Just want to say, sorry for the long wait. A lot has been busy since October, but thank you for sticking around for 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 this fic.

Chapter 122: Looking Through My Three Eyes

At the beginning of that week at the Saltstar estate, Boscha was sound asleep. When the alarm clock screamed, she punched it and the tri-eyed girl soon got up with a yawn. Slowly she got herself dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast. She was still feeling worn out from a long weekend of traveling and battling through Hell to the Underworld, which took up a lot of energy. But at least some good things came from her journey…

"Boscha, you're up!"

Hearing the sound of her boyfriend's voice made her smile. Boscha turned to see that at the breakfast table was Tom and with him was her mother, Athena. Joining them were Simon, Beck, and Samwitch. All waiting for her.

"We didn't want to eat without you, Pink-Eye," Athena said with a smile as Boscha ran up to hug her mom.

"Good morning, mom," Boscha responded, embracing her mom. "I'm so glad you and Tom aren't in the Conformatorium anymore."

"I'm glad too, hon," Athena replied, hugging Boscha back.

After that, Boscha sat down with the Saltstar family for breakfast. "How did you sleep well, Boscha?" Beck asked.

"I slept good, Beck," Boscha replied to her cousin. "I needed a nice long sleep after my trip through Hell to save Luz and Amity's brothers," she said with a sigh. "Again, sorry for not telling you guys where I was going."

"As long as you are now safe, Boscha," Samwitch told her.

"You may want to bring us up to speed on that," Tom said while eating.

"And you may want to tell us about yourself, Tom," Simon pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm curious about who has caught our little Boscha's eyes," Beck admitted.

"Oh, well… I don't know where to start," Tom said before he decided to give a proper introduction. "My name is Tom Lucitor, I used to live in another Realm called Mewni, but due to unfortunate circumstances I ended up in this Realm."

"I found Tom living alone on the streets," Boscha explained. "After he got into some trouble, I took him in and hid him in our attic."

"I eventually realized that Boscha had him up there, so after the Glandus War and I kicked Nicole out, I decided that the attic wasn't a proper place for him to sleep in so I gave him a room."

"Yeah… before I ended up burning your house down," Tom responded awkwardly. "Which again, I'm so sorry…"

"Hey, all that matters is that you and mom are okay, Tom," Boscha reassured him. "And since you've introduced yourself, let me introduce you to my uncle and cousins. Meet uncle Samwitch Saltstar, head of the family, and strongest."

"It is nice to meet you, Tom," Samwitch said with a nod.

"And these are my cousins, Simon and Beck Saltstar," Boscha introduced them. "Simon's in the same year at Hexside as I am, but he's in Construction. Beck works as a Bard teacher for St. Epiderm."

"Well, right now St. Epiderm is closed because of that Grim Goblin attack," Beck said. "But it is nice to have you with us, Tom."

"Yeah, it is nice to finally meet you, Tom," Simon said. "Boscha's talked a lot about you."

"Does she?" Tom smiled while Boscha hid her blush.

"So have you two gone out on any dates?" Beck asked, smiling when she saw her cousin blushing like that.

Tom was about to answer, but then paused. He turned to Boscha. "Did we go out on a date…?"

"I… don't think so…" Boscha admitted while looking down. "What about that time at that amusement park?"

"I think that was before we started dating," Tom pointed out.

"Oh… right," Boscha responded as she realized that she and Tom had not yet gone on any dates. "We only began dating after the school war and then I got paralyzed."

"And I was in the Conformatorium for a while," Tom said as the two were silent for a while. "So this may be…"

"A chance to finally go on a proper date," Boscha indicated. "Well, with all the chaos calmed down and now that I'm reunited with you and mom, we could go out."

Tom smiled. "Yeah, that would be great. I want to spend some time with you after so long…"

"Hey, not in front of everyone," Boscha playfully scolded him and the two laughed. "But first, I should check up on my friends. They're probably worried about me."

"Yeah, I'd like to see the looks on their faces when they see that I'm back," Tom said. "I wonder if I should do a grand entrance, like teleport myself through my fire."

"Well before that, why don't you get us up to speed about your little trip through the Underworld, Boscha?" Athena asked. "Along with anything else that we missed."

In Gavin's house, Gavin was in his room writing a letter while some classical music played in the background.

'Dear dad, how have you've been? I've been doing well,' Gavin wrote down. 'Things have been mostly good, to say the least. I'm attending Hexside right now and, well, compared to Glandus, it's a pretty good school. It's nice to attend your old school, by the way. The Abomination Track there is filled with really nice students. I feel like I've been walking in your footsteps… but then there's having to avoid the acting principal, Faust. I heard you had him when you attended Hexside, but I know how to keep myself out of trouble.'

'I do have my friends by my side. There's Boscha, who is doing better after the other week, so I plan on checking up on her later. I should probably check in with Hunter as well. You know him. Apparently you knew him very well and I had no idea. Then there's Angmar, he's getting the hang of Hexside's Plant Track. Ukla, however, is still homeschooled and she's been checking up on her best friend from time to time.'

'Oh, and don't worry about Mom. She's been taking great care of me, Her wine business is doing good, she's been making enough to help support both of us. And I'm sure she doesn't hold things against you in any regards.'

'… Writing this… letter to you, I do miss you, Dad. I… I know that we haven't seen each other for so long and I know that your duties as coven head are important. I just… wish you were still here…'

Gavin stopped himself, looking at the letter before him. He sighed before he left his room and headed to the dining room. There, his mom was preparing breakfast for him.

"Gavin, I was just about to call you for breakfast," Sheila said while placing a plate of food for Gavin on the table. "Come on, take a seat."

"Thanks, mom," Gavin replied as he sat down to eat his breakfast.

While eating breakfast, Sheila looked at her son, concern displayed across her face. "Are you alright, hon?"

"Oh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he claimed while eating his waffle.

Sheila continued looking at her son before deciding to bring something up. "You know, school won't be open for a few more days. I could use an extra hand with my wine deliveries."

"Actually, I was thinking of seeing my friends," Gavin said. "Since Belos ended the lockdown, I want to check up on them. Especially Boscha, who was pretty silent over the weekend."

"Oh… of course," Sheila replied, feeling disappointed but not showing it. "Well, I hope you enjoy your time with your friends."

"Will you be alright?" Gavin asked her.

"I'll be fine, if I need assistance I can find someone else," Sheila dismissed. "But hey, I'm always here if there are some things you wish to talk about. You know that, right?"

Gavin gave her a nod. "I know," he said before his scroll buzzed. He pulled it up and saw Boscha's text.

At Angmar's home, the orange-furred biped was getting dressed while noticing a text from Boscha.

"Meet up at the shack?" Angmar said after reading her text. "Looks like Boscha's doing okay," he said with a smile, glad that his friend was doing alright after a weekend of silence.

As he left his room, he noticed his parents doing a ritual. "Hey mom, hey dad, I'm about to head out to meet my friends."

"That is great, dear," spoke a yellow-furred woman with blond hair. Next to her was her husband, who had orange fur with blue eyes. Both were in a cross-legged position while holding hands. "Just remember… we are the new flesh."

"The new flesh," Angmar's father repeated.

"Yeah, we are the new flesh," Angmar replied while grabbing his staff. "I'll see you guys later," he said while leaving his parents to their mantra.

"The way of the new flesh is upon us… the way of the new flesh is upon us," they repeated their mantra as extra eyes suddenly sprouted from their arms.

In Ukla's home, she was preparing to head out after receiving a text from Boscha.

"Mom, dad, I'm heading out," Ukla announced while walking downstairs.

"Heading out? Oh, please be careful out there, Ukla," spoke a slim, blue scaled gecko biped with glasses, a blue shirt, a gray tie with fangs on the end, and black trousers. "You don't want to end up losing your tail again."

"Dad, even if I did it'll grow back again," Ukla reassured her dad. "Like it always does."

"She's right, Morakis," Ukla's mother said. She had brown hair and resembled Ukla more strongly. She was wearing a brown strap shirt, long beige dress, and brown loafers. "Our Ukla's a tough little nail. Besides, she's just going out to meet up with her friends, ain't ya?"

"Yeah, mom. And I know to bring my machete with me," Ukla said while holding onto her machete.

"Well, at least you have something to defend yourself with," Morakis said, though he still looked worried. "But what if there's someone out there with a bigger machete… what you need is a shield and a bigger sword to carry before you go out!"

"Dad/Morry," Ukla and her mom said in a deadpan tone towards the worried father.

"Okay, but remember to use the shield spell I taught you," he told Ukla while patting her shoulder. "I just don't want to see you on another trip to the Healing Coven like last time."

Ukla understood her father's worries as she reassured him. "I'll be fine, dad. I'll have my staff with me if there's anything I couldn't handle. I'm a brave girl, you know?"

Morakis smiled and hugged his daughter. "I know, just be careful."

"I'll be back in time to go to Yuki's place to check up on her," Ukla mentioned after the hug.

"We know," her mom replied while Ukla headed out.

As they saw their daughter out, Morakis turned to his wife. "I still can't help but worry about her a lot, Scarol."

"Yeah, I know," Scarol replied in agreement while holding her husband's hand.

Later, Gavin, Angmar, and Ukla arrived at the Treasure Shack, where they waited outside for Boscha.

"Hey guys, how'd you guys do during the lockdown?" Ukla asked.

"Me and my folks spent it playing board games and saying mantras," Angmar commented.

"Me and my mom spent the lockdown watching old CB shows," Gavin said. "Did Boscha contact you guys during the lockdown?"

"Not at all," Ukla responded. "Me and my folks mostly just waited it out until it was over."

Angmar looked up and pointed. "There she is!"

They looked up to see Boscha on her staff along with a hooded Tom flying down to the hill. They landed in front of the three.

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

"Boscha! Glad to see you're alright," Gavin responded. "Why didn't you contact us during the lockdown?"

"Yeah, we were getting a bit worried," Ukla admitted.

"Who's that behind you?" Angmar asked, noticing the hooded figure.

"Sorry, I got a long story but first, guess who's back," Boscha said as she stepped back and Tom removed his hood, revealing himself. The trio gasped to see who it was.

"Long time, no see," Tom said, waving to them.

"TOM!?" they exclaimed in shock.

"Tom… wow! I can't believe that you're back, man!" Gavin said, walking up to him. "We thought you were still in the Conformatorium."

"Well, you can thank Hunter, he helped pull some strings to get me and Athena out," Tom replied.

"Athena… you mean, Boscha's mom is freed?" Angmar asked.

"That's right, Angmar," Boscha replied with a smile. "And I'm glad to have them both back."

"That's great for you guys, really," Ukla said, patting Boscha's shoulder. "You deserve it."

Boscha smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate your support, guys." She then walked toward the shack. "Come on, I got a lot of explaining to do about what happened over the weekend…"

Once everyone was inside, Boscha explained to them where she was over the weekend. After telling them the full story, Boscha, Angmar, and Ukla were all shocked.

"You went through Hell and the Underworld?!" Gavin exclaimed. "That's… wow."

"And you faced that crazy goddess?" Angmar said. "That was pretty brave of you to do. Crazy and stupid, but definitely brave."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Boscha replied. "But we did manage to save Edric and King from Mel, at the very least."

"Yeah, Boscha filled me and Athena in after breakfast about it," Tom admitted. "I'm still surprised that King Lucifer himself didn't confront you guys."

"Wait, you're familiar with Hell, Tom?" Gavin asked.

"Somewhat," he admitted. "My mom was familiar with him back when we lived in Mewni's Underworld Kingdom, which is quite different from the Underworld that Boscha went to."

"How different are we talking?" Ukla asked.

He began to explain. "Well, it's an underground kingdom that is a sub-level kingdom of Mewni. It's not really an afterlife or its own separate realm like the Underworld ruled by Hades and Persepjone. Sure, we have demons and talking skeletons and even our own beaches, but it's really just another layer of Mewni."

"Layer?" Angmar questioned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Mewni had several layers, each with a kingdom and rulers. The Underworld was ruled by my family, and you have the surface which was ruled by the Butterfly family, and then there's the Cloud Kingdom up in the sky, ruled by the Pony Heads… who are actually flying unicorn heads."

"Flying unicorn heads…?" Gavin asked, weirded out by the explanation.

"Yeah, not everyone was fond of them," he admitted. "But that is the gist of our landscape."

Boscha remembered something else. "In order for Tom and mom to be released, Hunter… had to return to the castle," Boscha mentioned, which shocked the others.

"What…?" Gavin asked. "Hunter's gone back to the Emperor's Coven?"

"He did it to release them and to help get Amity a pardon as well," Boscha said while lowering her head. "But I really owe him for reuniting me with my family."

"We all do," Tom nodded.

"Well, I hope he's doing alright," Ukla said with a worried look.

"Yeah, best of luck for him," Angmar nodded in agreement.

"And… there is something else I should mention to you guys," Boscha said, sounding a bit reluctant. "You aren't going to like this, but I wanted to be honest with you. We didn't just go to save Edric and King…" She looked up at them, nervous about how they would react. Ultimately, Boscha gave a sigh before continuing. "We also brought back… Emily Tricks."

The three former Glandees looked at Boscha in shock… and anger.

"What?!" Gavin exclaimed. "Emily's back from the Underworld?!"

"I thought we were done with her!" Angmar said in a panic.

"Why in the Titan is she back?" Ukla asked, as Boscha winced when she saw her angered look. "And if she's around, where is she?!"

"I don't know. She left after we returned, so I wouldn't know where she went," Boscha said with her hands up. "I know that Emily has done a lot of things…"

"A lot? She's caused everyone in Glandus enough grief and messed up Yuki to the point she was hurting herself!" Ukla pointed out. "Not to mention she hurt you!"

"Boscha, I don't understand why you would help her get out of the Underworld," Gavin said, crossing his arms.

"Look, at first I didn't want her back either," Boscha said while looking down. "But Eda, Cross, and Lindsay all vouched for saving her."

Gavin's eyes widened as he lowered his head. "Of course those two wanted to save her."

"You mentioned Eda also," Angmar pointed out.

"She wanted to save her because of her own guilt," Boscha explained. "She also said that we needed to be better by saving Emily. And she may have a point." She sighed. "Not to mention that after what Mel put us through, put Amity through, I did not want to give that crazy goddess the satisfaction of letting Emily die there." She looked up at her friends, frowning. "Don't get me wrong, I hate Emily for what she has done to me, for what she has done to all of us. If I were to see that bitch again, I would probably kick the crap out of her. But beating her up is one thing, while leaving her in the Underworld to be tortured for all eternity is another. The last thing I want to be is just like Nicole…"

Gavin, Angmar, and Ukla now had calmer expressions as they began to realize why Boscha helped to save Emily. Even if they didn't like it, they knew how she must've felt.

