Looking for a Home

by MrSova

The sequel of: "The Entanglement" Luz and Amity take their well-deserved vacation in the Human Realm. They were supposed to rest and find closure but the long-forgotten past caught up with them.

2. Chapter 2 - The Bond

Amity was not well. She felt her aching heart race against her bile sac while the world kept spinning. She could have sworn, she would release the contents of her stomach when suddenly everything stopped. When she finally managed to open her eyes and she realized, she was not in the bedroom with Luz anymore.

She did however recognize the place she was in - the living room of her girlfriend's house in the Human Realm. Even though it looked and smelled different, their things were missing, she was certain it was the same place.

"¡Papi, Papi!" A childish voice echoed through the house, and a loud stomping was heard, coming from upstairs. In mere seconds a young, tan child, with wild braids, and all too familiar hazel-brown eyes, ran literally through the lavender-haired witch.

"What the…" Amity wondered, realizing her body was not real.

She looked down, noting she was not only dressed but she was in her favorite burgundy trousers, heavy boots, and charcoal-black tunic. She touched her stomach, through which the child ran through, and noticed her hands. Her mouth parted when she realized, her forearms were unscarred.

"Oh, no, no, no…" She panicked and her hands quickly darted toward her neck. She sighed in relief when she realized the choker was still missing.

"Mija, let your father rest a bit," A warm voice made it from the kitchen, dragging Amity from her thoughts and back to the… Whatever that was.

"¡Oye!, Camila," The man spoke softly to his wife, "Our Luzita just wanted to show me her drawing, isn't it right, Cariño?" The man asked and Amity found courage to approach the couch from where the voices were coming from. She looked at a sickly pale man whose eyes and lips were so similar to the ones Luz had. He was shivering underneath the blanket, trying not to worry his daughter, "You're improving greatly, mi Amor," He said, looking at his daughter's drawing, and smiling fondly, letting her sit by his side, "Try using the smaller angles for your shading…" His voice became quieter until it went mute.

"I loved him so much…" Amity heard the childish voice of the young Luz, realizing the girl was staring directly at her. The witch did not say anything, too scared and confused with what was happening to her, "He taught me how to draw…" The child said with a sad smile and Amity could feel tears gathering in her eyes, "He gave me 'The Good Witch Azura' right before he left me…" Luz added and, with longing in her eyes, she looked at her father, who was still mutely talking, despite sickness, showing his daughter better drawing techniques, making sure to use the time he had left wisely, "I think it was the last time I was actually happy…"

"W-what's going on?" Amity finally found her trembling voice and the moment she spoke up everything went quiet and dark. Both adults glared at her and the young Luz left her father's side and walked over to the witch.

"We bonded, Amity…" The seriousness in the child's voice spooked the witch.

Amity turned around, wanting to run away, but she was stopped by a taller body with which she collided in her attempt to escape, falling to the floor. She looked up and looked at the Luz she knew - adult, thin, lean, but still unscarred. Yet, she had never seen her girlfriend's eyes so cold and distant. The young Luz walked over to the older one and took her hand.

"So now you need to see, what made me who I am," The child added and her essence was sucked into the body of her older counterpart whose eyes shone with the same childish joy, making the small body disappear with a shimmering poof sound and a small flash of golden light.

Little did the witch know that in reality, she was still in bed right next to her girlfriend. Her body thrashed under covers while her veins were shining with the golden light of Luz's magic.

She was sweating heavily, her eyes rushing underneath the eyelids, her fingernails lengthening and retracting while her body was getting accustomed to the new addition. 'The body will adjust to the Bond in the next ten to twenty hours,' written in the book she read, did not describe anything like what she was experiencing.

Right next to the witch, the sleeping human was experiencing a similar ordeal. Her tan body shone with a pink glow traveling through her veins, creating a bizarre and peculiar image. Luz was sweating bullets, panting, and breathing heavily.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest while her eyes were racing, shining pink from underneath her eyelids. She whimpered and frowned from time to time, clearly uncomfortable, making an impression of great discomfort and pain.

"That's it, Mittens!" The man with auburn hair and a goatee encouraged a small girl sitting in his lap in front of the work area.

The room they were in was dim and lacking any kind of natural light. Luz walked over to the other side of the large metal table and looked around. She had not seen this place before. It reminded her of some kind of laboratory with the amount of equipment stored in the dark corners.

"What the actual fuck!?" She thought when noticed that the man was having his eyes covered by the goggles Amity received as a gift just a few hours ago.

"You're so talented!" He praised the girl and the human's mouth fell open.

Luz realized that she recognized those golden orbs, shining with pride, joy, and curiosity. The girl smiled widely in the manner Clawthorne would come to love. Yet, the witchlet was still lacking her adult fangs. The man behind her returned the smile and the human realized that was where her future girlfriend got the shape of her smile from.

"It's not perfect…" The girl's expression faded, "Mommy says…"

"Shh, Amity…" A man who seemed to be her father cooed, "Mommy is a powerful witch but she doesn't understand Abomination Magic," He lifted his daughterʼs chin and removed his goggles to look at her. Luz noticed his eyes were so much like his daughter's and she smiled slightly.

"Okay, whatever is happening, I'm grateful to see Amity like this… And sort of meet Alador," She thought, thinking of her father as well.

"With Abomination, nothing is ever perfect. That's why it's so beautiful, Mittens. There's always room for improvement. If it would be perfect then there'd be no more progress," He said with a soft voice, Amity drank every word leaving his lips. He was clearly her role model, "Remember Mittens, imperfection is beautiful," He added and kissed her forehead.

Then they both turned toward the metal table to return to work. When Luz sniffled a bit too loudly, touched by their interaction, they both looked up and glared at her, scaring her with the sudden change of atmosphere.

"W-what's going on?" The human asked with a trembling voice.

If the room was dim before, now it went almost black. Only the purple lenses of Alador's goggles reflected almost non-existent light while the young Amity left his lap and started walking toward Luz with a blank expression.

Clawthorne gulped, actually scared of the child. She wanted to run but fell to the cold floor when she ran into another person who made themselves known, stepping out of the darkness.

The human looked up and noticed a green-haired, adult Amity, dressed in a pink dress, black leggings hidden in her heavy boots, and a choker, she should not have on her neck anymore. There was nothing in those golden eyes. The witch stared down at her girlfriend with vast emptiness. Her younger counterpart walked over and took her pale hand.

"We bonded, Luz," The auburn-haired Amity spoke up, "So now you need to see what made me who I am," She added and her essence was sucked into the older body whose eyes shone with the same childish joy, making the small body disappear with a shimmering poof sound and a small flash of pink light, blinding the human.

Luz heard a quiet wailing coming from the room on the first floor of the Blight Manor. She knew that room all too well. It was where she lost her virginity, where she found her girlfriend when she went missing, and where she knew the witch suffered a lonesome life.

The human took a deep breath and pushed the door open. A young, green-haired, dressed in a black dress, Amity was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees, and rocking in an attempt to find peace, making the human's heart ache at the sight.

"What's wrong?" She asked, hoping the young witchlet would answer.

"I was left alone…" A cold voice came from behind Luz, startling her, making her scream and grab her chest. The older version of Amity walked over the bed and looked down at her younger self.

"W-w-why… Y-you left me…" The younger Amity wailed, taking hold of her hair and tugging it with a powerful grip, "E-Emira…" She added before her words became unrecognizable.

Luz looked up at the older Amity whose immobile eyes glistened with unshed tears. Yet, she did not say anything. Luz could not stop looking at the blank expression the witch wore. The human could only imagine how devastating it was to lose the siblings she never had.

Suddenly, the sun outside the window disappeared and the younger Amity stopped crying. When the sun reappeared, the young witchlet was still sitting motionlessly. The cycle repeated itself a few more times and in the time that passed the young witch never left her room, not for nourishment, not for refreshment, not for support.

"Losing Edric and Emira was the most difficult experience but saying goodbye to them on the same day broke me in a way…" The older version of Amity said after a while.

Luz was too shocked to say anything. After all, she was a mere spectator. The human knew her girlfriend was left alone but she never imagined it was so sudden, intense, and devastating. She felt she understood her girlfriend's specific behaviors a little bit better.

"That's enough…" The older witch added and extended her arm, offering her hand to her younger counterpart.

They bonded, becoming one and Luz watched how this devastating sadness became a part of Amity's personality. At the same time, the orb on her choker cracked a bit and the ends of her hair became more purple rather than green.

"Oooooh…" Luz finally understood the journey she had to make to come back to her reality.

Amity found herself in a strange area she had never seen before. The surrounding green trees and emerald grass ensured her she was still in the Human Realm. However, even if the purpose of a field filled with strange stones was not clear to her, she did find it beautiful.

So well planned, geometrically aligned in such a way, she was about to venture off until she noticed a familiar figure standing not too far away from where she currently was, leaning by a tall tree with a smooth, silverish bark.

The witch walked over and eyed this version of Luz. Her red beanie was neatly covering her messy hair, the rolled-up sleeves of her green flannel, showed unscarred arms while the human's legs seemed to be untouched by the phantom pain she tended to experience from time to time.

