A/N: For those of you who do or don't know. I had a family emergency last Tuesday concerning my grandfather's health and I quite literally had to rush out of my home with my family on a 3-hour drive to the next city over in the dead of night. I'd like to say that everything's fine, but it's about 50/50. He's still weak, and right now he's recovering. All we can do is wait and see and pray that he can get his strength back.
Your well wishes and prayers were and are still appreciated as he's not completely out of the woods yet. For now, I have returned home, and I will be writing some more. As right now that's about all I can do at this point. Thank you for your patience during this trying time, and if anything changes, please go to my DA account or my account profile to see if I've posted an update.
Now, without further ado, let the show begin!
Hunter was called by his uncle down to the underground facility. He figured it had to do with the preparations for the spell, or perhaps his uncle needed him to go and relay another message to Luz Noceda. The witch boy shuttered at the idea of going back there, again. Getting swallowed by that owl, bird, tube, thing, was not fun in the least bit.
The leader of the Emperor's Coven walked down the stairs and entered the underground facility. There he saw the half-finished portal door, and the apparatus that was meant to power the old piece of Savage Ages magic. To this day his uncle had not informed him about the reason why he needed the portal door, Hunter wanted to ask, but felt that it was not necessary. There was already a lot to deal with regarding the Phantoms, and now the appearance of this Nuckelavee only adds more to their worries.
That was something that annoyed him. His own weakness. He wanted to be more helpful to his uncle, more of use to him. But he failed to get the Palismans, and right now he wasn't strong enough to do battle with the Phantoms. Only Luz Noceda could fight these monsters, only Luz Noceda and her partner, Heka, had the power to end them. If only he had the power of a Kamen Rider, he could finally help everyone, and most importantly, show his uncle that he has worth.
Hunter continued to walk through the facility until he came to Belos' study door and knocked on it.
"Enter."
The witch boy opened the door, and that's when he saw Belos standing in front of his desk, with his back turned towards Hunter. Belos turned around slowly, holding a box in his hands as he smiled at him.
"Happy birthday."
Hunter blinked. "Uh…it's not my birthday, Uncle."
"Oh, yes, I know that, but we're not celebrating that." Belos walked forward and stood before Hunter. "It's the birthday of your new identity."
Belos opened the box, and that's when Hunter's eyes widened with shock. Resting inside the box was something that looked a lot like the devices that Kamen Riders use to transform. Not only that, but there were also seven different rings inside as well, along with a pair of fingerless gloves.
"U-Uncle…is that…are you…?!" Hunter stammered.
"Indeed, it is." Belos reached out and placed his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "We've relayed on the power of Luz Noceda and Heka long enough. We can't keep doing so or else, one day, the 'heroes' may become the villains later on. Yes, the current Phantom threat is diverting their attention. But I feel that it won't be long before they realize just how powerful they are and usurp us."
"Uncle…"
Belos handed the box to Hunter and continued. "I keep telling you that the Titan has big plans for you. And here is part of that plan set before you. The people of the Boiling Isles need a hero of their own, one who fights for the good of the Covens, for the good of all. Though you are born without the ability to cast magic, you will wield a power stronger than any witch or demon. You will lead my crusade to bring peace and order to our world, where paradise awaits us."
Hunter looked at the Driver and rings, and ran his right hand over them, still in awe of what he was looking at. But that's when a thought popped into his head. "Uncle, do you have a name for this device, and my alias?"
Belos tapped his chin as he thought about it. "Well, I've come to call it the Arcane Driver, if I'm keeping in line with what people are calling those devices. As for your alias…Hmm, I know. Why don't you pick it."
Hunter was surprised to hear that his uncle wanted him to choose the name of his Rider form. He was being bestowed a great honor, a great power to protect the people of the Boiling Isles, and to finally be seen as worthy of his uncle's praise. One word did stick out in his mind from what his uncle said earlier, and the more he thought about it, the more it started to sound good in his head.
"Uncle, how about…Crusader?" Hunter asked
Belos smiled upon hearing that name. "'Crusader', like a 'crusader of justice'? Yes, I think that's just perfect, Hunter."
Suddenly, the Arcane Driver and the rings began to glow, as if reacting to the name. Hunter could tell that the luster of the gemstones was even brighter than before, and somehow it felt as if he had a connection with it.
"I will say, please be careful when using it, Hunter," he warned. "It uses an artificial magi-stone similar to what powers your staff. I haven't had time to properly field test it, so, use it only when you believe you've exhausted all other options. Understand?"
Hunter walked over to his uncle's desk and took off his gloves. There were many scars on them, starting at his forearms and covering most of his hands and fingers. Hunter trembled and clenched his shaking hands into fists as memories of the day he got those scars ran through his mind.
Belos walked up behind his nephew and patted him on the shoulder. "That was a rough time. I remembered how disappointed you were in yourself."
"I lost so many of the Scouts…I tried to dig them all out…but…I just couldn't…" Hunter lamented.
"Regret is something we all deal with. But look at this as your chance to make up for your past mistakes. You'll be weak no more, Hunter. Now you will be strong."
Hunter nodded his head as he put on the fingerless gloves, and then slipped on both the Driver ring and the Transformation ring. Next, he took out the Arcane Driver and wrapped it around his waist. Upon doing so, the Driver disappeared and made Hunter panic for a moment.
