A couple of weeks had passed since Krampmus, all the kids who were taken by the holiday demon were returned, no worse for wear. Some had decided to mend their ways, and others just decided to endure the punishment until they were too old for Krampus to do anything to, deciding it wasn't worth it to "mend their ways". In some cases, it was seen as a badge of honor to have gotten taken by Krampus and not break, kind of a "I'm tough enough, Krampus! Bring it on!" kind of deal.

A lot of things went down leading up to that holiday, Luz had divulged the full truth about what happened when she was abducted, again, and taken to the Alt Demon Realm. It was emotional, considering that she had to tell her friends and found family that she was the ultimate evil that needed to be defeated, and the fact that said, former, evil Luz was responsible for so much destruction and pain. The idea of harming her friends in any way was repulsive to Luz, considering these were the first real friends she has ever had, plus, her first girlfriend ever. Luz hoped that Alt Luz was doing alright, and that the Alt Demon Realm was recovering.

Unfortunately, that was not end to her worries. Because she also made a promise to her mother. A promise that, once she had discovered a way to come back to Earth, that she would remain with her in the Human Realm and never return to the Boiling Isles. Luz wasn't sure if she was remembering that part correctly, but it felt like that's what she was telling her. While she was still thinking and looking for a way to get back home, Luz was also trying to figure out a way to convince her mother that the Demon Realm, for all its craziness, was not a dangerous place to be, and was in fact fantastical and amazing in its own unique way. Which prompted her to create a video to showcase the Boiling Isles to her mother.

Luz took out her cellphone, pressed record, and said, "¡Hola Mamá! I know you don't want me staying in the Demon Realm, but I'm recording this because I think we can find a middle ground. This is a world of magic and beauty. Just look!"

Luz turned the camera around, and now she wished she hadn't. For what she saw was…was…dear God was it wrong. Hooty…Hooty was hanging his skin over a clothesline, and was a skeleton, a slithering skeleton with no eyes, or organs. The Hooty Skeleton noticed Luz watching him and began to snarl.

Luz screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

La Lechuza screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

La Lechuza then began to make noises in addition to the screaming.

*Scared Phantom owl noises*

After shaking off the horror that was…that…Luz decided to try a different approach. She headed out into Bonesborough to show her mother the town that she had frequented, also the very town she had saved several times over as Kamen Rider Witch.

Once again, Luz took out her cellphone and began recording her video.

"Okay, that was…disturbing, but that's just one instance. I know I told you before when I talked to you, but I'm learning magic!"

Luz used her left hand to take out Light Glyph.

"And as a human, it impresses pretty much everyone," Luz added.

She tapped the piece of paper and activated the glyph. Creating a small orb of light. Unfortunately, Luz wasn't paying attention and accidentally ran into Boscha. The orb of light floated into her field of view and released a flash that stung the eyes of the witch girl.

"AAAAH!" Boscha yelled as she backed away from Luz and rubbed her eyes.

"Boscha! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" Luz asked, genuinely concerned.

Boscha managed to regain sight in one out of three of her eyes as she glared daggers at the Latina.

"Human! If you EVER do that again I will set your eyes on FIRE!" Boscha threatened as she drew a spell circle and created a flaming fireball at the center of the circle.

"AAAH!" Luz screamed as she ran away.

A fireball was released and exploded behind her, throwing Luz a few feet forward where she tumbled and rolled around on the ground before coming to a stop.

"…Ooookay, next stop."

Luz decided to change venues, again. Instead of showing off the town, or her current place of residence, she thought it would be best to show something that even her mom could appreciate, school. After getting a free period to herself, Luz took out her cellphone again and began recording the third video.

"Okay…so…the Demon Realm can be a bit…eh. But, there's no safer place than Hexside School of Magic and Demonics! Right, Principal Bump?"

Luz panned the camera to Principal Bump standing nearby, fiddling with Frewin's tail and his robes. The Principal of Hexside was gracious enough to participate in Luz's little video message to her mother and was making himself camera ready. After the camera was on him, Principal Bump composed himself and stood up straight.