"Hey, Boshca it's… we're sorry," Gavin said to her.

"Yeah, maybe we should drop the subject about Emily," Angmar suggested.

"Yeah, we should," Ukla said with a sigh. "Maybe we should talk about our plans for the week instead."

"Yeah," Gavin nodded. "After all, since today's an off day we're free for most of the day."

Boscha and Tom turned to each other. "Well, me and Tom have decided to go on a date today," Boscha admitted.

"Whoa, really?" Ukla asked. "Congrats!"

"Though we still haven't thought about where to go on a date yet," Tom mentioned.

"Yeah, though I did think we could go to the bat cages," Boscha suggested.

"You guys have batting cages here?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, there's a habitat for caged bats around Bonesborough," Boscha mentioned.

"Huh… that wasn't what I meant but yeah, that piqued my interest," Tom replied.

"Well, I'm going to go check in on Yuki later today," Ukla mentioned. "Want to see how she's been doing since the lockout. Hopefully it didn't scared her."

"I can go as well for moral support," Angmar offered.

"Yeah, I'd like that, Angmar," Ukla said to him, smiling. "Thanks, man."

"Oh, you guys should definitely come by to see my new pool that my mom had installed at our home," Gavin brought up. "Maybe somewhere in the week, we could have a pool day."

"Yeah, that sounds nice and can't be any worse than our beach day," Boscha said.

"Wait, what happened during your beach day?" Tom asked in confusion.

"Well, it involves a giant, mind-controlling scarfish," Angmar said, patting Tom's shoulder. "It was… not a good experience having one latch on your face."

"Yeah, it was a weird day," Gavin agreed.

Later, Boscha and Tom went into town on their first date. The two went to the Bat Cages, stopping in front of the entrance.

"Luckily there's free entry today," Boscha commented.

"So what should I expect in there?" Tom asked as they entered. "Cages full of all kinds of bats?"

"You could say that…" Boscha said before Tom's three eyes widened when he saw what was in front of him.

In some large cages were large bats with twelve foot wingspans. They somewhat resembled griffins, but with bat faces that looked human-ish, frontal arms, large wings on their backs and hindlegs. They flew around their cages while the staff took care of them and some witchlings got to pet the littlest larger bats.

"Whoa…" Tom said in awe. "Look at all these batties."

"Yeah, they're known as Hunchbats," Boscha explained to him as they walked around. "They're kinda similar to griffins in a way. This is where the Beast-Keeping Coven takes care of them."

"Do you ride them like how you ride griffins?" Tom asked her, looking like an excited kid on his first trip to the zoo.

"Yeah, you could," Boscha replied as she led Tom to the center of the building where there were Hunchbats with saddles. "Hey, is this where we can ride these bats?"

"Why, of course," spoke Drusilla, who worked here. "Only a snail per witch."

After giving her snails, Boscha and Tom got to ride on a Hunchbat as Drusilla helped prepare them. "I should warn you to be careful not to rattle them. They get startled easily."

Once they got on safely, Boscha and Tom prepared themselves as the Hunchbat began to fly. Tom hung onto Boscha, his arms around her waist. "Hey, you good?" she asked as they flew up.

"Y-Yeah, a lot different from riding a staff," Tom replied nervously while looking at the Hunchbat's wings flapping as it flew around in a circle.

As they enjoyed their ride, the Hunchbat flew up and down and spun around, Boscha and Tom hanging onto their saddle. The Hunchbat sensed the two enjoying the ride and it did more tricks to entertain them, which included flying through some large rings.

"Haha! This guy is a great flyer!" Tom commenced while feeling like he was riding on a roller coaster.

Boscha chuckled as well as the Hunchbat flew around in the air. It did some more loops with the two as it swirled around, Boscha and Tom cheering. "Best ride ever!" Boscha exclaimed as a photo was taken of them.

Tom looked proud as he wore a new shirt after going through the Bat Cages.

"That was one of the best things I've ever experienced!" he exclaimed while wearing the 'I Road On a Hunchbat' t-shirt along with Boscha. "It was like if I road on a roller coaster, but on an actual flying giant bat!"

"I'm glad that you had a good time, Tom," Boscha replied. "So you're feeling hungry?"

"Yeah, anyplace to grab a bite?" he asked her.

"I know just the place," Boscha said as she led the way. "One of the best hot spots I love to go to from time to time."

She took him to a sports-themed tavern, Tom spotting the sign outside that read 'Wrenchwarmers'. When the two went inside, Tom spotted patrons drinking and eating while hanging out and watching game footage on the mirrors while waitresses went around serving griffin wings.

"Welcome to Wrenchwarmers," Boscha announced. "The best sports bar in Bonesborough."

"Don't you mean the best sports bar in all the Isles, Boscha?" asked the bartender, a zombie-ish looking demon with gray hair, green skin, pink eyes, and a sports jersey. "Long time, no see, kiddo!"

"Hey, Grundle," Boscha replied. "Tom, this is Grundle, the owner of this tavern. Grundle, this is Tom, my boyfriend. We're on our first date."

"First date? Boyfriend?" Grundle asked in shock. "Now that's pretty big news right there, ain't it Roachy?"

"Yeah, sure," said a biped cockroach demon in a letterman's jacket. "Hey Boscha, I heard your mom's out. How's she doing?"

"She's doing great, Coach Roacher," Boscha greeted her old coach. "How have you been?"

"Still going through my uh… difficulties with the wife," Mr. Roacher said as he drank his jug.

"Is that your… school's coach?" Tom asked her.

"Yeah, he's… going a divorce," Boscha whispered to him. "Best not to mention it around him."

She took Tom to a booth where they made their orders.

"So would you and your team come here after a game?" Tom asked.

"Not me and my team, no. But my moms used to take me here after I won a game." She paused, remembering how different things were back then. Remembering that she actually had good memories about Nicole. She shook her head. "This place helped encourage my dream of becoming a professional grudgeby player, since I always wanted to have my picture up the Wall of Fame." She pointed to the wall next to them, which was filled with pictures of famous sports witches. "I wanted to be amongst legends like Bag Ruthless, Michael Gorgan, Joe Demon'gionni, Boulder Johnwitch, Chom Grady, Dwayne Gritsky, Selina Willikers, and the best of them all, best five times Grudgeby player of the Bonesborough Strikers… Bason Scornick." She pointed to a huge portrait of a horned skeletal sports demon in grudgeby gear. "Said to be Hexside's best athlete and now a sports commentator."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about your sports players, Boscha," Tom commented.

"Yeah, my mom got me into sports after she showed me her trophies from back when she used to play grudgeby," Boscha admitted. "I may not be in the grudgeby team anymore, but there has to be a way for me to earn it back." She frowned, taking a sip of her drink. "Though as long as Faust is in charge…"

"Hey, I wouldn't worry about that," Tom said, reaching across the table to touch Boscha's hand. "After all, your luck is improving, isn't it?" He then decided to change the subject. "Anyway… how are things with your old friends? Are you on better terms with them?"

"Oh, now that you've mentioned it, I am," Boscha replied with a smile. "Cat became a multi-track witch and one of the classes she decided to take was Potions, so that means we're track-mates now. She wanted me to help show her the ropes and I feel like we are on our way to becoming friends again, if we are not already at that point like me and Amity are, though it really does suck that Amity has to stay in the HR for the time being."

"What about Amelia and Skara?" Tom asked.

Boscha nodded. "They're both doing well, even if we don't really stay in touch. Skara and Willow started their own flyer derby team together, which came as a surprise. But honestly, they are really cute together and I'm happy for them, really. I wish them only the best."

"Well, I'm glad that you're on better terms with them," Tom replied with a nod.

Boscha agreed, but then looked uncertain. "I mean, sure," she admitted. "We're on good terms, but… it isn't like things will ever go back to how they used to be. We still care about each other, sure. They proved that when they visited me after I was released from the Healing Coven and when they came to help me when I tried to…" She fell silent, frowning. "Even if we aren't friends anymore, it isn't like we are going to stop caring about each other. But I don't think the Banshees Squad is going to get back together."

"I… don't know what to say about that," Tom noted. "But it's not bad between you guys, is it?"

"It's not bad, just… weird is the best description," Boscha said. "I don't mind too much, since I do have new friends now. But me and Skara are still weirded out with each other even if we're on better speaking terms now. I know that today is Willow's birthday and that my old friends are spending the day with her, but I'm keeping my distance. Because I don't know how welcome I would be. There is still this gap between us and I'm not comfortable about breaching it."

"Well… maybe you should still consider going to see her," Tom suggested. "Since you are on better terms with Willow and Skara, and you said that you still care about each other. So maybe you should show that you support them, which could help you heal that relationship even more."

Boscha thought it over, remembering that Simon would be invited and wondering if she should tag along with him. "I'll think about it." she said while patting Tom's hand. "But right now, I'd like to focus on us."

Tom smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that too," Tom replied as their order was brought over.

Meanwhile, Ukla and her parents were at Yuki's place, the Ulmas sharing a coffee brew with the Itos.

"Thank you all for coming here for a visit, Ukla, Scarol, and Morakis," Mr. Ito spoke to them while they sat in the living room. He turned to Angmar, who was sitting in the living room as well. "And who are you again?"

"Angmar, sir," the Plant Track student answered. "A friend of Ukla's. I'm here to support her."

Mr. Ito nodded. "Well, thank you for coming as well," he said before looking up to everyone else. "All of you."

"It's no problem, Bass," Scarol replied.

"How is your daughter, by the way?" Morakis asked.

"Well, there is some improvement," Mrs. Ito replied while looking down. "However, we've been wanting to move her out of her room and send her to the Oracle Institute for further treatment."

"But me and Min aren't able to afford it, especially since Head Witch Orsan keeps raising the price," Bass explained, giving a stern look. "The current Oracle Head's full of snake oil."

"Wait, I thought the Institute was supposed to be open for all witches in need," Ukla pointed out.

"That is what his predecessor, Delara, believed. She made sure that the Oracle Institute was affordable for everyone that needed help with mental treatment or with their magical capabilities. But since Orsan's succession, he made it for only the witches with the most snails can afford it," Min explained..

"Seriously?" Ukla said in shock, looking down in anger. "That guy's a complete ripoff artist!"

"We know, and part of the reason why we couldn't afford it is because we've been making less money now since Yuki is required to be under constant supervision," Bass said while giving a saddened expression. "We don't know how we can afford to get the help Yuki needs."

Ukla looked down, wondering how they would be able to help Yuki. But then, an idea sparked at the mention of Delara…

"Mr and Mrs. Ito, I may have an idea," Ukla said to them. "I think I know someone who could help…"

In Yuki's room, Yuki was still in bed. All she could do was blankly stare at the clock on the wall as coming into the room cautiously was Ukla.

"Hey, Yuki," Ukla said. "I'm just here to check up on you."

Yuki turned to Ukla. Her eyes narrowed at her, showing that she didn't trust her. But she didn't make a scene this time. "Ukla," she acknowledged.

"How have you been doing?" Ukla asked her, sounding a bit nervous.

"I'm… fine," Yuki said, looking down on her own bed sheets.

"You seem calmer," Ukla pointed out. "I'm glad that you're doing okay."

"Yeah, not like I'm hurting myself or anything," Yuki said while not looking at Ukla.

Ukla gave her a concerned look. "Look, Yuki, I know that you're going through a very rough time, but we're going to make sure that you get all the help you need."

Yuki just glared at her. "You can help me by leaving instead of hurting me again."

"But it wasn't me, Yuki," Ukla claimed. "It was Emily!"

"Emily?" Yuki questioned.

"I don't know if you've heard by now, but Emily turned out to be an Illusionist," she explained. "She fooled everyone in Glandus and she posed as me to hurt you back then."

Yuki looked down and was quiet for a moment before she finally responded. "Even if it wasn't you, you would have eventually betrayed me anyway," she said while turning to Ukla, glaring at her again as her paranoia seeped in. "Because that's just what Glandus does to you."

"Yuki, the school wasn't the problem, it was those who ran it," Ukla pointed out. "But they're all gone, and we can just try to move on-"

"I don't want to hear another fucking word from your mouth!" Yuki shouted, startling Ukla.

"But Yuki-"

"JUST GET OUT!" Yuki shouted, her face red with anger.

Ukla looked into Yuki's eyes, noticing that they were covered in dark shadows. "Yuki… have you been sleeping at all?"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" Yuki cried out. "JUST GET OUT!"

Startled, Ukla knew she couldn't stay long, so she walked to the door. "O-Okay, Yuki… I'll go," she said solemnly while exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind her.

Yuki just stared at the door before laying onto her bed. Her eyes were looking a bit foggy as she started hearing a familiar voice…

"They're all against you," the Inner Demon told her. "Even if you believe her, she will betray you like all of Glandus does…"

Meanwhile, while continuing on their date, Boscha and Tom went down to the Construction Coven.

"Is this where he is?" Tom asked, seeing the castle-structured area.

"Yeah, the Construction Coven," Boscha said while looking down with a frown, not being too thrilled about being here.

Tom turned to her and gave a concerned look. "Hey, maybe we can visit some other time if you're not ready," he said.

"You have met most of my family except for Cain, so it's only fair," she pointed out before she let out a sigh. "Let's get this over with."

After getting approval, they went inside where they saw the Construction Coven members either being seated having a meal, lifting weights, or using boulders as sandbags.

"I don't know if this place is a construction quarry or a prison yard," Tom commented.

"Excuse me," Boscha spoke up to someone, Picket, who was eating. "We're looking for Cain Saltstar. I'm his cousin."

"Cain's cousin? Well he's over there eating by himself," Picket said as he pointed to Cain, who had his back turned to everyone while eating his own meal.

"Hey, mind if I asked what you guys are eating?" Tom asked while looking at the large meat being served.

"Oh it's just some house demon meat you can buy off the market," Picket said, shocking Tom. "You can ask for a plate if you want some."

"Uh… I think I'm good," Tom said as he and Boscha walked over to where Cain was.

While Cain ate, he heard a familiar voice that shook him. "Cain." He turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Boscha standing there.

"Boscha…" Cain said in shock..

"Hey, Cain," Boscha said with an unenthusiastic tone. "I want you to me-"

"I'M SORRY!" Cain went down onto his knees, bowing his head to the ground and creating a small crater. This surprised Boscha and Tom. "I… I don't deserve your forgiveness, Boscha…"

"Cain…" Boscha said while looking embarrassed. "Get up."

"I'm so, so sorry for not helping when I should have, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when I just let Emily and the gang beat you up…!" Cain cried as tears flooded from his eyes. "I… I can't believe I let them hurt you. I should've stopped Emily from hurting you!" He raised his head up, tears and snot coming out from his watery eyes. "I'm sorry…!"

