It was Friday and school had got out, and Luz was currently caring for the egg. Viney had to do some additional work in the Beast Keeping pins on campus and said that Luz should go on a walk with the egg. Willow, Gus, Skara, and Amity respected Luz's wish to focus on the assignment, but it looked as if Amity was a little bummed.
"I'll have to make it up to Amity later when this assignment is over, spend some equal girlfriend bonding time with her, right little Luney?" Luz asked.
'Yes Mama Luz, I don't want Aunt Amity to be sad,' said "Luney".
Luz chuckled. "Yeah, you get it. For now, let's enjoy the beauty of nature, little one. I wonder if you'll hatch before the week is up, or you may not hatch at all. That would kinda be sad, I'd like to see what you look like."
Suddenly, a loud roar cut through the peace of the area.
"Oh, c'mon, not today!" Luz frantically looked around; she couldn't face Phantoms while taking care of an egg. "What do I do! What do I do!?"
She got an idea, but it was risky. Luz took out her Copy ring and scanned it with the Hand Author buckle.
[Copy, Please.]
Within seconds an exact duplicate of Luz appeared next to her. The original Luz gave the copy the cradle sash and said, "Guard this with your life!"
"I'm on it!" Copy Luz stated with a salute.
"Be careful. You'll only be at half power now," La Lechuza pointed out.
"Yeah, I know. I'm not exactly looking forward to this," said Luz as she replaced the Copy ring with the Driver On ring.
[Driver On, Please.]
The Hand Author buckle morphed into the full version of the WizarDriver. Once manifested, Luz took out her Light Owl ring.
Since I'll only be at half power, going into Super Form out of the gate is better than just Base Form, she thought.
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
"Henshin!"
[LIGHT OWL.]
[KAGA~YA~KUUUUU~!]
A magic circle appeared below Luz as a light construct of La Lechuza sprang up from it. The giant owl wrapped her in its wings, and within seconds of the light bursting apart, she was transformed into Kamen Rider Witch: Light Owl Style. Even in her Super Form, Witch could tell that her power was diminished a bit thanks to the split. But hopefully she could take them on herself.
[Ride, Please.]
Witch summoned the Witch Speeder, hopped on, and took off into the sky. She flew over the town of Bonesborough and immediately spotted her target, or rather, targets. And unfortunately, they were similar to the last Phantom she faced.
The first one looked like the Beast Keeping Phantom on steroids. It was much larger than the one that she fought during the Coven Day Parade, about seven feet tall. It had three heads, the middle head was canine in appearance, the left was reptilian, and the right was avian. Each one had the top of their heads sporting a skull mask with a glowing, gnarled sigil marking in the forehead. The Super Beast Keeping Phantom had eight wings on its back, four of which were bat-like and another four which were feathered. This creature now had three snake tails to match the three heads, and its forelimbs had exoskeletal bone armor over its talons.
The second reminded her of the Super Bard Phantom, it was navy blue, or at least what she could make out. Most of its body was covered in white bandages, with some of the ends rising up like snakes ready to strike. The creature's four wings had a glowing ankh symbol at the center of them. Its head sported the bone bird mask, and the gnarled sigil marking glowed on its forehead. It had four eyes that glowed the same navy-blue color as its feathers and had long arms with sharp talons.
Grrreeaaaat…as if one isn't a lot to deal with, now there's two, thought Witch.
The two Super Phantoms noticed Witch's presence, the Super Beast Keeping Phantom reared back all three of its heads and opened up, blasting three columns of flame-like energy right at her. Witch took evasive maneuvers, dodging the three columns as they roared past her. She aimed the nose of the Speeder at the Super Beast Keeping Phantom and opened fire, raining down several photon bolts on the monster that exploded upon impact. The Super Beast Keeping Phantom didn't seem to acknowledge the damage is it continued to spew its flame energy blasts into the air around Witch. One of the beams was about to hit her and exploded. However, when the smoke cleared, Witch found herself in a sphere of light blue energy.
"Having trouble, Witch?"
Witch glanced over her shoulder and saw Crusader, sporting his Falcon Shield Wing armament. "Not gonna lie, I'm happy to have some backup!"
Crusader flew closer to Witch and looked down, spotting the two new Phantoms. "What the heck are those things? They look like the Phantoms from the Coven Day Parade, but more…well…uglier."
"They're, I guess, Super Phantoms. Stronger versions of the ones we fought against. By the way, glad you were able to handle the ones you fought alone," said Witch.
"Tch, they weren't that bad, but these guys…"
"Let's take them out quickly! That bird one will no doubt play a supporting role, healing the Super Beast Keeping Phantom. I'll take care of that one and you take care of the other," said Witch.
"I don't really remember nominating you leader, but whatever."
[Eagle Lightning Wing, Now.]
[Crow Scythe, Now.]
An eagle made of yellow lightning, and a purple and black crow appeared around Crusader. A moment later, the eagle construct merged with his back and formed the Eagle Lightning Wing. The crow flew into Crusader's right hand and transformed into the Crow Scythe, and now armed, Crusader flew down towards the chimeric monster. The Super Beast Keeping Phantom opened its mouths and fired its flaming energy blasts at its new opponent. Crusader called on his shield, which took the brunt of the attack, however, while in the shield, Crusader activated the Crow Scythe's power. Six additional purple light construct copies of Crusader burst forth from the barrier and attacked the Super Beast Keeping Phantom.
The first copy managed to come in with a slash at its muscular left forelimb, creating a glowing purple gash that made the monster roar with pain. The second and third copies came down and slashed at its wings, before the fifth and sixth came down on its right and left sides. Crusader flew down and fired several of its lightning feathers, which managed to pierce its back and sent thousands of volts of electricity into its body.
While Crusader was fighting the Super Beast Keeping Phantom, Witch was keeping the Super Healing Phantom occupied. She chased it through the air with the Witch Speeder, blasting it with photon bolts to keep it at bay.
So long as it's far from the other Super Phantom, it can't heal it! And if it can't heal, then Hunter should be able to kill it no problem!
"It would also help if you could destroy this one. But with your halved power, that'll be a difficult task."
I can't just leave the egg unguarded, Lala! If I dismiss Copy Luz, then it'll just be out there in the open! But I can least do this to make up for the power difference!
Witch switched out her Light Owl Style ring and quickly scanned the new one.
[FIRE OWL.]
[Moyasu! MO~YA~SU!]
A red version of Witch's magic circle appeared before the Speeder, releasing a fiery construct of La Lechuza that wrapped itself around the Speeder and Witch. When the flames burst apart, the Hero of Hope was now in Fire Owl Style. The Witch Speeder changed colors as well, turning bright red, while the Witch insignia on the front turned white. Now boosted, the energy blasts turned into fire bolts that exploded around the Super Healing Phantom, causing a bit more damage than the previous photon bolts. However, despite the damage she was causing, it seemed to be healing itself instantly.
"Okay, this is annoying," said Witch.
[Rubber, Please.]
After scanning her ring, Witch launched her right arm at the Super Healing Phantom and wrapped it around its neck. She then drove the Witch Speeder down towards the ground, dragging the monster with her. Witch abruptly stopped and flung the monster at the ground below, snapping her arm forward. The Super Healing Phantom was hurled from her grip where it landed in an unoccupied area. Once it made impact, Witch pulled the trigger on the Speeder and rained down several fire bolts on it. Multiple explosions went off, creating a bigger and bigger crater that started to look more like a firepit.
"HA-HA! Fried chicken anyone?!"
"…Really?"
"Oops, uh, sorry, Lala," said Witch, realizing her faux pas.
Witch heard something back behind her in the town, and it sounded like the Super Beast Keeping Phantom was not fairing too well without the assistance of its healer support. However, several strands of bandages shot out of the fire, passing by Witch as they headed straight towards the town.
"What the heck–!"
"Luz! Down below!"
Witch looked down and watched as the flames were quickly dispersed as the Super Healing Phantom flapped its wings. Its body was damaged by her attacks, but it was quickly healing thanks to the four glowing ankh symbols on its wings.
Crusader had the Super Beast Keeping Phantom on the ropes as he twirled the Crow Scythe around. Its body was riddled with glowing gashes, but it still hadn't gone down despite all the damage it took.
