Luz Clawthorne: Two Worlds, One Family Chapter 69: That's The Way, an owl house fanfic

All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy this fic.

Chapter 69: That's The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Years ago in the Human Realm…

The Noceda couple were driving their van down the road toward their new home.

"Oh, Manny, check this out," Camila said while seated in the passenger's seat next to her husband. Camila was reading a pamphlet. "It says here that they provide excellent church services, many open job opportunities for me, its own grocery market, and even step aerobic classes."

"See, I told you that you'd like this, Camila," her husband, Manny, told her. "This change is going to be good for both of us. And it looks like we're here!"

Camila looked up and saw a sign for Gatesfield.

Welcome to Gatesfield: We Watch Out For Our Community

They drove to a large gated entrance in front of the town, two armed guards standing watch. Camila looked uneasy by this.

"State your name and your business," one of the guards told Manny.

"We're the Nocedas," he explained, showing his ID. "I recently got a job here." While the security guards looked at the ID, Camila noticed that one of them had a scar over his eye, which made her nervous.

"Alright, this checks in," the guard looking at the ID said as he handed it back and nodded to his fellow guard. "Let them in."

The gates were opened, allowing the Nocedas to drive their van into town. Over by the gate were some cameras that turned to watch the Nocedas as they drove by.

"There are a lot of surveillance cameras around here," Camila noticed as she saw one camera on a light post, followed by others in the trees and on the buildings. "There won't be any in our home, right?"

"Eh, no te preocupes por eso, cariño," Manny assured her. "These types of communities just care about the safety of its residents. Being here is still preferable than lending up in Boston… or Hoboken."

They soon found the house they had bought as their new home. After parking in the driveway, they began to move the stuff they brought with them in.

"The moving truck should be here with the rest of our stuff tomorrow," Manny said as he and Camila explored the inside of their house. They were interrupted by a knock on the front door that caused them to turn and see someone there.

"Hello there," spoke a tanned man in a white suit who was holding a clipboard. The Noceda couple walked over and opened the screen door. "You must be the Nocedas. I wanted to make sure that you were moving in alright."

"And you are…?" Camila asked him.

"My name is Director Joseph Gates," he told them with a smile. "And let me be the first to welcome you to Gatesfield. I'm sure you will quite like it here."

"YEEAAAAAAWWW!"

Camila was awakened by the sound of the alarm clock screaming. It always startled her. She grabbed the clock to try to turn it off. When she noticed that it had a lid to open, she opened it and took the batteries out, turning it off. The batteries then flew away from her hand. This didn't surprise her. Not this time, at least.

She got up and decided to go check up on her daughter and the other Owl House residents. Passing by a window, she saw Luz and Eda flying by in their alternate forms.

"Wow mom, you're getting the hang of your harpy form already!" Luz commented while landing on a tree so she could watch Harpy Eda flying around.

"It's all about control!" Eda said as she flipped around in the air. "Hey, why don't you show me some flying tricks you know?"

"The student teaches the master? I like the sound of that," Luz replied as she shifted her wings, letting Maya become the pilot. "Check these wings out!" May said as she used her more claw-like wings to punch a boulder.

On the ground, Lilith was watching the two fly around. "Alright, if Edalyn can have a harpy form, then I can too!" she declared as she tightened her fists and took a fighting stance. "YAAAAAAAAHHH!" she screamed while Hooty cheered for her.

"Go, Lilith! You have the eye of the liger!" Hooty said while turning a music player on and playing motivational music.

Camila smiled, glad to see her daughter was up and well. "Morning, Camila," spoke Amity, who was behind Camila.

"Good morning, Amity-AH!" Camila turned around and was shocked by Amity's tired look. Her hair was unkempt and she was holding Kay in her arms. "Are... you okay?"

"Kay had been crying all night," Amity explained while placing Kay in a baby seat made from Abomination goop. "I need coffee," she said as she levitated the coffee over to her and went over to the coffee maker to brew it up.

"Yeesh, you look like you've seen better days," King comments while grabbing a cereal box.

"Do you need some help taking care of Kay, estimada?" Camila asked her.

"No, no, it's fine, I got it," Amity replied, taking a sip of her coffee once it was finished brewing.

Luz and Eda came back in, having assumed their normal forms. "Morning flying is the bomb!" Luz declared.

"Yeah but all that flying is making this mama hungry," Eda replied while Lilith came in after her.

"I thought shouting was a way to gain a power up," Lilith said as she looked at her hands.

"I'm sure you'll get your own harpy form soon, sis," Eda told her. "Now come on, let's have a family breakfast. What cereal do we have?"

"Choco-Keets!" King held up the box of a brown parakeet in a straightjacket with insane-looking eyes.

"Wait, isn't that the cereal where the chocolate parrot mascot escaped from rehab and took out his competitors?" Luz questioned. "They say the Slapjack Frog's body was found-"

"Ahem." Amity cleared her throat, nodding to Kay at the table.

"I mean, found him alive and swimming!" Luz said for Kay's sake.

Meanwhile, in the Hieron household, Boscha was having a mirror chat with her cousin.

"How are you recovering, Boscha?" Simon asked, having visibly healed up from his fight with Cain.

"Oh, I'm doing better. I can still walk and do magic and stuff," Boscha told him.

"That's great to hear," Simon said in relief. "When I heard that you were held imprisoned against your will by Glandus and got hurt, I felt awful for not being able to prevent it."

"Hey, it is not your fault, and at least we won't have to worry about Glandus anymore," Boscha responded.

"That's true," Simon agreed.

"What about you? How are your injuries treating you?" Boscha asked him.

"Fortunately, I heal quickly," Simon told her. "Though Beck couldn't help but freak out with worry when she saw me after the war."

Boscha nodded. "Yeah, sounds like her," she said while thinking of something else. "Say, um… how are things with Cain?"

"Well, my dad has reached an agreement with the Construction Coven and the Emperor's Coven. Coven Head Hammers is letting him work manual labor as his sentence for his involvement with Glandus. Me, Beck, and dad also paid him a visit."

"How's he doing?" Boscha asked him.

"He's… dealing with a lot of things right now," Simon explained. "He's feeling pretty ashamed and guilty about everything. But he's willing to accept anything he needs to do to start making things right, including with us."

Boscha smiled, "That's great to hear," she said as she looked at the time. "I gotta go, I'll chat with you later, cuz."

"See ya, cuz," Simon said as the call ended.

In the hallway, Tom was heading out of the bathroom, having taken a good shower. He wore some new clothes that Athena had given to him. He now wore a black t-shirt with a stylized phoenix on his back, and a smaller version of it on the front. He also wore navy blue pants with gray boots.

"I like your style."

Tom was spooked and he turned to see Boscha standing by the door. "Geez, give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"

She smiled, walking up towards him. "So how are the clothes mom gave you? She got them from the Gorewill, so they're like, hand me downs."

"Eh, better than wearing the same thing over and over," Tom said with a shrug. "Must be nice not going to school today."

"Eh, I needed the break, at least until mom works something out," Boscha replied. "Come on, breakfast should be ready."

The two went downstairs and found Athena making breakfast for herself and them. Tom stopped Boscha and whispered in her ear.

"So… are we going to tell you mom about…?" Tom asked her.

"We'll… just have to break the news to her," Boscha replied. "I mean, if we're gonna live together, might as well pull off that band-aid."

"No offense, your mom may be nice, but she looks like she can crush me like a grapefruit with her bare hands," Tom mentioned.

"Hey, better her than my other mom, she's a classist," Boscha pointed out as she and Tom entered the kitchen. "Morning, mom."

"Morning, you two. Eat up," Athena told them as she chopped up fruit with a cleaver.

Tom gulped as he and Boscha took their seats. Once Athena joined them, the three had breakfast.

"So does anyone have any plans for today?" Athena asked.

"Oh, I'm going to meet up with my friends at the marketplace," Boscha explained.

"I-I guess I'll just hang out here, help out in the house," Tom notes as he and Boscha glanced at each other.

"…"

"...Me and Tom kissed," Boscha said, causing Athena to pause while she was eating.

"Oh, you two did?" Athena asked them.

"Y-Yeah…" Tom replied while looking down awkwardly.

"We didn't go any further, we just kissed, and… we are thinking about maybe entering a relationship," Boscha explained. "I hope that's okay…"

"Oh no, you two are fine," Athena waved it off. "I'm okay with this, really."

This surprised the two, who hadn't expected Athena to handle it so well. "So… you're okay with us…?" Boscha asked.

"Of course, the two of you obviously care for each other a great deal," Athena pointed out. "So if you want to pursue a relationship, I will be happy for the both of you."

After breakfast, Boscha has Hogarth on her shoulder. "Thanks for breakfast, mom. I'll see you guys later."

"Take care," Athena replied. "And be careful while you're out."

"I'll be fine, mom," Boscha assured her, taking her strap bag with her as she walked out. "Later, Tom."

"Bye!" Tom waved as he watched her leave.

"So Tom," Athena cleared her throat, while he turned to her. "Now let's have a talk about your relationship with my daughter…" There was a serious look in her eyes that made Tom feel very nervous as he realized it was just now the two of them…

Amity watched as Kay was swimming in her tank, Luz patting her back.

"Come on, Ams, Kay's going to be fine," Luz assured her.

"I… I don't know, maybe I should take a sick day," Amity suggested. "I need to be here if there's another siege or if a plague of locusts comes by-"

"Amity, don't worry," Lilith told her goddaughter. "Me and Camila will make sure that Kay is taken care of. I haven't heard back from Flora yet so I'm free to spend the day with Kay."

"We promise you that she will be taken care of while you're at school," Camila assured a hesitant Amity.

"O… Okay." Amity said nervously while looking at Kay, who looked at her happily. "Hey, I'm going to be gone for a while, but I promise to be back, okay?" She pressed her hand against the glass of the tank, which Kay tapped her head towards.

"Come on, let's go!" Eda called for the girls as they rushed down to the door. "Got a PCA meeting and the last thing I want is to get us punished by Faust for being late."

"Just be sure that Kay has everything she needs," Amity told Lilith and Camila. "If she rises up from her tank, that means she's hungry, so there's some kelp flakes she can eat. Be sure that she doesn't eat a lot-"

"Alright, Amity, we've got it," Camila said while reading the directions Amity handed to her.

"Just go, she'll be fine," Lilith told her.

"And make sure Hooty stays away from her, he could give her nightmares!" Amity told while getting picked up by Luz, who flew with her mom toward Hexside. "L-Luz!"

"What? You were taking so long, and don't tell me you enjoy it," Luz replied while Amity blushed. "And besides, Kay's going to be fine. King can be her playmate."

Later at Hexside, the PCA were having a meeting in Faust's office, which was mostly filled with unhappy parents.

"How can this school allow a werecat from Glandus to attend here?!"

"I can't sleep knowing my daughter's in the same class as her!"

"My son's the only family I have!" Warden Wrath, who had come to the PCA meeting, declared.

"Calm down, everyone!" Slasher told them. Since his wife was at the Beast-Keeping Coven, he had to speak on her behalf. "Look, I know some of you aren't a fan of my wife's decision to let Ms. Fangs attend Hexside, but this is a Coven Head approved decision. Even Principal Faust agreed to it."

"Yes, I saw it as a chance to study a new breed of evil..." Faust said darkly.

"And you don't have to worry about her being a danger to your kids, since she is required to wear a shock collar that will keep her in check," Slasher explained. "Your kids are perfectly safe."

"Yeah, like that's gonna convince us!"

"She's a lost cause!"

"The Emperor's Coven should have her locked up!"

But their shouts and rants were interrupted by the sound of something screeching. They covered their ears at the sound before they saw that it had been caused by Eda using her nails to scratch the chalkboard.

"Hey, do I have your attention?" Eda asked them. "Good, cause I have a lot to say about this whole thing. I think we should give the girl a chance."

"A chance? Of course the Owl Lady would give a beast a chance," another parent said, rolling their eyes.

"You all gave my daughter a chance here at Hexside and she went from beating Grom to saving all of your kids from that crazy Coachman and defeating Emily Tricks during the war with Glandus," Eda countered. "Principal Bump believed that no child was a lost cause or beyond redemption. And while we didn't always see eye to eye on everything, I agree with him on this. I mean, a lot of us were not any better when we were kids. I recognize some parents here who were former members of the Violet Dragons… Clarice."