"I can't do it without you…" The witch heard a silent voice and followed the gaze of the older human.

She realized the younger Luz was kneeling on the grass, dressed in a weird white and purple hoodie with animal-like ears, using a strange contraption to create a fire. That was when Amity noticed the writing on the stone.

"Manuel and Camila Noceda - Loving Parents and Loved Friends. You will be missed," She read and blinked a few times.

"This… This is… They store their bodies after death?" Amity panicked at the thought and looked around.

"Catherine Hobbs - A loving mother," She read at the one stone. This looked nothing like the Boiling Isles cemeteries, "Bethany Clarens - Accomplished Teacher and Mentor," She read another one after finally looking at the human standing by the tree.

"I got into the art program in a High School in New Haven…" Amity looked back down at the younger version of her girlfriend and took a step closer. The young girl placed a drawing by the tombstone and shed a few tears, "I don't want to go… I can't go and leave you here…" She added, her voice cracking, and she started sobbing, letting her tears flow freely.

Amity finally saw what the drawing presented and she gasped when she realized it was a masterpiece of light and shadow presenting Luz entering a portal into the darkness.

"You never told me about this…" The witch looked back at the older Luz with a shocked and questioning gaze, making the human sigh heavily.

"There was nothing to tell…" Came a plain, emotionless reply, "This was the day I went back to my old house just to be chased away into the Demon Realm by local bullies," Luz explained and walked over to the grave.

"The day she wanted to end her life…" The human looked deeply into the witch's shocked eyes, filled with empathy and sadness for the human, and then down to the long-forgotten drawing.

"This is so ironic…" Clawthorne said, looking down at a piece that got her the scholarship, "I drew a metaphor of me losing the battle for the will to live when it was a foreshadowing of my trip to my real home…" She looked back up at the witch who could not control her tears anymore, "A home where I met you," She added and placed her hand on the younger Luz's arm.

It could have been mistaken for a sign of support if the younger counterpart were not sucked into the older Luz's essence. Amity was shocked to realize a few scars appeared on the tan body when it did so.

"Oh, that's what she meant by understanding what made her who she is…" The witch thought right before a golden light blinded her painfully, making the graveyard disappear.

When Amity regained her ability to see she was back in the Owl House. She could never mistake the smell for anything else. She was standing in the all too familiar corridor outside Eda's bedroom in the attic. A muffled sound made it to her twitchy ears from the other side of the door left ajar.

She pushed them open and noticed the Inner Luz, as she suspected that was who she was, standing by the round window with a blank expression, looking down into her mother's nest while the older Clawthorne's face tore down, trying hard to control her emotions, and failing miserably. Amity has never seen Eda so distressed.

"Weh! Here!" A small Titan ran through Amity and passed Eda a bundle of ointments, "Lilith said she'd be here shortly," He added and jumped onto the edge of the nest, looking inside with an expression full of worry, "Come on, Sis! Hold on…" He mumbled in a way that made Amity's legs weak in knees from fear.

"Is it what I think it is?" She wondered and looked up again at the older version of Luz who looked away from the nest. Now that she absorbed her sadness-filled self, she was actually crying.

"Come on, Kid! Just hold on a bit longer!" Eda pleaded, trying to sound confident but losing that battle, "You're gonna be fine, just don't give up… Luz!" She continued and her tone made Amity freeze. She had no idea if the time had moved at all but suddenly, another person entered the room.

"And no funny business, hoot!" Came as a warning, making Amity turn around.

She had never seen Hooty so serious and focused. Right next to him was standing the Empire Coven Head - Lilith with an expression Amity had never seen before. She guided two other people in Healer's robes who quickly approached the nest.

"You'd better come over here…" The Inner Luz spoke up, never looking at Amity, "After all… This is why you're here…" She added and the lavender-haired witch mustered the courage to join Luz by the window.

"Titan!" Amity yelped, covering her mouth, not sure if that was a thought or not when she noticed what the nest was obscuring.

Inside the nest was a tan body, twisted in a strange position, submerged in a pool of blood. The hazel-brown eyes lost their spark and color, and the full lips were parted in failed attempts to breathe calmly.

The already scarred brow twitched in spasms, and the tan hands shook as they searched for anything to hold. Amity wanted to jump forward and comfort the hurt teen but before she could, Eda took hold of the human's hand, making her gasp at the contact.

"I'm so sorry, Luz! I should have never endangered you with my presence…" She rambled, clearly blaming herself for everything. While Luz could not move her head, she managed to speak.

"Not… Your fault… You were… Cursed…" Luz whispered between gasps and then clenched her fists in a sudden surge of pain, baring her dull human fangs.

"I knew I was endangering you! I should have let you go, like Raine!" Eda continued, crying hard, "I was so selfish…" She sobbed breathlessly.

"Never let me go… M-mom…" Luz whispered, managing to look at Eda with the smallest smile, even if for a mere second before her eyes rolled up.

"Luz? Luz!" Eda tried and then turned to the Healers, "You'd better save her or so help me, Titan…" She stopped crying and verbally attacked the other witches.

"Eda!" Lilith interjected sternly, surprising everyone with her teary eyes, "Let them work…" She gestured to let go of Luz's hand. The moment she did the Healers jumped at the human to start closing her wounds.

"That was the first time I called Eda my mom…" Luz's voice startled Amity who was devastated with the amount of pain her girlfriend had to go through that day.

"She was so young…" She thought when her gaze jumped from the older Luz to the younger one and back.

"It was so difficult for me to do so… I was scared that the moment I'd call her my mother, she'd disappear like the first one…" She explained and finally looked into the blood-filled nest where the Healers were saving her mangled body, "I never felt so helpless before that day…" She added and she leaned over the nest to caress her younger version's head.

Amity already knew what was about to happen so she closed her eyes. Yet, it did not save her from being painfully blinded by the golden light as the next version of Luz was absorbed.

When Luz opened her eyes was back at the Blight Manor. However, she heard strange voices from the part, she had never had a chance to visit. She followed the sound and was shocked to hear the familiar, yet juvenile, voice so angry. She walked into the room that looked like some kind of a study, filled with books and office-like furniture.

Inner Amity, still in her pink dress, was leaning on the tall bookshelf, arms and legs crossed, glaring at her younger self. Luz followed the golden gaze and noticed the younger Amity with shorter, green hair tied in a half-ponytail, wearing her school uniform, yelling at her mother who wore a never-wavering, always cold exterior.

"Why did you make me say all those things?! She's my best friend!" She screamed, her voice cracking and her eyes already glistening with tears, "You told me to cut ties, not hurt her like this!" She wanted to go on but was stopped halfway when her mother took hold of her Oracle orb making Amity's eyes glow in pink.

"Good children don't squabble, Mittens…" The older witch said in a sickly sweet tone, making Luz's insides turn and twist at the sound of it.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Amity opposed, thinking about her father whom she had not seen in years, missing him greatly. At the same time, she hated him with all her heart for leaving her with Odalia instead of taking her wherever he was working right now.

"Now, now, Dear…" Odalia cooed, "We wouldn't want your behavior to annul our deal, now would we?" She asked, putting more energy into the spell, making Amity fall to her knees, squealing weakly.

"You promised…" Amity managed to gasp when she saw the visions presented by her mother in her mind that made her take hold of her head.

"You promised to behave, Mittens," Her mother said, squatting in front of her daughter in a manner Luz knew all too well.

The human tried hard not to think about her experience with her girlfriend's mother but it was becoming more and more difficult. A sudden flash of a memory blinded her when she saw Odalia, squatting in the same manner in front of her. The human growled and did her best to focus, grabbing her long bangs, and pulling them hard to ground herself.

"Shh… It's okay, Luz," She suddenly felt Amity's hand on her shoulder and looked into the golden orbs of the older version of her girlfriend, "She can't hurt you anymore…" She cooed and they both heard the younger Amity's scream, followed by a panicked long hiss that was interrupted with a sudden slap.

"You dare hiss at me?!" Odalia growled and stood up, "You want to behave like an animal, you will be treated like one," She took hold of Amity's hair and pulled her away from the study room.

"I have never felt so helpless…" Amity said in a cold, plain voice, watching her past self being dragged away by her mother, "No matter what I did, no matter what I said… It was never good enough," She continued, removing her hand from the human's shoulder, and looking away, "No matter how hard I tried… I was never good enough," Luz looked up and watched her girlfriend with teary eyes, "She kept me in line with promises such as sparing Emira, not hurting Willow, letting me come back home…" She sighed, looking away with shame, understanding how gullible she was, "You'd better close your eyes for the next part. You can hold me if you need to," She added and Luz decided it would be clever to do as Amity said, since in the previous visions, she did not offer her this amount of support.

With a short flash of light accompanied by a snapping sound, Luz could feel her surroundings change and despite her closed eyes, she felt the all-too-familiar stench. The fungus, the moist, the wet ground, and the stones… It all caused Luz's heart rate to speed up, making her hear only the deafening heartbeat in her ears while her chest began to ache.

"N-n-no!" Luz gasped, but, as per Amity's instruction, still did not open her eyes. Yet, she heard everything.

"Mommy! Please! No!" Amity's juvenile voice pleaded, making Luz cry, her breathing shaking hard.