"Guess you're tougher than the others, but I think one more strike will do it!" Crusader stated.
The avian themed Rider dashed across the road as he reared up the scythe to cut down the monster before him. However, the moment that he did, the bandages that were loosed from the Super Healing Phantom swirled around the chimeric Phantom and formed a navy-blue barrier. The Crow Scythe came down, and pierced the shield, but it only managed to get halfway through before it stopped.
"How?! The scythe should be able to bypass defenses!"
While inside the barrier, the Super Beast Keeping Phantom's wounds started to rapidly heal, with all the gashes on its body closing within mere seconds and revitalizing its stamina and strength. Once it had fully healed, the beast released a powerful roar, screech, and trill before charging forward. The center canine head suddenly grew bull horns as it rammed itself into Crusader, taking him straight into a building and smashing through several others before it tossed him away like a ragdoll.
Crusader used his wings to stabilize himself before he could hit something else. Once he had, the winged Rider fired more of his lightning feathers at the Super Beast Keeping Phantom. However, the bandages appeared again, forming the same barrier and protecting the monster from a direct hit. Crusader then heard some explosions nearby and saw Witch come in on her Speeder before the other Super Phantom flew in and started hovering close by its kin.
"What the heck happened?!" Crusader asked.
Witch took a moment to take in the scene before her. Seeing the bandages that were now floating around the first Super Phantom, Witch realized what was going on. "Dang it, I didn't think it could do that! The bandages aren't just for decoration, it can control them and use them as long-distance healing! Ugh, if this was a game, that needs a nerf!"
The ankh symbols on the Super Healing Phantom suddenly reversed themselves, turning a darker shade of blue before all four of them unleashed beams of electrical energy that blasted towards the two heroes. Witch and Crusader evaded the attacks for a bit, but the Super Beast Keeping Phantom came in with its snake tail and wrapped it around Crusader's leg, holding him in place.
One of the beams struck Crusader, and the moment it did, he was quickly wracked with pain that made him cry out. The Super Beast Keeping Phantom released him, letting the avian Rider fall to the ground as he writhed in agony.
"CRUSADER!"
That's it! I gotta dismiss the copy!
Copy Luz waited in the forest for the original Luz to return, all the while rocking the egg back and forth. Although she was getting a little worried, despite not being able to see, she could feel that the original was not fairing too well. Whatever was going on during the battle was not good.
"C'mon real Luz, you can do it," said Copy Luz.
"Luz!"
Copy Luz heard Viney's voice, she was about to answer her, but suddenly felt her original calling for her. The copy looked at her right hand and watched as it began to slowly fade and turn into particles of light.
"Oh no! Not now! It must be bad if she's recalling me!"
"Luz, where are you! Something's going down in Bonesborough!"
Copy Luz frantically looked around, she needed to hide and make sure the egg was safe at the same time. But even if she disappeared and left it somewhere, there was no guarantee that it would remain safe while she was fighting. But, again, there was no guarantee it would stay that way long enough for her original to get back.
"Sorry real me, the only way to keep the egg safe is for Viney to find it…" Copy Luz's body was almost gone. She quickly placed the egg at the foot of a tree and yelled, "OVER HERE VINEY!"
Copy Luz then faded just as Viney landed where she heard Copy Luz's voice.
"Luz?!" Viney called out. "Luz! Where are you?!"
Viney looked around and stopped when she saw the egg propped against the tree in front of her. The dual track witch hurried over and took the egg into her grasp. She had her Palisman detach from the staff as it flew around her and looked at the dual track witch with concern.
"What the heck? Why were you on the ground?" Viney asked as she looked around for Luz. "Hey, Masyrck, look around and see if you can find Luz."
The little manticore Palisman nodded and began its search. After about five minutes of looking around the area, Masyrck returned and shook its head in the negative.
"What? Luz just left Luney here. Why?"
Viney heard more explosions and roars in the distance and recalled Masyrck to change into staff form.
"We'll keep looking from the air. Damn it, Luz, where did you go?!"
Witch concentrated; she felt her magic returning as the copy faded away. She knew Viney was going to be angry at her for leaving it, but right now she had to help Crusader and stop these monsters. Witch flew in and was about to grab Crusader to bring him to safety but stopped when the Super Beast Keeping Phantom got between her and Crusader. The Super Healing Phantom flew up behind her and fired its dark blue lightning. Witch pulled up, missing the attack, but the chimeric Phantom transformed its wings into tentacles and lashed out with them, wrapping them around the Witch Speeder and Witch before throwing them to the ground. Once down, the Super Healing Phantom fired its lightning again.
This time the lightning did hit, but it didn't cause any explosions. However, Witch didn't feel good. She was feeling bad, terrible. She began to cough, it was getting difficult to breathe, and her body ached all over. It felt like when she had the flu, but worse. Her body started to heat up, and her vision started to blur as well.
Am…Am I sick…?
"LUZ! YOU HAVE TO USE THE HEALING RING! HURRY!"
Witch reached for her loop but even the simplest motion was proving difficult to perform. Her head was pounding, and her heart was racing. It really did feel like she had the flu, but it was like it was a hundred times worse. The Super Healing Phantom stalked towards Witch, as the Super Beast Keeping Phantom stalked Crusader. Both Riders were down and were now easy prey for the two monsters.
Just then, a wave of golden energy blasted through the area, pushing the two Super Phantoms away from Crusader and Witch. From the skies, Kamen Rider Heka Champion dropped down, along with her Solar Chaser in Sentinel Mode. Once on the ground, Heka raised the MagiScepter into the air as the Twin Heart engine inside spun rapidly. Another wave of golden light passed over the area, but this time focused on Witch and Crusader. Within seconds Crusader's pain ceased, and the debilitating sickness that was plaguing Witch vanished. Witch and Crusader got back to their feet and gathered to Heka.
"Great timing, Heka!" Witch stated happily.
"Sorry I was late. Are you two alright?" Heka asked.
"Yeah, perfect. What the hell did that thing hit us with?" Crusader asked. "My entire body was in pain!"
"I felt sick, like really, really, REALLY sick. Wait…" Witch looked towards the Super Healing Phantom, noticing that the ankh symbols were still glowing dark and in the reverse position. "…Oh no, that thing, the Super Healing Phantom, it doesn't just heal! It can cause sickness too!"
"That might explain it, I just hurriedly wove together a healing and counter curse spell to stop whatever was hurting you two with the MagiScepter. Now I'm glad I did," said Heka.
"Alright, now that we know what we're dealing with, let's get rid them, together!" Witch stated.
"Still never agreed to you being the leader," Crusader grumbled as he readied to fight.
"Either follow her lead or don't, Mr. Golden Guard. See how well that works out for you," Heka retorted.
"Guys, play nice."
The two Super Phantoms readied themselves to attack the three Riders but paused when their sigils started to glow brighter. The two monsters glanced at each other, nodded, and then that's when the Super Beast Keeping Phantom fired all three of its flame rays at the ground, causing a huge explosion that kicked up a dust cloud into the air. A red magic circle appeared under both of them, and both Super Phantoms fell into it before the circle disappeared, its presence completely masked by the dust. When the dust finally settled, both Super Phantoms were gone, leaving the three Riders baffled as to how they could've escaped.
"No way! How did they escape that quickly?!" Heka exclaimed.
Crusader ascended into the sky and began looking around, but there was no sign of the Phantoms anywhere. The avian Rider dropped down from the sky and informed, "I don't see anything. It's like they disappeared."
Witch thought she saw a red glow in the dust after the chimeric Phantom used its fire rays. But that could've just been due to its flames. "In any case, they're gone. No point in standing here debating where. I'm sure they'll pop up again sooner rather than later."
"You sound confident about that," said Crusader.
"Typical monster of the week format, so it's highly possible. Anyway, I'll see you guys around," said Witch.
"Okay. Oh…and, uh, g-good luck with your assignment."
Witch saluted Heka as she slipped on her Connect ring.
[Connect, Please.]
Witch summoned her magic circle and then jumped down into it before it closed.
Crusader glanced at Heka and asked, "What kind of 'special assignment' is she doing?"
Heka scoffed at Crusader and replied, "None of your business."
"Huh, sounds like you don't know," said Crusader as he crossed his arms.
