The parade was in full swing all over the island. Coven Day was the celebration of the implementation of the Coven System, and the, supposed, triumph over Wild Magic. And every year they celebrated this momentous day by having a parade in honor of Emperor Belos bringing the light and wisdom of the Coven System to the witches and demons of the Boiling Isles, and their appeasement of the Titan.
However, during this little event, there were some who did not care for the parade itself and were instead hatching their plan. Eda and Luz were jumping across the rooftops, wearing cloaks, with masks and hoods up to keep others from recognizing them right away. Thankfully all eyes were on the parade itself, so no one was going to see their movements.
The duo continued their roof hooping until they arrived at the street where the parade was going on. There were hundreds of people down below as music and confetti filled the air, along with the cheers of the crowd. Luz and Eda peeked from behind the roof and saw their targets. Raine was atop a float, playing their violin while Kikimora drove the float. It was going to an easy snatch and grab.
Luz glanced at her watch that she got as a present from King, how he got it she had no idea, and how he managed to get his likeness as the center piece of the watch was beyond her.
"It's almost time," said Luz.
Eda glanced about the area, trying to keep an eye out for anything that could derail their efforts, but paused when she looked at the float at the tail end of the parade.
"Is that our float?" Eda asked.
"Not bad right?"
The float in question had a base that looked like a box made of four large two-by-fours that were nailed together. Inside of that box was a bed of hay, and sitting atop of that hay was mascot version of Emperor Belos. But that float was not an ordinary float, it was, as Luz drew, piloted by both King and Hooty. The piloted Belos mascot made gestures towards the crowd, which they ate up. One such gesture was it winking and throwing up two finger guns.
"That's the signal," said Luz.
Eda nodded.
"Let's move."
The Owl Lady jumped off the roof and landed in the alleyway behind one of the buildings. A couple of seconds after she landed, Luz landed right beside her.
"Huh, thought I would've had to catch you," said Eda.
"C'mon, I've jumped down from higher things than that," Luz remarked.
"Makin' me proud, kid."
Luz and Eda brought out the Invisibility Combo Glyph, took a deep breath and slapped it onto their bodies. Within a second, they vanished from sight, and forced their way through the confused crowd to get behind the main float. No sooner had they made it into position did their own float begin the distraction. The left eye of the Belos mascot began shooting out multiple fireworks all at once. The celebration came to a pause when they saw this, making Raine and Kikimora glance behind them as this was not a part of the parade.
Some of the fireworks created intricate patterns in the sky, but some created words that were defaming remarks about the Emperor. Two of them formed the words, "Belos. More like Boo-los!" another wrote, "Belos' mask stinks!" and another created the words, "Belos needs to take a long walk off a short peer!" Given that the waters of the Boiling Sea were, well, boiling and hot enough to melt the flesh off of bones, it was more or less a statement to have Belos die.
One of the Coven Scouts next to Kikimora and Raine's float asked, "Should we, uh, do something about that?"
Kikimora went into her commanding tone and ordered, "Yes, of course, you hangnails! I command all of you to investigate immediately!"
Eda and Luz watched as the Coven Scouts around the main float left to go investigate. Once they were gone, the master and apprentice opened their mouths to take in the life-giving air, and in the process became visible again. The duo took out another Combo Glyph paper and slammed them both against the street. An explosion of steam covered the whole area, hiding the float and their actions from the crowd of onlookers. Kikimora dismounted the float, readying herself to be taken.
"And scoop!" Luz came in and grabbed Kikimora under her arms, holding aloft.
"Ooh! I cannot believe we are being taken against our will! What sayeth you fiend?" Kikimora cried out in mock distress.
What is she doing?!
"Improving, from the looks of it. Well, say something."
"Uuuuuh…That's right! I, Hecate, will whisk you away to my kingdom of mirrors and snakes!" Luz announced in a dramatic voice.
"Really?" Kikimora whispered. "Mirrors and snakes?"
"I didn't know I had to prepare lines! We never discussed that!" Luz retorted.
Unbeknownst to Luz, Raine was walking up behind her, and drew a spell circle. However, they were unable to cast their spell as a mess of vines sprouted from behind them and wrapped them up. Luz turned around and saw that Raine was there, but also saw that it was Eda who captured Raine.
"Knock it off you two. Let's get crackin'!" Eda stated.
Both Luz and Eda took out their Invisibility Combo Glyphs and once again vanished from sight. However, what Luz didn't know was that she was being followed by a hooded figure.
Meanwhile, Eda managed to get herself and Raine to an alley far from the commotion. Once they were visible again, Eda removed her hood and mask, and tore off the vines from Raine before giving them a hug.
"Raine, I'm so glad you're okay!" Ede exclaimed in joy.
Raine backed away from Eda, confused, and asked, "Eda? What are you doing here?"
"I had to make sure you were okay after that fight with Darius and Eber," she remarked.
Raine still looked confused. "What fight?"
Now Eda was the one confused. How could they not remember that fiasco?
"It was just a few weeks ago. I was with you," Eda explained as she reached out towards her former lover.
Raine gently pushed Eda's hand away as they furrowed their brow.
"Eda, I spent the last month sick in bed. And we…we haven't spoken in years."
Eda's eyes widened as she gasped. That couldn't be right. How did they not remember their missions against Belos, and the moment when they practically sacrificed themselves for her, how could they not remember that?
"Listen, I don't know what you want with me. But I'm the Head of a Coven now. And I can't associate with Wild Witches anymore. So, move aside."
Eda furrowed her as she whipped out a Plant Glyph and said, "No."
The Owl Lady dropped the piece of paper onto the ground and stamped her foot on it. Immediately afterwards vines started to sprout from it in a flash of green light, creating a wall of thick tendrils behind her to cut them off from anyone who might interfere.
"I'm not leaving until I get through to you," said Eda.
Raine opened their palms, into their left they summoned a violin, and into the right a bowstring.
"Fine. We can do this the hard way," said Raine.
Eda threw off her cloak and readied her staff.
Elsewhere, Luz and Kikimora continued their escape. Luz had to take a breath, but they were far enough away from the parade grounds that no one was going to see them anyway.
"Oh my gosh, it's working! It's actually working!" Luz exclaimed in both disbelief and happiness.
"We're visible? We need to disappear again! If we're caught, she'll end us!" Kikimora warned.
"Who will end us?" she asked.
