A/N: Gonna be busy this weekend, so, I'm uploading this early.

Despite all the recent goings on, the Super Phantoms, the Hybrid Phantoms, and whatever Belos was planning, Luz had not stopped trying to figure out a way to get back home. She had borrowed a pegboard and placed several notes, drawings, and a picture of her owl family on it. Along with Amity's Titan's Bloodstained glove, with a note to get Amity a new glove. She had piles of books strewn about her room, each one speaking on how to create a portal, but none of which were to the place that she wanted to go, and not via the same method that got her to the Boiling Isles and to the Human Realm.

One thing that still bothered her was how the original portal messed up like it did. Luz believed she had followed the instructions from Philip's journal to the letter, but even so, the portal door did not turn out like it should have. It was warped, and it sent her to some strange in-between world that allowed her to view other dimensions through cubes, and only in reflective surfaces.

Remembering that, unfortunately, made Luz remember the moment when she accidentally peeked in on Amity taking a bath. Although she didn't see much, other than one bare leg, that was still enough to make the Latina's face turn bright red. Luz glanced at the echo-mouse, who, at this point, she had taken in as a pet. She watched her little friend run on its wheel and sighed.

"You and me both, buddy. I just can't figure out what I messed up when I made that ding-danged door," said Luz.

"Perhaps there is a component that we are missing?"

"If we are, then, what could it be?" Luz questioned.

"Titan's blood is supposedly a powerful source of magical essence in this world. Maybe you did not have quite enough of it to forge the door correctly?"

"Well, I did only use one finger of the glove to make it. Maybe I need to use the whole thing?"

"Mind you, it's just a theory. Philip Wittebane's notes only say that he needed Titan's Blood, it never said anything about the amount he used to make the door. Using the entire glove poses a risk. If it doesn't work, you'll use up the only remaining amount of Titan's Blood you have left."

"True, and even if it did work, it might only be enough to make it stable for one trip," Luz sighed. "And if that is the case, I can't leave until I've stopped whatever Belos is secretly planning, and these new Phantoms. Which I know he made!"

"Cálmate, ahora (Settle down, now). Don't get your feathers ruffled over what that man is up to that you lose your focus. If we're going to overcome him, then we'll need to keep our wits about us."

Luz took a calming breath and replied, "You're right."

Just then, Luz heard something coming from downstairs, the sound of something hitting glass.

"Oh, shoot! I forgot!"

A party was being held downstairs. Balloons in the shape of eyes floated around the living room, and the guests wore pointed orange and yellow party hats. It was a party to celebrate Lilith's new job, and to celebrate…Hooty was put in charge. Among the guests were Gwendolyn, her mother, Eda, King, Mort the potions vendor, the infamous Tiny Nose, Steve, and someone new. The witch in question was tan skinned, had black hair, wore nose mounted pink glasses, with a burgundy-colored blouse, black belt, orange pants, and black heeled boots. This witch also had a broach in the middle of her chest that had the Emperor's Coven sigil emblazoned onto it.

Hooty was at the center of the room as he held a glass filled with…well, not liquid, but an assortment of things that were surely not drinkable, or possibly edible.

"It is so nice to be surrounded by all of Lulu's dearest friends," Hooty announced.

"Yeah! All hail Lulu," Steve cheered.

"We're here to celebrate the new assistant curator of the Supernatural Museum of History. Here's to you, Lulu!"

"CHEERS!"

Lilith looked a little uncomfortable by the praise, or possibly something else.

After the toast was had, everyone started to mingle. It was about that time that Luz made it downstairs, wearing her party hat as she entered the room and walked up to Hooty.

"Hooty, did I miss the toast?" Luz asked.

"Yes, but not the 'app-pellet-tizers'," said Hooty as he turned around and presented a tray to Luz.

The "app-pellet-tizers" were owl pellets, which were bite sized and had various things in them, bones were prevalent, and one had a rat's tail in it.

"You want it? There's an extra one. I'm working on it. GACK! GACK!"

"Can we please leave! This creature freaks me out!"

Way ahead of you.

"No, no, no! That's okay! Uh, uh. Where's Lilith? We wanna congratulate her!" Luz lifted up her party hat and revealed the echo-mouse for a moment.

Just as Luz asked that, a whip came in and snatched off one of the app-pellet-tizers from the tray and took it outside. Luz quickly followed after the whip, and that's when she saw Lilith and a witch she had never met before. The whip was her own as she holstered it and grabbed the app-pellet-tizer out of the air.

"Oh, I wish I could stay longer, but I must be off on my next adventure," said the witch as she flicked the app-pellet-tizer away. "It's such a delight to see my little bookworm back in the historical world after all these years."

"Uh, thank you, Flora," Lilith said, her voice sounding restrained. "But it's just a small job. Only an assistant. I'm surprised you even heard about this."

"The Emperor wanted to make sure you weren't getting into any trouble. And to clear out your office. I left a box of your knickknacks inside." Flora gave Lilith a playful punch against the arm as she began to walk away. "Wish you could've taken more from my tutelage, dear. History's supposed to be exciting, after all!"

Flora took out her whip again and lashed it straight into the air. The whip continued to sail higher and higher until it wrapped itself around the foreleg of a passing by griffon. The unlucky avian beast was violently pulled out of the air and slammed onto the ground in front of Flora. The witch historian released her whip from its forelimb, jumped into the air, performed a somersault, and landed on the griffon's back. With another crack of her whip, the griffon screeched, and as if understanding what she wanted, the griffon flared its wings and lifted off into the sky.

