Vee returned to the house and dug up a cat eared beanie cap and big glasses in order to hide her eyes and ears. The young demon girl was nervous about this whole thing. She was only half transformed, if someone saw that she wasn't the real Luz Noceda, that would be it, no more hiding, and goodbye to what small semblance of a life she was starting to create. Even if it was one taken from someone else's identity.

The young demon girl made her way into town on foot and arrived in downtown Gravesfield. Along the way, Luz informed Vee about everything that had happened since the basilisk left the Boiling Isles. The appearance of the Phantoms, the attack on the Boiling Isles citizens, and Luz's eventually ascension to becoming a Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Witch.

"Wow…Sounds like I left the Boiling Isles at a good time," said Vee.

"Yeah, things were chaotic for a bit, but all the Phantoms are gone, and no one's getting attacked anymore," said Luz.

"But of course, there's still the Belos problem," La Lechuza remarked.

"Yeeeah…he's still a problem."

Vee shuttered at the mention of the emperor's name. "Yeah, that's more than enough reason for me not to go back. Still, I can't believe you've been through all that. Weren't you scared?"

Luz rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Well, yeah. Plenty scared. But I was more scared about what would happen to Eda, Gus, King, Willow, Amity, and everyone else around me. I had the power to fight and protect people against the Phantoms, so, I did it, because that's what Kamen Riders do. They save people."

The young basilisk glanced to the side as she muttered, "I could've used one a long time ago…" Vee sighed and looked back at the compact mirror. "Mom – uh – I mean, Camila's going to be worried when she finds out about what all you've been through. Are you sure you shouldn't tell her what's going on?"

"Vee, this'll work. So long as you're there taking my place, Mom won't worry. You get a place to stay, away from Belos and the Demon Realm, and in the meantime, I'll keep trying to find a way to get back. Trust me, it's better this way."

"Not sure how much I agree with that, but if we can avoid undue stress to your mother, it sounds like a good idea. At least in theory," La Lechuza remarked.

Vee kept walking along until she found the coffee shop that Eda had been sighted at, Robin's Roast Coffee. "I-I just go in and ask about that witch from the paper. Right?"

"Yes. Maybe they still have one of her enchanted pastries. Ah! Vee! Ears! Ears!"

Vee's ears reflexively began to rise, but when Luz pointed them out, she quickly pushed them back down and hurried to the café. Once she entered, Vee began to sniff the air. She had the ability to smell magic, to her it gave off its own unique scent, and right now she was picking up on some trace amounts of magic. Although it was very faint.

"Hello." Vee jumped a bit but calmed down when she saw that it was just the barista. "What can I get ya?"

Vee walked up to the counter and asked, "Uh, have any, um, magical old ladies left enchanted items here?"

"Ugh," the barista groaned, "You're not friends with that witch-obsessed guy, right? I told him to stop leaving pamphlets here."

Vee looked up and pointed to a picture of Eda as she said, "Actually, I'm asking about her."

The barista turned around and looked up at their "Banned for Life" wall. "Oh, Marilyn? Yeah, she tried to pay for a latte with a live racoon a couple months ago. But when I called the cops, she did something weird to the croissants. We threw 'em in the trash, but, well, hmm, now we have a whole new problem."

"Ah, classic Eda," Luz whispered.

"Again, her mischief knows no dimensional limits," La Lechuza commented.

"Thank you."

Vee headed out to the back of the store and entered an alleyway. The young demon kept sniffing the air but was not picking up on much magic. "I don't smell any magic."

Just then, Luz, Vee, and La Lechuza heard a rustling sound coming from the trash cans and carboard boxes. That's when they saw a couple of rats coming out, and all of them had red glowing eyes. When they appeared, the rats spoke in unison.

"Bread of wisdom grants us speech. We desire more!"

"Huh, that's a little unsettling. And I'm strangely hungry for some voles right now," said La Lechuza.

"Cool! Talking rats. Maybe they know something."

The rats hissed at Vee in a threatening manner.

"Nope!" Vee exclaimed as she ran out of the alley. She didn't stop until she got into the middle of the park and looked back to see if the rats were chasing her. Thankfully, they didn't.

Luz noticed that Vee was scared and was shaking a bit. "Vee, is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah!" Vee chuckled nervously. "I, uh, just – oh, don't like confrontation."

"Oh, well, that's okay. I'm sure there's someone else who's seen Eda." Luz looked over Vee's shoulder and gasped. "There, look!"

Across the way, Vee saw three teens sitting under a tree, just hanging out. One was husky, had short brown, spikey hair, square framed glasses, freckles, a pair of torn jean shorts, and a horizontal striped t-shirt. The second was a dark-skinned boy with a purple t-shirt and cargo pants. The last one looked female but identified as non-binary. They wore a gothic dress, around the collar, neck, and arms was mauve colored, with baggy sleeves, from the chest down was back, with the skirt stopping just past her knees, and at the center of the dress was a white bow. They also had short black hair, brown eyes, and a small gap in the middle of their upper teeth.

"There, in her hands! Those are Hexes Hold 'Em cards! Eda said she kicked the game, but I always wondered what she did with those cards," said Luz.

"Sounds about right. The Demon Realm seems to get a lot of junk from this world washing up on its shores, and Eda puts hers here," the Owl Phantom commented.