No sooner did she ask did the ground begin to rumble beneath her feet. Large fissures began to form in the street, making Luz stop and turn around to see what it was. Suddenly, the ground exploded. Large vines broke through the street and began twisting into a large stem as a cascade of leaves fell throughout the alley. Luz decided to not be around for whatever was about to emerge from that and hid behind a wagon as quickly as possible.
"T-The Head Witch of the Plant Coven…"
The stem created a flower bud at the top. The bud blossomed and revealed the Head Witch of the Plant Coven sitting upon a throne made of large flower petals.
"…Terra Snapdragon."
"Oh, my word. Where could Kiki have gone?" Terra asked in a rhetorical tone. "Such a valued member of the Coven must be found post haste!"
A little fly came buzzing close to Terra, and as it did, she created a plant from between her right index finger and thumb.
"Have you seen her, little fly?" Terra asked.
The plant she created lurched forward and snapped its jaws around the insect like a Venus Flytrap.
"Guess not."
While Terra was going on, Luz grabbed one of the leaves that had fallen on the ground and took out a fine tipped marker. She quickly drew the Invisibility Combo Glyph onto the leaf as quickly as she could, and once she was done, Kiki climbed onto her back. Luz took a deep breath and pressed the glyph paper against her chest, causing both of them to disappear.
"It's shame that Kikimora would disappear and right before her promotion," said Terra.
The sudden mention of a promotion made Kikimora yelp in excitement and caused Luz to bump against a bottle.
Both noises did not go unheard by Terra as she smiled her devious smile.
"All the missions she would have led. The shiny new badge, the respect." Terra drew a spell circle and commanded one of the many vines to rise up. "Ah, well. Guess we'll have to find someone else!"
Terra balled her fist, making the vine sharpen as thorns grew around the tip of the vine. By her unspoken command, the vine thrust itself forward, aiming directly for the spot where Terra heard the noises from earlier. But before the vine could reach its target, it stopped. Terra looked both confused and annoyed by this development and glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on. That's when she noticed an Abomination golem, it was stretching its arms and wrapping them around the vine to keep it from completing its attack.
Luz released her breath, revealing that the vine was just mere inches away from piercing her head. She quickly turned around and ran as fast as she could to get away from Terra. Technically speaking, Luz knew she could take Terra any day of the week, but she was not in a position to reveal her identity as Witch. The only other person, unfortunately, who knew of her identity was Belos. For now, she would have to make do with her glyphs until she could get Kikimora safely away from Terra.
As she ran, Luz was surprised when she saw Amity running up on her left.
"Sweet potato?! How did you know–?!"
"Book five, chapter eight, Azura pretends to kidnap Hecate–" Amity began.
"During the Ice Festival to save her from the Wizard Clan!" Luz finished. "You remembered my favorite part."
"Yes, but right now, I just want to keep my girlfriend from being sent to the Conformatorium, again."
Luz and Amity stopped running. When they did, Amity opened her cloak and revealed jug tied to a belt she wore. She quickly drew a spell circle and had the Abomination goo housed inside flow out and form a skateboard. Once formed, both she and Luz hopped onto it and began rolling away faster than they were on foot.
"I don't get it, how did you know we were even going to be there?" Luz asked as they rolled along.
"I was just walking around thinking and decided to watch the parade, but then that mess with the last float happened, and then I heard you recite Azura, so I figured whatever was going on was some plan you concocted," Amity explained.
"And you jumped in without even knowing what was going on?"
"Why not? I figured whatever you were doing was probably something to either help Eda, or someone else." Amity spoke the next part in a whisper. "Even though that person is Kikimora. I'm sure you have a good reason either way."
The battle between Raine and Eda was still ongoing. Raine was using their violin to create magical energy slashes from the soundwaves that the violin produced, launching three of them right at Eda. The Owl Lady managed to nimbly dodge the first two, and ducked to miss the third one which managed to cut down the vine wall behind her.
"Please! Rainstorm stop it!" Eda pleaded.
"I don't want to hurt you, Eda. But you're not giving me much of a choice," said Raine.
Eda glanced at the damage they had done and scoffed. "Come on, Raine! I know when you're going easy on me!"
Raine had a pensive look on their face, as if they really did not want to fight Eda, or rather were forcing themselves to do so.
"I…augh!"
Raine began playing their violin, and above them they conjured a golden storm cloud that began raining down golden lightning within the alley. Eda continued to show her nimbleness as she dodged the lightning strikes but knew in her heart that Raine still wasn't giving it their all. She knew full well if Raine wanted to take her down, they could do so easily. Before when she had her magic, they were an even match, but even with her Harpy Mode, Eda knew she couldn't take them if Raine was going all out.
Eda decided to call his bluff and ran towards him, taking out another Invisibility Combo Glyph. She took a breath and pressed the paper against herself, vanishing from sight. Raine was surprised by this, they didn't know where Eda was, she could strike from anywhere. So, they decided to blast the entire alley. Raine raised their bowstring, channeling their magical energy through it in order to cast their spell. However, before they could draw it across the strings of the violin, Eda appeared and struck the bowstring with her staff, causing the built-up energy to be released as a shockwave of power that dispelled the golden storm cloud.
Eda got in Raine's face and pulled out a tape recorder as she asked, "Did you forget this too?!"
When Eda pressed play, the sound that came out of it was their song, Eda's Requiem. Raine's brow furrowed as they listened to the song, as if they were pain just from hearing its melody.
"UGH! Why won't you just leave me alone?!" Raine shouted.
The Head Witch of the Bard Coven plucked the string on their bow, and from it released a shockwave of magical energy that threw Eda back to the opening of the alley where she impacted, back first, into what remained of the vine wall she had created. Eda slowly got back up as she looked upon her former lover with sorrowful eyes.
"For old time's sake, I'll give you one last chance. Move. Please."
Eda shook her head defiantly.
"So be it."
Raine raised their bowstring in preparation to deliver the final blow.
"I think I heard something over there!"
"Head Witch! Are you there?!"
"Surround the area!"
Raine stopped when they and Eda heard the voices of Coven Scouts heading their way. Eda quickly searched herself for another Invisibility Combo Glyph, but gasped when she realized that she had none left. But there was one left, and when she looked down, Raine had taken it. The Bard witch looked at Eda right in the eyes, and Eda did the same to Raine. Both held each other's gaze for a long moment before Raine shoved the glyph paper into Eda's hands.
"Go home. Maybe travel for a bit." Raine turned their back on Eda. "Just don't contact me again. I work for the Emperor, after all."
