Goodnight Bob Barker and Arleen Sorkin, you two have brought many joy and entertainment as being icons...

And also as a reminder, we're having a contest where you, the readers, can make fankids based off of the Luz Clawthorne story. So if you have a fankid in mind, you can submit either to the reviews, or PM us.

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

Chapter 116: Brooken Home

Flashback…

Casey had made it back to his tree home. He opened the door and walked in. However, a werecat woman who was sitting by the coffee table heard him coming in.

"You're late." she told him. She was a black cat like him, having green eyes, long black hair, and a blue long-sleeve shirt and long skirt.

"Sorry, I was with some friends," Casey responded, dropping his guitar.

"You mean that Fangs girl?" she asked him, causing him to pause.

"I can hang out with whoever I want, can I?" Casey asked her.

"Not if you want to lose an eye like her sister," she said, causing her son to turn to her.

"She's not as bad as everyone says she is," he told her.

His mom scoffed at this. "That Nina Fangs is trouble. She speaks against the word of the Titan and goes around attacking witches. It won't be long until she decides you're next…"

Casey narrowed his eyes at his mom as he responded. "Well maybe Nina is right about the Titan," he told her off before storming to his room.

"Casey, wait!" his mother called out to him, but he refused to answer.

Later, Casey was hanging out with Kringles as they exited the Little Box.

"Ugh, this is the last time I drink that much milk," Kringles said while walking alongside Casey.

"Told you not to drink so much," Casey responded to him.

"Psst, hey."

The two turned around and saw someone hidden in the shadows. "You cool cats lookin' to make a quick buck?"

"Why… why are you talking like that?" Casey asked, looking at the shady figure in question.

"It's part of the gig, man," the stranger responded in a hushed voice. "Look, my boss is looking for someone to help distribute some goods. You can make a lot of snails with this gig, just need a pair of paws who can do the job."

"You're asking us?" Casey asked. "Why us?"

"Because you look like you could use some snails right now and that you don't care how you make them," he responded. "So yer in?"

"Oh, we could use some snails, Casey," Kringles pointed out "Didn't you say you want to leave this forsaken isles?"

Casey thought it over. "Well… it does seem like an opportunity…"

"Come on, kid, you in or what?" the shady figure asked him.

Casey considered it and shrugged. "Honestly, I am desperate for money."

And so, Casey and Kringles ended up working at their new job. In the first week, it was simple. They helped put some packages in a box to be put in the delivery worm.

But one day, Casey was curious about what was in the boxes he was putting in the packages. "Say, do you ever wonder what's in these boxes?" he asked Kringles.

"Nope," Kringles responded, putting tape over a package.

Later, Casey decided to sneak a look at the contents of one of the boxes. He used his claw to open it up and saw that what was inside… was a Dilbaleech.

"What the hell?!" he asked, dropping it in a panic, having heard about these leeches. "Oh Titan… is that what we're delivering?!"

"They're what?!" Kringles exclaimed after Casey explained it to him.

"Drugs, I found a Dilbaleech in the boxes. Kringles, I think we may be working for a drug ring… we're drug mules!" Casey whispered in a panic.

"Schnowzers, what do we do?!" Kringles asked.

"Everything alright here, lads?"

The two turned and saw their co-workers in the potion business… Eustace and Serpentina.

"Um… everything's fine! Ain't it, Casey?" Kringles asked.

"Uh… yeah, everything's good," Casey lied.

"Well, Casey, we've been meaning to get a good talk with you," Eustace said while patting his shoulder. "Why don't you follow us?"

"Got something to show you…" Serpentina said while the two pirates escorted Casey away. The black werecat turned to Kringles, who looked concerned for him.

The two pirates took Casey inside the potions lab. Casey looked around in shock, seeing many half-naked workers in gloves and masks mixing and brewing potions.

"What is this place?" Casey asked.

"It's where the magic begins, lad," Eustace declared. "What you see here are former members of the Potions Coven working and making some good old Potions Z, an illegal drug that is banned from use by all but a few Potion Witches, including the Head Witch."

"But demand is high on the black market, so our boss wants us to ramp up production," Serpentina explained. "We're a bit low on staff, but we could use an extra pair of paws for mixing."

"You want… me to help?" Casey asked them.

"We know what you're feeling right now," Serpentina said while patting his shoulder. "This may be too much for you, but don't think about what kind of products we're selling…"

"Just think about all the snails you'll make!" Eustace pointed out. "Tell me, what could a cat like you use these snails for? Why you'll be the richest werecat in your village!"

Casey thought it over. "Well… I could use the money to get out of the isles…"

The two looked at each other, smiled, and then turned back to Casey. "Why, that sounds like a swell idea! I actually hear there's a ship that could smuggle you out," Eustace said as he snapped his fingers. "Maybe you can become a pirate!"

"Nah, that sounds lame," Casey admitted, hurting Eustace.

"Lame…" Eustace ended up kneeling down in a depressing state.

"Ignore him," Serpentina said with a shrug. "But Casey, if you make enough snails, you won't have to worry about working here anymore. Cause you'll be able to buy yourself safe passage out of the Isles and you will never have to think about this again."

"Yeah, easy money and all. We can even convince the boss to pay you double or nothing!" Eustace declared after getting over his wounded pride as a pirate.

"I… I guess I could use some extra snails," Casey replied with a smile, thinking about all the snails he could make. Even if it's not from the most honest of businesses.

Casey had told himself over and over again that this job was going to pay off… but he then started to grow increasingly uncomfortable with the business.

He helped mix up the potions with his co-workers as they cooked more of the Potions Z. He saw them testing out the products on some lab rats, which led to some violent results. He even helped add Dilbaleeches to the potions for their addictive flavor. He would also watch the stuff getting packaged and ready for distribution.

Once the work was done, he hung up his apron and headed back to the Villa, unable to show off his growing discomfort…

Casey returned home and walked to his room, passing by his mom.

"Casey, are you alright?" she asked him.

"I'm fine, mom," he responded dismissively.

"Casey, I-" She didn't finish as he entered his room and shut the door. The Whiskabee mother looked worried for her son.

Casey continued to mix up some potions in a flask. He handed it to his co-worker.

"Yup, this is the right color," he replied while handing it to the other distributor. "You did good, kid."

"Thanks…" Casey responded while looking down.

One day, Casey was heading out for work. But it was then that a familiar face spoke to him.

"Yo, Casey!" Nina said, walking alongside him "Long time, no see. How have you been?"

"Um… doing fine," Casey respond nervously. "W-What about you, Nina? How's Glandus?"

"Eh, same old, same old," Nina waved it off. "So you want to hang out at the tree?"

Casey looked away awkwardly. "Actually, I got something to do right now, so… maybe next time?" he asked her.

"Oh… well, okay," Nina said, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just… been a while since we last hung out. Me being a Top student has kept me busy and, well… I miss hanging out with you."

Casey paused and turned to Nina. He gave a smile. "Yeah, I've been busy lately as well," he admitted. "I do miss hanging out with you as well."

He wanted to tell Nina the truth, but he didn't want her to get involved in his mess. "I promise to talk about it later," he said as he walked away, leaving Nina with a confused expression.

"Alright… see you later," Nina replied while seeing Casey go.

Casey pulled the lever as it activated the conveyor belt. It rolled down many more flasks while the machines poured potions into them.

"Alright, keep it up!" his employer spoke up from the walkway above them. "Cause we got another increase in production demand!"

"Did you hear about the latest case of Dilbaleech deaths?" one elder werecat asked another, which Casey overheard while passing by.

"Yeah, heard some poor witch boy died of an overdose," he responded. "Kids these days shouldn't be messing around with that crap."

Casey felt guilty about this while pulling up his hood and walking away.

Casey delivered some of the crates filled with the goods to the delivery thug.

"Tough hours, ain't it, kid?" the thug said while picking up the packages.

"Yeah…" Casey responded with a tired look.

One day at home, Casey got into an argument with his mother.

"Casey, you are always coming home late now," she pointed out to him. "What is it that you're doing after school?!"

"It's not something you should worry about," Casey argued back. "So stay out of my business!"

"Not until you tell me where you are always gone off to?!" she demanded, grabbing his wrist. "You know that we can't go outside the reserve!"

"Get off of my case, alright?!" he shouted, swatting her away from his arm. "You know, mom, you may be content to spend the rest of your life here, but I don't! I hate it here! I don't want to feel like I'm trapped in one place, mom."

His mom gave a shocked look from what Casey said. "You… you're starting to sound like your father," she mentioned. "It's talk like that is why he's no longer here…"

Casey gave his mother a stern look. "At least my father wasn't a coward."

His mother looked at him in shock as Casey pulled out his jacket and headed to the door. "Casey, wait! Don't you dare leave!" She used a vine spell to grab his arm, but he sliced it off of him.

"Watch me," he snarled at her as he headed out the open door while his mother chased him. He jumped off from his tree home.

"Casey!" she cried out for her son, seeing him jumping from tree to tree. "Come back!"

He knew that he would get in big trouble over this. But he knew that he had to do something to get out of this business. He was determined to run away and he was going to take that opportunity.

Sneaking into his employer's office while it was empty, he managed to get to the safe. He cracked the safe open using his cat hearing, turning the combination. He looked at the bags of snails inside the safe, which his boss kept to himself. He took some from the vault.

His employer was chatting with one of his employees as Casey passed them, them paying no attention to him.

Casey pulled out his bag of snails to look at it, smiling after having managed to steal his own cut.

In an alleyway, Casey had met up with someone in secret while wearing his hoodie.

"I hear that you're looking for some info," he said. "There's an illegal potions lab that's making all kinds of drugs, including Potions Z and Dilbaleeches. It's at the warehouse down at the 4th Finger Street."

"Thanks for telling me this, kid," spoke the woman in front of him. "Though I don't have many snails to give…"

"I don't care about that, really," he replied to the informant. "All I want is to be free from this. I want to get out of that place."

"Well, you did the right thing in telling me this," she spoke to him with a proud smile. "Thanks for the tip."

"You're welcome… Ms. Owl Lady," Casey responded while walking away as Eda watched the kid leave before going to tell Larry what she learned.

Later on, the potions lab bust had spread over the news. But even so, it didn't set Casey's mind at ease.

He grew constantly paranoid, having not contacted anyone, not even Kringles. He had his hood up to avoid being recognized by anyone while also avoiding eye contact. He did plan on telling Nina that he was leaving and he hoped that soon he would be in the clear…

But then someone grabbed him.

He struggled as two figures dragged him into an alleyway. He was thrown down into the trash cans. From the ground, he looked up and saw his assailants… Serpentina and Eustace.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Eustace sneered.

"We know that you're the rat," Serpentina told him off.

"W-Wait, guys, it wasn't me!" Casey claimed while getting stomped in the chest by Serpentina's high-heeled boot. "AAH!"

"Oh you think we're idiots?" she asked. "Everyone but you got arrested during that bust. You just so happened to be running off during this…"

"And to think we were beginning to like you," Eustace said while kneeling over. "I mean, stealing from our employers is one thing, but snitching? You know the old saying…"

"Snitches get stitches," Serpentina said as she cracked her knuckles.

And so Casey proceeded to get beaten to a pulp by the two pirates. Eustace kicked and punched him while he was down, while Serpentina kicked him in the face and between the legs.

"Say it!" Serpentina shouted while kicking him. "Say that you're a rat!"

"I...I-" Casey was kicked in the face by Eustace, leaving him with a bleeding lip.

"Go on! Say it, you brat!" Eustace shouted, while pulling Casey's tail up.

"AAAH! Okay! Okay! I snitched!" Casey cried out in pain. "Please, let my tail go! Let my tail go!"

"Pussy-ass bitch," Serpentina said as she stomped on his shins, making Casey cry out in pain.

The two pirates searched Casey's pockets, taking his snails. "We're just gonna take these as compensation."

"Never cross us again, you got it?" Serpentina told him as she spat on him. "Come on, Eustace. Let's go."

The two pirates walked away, leaving Casey in the alley. He groaned, feeling his body ache and his bones broken.

"Someone… help me…" he said while struggling to get up. He saw some witches walking by in the nearby street. "Please… help me!"

The witches looked at him, seeing the werecat struggle. They decided to ignore his plea, much to Casey's dismay.

"Please… someone… anyone… help," he cried as he coughed up blood. "I need somebody… anybody… help…" He then remembered that he still had a scroll with him. He got it out. "I can… try texting Nina…"

But before he could do so, a shadow fell over him…

At the art gallery, the scouts surrounded the downed Slasher and Calypso. It was then that Hunter intervened.

"Enough!" Hunter ordered as he rushed over and stood in front of the Brookes. "Everyone, stop! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Golden Guard," Leonte said. "We were just-"

"Why did you all corner Head Witch Brooke's husband after he defended her against a vampire attack?" Hunter pointed out, indicating the headless vampire. "That vampire was uninvited. There was a security breach and an attempted assassination. For Titan's sake, I want Healers to check on Head Witch Brooke now!"

"What about the werewolf, sir?" Alburno asked as Cutburn and some Healers came to the scene.

"Is he alive?" Hunter asked while a Healer kneeled over to check Slasher.

"He's unconscious, but he'll live," he responded.

"Head Witch Brooke's losing a lot of blood," Cutburn responded, checking the bite while preventing further blood loss. "That vampire bit practically a bit of her neck off!"

"Take both of them to the Healing Coven. Save Calypso at all cost," Hunter told Cutburn, looking concerned.

"Yes, sir." Cutburn said while the Healers summoned stretchers, placing both Calypso and Slasher on them.

"What about their daughters?" Le'Belle asked, still shaken by what just happened. "They should know about this…"

Hunter nodded in agreement. "You're right, they should," he said with a sigh. "Which is why I'm going to tell them myself."

At the restaurant, King and Laura had finished their dinner and left their table.

"Well, despite the occasional teen drama, the meal was good," King states, while turning to Cross and Donna. "Is she going to be alright?"

"I think she will," Cross replied, looking at the unresponsive Donna.

"Well, thanks for offering to pay for our meal, Donna," Laura said to her. "And um… we wish you luck."

Donna looked up at Laura and King. "Thanks," she said in a low voice.

"Come on, let's leave these two alone," King said as he and Laura made their exit.

Donna smiled at them, glad to have met Laura at the very least. However, her face fell when she looked back at Cross. An awkward atmosphere was evident between them.

"So… what was that about?" Cross asked her.

Donna sighed sadly. "Cross, I'm so sorry about this," she said. "I… I wanted to try this dating thing out but then I was told by Felicia that dating could also get Nina's attention, so I got her to make the same reservations as she had and dolled myself up to wear this, and… Titan, this night should have been between us!" She covered her face in embarrassment. "I really ruined this date night… my first date and I ruined it." She looked to Cross again. "I… I understand if you want to go home. I embarrassed you enough as it is."

Cross was silent at first, not sure what to say. "Do you… like Nina?"

Donna hesitated before answering. "Yes, I do like her," she admitted, looking down in shame. "We were in a better place after she saved me in Wonderland. But I was jealous of her and Lambi and because of my jealousy I blew it with her and blew it with you at the same time." She looked down at her own reflection of her drink. "What can go wrong will go wrong…"

"Would you like for me to take you home?" Cross offered after a moment of silence, which surprised Donna.

"You… want to take me home?" Donna asked, looking back up at him.

"Yeah, we can talk about this on the way back," Cross said. "Even if this first date didn't turn out well for both of us… we can still just… talk."

Donna thought about it before nodding. "Yeah, we can talk."

And so, Cross took Donna out from the restaurant after paying their bill. Lori and the waiter watched them go.

"Ain't this sweet," Lori commented.

"Should we have done something about the argument earlier though?" the waiter asked.

"Nah, it was best to let it run its course," Lori said.

King decided to take Laura through a part of the forest after leaving Bonesoborough.

"So what else is there left to see around here for tonight?" Laura asked him.

"You're gonna love this, something that happens every time the moon is a certain shade of ivory," King said as he led her through the woods. "Behold!"

Laura looked up, her eyes widening in surprise. "Whoa…"

A certain part of the forest was glowing neon. The trees, plants, and moss were lighting up with colors. Laura had never seen this phenomenon before.

"Whoa, King, this is… beautiful…" Laura said.

"Y-You like it?" King asked. "Willow explained that it's because of this special moss around some parts of the Isles. Emission Moss is what it's called. The Isles just called it the Neon Forestomena. And watch this."

He drew some light glyphs and activated them, creating balls of light that floated around them. Laura looked around as she jumped up to stand on a rock. She looked around at the floating ball of lights, reaching out to them as they floated around her. She then looked to King, seeing him get distracted by trying to eat a ball of light. She chuckled, which King noticed.

"Oh, uh… you saw that, did you?" King asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Hey, it's fine. It's… pretty cute that you do that," Laura said, which surprised King.

"R-Really?" he asked her.

"I'm an otter, we tend to do this kind of stuff," she said while jumping down and crawling around King. Her tail patted him.

"Weh!" King said while Laura ran off through the long grass. "Hey, wait up!"

He chased her towards the rainbow long grass, the two playfully laughing while going through the forest and chased each other around until King seemed to lose her.

"Laura?" King asked, looking around for her. "Where'd you go-"

"Boo!"

