The next day Amity had a lot to say to her friends at school: they made her tell them practically everything her mother had taught her. Amity had printed every word in her memory with incredible care, and so she had been able to explain everything to them. "Mph! So that downpour was your mother's fault?" Willow grumbled. "Tell her thank you for me, she had me soaked from top to bottom and I almost suffocated!"

"Huh? But it was at least nine in the evening! What were you still doing out and about at that hour?" Amity asked, then she added: "And why would you risk to suffocate?"

"Don't you remember? Gus, Willow and Matt's respiratory system is still that of arthropods. They breathe through their skin, not through their lungs like humans" Luz reminded her. "As for coming back very late at night... apparently she was with Hunter, and she stayed with him for pretty much the entire day, alternating between being human and being a cricket. She didn't go back to Owl House before ten o'clock at night"

Willow blushed brightly, already expecting what would happen soon, and in fact Boscha grabbed her shoulder and rubbed her hair: "Look look, the cricket has become enterprising! Interesting, what were you doing all that time?"

"W-We just talked!" Willow stammered.

Boscha seemed to want to investigate further, but Skara intervened: "Boscha, come on... this is not the time to talk about such things; I remind you that the poor Willow almost suffocated yesterday! We should think about this". And then she grinned evilly. "By the way… how did you get away with it? I assume Hunter intervened to help you..."

Willow turned even redder, and Skara giggled, fully realizing that she had been right and that this must have been quite an interesting, not to mention spicy, moment. "Well… he actually helped me" Willow replied. "First he took off his cloak and put it on me to keep me from getting wet, and then he took off his shirt and used it to dry me..."

"Uh-oh! So you saw Hunter shirtless, and under the rain? You didn't tell me that!" Luz exclaimed, and suddenly everyone was interested beyond belief, especially a rather exuberant Gus. "Come on, say to us, what was he like? I assume he had an amazing physique, he's an elite soldier after all, and maybe he had water running down his pecs, and..."

"He still had his tank top on!" Willow was quick to say, even though she was emitting so much heat from her cheeks that if she got close to Luz the wood the puppet was made of would probably catch fire. Just thinking about the sight she'd had of Hunter the night before was enough to make her heart pound: even though she hadn't seen him completely without clothes, she'd still gotten a clear view of his broad shoulders and six-pack abs, and the rain which poured down on him, dampening his hair and sticking to his forehead, had made everything even more interesting to watch; she wasn't sure what happened next, because no matter how hard she tried to remember, she realized that for at least ten minutes she had completely lost contact with reality. Luckily Hunter had believed the excuse she had told him, meaning that she had only gone into shock due to the lack of oxygen, otherwise she would no longer have dared to look at the boy's face out of embarrassment.

"Uh, so you didn't see him completely shirtless, hm?" Boscha chuckled. "We need to fix this. We need an opportunity to force him to take off his clothes"

"What!?" Willow turned red. "Hey, don't get any weird ideas!"

"Willow, I think you should let the girls do the talking" Gus told her with a laugh. "I think if you give them enough time they might formulate a good plan. This may be your chance to get a pretty good view of Hunter... even if I can understand your tension, I too would be in awe of the prospect of seeing a crush of mine in that state, especially if it's a hot, blond guy with two arms you'd let yourself get kneaded by all day and..." Willow jumped on him before he could finish the sentence and took his head in her arms, blocking whatever he was about to say.

The girls laughed when they saw that scene. "Don't worry, Willow, we won't do anything too crazy" Skara reassured her while rolling in laughter. "After all, it's possible to see someone without a shirt even without subterfuge... for example you could invite him to go to the beach! In fact, now that I think about it, we should organize a day at the beach for all of us! Maybe tomorrow since it will be Sunday and we won't have to go to school! After all, we don't have the certainty that Amity will still be able to bathe after she will become a full witch, we should take advantage of it now that..."

"Skara, it's a nice idea, but I remind you that Willow can't get wet. She couldn't come to the beach" Amity told her, but with her eyes she still pointed at Luz trying not to be noticed by the puppet.

Skara suddenly remembered how Luz had reacted when she first fell into the water, and she put her hand over her mouth. "Uh... you're right! Well, we can think of other things! For example, a sauna... but we should find one shared between boys and girls..." she said hastily trying to change the subject.

Even though Amity tried not to be seen, Luz knew what she really meant by her words. She felt very guilty for being the one who stopped them from having fun, and also quite sad: she really wanted to be able to go and spend a day on the beach with the others, but the mere thought of reliving what had happened as soon as she had fallen into the water terrified her. She absolutely wanted to stay far away from the sea.

Seeing that the conversation was starting to get difficult, Gus changed the subject: "Anyway, guys, yesterday Matt and I ran into a band, they're called the BATTs. I heard that they're camping just outside the town, and that they're going to give their first show today. They seemed good, right, buddy?"