"Why, yes, Mrs. Noceda. The well-being of our students is our top priority. Which is why we send all our troublemakers to our new and improved detention pit," said Bump as he pointed down a hallway.

Luz panned the camera in that direction and recorded the moment where one of the Oracle Track kids was getting dragged towards the imposing double doors of the detention pit. Suddenly, the door grew three glowing eyes, and raised the lower half to reveal a mouth with rows of sharp teeth. The guard nonchalantly tossed the "troublemaker" into the pit with Luz capturing the moment when he reached out towards her and pleaded, "Help me…!" before the door/mouth slammed down shut.

Principal Bump gave her a thumbs up and an enthusiastic smile. But Luz just shook her head.

"That's enough of that…"

This was not going how she was hoping.

Luz was in a dower mood for most of the day, she had tried to come up with ways to show that this world wasn't as…scary as it seemed at first glance. While not the PG fantasy world she had hoped to be thrown into, the Boiling Isles had a unique charm of its own. But every attempt so far had been met with less than satisfactory results. She had to show her mother that staying on the Boiling Isles was not a bad thing, that despite all the obvious dangers here, she was more than capable of not only dealing with those dangers, but also protect herself from them.

She was a Kamen Rider after all, and thanks to La Lechuza's mana boosting her glyph magic, and the addition of her Witch rings, there wasn't a creature in the Demon Realm that could harm her. If she could at least show her mother that she had the power to defend herself, perhaps then she would change her tune. At some point, Luz had gathered with her friends outside of the school entrance, sitting on the steps while Gus and Willow started some debate on what lied under Belos' mask.

"You know. I think he does it cause he's shy. He's just evil and shy. It happens," said Gus.

"I heard there's just a mirror underneath. The real emperor was society all along!" Willow theorized.

"Hmm. Maybe he's sooo handsome people have a hard time focusing on what he says. I get it. I can relate."

Luz was only half paying attention as she watched the videos she made on her phone, the disastrous ones. There has to be a way to convince Mom that being here is the best thing for me. I have friends and a girlfriend here, I…I can't just leave them behind.

"Luz!"

"AAH!" Luz exclaimed while jumbling her phone. "Oh, uh, w-what?"

"You and Amity have seen Belos up close. What's he like under…" Gus gestured to his face. "…all that?"

Luz thought about it for a moment, recalling her battle with Belos during Eda's Petrification. Although she was close to him many times during and after the battle, she never really saw anything aside from his robes, mask, and blue glowing eyes. Even during their meeting when they forged a temporary alliance with the Phantoms against Nuckelavee, she still never saw what was under it.

"I never really got a good look, at least at what was under the mask," said Luz.

"I heard he's scarred from Wild Magic."

"AAAH!" Luz screamed as she fell to her right side.

Luz glanced up, sighed, and then chuckled when she realized who it was.

"Oh, hey, Amity," said Luz.

"Hola, batata," Amity greeted as she gave Luz a hand.

Luz was surprised to hear her girlfriend speaking Spanish, she had contemplated asking if she could teach her, but this was a pleasant surprise.

"Did you just call me a sweet potato?" Luz asked.

"Yes!" Amity was excited but started to look a little worried. "Is that not a term of endearment?"

The young witch girl reached into her bag and took out a book to show to Luz.

"I'm still figuring out this human language book from Gus."

Luz looked at the book and saw the title, "Mama Pura's Recipes". A cookbook, huh? Luz and Amity looked at Gus who was holding two thumbs up and nodding with approval.

"Aw, Amity," Luz leaned in and rested her head against Amity's right shoulder, causing Luz to blush, but made Amity turn red, "you're the sweet potato!"

Amity had learned to get better control over herself since they were now a couple, so her "gay panics" weren't as frequent. Plus, now she could string together more coherent sentences.

"Boo. It's no fun we you don't get all panicky and flustered," said Bast.

"Agreed, I enjoyed the awkwardness of these interactions," La Lechuza responded.

"Oh! Remember that Butler-Maid outfit incident a couple of weeks ago! That was the highlight of the holiday! AHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"

"How could I forget! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Both Luz and Amity had deadpan looks on their faces, but still blushing having been reminded of said incident.