Boscha sighed and turned to Tom. "This is Cain, the middle Saltstar and well, you see why we used to call him Crybaby Cain."

"Oh…" Tom said.

"Cain, calm down," Boscha told him, prompting Cain to stop sobbing, though he still sniffed. "Okay, look, I'm just here so that you can meet my boyfriend, Tom, who's staying with the family for now on."

"T-Tom…?" Cain asked while turning to the other three-eyed demon.

"Hey, you must be Cain. Nice to meet you," Tom waved to him.

"N-Nice to meet you too," Cain replied while wiping his face and picking himself up. "Sorry that I ended up c-c-crying. But did she say that you're her boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Tom Lucitor," Tom replied. "I've met your family and they're nice."

Cain calmed himself down. "I will admit, I didn't know that Boscha had a boyfriend." He looked to Boscha worriedly. "I-I mean, not that I'm saying that you couldn't… oh Titan, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Cain," Boscha said to him, feeling awkward around her cousin.

Cain looked at Boscha, wondering if she was up for a talk. "So um… Boscha, how have you been?"

"I've been pretty good," Boscha responded. "A lot better now that mom and Tom are out of the Conformatorium."

"Yeah, Simon has told me about your situation," he said while going to another subject. "How about Hexside? How's it going over there? I did hear that, um, some of the students from Glandus got transferred there."

"Yeah, they have," Boscha replied. "Gavin and Angmar transferred there and so far have been accommodated there."

"I've, um… heard Nina is attending there as well," Cain said, causing Boscha to flinch a little. "How is she?"

Boscha shrugged. "Well, she hasn't been bothering me anymore. I barely see her anyway. She's been staying with Skara and her family."

"I see," Cain said. "Well, that is good."

"Who's Nina?" Tom asked.

"A werecat who used to be part of the Top students at Glandus alongside me and Emily," Cain explained. "I even once visited her home at the Torsa Villa."

"The Torsa Villa?" Tom asked.

"It's a werecat reserve, where most of the werecats in the Isles live," Cain explained. "It's not far from Latissa."

"Huh, a werecat reserve," Tom said, his curiosity piqued.

"So what about you, Tom?" Cain said to him. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

"Oh, well I guess I can tell you a thing or two about me," Tom replied as he sat beside Cain. "So um… where can I start?"

"Well, you can start just about anything, Tom," Boscha suggests.

"Yeah, stuff like your background and such," Cain said.

"Well… I used to live in another Realm, actually," Tom admitted, which surprised Cain. "Back then, I used to live in a life of luxury and privilege… but I was ignorant about the conflicts of my world." He gave a saddened look. "It got worse and worse and now everything and everyone that I ever knew and cared about… is gone." His look became more distant. "My parents were killed in front of me, my Realm was destroyed, and its inhabitants were slaughtered by these flying creatures. I've replayed those moments over and over again. I see the dead faces of my parents all the time… even when I'm not asleep, I still see them."

He gave a thousand-yard stare, remembering how it all went down. "When I first ended up in this Realm, I was all alone. I lived on the streets, eating out of the crash and spending the nights in alleyways. When I slept, I was plagued by nightmares. Even though I met Boscha and her family, not a day foes by that I don't think about what I took for granted and what I lost. And I am terrified of losing everything again, of being alone again." He fell silent, still staring ahead.

Boscha and Cain shared shocked and concerned looks before Cain replied. "That's… a lot, man."

"Are you alright, Tom?" Boscha asked, patting his hand and snapping Tom out of his still.

"I… I'm fine, just…" Tom didn't finish.

"I think we should go," Boscha said as she led Tom away.

"Boscha, Tom," Cain spoke to them, getting them to pause and turn to him. "It was… really great to speak with you both. Especially you, Boscha."

Boscha was silent for a bit. "Yeah, bye Cain," she finally replied while leading Tom out of the Construction Coven.

Cain was left alone after watching his cousin and her boyfriend leaving. He looked down, then went back to eating again, as well as drinking a canister of tea given to him by one of his co-workers…

Later, Boscha and Tom continued their date to Dead Man's Curve, where they and other witches had gathered to watch a ratworm race.

"I never knew that this was a thing," Tom commented while eating popcorn, now in a much better mood.

"Oh yeah, ratworm racing is one of my favorite forms of entertainment in the Isles," Boscha replied.

"Alright, witches and ghouls!" announced a ghost girl who flew down to the road. It was Ester, who held up a microphone with a skull on top. "Who's ready to watch some ratworm racing?!"

"We do!" the crowd roared.

"This week, we have on his green ratworm, our three-time winner Finkerton!" Ester shouted as she pointed to a mouse biped demon with shades, leather jacket, and biker boots. "And his opponent, his challenger and a good ghoul friend of mine… Helga!"

Helga was riding on what looked to be a ratworm with bolts on its body, as well as many stitches.

"You call that a ratworm?" Finkerton questioned. "It looks like it should still be in the Healing Coven!"

"Hey, my Cherry's fast enough to beat you!" Helga declared with her fist raised.

"Are ya mark, gets set…!" Ester said while holding a flag. She then swung it down. "Go!" she declares as the ratworms revved down Dead Man's Curve.

Boscha and Tom watched along with the rest of the crowd. Tom's eyes widened when he saw that the two racers were neck to neck throughout the curve. Boscha turned to see Tom's face while he watched the race. Seeing his look of awe and entrancement at the race, it made her smile to see him enjoying this. Boscha placed her hand onto Tom's, which he took notice of. He turned to her and the two shared a smile… just as an explosion happened.

"Dear Titan, there's a crash!" Ester cried out in shock. "Is everyone alright?!"

"I'm good!" Helga replied through the flames while holding up her detached arm. "But I think Finkerton needs to head down to the Healing Coven!"

"Ugh…" Finkerton groaned.

After the race, the two teens returned home.

"So how are you feeling now?" Boscha asked.

"Well… I guess I did feel a little down from the talk with Cain, but I still had fun on the date besides that. Pretty good for our first date," Tom said. "Thanks for showing me around the Isles."

"It's no problem," Boscha replied. "But Tom, you can let me know how you are feeling sometimes, alright? I can always help you, you just gotta let me know.."

Tom smiled. "Thanks, Boscha. I won't forget that."

The two embraced each other in a hug and a kiss before they headed back inside the Saltstar home and went to their individual rooms. In her bedroom, Boscha laid on her bed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about her date today. Then she remembered that her date was only possible thanks to Hunter, who she realized that she hadn't even thanked properly yet.

Deciding to change that, she summoned a crow and called him. After making the call, she heard Hunter's voice "Hey, Boscha?"

"Hey, creep," Boscha replied with a genuine smile. "Just wanted to call you and say… thank you, for getting my mom and Tom released."

After the call, Boscha found her mother in the family's dojo.

"Hey Pine Eye, how was your date?" Athena asked her when she saw her daughter coming in.

"Pretty great, mom," Boscha responded. "Me and Tom had a good time together and we even, uh, visited Cain."

"Really?" Athena asked. "How did it go?"

"Well, it was my first time seeing him since Glandus, so it was pretty awkward," Boscha admitted. "But I felt like Tom deserved to meet him." She took a deep breath. "Also… I'm thinking of going to Willow's party."

"The Park girl?" Athena asked. "I remember that when me and Tom were arrested, she was still missing along with Perry's son and Amity. I'm glad that they were found." She noticed Boscha's look. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… I'm conflicted about going," Boscha admitted. "Because of my history with bullying Willow, I don't know if I would be very welcomed there."

"Well, do you want to go to the party?" Athena asked her.

"I do," Boscha said. "And look, I know that Willow has forgiven me. I befriended Luz and re-befriended Amity. We're all on good terms, but… I don't know if that means I am ready to be part of their group outside of the occasional team-up."

Athena was quiet for a moment, silently nodding. "I think I know what the problem is, Boscha," she said, picking up on what her daughter's feelings are. "The problem you're worrying about isn't how others will react. Do you… feel like you don't deserve to be there?"

Boscha thought about her answer before looking down. "Yes."

Athena nodded and walked over to pat her daughter's shoulder. "Look Pink Eyes, I know how you feel. You feel like you don't deserve to be a part of their lives even when you've made amends with them, even when you have done so much to prove you are not the same witch you once were. You may have convinced them, but you haven't completely convinced yourself that you are someone worthy of inclusion. But rather than focusing on the past, you need to focus on your present and the future. Instead of focusing on the witch you were, focus on the kind of witch you want to be now, the kind of witch who is worthy of inclusion.."

Boscha was quiet. "How do I not make things awkward if I go?"

"Well, you can just stop by to say hi, letting Willow know that you care," Athena suggested. "She would probably appreciate the gesture. You don't have to stay, but you could, and you could have fun. Besides, you haven't burned down all your bridges unless you convince yourself that you have. Don't be afraid to be who you want to be."

Boscha thought about this before looking up at her mother. "There is something I have been meaning to ask you. When you were at the Conformatorium, did you see… Boris there?"

Athena nodded sadly. "I did, and failing him as a mother is still one of my biggest regrets."

"Well, did you ever try talking to him?" Boscha asked her.

"Unfortunately, I never had the chance to talk to him," Athena admitted. "But you have a chance for something right now, Boscha. And I want you to take it."

Boscha nodded and gave her mom a smile before she hugged her. "Thanks for the talk, mom."

Athena hugged her back. "You too, Pink Eyes," she said while patting Boscha's back.

After her talk with her mom, Boscha walked over to the door to Simon's room and knocked on it. He answered it and saw his cousin.

"Hey, what's up?" Simon asked.

"Hey um, are you still going to Willow's for her birthday?" she asked.

"Yeah, got her a gift and everything," Simon responded. "Why are you asking?"

"Well… I want to come too," Boscha admitted. "And I think I know a good gift to get her."

"Really? Well we can stop by a store and get her something for you to give while on the way," Simon suggested. He then smiled. "And Boscha, I think Willow will appreciate that you're coming."

"Yeah, I hope so too," Boscha said, nodding in agreement.

Boscha then stopped by Tom's room, knocking at his door until he opened it. "Boscha?" he asked.

"Hey, you wanna go out for the evening?" she asked him.

"Out to where?" Tom asked her.

"I'm going to Willow's birthday party," Boscha responded. "I think it's time to introduce you to the others."

Later, at a clothing store, Tom and Simon waited as Boscha went up to the counter.

"Excuse me," Boscha spoke up, the clerk turning to her. "Do you have a letterman sports jackets with Hexside's colors?"

"Let me check," the clerk said as he went to the back to look for the jacket by Boscha's request.

"So, should I get something for her?" Tom asked.

"Nah, I think you're good, you are my plus one. Well, we're Simon's pluses," Boscha reassured him.

"Should you get Skara a jacket as well?" Simon pointed out. "Since she and Willow are co-captains."

Boscha realized this and called out to the clerk. "Hey, actually, make it two jackets."

"Alright, but that's gonna charge you extra," she said to her.

"I have a tab here, so you can use that," Boscha said.

Later, at Willow's birthday party, Boscha watched as Willow began to open up her presents.

"So what did you give Willow, Boscha?" Cat asked.

"Something for both her and Skara," Boscha replied as Willow opened her gift.

"Oh my Titan," Willow said in awe, seeing the letterman jackets. "Wow, Boscha. Thanks!"

"Two letterman jackets?" Skara asked.

"Consider them a gift for the co-captains of the Emerald Entrails," Boscha told the girls. "You're gonna need them, since you're in the big leagues now."

"But we haven't played any real games yet," Willow said.

"Hey, you may be underdogs now, but I have no doubt that soon you'll be legends," Boscha pointed out.

Willow and Skara turned to each other, smiling, then back to Boscha. "Thanks Boscha, for giving us these."

"Yeah, and thanks for coming," Skara added. "We are both glad that you're here."

This made Boscha smile. "It's no big," she said while Willow moved on to her next present.

"Hey, check what Hunter got," Willow said as she pulled out the Emerald Entrails team shirts. "Least it's not another plant."

"It was nice of him to remember to send something," Gus commented. "Although, I wonder how he's doing?"

"I did talk to him earlier," Boscha mentioned. "He said that he's doing alright in the Emperor's Coven."

"That's a relief to hear," Willow replied.

"Yeah, glad that he's doing okay," Gus nodded.

While Willow opened the rest of her presents, Boscha saw Luz coming over to her. "Hey, Boscha," Luz said while pulling her aside. "I wanted to let you know that me and mom are planning on taking the others for a little visit to Amity in the H.R. and I was wondering if you'd be up for it."

This surprised the triclops witch. "You… want me to come with you guys? To the Human Realm?" she whispered.

"Yeah, for a second party after this one," Luz told her. "Especially since it's not the same without Amity being there for Willow. So are you up for it?"

Boscha considered the offer before grinning. "I'm game."

After the party and the trip to the Human Realm, Boscha finally returned home and found her mom in the living room.

"Hey, you're back," Athena said, getting up. "Simon and Tom said you were staying, apparently for an afterparty. So how did it go?"

"It actually went really well," Boscha replied with a smile. "Willow liked her gift and everyone had a great time. They even want me to spend tomorrow with them."

"Well, that's great to hear," Athena smiled, glad that her daughter had a good time.

"Yeah, and you were right," Boscha admitted. "I was holding myself back, but it's great to move forward."

The next day, at Gavin's place, Gavin was on the crow with Hunter.

"Hey Gavin, how are you doing?" Hunter asked him.

"Doing good, Hunter," Gavin responded. "How about you? How are you dealing back at the Emperor's Castle?"

"I'm doing good as well," Hunter responded. "I've been assigned to review a tactical unit…"

"BIG, right?" Gavin asked him. "I figured that would be the case, since, you know…"

"Yeah, since the Golden Guard is in charge of it," Hunter replied.

"I was calling to see if you'd like to hang out if you're not busy," Gavin mentioned. "It would be nice to see you again."

"As much as I like to, I got my hands full today with BIG," Hunter responded. "I'm just going to be busy…"

"Oh… right," Gavin replied with a down tone.

"But hey, maybe once I get through the week, we could make time to hang out," Hunter said to him. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, it's all good," Gavin reassured him. "I'll let you go, but hopefully we can make plans for later."

"Yeah, hopefully so," Hunter replied. "Over and out."

"Uh, yeah, see you later," Gavin said as he hung up. He then thought about Boscha and decided to call her to see if she wanted to hang out.

After a ring, Boscha answered. "Hey/"

"Boscha, hey, this is Gavin," Gavin said. "Just wondering if you'd like to hang out today."

"Actually, I've already made plans with Luz and her friends," Boscha replied.

"Luz?" Gavin asked. "Oh, you're hanging out with them today?"

"Yeah, it's going to be a busy day for me," Boscha said. "But hey, we can hang out tomorrow."