"You got me there, Eda," said one mother.

"The werecat should be locked up and restrained," Wrath spoke up. "Ms. Fangs is a lycan, they're a dangerous and unpredictable breed of witches and we shouldn't take any chances with her."

"Like anyone asked what you think, Wrath," Eda snarled, while Slasher glared at Wrath as well.

"Lycans are not inherently bad, Wrath," Slasher pointed out. "Glandus's toxic environment is more responsible for Nina's behavior than her lycan nature. I mean, just compare the average werecat from the Torso Villa to the average Glandus student. Glandus encouraged a survival of the fittest philosophy that brought out the worst in all of its students, not just Nina."

"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking," Wrath argued. "I have plenty of personal experience with criminals and lycans. They may pretend to be 'well-behaved', but at any moment that façade can slip and they will show their true feral nature. Lycans are a threat." He then turned to the Regals. "I mean, didn't she attack your daughter? There is no way that you're okay with this."

Harlan awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Well…"

"We don't have to say anything on record that you could hold against us, Warden Wrath," Mary Regal said in a professional tone. "But yes, Ms. Nina Fangs did indeed harm our daughter during the Glandus war, but Amelia is hardly the only one who got hurt and the Brookes already talked to us about this. While we were concerned about having Ms. Fangs attend Hexside, we do trust Calypso's decision and her word that our daughter will be safe. So we agree that Ms. Fangs should be given a chance, at least for now."

"Right! Couldn't have said it better than you could, honey," Harlan said with a nod. "And it's just as Slasher said, Glandus is more at fault for encouraging and rewarding her violent behavior. Hexside can give Ms. Fangs to reform."

"Yeah, I mean, if me and Luz can turn our lives around, so can Nina," Eda pointed out.

"That is debatable on your part, Eda," Faust said while clasping his claws. "But taking everything into consideration… Nina Fangs will be staying here at Hexside, and if any of you have a problem with it, you can take it up with me." Everyone was silent, as no one wanted to oppose Faust. "Glad we have an understanding. Meeting adjourned."

The parents started to clear out the office, either heading for work or home. As Eda walked out, she noticed Sandra.

"Hey, Sandy," Eda said, grabbing Sandra's attention.

"Oh, Eda, how's… um, that was a nice speech you gave," Sandra replied awkwardly.

"Yeah, just some stuff I made up on the spot," Eda said, sounding just as awkward. "How's um… about the other night…"

"Oh um, I have to go to work," Sandra said as she excused herself, passing by Slasher.

"Geez, I could feel the awkwardness from across the hall," Slasher pointed out. "What exactly happened between you two?"

"Eh, nothing much…" Eda said.

Eda and Sandra exited a tavern together, both looking a little tipsy. "You didn't have to pay, really," Eda told Sandra.

"Nah, it's fine," Sandra responded. "Now I really need to get home, since it is late…"

"Hey, as thanks for paying for my drinks, how about I give you a ride?" Eda offered while summoning her staff.

"Really? How generous," Sandra replied, hanging onto Eda as she began to fly her staff. "My house is over there…"

Later, Eda and Sandra were sitting on the couch after Sandra invited her in. While sharing a laugh, Eda almost tipped over until Sandra caught her. The two looked at each other "You have pretty eyes," Eda commented.

Soon the two had started making out, their hands roaming each other while Sandra led Eda to her bedroom. The sound of an owl's screech could be heard.

Later still, Eda put her dress back on, grabbing her boots as she looked at the tired Sandra. "I… should head home," she said as she quietly walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. When she made a turn, she came face to face with Mattholomule, who looked surprised to see her.

"…Sorry I slept with your mom," Eda said before rushing past him and heading for the nearest window to escape through.

"We just had one too many drinks," Eda explained.

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out in there," Slasher told her. "I really appreciate your support."

"Don't mention it," Eda said before remembering something that she wanted to ask him. "Though, while you're here, I do have one thing I need to ask you about."

"Well, sure, what is it?" Slasher asked her.

Eda began. "Okay, so for context I recently learned that I, well the Owl Beast, once had an encounter with this hunched werewolf that had pitch black fur, scars, a white snout, these red piercing eyes, and a golden tooth," she described, causing Slasher to look pale, his eyes widening in fear. "So you know who I'm talking about?"

"Let's talk somewhere private," Slasher said as she led Eda into an empty classroom, away from everyone else. "When did you encounter him?"

"I'm guessing, around sixteen years ago, before I adopted Luz," she guessed. "Things are always blurry when I transform."

"Eda, that werewolf was no ordinary werewolf," Slasher told her with a worried look, shivering at the thought of the werewolf. "He is a sadist known as the Big Bad Wolf. He is very infamous and has even killed his own lycan kind. Rumors say that he's the descendant of the Beast of Gévaudan, a monster that used to plague the human realm, or that he is the actual Beast of Gévaudan. I know that I said that lycans aren't inherently bad. And most aren't. I don't want to hurt anyone and neither do the werecats of the Torso Villa. But the Big Bad Wolf… he's evil, Eda. Just plain, pure evil. And that comes from the witch side of him, not the lycan side."

"If he's that infamous, how come there's no bounty on him from the Emperor's Coven?" Eda asked him.

"He hasn't been active in over a decade, so the Emperor's Coven believes him to be dead," Slasher explained while looking down. "But I don't believe he is. I always feared that he would return…"

Eda could tell from Slasher's weary look that he knew more than he was letting on. "You have a personal history with him, don't you?"

"Yes, I've had the unfortunate luck of running into him," he confirmed, not wanting to elaborate on his own experiences with him. "And when my daughter was kidnapped… I was afraid that it was him, that he was back and that he had come after Skara. But if you had an encounter with him before… how much do you remember?"

"Well, it's going to be hard to explain but… I recently unlocked a memory from back when I wasn't myself," Eda answered. "There was a… family that was killed, and he was about to eat this baby but the Owl Beast intercepted, saved the baby and dropped her off at a nearby orphanage. When I woke up on the streets of Bonesborough, I had no memory of what happened. Does any of this make any sense?"

"It does, I know what it's like," Slasher responded. "I have been dealing with my condition all my life. If anyone can relate to what you have gone through, it would be me."

Eda nodded, realizing that Slasher was right. He was perhaps one of the few people on the Boiling Isles who had any idea what it was like to be cursed. "I know that I don't really remember you from my time at Hexside, but maybe I should make up for that. You want to… hang out sometime and talk? Because I think you could be one of the only other witches that I can talk to about certain things."

"I know what you mean," Slasher told her. "And yeah, that sounds nice. Being a werewolf isn't exactly the same as sometimes transforming into an Owl Beast, but if you ever do need to talk, feel free to give me a call."

"Holy crap, it's her!"

"I can't believe she's attending here now…"

"I thought this school had enough of Glandees…"

Everyone was whispering to themselves while giving dirty looks to Nina, who just looked bored and not intimidated by the other students. She now donned her new Hexside uniform, though her orange sleeves were a bit ripped and the soles of her boots were torn so her toe claws would stick out. She followed Skara as the Brooke girl gave her the tour.

"Over there's the auditorium," Skara said, pointing to a door. "And outside is where the grudgeby field is. Do you play grudgeby?"

"Not really," Nina responded dryly.

Coming down the hall toward them were Willow and Gus, who were chatting with each other. When Gus saw Nina, he immediately turned around and walked away without saying a word, leaving Willow confused until she spotted Skara with Nina.

"Hey Skara!" Willow shouted as she walked over to her girlfriend and Nina.

"Hey, Willow!" Skara replied before embracing Willow with a hug and a kiss, making Nina gag.

"Get a room, you two," Nina muttered.

"Right, you two haven't properly met yet," Skara said after letting go of Willow. "Nina, this is my girlfriend, Willow. Willow, this is Nina Fangs, who's staying with my family for the time being."

"Nice to meet you, Nina," Willow greeted the werecat.

"Oh, I already know everything about you Ms. 'General-of-Hexside'," Nina responded in a rude manner. "Not that you look much like a general. Surprised you lasted long in the war."

"Nina, you don't have to be rude!" Skara told her as Willow stepped in.

"It's okay, Skara, she has a right to her opinion," Willow assured her girlfriend. "But I would like to have a private chat with Ms. Fangs to clear up a few things, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Skara agreed as she stepped away, leaving Nina alone with Willow.

"So, what do you want to-" Nina started to say but didn't finish, since Willow interrupted her.

"I'm just going to make myself clear," Willow told her tensely, a dark aura surrounding her as the light on her glasses hid her eyes from Nina. "You've hurt the people that I care about and I don't take that kindly. Especially after what you did to Amelia and Gus." Nina backed away, her instincts screamed at her to run, but she couldn't muster the willpower. "I have agreed to be civil toward you due to your current situation. But if you give me a reason to drop the civil act, like if you go after Gus again or you dare to hurt my girlfriend, Faust and the Emperor's Coven will be the least of your concerns… okay?" she asked in a tone that was both sweet and dark, Nina's irises dilating while her heart beats quickly in a panic.

The werecat gulped nervously. "I-I'll be good."

"Great!" Willow replied, smiling happily. "Glad that we have an understanding." She patted Nina's shoulder, which only made the werecat tense up, as if she was about to die instantly.

Nina watched as Willow hummed and walked over to Skara. 'What the hell was that!?' she thought, flabbergasted, 'Tricks was totally wrong about her. That Willow Park… she's no half-a-witch… she's a force of nature… is she the mastermind behind Clawthorne?! The true alpha of Hexside!?'

"Why does Nina look so nervous?" Skara asked.

"Oh, we just reached an understanding," Willow replied as she pecked Skara's cheek. "I'll see you after class!"

"Okay!" Skara replied happily before walking over to the nervous Nina. "Hey um, so you up to see the Beast-Keeping Track?"

"Just uh… just give me a moment." Nina replied, still shaken from her encounter with Willow.

Meanwhile, Amity was in Julia's office having her session with the counselor.

"So… Odalia sent me this letter," Amity explained, sounding and looking unsure. "Which was surprising to say the least."

"What did the letter say?" Julia asked. "And you don't have to answer if you don't wish to."

"No, it's fine," Amity responded. "Basically, she… apologized for everything she's done to me and the rest of the family. I have a lot of questions about it and I can't help but wonder if this is some kind of trick or if there's something she is trying to get out of this." She paused and gave a sigh. "I don't think I'm ready to talk to her yet. Right now there's… a lot going on with my life and I don't think I can handle being in the same room as Odalia."

"It could be good for catharsis," Julia suggested. "You don't have to forgive Odalia, but if you have any emotions towards your birth mother that you haven't worked through yet this could be your chance to do so."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Amity acknowledged, "But… I still think that I'm just that ready for that yet, and neither are Ed and Em. I also don't want to give myself false hope. I mean, the letter's nice and all but I still don't buy it. Odalia hasn't exactly earned the benefit of doubt."

"And you aren't obligated to give Odalia the benefit of doubt, Amity," Julia reminded her. "I recommend that you do what you feel comfortable and safe doing. Talking to Odalia can be something that you can work towards, but it doesn't even have to be that. If you don't want Odalia in your life, that is absolutely your right."

Amity nodded in agreement with the counselor. "Thanks for the advice, Ms. Traveler."

"It's no problem, Amity," Julia replied. "By the way, would your siblings be interested in having a session with me? I am sure that they have some stuff they need help working through."

"Sure, I can recommend you to them," Amity replied before she left.

At the Beast-Keeping Track, Skara showed Nina around the classroom.

"So what do you think?" Skara asked as she waved at her trackmates.

"I'll admit, it's better that you have actual desks instead of pens," Nina replied, remembering her Beast-Keeping Track at Glandus had the students kept in pens. "So which table do you sit at?" Nina asked while noticing a student looking at her. She glared at him, making the student hide his face in his book.

"Oh, this table right here," Skara pointed to the table where she usually sat. "But my table mate is-" Nina rushed past her and took a seat before Skara could finish. Just then Luz came in while talking with Viney and she saw that Nina had taken her seat.

"Hey," Luz said to Nina while Viney backed away, not wanting to get involved. "This is my seat."