Vee took a quick sniff in that direction, but afterwards her face scrunched up in disappointment. "Well, they must've run out of magic. I don't smell anything."

Luz snapped her fingers. "Shoot. But maybe we can find out where they got them." The Latina put on a serious expression as she looked at Vee. "Okay, we got to be careful approaching high schoolers. Be aware of your surroundings–"

Vee chuckled at how serious Luz sounded right now. "Actually, these guys are cool." The demon girl glanced at the high schooler in the gothic dress. "Some a little more than others."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Before either Luz or La Lechuza could inquire further, Vee was already heading straight towards the trio of teens. And as they approached, they were able to hear a bit more of their conversation.

"A past connection that left its mark on your soul has shown up again and is asking you to shed your old ways and enter a metamorphosis, by becoming the spiritual leader you're meant to be," they said.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," said the boy.

"Hello," Vee greeted.

Luz turned away and closed her eyes, unable to watch what was going to happen to Vee, which was usually the things that happened to herself in this situation. "Oh. She's gonna embarrass herself. I can't watch."

La Lechuza kept watching and then deadpanned at what she saw. The great Owl Phantom tapped her partner with her left wing and said, "Oi, Niña, better open your eyes and take a look."

"Oh, hey, Luz! Good to see you outside of prison," they said.

Vee chuckled at the comparison of their camp to a prison. "Come on. Camp wasn't that bad. We did have the best cabin."

"Camp? Cabin?"

"Cabin seven! Hoo-ha-ha!"
"Cabin seven! Hoo-ha-ha!"
"Cabin seven! Hoo-ha-ha!"
"Cabin seven! Hoo-ha-ha!"

After their little chant, the goth gave Vee a little half-lidded glance. "It was the best for other reasons, too."

"M-Masha," Vee squeaked as she blushed.

"Heh, summer romances," said the boy.

"I still got money on you two that you'll last at least six months, so try not to have any big fights until after that," said the girl.

Luz's eyes widened. "What…?"

"Heh-hahahahaha! Oh, oh my! She's – and you're – Amity – and this girl – who looks like you – Ahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Masha glanced around as they asked, "Do you hear someone laughing?"

"Uh! N-No! Um. Hey, those cards are cool, Masha. Where'd you get 'em?" Vee asked in an attempt to distract from the Phantom's laughter.

Masha picked up one of the cards and gave their girlfriend a mysterious look. "Oh, wait a minute my lovely. Before all that, let me give you a reading first. I wanna practice."

"O-Oh, okay, go ahead," said Vee.

Masha placed three cards on the ground before Vee, using the Hexes Hold 'Em cards as tarot cards. The first was a crescent moon with a face silhouetted in it. The second was that of a skeleton with a crown on its head and holding a goblet. The third was that of a fish-like creature with three spears piercing through it.

Luz looked closely at the cards, and so did La Lechuza.

Masha hovered her right hand over the cards as she spoke, "You're running from your past. From a previous life that was not kind to you."

The mirror began shaking, and both Luz and La Lechuza realized that Vee's hands were trembling.

Is Vee trembling? Luz thought.

"However, the guilt and fear you carry, will eventually catch you in a self-fulfilling prophecy that you won't be able to escape from," Masha finished.

Vee made a low squeal of fear.

"You're gonna need some bath bombs, girl. Anyway, I got the cards over at the Gravesfield Historical Society," said Masha as she threw a thumb over her shoulder and towards a building in the distance.

Vee, in a dower mood, got up and said, "Thanks, I'll see you around…"

Masha noticed the tone in Vee's voice and quickly got up as they grabbed ahold of Vee's wrist. "Hey, hey, Luz. Don't look so down. It's just some reading. You don't need to take it literally."

"N-No, I'm fine," Vee assured her.

"You sure? I don't like seeing you upset," said Masha.

Vee turned around and gave her partner a gentle smile. "I'm sure. I'll text you later, okay?"

Masha still looked unsure but decided not to push the subject and accepted their girlfriend's word. "By the way, babe, loving those contacts you got on. They make you look cuter. Tell me where you got them, and we can match up."

Vee blushed and smiled up at Masha before heading to the Historical Society building. Along the way, Vee turned the compact around to look at Luz.

"Sooooo…you have a girlfriend. A girlfriend who seems to like me."

Vee rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oh…well…it just sort of happened while at camp. Callum and Angie were great, but Masha, having them in that cabin just made things right. They got something of a dark sense of humor, but in their own way, they look out for others and cares about the people their close to. And, well, before I knew it, we just hit it off. I…I'm sorry, I don't know if you were into girls initially, but…oh…How bad did I mess things up for you?"

Luz glanced over at her Phantom companion who was cackling like a hyena. "I'm glad to see you're enjoying this."

"And can you blame me?! You were so oblivious to Amity's feelings of attraction and when you finally realized how you felt, you freaked out to such a degree that you burned down the tunnel of love and nearly ended your relationship before it began," said La Lechuza between snickers.

Luz rolled her eyes. "Anyway, don't worry about it, Vee. Just be careful who you let know about your orientation around there, especially Zoe."