"Pretty sure Viney would have some words about how she handled the griffon. Anyway, who was she?" Luz asked.

"Flora D'esplora, bad-girl historian, celebrity, and my former mentor in the Emperor's Coven," Lilith explained, a bit of ire sprinkled in her tone.

"I have questions about that name," said Luz with a dubious glare towards the sky.

"AND I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT MY LIFE!" Lilith exclaimed. "All I ever got to do was desk work while she goofed off riding wild snake horses–!"

"'Snorses!'" Luz gasped.

"–and-and eating mummy jerky! Well, I can be just as exciting as Flora! I'll come up with an exhibit that'll knock the Titan's socks off!" Lilith proclaimed as she marched back into the Owl House.

Luz turned around and said, "Congratulations on your new job!"

"Don't think she heard you, Niña."

Yeah, she's really riled up.

Titan, this is annoying, Amity griped in her mind.

She wanted to go to the Owl House to join in the celebration of Lilith Clawthorne's job. Despite the controversy of knowing that Lilith had cursed Eda, and that she used Luz as a literal human shield, Amity promised Luz that she would talk with her former mentor again. She actually planned on using today as an opportunity to do so, but then this happened. Her mother had informed the family that they were going to some fancy party that was going to last most of the day. It was something that only the elites were invited to, and of course, being one of the top elite witch families on the Boiling Isles, they were pretty much obligated to come.

Amity wore her Grom dress, while Edric and Emira did as well. They didn't feel the need to completely dress up for it, plus they were nice clothes all the same. Their father wasn't going to be able to attend since the Emperor had ordered a lot of Abomatons recently, and he needed to supervise and help in their construction. Which meant they were going to be spending this time with only their mother. Oh joy.

"Chin up, Kitten. It's only one day. Although, being around that woman raises my hair."

Amity sighed. At least Skara will be there, so, that's a plus. Still, this feels weird.

"Weird in what way?"

I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I feel like I should be keeping my guard up.

"I'd say trust your instincts, but I'll be keeping an eye out either way."

Thanks, Bast.

The carriage they were riding in eventually stopped. The Abomination driver came around and opened their door, allowing the four of them to exit. The host of this party were the Barbtalónes, Boscha's family. Their house was fairly large, just like their own. There were statues of manticores placed on either side of the entryway, and a butler waiting to usher them inside.

The family of four entered the house, and immediately started to hear beautiful orchestra music being played throughout the residence. The butler continued to lead them out into the backyard where a large tent and a makeshift ballroom floor was formed to accommodate their large number of guests.

"Now remember, kids. Mingle, socialize, and make connections. You never know who among the gathered will be able to help you later on in life, or who you can help in exchange," Odalia instructed.

"Yes, Mom," the three siblings answered in a monotone.

Edric and Emira started to head towards where the older teens were gathered, but as Amity was about to go to where she saw Skara was, she was stopped by Odalia.

"Dear, perhaps you could do me a favor?" Odalia asked.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Could you spend some time with the Barbtalóne girl?"

"Boscha?" Amity glanced about the crowd, noticing Boscha talking to a group of young teens. She seemed to be controlling the flow of the conversation, having the other kids laugh along with her. "Why?"

"Why not? She is your friend, after all."

"Yeah, well, we haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye lately. I think it's better if I left her alone," said Amity.

"Oh, come now, Mittens. Use this as a chance to patch things up. I'd hate to see all those years of friendship get destroyed over a little misunderstanding," Odalia insisted.

A friendship that you forced me into, at the cost of hurting Willow.

Amity could tell that her mother wasn't about to let this matter go, so she reluctantly nodded her head and said, "Okay, I'll go and talk to her."

"There's my good girl. Now, run along."

Odalia gave Amity a playful push from behind, causing Amity to stumble forward a little bit. Amity took a calming breath before walking towards Boscha and the group of witch and demon kids around her. It didn't take long before the triclops caught sight of her and excused herself from the group.

"Amity, glad you could make it," Boscha greeted.

"Hi, Bosch. You seem chipper," Amity observed.

Boscha shrugged and replied, "Why not? It's a party, Ams. We're here to have fun, right?"

"I guess, although…" Amity glanced about, seeing the adults mingle amongst the themselves as they talked about their business ventures, vacations, the latest gossip, and whatever else rich adults went on about. Something about that made her skin crawl. "I feel like we're just here for business."

"Yeah, well, my Moms' business is their business. I have my own business to take care of."

"Right…" Amity rubbed the back of her head as she sighed. "Look, Boscha, I know we haven't exactly been getting along lately. But I'd like it if we could put some of our past mess behind us."

Boscha moved closer to Amity and draped her right arm over the lavender haired girl's shoulders.

"Ams, let's not talk about that kind of stuff. Let's just enjoy the party, have fun, and we can talk shop later. C'mon, it's been awhile since you talked to these guys," said Boscha as she steered Amity towards the group.

Why does this unsettle me?

"You're not the only one, Kitten."

"After careful analysis during the Deadwardian Era, I believe the current human year is 1660. Or is it '70? The years are flashing by, but it will all be worth it. I've gathered all the portal ingredients, including Titan's Blood. All that's left is to seek out The Collector. And he will tell me what I need to complete my mission. But first, my companions and I must face…"

The echo-mouse's playback ended there as it went to sleep. Luz was lying on the couch, having watched the projections that were on the ceiling a moment ago.