Heka growled and retorted, "I DO know what she's doing! I'm not doubting her or anything! It's not like she's…" The golden Rider sighed heavily and turned her back on Crusader. "You know what, forget it. I'm wasting my time talking to you."
Crusader watched as she mounted the Solar Chaser and took off into the distance.
"What kind of 'special assignment' is she doing?"
When Luz reappeared back at the spot where her copy left the egg, she saw that it was gone. However, she did recall the memory that she had called Viney to come to her to get it. While she was grateful for her copy's quick thinking, she also knew that this was going to be bad for her later. Luz heard some beeping, a lot of beeping actually. She took out her Scroll and saw that Viney was blowing up her Penstagram message box.
[WHERE ARE YOU?!]
[ARE YOU OKAY?!]
[ANSWER ME, LUZ!]
[WHY DID YOU LEAVE THE EGG IN THE WOODS?!]
[PLEASE REPLY!]
"Oh no…" Luz lamented.
[Viney, I'm okay. I'll be waiting at the front of the school.]
Luz ran out of the woods and to the school, once she was there, she sat on the steps and waited for Viney to appear. About five minutes later, Viney flew down from the sky and landed a couple of feet from where Luz was. The Latina got up, smiling, but that smile faded the moment she saw the cross look on Viney's face.
"Viney, I–"
"Where the hell were you, Luz?!" Viney interrupted.
"I…I thought I heard the Phantoms. I got scared and ran," said Luz.
Viney furrowed her brow as she said, "That's a crappy lie, Luz. The fighting was in town, and you even called out to me! You just left our egg in the middle of the woods! What if it got cracked! There's a life in this egg, Luz! It could've gotten killed!"
"Viney I-I'm sorry," said Luz.
Viney released a frustrated sigh, she then mounted her staff again and waved to Luz. "Get on. We'll talk more about this at home."
Luz didn't say anything else as she got behind Viney and wrapped her arms around the witch's waist. Once secured, they lifted up into the air and began their flight back to Viney's house.
"That was completely irresponsible of you, Luz! You left the egg unguarded, and you can't even give me a proper explanation or even a good excuse as to why you did it?!"
Luz was currently sitting on the couch of the Arwin home, getting chewed out by Viney. Fang and Matilda were standing aside next to a wall, with the demon Lycan looking a bit worried by how much his stepdaughter was leaning into Luz.
"Viney, perhaps you could ease up a bit? I'm sure–"
Matilda gave a light slap against her husband's broad chest and said, "No, let them be. This is their child, and they need to work this out. That's what this whole lesson's about, Dear."
Fang really was a gentle soul, and he could tell that Luz was very contrite about her actions. And at this rate, he was afraid Viney was going to make the poor girl cry or give up on the assignment altogether.
Viney stopped her pacing and stood before Luz as she crossed her arms and looked down at her. "Well, I'm waiting, Luz? Are you going to tell me why you abandoned our egg out in the woods? I mean, at the very least, make up a good excuse! Make an attempt at creating a believable lie!"
"Lying wouldn't really make you feel better, you'd know I'd be lying," said Luz in small voice.
"Yeah, well, at least it's better than thinking you just straight up abandoned Luney! It's better than just leaving her out in the wilderness and letting her fend for herself in some stupid attempt to–!"
"Okay that's enough," Matilda intervened.
"Mom!" Viney snapped.
"It was fine until you dragged that up. You're projecting that onto Luz, and that's not fair," said Matilda.
"But!"
"Viney, look at her," said Fang.
Viney looked down at Luz and paused when she saw the Latina's eyes watering, trying to hold back tears.
"I…I…" Viney turned her head away, now feeling shame for making Luz cry. "…I'm sorry."
Fang walked over to Luz, sat down next to her, and gently brought the young human girl into a hug. "There, there, it's alright."
Matilda stood next to her daughter and said, "I get that Luz made a mistake. But that's all it was, a mistake. She's obviously beating herself up about it. While I don't know the reason why she did it, it was still not an easy decision to make. Perhaps you could give her some leeway here?"
Before Viney could give her an answer, there was a knock at the door.
"You expecting someone, Hon?" Fang asked.
"No, you?" Matilda asked.
Fang shook his head and got up from the couch. "I'll be right back." The demon man-beast walked over to the door and opened it as he said, "How can I help–?"
"Hey there, fam!"
Viney's eyes widened as Matilda's narrowed.
"Viney, take Luz upstairs. Now," said Matilda with a stern voice.
Viney made to grab Luz, but that's when someone pushed their way past Fang and entered the Arwin home. The man in question was tall and rugged. He had an ax weapon strapped to his back, a few scars on his arms and chest, slick black hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and lime green eyes, the same as Viney's. This man wore a leather vest, with gray pants and black boots. On his belt he had a whip-like weapon on his left hip, and on his right thigh he had a dagger strapped to it.
Fang quickly got in front of the man. When Luz looked at Fang's face, his gentle, puppy dog-like expression had completely disappeared. What Luz saw now was the look of a beast that was ready to defend his family at the first sign of aggression. Luz noticed that the hairs on Fang's tail were standing on end as his tail curled upwards. The young Latina remembered when she saw animals do that in documentaries, and even at the animal clinic where her mother worked. Her mother told her not to approach a dog whose tail was like that, as it meant that they were showing aggression.
"What do you want, Barlow?" Fang asked in a deeper tone of voice.
"Ooh, so hostile big guy," said Barlow.
"My husband asked you a question. What the hell do you want?" Matilda repeated.
"Yikes, more hostility. I just dropped on by to see you. Heard there was another one of those Phantom attacks. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd come by check up on ya," he answered.
Fang snorted as he said, "As you can see, we're all doing just fine. Now you can lea–!"
"Oh, Viney! Hey! Haven't seen you in ages," said Barlow.
Luz glanced up at Viney and noticed that she was visibly shaking. She could feel La Lechuza bristling at this man as well.
"Niña do not let your guard down around that man," she warned.
Barlow managed to get around Fang as he slowly moved closer to where Luz, Viney, and Matilda were. "Wow, you've grown up, huh? You were just a scrappy little thing the last time I saw you. What's with your uniform? You got two colors."
"I-I'm studying Beast Keeping and Healing," Viney answered.
"Wait? Two tracks? That allowed now? Damn, hope you choose one before you graduate. Otherwise, you'll end up being a Wild Witch. And I definitely don't want to be hunting down my own daughter," said Barlow in a tone that made it hard to tell if he was kidding or not.
Barlow's eyes then focused on Luz, and the young teen girl tensed when he did.
"Wait? Is that a human? Holy Titan, when did you get a human?" Barlow asked as she moved closer.
Fang swiftly moved from his previous spot to where Luz was, putting himself between them. "She's our daughter's friend, and a student of Hexside."
Barlow made a disappointed groan. "Ah man. Could've made a hefty bit of snails. Humans are a rarity in the Boiling Isles. And with the right buyer, worth a pretty snail."
"Okay, that's it! This visit is over!" Matilda stated. "Get out of my house!"
"Testy, testy," said Barlow.
"NOW!" Fang growled.
Barlow's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the demon man-beast and said, "Watch who you bare those fangs at," he then slowly reached for his whip, "you never know when someone's willing to bite back."
"GET OUT!" Viney shouted.
Barlow and Fang looked at Viney who was almost on the verge of tears and shaking.
"GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE!" Viney yelled, again.
Barlow sighed as he lowered his hand from the whip. "Now that's a fierce bark you got there. I like it. Alright, I'll be going now. See ya 'round."
Everyone watched as Barlow walked out the front door, Fang hurried to the door and kept watch as he made sure that the creep was gone. The demon Lycan slammed the door shut and locked it. Afterwards his shoulders slumped as he let out a long sigh. Matilda brought her daughter into a hug, while Luz sat there, feeling very out of place after what had just happened.
"Um…maybe I should go?" Luz suggested.
"No," said Fang. "Not after what Barlow said, I don't want you going out in the middle of the night."
"It's safer here with us. He won't try anything in broad daylight, but under cover of night, well…" Matilda didn't feel like finishing that sentence. "Anyway, let's eat. We can discuss this later."