"Oh, yeah, I've met her. And I generally try to stay away from her. She gives me this look I really don't understand, like she knows something. And it unnerves me a bit," Vee confessed.

Now it was Luz who had the dower expression. "She blackmailed me once. I accidentally confessed to Zoe, thinking she was into girls, but…I horribly misread her signals and…long story short…I became her gofer for a while before she promised not to tell anyone my orientation. Everyone already saw me as the 'weird girl', the last thing I needed was that kind of heat…Glad to see that we both found someone who accepts us."

Vee entered the Historical Society building, and once inside, she began sniffing the air again. But unfortunately, all she managed to do was take in a big whiff of dust which made her sneeze.

"Achoo!"

"Is it that dusty in here?"

Vee watched as a man in his late twenties, early thirties, walked towards her. He had a push broom in hand, wore a sienna-colored jacket, a dark brown vest, army green t-shirt, navy blue jeans, sneakers, and square framed glasses. He had dark green eyes, slicked back brown hair, and a small goatee on his chin. The name on his tag read, "Jacob".

"Let me guess. You're here to buy those weird cards, right?" Jacob asked.

"How did you know?" Vee asked.

Jacob put down the broom and walked behind the counter. "Well, they've been really popular with high schoolers. I saw an old lady try to dump 'em in a river awhile back but I bought 'em off her instead. It was really odd though. She kept asking for 'snails'."

Luz perked up upon hearing this news. "This is it!"

"Want a set?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Vee answered.

"Well, I'll be just a minute so feel free to look around."

Vee sighed in relief and headed into the museum area. She walked up to a frame that had the sigil of Gravesfield. As she looked at her reflection in the glass frame, Luz and La Lechuza's image appeared next to hers.

"Vee don't be so down about Masha's 'reading', like you said, it's just her dark sense of humor," said Luz. "Plus, I know what it's like to want to run away from home. I did the same thing."

Vee furrowed her brow as she replied, "You and I are not the same, Luz! You had a mom that loved you, a home, a life! You had it good! And yet you still wanted to run away? How bad could your life really be?!"

Luz was taken aback by the accusatory tone in Vee's voice. "Vee…I…"

"I didn't have a choice when I ran away!" Vee began to cry a little as she took off her disguise and recalled memories of her past. "My real name is Number Five. I'm a basilisk, and technically I – I shouldn't exist. My kind went extinct a long time ago. But we were brought back. They wanted to know how we drained magic. We were hurt…poked and prodded…treated as animals…tortured when we were disobedient, or just for fun…"

Luz furrowed her brow upon hearing what Vee had been through. While La Lechuza seemed to have a quiet anger brewing.

"I didn't know you had been through something like that. I met a basilisk once; she was not very friendly and kept feeding on a lot of witches."

"For many of us, all we knew how to do was feed. She probably did it as a way to get back at the ones who harmed us. Some of us escaped, but I knew it was only a matter of time before we he caught us again."

"By he, do you mean… Belos?" La Lechuza asked.

"Yes…"

Luz and her Phantom glanced at each other, coming to a silent agreement that Belos was definitely up to something way before their arrival to the Boiling Isles.

"One day, I was wandering around Bonesborough, and then…"

~(Months Ago…)~

Vee slithered through the streets; her appearance hidden by a cloak. She knew Belos and his army of goons would find her and the rest sooner or later.

"I wish I could find someplace far away from here…maybe I could sneak onto a ship? Oh, but where would I even go? I don't know a thing about stuff out here," said Vee.

As the young basilisk slithered along, she paused and noticed something odd. There was a witch with big, long silver hair and wearing a bandanna around her head. She had a lot of stuff lined up outside her stall, and it didn't look like things of the Isles. Vee squeaked in fear when she caught a glimpse of a Coven Scout and quickly ducked under the tent of the witch. Once under there, she hid among the various boxes and knickknacks that were assembled inside. But what she saw in there made Vee gasp.

A doorway was opened in the middle of the room, and from that door emerged a Palisman carrying a bag full of more junk, but the next thing she saw after that is what surprised her the most.

"Hey! Quit adorably hopping you little…"

A human, Vee thought.

Vee hadn't seen a human before, but it was not that hard to identify them, considering that her ears were round as compared to a witch's pointy ears. Plus, that girl did not resemble either a biped or a beast demon, so she had to be human. But considering that what she was looking at was a human, that meant that the door the human came through went directly to the Human Realm.

The Human Realm…that…that's it! Belos will never find me there!

Vee waited and watched as the human chased after the owl Palisman. Once she was far enough away, the young basilisk made a break for it, and slipped in behind the human, passing through the doorway. There was a bright flash and that's when Vee found herself inside of an abandoned home.

It was dusty, old, and had cobwebs everywhere. She couldn't believe it; she was actually in the Human Realm. Unfortunately, or fortunately, when Vee looked back, the doorway closed, vanishing from sight.

"There's really no going back now," said Vee.

Vee slithered out through the front door and was in awe of the outside. The trees had green leaves, the sky was bright blue, and even the air smelt different here. She was really in another world, as far away from Belos and his Coven as she could ever get. But now, what was she to do? She got her wish but had no idea what her next step was. Before she could go into a panic attack about it, she heard a voice calling out.

"Luz, where are you?" the voice called out.