"The Collector. I've never heard that name," King commented.

"Me neither," said Eda. "What kind of jerk puts 'The' in front of their name anyway?"

"Gee, I don't know The Owl Lady," said La Lechuza.

Luz chuckled at the comparison. However, The Collector seemed as if they may be the solution.

"But The Collector may know how to make a real portal door. He may know why mine is so unstable. I just…" Luz sat up and hugged her legs to her chest. "I messed up so bad last time. I need to do better."

Eda smiled as she cleaned up and told her apprentice, "Luz, I've got leg hair older than you. This Philip guy worked on his door for years. And you just started. Try not to beat yourself up too much."

Luz sighed, she understood what her mentor/mother figure was telling her, but still. "I just wish I could go back in time and talk to him."

Wait a minute!

"Oh no…"

Luz turned her head around to face Eda and asked, "Eda? Is time magic a thing?"

"Not really, but…" Eda put down the trash bag and walked over to the bookshelf. She picked out one of the books that read "History's Top 10 Plot Holes" and thumbed through it as she said, "Back in the day, I was a bit of an urban-legend junkie."

Luz got off the couch and stood next to Eda as she thumbed through the book.

"Twigfoot, Lenderman, possums…"

Luz raised an eyebrow as she retorted, "Uh, possums are real."

Eda chuckled.

"Yeah, sure, kid. Anyway, there are stories about these things called time pools." Eda flipped through the pages until she found the section she was looking for, showing pools of water that led to different points in time. "Mythical puddles that act as windows into the past. But they're never in the same spot twice. Me and Lily used to search for them. She'd say I forced her into it, but I think she had more fun than me."

"Lilith! Of course!" Luz grabbed the book and ran off as she cried out, "Thanks, Eda!"

"You're not really serious about this are you?"

Why not? It's a good plan! If we can find these time pools, we can get the answers straight from the horse's mouth!

"Luz, messing with time has serious consequences. One false move, one little shift in anything in the past can have drastic consequences for the future. It's why even most Phantoms don't even try and use time powers aside from using it to stop or slow down time. Because even we know that we could inadvertently interfere with our own fates."

I get you, Lala. And that's even more reason why we need to ask Lilith. A great historian like her will help ensure that we don't mess with the timeline! I've already seen what happens when one thing changes in the past…I don't want that to happen to anyone.

La Lechuza understood what she was talking about. The Oscura Timeline, the alternate universe where that universe's Lilith wasn't proven guilty of cheating during the witch's duel and ended up having Amity curse Luz with the Everlasting Oath.

"The irony of this situation is not lost on me."

Luz entered the kitchen and found Lilith hard at work. She had various arts and crafts materials laid out all over the kitchen table, and various models that she had hand painted and crafted. Strangely enough, they all looked like staircases for some reason. Lilith's Palisman, Kevin, the white raven, watched over his owner as she worked.

"Lilith!" Luz exclaimed as she appeared behind her.

Lilith gasped, slightly startled by Luz's sudden appearance.

"I see you're dealing with…all this," said Luz, gesturing to Lilith's work.

The former Coven leader smiled as she explained, "I'm plotting out my first exhibit for the museum! It's almost as if the Emperor wanted Flora to tick me off. We-heh-heh-ll, I'll show her that she's not the only 'bad-girl historian' in town!"

Lilith quickly brought up a board that showed her plans for her exhibit, which read, "A Thrilling Timeline of Deadwardian Balusters".

"I'm thinking the architectural history behind the Deadwardian balusters!" Lilith announced giddily. However, now that she said that aloud, it didn't sound as exciting, plus, Luz's nonreaction was telling. "This won't work, will it?"

Luz waved off the concern as she remarked, "Don't let Flora get you down. I've even started calling you 'Cool Aunt Lilith' in my journal."

Lilith chuckled a little, feeling happy that she was called such a thing by Luz. Considering how rocky their initial introduction to each other was, and what she did to Eda and Luz, she was glad that Luz saw her in such a light.

"Uh, oh, really? T-Thank you, Luz."

"Besides, I know how you can be a bad-girl historian, even better than Flora D'esplora – still have questions on that name." Luz opened the book to the section that dealt with the time pools and showed it to Lilith.

Lilith looked upon the page and gasped, "Oh, I remember these. Let's see." The eldest Clawthorne sister took the book from Luz and began reading it. "'In the Premysteric Era, it's theorized that coagulated Titan Blood mixed with the magical algae of the Boiling Sea created temporary holes in time.'"

"Time magic, baby!" Luz exclaimed. "You can make an exciting exhibit on the time pools, and maybe I can get information on how Philip made the portal door. Win-win!"

Lilith looked at the book again, thinking hard on the matter. It would allow her to get one up on Flora, a BIG one up. Not a single historian has been able to prove the existence of the time pools, nor located them. If she did manage to do this, it would raise her up higher than even Flora and show that she was just as much of a "bad-girl historian", if not more so, than her former mentor.

"Well, I did cobble together a device to find these with Eda. It should be in the box Flora returned to me. But it was faulty. It needed more power than I could ever give it," said Lilith.

Luz thought for a moment, and then an idea struck her.

"Stay right there!"

