The Angel of the Owl House

by OwlHouseAngel

Luz Noceda is a young half-angel girl living with her angel mother in the Human Realm. Her attempts to be good always backfire, and after one too many mistakes, her mother sends her to Camp Reality Check. But a chance event leaves Luz in the Demon Realm, where she meets the Owl Lady, who teaches her that in a chaotic world like the Boiling Isles, Luz might be the perfect angel.

29. EP 8: Earth, Sea, and Sky

The Angel of the Owl House

Season 2: The Human Realm

Chapter 8: Earth, Sea, and Sky

Following the heist at Spriggan Manor and the defeat of Terra Snapdragon, Eda was in very high spirits. She spent much of Sunday evening recounting the adventure to Luz, King, Rasiel, and Hooty, including talking about her new Harpy Mode, which she sadly couldn't use right away due to the Owl Beast taking a rest. Her family were suitably amazed however, especially when Eda used an illusion to show what her new form looked like and talked about what it could do. When Willow talked about her battle with Hanu, as well as how she escaped from Spriggan Manor with the girl after she was betrayed by Terra, Luz was even more amazed and lavished her with praise over how far she'd come from the little Wallflower she'd been when they first met.

The next day (a Monday) had seen Eda report what happened to the rest of the CATTs leadership in a meeting at the Digale Island HQ, and finally show off her Harpy Mode in the flesh. Lilith had been jealous and begun trying to figure out how to get her own Harpy Mode, but unlike Eda, she and Raine didn't have true Beasts inside them; theirs were just pieces of the original's magic, similar to how the Cherub Luz inside Eda was just an embodiment of the magic Luz had given her. It was theoretically possible for them to merge with the magic and gain Hybrid Forms of their own, but neither was sure how to go about it. That same day at school, Willow had told the rest of the Hexsquad about her adventure, amazing all of them just as she had Luz. Telling her Dads the night before had been a little less successful and both Eda and Raine had gotten an earful from Harvey and Gilbert for putting Willow in danger, though Willow had insisted she'd volunteered and wanted to go along. The result had been her Dads were very proud of her… and she was also grounded for a few days. It would have been longer, but Willow's 15th Birthday was only a few days away and she had come home mostly unscathed, so they let her off easy.

Hanu had also met Luz and King that Sunday evening, and had been courteous but distant, not sure how to interact with them after her fight with Willow. Luz had accepted her immediately, while King had been a lot less trusting, but both had agreed with the others' decision to take her in, either for her own safety or to keep an eye on her. She'd been allowed to sleep in Lilith's room for the night (since Lilith was currently staying with her parents), then after taking the usual oaths of secrecy, she had been taken to Digale Island the next morning for the meeting with the CATTs. After Eda had given her report, Hanu had been given Blabber Serum (which she consented to) and made to give up every detail she knew about the Plant Coven, the Emperor's Coven, and their plans, as well any crimes she personally committed and basically her entire life story. Darius was very thorough in his questioning of her, but Hanu had accepted this as the price she had to pay for her crimes and made no effort to resist.

Thankfully, Hanu had been considered the "Baby" of Terra's Elites, so had mostly been kept at the Spriggan Manor and trained by Terra whilst maintaining the Rare Plants Greenhouse. Aside from attacking Willow (which was admittedly aggravated since Willow had struck first), Hanu's greatest crimes had been beating up Plant Scouts while training in the Manor's underground arena, and being less than kind to the servants (though she was also never outright cruel). It was decided that while she would not be allowed to join the CATTs, she would be given sanctuary there, and room and board in one of the lodgings in Digale Village. She would also do a form of community service by helping to maintain and manage the jungle on the Digale Island Titan's palm, seeing as she was one of the few Plant Witches the CATTs had access to. Hanu had accepted and actually seemed fairly happy in that role, shedding some of the noble lady persona Terra had instilled in her and starting to show more of her cheeky, silly side.

As usual, it had been a busy but productive couple of days for the CATTs, the Hexsquad, and the Owl Family… which was why it was so odd for Tuesday to find Luz laying on the couch, totally listless.

Lilith walked into the Owl House around mid-morning, humming to herself as Hooty followed after her in his Portable Form, chatting away about anything and everything that crossed his mind. When Lilith saw Luz laying there and blankly staring at the Palisman Log, she frowned.

"Luz? Why aren't you in school?" Lilith asked.

"School's closed for the day. All the teachers were asked to help back up the Town Militia today, since the Construction Coven has come to knock down the old EC Police Precinct." Luz said, sitting up with a sigh; "The Bonesborough Town Council is worried they'll get into a fight with the CATTs, especially since some of our people still like to hang out in the Precinct, and since the teachers are all strong witches who've decided to be neutral, they asked them for help."

Lilith nodded; "I see. But then why are you here on your own?"

"Everyone else is busy. Mom's over on Digale Island stocking us up on potions. Raine took King with them on a recruiting mission to the Thigh. Rasiel is off at the Library searching for clues on other Titan Archipelagos, and all my friends are busy." Luz sighed.

Amity was helping her Dad on Digale Island, the Twins were on a double "date" with Viney and Jerbo (though Edric and Jerbo still weren't dating yet officially), Barcus was currently working a part-time job at Morton's shop, Willow was technically still grounded, Skara was hanging out with Boscha and the Banshees, Gus was enjoying a day out with his Dad, and Matt was hanging out with his brother and watching the demolition going on in town.

"I see. So what are you doing then? It's strange to see you not full of energy." Lilith said.

Luz groaned; "I know! I just feel so listless! There's usually so much for me to do or study that I don't have time to feel like this! But Darius kicked me off Digale Island, saying I needed some time to unwind after the Ash Moth incident… That was a whole three days ago! I'm fine now!"

Lilith snorted; "You're starting to sound like me when I was in the Emperor's Coven; ever the workaholic."

Luz pouted; "It doesn't feel like work to me. I like helping people! It was basically my whole purpose in life before I came to the Demon Realm! But I guess… maybe that's the problem." she said, sadly staring down at the Palistrom Wood in her hands.

Lilith smiled; now she understood. "So that's why you're so down in the dumps! You're trying to figure out what you want in life. You need to speak your deepest wish and ambition to be able to bond with your Palisman."

"Yeah… I always thought I knew what I wanted. To become a good Angel who helps everyone and makes the world a better place. But now that I'm actually doing that, I just feel… weird. I'm asking myself if I did that because it's what my heart wanted, or because it's what I thought I was supposed to do." Luz confessed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the way my life is going and what I've achieved! I just… I don't know how to explain it."

"I think I understand." Lilith said, taking a seat beside her; "A lot has changed in your life in the last few months, and you're still at the age where you're trying to discover yourself and the kind of person you'll be as you become an adult. Your ambitions and wants in life are bound to change as your circumstances do. Without thinking about your Palisman, what is it you want right now?" Lilith asked.

Luz thought about it for a moment, then said; "Well I want to keep helping people. I want to learn all I can about magic, and keep being the best angel I can be. I want to be with Amity for as long as I can. I want to help you and Raine with your curses. I want to help King find answers about his birth Mom, and help Rasiel put himself back together. I want to bring my Demon Realm and Human Realm families together… and I want to defeat Belos, once and for all!" she declared, before rubbing a hand across her face; "Ugh, maybe I want too many things… maybe I can't get a clear idea of what I want most because there's too much stuff I wanna do!"

Lilith shook her head and patted Luz on the back; "That's normal. Most people have a lot of things they want to achieve. And sometimes, the things that bond us to our Palismen are achieved or even changed! When I first bonded with Corvanc, my heart's desire was to join the Emperor's Coven with Edalyn! But now I'm working with her to bring down the Coven, yet Corvanc and I are still as close as ever!" she said, snapping her fingers to summon the white raven Palisman, and petting him, much to his joy. "We focus on our deepest desires when trying to bond with our Palismen because that's when our hearts are open enough for the Palisman to see inside us and connect their heart to ours. It's less about the desire itself and more about the emotions behind it that connect us. That's even more critical with Palismen that you carve yourself, as they are true reflections of your heart and soul."

Luz looked up at Lilith, slowly starting to smile again; "Wow Tia Lily! You really know your stuff!"

"Well, I am the daughter of the Isle's greatest Palisman Carver!" Lilith said proudly, "Speaking of, has Eda made any more progress in deciding to come and see Dad?"

"She's decided she's definitely going to do it, she's just gathering the courage. Now that she knows the Owl Beast is a living thing, Eda's been finding it hard to blame what happened on her, but that's just made her feel guilty again. She's working through it with Raine, but it'll likely be a little while before she can face Abuelo." Luz answered.

Lilith's eyes turned sad for a moment, then shook it off; "Getting back on topic, have you thought about what you'll carve this log into? There's a bit of a betting pool amongst the CATTs and I'm hoping for a tip off." she winked, deciding to channel a little of the "Cool Aunt Lily" persona she'd been working to cultivate since becoming Amity's mentor again.

Luz giggled but shook her head; "Sorry, but I wanted a clearer idea of what I want before I started to carve. I'm kinda creating a life here; I don't want to decide their shape while I'm stuck being so indecisive."

"Wise. But you're not going to get anywhere sat here on your own and staring at the wood! So how about you come with me and help me with some chores? I have a few errands to run on Digale Island and in Bonesborough, and I could use the company!" the older woman suggested.

The young Angel nodded immediately; "Great idea! I could use some fresh air! Maybe that'll help me make up my mind!"

Luz hurriedly tucked the Palistrom Wood back into the carefully warded box she'd been keeping it in, then ran to hide it in her nest before coming back down. She stood in front of Lilith and gave a little salute; "I'm ready for your orders, Captain Tia Lily!" she said with a giggle.

Lilith rolled her eyes good-naturedly; "Good to see you perk up quickly! Let me just drop off this package I came to deliver, then we can go to Digale Island. You being here is actually a stroke of luck, as now I don't need to wait until you get back from school to take care of my jobs there!"

Luz nodded and watched as Lilith reached into her hair and pulled out a white box with a red ribbon tied around it like a little present. "These are some freshly made Chocolate Chip Spookies Mother baked as a congratulations to Eda for finally taming her curse. That ought to make Eda eager for a trip home!"

"It smells awesome! Also, I'm liking your new style, Tia Lily!" Luz commented.

Since moving back in with her parents, Lilith had stopped straightening and dying her hair, so now she had some of her old red roots creeping back in and her hair was starting to regain its old curliness. She'd also replaced her old wardrobe with more casual (if somewhat old fashioned) outfits, which included a light green blouse under a brown open vest, and a burgundy coloured skirt over lilac tights and brown, heeled shoes. Combining that with the old, round lensed glasses she now wore had Lilith looking like an intellectual young woman and historian, which a nerd like Luz could appreciate.

"Thank you, Luz. Before long, my hair will be curlier than yours! It certainly makes the hair storage spell that Eda taught me work a lot better!" Lilith smiled. "You should have your Mom teach it to you too! Your hair only needs to be a little longer for it to work well."

"Maybe, but until then…" Luz snapped her fingers and summoned her satchel; "… I've got this instead! Shall we head to Digale Island now?"

Lilith nodded, and after a request from Hooty (who'd been quiet thus far, so Luz and Lilith could talk in peace), it was decided that he would come too, so Luz put up her customary barriers around the Owl House and they all headed to the Teleportation Circle and warped to Digale Island.

Since Lilith had arrived on the island a lot earlier than expected, most of the people she needed to coordinate with to complete her tasks simply weren't available just yet, including Rasiel (who was her unofficial assistant), so there wasn't a huge list of chores they could get done just yet. As they walked around Digale Village doing the few odd jobs Lilith had available (largely following up on complaints and requests from the village's residents, and making sure everyone had what they needed to do their jobs), she and Luz discussed different career paths that Luz might be interested in when she graduated Hexside and Belos was defeated.

Helping people was obviously an overarching ambition, but it wasn't exactly a job. Luz toyed with the idea of being a healer, a vet (like her Mami), an explorer beyond the isles, an artist, and even finding a way to use Belos' research into reviving the Basilisk race to revive other extinct creatures in both the Demon and Human Realms. Lilith, who was also currently looking for a job (since the CATTs didn't have enough resources to support everyone and she didn't think any should be spent on her when she was in a position to work for it), suggested positions like a teacher or a librarian, since Luz was a good instructor when it came to the glyphs, and was obviously an avid reader. She'd also suggested archaeologist with the excuse that Luz had found three major archaeological discoveries since coming tot he Isles, though at that point Luz thought Lilith was just suggesting jobs she wanted! Hooty gave his own suggestions too; Hooty Back Scratcher, Hooty Tea Party Guest, Hooty Feather Washer, Hooty Feeder, and amusingly enough, Amity's House Wife.

Lilith teased Luz with that last one for the remainder of their chores in the village!

After about half an hour on Digale Island, the two began heading back to the Teleportation Circle so they could complete Lilith's chores in Bonesborough, which was mostly just shopping. Not everything was available on Digale Island, so Lilith took it upon herself to buy what was missing (using snails given to her by Darius for that purpose) while also doing some shopping for her parents in Bonesborough.

As they walked, Hooty looked to Luz and hooted; "Hey Luz, why is your bag moving? Do you have a friend in there?"

Luz blinked, then looked down at her satchel. To her surprise, it really was moving! "Huh, weird! What could it be?" she frowned, reaching into the satchel. Her whole arm disappeared into the magically expanded interior and she rummaged around for something moving. She grimaced as she eventually found something damp and slimy inside what appeared to be a bag of chips. With a shudder of displeasure, Luz let go of the slimy thing and grabbed the bag of chips itself, pulling it out of the satchel and scowling at it.

"Dang it, I told King not to leave his open snacks in my bag!" Luz complained, "That Goober is lucky he's adorable!"

"That he is." Lilith agreed, trying not to giggle at Luz's displeased face, "It looks like something was attracted to the chips."

The bag was still wiggling in Luz's hands, and a high-pitched squeak emerged from it whenever Luz poked it. Cautiously, Luz opened the bag so she and Lilith could peer inside and see what was in there. Immediately, Luz gasped with recognition while Lilith blinked in surprise.

"Some kind of Axolotl?" Lilith questioned.

Inside the bag was a large Axolotl-like creature that was about the same size as Corvanc. It had light brown skin that was slightly slimy, two stubby little arms and no legs, dark brown fins with orange membranes, and orange frills on the sides of its head, and matching orange membranes on the sides of its tail. It had no visible mouth and only two big black eyes, but as it grabbed another of the stale chips in the bag, it revealed a large hidden (and apparently toothless) mouth, which promptly disappeared again once it chomped down the snack.

"Pebbles!" Luz gasped, grabbing the little guy out of the bag; "What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be with the Bat Queen on Titan Cradle Island!"

"Hold on, are you saying this little guy is a Palisman!?" Lilith exclaimed.

Luz nodded; "This is Pebbles, one of the Stray Palismen that the Bat Queen was looking after. But how did he get here!? He must have stowed away in my satchel at some point!"

Pebbles squeaked at her, but Luz couldn't understand what she was saying. However, Hooty apparently could and translated for him. "He says he crawled in there during Palisman Adoption Day, Hoot! He smelled some yummy snacks in there, but fell asleep after eating! Hoot hoot!"

"He's been in there for days!? How did BQ not notice one of them was missing!?" Luz exclaimed.

Corvanc, seated on Lilith's shoulder, cawed in response and Lilith translated; "Corvanc says that the Bat Queen probably used her nose to do a headcount. If you and your satchel were nearby, she likely would have still smelled Pebbles."

Pebbles squeaked some more, so Hooty translated; "Hoot! Pebbles says he woke up but it was hot, so he went back to sleep. Then when he woke up again it was dark and he couldn't see anything, so he ate some more and went back to sleep. Then he woke up again and was covered in clothes, so he got comfy and went back to sleep again."

Luz frowned; so that's why one of her socks had been weirdly damp that weekend! She'd just assumed King had gotten his nose stuck in it and sneezed it off… again.

"So he couldn't find his way out, so just kept eating junk food until he fell asleep? This Palisman isn't the brightest…" Lilith commented. "Also, how much junk food do you carry in that thing?"

"King likes to hide his snacks in their so Mom doesn't find them, and so he can have me summon them for him whenever he wants." Luz shrugged, before looking back to Pebbles, who was now making grabby hands at the remains of the chips. She allowed him to finish the bag, then incinerated the trash and held Pebbles in both hands as he wagged his little tail contently.

"And I thought Flapjack was a rascal! You shouldn't just crawl into strange places and eat other people's food." Luz said, waggling her finger at the Palisman. The little guy replied with a sad squeak to say he was sorry.

"We should take him home. The Bat Queen is probably worried sick!" Lilith said.

Luz nodded and placed Pebbles on her shoulder. They used the Teleportation Circle to get back to the Owl House but then as she, Lilith, and Hooty left to go to the Bat Queen's Forest to use the circle there too, Luz had an idea.

"You know, Pebbles here used to be Steve's Palisman." she began.

"Truly? Steve always was my favourite subordinate. I'd often wondered what kind of Palisman he'd had. Some how, I'm not surprised it's Pebbles here." Lilith smiled. "But how did he avoid giving Pebbles to Belos?"

Pebbles squeaked sadly, and Luz replied; "Steve severed their bond and sent him away to protect him."

Lilith's sighed; "I see… I was lucky to be allowed to keep Corvanc, though I always wondered why. He just said the Titan had big plans for me that involved Corvanc. With how enraptured I was by him at the time, I fear that I would have given him Corvanc if he'd asked…"

The woman looked guiltily at her Palisman, but the white raven offered no judgement and just nuzzled her cheek.

"I was thinking… before I take you home, would you like to see Steve again, Pebbles? He's been worried about you all this time, and I'm sure he'd love to see you! And his little brother Matt is one of my friends!" Luz smiled.

Pebbles stared up at her for a moment, then gave a little nod and affirmative squeak. Luz's face lit up, and she turned to Lilith; "Tia Lily, is it okay if we detour and see Matt and Steve? You had stuff to do in Bonesborough anyway, so we won't be going out of our way."

"Of course. It's no bother." Lilith agreed.

"Perfect! Let's go!" Luz cheered, growing her wings back to full size and taking to the sky for the flight to Bonesborough. Lilith followed her on her staff, carrying Hooty on her back with her. They flew into the town square and landed, finding a large crowd watching the demolition of the Police Precinct nearby. Members of the CATTs and the Emperor's Coven were both supervising the Construction Coven's work, while civilians watched with curiosity. Luz could see a few of her teachers in the crowd, but she didn't see any signs of either Matt or Steve. They were supposed to be hanging out together while Steve supervised the demolition, but Luz couldn't see them or detect their magic.

Curious, Luz whipped out her scroll and called Matt.

"Hey Matt, where are you right now? I'm at the demolition but I can't see you." Luz asked as Lilith and Hooty listened in.

"Hey Luz. Plans changed so I'm at home right now. Did you want to come over or something?" Matt replied.