"Don't fret, it's not gone permanently. Until you summon it, the Driver will remain in a pocket dimension similar to how most witches put away their staffs when not in use. Merely use the 'Driver' ring to summon it back," Belos explained. "Go forth, my Golden Guard, our newest hero, Kamen Rider Crusader."
Everyone was staring at the newest Rider to enter the fray. The Phantoms, Coven Scouts, Nuckelavee, and of course, Witch and Heka. Crusader stood before them all, the wind rustled and made his cloth flutter a bit as he stared down the demonic creature before them.
I won't let you down, Uncle! I WILL NOT allow anyone to die on my watch! Not again! Never again!
"Kamen Rider Crusader! That is the name, monster, of the one who will end your reign of terror!"
Nuckelavee was weary of this new Rider, and Witch and Heka noticed. Just like the two of them, Nuckelavee had never seen this Rider in action before, and because of that, there were a lot of unknowns as to what his abilities and powers were. And if that was the case, then that meant that they had the advantage.
"Heka, let's go," said Witch.
"What?! Why?! I understand we're in a bad situation, but that Golden Guard threatened you, and almost got you killed," Heka argued.
"I know, but right now, he's the only trump card we have left. Look at Nuckelavee, he's on edge. He doesn't know what Hunter can do, and neither do we. As powerful as he is, the unknown is his worst enemy. While he may know some of our attacks, he can't fight properly against what he doesn't know," Witch explained.
As much as Heka didn't want to admit it, Witch was right. Right now, Crusader was their only ace in the hole, so they needed to make the most of it. Witch and Heka raced over to Crusader, taking positions on his right and left.
"When were you going to tell me that you had a Driver?" Witch asked.
"Kind of privileged information, and because I was hoping that our first plan would work. This Driver is untested, so I don't know what will happen," said Crusader.
"Do you think you can beat him?" Heka asked as she narrowed her gaze at Nuckelavee.
Crusader's eyes glowed as he took a fighting stance. "I have to!"
"Okay, we'll provide cover for you," said Witch.
"Don't make us regret this," Heka remarked.
Heka and Witch dashed for Nuckelavee, meanwhile, Crusader unhooked one of his rings from the chain link on his belt and switched out his Driver ring. Once on, he placed it over the Arcane Driver's magi-stone and activated it.
[Crow Scythe, Now.]
A black and purple bird appeared before him in the form of a magical construct. After a second, the crow construct changed shaped, materializing into the Crow Scythe magi weapon. The scythe's shaft was curved and had an arrowhead blade at the bottom. The blade of the scythe was dark gray, with a gold-colored edge, and a red eye painted on either side of the blade. Crusader grabbed the weapon, and immediately upon taking hold of it felt his mind get flooded with information on how the weapon operated and how to wield it.
Heka summoned multiple fireballs and launched them at Nuckelavee, while Witch struck the ground with her claws, sending a green surge of energy through it. Nuckelavee Decided to play defensively for now, at least until he had an idea of what Crusader could do. So, he utilized another Phantom power.
"Tortal Defense!"
A violet, hexagonal barrier appeared around Nuckelavee, and resembled something close to a tortoise shell. Witch and Heka's attacks hit the barrier and exploded harmlessly against it. All the while, Nuckelavee watched as Crusader came charging at him with the scythe weapon.
This barrier belongs to Genbu, he was quite the hard one to devour, but I managed it, and thanks to him, I gained his power of defense. Try as you might, fledgling Rider, you won't be able to–!
Crusader took the weapon into both of his hands and slashed the air in front of him. A purple crescent wave flew out towards Nuckelavee, but much to his and the two female Riders' surprise, it passed right through the barrier. Nuckelavee was shocked to say the least, so shocked that he forgot to respond to the incoming crescent wave that was coming straight towards him. The blade of light exploded against his chest, throwing Nuckelavee out of his barrier. The monster stumbled backwards, hissing in slight pain from the attack.
"Did you see that?!" Witch asked, surprised.
"I saw it, but I don't know how he did it," said Heka, equally surprised.
Nuckelavee couldn't believe it. "A fluke, it had to be!"
Crusader readied a second attack, and Nuckelavee summoned the hexagonal barrier again. This time, Crusader slashed the air three times, creating a "*" pattern that flew through the air and, just like before, passed through the barrier exploded against his body, causing glowing violet gashes on his body. Crusader jumped into the air and dismissed his Crow Scythe as he replaced it with a new ring and scanned it.
[Hornbill Drill, Now.]
A black and red bird construct appeared over his right arm, and within seconds that bird materialized into an arm mounted drill weapon. The body of the weapon was black, with a curved rectangular shaped yellow eye on either side, and a red crest flaring upwards in the middle, with a drill bit was cone shaped and orange in color. Crusader gripped the handle and made the drill bit spin out; mana began to gather at the tip of the drill. Nuckelavee poured more of his magical energy into the barrier, making it grow bigger and shine brighter.
"TAKE THIS, YOU MONSTER!" Crusader shouted as he punched with the drill.
