Legends Ride Again:
S1: E5: Digging into the past
Lady Blighttorne walked into the main hall of her order's base of operations and was met with the slightly smug face of Captain Braddock.
"For constantly boasting about your intelligence, I see you suffered another loss," the knight captain said smugly.
Lady Blightthrone rolled eyes at the captain's comment as she approached the corner. She took out a vial, opened it, and drank about half its contents. The mysterious woman corked the vial and returned it to the shelf before she looked at the knight captain.
"That witch will eventually run out of surprises, and that's when she will fall," Lady Blighttorne swore coldly. "Now, do not disturb me. This latest endeavor had worn on me greatly. I'm retiring to my chambers for a long rest."
The mysterious witch walked across the room but stopped at the door.
"Oh, and send my darling Francis to me when you see him," Lady Blighttorne said without looking at the knight captain.
Braddock scoffed as the lady took her leave. "I never understand what that woman sees in that failure."
(SC)
Deep underneath the order's base was the stable where the Blooburns were kept. The mysterious creatures of the order were kept chained to the ground, with cloth covering their faces, like the knights didn't want to look at the creatures unless they had to.
Walking on two feet, Francis went up the creatures. He searched through the lot of over two dozen and then went to one in the center. He made a spell circle, and the chain restricting the Blooburn came off.
The supposed feral boy made another spell circle over the creature's core and thrust his hand into it. The Bloodurn jolted slightly as Francis moved his hand around the creature's core as it flickered between red and blue.
Francis removed his hand, and the Blooburn fell to his knees. The boy reached out and pulled the cloth from the creature's head.
"Now…" Francis said in a deep voice, "Rampage."
(SC)
Luz was napping on the couch inside the Owl House, cuddling King to her chest. There was a sudden ding from a bell, and the last titan moaned.
He half-opened his eyes, looked at the stand next to the cough, and lazily batted a potion vial off the stand. The vial shattered on the floor, and a pillar of yellow energy came from the spilled potion.
The energy died down after a few seconds, and Lilith Clawthorne and a mildly annoyed Eda appeared in the room.
"Well, that was a waste of time and potion," the ex-wild witch grumbled.
Lilith ignored her sister and went over to the couch. She grabbed a lime-green potion and brought it over Luz's forehead. She carefully dripped two drops onto the young human's forehead.
The drops glowed for a second and were absorbed into Luz's forehead. She moaned slightly as she came out of her magical sleep. She half-opened her eyes and looked around. The human witch known as Kuuga looked up at Lilith and smiled sleepily.
"Heya, Lilith," Luz said sleepily. "What did you find in my head?"
The historian sighed and replied, "Unfortunately, nothing that could lead us to understand your visions."
Luz, slightly more awake, set up. She hugged King close as she looked at Lilith in slight confusion. Luz looked at Eda, and the ex-wild witch confirmed things with a nod.
"But," Lilith said, getting Luz's attention, " I do have another theory I want to look into."
"Of course you do," Eda muttered loud enough that she knew she was heard.
Lilith ignored her sister's comment and focused on Luz.
"Did you think it's possible I can see that item of yours?" she asked kindly.
Luz nodded and gently sent King to her right. She concentrated, and the Arcle appeared on her a few seconds later. The human witch looked up at her sort of aunt with a slightly sheepish grin.
That's all I can do," Luz said, slightly sheepish. "I'm kinda attached to this belt."
Lilith nodded, her eye not leaving the item on the human's waist. She got down on her knees and slowly reached out with her right arm. She extended her fingers but hesitated for a second.
Lilith gingerly traced her finger across the top of the Arcle and couldn't help but be in awe at it.
"Fascinating," the historian mused to herself. "This looks ancient, but it has such a modern appearance. I would love to study this in greater detail."
Eda rolled her eyes at her sister's behavior and quickly interjected, "Lily, do your geeking out later. Now make with your theory-spinning."
Lilith snapped out of her trance and looked at her younger sister, a faint blush on her cheek. She took a quick breath and stood up.