"Definitely! I've got a surprise for you and Steve! I'll be right there! Oh, and I'm bringing Lilith and Hooty too! See you in a minute!" Luz said cheerfully.

"Wait Luz, Steve isn't-"

But Luz had already pulled the scroll away from her ear and hung up, unaware of what Matt was trying to tell her. Totally oblivious, Luz hummed happily as she skipped through Bonesborough to Matt's house, Lilith and Hooty following along with her, occasionally stopping at stores to buy things on Lilith's shopping list along the way.

They arrived at Matt's house and Luz pulled up the hood of her school uniform so she could hide Pebbles inside it before she knocked on the door. Her knock was swiftly answered by Matt, who greeted Luz with a smirk and Lilith with a polite nod.

"Well someone's eager! You're not normally this eager to hang out with me all on our lonesome." Matt said teasingly.

"That's because we normally spend three classes in a row together every school day, you dork!" Luz giggled, "Besides, we're not on our own; Lilith and Hooty are here! And Steve too!"

Matt frowned; "Oh right, about that; I tried to tell you this before you hung up on me-" Luz bowed her head apologetically, "-but Steve isn't here. He got called away on important business for the EC."

"He's not here! Aw Farts… there goes my big surprise plan!" Luz pouted.

"What is this important business?" Lilith asked.

"Interviewing the Latissa Gardening Club. Apparently the EC is investigating the CATTs raid of the Plant Coven, and found out Willow was spotted asking around about the Palistrom Tree in Latissa. Steve got called over to help interview the gardeners since he's got the best people skills of the Scouts on the Right Arm." Matt answered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wanted poster.

The poster was for "Willow Park, Wanted for Theft, Trespassing, Assaulting a Coven Head, and Rebellion against the Empire." and carried a 50,000 Snail bounty, as well as the stipulation that she had to be delivered alive and in relatively good condition.

Luz whistled; "Wow, who'd have thought Willow would be the first person in the Hexsquad to end up with a bounty after me?"

"I'd be more surprised if she hadn't put the fear of the Titan into me back when I was still a jerk. Still, sorry to say that if you wanted to see Steve, you're out of luck. He won't be home until this evening." Matt said.

The Arch-Angel crossed her arms with a sigh; "Well that's not good… Do you think you can wait until this evening? We can hang out with Matt in the meantime?" she asked, talking to Pebbles inside her hood.

Matt gave her a strange look, then blinked in surprise as he heard a squeak. Hooty translated; "Hoot! He says it's fine, hoot!"

"Who says it's fine? What was that noise?" Matt asked suspiciously.

Luz gave him a wide grin; "My surprise! Did you wanna see…?" she asked coyly.

"Yes!" Matt replied, leaning forward with anticipation; "I've gotta see this!"

"Well then, feast your eyes on…" Luz reached up and grabbed her hood, then yanked it down to reveal Pebbles sitting on top of her head; "… an old family friend of yours!"

Matt stared up at the Palisman, who squeaked happily and gave him a little wave. The boy's face was completely dumbstruck as his brain worked hard to fully register the punch of surprise that had just hit him. Then it all finally snapped into place and he practically screamed.

"PEBBLES!?"

Matt's shocked yell, combined with a sudden lunge forward to grab the familiar Palisman, startled both Luz and Pebbles, the former of whom flinched back while the latter squeaked in surprise and fear. Matt caught himself before he actually grabbed Pebbles, but the little Axolotl still ended up leaping off of Luz's head in fear. He landed roughly, tumbling head over tail a few times before he finally came to a stop with a pained squeak. A tiny crack now appeared on his cheek, and while it wasn't deep enough to be bleeding essence, it still hurt the poor creature.

"Oh no! Pebbles! Matt, you startled him!" Luz cried.

"Shoot! I'm so sorry! Pebbles, I-"

Matt reached down to help the fallen Palisman, but Pebbles just squeaked in fear and fled, running as fast as it could away from him.

"Pebbles!" Matt yelled after him; "Come back! I'm sorry I scared you!"

Pebbles didn't respond and kept fleeing, forcing Luz and Matt to give chase, followed closely by Lilith and Hooty. Despite having no legs, Pebbles was shockingly fast; his slick, slimy body allowed him to slide across the ground like it was ice, and his little arms pulled him along with surprising speed that the others struggled to keep up with. The frightened Palisman ended up leading them on quite the chase, rushing out of Matt's neighbourhood and into the market, then from there to the town square, where it quickly slid through the crowd watching the demolition. Matt, who'd been hot on Pebble's tail, lost track of him as he fled between the legs of the watching crowd.

"No! I lost him! We need to find him before he gets caught up in the demolition!" Matt exclaimed.

Luz answered by casting a Beast-Keeping Spell on herself, making her eyes glow orange and allowing her to see tracks. Using such a thing in a busy town would usually be confusing, but Pebbles' unique trail allowed her to quickly spot it and differentiate it from the rest of the crowd.

"This way! He went around the edge of the crowd!" Luz said, already following the trail. Matt, Lilith, and Hooty followed her, and ended up having to skirt along the edge of the crowd watching the demolition until they reached what had originally been the Precinct's cart depot, which had already been demolished and was now occupied by a break area for the Construction Coven Witches, as well as a landing zone for their airships.

"Pebbles is here somewhere! His trail leads right up to-" Luz stopped her sentence as her eyes followed the Palisman's trail until it suddenly stopped at a witch's foot.

Gulping, Luz and her companions looked at the witch whose foot it had stopped at… the witch who was currently clutching Pebbles (gently) in his large hand.

Mason, Head Witch of the Construction Coven.

Luz's heart sank as Mason looked impassively from the Palisman in his gloved hand to Luz and her friends. He nodded to Lilith and then Luz.

"Miss Clawthorne. Miss Noceda-Clawthorne." he said, tipping his builder's helmet to them.

"Mason." Lilith nodded back warily, preparing to fight if necessary.

"It's been a while. I owe you for those Power Glyphs you gave me and my friends back at the Covention." Luz said, smiling nervously; "But could I have Pebbles back please? My friend here accidentally scared him and wants to say he's sorry before I take Pebbles home."

Mason stroked his beard in thought, then asked; "Who does this fella belong to?"

"W-Well no one right now, but he-" Luz tried to explain, only for Mason's teal eyes to gleam for a moment.

"So he's a stray? Then sorry Miss, but I can't hand him over." Mason said apologetically, once again tipping his helmet.

"But why!?" Matt growled, stepping forward in what he thought was an intimidating manner.

Mason didn't react beyond saying; "Law says all stray Palismen belong to the Emperor. Nothing I can do."

Luz and the others gasped; "You can't take Pebbles to Belos! He'll kill him!" Luz cried.

Lilith turned Corvanc into his staff form and brandished him at Mason, while Hooty elongated himself so he was surrounding, but not touching, the Construction Witch. Mason was nonplussed by both and ignored them in favour of Luz.

"Sorry Miss, but the law is the law."

Luz's fearful expression became one of determined anger, and she produced a light sword from her hand; "I can't let you take him away!"

"Yeah! We'll pummel you and take Pebbles back! Luz was a match for Belos, so the four of us together can easily kick your butt!" Matt growled, drawing bronze spell circles.

Mason shook his head; "You attack, you break the truce. Your group will get kicked out of town."

"You started it by stealing Pebbles!" Luz growled.

Again, Mason shook his head and calmly replied; "I didn't. This fella is a stray; he's not your property, nor was he in your possession. I didn't use force or trickery to steal him from you. According to the conditions of the truce, I've done nothing wrong."

Luz and Matt both scowled angrily, while Lilith frowned; "He's not technically wrong… unclaimed property can't be "stolen" and Bonesborough's truce agreement states that they still have to obey the Emperor's laws, so long as they don't directly impact the truce."

"So we just have to let him take Pebbles or break the truce!?" Luz gasped, horrified.

Lilith nodded reluctantly, but Mason then said; "I'd be willing to make an exchange however."

"What do you want?" Matt demanded suspiciously.

Mason pointed at Luz; "Miss Noceda-Clawthorne. The Emperor wants you. Come with me to his castle and I'll let the Palisman go."

Luz and her friends all scowled; so Mason was going to use Pebbles as a hostage to capture Luz? They should have figured something like that. Naturally it was out of the question as far as Lilith was concerned; Luz was vital to the Rebellion and was her own dear niece! It was far from a fair exchange. Matt and Hooty also looked ready to refuse, albeit with Matt looking pretty upset by the idea of losing Pebbles again. However Luz was looking contemplative, seeing if she could turn this situation to her advantage.

"If I agreed to this… how would we do this?" she asked.

"I'll take you to my private airship." Mason pointed to a small personal airship docked not far away, marked with the sigil of the Construction Coven on the balloon. It was big enough to have a cabin, but not much else. "We'll fly to the Emperor's Castle. Once we land, I'll release the Palisman."

That was short and simple, much like Mason himself. Luz narrowed her eyes; "Can Matt, Tia Lily, and Hooty come? If I go with you alone, no one will be able to bring Pebbles back to safety, but if they come, they could do it."

"If they want." Mason said shortly. "I'm not one for restraints or oaths, and my ship ain't big enough for a lot of people, so it'll just be me and the four of you. Do you accept?"

Luz blinked; Mason wasn't going to try and chain her up or make her swear an oath like Lilith had? And he was going to let her bring her friends but not bring any of his own!? He was either extremely confident, or profoundly stupid.

Bringing Matt, Lilith, and Hooty into a huddle, Luz whispered; "What do you guys think? If we agree, we can wait until we're out of Bonesborough, then jump him! We can rescue Pebbles and take out a Coven Head in one go!"

"I'm in!" Matt grinned viciously; "I'll teach that guy a lesson for messing with my Bro's Palisman!"

"I'm in too, Hoot! Oh boy, I get to help again!" Hooty said loudly, thankfully not saying enough to alert Mason to what they were planning.

Lilith looked unsure though; "Something about this feels off. Mason is a simple man, but he's no one's fool. Why would he agree to something so wildly disadvantageous to himself?"

"Well, we can ask him after we beat him up! He might have more info than Terra did too! Come on Tia Lily, do it for Pebbles and Steve!" Luz implored her.

Lilith sighed; "Alright, but don't let your guard down!"

Luz beamed and briefly hugged the woman, then broke up the huddle and turned back to Mason. "Alright! I'll come with you on your airship, so long as Matt, Tia Lily, and Hooty can come along."

Mason actually gave a small smile, the first expression Luz had seen him make. "Good. Right this way." he said, showing them to the gangplank to board his personal airship.

As they went towards it, Mason grabbed one of his Coven members and spoke to them; "I'm taking the Angel and her companions to the Emperor. You're in charge of the rest of the demolition. Do a good job and tell the guys that grog's on me tonight."

The Construction Witch, as well as several others in earshot, all cheered. "Thanks Boss! But do you really wanna take these guys on your own airship? Wind's are choppy today and a small ship like that could get blown off course! Wouldn't it be better to take a bigger one?"

"I prefer to fly myself. Ol' Bessie hasn't let me down so far. Good day." Mason replied, tipping his hat once more then boarding his ship; Ol' Bessie.

Luz and the others joined him and watched as he used just one hand to prepare the ship for take off, keeping the other firmly around Pebbles, who was strangely calm and just looking around at everything. Once they were all in the air, Mason began piloting the ship eastward towards the capital city of Manubrium. Luz and Matt exchanged looks and were already subtly preparing to attack the man, while Lilith still had Corvanc in staff mode and was idly drawing tiny spell circles with the end of it whilst chatting with Hooty. Then, just as they were about to leave Bonesborough airspace and the tension on the ship got worse, Mason suddenly span the ship's wheel to the right, causing them to turn sharply and knocking Luz and the others off balance. They hit the deck with a series of groans, but seeing as they were now officially out of Bonesborough, they all prepared spells instantly.

"Well, now my crew watching from town will think a gust of wind blew us off course." Mason said, not even turning to look back at them. To the shock of everyone, he then stooped down and released Pebbles onto the ground; "You get on back to your pals now, you hear?"

Pebbles squeaked and nodded, then casually slid himself back to Luz, who scooped him up in a flash.

"Pebbles! I-I don't understand, what's going on here!?" Luz cried, carefully holding the little Palisman.

Lilith pointed her staff at Mason; "What are you trying to pull here, Mason!?"

The Construction Witch turned around and put his hands up slowly in surrender; "My apologies for the subterfuge, Ma'am. I needed an excuse to talk to the Little Lady away from prying eyes. I don't know who in my Coven I can trust."

"Subterfuge? You mean this was all a lie!?" Matt yelled.

"Aye Boy, it was. I wasn't ever going to hurt the little one, or hand him over to Belos. But holding him got you all on my airship. My Coven will think I captured you, then you escaped sometime after the wind blew my ship adrift. We can talk all peaceful-like." Mason said calmly, unperturbed by the staff and spell circles in his face.

Luz carefully nestled Pebbles into the hood of her cloak again, then said; "And you did all this just to get me alone to talk to me? What exactly did you want to talk about? Are you interested in joining the CATTs!?" she gasped, beginning to smile.

Mason shook his head. "Not exactly. I wanted to ask a favour, but if things work out well, I might be interested."

"A favour? What kind of favour?" Luz asked.

Mason held up a finger, gesturing her to wait for a moment as he went into his cabin. He was in there for a few minutes, then emerged in a new outfit. He'd changed out of his construction attire and into his normal outfit; a grey tunic with short brown sleeves, brown pants with a lighter brown castle battlements design along the hem, and brown boots. He'd left his helmet off too, and added a simple dark grey cloak over his shoulders. A small hammer with the sigil of the Construction Coven was attached to his belt.

He walked up to Luz and opened his clenched fist to reveal a small stone butterfly, which made Luz giggle.

"Aw, how cute! I could never carve something this small and dainty out of stone! I guess you're the Head of the Construction Coven for a reason!" Luz complimented, accepting the little figurine.

Lilith and Matt were confused by the gesture, while Hooty just wondered why someone would make a stone butterfly, since it wouldn't taste good if he ate it (not that he wasn't tempted to try). However Mason's face was grim.

"I didn't carve it. That's a real butterfly. It was petrified."

Luz squeaked in surprise and almost dropped it, but managed to catch it at the last second. "Petrified?"

Mason nodded; "Belos has been working to repair the Petrification Statue you destroyed. This is the result of a test."

"I see… why are you giving me this?" Luz asked, puzzled.

Mason's expression remained neutral, but his eyes bore into hers intensely; "At the Petrification Ceremony, you did something impossible and revived someone who'd been petrified. I want to know if you can do it again."

Luz stared at Mason with curiosity. Strictly speaking, thanks to the Panacea Mirror, Luz now had the power to cure Petrification. She'd been wanting to test it by freeing the other witches that had been petrified during Belos' reign of terror, but sadly they had all been smashed to gravel shortly after the big escape. Darius had reluctantly told her and the CATTs this during one of their first meetings, as Belos was afraid Luz would free all his old enemies and the "dangerous criminals" he'd had petrified, bringing chaos and destruction to the Isles. Of course, Belos was actually just afraid of Luz building a larger army with people who already hated him, so he'd ordered the statues destroyed and that was that.

"I guess I can try. It'd be nice to actually get to use this power again." Luz said, holding the butterfly statue in both hands. She closed her eyes and focused on her magic, drawing out the deep, tingling feeling that had settled into her bones after the Panacea Mirror had disintegrated and blended into her. She didn't normally feel it unless looking for it, but once she felt it Luz was able to direct the magic to her finger tip and drew a golden, glittering spell circle over the Butterfly.

The others all watched with amazement as the spell circle wrapped around the statue and then shrank into it, causing the entire Butterfly to begin turning from stone to crystal. This crystal shell then began to crack and break away, and a moment later, a perfectly healthy (if disoriented) Butterfly fluttered away from Luz and away from the airship, off to continue its life elsewhere. Lilith and Matt watched it go with amazement, still having trouble wrapping their heads around Luz's ability to cure the thought-to-be incurable affliction, while Mason actually smiled again.

"Perfect." he said, "So you can still do it… In that case, I would like to make a deal with you, Miss Noceda-Clawthorne."

"Please call me Luz." she replied, "And what kind of deal?"

Mason went and sat on a crate of tools, inviting the others to sit too; "I want you to revive somebody who has been petrified. In exchange, I will work for you and show you where the other petrified people are."

Luz gasped; "B-But I thought they were all shattered!"

"Belos gave the order. I volunteered to do it, seeing as demolition is half of my Coven's job. He accepted and I took the statues away. I flew them out, claiming I was going to destroy them elsewhere and use the gravel in my work, but instead I took them to a safe place. Every Witch and Demon that Belos had petrified is now safely hidden away, and only I know where." Mason explained.

Luz, Matt, and Lilith all smiled brightly; this was excellent news! Not only would they get a powerful new ally, but they'd be freeing all those poor petrified people! Luz couldn't agree fast enough.

"I accept! I'd be happy to revive your friend, and all the others too!" Luz beamed, barely holding herself back from hugging the man.

Mason smiled again; "Thank you, Little Lady. I owe you big time."

He reached over to the steering wheel and gave it a turn, making sure the airship was heading directly south along the western coast of the Titan. "I hid them all in a secret place past the Knee. I'll take you there; you'll get lost otherwise."

Luz nodded, while Lilith couldn't help but question Mason; "So you're a traitor to the Emperor too? Why? Because he petrified someone you care about?"

Mason nodded gruffly; "I was never on his side. I became Coven Head in hopes of finding a cure for Petrification right under his beak. If anyone deserves to rot in stone, it's that monster."

Luz and Lilith exchanged looks; that wasn't far off what Darius and Eber had said. They wondered how many Coven Heads actually supported Belos and weren't just working with him to bring him down, achieve some other goal, or get the rewards he promised them. The man clearly inspired less loyalty than he thought!

"So what exactly is your beef with Belos?" Matt asked.

"I'll explain more once we get there. I don't like talking while driving, especially since the winds really are choppy today." Mason said, turning back to the ship's wheel.

He wasn't wrong either; the winds were quite intense and Mason had to keep fiddling with the ship's controls to maintain the correct heading even as the winds tried to blow them off course. As they got further and further into Autumn, the winds got colder and stronger… it wouldn't be long before Luz would be seeing the dreaded Cutting Gales!

"Hey Luz, can't you use your wind glyphs to control the wind?" Matt asked.

Luz frowned and shook her head; "I can't. I can draw the wind glyph on paper and use it to make wind, which I can sort of control, but existing wind is beyond me."

"Come to think of it, you've barely used the wind glyph since finding it." Lilith pointed out.

"Because using paper glyphs alongside my normal magic is just too cumbersome. And I'm not as good with them as King is." Luz replied. She had more of an affinity with them than Eda, Lilith, Rasiel, and Raine, but she paled in comparison to King. Though considering he was a Titan and the son of the glyphs' source, Luz wasn't too surprised.