"Weh!" King shouted, falling down as Laura popped up. The two laughed as Laura helped him up and got some grass off of him. "Oh boy, you got me good."

"Yeah, I did," Laura replied, patting King's back. She smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself like this.

After this, King took Laura back to the Owl House.

"Thanks for showing me a good time, King," Laura commented. "I had a lot of fun with you."

"Yeah, and so did I," King replied, while opening the door to see that Eda and Luz were back.

"Hey, it's the little man of the hour!" Luz cheered, as she and Eda had been waiting for them.

"Hey you two, how's your date?" Eda asked.

"I said…" King just sighed. "It went well. We also came across Donna's and Nina's dates at the restaurant."

"Whoa, really?" Luz asked. "That must've been awkward…"

"It was," Laura replied. "But despite that, King showed me a good time around Bonesborough. I was able to meet his friends and I got to learn more about the Demon Realm."

"We went to the museum," King explained while noticing Luz's appearance. "Wait, why do you look like a mess?"

"Yeah, are you alright?" Laura asked, noticing the bandages.

"Oh I'll be fine," Luz reassured them. "I've been through worse shit."

Eda looked down at Laura. "So Laura, how was King on the date?"

"Oh, he was terrific," Laura said. "He even showed me the neon forest and we played around."

"Played around?" Luz asked, looking at King. "Did you and Laura-"

"It's not like that!" King shouted with a blush, even on his skullcap. "Titan's sake, we just played as in actual playing."

"Well good, don't want to fool around too much on the first date," Luz said, patting King's head. She turned to Laura. "But in all seriousness, it's nice that King gave you a good time, Laura. Maybe before your ride comes, we can talk and get to know each other more."

"Yeah, just us girls," Eda replied while sitting down, offering Laura a seat.

Laura crawled up to the chair while Luz sat by the floor. "Thanks, I actually would like to get to know King's family more."

"And we want to know more about King's special friend," Luz said. "Like, you can tell us about the realm you're from, and I can tell you all the cool stories of my big bro."

"Plus what kind of a mother would I be, without showing you his baby pictures!" Eda revealed as she pulled out King's baby book from her hair, much to King's horror.

"Why do you have that?!" King exclaimed.

"What? I keep both yours and Luz's baby books in there," Eda said innocently.

"Oh Titan…" King said while hiding under his shirt in embarrassment.

And so, Eda and Luz got to know Laura better while they talked. And Laura got to learn more about King thanks to Eda.

"So… you found him up in a tower, all alone?" she asked him.

"Well, I thought he was alone at the time. But it turns out he had some kind of stone guardian watching over him," Eda explained. "But I did take him in, feed him, clean him, well back then I thought he was a dog until he talked. At first, we were like roommates but over time I grew to consider him my son."

"Oh wow, that's so great of you for taking care of him, Eda," Laura commented. "Even though it kinda sounds like, technically kidnapping…"

Eda paused, considering this. "Aw shit," she said, not wanting to bring up how she technically kidnapped Luz as well.

"It's not something to worry about," King said. "Though at the moment, I'm not sure what I am. But I think I will know once I find my dad."

"Your dad?" Laura asked him.

"We think that King's dad may be around," Luz explained to her. "We've been looking for him. We even put a video on Penstragram in an attempt to reach out to him. So far, no luck."

"Oh… well, I hope you find your dad, King," Laura replied.

"Thanks," King said to her,

"So Laura, I gotta ask," Luz spoke up. "Your world is pretty much bipedal mammals that rule your Earth, right?"

"Pretty much," Laura replied.

"Huh, you know this does remind me of Amphibia, which is a land of talking amphibian creatures like frogs, newts and toads," Luz explained. "Think there's a realm where there's talking animals that includes reptiles, birds, and fish talking?"

"Eh…?" Laura shrugged about it. "I think the Isles are covered for all of that."

Soon a portal opened up and coming out was a biped ant-eater in a monk robe. He was sitting on a cloud.

"Greetings, I am Baku," he introduced himself. "I'm a friend of Kitsuni's. She told me to come here and pick up young Ms. Laura up back to her realm."

"Well, I guess that's my ride," Laura said while turning to King. "Thanks for the date, King."

"Oh uh, it's no problem, Laura. I'm just glad that you had fun," King replied bashfully and then to his surprise… Laura kissed him on the mouth, making his eyes widen.

After she released him from her kiss, she smiled at him. "Yeah, I did," she confirmed before heading to the portal. "Say um, this won't take me to another realm, right?"

"It is your realm, Ms. Laura," Baku said while escorting her through. "We've double checked."

As the portal closed, King just stood there in shock. "Whoa…" he said in awe.

"Ooooooooooooooohhhhhh!" Luz and Hooty said while rising up from behind King.

"Would you two knock it off!" King ranted at them.

"That seals the deal, King! You have a girlfriend now!" Luz pointed out..

"Yeah! Now you're not the single one in the family anymore!" Hooty commented, the two laughing as King jumped on Hooty.

"Weh!" King shouted in frustration while attacking Hooty, who moved around to shake him off. Luz fell on the floor laughing, while Eda snickered at the scene.

Meanwhile, Cross was dropping Donna off at her home after their walk and talk.

"So you two were pretty close," Cross said after Donna finished explaining her deal with Nina to him.

"Yeah, we were," Donna replied with a sigh. "But right now… honestly, I should've given Nina some space. And after tonight, I definitely should give her some space for a while. At least until things between us have cooled off… if they can cool off."

"That sounds like a good idea," Cross agreed. "Are you going to be okay, though?"

"I… think I will," Donna said as she looked down. "You know, I don't think I'm really that good at knowing how other witches feel. What Skara said was right, I wasn't there for Nina when she was hurting. I still want to help her, but… I feel so disconnected. Like an outsider…"

Cross looked at Donna, feeling sympathetic. "I know how you feel, Donna."

"You do?" she asked him.

"Growing up, I was never much of a social witch," he explained. "Kids think I'm weird for eating charcoal, so I didn't make many friends back then."

"I don't think it's weird," Donna reassured him. "I thought it's cute that you do that."

Cross slightly blushed while trying to hide it. "W-Well… thing is, the only friends I've known to have were Teri, occasionally Beo, and oddly Danny."

"What about Lindsay?" Donna pointed out, making Cross pause.

"Y-Yeah, she's a friend as well… a good friend," Cross admitted. "But I'll admit one thing. I do like Lindsay… the same way as you liked Nina." Donna looked surprised by this. "Though, I did think that she was taken because I know someone else wanted to ask her out… I may have missed my chance with Lindsay because you ended up asking me out."

"Oh… sorry," Donna apologized, feeling awkward. Though, she did know that Lindsay liked the Golden Guard, who turned out to be Emily… but she didn't want to say anything about her, since she knew that Cross had tried to save Emily and had failed, so she thought it would be insensitive to bring up. "So… who was it that wanted to ask Lindsay out?"

"I can't tell you, since I promised not to," Cross admitted. "Honestly, for most of my life, I closed myself off from most witches for a reason. But when you asked me out, I allowed myself to open up my barriers a bit… only to be then used by you to make Nina jealous."

"Oh…" Donna said, looking and feeling ashamed for what she did. "I'm so sorry, Cross… I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

"Well, I did feel hurt by that," he admitted. "Even if you didn't mean to hurt me, you still did."

"Is there anything I can make up to you, though?" Donna offered him.

Cross was quiet for the moment, thinking it over. He then gave his answer. "Well… I guess you can make it up with another date. A real date this time. No ulterior motives, and it doesn't have to be romantic. It could just be us hanging out." He looked at Donna. "But if you're really sorry, then I'm willing to give you a second chance."

Donna smiled, surprised by this. "Yeah, I'd like that. I promise the next date will not be for an ulterior motive. And I'm pretty sure my moms won't allow me to wear this dress again… for another decade."

"Yeah…" Cross agreed, while hiding his blush.

"Thanks for taking me home, Cross, as well as being nice," Donna thanked him.

"No problem, and… I'm glad we have this talk," Cross said before the two just looked at each other awkwardly. "So um… what now?"

"Oh, um… I guess we… shake on it?" Donna suggested, raising her hand up.

"Yeah," Cross said, shaking Donna's hand. "See you on the second date."

"Yup, see you then," Donna replied as she headed for her home. "Night, Cross."

"Night, Donna," He responded as he summoned Elio.

Once Donna was back inside, she was met by her folks. "Donna, how was your date?" Gladys asked.

"Was Cross nice to you all the way?" Diana asked her.

"He better be," Auggie said.

"Oh, the date went… not so well…" Donna admitted.

"I KNEW IT!" Auggie shouted as he brought out his machete. "I'm going to flay his scalp!"

"Nono, it's not his fault!" Donna reassured them. "In all honesty, it's actually my fault, not his."

"What do you mean?" Diana asked her, concerned.

Donna sighed. "It's a bit complicated, but I'll explain in the morning. Right now I just want to go to bed."

In her room, Donna took her heels and dress off. She was now in her nightgown. Her crystal ball rang and she went over to see who was calling… Veronica.

Donna tapped on the crystal ball and it showed Veronica's face. "Hey girl, how was the date? Don't leave out the details."

"Well… it didn't turn out well…" Donna admitted.

"What do you mean? Did he hurt you?" Veronica asked. "Cause if Cross did…"

"Actually, I'm the one who hurt him," Donna admitted, surprising Veronica.

"What? Donna, what did you do?" Veronica asked her.

After Donna brought her up to speed, Veronica looked shocked about the whole thing. It made her pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Donna… what made you think to do this?!" she demanded to know.

"I got it from Felicia!" Donna admitted. "She told me that no one would get hurt, especially since she has been on enough dates to know her stuff!"

Veronica looked baffled. "Donna… Felicia bluffs! Everyone knows that Felicia doesn't date."

"I didn't know that!" Donna pointed out while facepalming. "Oh Titan, I screwed up big time with Nina now… and things were going good between us and I had to ruin it all because I listened to Felicia."

"Yeah, well you can't just blame Felicia for this," Veronica pointed out. "It was you who hurt both Nina and Cross's feelings."

"I know, I'm responsible for this," Donna admitted, looking down. "I just hope that I can make it up to both of them."

Meanwhile, the trio of Nina, Lambi, and Skara arrived at the Brooke home.

"Hey, you guys are back," Emira said as she saw them come in.

"We didn't expect you to be home so early, Nina," Viney said while Nina just sat on the couch along with Lambi.

"Had to cancel the date…" Nina said while lowering her head. "Someone I knew was there…"

"Really? Who?" Emira asked.

"Donna," Lambi answered, which caused Emira's eyes to widen.

"Ooh…" Emira winced, along with Viney as they turned to each other.

"Thanks for watching over my sister, you two," Skara thanked Emira and Viney.

"Hey, it's no trouble," Emira replied. "Though your little sis does scare us…"

"Do you guys really allow her to watch horror movies?" Viney asked her.

"What? No, we don't," Skara told them. "Don't tell me you let her watch-"

"Zombie Lemmings 2?" Emira said while looking pale. "She wasn't even scared…"

Nina turned to Lambi, giving a regretful look. "I'm sorry that this date didn't turn out so well, Lambi."

"Hey, it's okay, Nina," Lambi reassured her, touching her arm gently. "I just want to know if you're okay right now."

The werecat turned to Lambi, appreciating the comfort. "Thanks, Lambi. I just… don't know what Donna's deal is right now. She goes from not wanting anything to do with me to wanting us to be friends again. I thought that she wanted us to be cool with each other, but then she had to hijack our date and even bring her own date with her." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not to mention bringing up my sister…"

Lambi looked concerned for Nina, but also… curious. "I… was wondering what that was about… but only if you're okay to talk about your sister."

Nina thought about it for a moment, ultimately deciding that Lambi was someone she felt she could be honest with.

"It's something that I don't even fully remember doing," Nina explained, looking at her own hands. "Back at the Villa, I was considered a pariah even at a young age. And I had a habit of attacking other witches. But it's not like I attack witches on purpose. I just dissociate and my instincts overtake me."

"How often are you prone to this?" Lambi asked her.

"Well, they're not as bad now," Nina confessed. "Admittedly, Glandus did help somewhat, but then instead of attacking witches unconsciously I just started attacking witches consciously." She turned to Lambi. "What I did to Cally, I didn't want to do it. But for some witches, it is too late to convince them."

"Nina, this sounds serious," Lambi said, while Skara looked shocked.

"According to Dr. Traveler, I have a dissociation disorder called derealization," Nina explained. "It caused me to become detached or separate from the world around me. And that's… pretty much how I felt while living in the Torsa Villa. Often I would look at the other werecats and see them all as just… shapes." She sighed. "Fortunately, Dr. Traveler said it's treatable."

"Does it help talking about it now?" Lambi asked her, patting her hand. "You're not feeling like blacking out now, are you?"

"No… but even if I did, this collar would probably stop me from hurting you," Nina said while looking at Lambi. "And the last thing I want is to hurt you, Lambi…"

"I know you won't," Lambi responded, giving Nina a hug. "I know that you're not a bad witch, Nina. Far from it."

"She's right, Nina," Skara added. "I mean, sure, you're a bad girl, but you're not a bad bad girl. Deep down, you're a good witch. And to be honest… Donna doesn't deserve you."

Nina looked at Skara and Lambi in surprise, touched. "Thanks Lambi, and kitkat…" Skara tilted her head, slightly confused by the nickname. "I'm… so lucky to have you guys."

"Yeah," Lambi said as she leaned in, kissing Nina on the cheek, much to the surprise of the werecat. "You are quite lucky."

Nina turned to Lambi in shock, but before she could say anything Viney and Emira popped up.

"Guys, you're not going to believe who showed up," Emira said as coming in with them… was Hunter.

"Hunter?" Skara asked in shock.

"Smelly?" Nina asked. "What brings you here?"

"I wish this was a normal house visit, but I came here to give some dire news," Hunter said while turning to Skara. "Skara… there has been an incident that involves your parents."

Skara's eyes widened, while Nina stood up. "What?!" they exclaimed.

"Don't worry, they're okay, just…" Hunter looked down. "Right now they're in the Healing Coven. Your dad is fine, but your mom… I'm sorry, captain… she got bitten by a vampire."

Everyone in the room fell silent at this, shocked by the news…

Back at the Owl House, King was being brought up to speed on what Eda and Luz had learned.

"So, those mechanical creatures that Amity and Willow fought were created by Department A, who are responsible for these… Exorcist robots?" King asked.

"McFist calls them EX-Models, but short version, Exbots," Luz said.

"And Jenny got her supply of love potions from Terra Snapdragon?!" King exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, we were all shocked by that as well, especially Gus," Eda admitted. "Though it makes sense. Raine mentioned that they were drugged by a tea Terra gave them that allowed her to control them under Belos's orders."

"But why would Belos allow Terra to do that?" Hooty asked.

"Belos bans the use of love potions and all kinds of mind control potions… except when he needs to use one," Eda said, crossing her arms. "But I don't think even Belos knows what Snapdragon's doing behind his back…"

"We… we gotta do something about this!" King shouted. "We should expose Terra for what she did…"

"I don't think anyone would believe us if we told them," Luz pointed out. "What we need is evidence, and right now we're dry from it."

"I could let Lily know about this," Eda said as she pulled up her scroll. "This and the Exbots."

"I should probably message Hunter about it as well," Luz said before she heard a crow calling for her.

"Luz! Luz pick up!"

She turned to the crow, grabbed it, and answered it. "Hey… Skara, what… slow down!" Luz said over the crow. Eda, King, and Hooty turned to her, "What?! When… how did that happen?!" Luz gave a shocked look, which concerned her family. "Call Willow, I'll be right there."

"Luz? What happened?" Eda asked as Luz hung up.

"It's about Calypso," Luz said, turning to Eda. "Mom… she got bitten by a vampire."

At the Healing Coven, a bunch of scouts were stationed near the room of Head Witch Brooke. Only Head Witch Brooke's family and friends were allowed to sit outside.

"It's going to be okay, Skara," Willow said as she, Bo, Cat, Amelia, and Viney attempted to comfort the Brooke girl.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm trying to keep it together," Skara responded with a sniff.

"Your folks are going to be alright, Skara," Viney reassured her.

"Yeah, your mom's a fighter," Cat pointed out.

"I know, but… I'm just as worried for dad," Skara said with fear in her tone.

"Hey, it's okay," Willow said as she hugged Skara, patting her back. "They're going to be okay."

Nina sat beside Lambi and Scabrina, Lambi comforting her while Scabrina was half-asleep, all the while Nina was fidgeting with her fingers, just as worried for Slasher and Calypso as Skara was. Also in the waiting room were Jerbo, Matt, Barcus, Edric, Emira, and Gus, who are all waiting for news on Skara's parents as well. Nina heard her scroll buzz and she pulled it up to see Donna's text.

Donna: I heard what happened. Is Skara alright?

Despite what happened between them, Nina texted back to confirm.

Nina: She's fine. Her folks are in the H.C. No word about Cali yet.

Donna: I hope she's doing okay.

It was then that Luz and Eda came in, Luz spotting Skara. "Skara!"

"Luz, Eda," Skara said, looking as if she had cried on the way here. "I am so glad you two are here," she said as Luz went over to give Skara a hug.