"Uh, so…What have you been up to?" Amity asked.

Luz's mood shifted a bit as she said, "Oh…uh…well, the thing is I've…"

Suddenly, there was a hooting sound coming from sky. All four of the young teens looked up into the sky and saw Eda and King flying in on Owlbert.

"Oh, there's my ride! Later taters!"

Luz grabbed either side of Amity's face and gave the Abomination witch a kiss on the cheek, making her go silent and bright red once again, also leaving her speechless.

"I take it back, the subtly of these interactions has entertainment value too," Bast concluded.

After waving goodbye to her friends, the three witches watched as Luz mounted Eda's staff and flew away. However, when Amity snapped out of her little stupor, her hand brushed against something on the steps. She looked down and saw that it was Luz's phone.

"C'mon, Luz. There's no way your mom will make you leave the Demon Realm!" King argued.

"Yeah, when she meets us, I'll make sure to put on the charm…that turns people into obedient zombies," Eda finished.

"…At this point, I think it would be less, eh, if you just regular charmed her," Luz suggested.

"Hey! Now there's an idea! I haven't put the moves on a girl in a while, so I might be a little rusty, but, hey, it's me, what's not to find charming?"

Luz briefly contemplated a scenario where Eda put the moves on her mother. There was both something strange, charming, and endearing about having what was essentially her second mother and her real mother in a relationship together.

"…Let's put a pin in that idea for now," said Luz.

The Owl House crew landed in the middle of the square. When they did, they noticed a big increase in the number of Coven Scouts walking around. It was unnerving to say the least. Some were carrying things, others were putting up banners, passing out balloons, and various other tasks.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Luz asked.

King climbed up onto Luz's right shoulder and answered, "They're probably prepping for the annual Coven Day Parade. Floats, streamers, fireworks–"

"Ah, it's just a fancy way to kiss the Emperor'ssssssss–" Eda looked down and saw Luz giving her a look as she covered King's ears. "…whatever. I'm just here to pick something up."

Eda began walking down the street with King following behind her, Luz was about to go with them, but paused when she heard a familiar voice coming from an alley across from her. When she looked, Luz found that the voice belonged to Kikimora, Belos' third in command, and she was talking on a crow phone to someone.

"Mother, please! No, I'm not seeing anyone. Yes, I'm standing up straight. Listen, I can't come home. If I don't lead this parade, Belos will end my – No! No, I – Of course I miss everyone. I…What?! I can't choose! Hello? Mother? Mother!"

Luz felt sympathy for the little demon woman but hurried along to catch up to Eda and King. She eventually found them standing at a booth labeled, "Private Investigator", with a ghost behind the booth who appeared to be the P. I. in question.

"Hey, Luz. I know what'll cheer you up!" King stated.

"Aw, no bread puns today, buddy," said Luz.

King shook his head in confusion and said, "What? No. I'm talkin' about hot goss, girl! Hot goss buns! Bread pun. Guess why we're here!"

"King?" Eda warned.

"Eda hired someone to spy on her ex!" King blurted out.

"AH! DID YOU READ MY DIARY?!" Eda accused.

"And they're the Head Witch of the Bard Coven!" King continued.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Eda yelled in an effort to drown out King's blabbering.

"And they also–!"

"Yes!" Eda finally cracked. "They secretly led a rebel group against Belos and got captured! I was there!"

"Ooh…yeeessssh…I did not read that far," King confessed.

Eda and King heard loud gasping. They both turned their heads in the direction of the noise and found that it was Luz who was doing the gasping, her hands were clasped together as her eyes were practically sparkling upon hearing this information for the first time. And then she collapsed onto the ground.

"Well, good job. You broke Luz," said Eda.

"It was the…yeast I could do," King joked as he chuckled.

"Well, let's get her off the street."

After Luz came to, they leaned her up against the booth and gave her the file to read. Luz looked through the file folder, combing over the information that lied within with rapt attention, her eyes watering as she cried.

"And then Raine battled their fellow Coven heads? And sacrificed everything to save Eda? It's just like Hecate and Azura in book five!"