Dealing with the wind as best they could, they continued flying until they flew past the Knee after a while, and began to descend as they followed the slope of the Shin, causing Lilith to turn to Mason questioningly; "Where exactly are we going? There's nothing south of the Shin besides open sea. We'll need to start heading south east if you want to go to the Swampy Toes."

"We're not going to the Swampy Toes." Mason said, not taking his eyes off the sky.

"Are we leaving the Boiling Isles then? Because it'll be hours before we reach anything on this heading." Lilith said.

The Construction Witch shook his head and began pulling levers, which caused a propeller to emerge from the back of the air ship, and large fish-like fins to emerge from the sides. "We're going into the sea. I wanted to take my airship for more than just personal reasons. Ol' Bessie is also a submersible."

"This thing can turn into a Submarine!?" Luz exclaimed with a face splitting grin, "That is so cool! How does it work!? Where did you get it!?"

"Easy Little Lady, one question at a time. I need to concentrate." Mason said, beginning to lower them down onto the surface of the water. With practised skill, Mason landed on the Boiling Sea with barely a splash, then cast a spell up at the balloon that opened a valve beneath it and caused it to begin deflating. Once the balloon was empty, Mason pressed a button on the controls to trigger an enchantment that made the balloon and its rigging wrap itself up and slide into a compartment below deck, turning the airship into a regular ship. A second button was pressed that caused a thick glass dome to cover the entire top of the ship, making it water tight.

"Seal is good. Air Refresher Enchantments are active. We're ready to dive." Mason muttered to himself. He then pulled on a previously untouched lever, and the Airship-turned-Submarine began to descend beneath the waves, much to Luz, Matt and Hooty's excitement and the bewilderment of Lilith. Things became very hot and stuffy as they descended, as the Boiling Sea heated the submersible up rapidly. Mason dealt with this by activating another enchantment that lowered the temperature of the air being refreshed, keeping everyone from being roasted alive.

"Phew! I was about to bust out the ice glyphs! Who'd have thought my hottest experiences in the Boiling Isles would happen in the Fall!" Luz chuckled to herself.

"The surface of the Boiling Sea is actually the coolest point." Lilith informed her, "The further down you go, the hotter it gets. In the deepest parts of the sea, the Volcanic Trenches, you can actually reach the core of the Demon Realm. But only a few rare breeds of Demon can survive that; even your ice glyphs would be useless in that kind of heat."

Luz whistled; "Note to self, don't go deep sea diving in the Demon Realm!"

"Forget that! This machine is amazing!" Matt gushed; "Submersibles are super rare! How did you get one Mason!?"

"I made it." Mason replied. "I'm good with mechanisms and metal, and I've got an affinity of sorts with the deep sea. I took an old airship and converted it myself. Took a few years, but it turned out pretty good."

"P-Pretty good!? This thing is a work of art!" Matt cried, "You made this yourself with just Construction Magic!?"

Mason nodded; "For the most part. A Wild Witch pal of mine helped with the enchantments, but I did the building. Now look down on the starboard side."

The passengers obediently ran over to the right side and looked down beneath the ship, were they saw the massive right foot of the Titan, laying flat against the seabed. It was absolutely teeming with life, from various varieties of fish to demonic coral, anemones, and sea sponges. It was a colossal reef, the likes of which Luz had never even dreamed of.

"Wow!" she gasped, "Look at it all! It's incredible!"

"That is the Metatarsal Reef." Lilith explained. "Since it was entirely underwater, the Titan's right foot couldn't be occupied by surface dwellers, so it was instead inhabited solely by aquatic life. Purely Aquatic Demons tend to be simple-minded creatures, but the intelligent ones are very dangerous, though thankfully peaceful."

"I remember Viney telling me about an underwater city for Aquatic Biped Demons on the side of the Ankle." Luz said, not looking away from the giant reef, "How come there aren't more settlements like it down here?"

"No need for one." Mason said shortly, "Aquatic Bipeds are the migratory type. They prefer to travel in flotillas of ships rather than put down roots. Only the very old and the very young stay in one place."

Lilith nodded; "That's right. The city on the Ankle is named Talus-" Mason flinched almost imperceptibly, with only Matt noticing, "-and it's something called a Nursery City. The oldest Aquatic Bipeds, who are too old to work on the Flotillas, live there and raise the young until they're old enough to join the Flotilla with their parents. Other members of their species only tend to stop by to give birth, spend some time with their infants, then leave again."

That made Luz frown; "That sounds a little too much like Crest Chastity for my tastes…"

"It's not quite the same. There's no match-making for one thing, and only very young children are left in the cities just because they're too young to help out on the Flotillas. Everyone needs to pull their weight to keep the ships moving." Lilith explained. "Besides, Talus is largely abandoned these days… not many Aquatic Bipeds want to live there since the Lunar Rebellion 30 years ago."

Luz tilted her head in confusion, while Matt paled slightly; "I learned about that in history class two years ago. Apparently the Head Witch of the Potions Coven betrayed the Emperor and poisoned a lot of people, leading to their deaths. She was then caught and petrified… She was the last petrification before Eda."

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with the Moon? Hoot!" Hooty asked.

"Or the city of Talus?" Luz added.

"She was a Merrow." Mason answered, completely stone faced as he stared ahead.

Lilith nodded grimly; "She was. Not a lot of records about her remain; they were all classified by Belos. But the people of Talus respected her greatly and didn't believe the Emperor's accusations. When she was petrified, they fled in droves. Talus is now a ghost town occupied only by the oldest, stubbornest, and shadiest Aquatic Bipeds, and almost none of their kind live on the Isles now. I think there are fewer than a hundred…"

Luz's expression fell; "How awful… I bet it was all a lie! Belos is nothing but a liar!"

"You got that right, Hoot!" Hooty nodded sagely, while Lilith and Matt agreed as well. Mason remained silent, staring fixedly at the water in front of him as he carefully piloted the submersible down to the ocean floor.

Sensing a tension in the air, Luz decided not to ask any more questions and instead played with Pebbles a little, including finally healing the crack on his face from his earlier fall. Matt tried to approach and talk to the little Palisman too, but the poor thing was still a bit frightened of him after the scare from before and would hide in Luz's hood whenever he approached, forcing the crestfallen boy to keep his distance. Eventually Mason piloted the Submersible into large opening in one of the Titan's foot bones, moving it through the flooded interior until they reached an underwater cavern, which they surfaced through.

Mason pressed a button and the Submersible's glass dome retracted back below deck, then lowered the gangway onto the dry land within the large cavern. They all disembarked and looked around at the cavern with awe; it was just like the outside of the reef in that every wall and ceiling was coated in bioluminescent sea life of some kind, which illuminated the cave in a veritable rainbow of different hues. The only way in or out of the massive room was diving back into the water and using the undersea passage they'd come from, or taking a narrow and easily missed path at the other end of the room. The place was also very muggy thanks to the heat of the Boiling Sea, but it was nothing Luz couldn't solve with a few ice glyphs.

Picking up some stray fragments of Titan Bone, Luz engraved them with ice glyphs using her red light beams, then handed them out to her companions; "Just tap these and they'll cool you down." she instructed.

Matt and Lilith happily activated theirs and put them in their shirts, while Mason put his in his pocket without activating it (though he still nodded his thanks). Luz even gave one to Hooty, who swallowed it whole with a happy hoot.

"This way." Mason said, leading them all towards the narrow path; "This is my secret grotto. I have a workshop here, and it's where I built Ol' Bessie."

Luz oohed and ahhed in amazement, while Matt raised an eyebrow; "Wait a second, if you build your Submersible here, how did you get down here in the first place?"

Mason didn't answer and just continued to lead them down the narrow path until they reached another large room, which was a bit smaller than the entrance. It had been decorated like a simple hideaway, with a bed against one wall, a makeshift kitchen against another, and an armchair surrounded by books against a third. There were also two more tunnels besides the one they arrived from, one of which Mason pointed to; "That's where my workshop is."

However he led them down the other tunnel instead, and after a couple of minutes of walking and trying not to disturb the coral or sea sponges growing on the walls, they arrived in the largest cavern thus far; one made entirely of some kind of translucent blue crystal. The ocean and countless fish could just barely be seen through the crystal walls, but it was the contents of the room that caught everyone's eye; rows upon rows of statues, each unique and each carved with an expression of terror, pain, or resignation.

"Belos' victims…" Luz whispered as she looked around at them all. There were fewer than a hundred, so it wasn't a mind-melting number of people that she'd have to free that upset her, but the fact that Belos had petrified so many people in his 50 years in power… and since the most recent was 30 years ago, all of them had been petrified in the first 20 years of Belos' rule. Some may have even been petrified before he "unified" the Isles into his Empire! And of course there were the people he just straight up killed, like the occupants of Radia Town…

"That man is a monster." Luz said, her heart beating faster with anger, even as she felt a pit in her stomach.

"He is." Mason said, suddenly stopping and turning to face Luz. As usual, his face was set in stone, almost as unmoving as the petrified victims, but his eyes were intense and burned like teal flames.

"Before you free anyone, I have three things I need to say to you first. An apology, a confession, and a warning." he began.

Luz and her friends looked at him oddly; "Why are you bringing this up now?" Lilith asked him.

"The young lady is an honest girl. I am an honest man, at least when I can afford to be. I believe honest people should treat each other honestly, and I'm asking Miss Luz for a very important favour. I want the air between us to be clear before she helps me; I won't have it be said that I tricked her. I've got my honour… what little can survive working for a man like Belos." Mason said, now frowning.

He looked Luz in the eye and said; "My apology is for fighting against your friends that day at the Petrification Ceremony, and for standing by and doing nothing while Belos hurt you outside the castle. My only excuse was that I didn't want to break my cover. But still, I could have done something and I chose not to. I am sorry."

Mason bowed his head contritely, and Luz smiled kindly at him; "I understand, Mason. You're not the only one of my friends to do the same thing in those situations…" she reassured him, thinking of Darius and Eber, "… and I won't judge you for it. If you hadn't lied, you'd have been exposed and all these petrified people would be rubble now! So you did good!" Luz gave him a big smile and thumbs up.

"Hoot hoot! The Beard Man is a nice guy, Hoot!" Hooty helpfully added. Lilith and Matt didn't feel the need to comment; both had caused Luz trouble a lot more directly and had been forgiven, so they definitely weren't going to judge Mason!

The man's frown shrank a little as he accepted Luz's forgiveness; "I'm not one to argue with a lady. Though that leads into my confession and a second apology; I eavesdropped on you and the Young Lady Blight back at the Covention."

Luz's eyes widened, remembering how she and Amity had run into Mason after leaving the break room; "You overheard our conversation about me being an angel, didn't you?"

Mason nodded; "I did. I'll admit, I had my suspicions after the little Nose Demon called you an Angel, and when I saw your reaction to that obvious lie at the duel, it confirmed it for me. I followed you with the intent of making sure you were okay and ended up eavesdropping on you. It wasn't my intention, but I apologise all the same. I also swear that Belos didn't hear about your identity from me."

The young Arch-Angel smiled and waved him off; "Don't worry about it. I believe you. Besides, the Power Glyph you gave Amity when we ran into you ended up being a really big help! It all worked out for the best!"

"I'm glad. As for my warning; it is twofold and to do with the Petrified Witches and Demons around us… releasing them from stone may not end well in some cases." Mason warned.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"We have no idea how Petrified people perceive the world around them. It could be like a deep slumber, or being trapped in a black void, or something equally nightmarish. If they've all been conscious this whole time…"

Luz and her companions all paled at the implications, and Luz, Lilith, and Hooty looked especially worried, having remembered what Eda had said when she was first released from the stone. She'd described it as being cold and unable to move, like some kind of hazy nightmare!

"The most recent was 30 years ago… if these people have been conscious in there for 30 years, who knows what kind of mental state they'll be in!" Lilith gasped, "But then the same could be said of your friend, Mason."

"I'm aware. But I still want to save them. If there is no quality of life for them, then I'll end their suffering, but I need to try." Mason replied. "The second part of the warning is that while Belos is a monster and a liar, it is possible that some of his victims were really guilty of the crimes he accused them off. Freeing them could be very dangerous."

That thought hadn't occurred to Luz, but it was a fair point; Belos would have just as much incentive to petrify real criminals as he would innocents who got in his way… but he was such a liar that it was impossible to tell which was guilty and which was innocent. Oddly enough, it was Hooty who offered a solution.

"Lulu can figure it out!" Hooty said happily; "She can make a potion to make them tell the truth! Luz frees them, then Lulu questions them, then we either let them go or do something else with them!"

"That's not a bad idea." Lilith smiled; "It'd take time, but I can make Blabber Serum. If Luz releases them one by one, I can question them. Also, depending on their crimes, even the guilty ones might be able to go free; they have served an over 30 year sentence after all. It there are any really dangerous ones, we can easily restrain them and figure something out."

Luz nodded eagerly; "Perfect! We'll need to leave to get the ingredients for the Blabber Serum, but we can totally do this! Great idea Hooty!"

Hooty began to wiggle around happily, much to Matt and Mason's discomfort, while Pebbles watched him and began to wiggle his tail too, amusing himself. Mason then cleared this throat; "I'll leave all that in your hands. Now, let me show you to the person I want you to free."

Mason led them to the far end of the blue crystal chamber, and revealed another tunnel. This was one was made of blue crystal too, and as they walked down it, Luz could just barely see the fish and other deep sea life swimming around outside.

"So cool! This is just like the Sapphire Mines of Calgara from Azura Book 3!" Luz grinned.

"What is this stuff anyway?" Matt asked, idly running his hand over the smooth blue crystal.

"Crystallised Titan Blood." Mason said simply, causing the others to gasp in shock. He quickly added; "Don't get excited. It has no magic left, just like Fool's Blood. The high temperature of the deep sea boiled out the oxygen in the blood, so when it coagulated it didn't become crumbly like regular Fool's Blood. It's basically just very hard stone now; pretty to look at but too unwieldy to shape. I mined out this cavern in hopes of finding some usable blood in the middle, but found nothing."

"Man, that sucks. Imagine what we could have done with this much Titan Blood!" Matt sighed; "We could have made a super cool magic cannon or something, and blasted Belos to smithereens!"

"With my luck, we'd have been more likely to blow ourselves up! Let's just be glad this stuff isn't gonna crumble on us." Luz said, suddenly eyeing the crystalline walls far more cautiously.

Lilith, Hooty, and Matt all chuckled at her comment, while Mason looked back with a raised eyebrow.

Moments later, they emerged into another cavern; this one smaller than the last but still sizeable, and made from the Crystallised Titan Blood. There was a massive hole in the ceiling too, one that had some kind of magic barrier over it to keep the water from flooding in, and the reason for the hole became obvious when Luz noticed the contents of the chamber. Taking up the majority of the chamber was a single, huge statue; the person Mason wanted de-petrified. They were a woman, with a beautiful face frozen in a look of defiance, and whose head alone was as tall as Luz. The woman was easily 25 feet tall, and had been wearing some kind of dress and robe when she'd been petrified. However it was not just her impressive size that caught Luz's attention; it was the sharp nails on her hands and feet, the scaly texture to her bare skin, and the fin-like appendages on the sides of her legs and forearms. The woman also appeared to have webbed fingers and toes, and fins on the side of her head in place of ears, as well as a large fish-like tail attached to her tail bone.

"This person is massive!" Luz gasped.

"She's a Merrow." Lilith said, examining her closely; "Female Merrows can be up to 30 feet tall, and the Males can be up to 20 feet. This woman is actually quite average for her species."

"A Merrow…" Luz repeated in a whisper. Her eyes suddenly widened as she pieced together some of the things Lilith and Mason had said earlier; "This woman is the one that Belos accused of poisoning people, isn't she? The one from the Lunar Rebellion!"

Mason went to stand in front of the petrified woman and reached into his beard, then pulled out a small flower and placed it at the woman's feet, before bowing. "She is. But I should correct you on something… It was not the Lunar Rebellion, and it has nothing to do with the Moon. It was the Luna Rebellion… This woman's name is Luna Miphari, the Head of the Potions Coven from 30 years ago, two generations before Vitimir."

Mason kissed his fingers, then pressed them to the petrified woman's leg, then turned to face Luz with a stony expression. "I have one more confession to make to you, Miss Luz. My name is not Mason; it is an alias I adopted when I returned to the Boiling Isles ten years ago. My real name is Talis Miphari, and I was named after the city in which my parents met and fell in love."

"Wait, Miphari? Then that means…!?" Luz gasped.

Mason nodded; "This woman behind me… she is my mother."

"Oh Titan! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have brought it up earlier!" Lilith said remorsefully, fearing she'd upset the man. His stony silence at the time suddenly made even more sense.

Mason shook his head; "It's fine. You meant no harm and said nothing wrong."

"So does that mean you're a Merrow too? You're kinda small…" Matt said, muttering that last part to himself. In truth, Mason (or Talis) really was quite short, being below average for a witch too and certainly well below what a Merrow should be. Mason didn't appear to be offended by the boy's comment, and explained.

"My father was a Witch with Gnomish ancestry. Officially, I am Half Merrow and Half Witch, with the same distant Gnomish ancestry. As for my lack of aquatic features… Miss Luz, care to splash me with some water?" Mason requested, reaching into his shirt and taking off a Concealment Stone.

Still slightly stunned by the revelation, Luz just nodded dumbly and sprayed him with a weak water spell. Wherever the water touched, Mason's skin was replaced with teal and silver coloured scales, and his beard became a tangle of seaweed-like green hair. He splashed some of the water onto the side of his face too, causing one of his ears to become a fish-like fin.

"Pure Blood Merrows are always in their true forms, but Half Blood Merrows like me only transform when wet. I keep a Concealment Stone on for safety's sake." Mason said. "Pardon if I don't show you my tail; it'd rather not rip my britches."

"So you brought me down here to save your mother!" Luz said with awe, "She's beautiful… I'll definitely free her! You'll have your Mom back in a jiffy!"

Mason gave her a heartfelt smile; "I am grateful, Miss Luz."

"Please, just call me Luz." the Angel replied, but the Merrow Man just shook his head.

"No can do. It's not in my nature to refer to a lady so informally, especially one doing me such a grand service. You're ending a 30 year nightmare! I only wish my Pa was here to see it."

"Your Pa?" Matt asked.

"He passed away 15 years ago. He was never the same after Ma was petrified. His health suffered for years, but he hung on until he was sure I could make it on my own." Mason explained.

Matt and Luz both bowed their heads sadly, and Pebbles gave a depressed little squeak, which Hooty (in an oddly subdued voice) translated as Pebble's condolences.

"I am sorry for your loss, Mason. I had no idea you'd suffered such an injustice while we worked together in the Coven system." Lilith said gently. "Do you know the real reason Belos wanted your mother petrified?"