"Oh no…"

Vee didn't know how a human would react to a demon like herself, and the last thing she needed was to be hunted down in another world. So, thinking quickly, Vee shapeshifted her body to look exactly like the human girl she saw a moment ago, praying that the person this voice was calling out to, Luz, was who this form belonged to.

A moment after changing, an older Hispanic woman came walking out of the woods. She wore medical scrubs, had brown hair that was tied up into a bun, a pair of glasses, and brown eyes. The Hispanic woman glanced about the area until her eyes landed on Vee.

"Luz! There you are."

Vee flinched a little but got that under control as she spun around and greeted the woman. "Hello, fellow human! Um, skin's sure weird."

The woman before her chuckled and began to approach Vee. The basilisk tensed up when the Hispanic woman placed her hand on Vee' right shoulder. "Very funny. But I was thinking. Instead of taking the bus to camp, why don't we drive? I got the day off from work. And you'll have full control of the playlist."

"You…You want to take me to a camp?" Vee asked.

"I know this was a hard decision." The woman briefly glanced away and muttered, "For both of us." She then looked back at Vee. "But since you'll be away for a while. I thought we should spend as much time as we can together. As mother and daughter. Would that be okay, Luz?"

This woman was the mother of this girl she was currently impersonating. When she looked into this woman's eyes, she could see a silent plea for her to accept this offer. Was it really so wrong to impersonate this girl, Luz? The door did not open again, which means this Luz girl might be trapped in the Demon Realm just like she was now trapped in the Human Realm.

If that was the case, was it so wrong to take Luz's place? If her mother found out Luz was trapped in another world, it would only bring her sadness. Plus, Vee needed someplace to belong, someplace to start her life, and, so, why not live Luz's life?

Vee gingerly took the woman's – her mother's hand. "Sure, Mom, that would be great."

"Gracias, mija. I know this camp thing wasn't what you thought part of your Summer Vacation would be, but I know you'll make some great memories there," she said.

Vee took her "mother's" hand and began walking along with her. This woman's hand was so soft, and warm. She could practically feel the love for the daughter she was impersonating, the love she was going to show her from this day forth. Because, this was her mother, now. Vee found herself moving closer to her mother and wrapped her arms around that same arm.

"Luz, ¿estás bien (Luz, are you alright)?" her mother asked.

"H-Huh?" Vee stammered.

"I asked if you were okay," she clarified.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, I was just in my head and didn't hear you the first time. I am, and when I get back, I hope we can spend a lot of time together, Mom," said Vee.

Her mother smiled down at her and replied, "Of course, mija."

"I didn't mean to keep playing this role, but Camila was nice to me. I never had a mother or any parents, or friends, or just any form of kindness whatsoever," Vee confessed. "I resent you for running away from this life. But I'm also thankful that you did." Vee sighed as she put her disguise back on. "I don't know. It's confusing."

Just then, Vee caught a whiff of something.

"Vee, what do you smell?" Luz asked.

Vee followed the scent, which led her to the back of the building". The basilisk demon opened the door and went inside, but when she did, the door closed behind her, leaving Vee in the dark.

"Oh, where's the light switch?"

Vee groped the wall for a moment before her hand finally landed on the switch. She flipped it on, and when she did, her eyes widened with shock. On one side of the wall were various tools, axes, knives, swords, drills, and a skewer. On the other were framed pictures of the old times of Gravesfield when they hunted down witches. And on the desk at the back of the room were books that read, "How To Catch a Witch And What To Do When You Find One" and "Witch One Is It?". There was even more, a myriad of things pertaining to the occult, and the hunting of such. On the back wall were dozens and dozens of pictures, and each one had a red string attached to different photos like a conspiracy wall.

On the desk against the back wall was a fan, and in front of that fan was a deck of Hexes Hold 'Em cards. As Vee approached the back wall, she saw that some of the pictures either had UFOs, locations, and in some cases, had pictures of Eda herself.

Vee was starting to freak out a bit as she continued to look at everything. "W-What is all this?"

As she backed up, Vee accidentally turned on the computer that was on the desk behind her. There were four monitors. Two of which had a couple of windows opened with files showing. The two on the left had something different, on the upper left monitor was a live feed of the abandoned house behind the Noceda residence, and below that was a video file that was recently opened. And on that file, Vee saw herself, in her true form.

"Have we been followed this whole time?!" Vee exclaimed in a panic.

In that same panic, Vee bolted for the door in a desperate attempt to escape. However, in her panic, she managed to trip the invisible laser sensor near the floor, causing a cage to fall from the ceiling and slam down around her, effectively trapping the young demon and making her lose her grip on the compact mirror. The mirror flew towards the floor and smashed into pieces, ending Luz's view of that room.

"VEE! VEE?!" Luz cried out.

"Whoever has done this is truly shrewd. They've been keeping track of Vee this entire time, and have some knowledge of witches," said La Lechuza. "We might be dealing with another enemy on this side of the dimensional divide."

"I can't believe this is happening! C'mon, c'mon! VEE!" Luz called out again.

Another cube rose from the water and Luz quickly grabbed it.