"That's enough…" The older Amity's voice cooed and before the human could say anything or react in any way, despite her closed eyes, she was blinded with pink light that ended the vision.

When the bright light disappeared, Luz needed a moment to find the courage to open her eyes again. She was scared to discover what was waiting for her since she had no idea when this spiritual trip was about to end. When she finally found it in her, she was surprised to be back at the Owl House. Back in her room as a matter of fact.

Yet, it was somewhat unfamiliar and different. The room seemed so clean and at the same time not hers. She looked around until all of a sudden, she was startled by an appearance of Amity from just a few months ago. The witch looked tired, her clothes seemed dirty, and she was clearly distressed. The lavender-haired woman had her hands full of books which she let down on Luz's study desk.

"I didn't mean it like that, Boots! Stop pushing yourself so hard!" She heard Eda's voice but Amity smashed the door angrily and Luz's shocked look traveled back to her girlfriend.

"Yeah, yeah… First, you tell me it's my fault I can't find her and now don't push yourself…" Blight muttered angrily to herself while she opened a book about magical bonding.

Luz watched her girlfriend interact with her mother, during the time she suspected she was missing, and she considered it fascinating. They bickered, supported each other, argued, yelled but they never, not even once, stopped searching for her. The human realized Eda and Amity's weird bond started with their worry for her. It was almost heartwarming until it was not.

A sudden flash took Luz to another location. She was standing at the end of the underground corridor, noticing Amity in the pink dress on the other side of it. Her hair was more lavender than before and the orb on her choker was almost entirely cracked. Yet, her face was still as cold as ever.

"You're not gonna like it…" Amity whispered and before Luz could ask a question, she heard her own voice from behind the wooden door.

"NO! AMITY!" The human roared and Luz's expression faded when she finally understood where and when she was.

The sudden steps from the other side of the corridor became more and more clear. Before Luz could have thought of another though, she noticed Amity from a few months ago followed by Willow, gasping in either fear or anger. The young Blight busted the doors open and covered her mouth to contain the scream of shock.

Luz looked away toward the Amity in a pink dress who could not share a look with her, clearly ashamed of her past behavior. When Luz heard a sudden thud, she looked back into the torture chamber that changed her forever. She heard her own scream when Amity retrieved her body and she had the strangest feeling of not really existing.

She looked down at Amity's memories, how the witch took her down, watched her absolutely mauled, destroyed, starved, malnourished body, reeking of rot and feces, and then…

The witch hugged her tightly, caressing her dirty hair, holding her close in. Luz never could imagine an image so disgusting, yet so expressive of love and devotion. Her heart swelled with love.

"I have never been so angry before…" The Inner Amity spoke up, dragging Luz out of her stupor. The human watched the memory of her girlfriend glaring at her own mother and how the witch's aura erupted from her body as if she was ready to kill, "I don't know what would have happened if not for Willow or Eda…" She said and Luz watched Eda make her appearance, engulfed in the golden energy, ready to destroy Odalia.

The human looked back down at her own mutilated, disgusting body in her girlfriend's hold and came to a shocking understanding.

"She actually loves me… The way she holds me, despite my stench, my appearance… How could I have ever doubted her…" She thought, crying at her own oblivion, not noticing how the version of Amity dressed in a pink dress walked over to her past counterpart who just stood up with Luz in her arms.

This time Luz approached them as well and took a closer look at the woman looking down at her with worry, love, care, and fear of losing her. Then she noticed Amity's glare at her own mother.

"I really wanted to not only kill her but get revenge… Make her pay…" Amity said and she shared a look with Luz. Without further word, Amity placed her hand on her younger self, making her disappear with a bright purple flash, blinding the human.

When Amity's sight recovered from another flash of golden light, she realized, she was in the middle of the Hexside Academy. She was standing by her locker, watching the students pass her by. Her sight was drawn toward the human who was calmly retrieving her books and humming happily. Her content expression faded when a sudden shriek made it to her ears.

"You're not gonna like it," A familiar voice startled Amity who jumped in surprise.

"Do you have to do that?!" She asked in annoyance when she noticed the Inner Luz whose body was more scarred since the last she saw her.

"Come on…" That was all Luz said and they followed the Luz from a few months ago who rushed into the mob of students, surrounding two witches.

Amity covered her mouth when she noticed herself on the brink of collapse. Overstimulated by Boscha, panicking, covering her ears, crying, yelling, not realizing how the situation looked from the side. Back then, she did not notice how Luz jumped at the triclops. Back then, she did not notice, how the human's behavior shocked not only the gathered students but Willow as well.

"Get the FUCK away from her!" The younger Luz growled at Boscha and Amity looked back at the older Luz who wore a frustrated expression.

"I had no idea that hearing you scream in pain would trigger me so much. I never knew I could even be this angry," She admitted, looking away.

"Amity, are you okay?" The younger Luz asked and Amity could not believe how quickly her look had changed. From a fury-driven defender to the warmest person who cared for her.

"I mean, sure…" The Inner Luz continued, "I was angry before and after but this moment was different…" She explained, offering Amity her hand.

The witch hesitated, still not understanding the dynamic of the situation she was in, but she accepted the hand. Reluctantly but she did.

The moment Luz took hold of the hand, they appeared in the remote bathroom the moment the younger Luz entered it, trying to approach the panicking witch. Amity watched herself hiss at her not-yet-a-girlfriend with shame.

Her ears slanted in regret and she looked away sheepishly. With no warning, she was surprised by a warm touch on her jaw, delicately directing her face toward the human's younger counterpart.

"Don't look away, this is important," Luz said softly, releasing her face when Amity complied.

"Will you allow me to help you?" The younger Luz approached the distressed green-haired Amity who accepted the support.

Both Amity and the Inner Luz watched the scenario play out as it did. The younger human finally covered them in vines and the lavender-haired Amity's companion snapped her fingers. Everything went dark around them, showing their younger counterparts in the tight hug, hidden deep underneath the Plant Spell.

"I won't let anyone hurt you…" Luz said, hugging the panicking witch and the lavender-haired Blight noticed the determined expression the human wore when she said those words. With a snap of Luz's fingers, the memory stopped still, freezing them in time.

The witch walked over to the human, holding her past self tightly. She watched the red, wet, and snotty face she had at that moment, ears slanted, fangs presented in a panicked snarl as she was just about to start wailing again, not accepting someone would actually be there for her, someone would like her for her in her lowest moment.

The golden gaze then moved toward Luz's expression. Her hazel-brown eyes were dark, pupils wide, full lips thinned in an expression of determination as if she was just making a mental promise to herself or the witch she held so tightly. In the next step, Amity analyzed the hold Luz was keeping her in.

"I am so grateful to see that, I can barely remember anything from that day…" The witch thought when she admired how protectively Luz held her.

The way she defended her from Boscha, the way she cared most about her comfort, the way she did not judge her for her disgraceful behavior, letting her instincts get the better of her. It all dawned upon her.

"You already loved me back then, didn't you?" Amity asked with eyes wide in shock, her gaze traveled back to the older Luz who chuckled dryly in response.

"I may have…" She replied, walking over toward her younger counterpart, "But that Luz did not know it, yet," Luz explained, pointing at her, still immobile, past self, "That Luz realized, she would not wait any longer to ask you out. That Luz realized, how much she cared about you, how much she wanted to be there for you," The human explained and knelt by her counterpart, "I am ashamed, I needed this much raw anger to finally fight my own anxiety. That's why this memory is so important…" She added and looked back at Amity with a smile that quickly faded when she noticed the lavender-haired woman's expression. The witch's golden eyes were tearing down, her lower lip quivering in distress, and her hands were clenching her charcoal-black tunic.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Amity whispered, wiping her face when she noticed Luz's worry, "It's just that, you came to such a realization when I was at my lowest. I was so ashamed of myself after that day… When you walked me home, I couldn't even look you in the eye and yet you managed to ask me out," She explained the best she could and was surprised with the human's cocky smile.

"Hey! Don't beat yourself up, Blight," Luz said, trying to lighten the mood, "Not everyone values you only for what you can give to others," She added with a wink, and before Amity could retort, the human took hold of her counterpart's shoulder, engulfing them in golden light, blinding Amity once again.

When the lavender-haired witch came to her senses again, she felt weirdly warm and sick in her stomach. It took her a moment to calm her breathing and shaking legs before she could take in her surroundings. She was on the Academy's Campus. Somewhere between the Beast Keeping stables and the main Hexside building.

"Amity!" Luz's distressed voice got the witch's attention, "No, no, no, no, no…" The human panicked, confusing Amity further.

When the lavender-haired woman turned around, she noticed Luz in her harpy form, holding Amity in her lap. The witch's pale abdomen was scratched out, bowels drying in the open. The witch looked at how her counterpart died, her eyes turned matt, lips parted with fangs peeking out when she let out her final breath. Blight covered her lips to muffle a squeal of shock. It was not every day you could see yourself die.

"I hoped you'd never have to see that…" Luz's voice, coming from behind the witch, said in shame, making Amity turn around.