Night fell on the Arwin house. Luz had finished getting dressed into the special outfit. When she got out of the closet, she saw Viney sitting on the bed, her legs tucked against her chest as a dower expression befell her face.
"Viney…I…I know this is a stupid question, but are you alright?" Luz asked.
"It is a stupid question…but…thank you for asking," said Viney as she sighed heavily.
"Was that man…was he…?"
"My father…? Yes. As you can see, he's a creep as much as he's an asshole," said Viney.
"What did he mean by hunting you?" Luz asked.
"He's a mercenary, and a good one. As far as his job goes. He sometimes hunts down Wild Witches for the Emperor's Coven, in addition to hunting different kinds of beasts," Viney answered.
Luz walked to her side of the bed and sat down as she glanced over at Viney from her right.
"…Luz, I'm sorry. Mom…Mom was right. I was projecting what Barlow did to me onto you…I was…I was comparing you to him and that wasn't fair. I…I didn't mean to make you cry," Viney apologized.
"It's okay, Viney. It was stupid of me to leave the egg alone like that," said Luz.
Viney glanced back at Luz and said, "I don't know why you did it. But…I also know that you wouldn't have done that unless it was for a good reason. But promise me that you won't do that again, and we'll just forget that ever happened."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Niña. We don't know when they'll attack again."
I'm not going to let down Viney, not after all this.
"I promise, I won't," said Luz.
Viney looked into the eyes of her egg sitting partner and smiled a little. "Okay, I believe you."
Silence held for about a minute before Viney decided to address the giraffe in the room.
"I suppose you want to know what that was all about?" Viney asked.
"You don't have to. It's your personal family business, and I don't want to reopen old wounds," said Luz.
"Kinda too late for that don't 'cha think? And you were unfortunately dragged into it," Viney said sardonically. "My father – Barlow – thought it would be nice to toughen me up for when I eventually take on the family business."
Luz turned to fully face Viney and asked, "Wait, were you're mom and Barlow both mercenaries?"
"Yeah, they were. My Mom wanted to settle down a bit when she had me, but Barlow thought it would be better to get me ready for the day I start entering the merc business. Both of them are good at Beast Keeping magic, and they noticed I had a real knack for it, too. So, Barlow thought it would be smart to just blindfold me, drop me off in the middle of the woods, and tell me to find my way back home as a form of survival training."
Luz's eyes widened wish shock as she said, "¡ESO ES UNA LOCURA! (THAT'S INSANE!) How old were you?!"
"Five."
"H-How did you…?! I mean…"
"How did I survive? Puddles, actually. She was a lost young griffon, and she recognized that I was lost. I used my magic to form a bond with her, and we started to help each other survive. That lasted about five days before my Mom rode in with several of her own beasts and tracked me down," said Viney. "She was understandably ticked off. He was being a real ass before that, but that was on a different level. Things escalated from there, and then that's when Fang found me, and the rest is history."
"Viney, I'm so sorry that happened to you," said Luz.
"It's in the past Luz, nothing you could've done about it. He should be far from here, but…Titan…why is he back here, this sucks," Viney groaned.
"Well, hopefully we won't have that happen again. Let's try and get some sleep, our Luney needs her mommies," said Luz.
Viney smiled as she drew a spell circle and turned out the lights. Lying down at the same time as Luz. The two girls moved closer and hugged the egg between them as they eventually drifted off to sleep.
It was the weekend, so Viney and Luz decided to hang out with their egg. They hadn't seen any sign of Barlow since Friday night, so Viney's family figured he had moved on after getting his little dig in. Luz and Viney didn't let that put a damper on their outing as "parents". The two girls were taking turns carrying the egg around town, with it now being Viney's turn. The two of them had gotten ice scream and were munching on it as they walked along.
–AAAAH! YOU'RE EATING ME ALIVE!–
"I forgot how traumatizingly good this stuff is," said Luz as she gave it another luck.
–AAAAH! LIFE IS ENDLESS SUFFERING!–
"Heh-heh, yeah, though we should probably finish them before they get too personal," said Viney as she gave a strong lick to her scoop, taking a good chunk out of it.
As the two teenagers walked along the road, they stopped when they were confronted by someone that Viney wished was far, far away from here.
"Heh-hey, there's my scrappy daughter, and her human friend," said Barlow.
Viney dropped her ice scream, letting it plop against the pavement as she held tight to the egg and made Luz stand behind her. "Why are you here, Barlow?!"
"Oh, wow, ain't that a greetin'. No, 'Hi Dad!', or 'What's up, Daddy?'. Nothin'?" he asked.
"You may be my father, but you are not my Dad! A real dad wouldn't blindfold their daughter and toss her in the middle of a dense forest to fend for herself at age – freakin' – five!" Viney retorted.
"Dang, you still harpin' on that? If you still can't see the reason why I did it, then you still got some growin' up to do. Anyway, sad to say, I'm not here to talk with you, Viney," said Barlow.
"Then what are you here for?!"
Barlow smirked as he moved his right hand to his whip, and answered, "I'm actually here…for HER!"
The mercenary quickly unfurled his whip and cracked it forward. Instead of the whip attacking Viney, the enchanted weapon angled around her, and wrapped itself around Luz. With a harsh tug of his whip, Barlow reeled Luz in towards him until she was now standing in front of him, still wrapped up.
"LUZ!" Viney exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
"Didn't I say? Humans fetch a high price to the right buyer. And as it so happens, I found the right buyer, and they're willin' to pay a very pretty penny that outta set me up nicely for a long time," said Barlow.
Wait, someone wants to buy me?!
"So much so that they're willing to pay a scoundrel like this to do it, too!"
Viney furrowed her brow as she drew two spell circles with both of her hands. The moment she did, the circles shot up her arms and stopped at her shoulders, transforming both of her arms into white furred Slitherbeast claws.
"Let her go or I swear I'll–!"
"Uh-uh-uh, careful there, Viney." Barlow drew a spell circle with his free left hand and summoned an insect that crawled off his hand and onto Luz's shoulder. "You know that is, right?"
Viney focused on the insect that was now on Luz's shoulder. It was a deep crimson red, with a black skull pattern on its back. The creature itself looked like a combination between a scorpion and a wasp. And the tail of this creature had its stinger pointed close to Luz's throat.
"A Palm Stings Desert Death Wasp…" Viney gasped.
"That's right, and do you know what happens when you get stung by this little guy?" he asked.
"…"
"C'mon, Viney, this is as much for your friend's knowledge as well as a test of yours," Barlow insisted.
"The Death Wasp's sting causes paralysis, stopping motor function. Then it begins stimulating every pain sensing nerve in the body, described as getting burned, stabbed, and electrocuted all at the same time…t-the pain causes the victim extreme, prolonged stress that overtaxes the heart until the victim's heart…e-e-explodes inside of them…"
"Very good, but you forgot to leave out the part where the process can take up to an hour before that part takes place. Semi-slow actin'. People who have been stung by this thing, often beg for someone to put them out of their misery, so nine times out of ten, the poison ain't what does them in, its because they were begging someone to kill them because the pain was so excruciating that they'd rather day immediately. 'Cause, trust me, waitin' a whole hour to die in pain is not a way to go," Barlow explained.
The other witches and demons who were close by backed away from Barlow, Viney, and Luz after hearing what the insect creature can do.
"So, human, we're going to go on a little trip to your new home. Won't that be fun?" Barlow asked.
Luz was trying to think of a way out of this. She could reach into her pocket and grab a glyph paper to get herself out of the whip, but with that wasp so close to her neck, Luz doubted she'd be fast enough to stop it. She might be able to get away, but if she did escape the whip, she would get stung, but if she could use her Healing ring right after, she should be okay. Of course, Barlow and Viney just said the poison causes paralysis.
Viney still stood there, claws at the ready as sweat rolled down the side of her face trying to figure out how she could get the wasp away from Luz and get Luz out of the whip. She thought about using her magic to overwrite Barlow's magic so that she could command the wasp, but even she knew that Barlow was a strong Beast Keeper witch, there was no way she was strong enough to overpower his command of the insect.
"Well, now that we got all that settled," Barlow turned to address the bystanders, "I better not so much as smell a Coven Scout, so you all better keep your mouths shut!"
Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by Barlow's head, barely missing his left ear. Another arrow flew towards him, this time aiming for the whip. Barlow lashed the whip upwards, making Luz go with it as he jumped out of the way of the arrow. But that was part of the plan.
Viney saw a shadow move across the roof as something big ran by. When she looked up, she saw her dad, Fang, leap off the rooftop, claws extended as he slashed at Barlow's whip, tearing it apart. Viney saw this and quickly ran to Luz as she held out her large Slitherbeast arms. The Latina landed in her arms, but not before she heard Luz let out a yelp of pain. Viney let her down and watched as the Death Wasp flew, but Viney, thinking quickly, dismissed her beast arms and drew another spell circle, creating a bubble that captured the insect before it could fly and hurt someone else.
"LUZ!" Viney exclaimed as she got down on her knees before her friend.
Luz could feel her body starting to go limp, and not far behind it was the pain that Viney described. Just then, Fang tossed Viney a syringe filled with a green liquid.
"INJECT THAT INTO HER! QUICKLY!" Fang ordered.
Viney didn't hesitate as she jabbed the needled into Luz's left arm as she pushed down on the plunger. The green liquid quickly entered Luz's bloodstream, and within a matter of seconds, the paralysis faded away, along with the pain.
Luz slowly rose, she was surprised to find herself not in pain. "Wait, I'm okay? Ow. Mostly."
"Sorry, I had to do that quickly," said Viney as she drew a spell circle and began administering Healing magic to Luz's arm and neck.
"What was that?" Luz asked.
"Antivenom," Fang answered.
"B-But I thought the venom was fatal?"
"It is." Matilda emerged from the crowd, carrying a bow made of sturdy bones, and a sling filled with arrows. "Only if you don't administer the antivenom in the first thirty seconds of getting stung. It's usually impossible since the paralysis hits first, but if you have someone with you carrying the antivenom, you can avoid death. It's mostly fatal to those traveling alone in arid places."
"Mom, Dad, how did you know we were here? Or needed help?" Viney asked.
"You're mother had one of her beasts tracking you this whole time, just in case something like this happened," said Fang as he growled at Barlow.
Just then, a red raven appeared on Matilda's shoulder and cawed.
"I was keeping watch through his eyes, the moment Speegs spotted Barlow, we headed straight here," said Matilda. "This is a new low for you!"
"Hey, honey, lighten up. You should cash in on this as well, I'll split with you," said Barlow.
Fang and Matilda held a steely death glare on Barlow. Their fury and anger for his actions were at their peak. He had been a thorn in their family's side for years, an annoying pebble in the boot. And now he went after their daughter's friend, to sell her to some lowlife somewhere? They were not about to let that stand.
While they were seething in their shared hatred of that man, something was watching them. Two somethings. The two Super Phantoms had made a stealthy return to Bonesborough and were hovering in the skies above the town. Each Phantom's eyes locked onto their perspective host of choice and dove straight down towards the town.
Before anything could be done, the Super Healing Phantom swooped in and grabbed Fang, pinning him against the side of a building. Matilda readied her arrow to fire at the monster, but the Super Beast Keeping Phantom dropped from the sky and landed on top of her. The chimeric Phantom rolled Matilda onto her back and pinned her against the ground as all three heads looked directly into her eyes. At the same time, the Super Healing Phantom stared deep into the eyes of Fang.
"NO!" Luz exclaimed.
The two phantoms released a burst of navy blue and orange light from their bodies, and then plunged, headfirst, into the chests of their respective new hosts. Fang and Matilda let out cries of agony as the Phantoms forced themselves into their Underworlds, and within a matter of seconds, the couple was wrapped in two light cocoons made of navy blue and orange light that rose into the air. The light cocoons started to form cracks, and after a moment, they shattered and revealed the new Hybrid Phantoms.
The first one was Matilda, she had the skull of a large bird as her right pauldron, and the skull of a dragon-like creature on as her left pauldron. Her body was covered in dark brown fur, with some areas that weren't that included her biceps, thighs, stomach, and the area around her collarbone and neck, with her fingernails turning into sharp claws that were black as night. Upon her back were the same type of wings the original Super Phantom had, around her head was a skull helmet that looked like a sabretooth tiger's skull, with an opening in the back that allowed her now short blonde hair to come out and mimic a mane. The lower half of her legs were like bird's legs, and each had four, long, black talons. Her face had black tribal markings, with her eyes now pools of black, the iris' colored a dark orange and two black reptilian slits for pupils. The snake tails were still there from the previous form, with the only notable differences being that each of them had at least one to three horns to denote which was which. At the center of the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's chest was the gnarled, glowing sigil marking from before.
The Hybrid Phantom of Fang was rather unique. He had taken on a full bestial form, now having four forelegs and four hindlegs. Each of the beast's legs had golden bracers, and each one had a sapphire ankh embedded into it. His fur was a dark navy blue, with a mantle around his broad neck that was gold in color and had a sapphire ankh hanging from it like a dog tag. There was a dark blue halo hovering over its head, added with the four large wings on its back, it gave the Hybrid Phantom an almost celestial, angelic look. Its eyes were also pools of darkness, with the only thing in those pools were two bright glowing blue spots that acted as its eyes. At the center of the Healing Hybrid Phantom's forehead was its symbol, which glowed with the same intensity as its partner.
The two Hybrid Phantoms turned their gazes on Barlow, and that's when the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom opened its mouth, showed off its fangs and long canines, and released a rage filled roar that shook the air around the town.
"YOU! WILL! DIE!" the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom yelled.
"You will suffer," the Healing Hybrid Phantom said in an echoing voice, despite the calmness of how it talked, there was a clear malice in its words.
Lala…this is bad, thought Luz.
"Very bad," La Lechuza agreed.
"What in the name of–!"
Barlow didn't get to finish his sentence as the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom dropped from the sky, raising her left claw as she charged it with energy. Barlow managed to draw a spell circle and summoned a rock-like beast as he ran backwards. The beast roared as it tried to block the attack, but it was a futile effort as the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's powered claws impacted against the summoned beast's stone body and caused it to explode. Barlow rolled out of the way as the explosion tossed him further away. The bounty hunter managed to get up, but then noticed the Healing Hybrid Phantom floating above him. The bestial Phantom released bolts of navy-blue lightning energy that rained down on Barlow. The bounty hunter managed to run towards a building, letting it take the brunt of the damage.
"Luz…What…What happened to my parents…?" Viney asked in shock.
Luz wished she could tell her, but she needed to get away to transform. And there was one way to do it, but it was stupid, and risky, but right now she had no other choice.
"Don't worry, Viney, I'll try and stop them!" Luz stated as she ran towards the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom.
"LUZ! STOP!"
Luz took out a couple of Plant Glyph papers, infused some mana into them, and made them release several long vines that managed to wrap around the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's legs, arms, and neck. Luz held her ground as she tried to keep the possessed Matilda from committing murder. Even if he was a creep, she couldn't let Viney's mother kill Barlow.
"You realize this isn't going to hold her!"
I don't need it to hold her, I'm just hoping that she'll–!
The Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom roared angrily as it snapped the vines off her legs and neck, it snapped the ones around her right arm before grabbing the vines on her left arm.
Here we go!
"Oh no…"
The Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom roared again, flew into the air, and dragged Luz with her. When it was high enough, it spun in the air and tossed Luz in the distance.
"LUZ!" Viney screamed.
The Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom looked down at Viney for a moment, and Viney thought she was about to be next. But the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom seemed to ignore her and went after the man who wronged their family. But before she could start her hunt, several yellow lightning darts struck her back and caused electricity to surge all across the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's body. The creature flexed its muscles and expelled the lightning darts from its back. When it turned around, the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom saw Kamen Rider Crusader floating down from the air, armed with all of his weapons. The Crow Scythe, the Falcon Shield Wing, the Eagle Lightning Wing, the Hornbill Drill, and the Raven Talons.
"What the heck? They evolved or something?! Augh, and where is Witch?! Whatever! I'll take you on!"
The Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's right arm transformed into a giant snake that launched itself right at Crusader. The avian Rider quickly took evasive action as he flew around, making the snake arm chase after him. Crusader intentionally slowed down as he let the snake arm get close, but right before it could bite down on him, Crusader used the Raven Talon boots to air jump, allowing him to swiftly move to the right, letting the arm pass by him. Once it had, Crusader spun around and came down with an ax kick, leading with the Raven Talon blade as he cut straight through the arm.