Luz reappeared in a glass picture frame. Vee was still struggling inside of the cage, thrashing about in a state of complete panic and terror. Now that Luz understood what happened to Vee in the past, being in a cage was triggering a form of PTSD for her. Unfortunately, this made Vee lose her concentration, resulting in Vee returning to her true form.

"LET ME OUT!" Vee cried.

The door slowly opened and revealed Jacob, only now he was holding a stick. Luz ducked low so as to not be seen by him. "Whoa, it worked. I can't believe it. Are-Are you real?" Jacob tapped the cage with the stick, making Vee flinch as she instinctively swatted the stick out of his hand. "After all this time, after setting up all those traps, I-I finally caught a living, breathing demon!"

Vee looked up at him, trying to figure out what this man was going to do.

"Oh, don't be surprised." Jacob reached into his pocket and showed a picture of a creature. Luz saw it and immediately recognized it as Eda in Owl Beast form. "A few years back, I had a chance encounter with another one of your kind. Yeah. A-At first, I couldn't believe what I saw, but after watching a few Viewtube videos I learned the truth! Witches and demons are real…"

Oh no…! Luz thought.

"And they're all sent from Mars, to harvest human teeth to power their time machine!"

La Lechuza face-winged herself. "I take back everything I said about him being shrewd. This fool can't be serious…"

Luz response was a deep inhale and a look that said, "Oh I so want to brow beat you into the ground about how wrong you are".

Vee was confused by everything as she said. "You don't actually know anything about us, do you?"

Jacob scoffed. "Oh, I know enough. I'll expose your vile plans on Viewtube and finally get my account verified!"

"Just when I didn't think he could say anything more moronic he opens his mouth," La Lechuza whispered harshly.

"Get comfortable, demon, 'cause you'll be in cages for the rest of your life."

Jacob left the room.

"Don't worry, Vee. We can get out of this," Luz assured.

Vee looked at Luz's reflection with a gaze of defeat as she said, "Go back to the Demon Realm, Luz. Even if I get out, he knows what my disguise looks like. He'd out me to Camila, and it would cause her more trouble than if you just disappeared."

La Lechuza released an angry screech before replying, "What kind of talk is that?! ¡Esto aún no ha terminado! ¡No puedes permitir que ese imbécil te use y te enjaule así (This isn't over yet! You can't allow that moron to use you and cage you like this)!"

"Lala's right, Vee, you're giving up too quickly!"

"No, you two…I'm being realistic." Vee sighed. "It's okay. I'm used to living like this. Goodbye, Luz…"

"VEE! NO!"

Vee raised her tail and smashed the glass, and with it, Luz's way of seeing into the office.

Luz and La Lechuza were thrown back into the in-between world, and once back, the cube shattered just as the glass did. "No, no! Vee! Uh, Five! Number Five!"

La Lechuza flew into the air and looked around, but she could not see any cubes lightning up, nor were there any new ones rising from the water. "She must not be close to anything reflective enough to cast your image upon…"

Luz grunted in frustration as she fell to her knees and struck the water with both of her arms. La Lechuza hovered overhead, unsure as to what else they could do. They had no way to tangibly reach into the Human Realm, nor could they use their powers, Rider or otherwise. Was this really all they could do? Just watch and allow this to happen?

Noceda…

A voice echoed in the in-between world.

Noceda…

Luz looked up and saw that La Lechuza was not reacting to the voice. Was she the only one who could hear it?

Noceda…

Noceda? Wait, then…I get it.

The young Latina stood up tall as she raised her head towards the sky of this world and closed her eyes.

"Luz?"

"…Camila Noceda."

La Lechuza flew back down and perched herself on Luz's right shoulder. She understood now. While they could not physically interact with that world, there was one other person who could. A cube rose from the water before them, and with a flash of light, they were taken to the one Luz called out to.

Back in the Noceda home, Camila had just come back inside. She brought in the box of things that Luz was throwing out, unable to really allow her daughter to throw it all away. Did that camp really change her this much? Camila took out the tinfoil swan and smiled as she held it.

"Boop," said Camila as she tapped its bill.

Just then, Luz appeared on Camila's cellphone screen. "Mom, are you there?!"

"Huh? Luz?" Camila walked over to her cellphone and said, "I didn't even hear you call."

"Mom, it's so great to hear your voice," said Luz.

"Oh, it's great to hear you too." Camila picked up her phone as she tilted her head in curiosity at the thing perched on her daughter's shoulder. "Luz, what's that? It looks like one of those anime toys of yours."

"I am not a toy," said La Lechuza.

"Oh, wow! It talks, too! Some kind of fully interactive toy then? What do you call it? AI?" Camila asked.

"Going to let that slide for now given the situation."

Camila looked more closely at her daughter's face and noticed that she looked distressed. "What's wrong, mija?"

"Mom, I found out who's been setting up those traps, and he's hurting a friend of mine. But first…I have to tell you the truth about the last few months…Let me tell you about a place called the Boiling Isles."

Took a couple of hours of explaining, along with having to shorten certain parts to make up for the urgency, but eventually, she managed to tell her mother mostly everything that has happened, and somehow managed to convince her to head to the Gravesfield Historical Society building. Camila parked outside of the building, a storm was rolling in at the same time, darkening the sky with thick gray clouds as thunder rumbled high above.