"Yes," Lilith replied awkwardly, looking at Luz. "Tell me, Luz, have you been learning about memory storage in your Oracle classes?"
Luz frowned as she did remember learning about the subject. If she remembers right, the spell allows someone to copy and put memories into oracle stones, but that's all she has learned so far.
Eda looked at her older sister with a raised eyebrow.
"Lily," the ex-wild witch piped in skeptically, "You think that doo-dad is doing something to my kid's head?"
Lilith looked at Eda and nodded. She then looked at Luz with a thoughtful expression.
"It's just a theory, but it does align with the mechanics of such a spell," Lilith explained. "Tell me, Luz, how do you experience your visions?"
Luz's face twisted through several emotions as she tried to figure out how to explain her visions best.
"I guess…They came in two flavors," Luz said slowly.
Lilith cocked an eyebrow and gestured for her sort of niece to continue.
"The first is like I am dreaming, looking through my Otosama's eyes," Luz explained.
"Hmm," Lilith rubbed her chin in thought, "Can you explain further?"
Luz sighed and looked down at her belt. King sensed his big sister's distress and gently scurried up her shoulder. The last titan gently rubbed his cheek against Luz's. The human witch slightly smiled and patted him on the head.
Luz sighed again and looked at the two witches.
"That's the thing," she explained, "I can barely remember what the dream was about. All I know is I feel something powerful behind the dream."
Lilith made a face and reached into Eda's hair, taking a notebook and a pen. The one-armed witch glared at her sister but said nothing as Lilith began taking notes.
"Fastanticing," the historian said, then looked at Luz. "And what about your other vision?"
Luz chuckled slightly, called away her belt, and gently placed King on her lap.
"That's easier to tell," the half-Latino, the half-Japanese girl, replied. "It's like my dad is telling me how to use the powers I got and how to fight."
Luz looked to her right to hide a small sour look that appeared as she recalled her first few training sessions with Hunter.
"Okay, Lily," Luz heard Eda say, getting the young woman's attention. "You picked my kid's brain apart from the inside and outside, so tell me you got something."
Lilith looked at her sister with a slight glare and sighed. She looked back at her notes and took a second to get her thoughts in order.
"Well, like I said, it's a theory," Lilith stated, "But I think the item Luz has comes with certain memories belonging to her father. But why, I can't figure out."
The Owl House Residents thought about this but, like the historian, couldn't figure out anything. All they knew was that Luz now had powers unlike any witch had seen, learned how to fight, and spoke a third human language she couldn't before.
A knock at the door drew everyone's attention. Eda groaned as she walked up to the front door.
"That's the only thing I hate about not having that bird brain as my door anymore," the youngest Clawthorne muttered sourly.
Eda grabbed a small paintball gun from a shelf left of the front door. She checked to see if it was loaded and thrust open the door.
"If you're more of those worshiping freaks!" Eda screeched, firing at whoever was at the door without looking. "I swear to my kid's daddy you're going to live to-Oh, Boots, Flowers. What brings you here?"
Amity and Willow glared at the older witch as the plant witch wiped the paint from her forehead. Eda offered her kid's best friend and girlfriend a sheepish smile as she stepped aside and allowed the two to enter.
Once the human witch saw the two, she set King down and jumped to her feet, rushing to Amity.
"Sweet Potato!" Luz exclaimed happily.
Amity tried to smile cheerfully as she hugged her girlfriend, and Luz planted a quick kiss on Amity's cheek. The human frowned as she picked up on her girlfriend's mood and looked at her.
"Amity?" Luz asked worryingly. "Are you okay?"
Amity sighed faintly and looked at her human girlfriend, smiling hollowly.
"Sorry, Luz," Amity answered apologetically. "I just have a lot on my mind."
Luz's frown deepened as she got beside her witch girlfriend. "Is there anyone I can do to help?" she asked supportingly.
Amity's smile got a little brighter, her mood lifting from being with her girlfriend.