Mason nodded and took a seat; "It's a long story, but you deserve to know it. It started 60 years ago, not long before the Empire was formed. The City of Talus was already a thing before then, so we Merrow were going there to have our kids. My Mother was born at that time, and lived there until she was 10. That's when Belos officially took power. The Coven System was introduced and all Witches and Demons of age had to join a coven. Ma was supposed to leave to join her parents on their Flotilla, but had gotten word that a storm had hit and they'd both lost their lives. With no one to return to, Ma chose to stay on the Boiling Isles, eventually meeting my Pa when she was 20. Pa was a fresh new member of the Abominations Coven, and he and Ma wanted to marry, but Ma wasn't in a coven yet and so they couldn't. But Ma was good with potions and so decided to join the Potions Coven. She was real good in fact, and within five years, she was the Coven Head!"

Lilith whistled; "Becoming a Coven Head at 25 is impressive. Not counting special cases like the Golden Guard, no other Coven Heads reached their positions before the age of 30."

"Ma was real good at potions." Mason said proudly; "I was born not long after Ma and Pa married, so I was only ten when everything went south. Belos wanted to go on an expedition to an island about five miles to the east of the Boiling Isles. Ma said the island was some kind of Dragon Graveyard, and a place Galdorstones could be found. I figure Belos wanted to build a mine there to get the stones."

Luz and Matt exchanged shocked looks; knowing what they did about Galdorstones, it was more likely that Belos had been after the hearts of some of the people laid to rest in there, just like the Looking Glass Graveyard.

"Ma and a few from her Coven were part of the expedition, as well as the old head of the Beast Keeping Coven. They apparently encountered a Dragon who wasn't quite dead and it killed half the expedition team before Belos brought it down. Ma survived the fight, but saw what Belos had become… she described him as some kind of monster! An abomination made of rot with feathery wings, antler-like horns and creepy blue eyes all over his body. I don't know exactly what Ma meant when she told my Pa about it, but she said Belos was no Witch or Demon. When Belos saw that my Ma and some of the others had seen his true form, he began slaughtering them. He killed every surviving member of the expedition except for Ma, who was able to swim in the Boiling Sea to escape."

"How awful! Belos killed all those people just to hide what he really was!?" Luz cried, "He really is a monster! And your Ma was right too; he's no Witch or Demon!"

Mason looked surprised at Luz; "You know what he really is?"

"I do… but it's complicated. He's actually an Angel… a ten-winged one that became corrupted somehow. I don't know how, but he blames Wild Magic and the corruption of the Demon Realm as a whole." Luz explained.

The bearded Merrow scowled and began to stroke his beard in thought; "An Angel… so that explains why he wanted to make sure Angels were seen as servants of the Titan! You Angelic Folk aren't related to the Titan at all, are you?"

"Well… technically I am. But that's a really long story. You should finish telling yours first." Luz said, knowing that explaining the glyphs would add an extra hour to the conversation at least.

Mason accepted that; "Fine by me. You've done a few good turns for the Demon Realm and you're helping me out; I'll trust you. Now where was I? Ah yes, Ma swimming home."

His eyes immediately turned sad; "Ma swam all the way back to Talus, where Pa and I were living. She told us what had happened, and warned the city that Belos was a monster and a murderer. But not long after, Belos returned from the island and announced to the Isles that my Ma had poisoned the expedition crew to try and seize control of the Isles. He claimed he was the only survivor thanks to the Titan's blessing, then put out bounties for her and sent his coven to our home. The Emperor's Coven began a brutal occupation and inquisition in Talus, wanting to find where Ma was hiding and discover anyone she told the truth too. Luckily she told no one but Pa, so no one else was petrified or killed, but that incident is partly why so many of us and our cousin races chose to leave. Ma eventually gave herself up to end the cruelty… She was taken to the Conformatorium and petrified at Sundown the very same day."

Luz looked to be nearly in tears; "That's so horrible! I'm so sorry…"

Mason gave a grateful nod in return; "Thank you, Miss Luz. But it doesn't end there; Ma was petrified, but that wasn't enough for Belos. He knew Ma had told Pa the truth and so he wanted our entire family wiped out! Even as a youngster, I was good with Earth Magic and Construction Magic, while Pa was a real genius with Abominations, so the two of us whipped up a couple of realistic looking abomination replicas of ourselves. When the Emperor's Coven attacked our home, Pa set off a bomb while we fled. The Emperor's Coven found what they thought were our blackened bones and declared us dead, while Pa took me to the Flotilla Ma's parents came from. I lived there with him for 15 years, neither me or Pa ever really forgiving ourselves for running away and leaving Ma behind as a statue. When Pa was on his deathbed, he finally told me the truth of what had happened."

The man's face darkened considerably and for the first time since meeting him, Lilith saw true hatred in his expression; "I'd always hated Belos for taking Ma from me, and causing Pa's premature death from grief… but I'd always thought Ma had been framed by someone else and he'd been tricked too. But hearing that it was all a lie and set up by him to cover his own cowardly hide? I couldn't take it. For the next five years, I prepared myself to kill that man and free my Ma. I searched the world for a cure for Petrification, but found not a single clue, and eventually decided to just come to the Boiling Isles. So I disguised myself with a Concealment Stone, joined the Construction Coven, and rose through the ranks until I became the new Head Witch. I've devoted my life to finding a cure that may not have even existed, and to killing a man that seemed unstoppable."

Seeing the intensity in Mason's eyes made Luz feel both awe and sorrow for him. He was amazingly devoted to his Mother, yet he was motivated as much by hatred of Belos as he was love for her. Luz hated to think about it, but she'd come very close to being just like him… if she'd failed to save Eda that day, she likely would have fled too, and devoted her life to becoming strong enough to come back and eviscerate the monstrous angel that took her Mom from her.

"Well, I don't know if I can help with killing Belos. I hate him, but killing someone feels… wrong to me." Luz confessed. "Besides, I promised my Mami I wouldn't go near him unless I had no choice. But I can at least cure your Ma!"

Mason's expression lightened considerably; "And that alone is enough to convince me that maybe you really are an agent of the Titan. You are my only hope; restore my Ma for me, and I'll pledge myself to your service." he said, getting down on one knee and bowing his head; "Please… she's the only family I have left in this world. I just want her free from that horrible stone!"

Luz grabbed the man's hands and pulled him back to his feet; "Don't kneel to me. I'm not your master or a God or anything like that. I'm just Luz, and I want to help. You don't need to pledge yourself to me; I just want you and your Ma to be happy!"

The disguised Merrow, currently in his full witch-like form, looked at her with surprise before saying; "If you are an angel… then I don't think it's possible for Belos to be one. There's no chance the two of you are cut from the same stone!"

"I'm not so sure. Believe me, we Angels are far from perfect. But I think we've talked enough; I'm ready to begin." Luz said, eyes burning with golden flames of determination; "This is only the third time I've used this, but if I can de-petrify someone this big, I should be able to de-petrify anyone!"

Mason nodded and moved out of Luz's way, opting to stand beside Matt, Lilith, and Hooty. Luz gently took Pebbles from her hood and handed him to Mason so he wouldn't be in the way, then approached the petrified Luna. She looked up at the woman's stone visage, beautiful and fierce even in the face of what she'd likely thought was her demise, and summoned forth her magic. Luz let her six wings flair out behind her and switched her clothing to her Holy Raiment, causing an aura of golden magic to surround her. She then flew in a circle around Luna's statue, drawing the largest spell circle she could around the woman. Just like with the Butterfly from earlier, the spell circle sank into the stone and began to slowly transmute it from stone to crystal.

It was a slow process due to the size, and the amount of magic Luz had to pump out was staggering, but Mason was completely enraptured by it.

"Yes! Yes, it's working!" he gasped, his voice nearly a whisper as he feared speaking louder and distracting Luz.

"You know, I worked with you as a fellow Coven Head for at least five years and I think I've seen you make more expressions and say more words in the last ten minutes then in the previous five years combined!" Lilith commented.

Mason didn't look at her as he answered; "Never had much to say. I'm not a man who likes to waste words. I say what is necessary and keep professional… but even I can't stay stone-faced here! I'm about to get my Ma back!"

"A family reunion! It's gonna be so beautiful! Hoot!" Hooty cried, already beginning to blubber noisily.

"There there Hootsifer. Don't cry; we don't want to ruin their moment!" Lilith smiled, crouching to pat Hooty on the head. The odd House Demon responded by wrapping himself around her and burying his face in her shoulder so his beak was muffled by her back but his eyes could still peek over and watch.

Luz was sweating by the time the spell had fully turned Luna from stone to crystal, but then a massive crack appeared straight down the middle of the giant woman, and pieces of her crystal shell began to fall away until it suddenly all shattered as Luna flexed and roared, breaking free once and for all. Luz shielded herself from the crystal shrapnel (which was thankfully small) with her wings, while Hooty shielded Lilith and Mason tanked it without issue, pulling Matt and Pebbles behind him for safety.

Luna's roar was loud and bestial, shaking the room. It also showed off her razor sharp teeth, which were akin to a shark's. Now free, she almost immediately collapsed forward onto her hands and knees and began to pant hard, catching her breath and gathering her wits after decades encased in stone. As she was doing so, Luz got a good look at her flesh and blood form; naturally she looked mostly the same, but now Luz could actually see her colouration. Luna's scales were larger and sea foam green on her back, the sides of her face, and her limbs and tail, while her belly, chest, throat, face, and the underside of her tail were all a pale shade of yellow. Her eyes were teal like her son's, and her hair was long, thick, and coloured a very dark navy blue. The membranes of her fins were the same yellow as her underbelly, and the dress she wore was sky blue with a darker blue robe over the top.

"W-Where am I…!? What is happening!? Is this another nightmare?" Luna asked in a booming, yet shaky voice. The volume was staggering, yet she sounded weak and vulnerable.

Mason opened his mouth to speak, but as tears filled his eyes and his heart filled with joy at the revival of his mother, the words got caught in his throat. Instead Luz was the one to speak to her first.

"Miss Miphari, please try to relax and stay calm. You've been petrified for a very long time and only just been released." she said soothingly.

Luna looked around frantically; "Who said that!? My eyes are still foggy… speak! Or are you another delusion!?"

Luz frowned and peered up at Luna's eyes; they were glazed over and likely weak from disuse. She spoke up again, keeping her voice calm and gentle, but loud enough for her to be heard; "I'm not a delusion and this isn't a nightmare. You're awake and alive in the Demon Realm. We're in an underwater grotto inside the Metatarsal Reef right now"

The Merrow woman looked around and eventually seemed to zero in on Luz's location, squinting at her. She could only see her as blobs of white, gold, and tan, but she could at least hear her clearly. "Prove you're not a fake! That you're not an apparition of my own mind!" Luna demanded, her fierceness cracking a little to show the vulnerability inside.

"Alright. I'm going to touch you, okay? If I wasn't real, I wouldn't be able to do that." Luz said. She then cautiously floated up to Luna's face and laid a hand on her cheek. Luna flinched hard, almost knocking Luz away, but she calmed down and instead pressed her face into the contact.

"T-This is real? I-I'm not stone any more?" Luna asked shakily, leaning back and looking down at her hands.

"Nope! Luz fixed you right up, Hoot!" Hooty yelled.

Luna startled again and looked around for the source of the voice; "What was that!?"

"A friend of mine." Luz said quickly; "I'm here with four others. You'll be able to see them once your eyes readjust. Is there anything I can do to help you with that?"

"She needs water. That'll freshen up a Merrow." Lilith instructed, seeing as Mason was still too choked up to talk and didn't want to startle his Ma by running up and hugging her like he dearly wished he could.

Luz nodded and used the ice glyph to generate a large amount of cool water, which she shaped into a ball and floated in front of Luna's face, then gently pressed it against her. Instantly, Luna grabbed the water with her hands and used her own water magic to control it and press it into her skin, sighing with relief (which sounded like a gurgle thanks to her mouth being in the water). Manipulating the water to keep its shape, Luna rubbed it all over herself as if it were a sponge and she was bathing herself (which wasn't far from the truth). The cool liquid rehydrated her quickly and her scales took on a glossy sheen, while her eyes became sharp and focused. Once she was done, she drank the water down and sighed contently.

"My mind still feels distant… but my body feels so much better! You have my thanks, Miss-"

Luna suddenly froze as she looked at Luz with clear eyes. Her pupils narrowed to slits as they focused on Luz's wings.

Mason and Lilith both paled as they saw this, knowing that a Merrow's pupils acted like that when they were becoming hostile, but Luz was more concerned with where those pupils are focused.

"Oh right, my wings. This might be kind of a shock to you, but I'm actually a-"

"Monster!" Luna snarled, raising a massive hand to try and swat Luz to the ground and crush her. Luz hadn't expected the sudden aggression and wasn't ready to defend herself, but Lilith was and immediately cast a spell to create a lasso of magic that she used to grab Luz and pull her out of the way before she could be hit.

Lilith pulled Luz right into her arms, then once she was sure her niece was safe, she pushed the girl behind her and pointed her staff at Luna.

"What are you doing!? Luz here just freed you from petrification and you immediately try to hurt her!?"

Luna snarled and her voice boomed out so loudly that it actually hurt their ears; "Do not think you can fool me! I saw those wings! She's the same kind of abomination as Belos! Any moment now, the rot that fills her will burst out and she will take your body for her own! That is why you freed me from stone, isn't it!? You wish to steal my body! I saw your fellow monster do the same to a Dragon when we went in search of Galdorstones!"

Luz blinked in surprise; the rot Luna was talking about had to be the corruption that had infected Belos. So exposing his wings and his rotten body was what caused him to have Luna petrified? But what was this about stealing bodies!? She'd never heard of an angel being able to possess people!

"Ma, please stop! Luz isn't like Belos! She's a rebel fighting against him! She freed you as a favour to me!" Mason implored.

Luna flinched and looked at the man. Her eyes softened slightly as something about the short, muscular, and bearded Witch pulled at her heart strings. Calling her Ma had caught her off guard, but she tricked herself into believing she'd just caught him saying -Na as the end of her name. There was no way the man before her could be her little boy!

Still, he gave her pause and so she asked; "Who are you!? What is this about rebels!?"

Mason opened his mouth to answer, but Hooty, bless his heart, decided to try and help by answering first… in typical Hooty fashion.

"Hoot hoot! You should recognise him! He's super important! When your son Talis went away, Mason is what came back! Hoot!"

The Giant Merrow froze and turned to glare at Hooty, then slowly back at Mason. Her pupils were still slits, making the man gulp, but then she turned her glare back onto Luz, who was peeking out from behind Lilith.

"Is this true, Angel!?" Luna demanded, making the room rumble from the volume alone.

Luz squeaked in fear at the rumbling and said; "Yes! But it's not how it soun-"

Luna let out a massive, blood-curdling scream of rage and slammed her fists into the ground, one aimed at Luz and Lilith, and the other at Mason, with Pebbles still on his shoulder and Matt still behind him. Luz was able to grab Lilith and fly out of the way in time, while Matt grabbed a stunned Mason and yanked him to safety, then conjured a pillar of rock to strike Luna's hand and force her to pull it back.

"MURDERER!" Luna bellowed, tears in her eyes as she glared at Mason; "You killed my son!"

Mason and the others gaped at her; in her post-petrification state, her mind was somewhat addled, so she'd misinterpreted Hooty's poor explanation! Instead of Talis going away and becoming Mason when he came back, she now believed Mason had gone after Talis and killed him!

She swiped her claws at Mason, and the poor man was still so stunned by his mother trying to kill him that he could only stare numbly at her. Thankfully Matt was on the ball and conjured another pillar of rock to block her swipe, though this time Luna put more strength into the attack, shattering the rock pillar easily. The pillar still took some of the momentum out of her strike though, so when it hit Mason and Matt, the two were able to move just enough to be caught by her fingers and not her claws, so the blow sent them slamming into a wall instead of being cleaved in two.

The impact was still severe though, and both of them ended up with broken bones from the strike, and Pebbles was sent flying.

"Guys! Don't worry, I'll save you!" Luz cried, conjuring a vine to catch Pebbles and pull him into her hand, then darting towards the injured men so she could begin healing them with her Crystal Lotus healing spell.

"I'll crush you all!" Luna screamed, using the limited space in the room to spin around and swipe her tail at them. Lilith grabbed Hooty and took to the air to avoid it, while Luz conjured a crystal barrier around her and the men to protect them as she continued her healing. Luna saw this and began snarling like a beast, pounding and stomping on the barrier, trying with all her might to shatter it and get and what she assumed to be a Monstrous Angel and her Son's Murderer. Thankfully, as large and as strong as Luna was, she was nothing compared to the Ash Moth and even that monster had taken two strikes to break Luz's crystal barrier, so Luna was barely even able to crack it, and the cracks would close before the next blow came. Still, Luna rampaged and screamed her hatred at them, completely frenzied by her misunderstanding and the years she'd spent in stone.

Eventually she realised that breaking the barrier wasn't going to be possible with her body, so she switched to magic. She drew three spell circles of teal magic; one with each hand and a third with her tail, which conjured massive balls of water, which she then condensed down into a tiny size, before shooting the compressed water out as a high pressure jet that cut through portions of the crystal chamber as they zeroed in on their target. She focused all three on the same spot in Luz's barrier and actually began to pierce through it, to the point that Luz actually had to dodge at the last minute to avoid having her head chopped off by the sudden attack. She still ended up with a minor cut to the side of her neck though, but healed it instantly since she was already working on fixing up Mason and Matt.

"Tia Lily! A little help!" Luz cried.

"I'm on it!" Lilith yelled back, having been using small spells to carve glyph combos into the walls of the chamber so she could preserve her magic. She'd carved King's Monster Combos, and once she was done, she shot a weak bolt of lightning at Luna's hands, causing her to yelp and stop her spell. The loss of concentration caused the compression of her water orbs to be undone, and they exploded in her face, further stunning the giant woman. With Luna momentarily distracted, Lilith fired tiny bolts of magic at each of her glyph combos, activating them and spawning large Titan-like arms, each the size of Luna's own arms. They reached out and grabbed Luna's ankles, tail, wrists, shoulders, and the back of her head, then forced her into a kneeling position with her head bowed.

"Got her! Finish healing those two so we can all talk to her!" Lilith said.

"Good job Tia Lily! I'm almost done!" Luz shot back, returning to healing. Mason had shattered most of his ribs and spine when he'd hit the wall, as he'd used his own body to shield Matt (who had only broken two ribs and his left arm). The gruff man was stoic as he was healed, and Matt tried to be cool and stoic too, but Luz could see he was on the verge of tears; broken bones were no joke!

"It's okay! I'll fix it, Hoot!" Hooty declared, jumping onto the bound Luna's head from Lilith's staff and wrapping all around her to help restrain her. He actually did the smart thing and wrapped around her fingers too, so she couldn't draw spell circles even with her arms restrained, but that was unfortunately where his cleverness ran out.

"Hoot! It's okay Big Merrow Lady! Mason is a good guy! He's the one who took care of your husband too, Hoot!" Hooty said cheerfully.

"M-My Husband? Where is he!? What happened to my Solus!?" Luna cried.