"How are they?" Eda asked as she knelt down in front of her. "Is your dad alright and is your mom going to be okay?"

"The doctors said that my dad's resting for now. But mom's in critical condition," Skara said, trying to hold it together while Willow helped to comfort her. "They said that she lost a lot of blood from the attack…"

"How did this happen? How did a vampire manage to do this to your mom?" Luz asked.

"A security breach," said a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Hunter, who stepped out of the shadows to make himself known.

"Hunter…" Edric said in surprise.

"What can you tell us about what happened?" Luz asked him

"I was there when it happened," Hunter admitted. "Me, scout captains, some celebrities and Coven Heads were all present at the art gallery event. Nobody knew who invited the vampire, since vampires don't go into places unless they're invited to them. He was targeting Head Witch Calypso, and after he… bit her, her husband, Slasher, tackled him and turned into his werewolf form… bit the vampire's head off, which led to some scouts cornering him… one scout hit him with a spell."

"Oh no…" Eda said. She looked worried, knowing full well how scouts would react to a situation with lycans.

"He's fine," Hunter reassured them. "I intervened before anything further happened to him."

"Skara!" shouted the voice of Boscha, as she along with Simon showed up in a rush.

"Boscha…" Skara said, wiping her tears as Boscha went to hug her.

"Are you alright? How are your parents?" Boscha asked in concern.

"We came as soon as we heard," Simon said, concerned as well.

"I… I don't know right now, but… I think my dad could be in trouble and mom… I don't know what's going to happen to her," Skara said while she shook, tears leaking from her eyes "I… I'm trying to be strong, but…" She fell on her knees as both Willow and Boscha helped comfort her.

A healer, Zebra, came over. "Skara," he said, getting Skara to look up to Dr. Harwitch. "They sent me to tell you that your parents are ready to have visitors. You and your sister can see them now."

"R-Really?" Skara asked as she was helped up. "T-Thank you, Dr. Harwitch."

Nina woke Scabrina up. "Hey, you get to see your folks, Brina," she told her.

"Are they okay?" Scabrina asked her.

"Yeah, come on." Nina said while holding Scabrina's hand, as they along with Skara went to see their parents.

As Hunter watched them walk away, Luz spoke to him. "Hunter." He turned to her and Eda, both looking at him. "After this… we need to talk."

In the room, an unconscious Calypso laid on her bed while the Healers attempted another blood transfusion, blood packs hooked up to her bandaged neck and arms. Her Palisman was by her side, while the Healers, including Swan, were doing their best to keep her alive.

"Come on, Calypso, stay strong," Swan said while reading her heart rate.

"Dr. Harwitch," spoke up a nurse. "Head Witch Brooke's daughters are here."

"You can bring them in," Swan responded as the nurse let the girls in.

Skara, Nina, and Scabrina came inside, seeing both their parents. Slasher was sitting up while in bed, but now had a collar on.

"Daddy!" Skara shouted as she rushed over, hugging her father. "Thank Titan, you're okay!"

"I'm alright, sweety," Slasher responded, hugging Skara back.

Nina noticed his collar. "Slash… around your neck…"

"Oh, this?" Slasher asked, looking at his collar. He sighed. "Yeah… must've had me wear it after the incident…"

"We're just glad that you're alright, dad," Skara said.

"But what about mommy?" Scabrina asked as Slasher turned to his daughter.

"What's going to happen to her?" Nina asked. "She's going to pull through, right?"

"She will," Swan responded. "She's stable right now and we're doing our best to keep her alive… but…" She looked saddened. "The vampire that bit her… infected her."

Nina's eyes widened. "No…"

"What do you mean?" Skara asked.

Swan lowered herself to Skara's level as she explained. "Basically, vampires have a venom that infects their victims after a bite. Even if the victim survives an attack, they could still die afterwards because of the venom. That venom along with your mother's blood loss has placed her in a critical condition, even if we have managed to get her out of the immediate danger zone."

"No…" Skara said. "Are you saying my mom will…?"

"Don't worry, there is a way to save your mother's life," Swan said as she stood back up. "There is only one cure, and I'm gonna need Slasher's consent… before we transfer vampire blood into her in order to fight the infection."

Slasher looked at Swan and after a moment he gave a nod. "I give my consent… though, I'm not happy about it."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Skara asked, turning to him.

"A transfusion with vampire blood will convert her," Nina explained. "The blood will change Calypso… am I right?"

"Yes," Swan said while turning to the Brooke girls. "Girls… in order to save your mom, she's gonna have to be a vampire."

Skara, Nina and Scabrina all look shocked by the news. Their mom was going to be turned into a vampire…

"Greetings, everyone," said a voice.

Everyone turned to see Abel coming in. "Don't mind me, I'm just letting myself in for a minute. Those who don't know me, I am the Emperor's aid, Abel, and I thought I would drop in to pay my respects for our Beast-Keeping Head." He turned to Swan. "How is she, Dr. Harwitch?"

"She's stable, sir," Swan responded. "At least for the moment. But if she is gonna make a recovery, she's going to need vampire blood."

"Do it," Abel said while turning to Slasher. "Slasher, how are you feeling?"

"A little better… sir," Slasher replied, looking down at his collar.

"Yes, well, I apologize for that," Abel responded. "But the collar is just part of the standard procedure for this type of thing. Though we do need to discuss what is to be done about you, Mr. Brooke."

Abel walked over to Slasher. "Oh, don't worry. You will not be harmed in any way. You will be kept here for observation overnight, but once you're discharged form the Healing Coven, you will have your collar removed. As recommended by the Golden Guard, we've decided to be lenient with you."

"That doesn't sound too bad…" Slasher said.

"However, because of what happened at the art gallery, you have been exposed," Abel pointed out. "You may not have to worry about the Emperor's Coven, but you will have to worry about the public backlash. Everyone in the Isles now knows of your lycan heritage. It's not going to be easy for you, or your family. Brooke Records may end up suffering."

Slasher looked down, sighing. "I understand… I figured this could happen."

"Glad we have an understanding then," Abel responded as he walked to the door. "I wish you all a good night, and I hope that Calypso makes a speedy recovery."

After Abel left, Slasher turned to the girls. He looked at them sadly. "Girls… I'm so sorry…"

"No dad, you don't have anything to apologize for," Skara said.

"Yeah, if anything, blame the vampire, or whoever let that creep in," Nina pointed out while Scabrina was still silent.

"What… could this mean for us?" Skara asked.

"Well, things are just… going to be a little different from now on," Slasher admitted, knowing that when word gets out about his werewolf heritage, everyone will also realize Skara was one as well. "We'll just… have to make the most of this." He turned to his wife, who was still comatose while the Healers continued treating her.

Nina turned to Skara and Scabrina, both looking uneasy about this. "I think we'll just… leave you be and see you in the morning," she said as she brought the two Brooke girls out of the room.

Once they were out of the room, Nina turned to the two. "Okay, let it out. How are you feeling?" she asked them.

"I… I don't know, Nina," Skara replied, hugging herself.

"There… there's no way this could have happened," Scabrina spoke up, the two turning to her. "There's no way mommy would let her guard down!" she shouted suddenly, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Scabrina…" Skara said as she knelt down. "Listen to me-"

"THERE'S NO WAY!" Scabrina screamed as she started to cry. "MOM IS TOO TOUGH TO LET HER GUARD DOWN! THERE'S NO WAY SHE'D LET HERSELF GET ATTACKED LIKE THAT!" She stomped on the floor, having a breakdown. "THERE'S NO WAY MOM WOULD GET LIKE THIS!" She then started to cry more, wailing as she let her tears out. "MOMMY CAN'T DIE!"

Nina and Skara both hugged her, but Scabrina kept crying. The two were surprised to see her show so much emotion… but at the end of the day, she was still a little girl who right now wanted her mom.

"MOMMY! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

In an empty room, where Eda and Luz told Hunter what they had learned.

"Department A… they're the ones who built these… Exbots?" Hunter asked in shock.

"Yeah, they are the ones from your vision, Hunter," Luz confirmed.

"All this time… it's starting to tie together," Hunter recounted. "G.B. Gates started the Archangels, which grew into the very organization that wiped out worlds… including Mewni." He covered his mouth with a look of worry. "They're the ones Belos feared will destroy the Isles…"

But it was then that Hunter came to a realization. "Oh shit," he said as he raised his head up while Luz, Eda, and Flapjack looked at him in concern. "He caused this… Belos is responsible for everything! His fear of his vision led him to bring humans to the Isles, including G.B. Gates! That's why the Gates family launched their decades old mission to destroy the Demon Realm… Belos's attempt to prevent his vision from coming true ended up creating the very threat that would destroy the Boiling Isles." He sat down in a chair, looking very uneasy.

"That is an ironic twist of fate," Luz acknowledged. "Belos pretty much self-fulfilled his own prophecy."

"If Belos is responsible for everything," Eda said as she looked down, shaken by this realization. "Titan… Angel, Abigail, they could've led normal lives… Camila wouldn't have to lose a husband and would have still been alive." She looked just as equally upset.

Everyone was silent as they let the revelation sink in about what had Belos truly caused.

"So… what's our next move?" Maya asked.

"Well, for the time being I'm going to continue to remain in the Emperor's Castle," Hunter explained. "That way, I can try to learn more about this, with Eclipsa's help of course." He then remembered something. "I should also let you two know about what Calypso said during the Coven Head meeting… about the Forest of Fear."

This got the two curious. "What did she say?" Eda asked.

"The mist of the forest is spreading," Hunter explained. "It could even spread throughout the Isles. We don't know how long we have, but I do know that Belos wants to find a way to stop it before the Day of Unity comes."

This concerned Luz. "If he can't, everyone in the Isles will suffer as a result," she pointed out. "But luckily, I'm whipping up a plan to take out the Inner Demon once and for all, thanks to some help from a few friends."

"So have you learned anything about the Day of Unity yet?" Eda asked him.

Hunter looked down. "No. Belos has been more quiet than usual. I think he doesn't trust me as much as he used to…"

"Well, you better be careful, then," Eda advised. "We don't want you to get hurt."

"Yeah, Aunt Lilith's been worried about you," Luz brought up..

"Thanks for your concerns, but don't worry," he reassured them. "I've been planning escape routes just in case things go wrong."

It was then Luz decided to bring something up. "Well… there is one thing that does concern me, about that vampire attack," she admitted. "Someone let that vampire in… do you think Belos could be behind the vampire attack?"

"I doubt it," Hunter responded. "Not that I'm defending him, but I don't believe that Belos would risk any more Coven Heads getting hurt or taken down. He's already gone through four replacements since Darius, Eberwolf, Raine, and Scooter. I don't think he'd risk replacing another Beast Head."

"So he needs all the cards he could get on the table," Luz pointed out.

"But don't worry, I promise to have my team investigate the vampire attack," Hunter reassured them. "We will find out who targeted Calypso…"

Nina and Skara kept trying to calm Scabrina down, the youngest Brooke girl still crying. "Mommy… ple-hease, wake up…"

"Scabrina, don't cry, mom's going to be okay," Skara reassured her little sister. "Everything's going to be… alright…" Skara started to wail, failing to keep herself together "Mom and dad are…" Tears leaked from her eyes as she started to break herself.

Nina patted Skara's back. "Hey, kitkat, it's… it's going to be okay…"

"Is it, Nina?!" Skara shouted suddenly. "Now everyone knows that me and dad are lycan and mom's going to change… nothing's going to be the same for us!"

Nina looked at the crying Skara, choosing her words carefully. "Look, I know that change is difficult. Believe me, I know from experience," she said, patting her and Scabrina's shoulders. "And I got a good witch family to thank for helping me adapt to change." They looked up to her as she continued. "You guys have helped me, so now I'm going to help in return."

Skara sniffed. "Really?"

"Come on, you two," Nina said as she offered her hands to them. "Let me take you back to your friends."

The two Brooke girls grabbed each of Nina's hands before they walked back to the waiting room together. Once they were back, Willow came up to them.

"How are they?" Willow asked.

"Fixable," Nina replied while Skara went to hug Willow. "Skara needs some emotional support right now," she said while feeling a hug from Scabrina, who held her leg tightly.

"Thank you… Nina," Scabrina said while in tears.

"No problem, Brina," Nina said, patting her head.

"Would you girls like to stay over at my place tonight?" Willow offered them. "My dads would be happy to offer you guys a place to sleep."

"How does that sound for you two?" Nina asked them.

Skara and Scabrina looked unsure. "I don't know… should we?" Skara asked.

"I don't want to leave mom and dad alone," Scabrina said.

"But, then again they will be under watch by the Healers and scouts," Skara said. "Maybe… it's for the best that we don't get in the way. Don't you, Scabrina?"

Scabrina looked unsure, but knew that her big sister was right. "Perhaps… you may have a point."

"Yeah, and Cat's parents are here so they'd let us keep an update," Skara said while turning to Willow "Thanks for the offer, Willow. I think we'll take it."

The next morning, at the Park residence, everyone started waking up.

Nina woke up from the couch, stretching with a yawn. "Aw man," she said as she got up. Looking around, she saw that she was in the Park living room. "Oh right, we spent the night."

She walked over to Willow's room, knocking on the door. "Yo, Skara, Brina, you two up?"

Inside, Skara woke up from the loud knocking. Next to her in the bed was Willow. Scabrina was sleeping on the extra bed set up for her and Skara, but Skara had ended up sleeping with Willow, the two cuddling. "Skara, you up?" Nina kept asking

"We are!" Skara shouted back, rising up from the bed while Willow and Scabrina groaned.

"Does she have to bang the door that loud?" Willow asked as she put on her glasses.

"She cares," Skara replied.

"Alright, I'll be waiting," Nina said from the other side of the door.

Later, everyone was in the dining room for breakfast. Willow, Skara, Scabrina, and Nina were present, eating their breakfast with Sully and Gilbert. Gus had already left.

"So how are you enjoying your breakfast?" Sully asked.

"It's pretty good, Mr. Park," Skara replied.

"Yeah, really good," Nina replied while eating her waffles.

"It's good," Scabrina said simply.

"And, um, how are you three feeling right now?" Gilbert asked.

"A little better, sir," Skara responded. "I got a text from Cat who says that dad should be discharged soon."

"That's great," Willow responded, patting Skara's hand.

"Yeah, we can go see him at the Healing Coven," Nina said while turning to Scabrina. "How's that sound, Brina?"

"I'm glad that dad's alright," Scabrina said as she lowered her head. "But mom…"

"Don't worry, she'll pull through," Nina reassured her. "Your mom's going to be okay, alright? Maybe she's awake now."

"Yeah, and we can see them both," Skara said, reassuring her little sister.

Knock-knock-knock!

Everyone turned toward the door, hearing the sudden banging. "Who could it be at this time?" Gilbert asked as he marched to the door.

When he opened it up, he looked surprised to see who it was. "Uh… Nina… I think it's for you."

Nina walked over and was even more shocked than Gilbert. "Chelsea? Anthony and… the scorpion chick?"

"Nina," Chelsea said in a serious tone. With her were Anthony and Banjo. "There was trouble with your tribe last night…"

"What?!" Nina asked. "What kind of trouble?!"

"A kidnapping," Anthony responded. "Your younger siblings, West and Winter, were taken along with your mom, Pam, right in front of your family!"

This left Nina shocked and horrified. "What the hell… please, tell me they're alright!"

"Don't worry, the rest of your family are safe," Banjo reassured her. "They already reported this to Mao, who put the whole community on alert."

"We came to you because despite everything, you deserve to know what's happening to your family," Chelsea said while looking concerned. "Nina… at the worst time, Head Witch Brooke became unavailable, but Cally did give a description of who kidnapped your mom and siblings."

"Who?" Nina demanded to know.

"They said it was a werewolf who called himself the Big Bad Wolf," Anthony responded, shocking Nina and Skara. "And a lady in red shoes who claims to know you."

"Lady in red shoes… " Nina said before her eyes widened in shock as she realized who Anthony was referring to…

Meanwhile, in a secluded place, West, Winter, and Pam had been placed into cages. The three had been scared out of their minds since their capture.

"Ma, where are we?" West asked.

"I'm scared!" Winter replied, separated from her brother.

"Don't be scared, you two, everything's going to be alright…" Pam tried to reassure her children. She remembered how she and the twins were captured last night…

Lupe launched himself towards his family. As he did this, Leo made a high-pitched shriek like a schoolgirl and shoved his wife in front of him.

"Honey!" Pam exclaimed as Lupe grabbed her by the arms.

"Gotcha!" Lupe declared.

"Don't harm her," Sonya said while drawing a spell circle, summoning chains to grab both West and Winter. "They can't be hurt too much…"

Back in the present, Pam had a solemn look. "I can't believe Leo would do that…"

"I wanna go home!" Winter cried.

"Help! Get us out of here!" West cried as well.

"Please, kids, don't cry…" Pam said as she started to tear up. "Because I'm going to cry as well…"

"Oh, don't you all cry like that," said a voice.

All three looked up to see Sonya walking up to them from the shadows. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay. You are our guests, after all."

"You!" Pam shouted, seeing Sonya in the flesh. "You're that woman who catnapped us!"