"You know, if you wanted me to pick you and your friend up, you didn't have to make up this elaborate story of about the 'Demon Realm', 'Phantoms', and 'Common Riders'," said Camila.

"I'm not making this up, Mom," said Luz in a serious tone.

"Trust me, no she's not," La Lechuza added.

Camila merely chuckled. She hadn't indulged in one of her daughter's fantasies for while now, what was the harm in going along with it. "Don't worry, Luz. I'll play along. I know this stuff made school difficult, but I'm glad you're still being creative."

"This would be more heartwarming if Vee wasn't immediate danger," said La Lechuza.

"Ugh…"

Camila entered the building, and when she did, Camila saw an ax fly out and strike the taxidermy bear off to the left side of the room. There was a man rummaging around behind the front desk, prompting Camila to ask, "Are you the curator here?"

"Who's asking?"

"A little birdie told me you caught a demon," said Camila with a wink. "I would love to see it."

Jacob shook his head as he asked, "Wait! How do you know?! Do you work for the government?"

"Oh, I'm a veterinarian, actually," Camila corrected.

"Hmm, so the president sent a vet to study the demon's anatomy, huh?" The man grinned as he took out his cellphone and opened a voice recording app. "Sure, I'll show you. But first, I'll need verbal confirmation that I get to publish my findings first."

"Uh…'kay," Camila answered.

"Good. Now you're bound by law. Follow me."

As the man led the way to the back of the building, Camila squealed a little at how creative this game was.

"You even made me a part of your game. This is so fun," said Camila.

La Lechuza glanced at Luz.

"I know, I know."

Jacob brought Camila to the back of the building and let her enter first as he closed the door behind her.

"Ooh! Is this one of those escape rooms? Or, um, what do you call them? LARP? Oh, sorry. Don't wanna break the illusion."

Jacob pushed his glasses up and as he walked ahead of Camila. "Let me start by telling you the secret history of Gravesfield. In the 1800s, this was a peaceful colony until tragedy struck." The museum curator opened a book that showed illustrations of Gravesfield in the past. "Two brothers were lured into a realm of evil by a real witch, never to be seen again. People have stopped believing in the horrors of witchcraft, but I know the truth!"

"Whoa, Luz, this is quite a detailed story," Camila commented.

Jacob put the book down and smiled broadly as he headed to the cage that was covered with a blanket. "But now I've got proof that other worldly beings exist. Behold!" Jacob pulled down the blanket and revealed Vee, who had her mouth taped up.

Camila walked closer to the cage as she looked at Vee. "Oh, wow! That is a very, uh, convincing…" The more that Camila looked at Vee, the more she was able to tell that this was not some fabricated suit. Those scales, those claws, and nictating lenses. The creature before her was breathing too organically for this to be a – "…costume?"

"A costume?!" Jacob exclaimed. "This is a real live demon! Come here. Watch this."

Jacob walked to the computer monitors as he brought up his footage from earlier today. Camila looked over his shoulder at the screen, and that's when she saw a video file of Luz walking into the abandoned house at the back of their house. That's when she saw her daughter suddenly transform into the very creature that was now trapped in the cage just a few feet away.

"More vile beings will probably come to its rescue. But I can protect humanity. I-I even had some custom gear made at the renaissance fair!" Jacob showed off armor that was housed in a glass case. It consisted of a large chest plate, large pauldrons with spikes, and a large helmet with two horns, and cape. "Usually, I don't take it out for just anyone, but what the heck! If I'm gonna be working with the government, I might as well show off a little!"

While Jacob ran over to get his armor, Camila turned to her cellphone with a worried expression. "Luz, I don't like this game anymore."

"It's not a game, Mama. Everything I told you was true," said Luz.

"Then…that owl thing on your arm really is…?"

"Yep, I'm the monster that lives inside your daughter's soul and gives her the power she needs to fight against other monsters who sought to eradicate all the witches and demons of the Demon Realm," La Lechuza answered.

"Gah!" Camila gasped, now recognizing the Owl Phantom as a real live creature instead of a toy. "So, that thing has been living with me this entire time?! This…This is just a lot to believe right now, Luz."

"Her name is Vee, and she may look different, but she's not bad! She's just looking for a place to belong, to have a life. She's scared and needs you, Mami! Please, you got to help her!" Luz begged.

Camila looked again at Vee, remembering what Luz had told her about the creature before she came here. The Hispanic woman walked closer to the cage, making Vee whimper in fear at what Camila was going to do or say to her. She got down on one knee in front of the cage and gently placed her hand on one of the bars. "Hello. This is all so confusing, but who knew I had a such a strong girl living under my roof this whole time."

Vee's eyes widened and began to shimmer with tears. Camila did not show any hate or disgust. Surprise? Yes. Shock? Oh yeah. But not hate or disgust. She just looked at her with those same kindly eyes as when she first met her all those months ago, only now, they were directed at the real Vee, her true self.

"So, how do I look?" Jacob asked.

Camila, Vee, Luz, and La Lechuza looked in the direction of Jacob, and saw that he had the armor on. As expected, it was at least two sizes bigger than he was.

"And the surprises of idiocy just keep coming," said La Lechuza in a deadpan tone.

"I have no words," said Luz.