"Oh yeah?" Nina asked as she turned and gave Luz a smug look ."I don't see your name or mark on it."

Luz's scales flared up around her eyes, like veins popping out as she glared at Nina. "I'm not repeating myself, Garfield, find another seat, there's plenty of empty ones around here."

"Well what if I want to sit here, little birdy?" Nina asked with a challenging tone.

"Are you asking for your eyes to get pecked out, furball?" Luz intensely asked.

"Who are you calling furball, scale face?" Nina asked as both girls glared at each other intensively. This caused Skara to look nervous while Viney looked as if she knew this might happen. The rest of the students were just worried that they could get caught in the crossfire.

"Okay!" Jane shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Me and Redback were just thinking of having class outside for today. So leave your things and your territorial desires behind!" She nodded to Redback, who nodded back.

"Outside class seems nice," Nina said with a shrug

"Yeah, that is something we can agree on," Luz responded while Nina just walked past her rudely. She glared at her. "Who does she think she is acting like she's the toughest girl in Hexside?" She did not see Viney and Skara giving her the 'really?' look.

After her session with Julia, Amity went over to the Abomination Track classroom. There, she spotted Jerbo talking to Puffer and Lambi.

"Hey guys," Amity said, waving to them.

"Hey Amity, we were just talking about Puffer's ideas about making vehicles for the Construction Coven," Lambi explained.

"Yeah, Gus lent me a book that has something called a 'steamroller' that is used to level surfaces," Puffer mentioned.

"That's interesting," Amity nodded. "Oh, have you seen how humans have carriages that don't use rat worms?" She cast an illusion of a limousine to show them.

"Really? Now that could be useful!" Puffer replied.

"Maybe we should have a study group together," Jerbo suggested. "Since we are all from different dual tracks, I think we could learn a lot from each other by sharing ideas. And Snope suggested that it would be good to branch out."

"Yeah, I got some notes that I can share with you guys," Amity added.

"Yeah, that sounds crash!" Lambi agreed.

"Anything to help me graduate!" Puffer said before they heard the alarm clock on Snope's desk ringing.

"We should continue this conversation later," Amity said as they went to their seats. Amity sat next to Jerbo while Lambi and Puffer sat together.

"I'm so glad that we're not the only two students here anymore," Jerbo told her. "Well, even if the class is still small."

"I don't mind," Amity replied. "It's just nice to have Lambi and Puffer back. I honestly took them for granted previously, but I'm not making the same mistake again."

"Alright, you can all go to your seats now," Snope said as he woke up before noticing the students already at their tables. "I can see all eight of you are eager to learn." Due to his drowsiness, he was seeing double.

"Um, Professor Snope, there's four of us," Jerbo pointed out.

"Right, right." Snope dozed off a little, but snapped back awake "Now then, bring out your books," he said while his Abomination wrote on the chalkboard for him.

"Welcome back to the Beast-Keeping Pens!" a new face greeted the Beast Trackers.

Luz raised her hand. "And you are…?"

"Oh, pardon my manners, allow me to introduce myself," said a tall, hefty man with dark, shaggy hair and a long quill-beard, gray skin with blue eyes, and one of his pointy ears is chipped. He wore a long gray overcoat with claws on each sleeve, an orange collared shirt with black pants and gray skull boots. "The name's Rupert Colt! I'm the new Hexside groundskeeper, since Bump's an old friend and I wanted to help watch his school while he is in the Healing Coven!" He spoke in a joyful manner. "I think we are going to have a lot of fun together, but first, how about a riddle?"

"Not the riddles, Rupert…" Jane muttered while Redback gave a deadpan look.

"Say, how would you be cold but also warm at the same time?" Rupert questioned the students.

"Um… a warm coat while at the knee?" Luz suggested.

"Body-heat!" Skara proposed.

"A silkydonis in the coldest boiling waters!" Dusty answered.

"No, it's when you sleep with a warm blanket while resting your head in an open fridge!" Rupert stated which caused the students to look bewildered.

"That… does not make any sense…" Viney commented in confusion.

"I think he's making it up on a whim…" Luz whispered.

"I think I already miss Heinous…" Nina grumbled.

"Anyway, let me show you all a new beast that I've brought in!" Rupert said as he led the class into the pens.

Eda was heading toward the school's exit. "Alright, now this PCA thing's taken care of, and with Luz and Amity back in class, time to go home," Eda said before hearing someone call for her.

"Edalyn," said the voice of Julia, which made Eda sigh. "We need to talk."

"So uh, what's this about?" Eda asked after being led to Julia's office.

"We need to discuss Luz and Amity," Julia informed her. "Now, obviously I can't tell you what the girls talked about during their sessions, but I have noticed a few symptoms. But first, can you tell me if you have noticed any concerning behavior from your daughter or Amity?"

Eda thought about it before responding. "Well, there was that one time Luz accidentally cut her hand with a knife. It was a small cut, but she screamed in a panic. It took a while for me and Camila to calm her down. Then she stopped being near knives." She thought about Amity. "Amity, however, sometimes the littlest things startle her and she has trouble breathing. Luckily there's a breathing technique Luz taught her and it helps calm her down. Not to mention that Luz has had some trouble sleeping recently…" All this sounded familiar to Eda, who thought back to when she was in that cabin. "It… is serious, isn't it, Ms. Traveler?"

"It is," Julia said as she handed Eda a paper. "I think your daughter has post-traumatic stress disorder. As for Amity, she has been showing signs of having a panic disorder. It is important to start treating this now before it gets worse."

"Worse…?" Eda started to flashback to her time in the cabin, remembering the gun in her hands. Julia noticed this and spoke up.

"Here, drink this," she said, handing Eda a box of non-alcoholic apple blood for kids.

Eda drank the apple blood, which helped her calm down. "Thanks, Julia," she told her. "Sorry I um… acting a little-"

"It's fine, Eda. I understand," Julia assured her.

After calming down, Eda looked at the paper she was handed. "So what is the treatment for this? Is it like a spell or a potion?"

Julia pointed to the paper. "I wrote down a few recommendations. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication for both the girls. I believe you know someone who can provide you with them."

"Yeah, I can check with both Morton and Dr. Bride," Eda told her. "But is there anything I can do for them?"

"Your home is like a sanctuary to them, so do what you can to make these girls feel safe in their space. I would recommend keeping a close eye on Luz, make sure that she's taking care of herself. You need to be willing to listen, but do not force Luz to talk if she isn't ready," she suggested. "I would also recommend engaging them in activities with the family."

"Family fun night… yeah, I can do that," Eda agreed. "I can't thank you enough, Ms. T."

"No problem, Eda," Julia said with a nod. "And if you get any more questions, just give me a call. I'm always available."

Boscha flew down to meet up with Hunter, who was in his normal outfit.

"Oh, Boscha, you're here!" Hunter waved to her while standing outside of a comic book store. "Thanks for agreeing to hang out."

"No problem," Boscha responded. "Though to be honest, comic books aren't really my thing. But if you're into it, I should support you as a friend… that's how it works, right?"

"Well, Luz never liked Captain Coven either, but I have been interested in the comics and manga she used to bring from the human world, so maybe there's something here you'd be interested in," Hunter suggested.

Boscha nodded. "Sure, I can give it a chance," she said as she and Hunter entered the store, passing by a missing poster with Eve's picture on it,

The disguised Golden Guard saw the new Captain Coven issue on a shelf and he rushed over it while Boscha looked around, spotting a few different comics and figurines. As Hunter flipped through the issue, he looked shocked. "What the-!?" Hunter gasped before showing it to Boscha. "Are you seeing this?" He points to his hero fighting off a witch who turned out to be a Fae. "Why is Captain Coven going around hitting and punching people until he finds a Fae? He wouldn't do something like that! Is he an imposter?" He then re-read the cover. "Fae-Smasher Captain Coven, approved by Coven Minister McCarty, is this for real?! How can they turn Captain Coven into a propaganda piece!?"

"To be fair, the comics themselves were already propaganda, so you shouldn't be surprised by this," Boscha replied while seeing the artwork of the Fae villain, causing her to rub her scar. "Besides, I could care less about the Faes due to some… past experiences."

"Past experience?" Hunter asked her.

"The grudgeby game where I got this scar, the Pleasure Island incident, and most recently one of Glandus's teachers turned out to be a Fae," Boscha explained.

"Oh yeah," Hunter said. "I remember hearing that she attacked you."

"Right," Boscha said, avoiding eye contact. "But anytime that a Fae pops up, something bad happens which is why I couldn't care less for them or this anti-Fae propaganda the Emperor's Coven has been putting out."

"Yeah, sorry for bringing it up," Hunter apologized. "I should've realized it was a sensitive topic for you."

"Meh, it's no big," Boscha responded while looking in the graphic novel section. She picked one book up. "Hmm, hey this one's about grudgeby," she said as she looked through.

"Found something you like?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, it's a book about this witch girl who ends up being part of a grudgeby team and the first chapter shows a game that looks intense," Boscha explained..

"Oh yeah, Grudgeby Match is a popular read according to the Comic Book Wizard," Hunter pointed out. "In fact, Gus once recommend-" He stopped himself.

"Something up?" she asked him, noticing that he had stopped talking when he brought up Gus.

"It's nothing," he denied, only for Boscha to give him a look. "Okay… thing is, Gus has said that he wants to talk to me and hear me out after all the Golden Guard drama went down with Luz. I don't know if I should go. I mean, I want to talk to him, but… I just don't know."

"Well, maybe you should go," Boscha suggested. "I mean, while Gus may not forgive you, but talking to him could be a way for you to clear the air."

"You think so?" Hunter asked her.

"Yeah, I mean I recently talked things out with Skara," Boscha explained. "We were probably more honest with each other then than we ever were before and while we still may not be friends anymore, we're at least on better terms. It was good for both of us." She smiled and gave a light punch to Hunter's shoulder "So why don't you give that talk a chance, creepazoid?"

Hunter nodded while rubbing his arm. "Yeah, I think I will."

After their classes, Luz and Amity met up to talk about their day.

"So you guys plan on setting up a study group?" Luz asked her girlfriend while holding hands.

"Yeah, it's nice to be on better terms with Lambi and Puffer now. So I am pretty excited to have a study group with them," Amity replied. "What about you? How was your day?"

"Oh don't get me started…" Luz said before noticing the Shadowy Secret Expozers walking up to them, looking even gloomier than usual. "Whoa, what's the SSE doing looking more emo than before?"

Amity noticed one member missing. "Wait, what happened to Eve?"

"She's missing," Korn replied sadly.

"What!?" Luz and Amity exclaimed.

"When did this happen?" Luz asked them.

"According to her mom she disappeared from her room last Friday night!" Patty answered.

"There was no sign of a struggle in her room but her window was left open. Someone or something must have taken her," Cyndi explained.

"We've crossed out any of our old enemies, since they are still locked up in the Conformatorium," Blondie added.

"We thought that maybe her bad luck had something to do with her disappearance," Sioux suggested. "But that doesn't really make sense, even in the Boiling Isles."

"Oh man, we're so sorry that happened," Luz told them.

"You guys have our condolences," Amity said genuinely.

"Thanks, and um, it's not the only reason we came up to you," Linkin told them. "Follow us to the Why Wagon, there's something you need to see."

'The Why Wagon?' Luz thought, as she and Amity looked at each other in confusion before they followed the group.

Luz and Amity's jaws dropped when they saw the inside of the Why Wagon, a rat worm pulled wagon that was painted with skulls and bleeding hearts symbols. Inside of the wagon was a wooden door frame with a skull and crossbones on its surface.

Luz's eye twitched a little. "So you guys… had a portal door… this entire time…?"

"But how- I- how did you guys know about this?!" Amity asked.

"It all started back when we busted Professor Blanc and Eve found that locket from the school's catacombs that belonged to someone named Philip," Sioux explained.

'Philip?' Luz recognized the name, recalling the memory with Eclipsa.

"We did some research while dealing with the usual costumed crooks," Korn explained. "Eventually Eve found out about this journal from the Bonesborough library which had been written by Philip, a human who used to live in the Isles."

"But the journal was far from intact, unfortunately," Linkin continued. "Not because of the echo mouses, but many of the pages were damaged, drawn over, or just torn out. Like someone was trying to hide something."