Luz bolted out of the kitchen, leaving Lilith and Kevin there. The witch looked to her Palisman, wondering if he had any idea what Luz was up to. Kevin shrugged, just as clueless as she was. There was a crashing sound that came from upstairs, and then a few seconds later, Luz came back into the kitchen, with the bloodstained glove she got from Amity.

"Would Titan Blood do the trick?" Luz asked.

Lilith's lips curled up into a smile as she slammed her old exhibit board down on the table and exclaimed, "Let's do it!"

Elsewhere, Amity was having some issues with this whole party. Especially sense Boscha was acting…nice-er-ish? It wasn't as if she found that to be a bad thing, but at the same time, she felt like it was too good to be true. Ever since Amity broke away from Boscha, the triclops had been snippy, angry, and didn't hesitate to belittle Luz or their friends. Heck, even Skara got some flak as well, and they were more or less at the same level as far as social hierarchy among the witch families of the Boiling Isles.

"So, you think it's a little suspect, too, huh?" Skara asked.

"Just a little, yeah. It's like she's intentionally wanting to stay away from the topic of Luz or Willow," said Amity.

"I got that feeling too, but…ugh, jeez. Why can't Boscha just get over it?"

Amity shrugged.

"I don't know, but I'm with you about wishing she would. I'd at least like the chance to start over, like we did," said Amity.

Skara smiled when she heard Amity say that, but frowned a little when she remembered her own hand in the bullying of Willow, her now girlfriend.

"Hey, Amity, do you think Willow has regrets? Like, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go out with someone who helped bully her?" Skara asked with some concern.

Amity glanced at her friend and placed her hand on Skara's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Skara, if Willow could forgive me, then she definitely forgave you. Plus, at least you didn't have break off your friendship with her and hurt her feelings," Amity countered.

Skara chuckled a little and replied, "We really need to let go of that baggage, huh?"

Amity chuckled as well and remarked, "Yeah, definitely."

Skara and Amity took a sip of the juice from the drink table, and it was right about then that Skara decided to ask, "Oh, did you know that Willow used to have a crush on you?"

Amity's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her drink, but she managed to get it down without that happening.

"I-I suspected it, and I'm pretty sure she told me as much…are you upset about that?"

"Nah, she said 'had', past tense. I'm cool with it, you are cute, so, I can't blame her."

It was right about that time that the band changed up the music, going from a festival tone to a slow dance-like rhythm. Amity and Skara watched as a few adults, some of the older teens, and their own age group started to take to the floor. Just then, Amity felt a tap on her shoulder and glanced to her right.

Boscha was standing there, she then bowed a little to Amity and said, "May I have this dance?"

Amity glanced at Skara; the Bard track witch wasn't sure if that was a good idea. However, both knew that since Boscha's family was hosting, and since Amity's family was the highest-ranking family here, it would be embarrassing if she snubbed her in front of everyone.

Is that her game?

"She's making it so you almost can't refuse without raising a stink about it. You gotta admire her cunning, despite her attitude," said Bast.

Either way, I don't want to cause a scene.

Amity turned to Boscha and bowed back, "I'd love to."

Boscha held out her hand and Amity placed hers into it. The triclops led Amity out onto the dance floor, and once there, Boscha gently placed her left hand on Amity's hip, and Amity did the same. The two of them waited until they could move into the groove of the song, and once it restarted, the two girls began dancing in the middle of the floor.

"Been awhile since we danced together, huh?" Boscha asked.

"Yeah, it has," Amity agreed.

"We both took lessons together, and we were the best dancers in class." The two moved apart, allowing Boscha to spin Amity around before bringing her back.

"I remember. Our Moms signed us up, and we also won a few competitions together," said Amity.

"I think that was sign of things to come. 'Cause when we got into Hexside, you became the captain of our Grdugby team, and I was right there at your side. You were – are – the best, Amity," Boscha said. "We were unstoppable."

"What do you mean 'were'? Even though I'm not on the team anymore, Hexside hasn't lost a single game since you became captain," Amity pointed out.

Boscha nodded in agreement.

"True, I had some big shoes to fill. But I knew I was up to the task. If there was anyone who could keep the streak going it was you and me. You've always been a strong person, both in magic and just strong overall," said Boscha.

"Thank you," Amity replied.

Amity and Boscha continued to dance to the music, every once in a while, Boscha's gaze would flick towards the audience, and made eye contact with Odalia. The older witch woman smiled conspiratorially as she nodded at the triclops.

"Amity, I got a question for you. And I'd like it if you answered me honestly."

"Okay, I'll answer it if I can."

"Why do you like Luz so much?"

Amity furrowed her brow a little.

"Why do you care?"

"I'm just wondering, okay?" Boscha averted her gaze a little. "I feel like ever since she came, you've changed so much, it's almost like I don't know you anymore. Like you're a completely different person. And it all started the moment she appeared. I just…I'm just confused is all."

Amity sighed, perhaps it was hard for Boscha to grasp, if Amity was being honest with herself, she didn't completely grasp her change either at first. So, from the outside looking in, it would seem like a drastic, out of the blue change.

"It's hard to explain. I didn't instantly fall in love with Luz or anything. I kind of didn't know what to think about her, she's strange, full of energy, positive thinking, and a lot of other things that would take too long for me to list."

Amity twirled Boscha around and brought her back as she continued.

"She's different, she goes her own way, and has a love for magic and everyone. She tried to make friends with me even though I was a complete jerk to her on more than one occasion. Without realizing it, I just started to see her in a different light. And the more time I watched her, talked to her, the more I started to figure out that my interest in her turned to infatuation. And, well, being around Luz, it kind of makes you want to be better, to do better."