"What the fuck is this?!" The witch demanded to know, her voice distressed and furious, "What… The… Fuck…" She choked when she realized that her body was just one of many. Suddenly she noticed, she was standing in a field with discarded, mauled bodies, all wearing marks of Luz's claws and expressions of fear, frozen in their final gasp.

"You will hurt everyone around you, just like you did back in the Human Realm," Amity heard her mother's voice and looked at the Inner Luz with panic.

She could not control her tears while her breathing increased. She took hold of her hair and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the haunting voice. The witch could not accept what her girlfriend had to go through because of her.

"Amity, you need to calm down…" Luz approached her, gently placing her hands on the witch's hands.

It did not help though. When the scene reset and the witch realized that Luz was stuck in this neverending nightmare for who knows how long, the panic made itself at home in the witch's heart. Intrusive thoughts shamed and guilt-tripped her.

"I'm gonna be sick…" Amity whispered and fell hard to her knees, her hands still tugging her hair, her head still shaking, "You… Never told me…" The witch whispered in disbelief and noticed Luz kneeling in front of her.

"Can you blame me?" She asked in a calm and comforting tone while the tan hand caressed the porcelain cheek, wiping the tears away.

"Of course, I can't. I'd keep it to myself too…" She thought while her golden eyes roamed the hazel-brown eyes. Finally, she shook her head.

"So why show me this now?" Amity questioned and Luz smiled sadly.

She helped the witch let go of her lavender locks and guided her to stand up again. The human turned the witch around and hugged her from behind, forcing her to watch her past self's turmoil, yet offering as much comfort as she could.

"While Odalia thought she was breaking me, she did not know that watching you die over and over again, for what seemed like years to me, made me stronger in a way. Yes, I know, I got a tad overprotective but overall, I had to face the truth…" Luz said and Amity's ears twitched at the seriousness of her voice. The human lifted her hand and snapped her fingers, making everything stop and the light surrounding them dimmed, "Since then, I knew, I did not want to live in a world without you," The human snapped her fingers again and they appeared in the middle of the Intensive Care Operation Room when Amity was fighting to revive Luz's heart. The memory was dim and static but the witch noticed a thing she had no memory of. A fully dressed Luz was standing next to her, talking to a woman she had seen in the first vision, "I don't know if that really happened or that was my suffocating mind's illusion but my mother was happy I found love… She was happy I found you. I came to think it was my dying consciousness, happy I found you. But I could not give up, I could not leave you, I wanted to spend more days with you until the last of them…" The human finally paused, sighed heavily, and snapped fingers again.

Amity, while still held close in a warm, supportive embrace, trembled, realizing how her girlfriend came to realize, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. Another situation was shown - Amity fixing Luz's face in the bathroom after Boscha's bullying session. Another snap - Amity healed Luz's stomach with Willow and King's assistance.

Snap!

Amity was calming Luz down after a nightmare in the Blight Manor.

Snap!

The witch helped the human through her traumatic regression after the trial.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Visions of the support and love Amity displayed toward the human were flashing by, one by one.

"You must understand, Amity," Luz finally snapped one last time and they were engulfed in darkness, only their bodies weirdly enlightened, "I bonded with you because I love you with all my life force and I cannot imagine a day where we're not together," Luz said and it was then and there that Amity realized she was back to her real appearance. Scars, occasional limping, and all.

"Hoot," A fluffy Demon appeared from behind, purring at the witch.

"We both are on the same page. That's why they helped us bond, Amity," Luz explained, "Their… Well, our magic is now forever mixed with yours," Luz said, planting a delicate peck on the pale cheek. Another gold flash made the Owl Demon merge with Luz's consciousness and the human with black-gold eyes, fangs, talons, and witch-like spiky eyes looked down at her.

"I'm sorry if I spooked you…" Luz said in a distorted voice, making Amity realize it was the Demon speaking, "Now you should wake up, our Love," They added and lifted their hand one last time.

Snap!

Amity woke up screaming. She was sweating bullets while her body was shivering and twitching with random snaps of ligaments when she came to her senses. The golden energy slowly disappeared from her eyes while the veins of her whole body were mostly engulfed in bright, light, golden color.

"F-fuuuuuuck!" She yelled with a strained voice and immediately realized how heavy her stomach was.

She turned to her left, falling off the bed on all fours, and felt as if she was about to empty her bowels. Without thinking, she ran toward the bathroom, opened the toilet, and started retching violently. Once, twice, thrice, yet nothing managed to exit her body.

"Titan…" She whispered when she realized her body was slowly calming down and luckily everything was alright.

Blight walked over to the sink and washed her face. She looked deeply into the reflection and looked deeply into her golden eyes. Her face seemed distressed while the memories of her experience still lingered.

"Damn you, Luz…" She whispered, thinking that her girlfriend still withheld a lot from her.

She always hoped the human felt safe enough to share her darkest secrets with the witch but that was not the case. Amity sighed heavily, calming her breathing, letting her head plop down, her hair covering her face.

"Okay, I get why she kept that from me, but still…" She thought when it suddenly dawned upon her, her eyes widened in fear.

"Oh, shit! Luz!" She exclaimed and ran back into the bedroom.

Absolutely ignoring the fact they were both naked, she ran toward the human's side of the bed and realized her girlfriend was still struggling with the Bond. The tan body was enlightened with the purple energy, coursing through her veins, creating an eerie image of glowing webs, while Luz was struggling to breathe.

"N-n-no…" Luz mumbled as if she was going through something.

The pink energy shone from underneath her eyelids, eyes rolling in distress while her lips quivered and her body trembled. Amity noticed that her girlfriend was extremely feverish.

"L-Luz?" She asked, not really hoping for any response, knowing the human was still deep in her mind, getting accustomed to the Bond. Yet, the feeling of a warm, sweaty body worried her.

She let her pale fingers brush through the curly hair, realizing they were completely soaked. The witch looked at the tan body and noticed how the pink energy shone in the human's veins slowly traveling toward her heart.

"Why is it taking so long?" She wondered, just then realizing that the sun was high in the sky outside their window. She then looked at the clock hanging on the wall and her ears slanted in shock, "I slept over fifteen hours?!" She realized and her attention was drawn back to her girlfriend when she heard Luz's breathing become more shallow, "Okay, this means she should wake up no later than in the next five hours…" Amity tried to calm herself down. She drew a blue spell circle to check the human's body temperature when she felt a sudden jolt of pain erupting in her heart.

"Titan!" The witch gasped, taking hold of her chest, realizing the circle was broken. She took in a deep breath through her clenched teeth, waiting for the pain to subside when it dawned upon her.

"Oh no…" She thought, looking back at Luz's glowing form, "I emptied my bile sac into her system…" The witch realized her mistake. If just a little bit of Owl's magic made Amity feel that bad, the witch did not even want to think what would her amount of magic do to the human.

"We need a bucket!" She exclaimed in a croaking voice, giving herself an order, and ran into the bathroom. Once she returned with a proper object, she made it back to the bedroom just in time.

"A-Am-…" Luz tried to speak but she just managed to turn to her side and retched violently.

"I'm here, Luz," Amity held the bucket for her girlfriend and tried to soothe her tensing muscles with long calming strokes, brushing the hair away from her face, "It's alright…" She continued, watching the human struggle with her body's reaction to magic overdose.

However, nothing came of it and Luz turned to her back, shivering in fever. Despite her reactions, Luz was still under the spell, bonding with the witch.

"Did I do that too when I was feeling sick during the visions?" Amity wondered and finally decided to put on some clothes for herself and Luz too.

Once that was out of the way and Clawthrone was now covered with a matching black tee and loose pajama boxers, the witch sat by the human's side and watched her like a hawk. The guilt was eating her alive while she worried for her girlfriend.

"How am I supposed to help her with no magic?!" She started panicking, rocking on the bed, hoping Luz would be strong enough to fight through it, "Gah! I knew letting go was a bad idea!" She whimpered pathetically and put her forehead on her knees in defeat, "Hold on…" An idea popped into her head.

The witch ran downstairs and retrieved the phone from the dinner table where she left it.

"How to check the human temperature," She asked the browser on her phone and she was immediately positively surprised that humans had a technological device for every issue.

"Where would Eda keep a thermometer?" She wondered and from the pictures on the Internet, she thought it may be wise to check their potion cabinet.

When Amity made it back upstairs, she was surprised by the amount of remedies Eda prepared for them. The witch smiled when she noticed a potion to lower a fever and a human device hidden behind it along with the small note.

"Huh?" Amity wondered, retrieving the piece of paper.

Hey Kiddo,

If by any chance Boots got sick just keep in mind that our normal body temperature is 95.2 degrees. If she gets to 100.2 get her two drops of the potion I prepared in a glass of water, three times a day. If she gets to 103 it can be fatal so double the dosage and cool her body any way you can. The human equivalent of that potion is called Meloxicam if for any reason you need more.

Also… If by any chance, I win the bet with Lilith and Boots can't do magic and that is the reason Luz has a fever (wink, wink, yeah I've seen you do your research):

Don't panic!

Lower her body temperature and let it run its course.

Be safe!

"Titan, Eda…" Amity whispered in awe, never feeling so grateful for Eda's irritating gambling issue. The witch took the thermometer and returned to the bedroom. She sat by Luz's side and with the help of the Internet she took her temperature reading.

