, "I don't, I would never reject someone for something like that Amity. Especially you. Especially since I've also started to like you to."
Amity's head shot up in shock when she heard Luz say that. "You…You like me?"
"I guess developing feelings slowly is a trend for us, but uh, yeah, I do."
Amity carefully reached out with her left hand and gently placed it on Luz's shoulder. "I like you, too, Luz. My greatest fear was you rejecting me. But ever since this Phantom stuff has happened, I have a new fear. That's why, I'm going to ask you something you might not like, but will you at least hear me out?
Luz nodded. "Of course.
"…Luz, please stop being Witch."
Odalia walked around and directed the workers, as well as some Abomination constructs, as they cleanup began for the factory. It was going to take some time to rebuild the inside, but thankfully this was not their main factory, as they have about five more scattered about the property. However, this was their biggest one, so production of the Abomatons and a few more of their products would be impacted slightly. As she walked around, she spotted her husband adjusting the Abomaton 2.0, which was surprisingly still intact after all that had happened. Odalia was surprised to find out that she had a Phantom inside of her, despite everything that happened, when she was in the midst of that pain, the one thing she thought about, what she feared most, was hurting her family.
Odalia sighed, shaking those thoughts from her mind as she walked up to Alador with a smile on her face. "Despite everything that happened, it was a rather productive night."
"Indeed, it was," Alador agreed.
Odalia reached out and poked Alador on his right arm, drawing little circles as she said, "Great work on the Abomaton 2.0, dear."
"Yes! You're Abomatons are quite extraordinary." At that moment, the Golden Guard entered the facility, flanked by two Coven Scouts. "Too bad no one will be receiving them."
Odalia panicked when she saw the head of the Emperor's Coven, the Golden Guard. She quickly dropped down to one knee, but when she saw her husband not doing the same, she tugged at his sleeve. Alador mimicked his wife's actions and bowed before them.
"Golden Guard, I was not expecting the head of the Emperor's Coven to be coming out here when I made the call," said Odalia.
"Well, incidents that have Phantoms involved do take top priority, and the Emperor wants to make sure that those incidents are handled by those he can trust to get the job done." The Golden Guard walked around the area and whistled. "Wow, quite the battle that took place here."
"Yes, um, Witch and Heka were here, sir, a-and some of this was done due to a demonstration of the Abomaton's capabilities. But, um, I am curious, did you say that our investors won't be receiving their orders?" Odalia asked curiously.
Golden Guard nodded at the older woman. "Indeed, I did. The Emperor will be buying every one of your Abomatons. And will personally fund research into making them stronger."
Odalia gasped upon hearing this news, even Alador was shocked to hear that the Emperor had taken up an interest in his invention. "T-That's great news! We're honored to hel–!"
"You should be," Golden Guard interrupted. "The Emperor doesn't take too kindly to citizens making a private army."
Golden Guard and his subordinates started to go around and assess the area, leaving the couple alone as they stood to their feet.
"I am aware that this is good from a business standpoint, Odalia. But something about this does not seem…right," said Alador.
"Perhaps a little, dear. But please keep that to yourself." Odalia remained silent as she thought about what the Golden Guard just said. Does the Emperor believe that we made the Abomatons to usurp him? No, he must see them as an asset…Still, why does what the Golden Guard said make me feel uneasy?