Eda thought that was enough and snatched the file back. "According to this, Raine is still working with the Emperor's Coven. Which doesn't make sense. They were seen as a traitor."

"Maybe you can ask them about it. Look!" Luz pointed.

Eda looked up to where she was pointing and saw a sign being erected that had an image of Raine and the words, "Celebrate the Coven Day Parade".

"If they're here for the parade, they'll probably be surrounded by Scouts. We'd need someone on the inside to lend us a hand," said Eda.

"Hmm," Luz hummed as she pondered.

Just then, her eyes fell on Kikimora. She looked absolutely miserable as she walked along, and then tripped over a piece of two-by-four. She was about to get up but seemed to lose the will to try about halfway through. And to add insult to injury, a couple of Coven Scouts walked over her, although they did manage not to step on her directly, it was still messed up that they didn't even bother to give her a helping hand.

A big smile formed on Luz's face as she glanced at Eda. The Owl Lady looked down at her ward and then towards where she was looking a moment ago at the depressed Kikimora.

"Pfft, yeah, right," Eda scoffed. "As if she'd give us the time of day."

[20 minutes later…]

Luz and Kikimora were sitting on the sidewalk as Kikimora cried, having somehow opened up completely to Luz as she bawled her eyes out.

"And-And then she said if I don't make it back for the family reunion, I'd be banished from Palm Stings and the family home! But I've failed too many missions, and if I leave my job now, I'll be banished from my liiiiiife!" Kikimora blubbered.

Luz gently patted the demon woman on the back as she said, "There you go. It's gonna be okay. Maybe there's a way we can help each other out – whoa!"

Eda quickly grabbed Luz by her school uniform's hood and held up the Latina to her eye level.

"Are you out of your mind?! Kikimora nearly turned me to stone! She attacked you back in Latissa, and she didn't blink when your girlfriend was thrown down a pit! Oooh, she is bad, and not the hot kinda bad," Eda stated as she released Luz.

"But this could be your way to talk to Raine! Isn't it worth the risk?" Luz asked.

Eda turned away for a moment as she thought on it.

"…Maybe. But the real question is," Eda leaned forward and looked into Luz's eyes as she asked, "what are you getting out of this?"

Luz glanced over her shoulder and watched as Kikimora kept pacing the sidewalk back and forth while talking to herself.

"On the one hand, I miss my family. On the other, Belos is not a forgiving man. But I'm just a party planner at this point…"

"I'm…just a sucker for romantic reunions?" Luz explained, her tone made it sound more like a question than an answer.

Eda couldn't deny that Luz was, in fact, a sucker for romance related stuff.

"This is true." Eda groaned and reluctantly agreed. "Ugh, fine!"

Kikimora seemed to finally pay attention to what they were talking about and asked, "Fine? What's fine? What are you cretins planning?"

Luz immediately intercepted the small demon woman and said, "Worry not, Kikimora. We're gonna help you. By kidnapping you and Raine!"

"WHAT?!"

Luz's plan to allow Eda to talk to Raine was fairly simple, as far as her plans went anyway. Everyone was out gathering supplies. Eda was sent to get various pieces of cloth, while Luz and Hooty went to Morton and got a lot of different potions. With Hooty paying the man in coins and a rat skeleton. King was in an alleyway, buying fireworks from Edric.

The Owl House residents brought their items to a remote part of the woods where they had, what looked like, a parade float in the making. Everyone placed their items next to the halfway done float and looked upon what they had so far.

"I still don't know if I like this, Luz," said Eda.

"It'll work trust me! Let's go over the plan one more time." Luz walked over to an easel where some pictures portraying her plan were set up. "King and Hooty will pilot the float during the parade. Once it gets to the halfway point, you two will set off all the glyphs, potions, and fireworks to distract people."

"With my love of mayhem and Hooty's desperate need for attention, this'll be a cake walk!" King exclaimed.

Hooty stretched over to them and nodded his head in agreement.

"When Kikimora sends off the guards to investigate, that's when Eda and I will obscure the stage and whisk her and Raine away! The Coven can't banish Kiki if she's missing! She'll get the best of both worlds! She'll set an example for us ALL! HAHAHA!" Luz cackled.