"Catnapped… do all werecats come with cat-puns?" Sonya asked mockingly. "But don't worry, I'm here to… help you."

"H-Help us?" West asked.

"Yes, little one," Sonya responded with faux kindness. "Help you just like I helped your sister…"

"What are you talking about?!" Pam demanded to know.

"You see, I have seen how much the Emperor's rule has affected your community," Sonya explained. "Which is why I consider it my duty to help young, bright werecats to embrace their roots. And since your youngest son, daughter, and unborn children are so young, they can be molded… and broken, and built back up again," she declared with a sinister smile, reaching into the cage to rub Pam's pregnant stomach which made the werecat mother feel uncomfortable.

"L-Leave me alone!" Pam shouted as she backed away.

Sonya then looked at the twins, smiling at them as she walked over. "You know, a werecat can be useful, but it can take some… reconditioning…"

"R-R-Reconditioning?" Winter asked, while Sonya reached in to pat her head.

"Yes, my dear," Sonya said. "You and your brother will have to truly learn what being a werecat truly is like. None of what the adults tell you…"

"Leave my sister alone!" West barked at her. "You're nothing but a creepy old lady!"

Sonya turned to West and went to his cage. "Heh, kind of a mouthy kid, aren't you? Just like your big sister Nina…" What happened next shocked Pam and Winter, since Sonya aggressively smacked West in the face, knocking him back.

"West!" Pam and Winter exclaimed in worry.

West teared up while his nose was bleeding. "My associate, Lupe, would like to do some sparring with you twins later," Sonya mentioned with a smile, "Think of it like a preview of what you can expect later…" She looked at all of them. "And this is what happens when bad little kittens misbehave, so you better not misbehave like your brother, Winter."

Winter felt silent while Pam cowered in fear.

"Anyway, I've been working on a few things I could test on you cats," Sonya mentioned. "It will make you all stronger, better, and more importantly… more obedient." She turned to Pam. "And once I get my hands on your new kittens when they're born… you will have no further use to me."

"W-Why are you doing this?" Pam asked out of fear.

Sonya smirked at her while leaning close to her cage. "Why? Simple… because you're animals…"

Back at the Park home, the trio of Luz, Eda and King had come over to meet up with Nina, Skara, Willow, her parents, and the werecats.

"Thank you for coming here on short notice, Luz," Skara said.

"No problem," Luz replied. "We are here to help."

"Yeah! We're going to take on that crazy doctor and the big bad wolf!" King declared.

"Well, since we're meeting Nina's friends, hi, I'm Banjo Scorpincher," Banjo said, introducing herself to the Clawthornes. "You guys must be the Clawthornes, heard a lot about you guys. You make quite the headlines."

"Well we're infamous in a lot of ways," Eda said, shaking Banjo's pincer. "So you guys are also Nina's friends from the Villa?"

"Well… not exactly, friends," Chelsea admitted. "Chelsea Magpie, apprentice of Clockwork Cab."

"And I'm Anthony Stripes, architecture," Anthony introduced himself..

"Anthony? Does anyone call you Tony, like the cereal mascot back in the Human Realm?" Luz asked

"...What?" Anthony asked in confusion.

"Okay, now that introductions are in order, we need to create a plan to find my siblings and my mom," Nina pointed out.

"She's right, we need to help them fast!" Skara added.

"Right," Eda responded while turning to Nina. "Do you know anything about this Sonya chick that could help find your family? Any leads?"

"Well, there is a lab she once brought me over to," Nina admitted. "But it was cleared out by the Emperor's Coven after the sting last week. I doubt she'd return to her old base…"

"Not to mention that turning to the Emperor's Coven for help is completely out of the question," Willow pointed out. "We can't trust or rely on them, especially since it is possible that they're still compromised by the Tarot Guild."

"Yeah, we can't risk West, Winter, and my mom's lives with the E.C.," Nina nodded in agreement.

"What we need is to split up and cover different grounds," Skara pointed out, strategizing. "But first we need a list of leads and targets."

"I'd be glad to be of service," said a voice.

Everyone turned to see Hardy Boils walking into the room.

"Boils…" Nina said.

"Well, long time no see, Hardy," Eda said to the detective.

"Word on the street is that there's been some missing kittens taken from the Torsa Villa," Boils explained. "And if it involves this Dr. Sonya Mera woman, I may have some info to share with you, because I have done some digging into her."

"What's the dark, secret origins about her?" Willow asked as Hardy summoned up a file and slammed it onto the table.

"Sonya Mera used to live in the circus," Hardy Boils explained. "Her parents were beast tamers, famously known as the 'Muzzling Meras', though in hindsight they should have found a better synonym for 'tamers'. They would release and tame beasts for the shows… until her parents got impaled by unicorns, leaving their daughter orphaned…"

"Woof," Luz said with a disturbed look.

"Yeah, it wasn't a pretty picture back then," Boils admitted. "After this, she was taken in and raised under the roof of the Scooter Crane Home for Unwanted Demons and Witchlings." This surprised Eda and Nina as Boils continued. "She decided to study beast-keeping there, despite living in a Bard Coven-issued establishment. She moved out of the orphanage at seventeen and joined the Beast-Keeping Coven to work her way up to get a doctrine's degree as a Beast-Keeping researcher studying how to control the behaviors of beasts. She also delved into genetic manipulation, though most of her work wasn't under the watchful eyes of the Emperor's Coven."

"And her connections to the Tarot Guild may have something to do with it," Nina pointed out.

"She was taken in and funded by the Grimhammer Family, and as we know Grimhammer II was the Boss of the Tarot Guild," Boils explained.

"What about the Big Bad Wolf?" Chelsea asked. "Cally mentioned that he showed up along with that Mera woman."

"Ah yes, I've heard about that old lycan son of a bitch," he said as he looked at Skara. "No offense," he assured her before he continued. "Finding hard facts about him is difficult. Mostly I have rumors to go off by. For one, that he could be immortal…"

"Immortal?" Sully asked.

"Slasher did mention him living for a long time," Eda recalled.

"Yeah, I've heard stuff about him dating back centuries, though I can't say for certain that it is the same werewolf," Boils explained. "Some say he was once able to travel between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm, back when Titan's Blood was easily accessible and transportable in some areas. He may have even been the 'Beast of Gévaudan' or a descendant of him."

"Wait, what's the Beast of Gévaudan?" Luz asked.

"A monster that used to plague the Human Realm," Eda explained. "It killed more than one hundred people and was reported to have been killed several times before the attacks finally stopped."

"Parents used the Big Bad Wolf to scare werekittens into behaving," Banjo recalled. "They said that if you're naughty, the Big Bad Wolf will come take you away… though I guess bringing it up now is in poor taste, sorry." She smiled apologetically.

"I faced him twice, once as the Owl Beast," Eda mentioned. "I don't know if he is immortal, but he is a monster."

"If he lived that long, where has he been until now?" Chelsea asked.

"Well, he was believed dead, since he stopped being active in the Isles," Boils explained.

"But maybe he stopped because he was recruited into the Tarot Guild," King suggested. "He would still kill for them, but more discreetly and in a way that couldn't be traced to him."

"Anyway, I do have some leads for all of you to look into," Boils said while passing around some notes. "Places where Sonya used to work, her old circus that got shut down, etc."

Eda gave a nod. "We should get more help for this. I can coordinate with LOWTH."

"I'll contact Kitsuni so she can help out in our search," Luz suggested while also thinking of someone else she could call upon.

"We're going to help as well," Gilbert declared.

"Yeah, Buzz and Stinger are coming back to stop the Tarot Guild once and for all!" Sully declared.

"Then I guess I'll be joining you two," Willow said.

"And I'll go with Luz," King decided.

"I should go pick up my dad from the Healing Coven, that way he can help," Skara mentioned. "And I need to drop off Scabrina somewhere safe, like Sunny's."

Nina turned to the three werecats. "So… it's going to be just us then? No problems?"

"We want to help both you and your family, that's why we are here, Nina," Chelsea promised.

"Yeah, and I want to spend this time getting to know you better," Banjo added. "Maybe after this we can all be best friends."

Nina turned to Anthony and Chelsea. "And she's here because…?" she asked, the two werecats just shrugging.

At Kitsuni's place, Kitsuni received a crow call from Luz.

"Nina's siblings and mother were kidnapped?" Kitsuni asked with worry.

"Yeah," Luz replied. "They got taken by Emily's bitch of a sister and the Big Bad Wolf, who is said to be the Beast of Gévaudan in the Human Realm. Sounds familiar to you?"

"Not really," Kitsuni admitted. "But I will help find them. With my aura vision, I can try to track down Nina's younger siblings and mother, look for where they went."

"Great, I'm going to find a contact that I know. We'll keep each other updated," Luz responded as she hung up her crow.

Kitsuni stood up and turned to Mai. "Mai, think you can do well on your own while I'm gone?"

"Sure, I'll be busy with my inventions," Mai replied.

Kitsuni gave a nod before she hurried out the door to help in the search to find the missing Fangs.

Meanwhile, Skara made it to Sunny's place to drop Scabrina off.

"Why can't I come? I want to help!" Scabrina asked.

"It's too dangerous for you, Scabrina," Skara responded while knocking on the door. "It's much safer for you to be here."

Opening up was Sunny, who was surprised to see Skara and Scabrina here. "Skara? Hey, what brings you two here? I heard about what happened to your parents…"

"Yeah, they'll be okay. I should be heading to pick up dad from the Healing Coven," Skara responded, noticing how miserable Sunny looked. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'll be fine, thanks for asking," Sunny replied.

"Look, I'm sorry for coming here on short notice, but I'm wondering if you could watch Scabrina for a while," Skara said. "Something came up and I need someone to watch my baby sister…"

"I'm not a baby…" Scabrina mumbled.

"Of course, I'll be happy to watch over her," Sunny replied with a nod. "Anything for my Head Witch's family."

"Great." Skara said while turning to her sister, kneeling down to her level. "Scabrina, I want you to be good to Sunny while I'm out, alright? Me and dad are going to come back once our business is done, alright?"

Scabrina looked up to her big sister before going up to her and giving her a hug, much to the surprise of Skara. "Just be careful, okay?" she asked her.

Skara hugged her back. "Yeah, I will," she told her.

After the hug, Skara handed Sunny a bag of Scabrina's stuff. "Emergency contacts are in here. Make sure she's not anywhere sharp and don't accept any consumables from her."

"Okay, I got it," Sunny responded before Skara rushed to the door.

"I'll see you later, Scabrina!" Skara shouted as she headed out.

Scabrina said nothing as her sister left. Sunny looked down at the young girl, giving a smile. "So Scabrina, I guess it's just us," she said with a chirpy tone. "So what do you like to do? We can play games, or maybe bake something."

"I want to dissect something," Scabrina said, making Sunny's eyes widen.

Meanwhile, the quartet of werecats found themselves in Latissa, where they were following up on a lead. They wore cloaks over themselves to not draw too much attention.

"You doing okay, Chelsea?" Anthony asked her as they walked through the streets.

"Yeah," Chelsea replied, looking around the town and at all the witches passing by them. "Just… not used to being outside the Villa."

"Yeah, same," Anthony replied.

"Try not to draw attention," Nina told them. "Especially you, Benji."

"It's Banjo, actually." Banjo replied from behind. She looked at Nina, still wanting to get to know more about her. "So uh, Nina, so how have you been since moving out of the reserves? It must be cool to get to stay around at Bonesborough…"

"I'm not in the mood right now, Scorpincher," Nina told her with an annoyed tone "I have no time for dumbassery."

"Hey, you know, she was just trying to be nice, Nina," Chelsea said.

"Oh yeah, we can have all time for nice while my youngest siblings are in danger," Nina sarcastically pointed out.

Chelsea fell silent, feeling bad. "Nina, I was just…" She sensed Nina tensing up and she fell silent before letting out a sigh. "You were right."

Nina turned to her. "What?"

"You were right about us, Nina," Chelsea said, crossing her arms. "We did use Casey as an excuse to voice our own unhappiness about the status quo and how the Emperor's Coven treated us…"

"Yeah, and we were too scared to leave the Villa," Anthony added. "So we used Casey as a way to vent our frustrations, co-opting him for our protests. It was… wrong for us to do, especially since you were his friend and we really weren't."

Nina looked at the werecats, surprised by this. "You know, you guys are out of the Villa now. Far from the Villa. Why's that?"

"Well, when we realized that you were right about us… we knew that we had to be more proactive," Chelsea answered.

"And what happened with your family may have instigated it," Anthony admitted. "Because we knew we had to do something about that, that we had to help find and save them as well. Even if it means leaving the reserves."

"Well… I appreciate the help." Nina told them. "Even if I wasn't all that nice to you guys."

"Well, consider us even," Anthony said with a shrug.

As they continued on their way, Chelsea looked around Latissa. She did notice some civilians noticing them, even staring at them. She tried not to pay any attention to them. However, she did wonder if her mother was around here…

"Well what do we have here…"

The four noticed a gang of witches showing up in front of them. They all wore violet jackets. "What's a couple of little werecats doing around these parts of town? A little far from your reserve…"

"Who are these guys?" Chelsea asked.

"The Violet Dragons," Nina answered, grimacing. "These guys are small-time, haven't been around here since Glandus students marked their territories in Latissa…"

"And since Glandus fell over, it's a free turf market! And you cats are invading ours!" the leader declared. "And we don't like your kind showing up around here, makes the folks nervous."

Nina glared at them, but decided to not fight them. She told them. "We're just passing through."

"Passing through? No, you're not going anywhere without giving us your pelts," the leader said as he held up a bat filled with nails, while the rest of the gang held up their own weapons.

"None of you wild cats are going anywhere," one of the goons said. "Cause after that werewolf incident at that art gallery, it will be open season on all lycans soon!"

"So why wait when we can put you all out now!" another responded.

"We're not gonna fight them… are we?" Chelsea asked.

Nina narrowed her eyes at the Violet Dragons. "They really shouldn't underestimate us," she said while turning to the others. "You guys don't have to fight if you don't want to… I can take care of them myself."

The Violet Dragons charged as the leader swung his bat at Nina, who prepared to strike… only for the leader to get kicked in the face by Chelsea's paw, knocking him down. This was much to the surprise of Nina.

"Like hell you will!" Chelsea declared as she ducked down and punched another goon who tried to hit her.

"Get them!" the leader declared after getting back up, the Violet Dragons charging towards them. Chelsea drew a spell circle that got two of the goons entangled by vines, then used her speed to avoid an attack by another goon.

Anthony joined in as he summoned pillars to knock some goons out. When he noticed one goon charging at him, Anthony summoned some dirt in front of that goon. The Violet Dragon member had dirt in his eyes and when he brushed it out he saw Anthony in front of him, prompting the goon to draw his machete and slash at him.

"I got em!" he declared, only for Anthony to split and vanish into thin air. "Huh?!" He looked confused until he got hit by a trash can thrown at him by an invisible force. "Oof!" he shouted as he was knocked down. Becoming visible again was Anthony, who had thrown the trash can at him.

"Construction isn't the only magic I know," Anthony pointed out.

Nina jumped back after she punched another goon. She then felt a larger goon grabbing her from behind. "Hey!"

"Gotcha, bitch!" he declared while holding his knife close to her throat. "I'm going to show you how-ACK!" He suddenly felt a sting, causing him to drop his knife as he was suddenly paralyzed.

Nina got herself off from the Violet Dragon member and saw that the one who had stung him was Banjo, who had used her scorpion tail. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Nina responded while nodding to Banjo. "Thanks," she said as another goon charged at her, but without looking she punched him with the back of her fist.

"Hey, just looking out for the community," Banjo said as her tail stung another goon.

The leader scowled as he saw his gang getting beaten. "What the fuck are you doing? Use your magic for fuck's sake!" he pointed out.

The remaining Violet Dragons realized their leader was right and they drew spell circles to attack the werecats with. Anthony summoned a wall to block their attacks before Nina and Chelsea both ran around to punch the spellcasters and entangle their hands with vines. Another pair of goons cast lightning spells at Nina, who dodged as the lightning hit some other goons instead.

The leader growled before calling out. "Yo, Teddy! We need backup!"

"Teddy?" Nina questioned.

Stomping noises could be heard. The werecats turned and saw coming out of the corner of an alleyway was a larger demon with a horn on top of his head, red eyes, and large teeth. He was wearing the Violet Dragons jacket and held up a large club. He also wore a blue and white striped t-shirt and gray sweatpants.

"Teddy, these cats have messed with your friends!" the leader shouted, pointing at the werecats. "Clobber them!"

Teddy glared at the werecats. "Cats hurt Teddy's friends!" he roared as he raised his club up, throwing it down at the werecats who all got out of the way.

"I've never seen a demon this big before!" Anthony shouted in shock.

Banjo tried to sting him, but the swinging club got in the way. She jumped back while Nina turned her arm into multiple tentacles to grab the club. She pulled it back, but Teddy kept a tight grip at his club, pulling it back for Nina to launch herself towards him, allowing him to punch her in the face, sending her to the ground with a bleeding nose.

"Ah, fuck!" she cried out.

"How do we take him out?!" Chelsea asked while Anthony thought up a way to deal with the biggest goon.