Hooty's face fell; "Aw geez, well he's kinda not here any more. But don't worry! Mason was there at the end!"

Already seeing where this was going, Luz screamed out; "By the Seraphim, stop talking Hooty!"

"What?" Hooty said, confused; "I thought she'd want to know that Mason was there when her husband died! Hoot!"

Luna's eyes filled with tears, and they began to cascade down her face and hit the ground with big splashes. She turned her eyes on Mason, glaring at him hatefully through the crystal barrier; "It wasn't enough for you to kill my Talis, but now you killed my Solus too!?"

Hooty, finally grasping that he'd made a mistake, gulped; "Oh… oops. That's not what I meant, I-"

Lilith quickly covered his beak before he could put his foot in it again; "Hootsifer, I love you, but I think it'd be best if you were quiet for now."

"Sorry Lulu…" the poor House Demon said sadly; he hadn't meant to make everything worse!

Thankfully Luna was still restrained by both the monster hands and Hooty himself… at least mostly. Her tail could just barely move enough to draw a spell circle, creating a huge ball of water and once again compressing it into a razor sharp jet of water that she blasted at Luz's barrier.

It wasn't as strong as three jets combined, so it didn't pierce right through, but it was strong enough to begin carving through. Thankfully Luz had just finished healing Mason's injuries and pulled the man to his feet right before the jet finally got through. Matt tried to help block it by conjuring a layer of rock on the inside of the barrier, directly where the jet was cutting through, but his stone wasn't hard enough to stop the jet, only buy them a few seconds.

Luz dropped the barrier and the three of them split up, with Luz once again handing Pebbles off to Mason to keep him safe as she flew up to Luna.

"Listen to me! Mason didn't kill Talis or your husband! Mason IS Talis!" Luz screamed.

"LIAR!" Luna screamed right back, her voice so loud that the vibrations it sent through the air actually disoriented Luz and made her struggle to keep flying.

"I know the face of my son! He's a little boy, and a Merrow like me! Not this bizarre, hairy Witch!" Luna roared, her eyes beginning to flash with teal magic as her fury and confusion brought her to the verge of a Bile Overload.

Mason grimaced; his mother had only ever seen him on dry land once, and he'd been a young boy at the time, with a full head of blond hair like his father, pale skin from lack of sunlight, and obviously no beard or muscles to speak of. Now he had lost his hair, grown a long beard that had turned grey with age and stress, and built a lot of muscles from his Construction work, as well as sun-kissed skin from long hours under the baking sun. Combine his changed appearance with the fact his Ma had no idea how much time had passed and the mental damage done to her by the petrification, and it was no surprise the woman didn't believe he was her son.

It hurt him deeply, but Mason knew it wasn't her fault so he found the will to speak up; "Ma! I know I've changed, but it really is me! I am Talis Miphari! That's the name you gave me when I was born 40 years ago!"

"40 years…!? No, no my baby is only 10! It couldn't be that long! You're lying! You're just a witch!" Luna yelled, the flashing of her eyes becoming faster.

"I'm not lying, Ma. Luz, hit me with some water." Mason ordered.

Luz nodded and used the ice glyph to manipulate the water from Luna's spell, saving herself from wasting magic to generate more. She created a large enough ball of water that Mason could leap straight into it, taking on his full Merrow form as Luz then lifted the ball so it was directly in front of Luna's face.

"You see, Ma? I'm Talis! Look at me!" the Merrow Man implored. He discarded his boots and cape so that his webbed feet could be clearly seen along with his scaled arms and webbed fingers, and he'd allowed his tail to grow out and rip a hole through the back of his britches.

Luna stared at the man, struck silent by his appearance. So he really was a Merrow, and one that became a Witch on dry land… just like her Talis! M-maybe he really was her son!

However, as these thoughts entered her mind, so too did doubts. Why had that creepy demon said such cruel things to her if this was true? Had he been telling her the truth while these others were lying!? Could this all be an illusion!? Her heart beat harder and harder, until she saw something that nearly made it stop; Mason's Construction Coven Sigil on the inside of his wrist, and the matching sigil on the hammer at his waist. That hammer was one Luna recognised, as it was a status symbol for the Head of the Construction Coven, who had once been a colleague of hers.

Seeing this made Luna roar in rage; "LIES! IT'S ALL LIES! MY SON WOULD NEVER JOIN BELOS AND HIS COVENS! DECEIVER! MURDERER! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

The volume of her screamed words once again had the room rumbling, and Luz, Lilith, and Matt all had to cover their ears. Mason was thankfully spared due to the water bubble he was in, but as Luz struggled to deal with the volume, she lost control of it and it splattered to the ground along with Mason.

"No! Ma, listen! I joined the coven to avenge you!" Mason yelled.

It was too late though; Luna's eyes were now glowing a solid teal and her magic was running rampant from a Bile Overload. With the wrathful roar of a woman who thought she'd lost her son and husband, Luna ripped her head and one of her arms free from the grasp of Lilith's monster hands, allowing her to lean over enough to sink her shark-like teeth into the hand grabbing her other arm. The hand held on tight as it felt no pain, but Luna tore it open with her jaws, revealing that the inside of the conjured arms was just glowing blue magic that dissipated as the hand disappeared. With both hands free, Luna drew a massive spell circle that created a powerful acid that rained down on everyone in the chamber and began to melt the crystal. Lilith shielded herself with a barrier, while Hooty yelped and hissed as he urgently tried to unravel himself from Luna so he could shrink back into his bird house. Luz protected herself, Matt, and Mason with another crystal barrier, but then Luna gathered the conjured acid into a tightly compressed orb and shot it at her just like she had with the water.

Knowing her barrier wouldn't hold up to that, Luz pulled a drawn Wind Glyph out from her pocket and slammed it on the floor as she lowered her own barrier. The resultant blast of wind knocked Matt and Mason away from her to protect them. Luz then dodged the acid jet, but some of her feathers on her right wings were clipped and ended up burned by the acid, making Luz yelp. Not only that, but since Pebbles and Mason hadn't been prepared for the sudden wind, neither had been holding onto the other tightly enough, so Pebbles ended up being blasted off in a different direction.

He landed hard, cracking his little body once again and making him squeak in pain and begin to tear up. Seeing Luz and wanting the comfort of a friend, Pebbles began scurrying towards her as quickly as his little arms could carry him, but this meant he was almost struck by the acid.

"No! Pebbles!" Matt cried, rushing forward. He cast a quick Construction Spell to take some of the rocks he'd conjured earlier and bind them to himself as rudimentary armour, allowing him to dive into the acid jet and survive long enough to grab Pebbles before he could be melted. He scooped Pebbles up and ran for safety, immediately shedding his melting armour. Matt was a bit too slow though, and patches of his right arm and leg now sported acid burns as the acid had eaten through his stone armour and his clothes.

Pebbles squeaked in concern as Matt bit his lip hard to keep in his scream of pain. The feeling was agonising and the boy was again fighting back tears, but he forced a smile on his face as he gave Pebbles a thumbs up; "Don't worry Pebbles! I'll protect you!"

The little Palisman crawled over Matt's acid burns, using his cool, slimy body to soothe the burns a little. There was still a miniscule amount of residual acid that burned Pebbles a tiny bit, but he held in his own squeak of pain to help his saviour feel better.

While this was happening, Luz healed her damaged feathers and yelled to Mason and Lilith; "We can't reason with her like this! If you two can hold her down, I can try a Bardic Song to calm her down!"

"Easier said than done!" Lilith cried as she fired a barrage of weak magic bolts at Luna in order to keep the Merrow's focus on her and away from Luz and Mason. Luna responded by smashing her hand against the crystal ground and scooping up some broken shards of crystallised Titan Blood, which she then threw at Lilith like a shotgun spread of razor sharp crystals. Most of them were blocked by her barrier, but the sheer number of shards overpowered her and broke the barrier, causing the final few to clip Lilith and force her to whip out one of King's Healing Glyph Combos to repair the cuts they inflicted on her.

Seeing his mother going for another handful of crystals now that Lilith's barrier was down, Mason cast a Construction Spell on himself, causing his muscles to swell until he was a six foot tall hulking version of himself, with scales that had hardened to a stony texture. He then ran at his mother, causing her to slash her claws down at him. He slid between her fingers and behind to her tail, which he yanked on hard to make her fall backward onto her rear. Now that she was low enough, Mason grabbed her waist and used his enhanced strength to pull her up into a Suplex.

"I'm sorry Ma!" he cried as he arched his back and slammed her into the wall behind them. Thankfully Luna was sturdy enough that the impact didn't really damage her, but it did stun her for a moment, giving Mason a window to use Construction Magic on the walls and floor to create giant manacles to hold his mother down before she could attack again.

The instant Luna was restrained, she began to growl and thrash like a wild beast, trying to break free with all her might. Her tail was still free, but since she'd been forced onto her back it was partially trapped beneath her own body, and she couldn't quite wriggle it free. Mason turned to Luz and yelled; "Sing your song and calm her down!"

Luz nodded and focused her magic as she began to sing the Song of Soothing, opting to use her voice instead of her Ocarina since her vocal Bardic Magic was stronger. The song began to take effect and Luna felt her heartbeat slowing down and her temper cooling off. However this wasn't what she wanted! As far as she was concerned, this Angel was another monster like Belos, and the other Merrow was a foul murderer who took her son and husband from her! She couldn't just let them enchant her into a sedated state! The Angel would probably steal her body as soon as the song was finished! These thoughts, and the fact the song took longer to work on such a large person, ensured Luna's rage and Bile Overload never fully abated, leaving her to continue struggling. She wanted to destroy all of these creatures, and as she looked up at the ceiling, she saw exactly how she'd do it!

Her large body would never have fit into the room via the one small passageway that led to the rest of the grotto, so Mason had made a hole in the ceiling large enough to fit her through, then covered it with a magical barrier to keep the water out, so she could leave again when she was revived. Luna didn't know any of this of course, but she did see the massive hole through which she could escape… and the barrier that kept several tons of boiling hot seawater from flooding the chamber.

Wiggling her tail just enough so that she could point it at her own throat, Luna cast a spell on herself that caused her throat to fill with water, then drew a spell circle in front of her mouth. This spell circle used Potions Magic to transmute the water into acid as Luna spat at the ceiling with all her strength. The acid couldn't hurt the purely magical barrier, but it could melt the crystal ceiling around it, causing it to spring a leak. A small trickle of sea water began to drip down from the ceiling… then another trickle. Then another and another… then a small stream of it, followed by the sound of cracking as the crystal walls and ceiling began to break.

In an instant, everyone in the room knew what was about to happen and had to act fast, having only a split second to act. Matt stuffed Pebbles inside his tunic then coated himself completely in stone that would keep out the boiling water. Hooty opened his beak wide and swallowed Lilith and Corvanc, planning to protect her with his own body. Mason was a Merrow, so was immune to the Boiling Sea and able to swim in all but its hottest depths without fear. Lastly Luz, seeing everyone else was already protecting themselves, threw up a barrier around herself, then tried to throw up a second around Matt, but before the second barrier could be completed, the ceiling shattered completely and a torrent of boiling seawater flooded in to the room.

The sudden deluge of water rushing into the room actually caused the entire thing to shatter thanks to the damage already done to it during the fight, causing everyone inside to be swept out into the open ocean. Hooty began to thrash due to the boiling water (to which he was resistant but not immune), but thanks to his natural buoyancy and Lilith flying up while inside him, he rapidly reached the surface and emerged with only some minor burns. Meanwhile, Matt sank like a rock due to his stone armour, causing Luz to use her barrier to keep herself safe in the Boiling Sea as she dove down after him, knowing he couldn't escape on his own. She tried to cast ice magic through the barrier to cool the sea but as they were so close to the seafloor, the water was far hotter, so Luz was unable to repeat what she'd done on Grom Night and her date with Amity; the ice she created melting far too quickly to be effective.

Mason and Luna (the latter of whom was freed by the destruction of the room) could swim around just fine, though both were disoriented by the sudden flood. Mason growled to himself, knowing that most of his grotto would have been flooded too, while Luna instead growled at the sight of Luz, having survived the flood thanks to her barrier. Recovering fast, Luna swam at the Angel with lightning speed, then once she was about to reach her, she did a loop in the water to build up momentum and slammed Luz, barrier and all, with the heel of her foot. The force of the blow smashed Luz into the seabed, leaving a crater and dazing the girl. Frustrated that she hadn't cracked the barrier, and seeing Mason swimming towards her at high speed, Luna decided to leave Luz for later while ensuring she didn't escape.

Drawing a yellow spell circle with her tail and a teal spell circle with her hands, Luna began transmuting some of the seawater into a golden liquid, which she manipulated into the shapes of chains that wrapped around Luz's barrier. Once the chains were formed, Luna cast another spell to transmute them into a solid form and fuse the sand beneath the barrier into a massive hunk of rock, which the chains were fused into, before transmuting it into a metallic material of some kind. Luz, recovering from being stunned, tried to move and escape, but her barrier wouldn't budge thanks to the chains and the weight of the rock she'd been chained too. Luna had effectively turned Luz's greatest defence into a prison, leaving Luz trapped at the bottom of the sea with no escape.

Mason reached them a moment later (having taken longer since he was far smaller than his mother) and immediately gunned it for the trapped Angel, only for Luna to whip her tail at him and slap him into the seafloor as well, kicking up a huge cloud of sand.

"I will destroy all of you monsters!" Luna cried, her voice warbling through the water.

Her son shot out from the cloud of sand and swam directly into her face. He struck her hard (though it did very little damage due to the size difference), and kicked off from her face to begin swimming away, causing Luna to snarl furiously and swim after him. She was technically slower, but could cover more ground due to her size, so her attempts to slash and swat at Mason with her claws looked like a person trying to catch a fly.

Luz watched nervously, until she heard a pounding on her barrier behind her. She turned and gasped as she saw Mason there, confusing her.

"Mason!? But how!? She cried.

"That other one's a golem. I made it from sand after Ma smacked me down and hid in the sand cloud while it attacked and distracted her. Can you move? I don't think I can stop her without your help."

Luz shook her head; "I can't. Your Ma chained me down to this massive rock she made and now I can't move my barrier! I could drop it and swim out through the gaps in the chains, but I'll be boiled alive and it's too hot at this depth for me to cool the water with ice magic! Can you break the rock these chains are bound to?"

Mason swam down and touched the rock, then grimaced: "It's not a regular stone. Ma transmuted this stuff and the chains with a Potions Spell. I can't break it or undo the transmutation."

That made Luz scowl; while most people viewed Potions Magic as brewing literal potions by mixing ingredients (which was admittedly the primary focus of the art), the school of magic was actually a kind of mystical Chemistry and Alchemy. Anyone can mix ingredients together, but the spells of Potions Magic were about manipulating and altering things on a chemical level, largely through transmutation or some form of molecular alteration. Luna had transmuted water into some other unknown substance to create the chains, while she'd done the same to the sand beneath Luz's barrier to create the heavy rock, and since she'd seen that Mason was Head of the Construction Coven, she'd likely made the materials resistant to the powers of a Construction Witch.

"The only way to free you is to get you to the surface. I can probably do it, but Ma will realise the ruse with my golem as soon as I try, which means things will get rough. Are you ready?" Mason asked.

Luz was about to agree, but then she remembered Matt and looked over to the boy. Thanks to his stone armour, Matt looked like he'd been petrified, but was insulated from the Boiling Sea… mostly. Unfortunately, the water was still hot enough that the heat began penetrating the stone, and there was no way Matt could breathe like that.

"Save Matt first! I'm trapped, but at least I'm not gonna suffocate or burn like this! Matt needs help more than I do!"

Mason nodded to Luz then swam as quickly as he could over to Matt, and used his enhanced muscles to pick the statue boy up and begin swimming for the surface at high speed, soon surfacing and seeing Lilith and Hooty.

Since the surface of the sea wasn't hot enough to instantly melt ice, Lilith had been able to make a decently sized iceberg for her to sit on after she and Hooty had surfaced. Now she was cradling Hooty in her arms and applying multiple Healing Glyph Combos to the burns he'd suffered from both the acid attacks and the Boiling Sea. Poor Hooty was blubbering over the trouble he'd caused, apologising over and over while Lilith soothed and comforted him. Mason was less inclined to comfort him since Hooty's foolish attempts to help had caused this whole misunderstanding, but the odd House Demon was so distraught that he still felt kind of bad for him.

Shoving that thought aside, Mason leapt out of the water with Matt in his arms and landed on the iceberg, which Lilith immediately expanded with a pair of ice glyphs to keep it floating with the extra weight.

"Mason! Where is Luz!?" Lilith cried.

"Trapped under the water. She's safe for now though." Mason said, setting Matt's stone clad form down and casting a Construction Spell to disintegrate the armour, freeing the boy.

Matt immediately fell to his knees with gasp, taking several deep breathes. "Oh my Titan! I almost suffocated myself! Oh no, Pebbles!" he gasped, nearly tearing open his tunic in search of the little Palisman. Lilith and Mason gaped at the boy; his skin had turned red and suffered some minor burns from the stone heating up under the water, enough that every movement should be painful, yet he wasn't even acknowledging it and was instead frantically looking for Pebbles.

He soon found the little Palisman nestled in one of his armpits, quivering in fear but thankfully unburned, having been shielded from the heat by Matt's body.

"Pebbles! Oh thank the Titan! You're okay!" Matt cried with relief.

Pebbles gave a frightened squeak, then took in Matt's appearance and began frantically squeaking. This seemed to make Matt finally realise his condition, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Oh man, this feels worse than when I got sunburned visiting Palm Stings! Note to self, create rock with lower heat conductivity next time!" Matt muttered to himself as he looked around. He saw Hooty, Lilith, and Mason, but scowled when he didn't see Luz.

"Luz!? Where is she!? Don't tell me she's still under the water!?" Matt cried.

Mason nodded; "She is, but she's safe. I'll get her out, just be patient. In the meantime, stay safe and let Lilith heal you."

"But I can help! I'm tied for the top in my class in the construction track!" Matt argued.

"And you're injured and can't swim in the Boiling Sea." Lilith pointed out, carefully grabbing him by his clothes. Matt tried to pull free, so she very gently poked his reddened skin, making him yelp and stop his struggling. "Let me heal you; you can't help Luz or calm down Mrs Miphari if you're injured."

The boy winced and grumbled, but really couldn't argue. If a light poke was enough to have him wincing in pain, an actual blow would have him howling. With a displeased scowl, the boy knelt down and accepted the healing, though he tried to give Pebbles to Lilith first.

"Can you heal him too?" he asked, noting the poor little guy still had a crack or two from his earlier impact.

Lilith shook her head sadly as she began to apply her final few Healing Glyph Combos to Matt's skin, healing the burns and curing the redness. Matt frowned and gently cradled Pebbles as he was healed, while Mason dove back into the water.