Eda, King, and Hooty looked at her with a questioning, and concerning gaze, forcing Luz to hurriedly backtrack a bit.

"Um, I mean – Eda gets to talk to Raine! It' romantic!"

Eda couldn't help but blush as she said, "Oh, it's not that romantic."

"Witch, this is peak of Mount Romance," said Hooty.

"Hooty, how would you know?" Eda asked.

"I've been around," the house demon retorted.

Luz wasn't sure if they could tell her real reason behind this, but there was someone who had caught on already.

"Niña, I get what you're trying to do, but perhaps you should change your approach to this problem?"

I have to, Lala! A-And I'm not doing this for myself! I'm doing this to help out Kiki! She doesn't deserve to be "banished" from her life by Belos, and she doesn't need to get "banished" from her family. Plus, showing that this kind of thing can work means that there's hope for me…

Luz reached into her pocket, but paused when she didn't feel her cellphone in there.

"Huh? I lost my cellphone. Maybe I left it at the Owl House?"

Unfortunately, there were others who were preparing for the parade. Down in his underground workshop, Belos was hard at work, using the power of the Alpha Creation ring and his own accumulated knowledge of magic, he was finally able to create the instruments that he needed to put his plan into action.

With the Phantom threat already taken care of, the only other threat to the emperor's plans was Witch and Heka. They were undoubtedly two of the most powerful witches on the island. While Belos did not doubt the power he currently wielded as Inquisitor, there was still much to Witch's power that he was uncertain of.

"That girl's power has shown to increase exponentially depending upon the situation. She's a hero to the people, but I think it's time that hero fell from grace."

Belos turned around, and behind him were many rows of vats, some wide and some slender, and others varied in height. Inside each of these tanks were Pseudo-Phantoms, creatures that Belos managed to capture before they were destroyed by the felling of their creator, but after some fine tuning and experimentation, Belos managed to create a small army, with the ability to create more should he feel the need.

With his own preparations complete, Belos exited his underground lab and headed back up to the ground level of his castle. Once there, he entered his throne room and sat upon it, considering what today was, he had been readying for a big announcement, and he planned to make it as grandiose as possible. As soon as he sat down, the doors to the throne room opened, and in walked the Golden Guard. The young witch boy approached the throne and knelt in reverence to his uncle and emperor.

"My Emperor, all the preparations for the Coven Day Parades have been made. We're on schedule," said the Golden Guard.

"Excellent, Hunter. I also have an assignment for you," said Belos.

Hunter raised his head and asked, "A assignment? What is it, Uncle?"

"I want you to go to Latissa. I have an uneasy feeling about today, and I would like it if you could go there," said Belos.

Hunter rose to his feet and asked, "Do you suspect something bad happening there?"

"Possibly there, possibly another town. I had a vague vision, given to me by the Titan, that something was going to happen today, a disturbance of sorts. I would send you to Bonesborough or Palm Stings, but unfortunately there is only one Kamen Rider Crusader."

Belos got off his throne and walked over to Hunter as he gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Do not fret. It's probably nothing more than my worried mind still weary of this lull in anything disastrous happening. The removal of the Phantom menace has me contemplating the next big threat to our people," Belos confessed.

"I understand, Uncle. But, I mean, between me, you, and – to a lesser extent – Witch and Heka, what can really threaten the Boiling Isles now?" Hunter asked.

"Careful, Hunter, yesterday's ally could potentially be tomorrow's enemy," the emperor warned.

"You think Witch and Heka will turn on the Boiling Isles?"

"All I am saying, is that Witch and Heka possess great power. So much so, that I do fear that they are strong enough to usurp the throne for themselves."

Hunter removed his mask, furrowing his brow as he raised his right hand and clenched into a defiant fist.

"I won't let that happen, Uncle! You're still the strongest and most powerful witch in the Demon Realm! Those two don't hold a candle to you! A-And besides! You have me! As the Golden Guard and as Crusader, I'll make sure that doesn't happen!" Hunter declared.

Belos removed his own mask and smiled down upon his nephew proudly. He then patted his ward on the head and said, "I know you will make me proud, Hunter. I've always said the Titan has big plans for you. And I meant it."