Boscha's mind flashed back to that time when she and Luz tailed Amelia when she was getting tricked by a pair of Phantoms. Despite her animosity towards the human, Luz didn't seem to hold that against her, and despite the fact that Amelia wasn't her friend, Luz went out of her way to help Boscha expose the two Phantoms. Even risked her life to save her.

Thinking about it made her furrow her brow a little.

"I guess I can understand that, considering how she helped me rescue Amelia from those Phantom assholes who broke her heart to turn her into one of them," said Boscha.

Amity chuckled and smiled.

"Sounds like something Luz would do. But that's just how she is."

"I see…Anyway, Ams, how about we have a sleepover tonight?" Boscha asked.

"W-What? A sleepover?"

"Yeah, why not? It's been forever. I'll go and see if some of the other girls want to stay over as well," said Boscha.

The music stopped, and the dancers and audience clapped in appreciation to the band. Boscha broke away from Amity, curtsied to her, and then went off to ask some of the other partygoers.

"Ugh…" Amity groaned.

"Oh, Mittens~" Amity turned around and watched as her mother came walking up to her with a smile on her face. "I was just talking to Emilia and Sandra, Boscha's parents. You seemed to be having a good time dancing with her."

"Uh, yeah. We talked a bit, but now she wants me to sleepover. I don't want to impose, so I'll tell her I won't–"

"Nonsense, you go ahead and sleepover, Amity. We'll pick you up in the morning, or you can just fly back home," said Odalia.

"W-W-What?! But I didn't bring any pajamas or change of clothes," Amity argued.

"Oh, that's no problem, there's still a bit of time before the party is over. I'll have Winston head back to the house now and pick up some pajamas and clothes for you, it won't take but a minute," Odalia insisted.

Amity wanted to refuse, but at this point, she was in too deep and decided to just go with it. Boscha was at least acting civil, the most she could do was return the kindness and be civil back to her.

Although, the moment she badmouths Luz, I'm flying home.

"Obviously, standards have to be kept, right?"

Right.

The day dragged on, but Luz and Lilith were on a mission. After finding her detection machine, Lilith and Luz began their search for the time pools. With the help of a piece of the glove that had Titan's Blood on it, they were able to make swift work of charting a course across the isles and to the time pools. It took the duo at least the whole day as they made camp at night and resumed their search the next morning. At the crack of dawn, Luz and Lilith kept going, with Lilith leading the way and brandishing a short sword.

"Don't worry, Luz. We're getting closer. I can feel it," Lilith assured.

"Mmm-hmm," Luz answered, drowsily.

Lilith raised her short sword and slashed it against a tree, which had the effect of waking Luz up and bringing her to full alertness. The eldest Clawthorne sister took a piece of bark from the tree she just maimed and placed it into a test tube that was connected to the device she had built. Once the bark was in the tube, the line that was connected to it began to glow, and within seconds the bark released a "poof" sound before turning shriveled and wrinkly.

"Ah-ha! Exactly what I thought! These are wrinkling oaks," said Lilith.

Luz looked at the tree in question and remarked, "They don't look very wrinkly."

"That's because something is keeping them locked in time." Lilith broke out her journal and began jotting down notes as she walked forward. "So, accounting for local plague patterns, the quake in the '30s, and the switch from Boiling Units to the Empirical System, the time pools should be…" Lilith hurried along and pushed aside some giant leaves as she exclaimed, "…here!"

However, when she did, there was nothing but a sandy beach and the Boiling Sea stretching far in the distant horizon. Luz and Lilith walked towards the beach, Luz started to look around, while Lilith was having a mental breakdown.

"But…I-I triple checked all my calculations. My equipment is first-rate–WAH!" Lilith's foot hit something and nearly made her fall. The witch woman kicked the sand as she growled, "Stupid rock!"

Could this have been a wild goose chase?

"It was a long shot, Niña. But given how this world operates, there was always a chance such a thing would exist."

Luz sighed as she kicked a rock, but when she did, instead of the rock landing on the sand, it fell through the sand.

"What?"

What?

Luz got down on her knees and poked the spot where the rock fell through. Her finger sunk down, but it didn't feel like her hand was passing through sand, in fact, when she did, the spot she poked rippled like water. Still curious, Luz took a deep breath and plunged her head into the sand. A moment later, Luz came up, but when she did, instead of looking down, she was right-side up. However, it seemed she was somewhere else now, or rather, somewhen else.

She was back at the beach, but not as it is now. The land was savage, with volcanos erupting in the distance, and the Boiling Sea bubbling fiercely at the shoreline. Plumes of smoke and ash rose into the air, as the landscape was devoid of any vegetation as far as she could see. Luz heard some rumbling, and when she glanced to her left, she saw a large creature stomping by. It had big ears, a leathery hide, a beak, eight spikes coming from its back, and a long tail. The creature gave a mighty roar before continuing its walk.

"No me lo creo… (I don't believe it)!" La Lechuza gasped.

WE FOUND THEM! Luz yelled in her mind.

Back in the present, Lilith was still having her breakdown.

"Was it my tools? Are they broken?" Lilith took off her glasses as she sniffled. She then turned them around to look at her reflection in the lenses. "Am I broken?"

"LILITH!"

The older witch woman quickly looked in Luz's direction.