The Hornbill Drill struck the barrier and caused a shockwave to erupt upon contact. Crusader yelled loudly at the same time as Nuckelavee roared, but something started to happen. The barrier started to have several cracks appear, all of which started from the point of impact and spider webbed across it all. Crusader thrust his arm forward and shattered the barrier, making Nuckelavee's eyes widen with shock. Crusader didn't stop, he ran forward with the Hornbill Drill, cocked it back and punched with it. The drill struck Nuckelavee in the chest, releasing sparks as continuous damage was being done to him.
The attack impact sent the monster skidding on his hooves. Witch saw this opportunity and came in with her Owl Tail, sending a blustering gale force blast of ice at Nuckelavee. The subzero temperatures struck the hybrid Phantom, instantly freezing his legs to the ground, and then followed up with a twin eye beam blast from the OwlHead. An explosion took place that made the monster stumble to the side, but as soon as Nuckelavee did, Heka swiftly dashed for him and managed to slash him across his horse body, creating a golden gash as she sped away, turned, and slashed again on the other side. Nuckelavee released another ungodly roar, but this time one of pain.
"Gotcha! Now feel the burn, Nuckelavee!" Heka stated.
It was just like Heka said, Nuckelavee could feel the burning power of Bast's special ability taking hold.
"Let's finish this thing off once and for all!" Crusader announced.
Heka took up position to Crusader's right, while Witch hovered on his right. Crusader once again replaced his ring with a new one and scanned it, at the same time, Heka inserted her attack ring into her Driver. Witch channeled the remainder of her magical energy as she summoned four magical circles behind herself.
[ LET'S GO, KICK STRIKE! ]
[ KICK STRIKE, RIGHT NOW! ]
Witch, Crusader, and Heka ascended into the sky at the same time and launched themselves at Nuckelavee. The construct head of Bast appeared over Heka, four elemental construct owls flew out from the circles and merged their powers into Witch's right foot, and Crusader's right foot blazed with ethereal emerald colored light. Nuckelavee saw the attack coming and released his explosion attack, using his offensive attack in a defensive manner as he tried to fight back against all three Riders. The three Rider Kicks struck the barrier, causing another shockwave to erupt in the air as the two opposing forces battled each other.
The Phantoms and the Coven Scouts watched on in both worry and anticipation as they watched, for the first time, how this monster was struggling against the power of three Riders working together to defeat its evil once and for all.
"GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" Witch yelled.
The burning effect of Bast's magic was taking effect as the energy field around Nuckelavee was quickly diminishing by the second. The three Riders pooled their magic together, creating burst magical energy that broke through the explosive energy field. In a flash of light, Witch, Crusader, and Heka appeared on the other side of Nuckelavee, as three holes were blasted through his chest. The heroes came to a skidding stop just as Nuckelavee released his death roars before exploding thunderously behind them, casting the Riders in shadow as Witch's visor, Crusader's eyes, and Heka's eyes glowed brightly.
Witch, Crusader, and Heka panted from exhaustion. Crusader went down on one knee, making the other two Riders look at him with worry.
"Hey, Hunter, are you alright?" Witch asked, concerned.
"Y-Yeah…Yeah…First time using this, not used to it yet," said Crusader.
Heka glanced over her shoulder, gazing at the smoldering crater that was once Nuckelavee and smiled. "It's over, finally."
Witch looked at the Phantoms, all of whom were still standing. "Not yet." Witch turned around to face the Phantoms and asked, "So, Nuckelavee's defeated. We've all been through a lot, kind of a hectic day. So, why don't we all just take a day to relax, refocus, and then we can start the whole Riders vs. Phantoms fight the day after? 'Kay?"
Ifrit looked at Barbatos and Set and said, "Not gonna lie, that kind of sounds good. Especially after fighting that demonic Phantom from hell."
Barbatos and Set glanced at each other.
"Hmm, well, that would be prudent as we're all on our last legs, so to speak," said Set.
"Some, more than others," said Barbatos as he eyed the Riders.
Witch sighed disappointedly. "Great, thought we could at least agree to take a break…"
Heka turned around, brandishing her MaguScepter, ready for battle yet again. "Trust a Phantom to kick you when you're down."
"Hey, I resent that – oh who am I kidding, I totally would do the same thing," said Bast.
"Guilty," La Lechuza remarked.
Crusader managed to get back to his feet and readied the Hornbill Drill. "You really think that's a good idea? Just like Nuckelavee, you don't know what else I have up my sleeve. Do you really want to gamble your lives like that?"
"Please don't…Because I want to take your lives!"
The voice of Nuckelavee echoed all around, and shortly after hearing it, his roar could be heard yet again. Accompanying that roar was the powerful yet paralyzing Absolute Terror Field. The fear was instilled into every Coven Scout assembled there, for the Phantom Generals, it felt as if a great oppressive force had been thrust upon the entire area. Thankfully, La Lechuza and Bast were already at work using their mana to counteract the power of Nuckelavee, and it seemed as if Crusader's artificial magi-stone was emitting some sort of energy field that did the same.
"This isn't possible! We destroyed him," said Crusader.
The Riders and Phantoms were desperately searching the area, looking everywhere to try and find Nuckelavee's location. But it had to be a trick of some kind, everyone saw the Riders blast right through him with their Rider Kicks. Suddenly, two arms broke free from the dirt and grabbed onto Ahuizotl's legs.