The severed half disappeared into ash, while the other half retracted back to the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom and clutched as its injured arm. However, at that moment, an ankh symbol appeared near the arm and quickly regenerated the lost limb. Crusader furrowed his brow. It was just like last time when one Phantom was healing the other, but Crusader had a brilliant plan.
"WE'LL JUST SEE HOW MUCH PUNISHMENT YOU CAN TAKE BEFORE THAT HEALING WEARS OFF!"
The avian Rider flew straight for the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom, leading with the Hornbill Drill as it spun out rapidly and gathered magical energy around it. Crusader managed to strike the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom right in the middle of its chest as both were sent straight to the ground below. The impact created a huge crater, but the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom managed to tear Crusader off it. The Hybrid Phantom opened her mouth and fired a more intense flame beam that tore up the ground as it made its way towards Crusader. The avian Rider quickly formed a barrier around himself as the beam impacted against the shield and pushed him along into several buildings before exploding around him.
Viney watched all this from the sidelines, feeling powerless to stop any of this from happening. Crusader was fighting her mother, while her dad was tracking down and trying to kill Barlow. And Luz just got thrown several yards and was probably dead.
Oh Titan…what am I going to tell Amity…why…why is this happening?! Viney thought.
Just then, Viney was brought out of her thoughts as she felt an arm wrap around her neck, coming very close to strangling her. Viney's first instinct was to fight back, but her resistance was quashed when she saw a blade pointed at her face.
"Stay still, now Viney, I need to check something out," said Barlow.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The Healing Hybrid Phantom roared with anger as it prepared to fire its lightning beams but stopped when it noticed Viney in his grasp. The Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom roared and charged for them, but the moment Barlow brought his knife closer to Viney's face the monster stopped in its tracks and just glared at him, baring her fangs as she growled angrily at him.
"Just like I thought, dear old Mattie and that lapdog husband of hers are still in those monsters, and they won't risk hurting you to get to me," said Barlow.
"Mom and Dad…they're still inside them?!"
"We're going to get out of here, you and me, kid. So long as you're with me, they won't dare kill me. Not sure how long that will last, but I'm willing to bet it'll be long enough for me to get gone."
(Meanwhile…)
"THIS WAS YOUR PLAN?!"
AT LEAST NO ONE CAN SEE ME TRANSFORM!
"HURRY UP THEN AND DO IT ALREADY BEFORE YOU GO SPLAT!"
Luz craned her neck up and saw that she was quickly approaching a raised hill.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
[Shabadoobi–]
"NO TIME! HENSHIN! HENSHIN! HENSHIN!"
A bright magenta glow along with four glyph symbols and a construct of La Lechuza formed around Luz just as she impacted against the side of a hill. There was a muffled jingle being sung that seemed to be coming from inside of the hill after Luz crashed into it. A moment later, the hill began to rumble as a burst of magenta light blasted through the other side with Kamen Rider Witch: Wonder Style digging her heels into the landscape as she slowed herself down.
[LIGHT OF WONDER SHINE ON~!]
[PLEASE.]
"Whew! I stuck the landing!" Witch exclaimed proudly.
"Never! Do that! Again!"
"Cut me some slack, Lala, I didn't exactly have that many options! Anyway, let's get back before they kill Barlow."
"Wouldn't exactly be a loss to society if they did, though," La Lechuza suggested.
Witch had her own thoughts on the matter but decided to keep them to herself for now. The Hero of Hope summoned forth her staff, Tizona, twirled it around and exclaimed, "Connect, Please!"
Within seconds, Witch's magic circle appeared, and without wasting any more time, she jumped straight through it. She was instantaneously transported straight back to Bonesborough, where she was greeted with the sight of Viney being held at knife point by her biological father, and Viney's Phantomized parents standing off with him.
Well, that escalated quickly in my absence…
Witch raised up Tizona and began scanning each of the glyph orbs in a seemingly random sequence, before making a circle motion to scan all four in sequence.
[Light! Ice! Light! Plant! Ice! Plant! Light!]
[Combo: FAZE THROUGH!]
Witch pointed her staff at Viney and focused her combo spell at the dual track witch. Viney's entire body was laced in a pale blue light for a moment before it became transparent, as if she had become a ghost. Upon doing so, Viney suddenly found herself falling backwards out of Barlow's grasp, no, she passed right through him as if she had become a ghost. Witch swiftly dashed across the road and cancelled her spell as she managed to grab ahold of Viney before she could fall on her front and accidentally crack the egg. The two monsters didn't waste time, the moment they saw that Barlow was not in possession of Viney, the Hybrid Phantoms unleashed their individual beam attacks to kill him where he stood.
"DEFEND, PLEASE!"
Witch's magic circle appeared below them, having grown wide enough to encompass not only Viney and Witch, but also Barlow. The circle emitted powerful light energy that created a dome of sparkling magenta light that took the two attacks head on, exploding against the barrier with nary a scratch or crack to be seen.
"Witch?!" Viney exclaimed.
"Yep, that's my name," Witch said with humor.
"Wait! No! You have to go and save Luz! She was thrown and–!"
"Relax, I found her. Luckily, I caught her just in the nick of time. She told me what was going on and I rushed over here," Witch informed.
Viney released a sigh of relief upon hearing her friend and egg sitting partner was not dead. "UGH! That was so reckless! I don't know whether I'm going to bap her on the head or hug her for not being dead?!"
"I share in her frustration," La Lechuza commented.
Can everyone just stop piling on me for five minutes?
Barlow let out a sigh of relief, feeling safe behind the magical barrier as he turned around and said, "Hey, thanks for that Witch, I–"
"Bind, Please."
Chains made of sparkling magenta light appeared and wrapped themselves around Barlow's body, even more formed around his hands to force them to ball up into fists so that he couldn't draw a spell circle. The two Hybrid Phantoms started to physically assault the barrier, trying with a desperate bloodlust to get to Barlow.
Witch walked up to the mercenary as she loomed over him. Barlow wasn't an idiot, he knew who Witch was, but when he looked up at her, despite not being able to see her expression thanks to the helmet, he could feel the animosity coming from her.
"I'm VERY tempted to just kick you out of this barrier and let those two have at you. But thankfully for you, I'm a hero, and too nice of a person to let that happen. Plus, I don't want Viney's parents to become murderers, even if they're Phantomized. So, you're going to lie there until this is all over and then you're going to jail," said Witch as she looked up at the two Hybrid Phantoms.
"Can you save them?" Viney asked with desperate hope.
"I can, believe it or not I did this once before, but this might be a bit difficult since that was one person, and this is two, so I'll need to–!"
[ ENDING STRIKE, RIGHT NOW! ]
Viney and Witch looked up just in time to watch as a spiraling tornado of energy came careening straight for the Healing Hybrid Phantom. The winged canine reacted too slow as it was struck in the side and carried straight into the air before getting pierced through. But the tornado didn't stop as it transformed into a bird made of multicolored light that aimed itself for the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom. The bird transformed back into a spiraling tornado of power as it struck the center of the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom's back, making it roar in pain as it was carried off the barrier and pierced through as well. Both bodies fell in different locations with violet glowing holes in their chests and sides.
The tornado of power finally stopped and revealed itself to be Crusader as he now hovered in the air and surveyed his work, he then turned his gaze to Witch and said, "Better late than never, Witch!"
The two Hybrid Phantoms, despite their injuries, weren't defeated yet as they struggled to get back up.
"Guess it's too much to ask for them to go down with one hit."
"Crusader listen to me! Don't–!"
"I'll make another pass at the healing one, you take out the other!" Crusader interrupted as he scanned his finisher ring again.
[ ENDING STRIKE, RIGHT NOW! ]
Crusader flew towards the Healing Hybrid Phantom as his body once again morphed into the energy bird before turning into a spiraling tornado. However, before the avian Rider could hit his target, Witch dashed out from behind the barrier, flipped Tizona around into its saber mode, and struck Crusader's attack head on. Witch dug her heels into the pavement as she pushed against Crusader's finisher, but he seemed determined to take out the Healing Hybrid Phantom.