"W-What?! What is it, Luz?!"

"You did it! You found the time pools!" Luz, as proof, brought up an ancient creature from that era, holding it up in the air.

Lilith had a face splitting grin as she turned to her reflection and exclaimed, "IN YOUR FACE!"

The great beast of the ancient Boiling Isles gave a yawning roar as it scratched behind its ear. Upon doing so, the beast laid on its stomach, where its body became encased in hardened stone, becoming no less noticeable than a large boulder. This was a sight that no one has ever seen before, something that was only written of in books on ancient Demon Beasts, but Lilith Clawthorne witnessed it.

She took a deep breath and retracted her head through the time pool, returning to her own era. All along the beach, Luz and Lilith had been working to mark the different time pools, for now they were only using sticks to mark their locations, while Lilith wrote some notes down about which point in time each one was at.

"A Stone Sleeper from the Hecktaceous period!" Lilith exclaimed with excitement. "Did you know they have a ticklish spot behind their ears?"

"Oh, really? That's cute," Luz replied, half-paying attention.

Luz poked the spot in front of her, watching as it rippled. She stuck a stick in that spot and got down to put her head through it.

"C'mon time pools. Mama needs to commune with the dead."

The young Latina took a deep breath and pushed her head through the time pool. When she poked out the other side, she found that it was nighttime.

"Tonight, I shall revel so hard, I shan't stand any longer!"

She heard the voice and turned to her left, spotting the crackling campfire, and three people gathered around it. All three were clad in varied styles of armor, two of the three had helmets that covered their faces, and the third had a helmet that only covered the top of his head and had a cloth going down the back of it.

"I shall revel myself to death!" spoke the warrior with three eyes.

Luz pulled her head out of the time pool, and glanced to her left where those men would've been all those years ago. Sure enough, the triclops did in fact revel himself to death, as his skeleton was lying there and giving a thumbs up.

"He died doing what he loved. I can respect that."

True. Still, not the Deadwardian Era.

Their search for the correct time pool was still ongoing, but along the way, Luz had found a few different time pools that not only led to certain points in the past, but also seemed to lead to alternate timelines as well as ones that showed the future. There was one that disturbed her a bit, it was a timeline that was oddly quiet, like all life had been snuffed out of the Demon Realm and only nature was left to thrive. She had a small urge to go explore that timeline, but she couldn't afford to get sidetracked right now.

"You sure you don't want to explore that other time pool?"

Nope! Massive spoilers!

The one in question was a time pool that showed either the potential future, or an alternate timeline. Luz wasn't sure, but it showed a wedding being held outside, Luz was internally gushing as she wondered who the lucky couple was. After some of the guests parted, Luz was able to get a clear view of the alter, and that's when she saw an adult Amity. Roughly twenty-five years old, maybe twenty-four? And right across from her was, well, Luz, but older, about the same age as adult Amity.

Luz pulled her head out of that time pool real quick as her face burned scarlet red.

Yeah, no, I don't need any ideas. If that IS a potential future or an alternate timeline, it's better not to get too hung up over it, Luz thought.

"And yet, my curiosity is lightly piqued."

Luz groaned and continued her search for the time pool she needed. As she did, Lilith was going through more of the pools, still marveling at the fact that they found them, and that she was able to view different periods in time.

"No wonder no one's found these before. They're completely hidden from sight," said Lilith as she poked her head through another time pool.

As soon as she did, though, her head got struck by something, and she heard her own voice call back, "Stupid rock!"

Okay, well, that answers that question, Lilith thought.

Luz got down on the ground once more and poked her head through another time pool. This time, the era she ended up in seemed a bit more civil and less wild than the previous ones. And it didn't look like an alternate timeline or future time from what she could tell. That's when Luz spotted something in the distance, it looked like a little town.

"Awww! It's a little Babysborough," Luz gushed.

Luz heard something and turned around to see someone walking on the beach. It was a witch dressed in old style clothes.

"Yo! What era is it?" Luz asked.

The witch woman stopped and answered, "'Tis the Deadwardian Era. What ye be doin' in the sand? Be ye a crab maiden?"

"Philip's time! Jackpot!" Luz exclaimed as she dived back into the pool.

The witch woman shrugged and went back to her business but stopped when she saw Luz come back up.

"And yes! I am a crab maiden," Luz joked.

Now that she had confirmed the right time pool, it was time to go and find the answers she sought.

"Luz, I have to stress, once again, the dangers of messing with time."

I know. I know. But this is my one shot at getting some answers on how to make the portal door work.

"Lilith!"

The former Emperor's Coven leader raised her head out of another time pool, and when she did, she had a crown of old barnacles adorning her head.

"Luz, these are the oldest barnacles I've ever had on my head!" Lilith said, still giddy as a schoolgirl.

"I found it! I found Philip's time!" Luz announced.

Lilith quickly got up and headed over to Luz. Upon reaching her, Lilith threw off her barnacle crown and said, "Ooh, incredible! This will be a truly unprecedented exploration. Now, before we dive in, we must remember, if the tide comes in, we could be trapped, paradoxes will be a danger, and don't even get me started on the bloody fly effect!"

"Thank you! I knew she would be the voice of reason."

"Ahem. But a bad-girl historian, like myself, is all about taking risks. So, let's boogie down to History Town," said Lilith as she began shaking her hips and doing finger guns.

Luz turned away and spoke in a whisper, "She really is Cool Aunt Lilith."