"One hundred and two point two…" Amity read the screen, "It's high I guess…" She checked the levels of the human temperature and sighed in relief, "But not deadly…" Amity calmed down and touched the tan face, realizing that Luz sweated through the pajamas already, her teeth chattered while her limbs twitched in spasms.

"I'm so sorry, Luz," She whispered, feeling responsible for her girlfriend's current state, watching the eyes roll frantically underneath the closed eyelids, "Just please, hold on…" She whispered and planted a delicate kiss on the human's forehead. With that, she got up, changed Luz into something dry, and fetched a cold compress from the kitchen.

Rhythmic music pounded in Luz's ears, deafening her while her head spun, her skin was all fuzzy, and her stomach got heavier. She could have sworn her whole body was boiling when she fell to her knees and retched violently a few times. It took her a moment to gather her focus and comprehend her surroundings.

She was at a Bard Track party. She had no recollection of that dance, even though, when she got back to her feet, she realized her classmates were present, along with Skara, and the Grudby Team. Suddenly, the party was interrupted by the front door being kicked open with a loud thud.

Luz's mouth fell open in shock when she noticed Amity snarling in fury, her ears slanted, deafened with loud music, hidden underneath her lavender mane, brows tied together in a frown, golden eyes glowing with pink aura while her scarred forearms were engulfed in powerful flames.

"BOSCHA!" The witch roared, the flames erupting around her, making people dizzy and breathless with her powerful aura.

The music stopped and she walked forward. Luz noticed the Inner Amity in the crowd on the other side of the room. She looked at her younger counterpart with a blank expression, her hands tied on her chest while the Amity from the memory was heaving heavy, angry breaths.

"What the…" Luz could not help but wonder when she noticed Boscha approach Blight with a smirk on her face.

"Oh look. If it isn't a little human-monster lover!" The triclops mocked but Clawthorne could not stop staring at her girlfriend at that moment. She was so angry, raw, wild…

"I was so scared that day…" Amity's calm voice startled Luz, making her jump in surprise, taking hold of her chest.

"You have to stop doing that…" The human whispered, rubbing her chest, calming her breathing before returning her attention to the memory, "You don't look scared, though…" She added, watching her girlfriend throw the Team Captain across the house, "You look… Wow…" Luz managed to say when Skara stopped Amity who answered Bard's question through clenched teeth, still visibly having a hard time controlling herself, "How come you didn't tell me about it?" Luz asked the Inner Amity who looked away in shame.

"I was… No one ever taught me how to deal with emotions," She finally spoke up, slanting her ears in shame, "It caused me so much trouble in the past," Amity said and finally managed to look at Luz, "I…" Her words were interrupted by another loud yell.

"I know that voice!" Luz thought and looked at the source of the commotion.

"AMITY STOP! She's not worth it!"

"Willow was there too?!" Luz exclaimed, not believing her best friend withheld the information about this situation.

"Yeah…" Amity confirmed with a small smile, "She is a really good friend," She added and snapped her fingers when the vines took hold of her younger counterpart and the memory stopped in time, the lights dimmed, giving Luz time to look at Amity's real expression. She was fighting the restraints, snarling but Luz already knew her well enough to see the sadness seeping from her golden orbs, "She took me away from other people so I wouldn't hurt anyone," She added and with another snap, Luz was transported to the Grudby Field where she saw Amity howl in fear and helplessness.

"ALL MY FAULT!" The flames erupted from a small body of past Amity in a powerful manner no one had seen before. Luz most certainly has not seen it before. She was in awe of how powerful her girlfriend really was.

"How can she keep that much raw power under control?" She wondered, understanding Blight's hesitation to let go.

"Wow…" Luz whispered when the wave of purple aura caressed her body. She knew it would have hurt her, seeing how Willow had to protect herself with her vines from the impact, "I had no idea…"

"That was the whole point of not telling you, Luz," The Inner Amity spoke coldly, shocking Luz, "Ugh, sorry… It'll be easier to show you where all of this is coming from," She added, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing heavily, "Just… I hope you won't hate me for what you'll see," She added, snapped her fingers, and everything disappeared.

When Luz regained her ability to see she saw an auburn-haired witchling, pushing a young, dark-skinned boy, who seemed a couple of years younger than her, to the ground. She looked at the juvenile witch who would one day become her girlfriend. Her expression was stern, cold, and angry.

"No… There's something underneath that…" Luz thought when she watched Amity bully the boy.

"W-why would you do that?" He demanded to know, wiping his teary face. Amity squatted in front of him in a manner all too familiar to Luz.

"Oh, Augustus…" She cooed sweetly, making the human watch their interaction in disgust.

"How old was she? Eight? Ten?! Fuck, that's sick!" Amity took hold of the boy's chin and pulled him up.

"You should know by now that talking about humans will bring you only misery…" She said and pushed him away. Luz looked to her side and noticed the Inner Amity's expression full of shame, "Why would you be so invested in a useless subspecies?" Another query made it to the human's ears and she could not believe what she heard was true.

"S-subspecies? Is that what I am to you?!" Luz choked, not believing what she heard.

"Shh…" Amity lifted her palm and then pointed her finger at the far side of the field where they were standing. Luz wiped her teary face and noticed Odalia watching her daughter carefully.

"She was always watching…" Amity said, ashamed of herself, "I was so angry at myself I could not be stronger…" She added and looked at Luz's distraught face, "That's why I had to learn how to keep the facade…"

"She's gone now, I'm so sorry, Augustus…" The younger Amity interrupted, helping the boy up. He was still crying, clearly hurt by his friend's words, "I wish I didn't…"

"You don't!" The boy exclaimed, clearly frustrated, "You don't have to do that. You always talk and read about humans with me but when she shows up…"

"You don't understand…" Amity opposed but nothing else could have been explained as her older counterpart snapped her fingers and the memory was frozen in time, shocking Luz who looked at the lavender-haired witch.

"Please…" She spoke softly, barely above the whisper, "Try not to look differently at me after that," She said and snapped her fingers again, making everything go dark.

"What did I tell you!?" An all too familiar voice echoed while the blinding lights were shining from the ceiling of Amity's room in the Blight Manor. A loud slap followed, "You were to stop filling your head with this nonsense!" Odalia roared at the young Amity who was quietly sobbing, sitting on the floor, "This is pathetic…" She mumbled and drew a spell circle that incinerated all of Amity's books, magazines, and artifacts from and about the Human Realm.

Snap!

Luz had no time to react when she was dragged to another memory. Amity was already dying her hair green and was clearly in the school Luz did not recognize.

"That must be St. Epiderm," She concluded when she noticed the snow outside the windows.

She watched the younger version of her girlfriend enter the bathroom and check the stalls to make sure she was all alone. The human noticed how different Amity looked back then. So thin, with no indication of becoming a curvy goddess she met almost a year ago.

"This is fine… You're fine…" Amity tried to convince her own reflection while she looked at the mirror. A sob shook her back and Luz already knew what was happening, "No! Fucking… Get a grip, Blight!" She growled at herself only to tug her hair, searching for a way to ground her feelings.

"That was the day I gave up on sending letters to Willow…" The older Amity explained and Luz noticed her girlfriend walking over to her younger counterpart, "See… Even now I want to say 'pathetic' the same way Odalia taught me…" She sighed heavily with clear regret, "But now I know better than that… Now…" She repeated and let Luz watch the memory play out.

"Hey, Amity! There you are!" A familiar, yet juvenile, voice exclaimed from the other side of the bathroom. Luz watched Skara walk over to the green-haired witch with the purest intentions at heart and the smile Luz came to appreciate, "Come on, we were worried…" She made the mistake of placing her hand on Amity's shoulder.

The Blight snapped and in a blink of an eye, she was on top of Skara, punching her time after time, bloodying her face. She seemed angry but Luz already knew, she was releasing her frustration with Willow, her fear, sadness, and rejection on her.

"I hate what I was made to be…" The Inner Amity said weakly and watched her younger counterpart stop her hand as if she finally realized what she was doing.

"Titan! Skara?! I'm so sorry!" She said, letting go of the witch.

"I wasn't sorry…" The Inner Amity spoke the truth.

"You surprised me, please, let me help," She added and drew a blue spell circle.

"She didn't surprise me… I knew exactly what I was doing," The older Amity confessed, "And it happened more often after that," She snapped her fingers, showing Luz a situation a few months in the future where she bloodied another witchling. Another snap and another situation, "When I was caught crying, searching for help, Boscha informed Odalia and I was severely punished but when I…" She paused, watching herself bully another person, "When I was the monster, I despised, she let me be…"

"Amity…" Luz looked at her girlfriend's face full of regret, "I really understand that," She added but Amity's expression did not lighten. She just scoffed.

"You really don't," She said and snapped her fingers again.

When Luz regained her senses once again, she felt hotter than ever, and once again, she was sure, she would throw up right then and there. While she was still retching, trying to regain control over her own body, she felt a pull on her collar, helping her up.

"Do you understand this as well?" Amity asked in a voice so blank, Luz could have sworn the Hell froze over. While the human was still confused, she blinked a few times and realized, she was staring at the sixteen-year-old Amity, drying herself after a bath.