Eda looked as if she was about to say something, but the Coven Scouts' voices were drawing closer. Reluctantly, Eda pressed the glyph paper against her chest and disappeared.
The Scouts came running from around the corner and asked, "Head Witch?! Are you hurt?!"
"No…not badly." Raine raised their right hand and seemed to wipe a tear from their eye. "Let's return to the parade."
"Uh…about that, Head Witch…"
"LAW IS MEANGINGLESS! STEALING IS LEGAL NOW!"
Raine watched as the Belos mascot float was hopping around and causing all manner of bedlam. The other Coven Scouts were trying to wrangle it in, but were having no such luck, in fact, the float was now chasing them.
"I AM YOUR GOD NOW!"
Raine facepalmed themselves as they groaned, "What else can happen tonight?"
Several explosions went off around the parade grounds, and Raine wished they had kept their mouth shut.
Luz had directed Amity to the exfiltration site, which was a pier where the finger dragon that was once owned by Kikimora waited patiently for them. Amity brought the skateboard to a stop, and once they were off, had the Abomination goo return to her jug.
"Okay, Kiki. Princess here will get you back to your family in Palm Stings by morning," said Luz.
She got atop the beast and began getting Kikimora situated in the seat.
"She's a good girl, and I'm sad to say goodbye, but Bump couldn't keep her at this place anymore."
Luz managed to get Kikimora strapped in, and even provided her with the whistle that commanded Princess.
"Isn't it great? You'll see everyone at the reunion, and when you return, you can brag about your daring escape! You're walking proof that you don't have to choose between worlds!" Luz exclaimed in an almost frantic tone.
Amity crossed her arms and gave her girlfriend a suspicious look but held her tongue for the time being.
"You've been such a help to me, human. You really are a kind person…And an utter FOOL! AAHAHAAHAHAHA!" Kikimora laughed, maniacally.
"Wha?!" Luz gasped.
"Palm Stings can BURN for all I care! You heard Terra. They want to promote me! ME!"
"Are you serious?! She could've been lying!" Amity retorted.
Princess began rising up, putting herself into attack position.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," the demon woman stated. "Maybe as a thank you I could give Belos a few gifts. A troublemaking human and – Ah. You're the little fire starter from Eclipse Lake."
"Amity!"
"Let's go!"
Luz grabbed a pair of Light Glyphs from her pockets, fed some mana into them, and slammed them together. Both Luz and Amity shut their eyes as the glyphs created a flash bomb, temporarily blinding Princess and Kikimora. The finger dragon lashed out in an attempt to attack the ones responsible, however, Luz and Amity managed to jump back just before Princess' claw wing swiped at them and began running away. However, once the blinding effect wore off, the finger dragon roared angrily as it smashed up the pier behind it before taking off into the sky to pursue them.
Amity and Luz knew they had to ground the dragon if they were going to get anywhere. Without speaking a word to each other, Amity dropped to the ground in a kneeling position and drew a spell circle. The circle passed over her outstretched right arm and formed a spiked gauntlet made of the goo. Luz stopped next to her girlfriend, whipped out an Ice Glyph, fed mana into it, and pressed it against the front of the gauntlet. The glyph paper glowed and then merged with Amity's gauntlet, which now had the Ice Glyph symbol branded onto it.
"You got 'em!" Luz exclaimed.
Amity smiled as she cocked by the gauntlet like a shotgun and fired off several flying fists into the sky. The first one exploded to the right of Kikimora and her mount, creating a blast of ice and snow, the second did the same to the left, halting the finger dragon's movements, and allowing for the third one to hit it dead on. The moment the gauntlet hit, the Ice Glyph went to work and completely encased Kikimora and Princess in a huge block of ice that fell like a lead weight and crashed through the pier and into the Boiling Sea below.
Now that they were taken care of, Luz and Amity began running, but stopped when the other side of the pier was broken through from below. Princes emerged from the hole she made, showing that the Boiling Sea only hastened their release from the icy prison that Luz and Amity created, and also protected them from getting boiled alive.
"Really, Luz. Thank you. You've been a really big help to me, and my future," said Kikimora in a mocking tone.
"You're welcome!" Luz retorted.
Amity looked at her girlfriend in confusion when she said that.
"Wait, I mean…Ah, dang it!"
Princess reared back as she opened her jaws wide and flexed her claw wings for the attack. Luz and Amity glanced at each other and decided it was time to get a tad more serious. Luz whipped out another Light Glyph, in addition to a Fire Glyph. Using La Lechuza's mana, she crushed both papers in her hands and formed a flaming sword in her right hand and a shield of light on her left forearm. Amity drew a spell circle and did the same, infusing her spell with the mana from Bast to form a battle suit made of Abomination goo around her body. She made both of her hands turn into giant spiked fists, knocking them together in a show of intimidation as both lovers prepared to show Kikimora how big of a mistake she made.
Unfortunately, that opportunity was stolen from them when several strands of seaweed burst from the waters of the Boiling Sea and began wrapping themselves around Princess as they forced the finger dragon to crash against the pier hard enough to knock Kikimora off her seat. The little demon woman tumbled to the pier, and once she stopped, more seaweed strands came up and wrapped themselves around her, effectively restraining Kikimora.
"W-W-What is this?! How are you doing this?!" Kikimora asked in a frantic tone.
Amity looked at Luz, but Luz only shrugged, not having a clue what was going on.
"Oh, Kiki…" Luz, Amity, and Kikimora heard a voice and looked towards the water. From the waters more seaweed appeared, wove together, and then opened to show Terra Snapdragon, looking down on them with a smug look on her face. "…try not to get ahead of yourself."
The Head Witch of the Plant Coven used her spell circle to command the seaweed to lower her onto the pier. Luz and Amity took a few steps back, keeping their guards up, and keeping their spells active until they were sure of where this was going.
"The Emperor has a great many plans, but causing a riot by hurting a couple of children is not one of them," said Terra.
"Terra! Shouldn't you be babysitting the bard?!" Kikimora asked in shock.
Terra tsked as she approached the demon woman. "Kiki, I wasn't sent here to watch over Raine. I was sent here to watch over you." The Head Witch commanded the seaweed to release Kikimora as she continued. "The promotion is real. You just had to prove your dedication."
Kikimora stood up as she asked, hopeful, "Did I pass?!"
"Unfortunately, yes," Terra answered in a disappointed tone.
"Eeeeee! So? What's my promotion?! Who's under my command?! What do I get?!"