"But we managed to decipher some of the pages though," Blondie added. "We made copies, but Eve had the original journal and it disappeared with her, which makes us worried that her disappearance could be connected to the journal."

Luz got over her shock while turning to the group. "Why didn't you come to me, a human who lived in the Isles, about this sooner? Heck, I once asked Eve to help look for a way to make a portal to the human world."

"We planned on telling you, but we wanted to wait until we solved the case on our own first. And well, we were paranoid," Linkin answered. "We didn't want anyone else to know we had the journal, though apparently someone did somehow find out since it is missing now."

"That's your excuse?!" Luz hissed at him, glaring at the gang, growing angry. "Paranoia and pride?! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for answers about a new portal door that could lead to my birth realm and my step family who must be worried sick about me?! You've been holding out on me on this!"

"Hey man, like there's no need to-"

"SHUT UP!" Luz shouted in anger, her scales flaring up around her skin and scaring the SSE. "You've all probably endangered yourselves by getting mixed up in all of this! Eve was probably taken because she knew too much! Eve's disappearance is all your fault!"

"Luz, please calm down," Amity tried to ease her girlfriend, patting her hand.

This made Luz less tense and she took deep breaths. Sioux spoke up. "We're… we're sorry, Luz. We didn't mean any harm."

Luz just looked at them with an intense look, mad at them for holding out on her. "I'm going to be straight with you. All these notes, every copy you made, I'm keeping all of them. You can drop the portal door at the Owl House but make sure to be discreet about it. And I want you guys to not look any further into this case, for your own damn good, okay?" She began to grab the notes and pages that were scattered across the wagon.

"Hey, you can't just-" Linkin was about to protest, but Luz just glared at him.

"This isn't one of your fucking mystery games!" Luz shouted after grabbing the notes. "Next time you learn something human realm related, tell me immediately!" she scolded while placing them in her book bag before she walked out in anger.

Amity sighed while looking at the SSE. "We're sorry about Eve, and we appreciate what you've done but you should've realized how important this was to her. Just don't hold this against her."

"No, we messed up by not telling her," Korn admitted. "Tell Luz we're sorry and we'll drop the door off at her home."

Amity nodded before following her girlfriend, leaving the SSE alone. The gang looked down in guilt, thinking about what Luz said.

"We really screwed up big time, did we?" Patty asked.

"Hey, Luz, are you okay?" Amity asked as she caught up to Luz.

"Yeah, just… now I feel bad for lashing them out like that, especially since they already felt bad enough about Eve. But they could've still told me about this sooner," Luz replied.

"If you ask me, you have every right to yell at them like that," Maya commented.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Maya may be right," Amity said. "I know you were just venting out your frustrations, but you weren't wrong to be mad at them. Though now I'm worried about Eve, you don't think the Emperor's Coven took her?"

"I don't know," Luz admitted. "Though something about this just doesn't feel right."

Amity patted Luz's hand. "I'm sure we'll find her," she said. "We can't forget Eve either, though we do have a lot of other stuff on our plate as well."

"Right," Luz nodded in agreement while looking over the notes and pages she took. "I will admit, it is impressive that those guys made a portal door based on what this Philip guy wrote down. Even if it doesn't work right now, it is still a start."

This made Amity wonder something. "Say… is it possible that there's a connection between Philip and… Belos?"

A chill ran up to both girls' spines. Luz briefly considered the idea, but dismissed it. "I doubt it. Me and Aunt Lilith already learned that Philip died centuries ago and that his journal was donated to the library after his death. And it isn't like Philip and Belos are the only two other humans who have ended up in the Isles. Lilith has mentioned that she met another human in the Boiling Isles and the Inner Demon was once human as well. There have been other humans and Belos is just the one who decided to become a cambion tyrant who indoctrinates children as part of his plan to enslave humanity or something just to stroke his compensating ego." She shrugged. "I mean, just because Philip is a human that lived in the Isles, doesn't really automatically mean that he's connected to Belos."

"Yeah, that checks out," Amity nodded in agreement. "Say um, if you're up for it, we can go shopping at the bazaar. I've been meaning to buy some stuff for Kay."

"Like baby clothes and cute costumes to put her in?" Luz asked while forming a smile.

"Maybe just some essentials, but yeah, she could use some outfits when her limbs grow out," Amity agreed, returning Luz's smile.

Luz and Amity made their way to the Bonesborough Bazaar on Amity's abomi-bike. Once they parked, they entered the place.

The tide is high, but I'm holding on

I'm gonna be your number one!

They walked through the bazaar, looking at the different stores. Amity formed an abomi-cart, which Luz got on, Amity pushing the abomi-cart while Luz raised her fists up.

I'm not the kind of witch who would just give it up like that!

Oh noooo!

They started at a young witchling store where Luz and Amity asked a store owner about baby clothes for a baby lagoon creature. She showed them many varieties and choices to pick from. Amity picked out a little sweater roller, while Luz picked out fuzzy pajamas.

It's not the things you do that tease and hurt me bad,

But it's the way you do the things you do to me.

I'm not that kind of witch who gives up just like that… oh nooo!

The couple go through other sections to buy other stuff for Kay, like a play pen for her, toys, and something for her tank like a treasure chest that sprouted bubbles.

After that, they decided to get some Boiling Isles boba tea, which contained small eyeballs. They shared a cup with two straws.

The tide is high but I'm holding on!

I'm gonna be your number one! Number one! Number one!

After that, they went into a photo booth to take pictures. Luz and Amity did silly faces, poses, then kisses in the last photo leading to them falling out of the booth.

The two had a laugh as they walked through the mall, passing by a certain group of girls that walked the opposite way: Donna, Tina, and Veronica, who were on a shopping trip as well. Donna turned her head, noticing the two passing by.

Every witch wants you to be her palisman

But I'll wait my dear until it's my turn

Amity looked at Luz rustling her hair as she had thought of something to give to Luz. She spotted a hat stand in one store and she had Luz to wait outside. While Luz waited with her hands in her pockets, Amity came back out and handed her a bag. Luz looked into the bag and her eyes brightened at what she saw.

Now sporting a red toboggan hat, Luz and Amity spotted a carousel. The two decided to ride it, getting on the unicorn seat together. Once the ride started, the two were smiling and laughing, even as the unicorn came alive and started to scream.

I'm not the kind of witch who gives up just like that… Oh nooo!

In the Owl House, Eda was looking over the videos she had brought out of the basement. "Let's see, we could watch a romance comedy, or some horror…" She then saw her copy of John Carpenter's The Thing. "Oh, definitely this."

"I found some board games in the closet," Lilith said while holding a stack of board games. "Scamopoly, Griffins and Step-Stools, Don't Wake Up Stalin, and-" One game caught Lilith's interest. "Oh, I didn't know you'd have chess."

"Hmm? Oh that's just something I found back in the human realm. Thought I would sell it but I never did," Eda replied while noticing Lilith's stare. "Wait, how do you know what this game is?"

"It's… a game that I learned from Belos," Lilith mentioned. "Back when I was in the Emperor's Coven, he'd thought that in order to help me move up the ranks, I should learn strategy. So he taught me this game and how the pieces work. He had me challenge other scouts. He even let me beat him once." She chuckled, but then looked down. "It was… one of those times where he seemed to take a genuine interest. But then again it could have just been another part of him grooming me as another pawn to his game."

"Hey," Eda said, nudging her sister's arm. "Don't think too much about it, okay? Besides, it's just a board game, it's not gonna hurt you or anything."

"Yeah, you're right," Lilith replied as Luz and Amity returned.

"We're back with Kay's things!" Amity announced.

"Oh good, you girls are here," Eda said as she brought out two white bags from her hair. "Cause I got something important to tell you two, and nice hat by the way, Luz."

"Thanks, Amity got it for me during our shopping date," Luz replied, smiling at her girlfriend's gift while Maya suppressed an urge to roll her eye.

"Aw, I'm glad that you two had a good time," Eda told her. "But now I need to tell both of you about your antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication!"

"Wait, what?" Amity asked in confusion.

"Gonna be forward with you since I've already gone over this with Camila and Lilith. I talked to Dr. Traveler earlier and she recommended medication for you two. Fortunately, I went to Dr. Bride and she had what you needed," Eda told them. "These will help you with your anxiety and panic attacks. Just be sure to take them in moderation and follow the instructions."

Both girls look at the capsules that they were given. "So… we're pill poppers now?"

"It's nothing like that," Eda assured her. "You girls are cool with this, right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay with it," Amity nodded while looking at her capsule.

"I think I should be fine," Luz said while looking at her prescription and the instructions of her medication. "How long do we have to take these?"

"Well, I don't know," Eda admitted. "It depends on your progress. Like with the elixirs I take moderately. But with your medication, make sure to keep them away from King and Hooty."

"Thanks for giving us these, mom," Luz told her. "Guess we're now the Three Medication Musketeers… where's Camila, by the way?"

"She's helping clean up your room, clear out your floor a bit," Eda explained. "When I told her about your diagnosis, she wanted to try to make your rooms more of a safe space for you two."

Camila made up the girls' bed, straightening it out. "That should do it. I should talk to Luz about keeping her room less messy," she said to herself. "If I checked under the bed, there wouldn't be a monster there, right?" Out of curiosity, she looked underneath Luz's bed. There was a baseball glove, some boxes, and some dust bunnies that had made their nest there.

The dust bunnies looked at Camila and hissed before jumping away, knocking a box in her face.

"Ah!" she yelped, the box falling over and spilling out its contents. "Dios mío," she grunted while looking at the articles that had fallen out of the box. "Oh no, I hope they're not important or anything." She picked up one article. "Hmm? 'Bright Turnip Town Now Haunted', okay…" She looked at a few more.

'Mystic Sites in Manhattan'

'Global Disaster or Possibly Alien Hoax?'

'Group of Kids Bust Politician for Freezing Summer.'

"Oh, I didn't realize Luz collected these kinds of articles," Camila commented as she placed them back in the box. "I guess tabloid articles are actually true in a sense." As she gathered some more, she noticed the name of one of the publishers. "Whoa," she said, reading the title. "Gatesfield Reporter…" On the front page was an image that made her gasp… the Owl Beast.

After settling in, Camlia decides to go for a walk in their new neighborhood. "Manny, I'm going to meet some of our neighbors. Would you like to come?"

"Wish I could, but I'm trying to find out if my Cosmic Explorers sweater is in one of these boxes," Manny responded, going through some of the boxes.

"Check the ones in our room!" Camila told him before she left, walking out into the street. "Hmm, where should I start?" she asked herself before she spotted a car in a driveway near her house. "How about there?"

She walked over to the house and knocked on the door. Answering it was a tanned woman with black hair and green eyes. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hi! My name is Camila Noceda. Me and my husband Manny just moved in, so I thought I would introduce myself," Camila said as she extended her hand to the woman.

"Nice to meet you, Camila," the woman said as she shook Camila's hand. "My name is Abigail Gates, though you can call me Gail. You probably already met my brother, Joseph. Would you like to come in?"

"I would love to," Camila said as she stepped inside and looked around. "Wow, what a beautiful home you have here."

"Thanks, it is one of the perks that comes with your family running the town," Abigail said while going to a cabinet. "Would you like a drink? I can make mimosas."

"I'm not usually a drinker but it would be rude to turn you down," Camila responded as Abigail got out the wine and went to get the orange juice.

Later in the living room, Abigail played some music for her and Camila to listen to. They sat on a couch and talked while enjoying their drinks.

"So where did you and your husband move from, Camil?" Abigail asked her/ "Oh, um, you don't mind if I call you Camil, do you?"

"Oh no, it's fine," she assured her. "When I was a little, me and my family migrated to the East Coast from the Dominican Republic back in the 70s. I grew up in Rhode Island. Then I met Manny in high school and we got together in community college. We decided to move to Connecticut after Manny got a new job here."

"Well, we are always happy to have new members of our community, Camila," Abigail told her. "We welcome everybody here. Have you thought about church services? I can recommend you to one of our local churches. We have three.."

"Oh, I um… me and Manny aren't that religious… not that we're atheist or anything," Camila told her.