"¡¿Qué es esto?! AAAAAAHHHH!"
Ahuizotl was mercilessly dragged underground, and not a moment later, his screams were silenced.
"AHUIZOTL!" Ifrit yelled. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE!"
Ifrit set his entire body ablaze with raging flames. He continued to gather more and more of his magical energy, making the flames burn hotter and brighter with each passing second.
"Oh no…TAKE COVER!" Barbatos warned.
Witch, Crusader, and Heka hurried to where the Scouts were. Heka raised her MaguScepter and created a barrier around them. While Witch's Talons and Head owl parts disassembled, allowing her to grab her Defend ring and put it on. At the same time, Crusader took off the Hornbill Drill ring and replaced it with another ring.
[Defend, Please.]
[Falcon Shield Wing, Now.]
The Hornbill Drill disappeared, and in its place appeared a silver and blue falcon that flew around and merged with the left side of Crusader's back. Creating a metal wing with blue hard-light feathers. The Falcon Shield Wing immediately cast a transparent blue shield around the Riders and the Scouts. Another shield layer formed; this time aurora colored to match the multiple powers of Witch's form. Barbatos stood next to Set as he created a chaos energy filed that lifted them into the air and doubled as a barrier.
Once fully charged, Ifrit summoned all the power he had built up into his right fist and struck the earth with it. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground, and in the next moment, a massive explosion of fiery fury engulfed everything for several yards in either direction. Witch, Heka, and Crusader grunted as they bore the full brunt of Ifrit's attack, their barriers shuttering from withstanding such an intense attack. It was no longer than a minute, but the roaring flames, intense heat, and shaking ground and air made it feel like it was much longer than that.
After that long minute, Ifrit finally ended his attack. The flaming Phantom panted and growled as he looked upon the totality of the destruction he had caused. The entire area had been reduced to a smoldering crater; what parts weren't destroyed in the initial blast were now molten slag that was pooling in different areas. Ifrit had completely changed the landscape in just one minute, with one attack.
The Riders and Coven Scouts were speechless upon seeing the power of Ifrit. Witch remembered when she battled Typhon, how he created a tornado that he said would encompass the entire island.
If Ifrit did this with just one attack, then Typhon really could've destroyed everything on the island. If that's how powerful he was…how powerful are Set and Tiamat? Witch thought.
Ifrit looked around, flashed a smile and bearing his fanged teeth in victory. "AH-HA! TAKE THAT YOU–!"
A black and green arm burst through the ground and speared right through Ifrit's chest. The ground before Ifrit cracked and then burst apart as Nuckelavee rose from it like the undead and grinned maliciously at his newest catch.
"I'm going to enjoy having your power!"
"But…How…? How did you survive…?!"
"The Phantom, Doppelganger, grants me the power to create an exact duplicate of myself. And the Phantom, Gnome, grants me power over the earth. Before I broke out of your little spell, I shattered the bottom and escaped into the underground, but not before creating a clone."
"So, what we destroyed was a nothing but clone?!" Crusader exclaimed.
Nuckelavee opened his mouth unnaturally wide, everyone, aside from the Phantoms, averted their gazes as they heard Nuckelavee chomp down on Ifrit. When they opened their eyes again, all they saw was Ifrit's dispersed particles, which were now getting sucked in by Nuckelavee, further empowering the Cannibal Phantom. Nuckelavee turned its head in a very jerky motion and looked directly at the barrier that contained the Riders and Scouts. He smiled wickedly at them, balled up his right fist, and punched the air in their direction, unleashing a huge fireball that crashed into their barrier and exploded.
When the barrier fell, Nuckelavee only chuckled as he noticed that everyone was gone. The Cannibal Phantom looked up and saw that Set and Barbatos had left the battlefield as well.
"Heh-heh, ahahaha…AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!"
They had failed, utterly, and completely failed.
Witch had used the Connect ring to teleport the Scouts back to the castle, along with Hunter. Lastly, she transported herself and Heka to the Owl House, where they collapsed onto the living room floor and transformed back into their civilian forms. Gus, Willow, Emira, Edric, Eda, King, and Hooty were all assembled in the Owl House, anxiously awaiting their return, but when they saw their condition, their worry only grew.
"Mittens!" Edric and Emira called out.
"Luz!" Eda, King, Gus, and Willow exclaimed.
"Hoot!" Hooty…hooted.
Edric and Emira got down on their knees next to Amity and helped her up, while the others did the same for Luz.
"What happened?" Edric asked.
"Did you guys do it? Did you beat that monster?!" King asked.
Luz and Amity glanced at each other, with faces full of disappointment.
Eda noticed those looks. "How bad?"
"He…He managed to devour two more generals," said Amity.
"Even the Golden Guard turned into a Kamen Rider! We thought we destroyed Nuckelavee, but he was just toying with us! He tricked us into defeating a clone!" Luz balled up her fist and struck the floor. "And now he's even stronger than he was before!"
"Hey, kiddo, it'll be alright, we'll find a way to beat him," said Eda as she placed her hand on Luz's shoulder.
"Yeah, Kamen Riders always find a way to beat the bad guy," said Gus.