"You know the old saying, the bigger they are, the easier they fall?" Anthony asked, while drawing his spell circle. "Banjo, get Nina out of the way!"

Banjo complied as she saw Teddy about to smash Nina, but Anthony shot a light spell to flash at him. "Gah!" Teddy cried out, just as Banjo grabbed Nina out of the way.

"You alright?" Banjo asked.

"I'll live," Nina said as she wiped the blood from her nose. She saw a yellow blur running around the giant demon. The demon roared as he spotted Nina, Banjo, and Anthony, raising his club. The yellow blur grabbed both Nina and Banjo out of the way, but not Anthony.

"Smash the cats!" Teddy declared while bringing his club down.

"No, wait, Teddy!" 'Anthony' cried out in a panic. "It's me-"

SMASH!

The club struck 'Anthony', who was revealed to be the leader of the Violet Dragons, Chelsea having grabbed him and swapped him with the real Anthony, who had covered him with an illusion. Teddy looked confused when he saw that he had smashed his leader, who was left groaning in pain. He then spotted the werecats. "You!" Teddy shouted as he tried to run up to them, only to find his legs wrapped in vines. "Whoa…!" he cried out as he ended up losing his balance, topping over and falling onto the ground, his club hitting a building nearby.

A piece of debris cracked from the building, a passerby looked up and shrieked as the debris fell toward her. However, Chelsea rushed over and used her speed to save the passerby before the debris could hit her, bringing the passerby to safety.

"Are you alright?" Chelsea asked while the rest of the werecats rushed over.

"Y-Yes," she replied. "T-Thank you," she said before recognizing one of the werecats. "Nina…"

Nina's eyes widened. "Stella…"

"You two know each other?" Banjo asked in surprise. "Now what are the odds?"

An awkward atmosphere hung over them as Nina looked at Glinda, who just stared at the ground, avoiding her gaze. Chelsea looked between the two, sensing something. "Were you two friends?"

"No," Glinda said as she readjusted herself. "Excuse me, and… thanks for saving me," she said while walking away from them.

"Okay… what was that about?" Anthony asked.

Nina sighed and shook her head. "Let's keep on moving," she said while continuing to lead the group to where they needed to be. "We don't want to stick around for all of this."

Seeing the beaten up gang, the werecats silently agreed with Nina and followed her.

At the Healing Coven, Skara showed up to get her dad, who had just been discharged.

"What?!" Slasher said in shock after he was brought up to speed by his daughter. "West, Winter and their mom were captured?!"

"Yeah, and me, Nina, Willow, Luz, and their families are helping go look for them," Skara said. "And with you discharged, you can also help out."

"As much as I want to go and help, I don't think I could leave Calypso's side," Slasher said, turning to the window that looked into Calypso's room, where she was currently in bed.

"But you have to, dad!" Skara told him. "Mom's going to be alright."

"But I can't just leave her…" Slasher said.

"Dad… not only were they captured by Sonya Mera, but the Big Bad Wolf was there," Skara revealed, causing her father's eyes to widen.

"No…" Slasher said while turning back to his daughter. "Are you sure?"

"That's what Chelsea said," Skara confirmed. "One of the werecats from the Villa."

Slasher started to panic as he held onto her shoulders. "Skara, I cannot let you go after the Big Bad Wolf! You just have to leave it to the Emperor's Coven."

"You know that I can't," Skara pointed out, pulling away from her father. "They've proven to be untrustworthy and unreliable. They didn't know about the Tarot Guild's existence and there are still some witches missing. I am not going to abandon Nina, even if it means that I'm gonna have to face the Big Bad Wolf himself."

Slasher looked both surprised by his daughter and terrified at the idea of his girls potentially facing off the Big Bad Wolf as memories of the torture and abuse he suffered from that monster resurfaced and he remembered the witch who killed his Palisman…

"Then you won't be facing him alone," Slasher decided with a serious look. "It's time I settle the score with him…"

At the Torsa Villa, Kitsuni was at the Fang Tribe's treehome. The door was still knocked down, so she knocked on the wall next to the door. Ralph came over.

"Um, can we help you?" Ralph asked.

"I'm Kitsuni, one of the teachers from Hexside, the school that your sister attends," Kitsuni explained. "I am here to help your family."

Ralph looked surprised. "Really? Well, come in," he said, inviting Kitsuni into the home.

As Kitsuni stepped inside, she spotted several coven scouts investigating the scene. Mao Purrsian was there along with Kipling, both of them tending to Leo and the family.

"How are you all feeling?" Mao asked.

"Still shaken, Mistress Purrsian," Leo replied while drinking his warm cup of milk. "It happened so quickly… they took my Pam and the twins!"

"This is serious, especially with your wife's pregnancy," Kipling said while Buttons scoffed in disgust.

"He forgot to mention how mom was taken," Buttons brought up. "She was grabbed when he shoved her in front of him."

"You did what?!" Mao asked in shock. Kipling was shocked as well was Kitsuni.

"How could you do that to your own wife, Leo?!" Kipling demanded to know.

"I-I was in a panic, okay?" Leo tried to excuse it. "I mean, you should've seen that werewolf, he looked like he was gonna eat me… I mean, Pam is more self-sacrificing for the family-"

PUNCH!

Leo was punched off the couch and fell to the floor. Kipling, Kitsuni, the scouts, and the Fang siblings were surprised to see that the one who punched him was Mao, who had a very pissed off look on her face as she glared down at Leo.

"Mao…" Kipling said in shock.

"That lady has one right hook," spoke a scout, revealed to be Carter.

"Of all the inexcusable acts," Mao declared while grabbing Leo by the collar, raising him up in the air.

"M-Mao! Please…" Leo struggled but Mao wouldn't let him have it.

"Please? No, you don't get to say that," Mao snarled at him. "I am barely restraining myself from committing a lycan on lycan crime right now, it is taking all my will to not give in my instincts and neuter you in front of your own children for what you did!"

"B-But I-"

"NO EXCUSES, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Mao growled at him. "You know, Nina may have made mistakes, but at least she still isn't a coward like you! You threw your pregnant wife under the cart to save your own skin, and because of that, you have brought great shame as patriarch of your clan and the werecats in general!"

Kitsuni looked impressed by this and she smiled. "I like her already."

"She is our leader of the Villa," Ralph said, smirking a little.

Kitsuni nodded before her eyes glowed and she started to look around for any auras that she could follow.

Meanwhile, Carter walked up to the larger scout, Bowen, who was handing warm milk to the Fang siblings. "Hey Bowen, got a minute?" Carter asked him.

"Sure, pal." Bowen replied, walking over for Carter to have a private talk.

"So… what do you think of all this?" Carter asked him.

"Well, it's unfortunate what happened to this poor family," Bowen admitted. "I just… wish I could do something about it."

"Yeah, same," Carter responded with a sigh. "But unfortunately we are only supposed to be handling crowd control…"

"I know," Bowen said, looking down sadly.

It was true. While there were scouts stationed at the Torsa Villa, it was mainly to give the appearance of them doing something to prevent a riot from breaking out, especially after that recent protest. The coven scouts were told by their superiors that they could not afford the resources to investigate the kidnapping, especially after a Head Witch was attacked the previous night. The coven scouts could offer their sympathies, but that was as much as they were allowed to do.

Carter sighed. "I wish we could do something more, but right now we have to help secure the Villa, and um…" He looked around. "Think you can cover for me in a bit?"

Bowen got what he was saying and he nodded. "Yeah, I can cover for you, Carter. Just try not to take long this time…"

"Thanks, pal," Carter responded, smiling beneath his mask. "You're the best friend I could ask for."

Carter snuck out from the Fangs tree, looking around to see some other scouts and guards patrolling the area. After looking back and forth, he turned himself invisible so he could walk through the guards.

After passing them, he snuck off into the woods. He soon spotted a lone werecat sitting on a log. It was Jemma and she seemed to be waiting for someone…

As he approached her, Jemma's ears picked up his footsteps and she turned around, spotting him. She quickly stood up as Carter went close to her…

And embraced her.

"Jemmy!" Carter said with a happy tone, hugging the werecat. She hugged him back.

"Carter!" Jemma responded as he took off his mask so she could see his face. They then shared a kiss, roaming their hands on each other's backs. "I missed you…"

"Same," Carter admitted. "How have you been? And your sister?"

"We're both doing good, thanks for asking," Jemma responded as they both sat on the log. "Were you followed?"

"No, and Bowen is covering for me," Carter responded while patting Jemma's hand. "What about you? Are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Jemma insisted, though her face betrayed her worry. "Things have been hectic around here for the past week. The Villa has been tense ever since the lockdown and Casey Whiskabee's disappearance getting more attention." She sighed. "I'm worried, especially for the Fangs family."

"I know, it sucks," Carter responded while looking down. "I want to help investigate, but since Head Witch Brooke's attack last night with a vampire, the Emperor's Coven is prioritizing that instead of investigating this. We are actually here to make sure that the werecats don't do anything crazy, especially after Head Witch Brooke's husband changed in public and had a stand-off with the Emperor's Coven."

"Are you kidding me?!" Jemma said, irritated. After she took a moment to calm down, she let out a deep breath. "Should we really be doing this?"

"Doing what?" Carter asked, his tone worried.

"Doing this, here, right now," Jemma pointed out. "We risk getting caught… if our relationship gets exposed, you could get in serious trouble."

"I'm more worried about you than my own career," Carter said, patting Jemma's hand.

"But you'll be ostracized by everyone for this!" Jemma shouted. "A coven scout and a werecat… there is a reason only Bowen and my sister know about us. And I… I couldn't forgive myself if you got into trouble because of me…"

"Jemma," Carter said as he raised her hand up, placing her hand on his chest. "There's no one in this realm I want to be with more than you right now," he reassured her. "You're smart, skilled, witty, beautiful… if I get in trouble for it, then it'll be worth it."

Jemma smiled at him. "Thank you," she said as she hugged him.

However, someone rushed through the woods near them. Jemma spotted it and gasped, which worried Carter.

"What? What is it?" he asked her.

"I… I thought I saw something," Jemma admitted as they looked around. "But I don't smell anyone…"

After looking through the Fangs home, Kitsuni went outside to follow the trail through the forest. However, she sensed someone coming for her and she managed to dodge a thrown projectile… a sickle that stabbed a tree.

"Come out and show yourself!" Kitsuni declared before she looked up and spotted someone sitting on the branch of a tree. She gasped. "You!"

It was the Ninja, who smiled behind his mask.

"Here I am, oh great Kitsuni," the Ninja said as he jumped down, landing in front of her. "I have been looking forward to this…"

"I know you… the so-called Ninja Supreme," Kitsuni said, keeping herself composed. "You challenge other warriors to build up your own hype."

"I am the hype, yokai!" the Ninja Supreme declared. "I've been itching to fight you, and that I can't let you interfere…"

"Are you involved with the kidnappings of the Fangs family?" Kitsuni demanded to know.

"Why don't you find out and fight me, you vile vixen!" the Ninja said while holding up a sword.

Kitsuni summoned her blue flame sword. "Bring it on."

The two were in a standoff, each prepared to fight. After a moment of glaring, the two launched themselves at each other, their swords clashing. The Ninja Supreme pushed Kitsuni back with his sword before jumping up in the air while throwing kunais at her.

Kitsuni disappeared instantly while the kunai hit the ground. Puffs of smoke appeared, showing five Kitsunis surrounding the Ninja Supreme. He chuckled. "Clone Jutsu? Basic," he said while seeing the clones charge at him. The Ninja Supreme used his wrist blades to swipe at a clone, making it disappear. He then swung his sword to create a large, strong slash which made the rest of the clones disappear. The slash also cut up some trees, making them fall.

He stood there as Kitsuni appeared from behind, shooting flaming shots at him. The Ninja Supreme disappeared instantly, then reappeared drawing his swords towards her. Kitsuni avoided the slash, but then got her shoulder cut.

"Shit," she winced as she felt her cut, bleeding shoulder.

"There's more where that came from!" the Ninja Supreme declared while raising his sword up.

Kitsuni glared at him, her hands drawing blue flames "I'm not going down that easily!" she shouted as she charged at him with a yell…

Meanwhile, Luz and King had flown over to the Shystream home.

"Never been to this part of the Titan before," King admitted as they landed..

"Yeah, the Courtland Apple Butchery is around here, must be where mom gets her apple blood supplies," Luz commented as they walked up to the door, knocking on it.

Aunt Dorothy answered the door and saw the two. "Why hello there,"

"Greetings, ma'am, Luz Clawthorne and this is my brother King, we're friends of your daughter's," Luz greeted politely.

"Who's at the door, Aunt Doro-" Lindsay came over and paused, surprised to see Luz and King. "Luz? King? What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, we're here to… see a friend of yours," Luz said. "Something important came up and we need to ask her a few things."

"Well come in," Dorothy said, inviting the two into the house and leading them to the living room where the rest of Lindsay's family was.

"Hey, it's that Luz girl from the news," Jojo pointed out.

"Why hello there, welcome to our home," Bloom greeted Luz.

"Hi, um, as much as I'd like to meet and greet, I'm actually here on something important," Luz explained before she turned to King. "King, why don't you stay here and be good company to Lindsay's family. Lindsay, can you take me to Emily?"

"Are… are you sure, Luz?" Lindsay asked her.

"It's a literal matter of life and death," Luz said, looking serious.

Lindsay understood, nodding. "Follow me," she said as she led Luz outside and toward the barn.

After Luz left, King greeted the Shystreams. "So, you guys must be a farming family, I've always been curious to what it's like."

"Are you a cat or some kind of fox?" Uncle George asked, curious.

Emily was in the barn, fixing up the doorway when she heard her name called.

"Emily," Lindsay said, getting her attention..

Emily smiled when she heard Lindsay's voice. "Yes, Linds-" But as she turned around, she dropped her hammer when she saw who was with Lindsay. "Luz?! What… why are you here?!"

"Believe it or not, I need your help," Luz said, cutting right to the chase. "Long story short, Nina's younger siblings and her mother were kidnapped."

Emily's eyes widened. "What?!"

"They were taken last night by the Big Bad Wolf, and that $^%# of a sister of yours," Luz explained to her.

Emily glared at Luz. "Don't you call my sister-"

"Well she is," Luz told her off. "That crazy bitch kidnapped children and a pregnant mother for who knows what reason, and after learning about her profile and what she did to Nina, she needs to be stopped. Though I'm not shocked that you would try to defend someone in the business of trafficking and experimenting on teenagers."

Emily was taken aback by this, she wanted to retort… but she didn't. "Why come to me to tell me this?" she asked.

"We need to save Nina's family," Luz told her. "I don't know where you stand with Nina, but if you have any shred of decency in you, you can help me find Nina's family and stop Dr. Sonya Mera. Do you know where we might be able to find her? Any leads can help."

This led to a moment of silence from Emily. She was thinking quietly to herself, thinking about Nina's siblings. She remembered meeting them when she first visited the Villa along with Tito and Stella. Nina's siblings were just… kids. Kids that shouldn't get roped in the messes the eldest makes. She remembered that she was a kid once… and everything the Tarot Guild put her through, she did not want more kids to share her experience…

"Alright, I'll help," Emily told her. "But under one condition."

"Which is…?" Luz asked.

"Promise me to not kill Sonya," Emily told her. "Look, I know the things she's done are amoral… but she's still my sister. Please Luz, promise me to not let anyone kill her."

Luz was surprised by this and stayed quiet for a moment. 'Maya, what do you think?'

'A promise like that won't be easy to keep,' Maya pointed out. 'I'd rather have that Sonya bitch killed… but we don't really have a choice and we need her cooperation, right? Though if she gets captured by the Emperor's Coven… all bets are off.'

'Yeah, there is still the matter of someone within the Emperor's Coven that could still be running Tarot Guild operations… it's a tough gamble,' Luz admitted before she was ready to reply to Emily. "Alright, I promise to not have Sonya killed."

Emily narrowed her eyes at Luz, trying to see if she meant it or not. After being satisfied, she nodded and started to explain. "I do know a few places where Sonya liked to hang out…"

Meanwhile, Sully and Gilbert were in their Stinger and Buzz outfits, walking through Bonesborough with Willow as they checked out different locations. Willow looked at her dads, being weirded out by their new superhero suits.

"So… what's with the outfits?" Willow asked them.

"It's our superhero outfits!" Sully declared.

"Okay…" Willow said, looking more weirded out about this.

"You like it? Call us Buzz and Stinger," Gilbert declared.

"After your disappearance, we decided to do more about it and the other disappearances, leading to us along with Eda and LOWTH battling the Tarot Guild at the Scal-Mart," Sully explained.

"And I am very proud of you guys for that," Willow replied with a smile. Even though she was not on board with the outfits, she was still proud of them.

"Hey, maybe after this we could make you a costume!" Gilbert suggested, which made Willow look worried.

"Yeah, that way we'll be a family team!" Sully agreed.

"Uh yeah… I'll think about it." Willow replied, trying to not hurt their feelings.

But suddenly, appearing in front of them was the Ninja Supreme. The Park family were startled as he greeted them. "Hello there…"

"Who… who are you?" Gilbert demanded them.

"I am the Ninja Supreme," he introduced himself. "And I challenge you all to a fight!"