"Are you done?" Odalia entered the room without any warning, making Amity cover herself, "Oh, stop that. It's not like I haven't seen all of it," She commented and Luz noticed how the younger Amity was scared to even flinch while her older counterpart looked away, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I would be done, Mother, if you wouldn't interrupt me," The younger Blight spoke, trying not to sound too harsh.

"Well, you're not done until I say so," Odalia growled at her daughter, "Take the towel away," She ordered and Luz froze.

"What the actual fuck in the Boiling Isles?!" She thought and could not believe Odalia was actually checking Amity's nether regions before harshly turning her around, inspecting like an animal.

"It wasn't the first time, it wasn't the last time…" The older Amity explained, her voice stranded with sobs. Without looking at Luz she lifted her hand.

"No, no, no, no, wait!" Luz tried to oppose but Amity snapped her fingers, throwing Luz into a new memory.

When the human felt her senses coming back, slowly comprehending her surroundings, she could have sworn her heart was about to explode with the heartbeat she had. Without any warning, she fell to her knees and retched again.

"You have to…" Another stomach cramp stopped her, "Stop doing that…" She added and her attention was once again diverted to the loud voices she heard in the distance, "What the…" The human wondered, getting up.

"She learned I got a Healer's help after…" The Inner Amity paused for a moment, "After Philip," Luz looked back at her girlfriend and despite her fatigue, she encouraged the witch to speak up. Amity sighed in defeat and walked over to the memory of her Healing Sessions, "It was so bad, so traumatic I contacted Emira. She helped me find help. She helped me through it," The witch spoke silently, watching her past self.

The Amity in the Healer's office was chubbier and paler. Despite her appearance, she seemed malnourished. Her hair was thinner, her eyes, underlined by dark circles, were missing the curious spark, her nails were bitten down, and her forearms scratched.

"I see him every night…" The young witchling whispered, holding the tears away, "Why did she make me do it? Why wasn't I strong enough to fight it?! She said it's for the company so why me?!" She wailed, crying hard, making Luz clench her fists. She was ashamed, she never thought about the aftermath of her girlfriend's trauma.

Snap!

This time Luz was completely surprised by a change of surroundings. She felt herself getting hotter and sicker. But she knew, she was on a mission. She had to see this to the end.

"No! I need these!" The young Amity yelled, watching her mother dispose of her medicine.

Snap!

Amity was lying in bed, crying, relieving her night with Philip, with no anti-anxiety potions to help. She was trying not to make too much sound for Odalia to not realize her predicament.

"Please, stop snapping us with no warning…" Luz asked, falling to her knees again.

But the Inner Amity was silent, clearly feeling things while watching her younger counterpart. The human made it back to her feet and realized, that the younger Amity just sent a message on her scroll.

"Please, help. She disposed of my pots," Luz read her Scroll.

It did not take long for Amity's balcony to open, Emira walked in, making sure to remain undetected. Luz noticed Viney fly away on Puddles but that was not the main issue here.

"Mittens…" Emira approached her sister slowly and carefully.

"Titan! You came!?" Amity was honestly surprised when she heard her sister. Emira's heart shattered when she noticed her sister's distressed face, wet with tears and overall appearance, "Thank you, Em!" She repeated time after time when she hugged her sister, crying hard.

"Shhh, Mittens, it's alright," Emira calmed her sister down in a manner Luz came to know all too well, "I brought you your potions. Should last you a few weeks until you can go back to school," She added and Amity wailed harder.

"I kept thinking, I hate myself for being too weak to run away. Back then it was too late. I was bound with the Entanglement Spell and I couldn't do a thing," Luz heard an explanation while she watched the younger version of her girlfriend cry into Emira's shoulder.

"Amity…" Luz whispered, looking back at the semi-lavender-haired witch with compassion, "You were intimidated, shamed on so many levels… Please, don't be too hard on yourself," She added and watched the witch raise her hand once again.

Snap!

"Fuck! Amity!" Luz coughed, trying to catch her breath between retches that brought nothing but pain and anxiety.

"You can't be here! I don't want to hurt you, Amity! Please!" The human heard her own voice and watched the witch run toward her, cupping her face, while Luz took hold of the white-pink shirt, trying to get herself under control.

"Oh…" Luz managed to say when she thought she finally understood. Her girlfriend went against everything her mother wanted her to be.

"I know, I try to never show it but I was, and probably still am, scared most of the time, Luz," Amity, standing by Luz's side, confirmed her suspicions, "Only that time, I was scared for you…" She added, snapping her fingers, freezing the memory.

Luz walked over to look closely at her and Amityʼs first interaction. It seemed so close and personal as if they were already in some sort of relationship. The human looked up at the Inner Amity and tried to read her face.

"How come I never knew you were a bully?" Clawthorne asked, curiosity winning with her feverish weakness.

"Well… I fought hard to come back home," The witch spoke quietly, "I did everything Odalia asked me to. Literally everything, but we have no time for that now…" She looked away from Luz and her gaze traveled toward the human from the memory and her expression lightened, "I wanted to do better, to be better, and then…" She paused looking back at Luz whose eyes were fixated on her girlfriend, paying attention to every word, "Then you showed up, standing up for Willow and other witches," She added, lifting her hand in a manner Luz already knew.

"Oh, no, no, no…" The human tried to oppose it.

Snap!

"Gah! I'm gonna be sick…" The human mumbled, holding her stomach, feeling pulled by her collar, helping her up.

"How dare you humiliate me?" Luz heard Boschaʼs voice and noticed the triclops holding her past self against the wall.

Another snap was heard and the human flinched at the sound. She was relieved to realize, Amity used it to pause the memory, dimming everything but the look her past self shared with Luz.

"Then you showed me it was okay to stand up for yourself and the others," The witch spoke quietly while she walked over to her past, green-haired self.

"You do realize, I was trying to get your attention, right?" Luz asked, smirking at the lavender-haired witch who returned the smile.

"Well, it worked like a charm, didnʼt it?" She replied, facing Luz with a loving expression, "I wanted to be better, be a person I'd like to be around but it was your courage and your support that helped me get better," She added and lifted her hand but stopped when noticed her girlfriend's scared expression, "Weʼre almost at the end of this journey and… Youʼre not gonna like it," She moved her hand to cup the human's face, caressing the tan cheek, "But I need you to focus and pay attention until the very end. Do you think you can do that?" She added, looking deeply into Luz's hazel-brown eyes.

The human took a deep breath of encouragement and nodded hesitantly. Amity retracted her hand from the scarred face and watched how her girlfriend quickly shut her eyes.

Snap!

Amity ran toward Boscha, igniting her hands, and creating a wall of fire between the triclops and Luz's barely conscious body.

"Get away from MY Luz!" She roared going berserk, attacking the pink-haired woman.

Snap!

Luz was snatched to the forest surrounding the Owl House where she noticed herself and the green-haired Amity, holding hands for the first time, sitting on the cliff.

"You're not alone anymore," She heard her past self say when she fell to her knees, weakened by the way she was thrown from one memory to the next.

Snap!

Luz found herself back at the secret hideout in the Library, watching her past self holding Amity in her arms. She recognized that hug. She watched herself promise the green-haired Amity to break her free while she was feeling sick and sweaty, shivering from the experience.

"It's a promise…" The past Luz whispered while her older counterpart tried to calm down her breathing.

Snap!

Library disappeared and Luz was thrown into the Blight Manor's living room.

"It's too much, too fast…" She thought, trying to focus on the memory shown to her.

"I love you…" Amityʼs whispered through the tears in a cracking voice while she touched the human's unconscious face.

Luz watched her girlfriend turn around and start walking toward her mother with murderous intent in her eyes when Odalia's spell hit her hard, sending her to her knees. Clawthorne could not look away from her impaled body and the way her girlfriend managed to keep the spell intact, slowing her blood loss.

It was so impressive the witch managed to do that. The human slowly started to understand. She was being shown Amity's development. The journey the witch had to take to be the kind, warm, and loving person that Luz fell in love with. From the scared child, through the aggressive bully until the day she finally received help.

Snap!

Her train of thought was interrupted by another swirl of surroundings, throwing her with a thud into the Clinic's floor.

"F-fuck…" Luz gasped for air, her stomach somersaulting while her chest ached with an increased heart rate. A bright blue light got her attention and the warm wind of powerful aura made her lips part in shock.

"You've suffered enough because of me," The green-haired Amity said with a stern look and focused on the tan body writhing on the table, "Just hold on to something…" She added and Luz slowly got to her feet, watching carefully the situation she barely recalled.

Her brown eyes watched Amity's raw power that made her forearms bleed. Then her sight moved to Viney hidden behind Emira, feeling weak with the overwhelming energy coursing through the room, suffocating her, then back to her mother who encouraged her daughter to move just to catch Amity's limp body, exhausted with the spell, making the memory go dark.

Snap!

"Oh, fuck this!" Amity cussed, pushing Viney away a little bit.