"For now, you two should rest up and get your strength back," Willow suggested.
Luz glanced over at Amity, who nodded her head in agreement. She hated this; Luz didn't like knowing that such a powerful Phantom was out there, about to wreak havoc on the Boiling Isles. And what's worse, he was just toying with them the whole time. Nuckelavee probably could destroy them at any time, but he didn't. What was that monster after? Who was he after? And what kind of being was it before it gained this power to make it derive such pleasure in the evil it committed?
"…I guess we have no choice."
"Okay. Ed, Em, let's head home before Mom wonders where we are," said Amity.
"Whoa, Am, you should rest up here for a few minutes before we do that, you look a little messed up with those bruises and scrapes. Oh, wait!" Emira drew a spell circle, clapped her hands together, and expanded the circle as she had her hands hover over Amity.
A thin blue aura outlined Amity's body, and when it did, some the aches and pains she was feeling were starting to ebb away.
"Emira, is this – are you using Healing magic?" Amity asked.
"Y-Yeah. Viney taught me a little here and there, and, you know, after everything that's gone on, I thought it might be good to know a few healing spells just in case, ya know," said Emira as she blushed a little.
Edric smirked as he lightly nudged his sister.
"I'll heal you too, Luz. Just give me a sec to finish up with Amity."
Luz shook her head as she got up to kneel. "No, no, take your time with Amity. I'm used to this. I can wait a bit. Ugh…just gonna lay out on the couch."
Eda sighed as she walked over to help Luz. "I'll help you to the couch. Older Blight kids, help your sister to the other couch and continue doing what you're doing there. Specs, Goops, go to the kitchen and find us some sugary snacks, they're gonna need 'em."
Tiamat, along with Set and Barbatos, were standing in the throne room of Emperor Belos, at the same time, the Golden Guard was kneeling before Belos who sat upon his throne.
"Forgive me, my Emperor, you made the Arcane Driver to aid in the defeat of Nuckelavee…but…I failed," said the Golden Guard with deep regret.
"No, my Golden Guard, you did not fail me. Our opponent is much craftier than we initially gave it credit for. We all underestimated Nuckelavee's abilities, no one could've predicted that that monstrosity would be able to duplicate itself, or break free of the Dark Casket spell," said Belos.
"I promise, I will not destroy that monster!" The Golden Guard stated.
Belos nodded to the young witch boy and said, "We will, but for now, go to the infirmary and have yourself healed up, and once you're done with that. I want you to go to Blight Industries and have them speed up production of the Abomatons."
"My Emperor?"
"At this point I think they'll be useless against creature, but at the very least they can serve as a means to slow him down. Have all the Police Precincts equipped with them."
The Golden Guard bowed one last time to Belos and swiftly exited the room.
Now alone, Tiamat glared at Belos and asked, "So, how long were you going to keep the fact that your lieutenant was a Kamen Rider?"
"I felt it best kept a secret. We don't know what else Nuckelavee can do, and I thought it would help to have a trump card we could play should the opportunity arise. And from what I heard, clearly, it would've worked if not for that monster's trickery," said Belos.
"Clearly," said Barbatos. "He was caught off guard by your Rider's abilities, but that won't happen a second time. The element of surprise is no longer on our side anymore, in fact, I doubt it ever was. Nuckelavee has consumed many Inner Phantoms and taken their powers as his own. Who knows what else that beast can do."
Set rubbed his chin as he hummed in thought. "Indeed, this makes our planning all the more difficult. So far, he has Mothman's eye beams, Basilisk's petrification beam, Typhon's wind powers, Cerberus' flames, Orthros' beast powers, Asura's multi arm and weapon creation, Barbatos' strength and speed, he can use lightning, create explosions, extend his limbs, create a field of terror so strong it paralyzes its victims, has Kali's time and destruction powers, can create doubles, can dig underground, regeneration, and now he has Ifrit's and Ahuizotl's powers. And that's just what we know."
Tiamat pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "And, because he devoured them, Nuckelavee is now twice as powerful as he was before. We need to neutralize his powers first, before we even attempt to destroy him, otherwise he could just use another ability we don't know of and survive again."
Belos chuckled at that suggestion.
"And what do you find funny about this?" Tiamat asked.
"You want to find a way to neutralize another Phantom's abilities. We must truly be in a desperate situation if you're thinking of that. Because correct me if I'm wrong, but if we manage to create such a device, wouldn't that mean we could theoretically neutralize all of your powers?"
Tiamat growled. She knew what she said, and yes, she knew that the creation of such a device would inevitably be used on them. But at this rate, Nuckelavee was going to become strong enough to attack her directly, and if that happened, then nothing in this world could stop him. As much as she wanted to go out there and use her power to crush this abomination, she had to keep herself hidden or run the risk of dooming everything.
"Anything else we should know that you're keeping secret from us?" Tiamat asked, indignantly.
"Ah, Ah, now that would be telling, Tiamat."
The news was reporting more attacks by Nuckelavee, some were reporting attacks in Palm Stings, and various other locations. For some reason, Nuckelavee hadn't attacked Bonesborough since it last appeared at Hexside. If anything, this was frustrating for Luz, it was as if Nuckelavee was saving them for last, or rather, allowing them to watch his mayhem.