"That's fine," Abigail said, smiling at Camila. "Still, it would be nice to see you at one of the Sunday services if you decide to give it a chance."

"I'll talk about it with Manny," Camila said.

"So is he Dominican as well?" Abigail asked her.

"Yes," Camila admitted. "We both never really felt like we fit in while growing up. I was actually bullied a lot as a kid, which made me feel like I was a stranger among my peers."

"Well you're no stranger here, Camil," Abigail assured her. "So tell me what you think of the town so far?"

Camila chose her words carefully. "I'm… still not quite sure," she admitted.

"Is it the guards at the gate and the security cameras everywhere?" Abigail asked and Camila nodded. "I understand why that might be concerning. But unfortunately this whole town hasn't been the same since… an incident from over a decade ago."

Camila noticed Abigail's expression changing. "What happened?" she asked her.

Abigail looked Camila straight in the eyes. "Tell me, Camila, do you believe in… witches?"

"Y-You're joking, right?" Camila asked, only to see just how serious Abigail was.

"I can assure you, Camila, witches are absolutely real," Gail insisted, intertwining her fingers on her knee. "This town has a history, Camila, and witches are a part of it. I even saw one, back when I was a young girl. A witch came to Gatesfield and lured an innocent girl away from her family. When I tried to save her, that witch killed that poor girl right in front of me after transforming into a monster!" Her voice got louder, her tone upset. Her hands started to shake and Abigail looked down at them, remembering when they were covered in blood. Angel's blood. She closed her eyes, the memory of being dragged away from Angel's body still vivid to her. "She… Angel should have listened to me. Why couldn't she have listened to me!?"

A concerned Camila got up and walked over to Camila. "Hey, hey Gail, are you alright?"

Abigail didn't answer the question, tears rolling down her face. "That witch… I could never forget her face. Her orange mane, her pale skin, and her true monstrous form! She should pay for what she did! I hate her!" She opened her eyes and saw that Camila was taken aback. Abigail stopped herself, realizing that her emotions had gotten the better of her. "I-I'm so sorry you have to see that, Camila."

"It's… fine," Camila responded. "Are you okay now?"

"I… will be," Abigail told her, looking down at her empty glass. "But I think you should probably… leave."

"Okay, it was nice meeting you, Gail," Camila told her. "I hope to talk to you more soon." After leaving the house and closing the door behind her, Camila could hear Abigail starting to sob. "That poor woman," she said with a sigh. It was obvious that Abigail had been through something traumatic, even if Camila doubted that it actually involved witches.

Camila ended up in the town square, still thinking about what Abigail had claimed. Though she was a skeptic, it still disturbed her greatly. Eventually, she found herself in front of a Victorian-style two-story building, the headquarters of the Gatesfield Historical Society. Which was probably the best place she could get some answers from.

"Hello?" Camila asked as she stepped inside and looked for a curator.

"Sorry, dude, but the curator's not here at the moment," spoke a young man in his early twenties with curtain-style hair, glasses, fuzz above his lip, a GHS t-shirt, and jeans with sneakers. "Though I can try to help you if you want. My name's Jacob."

"Um, yes I would appreciate it if you could help me," Camila told her. "I'm new in town and I heard that Gatesfield had a history with witchcraft…"

Jacob nodded. "You heard correctly," he told her. "You see, in the 17th century Connecticut saw the first large-scale witch trials in the American colonies, predating the more famous trials in Salem by nearly thirty years," he explained. "This town used to be called Gravesfield, but it was later renamed after Gabriel Belmont Gates, who was many things. An explorer, an author, a reverend, and, according to legend, a witch hunter. His descendants try to downplay that part, but there is a legend of a stranger who once came into town, claiming to be from another land filled with magic and opportunity. Several people took him up on his offer to go back with him to this land, only to discover that it was a land of horrors and witchcraft instead. Not everyone was able to escape this land, but G.B. Gates and a few of his companions were able to successfully return to Gravesfield using a portal that he had stolen from the inhabitants of this strange land. He told the town of what he had seen, warning them of the dangers and evils from that other land. Later in his life, G.B. Gates vanished. Some say that he returned to that land of witches and demons in order to save the souls of his fellow men from the wickedness spawned by that realm. Others say-"

"This is all very interesting," Camila interrupted. "But I am more interested in an incident that happened over a decade ago, involving a monster of some sort."

"Oh, so you heard about that, then?" he asked and she nodded. "Alright, wait right here." He went into the archives, coming back with an old newspaper. "Every town has a legend," he spoke theatrically. "The Jersey Devil, Northfield Pigman, The Bladenboro Beast… our town has the Beast of Gatesfield!" He showed Camila a newspaper article of the Gatesfield Reporter with an illustration of the Owl Beast on the cover. "I still remember hearing about it when it first happened. Two girls were together in the woods when they were attacked by some kind of wild animal that mauled one of them in front of the other."

"Oh dear," Camila gasped, wondering if this was what Abigail was referring to.

"Director Gates's sister, Abigail, was the main witness," Jacob explained. "She hasn't been the same since then."

"I heard that there was a witch involved," Camila told him.

"That's what she claimed, yes," Jacob confirmed. "That her friend was being lured away by a witch that transformed into a monster. But she made it up as a way to cope with her trauma. It at least makes for a nice story, but that's all it is. A story."

Camila looked down. "I feel sorry for her…" she admitted.

"Yeah, unfortunately she still insists that the animal she saw was a witch," Jacob told her. "Which is crazy. But you know, I've actually seen a real witch once. They're actually from Mars, and use human teeth to power up their time machine!"

Camila gave him an odd expression, Jacob having lost her.

"Hopkins!" shouted the curator who marched up to them. "I told you the bathroom stalls need cleaning a while ago! Get back to work!"

"Y-Yes sir!" Jacob replied as he rushed to get the mop and bucket.

'So it was just a traumatic delusion,' Camila thought to herself, wondering if there was anything she could do to help Abigail through her grief. There had to be something she could do for her…

Camila silently stared at the article, her hand shaking as she held it. With a worried expression she folded up the article and placed it in her pocket before leaving the room.

Gus knew that his friends wouldn't like him doing this, but he knew that it had to be done. Good thing he had left a clone illusion of himself at the Park residence to not draw suspicion to his absence. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to meet up with Hunter at the park. He spotted him, sitting on a bench with Flapjack on his lap. Hunter looked up and saw Gus coming over.

"Hey man," Gus said.

"Gus! Um… hey yourself," Hunter replied.

A long, awkward silence followed.

"So um… thanks for… agreeing to meet up, Gus," Hunter said, breaking the silence. "How have you been?"

"Pretty fine," Gus admitted. "Especially with the Glandus war over. I did just learn that I'm aromantic."

"Really?" Hunter asked and Gus nodded. "Well, I'm glad for you, man. What did the others think?"

"They were very supportive," Gus told him while he sat down, neither boy making direct eye contact with the other. "Look, Hunter, I came here because I want to give you a chance to explain yourself. What you did was wrong but… I'm willing to hear your side of the story."

"R-Really?" he asked the illusionist boy.

"Yeah, so… tell me why you did it? The whole spying on us and acting like you were our friend?" Gus asked him. "Why all the secrets?"

Hunter looked down to Flapjack, who chirped at him in encouragement. He sighed before trying to explain himself. "First, I just want to let you know that… the years of friendship with you, Luz, and Willow were genuine. I didn't tell you guys who I really was because I knew that you wouldn't want anything to do with the Emperor's nephew. Especially since Luz's mother was the Owl Lady. Our friendship was real and Belos even approved of it." He smiled for a moment before lowering his head. "But eventually… he wanted me to use my friendship to help him follow Luz's development. But I swear I never intended for Luz to get hurt. No one was supposed to get hurt. Belos promised that we were going to help her, and that's what I wanted to do. I had a duty to my uncle, since he is my family, but I also had a desire to help Luz… at least, that's what I thought I was doing."

Gus stayed silent as he listened to Hunter. "Look, I understand why you didn't tell us about your uncle. I get it and if you were honest with us about that, it would probably be hard for us to accept you. But spying on us for him? Invading our privacy by placing bugs in our homes? Helping Belos capture both Eda and Luz?" He scoffed. "How convenient was it for you to betray your friends in order to get your Emperor's approval?"

"Hey, keep it down!" Hunter shushed him in a panic. "Try not to talk about him so loud."

"Why, so they can take me away just like how they took my dad?" Gus asked him, which confused Hunter.

"Your… dad?" Hunter asked him.

"Yeah, turns out he was helping with the rebellion against the Emperor's Coven since he also doesn't approve of what Belos had planned for Luz," Gus told him. "When Belos broke the rebellion, my dad went missing. But I guess your uncle didn't tell you about that, did he?"

"The rebellion I know about, but I had no idea your father's a part of it," Hunter admitted. "And I don't know if he is in custody or not..."

"Then how many other secrets has Belos kept from you? How many lies has he told you? Did you even know if Belos was a human?"

Hunter's eyes widened, realizing that Gus now knew. If he had to guess, Luz had told him about Belos. "I… okay, I didn't know he was human. Not before he revealed it to Eda and Luz with me there." He sighed. "I've been trying to not think about what that could mean and about what else Belos hasn't told me yet."

"That just makes it easier for him to get what he wants from you," Gus pointed out. "He wants you to not ask questions. For Titan's sake, he's using you just like how he uses everyone. Just like how he wants to use Luz. Belos will say whatever he needs to and do whatever he needs to in order to get what he wants from people!"

Hunter felt that he wasn't going through to Gus. "You don't know why Belos does what he does. Even he isn't proud of what he's doing but it's for the good of the Isles."

"So he knows forcing witches into covens and executing them if they refuse is wrong, but he's doing it anyway?" Gus questioned.

"It's not that simple!" Hunter countered. "Look, I shouldn't be telling you this, but I need you to understand. Let me tell you about the visions."

"Visions?" Gus asked him.

Hunter begins explaining to Gus about the visions. He started with the trip he and Belos took to meet the Weird Sisters, who showed them a vision of the future. Gus listened as Hunter described the winged mechanical creatures led by a creature with a glowing eye, the creatures slaughtering everyone in the Isles, including the Coven Heads.

"So… Belos showed you a vision about… the end of the Boiling Isles, a… possible future from a group of oracles?" Gus asked him, though he was not buying it. "Yeah, Hunter… that could have been faked."

"You don't believe me? Gus, the vision-"

"Could have been an illusion!" Gus pointed out. "Hunter, Belos may have created it in order to make sure that you would do whatever he told you to, including orders that you would have disagreed with. Because of course he would make sure that you believed that the Boiling Isles was at stake. He tries to depict himself as this savior of the Boiling Isles, convincing you that he has everyone's best interests at heart and that he's only doing what he must to save our home. But it's a lie, an illusion. Belos may have told you one thing, but his actions tell a different story. Maybe instead of thinking about what he has told you, you should instead consider what Belos hasn't told you."

"But… but the visions felt real!" Hunter claimed.

"Of course it felt real, convincing illusions are supposed to feel real!" Gus told him. "You know who else could make illusions that felt real? Emily Tricks. Belos is just as fake as her, they are both lying tyrants who try to justify their actions!"

"You shouldn't be saying that!" Hunter warned him.

"Why? What would happen if I keep talking like this? Would the so-called 'benevolent Emperor Belos' murder a child?" Gus questioned him. "Those visions he showed you were meant to make you scared, Hunter. Fear is a tool, not just one used by illusionists, but one used by everyone. Why else would he be encouraging anti-Fae propaganda? It's meant to make people scared. Scared of the Fae, scared of wild magic, and you're meant to be scared of disobeying Belos since you've been told that Belos is the only one that can save the Isles and going against him would doom everyone!"

Hunter shut his eyes while listening to Gus's speech. "You don't know what I saw! You don't know him like I do! He just wants what's best for everyone!" he shouted.

"Hunter, I'm trying to help you realize-"

"Realize what? My uncle is not the bad guy! He does care about the Isles and… and maybe your dad deserved to get arrested!" After his outburst, the two boys stood in silence before Hunter stood up and started to walk away. "I don't know why I came here," he muttered as he left, Flapjack following him.

Gus was left alone and upset, looking down as he thought about how that could have gone better…

"Okay, just place it over there," Luz said.