"I'll go and try to raise Miss Luz out of the water. Once she's free, we can retry her plan to calm Ma with a Bardic Song." Mason said, receiving nods of agreement from the others before she dived down beneath the waves. Under the water, he used a Construction Spell to line the underside of Lilith's iceberg with porous stone, ensuring it wouldn't melt or sink any time soon, then swam deep down to the sea floor where Luz was imprisoned. He looked over to the distance as he swam and saw his Ma chasing after the golem he'd made. The golem was avoiding her primarily by swimming around the bones of the Metatarsal reef, using them to kite the giant Merrow, but it wouldn't last much longer; Mason wasn't the best at crafting golems and so the magic he'd infused into it would only last a few minutes, and the golem could only follow a few commands, namely flee their opponent while maintaining their attention.

Aware that he was running out of time, Mason rushed to Luz's barrier and greeted her with a nod of reassurance, then cast a Construction Spell to raise up a pillar of earth beneath her and the rock his Ma had chained her to. The pillar rose quickly, and Mason rose with it, keeping his eye firmly on his Ma. Unfortunately for him, Luna noticed the glowing bronze aura that surrounded the growing pillar and immediately realised that the Mason she was chasing was a fake. Her glowing teal eyes narrowed and she ignored the golem in favour of swimming directly at the real Mason.

"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" she bellowed, casting a spell to transmute several spears out of the water and launch them at Mason. He responded by coating his fists in hard stone and punching them away to protect the pillar of earth, then swam at his Ma. She span at the last minute and smacked him with her tail, but he held onto it at the last moment and avoided being sent flying. However his concentration was broken, causing his spell to stop and the pillar to cease its rise, leaving Luz stranded once more.

With a growl of frustration, Mason used Construction Magic to refine the salt in the seawater into several large white chunks, which he turned into a giant crystalline chain to wrap around his Ma's waist. With his magically boosted strength, he then span the woman around and threw her down to the seafloor, though she hit the floor with her feet and immediately kicked up, forcing Mason to swim away from the pillar so it wouldn't be broken.

"Miss Luz, hang in there!" he yelled; "I'll find a way to keep her busy or restrained, then come back and finish the job!"

Luz nodded; "I understand! I have faith in you Mason! Just be careful!"

The Man nodded in response and kept swimming, grabbing his hammer from his belt and coating it in a layer of crystalline sea-salt to smack away the massive metallic boulder his Ma had just transmuted to drop onto his head. Luz watched as Mason and Luna exchanged blows, her heart going out to both of them. Poor Luna was confused and heartbroken to the point of a Bile Overload and Poor Mason was forced to fight against his mother, the woman he'd devoted himself to saving, because of a horrible misunderstanding that Luz was currently powerless to help. She wanted to try firing some light beams or conjuring plants to hold Luna back, but in her precarious position, drawing attention to herself would just make things harder for poor Mason. Not only that, but she couldn't even attempt Bardic Magic since the water would warp and distort the song!

She was completely useless and helpless, and Luz hated it! All she could do was sit back and have faith that things would work out. She did have faith too, but that didn't make it easier to bear…

Back up on the surface, Matt was now pacing the iceberg as Lilith, Hooty, and Pebbles watched (the latter now resting on a slightly raised chunk of ice). They'd all been fully healed, but thanks to the Boiling Sea, they still couldn't rush to Luz and Mason's aid; Matt because he had no way of going into the water or cooling it down, and Lilith because she'd run out of glyphs and paper to draw them on and didn't have a lot of magic left from her blessing. She had already needed to drink an Elixir to stay calm, so she really couldn't afford to waste her magic until she had a solid plan, especially with a powerful Merrow raging around beneath them.

"I hate this! I feel so useless!" Matt muttered to himself.

"It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. We're at a major disadvantage in the sea." Lilith said, "The best thing we can do now is stay calm and conserve our strength."

Matt sighed and sat down on the ice and rubbed the back of his neck; "I know that, I just-! Ugh…"

Lilith smiled sympathetically, deciding to change the subject to take Matt's mind off the situation. "So, you're Steve Tholomule's younger brother? He talked about you a lot when we were in the Emperor's Coven together."

"He did?" Matt blinked.

Lilith nodded; "He did. He was probably my favourite colleague and subordinate, so I'd often vent to him about my frustrations regarding Eda. We were obviously still at odds back then… Steve would respond by telling me about his little brother."

"Yeah, I guess I gave him a lot to want to vent about too…" Matt flushed with shame.

"Actually, I don't think he ever said a bad word about you. I think the only time he seemed unhappy when discussing you was when he said you were having trouble at school or something. Though this was a couple of years ago." the woman replied.

Matt looked to her with shock; "T-That's all the bad stuff he's ever said about me?"

"Even that wasn't bad because of you. He was more upset for you. He always made it clear he was very fond of you; Steve is incredibly proud of you."

Matt looked away, biting his lip and bowing his head as mixed feelings of pride and shame warred inside his stomach. It made him happy that his Bro was proud of him, yet he felt like he hadn't done enough to come close to deserving it, especially from someone as accomplished as Steve. Lilith saw his reaction and frowned.

"Do you and Steve not get along at home? Or are you fighting at the moment?" she asked.

The boy shook his head; "No. We get along great! I look up to Steve; he's my hero! But…" he looked down at his clenched fists; "… but I'm jealous of him too. He's an awesome guy! Everyone likes him, and he's strong enough to be in the Emperor's Coven! He went to Glandus like I did, but he wasn't so weak that he got chased out like I was, and he was also a good enough person to not become a bully! Compared to him, I… I just don't measure up."

Matt felt ashamed to say it; he was so amazingly proud of his big brother, whom he idolised, but seeing Steve be so amazing made him feel like a failure.

"I'm actually smarter and better at magic than he was at my age. I got to skip a year because I was so good! But I still don't compare to him! I ended up the bottom of the social ladder at Glandus, becoming the lackey of everyone there until I couldn't handle it any more and got transferred out. Then I spent my first months at Hexside being just as much of a jerk as the kids I was running away from! I tried to lie and cheat my way into popularity by trying to take over Gus's club for Human lovers, and when Luz came along and threatened that, I was such a monster that I tricked her into the Detention Pit when all she wanted to do was help me!" Matt confessed, on the brink of frustrated tears. "Steve would never have done any of that! He would have been able to save Luz and Gus at the Looking Glass Graveyard on his own too, while I just cowered until Luz snapped me out of it and Gus came up with a plan! Now the same thing is happening again, with me useless on the sidelines while my friend is in danger! Dang it, how am I ever going to live up to Steve if this is all I can do!?"

Lilith's eyes widened, and she felt a bit of kinship with the boy. She too had felt like she'd lived in the shadow of a sibling, whom she'd loved and cared for deeply. In her moments of self-doubt, Lilith had also compared herself unfavourably to Edalyn, just as Matt was to Steve… and she knew just what to say, because it was what she'd always wanted to hear.

"Matt, Luz told me about all her adventures with you; the Detention Pit and the Looking Glass Graveyard. She told me the things you've done, and the things you did to redeem yourself! Steve is an amazing man, but even he made a mistake when he chose to stay in the Emperor's Coven and give up Pebbles, instead of keeping Pebbles and following a different path. Even he could fail! You are an incredibly strong young man, Matt Tholomule, because while you made severe mistakes and stumbled in life, you always got back up and kept going! You worked hard to redeem yourself for what you did to Luz and Gus, to the point that you are one of their best friends! You were instrumental in stopping those Glandus brats at the Graveyard even if you were afraid! And you've been working so hard in school and on Digale Island, not to mention this project to repair King's Tower!"

Lilith grasped the boy's shoulder as he looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Everyone makes mistakes. It's a part of life! But not everyone can pick themselves up and give everything they have to fix those mistakes! Believe me, I know how hard that is, especially when you don't particularly like the person you've become…" Lilith remembered her own mistakes and sins, "The fact you can do that makes you incredible! Steve is right to be extremely proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself! Believe in yourself, because I know that Steve and Luz both do!"

Matt's lip quivered; "Y-You really think so? You really think someone like me is amazing!?"

"I do. I barely know you, but I know Luz and Steve well enough to know they wouldn't lie or exaggerate." Lilith said seriously. She heard a squeak to her left and looked down to see Pebbles sliding his way towards Matt, then tapping his boot with his little paws, squeaking and nodding along. Lilith grinned; "See? Someone else agrees too!"

Matt knelt down and scooped Pebbles into his hands, then stood and cradled him against his chest. "Heh, I guess if you think I'm cool, then I guess I can't be all bad!" he laughed, even as he had tears in his eyes.

Pebbles looked up at Matt and stretched his tiny arms out as much as he could across the boy's chest, hugging him. Matt felt his heart swell, then to his surprise, he heard the voice of a little boy inside his head.

"Pebbles likes the person that Matty became!"

Matt gasped and looked down at Pebbles; "I-Is that you? Are you talking to me in my head!?"

Pebbles nodded; "Pebbles remembers when Matty was small. When Steve carved him… Pebbles didn't move, but then Steve cuddled Matty and said he wanted to be a good big brother, then Pebbles could move! Then Matty gave Pebbles his name!"

"That's right…! I can't believe I forgot that! When Steve was carving you, I was just learning the basics of Construction Magic and made my own version of you out of pebbles!" Matt began to laugh at the memory; "Steve called it my "Pebbles Palisman" so I said "Then that's your Pebbles Palisman!" and the name stuck!"

Pebbles giggled too, an adorable sound that warmed Matt's heart; "Pebbles remembers! But then Steve wanted to be friends with people who'd hurt Pebbles, and he sent Pebbles away… it hurt a lot and I was scared… I missed Steve and I missed Matty! But now… Steve doesn't need me any more, and Pebbles doesn't want to go back… Pebbles wants to stay with Matty!"

"M-Me!? You want to be my Palisman!?" Matt gasped.

Pebbles nodded and nuzzled against his chest, over his heart; "Pebbles does. But Pebbles needs to feel the bond… he feels it a little. Enough to talk to Matty. But wants more! Pebbles wants to feel connection! Wants to know what Matty wants!"

Matt closed his eyes and thought about the wish he'd made at Palismen Adoption Day. He wanted to be a cool guy like Steve, and be a better person than the bullies who'd turned him into a lackey. He wanted to redeem his past sins by helping others and being someone they could look up to! He wanted to be someone's hero, just like Steve was his hero.

He still wanted all of that, but there was a new wish in his heart now too; "I want to keep getting better, and being a person that Steve and my friends can keep being proud of. I want to be the best person I can be, even if I'm not the strongest or the best there is. I want to prove that Matt Tholomule is a Great Man that people can look up too!"

That wish was all Pebbles needed. Feeling the full connection, Pebbles gave one more delighted squeak as the cracks on his body healed on their own, then transformed into his staff mode. As a staff, Pebbles' arms were folded against his torso and looked like they were painted on, while his eyes were closed similar to Ghost's in her staff form. His tail also stretched out below him, and the tip below his axolotl tail fins extended down to form the staff itself. Matt held him in his hands and gasped with amazement as he felt not only a huge well of magic building inside him, but also a connection that made it really feel like he and Pebbles were one. In an instant, he felt almost like he'd had Pebbles his whole life!

"I can't believe it! Pebbles, you're my Palisman!" Matt beamed, spinning the staff with ease and hopping onto it to fly in a loop through the air, laughing the whole time.

"Pebbles is happy too! Matty feels a lot like Steve, but stronger! More earthy! Pebbles likes it a lot! It's a good wish!" the little Palisman replied.

Lilith and Hooty watched the pair with bright smiles; "Excellent! Good for you, Matt!" Lilith congratulated him.

"Hooray! Something good happened, Hoot!" Hooty cheered. He'd been quiet so far, afraid of saying the wrong thing again.

Matt flew back down to the iceberg and hovered beside it; "I feel incredible! Like I can do almost anything! In fact… I'm going to see how things are going underwater!"

"How? Getting a Palisman doesn't make you immune to the sea you know." Lilith pointed out.

Matt just smirked and flipped his hair in what he thought was a cool guy gesture; "Don't worry, I feel inspired! I've got a plan!" he declared.

He then used Earth Magic to create a small pile of sand, which he used to create a fishbowl shaped helmet over his head. He then cast a Construction Spell to refine the sand into glass, making it transparent and giving him a protective bubble around his head. He immediately put it to use by hanging like a bat from his new staff, dunking the top of his head into the water. The glass resisted the heat and kept the water away from Matt's skin as he looked around for signs of Luz, Mason, and Luna.

He immediately saw Luna near the seafloor, exchanging blows with Mason. The Construction Coven Head was using his hammer to parry blows from various projectiles Luna was transmuting out of the water, but he wasn't getting any closer to wearing her out or restraining her, while she didn't look any closer to calming down. If anything, her glowing eyes were shining brighter, as the blood-pumping battle with who she thought was her family's killer made her Bile Overload slowly worsen over time. Unable to help there, Matt instead looked for Luz and saw her barrier still trapped on the top of the pillar Mason had been raising.

He pulled his head out of the water and said; "I think I can get Luz out now that I've got Pebbles to boost my magic, but I'm betting that the moment I do, Mrs Miphari is gonna be on us! Are you two ready to fight if need be?"

Lilith nodded and switched Corvanc back into staff mode, while grabbing Hooty and wearing his bird house like a backpack. "I'm ready. Worst comes to worst, we can fly out of Luna's reach. She'll be at a disadvantage above the waves!"

With Lilith's approval, Matt began his plan by flying rapidly towards the Shin, which was the closest part of the Titan that wasn't underwater. He reached it and landed on a small beach, the sand of which he immediately manipulated and refined into a large glass bubble similar to Luz's crystal barriers. With this, he would be able to go beneath the water for a short time and reach Luz. Matt flew back to Lilith and made sure she was ready to fight (Lilith took to the air, just in case), before he dove into the water on the back of Pebbles, his glass bubble protecting him. He flew down to Luz, who gasped in surprise upon seeing him.

"Matt!? And is that… Pebbles!? I missed something big, didn't I!?" Luz exclaimed.

"Kinda yeah." Matt said as loudly as he could, since his words had to get through two barriers and the water between them; "Long story short, I had a heart to heart with Miss Lilith and Pebbles, and bonded with him! Now Pebbles and I are partners!"

"I missed a lot!" Luz huffed, before smiling brightly; "Congratulations Matt! I should have known you and Pebbles would be perfect for each other!"

Matt grinned and flipped his hair; "Thanks. Now sit tight and watch me be an awesome hero!"

He used Pebbles to draw a bronze spell circle that caused the pillar Luz was on to begin rising once again. It wasn't as fast as when Mason was doing it, but it was getting Luz to the surface and that was all anyone cared about. As they rose, Luz kept an eye on Luna, who hadn't noticed them yet thanks to her fight with Mason, whilst talking to Matt.

"Hey Matt, I think that Pebbles was the Palisman that BQ thought would bond with you back on Adoption Day, but he didn't because he'd fallen asleep in my bag."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Even when he was still Steve's Palisman, he had a habit of eating a ton and then passing out in weird places. I found him in my sock drawer once." Matt grinned, as Pebbles squeaked in embarrassment.

"I'm happy for you both! I had faith in you! But I've gotta admit to being kind of jealous too. I really want a Palisman of my own!" Luz said.

"Are you still having trouble thinking of what you want?" Matt asked, remembering Luz mentioning it to the whole Hexsquad at lunch the previous day.

Luz nodded; "There are a lot of things I want to do, but I don't know what I want to focus on. How did you decide?"

"I didn't." Matt said with a shrug; "I just told Pebbles everything I wanted. I think being honest about what you want, even if its a lot of stuff, is what's important. I mean, it's the connection that matters and you've just gotta open your heart to make that, right?"

Luz stared off into the water, deep in thought; "Honest about my desires, huh?"

She closed her eyes and thought hard, thinking back to a time when she'd wanted something oso badly that her wishing for it had been ingrained in her memory. Aside from short-term goals (which she'd mostly reached), only one really stood out to her; "Before I came to the Demon Realm, what I desired most was to be a good Angel! No, it wasn't just that… I guess the thing I wanted most was for Mami to accept the person I was back then and the person I was becoming, and see that person as a good Angel. Now she has! She and Mom both gave me the freedom to decide my own path in life, even if it was one they didn't want for me."

"Then maybe that's enough of a start? Carve your Palisman into whatever you want and see if the bond forms." Matt suggested, still focused on raising the pillar. They were almost to the surface now; it'd just be another minute.

Luz nodded and opened her eyes with a smile; "It's a start. But what should I carve I wonder… I- uh oh."

The young angel paled as she looked down and saw that Luna had finally taken notice of the rising pillar and was now gunning for the person raising it; namely Matt! The Merrow was fast approaching, and Mason was giving chase but had no chance of catching up in time, so Luz had to act fast.

"MATT! LEAVE ME AND RUN!" she ordered.

"What!? But I-" Matt began, only for Luna to reach him before he could finish his sentence. She clawed at him, forcing him to stop his spell so he could dodge and reinforce his glass barrier with Construction Magic. A follow-up tail smash struck him hard and knocked him away from Luz, and would have shattered his barrier had he not reinforced it, though the blow had still cracked the glass and boiling water was beginning to seep in.

"Oh Titan! Sorry Luz, I'll be back!" he yelled, quickly flying away with Luna in hot pursuit.

"Don't worry Matt, you've done enough already!" Luz declared, noting her current depth. The pillar had risen high enough to elevate her into relatively shallow waters, which were cool enough that she could use ice magic through her barrier to cool it down to survivable temperatures. As soon as she saw slush and pieces of ice forming in the water outside her barrier, Luz took a deep breath and dropped her barrier. She was immediately slammed into by the cooled ocean, which made her stagger for a moment, before she began swimming for the surface as quickly as she could, using a little water magic to push herself up even faster.

Luz broke the surface of the water with a loud gasp and immediately took flight, shaking her wings dry as she flew around in a big circle and laughed joyously; "Fresh air! Thank the Titan! It felt like I was under there for hours!" she cheered.

Lilith flew over to her as soon as she saw her; "Are you okay Luz!?" she asked urgently, flying close enough to touch Luz's face and pat her down for signs of injury.

"Tia Lily, Hooty! I'm fine, and it looks like you are too! Thank goodness! Now we just need Matt and Mason!" Luz said.

As if on cue, Matt (still inside his cracked glass barrier) flew out of the sea and immediately disintegrated the barrier back into sand, dropping the water that had started to flood it. He was unhurt, though a little hot and sweaty from the steam the water had given off. His barrier had been like a sauna for a few seconds there!

"Oh thank Titan, you got out alright! I panicked when I doubled back and saw you were gone." Matt said, panting a little as he flew over to join the others.

"I'm fine thanks to you. I'd never have been able to escape if you hadn't gotten me closer to the surface." Luz said, patting the boy on the shoulder. "But where are Mason and Luna?"