Two days had passed, since their failure to destroy Nuckelavee, and in response to this, a large amount of Abomatons had been created to help in the defense of the different towns and cities on the Boiling Isles. Because of this, Amity had not been around as much, mostly because her family has been busy with the work order that Emperor Belos put in for the mechanized Abominations, and so it was kind of all hands on deck to make them.
Luz understood, but in the meantime, she was training as much as she could, and as hard as she could. She was angry. This Phantom was running wild all over the place, hurting people, making her watch helplessly at the sidelines, letting them know that it could easily come and destroy them, but chose not to. Why? Out of pity? Or was it some sick game?
"I swear I will defeat Nuckelavee!" Luz declared as she kicked the air.
"And we will, Niña. But quell your temper. The last time you got this riled up, our magic tends to…change. And not in a way that I like."
Luz struck the air with her palm as she took a deep breath. "I know…I know. It's just…I can't stand it. If I go and fight Nuckelavee, I know he'll kill me…and if I don't do anything, he'll just keep hurting people!"
"I understand that we are between a rock and hard place, but cooler heads need to prevail. Perhaps we need to look at this from a different angle?"
Luz kept striking the air with her palms, and throwing kicks, each one was faster and harder than the last, and with each thrown strike and kick, sweat flew off her body. Her brow furrowed and her teeth gritted as she continued her martial training, she did not want to use her mana, believing it better to save it up until the day she needed to face Nuckelavee again.
"I can't think of another angle to attack him from, other than straight forward. The only other way we could beat him is to fight him so hard that we force him to use all of his abilities and have someone keep track of all of them. And we retreat and analyze what we found out," said Luz.
"Well, that does sound like a viable option. Dangerous, but viable. If we can map out all of Nuckelavee's powers, then there would be no more surprises he could throw at us. And we can better counter his abilities if we knew already what he could do."
Luz struck with a left elbow thrust, into a palm heel thrust, and finished her combo with a spinning knife hand chop. The Latina panted from her exhaustive workout, walking over to a rock where she had placed a towel, and using it to wipe off the sweat.
"As cliché as it might be, another blitz attack might work. If we throw so many attacks at him, one after the other, he'll have to use all the different powers he has. We already know about some of them already, so we can anticipate those. Maybe I should run it by Amity? See what she thinks?"
"Why not? That girl has a good head on her shoulders. Though you may want to wash up before seeing her. Pretty sure you'll make the poor girl faint if you went to her like this."
Luz blushed. "Lala, I'm beginning to suspect you get some kind of enjoyment out of this."
"Oh, me? Never. What ever gave you the idea that I enjoy your little awkward blushes and occasional stray thought about and around Amity Blight?"
Luz's blush deepened. "Wait, what do you mean by 'stray thought'?! What thoughts have you seen in my head?!"
Luz could hear the lilting hoots of La Lechuza laughing. "Ay, mi Niña. Es mucho más divertido dejarte adivinando (Ah, my little girl. It's much more fun to leave you guessing)."
"For the record, I have never had any 'stray thoughts' about Amity! I've only had pure and G rated thoughts about my girlfriend!" Luz stated vehemently.
"Thou dost protest too much, Niña~"
"AAAUUGH! I'm going to go take a shower!" Luz announced as she stomped away towards the Owl House.
"Good idea, perhaps a cold shower would be best."
"LALA!"
"Well, you did work up a sweat, and I'm sure you're hot. A cold shower will help you cool down."
Luz blinked. "Oh…yeah. You're right. Sorry."
Luz walked into the Owl House and made it halfway up the stairs before La Lechuza added, "But I also meant it would–"
"LALALALALALA! I can't hear you! LALALALALA! I'm not thinking those thoughts! LALALALA," said Luz as she plugged her ears and disappeared into the bathroom.
Amity wiped her brow as she walked out of the factory of Blight Industries. As the only other member of the family who could use Abomination magic, Amity was sometimes asked to help her father with some of his work. And thanks to the power boost she received from Bast, her magic was that much stronger that she could contribute more to the workload. The Emperor's workorder for more Abomatons was good for their business, but at the same time it was just a testament to how bad the situation was. With no real way to defeat Nuckelavee at the moment, all they could do was use these kind of stopgap measures. The youngest of the Blight family knew that Abomatons would more than likely fail at stopping that monster, but she supposed that was not their main use. Most likely, they would slow Nuckelavee down, if that.
I guess that's all we can do, slow him down, thought Amity.
"At the very least it provides us time."
Time, we don't have, Bast. Nuckelavee could be out there devouring more Inner Phantoms, adding to his powers while we're here trying to come up with a strategy to defeat him. Even if we figure out all of his powers, by the time we fight him again, he could've added more. It would just be a vicious cycle, and who knows how much longer he'll indulge us.
That was one thing that neither she nor Bast could figure out. It seemed almost as if Nuckelavee wanted to let them all live, like he really was toying with them. Amity noticed that Nuckelavee had attacked other places around the Boiling Isles but left Bonesborough alone. Not since the last attack at Hexside have they seen any sign of him. Thankfully they managed to beef up the security around the town with more Abomatons, but again, the only real defense they had was the Kamen Riders.