"Actually," Willow piped in, "We were hoping to talk to Miss Lilith."
Immediately, everyone in the room looked at the Historian. Lilith, for her part, was surprised but kept it from her face.
"Not that I'm flattered," the former Coven Head said humbly, "But I fail to see what I can do for you two?"
Willow sighed as she and her friends moved to the seating area. "Well, it started when I was captured by those knights."
The three teenagers took their seats as Willow explained what she learned the other day. Luz and the Clawthorne sisters' eyes widened from what they heard.
"Whoa, that's just-whoa," Eda commented, at a loss for words.
Luz couldn't help but nod, feeling just as overwhelmed as her magic teacher. However, Lilith had a thoughtful expression, looking at her girlfriend and trying to gauge her.
Amity wore a mask that made seeing what she was thinking nearly impossible. Luz, however, knew her girlfriend was conflicted and got a little closer, silently telling the witch she was there for her.
"This is fascinating," the historian said after a moment and looked at the teens. "But still fail to understand why you need my help."
Amity sighed and looked her ex-teacher in the eyes. "Well, I was thinking about trying to find some information about these knights. Maybe if we knew more about them, we might have a chance of fighting them without having Luz fight all our battles."
No one in the room missed the hint of bitterness that worked its way into Amity's voice. Though no one said it out loud, everyone in the room was a little bitter that Luz had to fight the witches' battle because she was the only one with the power that affected their enemies.
Lilith sighed, fixed her glasses, and looked at her former student with uncertainty.
"I want nothing more than to help," The Historian said honestly. "But there's several problems that greatly hinder us."
Amity nodded, adding, "I thought about that too. We don't know when this order began, and with the fact that Belos destroyed a lot of history books dating back to the Pre-Savage era, I know finding anything about them is small."
"But," Willow added hopefully, "We thought about a place where we might find something that might help us."
Lilith looked between the two teenage witches, and it didn't take her long to understand the line of thought the two were going with.
"...The Forbidden stacks at Bonesborough's Library," she whispered.
Amity nodded, a soft smile blossoming. "Yeah. But I stopped working there to begin working on my projects, so I can't request entry," she said, then got hopeful, "But since you were made the head of the museum recently…"
The budding inventor let her thoughts hang in the air, looking at Lilith hopefully. The Historian nodded, understanding what her former student was suggesting.
"My position should allow us to enter The Forbidden Stacks," Lilith finished and stood up. "I think it might be worth a try."
The three smiled and stood up. The three teens and one adult were about to head out when King ran up to the Luz.
"Can I come? The young titan asked eagerly.
Luz frowned uncertainly as she looked down at her adopted brother. "I don't know, King," the human said, "All we're going to do is look at old books. You're going be bored out of your skull."
"I know," King muttered, adopting a shy pose as he ran a paw across the floor. "But we haven't hanged much, and I really want to spend time with my big sister."
Luz couldn't help but 'aww' at this, bent down, and took the young titan into a hug. "If that's what you want, buddy," she said lovingly, "Then, of course, you can tag along!"
King cheered and hugged Luz tight. Lilith watched all this unfold with a smile and then turned her attention to her sister.
"Would you like to accompany us, Edalyn?" the Historian asked curiously.
Eda waved off her sister's offer as she got comfortable on the couch. "Nah. I had my fill of books this week. But have fun with your nerd feast."
Lilith gave her sister a look, then, with the teens, exited the house. Eda lazily looked at the door as she heard the sound of an engine reeving. Once she couldn't hear the sound of an engine anymore, she reached into her hair and took out a book.
"Who thought I would be doing this?" Eda muttered, a sense of irony in her voice as she opened the book "Learning the Basics of Teaching" and picked up where she left off.
(SC)
A few minutes later, Luz, Willow, and Lilith landed in front of the library. Amity and King were already waiting by the entry to the building with Hunter and Gus next to them.
"What took you so long?" Amity asked playfully.
Willow rolled her eyes at her friend as Clover came alive and flew to her shoulder. The adult and three teens joined the others at the door and then proceeded to head in.