"Maybe we can collaborate on a version that can survive the battles on Mars?" Jacob spotted the cellphone in Camila's hand and gasped when he saw Luz's image. "Are you recording this?!"

"Uh…"

A tense pause was held before Jacob broke into a smile. "Wonderful!" He then walked over to the left wall where all the weapons were mounted and took down a knife. "I was gonna wait until the press tour, but let's begin our live dissection of this demon right now."

"STOP!" Camila ordered. "Uh, the – the President just called. Yeah!" She looked at her phone and saw Luz nodding and encouraging her to keep going. "And, uh…uh…You know what? I don't have the imagination for this." Camila got up and stood next to the cage as she said, "I will be taking this innocent child with me, and you will never bother us again!"

"What?! No, absolutely not!" Jacob retorted. "We made a verbal agreement!"

Camila marched up to Jacob, making the young man back up in fear of the fierce gaze she was giving him. "Mister, you better back the hell down, or I will tell the police you have been illegally setting up traps and cameras on private property!"

Jacob fell onto his rear and held up his knife in defense. "I won't let you take away my discovery! I'm the good guy here!"

"Yeah, a lot of bad guys say that." Camila reached into her purse.

"Oh no…" Luz uttered with dread.

"What?"

"She's about to use the most dangerous weapon ever to be wielded…"

"She has such a weapon?! What is it?!"

"…La Chancla…"

"…What?"

Camila whipped out a slipper from her purse. And like the right hand of God, Camila came down with her weapon of judgement, and smote Jacob upside the head, and then she smote him again, and again, and again, and then it devolved into a lot of crying on Jacob's part. Cries of mercy were heard, but there was no mercy in Camila's eyes, only PAIN. Jacob went for the knife, but Camila swatted his hand, and it stung like a thousand angry hornets. Camila Noceda raised La Chancla once more and struck Jacob across the face, making him spin around until he slammed, face first, into the door, knocking him out as he collapsed onto the floor in a heap.

La Lechuza blinked. "Okay, I'm a believer."

"Never underestimate La Chancla."

With that out of the way, Camila headed over to Vee and managed to find the release mechanism to the cage. Once she flipped it, the cage unlatched itself and rose back up into its original position up in the ceiling. Once she was free, Vee, out of instinct, rushed towards Camila and wrapped her arms around the Hispanic woman.

"Mom!" Vee cried out without even thinking.

It was strange, she thought hearing Vee call her "mom" would feel awkward, but it felt natural. Because it was. This was her daughter, a new member of her family. And right now, her daughter needed her mother's comfort, so she hugged her daughter back and said, "Sí Sí. Estoy aquí, mija. Ahora está bien (Yes, yes. I'm here, mija. It's okay, now)."

"Gracias Mamá (Thank you, Mom)," Vee replied.

Camila broke their hug and placed her jacket around her new daughter. She then turned her fierce gaze back to Jacob as she dragged him over to where the cage was, tied up his wrists and ankles, and then triggered the cage so that it would trap him instead. Once that was done, Camila was about to take Vee out of the room but was stopped by Luz.

"Wait! Mom! Get that deck of cards over there," said Luz.

Camila looked over to the desk and saw a deck of playing cards. She walked over to the desk and picked it up.

"Oh, wait. There's a training wand here too! Grab that too, it's chock full of magic for Vee to feed on."

Camila did as Luz said and put both into her purse. Once that was done, the mother and daughter left the building just as the rain began to fall.

As they walked down the stairs, Vee turned to Camila and asked, "Is it okay to leave him in there?"

"He'll be fine, Vee. He can use the time for some self-reflection," said Camila.

It was a bit of a long day, but Camila and Vee finally made it home. Both of them disembarked from the car, with the headlights still shining. But that's when something miraculous happened. The headlights shining on the falling rain created enough of a reflective surface to allow Luz and La Lechuza to full body manifest before them. Although it was a ghostly form, she was still technically there.

"Wow. Look what I can do with the rain," said Luz as she inspected her see-through body.

"Huh, I know I'm a Phantom, but I think this is taking it quite literally," La Lechuza remarked.

Vee slithered up to Luz as the latter said, "Vee, I'm so happy you're okay." Luz went to high five Vee, but she passed right through the demon basilisk.

"Heh-heh, me too," said Vee. "And thank you, Camila, for everything. I promise when Luz comes back, I'll return to the Demon Realm."

Camila shook her head. "No, mija. Your home is right here. I'd love it if you could be a part of our family."

Vee eyes watered, she as on the verge of crying tears of joy upon hearing those words.

"I feel the same way, Vee. Plus, I've always wanted a sister, and I love it if that were you," Luz added.

"Thank you, both you, Mom…Sis," said Vee.

"Oh, before I forget." Camila reached into her purse and took out the deck of Hexes Hold 'Em cards. "Luz said they might be helpful for you."

Vee happily took the cards and pulled one out. "Magic!" She proceeded to eat the cards one by one.

"Head inside Vee," said Camila.

Vee nodded and did as her mother asked.

"Mom, you were awesome back there!"

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. And that's not something easily done," said La Lechuza.

"And thanks for being cool about everything."