Terra leaned down to look Kikimora in the eye, her devious smile returning in full force as a shadow befell her features.
"You get…to live."
Luz could see all the joy leaving Kikimora in that instance.
Suddenly, multiple explosions were going off near the area where the parade was going on, gaining the attention of Terra, Kikimora, Luz, and Amity.
"Ugh, interruptions. Come, Kiki, time to head out."
Terra drew another spell circle and commanded the seaweed to rise and wrap the little demon woman in a cocoon of seaweed. With a flick of the wrist, the cocoon was dragged into the Boiling Sea as Kikimora's muffled screams could be heard from inside of it before she disappeared into the waters. The finger dragon was dragged into the water as well, but Terra did not provide it with a protective cocoon of seaweed like she did Kikimora, the dragon made a painful screeching sound, but it was only for a split second before it was fully submerged.
Luz's eyes widened with shock, her teeth gritting in anger at what Terra did to Princess, and with no remorse whatsoever. The flaming sword in Luz's right blazed with greater intensity as she readied to do battle with the cruel woman before her.
"Careful now, human." Terra warned. "My orders were just to take care of Kiki. Not to engage with you. But…"
More seaweed rose from the water and began to hover like cobras prepared to strike.
"I'm not opposed if you feel like having a scrap."
Luz growled as she widened her stance, brought up her shield, and angled her sword for the attack.
"Niña, stop. This is not the place nor the time."
She just killed Princess! She could've done the same thing for her like she did to Kikimora to protect her! But she just dragged her into the water! Boiling water!
"I understand how you feel, but right now we are facing a master Plant witch. The leader of the very Plant Coven itself. If we transformed, I wouldn't be worrying, but as you are right now, she has more of an advantage, not just with her element, but also environmental. One misstep and you and Amity will suffer the same fate as Princess. Think of your lover as well."
Luz glanced to her left, she could see that Amity was ready to fight at her side without hesitation, not showing any fear in facing down Terra. But, at the same time, Luz knew that La Lechuza was right. The advantage was to Terra right now, not them. The Latina took a deep breath and calmed herself down as she mentally counted to ten. Once she was done, Luz dismissed the sword and shield constructs. Amity glanced at her, and Luz nodded, silently telling her lover to stand down as well. Amity dismissed her Abomination suit, and stood next to Luz, intertwining her right hand with Luz's left.
"Very wise decision, human, and young witchling." Terra commanded the seaweed to return to the depths of the seas before addressing the two again. "Oh, and one more thing. The Emperor says he's looking forward to meeting you, human. Until then, happy Coven Day."
The seaweed strands wrapped around Terra and once they had, she disappeared into the waters. Once she was gone, both Amity and Luz collapsed onto their rears, releasing a heavy sigh of relief.
Amity was going to speak, but Luz cut her off as she threw herself at the witch girl and hugged her tight.
"She didn't need to do that to her," said Luz.
"I know…I'm sorry," said Amity as she hugged Luz back.
Princess was not a cruel creature; she was just animal that followed orders. She wished she could've saved her from that fate, but there was nothing she could do now.
"I'm sorry I got you involved in that," said Luz.
"I got myself involved, Luz. You don't have anything to be sorry about."
Luz gently broke the hug as she looked into her lover's eyes and smiled. "Still, thank you for helping me, and saving my life back there in the alley. How can I make this up to you?"
Amity's expression fell slightly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out Luz's cellphone. "Maybe…you can tell me about what's been eating you lately?"
Luz frowned a little when she saw her cellphone.
"Don't worry. I haven't watched it. But after everything you did with Kikimora, I'm starting to get a better idea of what is eating you. It has to do with your Mom, and that promise, right?" Amity asked.
Luz sighed as she hugged her legs to her chest. "I'm sorry, I've…I've just been so worried about trying to show my Mom that being here has been the best thing to happen to me. For all the dangers and the perils, I've been able to do so many things that I couldn't do back home. I found friends, people who like me for me, and a girlfriend that I wouldn't trade for anyone or anything in this or any other world."
Amity couldn't help but smile.
"I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to show my Mom how good this place is, but the videos I made on my phone just kept ending up making the Boiling Isles look crazier than this place really is. I want to show her that despite what this place is, I've been able to grow more than I ever have. And maybe…maybe if she sees that, she'll at least let me visit so I can keep my friends and my girlfriend."
Amity scooted closer to Luz and brought her into a hug. "Luz, I know this situation is crazy, and I'm okay with taking things one day at a time. But I can't help if I don't know what's going on. You opened up to us during Krampmus, but only because you felt like everything was going wrong until it all boiled over."
"I…I know. But you just looked so hopeful when you said that we'd try and show my Mom that this place is great, and you were even learning Spanish. And I thought if I helped out Kikimora, maybe there'd be hope for me."
Amity gently kissed Luz's left cheek and smiled at her. "There's always hope. You're the one who showed me that. So, keep that hope alive that we can convince your mom to let you visit our world. I mean, the other option here is that I come to your world and live with you."
Luz chuckled at little. "Amity, be serious."
"I am."
Luz's eyes widened.
"I…I would if you wanted me to. If there was no other choice, I…I would come to the Human Realm with you," said Amity in a serious tone.
"A-Amity…"
"Besides, your mom didn't say anything about any one of us coming to see you, right?"
"Well…no, s-she didn't say that."
"See? There's still a bright side. If you can't come to us, then we'll come to you. If we manage to make a functioning door, we can come visit you anytime we felt like. Plus, I'm still owed a Human Realm date," said Amity.
"I think we're both still owed a regular date here," Luz replied.
More explosions went off at the parade grounds, causing both young teens to spring to their feet.
"Uh, Luz, how long was that distraction supposed to go on for?" Amity asked.
"Those explosions aren't from fireworks; I think those are real explosions! Someone's attacking the parade!"
"Well, since we're alone out here, let's transform!"
Luz nodded.
The two teens slipped on their Driver rings and placed them over their waists.
[Driver On, Please.]
[Driver On.]
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
Luz put on her Light Style ring while Amity put on her Bast ring.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
[Light, Please.]
[Ready, Open!]
[Roar of the heavens!]
[The Goddess Descends!]
A purple and yellow magic circle appeared under each girl's feet respectively and rose over them. Once they were done, what stood in their stead was Kamen Rider Witch and Kamen Rider Heka. The two didn't waste any more time and summoned their vehicles.
[Ride, Please.]