"Sorry," The plant witch said in mock retort, "But not all of us have a need for speed."
Amity just smiled in an all-to-innocent manner as the group made their way to the front desk.
"I'd like to know why you brought that thing to the Owl House?" Hunter inquired as the group got into the line at the front desk.
Amity looked at Luz, who was too busy playing with Stringbean to notice anything else and blushed faintly. She looked back at Hunter and put on a knowing smile.
"Well, I wanted to show Luz some changes I made to the LightChaser," Amity said, a hint of shyness working its way into her voice.
Hunter raised an eyebrow at Amity's machine name as Amity continued to smile at him. He chose not to say anything and looked forward.
The line wasn't long, and within a few minutes, the HexGang and Lilith had talked to the librarian at the desk. Thankfully, Malphas was working, and the librarian paged him to the front.
As the group was waiting, Luz frowned as she looked towards the front door. This behavior didn't go unnoticed by the others, and they looked at their human friend/girlfriend curiously. Suddenly, a scream reached them, and Luz took off running without a second thought, the HexGang and Lilith close behind her.
The group burst through the door and came upon a sight: witches and demons were running wildly as a speed-type Blooburn attacked anyone it saw.
"So…that's a Blooburn," Lilith whispered, half in shock and half in awe.
Amity nodded and frowned as she looked at the Blooburn. She noticed some things were different about this Blooburn; first, it's core and blood veins were flickering between red and blue. The other thing, and probably most disturbing, was the creature's head. It was plain, lacking any features, unlike the other Blooburn.
"What's with its head?" Gus asked, breathless from the sight.
"...I don't know," Willow replied, sounding uneasy, then scanned the area. "And where's the knight?"
Lilith frowned as she looked at the young plant witch, intending to have her clarify her meaning. She didn't get a chance as she caught movement and turned her attention to Luz.
The human wItch had summoned the Arcle and was already going through her hand movements. "Henshin!" She screamed.
Luz threw her right hand into her left and then thrust both hands out to her side. Lilith could only watch in shock as Luz changed into her red Kuuga form, heading off into battle as soon as the transformation finished.
"So that's the Kuuga transformation," Lilith mused, still shocked by all she had seen.
The HexGang didn't reply to her; they were already spreading out to help get the people to safely where Luz fought the Blooburn.
Luz rushed the Blooburn and shoulder-checked it. She got between the creature and the witch it was attacking. She took her fighting stance as the Blank Blooburn looked at her and slumped.
The creature let out a mute roar and charged. Luz had figured it would rush her and jumped to her right, punching the beast in the head. The Blooburn recovered quickly from the blow and snapped around, trying to get Luz in a bear hug.
Luz dropped to the ground, rolled to her right, and jumped to her feet. She put distance between her and the Blooburn as she waited for the creature to make the first move. The Blank Blooburn roared and leaped at Luz.
Luz reeled back his right hand, made a fist, and threw a punch. The fist connected with the Blooburn below its core and was knocked through the air. The creature fell onto its back, and Luz launched herself into the air, coming down on the creature with a drop kick.
The Blooburn rolled to the right just as Luz's foot came down. It jumped to its feet and tackled Luz. Luz couldn't brace herself in time and fell to the ground.
Luz brought her arms over her face as her opponent tried to punch her in the face. The human witch thought quickly when the Bloodurn tried to punch her again and threw out her hands, giving it a hard shove.
Luz next swung her body around and knocked the Bloodurn off her. She got to her feet at the same time as the Bloodurn and the two got ready to return to the fight.
Suddenly, the Bloodurn's core and blood vein shifted to blue, and a spell circle emerged from its chest. The creature then disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
"What!" Luz exclaimed, surprised by this sudden turn.
She suddenly grunted when she felt a punch connect with her gut, and she nearly doubled over. She didn't get a chance to recover as she felt something punch her, this time in the face, and she recoiled.