"When I doubled back, Mrs Miphari followed me and crashed right into Head Witch Mason. They're still fighting somewhere down below." Matt answered, pointing down to a section of the sea that was especially choppy and foamy as a battle raged below. "Merrows really are tough though, I've never seen people fight like that!"

Lilith nodded; "Merrows prefer to rely on their bodies over magic, especially since they're naturally larger and stronger than Witches and most Demons. Unfortunately, that means they're incredibly difficult to deal with, especially in the water. We need Mason to drag his mother out so we can calm her down and talk sense into her. If we can stop the Bile Overload, we might be able to stop her."

"If we can hold her still long enough, I can try the Song of Soothing again." Luz suggested.

"I've got some Soothing Potions too, which are effective with Bile Overloads. They aren't enough on their own thanks to how big Mrs Miphari is, but combined with your song, they might just work. Lilith replied.

"In that case, I've got an idea! Luz, can you take us both under in another barrier?" Matt asked.

Luz nodded, making Matt smirk; "Great, here's my idea…"

As Matt and the others were planning, Mason was growing exhausted from fighting his Ma. While he was a Merrow, he was only Half-Merrow, so he didn't have the same level of natural strength or toughness. He had superior magic, which he used to compensate, but his Ma's Bile Overload made her even stronger, virtually tireless, and completely impossible to reason with!

"Ma, please stop this! It's me, Talis! I'm alive!" he panted, speaking in the language of the Merrows.

Luna didn't reply, instead snarling like a beast and trying to slash him with the claws on her feet while using her hands to draw yellow spell circles that transmuted the water yet again. The right hand transmuted it into a swarm of icy projectiles in the shape of arrowheads, while the left hand transmuted it into a thick purple liquid that she manipulated into the arrowheads, before she sent the whole swarm flying at Mason. He tried to dodge, but Luna's water magic controlled the currents and allowed her to slow him down and make the arrowheads follow him wherever he went, forcing him to instead expend even more magic on hardening his scales, making sure the arrowheads couldn't pierce him. However they shattered instead, and the purple liquid got on him and began to corrode his scales.

Cursing, Mason began swimming for the surface as fast as he could, hoping that the water rushing across his scales would wash off the poison, or that one of the others would be able to get it off so Luz could heal him. Naturally his mother followed close behind and slashed at him, this time managing to catch his back and carve three deep cuts into his flesh. They weren't life threatening, but they hurt and had come dangerously close to his spine! If this kept up, he'd really be killed! His poor Ma would never forgive herself if she later found out she'd murdered her own son!

Thankfully, the chances of that happening vanished as a light beam suddenly shot at Luna and struck her in the side of the face. It had enough force behind it to force her head sideways, but it only actually did enough damage to scuff her scales and make Luna turn to the source with a furious glare. She saw Luz flying around underwater with a barrier, and immediately gave chase.

"That's right! Come and get me!" Luz yelled, fleeing to the top of the pillar (that still had Luna's transmuted chains on the top). Luna followed her, transmuting and throwing spears at her, which shattered uselessly against Luz's crystal barrier. Luz then flew a little further back, shooting some light beams from light glyphs embedded into her barrier as she went. The beams stung the enraged Merrow, who swam forward without a second thought… directly over the pillar of earth.

The second she was over it, Lilith (who was hiding inside a barrier hidden by an illusion) suddenly slapped a giant plant glyph she'd carved into the top of the pillar. A monstrous tangle of seaweed shot up and wrapped around Luna, trapping her and holding her down, pinning her to the pillar just as her chains had done to Luz a little while ago.

Matt, hidden in the same way Lilith had been, then rammed his crystal barrier into the base of the pillar, causing it to shatter and break. As the pillar lost its base and began to slowly topple over, Matt used earth magic empowered by Pebbles to control the pillar and launch it, and Luna, out of the water like a javelin. The maddened Merrow roared furiously as she was sent flying out of the sea and into the air, but this didn't last long; before she reached the apex of her forced flight, she used Potions Magic to produce a powerful acid that ate away the seaweed binding her, allowing her to leap off the pillar and dive back into the water. Unfortunately for her, Luz and the others were ready for her.

Luz and Lilith used the ice glyph to massive expand the latter's iceberg from earlier, turning it into a thick sheet of ice that stretched out across the Boiling Sea, creating an icy land mass that was almost half a kilometre thick and about a quarter of a kilometre wide from edge to edge, all directly beneath where Luna was falling. Luz has also grown some Cushioning Cotton over the ice, so when Luna came crashing down, she wasn't hurt by the landing.

"Conniving little beasts!" Luna snarled, getting to her feet and trying to run for edge of the iceberg-turned-glacier so she could dive back into the water. However Lilith used some simple fire magic to destroy the Cushioning Cotton, creating a smoke cloud that disoriented the giant Merrow while also taking away any traction she had on the ice, causing her to slip around and fall on her rear. As this was happening, Luz carried Mason out of the sea and began to heal his wounds while Matt darted into the sky so he could use his earth magic to grab the launched pillar before it landed, then sent it flying at Luna. The woman saw it coming and conjured more acid that melted the pillar into nothing, then shot it up at Matt, who dodged out of the way and used earth magic to create a shield of rock to block the bursts of acid he couldn't fully evade.

The effort of creating earth out of nothing but magic was draining however, and Matt found himself flagging. "Man, I could really do with a Power Glyph right about now! You hanging in there, Pebbles?" he asked.

"Pebbles is okay! Matty should take a break!"

Matt grinned sardonically as he was forced to dodge another spray of acid; "I don't think she'll give me a chance!"

He dodged more acid, until Lilith and Hooty attacked Luna from behind, the former creating tree roots with a plant glyph to restrain Luna while Hooty wrapped himself around her to further hold her down. Matt decided to add his own restraints by conjuring sand and shaping it into chains before refining it into glass, but despite their efforts, Luna was too strong! She was able to tear away some of the roots binding one of her arms by using her teeth, then used the free arm to grab Hooty and squeeze him until he hooted in pain and loosened his grip, allowing Luna to yank him off and begin spinning him in the air like a lasso. Since Hooty was attached to Lilith's back via his birdhouse, Lilith ended up being spun around too, and when Luna released them, they went flying towards the Shin, where they crashed painfully, barely cushioned by some emergency magic cast by Corvanc. Luna was then able to shatter the glass restraints by releasing a deafening sonic scream, which had the added effect of making Matt cry out in pain and cover his ears.

Luna took the opportunity to leap up to where he was flying and swat him down. The blow would have killed him if Pebbles hadn't flown out of the way just in time, but the attack still hit the end of the Palisman's staff, causing him to lose control and go crashing towards the sea. Matt was able to recover from the scream just in time to pull up, allowing them to avoid hitting the water.

Luz and Mason watched all this with worried expressions, before Luz shouted; "Matt, get to the Shin and check on Tia Lily and Hooty! Leave Luna to us!"

Matt looked ready to argue, but he really did need a moment to rest and recover, so he nodded; "Got it! Don't get killed!" he ordered. He then flew to the Shin as fast as he could, while Luna transmuted some seawater into spears that she launched after him. Luz blasted theses spears with some light beams, getting Luna's attention back on her as she landed on the iceberg and placed Mason down beside her.

"Luna, please listen to us! I know you're angry and confused, but it isn't what you think! Just let us explain!" Luz begged, making one last ditch effort to settle things peacefully.

"I don't believe you! I'll avenge my family and sink the entire Coven System into the Boiling Sea!" Luna bellowed, swiping her tail towards Luz. The Angel girl blocked with a barrier, groaning as her magic was strained.

Mason saw this and frowned worriedly; "Miss Luz, are you alright?"

"Reversing Petrification on someone this big used up a lot of magic and I've barely had time to rest. Even when I was trapped under the sea, I still had to use magic to stay cool and keep my barrier up." Luz muttered lowly, so only Mason could hear. "I'm getting low… So we need to end this soon."

Luna snarled and transmuted a massive hammer, the head of which was probably about half the size of the Owl House, and tried to slam it down on top of Luz and Mason. The Coven Head rushed to shield Luz, but she ended up protecting both of them with another barrier, though this time she actually collapsed to one knee from the strain.

"Miss Luz, that's enough! You've done more than I could ask for and freed my Ma! Let me handle the rest!" Mason implored, not wanting to see the girl suffer for his selfish request.

Luz shook her head and forced herself back onto her feet, bracing herself as Luna smashed down on them again. "I'm not giving up! I'm helping you because I want to! If I leave, you'll be killed! But if I stay and hold out until Matt and Tia Lily come back, then I know we can win! I have faith in us!"

Another hammer smash to her barrier made it crack, forcing Luz to expend more magic to repair it. "I want to give Luna back her freedom! And I want to do the same for everyone petrified down below! I want to give them their lives back! I won't-" another blow smashed down on her barrier, "-give-" and another, "-UP!"

Luna, with all her strength, slammed the hammer down with one last blow, finally shattering Luz's barrier, but causing the head of the hammer to shatter apart as well. This caused Luna to stagger back in surprise, while Luz was knocked flat on her back, drained of magic even as she felt a powerful heat burning in her chest.

Luz suddenly felt like she was floating as the world around her went white and silent.

"D-Did I get knocked out by that last blow?" she thought, looking around in confusion. Aside from the magic drain and the heat in her chest, she didn't feel hurt or anything. She had a weird tingling in her right foot too, but that didn't really bother her, so she was puzzled as to what had happened.

She blinked, then felt a shadow looming over her from behind. Luz turned to look at it, then went pale as she came face to face with something truly colossal.

The Titan.

Luz froze and her heart began to beat so fast that it was practically vibrating as she stared up at the gargantuan being before her. The Titan looked a lot like King, but naturally far bigger, being the size of the Boiling Isles. He also had far more muscular arms, and a rotund "Dad bod", as well as a pair of giant draconic wings with odd holes spread across them. His lower body was submerged into a gigantic sea that had suddenly appeared far beneath Luz, who was now floating in front of the Titan's face. The Titan also appeared to be missing their right eye and there was… something… hiding in the shadow of his empty eye socket.

"Y-You're the Titan! You're King's Dad; Orion!" Luz exclaimed.

Orion nodded, though he was strangely silent. Luz stared at him for a moment, then saw as his expression became one of disappointment. She got the impression he was trying to speak to her, but she couldn't hear his voice… it was hard to tell, since his mouth wasn't moving, but then King's didn't move when he talked either.

"A-Are you trying to contact me?" Luz asked.

Orion nodded once again, and slowly lifted a colossal paw to point a finger (of which he had five, unlike King's three) at Luz, whose Glyph Markings began to glow softly.

"You're using the Glyphs to talk to me? But the connection isn't strong enough yet?" Luz said, trying to infer his meaning.

She was correct, as Orion looked pleased. He had been able to speak to her once before, when she'd ascended to the rank of Arch-Angel, but clearly manifesting to her like this AND talking at the same time was still a bit too difficult.

Luz looked around at the white void and the sea beneath her; "Am I unconscious, or in a trance or something?"

Another nod answered her question, before Orion pointed his claw at something behind Luz. She curiously turned to see it and gaped as another Titan appeared there, rising out of the ocean. This Titan appeared as a gigantic silhouette made of spiralling colours of silvery grey, orangey bronze, brilliant yellow, and deep purple, and the silhouette itself was wavy and distorted, making it hard to make out their true shape. From what Luz could tell, they were slightly smaller than Orion, and with a slender body type with larger wings and longer horns that appeared to be somewhat forked rather than sleek like King's. Oddly enough, there was a massive hole in this Titan's chest, allowing Luz to see straight through where their heart should be.

"Whoa… another Titan!? C-Could you be King's Mom? Cassiopeia?" Luz asked, staring at the Titan with awe.

The new Titan nodded slowly, and she pointed to the hole in her chest. Luz watched her with confusion, as her pointing got more and more insistent, but Luz couldn't completely figure out what she was trying to say. "Something about your heart? Is it missing?" Luz asked. She'd heard from Lilith that Orion's heart (shrunken, but still beating) could be find in Belos' throne room, so maybe Cassiopeia's heart was still beating somewhere too.

Cassiopeia responded with another slow nod, then gently lifted a claw and tapped Luz's forehead. The memory of her hugging King and first giving him the name Clawthorne-Noceda suddenly flashed through Luz's mind, making her blink in surprise. A second tap then brought forth another memory; one of Luz opening Eda's present to her after her Mom had been captured whilst rescuing her. Once the memory was over, Cassiopeia placed her other hand against her chest, then gestured it towards Luz as if giving her something, before she tapped Luz's forehead one more time and the memory of finding the wind glyph played in Luz's mind.

With all that together, Luz was able to piece together what Cassiopeia was trying to say; "You gave me the wind glyph as a gift because I became King's big sister?"

There was a nod in response, and Orion nodded too, before raising her paws and causing large floating versions of his own four glyphs to appear in front of him. Luz smiled brilliantly, and bowed to them both.

"Thank you for the gifts! You saved my bacon more than once!" Luz said gratefully.

The two Titans shook their heads, and a tap on her forehead from Orion caused Luz to remember saving King from Warden Wrath and the Owl Beast's stomach, and stopping him from being hurt by Zara the Ice Wyrm's breath attack. It was their way of saying she'd more than earned them, which made Luz smile bashfully.

"Aw, you know I love my little brother! I did promise you I'd take good care of him!" Luz said.

Orion's body began to shake as it looked like he was laughing, while Cassiopeia held out her hand and caused an image of the wind glyph to appear there, while her entire silhouette turned silvery grey. Luz was briefly puzzled by what she was trying to show her, but then she slowly tapped her forehead three times in a row, with each tap repeating words Luz had said earlier that day.

"I want to give Luna back her freedom!"

"I'm happy for you both! I had faith in you!"

"Before I came to the Demon Realm, what I desired most was to be a good Angel!"

Luz was briefly confused, until Cassiopeia tapped her head again and only three words were repeated from those sentences.

"Freedom! Faith! Desire!"

In an instant, Luz's eyes widened; "Wait, those are the aspects of the Wind Element! D-Did you contact me to help me bond with the wind glyph!?" she exclaimed.

Cassiopeia shook her head and twirled her finger clockwise, then suddenly counter clockwise. Luz tilted her head in confusion for a second, before asking; "Are you saying its the other way around?"

That got a nod, making Luz smile; "So I was bonding with the wind glyph because I understood freedom, faith, and desire, and because I was bonding with it, I had a strong enough connection to talk to you? Is that right?"

Another nod answered her question, but then the water beneath them started to rise, slowly dragging the two Titans back under. Orion frowned, and while Luz couldn't see Cassiopeia's expression, she could see the disappointed slump in her shoulders.

"Wait! You brought me here to tell me something right!? It's something to do with your heart, or King, right!?" Luz cried urgently.

Both Titans gestured to their hearts, then pointed upwards, but Luz couldn't figure out what it was they were trying to tell her. The only other clue she had was that Cassiopeia's hand turned from silvery grey to brilliant yellow as she pointed it at the sky, but Luz didn't know what that meant!

Sadly she was out of time; the water beneath them (thankfully cool and not boiling) rose up high enough to engulf Luz completely, and beneath the waves she couldn't see either Orion or Cassiopeia any more. She looked around for them desperately, before her vision suddenly went white and she found herself snapping back to reality as their connection broke.

When she opened her eyes, she was upright again and her barrier had only just been broken, meaning the entire vision had happened in an instant. Her heart was still burning with magic, and Luz could feel the warmth spreading through her veins and beneath her skin, pooling in her right leg, which was tingling with power. Luna, who had staggered back after her hammer broke, snarled and brought the shaft of the hammer down to try and smash Luz, while Mason reached for her to pull her out of the way. Before either could touch her though, Luz allowed the magic building inside her to erupt out in a blast of golden light, causing both Merrows to cringe back and cover their eyes.

The light faded fast, and Mason blinked away the spots it had made him see so he could make sure Luz was okay. He found her stood exactly where she'd been stood before, only now she was practically radiating magic. Her wings were shining a little brighter, and Mason could have sworn her hair had grown a little longer, but the real difference was Luz's right leg. A silvery grey wind glyph had been tattooed onto the top of her right foot (left bare by her Holy raiment), and glowing silver lines stretched from the glyph up to her thigh, where it then curled around the girl's side to just below her rib cage, before curling around to her back and connecting to her wing joints, forming a silver ring of colour around them.

Mason gaped at the changes while Luz smiled and looked at her newly marked foot, wiggling her toes as she admired that glyph mark.

"I've finally bonded with the wind glyph!" Luz cheered. It was the longest she'd gone from finding a glyph to bonding with it at nearly a whole month, but the wait was well worth it! Using just the tiniest amount of wind magic, Luz waved her hand and created a comforting breeze around her, making her sigh with delight. She allowed the wind to flow through her wings, eventually catching them and allowing her to take to the sky with ease. The feeling of freedom it gave her to be able to fly while in full control of the wind was intoxicating for the girl, who couldn't help but giggle.

"I guess it's not the element of freedom for nothing!" she cheered, before turning her eyes on Luna, who was sneering at her, her glowing teal eyes still blinking away the flash of light.

"But it's the element of desire too, and right now I want to snap you out of it and make you listen to what we've got to say!" Luz declared, taking a combat stance now that she was reenergised.

"Miss Luz, are you alright!?" Mason cried, having no idea what just happened.

Luz nodded with a smile; "Better than ever! Let's just say the Titan gave me a little present!"

"LIAR!" bellowed Luna, "The Titan would never aid an abomination like you or Belos!"

The young Arch-Angel gulped; it looked like Hooty wasn't the only one saying the wrong thing today!

Luna threw the shaft of her destroyed hammer at Luz, who blocked it with her new wind magic by infusing it into her wings (which glowed with silver light) then flapping them hard, producing a gale strong enough to send the shaft flying back at Luna, striking her in the gut and winding her. This just made her angrier however, and Luna then used a combination of water and potions magic to pull up a huge amount of water from the Boiling Sea and transmute it into crystalline spears, which she then filled with the same acidic poison as she'd used against Mason. However, like the hammer shaft, none of them got even close to her as Luz flapped her wings hard and the resulting gale blasted the spears away. Some shattered against Luna's skin and began to burn her thanks to the poison, but she swiftly neutralised it, before leaping at Luz in a blind rage.

"Hope you like skydiving!" Luz yelled, conjuring a wind glyph in her hand and then waving it upwards, creating a powerful updraft that sent Luna careening into the sky. Luz ended up using a little more power than she'd intended to, and so Luna flew all the way up into the clouds.

"Oops…" Luz said, beginning to laugh nervously as Mason just stared at her.

"I'm starting to think the talk of Angels being orderly was all just propaganda by Belos." he commented.

"Eh, I'm kind of an outlier when it comes to angels…" Luz shrugged.

"LUZ!"

Luz and Mason turned around and saw Matt and Lilith flying straight at them. "Guys! Are you all okay?" Luz asked.

"We're fine. I needed to make some more healing combos and I'm now out of paper and almost out of magic, but I'm alive." Lilith said.