"Yeah," Gavin nodded. After hanging up, he sat at his desk chair with a groan. "Guess it's just you and me, Artur," he said to his Palisman. "Maybe we can work on Abominations."

"Crystal message for Gavin Nightshade."

Gavin looked at his crystal ball and tapped onto it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Gavin," Tyrone spoke up. "We got called in by Donna, who has asked any available LOWTH members to come by the clubhouse. You in?"

"Well, I got nothing better to do, so sure, I'm free," Gavin chirped up from his chair. "So is this about a mission or stakeout?"

"Actually, Donna has someone who needs our help," Tyrone replied. "An old friend of hers…"

Outside of Ukla's house, Ukla was working on a construction project as a part of her homeschooling. She used her construction magic to help build a birdhouse. She levitated two plank boards of wood as she then summoned some nails. She used the nails to help connect the two boards together to create a roof.

"Alright, now…" she said as she levitated the roof down to a roofless birdhouse that she had been making. After placing it on, she brought out her hammer and summoned nails again. Putting the nails in where they should be, she hammered each of them down.

"Hey, my Ukla," Scarol spoke up while walking over. "How's the old birdhouse project going?"

"Pretty great, mom," Ukla replied, "I think with the foundation I've made, it would end up being stable."

"That's good and all, but remember, Ukla, it's not just about making it stable," Scarol reminded her. "It's about making it able to withstand the elements as well."

Ukla gave her mom a nod while continuing to build her birdhouse. "Alright, now for a test drive," she said while placing the birdhouse on the table. She walked over to join her mom as Ukla drew her spell circle, which summoned a small cloud that hovered over the birdhouse.

They watched as the cloud started spreading droplets of boiling rain over the birdhouse. They saw steam coming from the birdhouse as it started to feel the effects of the boiling rain simulation before it eventually started to crumble down.

"Aw witch," Ukla said as she looked down at what was left of her birdhouse as the cloud disappeared. "There's no way it would survive the boiling rain."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up for it," Scarol reassured her, patting Ukla's shoulder. "Failure is just a part of the process. It's a learning experience."

Ukla looked at her birdhouse, then at her mom. "Hey um, mom. Can you help me with the next one?"

Scarol smiled. "Of course, Ukla. I'll help you out."

This made Ukla smile as she and her mother began to work on fixing up the birdhouse.

Later, at the bridge in between Bonesborough and Latissa, Gavin met up with Angmar after his meet up with LOWTH. The two share bobug drinks.

"So how was meeting up with LOWTH?" Angmar asked.

"Well, it was… surprising, to say the least," Gavin said while drinking his bobug. "Nina showed up at our clubhouse."

"What?!" Angmar exclaimed. "W-Why… how-?!"

"She and Donna are old friends, and after Nina helped save her from Wonderland, Donna trusted her enough to invite her to the clubhouse," he explained. "Ignoring all my warnings about her, of course."

"Did she do anything? Like asking to join?" Angmar asked.

"Nina's not interested, she just wanted our help. But she did cooperate in telling us all of Emily's secrets," Gavin said while narrowing his eyes. "Stuff like how she rose into power, and how she screwed over and wrecked the lives of even more people than we realized. Like Riley. Nina told us all of this in the hopes that we would help her find her friend." He sighed. "But even if Nina did help out with information, she still has to answer for what she did to Boscha."

This surprised Angmar. "'Answer for'? I know that you're not fond of Nina, but that doesn't sound like you, Gavin."

"Sorry, it's just…" Gavin looked down at his drink. "It's just that I'm frustrated that witches like Nina and Emily just get to walk free after everything they did to guys like us. We, who they picked on and walked all over, just have to accept and live with it," he complained. "It's just bogus. Especially after what happened to Bria."

"Well, it isn't like there's anything that we can do about it," Angmar pointed out, though Gavin didn't reply. He just stood there in silence. Looking at his best friend in concern, Angmar decided to change the subject. "So, um, what would you like to do this afternoon?"

"I checked with both Hunter and Boscha and they're unavailable," Gavin brought up.

"Okay… but what about Tom?" Angmar suggested. "We could hang out with him. It might be nice to spend some time with just him."

This got Gavin to chin-up a bit as he thought about how they still didn't really know Tom very well outside of his relationship with Boscha. "Yeah, perhaps you're right. That would be nice."

"Yeah, and maybe we can also check if Ukla's free to hang out," Angmar suggested.

"Yeah, she should be done with her homeschooling by now," Gavin agreed. He smiled. "Let's do it."

After finishing up with her project, Ukla got ready to head out.

"Thanks for helping me out, mom!" she told her mother. "I'm going out now."

"Alright, just be careful!" Scarol replied from the other room.

After getting on her boots, Ukla headed to the door. But when she opened it, she was surprised to find someone at the front door. "Hey, it's you."

"Oh um… hey, Ukla," Kyle said, waving to her nervously. "Um, I'm not sure if you remember me…"

"Kyle, right?" Ukla asked. "I remember you from the beach and the art show. But how did you know where I live?"

"I wasn't stalking!" he immediately reassured her. "I-I mean, I asked Gavin earlier about you and where you live, so I could drop by and um… well, if you… want to I thought we could… hang out?"

"Oh, well I was just leaving to go hang out with Gavin and Angmar," Ukla said.

"Oh…" Kyle said, looking down in disappointment.

"But would you like to come along?" Ukla offered him, which made Kyle look up.

"R-Really? You want me to come with you to, um, hang out with your friends?" Kyle asked nervously. "I don't wish to intrude…"

"No sweat, I'm sure they won't mind," Ukla said while walking past him. "Come on, Kyle. Let's not keep them waiting."

And so, Ukla and Kyle went to the Treasure Shack to meet up with the boys. Once they went inside, they saw Tom with Gavin and Angmar as Gavin spotted Kyle with Ukla.

"Kyle?" Gavin asked in surprise. "We just saw each other."

"Hey, Gavin," Kyle waved to him.

"He just stopped by my house and wanted to hang out," Ukla pointed out. "I said he could come along if that's okay with you guys."

"Hey, it's no big. Kyle's welcome to hang with us," Gavin said.

"Yeah, it's always nice to meet a new face," Tom commented.

"Hi, um, I don't think we've met…" Kyle said, noticing Tom.

"Tom Lucitor, I'm Boscha's boyfriend," Tom introduced himself before pointing to Angmar and Gavin. "These two asked me if I wanted to hang out and since I got the free time, I said I was game."

"Well, I'm Kyle Pox," Kyle introduced himself. "I'm from St. Epiderm, and in the Healing Track just like my dad."

"So like a doctor? That's cool," Tom commented.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Gavin asked.

"I haven't thought of anything, honestly," Ukla admitted.

"Well, what do you guys do for fun anyway?" Tom asked everyone.

"Well, in my free time I always check if I have enough medical supplies, make sure I got enough bandages, and always make sure that I keep any elixirs in case my allergies acts up, or any unknown allergies act up," Kyle said before he noticed the others looking at him. "Uh you know, just to prepare for the day. Um, any other suggestions?"

Angmar then thought of one thing. "Well, when Glandus was still open we used to hang out in Latissa after school to look for bounties and quests that were being offered."

"Oh yeah, we can check the bounty board and find an adventure," Gavin said, sounding excited.

"Sure, that sounds fun," Tom replied before turning to the two. "What do you guys think?"

Ukla hesitated. "Oh, um… yeah, going on an adventure does sound fun," she said.

"I don't mind going on an adventure," Kyle said, his face betraying his nervousness at the idea.

In the center of town, the five checked for bounties and quests on the 'Greg's List'.

"So what's a good bounty hunter or quest we could go on?" Tom asked while looking over the board.

"Maybe we could go after this Snake Eater," Angmar said, pointing up.

"Um, maybe something less dangerous-looking like the Abominable Cutie Pie," Kyle said as he pointed at the poster.

"Huh, he doesn't look that threatening," Tom commented. "Though what did he do to earn a six-hundred snail bounty?"

"Come on, let's, um, find something simple," Ukla said while looking over the quest boards. "Hidden Red Ruby, a lost ratworm, the Steve…" She then noticed Nicole's bounty poster, her bounty having increased.

"Is that…?" Gavin asked when he saw the poster.

Tom saw it too and the moment he did, he ripped the poster from the board. He glared at Nicole's image on the poster, his eyes bursting into flames as he let out a snarl and burned the poster in his hands into ash, shocking the others.

"Tom! Tom, are you alright?" Angmar cried out.

Tom gasped after hearing Angmar's voice. "A-Angmar! Y-Yeah, I'm… just a little peeved."

"Hey, we understand, man," Gavin said, patting his shoulder and then immediately pulling his hand away because of how hot it was. "What Boscha's mother did, it was really messed up."

"Um, pardon me," Kyle spoke up. "But can someone fill me in?"

Ukla then started to explain. "Well, if you've heard, Nicole Hieron not only committed treason and assaulted Head Witch Vitimir, but she deliberately sold out her own wife and Tom to the Conformatorium, getting them arrested after their house burned down."

"Which was kinda my fault," Tom clarified. "Though it was an accident, I swear."

"At the time, Boscha was paralyzed, but after she recovered, she…" Gavin looked down in silence.

"It was a bad night for her, for all of us," Angmar said sadly. "But thank Titan she's doing better."

"Yeah, though we haven't talked to Boscha about Nicole, since well… we felt that it was best not to bring it up," Ukla said.

"Oh… I'm sorry about that," Kyle said..

"It's okay, man," Tom responded with a shrug. "Forget about Nicole. Let's just pick out a bounty."

And so, they returned their attention to the board, looking at the available bounties and quests.

In the forest, a blue two-headed gecko crawled down from a tree. As it spotted some food, it went towards it. But then it got caught in an Abomination trap.

"Gotcha," Gavin said while holding up a jar to try to put the two-headed gecko in as it opened tis jaws to try to attack Gavin.

"And you say the trap wouldn't work on a two-headed gecko," Angmar said to Ukla, who just huffed.

Tom looked around in a cave while using his flames to light the way. He along with Kyle prepared for the worst.

"Foolish witches! Leave this place before you meet your demise!" spoke the overly large shadow of a being with a deep voice.

Kyle hid behind Tom in fear as Tom's hands burst into flames. "We're not afraid of you, Garlog! Come out and show yourself!"

"Hahaha! Very well, child!" Garlog shouted before he appeared before them, revealing himself to be a tiny blue creature with one-eye standing in front of a lantern.

"Wait… you're Garlog?!" Kyle asked in shock.

"Small I may be, but you will soon know fear when I lay waste to all that you-!" Garlog didn't finish as Tom picked him up and put him in a jar. "Hey!"

"Well, that was easy," Tom said.

Ukla checked the poster for a lost pet, a three-headed heron, then looked at the large bird with three heads that shared a neck, connected four eyes from each side, terrorizing the witches and the demons in the area.

"Well, better get it before the demon hunters come," Ukla said as she, Gavin, Tom and Angmar prepared to catch it.

"Just who in the right mind would own a Hertrio?" Gavin asked.

"Why thanks for retrieving my Hermy, guys," Dusty said while petting the Hertrio. "Why she has been loose since the lockdown, glad that nothing bad happened to her."

"Yeah, no problem," Gavin groaned while he along with Ukla, Tom, and Angmar were all looking banged up. Kyle was helping them out with his healing spells.

"She gave us no trouble," Ukla groaned while Kyle wrapped her arm up.

At the center of Bonesborough, Kyle was watching a small, pink pig-bat demon with blue horns, blue eyes, batwings, red shorts, and a lollipop. Gavin looked confused.

"I don't think it'll be hard to catch that guy," Gavin said.

"Yep, I'm sure he's an easy and safe catch," Kyle said as he saw him walk away. "I got him," he volunteered as he gave chase.

"You'll never catch me!" the Abominable Cutie Pie declared while running up to the Belos statue, climbing it up. Kyle followed after him, which meant he also had to climb up the statue.

"Come back here!" Kyle said, looking determined to capture the little fiend. The pink imp climbed up the arm to Belo's pointing finger. After some struggling, Kyle managed to climb up the arm, cornering the Abominable Cutie Pie.

"You did it, you caught me," the Abominable Cutie Pie said as he started to fall off, Kyle having to quickly catch him in his hands.

"Got ya! Wha-whoa!" Kyle ended up sliding and falling off the arm. "YAAH!" But luckily for him, he had a soft Abomi-goop landing. He slides down while landing in front of Gavin. "Phew. Thanks, Gavin."

"Hey, it's no problem," Gavin responded while helping Kyle up. "Just looking out for a friend."

Later, the five ended up going against a large, sludge demon with many eyeballs and large claws. They each cast their attacks. Tom flew over to shoot flames at it while Angmar and Gavin tried to contain it with their plants and Abomination magic. Ukla formed constructs to try to trap it, while Kyle was on standby.

Ukla created pillars to hit the monster while dodging the sludge attacks. "We gotta get that sample!" she shouted.

Gavin and Angmar managed to contain the creature and bound its arms. "Kyle, hurry!"

Kyle rushed over with a tube, getting close to the monster. "Alright, just one drip," he said as the sludge monster's slime dripped into the tube while it struggled with its bonds.

"Here's the sample that you need," Kyle said as he handed the sample to none other than… Tibbles.

"Thank you, I'll write you a check," Tibbles responded while holding an ice pack to his head. He looked like a mess.

"What happened to you?" Tom asked him.

"A company presentation gone wrong," Tibbles groaned while walking back inside his house. "Honey, I got the sample!"

"What do you think he's gonna use that sludge?" Angmar asked as the five walked away.

"Best not to ask," Ukla said. "So any other bounties on our list?"

Gavin looked them over. "Well, there is a request from the… Torsa Villa."

"Ooh, let's go there," Tom said. "I've been wanting to check that place out."

"Um… I'm not sure about that…" Gavin said awkwardly.

"Come on, we're on a hot steak, one more can't hurt," Tom insisted, while the others shared unsure looks. "And it will be my chance to see another part of the Isles."

"Uh, okay," Gavin said, albeit reluctantly. "I guess we could at least see what the request is…"

Later, at the Torsa Villa, the group of five entered the reservation. Tom looked around in awe at all the tree houses above him.

"Wow," Tom said while turning to the gang. "This place is pretty cool"

"If you say so…" Ukla responded while she, Gavin, Angmar and Kyle looked around, a little on the edge. She looked up at the tree houses and smiled a little. "Actually, those tree houses do look nice. I would love to talk to whoever made them."

"You know, this is also my first time here," Kyle admitted as he noticed the werecats steering clear of them and getting out of sight when they saw the witches coming their way.

"Yeah, same for us," Gavin admitted, noticing some werecats sitting on the tree branches above them, watching the group.

"It's kinda creepy," Angmar said as he felt the eyes of the werecats following them.