"I'm sorry, Hunter…" Witch whispered.
The Hero of Hope pulled the trigger of Tizona three times, making the six wings flare up. Upon the fourth pulling of the trigger, the blade of Tizona shined brighter and brighter as it was fully charged.
} WONDERFUL! SLASHING STRIKE! {
Witch slashed upwards with her glowing blade, causing Crusader to veer off and into the sky for before crashing back down onto a nearby rooftop, knocking him out of the finisher, and making his weapons disappear. The avian Rider groaned as he made his way to the edge of the roof and glared down at Witch with incredulity.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ABOUT?! WHY DID YOU STOP ME!"
Witch was about to explain, but the Hybrid Phantoms were about to recover. Despite what Crusader did, he did give her a chance, but that window was quickly closing. Thankfully, luck was on her side as golden flame Abominations rose from the ground around both Hybrid Phantoms, trapping them completely for the time being.
Heka dropped out of the sky from the Solar Chaser and asked, "What do you need?!"
"Get them together! We're leaving!"
Heka wasted little time in raising the Beast Keeping Hybrid Phantom up and bringing it to where its partner was. Once altogether, Witch raised her staff and called out, "CONNECT, PLEASE!"
A large magic circle opened beneath all four of them, where they were quickly transported away from Bonesborough and to a remote area.
"It's just like you said happened with Skara, right? Those Phantoms possessed some people?" Heka asked.
"Yes! They're Viney's parents!"
"WHAT?!"
"I'll explain everything later, but right now I need you to hold them so I can separate Viney's parents from them!"
Heka wasted no more time as she poured more of her magical power into the Abomination constructs, reforming them to become chains that wrapped around their necks, torsos, arms, and legs. The golden flames that lapped off the Abomination goo also had a damaging effect, so if they were going to heal, they'd be forced to constantly focus on healing the damage done to them by Crusader and the chains.
Witch stood before the two Hybrid Phantoms as she concentrated, calling on the right spell rings to help her in this endeavor.
"Illusion, Bind, Bard, Please."
Gentle music began playing in the background as a construct of Viney appeared next to Witch.
"FANG! MATILDA! YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER! REMEMBER YOUR DAUGHTER! REMEMBER VINEY!" Witch pleaded.
The two monsters seemed to stop struggling as they looked at the sad construct of their daughter, along with the gentle music seeming to calm their rage.
"Don't let the Phantoms inside of you corrupt your love for her! Don't let them turn you into murderers! Into monsters! She's waiting for you! She needs her mom and dad!"
The two Hybrid Phantoms started to struggle a little less, and Witch saw this as the opportunity she needed. She summoned the magenta construct chains as she aimed them straight for the chests of both of the Phantoms before her.
I CAN SAVE THEM!
The Wonder ring shined bright as the chains pierced into the two Hybrid Phantoms, but then went taut as if they had found something and wrapped around it. Witch connected the chains to Tizona, widened her stance, and pulled like a fisherman reeling in a prized catch. She pulled and pulled, taking a step back with each tug of her staff. Witch gave a loud yell as she pulled with all her strength and yanked out both Fang and Matilda from their respective Phantoms. The two adults were flung over Witch, but she managed to use the chains to keep them from hitting the ground and laid them down gently.
"YOU DID IT!" Heka exclaimed.
"Yeah, now let's finish it!"
Heka stood next to Witch as the magenta clad Rider made a circle motion over the four glyph orbs four times, at the same time, Heka inserted her ring into the MagiScepter and turned it once. The two warriors crossed their staffs, forming an "X" pattern as energy began to build up at the center of where the two weapons met. The four glyph symbols formed out in front of them, rotating in a circle as Heka's magic circle appeared on the left, and Witch's on the right.
} ROARING! {
}} WONDER GLYPH! {{
}}} DYNAMIC BLAST! {{{
All six circles merged together, and from the center, a huge, sparkling, gold and magenta beam erupted, magnified by the circles until it was able to encompass both of the Hybrid Phantoms. The two monsters had nowhere to run as the enormous beam washed over both of them, vaporizing them on the spot. The beam finally fizzled, and the magic circles faded as Witch and Heka uncrossed their staffs.
Witch let out a long sigh and smiled from behind her helmet as she looked towards Heka and said, "Nice timing back there, boo."
Heka chuckled and replied, "No problem. But I guess we need to address the aftermath. I saw that you repelled Crusader's attack."
"He was about to kill Viney's dad. I tried to tell him not to, but he acted before I could get my warning out. He will be ticked," said Witch.
"Eh, don't worry about him. For now, let's get these two back to their daughter."
That weekend was chaotic. After Witch and Heka returned with Viney's parents, as expected, Crusader was waiting, along with some Coven Scouts that all looked itching to take them in. But Witch and Heka bid them a fond farewell and dipped out of there via Witch's circle, only to reappear somewhere else in the town and then returned to civilian form to blend into the crowd.
Statements were taken from Matilda and Fang about Barlow's actions, and thankfully, the bystanders who were there when the initial altercation took place were able to verify that Barlow was trying to kidnap Luz, and that Viney's parents were indeed the ones came to rescue and defend them. But then were possessed by the Phantoms that Crusader and Witch fought a few days ago. Despite hearing this, Crusader still gave Luz a suspicious glance as he stood there and listened to the accounts. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable, but it was understandable since she kind of swatted him away like a fly during the fight.
Emira eventually arrived with Amity "coincidentally" being nearby when it all went down. Of course, when they found out what happened, the Coven Scouts had to restrain the two siblings as they were about ready to go over to the still chained up Barlow and commit their own act of murder on the man. And, also, as expected, Luz was given an earful by Amity for her reckless stunt, Viney gave her an earful as well, bapped her on the head with her fist, and then hugged the human girl while crying tears of joy that she was alive. Amity would've done the same, but since she knew Luz had the power to protect herself from getting fatally injured, she wasn't as emotional as Viney was.
Eventually the weekend passed, and the last day of the assignment was upon them as it was now Monday, and it was time to turn in their egg for inspection. Emira and Amity walked with Luz and Viney, the others decided to give them some space since they were without their paramours for a whole week. There was, unfortunately, one other wrinkle with what happened that day, and it had to do with an article that Luz was reading in the newspaper she borrowed from Eda.
Kamen Rider Witch Defends Phantom From Being Defeated by Crusader! "During the battle Saturday afternoon, when Crusader went to deliver the finishing blow against a Phantom that was a attacking a notorious mercenary, Witch intervened and batted Crusader away before he could complete his attack. Kamen Rider Heka arrived on scene and immediately captured both Phantoms, where Witch utilized her magic to transport them to an unknown location. Witnesses report seeing a bright light and a beam being shot at an angle towards the sky around this time. After the Coven Scouts arrived on scene to secure the area and the criminal, Witch and Heka returned with two Bonesborough residents that were allegedly the ones who were transformed into the Phantoms they had fought earlier. The two residents were that of Fangorin Aldrich Arwin and Matilda Arwin. It is unknown what occurred during that time gap when Witch and Heka captured and took the monsters away. It is possible that Witch and Heka managed to separate the monsters from them, or perhaps they were sealed way inside the two residents? One thing is for certain, Witch's actions during the battle were quite suspicious.""Luz don't let this drivel get to you," said Amity.
"Yeah, it's just some journalist's opinion, it's not like everyone on the Isles believes it," Emira added.
"Yeah, everyone knows Witch and Heka are heroes, so it's a total load," Viney stated.
Luz's brow twitched a bit as she crumbled up the paper and tossed it into the air, broke out a Fire Glyph, and shot the paper with a fire blast until turned into ash.
"Hmph! I'm not gonna let it bother me, Witch is a hero, she saved my life and others' lives, that should speak for itself," Luz said as she went back to cradling the egg.
Viney leaned close to Emira and whispered, "Wow, she's kinda taking it personally, huh?"
Emira's eyes widened as she quickly replied, "Well, uh, you know Luz. She's a diehard Kamen Rider fan like Gus and the rest of that club. She's not about to take a smear against a hero lightly."
Viney chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Good point, but honestly, I owe Witch big for what she did. Not only did she save my parents, but now my asshole of a father, Barlow, is going to jail and we'll never have to see his dumb face ever again! Can't weasel out this one!"