"Stand back Willow, we got this clown." Sully said while he and Gilbert got in front of the Ninja.

The Ninja Supreme looked the two over, not even bothering to bring out his weapons against them. Instead, he just stood there. "Alright, show me what you two got."

Gilbert complied as he formed a spell circle to the ground, bringing out a boulder to throw at the Ninja. He dodged the boulder by jumping to the side while seeing a plant vine launched towards him courtesy of Sully. He got entangled by the vines, which wrapped around his body.

"I got him!" Sully declared, only for the Ninja Supreme to cut himself out from the vines.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asked them with a chuckle.

"How's this?" Gilbert asked as he summoned constructs from the ground, aiming them at the Ninja. He disappeared and then reappeared to give Gilbert a punch to the side. "Oof!" he grunted before the Ninja threw him into his own constructs, crashing into them.

"Gil!" Sully shouted, looking at the Ninja in anger. He attempted to throw a punch at the Ninja, who dodged the punch and lifted his leg up, kicking Sully to the stomach. Then he grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into some crates.

"Dads!" Willow shouted before she turned to glare at the Ninja Supreme, her eyes glowing green.

The Ninja Supreme just chuckled. "Yes, get angry," he declared while bringing out his sickles. "Give me a real fight…"

He prepared himself as Willow launched her vines at him, unleashing her power…

Elsewhere, Luz and King had met up with the werecats and the Brookes, having told them to meet with her… at an abandoned zoo.

"Of all the places to look…" Skara said in surprise.

"Yeah, a bit on the nose," King admitted.

"I'm feeling goosebumps about this place," Chelsea said with a shiver. The rest of the werecats agreed.

"This place wasn't just a zoo," Slasher explained. "The Emperor's Coven turned it into an internment camp where they would hold wild witches, including lycans. The camp was shut down, but the zoo never reopened."

"Abandoned zoo, hopefully there aren't any spirits haunting around," Anthony said while feeling creeped out.

"We should wait for the others to come here before we go inside," Luz suggested.

Before Nina could agree, she took a whiff of the air and recognized a familiar smell. "Wait…" she said as her eyes widened. "I smell… West… Winter… they are here!" she shouted as she jumped over the fence.

"Nina, wait!" Skara called for her.

"I'm not waiting any longer!" Nina told them as she rushed into the zoo. "The twins need me!"

"Nina!" Chelsea shouted as she ran through the entrance to follow her.

"Come on, she's gonna end up hurt," Slasher said as he, Skara, Anthony, and Banjo followed them.

Banjo looked back at Luz and King. "You guys coming?"

"In a sec," Luz said while she turned to King, handing him a glyph. "I want you to keep on lookout in case mom, LOWTH, Kitsuni, or the Parks show up. Turn invisible if you see anyone suspicious showing up. If you get caught…"

"Use my screech of rage, got it," King said, giving Luz the thumbs up as Luz went to follow the others into the zoo.

Meanwhile, in a cage match, Winter and West were forced to face off against Lupe while he was in his witch form. Outside of the cage, many Tarot Guild members were cheering for Lupe as he beat up the two werekittens.

"Ack!" West coughed up vile after getting kicked in the stomach by Lupe. He threw him down.

"West!" Winter cried out as she rushed forward to protect her brother. But Lupe was quick, getting in front of her and grabbing her by the throat.

"Pathetic," he declares as he slammed her against the bars of the cage three times.

"Let go of her!" West shouted while clawing at Lupe. He easily kicked him off of him, then threw Winter at him.

"Trying to protect each other… how cute," Lupe said sarcastically, walking up to them before he grabbed them both and slammed them into the bars. "Nothing satisfies me more than to see little felines cry after a good beating! You werecats are the most docile creatures I've ever seen!"

"W-We're not…" West felt Lupe slamming him again.

"Don't you speak unless I say you can!" Lupe snarled while the guild members cheered.

"Enough, Lupe!" Sonya shouted.

Lupe looked disappointed as he turned to see Sonya showing up. "I don't want you to damage them too much…"

"Oh come on, Sonya! It was just getting fun!" Lupe argued.

"Unfortunately, we have bigger problems right now," Sonya told him. "It seems we have intruders…"

Nina and the others sprinted through the abandoned zoo, looking around as they searched the abandoned internment camp. To say the least, the place wasn't a pretty sight to go through, as they saw the remains of dead animals… and petrified witches left behind.

"This is so messed up," Anhony said, creeped out by the petrified statues.

"I can't believe the Emperor's Coven would just… leave them there," Skara said.

"It's a way to warn those who don't follow the 'Titan's Will' by refusing to join a coven," Luz explained.

"Can't you use your animation glyphs to… revive them?" Skara asked her.

"It doesn't work like that," Luz admitted. "Petrification spells, according to Lilith, were designed to instantly kill witches. I can only animate common objects to life, but those who were once living, wouldn't be alive. Even if they do work, they wouldn't be the same witches as they were before…"

"You can animate objects?" Banjo asked. "That sounds amazing!"

"Guys."

Everyone turned to Nina, who was pointing at a shed. "Their scent… leads to there."

"A shed?" Anthony asked in confusion while Nina opened the door. "How does a shed lead to the twins?"

"Because it leads to an underground bunker," Luz pointed out as they entered the shed, where they found a stairway leading down.

"It could be a trap," Chelsea said in a worried tone as she saw Nina going down first.

"Not a trap, it's a face off," Luz insisted as she and everyone else went down the stairway.

At the bottom of the stairs, they entered an expanded hall. They walked around, seeing a bunch of crates stacked up.

"What's in these crates?" Anthony asked before Banjo used her pincers to open them. "Banjo!"

"What? You asked and, well, I'm curious," she replied while looking in the crates. "Huh, this is filled with canned goods."

"Canned goods?" Skara asked as Chelsea looked into one opened crate.

"Board games? Movie reels?" she questioned. "These seem to be stolen goods."

Nina looked around, seeing coolers and medical kits. "You'd think they'd have something like treasure here…"

"No, because you don't need treasure when you are prioritizing food and other necessities," Slasher realized. "It's almost as if…"

"They're preparing for doomsday," Luz realized. "My step-brother once mentioned that he came across a bunker that was just like this. Hopefully there is not a shape-shifter around…"

"I didn't know you had a step-brother," Nina pointed out.

"Back in the Human Realm," Luz clarified. "But… why would the Tarot Guild be settled for something like this? What could they be preparing for?"

"Freeze!" someone shouted.

All turned to see a number of Tarot Guild members having shown up, holding up their crossbows at them. "Nobody moves!"

"Yeah… not gonna happen," Nina said with a glare as she rushed over to kick two members with her pawed feet. Luz flew over to punch another member from harming her, while Chelsea used her speed to knock some members out.

The TG members spread out to surround the heroes. Slasher got in front of Skara protectively, while Banjo helped out by using her tail to sting and paralyze the Guild members. Some shots of magic were fired at them, prompting everyone to take cover behind the crates. Ultimately, Luz, Nina, and Chelsea ended up taking most of them down.

However, one of them managed to run, pressing a button that set off the alarm, which began to blare loudly.

"Pretty soon this place will fill up with these guys," Anthony pointed out

"Then we should split up to cover more ground before they get the chance to move anyone out of here," Slasher suggested.

"Come on, time for a face off!" Luz declared as she flew in one direction.

"Hey, wait up!" Nina shouted as she followed.

"Come on, Skara, this way!" Slasher shouted as he pointed in another direction.

Chelsea went to grab both Banjo and Anthony's arms. "Hope you don't mind whiplash," she said as she rushed away with them.

Luz and Nina rushed through the corridors before finding themselves confronted by more TG members as they aimed their weapons at them.

"You two, halt!" one ordered.

"Nope." Luz blasted ice spells at the members, freezing them at their place. Nina jumped up the walls as she drew spell circles, unleashing a swarm of fleas that made the other members itch. She used her tail to grab one and swung them around to hit the other. Luz used fire spells to blast another TG member away from them.

Nina dashed through the other guards who tried to shoot her, causing them to shoot themselves when she passed them. She kicked another's helmet off while dodging another spell blast from another. Luz kicked the shooter down as she jumped up, twirling around and delivering a kick to another TG member.

"Take that, you trafficking pieces of shit!" Luz declared.

Nina knocked another over and threw the body towards a few more TG members. She then noticed a bunker door which she grabbed and pulled open. "Luz, in here!"

Luz blasted another ice spell to make an ice wall, along with freezing the last group of TG members. She flew over to Nina. "You found them?"

"No," Nina said as she sniffed the air. "But I can smell Sonya's scent. She may know where they are."

Luz nodded as they went inside. There, they find themselves inside some kind of lab. A lab that brought back memories for Nina…

"This must be her evil lab," Luz commented before noticing Nina's silence. "You okay?"

"Just… finding this place is… familiar," Nina responded, crossing her arms as she looked around. She noticed a cooling tank. The same kind of cooling tank that Sonya put her in. "This is… just like where I got my enhancements…"

Luz looked around as well, noticing a file on a table. Picking it up, she looked through the file, which was filled with test results and anatomy diagrams along with written formulas. She looked at the title of the file. "Chimera-X Project… does this ring any bells?"

"Chimera…" Nina said as she looked down at the file. "All I know is that she gave me something called the Adapter Formula… she said it'll make me stronger and…" She turned around, looking around the lab until she spotted something. "No…"

When Luz saw where Nina was looking, she gasped. "Oh my…?!"

There were bones. Bones of a werecat.

The two stared in quiet shock at the remains. Horrified, Nina backed away until she bumped against a table. She looked down and saw another file: Chimera-XI. When she opened the file, she gasped… while feeling sick to her stomach.

They were pictures of Casey… as he was being dissected.

"No...no, nonononono!" Nina shouted as she dropped the files, tears leaking from her eyes as she ended up on her knees. She ran her hands through her hair, starting to break down. "RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

At another part of the bunker, Skara and Slasher fought their way through the TG members with their magic. Slasher played his guitar that he summoned to blast a sound wave that pushed them away. Skara used her Palisman to form a violin, managing to control the movements of the TG members.

"Beat yourselves up!" Skara ordered, getting the TG members to beat themselves at each other.

"Come on, this way!" Slasher shouted as they ran to another room. As they entered the room, they found themselves in a stadium.

"A stadium?" Skara said, looking around as they walked through the stadium.

"I don't like this…" Slasher then got a whiff of a familiar scent. His eyes widened. "No…"

"Well, well, this is a surprise."

The two Brookes looked up to see someone standing on a walkway above them. He jumped off the walkway and landed on the ground in front of the Brookes. "Oh little Slasher, it's so nice to see you again," he said as he snapped his fingers. "And just in time, too!"

Suddenly, bars sprang from the ground and Slasher and Skara found themselves trapped in a cage… with Lupe.

"Oh, and you've brought your little pup here as well, good," Lupe said with a grin.

"Get behind me, Skara!" Slasher ordered as he stepped in front of Skara. "I am not going to let you harm my daughter!"

"Well if you wish to leave here alive, then I challenge you two to a match!" Lupe declared. "Lycan vs lycan!"

Slasher glared at Lupe, while Skara's eyes were wide in fear. She could sense that there was something just wrong with Lupe. "Skara," her father said to her. "Do not engage."

"You're… not gonna fight him… are you?" Skara asked with worry in her tone.

"I'll do what I must to protect my family," Slasher declared as he started to transform into his werewolf form.

"Hehe, now that's the spirit, Slash-!" Before he could finish, the fully transformed Slasher punched Lupe, sending him flying into the bars. Lupe collided with the bars before sliding to the floor.

Slasher glared at the downed Lupe… who started to laugh. Lupe got back up, cracking his own neck as fur started to sprout all over his body.

"Oh now this just got interesting!" Lupe declared as he changed into his own werewolf form. He then rushed towards Slasher, who charged in as well.

Meanwhile, the trio of Chelsea, Anthony, and Banjo were fighting their way through TG members.

"These guys are just," Anthony said as he punched another member, knocking him out. "A bunch of chumps!"

Banjo stung another Tarot Guild member, paralyzing him. "Or maybe we're tougher than we realize?"

Chelsea used her speed to topple over a bunch of Tarot Guild members. She saw some about to dogpile her, but she avoided them in a dash before she used her plant magic to wrap them up in vines. "I don't think these guys were well trained."

Banjo then spotted a door that led to another room. "Wonder what's in there?" she asked while opening the door.

"If it's just more goons, I swear," Anthony muttered as the werecats went inside, finding something that surprised them.

Cages. Cages that were occupied by formerly missing witches. Some of the prisoners were asleep, others were awake out of fear.

"Oh man," Anthony said while looking around. "These witches…"

"Please… don't hurt me..." a weak voice said.

They turned to see that of the ages was a beaten up, red-eyed dalmatian demon they didn't know. "You're not one of the Tarot Guild members, are you?" he asked.

"No, we're just here to help," Chelsea reassured him. "What is your name?"

"B-Blazer," he answered. Currently he had a black eye, a scar across his lip, and bandages all over him. "Please don't let him hurt me again…" he said with a broken tone.

"Who?" Banjo asked.

"The Big Bad Wolf," Blazer revealed, shocking the trio. "He always drags the prisoners away and forces them to fight him for his own amusement. Sometimes they never come back… I've already had to fight him several times and I don't want to experience that again! So please, help me..."

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here," Chelsea reassured him as Banjo used her pincers to break the bars open. Anthony helped the Hellhound out of his cage.

"Thank you…" Blazer said weakly, barely able to stand on his own.

Chelsea then heard crying, the familiar cries… of werekittens!

"West? Winter? Pam?" Chelsea called forth.

"Over here!" Pam shouted from her cage.

The werecats ran over to their cages, which Banjo then broke open. Pam came out of her cage while Winter helped West, both looking beaten.

"Are you all alright?" Anthony asked.

"I'm fine, but the kids," Pam said as she turned to the twins. "This brutish werewolf took them to a cage match and beat them!"

"But thank Titan we're saved," Winter said as Chelsea and Banjo helped pick both the twins up.

"How did you find us?" West asked.

"It's thanks to Nina, actually," Chelsea revealed, shocking the family.

"Nina?!" Pam, West and Winter exclaimed.

Speaking of, Nina had started to freak out.

"CASEY!" she shouted while tearing stuff up and knocking the table over. She was throwing a fit. She slashed some of the machinery and threw a chair at the cooling tank, causing water to explode out of it.

"Nina, calm down!" Luz shouted, trying to calm her down.

"CALM DOWN!?" Nina shouted at her. "DON'T TELL ME TO FUCKING CALM DOWN!" She picked up the table and threw it across the room with a roar, smashing more machinery. She continued to scream and shout, wrecking the lab while Luz avoided the werecat's rampage.

"THEY MURDERED HIM!" she shouted while wrecking the crystal ball computers. "THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS KILLED HIM AND…AAAHHHH!" After letting out a loud scream, she stopped her rampage and toppled to her knees, starting to cry. "Casey…" Her voice was lower and she punched the floor while bawling out. "Casey, I'm… I'm so sorry… it's all my fault that I wasn't able to help you…" she whimpered as she lowered herself to the floor.

"Nina…" Luz said, having never seen her in this state before.

"How pathetic," said a voice.

Nina and Luz turned to see Sonya walking through the lab entrance. She had a bored look. "Honestly, Nina, I'm disappointed," she said with a cold tone. "I expected something more about you but in the end, you're just like anyone else." She looked at her own nails. "Casey could've been the next you, you know…"

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Nina hissed at the woman.

"Oh you should've seen how beaten up Casey was when we found him," Sonya said as she walked closer. "Had to take him in, feed him, clean him… and of course, dissect him for my research," she said, shocking the two "He was a screamer when I cut him open. Screamed so much that I had Lupe to shut him up." She chuckled. "You know who he screamed for? You." She pointed to her. "He screamed for his mommy and then he screamed for you to help him… ugh, what an annoying little cat."

This got Nina heated with rage. "RAAAAAHH!" she roared as she quickly dashed towards Sonya, getting her claws out.

"Nina, wait!" Luz cried out, but it was too late. Nina had let herself get out of control when she pounced on Sonya, slashing at the woman.

Sonya gasped as she felt her face torn, her throat ripped out as well as her body mangled. Nina slashed at the woman and stabbed her with her claws until Luz used her plant glyph to pull Nina away from Sonya.

"Nina, that's enough!" Luz shouted while Nina was pulled over. The werecat was struggling in her bonds. "Calm down! She's… she's not moving…"

Nina looked over at Sonya's mangled body. She then looked down at her hands, seeing the blood. She started to calm down as she realized what she had done. "I… I just…"

"I know, I get it too well," Luz said as she helped Nina up. "Look, we can set our story straight. Look for some bleach, and-"

"Hahahaha…"

The two paused, turning back to the body. They heard Sonya's laughter as she started to get up from the floor. To their shock, they saw her wounds healing. "I guess it's time I show you the fruits of my labor…" she said as her throat and face healed.

"What… Sonya, what did you do?!" Nina demanded to know.