"Yo."

The five stopped after feeling a gush of wind before they saw Chelsea standing before them. She looked at the five while crossing her arms. "You witches lost or something?"

"Oh, you must be a local here," Tom said as he walked up to her. "My name is Tom, and these are my friends, Gavin, Angmar, Ukla, and Kyle."

Chelsea's eyes narrowed at them in suspicion. "Do you all know a Nina Fangs?" she asked them.

"Um… we do," Gavin admitted as he, Angmar, and Ukla stepped up.

"We attended Glandus with her," Angmar explained.

"But Fangs isn't a friend of ours," Ukla added, crossing her arms.

"Well, I just recently met her," Kyle added with a sheepish smile. "She seemed nice." Everybody turned to give him a look, causing Kyle to fall silent and look down at the ground.

"I see," Chelsea said, crossing her arms. "We don't get a lot of visitors around here unless they're Nina's friends or witches looking for trouble. Which are you?"

"Um, we're here because of a quest ad," Tom said, holding up the poster and showing it to her.

"Oh yeah, Old Cab's request," Chelsea said while turning around. "Follow me, I'll lead you to the Reservation's Hall."

"Great!" Tom replied while he and the gang followed her. "You know, this is my first time coming here. What can you tell me about this place? Like what do you do around here and is this place really only for werecats?"

Chelsea looked at him oddly, wondering if Tom was sheltered. "Yes, this place was set aside for werecat witches by the Emperor's Coven. We are a more isolated community compared to others in the Isles, since few of us leave and fewer outsiders come to visit. Although like the rest of the Isles, we worship the Titan."

Ukla noticed some of the werecats laying around the trees, watching them. "What's with these guys staring at us?"

"Like I said, we don't get a lot of visitors around here," Chelsea said while leading them. "And there has been a lot of tension on the reservation lately."

"Tension? What kind of tension?" Tom asked her.

"If you must know, one of our own, Casey Whiskabee, went missing," Chelsea explained. "And because of that, a lot of the younger werecats are unhappy about how the Emperor's Coven are responding to it. But it's not like we're not doing anything about it either." She sported a guilty look, remembering what Nina had said to her. "We werecats don't leave the reservation much. We are allowed to, but it's generally discouraged."

"Why is that?" Tom asked.

"It's because we don't really mix well with rest of the Isles and there are a lot of witches who don't really take kindly to our kind," she answered.

This surprised Tom. "What? But… how can that be? You guys are no different from the witches and demons around. Hell, I once met a dog biped," he said, having assumed the Isles didn't have an issue like that.

Chelsea scoffed. "Either you're new or sheltered," she indicated. "But just so you know, it's not just the werecats, the Boiling Isles. All lycan witches are looked down upon. All because of werefever, this massive pandemic during the Savage Ages were lycanthropy spread like a virus, infecting witches and turning them into different kinds of were-creatures. Werewolves, werecats, wererats, etc. One moment they were a normal witch and the next they would go savage, attacking their own friends and families. Because of that, the Isles are fearful and paranoid about were-creatures like us. Honestly, I think we're only tolerated as much as we are because we can't shift like we used to." She gave an uneasy look. "But they fear that we would go wild on them. Admittedly, our ancestors were pretty wild and savage, not to mention introducing blasphemy to the Isles. But even though modern werecats are much more well-behaved, witches are still afraid of us going wild or see us as little better than beasts."

All Tom could fester was a shocked reaction after hearing this. "My corn…" he whispered, trying to take this all in. It reminded him a lot of Mewni…

Over at the Villa's town hall tree, the gang were led to meet Clockwork Cab in his office.

"Thank you, Chelsea, for bringing them here," Cab said to his apprentice. "You are dismissed now."

"No problem, sir," Chelsea said, giving a bow. She turned around and walked out.

"So you youngsters have answered my ad? Most of the time when the Torsa Villa puts out an ad, nobody shows up," Cab admitted.

"We're here and ready for a quest," Tom declared. "Team Boschastic will get you whatever you need."

"Team Boschastic?" Kyle asked in confusion of the name.

"Well, we do need a name to call ourselves," Tom pointed out. "So I named our team after Boscha."

"We'll have to discuss the name…" Gavin admitted.

"Anyway," Cab said, clearing his throat. "What I want you all to look for is an heirloom. One that belonged to Hotep Koff, an important figure in our history. Our scholars have pieced together this map that they think will lead to where this item of Koff's was stashed away centuries ago," he said as he pulled up the map.

"What is it exactly that you're looking for, if we may ask?" Angmar asked.

"An amulet that belonged to Koff," Cab responded. "It is located in a temple underneath the Titan's Thigh below the Knee. Find the temple and find that amulet. You will be rewarded for your efforts, I promise you."

"You can count on us, sir!" Tom declared, making Cab smile at his enthusiasm.

After accepting the quest, Team-With-A-Working-Title made their way to the temple under the Thigh.

"How about The Fab Five? Or maybe the Titan Teens?" Tom suggested. "Or… the Witchy Roughers."

"Keep working on it," Gavin said as they traveled through the temple.

Kyle was walking alongside Ukla. "Hey, um, are you alright?"

"Huh, oh, I'm fine," Ukla replied while holding a lantern.

"Sorry, it's just that, well… you have been looking a bit tense," Kyle said.

"Yeah, well… this kind of thing, the adventuring stuff, was something I used to do with Yuki," Ukla said, looking down while thinking about Yuki.

"Yuki… is she a friend?" Kyle asked her.

Ukla nodded. "She was my best friend at Glandus. She's a kind and quirky bard who likes to play the ukulele. She knew how to lift your spirits up, even when attending a school like Glandus. We used to go on all kinds of adventures during our year of Glandus… until…" She sighed. "One day, we acquired a map that would lead us to some sword. Thought we could sell it and split the profit. But Emily Tricks came to Yuki, who had the map, and she used her illusions to trick her into thinking it was me and attacked her. Thanks to Emily, my friend Yuki was left in a miserable state, hurt and believing that I betrayed her."

Kyle was shocked. "My Titan… Ukla, I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine, you don't need to apologize," Ukla reassured him. "It's just… after what happened to Yuki, I feel like I failed her. I failed to save her from Tricks and I should've held onto the map. So nowI don't want to fail any of my new friends."

Kyle gave a saddened look, wondering if there was anything he can do to help Ukla. He reached out to touch her arm, getting her to stop. "It isn't your fault," he told her.

Ukla sighed. "I know, but that doesn't make me feel any better."

"Hey guys," Angmar called out to the two. "Looks like we hit a stop."

Ukla held the lantern up and in front of them appeared to be a sphinx. Its glowing eyes shot up an illusion of text:

'When the sun rises, one rises up from me. By the time of the moon, they would lay onto me. What am I?'

"Rise up from me and lay onto me?" Gavin said after reading it. "What does that mean? Anyone got a guess?"

"Maybe it's about a bush?" Angmar asked.

"No, it could be related to something about the Sun and Moon, so maybe… it's about raising from the grave," Tom said. "Like a zombie!"

"I don't know, what do you think, Kyle?" Ukla asked Kyle.

"Um, geez I guess…" He scratched the back of his blond hair. "The riddle said after the sun rises, one rises up. So I guess it implies the morning, while the moon sets it could apply to the night. So if one rises from and lies on to…" He snapped his fingers as he realized the answer. "Is it… a bed?" he asked the sphinx.

The sphinx shot out the text, giving the answer 'I am a bed' as the chest of the sphinx revealed a door that opened for them.

"Alright, Kyle!" Tom cheered.

"You really did good there, Kyle," Ukla said, patting his back. "Glad you came along."

"Uh y-yeah," Kyle nodded as the five went through the sphinx.

And so the five continued through the temple to find the amulet. They eventually came to another stop when Gavin noticed the patterned floor up ahead, so he threw a rock which caused a spike to pop up from the floor.

"Do we only step on the correct pattern?" Tom asked.

"Or we can create a vine as rope to get to the other side more safely," Angmar suggested.

Ukla created a pole while Angmar created the rope. Gavin ordered an Abomination to walk through the floor trap to take the vine rope to the other side, allowing them to climb across.

Next, the group stumbled upon some spider webs, which made them nervous. Ukla swung her lantern around until she saw a shadow looming over them. Turning around, there was a snake spider in front of them.

"GAH!" they screamed as the snake spider hissed.

"Kill it with fire!" Tom shouted before he set the snake spider on fire, causing it to give off a dying hiss.

The gang continued through the temple until they spotted a chest in their path.

"Ooh, I wonder what's in there," Angmar said as he went to open the chest. As he reached towards it, the chest suddenly opened its mouth, baring teeth and a large tongue as it tried to bite Angmar. "GAH!" he cried out.

"Hang on, Ang!" Tom shouted as he got in front, burning the mimic to death. "You alright, Ang?"

"Y-Yeah," Angmar replied with a shiver, glad that his hand wasn't bitten off.

The gang continued until they stumbled upon another floor. Once Tom lit up the room, they saw that it was filled with scorpion-rat hybrids.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ukla cried out.

"I GOT IT!" Tom shouted as he shot his flames at all the scoprats, burning them alive as he swept through the room like he was holding flamethrowers.

"Man, fire can solve almost any problem…" Gavin whispered to Angmar, who nodded.

Later, they stumbled upon another room. They each tried to push large blocks across the icy floor to push a button.

"Come on, guys, this isn't going anywhere," Gavin said after seeing the block miss the button.

"But we need to push two buttons to open that door," Angmar pointed out.

"But the blocks keep on sliding!" Tom shouted in irritation. "Whoever made that puzzle made it really confusing!"

"I don't see why we can't just step on the buttons for the door to open," Ukla suggested.

Everyone paused, realizing they could have just done that…

Kyle and Angmar stepped on the two buttons and the door finally opened for them.. Ukla constructed boulders to hold the buttons down to keep the door open as they went through the entrance.

Once they went through, they realized that they had arrived at their destination. They spotted a golden amulet that was paw-shaped. It had a red emblem that contained a symbol of a serpent. It rested on a pillar at the back of a damp room.

"Well, this is it," Tom said, looking at the amulet.

"Whoa!" Kyle shouted as he slipped on the floor, Gavin and Angmar helping to catch him. "The floor sure is slippery."

"Yeah," Ukla noted, seeing that she could see her reflection on the wet floors. "Wonder why it's so damp here…"

"Who knows, let's just go get that amulet," Tom said as he walked forward.

As Ukla scanned the room, she noticed bones laying on the floor. This alarmed her and she then noticed something slimy on the ceiling. Holding her lantern up, her eyes widened. "Tom, wait!"

Tom stopped just before some goop splat on the floor in front of him. He saw it splatter all over the floor and he backed away as the goop regenerated into a large, blue slime.

"What the heck?!" Tom exclaimed, seeing the slime in front of them.

"If I had to guess… that's a flesh-eating slime!" Ukla said as the slime creature roared.

Gavin shot vines at the thing, but they burned instantly on contact. "Yup, definitely acidic."

"Don't worry, I'll just kill it with fire!" Tom declared while shooting his flames at the slime, creating purple smoke as the flames made impact.

"Don't breathe it in!" Kyle shouted while summoning breather masks for each of them. "Who knows if that gas is poisonous!"

After masking themselves, Gavin summoned his Abomination to try to fight off the slime. After giving it a punch, its fist was incinerated as the slime engulfed the Abomination.

"That thing just eats away anything we throw at," Gavin said as Ukla shot pillar constructs at it, but to no effect.

"How do we stop that thing?" Tom questioned, getting worried.

Kyle was also getting worried as he saw the slime growing bigger and bigger. He tightened his fists, knowing that he had to do something. He was a Healer and as a Healer he had to help those in need.

"Let me handle this," Kyle said as he marched forward.

"Kyle, wait!" Ukla shouted, but it was too late. The slime spotted Kyle and was about to engulf him.

"Ice spell!" Kyle declared, drew spell circles to blast freezing ice towards the slime. The slime screeched as it was hit by the cold ice, which spread across its entire body until the slime was completely frozen up, much to the shock of the others.

"Holy shit…" Ukla said in awe.

"Whoa, you did it, man!" Tom declared, running over to pat Kyle's back. "You showed that slime who's the boss!"

"That was awesome!" Angmar added as he and Gavin came over to congratulate Kyle.

"Y-Y-Yeah?" Kyle asked with a shiver. "T-T-Thanks."

"Wait, are you okay?" Ukla asked him.

"I'm fine," Kyle said. "Just sometimes when I use a snow or ice spell, I get a cold response."

"Alright, come on, let's get that amulet," Gavin said while they walked around the frozen slime, retrieving the amulet with little difficulty.

Upon returning to the Villa, the gang met up with Clockwork Cab, who was accompanied by a shaman as he was handed the amulet.

"Here's your amulet, sir," Tom said as he handed over the amulet.

"Why thank you, all of you," Clockwork Cab told them. "Our scholars will be delighted to study the inscriptions. This means so much to us."

"It's no problem, we're glad to have helped," Tom replied.

"Though you did mention a reward…" Gavin said.

"Yes, here's your snails," Clockwork Cab said, handing each of them a pouch of snails. "And as a bonus, I will share with you some knowledge from my oracle wisdom…" The five waited with baited breath for Cab to give out his wisdom. "The wisdom that I share… is the wisdom I wish I knew."

"...Huh?" the teens asked, tilting their heads in confusion.

"Sorry, I guess I don't have much to share," Cab apologized. "But thanks for the help."

"Uh yeah, no problem," Ukla replied as the gang started to leave.

"Excuse me, Cab," spoke the shaman. "Might I have the amulet now?"

"Oh, of course, shaman," Cab replied as he handed the amulet to the shaman. "You can display it at the temple for everyone to see."

The shaman returned to his temple, where the mummified corpse of Hotep Koff hung on the wall. The shaman smiled as he wrapped the amulet around its neck.

"I retrieved your amulet, master," he said to the mummy. "Just like you wanted…"

"Excellent, servant," the mummy spoke without moving its mouth. "I am pleased…"

The mummy laughed, his disembodied voice echoing through the temple.

At the Treasure Shack, the gang split their earnings after counting up their snails.

"Alright, a thousand snails split by five, so we got about… two-hundred snails for each of us," Gavin counted.

"Yeah, a fair trade," Angmar said.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Tom, it was a good call to accept this quest and we owe it to you for helping to get us through it," Gavin praised.

"Hey thanks, but the real MVP here is Kyle," Tom said as he pointed to Kyle, hanging his arm around him. "If it weren't for this guy, we'd be toast."

"It's nothing, really," Kyle replied, looking a little bashful. "Healers are known for our practice of ice magic, that's all."

"But you still did good, Kyle," Ukla told him. "Don't sell yourself short. I am really glad that you came along."