[Ride the sky!]
A purple and yellow magic circle flashed into existence and out from them appeared both the Witch Speeder and Solar Chaser. The two magical Riders mounted their vehicles and quickly took off into the air as they headed straight for the parade grounds.
Witch and Heka finally arrived, hovering over the parade grounds, and gasped at what they saw.
"It can't be!" Heka exclaimed.
There were nine Phantoms running around the parade grounds, but each of them looked vastly different from the other.
Four of them were humanoid in shape and were over nine feet tall. One was colored purple, its body looked slender, but its arms were long and seemed to be made of Abomination goo. On its head was an exoskeletal bone mask that covered half its head, and had a strange glowing symbol carved into it. The second one was muscular, and colored in varying hues of brown, it had big strong arms like that of a gorilla, with sharp claws on the fingers. And just like the first, it too had a symbol carved into its forehead armor.
The third seemed to be a mixture of plants and flesh, with vines running along its body in addition to its exoskeletal armor. On top of its head was a blooming rose-like flower and had a glowing symbol in the middle of its forehead. The fourth of the humanoid types was painted in varying hues of yellow. It had six arms, and each one had a hole in the middle of their palms. The creature's back had flasks growing along its spine, flasks that it grabbed with its multiple hands. It held four in its middle and lower hands, while the upper two began pouring and mixing liquids that were produced from the hole in its palms. And just like its brethren, it too had a symbol carved into its forehead.
There was a seven-foot-tall canine looking Phantom, but was chimeric in nature, sporting four wings on its back that were bird and bat-like, a snake tail, bird talons for its front legs, and jagged spines that ran the length of its back. The top of its head had the same exoskeletal armor as the humanoid Phantoms, and also had its own unique symbol carved into its head. The second canine Phantom had a wispy faded blue mane around its neck and back that undulated up and down as if by the wind. Its body was covered in azure fur that had a shimmering appearance to it, and just like its kin, there was a unique glowing symbol carved into its bony armored head. A third looked ethereal, like it wasn't there. It was violet colored from what they could see and had glowing orbs hovering around it that would fade in and out of existence. And of course, had a unique glowing symbol.
Two more were in the sky and appeared to look like garudas. One was navy blue and had sections of its body wrapped in white bandages that made it look like a mummy, and of course this one had exoskeletal armor covering the top of its head and beak, and had a glowing symbol carved into the forehead. The second and final one was blood red, had white musical notes painted over its body, along with a glowing symbol.
"They look like those Pseudo-Phantoms you and Crusader fought, but…what's happened to them?"
"Incoming!" La Lechuza warned.
The red garuda Pseudo-Phantom swooped down from on high, opened its mouth, and released a melodious song that turned into a shockwave blast that headed straight for Witch and Heka. The two Riders quickly took evasive maneuvers, the shockwave blast struck the rooftop of one the buildings and practically shattered it into pieces, breaking it down on a molecular level. Witch turned the Speeder around and twisted the throttle as she took off towards that monster and fired several mana blasts from her Rider Machine. The red garuda dodged some of the blasts, but one of them managed to clip the bird monster in the left leg, causing it to release a squawk of pain. The navy blue garuda flew by, passing over the red garuda as it released a veil of shimmering blue sparkles. The sparkles gathered at the creature's left leg, and within seconds it was healed.
"Healing, and Song? No, healing and bard," said Witch. "Does that mean…?"
"WITCH! BELOW!" Heka warned.
Several thick vines shot up from the ground and managed to entangle the Speeder. The strong vines pulled the Speeder down and took Witch with it. The hero of hope quickly dove off her Rider Machine as it was slammed down against the street, exploding upon impact. Witch rolled along the ground before coming to a stop and got onto her feet. However, the assault wasn't over as the azure canine Pseudo-Phantom started running towards her. Witch got into an attack stance, but as she did, the azure canine began to shimmer, and a second later, an entire pack of the same canine Pseudo-Phantom appeared out of nowhere.
[Connect, Please.]
Witch reached into her magic circle and pulled out the WizarSwordGun, switching it into gun mode as she began firing shots towards the pack. When the light infused silver bullets neared their target, instead of exploding on impact, they passed right through them.
"What?!"
The hero of hope continuously fired, but each of her shots only managed to pass through them again and again, as if they weren't even there. As the pack drew closer, Witch switched to sword mode and readied to cut them down. The first canine Pseudo-Phantom lunged at her, but Witch slashed upwards with her blade. But when she did, the canine Pseudo-Phantom just poofed away in a cloud of azure smoke. Witch kept on guard as more she slashed through one canine Phantom after the next, but each one just poofed away like the first.
Illusions! They're illusions! AAAAAH!
With suddenly felt pain erupt from her back as something rammed into her and threw her forward. Witch groaned as rose to her feet, and looked to where she was to see what had hit her, but there was nothing there. Then another attack struck her from the left, hitting her in the side of her helmet, and then another from right, hitting her side. Multiple attacks came at her from different sides, causing sparks to fly with each successful hit.
"WITCH!" Heka yelled as she turned the Solar Chaser downwards and began heading straight for her.
The burly humanoid Pseudo-Phantom raised its arms and struck the ground, causing the land beneath to rattle and shake. A moment later, several pillars of stone jutted high into the air, making Heka have to maneuver around them as she tried to get to Witch. Heka thought she was about to clear the pillars, but was proven wrong when a net made of, what looked like, Abomination goo, appeared between two of the pillars. The goo trapped her like a fly caught in as spider's web and began to crawl over her to try and capture her. Heka quickly drew a spell circle and summoned her own Abomination goo under the invading goo and expanded it to push away the goo that was trying to capture her. She then commanded the goo to from blades and slice up the net, freeing herself, but in the process caused her Solar Chaser to crash to the ground.
The chimeric canine Pseudo-Phantom began charging full steam ahead towards Heka, the top of its head suddenly sprouted two long, curved horns and aimed them directly at the golden Rider. Heka quickly slipped on her Arms ring and activated it.
[Call to Arms: Sphinx Shield!]
A shield formed around Amity's left arm as she braced herself. The canine chimera Pseudo-Phantom crashed into the shield; the reverberation made Heka grit her teeth from the pain of her bones rattling from it. The creature kept moving, causing Heka to dig her heels into the street as she began to skid backwards. The Rider and beast continued to struggle against each other until Heka had had enough.
"Get! Out! Of! My! WAY!"