Amity was worried, to say the least. Ever since Luz told her and the rest of their friends about what happened in the Alt Demon Realm and what happened in the In-Between world, Luz has been acting strangely.

She didn't want to probe too much; they already knew the issues that she was facing. Mainly dealing with the promise Luz made to her mother about leaving the Demon Realm forever. Amity will admit, she was scared about that happening, honestly, she didn't want it to happen at all. There was a part of her that almost didn't want Luz to find a way back home, that all her attempts would end in failure, and she would be forced to stay with them.

Amity hated it when such thoughts entered her mind. She knew that was not right. Luz's mother did not sound anything like her own, the promise did not sound like one made out of resentment or possessiveness, but out of concern and love. Something that Amity wished her own mother would show her from time to time.

"So, the real question is: Do you want Luz to go back even if it means you will never see her again?" Bast asked.

In my heart…no…I don't. Luz…she's changed so many things for me, she's changed my life. But I also know that Luz's mother is nothing like my own. Her mother is worried about her, misses her. It would be incredibly selfish of me to keep Luz here, an awesome girlfriend would not do that to the person she cares about.

"Mmm-hmm, plus, it could sour your future marriage. Ticking off your future in-law is not a good way to make a good first impression."

You do have a point there. Amity paused, thought about what Bast said, and then blushed. M-M-MARRIAGE?! M-M-ME AND LUZ?!

"What? Like you don't want to?"

I-I-I mean…I-I certainly wouldn't mind if we d-did! B-But that's, like, WAY into the future! W-We're only fourteen, we have our whole lives ahead of us. All kinds of things could happen. Luz could go away back to the Human Realm, for starters…She could…fall out of love with me. Or, Titan forbid, I fell out of love with her. She could find another girl or even a boy she likes more than me. There's just a lot of things that could happen between now and the future.

"But you would like to marry her, would you not?"

Amity thought about it for a moment, recalling one of the fever dreams she had about herself and Luz in a house, living together, and raising a child together. Honestly that was quite possibly the perfect scenario she could hope for. The two of them living peacefully together and starting a family. Amity knew she was getting way ahead of herself, but she could see it working with Luz.

However, that did not mean much if she couldn't figure out what was going on with Luz. Which brought her to now. Amity had retrieved Luz's phone after she left it on the school steps. She had an inkling that Luz's rectangular device held the answers to what was irritating or at the very least worrying her girlfriend, but at the same time, she did not want to violate Luz's privacy like that.

So, for all matters such as this, Amity went to the one witch she could talk to, although it had been a long time since she spoke one-on-one with them or visited them at all on her own. Amity still remembered the way to her house even after all these years, it was so nostalgic to be making this trip. Soon she came upon the residence she was seeking and knocked at its door. After a couple of seconds, the door was answered by a burly, tan skinned man with a beard, and a bald head.

"Oh, wow, Amity! I haven't seen you in a long time," said the man.

"Hi, Mr. Park, is Willow home? I needed to talk to her," Amity asked.

"Yes, she's right upstairs. Probably in the middle of her workout," said Harvey. "Do you need me to show you the way?"

"No, no. I remember," Amity assured him.

Harvey ushered Amity into the Park household, and she smiled. It still felt as warm and inviting as it did all those years ago. A pang of guilt did tug at her heart when she heard Mr. Park say he hadn't seen her in a long time, and that was her fault. She was the one who turned her back on Willow, even though it was to protect her from her mother, she didn't step in to help Willow during those years that her new "friend" group picked on and bullied Willow. With Amity, at times, joining in or saying or doing something that was condescending.

I still can't believe she's still willing to be my friend, even after all this time. Another thing I owe to Luz, Amity thought.

Just as she said, Amity did remember the way to Willow's room. Once she was at the door, she knocked on it and waited. After a moment, the door opened, and Willow answered the door. She was dressed in a yellow tank top, with vertical striped shorts that were colored in different hues of green, and a yellow-orange sash around her waist tied into a bow at the front. The dark-haired witch girl's eyes widened when she saw who it was at her bedroom door.