Matt snorted, because Gus had said the last sentence putting his arm around his neck, but he admitted: "Yes, they seemed good"

"I've heard about them too. I wouldn't mind going to see them" said Skara, who having a passion for music was very up to date on anything related to the bards in the town.

"The BATTs?" Luz seemed to remember only then where she had heard that name before. "Oh, they're the group of rebels led by Raine!"

Everyone looked at her in confusion. "What?" Gus asked after a few moments.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you!" Luz exclaimed. "Yesterday when Eda and I returned to the Owl House we discovered that some people had come to visit us, and among them there was Raine, who is Eda's ex-boyfriend! And they are not just a bard, they are the leader of a group of rebels who travel from town to town to free them from tyrannies, which are precisely the BATTs! They came here because they wanted to say goodbye to Eda, but I suspect they still love her!"

"Luz! How did you forget to tell us something like that!?" Willow exclaimed as she jumped up.

Luz cringed under her friend's reproachful gaze. "Sorry! It's just that... yesterday I was trying to concentrate on everything else... I was a little... shocked about some things" she replied, and she almost felt like throwing up as she thought back to what Darius had explained to her.

Her friends seemed much more excited than before. "So the BATTs are actually a group of rebels, and their leader had a relationship with your fairy?" Amity asked with adoring eyes. Everything in that single sentence foreshadowed a rather epic story.

Luz knew they all wanted details, so she told them everything, leaving aside her conversation with Darius, of course; reliving it would be bad for her brain, and she suspected for those of most of her friends too. When she finished, her friends were ecstatic. "This is awesome! Did that Raine really travel all over the world?" Gus said adoringly. "All the places they described sound amazing!"

"Tsk! Anyway, it's clear as day that that guy is absolutely in love with your fairy" Boscha commented, but she also looked dubious. "But... judging by her reaction, your fairy doesn't seem to have removed him from her heart either. I wonder why they broke up if the feeling is still alive for both of them..."

Luz had also asked herself this question, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find an answer. In her opinion Eda still had feelings for Raine, and according to Darius it was the same for the bard; so why stay apart and not love each other? She was pretty sure that only the two of them could answer that question. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Skara's voice: "This Raine really seems like an interesting person... and if they really can play as heavenly as you describe, I definitely want to go and see them!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to the concert! Are you guys coming too?"

Of course everyone nodded in agreement; the group quickly headed out of the town, until they arrived at a meadow where some tents had been pitched and numerous chairs positioned, as well as a clearly hastily built stage. Many people were already present there, and they therefore had to settle for a place in the last row, but fortunately the ground was slightly raised and they could therefore see well. They didn't have to wait long: not even a quarter of an hour after they arrived, the concert began and Raine appeared on stage, followed by three people; they all wore bat-shaped masks (a very strange bat actually) and immediately began playing, filling the air with celestial notes.

Luz had heard Raine play before, but she had only heard the final notes of their music; but now she was feeling it in its entirety... and it was something divine. Every single sound seemed to have a consistency and penetrated her wooden heart filling it with emotions perfectly balanced with the melody; when the notes were happy, she felt euphoric; when they were sad, tears came to her eyes; when they were loud and sounded like the sound of galloping cavalry, she felt brave and strong as never before; and even when they were simply neutral, it seemed as if the world had begun to sparkle and the sky had filled with color, just like the Northern Lights that Raine had told her about. When the bards concluded their performance, they bowed deeply to the crowd, who erupted into an ovation of applause and compliments. Luz looked at her friends and saw that all of them had sparkling eyes and were clapping like never before. "It was great!" Willow exclaimed.

"Marvelous!" Gus added.

"Extraordinary!" Amity said with a wide smile.

"Beyond imagining!" Boscha exclaimed too.

"Yes... they are really good at playing music" even Matt admitted.

But the most excited of all was Skara, who looked like a starving woman who had just found a crust of bread. "That... that's one hell of a bard!" she said in an admirable voice. "I definitely need to meet them! They could give me advice on how to improve with my music...!"

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who had had that idea: many in the crowd had gotten up and rushed onto the stage to shower Raine and their companions with questions and compliments, and the poor bard seemed quite embarrassed. Apparently Eda was right in calling them shy and insecure, at least when it came to interactions with the public. "I'm not sure we'll be able to reach them before they leave" Boscha murmured a little regretfully, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Next time we will come well in advance, so we will have front row seats and you can talk to them"

Skara looked down sadly, knowing that Boscha was right. But even though the BATTs would probably stay in Bonesborough for a long time (since their leader had a particular interest in one of the local fairies) she was very sorry to have to postpone. Music had always been one of the few subjects she adored, indeed she loved it madly, and it was no coincidence that she never separated from her harp; for her, a bard as good as Raine was an example to follow, an extraordinary inspiration, and the mere thought of meeting them made her heart beat faster. Having to wait to speak to them, even for just a day, almost seemed like heresy to her.