Luz realized she was back at the Clinic but at a completely different time. She watched her, already lavender-haired, girlfriend compress her chest in an attempt to revive her heart while her chest felt like exploding. The human fell to her knees again, feeling worse than she did during this whole experience but managed to keep her eyes focused on the memory she was not part of.

Luz watched her girlfriend create an abomination wall, protecting her from anyone who wanted to interrupt her. She watched Amity let Eda in and her body coughed in the first gasp of air.

The human was shocked to see the lavender-haired woman wailing, crying uncontrollably, holding the unconscious yet still alive girlfriend close. Until everything went dark the moment Amity fell asleep, snuggled into her girlfriend's shoulder.

"I was so scared…" Amity's voice echoed through the darkness, making Luz realize she has not seen her inner self in a while.

Snap!

"LUZ!" A set of familiar voices shocked the human when she felt her body ache, tingling painfully.

The said woman wanted to take off her own skin while her heart pounded hard, deafening her while her stomach cramped, making her retch again. Luz could have sworn she was about to die until she felt a familiar hand, soothingly caressing her hair.

"I'm here, Luz," She heard and managed to look up. Drops of sweat traveled down her feverish forehead while she tried to focus her sight. She was back at the courthouse.

"W-why… Here?" She asked weakly, fighting the urge to vomit while her body trembled.

"Because of that," Amity snapped her fingers, making Luz flinch at the sound.

Everything slowed down and the witch helped her girlfriend walk closer to where her past self, merged with the abomination slime and held her mother tightly, fighting an urge to end her life back then and there.

"You're not worth it…" Amity said in a low voice, her black eyes with glowing irises softening a little bit.

"Your and Eda's support helped me become a better person," The Inner Amity said softly, then snapped again to stop the memory right before Odalia's hurtful words.

"You did the… The hard work…" Luz panted, feeling worse by a minute.

"I was abused in so many ways I did not know anything but abuse. The Healers helped a lot but you, showing me unconditional love, made me think about the kind of person I really want to be," Amity said softly and touched Luz's heated cheek, wiping the droplets of sweat away, "Yet, despite everything, I still hear her voice in my head every day, despite everything, I feel the urge to behave the way she conditioned me to, to cope with anger and stimulants… I always try to be better, to not become her," She continued watching the human with worry, "And I often fail…"

"Am… Amity…" Luz trembled, "I'm not feeling well…" She said and took hold of her chest, feeling as if her heart was about to give up.

"You must understand how scared I am to become her, to lose myself, to lose you…" The witch kept going and a silent crack echoed through the darkness. Luz looked down and realized the Inner Amity's orb cracked in half and fell off her choker, "You must understand I bonded with you because I love you with all my life force and I cannot imagine a day where we're not together," She added and the last of her green hair faded into lavender, scars on her forearms appeared, and she smiled warmly, "I'm sorry I made you sick…" She kissed the sweaty forehead and lifted her hand once she pulled away, "Now you have to wake up my Love," She added with a smile.

Snap!

"AAAAAAA!" Luz was screaming her lungs out, thrashing in bed, tugging her shirt, ripping it off.

Her eyes snapped open, glowing with the pink aura just like the veins underneath the tan skin. She did not realize that her scream woke up the lavender-haired witch sleeping next to her, keeping an eye on her, not letting her out of her sight, changing the cold compress every few hours.

"Luz?!" Amity jumped off the bed and quickly made it to Luz's side of the bed, watching her girlfriend in fear.

The human was soaked in sweat, and her limbs thrashed, until finally, she turned to the side and started retching again. The witch helped her get the bucket and tried to soothe her. Luz was trembling between the stomach cramps until finally, she vomited a generous amount of glowing, pink essence from Amity's bile sac.

"It's alright, Luz," The witch cooed, slowly stroking the human's back soothingly while Luz emptied her stomach again.

The witch watched with awe how her girlfriend's nails lengthened and retracted inhumanely and her hair ruffled as if the Owl Demon inside her body was assisting Luz in her fight, strangely merged into one being. A silent hoot escaped Clawthorne's lips after releasing another load of pink magic and Amity noticed the human's breathing finally was calming down.

"A-am…" Luz mumbled, letting go of the bucket, and rolling to her back again, taking hold of her stomach.

"Shh, I'm here, Luz," Amity whispered, covering her girlfriend with a blanket, noticing how the human's veins slowly stopped glowing.

"Titan, she made it…" The witch thought, watching Luz's body slowly relax. She looked back into the bucket only to realize its content was disintegrating into nothingness, "That must have been only an excess of my magic… Titan, I'm so stupid…" She thought and checked Luz's temperature again, "One hundred degrees… Going down," She sighed in relief and fetched a glass of water.

"Luz, you need to drink something…" Amity tried but Luz did not move. She seemed to finally rest, breathing calmly but the witch was not giving up, "Please Luz…" She placed her hand under the human's head, supporting it, "At least a few sips, you're extremely dehydrated," Amity added and was positively surprised to see Luz crack her eyes open, the pink aura disappearing completely, and they turned back to their normal hazel-brown color, flowing from Amity's face to the tall glass of water, "That's it, slowly…" Amity watched Luz drink the water, slowly at first and then taking bigger and bigger gulps. As if her body just then was realizing, how parched she actually was.

"M-more…" Luz whispered, throwing the empty glass away, shocking Amity with her behavior. The human turned toward Amity's nightstand where the full pitcher of water was standing.

"Wait, you'll hurt yourself…" Amity tried to stop her girlfriend who crawled over the pitcher and started drinking as if her life depended on it, "No, Luz! Slow down!" The witch exclaimed retrieving the half-empty pitcher, making Luz's eyes glow gold while her lips snarled, releasing a long distraught hiss, shocking Amity.

Before the witch could react in any way, the golden glow disappeared, and the human seemed to comprehend what had happened.

"I-I don't know…" Luz started, feeling weakness overtaking her body. Amity put the pitcher back on the nightstand and quickly came back to help Luz lay down comfortably in bed, "I'm sorry…" Clawthorne mumbled while her girlfriend tucked her in, "Something's wrong with me…" She added with a trembling voice, her words slurring, eyes rolling up while she was drifting away.

"Shh… You'll be fine, Luz," Amity pecked her cheek delicately, "You just need to rest. Everything will be better when you wake up," She said in a voice that made Luz calm down, "I'll be right back, sleep now," The witch added and waited for her girlfriend to fall asleep before fetching more water for the night. The clock on the wall and its silent ticking lulled them to sleep.

Amity was right. Luz felt better when she finally woke up. The human slowly opened her eyes just to realize she was dressed and her body was peacefully breathing. To her relief, any ache she experienced the night before was gone. Luz blinked a few times and noticed the bed by her side was empty and the witch's pajamas were neatly folded on the pillow.

"Where did she go?" She wondered, feeling a pang of sadness, waking up alone in bed on their first morning in the Human Realm. A cluttering sound coming from downstairs made it to her ears, shocking her. She looked at the clock and was surprised to realize it was barely five in the morning, "Just couldn't wait any longer, could you?" She thought, smiling at the witch's eagerness to start the day.

Amity was in the kitchen when she heard Luz get out of bed to use the bathroom.

"Finally…" The witch thought and she put out the plates on the table, hoping her surprise would make her girlfriend happy, "Keep it cool, Blight…" The witch thought, taking a deep breath when she heard Luz slowly walking down the stairs. The lavender-haired woman felt her heart rate increase when she noticed the human's shocked expression.

"Whatever is going on, this smells great!" Luz exclaimed, a weak smile appearing on her face, "What's going on?" She then asked when she noticed her girlfriend bossing around the kitchen, clearly proud of herself.

"Well… I thought you might be hungry after all that sleeping," Amity stated sheepishly, "And I couldn't sleep anymore," Luz took a step forward and winced in pain, surprised her femur acted up for the first time in weeks. The witch quickly walked over and took hold of the tan body, helping her girlfriend toward the table.

"What do you mean? It's barely five in the morning…" Luz was interrupted by a loud rumble in her stomach.

"Yeah… The next day," Amity said, helping Luz sit down in front of an empty plate, "You slept around thirty-two hours, Luz," The human's eyes widened in shock. A sudden memory from the night before flashed before her eyes, "Twenty-five of those hours you were adjusting to the Bond…" Amity's expression faded and her ears slanted.

She walked back to the kitchen and fetched the bowl filled with scrambled eggs with chives, a bacon-filled plate, Luz's favorite dip, and a basket with freshly buttered toast. She placed everything in front of Luz, whose eyes were widening in shock with each plate presented to her.

"I'm sorry…"

"SINCE WHEN DO YOU COOK?!" Luz exclaimed, interrupting her girlfriend. She took a deep whiff and felt her mouth water. The human quickly snatched a piece of bacon and took a bite, "What the hell, Amity!?" Her eyes roamed the witch's face frantically.

"I-I'm sorry…" Amity apologized, feeling bad, she disappointed her girlfriend, "I didn't want to…"

"This is the best bacon I've had in years!"

"Excuse-a-what now?" The witch was confused.

She looked and her with a dumbfounded expression, sat down in front of Luz, and watched her girlfriend moan and curse when she took in another bite. Amity's ears twitched in confusion.