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you through that, Viney," said Emira with a sad tone.
"Babe, you didn't know. And I didn't even tell you about him for a reason. Now you all know the reason why," said Viney.
"Well, we're glad you're family doesn't have to deal with that man anymore, and you can enjoy your life peacefully," said Amity.
Viney smiled at Amity and then drew Emira in to give her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, causing the older Blight sibling to blush.
"That goremato face look seems to run in the family," said La Lechuza.
"Something to think about for your future child, eh, Kitten?" Bast teased.
Amity tried to suppress her blush, but it was not happening.
"Anyway, as fun as this assignment was, I'll be happy when it's over. I've missed hanging out with my awesome girlfriend," said Luz as she lightly nudged Amity with her shoulder.
"I can't imagine how you two were able to survive without us around," Viney chuckled.
"Yeah, hey, maybe they spied on us just to make sure we weren't up to something," Luz joked.
Amity and Emira started to sweat bullets and suddenly burst out laughing at the same time, much to the great confusion of Luz and Viney.
"AHAHAHA! Oh, Luz, that's just way too funny! AHAHAHA!" Amity exclaimed.
"HAHAHA! Yeah! I mean, it's not like we staked out your house and watched you two sleep! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Emira added.
Luz and Viney turned their heads to Emira, their confusion only mounting, while Amity looked at her big sister and gave her a look that said, "SHUT UP!"
Emira shifted her eyes back and forth before blurting out, "We must go to class! Come my little sister! We're off!"
Before any of the other three could say something, Emira scooped up Amity, and ran down the opposite hallway, in the complete opposite direction of where either of their classes were being held.
"Does it feel like we're missing a huge amount of context, or is it just me?" Luz asked.
"Let's just put a pin in this…awkward moment, and get our well-deserved 'A'," said Viney.
The two multitrack witches finally made it to class where they awaited the entrance of their professor. As they sat, they noticed that some of their fellow classmates were looking a bit lovey-dovey, while others looked a bit hostile. The ones that did look a bit hostile had a few scratches and nicks on their eggs. And for the remainder, they didn't seem much different from before, and their eggs looked alright at first glance.
"Wow, guess those rumors weren't wrong about the whole becoming a couple thing," said Luz as she finished looking at their classmates.
"Yeah, too bad we're hitched, 'cause I honestly wouldn't mind if we were together," said Viney.
Luz blushed and then chuckled nervously as she said, "Heh-heh-ha-ha-ha, g-good one, Viney."
Viney shrugged. "I mean it, I could totally see us hitting it off. Especially after seeing how much you cared about the egg. But we both made our choice and I'm not apologizing for who we picked to be with. Are you?"
Luz shook her head. "No way! I love Amity."
Viney smiled and held up her fist. "Same here. Guess we both got a thing for the Blight girls."
Luz smiled back and bumped Viney's fist with her own.
"That aside, whatever happens in the future, I think you'll make a great mom," Viney commented.
"Likewise, Viney."
Professor Brost came in as the bell rang and stood in front of his desk. "Well, class, we've come to it at last, the end of the assignment. I'm sure you've all not only learned what it's like to raise a child, but also gained an appreciation for the hard work that those who also raised you."
Luz had to admit, she did. She already did love and appreciate her mother, but this assignment did give her an idea of how hard her mother had it. Viney was with Luz through the entire process, but her mother had to raise Luz alone after…well, in any case, Luz understood how much harder her mom had to work to raise her. Whenever she did manage to recreate a new portal door, Luz was going to thank her, truly thank her, for doing all she did to raise her thus far.
"Well then, once I call your names, you will come up and present your egg for inspection and final grading." Professor Brost brought up his clipboard and announced, "Luz Noceda and Viney Arwin, please come up."
Luz and Viney did as asked and headed to the front of the class. Once there, Luz unwrapped their egg from its swaddling and presented it, her eyes were closed as she waited, with a cheerful grin, for the announcement of their perfect grade.
"Um, Ms. Noceda, what is this?" Professor Brost asked.
"Huh, what do you mean? It's our eg – what?"
Luz stared at what she was holding in her hands. The egg she was holding, which was originally white with a green swirling stripe, was now completely green in color.
"W-What happened to our egg?! It was fine this morning and earlier!" Luz exclaimed with worry. "Is it sick?!"
Viney looked at the egg more closely, and that's when her expression dropped into one of horror filled realization. "Luz…carefully put that egg on the desk and back away. That's a morwin egg!"
The moment Viney uttered those words, the students, and even Professor Brost backed away from Luz as if she was holding a live grenade.
"Uh…w-w-what's a morwin and w-why am I holding an egg of one?" Luz asked.
"Morwins are notorious for swapping out their eggs with that of griffon eggs. They look very similar to griffon eggs, so the griffon parents don't realize right away that one of their eggs is missing or different from the others. Once they're close to hatching, the morwin inside will break out of its shell and proceed to eat the eggs of the griffons, or the chicks that have hatched," said Professor Brost.
"They're also nasty, sharp toothed, scaly, long clawed, vicious, and overall unpleasant creatures you ever want to run into out in the wild…and the fact that their eggs turn green, like that one, means it's either very close to hatching or is going to hatch," Viney explained.
"Oh…s-so like a really, really, really messed up version of a cuckoo bird…got it…" Luz gulped. "Well, no problem. I-I'll just carefully, and gently, place this little angel's egg on the desk and then we can all–"
*CRACK!*
Everyone held their breath. The top half of the egg broke off, and the head of the morwin showed itself. It was a dark, swamp green color, with a long snout, red eyes with a dark slit in the middle of them, rows of sharp spines running from the top its head and going further down. Its mouth opened a bit, showing off its rows of needle teeth, and began releasing drool that hissed as soon it touched the eggshell.
"H-H-Hi there little L-L-Luney, i-i-it's me. M-Mama Luz and Mama Viney. You're a good little morwin, you wouldn't do anything bad…right?"
"Luney" shifted its head back and forth, like a bird checking its surroundings, and then it spotted the eggs that the others had and the morwin hissed.
"Uh-oh…"
Many screams could be heard echoing down the hall from the Beast Keeping classroom.
"BAD LUNEY DON'T EAT THAT EGG!"
"AAAH IT'S IN MY HAIR!"
"LUNEY DON'T HURT MOMMAAAAAH!"
(Later that afternoon…)
Odalia looked at the newspaper and scowled, she then crumpled it up and threw it away as she paced her private office.
Damn you, Barlow. Why did I even pay that many snails if you were just going to botch it up!
Odalia's plan had failed. She used a broker as a go between, making sure not to go in person in order to hire Barlow to capture that human girl, Luz Noceda. The man was supposed to bring Luz to Odalia, where she would forge some papers that would put the young girl into a contract of servitude as a lesson to her daughter. She would have to continue living in this house with the girl whom she had mistakenly taken on as her lover as her servant, and unable to go near her if the curses she had prepared for the human were used. But now that was out the window.
That little human peasant humiliated me, and just to rub salt in the wound, she ensnared the heart of my daughter, I will not let this stand.
Just then a knock came at the door.
"What is it?!" Odalia sniped.
The door opened and showed the Abomination butler, "Winston", recognized by his unique mustache that was molded from his own goo. When she saw the Abomination, she calmed down a bit and asked, "Is our guest here?"
The Abomination nodded.
"Bring them in." Odalia walked back to her desk and sat down in the chair as she knitted her fingers while her lips curled into a conniving smile. "I'm glad you accepted my invitation."
"You made a very compelling offer, plus, I'm not a fan of that girl either."
"Agreed. This is for the prosperity and future of the Blight family, your family, and of course, my darling daughter's future," said Odalia.
"I won't let Amity ruin her future with that human, she's way too good someone like Luz Noceda."
Odalia stood up, walked from behind her desk, and stood before her guest as she offered them her hand. "I knew I picked you to be her friend for a reason, Boscha."
The triclops Potions track witch teen reached out as well and shook Odalia's hand as she looked up at the matriarch of the Blight family with a matching grin and furrowed brow.
"I am Amity's friend. And she's going to remember that and realize why I am the only one for her in the end," said Boscha.