Noticing Skara's sad expression, Luz had an idea: "Hey! Why don't we go wait for them at their tents? In this way not only can you talk to them, but you can also have them all for you instead of sharing them with the crowd!"

Skara's eyes lit up, "You're right! But... can we do this?"

"Well, Raine knows me and is interested in my fairy godmother. While I can't say I like that last part, I think it's enough to grant us a few more privileges than normal viewers" Luz replied. She wasn't sure how much crashing into someone's house uninvited could be considered a good deed, but she didn't like seeing her friend so dejected.

Amity, Gus and Willow were thinking differently. "Luz, we can't go without them invited us..." the ex-cricket tried to say, but then Skara grabbed her by the shoulders and without saying anything she looked at her with eyes so pleading that they looked like those of a sad puppy. Willow's voice began to waver: "... well... we should at least wait for an invitation... and then... it would be rude... and... oh, fine! But we'll do this only for one time!" she finally gave up, unable to bear that look. Skara cheered, and so they headed towards the nearby tent complex where the bards resided.

Once they arrived, they couldn't resist exploring around a bit. There were only four tents in total, which was a little strange given that Luz estimated there were supposed to be five people staying there: Raine, their three companions, and finally Darius. By the way, where was Darius? Luz had assumed she would find him at the concert or somewhere around there, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, she thought, since they weren't there for the purpose of instigating a rebellion as usual, Darius had simply deemed his presence unnecessary and he had headed into the town to run some errands or meet new people; he actually seemed quite sociable, so the puppet wouldn't have been surprised by that eventuality. Of course, from her point of view it was absurd not to want to attend such a celestial concert, but Darius had probably heard that music so many times that he knew it by heart.

Eventually they reached the central tent, which was a little larger than the others and therefore probably belonged to the leader of the company; although feeling a little guilty, they couldn't help but go in and look inside a little. There was only one rather narrow bed, suitable for someone the size of Raine, and the rest of the space was occupied by various musical instruments and strange objects that were probably souvenirs that the bard had brought with them from every corner of the world they had visited: there were strange masks, intricate round decorations made of threads and feathers hanging from the ceiling, various utensils, even some bizarrely shaped plants (one of them even had what looked like teeth). "Wow, this is interesting" Luz exclaimed as she started touching practically everything she found.

"Luz, you shouldn't touch other people's things without their permission, much less enter their house... or tent, in this case" Willow scolded her.

"She's right, Luz. Come on, let's go back outside and wait for Raine there" Amity said. As much as she didn't like contradicting the puppet, she couldn't deny that what they were doing was wrong in more ways than one.

But obviously, as often (almost always in reality) happened, these words entered Luz's one ear and came out the other, as her attention was immediately drawn to a familiar oil lamp placed on a pillow which was in turn placed on a pedestal. "Hey, I know this one! It's Darius's, he had it hanging from his belt!" she exclaimed, taking it in her hands. "It looks really valuable… hey, what does it say here?"

Luz only realized then that the lamp had gold-plated writing on one corner. However, it was in a language she couldn't understand. "Amity, can you read this stuff?" she asked hopefully, remembering how her friend had been able to read Odalia's books despite them being written in a language totally incomprehensible to her.

Amity sighed. "Luz, first of all, no we put this lamp in its place" she said taking it from her hands and starting to put it on the pedestal again, but still she couldn't resist the temptation to peek at the writings engraved on it. "And in any case I don't know what language it is... it's certainly oriental given the manufacturing style...". Noticing that the writing was a little dirty with dust, she began to rub it. "Maybe if we clean it up a little… WHAT!?"

Not two seconds after she began rubbing it, the lamp began to tremble in her hands and glow with purple light; an instant later, the tip seemed to erupt and what looked like a purple slime emerged from it, which however didn't touch anything in the room but rather passed through it, as if it were on another plane of existence; this slime rose upwards and thickened, forming a torso, gigantic arms, and finally a head. Within seconds, an individual at least for meters tall who appeared to be composed of a continuously swirling purple liquid and with two large green eyes appeared before them and muttered: "Damn you, Raine, I told you I wanted to take a nap! I hope for your sake that someone is dying or there is a very beautiful woman nearby, otherwise...". He stopped when he looked down and realized that in front of him there wasn't the musician, but rather some kids with wide eyes and open mouths. "Uh... you're not Raine"

For a brief moment there was dead silence, and no one seemed to have any idea what to say. Then the creature coughed: "Er! No... what I meant was...". He crossed his arms and raised his head proudly, and he spoke in a thundering voice: "You have summoned the mighty djinn. Make your wish!"

Well yes, Darius is a genie in this version. Kudos to GodzillaMaster for guessing it right. Come on, it can't even be considered a significant change, even in the original version he was basically a genie (after his first appearance I must have seen at least two thousand memes about that). Not turning him so in a story where there are magical creatures like fairies and witches was practically heresy