"…And with that, the last bit of sanity amongst our cabal has left the Demon Realm."

(Hours ago, the Barbtalóne Mansion…)

Just as her mother promised, their Abomination butler, Winston, returned with a change of clothes and pajamas for Amity. As much as Amity would've liked for Skara to stay, her parents had to decline the offer. She saw Skara mouth her a "sorry" before leaving. It wasn't as if the other rich kids were terrible, but Amity couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off here.

The hour had grown late, and the party guests, aside from a select few of the young teen girl attendees, were brought upstairs. Amity had changed into her pajamas, which consisted of a simple matching set of silk pants and a shirt, both of which had a mauve coloring to them. After she and the rest of the girls got dressed, they were brought to a different room that Boscha used to host guests for little sleepovers like this one. It was a big room, and had five big beds arranged in a circle, and each one could hold at least, roughly, three people if they didn't mind being close to each other.

The center of the room was left open so that the girls could gather there and do their little games and whatever else they wanted. The maids would occasionally bring them refreshments and snacks but were instructed to knock on the door before they entered. Amity sat amongst the other girls, with Boscha mostly leading the conversation topics, bringing up the latest gossip, stuff they couldn't talk about in front of the people at the party downstairs.

The youngest Blight child was half paying attention and was also wondering how Luz was doing. She opened up her Scroll and saw a few pictures that Luz had snapped, there was a caption at the bottom of each one that read, "Out exploring with my Cool Aunt Lilith!" and another said, "Camping in the forest with Cool Aunt Lilith! On course for the beach! Probably?".

Wonder what they're up to? Looks like fun.

"Indeed, a little exploration would make for better stimulation this. I don't mind gossiping, but this is pretty mundane business. On that note, are you waiting to see if Luz sends you a picture of her in a swimsuit, by chance?"

BAST, C'MON! I'm not some perv!

"What's pervy about it? Is it not natural to want to see the one you care about in an attire that accentuates her natural beauty?"

Amity hoped her face wasn't red right now – oh who was she kidding, of course it was. Although, Bast wasn't wrong, technically. Seeing Luz in Grudgby gear, running around, and working up a sweat was…ahem…a sight that she wouldn't soon forget.

…Well, maybe you do have a point. Now that I think about it, Luz has said things that make it sound that she's not confident in herself. Or her body.

"See. Maybe you can fix that? Luz knowing that her girlfriend finds her not just attractive emotionally, but also physically, would do wonders for her self-confidence, wouldn't think?"

Amity looked at the picture of Luz on her Scroll and smiled a little.

You're right, maybe I should think about how to boost Luz's confidence in herself. At least in this regard.

"Wha'cha lookin' at, Amity?" one of the rich girls asked.

Amity fumbled her Scroll for a moment and replied, "What?! Oh, i-i-it's nothing."

Boscha drew a spell circle and levitated Amity's Scroll out of her hand. The triclops floated the Scroll so that she could see it, and the other girls moved closer to see what Amity was looking at.

"Oh, looks like Luz is out doing something," said Boscha.

"Who's that?"

"Is that a human?"

"When did a human come to the Boiling Isles?"

Some of these girls weren't from Hexside, they either came from Glandus or St. Epiderm, so it didn't surprise her that they didn't know about Luz. Her presence was mostly known to the people of Bonesborough, and of course, to those in Hexside.

"She's been here for a few months now," Boscha answered. "She goes to our school, as a matter of fact."

"Wait, what? How did a human go to Hexside? Since when can they use magic?" one of the girls asked.

Amity drew her own spell circle, overriding Boscha's spell, and floated her Scroll back into her hands.

"She does magic differently from how we do it. Some lost form of spell casting. But she has done a lot with it, and it's honestly impressive," said Amity.

Boscha leaned up against the footboard as she added, "Amity's even dating the human."

"WHAT?!" the other girls exclaimed.

"It's true. Although they've only been together, what, a couple of months? Three?" Boscha questioned.

Amity sighed in annoyance, she didn't want to have discuss Luz, or her relationship, in front of these girls, but it wasn't like she had a choice right now.

"Last couple of months, really," said Amity.

"Wow. Well, at least she looks cute, I guess. For a human."

"Hey, wait, I think I saw something in the papers not too long ago about an attack in Bonesborough where this Merc was trying to kidnap a human girl, was that this one?" one of the demon girls asked.

Amity furrowed her brow at the memory of it, but answered, "Yes. Still don't know who hired him, but apparently someone paid him to kidnap Luz. Titan knows what they would've done to her."

"No doubt. Probably some freak who wanted to turn her into a slave or something. She is exotic looking, so that would be my guess. Heh-heh, hey, maybe I should ask my parents to hire someone to get her, too? Finders-keepers, Blight," said a witch girl.

Amity furrowed her brow and bared her fangs at the girl who said that.

"What did you say?! Don't you joke about that! She almost got taken to Titan knows where, and they could've done anything to her without anyone to help her!" Amity exclaimed.

"Hey-hey, chill out, Blight. I was just joking."

"Eh, personally, I think it'd be nice to mess around with a human, just to see what it was like. But the novelty would wear off after awhile, at least with me," said a demon girl.

Amity's eyes were starting to emit a faint purple glow as she heard the girls badmouth Luz and talk about her as if she was lesser than.

Just then, Boscha clapped her hands, bringing the attention to her.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. We're not here to rag on Amity's girlfriend, we're here to have fun. So, no more of that, or the party's over and you can fly back home," Boscha stated.