"You wanna know about the Chimera Project?" Sonya asked, tilting her head as her legs changed with the left reptilian and the other a goat leg. "After I worked on reviving extinct creatures, I wanted to see if their abilities could be replicated. That's why I created the Adapter Formula, a way for a witch to adapt and become as many beasts as they wish. Mammals, aquatics, reptilians, aviaries…" Wings sprouted from her back, one of a bird's and the other a bat, while her left arm became like a gorilla's arm and her right hand turned into an octopus's tentacle. "Before you, I've done previous tests but they didn't turn out well. But you, Chimera-X, were a success!"

Luz and Nina watched as Sonya's body expanded into a shell armor, her face transforming into that of a tiger's with large horns and fangs.

"After Casey, I moved onto others, and even got myself a few… young witches to test the modified Adapter formula on before I used it on myself," she declared as she revealed her appearance, some shadowy figures appearing behind her. "I am sure you remember them…"

"Let me have the human," said a mummy-like chimera witch with a hyena face, jackal ears, a crocodile snout, and dorcas gazelle horns. She has a long, extended left arm with a camel's head and a living cobra right arm. Her body has the fur of the hyena and the legs of the Atlas lions. She also had the tail of a crocodile. Bandages wrapped all over her body and there was a collar around her neck. "I got a score to settle with her!" Bangles declared.

"No way, I have Luz!" Horace shouted. He had been transformed into a brown horse, with half of his face having Abomi-goo on the left, showing bits of skeleton. He also had a serpent-like body with furry arms and legs along with a serpent tail and a collar on his neck.

"None of you have the same personal beef as I do," said another voice, causing Luz to freeze as Asi flew down. He now had his horns extended and dark bird wings on his back. He wore a dark blue robe as his legs were made of tentacles and his arms had been turned into large mole arms with extended claws. Around his neck was also a collar.

The fourth Chimera was a familiar girl with purple hair and freckles. Her face appeared normal, despite the horns on her head, but her body was now reptilian with tiger arms, goat feet, a reptilian tail, and a collar. When Luz and Nina saw the girl, their eyes widened.

"BRIA?!" they both exclaimed in shock, seeing her appearance.

"Meet Chimera-XII," Sonya said as she pointed to Bangles. "Chimera-XIII." She pointed to Asi. "Chimera-XIV." She pointed to Horace. "And Chimera-XV." She pointed to Bria. "And I am Chimera-I… The First."

"You experimented on yourself and those kids?!" Luz said in shock. "You are off your rocker!"

"It's all in the name of science, really," Sonya said as she gestured to Luz and Nina. "Kill them."

Sonya and four Chimeras charged towards Luz and Nina, the two preparing to defend themselves.

Meanwhile, in the cage match, Slasher and Lupe continued to fight while Skara stayed out of the way. She watched as the two fought like wolves, appropriate given their werewolf forms. Slasher kept biting at Lupe, who in response scratched Slasher in the face. Then Lupe kicked Slasher off of him, making him roll over.

"Weak," Lupe said as he walked over and grabbed Slasher's face, raising him up and slamming him back down. Slasher tried to get up, but Lupe kept punching him. "You know, if more of our kind was still alive, I'd be the Alpha Wolf!" he declared as he dragged Slasher across the ground by the leg and threw him at the bars of the cage.

"Dad!" Skara cried out.

Lupe chuckled as he grabbed Slasher's arm. "You haven't changed at all, Slashy! You're still the pathetic wolf you were when we met. And now, your wife's not gonna be around to protect you or your little girl anymore." He turned to Skara and grinned sadistically. "Ready to see how pathetic your daddy is, little pup?"

CRACK!

"AAAAHH!" Slasher screamed as Lupe broke his arm.

Skara covered her mouth in horror, tears leaking from her eyes while Lupe just laughed as he saw what he had done.

"Boy isn't this great!" Lupe declared while stomping on Slasher. "Your wife's attack from the vampire has got to be the best thing to ever happen! That damn lycan hunter got what she deserves, and with her out of the way, there's no protecting your family now!"

Skara was hyperventilating as she saw her dad getting curb-stomped. She then focused on Lupe, glaring at him. Her eyes were turning red as she started to transform…

Lupe sensed Skara and smiled as he turned around. "Are you here to fight for your daddy's honor?" he asked.

Skara, in her wolf form, charged at Lupe. She opened her jaws to prepare to bite him… only to get punched in the stomach, sending her into the bars. Skara picked herself up, glaring at Lupe who just chuckled.

"Please, you think you can stand a chance against me?" he snarled as he saw Skara launch herself towards him. He blocked her with his arm as she snapped at him while trying to claw at him. He grabbed her by the arms and slammed her down. "Don't you get it?! You can't-" But he was then slashed across the eye. "AAAH!" He let go of Skara, feeling his right eye gouged out. "My eye! My fucking eye!" he shouted while turning to Skara. "You'll pay for that, little pup!"

Skara picked herself up but was kicked in the stomach by Lupe's foot, sending her into the ceiling of the cage. As she fell back down, she was grabbed by Lupe, who slammed her down to the floor. Skara uses her hindlegs to claw his arm, but to no effect.

Lupe grinned as he punched Skara while she was down. He punched her repeatedly while Skara howled in a whimper. "The females are always the weakest," he declared while dragging Skara by the tail, slamming her against the bars of the cage, and then back to the floor. "Just as weak as your daddy!" he said as he threw her across the cage.

Once Skara landed on the floor, she coughed weakly. She tried to get up, but she once again felt Lupe's paw stomp on her back.

Luz was sent crashing into a table after being hit by Asi, the cow-demon Chimera glaring at her.

"Asi, wait!" Luz tried to calm him down. "There's something you should-" She then got hit by a table thrown at her. "What's with all the tables?!" she shouted while seeing it was Horace who threw it at her.

"You're going to pay for making me look bad!" Horace declared.

"I don't even know who you are!" Luz pointed out before she was kicked in the back by Bangles.

Nina wasn't fairing well either as she tried to avoid the attacking Bria. Bria kept punching and kicking her, while Nina kept blocking them.

"Bria, please, we're here to save you!" Nina said while Bria punched her in the face.

"I don't have a choice!" Bria cried out as she shot out venom at Nina.

Nina luckily dodged the venom, but she was then attacked from behind by Sonya, who used her tail to slam her across the lab. In response, Luz flew up to kick Sonya's head, making her back away.

"I am sick and tired of having enemies that want beef with me," Luz said, looking bruised up. "And you're no different."

"Please, you're Emily's grudge. I have no scientific interest in you," Sonya said while shooting a light beam spell at her, blasting Luz away. "I've read the Cambion Theory, but my main focus is lycan physiology."

"So you're just a crazy $%^#," Luz said before Asi grabbed her from behind and slammed her to the ground.

Nina got up and pounced on Asi, knocking him away from Luz. While she held onto him, Asi tried to fly up and slam Nina against a wall, but Nina transformed her fists into gorilla fists and slammed them into his shoulders, sending Asi to the ground. However, she then got wrapped up by Bangle's bandages, though she managed to use her claws to swipe through the bandages and slam her into another cooling tank, making her let go of Nina.

Luz managed to get up when she noticed Bria summoning constructs towards her. Luz dodged some but still got hit by a pillar, sending her rolling across the ground. She then saw Horace, who transformed his arm into an Abomi-fist to slam at her. Luz dodged it and shot a fire spell at him and Bria, forcing him to back away.

"Stop!" Nina shouted, getting all of their attention. "Can't you see that she's using you all?! None of you have to do this! You're all nothing but test subjects to Sonya!"

"Oh there's no convincing them, Nina," Sonya said while walking up next to Bria. "They're far too gone. Their hatred and wickedness is what makes them true witches… isn't that right, Bria?" Bria said nothing, but her expression looked… broken. Sonya patted her head. "Oh if only you were as obedient as the others…"

Nina growled and rushed toward Sonya, but then Horace intercepted her and tackled her to the ground. Sonya just laughed as she watched Horace hitting Nina before she kicked him off of her. "And while you are busy fighting my experiments, you should see what Lupe's doing to the dogs…"

Nina turned to Sonya. "What are you talking about?!"

"Oh, Lupe right now is having a cage match against the Brookes," Sonya said with a chuckle. "He's probably beating them to a pulp, especially Skara… oh he'll have some fun with her."

Nina's eyes widened. "No…"

"Nina, go help Skara and her dad," Luz told her as she walked up next to her.

"But what about you?" Nina asked.

"I can take them, you go and save the Brookes!" Luz shouted as she spread her wings out, her eyes turning red.

Nina looked at Luz, then at the Chimeras. "Just… don't die!" she shouted while rushing out of the lab.

"Hey, she's leaving!" Horace shouted.

"Forget her," Sonya ordered while turning to Luz. "Taking her down is also a top priority…"

Luz looked at the five Chimeras. 'So… what are our chances in beating these guys, Maya?'

'Well if you ask me, they don't stand a chance,' Maya declared.

Luz nodded as she got into a fighting position. "Let's do this."

Meanwhile, Lupe and Skara continued to fight, but Lupe mostly had the upper hand. Skara did fight back as she bit and scratched him, but Lupe easily throwed her around and slammed her down like she was nothing. At one point Skara managed to bite him on the shoulder, but he just pulled her off of him and hit her in the stomach.

"I'll have to admit, you're at least stronger than your daddy was," Lupe commented as he threw her across the floor. "But you're still no match against me!"

Skara groaned as she picked herself up again while glaring at the monster. "You… you will pay for what you've done…"

Lupe chuckled as he pulled Skara up by the fur on her neck. "You know, maybe I should take out your eye as well…" he said sadistically, Skara panicking when his claws drew near her face.

"LET HER GO!"

Lupe paused, turning around to see that Nina had burst into the stadium. "Ooh, you must be Nina…"

"You… you're the Big Bad Wolf, aren't you?" Nina asked as she transformed into her lycan form, ripping through the bars of the cage. She saw Slasher's state and Skara in Lupe's hand. "LET HER GO!"

"Fine, I'm finished with her anyway," Lupe said with a shrug before throwing Skara across the floor. "Tell me, are you as tough as they say you are?"

Nina just pounced at the werewolf, slashing and clawing at him. However, Lupe easily pushed her off from him. Nina snarled as she crawled around and glared at him.

"You know, I do recall that you like hanging out with a… certain silver-haired witch," Lupe taunted. "I saw her last week… she looked like a tasty snack…"

Nina growled as she jumped at Lupe again, who punched her across the face and kicked her in the stomach. Nina hit the cage's roof, but she grabbed the bars with her claws, hissing at Lupe before she jumped down and landed on his shoulders. She scratched his face up, even inserting her claw into his now empty socket. "AAAAAH!" Lupe screamed as he pulled her off from his shoulders. He glared at her. "Fucking little cat!" he shouted as he kicked her. "I am going to beat you like I beat those pitiful siblings of yours!"

Nina was growing mad as she charged at Lupe and dug her claws into him. But he was unfazed by this as he grabbed her and slammed her face to the floor a bunch of times before letting her go. When she looked back she was met with his foot stomping her face. Lupe grinned at this.

"You are a disappointment," Lupe mocked. "Supposedly you are the wildest werecat, and yet you still have these attachments to these pathetic witches? These attachments are going to be the death of you!" he declared as he raised his fists up. "Looks like you're going to die with them!"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" shouted Skara, who jumped up from behind, biting Lupe at the neck.

"GAAAH!" Lupe shouted in surprise as he tried to get Skara off, but he was suddenly tackled by Slasher, the two getting him away from Nina, who got herself up.

"Don't you ever mess with Nina, you bastard!" Skara said while pressing her thumb into his eye socket while Slasher bit his leg.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Lupe shouted as he grabbed Skara and threw her off of him while kicking Slasher away. He saw two getting up, Nina joining their side. "So… you all think you can face me?"

"Three against one… doesn't sound too bad," Skara pointed out.

"How are you feeling, Slash?" Nina asked him.

"My arm will heal," Slasher responded, having rolled a healing patch around his broken arm. "And I can still fight."

Lupe grinned. "Aw, looks like you three want to go? I can take all three of you."

The three charged towards the werewolf. It was three lycans against one as they tackled him. Slasher bit his leg, Skara clawed him at his back, and Nina slashed at his shoulders. However, Lupe shook them off of him, kicking Slasher and punching Skara. When Nina tackled him from behind and snapped her jaws at the back of his neck, Lupe just jumped up and landed on his back, crushing Nina underneath his weight.

Slasher got up again and he and Skara charged at Lupe. The two knocked him away from Nina, but he easily grabbed them by their necks, lifting them up and slamming them both down. Nina jumped up to kick him away, using her powerful cheetah legs to kick the madman, forcing him back. When Slasher and Skara got back up, they helped Nina to overwhelm him. They rushed him, clawing, biting, and hitting him. But Lupe managed to hit them all back, sending them rolling across the ground while Lupe laughed at them.

"Nice try, but I am not falling to the likes of you!" Lupe declared as he watched the three lycans shift back into their witch forms.

Skara groaned. "There's no way we can take care of him with brute force…"

"He's tougher than Cain," Nina mumbled.

"We'll just have to fight smarter," Slasher suggested, wincing at the pain in his arm.

Nina thought of something and whispered it to Skara. Her eyes widened and she nodded in agreement. "I think me and Nina may have an idea…"

Slasher has his own idea. "Well, let's combine our ideas," he declared as he summoned bongos.

"Bongos?" Lupe asked with a bored look. "You gonna play a song for me to death?"

"Just setting the mood," Slasher said as he banged the bongos, which sent out a magical shockwave. It pushed towards Lupe, who managed to resist it… until Skara played her cricket violin, combining her attack with her father's and knocking Lupe out of the cage.

Lupe snarled as he got back up. "Alright, you're dead!" he shouted as he crashed through the cage, creating another hole. He went after Slasher and Skara, but Nina kicked him in the back of the head. "GAH!"

"You don't get to mess with the Brookes!" Nina declared as Lupe swiped at her. But rather than try to attack Lupe, Nina just dodged, using her greater speed to her advantage.

"Come on and fight!" Lupe snarled angrily while Nina drew a spell circle and Skara played on her violin, Lupe so focused on Nina that he did not see a swarm of fleas rushing towards Lupe

The fleas hit Lupe like a rush of water. He spit some of them out. "Fleas?! You think you can take me out by giving me a rash?!" he declared.

"Oh those fleas are from a different species," Nina revealed. "Cause these fleas have a type."

"A fire-type that is," Skara added.

Lupe smelled something cooking. He turned around and saw his own tail burst into flames. "What the fuck?!" he cried out as suddenly the fleas burst into flames all over Lupe. "RAAAAAHHHH!"

"Fire Fleas," Nina explained. "Cousins to Firebees."

"GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!" Lupe screamed as he tried to get them off, but he could feel the flames spreading around his fur. "WATER! I NEED WATER!" he cried out as he burst out of the cage, running out screaming while he was still on fire.

Nina, Skara, and Slasher all sighed in relief.

Lupe continued to run while still on fire, eventually spotting the door to the bathroom. Seeing a way to get the fire fleas off, he threw open the door and saw one TG member using it.

"W-Wait! I'm not DONE!" he shouted as he was thrown out of the bathroom by Lupe, who dumped his head into the used toilet. But his overly large werewolf body ended up breaking the toilet. He pulled up, but with the toilet on his head while water shot out of the broken pipe. While he had succeeded in putting out the flames, he was now covered in shit…

"Aw shit…" Lupe said as he was doused with more water, the floor and walls around him having started to crack.

Meanwhile, Luz was still fighting against the Chimeras. Bangles went to use her bandages to wrap Luz up. But with Maya's wings, she broke them off as Luz used her fire spells to burn Bangle's wraps. Bangles winced as she shook off the flames. She then extended her cobra-arm to try to bite Luz.

"You're part reptile now, right?" Luz asked as she shot an ice spell at the cobra-arm. This causes Bangled to scream in pain.

"MY ARM!" Bangles shouted while Luz slapped a lightning glyph on her face, electrocuting her. "GAAAAHHH!"

As Luz knocked Bangles aside, she saw Horace about to slam down at her with an abomi-spiked ball on his hand. She dodged the attack. "Okay, Horseface, you want to get rough?!" Maya asked as she used her wings to slash at Horace, making him back away.

"GAH!" Horace shouted as he glared at Luz. "My name is Horace, you bitch!"

"Nah, you look like a Horseface," Maya said "Or Half-A-Horse, considering your face."

Horace neighed in irritation as he formed the Abomi-goo into an ax, trying to slash at Maya who dodged the attack. She jumped on his blade and ran up its length, getting close enough to kick his skeletal half-face and making him topple over.

After seeing him topple over, Maya then saw Asi fly down and take a slash at her. Maya winced as she felt the slash across her stomach.

"You won't get away this time, Clawthorne!" Asi declared.

"Asi… your mom…" Luz tried to speak, but was grabbed by the throat and pinned to the floor.

"Don't you dare talk about my mom!" Asi shouted at her as he's about to beat her down...

"IT WASN'T AN ERROR!"

Asi stopped, looking at her in confusion. "What?"

"Your mom," Luz said. "She wasn't sent to the slaughter house because of an error… it was on purpose!" she told him, which shocked Asi. "I know that it's not going to change anything about what I did to her, but you should know that your mom was sent to the slaughter house by the Emperor's Coven!"

Asi was shaken by this. "But… why would they do that?!"