Lilith helped Luz move the door to the side of the living room, having grabbed it after the SSE dropped it off.

"There, that should do it," Lilith commented while getting a look at the door. "Who knew the lead about the human Philip and the portal door was under our noses the entire time." She looked over at Luz, who looked down.

"Yeah, who knew," Luz replied awkwardly.

"Why do you feel so tense?" Maya asks her in a whisper. "Something I've been noticing now anytime you're around her."

"It's nothing, Maya," Luz whispered back before turning to Lilith. "So with their notes and the copies they made of the journal pages, we can see what the SSE have learned-"

"Don't worry about the portal door at the moment, hon," Eda interrupted. "It looks nice but right now we're having family time. Just try not to sweat over it, okay?"

"I know," Luz said. "It's just… I miss going there whenever I can't deal with Boiling Isles drama. And I miss Dipper and the rest of the Mystery Shack gang. I know Bill gives me updates, but I still wish I could see them again."

"I miss them too, but we can't let that stop us from having a normal movie night. Especially when we're watching one of our favorites: The Thing!" Eda held the video up. "Something I am sure your girlfriend would be interested in."

Luz smiled. "Yeah, the portal can wait."

Amity and King walked into the living room. "Okay, we got Kay to fall asleep."

"Had to get the baby monitor up so we can know when she needs something," King added.

"And I got everything set up for movie night!" Hooty announced, showing that he had set up the crystal ball with a projector, connected to a VHS player connected to a jar of lightning bugs. "And I've also made snacks!"

They noticed that on the table was a plate of meaty balls, twitching limbs and a wing sticking out of one.

"I call them mystery balls! They're like meatballs, except their insides are a surprise!" Hooty explained while the others looked disturbed and fearful of what was inside these mystery balls.

"Um… thanks, Hooty," Amity told him.

"Best not to risk it," Eda said while pulling out a bag of nachos from her hair. "Good thing mama's hair also has a few snacks in it."

Camila stepped into the room and saw the whole family preparing for movie night. Eda spotted her, which made the Noceda woman tense. "Hey, Cami! Are you in for movie night?"

"Um… sure," Camila responded as she sat on the right side of the couch while Lilith sat on the left side. Camila thought of sitting beside Lilith, but then Eda got in the middle, putting her arms around them.

"Nothing like some good old family fun with the kids, don't you think?" Eda asked, seeing Luz and Amity sitting beside each other on the floor, with King holding up the bowl of popcorn.

"Yeah, it's nice," Lilith replied.

"Um, yeah, nice…" Camila agreed nervously, which Eda didn't notice as Hooty spoke up.

"And now, our feature presentation!" Hooty announced as he turned on the VHS player, the projector showing a red screen with text.

"What's an… F.B.I warning?" Amity asked them.

"Eh, it's something to prevent illegal pirating," Luz said with a shrug.

"I said that I'll never do it again!" King shouted only for Hooty to shush him.

After going through the previews, the family finally saw the movie. They watched how the movie began in Antarctica and how the helicopter pilot was trying to kill a sled dog while the research team defended the dog from him.

"Thank goodness they saved the dog," Amity whispered.

"Yeah, saved the dog…" Luz replied before sipping her drink, wanting to see the look on her girlfriend's face when she saw what the dog truly was.

When that moment came, both Amity and Lilith were shocked to see that the dog was a shape shifting creature.

"Is everything all… real?" Lilith asked her sister.

"Practical effects," Eda explained while eating her popcorn. "Basically human illusions. Unfortunately, these days it seems like humans are relying more on computers. There was actually a prequel that came out last year, but it wasn't nearly as good. I still remember watching this when it first came out in theaters."

Camila took note of this. "I see…" she said while looking back at the movie. She felt uncomfortable next to Eda but she tried not to show it.

"Ooh, this is the best part," Luz whispered to Amity, placing her hand over hers. This made Amity blush. When they saw one of the scientists getting his arm bitten off by the Thing, a spooked Amity moved closer to Luz, who wrapped her arm around her. When Eda noticed this movement, she smiled.

Once the movie ended, Lilith stood up to clap. "Bravo! What a great film! How did those humans do that without magic or Abominations?" she asked. "It was like the creatures you would see in the Boiling Isles…"

"That's practical effects for ya," Luz replied while she and Amity stood up, stretching.

"But that was a really impressive movie, it felt like it was real!" Amity replied. "The Thing is like some kind of Abomination assimilating people and animals…"

"And I do love the score for the movie, you don't hear that kind of thing at the Bard Coven," Lilith commented.

"Looks like I've found my Bard assignment," Luz replied with a smile..

"So is that what passes as horror in the human realm?" Maya asked. "Eh, I'm not impressed. I've seen far worse things in the Bat Queen's woods, like spider-cows and living trees that pick off lost hikers."

"So what do you think, Cami?" Eda asked Camila, who had stood up in order to distance herself a bit from Eda.

"Oh um… I like that I got to spend some time watching a movie with Luz and her girlfriend," Camila said while trying to look nervous. "So um… where did you see this movie, Eda?"

"It was in some backwater town that I stayed in during my first visit to the human realm, I actually managed to sneak into a screening with my first human friend," Eda mentioned, thinking of her time with Angel. "In fact, that jacket I gave you, Luz, belonged to that same girl."

"Really?" Luz replied, looking down at her jacket. "Man, she must have been cool."

"Hey, I should go check up on Kay," Amity brought up. "I had a great time watching the movie with you guys. We should do this more often, when we're not in some kind of crisis."

"Yeah, I'd like that too," Luz agreed.

As Amity left to check up on Kay, Camila took the opportunity to walk up to Luz. "Hey, mija, um, can I talk to you about something in private?"

"Oh, sure," Luz replied while she and Camila went to the kitchen, leaving Eda, King, Lilith and Hooty alone.

"Alright, who's up for Scamopoly?" King asked, holding up a board game.

"Alright, what's up, Mami?" Luz asked Camila once they were alone.

"Okay, I didn't want to bring it up in front of them but… I'm a little worried about… Eda," Camila whispered to Luz.

"Worried? Why? I mean, sure she commits tax fraud and the occasional property damage but no one gets hurt… at least, not anyone we know," Luz pointed out.

It was then that Camila dug into her pocket. "Well, the reason I bring it up is because I found this in a box in your room." She pulled up the article, causing Luz's eyes to widen.

"Oh… that," Luz replied.

"Where did you even get this?" Camila asked her.

"I got it from Dipper, about two years ago we were looking over legends and myths, which is something we do whenever I stop by and visit," Luz explained. "When we found the 'Beast of Gatesfield' legend, we saw the article and I realized that the illustration looked exactly like mom's Owl Beast form."

"Owl Beast form?" Camila questioned, causing Luz to realize something.

"Oh Titan, right, we didn't explain that to you," Luz replied. "Look, mom's got this… curse, but it's manageable as long as she drinks her elixirs."

"What kind of curse is it?" Camila asked her.

"It's one where she… turns into the Owl Beast," Luz admitted. "Before she made a deal with the Owl Beast and whenever she didn't drink her elixir, the Owl Beast took over. Only way to knock her out is using a light spell but it's totally fine!"

"This article says that she may have maimed a girl in Gatesfield," Camila pointed out.

"I doubt that's even true," Luz said, brushing it off. "I mean, it was probably made up to sensationalize the legend. Plus it was from the 80s, which from what I hear was a very religious time. Satanic panic and all… look, maybe we should ask mom's side of the story, ask her about the article just to take care of your worries."

As Luz was about to walk out, Camila grabbed her arm. "Wait, I don't think it's a good idea to tell her," she said out of worry.

"Not telling her would only make it worse, Mami," Luz told her. "It's better to tell her rather than wait." She remembered when she had kept her cambion form from her foster mom as she called for Eda. "Mom! Can you come into the kitchen for a sec? It's important!"

"Okay, coming!" Eda responded as she walked in. "What's up?"

Camila turned away, staying silent. She gave Luz the article, which Luz in turn showed to Eda. "Mami found a box of articles under my bed, and um… she wants to know if this is true."

Eda looked at the article. Her eyes widened when she saw the 'Beast of Gatesfield' headline and the illustration of her Owl Beast form. "Where… did you get this, Luz?" she asked her.

"From Dipper, two years ago," Luz explained. "We just want confirmation that everything in this article wasn't true… right?"

Eda closed her eyes. "No… it is," she confirmed, which shocked Luz while Camila's eyes narrowed. "But there's more to the story that the article doesn't mention."

"Okay… what really happened at Gatesfield?" Luz asked her.

Eda began to explain. "It happened not long after I was cursed. I had run away from home and had found the portal door to the human realm. My first time there didn't start out nice, but I was saved by a girl named Angel, whom I befriended." She sighed. "I wish you could've met her, Luz, I know you would have liked her." She looked down in guilt. "She was even okay with me being a witch. She wanted to come to the Demon Realm with me, and so I took her there so that we can live together. She suggested that we sell the human junk we brought with us and set up a shop in Latissa. Things were going swell for a time, until Angel wanted to go back. She looked so spooked, so I took her back to the human realm, where we got ourselves in a bad situation. I was forced into becoming the Owl Beast and as a result… I killed her." Her hands started to shake. "It was an accident, but after that I never took my curse for granted." She looked up at Luz and Camila. While Luz looked sympathetic, Camila… didn't.

"Accident?" Camila finally spoke up. "So let me get this straight... you took a girl into this world, and as a result she got killed because of you, and then took in my daughter in and put her in danger knowing that you have a curse that could have killed her?!" she shouted at Eda in anger.

"Mami, calm down! Mom didn't lay a claw on me while she was raising me, she would never hurt me," Luz assured her.

But Camila only shook her head and looked down while muttering. "I can't believe it, Abigail was right…"

Eda's eyes widened when she heard that name. "Abigail… you don't mean… Abigail Gates!?"

"Yes," Camila responded. "She told me how you killed that girl in front of her, and you have no idea how much it affected her."

"Did she also tell you that she was the reason Angel died?" Eda questioned bitterly. "She and her daddy brought a group of witch hunters to try and kill me, which forced me to become the Owl Beast! She got Angel killed!"

"You don't know what you're talking about! You don't know what Gail has been through thanks to you!" Camila shouted at her.

"Don't tell me you're a witch hunter too?" Eda accused.

"Hey, calm down you two!" Luz got in between them and turned to Camila. "It's not true, right Camila? You're not a witch hunter, right?"

"I'm not a witch hunter, Luz," Camila assured her. "And neither is Abigail. I know that her ancestor was apparently one but she didn't practice witch hunting. For god's sake, who even does witch hunts these days?"

"Newsflash, there are groups of humans that still practice that to this day!" Eda countered. "And they target not just witches, but other magical and supernatural creatures as well. There even used to be an organization called the Huntsclan that wished to rid the Earth of magical beings, which they saw as lesser beings who needed to be captured or slain. I was their target once! The Gates family are probably still in league with those kinds of bigots!"

"I know Abigail and she would never participate in that practice," Camila claimed. "Even if that was once the case, I don't believe it is true anymore…"

"Why do you insist on defending that bitch?!" Eda questioned.

"Because Abigail is my friend and Luz's godmother!" Camila revealed, which was followed by a moment of silence.

"Wha… what?" Luz asked.

"Camila…" Eda rubbed her temple. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "Are you saying that you chose that woman to be Luz's godmother?"

"Yes," Camila responded. "We became close friends after me and Manny moved to Gatesfield, before Luz was born. After Manny died and I decided to move, we planned to keep in touch until-"

"No… no, no, nononononoonono!" Luz was having trouble breathing, rustling her hair as tears leaked from her eyes. She turned to Camila. "How could you do this to me now!?" she shouted as she walked out of the kitchen, falling onto her knees which drew the attention of the rest of the residents.

"Luz!" King, Lilith, and Hooty shouted when they saw Luz.

"What's going on?" Amity asked as she came into the room and saw Luz's breakdown. "What… what's happening to Luz?"

"Luz, it's going to be alright," Camila assured her, kneeling before her. "If… if you took the time to get to know Gail-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Luz snarled, swatting Camila's hand away from her. Eda came over to her.

"Luz, do you need your medicine?" Eda asked as she heard Luz's whimpering and spotted her medicine in Luz's jacket pocket. "Okay, King, fetch Luz some water."