This caused Kyle to blush, which Tom noticed. "Hey, do you have a cold, bro?"

"I… think so…" Kyle responded. "But… I will say that for my first questing experience, this was pretty neat."

"Yeah, same," Tom replied. "I've never been on a quest before. But I had a good time, especially when burning all those creatures in the temple, which I think helped me release some of my pent up anger that I needed to release." He let out a sigh. "It was a fun experience."

"Honestly, your first quest turned out much better than ours," Gavin admitted with a chuckle. "Though back then it was just me, Angmar, and… Bria." He paused, frowning.

"Bria?" Tom asked.

"Someone who we used to hang out with," Angmar admitted sadly. "She was pretty much our leader and, well, our last quest didn't do well. She's still missing to this day."

"Oh… sorry about that," Tom responded apologetically. "I hope they find her."

"Thanks, man," Gavin replied, sighing.

"I think I know what you're feeling," Ukla admitted. "While Yuki isn't really a missing person, I do still miss her. I have fond memories of going on quests with her. It… still feels weird going on a quest without her, but I'm glad that I went through with it."

Gavin got an idea and he pulled out some soda brew from a cooler. "Why don't we all toast to this? To old and new friends."

As everyone grabbed their soda brew, they rose it into the air and toasted. "To old and new friends!"

After that, they settled down, drinking their sodas. Tom stopped to wonder something out loud. "You know, I wonder if Boscha's having fun like this…"

Meanwhile, in the Human Realm, Boscha was attending the Lumity wedding reception. Currently she was hanging out with Amity at a table.

"This was a really nice wedding, Amity," Boscha complimented. "Even if it was pretend."

"Hey, just wait until the actual wedding, it will be even bigger than this," Amity promised before noticing a look on Boscha's face. "Hey, you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, it's… it's good," Boscha replied. "I have just been thinking about some things lately."

"What kind of things?" Amity asked her.

"Well… I gotta ask you something about the whole… name change," she said to her, which surprised Amity. "I know it's a little sensitive but, I just want to know. Like… what was it like, exactly? To change your name even though it would cut yourself off from the rest of your family. And how do you feel about it now, especially since you decided to make amends with your mom."

Amity understood what she was asking and nodded. "I'll admit, I wish now that I hadn't made the decision so abruptly and so hastily," she said as she looked down at her own drink. "At the moment, I was so mad at my own mother that I effectively disowned her. I thought I was better off without her in my life, especially since I had Luz and her family… which was a little selfish on my part. Ultimately, I chose to make amends with her not just because I saw Odalia making an effort to be better, but because I wanted to make an effort to be better as well. In hindsight, instead of disowning my mother I should have actually tried to work through my issues with her."

"Yeah, I get that," Boscha replied with a nod, looking at her own drink. "Honestly, I am glad that you two were able to make up. Really, I am. You and your mom aren't like me and my mother, Nicole."

"That is a different situation," Amity admitted. "But every situation should be approached differently. Just because I made the choice to let Odalia back into my life, doesn't mean you should choose to let Nicole back into your life…"

"Especially when she hasn't made the same effort that your mom has," Boscha pointed out.

"Exactly, and while you should always think about what's healthiest for you, Boscha," Amity advised. "You should also consider how it would impact others around you."

Boscha looked at Amity, building up the courage to admit something. "Honestly, I don't really want to be a 'Hieron' anymore. I don't like being attached to that name and I don't feel like it represents who I am now."

"I understand," Amity said as she reached over to touch her friend's hand. "I just recommend talking about it with your family, rather than making a heat-of-the-moment choice."

Boscha was silent after Amity's recommendation, looking down on her own drink again and noticing her own reflection as she wondered about her choice…

The next day, Boscha and her friends were hanging out at Gavin's place. Specifically, they were hanging out in his pool.

"Whoo-hoo!" Tom shouted as he jumped into the pool while in his black trunks. Boscha laughed as she along with Ukla covered their faces from the water splashing at them. Gavin and Angmar cheered for his jump from the diving board. The four were in their swimwear from the beach almost two weeks ago.

"Way to go, man!" Gavin cheered.

"That's a ten, Tom!" Boscha clapped as Tom surfaced.

"This is the best pool I've been in!" Tom declared.

At a poolside table were Athena and Sheila, who were setting up plates. "Thanks for the help, Athena," Sheila said while wearing a two piece light-purple bikini with a dark-purple towel wrapped around her waist.

"Hey, it's no problem," Athena replied, wearing a yellow short top and yellow and black long loincloth with shorts underneath. "Us single moms gotta help each other out, right?"

Sheila nodded while bringing out her wine. "This is home brew, by the way. Sell these real good at the market."

"That sounds like a great gig," Athena replied as Sheila broke open the bottle.

"Yep," Sheila replied while pouring a glass for Athena. "So I gotta ask and I hope you don't mind, but did you gain all that muscle while serving in the Conformatorium?"

"Well, not really. This is all just natural muscle," Athena said.

"Really? That's cool," Sheila replied. "Well, I'm not judging or anything. I've been to prison too."

This surprised Athena. "Really?"

"Yeah, I've served my time," Sheila admitted. "I jabbed a fork into some handsy goblin at this 'adult' bar that I used to work at. Then the place finally got shut down for health violations after the buffet didn't pass inspection, getting everyone there into trouble."

This surprised Athena even more. "Wow, I didn't think you were, um…"

"It didn't cross your mind I gave off a burlesque mom look? Usually all it takes is one look at me," Sheila chuckled as she drank her wine. "Yeah, after that incident, they put me in the Conformatorium along with the rest of the girls. Spent some time there, and then they told us to choose a coven. That's how I met my ex-husband, Darius, back when he was apprenticing with the Golden Guard. You know what I said when they asked me which coven should I join? I told them 'whatever coven he's part of', as I was pointing to Dairy."

"Dairy?" Athena asked.

"It's what I used to call him when we were together," Sheila replied.

"You know, me and Darius used to go to Hexside together when we were kids," Athena said. "What can you tell me about your relationship with him?"

Sheila paused for the moment, quietly reflecting on her relationship with him. "Well, things used to be good between us before he became Head of Abominations. We were young, and while I was doing my community service he would always leave gifts. And in return I'd make some wine for him. Eventually we started dating and when we first got married I thought that I was set." She looked down with a sigh, "But then he got promoted to Head Witch, and his job got even busier after the Golden Guard died. He still tried to be there even when I had Gavin on the way, but I still ended up having to raise Gavin on my own."

"Oh… sorry to hear that," Athena responded. "It… must've been hard."

"Yeah, being Head put a strain on our relationship. While he was busy serving the Emperor and the will of the Titan, Gavin kept asking me 'where's daddy?' and he would only visit when convenient, leaving me to do most of the parenting," Sheila said with a saddened look. "I grew to resent him because of that, resent him to the point of divorce."

"Do you still resent him?" Athena asked her.

"Well, to tell you the truth… I miss him," Sheila admitted. "Darius may not have been the most present father, but he still loved our son. Since his sudden passing, I've tried to be strong, claiming that I'm alright… but things aren't really alright. Even before Darius died."

Sheila took a look at her son playing with her friends, seeing him use an abomi-goop ball for them to hit. She sighed. "My son ended up falling into a bad crowd after he was enrolled in Glandus. Sometimes he would show up home late and I once had to bring him home after he was caught shoplifting. I tried everything to try to understand what was wrong, but he didn't say anything to me. But then after this one incident, I was called to pick him up from the coven station and in addition to being all banged up, he looked… afraid." She paused. "And that happened right around when one of his friends, Bria Day-Carpenter, went missing. I had no idea what was going on with his life in that school, but thank Titan that school got shut down."

"Did you ever talk to your son about it afterwards?" Athena asked her.

Sheila sighed. "It's still difficult to talk to my son and in many ways I feel like I wasn't as good of a mother as I should have been. But at the very least, he's in a better crowd right now. I heard he's even made some friends from St. Epiderm," she said while looking at Athena. "By the way, Athena, you did a wonderful job raising Boscha."

"Um, thank you, Sheila, but I don't think I did a completely good job either," Athena admitted, looking down on her own wine. "I've also had my failures as a mother."

"How so?" Sheila asked in concern.

"Over the years, I let my wife, Nicole, do things her way when raising our kids," Athena explained. "Nicole has this petty vengeful streak. It wasn't too bad at first when we started dating, but the older she got the worst it became. I think it was because she was unhappy with herself or jealous of what others had. And I think she tried to mold Boscha into who she wished she could have been, like a better version of herself. And that means that she expected our kids to take revenge on anyone who wronged them."

"Revenge?" Sheila asked.

"It's a thing with her side of her family," she said. "My son, Boris, left home because he couldn't see eye-to-eye with Nicole. I should have done something then… but by then I had become accustomed to letting Nicole leave. Boris lived with my brother's family for a while, but now he's in the Conformatorium. As for Boscha, she got kicked off of the grudgeby team after an incident with Eda's and Odalia's daughters, an incident that Nicole took part in. And then she sent Boscha to Glandus without even talking to me about it first, which I considered too far. I threw Nicole out of the house, but later she got me and Tom arrested. Ultimately, I realized that her love for me and her daughter was also secondary. Her pride always came first and after everything that happened… I don't think I want to be married to Nicole anymore."

"Damn, it sounds like this Nicole is a bitch," Sheila commented. "And I knew some bad bitches in my life."

"Yeah, and I think it's still going to be tough for me and Boscha, moving on without her," Athena admitted. "But I do know that this is what we both want… and what we both need."

"I agree," Sheila said with a smile. "You know, I am glad that we've had this talk, I think we've bonded."

"Over our exes and wanting to be better moms?" Athena asked her.

"Yeah," she said as she held up her glass. "To new mom-friendships."

Athena chuckled as she also raised her glass. "To new mom-friendships."

After playing, Boscha and Ukla got out of the pool and began drying themselves. "So I forgot to ask, but how's homeschooling going, Ukla?" Boscha asked.

"It's been pretty good," Ukla replied. "How about Hexside?"

"Well, I started helping out Cat with some Potion projects, she's been trying to work on a hair tonic," Boscha said.

"That's nice," Ukla said with a nod before clearing her throat. "Hey, you know about Yuki?"

"Your friend? Yeah, how is she doing?" Boscha asked her.

"Well, we did manage to talk," Ukla said. "However, her parents are having trouble getting her into the Oracle Institute that she would receive better treatment from. But it's gotten more expensive lately since Orsan spiked up the prices, meaning they can't afford to send Yuki there..."

"What?!" Boscha asked in shock. "But doesn't he realize that it makes it harder for troubled witches to get the help they need?"

"Yeah, but I doubt he cares," Ukla said while looking down. "Look, I was hoping… I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor and, well…"

"Hey, you don't need to ask," Boscha responded, giving her reassurance. "I'll talk to my mom about us paying to send Yuki to the Oracle Institute."

Ukla looked at Boscha in surprise before she gave her a smile. "Thank you, Bosch. You're a good friend."

Boscha nodded as they heard Sheila calling out. "Alright kids, food's ready!"

"Alright!" Gavin said as they went to the outdoor dining table for burgers and notdogs, Boscha going to sit beside her mom.

"How's the food?" she asked her daughter.

"It's well done," Boscha responded while eating her newt burger. "Mom, I want to do a favor for a friend."

"What kind of favor?" Athena asked.

"Ukla's friend, Yuki, needs to get help from the Oracle Institute, but her parents can't afford it due to how expensive it's gotten," she said, which made Athena's eyes narrow.

"Orsan," she grumbled. "That money-grabbing, so-called All-Knowing bastard…"

"Is he really that bad?" Boscha asked her.

Athena sighed. "When your aunt passed, Orsan became her successor. But upon taking up leadership of the Oracle Coven, he began to undp a lot of good that Delara achieved. The programs she helped open to help wild witches were shut down because of him, including those that were non-profit. Raising the prices for the Oracle Institute is like he's spitting on the progress Delara made, all in the name of profit."

"He sounds like a butt," Boscha said while eating her burger.

"He really is." Athena agreed. "But don't worry Boscha, I'll help out Ukla's friend. I promise."

The Oracle Institute was a place that housed young witches who were having trouble with either their magic or mental state. Two Oracle Administrators were now escorting Yuki, who had been placed on a stretcher, to her room. Speaking with the Itos and Athena was Dr. Midnight.

"Will our daughter be alright here?" Min asked the Oracle.

"She will be more than alright, Mrs. Ito," Dr. Midnight replied. "Your daughter will be getting all the help she needs."

"Thank you, Dr. Midnight," Bass said to him before turning to Athena. "Thank you, Athena, for helping us get our daughter here."

"You don't have to thank me," Athena replied. "All I did was write a check. But if you need anything else, just ask."

Shortly afterward, Athena returned home from the Oracle Institute. As she came inside, she saw Boscha waiting for her.

"So, how did it go?" Boscha asked her.

"Yuki's in better hands now, Boscha," Athena confirmed, which relieved her daughter. "She's going to get the help she needs."

"Thanks, mom," Boscha told her. Though with that concern taken care of, Boscha knew that there was something else they needed to discuss. "Hey mom, can I… talk to you about something?"

"Of course," Athena said as she walked with her daughter to the living room, where they both sat down on the couch to talk. "What's on your mind, Pink Eyes?"

Boscha took a deep breath. "After giving it a lot of thought… I don't think I want to be tied to the Hieron name anymore. I don't like the name and what it represents, nor what I am expected to be because of that name. I tried to be a Hieron while Nicole was breathing down my neck, but all it did was cause harm to myself and those around me. I almost lost everything. Looking back, I don't even know why the Hieron name even matters, since it's not like I'll inherit Hieron Labs if my pursuit is grudgeby. So I'm willing to drop that name." She looked up at her mother hopefully.

"Oh Boscha," Athena replied while patting her daughter's hand. "Thank you for telling me this, cause this is something I have been considering as well."

"Really?" Boscha asked her, looking relieved.

"I have looked back at how I let Nicole take the lead," she said while looking down. "I should have pushed back more, I should have been more assertive. But maybe the outcome would have still been the same. I don't know." She sighed as she looked at her daughter. "I don't regret marrying her, since it meant having you and Boris in my life. But I regret not putting my foot down enough. I regret not stopping her from crossing so many lines. I regret not stopping Boris from walking out." She paused for a moment, trying to collect herself. "I don't think I want to be associated with the Hieron name after that, nor do I want to be associated with Nicole. Which is why I'm thinking tomorrow I'll get with a lawyer to help make it official. And with Nicole being a criminal now, divorcing her will be a lot easier."

Boscha gave a nod. She liked what she was hearing. "Yeah, and besides, it's not like we need Hieron Labs anymore."