Heka yelled as she focused her magic into the shield and released a shockwave that pushed the beast back. The golden Rider cocked back her shield arm and bashed it against the head, sending the beast careening into the side of a building. Heka summoned her staff, Lady Luck, and readied to use the bladed end to cut down the monster. But before she could do that, seven flasks were suddenly strewn around her. Heka looked at them curiously for a moment but then noticed that they were glowing.
"Oh, Titan!"
The seven flasks exploded powerfully around her and sent Heka flying into the side of a building a few feet away from where the chimeric canine was downed. Thanks to the defensive boost from the Sphinx Shield, the damage wasn't as bad as it could've been, but it still hurt, nonetheless. When Heka dug herself out of the debris, she saw the yellow humanoid Pseudo-Phantom, carrying the flasks in its multiple arms. The navy blue garuda Pseudo-Phantom flew overhead and rained down more of its sparkles. Those same sparkles gathered to the chimera canine Pseudo-Phantom, and afterwards, the beast rose from its unconscious state as if nothing had happened to it.
Abomination, Construction, Beast, Potions! Are they–?!
The red garuda's melodious song could be heard again, and that was all the warning Heka got before she was struck by the shockwave blast, throwing her even further away and making her armor explode with several sparks flying in the air. Heka eventually landed next to Witch, with the latter helping her partner and lover back to her feet.
"Heka, I think they're–!"
"Using magic based on the nine Covens? Yeah, I noticed too," said Heka.
"How's that even possible? For one thing you told me you destroyed Echidna, and now these things have Boiling Isles magic powers, dialed up to eleven!" Witch exclaimed.
"This doesn't make sense to me either. The Pseudo-Phantoms that Echidna creates are tied to her life force. Once she is gone, then the rest die off immediately after. They shouldn't be able to continue living with her death, let alone somehow adapt to control the nine different types of magic," said Bast.
"We're dealing with a new enemy, one that knows how to manipulate the form of a Phantom, even if they are pseudo versions. Niña, you should go all out before these creatures get the better of us," La Lechuza warned.
"Same to you, Amity, we can't leave anything to chance!"
Heka dismissed her shield and staff and summoned forth her MaguScepter, slipping on the Champion ring once in hand. Witch was about to reach for her Wonder ring, but stopped as she eyed the other ring right next to it. With a firm resolve, she unhooked the other ring and slipped it over her left middle finger. Once they had their rings, Heka pressed her ring into the MaguScepter and turned it, at the same time, Witch scanned her ring.
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
}{ ¡LUZ EN LA OSCURIDAD! }{
(Light in the Darkness!)
}{ ¡OSCURIDAD EN LA LUZ! }{
(Darkness in the Light!)
}{ ¡PODER MÁGICO! }{
(Magical Might!)
}{ TWI~AH~AH~AH~LIGHT~~~! }{
}{ Now, Please! }{
[Rise Champion!]
[ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!]
[THE HERO OF LOVE & ORDER!]
[HEKA~]
[HEKA~]
[CHAMPION~!]
[THE GODDESS ASCENDS!]
The Witch circle was on her right, while the Oscura circle was on her left. La Lechuza arose behind Witch in the form of a magenta energy construct. The two circles slowly started to move closer and closer until they overlapped as the construct La Lechuza wrapped her wings around Witch and released a sparkling black, gold, magenta, and white light that swirled around her. At the same time, a pillar of purple light rose into the air as a construct of Bast ran around the pillar and then merged with it, setting it ablaze with golden flames. The two pillars shattered apart, sending down a cascade of golden embers and white and black feathers. The citizens that were still close by gazed in awe when they saw Witch's new form, her Extra Final Form, Twilight Style.
Heka had seen this form once before when Witch created projections of what happened in the Alt Demon Realm, but it was a completely different thing to see it in person. Witch noticed that Heka was staring at her and blushed under her helmet.
"What do you think?" Witch asked.
"Uh…just…wow, you look incredible!" Heka stated.
Suddenly, the Potion Pseudo-Phantom lobbed more of its explosive concoctions towards them. Acting on instinct, Witch grabbed Heka, held her close, and made six metallic white and black wings sprout from her back and wrapped them around them. The flasks hit the wings and ground around the duo released powerful explosions that kicked up a smoke cloud around the magical Riders. However, with a flare of her wings, Witch blew back the smoke, revealing that both herself and Heka were unharmed.
"Okay, double wow with those wings," said Heka.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." A flash of violet light went off around Witch's right hand a ring appeared on it. The metal was porcelain white, had a violet gemstone, and had the image of a swan on it. "I couldn't use this ring back in the Alt Demon Realm, but with you here, I think it'll definitely work for us both. Ready to give it a shot?"
Heka smirked under her mask and nodded at Witch.
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go!
Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
}\/{ LOVING HEART! NOW, PLEASE! }\/{
A violet, shimmering aura flared around Witch, but then suddenly, that aura reached out and connected right to Heka. The golden Rider suddenly felt a rush of power flowing through her body, and at the same time, Witch felt a similar power coursing through herself as well. Both magical Riders could hear a faint heartbeat, but it wasn't their own, it was as if there was another heart beating right beside their own. It took a moment, but they realized that this second heartbeat they were feeling was each other's.
"Witch, do you feel that?" Heka asked.
"I do. Loving Heart, one of my Seven Virtue rings. One of the powers it grants is powering me and my partner up based upon…heh, wow this is a little embarrassing…it's based on how much we care and love each other," Witch explained.
Heka had always heard of the phrase, "the power of love", but she never thought she'd actually receive power from love in a literal sense. And this huge boost in power she was feeling was a measure of how much Witch cared about her, then she must really love her more than she thought. It was the same for Witch, she could feel the power rising in her, and it was fueled by how much Heka loved her. It was the perfect ring for the both of them, and the perfect ring to help take down these Coven Pseudo-Phantoms.
"If you don't mind, I'm inviting one more person to the party. Ready Lala?!"
"Been ready, Luz!"
[Lupachi Magic Touch Go!
Lupachi Magic Touch Go!]
}{ Owl Re:Rise. Now, Please. }{
The dark magic circle of Oscura appeared overhead, and out from that large magic circle flew out Witch's inner Phantom, La Lechuza. The mechanical owl Phantom screeched mightily into the air, making even the Pseudo-Phantoms flinch in fear.
"Oh, that is soooo not fair, Laly! I want to come out and fight, too!" Bast whined.