"Amity?"

"Uh, hey, Willow. It's, uh, been a while since I came here on my own," said Amity.

Willow rubbed the back of her head as she said, "Yeah. I guess it has…"

The air was tense and awkward between them. Despite all the strides they had made since they mended their friendship, and the subsequent interactions that they had when Amity was still working up the courage to confess to Luz. This, Amity, at Willow's house, was still a strange thing for the both of them.

Willow decided to break the tension and asked, "Are you okay?"

Amity couldn't hold it in and just blurted out, "So, Luz has been acting super weird and I know it has something to do with what happened in the Alt Demon Realm or the promise she made to her mother!"

Willow flinched at how Amity just started on her little rant, and at the same time waltzed into her room.

"And she left her phoon, uh, phun? Ugh, her thingy at school and – AAAAUUGGGH!" Amity flopped face first onto Willow's bed and screamed into the bedspread as she flailed her arms and legs in a frustrated manner.

Willow walked to her bed, looked down at Amity, and said, "You need to slow down for me."

Amity got up, turned around, sat down, and explained herself.

"I just think that she's trying to keep something bottled up inside, again. I know a lot happened in that Alt Demon Realm, and I doubt she's completely over it," said Amity.

"I can't deny that." Willow blushed as she looked away from Amity for a moment. "I-I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that another version of me actually had a crush on Luz and kissed our Luz."

Amity sighed. "I wish my case was more benign. The other me caused her Luz so much pain and grief…do…do you think Luz is having second thoughts about being with me?"

Willow shook her head in disbelief. "What?! Why would she think that?"

"C'mon, Willow. You heard the same thing I did. That other Amity was me; I was one moment away from becoming that same Amity…and she didn't help her Luz, even after she begged and pleaded with her to undo the curse of the Oath. What if Luz thinks I could become that Amity again? Become someone who could hurt her? And what if she's trying to blame herself for what the other Luz did to that Amity's mother? I mean, maybe she thinks I'm scared she could do that to my own mother," Amity confessed.

Willow sighed as she sat down next to Amity and said, "Amity, there's no way Luz would think that of you. Comparing the you now to the you that Luz described in that Alternate Demon Realm, you're way better than she is. Plus, don't forget that your alternate self also changed by the time everything was said and done. You know Luz wouldn't hold that against you. You might have a point about the whole, 'you're mom getting turned to ash' thing."

Amity flopped, back first, onto the bed as she sighed again. She held up the phone over herself and said, "I have a feeling that the answers are on this…thing of hers. But I'm not gonna invade her privacy like that. Would you?"

Willow made a wavy gesture with her right hand. "Mmm…Mm-mmm."

Amity sat up as she giggled at Willow's not-answer. "Willow."

The stout witch girl's gaze narrowed as she stood up and began advancing on Amity, making the lilac haired witch freeze with worry.

"Listen, Blight, if you want my advice, there's something you have to do for me first," said Willow in a serious tone.

Amity gulped; she knew she was asking too much. It was a miracle from the Titan that her former/current friend helped her out as much as she did, but now that she was together with Luz, the help that Willow offered was not going to be for nothing now.

"O-Okay, Willow. W-What do you want?" Amity asked.

"Do you still know how to braid hair?"

After asking her question, Willow sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed. Tapping her feet against the floor as she waited for Amity to do as she asked.

Amity couldn't help but chuckle at the simple request, and at herself for thinking that Willow was going to impose some high price for her assistance. "Okay, but I am a little rusty." She carefully undid Willow's bun and began working her friend's hair into her hands. "I'm glad we can be like this again."

Willow's expression shifted to a somewhat melancholy. While she did agree with Amity, it was nice to be like this again, it was still sad to think that it took this long. And that they could've been doing this a lot more if certain things hadn't happened. But the important thing was that it was happening, and she had Luz to thank for helping to mend their friendship, even if it was still a bit awkward from time to time.

"I am, too, Amity."

The hour was growing late, soon the sun would set, and the Coven Day Parade would begin. Kikimora was getting more worried by the minute, the human's plan was ludicrous, but really, what other choice did she have? If she missed this chance now, she would never get another one. It was all for the best, wasn't it? She was one failed mission away from the Emperor either throwing her out of the Coven, sending her to the Conformatorium, or just ending her life on the spot.