"It's perfectly crunchy but not dry as a twig, not soaked in additional fat but rather in its lard," The witch has never seen this side of Luz before.

"Hold on… Is it possible?" Amity wondered, never taking her eyes off the human.

"And let me guess…" She tasted the scrambled eggs and moaned in a way that brought shivers to the witch's body, "You made them on the bacon fat…" Clawthorne closed her eyes and enjoyed the food, adding another portion to her plate. Once she was done, the witch took a portion for herself and started eating with a small satisfied smile.

"I guess it really worked out…" She thought and laughed quietly, getting Luz's attention.

"Well…" Amity started, "MewTube helped a lot but I guess I got your understanding of cooking from the Bond," She explained and quickly fetched two cups of the Black Bean Brew, which Eda provided for them, "It would seem you got my heightened taste," The witch said, sitting back down, returning to her meal, "Because there's no way I can cook better than you," She added and smiled flirtatiously at Luz, making the human blush.

"So… Um…" Clawthorne started, not knowing how to formulate the question, "Is that how the Bond works? I got a bit of you and you got a bit of me? Why is it so different from the last time? I mean… That is…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts, and was surprised by Amity's distraught expression.

"I'm sorry about that…" The witch whispered, "To answer your question - yes, this is how it works. We get the connection and an exchange of some of our characteristics. But Luz, I almost killed you because I was too reckless. I should never let go…" Amity explained and Luz could have sworn she felt her girlfriend's feelings.

"Wow, that's weird," Luz thought when she felt the pang of guilt, originating in her bite mark.

"Before it was weaker, almost non-existent, because I barely put any magic in you, yet you still had nightmares after the Bond. But this time…" She pinched the bridge of her nose to get her tears under control, "I'm so sorry…"

"Amity, calm down…" Luz took hold of the pale shoulder and rubbed it in support, "I'm alright so just tell me what happened," The witch looked up into the hazel-brown eyes and her ears perked a little bit.

"She still looks tired…" The witch thought but agreed with the human.

"From what I've read, we did everything properly but…" Amity paused, biting her lower lip, "I didn't take into account that you're a human and…" She looked away, ashamed of her own mistake, "I emptied my bile sac into your system, driving you into overdose…" The witch mumbled quietly, hoping Luz would not understand her.

"W-woah…" The human whispered when a memory of Amity's outburst in the Grudby Field flashed before her eyes.

"That's a lot of magic…" She thought and suddenly frowned, tying her brows in a sudden realization.

"Hold on for a second. Did you empty your sac? Are you feeling okay?" Luz asked with worry in her voice and was surprised to see the witch scoff, showing off her fangs in a small smile.

"I almost killed you but you worry about me…" Amity said, shaking her head in disbelief, "But yeah, I'll be fine. I just need some time to rest. Since the Human Realm has no magic of its own it might take longer than a good night's sleep," She explained and realized Luz stared at her blankly.

"You mean that happened before?" Amity was shocked when she realized she never told her girlfriend about that.

"Um, yeah… After I healed you in the Owl House after Boscha's attack. And later in the Clinic after you freed me from the Manor. I slept it off and all was fine," The witch explained and Luz listened with a great investment. She had no idea what it cost the witch to save her, "Don't worry, I'll be fine," Amity interrupted her girlfriend's worry, standing up and cleaning the plates, "At least we won't have to worry about me outing the existence of the Demon Realm by accidentally incinerating something," She joked and Luz could not help but smile.

"Fine," She finally agreed, "If you say so then I trust your judgment," Luz got up as well and brought the empty mugs into the kitchen, "But if anything changes don't try to hide it, okay?" She tried to sound stern but her voice was full of worry.

"Only if you agree to do the same, Luz," Amity retorted, eyeing the human's behavior, "You know I can see how tired you still are," She added and was surprised with a sudden hug.

"That's a deal, Blight," Clawthorne promised and left a delicate peck on the pale cheek. Amity giggled when she felt the human sniff the crook of her neck and returned the hug eagerly, "Now…" Luz pulled away and smiled at her girlfriend's cheerful expression, "Let me take you on the long overdue Library date," She said and chuckled at Amity's squeal of joy accompanied by her happy tiny jumps, unable to contain the excitement.

"It's official… I'm falling in love all over again…" Luz thought with a smile, watching the witch more excited than ever.

It took them less than twenty minutes to get ready to leave the house. They joked and laughed, racing to the bathroom. They kissed and hugged, dressing up. Luz yelped when Amity stole her beanie and ran with it downstairs, demanding payment in kisses to return it.

"Are you ready to see the Human Realm?" Luz asked in a sultry tone when she snatched her beanie back, Amity scoffed at that.

"Is the Human Realm ready for me?" She teased, leaving a wet kiss on the human's neck.

"Okay, you getting my level of tease is gonna be the death of me," Luz gasped, closing her eyes and biting her lower lip.

"Are you complaining, Clawthorne?" Amity whispered and a deep purr erupted from her chest.

"In your dreams, Blight," The human replied, pulling the witch closer in, kissing deeply and moaning into the affection, "So are you ready?" Luz asked once again when she pulled back and noticed how Amity's expression faded.

"Well… There's still one more thing," She said, taking a step back into the living room, and fetching the box. She pulled out their Concealment Stones and gulped nervously when she noticed how similar her choker looked to the one Odalia used to control her.

"Are you sure about that?" Luz asked, not wanting to force the witch into anything.

"Well, let's be logical. It's just an accessory that will help me blend in. It's not gonna hurt me."

"Yeah… That's logical," The human agreed, taking a step forward, and placing her hand on the pale one, "But I can feel your anxiety, you know?" She added and Amity looked at her with a hint of panic before looking away sheepishly, "It's okay. Do you want me to help you?" She offered, trying to support her girlfriend who nodded enthusiastically, happy that Luz understood her, "Ok, come on," The human said with a smile and guided the lavender-haired woman to stand in front of a tall mirror in the main hall.

Luz stood behind the witch, taking in her appearance. She was dressed in her favorite heavy boots, covering her legs up to her knee. The pink skirt matched perfectly with her white and pink tee.

"Just like the day you followed me…" The human thought and smiled at the choker in her hand. That would complete the image of the Amity who fell in love with the cursed human. Luz took the tiniest step closer and held the choker in front of her girlfriend.

"Are you ready?" She wanted to make sure and when the witch nodded, the human pulled away the lavender hair to the side, and with a swift move, she clasped the accessory on the pale neck, "Wow…" She whispered, noticing how fast the illusion worked.

Amity looked at her reflection and her eyes went wide in shock when she realized her ears were humanely round. She then looked up at her neck just to notice the scars were gone. The witch pulled her hands up and looked at her forearms with a frown.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Luz questioned when she noticed the change in the expression and undecipherable gaze.

"Y-yeah…" Amity said hesitantly, "It's just… Weird."

"Hey, why don't you do me the honor as well," Luz offered, lifting the hand and holding her Concealment Stone. It was s crimson-red jewel made into a simple necklace on the leather strap which she could have pulled onto the neck herself.

"Um… Sure," Amity's expression lightened and she faced her girlfriend with the Stone in her hand.

She looked at Luz with so much affection the human could have sworn her heart began to melt. When the Stone made it to the Clawthorne's neck it was Amity's turn to gawk. She almost forgot how her girlfriend looked with nothing but a thin scar on her brow.

"Is it that bad?" Luz teased her girlfriend's reaction before facing the mirror. That made her freeze in her actions. She passed Amity by and approached her reflection.

The witch watched in silence the human's reaction to the concealment. The hazel-brown eyes filled with tears and her lips curved up in a sad smile. All of a sudden, Luz frantically discarded her flannel, and her tee quickly followed, revealing smooth, tan skin with no marks indicating any kind of hurt. The human took a deep, shaky gasp as if it was her first breath ever, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Luz?" Amity approached her girlfriend who could not stop ogling her body. Before the witch could say anything else, Luz took off the Stone, watching the scars reappear on her skin.

"It's a lie…" The human whispered, clearly dealing with her body image.

She watched the scars on her face, recalling how Odalia punched her time after time. She watched the marks on her chest and abdomen, hoping the witch behind her would not notice a glance she sent her. The ointments and Healing Glyphs did a great job, healing most of the cuts and bruises but her body would still be decorated with the remains of the torture she endured.

"Luz?" Amity asked again, not entirely certain how to act, making Luz look at her reflection. The witch was surprised to see the human smile.

"Well…" She started putting her clothes back on, "I see a beach date with those babies," She added and put the Stone back on her neck, "So are we going or not?" She asked once she turned around, facing her girlfriend.

"You don't want to talk about it, do you?"

"I am so NOT talking about it," Luz added with a chuckle and approached the table where the box was lying open, "So here's your ID, keep it with you at all times… Amelia…" She teased with a smile before grabbing her belongings and putting her phone and wallet in her jeans pockets, "Ready to leave this house?" She asked, offering her girlfriend a hand and a warmest smile.

"I sure am… Lucia," The witch returned the tease and accepted the warm hand, making Luz scoff.

"Alright then… Let's go," Clawthorne said warmly, opening the door, bowing mockingly, letting Amity out but carefully watching her overjoyed expression when she took the first step outside.