"Sorry, Bast, it says Owl Re:Rise, not Cat Re:Rise, sooo…tough luck," said La Lechuza.
"Be nice, Lala," said Witch. "Now, do you mind taking out the flying ones?"
"Not a problem!"
La Lechuza flapped her mighty wings and flew straight after the garuda Pseudo-Phantoms.
"So, how many do you want to fight mi amor?" Witch asked.
Heka glanced about their options and smirked as she pointed at each of her targets in turn. "I want Abomination, Construction, Beast, and Potions."
"Good, then I call dibs on Plant, Oracle, and Illusion. Ready, aaaaaaand…break!"
Both Witch and Heka took off as they dashed and flew straight for their intended targets. The Construction Pseudo-Phantom slammed its fists against the ground and made several stone glaives rush towards the two Riders. Heka got out in front and pressed her Champion into the MaguScepter.
} ROARING BLAST! {
Heka thrusted her staff forward and released a beam of purple and golden light that roared forward. The beam slammed against the stone glaives and continued forward until it reached the Construction Pseudo-Phantom. The monster had no way to dodge the attack as it was destroyed, exploding on the spot and forcing the other Pseudo-Phantoms to disperse.
Witch flew towards the Plant Pseudo-Phantom, but as she did, the monster made several vines sprout out of the ground, all riddled with razor sharp thorns, as well as a plant with big jaws that dripped with corrosive juices. Witch merely smirked as the vines drew near her, and then spun around as her wings sliced through them with great ease, practically dancing in the air as she turned the plants into a salad. The monstrous Venus Flytrap-like plant roared as it clamped its jaws around, Witch. But the hero of hope merely burst through the back of the plant, slicing through it with ease. A flash of red light went off around her right hand, revealing a black metal ring with the image of a dragon and a red gemstone, upon obtaining the ring she scanned it.
}|{ BURNING WRATH! NOW, PLEASE! }|{
As soon as Witch was upon the monster, she held out her right hand as red flames formed around it. In an instant, the red flames roared to life, bathing over the Plant Pseudo-Phantom and wiping it away from existence. The only evidence that it had even been around was the vines and plants that it created, but even those were now beginning to wither away. On reflex her, wings rose up and blocked an unseen attack, but Witch could sense a presence, she could also see that the Illusion Pseudo-Phantom was already starting to multiply itself, creating more illusions packs that surrounded her.
A flash of green light switched out the Sin ring for another, and Witch scanned it.
}|{ GLUTTON'S FEAST! NOW, PLEASE! }|{
Witch raised her left hand into the air as a green and black light began to spread throughout the area, but she limited it to just where the pack was and nothing beyond that. As soon as the draining field was up, the illusions faded away and revealed the original Illusion Pseudo-Phantom, not only that, but the Oracle Phantom was now finally revealed, and both were now incredibly weak from the draining. Witch dismissed her ring and summoned another. A flash of magenta light went off on her right hand and swapped out her Sin ring with the Connect ring, but now it was golden and had a magenta gemstone.
}{ Connect BURST! Now, Please! }{
Witch's magic circle appeared, once she reached into it, she pulled out her staff, Tizona. Once drawn, Witch switched it into saber mode, pulled the trigger three times, scanned the four orbs twice, and then pulled the trigger once more.
}\\\{ WONDERFUL! TWILIGHT! SLASHING STRIKE! }/{
Witch sped towards the two Pseudo-Phantoms as her beam blade flared with a mixture of gold, magenta, black, and white energy. The hero of hope slashed horizontally and appeared behind the two monsters as they exploded and disintegrated into violet particles.
Meanwhile, Heka was having a grand time against the Pseudo-Phantoms. She summoned a squad of five knight themed Golden Flame Abomination's to deal with the Potion Pseudo-Phantom, and a lioness Golden Flame Abomination for the Beast Pseudo-Phantom. Which left the Abomination Pseudo-Phantom for her.
The Abomination Pseudo-Phantom tried to strike at her with whips made of the goo, but Heka easily sliced them apart, and when the monster attacked with a stream of Abomination goo, she merely pointed her staff at it and wrapped the goo in her aura. The goo that the Pseudo-Phantom produced seemed to be struggling to fight against her control, but if there was one thing Heka was not about to have happen, it was lose to a Pseudo-Phantom when it came to Abomination magic.
The Abomination Knights used their gold flaming swords to slice up the monster left and right, leaving behind golden gashes on its body. When the monster looked as if it was about to create a new potion, the Abomination Knights converged all at once and stabbed it from five different directions and released a burst of their power into the Potion Pseudo-Phantom before it exploded. The Beast Pseudo-Phantom was shifting its form from one creature to the next, but the Abomination Lioness was not only fierce, but its goo body and gold fire armor made it hard for the monster to cause any real damage to it, if anything, it was taking more damage from just attacking the lioness.
The Healing Pseudo-Phantom came in and was about to start its healing shower, but La Lechuza dove from the sky like a bird of prey, and made her wings open and transform into light blades. Once she was close, the great owl Phantom flared her wings and sliced the Healing Pseudo-Phantom in half. The two halves of the Phantom fell to the ground before dispersing into light particles. Now without their healing support, the Pseudo-Phantoms stood no chance of winning, but they really didn't to begin with. The Abomination Lioness' body turned into goo and golden fire as it wrapped around the monster, entangling it before reforming its head and biting down on the back of the Beast Pseudo-Phantom's neck. Its entire body began to glow, and within seconds, performed a self-detonation that took it and the Beast Pseudo-Phantom down.
Heka saw that her own creations took out the other two, now it was her turn. The golden Rider reached out to the Abomination goo that comprised the Pseudo-Phantom's body and exerted her will upon it. The Abomination Pseudo-Phantom began turning into complete goo within seconds, and afterwards Heka commanded the goo to condense, and condense, and condense. Making the goo shrink more and more until it was the size of a small pebble. And with the swipe of her staff, she set the small speck on fire, burning it to nothingness.
"One more to go," said Heka.
Witch teleported right next to Heka and said, "Let's give Lala a hand then."
"AAH! How did you do that?"
"Oh, it's the second power. I can teleport to the person I love."
"Huh, handy. Let's do it then!"
Heka reached out with her left hand and Witch took it into her right. With her wings flared, Witch ascended into the sky, taking her partner with her. The Bard Pseudo-Phantom was doing a good job of keeping La Lechuza from dealing a death blow, it used its Bard magic to create a barrier of sonic waves that pushed back on La Lechuza whenever she came in for a swooping slash with her wings, but thanks to that defensive nature, it wasn't able to defend the Healing Pseudo-Phantom before she cut it down. The great owl Phantom saw Witch and Heka coming, and decided to get into position as she flapped her wings and ascended higher into the sky.