Quite frankly, I'm sure he'd just end my life. I…I know too much for him to let me live, thought Kikimora. Although, he doesn't know that I know. So, I might have a chance at living. But in that case, I am better off going through with this idiotic plan.

Years of service to the Emperor's Coven, to the Emperor himself, and now she has to worry about losing her life or losing her family. Which, at this point, is all she really has left, and that's not saying much. Her mother was strict, and their family valued excellence above all else. But even they weren't completely heartless, although, considering that her mother pretty much threatened to disown her if she didn't come to the family reunion, would make you think otherwise.

"This isn't going to work. I can't believe I let that them talk me into this," said Kikimora to herself.

"Who talked you into what?"

Kikimora glanced to her left and saw Raine Whispers crouched next to her. Gazing upon her curiously.

"R-Raine? H-How long have you been there? S-Shouldn't you be practicing your, um, parade wave?" Kikimora asked.

Raine groaned at the mention of the wave, and the parade in general. "Ugh. You know I hate these things. Talking to people. Waving to people. People. Ugh."

Both Kikimora and Raine shuddered at the thought of doing any of that.

"But I'm just happy to do my part," they added.

Kikimora was confused. Raine was acting strangely. She remembered when Darius, Eberwolf, and herself captured Raine for being a traitor and conspiring against Emperor Belos. In fact, she distinctly remembered activating the Coven Sigil on their arm and wrapping them up like a present for the Emperor. She never did learn what happened to Raine after she brought them back to the castle, and she never heard mention of a replacement for Raine. However, it seems that they're now onboard with this parade, with being of assistance to Emperor Belos. It was actually concerning her a bit.

"You seem so much more calm than before," said Kikimora.

Suddenly, the ground opened up before them, and out from it appeared a flower bud. The bud blossomed and from within it appeared an older woman. She wore a purple dress, with a belt, bracelets, and boots made of tightly woven vines. She had big, faded green hair that flowed down to the back of her knees. Two long, curved, yellow horns sprouted from her head, and in the middle, atop of her head, was a hat that looked like a strawberry with a few leaves around it. Her eyes were a light shade of lavender, and her lips were painted dark green. And all around this witch were thorny vines that wiggled back and forth in a menacing way.

"Oh, why wouldn't they be? They were sick for a while, but thanks to me, they're good as new!" the woman spoke.

"Terra!" Kikimora exclaimed in shock. "A-And what brings you out of your greenhouse, Head Witch?"

"Terra's been helping me recover," Raine answered.

Kikimora glanced back at the Head Witch of the Bard Coven and asked, "R-Recover? From what manner of illness? If I may ask?"

"I'd tell you if I could, but I just can't remember anything with these…ugh," Raine winced as they pressed their hand against their temple, "headaches."

"Now, now. It doesn't matter what it was. What's important is they're far better than they were before." Terra approached Raine and held out her hand. "Here, Sprout. Drink your tea."

Raine unhooked the horn from his belt, showing that it was in fact a horn cup. Terra hovered her left hand over the cup and made a flower bloom in it. The petals from that flower fell off and landed in the cup, adding to the mix that was inside of it. Raine brought the cup up to their lips and gave a gentle blow on it, whistling a little when they did, and then drank the mysterious concoction.

Terra smiled as she said, "There you go." The elderly Head Witch helped Raine to their feet. "Now. You're gonna get on top of that float and wave to thousands of chumps all night. Remember to lead with your elbow."

"I'm on it," Raine replied as the two walked off.

Kikimora took a few steps back and hid behind float. She summoned a crow phone, as she needed to alert the human and the Owl Lady about this latest development.

"Terra could ruin everything!"

No sooner did she begin dialing did vines break through the ground a couple of feet in front of her. And out from them appeared Terra, looking down on Kikimora with a devious smile.

"You're not trying to leave, are you?" Terra asked.

"N-No, why would I, Head Witch?"

"Good. Now, come. The parade is about to begin."