"Because the Emperor's Coven didn't want anyone else to come after me for some reason," Luz explained. "I had no idea this would happen to her. I… I'm sorry, Asi. I really am… but even if you kill me, would you go after the Emperor's Coven? They robbed you of your mother and lied to you about it!"

Asi hesitated. "I… I can't…" He attempted to think clearly, to uncloud his mind from all the drugs that had been injected into him by Sonya. But before he could, a surge of electricity ran through his collar. "GAAAAAAAHHH!"

Sonya, who was the one who triggered his collar, spoke up. "Don't let your feelings get in the way of your kill, Chimera-XIII," she said with a cold-tone.

Luz glared at her, but managed to get herself out of Asi's grip. She tried to fly at Sonya, but Bangles stopped her, slamming into her with her camel-arm.

"You're not going anywhere!" Bangles declared.

"Yeah!" Horace added, punching his fists. "Not until you get a good beat down!"

Luz kicked them both away from her and flapped away from the two. It was then she felt her wings get hit by venom, making her cry in pain. "GAH!" she shouted, turning around to see Bria being the one to have spit out the venom. "Bria, your parents have been missing you for weeks…"

"I… I can't resist!" Bria shouted while bringing out her claws, trying to swipe at Luz who dodged them. "There's no hope for me!" she shouted while using her tail to hit Luz, sending her into the wall.

"They haven't given up hope on you, Bria," Luz pointed out before getting caught in Bangles's wraps again. She saw Horace bringing out his Abomi-mace again, about to strike at Luz, while Sonya came over with spikes on her gorilla arm.

Luz and Maya looked at the three about to attack her. She shut her eyes and when she reopened up, they were icy-blue, as were her wings. "Freeze."

She launched herself up high from an ice blast from her hands, coating the floor with ice and making her opponents slip and stumble. Horace shot out his Abomi-goo to try to ensnare Luz, bringing her down back to the floor. However, his Abomi-arm started to freeze up while Luz got in close to kick his face.

"OOF!" Horace cried out, backing away as Luz shot her ice at him, trapping him in a coat of ice.

Bangles charged after her, shooting her bandages at Luz like tendrils. Luz brought out some ice blades, slashing them as she then shot ice at Bangles. Her reptilian body felt the cold, which made her back away. Luz went in to punch Bangles, boxing-style, and Bangles responded by snapping her jaws at Luz's arm, biting it. Luz retaliated with a lightning spell charged to her arm, making Bangles back away.

"Bleh!" she shouted while turning to Luz. "When I'm done with you, I'll be going after that Fae girl next!"

Luz glared at Bangles. "You know, I can see why Brenda doesn't want anything to do with you anymore."

Bangles' eyes widened in shock. "What?! How do you know that name!?"

"I've met her, actually," Luz revealed. "She told me what kind of a rotten bitch of a sister you are. Someone who was supposed to take care of her but instead ended up hurting her. You're no sister from where I'm standing. You're just a thug!"

Bangles was furious as she raised up her camel and cobra arms while baring her fangs. "I'll end you!" she shouted as she launched herself towards Luz… which allowed Luz to use an ice spell to freeze the mummy-Chimera entirely, encasing her in ice. Luz took a moment to look at her handiwork. Bangles is now just an ice statue.

"Chill out," Luz told her while turning to see Asi, Bria and Sonya still up for the count. Asi had been shocked enough to be under submission.

"Chimrea-XIII, XV, put her in her place!" Sonya ordered as the two teens charged at her.

Luz dodged a venom attack from Bria while Asi charged in to launch his claws at her. Luz dodged the attack and then flew up high, hovering around them. Asi flew after her.

Despite some hesitation, he sent his attacks on Luz. She dodged them and read his fighting style 'He's using his claws, like he uses his knives.' she thought. 'He's not used to fist fights, just doing knife-strikes… or an attempt at.'

She returned to her normal 'cambion' form while grabbing his mole-claws. She then flew up with him toward the ceiling, lifting his body over hers so that it would hit the top of the lab.

"Sorry, Asi," Luz said as his head went through the ceiling, prompting him to get stuck.

When Luz landed back on the ground, she noticed Bria running up to her, trying to deliver a kick towards. But Luz held her ankle, twirled her around, and pinned her to the floor face down. "Look Bria, I do not want to hurt you!"

"And I keep telling you I have no choice!" Bria declared as Luz looked at Bria's collar, getting an idea.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that a thousand times already," Luz said as she used an ice spell on Bria's collar, making it freeze up.

"What are you doing?!" Bria demanded to know.

Luz managed to pull the collar of Bria's neck, breaking it. "You're free now."

A shocked Bria stood up, feeling her neck. She turned to Luz. "Thanks, Lu-" But she was then knocked in the head and slammed across the room, crashing into some crates.

"BRIA!" Luz shouted as she turned to see Sonya, the one who had hit her. "YOU BITCH!"

"Honestly, too many of my subjects are too sentimental," Sonya said with a shrug. "At least two of them turned out right…" She then turned to Luz. "Looks like I'll have to kill you myself."

Luz's golden and red eyes glared at Sonya as she charged at her, but Sonya just grabbed her arm and began to wrap a tentacle arm around her. Luz tried to use an ice spell on the tentacle, but that left Sonya with her gorilla arm which she used to smack Luz across the room.

After hitting the wall, Luz got up as she saw Sonya charging towards her. She went into Maya mode and used her wings to slash at Sonya's face. Sonya's face healed and she shot out a large tongue with teeth growing out of it, the tongue wrapping around Luz's talon and pulling her to the floor

"Emily may have failed to beat you, but I won't!" Sonya declared, marching up to her.

Luz got up, but Sonya just picked her up and slammed her to the floor. Luz struggled as she brought out a wind glyph, sending both her and Sonya across the room. However, by the time Luz recovered she saw Sonya launching herself towards her again, this time with a kick. Luz stepped back as she winced, feeling a crack to her rib. Sonya delivered another kick which Luz had to block, making her arm sore.

Luz blasted ice towards Sonya, who flew up to avoid the ice, before she launched herself into Luz, slamming her into the ground.

"Shit…" Luz winced in pain. "It's like fighting a rhinoceros…"

"Just give up," Sonya told Luz while lifting her off the ground. "You can't defeat me! I am the ultimate apex predator! The true Beast Head! I hold the key to all of the beast kingdom!"

But while Sonya was busy with her monologue, Bria had woken up and used her construction magic to summon a large pillar, targeting a part of the ceiling…

This set off a chain reaction that caused that part of the ceiling to collapse, debris falling toward Luz and Sonya. Luz and Sonya looked up, Luz using her wings to knock Sonya away from her before she quickly managed to fly out of the way.

"NOOO!" Sonya shouted as she attempted to fly away as well, but she got hit by the debris. Despite her injuries, she still tried to make it clear, but eventually the debris sent her to the ground and she began to get buried.

Luz flew over to Bria as they both turned to see that the debris had completely buried Sonya, who had only her feet sticking out of the rubble.

"Is she dead?" Bria asked.

Luz saw her feet twisting and rolling underneath the rubble, leaving behind her red shoes. "Yeah, I think that killed her." It was then Luz realized what had just happened, remembering what she promised Emily. "… Aw shit."

"What?" Bria asked in confusion.

"Most impressive," said a voice behind them.

Luz and Bria immediately turned around, fists raised, to see the Ninja Supreme there

"Who the fuck are you?" Luz demanded to know.

The Ninja smiled behind his mask. "Call me… the Ninja Supreme."

Elsewhere, Nina was helping Skara support Slasher as they headed for the entrance of the bunker. She spotted her fellow werecats helping the Tarot Guild's former prisoners get out of the bunker, leading them to freedom and safety.

"Nina, are you alright?" Chelsea asked as she and Anthony helped the escapees to the stairs.

"I'm fine, but help get these two out of here," Nina responded, gesturing to Skara and Slasher. "All these prisoners… are Pam and the twins-?"

"Safe," Chelsea told her, much to Nina and the Brookes' relief. "The twins are a little banged up, but they and Pam are outside with Banjo."

"Thank Titan, they're alright," Skara said as Slasher nodded.

Wait, where's Luz?" Anthony asked, noticing her absence.

"We split up, but I'm going back to her, so make sure these two get out," Nina told them as she raced back into the depths of the bunker.

"Wait, don't you need back up?" Skara asked, wincing in pain as she held her side.

"Relax, kitkat, I'll be fine," Nina promised before she was out of sight and out of earshot.

Going to where she last left Luz, Nina searched the wrecked lab. She saw the knocked out Chimeras on the ground, the pile of rubble, and an abandoned pair of crimson stilettos. She recognized those shoes… they were Sonya's.

Before Nina could confirm that Sonya was dead, she noticed another pair of unconscious figures: Bria and Luz. "What the… Luz?" she asked, rushing towards her and kneeling down. "What happened?" She then picked up a familiar scent. "Wait… I know that… scent… but where?" she asked, looking around, until she saw the familiar ninja. "You!"

"Long time, no see, werecat," the Ninja Supreme greeted.

"Why are you here?!" Nina demanded to know as she stood up. "Are you another one of the Tarot Guild members?!"

"Associated, but I have no interest in their agenda," the Ninja Supreme explained. "I'm not here to fight, you see. Right now, I'm just waiting."

"Waiting?" Nina asked before a portal popped open behind her. She turned around and saw someone stepping out from the portal. It was a large figure...

This large figure had a blue face mask, a golden bodysuit with red shoulder and chest plates, hooves, and long straight black hair. He sported a blue loincloth and cape. He looked around, spotting Nina and the knocked out Luz.

"Who the Hell are you?" Nina demanded, sensing danger from this guy.

"Nina Fangs, is it?" he asked her while looking down at her with a smile. "You may call me… the Alchemist."

Some distance from the zoo, a large being emerged from a sewage pipe. It was Lupe. He crawled onto the grass, spitting out the shit in his mouth.

"Fuck!" he shouted, as he was covered in burned marks and other nasty things. "There's shit in my socket!" he cried in disgust, shaking the shit out of his fur. "Oh man, the worms are back..."

Meanwhile, the werecats and the Brookes helped all of the prisoners out of the bunker and the zoo, every last one of them, including West, Winter and Pam.

"Is that everyone?" Anthony asked.

"Yeah, everyone's made it out," Banjo said. "Well, except that Hellhound. I have no idea where he went."

"Hellhound?" Skara asked, reminded of one Hellhound other than the Loona girl…

"Skara!" shouted King as he ran up. With him was not only Eda, but LOWTH members as well including Crowbar, Ghostina, Luna Tune, Riley, Potion Ranger, Minos, Florella, Sioux, Andrew, Roxy, and Kyle.

"Eda, you made it," Slasher said while wincing in pain.

"Is anyone injured? I'm a Healer," Kyle, in a blue and white costume, mentioned. He also wore a blue domino mask.

"These two need to be treated for their injuries," Chelsea said, patting Winter and West.

"You're gonna heal us?" Winter asked.

"Don't worry, Mr. Healer will help treat your wounds," Kyle said as his hands glowed and he began to help heal the twins.

Eda looked around, realizing something before she turned to Skara and Slasher. "Where's Luz?"

Meanwhile, Nina was being slammed to the floor by the Alchemist. She rolled over to avoid a stomp on his hoof and picked herself up, but winced in pain after having taken a good beating from the Alchemist.

"Crap…" Nina said while having a black eye and bloody lip. She launched her arm to form tendrils to try to entangle the Alchemist, but he simply grabbed them.

"That's not gonna cut it," he declared as he dashed towards her to knee-kick her in the stomach, making her cough up blood. She tried to throw a punch at the Alchemist, but he dodged it and karate chopped her in the shoulder, making her cry in pain.

"AAAAH!" Nina cried out while feeling her bruised shoulder. "Fuck…" she winced as she looked up the Alchemist who sent his fist to her face. Knocking her out...

Once Nina was passed out on the ground, the Alchemist checked her pulse. "Still alive," he confirmed.

"Well, those two were taken out fairly quickly," the Ninja Supreme said with an unimpressed tone, crossing his arms.

"Of course they are," Alchemist pointed out. "After all, they were both exhausted and hurt after their respective fights against their foes. Pushed to their limits… which I wish to expand," he said as he picked up Nina. "Take the Clawthorne girl."

The Ninja picked up Luz before he turned to Bria and the other knocked out Chimeras. "What about them?"

"Leave them, they're Dr. Mera's pet projects, not ours" the Alchemist said while looking at the pile of rubble where Sonya lay buried underneath as her grave. "Such a shame…"

He and the Ninja then entered through the portal, taking Luz and Nina with them, before it vanished. The Alchemist, the Ninja, Luz, and Nina were all just… gone.

Meanwhile, at Sunny's place, Sunny and Scabrina were playing a card game.

"I place… my Slitherbeast to eat your Griffin!" Scabrina declared, placing her card on the board.

"Oh no, you beat me!" Sunny replied, though she smiled at the girl. "You win again!"

"I gotta admit, I never pegged you to be in the Beast Keepers card game," Scabrina admitted, feeling better than she had all day. "My previous babysitter, Viney, taught me how to play it."

"Well I consider it a hobby. A couple of my friends back in school showed me how to play the game," Sunny replied.

"You know, you're alright, Sunny." Scabrina said with a smile. "To think I wanted to take your brains out."

"Aw, well, I guess you'll have to get my brain next time," Sunny replied before they heard the doorbell ringing. "Stay right there, it's probably your sister," she said as she got up, heading to the door.

When Sunny went to answer the door, she saw that it was not Skara like she was expecting. "Oh, can I help you, ma'am?" she asked.

"Why yes, dearie," spoke the elderly witch in the black cloak as she held up a picnic basket. "I would like to have a word with you…"

As she said this, she raised her head up to reveal the grinning face… of Grimhilde.

None of you saw this ending coming, did ya?

On the first note, about Casey's death, we know that you've all expected to see Nina reunited with Casey but his death has always been the plan.

As for the introduction to the Alchemist, he has been set up since the Brawl Night Part 2, and his appearance was introduced in "Resolutions" among members of the Tarot Guild. He is supposed to be a homage expy to Baron Draxum from the "Rise of the TMNT" series. The Ninja Supreme, which is his full title, is a expy of the Ultimate Ninja from TMNT 2003.

So to say the least that a lot has happened in this chapter, like Calypso's vampire attack and being turned into one, Sonya getting crushed to death and Lupe fighting the Brookes has always been actually planned even before Nina became a main character. There are a lot of things in Luz Clawthorne that are set in stone, but in the process of getting there we get new ideas that help to expand the story. It happens when we work on Book 2 and a lot in the future chapters we've already planned out in how things would go by the end of this Book and Book 3 that are already set to stone. And yes, to those who want to ask, Sonya's officially dead. I do not need to repeat that twice.

As well as having Asi, Horace, Bria and Bangles being experiments of Sonya's Chimera projects being planned out. Well, for Bangles, Asi and Horace it didn't started out this way before, until we've ultimately decided to make them as Sonya's experiments.

We won't get a resolution on Luz and Nina right away, as the next few chapters will overlap with this one.

One thing I'd like to mentioned is that I did get emotional in writing Scabrina's breakdown. The Healing Coven scene with the Brookes is the most emotional scene I've written. I keep thinking of Chopper's emotional scenes from One Piece.

Also Carter and Jemma's relationship is pretty much a reference to Noah/Emma's ship from TD: Redonculous Race. In this, they're secret lovers in a Romeo/Juliet-style romance.

Asi's Chimera appearance is based off of Asirel's God of Hypodeath form from Undertale. The Chimera-X Project is pretty much a homage to the Weapons-X Project from Marvel.

This will be the last chapter before my vacation. I'm going to be off grid and without internet presence for a while(at least until I managed to get service for a day or so) but next chapter will come out probably next weekend or so.

Also the next chapter will be taking a break from answering reviews. Any new questions you have for the story will be answered in a special PM. For now, here's the answers for last chapter's reviews:

61394: Rest assured, they're alright.

BlueKnight-X2: They're alright.

Crash X Fusion: For Fleabag, it's a name I thought up from the spot. That's all I can answer for now, unless I missed something. You can message me or Buck about it later.

Robert: We might consider it.

Franco Almiron: Nina's family lives. 1) Yes. 2) Thank you.

Matteso585: 1) She didn't. 3) Maybe. 4) Elio. 5) Because it's funny.

Krypton Joy Writes: Terra's not like Phineas and Ferb, it doesn't work on villains like her. Don't know what you'd like out of from Calypso's backstory. Dell and Gwen are not the worst. The only minor crimes was Gwen's neglect but what makes her not be the worse is at least she's understanding and wants to make up for lost time with her daughters, and Dell gives Eda some space and feels himself guilty over what happened to Eda. The elder Clawthornes are not the worst, just mild mannered.

Shuffollower: I'm gonna say after. About the Luz statue, you'd think she hasn't tried? Well, Gwen/Courtney may not have canonically work, but Meg and Le'Belle may have a possible chance, since they're a lot different. Mosquita may have been somewhere else during this happening. The Inner Demon doesn't really possess anyone, he just got lucky with Puck.

Ultimate-drax: Well that's one way to put it.

Next chapter, what else has happened during the day…