[ LET'S GO, KICK STRIKE! ]
}***{ AMAZING! KICK STRIKE BURST! ¡EXCELENTE! }***{
The Bard Pseudo-Phantom heard the announcements as it looked down and saw Witch and Heka approaching. Witch spun in midair, swinging Heka around until she stopped and threw Heka in the direction of the Bard Pseudo-Phantom as her left foot blazed with the construct of Bast's head behind her. At the same time, Witch flew in from a different direction and led with her right leg shimmering with four different colored lights. The Bard Pseudo-Phantom was going to leave, but then heard the mighty screech of La Lechuza. When it looked up, the great owl Phantom came down with its right talon, which was now glowing yellow as it struck the sound barrier around the Pseudo-Phantom. The creature struggled to keep it up, but before it could contemplate anything, Heka and Witch's kicks struck against the barrier as well. The Pseudo-Phantom could only hover there as the barrier finally shattered and all three attacks converged and caused a huge explosion in the sky. From that explosion, Witch and Heka emerged, riding atop La Lechuza's back as the great owl Phantom released a victorious screech.
Despite the entire fiasco of the Phantom attack, the people decided to not let this ruin the night, since Witch and Heka took care of the creatures, and were no doubt nearby, everyone felt safe enough to keep the festivities going, if for nothing else than the fact that they needed some levity in this moment. As per the original schedule, the entire crowd, along with Terra, Kikimora, and Raine were gathered at the Emperor's Coven local precinct, which had many decorations on it as per this festive day. Raine was standing off far to the right of the platform they were standing on, while Kikimora was standing, nervously, next to Terra as the elderly witch urged the demon woman to wave to the crowd.
On a rooftop that as not too close, but not too far from the main event area, Luz and Amity were seated, watching everything as they tried to understand what happened. They thought the Phantoms were gone, that they defeated the last of them, but with the appearance of these Pseudo-Phantoms, that thought was shot out of the water now. Eventually Eda, King, and Hooty managed to find them and sat with them to see the end of this parade.
Kikimora, still nervous, walked up to the front of the platform they were standing on and spoke to the crowd.
"T-Thank you, Bonesborough, despite the harrowing events not too long ago, you have gathered here to continue the celebration of today's Coven Day Parade. Now, um, t-this year is extra special because the Emperor himself has an announcement to make."
With the use of a projector fueled by Illusion magic, and holographic construct of Emperor Belos appeared behind Raine, Kikimora, and Terra.
{Thank you, everyone! Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to address the situations that reached my ears both in the town of Bonesborough and Latissa.}
Luz and Amity's eyes widened when they heard about the other city.
"What?! Did he say Latissa?! What happened in Latissa?!" Luz asked.
{I was given a vision by the Titan. And that vision was of a warning, a warning that a dark force was rising once again in our world. I knew not where the danger would come from, but my vision showed me a city. It was not a clear vision, so I did what I could and dispatched my Golden Guard to the city of Latissa, where I was informed that he bravely defended it as Kamen Rider Crusader.}
The crowd cheered upon hearing of the successful defense of Latissa. To be honest, Luz was happy to hear that Hunter managed to hold his own against these Pseudo-Phantoms, but two attacks in different locations, something was not right.
{But it also seems that Bonesborough was the subject of an attack as well. Fortune must still be smiling on us, as Kamen Riders Witch and Heka were there to end the threat as well. My dear subjects, I'm afraid it appears that the Phantom menace has not completely left us, as there still seem to be lingering dregs that refuse to bow to the might of justice. But I swear to you, while the two rogue Riders are sure to protect us, Crusader, my Golden Guard, your Coven Kamen Rider, will have the full support of the Emperor's Coven to defend the citizenry!}
The crowd released more cheers upon hearing this, more hopeful than ever that even with the appearance of these monsters, they'd still be protected no matter what evil dared to show its face. Although, when Eda heard this, all she could think of was what Belos was plotting, as this seemed all too convenient happening on Coven Day, and at the same time he's supposed to make a "special announcement".
{Now it is time to give you wonderful news. Together we are perfecting the Coven System as the Titan intended. The Day of Unity will be in exactly two months when the tide is at its lowest and the moon obscures the sun. At that time, we will journey to the head of the isles, and there, the worthy shall inherit a utopia free of Wild Magic!}
The image of Belos morphed into a banner that showed the Titan's skull, and solar eclipse, and ten outstretched hands, each one branded with a Coven Sigil.
"Free of Wild Magic? How's he supposed to do that?" King questioned.
The banner morphed back into Belos as he continued his speech.
{There is one more thing I'd like to share with you. I've always hidden my face, out of fear. But because of your support, I can finally take off this mask.}
Eda blew a raspberry at this last bit of news, seeing it for what it was. "He's trying to distract us from his crazy utopia talk! Too bad it won't work."
The crowd gasped, which made the four look back at the projection. That's when they saw Belos' face, there was a green scar coming down at an angle from the top right of his forehead, over his left eye, and down his left cheek. His hair was a faded sandy blonde color, and his eyes were bright blue.
{Thank you, Boiling Isles. Happy Coven Day, everyone!}
Belos' image disappeared in a festive explosion of fireworks as the crowd cheered louder, celebrating something that they had no idea was quite possibly going to be bad.
Everything about this reeked of a setup to Luz and Eda. The elimination of Wild Magic, the appearance of the Pseudo-Phantoms, and not mention the warnings that Luz got from the Titan himself and the Phantom, Pan. Everything about this was bad, and Luz didn't like it. She couldn't prove it right now, but she knew that Belos had to be behind the Pseudo-Phantoms, and this Day of Unity thing was sounding more ominous now than ever before.
"Luz…"
The Latina turned to her girlfriend, who had a worried look on her face.
"Is…Is Belos planning something bad? And why did he say he's going to meet you again? Didn't you already face him when you saved Eda? What else don't I know?! What's going to happen?!" Amity asked as she held Luz's left hand with both hers, squeezing tightly both from fear of what she didn't know, and the worry she felt for Luz.
"I…I'm not sure." Luz gently brought Amity into a hug, trying to comfort her girlfriend, knowing that she had a bit more she needed to tell her. "But for now…we'll take things one day at a time."