But even then, hope in the Riders was fading. She heard in the factory amongst the other workers. Fear was a great motivator for them, it made them work faster and harder because they were putting all their hopes on the fact that more Abomatons meant they'd be safe. It was not long ago that people put their hopes and faith in the Riders to save them from Phantoms, but after two back-to-back failures, and Nuckelavee's trail of destruction, she couldn't blame them for feeling that way.
"It figures I finally gain enough power to fight as an equal with Luz, and now neither one of us is strong enough to defeat a monster when we really need to," said Amity to herself.
"Well, look who decided to come and visit you."
Amity looked up as she walked out of the factory, and that's when she saw Luz waiting for her at the gate. "Luz!"
"Hey, Amity!" Luz called out cheerfully.
The witch girl ran to Luz and hugged her fiercely, to which Luz hugged her back.
"I'm so sorry I haven't been able to talk to you or come to see you. We've been busy with the Emperor's workorder for more Abomatons," said Amity.
"I'm not mad, I understand you have to help your family. Do you have time to talk right now, though?" Luz asked.
Amity smiled and replied, "Of course, actually I'd love to."
"Cool!" Luz stood on Amity's left and intertwined their hands together. "I figured we'd just walk around for a bit, it's a nice day out, despite everything."
"Lead the way."
The two lovers began walk through the woods, just enjoying the serenity of nature. Not knowing that Edric and Emira were watching them from behind the trees. They were worried about their little sister and Luz and decided to keep a safe distance from them to give their favorite couple some privacy.
"You doing alright?" Amity asked.
Luz sighed. "Not really…I hate what's happening. And I hate feeling so powerless against Nuckelavee."
"We'll figure out a way to beat him, you're the one who showed me that Kamen Riders don't give up," said Amity with confidence.
Amity could feel Luz grip her hand a little tighter, her silent way of saying she was anxious about everything. They continued to walk through the forest, not really realizing where they were going until they ended up at their tree. Amity looked up at it, a great tree that was born of their combined power, the very power that allowed them to conquer their fears and defeat Grom. Although she did not know it at the time, or maybe she did, some small part in her mind anyway, but this tree would come to symbolize their love. It's thick, strong trunk and winding branches reaching towards the sky, with blooming pink petals that seemed to give off their own iridescent glow. Amity couldn't help but blush when she looked upon this tree, but when she looked over at Luz, figuring it would invoke the same feelings, the expression was different.
Luz's face was kind of unreadable, Amity was not sure if it was anger, annoyance, forlornness, or something else.
"This was the place where we were crowned Grom Queens," said Luz.
"Yeah, it is." Amity still kept her smile as she recounted that night. "I still feel my heart beating fast every time I think back to that night. The way we held each other close as we danced, the way you used those glyph papers like a fan and gave me that look from behind them. And falling into your arms as we finished the dance and defeated Grom. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I'll never forget it, Luz."
"I've experienced so many things since I've come to the Boiling Isles. So many crazy, scary, and wonderful things." Luz let go of Amity's hand as she took a few steps forward. "But out of all those things, that night was probably the beginning of something else for me." Luz turned her head as she said, "It was a night that I realized that I'm not brave."
"Luz…"
"I'm scared, Amity. When I got these powers, I didn't think I needed to be afraid anymore. But now with the portal gone, cut off from my world, and with a monster I can't beat, there's no way for me to escape!" Luz admitted.
Amity raised an eyebrow. "Luz…what do you mean?"
Luz began to chuckle as an almost crazed look appeared in her eyes. "Don't you get it?! I can't escape! I wanted to come here to live a fantasy, Amity! I wanted to become a witch, to have the kind of life I never could have back in the Human Realm! I even got the biggest bully in school to fall madly in love with me over a little sob story!"
"Luz, why are you saying that? What do you mean, sob story?!" Amity asked.
Luz placed her left hand against her forehead as she shook it back and forth in disbelief. "Don't you get it?! I made that whole Zoe crap up! Do you really think I'm so desperate that I'll date some wannabe goth girl with mommy issues? You're cute, very cute, and I'll give you that. And the best witch in school. So, I thought, 'Why not go for her?' I mean, worst-case scenario, I could always make Willow my GF. That girl was so desperate for affection and kindness from anyone that I bet I could've gotten her do anything I wanted."
"LUZ! That's enough!" Amity rushed up to her girlfriend and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I understand you're scared! I understand that this is probably too much for you! But you don't have to say these things to make me hate you! I know what you're trying to do, you're trying to push me away so that you can go and do something dangerous like sacrificing your life! Right?! Well, I'm not going to let that happen! I won't let you–!"
Amity suddenly felt a sharp stinging pain from her left cheek as her head turned to the right. Her eyes were wide open with shock and disbelief as she slowly turned her head and looked at Luz, whose right hand was still raised.
"Luz…w-w-why did you hit me…?"
"Ugh, you're such a whiny little witch! How pathetic are you that you lost all your damn backbone, all that bravado, just to simp for a human girl like me! You were more appealing when you were being a queen bee bitch, but now, ugh, you disgust me," said Luz with venom in her voice.
Amity shook her head. "Y-Y-You don't mean that…right? Luz, this is just part of some mind game to make me hate you, right?"