"Me too. But you're looking more than fine! Did you get a new glyph?" Matt asked excitedly.

"You know it!" Luz replied, raising her right leg to show the new glyph; "I've got wind magic now! That also means I've now got the last element needed to perfect Illusion and Bardic Magic!"

"That's wonderful!" Lilith smiled, "But where is Mrs Miphari?"

Luz blinked, then her eyes widened; "Oh! I forgot about her for a second! She should be landing right about…"

There was a loud scream followed by a monumental splash as Luna landed in the Boiling Sea just a few feet away from them. "...now." Luz finished, having raised a barrier to protect herself and the others from the splash.

Luna floated on the surface of the sea, stunned by the rough landing, before shaking it off and glaring furiously at Luz. Since she was still protected by her barrier, Luz decided now was a good time to tell the others her plan.

"If my Bardic Magic has been boosted, I'm sure I can calm her down with a Song of Soothing, but I need a way to hold her down long enough to sing it. Do you think you guys can handle it?"

Mason grimaced; "I'm almost out of magic, but I could use the last of it to strengthen myself and grapple her."

"I'm fairly tapped too, but Hootsifer can probably help." Lilith said, as Hooty nodded enthusiastically.

"Pebbles and I can take care of destroying any weapons she transmutes. Together, we can do this!" Matt grinned, pumping his fist confidently.

Luz grinned; "Great! Then let's do it! Close your eyes, because we're starting with this!"

She used light glyphs to turn her crystal barrier into a giant disco ball, creating a flash that blinded Luna. Since Luna couldn't see them for a moment, Luz put her improved illusion magic to the test by hiding her friends with invisibility and sending illusions of them out in all directions. Previously, Luz could only make visual illusions, but now with all the elemental components mastered, she could finally make audible ones as well, so each of her illusory friends began yelling at Luna, shouting things like "Over here!" and "Can't catch me!"

Naturally Luna tried to claw at them, completely unaware that Mason, Lilith, and Matt were sneaking up on her while invisible, as Luz took a deep breath to prepare for her song. Luz snapped her fingers to make her own invisibility drop (there was no point wasting magic on maintaining it when her singing would reveal her location) then began to sing her heart out, focusing all her light and wind magic into her lungs and throat as she sang the words to the Song of Soothing.

Luna heard the melody and felt her heartbeat begin to slow, just like earlier in the grotto. Turning away from the illusory clones, she began swimming rapidly towards Luz, who was flying just a little too high for Luna to grab without a huge jump. Once she'd built enough speed and was directly below Luz, the giant Merrow leapt out of the ocean and swung at the young Arch-Angel, but the instant she was fully out of the water, the real Matt, Lilith, and Mason leapt into action. Mason leapt out of the water with his Ma, grabbing onto the back of her dress and using Construction Magic to enhance his strength and physique until he was strong enough to put her into a full nelson, trapping her arms and forcing her head forward. Lilith, using what remained of her Angelic Blessing, used wind and water magic of her own to shift the iceberg she'd made earlier, placing it directly below Luna, who fell towards it since her leap had been interrupted.

Mason twisted his body in mid air so his Ma hit the iceberg face first and he landed safely on her back. With a scream of pain and rage, Luna began transmuting weapons to attack with, but before she could complete a single one, Matt (who was now stood on the iceberg) fired disintegration spells at her creations, destroying them. Shocked by this, Luna then tried to produce poison from the sea, but Hooty suddenly burst out from the ice and wrapped himself around the woman's fingers, binding them to the iceberg and disabling her hands, giving Mason the opening to jump off his Ma's back and onto her tail, ensuring she couldn't move it enough to draw a spell circle.

The maddened Luna thrashed and screeched in rage, her eyes still glowing with teal magic, but it was no use; she couldn't break free fast enough! Even trying to shriek loud enough to drown out Luz's singing failed, as Hooty wrapped himself around her mouth to gag her. Luna had no choice but to listen to Luz's song, which spread a red and gold aura over everyone listening to it. Everyone began to feel calmed by the gentle melody; Luz's friends felt themselves relaxing, and Luna felt her anger and hatred melting away, causing her eyes to begin flashing between the Bile Overload glow and her regular eyes. The flashing grew slower with every sung word, until finally, the glow vanished altogether and Luna went limp and ceased her struggling, signalling the end of her overload.

However what came next was almost worse, at least for Mason and Poor Luna herself. The Song of Soothing calmed anger, hatred, anxiety, fear, excitement, and other "high energy" emotions, but it did not stop emotions like happiness, contentedness, or sadness… so while Luna had been calmed from her rage, she still felt the despair of believing her son and husband were dead and murdered by one of the people holding her down. As such she began to sob quietly, still restrained and unable to do anything else.

Mason's own eyes stung with tears as he released his Ma's tail and ran to her face, as Luz flew down to join the others.

"Ma! Listen, I know you probably don't believe me, but I truly am your son. I am Talis! Mason is just an alias of mine that I used to sneak into Belos' Coven System so I could save you! Please believe me!" he begged.

Luna stared at him with wide, but distrusting eyes, so Luz went over to stand with him; "Luna, you know I'm an Angel and can't lie without it hurting me. So let that be proof that Mason really is your son. You were petrified for 30 years, and he has been working to save you that whole time!"

The woman tried to talk, but her words were muffled by Hooty, so Lilith had him retract enough to let her speak.

"Why should I believe you!? This bird creature said this man killed my son! My husband! And Belos was like you too, but he lied!" Luna pointed out.

Hooty spoke up; "Gee, I'm really sorry Mrs Miphari! I never meant to upset you! What I said came out wrong! Hoot!"

"W-What?" Luna stuttered.

"When he said I was there for Dad's end, it's because I was by his side on his deathbed." Mason explained, looking choked up; "I was with him in his last moments, but I did everything I could for him! If anything, I tried to prolong his life!"

Luna clenched her eyes shut; she'd already come to accept her husband was gone… but she would have time to grieve later, once she knew the fate of her son.

"And Talis? What of him?"

"I am him, Ma." Mason said again; "I left the Boiling Isles as Talis Miphari, and changed my name to Mason when I came back to rescue you and get revenge on Belos! I can tell you things only Talis would know! Like how your favourite food was salt-cured Dairy Cow Legs! Or that you used to brew potions for the Old Lady who lived next door, and told her it only cost 5 snails when it was actually closer to 50! Or that you dreamt of going to the Human Realm and riding a Blue Whale!"

Luna gasped softly; she hadn't told a single other soul about that old dream of hers… it had been a private confession between her and her son, who'd been nervous about admitting his own dream of wanting to build a city in the sky, since he'd been mocked for it by the other children.

That revelation hit Luna like a raging Slitherbeast; if Mason knew that secret, it's either because Talis told him… or he WAS Talis!

"I-I… you can't be…!?" she whispered, aghast at the possibility.

"I am Ma. I swear it. I'll sit here and wait for you to brew Blabber Serum to prove it if I have too." he replied.

The tears flowing down Luna's face began to flow faster; "But that means that this whole time… I've been trying to murder my own son!"

"It wasn't your fault." Luz said gently; "It was a misunderstanding. You were confused and mentally impaired by being petrified for so long, and everything just got out of control. But now your son is right here, alive and well!"

She gestured to Hooty once again, who completely unbound Luna's fingers and retreated back into the birdhouse on Lilith's back, while everyone but Mason stepped back. Now free, Luna looked between Luz and Mason with regret dawning on her face. She looked at Mason as thick tears dripped down her cheeks and hit the iceberg beneath her with loud splashes.

"Talis? My baby?" she whispered.

"I'm a little more grown up now, but yeah. It's me Ma. I missed you." Mason said, smiling even as tears when down his own face.

"TALIS!" Luna sobbed, grabbing her son and pulling him up to her face so she could nuzzle him. "Oh my poor baby! Mama is so sorry! I never wanted to hurt you!"

Mason returned the hug as best he could; "I know Ma, I never doubted it. I'm just so glad you're back to being yourself!"

The mother and son held each other for a long time, each crying with relief, and then grief over all the time they'd lost, as well as the loss of their husband/father. Luz and the others watched from a respectful distance, just glad that the whole ordeal was over. It was a while before either Mason or Luna were able to compose themselves enough to talk to them, but when they finally did (after Luna got back in the water to warm up from the iceberg), they both bowed their heads gratefully to them.

"Miss Angel, I owe you and your friends a great apology, and an even greater debt." Luna said contritely; "Everything still feels so strange, and part of me is afraid this is all another delusion inside my head, but I still need to thank you for freeing me from petrification. It seems I've missed a lot in the last 30 years."

"I'll be sure to fill you in on everything." Mason promised, before bowing formally to Luz; "Miss Luz, you did a great service for me. You, Miss Lilith, and the young lad." he nodded to Lilith and Matt. He even nodded to Hooty; "The Bird Worm did his best too; fumbled as his attempts may be, he still tried and I appreciate honest effort."

Hooty beamed; "You're welcome! Hoot!" he said, wiggling happily. Mason and Luna shuddered a little, then ignored him in favour of the others.

"You're welcome, Mason! I'm just glad it worked out! Besides, this adventure helped me bond with the wind glyph and feel better about a problem of my own. I've decided not to get so hung up on what I want most in life, and just keep doing my best to achieve everything I can. Seeing your devotion to saving your Ma after all these years is part of what helped me understand." Luz smiled.

"Me too. I was able to bond with Pebbles thanks to all of this! That made it all worth it." Matt grinned, his new Palisman resting on his shoulder.

Lilith nodded too; "We worked together for years, Mason. I'm glad to have helped an old colleague."

Mason gave a smile of appreciation, then looked back up at his Ma; "We still need to find a place to hide you, and a way to get you the help you need. If you're seen, then Belos will find out I didn't destroy the petrified statues and I'll be exposed as a traitor."

"We can help with that too." Luz said, "We have a perfect safe haven that Belos and his people can't reach; only an Angel like me can open the way. I can't say more unless you both join the CATTs, but it would be the perfect place to hide Miss Luna!"

"Great idea! Mason, you did say you'd join our rebellion against Belos anyway, so what do you say?" Lilith asked.

The man hummed in thought, then looked up to his Ma, who nodded in silent agreement. She was 30 years out of the loop (and still coming to terms with the fact she was biologically younger than her own son now, thanks to being petrified for so long) so she decided to trust in her son and her saviour. With that, Mason agreed.

"I'll take your oath and join the CATTs. I'll also need to help you fish out the other petrified statues; the underwater grotto is going to be flooded now, along with Ol' Bessie." he said.

"We should take them all back to HQ before you try to free them, Luz." Lilith quickly chimed in, seeing the look on Luz's face; "It's the safest place for them to be, and where we can best identify which ones were genuinely guilty and who were just innocents that Belos victimised."

Luz nodded; "Right. Mason was able to turn an airship into a submersible, so I bet if he tells Alador, he'll be able to make more. That'll make transporting the petrified statues back to the Owl House a lot easier! But how are we gonna get Luna back there?"

Luna was far too big to ride on their staves or be carried by Luz, and putting her in a barrier would be far too magic intensive and conspicuous, especially since they had to fly all the way from the Foot to the Right Arm! Thankfully, Luna herself had a solution.

"Give me thirty minutes and I can brew up a Reducing Residue. It was a common potion used by Merrows and I can harvest all the ingredients from around here." she said.

With no better ideas, everyone agreed to that. So for the next thirty minutes, Luna and Mason dove beneath the sea and gathered the ingredients needed for the potion, then began brewing it without the need of a cauldron. Luna instead showed off her skills with Potions magic by controlling some seawater into a ball, then purifying it, adjusting its temperature, and throwing the ingredients in after preparing them with spells, resulting in a mass of lilac coloured potion, which she sealed into crystal vials that she'd transmuted out of sea salt. She handed most of the vials to Luz, Matt, and Lilith as tokens of her appreciation, then dumped the last vial's contents on her own head, causing her to shrink until she was about half the size of Luz, making her look like a toddler version of herself.

"There! All done!" she said proudly. "Mama's still got it, right Talis?"

"That you do Ma, that you do. Now let's be getting on our way." Mason smiled.

Mason sat on the back of Lilith's staff, while Luz decided to carry Luna personally (as Matt hadn't had any practice flying with a passenger yet), before they all began the flight back to the Owl House. It was evening by the time they arrived, but thanks to Lilith sending messages to Raine and the others not on Digale Island to keep them in the loop, there were no concerned people waiting for them; just the usual people waiting for the evening transport to Digale Island. Among these people were Rasiel and Steve, the latter of whom took one look at Matt riding on Pebbles and immediately burst into the biggest smile Matt had ever seen.

They touched down in front of the Owl House and several of the waiting CATTs members immediately shot wary looks at Mason, but Luz quickly calmed them down by explaining he was there to join them. Rasiel then stepped forward with a bright smile.

"Luz! I see you bonded with another glyph! It seems you've had quite the adventure!" he said, ruffling her hair, which he noted was a little longer now.

"Yeah! It was kind of crazy, but then when are my adventures anything but?" Luz laughed, enjoying the pleasant contact; "Just wait until Mom and King hear about it! Get this, I had a vision when I bonded with the glyph and got to meet King's parents! They couldn't talk to me and his Mom was all weird and glowy, but I really got to talk to them!"

"Truly? Incredible! I guess that's the final confirmation that Digale Island is a part of King's mother then… He already strongly suspects, so it won't be too much of a surprise, but he'll probably be emotional over it." Rasiel replied.

"Yeah… I'll give him lots of hugs!" Luz decided, before turning to the others. Lilith was now reassuring the other CATTs members and informing them a little on what happened down at the Metatarsal Reef, while Steve was approaching Matt and Pebbles for a talk. Deciding not to get involved in the latter, since it would likely be very personal, Luz instead went over to Mason and Luna to have them take the necessary secrecy oaths.

Meanwhile Steve was still beaming as he looked at his little brother and former Palisman.

"Matt, Pebbles! I can't believe it! You've bonded!" Steve said, hugging his little brother tightly.

"Y-Yeah! It's a long story, but Pebbles and I are partners now! Is… is that okay?" Matt asked, looking unsure. He knew it must have been horribly painful to have to cut ties with Pebbles, even if it was to save the little guy's life. Having the Palisman he'd carved come back bonded with someone else, especially his own little brother, had to hurt.

And in truth, it did hurt. Steve's heart ached upon seeing Pebbles again and a part of him really did wish he could have re-bonded with his Palisman. But he'd made his choice when he'd severed the bond; he'd made a sacrifice and separated himself from Pebbles to save the little guy's life, instead of choosing to leave the Emperor's Coven and follow a different path in life alongside Pebbles. Steve had already decided that he didn't have the right to take Pebbles back after what he'd done, so while seeing Pebbles now bonded to Matt did sting, it also made Steve smile. It was the best possible result, as far as Steve was concerned.

"It's more than okay. Steve is a proud big bro!" Steve declared, ruffling Matt's hair with an earnest grin. He then looked at Pebbles and knelt down; "Pebbles, I'm so sorry for what I did. I should have chosen to leave the Emperor's Coven instead of giving you up… I can't ask you to forgive me for what I did, but I'm so happy that Matt was able to be the partner you deserve! Please take care of my little bro."

Pebbles leapt from Matt's shoulder and onto Steve's, nuzzling his old partner's cheek. He squeaked and Matt smiled sadly as he translated; "He says he will, and that even if you're not partners any more, he'd still like to be friends."

Naturally, Steve promptly burst into noisy tears and hugged both of them tightly. "Aw yeah, Bro Love for Steve! It's so beautiful!" he sobbed, even as his smile couldn't grow any wider.

A short time later, after Steve had calmed down and Mason and Luna had taken the oaths, Luz transported everyone to Digale Island. There they were met by Eda, Amity, Darius, and Eber, the former two having been waiting to see Luz, while the latter two were waiting for Lilith. Upon seeing Mason, Darius and Eber both blinked in surprise. Mason looked back at them, significantly less shocked than they were.

"So you two are rebels too? I figured something was up; you didn't look impressed by Belos' big Unity plan." Mason commented.

"Indeed. I thought the same of you, but figured you were just being stoic as always." Darius said, before giving Luz (who was currently being hugged by Eda and Amity) a deadpan state; "I thought I told you to take the day off, Little Light."

"In my defence, I was just hanging out with Lilith when things went a little off the rails." Luz said.

"No kidding." Eda smirked, seeing the new glyph on Luz's foot (she was still wearing her raiment) and noting her longer hair.

"I love it!" Amity gushed, running her hands through Luz's hair; "It's as long as mine is now! But curlier! You've got to let me braid it some time, Batata!"

Luz, who was practically melting as Amity's hands ran through her hair, nodded dumbly; "Anytime, Hermosa!"

Darius rolled his eyes at the lovebirds; "Alright, let's go to the meeting room so you can tell us all about the chaos you caused this time."

Luz nodded and everyone began escorting Mason and Luna to the CATTs HQ for a meeting. As they walked, Luz looked up at her Mom and said; "I've done a lot of thinking today, and while I still don't know exactly what I want to focus on to form a bond with my Palisman, I do know what I want to carve them into."

Eda smiled at her; "Oh yeah? Gonna go for a bird like your Mom? Or maybe a cat like your girlfriend? Oh, or maybe a bat? Raine would love that, and it's fluffy like a cat but flies like a bird!" she guessed.

Luz shook her head and said; "Nope! I'm gonna carve an egg!"

Eda and Amity both looked at Luz questioningly; "An egg?" Amity repeated, "Why an egg? Not that I'm judging you or anything." she added quickly.

Luz just smiled and kissed her cheek; "Partly because of something you said, and partly because of Mom and Mami." she said, making her Mom and Lover look even more puzzled.

"Something we said?" Eda questioned.

Luz nodded' "Yep! You and my Mami both had things that you wanted for me, but you also both decided to give me the freedom to decide what I would become for myself! And Amity, you bonded with Ghost because you decided that no matter what, you'd choose your own path in life. Well I decided that I want my Palisman to have the same option. I'll carve them an egg, and they can grow into any form they want! They'll have the freedom to decide who and what they become!"

Amity and Eda both looked touched; "That's so sweet!" Amity gushed.

"It is. Good job, Owlet." Eda grinned, "An Egg Palisman has been done before, but be warned; you won't be able to use it as a staff until it hatches, and it won't hatch until you form the connection. Are you ready to wait that long?"

Luz nodded, a soft smile on her lips as she put a hand over her heart; "I'll wait as long as I have to. A Palisman is a part of you after all; I'm still growing up and changing too, so I can't rush it."

Eda smiled and pulled Luz into a side hug as they walked; "My Little Owlet is really growing up…! One minute she's a fresh-faced Cherub helping me break into prison, and the next minute she's a hardened Arch-Angel Rebel Leader with a girlfriend and plans for an Egg of her own! Where does the time go?"

Luz and Amity both promptly burst out laughing, while Eda chuckled along with them. Luz didn't know where her path in life would lead, but for now she was just happy to have a good family to walk down it with.