"On it!" King rushed to get some water for Luz while Amity helped Luz breathe more easily. Once King handed her water, she took a pill and drank the water to help swallow it more easily.

"Is this better?" Amity asked her and Luz nodded.

"What is going on?" Lilith asked Camila and Eda.

"Thirty years ago Eda murdered an innocent girl while in her monster form," Camila explained, causing everyone to gasp. "And she blames my friend, who had witnessed and was traumatized by it."

"That's because she was a witch hunter who tried to have me killed, and you made her Luz's godmother!" Eda countered.

Camila shook her head. "This should have never happened," Camila said while looking at Luz. "Being in this… this… demon realm has given her PTSD." She turned to Eda. "It's your fault that Luz is like this! And after what you did to that girl in Gatesfield, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out you were the one who killed me the night of my crash!" This accusation shocked Eda.

"Enough!" Lilith shouted as she got in between them, turning to Camila. "Eda is not the one at fault here. If anything it's my fault because I cursed her! I'm responsible for that girl's death… and your own."

Deep silence hit the room. Amity, King and Hooty were just as shocked as Eda and Camila. Luz looked up at her.

"Lilith… what are you talking about?" Eda asked her.

"Aunt Lilith, you don't have to," Luz spoke up.

But Lilith started to explain. "I was desperate in my search for you, Eda," she explained. "I… went to this shop that had a pair of dimensional scissors that I used to follow you to the human realm. And they don't have the scissors anymore, I already checked. But after I followed you to the human realm, I stepped onto the road and saw something coming toward me. Acting on instinct, I blasted it." She turned to Camila with a look of shame. "When I saw your body… I ran back to the Demon Realm and returned those scissors. Shortly after the petrification ceremony, I learned that Luz was your daughter. And when you came back… I have been trying to find the right time to tell you this, Camila. But your death… it is my fault. I killed you."

SMACK!

Lilith was struck across the face, knocking her to the floor. Camila had been the one to slap her.

"Leave… now," Camila seethed.

"Camila, I-"

"LEAVE!" Camila screamed angrily. "I can't believe that all this time… all this time you've kept this from me?" Tears streamed from her eyes. "I have been sleeping next to my own goddamn murderer! And it's because of you that Luz couldn't be normal!"

"What?"

Camila stopped when she heard the voice of her daughter. She turned to a shocked Luz, who wasn't looking at either Lilith or her mom. Instead, her daughter looked upset… at her.

"You think that I'm not normal?" Luz asked her in a hurt tone.

"Oh um, I didn't mean it like that, Luz," Camila tried to explain.

"I don't get what you mean. Sure, my life around here ain't perfect and has the occasional teen drama, but I'm fed well, I have a good education, and I have a wonderful girlfriend and a group of close friends that you've gotten to meet," she pointed out. "It may not be like how things are on Earth, but this is normal to me."

"Luz with everything that's been going on and from what I've seen, this isn't even a safe environment for you," Camila told her. "You shouldn't be here, you should be-"

"In the human world?" Luz asked. "Would that really be 'safer' in a place like Gatesfield? And if this Abigail Gates is who mom says she is-"

"Luz, she's your godmother!" Camila insisted. "If you take time to get to know her-"

"What, is she a 'good Christian woman'? I'm pretty sure that if she were to meet me, she wouldn't approve of my relationship with Amity, or that I'm a witch!" Luz pointed out.

"I'm sure she'll accept you for what you are, Luz," Camila assured her, but Luz didn't buy it.

"She's a witch hunter!" Luz declared.

"No, she isn't!" Camila argued.

"She comes from a family of witch hunters that already tried to kill mom! I have no interest in meeting her!" Luz shouted.

"Luz, believe me, she's a good person," Camila insisted.

"Good doesn't always mean the same to everyone," Luz muttered.

"Well, it is not her fault that I didn't raise you," Camila pointed out. "If Lilith hadn't killed me, then we would have had our life together stolen away from us! You wouldn't have to worry about school wars or evil Emperors or witches! You would have been safer and you would have still been happy, I know it! But because of Lilith, I wasn't there to-"

"Well I didn't need you then!" Luz shouted as she transformed into her cambion form. Her wings spread out as her normal skin shifted to her onyx scales. Her sudden transformation made Camila gasp in shock and almost fall back out of fear. It was something Luz now recognized in her own birth mother's expression. She didn't see Luz as her daughter… she saw her as a monster.

After changing back, Luz was shaken. Tears fell from her eyes. "And I don't need you now," she seethed, before running to her room.

"Luz, wait!" Camila tried to chase after Luz only to hear the door slam shut.

"I… I should leave," Lilith decided, readjusting her glasses as she picked herself up.

"What?! Lulu, no!" Hooty cried while Lilith tried to go to the door.

"Lilith, wait!" Eda called for her. "You don't have to go, we can work this out."

"This is my fault, Edalyn," Lilith cut her off. "I was the one who cursed you. If I hadn't done that, then… that girl wouldn't have died. And I did kill Camila. I have too much blood in my hands."

"But Lulu, you can't go!" Hooty insisted, tears in his eyes. "I… I can't lose another friend!"

"I'm sorry, Hoostifer, Edalyn… but it's for the best," Lilith told them.

"Yeah," Amity spoke up, still processing what had just happened. She didn't look up at Lilith. "I agree, you need to leave." She turned around and walked into the hall. When she was alone, she covered her mouth and fell to her knees, silently crying.

"Amity?" asked King, Amity turning to notice him. "How are you… feeling?"

"I'm alright," she claimed. "I mean, I just learned that my godmother killed my girlfriend's mom, that my girlfriend's godmother is probably a witch hunter, and that my girlfriend's mom doesn't think she's normal. Why wouldn't I be alright?"

King, recognizing how messed up Amity was, gave her a hug. Amity stopped shaking and managed to hug King back.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for everything, Lilith!" Eda argued with her sister.

"But I should!" Lilith argued. "And quite honestly… you should hate me for the things I've done. Your curse, the Palismen, the Basilisks, the wild witches who were petrified for not joining a coven… and killing Camila. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"But you did tell Luz about it," Hooty pointed out, remembering how Luz spoke up when Lilith told Camila she was responsible for her death.

"I told her what she needed to hear after she accidentally killed Maya," Lilith explained. "We both planned to tell you when things had calmed down, but then the school war happened… and we just couldn't find the right time! But now it doesn't matter, you all know and… there's no way things will be the same after this. No way that things can be the same. And me being here will only cause more pain."

"Lily, you… you can't just leave," Eda told her but Lilith was already stepping out of the door.

"I'll still keep in touch," Lilith told them. "I think I'll move in with our parents, but I will send you some money from my job at the Bonesborough Museum. Hooty, take care of everyone as their house guardian and Edalyn, take care of everyone, including Amity. She looks up to you."

She then turned and left the Owl House while Hooty brawled into tears, screaming and shouting as Eda looked down with an expression that was equally saddened and conflicted.

"You knew, didn't you?"

In Luz's room, Luz was arguing with Maya.

"Yes," Luz responded to Maya, facing her in the mirror. "She told me the day I accidentally killed you, to help me."

"Help you?" Maya sneered. "That woman 'helped' you enough as it is! I can't believe that you not only knew your birth mother's killer was living under your roof, but you also already forgave her!"

"Yeah, I had to!" Luz told her.

"No you didn't! She does not deserve your forgiveness!" Maya claimed.

"I had to, because she's just like me!" Luz declared. "I killed you by accident, just like Aunt Lilith killed my birth mom by accident! I wasn't able to forgive myself for what happened and she couldn't forgive herself for what happened, so forgiving her was the least I can do since we were in the same boat." She heard no response from Maya, who had fallen silent. "I know it's not easy to forgive someone, Maya. Sometimes you are able to forgive someone very quickly, other times it takes a while. In Lilith's case, I didn't want to be angry at her, especially since I was already angry at Hunter and myself. So I forgave her instead." Luz blinked and only saw herself in the reflection. Indicating that Maya has gone back into her mind.

Lilith continued to walk away from the Owl House, while Hooty stretched over and begged her to stay. "Please Lulu, don't go…" he said while in tears.

"I'm sorry, Hoostifer, but I can't stay," Lilith told him. "But I promise to write."

"Nohoho! Why do all of my friends leave me!" Hooty cried as he broke down.

Lilith walked through the forest, tears falling from her eyes. She stopped and took her glasses off, laying back on a tree as she started to cry.

"Oh Titan…" she sobbed, placing her hands over her face as she cried. But then, a handkerchief was offered to her.

"You look like you could use one of these," said a familiar voice that Lilith knew. She looked up and stopped crying as she gave an indifferent look to the man handing her the handkerchief… the Baron.

"She knows," Lilith told him while looking down. "She knows who killed her… what happens now? Does she pass on?"

The Baron gave a chuckle. "Not everything's about you, Lulu," he told her, causing Lilith to be confused.

Meanwhile, Hunter was talking to Boscha over the crow.

"I was hoping to make him understand, but I guess I was hoping for too much," Hunter told her while still in the park. He left out certain details from his talk with Gus, including him being the Emperor's nephew and the visions.

"Well from what I hear… I kinda do see his point," Boscha replied while walking home on the other line.

"What? You're taking his side?!" Hunter complained.

"I'm just saying, it's pretty understandable that he wouldn't approve of the things you've done for the Emperor's Coven," Boscha replied. "Trying to justify it only makes you look worse, and the fact that you still don't see how invasion of privacy could be a problem."

"I didn't say it wasn't, just that… my uncle wanted me to do it for the greater good," Hunter explained.

"I don't know how to tell you this Hunter, but it sounds like your uncle is a predator," Boscha told him bluntly. "He's even creepier than you."

"My uncle's not a predator!" Hunter shouted at her. "He's not like that at all!"

"Well sorry, but the way you put him makes him seem that way," Boscha told him.

"You still shouldn't say something like that," Hunter warned her.

"Or what? What's going to happen if I keep saying that the Emperor's Coven is full of creeps?" Boscha responded while in her neighborhood. She then froze, feeling a chill up her spine. Like there was someone behind her. Before she could do anything, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"AAAAAHHH!"

"Boscha? Boscha!" Hunter cried out, hearing Boscha scream on the other end.

But Boscha didn't answer. The line… just went dead.

Back in the Owl House, Luz was laying on her bed while in a fetal position. She heard a knock on the door and she cried out. "Go away!"

"Luz, it's us." Amity's voice was heard. "Just me, Eda and King."

Luz shut her eyes and sighed. "Come in."

Coming in were the aforementioned three, who walked over to Luz. Eda looked at Luz's current state. "Oh Luz," she said as she sat beside her along with Amity while King crawled up. Eda patted Luz's back.

"Did you… already know that Lilith killed your birth mom?" Amity asked her.

Luz nodded. "She told me the day I destroyed Maya's body. We planned on telling you guys once things were less hectic but then the school war started and… it just wasn't the right time. You guys don't hate me for keeping it from you, right?"

"Of course not, Luz," Amity assured her.

"Yeah, we understand," Eda said while Luz sat up.

"We won't hold it against you," King added. "Though, I do have even more conflicted feelings about Lilith right now."

"It… it's just, I don't know what to think. What Lilith did to your birth mom is unacceptable… but if it wasn't for her you wouldn't be a Clawthorne and if you weren't in our lives… why is this so difficult?" Amity said, not knowing how to put it.

"I decided to raise you cause I didn't know at the time if you had any other family, or godfamily for that matter," Eda mentioned. "Realizing that you would've been raised under a family of witch hunters-"

"Stop," Luz told them. "Look, trying to imagine what my life could have been if it had gone any other way won't do any of us good. It's pointless. I ain't grateful that Aunt Lilith killed my birth mom, not at all. But this is my life, and you guys are my family. And it means everything to me."

And with that Eda, Amity, and King went to hug Luz. They were here for her. And to Luz, that mattered more than anything else.

In the family bathroom, Camila was crying, taking her glasses off while looking at herself in the mirror, seeing her hair down and her tired eyes.

"Why was I even brought back?" Camila muttered to herself, while wiping away her eyes. "Oh what am I going to do, Manny?" She asked this even though she didn't know if her husband was listening or not, especially since he hadn't been there in purgatory when she arrived. Had he been able to move on while she hadn't? Why had even the afterlife kept them separated?