"Yeah, Vitimir can have it," Athena agreed. "I don't think we'd miss it-"

Before Athena could finish, she felt her daughter embracing her in a hug. Athena was taken aback for a second, but then she returned the hug, mother and daughter holding onto each other.

The next day, in Julia Traveler's office the next day, Boscha was speaking with her counselor.

"It's good to see you again, Boscha," Julia said. "How have you been doing? Is everything alright at home?"

"I'm doing good, thank you for asking, Dr. Traveler," Boscha responded. "For one, since my mom and Tom were released from the Conformatorium, I've been catching up with them. I introduced Tom to the rest of my family and then me and Tom even went on our actual first date."

"Did you two enjoy yourselves?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, we did," she replied. "We went to the Batting Cages, to Wrenchwarmers, to see a ratworm race… we even visited my cousin Cain."

"Oh, and how are things between you and Cain?" Julia asked her.

Boscha looked down. "Awkward. The thing is, I do know that he wants to be better and I want to forgive him. But… I'm still not completely comfortable around him. Then again, I think that is what other witches feel about me."

"Well you can always take baby steps on, Boscha," Julia advised. "These things take time."

"Yeah, I figured as such," Boscha admitted. "I also went with Luz and her friends to visit Amity in the Human Realm. Twice, actually," she said. "I got to meet Luz's human friends there and I saw a bunch of other humans on the second visit. It was a little private party, a wedding."

"That sounds nice," Julia commented.

"Well, it was between Luz and Amity, but it was more of a promise wedding. Like, not an actual, legal wedding, but just a way to show how much they mean to each other. It was really sweet," Boscha said. "And after the wedding, I came to a decision that I talked about with my mom. After school, me and my mom are both planning to have our last name changed."

"Does this have to do with Nicole?" Julia asked her.

"Yeah," Boscha replied. "Honestly, after everything she did, I realized that there is no honor in the 'Hieron' name."

"And you said that the wedding helped you reach that decision?" Julia asked her.

"Well, I was already considering it, but after talking to Amity and getting her perspective of things, I decided that it was for the best for me and my mom to finally cut ties with Nicole for good. Amity made amends with her mom and I think that is really great for her, but Nicole has shown no interest in changing for the better and I don't think she ever will. Which is why me and mom have decided on getting our last name changed, because it will finally mean cutting ourselves free of Nicole and everything that she stood for."

"I think that's good for you and your mom," Julia told her. "But have you thought on what name you'll change it to?"

"It's… actually quite simple," Boscha responded. "I'm going to be a Saltstar. Boscha Saltstar."

Later, after their classes, Gavin and Angmar met up.

"So how's the Plant Track going, Ang?" Gavin asked him.

"It's been good," Angmar replied. "Though I have to ask, Jerbo came to class covered in Abomi-goo…"

"Yeah, that was part of a class project we're working on," Gavin said. "Our new multi-tracker, Matrica, thought it was a good idea to have her ghosts in an Abomination she and Jerbo were paired to work on."

"Ghosts? Is she from Oracle?" Angmar asked as Gavin nodded.

"Fucking great!" someone shouted.

The two were alarmed and they turned to see Jeremy marching down the hallway, grumbling to himself. He noticed Gavin and Angmar. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, um, we just heard you shouting," Gavin said.

"Wait a second…" Angmar looked at Jeremy closely. "Aren't you Jeremy Grift?"

"What, you guys from Glandus or something?" Jeremy asked and the two nodded. "Wait a sec… you two used to hang out with Bria, right?"

"Yeah, we did!" Gavin said to him.

Jeremy smiled. "Boy am I glad to see some familiar faces around here." He walked up to them, patting their shoulders. "Are you guys up for hanging out? My friends high tailed off to who knows where."

"Sure, we'd like that," Gavin replied while Angmar nodded.

"Great, but let's head outside first," Jeremy said while leading them away. "Cause I don't want the principal to overhear us…"

Outside, near the grudgeby field, Gavin and Angmar were sitting on the bleachers with Jeremy.

"So you just got transferred here?" Gavin asked him.

"Yup. Thanks to my mom getting in contact with my aunt," Jeremy explained. "My cousin gave me a tour around the school but then I saw Nina Fangs is here…"

"Yeah," Gavin responded with a frown. "She's here on account of Skara Brooke's mom giving her parole."

"But at least she can't do anything to us," Angmar pointed out. "Especially with the shock collar she has on."

"She got off easy if you ask me," Jeremy said while looking down with a frown.

"I know how you feel," Gavin sympathized. "She hurt our friend, Boscha, during her first day at Glandus. She along with Emily and the other Top students beat her to a pulp and laughed it off."

"Bunch of savages," Jeremy said. "You know what's really messed up? I saw Skara hanging out with Fangs, despite the fact that she hurt my cousin, who is supposed to be Skara's friend."

"I… guess it can't be helped," Gavin said, feeling a little uneasy about it. "I mean, Skara's mom is the Head Witch of Beast-Keeping, so maybe Skara is just in charge of her."

"I've also seen her with that cotton haired girl, the one in both Healing and Abominations," Jeremy mentioned.

"Yeah, that's Lambi," Gavin replied. "She and Nina are apparently dating."

"Seriously? She's dating a werecat? That's messed up," Jeremy said. "If you ask me, Nina shouldn't have ever left her tree. The EC should've done to her like what they do to most lycan witches."

Gavin and Angmar looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Angmar asked.

"Well, from what I hear, usually the Emperor's Coven would petrify wild witches and criminals, but lycan witches just get put down like beasts," Jeremy said, shocking the two. "That's what happened to all the werewolf witches and is the reason they're not anymore, thank Titan for that. But Nina still gets to roam around free and doesn't it piss you guys off that someone like her gets off and they expect guys like us to deal with it?"

Gavin and Angmar looked at each other, showing some discomfort.

"But hey, at least Emily got what she deserved," Jeremy said with a satisfied smile. "Whatever that Mel chick is, she did all of us a favor."

And that made Gavin and Angmar feel even more awkward…

After school, Boscha came home and found Tom in the living room.

"Hey, how's loafing around?" Boscha asked as she walked over to kiss her boyfriend.

"Eh, I did some exercise in the family's gym," Tom replied, doing stretches until he winced. "Yeah, definitely feel a sore spot from the bars."

"Well, at least you're getting the exercise," Boscha responded while setting her strap bag aside.

"Hey, um… can we talk?" Tom asked her.

Boscha turned to Tom in concern. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Well, you know how earlier this week I went adventuring with the gang?" Tom asked her. "On our last quest, we went to the Torsa Villa and I learned about how the Boiling Isles treat lycans like the werecats," he said while looking down. "I've learned that Emperor's Coven gave them a reserve and that the werecats are generally discouraged to leave. And that sounds an awful lot like segregation, doesn't it?" He sighed. "I really thought that things would be different here than in Mewni, but I guess it isn't so different after all."

Boscha had a pained expression as she reached over to hold Tom's hand. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she admitted. "But honestly, Tom, I don't think any place is free of prejudice. Prejudice comes from flawed people, and every place has flawed people." She looked down. "I'll admit, I used to have some prejudice of my own about witches like Willow and humans like Luz. I looked down on them. I saw them as weak. I was a bitch."

"I mean, you're better now," Tom reassured her.

"Yeah, but I was still guilty of having those views," Boscha admitted as she looked down. "Honestly, I used to never think much about the werecats before. I didn't hold any particular prejudice against them or anything, they just weren't in my mind… and maybe that's part of the problem. Ignorance allows stuff like this to continue. The whole Isles has a problem, and it makes me worried about what would happen if the Isles learned about Skara's heritage…"

Tom nodded. "When I was at the Villa, they mentioned Nina Fangs."

"Yeah, I'm still not a fan of her right now," Boscha admitted. "I can't forget how she treated me at Glandus, even if it doesn't bother me that Skara has been hanging out with her. I mean, she lives with her and her family, I accept that. And I have noticed that she's been keeping her distance from me. Or just straight up avoiding me." She sighed. "I guess that's tolerance, at least."

"Maybe you and Nina should talk to each other about your issues," Tom suggested. "You probably can't keep avoiding her forever, especially since she lives with Skara. Best to confront the problem."

Boscha nodded. "Yeah, we probably have to talk… eventually,"

Meanwhile, in Bonesborough, Gavin climbed up to a rooftop spot where he met up with Sarah, the Potion Ranger.

"Hey, glad you can make it," she told him.

"Yeah, Veronica told me we were doing a stakeout for a possible robbery thanks to a tip," Gavin replied while walking over to the edge of the roof. "So who are we dealing with?"

"No idea, but they say this guy has been hitting E.C. banks from Metropelvis to here in Bonesborough," Sarah responded. "So everyone else is staking out at the other E.C. banks the guy didn't hit yet."

"Got it," he said while forming binoculars from his abomi-goo, keeping watch.

The two sat there in silence for quite some time. Sarah, deciding to break the silence, looked over to Gavin and spoke up. "So… how's Hexside going for you?" she asked him. "Did Jerbo say anything about me?"

"I… don't know," Gavin replied, trying to stay focused.

"How about home? Is everything good at home?" Sarah asked him.

"Everything's fine, Sarah," Gavin told her.

"Okay, okay," she said, pausing for a moment. "Your… costume is great, by the way. Um, have you thought of a name yet?"

"I'm working on it," Gavin said, still despondent.

She sighed. "Alright, this really isn't going anywhere," she told herself before turning to Gavin. "Gavin, do you want to talk about your dad?"

"What?" Gavin asked, turning to her. "Why would you be interested in that?"

"Because my dad was a Coven Head too," she pointed out. "Staggertarius Atos, predecessor of Vitimir. Okay, I'll admit it, I did ask to be partnered with you for this because if there was someone on this team that could understand what you may have gone through as the son of a Coven Head, I thought it'd be me."

Gavin scoffed. "Yeah, well, we may have Coven Head fathers, but it doesn't mean we're the same," he told her. "You have no idea what I'm going through," he said, which caused Sarah to fall silent.

"Okay, maybe I don't know what you're going through," Sarah admitted. "But maybe you can help me understand better."

Gavin just turned away to focus on the bank. "Just drop it," he said to her.

Sarah frowned in her helmet. "Alright," she said while they continued their stakeout, a distance between her and Gavin. Eventually she then heard her stomach grumbling. "Want a snack while you keep watch?"

"Just help yourself," Gavin told her, not even looking at her. Sarah sighed before she headed down from the roof to get a snack.

After buying a snack, she was out of her costume while climbing back up to the roof. Her suit materialized around her body, including her helmet around her head. "Hey, they got some chips if you want some-" But she paused as she heard Gavin talking to someone.

"It's not like he needed me," Gavin said while Sarah hid behind the roof's bulkhead, listening in. "I mean, he helped to raise Hunter and was more present in his life than he was in mine. So it's no wonder dad would see him more as his son," he said, talking as if someone was there. "Even though I'm the one who is honoring him, I am the one following in his footsteps."

"Gavin?" Sarah spoke up, causing him to turn around. "Hey um… who were you talking to?" she asked in concern.

Gavin's eyes widened. "N-No one!" he said, shutting himself up.

"Okay…" Sarah said while offering him a snack. "Chips?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks," he replied, grabbing the chips while keeping them at bay.

The two ate in silence, Sarah only trying once to start a conversation. "Um, you know, talking to yourself can be a sign of high intelligence," she claimed, but Gavin just stayed silent. "Right," she muttered as she went back to quietly eating, though she still couldn't help but be concerned for Gavin…

At a legal firm office, Boscha and Athena were visiting with a U-shaped horn demon in a suit.

"Greetings, you must be Athena and Boscha," spoke the lawyer. "I am Umar Urbane, and I'm here to help 'U' with your divorce cases. See what I did there?" he asked them both, but they said nothing. "Okay, no one gets it, but self-deprecation humor is a way to get by… anyway, Mary told me about you two, wanting to change your last names."

"That's right," Athena replied. "Me and Boscha have talked it out, and we decided that it's for the best that we should change the Hieron name to my maiden name."

"That's good," Umar said. "Some witches prefer to just make it a declaration-like a spell casted around them. But legally it's not recommendable. Puts guys like me out of business," he said while bringing out some documents. "Okay, I am also legally required to ask if you are sure that this is what you want?"

"My former mother is Nicole Hieron," Boscha pointed out. "I want to stay away from the Hieron name as much as possible."

"Same with me," Athena responded, having her arm around Boscha in a hug. "We're both sure this is what we want."

"Well, I guess this does make things easier for you two," Umar said. "After all, Nicole's a criminal now. She can't legally defend herself or object to this." He then slid the document toward them. "Just need to sign your original names here, here, and here, and then what you put down here will be the names you choose legally."

Athena and Boscha signed the paperwork given to them. After they finished, the words from the papers started to float up from the paperwork.

'I, 'Athena/Boscha', have declared to withdraw the 'Hieron' title from my name. From this day forth, I shall be legally known as 'Athena/Boscha Saltstar'.'

The words sparkled as blue light from the Saltstar name sprinkled all around Boscha and Athena.

"So, how do you two feel?" Umar asked them, smiling..

"Well, I don't feel as different," Athena admitted.

"Yeah, but… it feels good that we've gone through it," Boscha replied, turning to her mom. "Doesn't it?"

Athena smiled as she gave her a nod. "Yeah, it really does feel good." Boscha smiled back, hugging her mom, "This is a brand new chapter of our lives."

"That is sweet and all, but…" Umar said as he pulled out a stack of documents. "That was only the first part. You have a lot more documents you also need to sign…"

Meanwhile, Gavin had made it home. As he went inside, he found his mom waiting for him in the living room.

"Gavin, you're… late," Sheila said to him.

"Sorry, I may have lost track of the time," he replied. "I should've called in-"

"Gavin, honey," Sheila said as she walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "We need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" Gavin asked her.

"Anything, really," she told him while leading him to the couch. "I just want you to sit with me and talk about what's going on with you right now."

"What's there to talk about? I'm fine," Gavin reassured her.

"Well, we can talk about if there's any problems with school," she suggested.

"There are no problems, I'm good with school," Gavin said, waving it off. "I did hear that Bump's coming back as principal, so that's good news."

"Okay," Sheila said. "How about we talk about your father?"

Gavin frowned, this was the second time he had been asked that. "We… haven't talked about him for a long while. I thought you still hated him."

"I don't hate your father, Gavin," Sheila said. "Disappointed, yeah, but not enough to hate him. I cared about him just as you did."

Gavin gave her a questionable look. "Do you honestly think he cared about us?"

"Of course he does, Gavin," Sheila reassured him. "He kept those letters you sent him, didn't he?"

"I wonder if he actually read them," Gavin muttered.

"Baby, just calm down," Sheila said as she patted his shoulder, but Gavin shrugged her off as he stood up.