The rest of the girls quieted down and nodded their heads in compliance with Boscha's orders. While Amity was appreciative of Boscha stamping out the badmouthing, it was a little annoying that it all started when she swiped her Scroll and got the ball rolling on that in the first place.

"Anyway, I think we should do a little…Lie or Challenge."

The girls let out a collective "Ooooh" along with some giggles. Amity rolled her eyes. It was a classic game they would mostly play at these types of things. The person selected would have to choose to tell a convincing lie based on the question asked of them. This would be measured by a spell, if at least half the people in the group believed the lie, then you won. If you failed, the spell would compel you to reveal the truth, so if you lied about something personal, then you'd have to tell the truth about it.

The other choice was the challenge, whereby the person selected had to perform a challenge of some sort that was given to them. And it could be as simple as "bark like a Bandersnatch", or something a bit serious like "cast a powerful spell you never done before", and on rare occasions, the challenges could get risqué. Those ones varied as well, some were as innocent as giving someone a peck on the cheek, to making two people go into a full make out session while everyone watched.

Thankfully, the few times that Amity played this game with her former group of friends, it never crossed into that territory. Came very close, though.

"Okay, let's set it up," said Boscha.

The triclops did the honors of drawing the large spell circle, and casting the spell that would detect how many people believed the lie and would compel the truth from someone if they failed.

"Since I'm the hostess, I'll start. Andromeda, Lie or Challenge?"

The demon girl pondered and said, "Lie."

"Okay, we'll start with something simple. Do you have a crush on anyone?" Boscha inquired.

"Pfft, nah, are you kidding me?" Andromeda, with her sparkling blue hair added, "I'm too cool to crush on anyone, if anything, everyone else crushes on me."

The spell circle started to react, after a few seconds the spell circle flashed red for each girl who didn't believe her, seven in total. The circle shot a red beam at Andromeda's head, making her go stark still for a moment. This was part of the game, and no one reacted.

"I actually have a crush on Adrian Borlock, from the Illusion track!" Andromeda blurted out.

"Ha, I knew it," said a witch girl.

"That was such an obvi lie," said another demon girl.

Andromeda's face burned scarlet red as she released a huff.

"Okay, my turn! Blight, Lie or Challenge?!"

Amity rolled her eyes; she wasn't in the mood to divulge anything secret. Plus, there was a risk that they might ask something Kamen Rider related, and if she was not able to convince them, then she might accidentally tell them Luz's secret identity, or her own. So, in this regard, there was only one safe bet.

"Challenge, do your worst," Amity dared.

"Heh, alright, Blight. You asked for it." Andromeda raised her right hand and pointed her finger straight at Boscha. "I challenge you to make out with Boscha for one whole minute! Full lip lock, all the way!"

If Amity had a drink, this was were she would spit it out.

"Oh, this girl is a demon for sure.'

"Excuse me?! I'm not doing that!" Amity protested.

"Ouch, Ams, am I that unattractive?" Boscha asked.

"I'd kiss ya, Bosch," one of the witch girls commented.

"I haven't even kissed my girlfriend like that, yet! It would be my first kiss! I'm not about to have my first and not have it by girlfriend!" Amity argued.

"Tough, Blight, it's part of the game, and you don't really have a choice in the matter," said Andromeda.

Oh crap…I forgot.

"Forgot, what?"

That this spell circle doesn't just detect if someone believes your lies and compels you to tell the truth if you're not believed. It also compels you to complete the challenge if you refuse to do it.

No sooner had Amity remembered that detail did the spell circle glow green. Amity's body now had an outline of green light around it, and against her will, it started to make her crawl over towards Boscha. The other girls started to chant, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" over and over again, as Amity moved closer and closer to Boscha. The triclops looked a little flustered, but at the same time, Amity was sure that Boscha was a little happy about this situation. At least she assumed so, given that she made no attempt to flee.

Amity was now on her hands and knees before Boscha as the triclops demon girl kept her back pressed against the footboard of the bed behind her. The lavender haired witch's eyes were as wide as saucer plates, she was about to have her first kiss with Boscha, and not with Luz. And not just a first kiss, she was going to have her first make out session with Boscha instead of Luz.

"Sorry, Blight, guess we just have to grin and bare it?"

"Oh, hell no, I'm not letting this stand! I've had to endure all that pining, and now I'm savoring your delicious relationship drama, and I'm not about to let this little game ruin all of that!"

Suddenly, Amity felt a rush of magical power coursing through her. She recognized it as Bast's mana, she was emitting a large amount of it, and using it as a counterforce against the spell that was forcing her to complete the challenge. Amity started to back away, much to everyone's shock. Amity's eyes glowed bright purple as she let out a powerful grunt as if she had broken free of some restraints, which she might as well have. The moment she did this, a wave of purple energy blasted off her body, shattering the spell circle and the aura around her.

When she was done, Amity panted from the effort. While Bast gave her some additional mana to make it happen, most of that came from Amity's reserves, she couldn't make it look too easy, otherwise they would be suspicious. But they were no less shocked to see that the spell was broken, and with an impressive display of power as well.

"Sorry, but my first kiss is spoken for. I'll redraw the spell circle, but please refrain from making me do challenges like that. Okay?" Amity asked everyone.

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement very quickly.

While Amity redrew the circle for them, Boscha looked away in disappointment.

So close…