Camila finally turned around to face her first daughter, showing that she was crying, biting her lip, and furrowing her brow. "I'm trying to hold it together. I really am, but I have never been this scared before! The Demon Realm? Magic? Kamen Riders? Monsters? How are you gonna get back here?! Is this the only way I can even touch you now…?"

Luz reached out to her mother as the same time as Camila reached out to her. And unfortunately, their hands passed through each other. "I…I just need a little more time, but if I keep working my hardest, I-I will make a working portal! I promise!"

"And you!" Camila pointed at the Owl Phantom. "You were inside my daughter and tried to take over her body!"

"I make no excuses. It's in my nature as a Phantom. However, that was how I felt before, it is no longer my intention to do that. I only wish to aid Luz in fighting against that which threatens her and those around her. This, ahem, little fledging chick needs someone with sense to keep her from getting herself killed," said La Lechuza.

"I…I see, you sound like you care about her," said Camila.

"J-Just in the sense that if she were to die then I would too! It's a matter of self-preservation."

Luz booped La Lechuza on her beak, causing the Owl Phantom's feathers to ruffle. "C'mon, Lala, don't be such a tsundere, you know you care about me more than that."

La Lechuza rolled her eyes.

Camila smiled as she said, "As scary as this is, it really does seem like you've matured."

"Yes! I've learned so much. Staying here was the best decision I ever made," said Luz with a smile.

Camila narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Hold on. You chose to stay there?"

"Oh…uh…"

"I can't believe this! W-Were you trying to live out some kind of witch fantasy? To be some kind of superhero like in one of your anime shows?!" Camila hugged herself as she looked away from Luz. "Did…Did you hate living with me that much?"

Luz's eyes widened with shock that her mother would think that. "Mama, no!"

"Uh, Luz, the rope!" La Lechuza warned.

The rope around Luz's waist began to pull back on her, and after a few seconds it started to lift her up.

"What?! No! Not yet! Not yet!" she begged. "Mom! I'm being pulled back; something must be wrong with the portal!"

"What?! Baby, no, no, no. No, no!" Camila reached out, trying to hold onto her daughter for as long as she could. "Listen to me, Luz! When you come home, promise me you'll stay here! I didn't mean to push you away!"

"Mom, it's not you! It never was!" Luz retorted.

"Promise me, Luz! Please?!" Camila pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Luz, crying her own tears, replied, "Okay, Mom…I promise."

With those last words, Luz vanished before Camila's eyes, and all she could do was cry.

Luz was yanked back, getting pulled up at a rapid pace. La Lechuza followed after her, flying as quickly as she could to keep up with her partner.

"LUZ!"

"LALA!"

Luz reached out and hugged La Lechuza close to her as both of them continued to rise higher and higher until the gravity inverted yet again, and they found themselves falling. The rope continued to pull until Luz and La Lechuza crashed into the water and sank immediately upon impact.

"AND PULL, AND PULL!" Eda ordered as all three of them pulled on the rope.

The portal door was starting to act strangely, like it was deteriorating. The trio gave one more yank of the rope and managed to pull Luz out of the janky portal door. Luz landed in a heap onto her Owl House family, groaning painfully from the impact.

Luz gasped as she remembered that she was holding onto La Lechuza before they left. "Lala?! You there?!"

"I am, Niña. I'm back in your Underworld. No need to worry."

Luz let out a sigh of relief upon hearing her Phantom partner's voice.

"I'm sorry. I had to pull you out, the portal door looked about ready to close on you," said Eda.

The Latina took off the rope from around her waist and smiled up at Eda. "It's okay, thank you."

King leaped off the ground and clung onto Luz's right arm as he asked, "Did you talk to your mom? Did you mention me?"

"Heh, well…"

"LUZ, SOMETHING'S COMING!"

"Wait, what?"

I found you~

Suddenly, a giant black talon burst forth from the janky portal door, causing everyone to gasp in terror. The talon rushed forward, heading straight for Luz. The Latina quickly threw King off her arm and into Eda's waiting arms, however, that's all she had time to do as the black talon grabbed ahold of Luz.

"AH!"

"LUZ!" Eda, Hooty, and King cried out.

"LET GO OF MY LUZ!"

Luz looked up and watched as Amity flew down, riding on Ghost, and charging up her fire spell. The purple haired witch launched her fireball, boosting its power with Bast's mana and causing it to triple in size. The fireball roared as it struck the back end of the talon. But it did not yield. The dark talon began pulling back, threatening to take Luz into the portal.

Amity landed on the ground and swiftly drew a large spell circle with her staff and summoned a big Abomination arm that reached out and tried to wrench Luz from the talon's grasp. But before the arm could reach, the dark talon released a burst of dark magic that blew the Abomination arm to bits as it threw Amity, Eda, Hooty, and King back a few feet. With them out of the way, the talon rushed back into the portal door, taking Luz with it.

Amity shook off the daze from the attack and mounted her staff to chase after Luz, but it was all for not as the portal door imploded on itself and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Amity got off her staff and fell to her knees as she stared at the spot where the portal was.

"What…What just happened…Where…Where did Luz go?" Amity asked in a tone that was on the verge of tears.

No one here would know it, but Luz was about to enter into a battle that would not only decide the fate of two other worlds but would also make her face herself. Literally.

Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Witch and Amp: The Darkside of Hope

Not every hero's journey is a good one…