"Mom, do you want to know what I've learned?" he asked her. "There was someone around my age, he was someone close to dad. And dad treated him like a son."

"Gavin, calm down," Sheila said as she stood up.

"How can I be calm about this?" Gavin asked her. "I barely knew my father and apparently he had this really close relationship with Hunter. Maybe he even cared more about Hunter than he did me. A-And it makes me think about what kind of relationship I really had with him."

"Gavin, you can't doubt your father," Sheila said to him, looking worried. "He loved you,"

"Then why isn't he here?" he asked her before running for his room.

"Gavin!" Sheila called out to him, only to hear the sound of a door being shut, leaving Sheila alone in the living room, thinking over what just happened.

The next day, Ukla was being taken to the Construction Coven by her parents.

"Here we are," Morakis said while holding up a helmet. "Just remember to wear these at all times."

"I think we'll be safe, dad," Ukla replied, though she still grabbed a helmet. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

"Scarol, Morakis, welcome," Murray Tholomule said while walking up. "I see you brought your kid along."

"Hey Murray," Scarol responded. "We thought that it'd be a good opportunity to show Ukla around the Construction Coven. Is Ulrich here?"

"He's in a coven meeting for the time being," Murray responded. "But I'll be happy to give the tour."

Murray showed the Ulmas around the Construction Coven, with Ukla looking around to see the Construction Witches building structures and creating new materials.

"Those in the Construction Coven are responsible for the buildings around the Isles. In fact, we're the coven that built the Emperor's Castle when the coven system was forming," Murray declared. "But no one gives us enough credit."

"I hear that," Scarol responded. "We Constructionists have done so much for the Isles, but most witches think we're just nails for brains."

"Yeah, and it's a dangerous job too," Morakis pointed out.

"Which is why we use Power Glyphs," Murray explained while picking up a roll of glyphs with the Construction sigil on them "Just place these on you, and you become more durable. But putting too many of them on is not recommended, since it could really fry your brain. Just ask those two knuckle chucks."

He pointed to the Rumble Brothers, who looked dazed while punching a boulder before they ended up punching each other. "Gotta rumble this…" one of the brothers said before punching the other, then himself.

"The Rumble Brothers?" Ukla asked. "I haven't seen them since Glandus fell."

"Yeah, they ended up joining the Construction Coven," Murray explained. "We have a few other former Glandus students working here, including Cain over there."

Ukla looked where Murray was indicating and she saw Cain, without his usual iron mask, hitting a piece of metal with his hammer. Cain turned and noticed Ukla staring at him.

"Ukla…" Cain said, seeing the lizard biped.

"Cain…" Ukla hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, I see you and Cain know each other," Murray said.

"Yeah, I know him," Ukla said with a bitter tone.

"They went to Glandus together, um… it's not a fond story between them," Scarol said, patting her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't we move on, Murray?"

"Nah, you guys go ahead," Ukla said while looking at Cain. "I got a few things to say to Cain."

"Are you sure, Ukla?" Morakis asked her.

"Come on, Mory, let's let her deal with this," Scarol said as the parents walked away. "We'll be over here when you need us."

After they left, Ukla and Cain were left alone. "Hi, Ukla. Um… it's been a while," the Saltstar said awkwardly.

"Yeah, it has," she replied, crossing her own arms. "Tom said that he got to meet you earlier this week when he and Boscha visited."

"Yeah, real nice guy," Cain commented. "How is Boscha doing? I heard that she and Aunt Athena changed their surnames to Saltstars now."

"Yeah, they're doing good," Ukla responded before falling quiet. "I'll admit, this is the first time I've seen you without your helmet… and your eyes are really bloodshot."

"Yeah, I decided not to wear it anymore," Cain said while wiping his eyes.

An awkward silence followed as the two didn't know what to say to each other. Eventually, Ukla found her words, taking a deep breath.

"Just so we're clear, Cain, I haven't forgotten what you did to me and to your own cousin," she said with a hiss. "What you did and enabled was really shitty. I at least stood up to Emily Tricks at some point, but you didn't. You went along with every misdeed she did, which just makes you responsible for everything horrible she did to me, to Boscha, and to Yuki."

Cain looked hurt from what she said and he lowered his head. "How is Yuki…?"

Ukla sighed. "If you must know, she's in the Oracle Institute, all thanks to Emily," she told him. "Was supporting Emily really worth hurting everyone in school, worth making witches like Yuki suffer?"

Cain had guilt clearly written across his face. "No, it isn't…" He looked up to Ukla, who turned her head away. "Ukla, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't, I don't need your apology," Ukla said to him before she then sighed. "I can't believe that I used to think you were my friend." She then walked away to join up with her parents, leaving Cain behind.

"Ukla…" Cain said before he fell silent again.

After the bell screamed, Boscha came out of her Potions classroom while saying bye to her classmates.

"See you guys next week," Boscha said while Barcus ran up with her book in his jaws. She smiled as she took it from him. "Thanks, Barcus. Good boy."

"Woof(No problem, Boscha)," Barcus replied, his tail wagging.

"Yo, Boscha!" Luz called out to her, causing Boscha to turn to her. "Hey, haven't seen you in a few days."

"Hey, Luz," Boscha replied. "I heard that you got into the IFWOT yesterday and won a ribbon."

"Yeah, yesterday was decent. Head Witch Cutburn may be the worst doctor with the worst bedside manner, but things went smoothly for the most part… until the Exsiders show up."

"Exsiders?" Boscha questioned.

"Some group of Faust's ex-students that wanted to get revenge on him. We stopped them from killing Faust, at least. Then Bump showed up and became inspired to be principal again."

"And I saw that everything worked out in the end," Boscha noted. "Since I spoke to him this morning."

"Yep, the reign of Faust is over," Luz confirmed. "How about you? How's your week going?"

"Well, me and mom decided to officially change our surname to Saltstar," Boscha responded. "We got in contact with a lawyer and thanks to him we're no longer Hierons."

"Really? That's great," Luz replied, patting Boscha's back. "Congratulations, Boscha Saltstar."

"Thanks, Luz," Boscha responded.

"Oh, by the way," Luz commented. "After school me and my mom are heading out with Willow, Gus, and Skara to visit an old family friend of hers. You could come along if you want."

Boscha considered the offer, but shook her head. "I think I want to spend the rest of my day with my family and Tom, if that's alright. I still only just got them back, after all."

Luz nodded. "Understood. But there is something I wanted to show you before I left."

"Really? What's that?" Boscha asked her.

"Follow me," Luz said as she led the way, Boscha doing as she was told.

Luz led Boscha out of the school building and to the grudgeby field. "Alright, what's there to show me?" Boscha asked before she came to a stop. Much to her surprise, a gathering of witches was waiting for her on the field.

"Hello, Ms. Saltstar," Bump spoke up. With him were Willow, Skara, Amelia, Cat, Simon, Celine, and Dusty along with Tamme, Andrea, Tyler, and Eve in their cheer uniforms. "Glad that you could make it."

"What's going on?" Boscha asked before she saw Cat and Amelia holding up a letterman's jacket. Her three eyes widened. "Is that…?"

"Your grudgeby jacket, captain," Skara confirmed.

"After getting a good word from Luz, Willow, Skara, and everyone else, I have made the decision to reinstate you as grudgeby captain," Bump declared.

Boscha looked at her jacket as it was handed to her by Cat. "Welcome back, captain," Cat said as Boscha looked teary eyed.

"All this… for me?" she asked them, looking around.

"Hey, it was the least we could do," Luz said with a smile.

"Yeah, after everything you've been through, you deserve this," Amelia commented.

Boscha was shaken up, tears leaking from her eyes. "T-Thank you, guys!" she cried as she went to hug Cat and Amelia. "Thank you," she told them in a lower voice.

"Welcome back, captain!" Andrea declared while jumping up and down. "Who wants cupcakes to celebrate Boscha's return as captain! And Bump's return as principal?"

And so, everyone gathered around to have cupcakes. Boscha tried on her grudgeby jacket before she noticed Willow and Skara in their own jackets.

"Well, how's it feel to be captain again, Boscha?" Willow asked.

"It… it feels great… captains," Boscha replied, nodding to Willow and Skara.

"Captain," Skara said, nodding back.

"We'll be seeing each other on the field," Willow added.

"Likewise," Boscha agreed, smiling.

After school, Boscha and Simon headed back home where they met up with the rest of the folks.

"Everyone! I got something to announce!" Boscha called out as Tom appeared from the living room.

"Hey, what's the announcement?" Tom asked as Athena, Beck, and Samwitch popped up.

"Guess who's back as captain?" Boscha asked as she turned around, showing off her grudgeby jacket.

"Oh Titan…" Athena covered her mouth in shock, tears leaking from her eyes. "You're back on the team?"

"Yeah, Bump got her reinstated after me, Willow, Luz, Skara and everyone else put in a good word for her," Simon explained..

"Haha! Way to go for our captain!" Tom shouted as he went to hug Boscha, who hugged him back.

"We're so proud of you, Boscha," Samwitch said with a smile. "You really earned it."

"Thanks, Uncle Sam," Boscha replied as Athena went to hug her next.

"This calls for a celebration," Beck declared. "Maybe we should go out somewhere to celebrate this."

"Ooh, how about Wrenchwarmers?" Tom suggested in excitement.

"Yes! That is perfect," Boscha replied in agreement.

"Then Wrenchwarmers it is," Athena said as the Saltstars and Tom let out a cheer.

Meanwhile, outside of the Saltstar estate, someone was watching from afar. She could see through the window how Boscha looked so happy with Athena, Tom, and the rest of the Saltstars. The hooded figure scowled before she returned to the shadows.

Nicole wasn't happy about this at all.

Later that night, Gavin returned home with a bitter look.

"I can't believe… she made it sound like I'm the bad guy," Gavin muttered to himself as he went inside. "Maybe if Riley hears about this-" He paused when he noticed his mom in the living room. She was not alone. "Mom? Angmar?"

"Hey Gavin," Angmar waves to him.

"Hey Gavin, Angmar has dropped by to see you," Sheila said as she noticed the angered look on his face "Why do you look so angry, Gavin?"

Gavin turned away. "It's nothing," he said as he headed straight for his room.

"Gavin," Sheila called out to him, only to hear the sound of a door being closed. Sheila sighed and turned to Angmar. "You see what I mean?"

"I have never seen Gavin act like this before," Angmar said, frowning. In truth, the reason why Angmar was here was because Sheila called him over because of how worried she was about her son.

"I know," she said with a worried look. "I thought if anyone could get through to him and find out what's wrong, it'd be his best friend."

"I'll go talk to him," Angmar promised as he went to Gavin's room, knocking on the door. "Hey Gavin, it's me."

Opening the door, Gavin looked at him. "Hey."

"Can I come in?" Angmar asked.

After consideration, Gavin nodded. "Sure, come in."

Once in Gavin's room, Angmar saw Gavin run over to sit on his bed. "So… how are you doing?"

"Oh, doing good," Gavin responded.

"Anything interesting happen?" Angmar asked him.

Gavin looked up at his friend, easing up a bit. "I… I confronted Emily just now."

Angmar's eyes widened. "You did?!" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, she was with Lindsay," Gavin replied. "Lindsay was actually on a date with that bitch. I went to try to take Emily down before she could do anything to her but Lindsay stopped me and actually told me off."

"Did Emily actually do anything wrong at the moment?" Angmar asked him.

"N-No, but you know that with Tricks nothing is ever as it seems," Gavin pointed out. "She fooled us, she fooled all of Glandus. She has to be fooling Lindsay too."

Angmar sighed. "Gavin, it was stupid and reckless for you to do that," he told him, which made Gavin scoff.

"Stupid? At least I'm trying to make Emily answer for what she did to us," Gavin said.

"Really? By stalking her and attacking her when she isn't bothering us at all?" Angmar asked him. "Look, I'm not interested in Emily and neither is Boscha. It's best if we just mind our own business."

"Our own business? Don't you remember all the terrible shit she's done to us and everyone else? Or is everyone else just trying to downplay that?" Gavin asked him.

"Hey, we aren't innocent ourselves," Angmar pointed out. "We blackmailed Matt by threatening his friends and manipulated Gus in order to lead Amity and Luz into a trap. Sure, Emily and Nina were part of the problem at Glandus. But so were we and we shouldn't pretend otherwise. And since Emily and Nina aren't bothering us or anyone, we shouldn't bother them either. Because what they deserve is not up to us."

"Well, maybe it should," Gavin declared in a dark tone. "Maybe we should get to decide."

Angmar looked alarmed by his friend's declaration. "Gavin… this doesn't sound like you at all."

"I'm fine, Angmar," Gavin said as he turned around, looking down at the floor.

"No, you're not," Angmar said to him. "If you could just talk to me…"

"I think you should leave right now," Gavin told him, which caused Angmar to pause.

"O...Okay," Angmar replied, backing away before leaving his room. He looked to Gavin one more time before closing the door behind him.

Gavin just stared out the window, looking at his own reflection in the glass as he heard a voice in his head speak to him.

"I was right, weren't I?" asked the Inner Demon. "Your friends don't understand…"

"You're… right about them," Gavin said, his eyes looking dark. "You're right about everything. About Hunter, about my dad, about Emily and Nina." His fists tightened. "Even my own friends are against me."

And like that, the Inner Demon had a hold on Gavin…

Well that's no good, is it?

The whole purpose through this chapter is to catch up with Athena and Tom after they've spent so much time locked away in the conformatorium over the course of the story, and to remind you readers about Yuki and Boscha's friends, which are set up for future pay-offs. It will be the next chapter is where we finally catch up with where "The Alchemist's Mutant Mayhem" left off and that it will be the end of this arc of chapters that overlap with each other.

Again, we want to thank you all for sticking with us through this, as we promise that you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter, which is where Hunter, Emily and Boscha's stories from the week all culminate.

Answering some reviews:

Crash X Fusion: It was my bad on the release at the time.

Krypton Writes: Well, we'll be seeing Vanz again soon…

Matteso585: 1) That's pretty most of America in general. 2) Obviously. 3) We've decided it would be a fun connection.

Spantidem7: 1) Julia summoned him for the day, 2) Yes. 3) Can't say. 4) We'll see. 5) Not really, it's a reference to a character from the Pokemon franchise according to his creator, Crash X Fusion. 6) Depends.

Franco Almiron: 1) Not confirmed. 2) Emily wasn't adopted. Margo is her birth mother while Hamilskin is her stepfather. You do know that Adrian could have had like another lover, right? So no, they're not Emily's adopted parents, just so we're clear. So yeah, you misunderstood.

Shuffollower: You'll see how it happened soon.

Guest: 1) Eventually. 2) Eventually.

Ultimate-drax: Yeah…

xndelongchamps: Honestly, it's never in our plan for it. Though, I'm not sure if it is Disney.