She had no answers to her questions and instead continued to cry.

Lilith had arrived at her old childhood home. She knocked on the door and it was answered by Gwendolyn.

"Sweet Flea?" Gwen was surprised to see her elder daughter there, who went up to hug her.

"Oh mother, it's… I did something really…" Lilith sobbed on her mother's shoulder, causing Gwendolyn to hug her back.

"There, there, it's going to be alright, dear," Gwen softly responded as she led Lilith inside the house.

In bed, Luz and Amity were looking over the notes they got from the SSE.

"Look at this," Amity said, pointing to one particular page. "The Titan's Knee… Eclipse Lake… Titan's Blood."

Luz's eyes widened as she heard her girlfriend read the page. "No way…"

In the tower, Camila laid in her bed, the one next to her now empty. She heard the door open as Eda came in.

"Hey, Cami, um… how are you doing?" Eda asked. Camila stayed silent. "Alright, silent treatment," she said while leaning on the door. "Don't worry, I am not going to kick you out or anything. Look, I'll admit that I haven't always made the best choices, but I still tried to do what was right by Luz." She gave Camila a serious look. "And what you said… it really hurt her."

It was then that Camila spoke. "I know," she said with a sigh, "When Luz changed into… her cambion form, it scared me. I was scared of my own daughter… and I don't even know if I can call Luz my own daughter. You were the one who raised her, not me… and it's all thanks to Lilith." Her tone was bitter as she said that time. "The more time I spend with her, the stranger Luz's life becomes to me. I feel like an outsider and she was right… she doesn't need me. Luz has so many people in her life now, but I don't, and that does make me upset." She turned away from Eda. "I am honestly jealous of you, Eda," she admitted. "I envy that you and Luz have a closer mother and daughter bond than I could ever hope. She looks up to you and you do so much together while I'm… just standing on the sidelines. Maybe I shouldn't have come back."

"Hey, hey don't talk like that, Cami, okay?" Eda asked her. "Don't even think about it that way. Luz had always wanted to get to know you and learn about her heritage. I know that things are really rough for you right now, but we'll figure this out, and I'm sure that you and Luz will find a way to work out your issues… but for now, I want you to give Luz some space."

Camila nodded understandingly. "Of course," she agreed. "Can I ask you one thing though? When Luz broke down after learning Abigail was from a witch hunter family… was there a reason she reacted so badly to it?"

Eda sighed. "It happened not too long ago. There was this… mean girl at her school, she's the daughter of this woman I know that was hell-bent on getting back at me and my daughter… they discovered a book from the human world and it was about witch hunters. Where they got it I don't know, but they spread its contents around the school just to get back at Luz, and they exposed a deal that Amity had made with Lilith, which resulted in Amity and Luz breaking up. It hurt Luz so much that… she thought her life here was over, especially when she learned that I was considering sending her to the human world to live with the Pines since I thought that would be safer, but then she ran away and found herself in the Forest of Fear. She could've died there if not for Lilith saving her."

"What is the Forest of Fear?" Camila asked her out of concern.

"It is a place where those unlucky enough to wander there succumb to their fears and become part of the forest itself. It is controlled by the Inner Demon himself, a powerful spirit who targets the young and the vulnerable. Luz, Amity, and Skara have almost become his victims," Eda explained.

"Oh," Camila replied. "I… am thankful to Lilith for saving Luz. But… it doesn't change what she did to me."

"You're right, it doesn't," Eda agreed. "You have every right to be mad at Lilith."

"Is Luz mad at Lilith as well?" Camila asked her.

"Well, it's complicated," Eda explained. "She chose to forgive Lilith, but I understand that you're in a very different position than her. While I do love my sister, I know that she has done awful things and that she has to live with those things… but so do I." She sighed. "I deeply regret what happened to Angel… and I've gone from blaming myself to blaming the Owl Beast to blaming Abigail and her family. But… that won't help anything. What's happened has happened, and we can't change the past. Like I said, give Luz some space for now and don't hold it against her for forgiving Lilith, since that doesn't mean she is okay with her killing you. But do think about what you said to her. Because that will be your first step toward making things right with her."

Eda was then gone and Camila was left alone with her thoughts. She thought about what Eda had said and she thought about her time in Gatesfield all those years ago…

A pregnant Camila sat on her porch, Abigail sitting next to her with a drink in hand.

"The doctor says that I'm only two months away from delivery, Camila explained, patting her pregnant belly. "Me and Manny have already picked out a name for her… Luz."

"That's such a sweet name for your little girl," Abigail replied. "I'm so happy for both of you."

"And we are hoping to have another, if we're lucky," Camila added. "But, um, Gail… can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Camil," Abigail responded.

"I want to ask you to be my daughter's godmother," Camila told her, which surprised Abigail. "You have just been such a good friend since we've moved here. And I know that you have been through a lot… but me and Manny have decided that we would be honored to have you as our daughter's godmother."

A shocked Abigail looked at Camila. For a few moments, she said nothing. "That's… that's great, Camil. I'd love that." She looked down, something on your mind. "But Camil, there's something I should… tell you."

"What is it?" Camila asked her.

"...I think that you'd be safer raising your family somewhere else," she explained. "Once your daughter is born, tell Manny to quit his job, then take him and Luz and leave this town."

Camila looked worried. "But… why?"

Abigail looked away from Camila. "You haven't been here long enough. But I've lived here my whole life. I know what really goes on in this town. Underneath its pleasant façade is something… rotten. Something evil. I've seen things…"

"What have you seen?" Camila asked.

"Trust me, you are better off not knowing," Abigail told her while looking off into the distance. "But you must have noticed it. The feeling that there is something just plain wrong with Gatesfield."

"I… think I know what you mean," Camila admitted, thinking back to the uncomfortable feeling she had on her first day here. And she still had that feeling from time to time. Like she was trapped here or like she was being watched.

"Then trust your instincts," Abigail suggested. "Leave Gatesfield before something terrible happens…"

"Why don't you leave?" Camila asked Abigail.

"Because I am a part of this," Abigail admitted, gazing down at her drink. "Because I am a Gates. It is too late for me, but it doesn't have to be for you or your family." She shook her head. "I'm not crazy, Camil. Though I wish I was, since it is far worse to be sane…"

Meanwhile, in the human world…

"Mom?" called out a teenage girl with short blonde hair and a single pink streak in the middle of it. She also had light blue eyes and tanned skin. "Mom, where are you? I'm back."

When she was answered by the sound of crying, the girl became concerned and followed the sound to the bathroom. "Mom?" she asked while opening the bathroom door, spotting that the medicine cabinet had been left open. She gasped, noticing that several pill bottles had been taken out. As for her mother, she was sitting in the empty tub, sobbing. "Not again…"

"Please, go…" her mother said.

"Mom, we need to talk about this-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Abigail Gates shouted at her daughter, who backed away, startled by her mom's outburst.

Abigail's daughter sighed and walked away, knowing it would be pointless to try to talk to her mother when she was like this.

Once her daughter was gone, Abigail hugged her knees tighter to her body and continued to cry…

Well that was a fun, family friendly chapter, ain't it?

The song "The Tide is High" by Blondie is used for the shopping montage, though you've probably heard the Atomic Kitten cover of it, which is used for an early 2000's coming-of-age films.

Originally we were going to let the name of Luz's dad vague, until "Thanks to Them" aired as we realized his name is Manny Noceda. Pretty good timing on our part.

Also, due to the death of Robbie Coltrane, we've paid tribute to him with a Hagrid parody cameo in the introduction of Hexside's new groundskeeper, Rupert Colt, who comes with silly riddles that makes the least sense with each answer. No matter what opinions you have on Harry Potter as of this point, it's universally agreed that Hagrid is the best character.

And to explain Joseph Gates in the flashbacks, well he was only the previous Director Gates.

Also the reason we've decided to showcase Camila and Manny's time in Gatesfield, as well as having Camila meet Abigail Gates and formed a friendship with them. The purpose for it is to parallel their friendship with Eda and Angel's friendship, as Camila made the decision in granting Abigail to be Luz's godmother.

For the scene with Slasher explaining about the Big Bad Wolf after hearing from Eda, we've referenced that BBW in this fic could be the descendant, or is, the Beast of Gévaudan; a terrible beast infamous in France, known to have terrorized the province of Gévaudan, having eaten dukes, duchess, civilians, etc. And that's just the footnote of what that beast can do.

The article titles when Camila found them in Luz's box, are references to the three Disney animated shows:

-"Bright Turnip Town Now Haunted": a reference to Brighton, the home town setting of The Ghost and Molly McGee.

-'Mystic Sites in Manhattan': referencing American Dragon: Jake Long

-'Global Disaster or Possibly Alien Hoax?': A reference to the season 4 two parter finale of Kim Possible.

-'Group of Kids Busted Politician from Freezing Summer.': Yeah, this one's a "Recess: School's Out" reference.

As for the cliffhanger with Boscha… don't worry, she'll be alive.

And yeah, if you pick up the ending, we used the background cheerleader character who appeared in the first episode in Luz's school life in the human world. All of you popularized around her as "Amity's human counterpart", being Abigail Gate's daughter. And it shows that their home life isn't glamorous.

Now for the reviews:

Wolf of howl street: Yeah, the previous chapter is adjacent to a Christmas Carol. Ironically on Halloween month.

Gamelover41592: No problem.

Crosshot: To answer for Snope, at the time he identifies as a boy in the flashback of Somhaim Tales, as he is Sheldon, 'Shelly' is for what only his friends call him as a nickname since they're close and supportive of his decision.

As for Dusty… well, let's just say it's part of a specific joke…

OMAC001: Soon.

ReviewerDWJ: It'd be spoilers.

Ultimate-drax: Thanks, the drama doesn't stop there…

Matteso: 1) It'll be explained later but for now, spoilers. 2) Yeah. 3) Nah, Hades wouldn't care much for the mortal lives.

61394: Eh, Louie is sure that his uncle would handle it.

GuestMcCarry: Well the Huntslcan is mentioned, and it's not always about Luz, nor have they met her. If they did, Belos wouldn't allow Terra to release them in the first place.

Teloch: Yeah, the thing with Belos is that he's convinced himself that his way is the only acceptable way. He doesn't care if there is an alternative. He believes that HE has to be the one who saves the Boiling Isles and he believes that his way is the only way it should be done. Not the only one it can be done. The only way it should be done.

Yes, he claims to want what is best for the Isles. But the evidence of that is his own words. He paints himself to Hunter as the savior of witchkind and that's what he sees himself as. But his actions are one of a tyrant. He manipulates and lies to his surrogate son, using him as a tool to further his own agenda. A tool he's fond of, but a tool nonetheless since he didn't hesitate to take advantage of Hunter's friendships and relationship despite disapproving of Lilith doing the same, which clearly exposed him as a hypocrite.

He's oppressed wild witches, used Fae and lycans as scapegoats, used children as bartering chips against their parents, brought an extinct species back just to torture it, has killed who knows how many sentient Palismen, and has executed witches regardless of their innocence or guilt. All the while justifying his atrocities. Because that's what a lot of evil people do, they try to excuse and justify their actions.

Part of Lilith's arc is realizing that she can't justify her actions and in the eyes of characters like the Bat Queen, Maya, and Tres, she's still not redeemed. In the past Lilith knew her actions were wrong, but she still turned a blind eye and carried out the Emperor's orders. And now she has to live with all her sins.

Shuffollower: There's going to be a lot more for what we've planned for season 2B…

Guest: Wasn't our first option, and he wouldn't be fitting as much. Fu Dog is the best choice.

KevinAguirre84: Yes, and no. For the Hunter part, no spoilers.

JTK: If she did, it would've already taken off at the Healing Coven she's in.

Ultimateheatblast4: We both agree with you on the finale, it sucked. But that finale and the season finale it didn't happened in the LC Universe. SVTFOE is very useful to Luz Clawthorne because it helps with the world-building. Plus, we want to include all of the main story-driven Disney cartoons of the 2010s.

Next time we'll have a short Halloween special, and after that is the 70th Chapter… one you've all been waiting for…we're all going to Eclipse's Lake.