Luz lowered her right hand, but then swiftly slapped Amity in the face again with her left hand, successfully sending the lilac haired witch to ground.
"I'm doomed no matter what, Am. So, no more pretending to be the goody-goody, positive spirited girl that everyone feels pity for. If I'm going to die because of some monster, then I'm just going to act the way I want!" Luz declared.
Amity was on the ground, still stunned by what she was hearing. This had to be a bad dream, it just had to. But the pain radiating from her face told her different. This was not a dream, this was reality. Amity managed to sit up a bit as she looked up at Luz with tears in her eyes.
"Tch, I'm going to get all I can out of you before that monster comes and finally kills me. Since I lost my only way back home, I guess I should live up my last days here, right?!" Luz asked rhetorically as she reached out towards Amity.
But before Luz could touch her, she was slapped in the face by an enraged Emira with a blow strong enough to send Luz flying onto her back.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY LITTLE SISTER!" Emira roared.
Edric ran up behind her and dropped down to his knees beside Amity, holding her close to him. "It's alright, Mittens, we're here."
"Ed…Em…"
Luz got up and wiped her mouth of some blood that was trickling out. "Oh, look, it's Amity's older, but much hotter siblings. I so wished I hit on either of you when we first met. I should've let you plaster the school with Amity's diary. What do you say Em, Ed? Wanna have the chance to go out with a human? Even if it's just for a short time before we all get killed? "
"As if I'd ever let you near me or my sisters after what you just did! How could you do this to her?!" Edric questioned.
Luz dusted herself off. "Oh Ed, so cute, so hot, yet so dumb. Same for you Em, but between you and Amity, you're a little smarter when it comes to these sorts of things. I mean, c'mon, I'm sure you've teased a few girls. Led them on? Tossed them aside when you were done having your fun with them."
"Don't you dare compare me to you! You human trash! I can't believe I entrusted my baby sister to you!" Emira walked over to Amity and knelt beside her. "Don't you ever come near us again."
Luz looked like she was about to say something, but stopped to glance slightly to her right, towards the forest. "Ah, good, she's almost here."
"What did you say?" Edric asked.
"It was so much fun seeing that look of despair, betrayal, and fear in your eyes. Much better than that look you had when I tore up that piece of paper in front of you," said Luz.
Amity's mind suddenly kicked back into proper working fashion, shock dissipating as those words rang in her mind. "Wait…what do you mean? What paper? You didn't tear up any paper in front of me. The only one who did was…no."
Luz smiled, but then it turned into an unnaturally wide and fanged smile as her eyes glowed bright red.
"EDIRC, EMIRA, GET DOWN!" Amity yelled as she summoned her staff and spun it about, creating a large spell circle, and conjuring a huge abomination bubble.
Luz's eyes fired two powerful beams of crimson light that exploded against the shield of goo, ripping it apart and throwing Amity and the twins to the ground.
Luz was making her way to Blight Industries, she figured Amity might be over there helping so it was a safer bet than heading to her girlfriend's house. However, the moment she heard a huge explosion, her route detoured towards it. Luz ran through the woods, spotting the cloud of smoke that rose high over the treetops, giving her an idea of where to go. The Latina burst through the foliage and that's when she gasped.
On the ground was Amity, Edric, and Emira. All three Blight siblings were scratched up from the debris that rushed past them due to the explosion and covered some bruises from some of the same debris hitting their bodies. Amity was in the middle, with her staff lying next to her, unconscious.
"AMITY!" Luz yelled as she ran to her girlfriend and skidded to a stop before her, bringing the lilac haired witch into her arms. "Amity! ¡Amity, por favor dime que estás bien! Amity, por favor háblame! (Amity, please tell me you're okay! Amity, please talk to me!) AMITY?!"
"Heh-heh-heh, aww, did your girlfriend get a boo-boo?"
Luz heard her voice, but it was distorted, and somewhat demonic sounding. She looked around, trying to spot the originator of that voice, but couldn't see anyone.
"Up here, genius."
Luz looked up and saw, well, herself, standing on one of the branches of the tree that she and Amity made. "W-What is this?! Y-You're me!"
"Not exactly." Other Luz jumped down from the tree branch and landed on the ground with ease. "I'm someone else, someone you know very well, and have been trying to destroy for a bit now."
Luz's gaze narrowed with anger. "Nuckelavee!"
"Correct! But here's the bonus round! Can you finally guess who I am? Think about it now, there's a reason why we're here, why she's here, and why my powers cause fear," said Nuckelavee.
Luz didn't understand, what was the significance in this spot? This was the spot where she and Amity were crowned Grom Queen, where they danced together. But…wait, why would Nuckelavee know about this spot? His powers cause paralyzing fear…
"Oh, mi Titán (Oh, my Titan)…no…y-you can't be him!" Luz stated.
Nuckelavee's unnaturally big smile appeared on the face of his Luz form. "Yes, Luz, I am…" The other Luz's body turned into black sludge, the sludge grew bigger and bigger until it was a mass of dark sludge, growing multiple legs, and jaws that smiled widely at her. It was at this time she realized who and what this creature was. "Grometheus the Fear Bringer. Or, as you affectionately call me, Grom!"