Luz staggered backward as she tried to compose herself. The Bloodurn suddenly appeared in front of her. Surprise, Luz threw a punch. Luz's fist went right through the creature, causing it to puff away.
Luz was confused by this but suddenly groaned when she was hit from behind and jolted forward. She snapped around, swinging her arm wildly and hitting just air.
"Luz!" Gus called to his friend. "It's using illusion magic! But it's not perfect. It's making noise!"
Noise, Luz thought, looking around. She tried to focus on any sound that might be out of place. However, despite the vacant area, she couldn't pick up on an unusual noise.
"If only I could hear better," Luz muttered.
Suddenly, the stone on Luz's Arcle turned green, and a wave of energy washed over her. Everyone was shocked when they saw Luz's form turn green, a single triangle shoulder pad on her left shoulder, and a band on her right bicep.
Luz suddenly started to scream as she held her head and thrust about. She could hear things from a mile away, down to the smallest insect scurrying across the ground. Her eyes had improved to the point that it was like she could see past the sky and into the stars beyond.
It was so overwhelming that she could hear her friends call out to her but couldn't focus on their voices.
Suddenly, the Blank Blooburn appeared in front of Luz. It delivered a powerful palm thrust to the human's chest, sending her flying off her feet. She hit the ground with a grunt as she turned into her white form.
She tried to get up, but her feet slipped because she couldn't get her bearings. She was barely aware of the Blooburn looming over her.
"WEH!" a familiar scream suddenly filled the air, and a sonic blast knocked the Blooburn back.
Luz's vision returned enough to see Lilith, in her new harpy form, rushed by her. She watched as the historian began fighting against the Blooburn, aided by King using his sonic roar.
Luz felt the last of her strength leave her, and she turned back to normal. The last thing she saw before blacking out was her friends rushing to her.
(SC)
With a light moan, Luz slowly worked her way to the waking world. She slowly opened her eyes, allowing them to adjust the light, and looked around. She smiled fondly when she saw she was in Amity's old, secret study room.
"Finally awake, I see," Luz heard Lilith say.
The human witch looked to her right and saw Lilith sitting at Amity's old desk, book in her hands. Luz smiled weakly and tried to sit up, moaning a little from the arches in her body.
"Lilith?" the human asked weakly, "What happened to the Blooburn?"
Lilith sighed, marked her place in the book, and set it on the desk. She stood up and walked over to Luz. The human noticed the look the witch was giving her as she got down beside Luz.
Lilith was silent as she gave her sister's apprentice a quick check-up.
"... It seems that King's powers and my harpy form were enough to damage it," Lilith replied after she had finished her check-up. "However, the creature fled when one of King's sonic screams hit its core. Your friends are out looking for it as we speak."
Luz scowled and sighed with bitter frustration at this news.
"Luz," Lilith said, slightly scolding, "We need to talk."
"Why not," Luz muttered bitterly. "I have to wait two hours before I can transform again."
Lilith cocked an eyebrow, having heard the human, and decided, for the time being, to keep the knowledge that Luz had been unconscious for over two hours to herself. Instead, she settled next to Luz and looked at her in concern.
"Luz," Lilith said slowly, "We need to talk about how you are fighting against those creatures."
Luz growled as she glared at her teacher's sister. She felt she knew what this conversation was about; it always ended like this. Whenever someone saw her fight for the first time, they felt the need to lecture her, and she was tired of it.
The human opened her mouth to retort something and stopped when Lilith held up her right hand. Luz stared at the bandages wrapped around the historian's wrists.
"Unlike most of your friends, Luz," Lilith said calmly, "I was a soldier, and I now have firsthand experience fighting one of those creatures. So, it pains me to admit you're the only one who can fight. What I want to know is why you rushed in so recklessly. I thought you grew past that impulse years ago."
Luz looked into the concerned eyes of someone she considered family and sighed. She slumped onto the floor and stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Lilith waited patiently on her sort of niece.
"...It's just," Luz said after a moment of silence, "When I see someone's in trouble or pain, I go back to the Day of Unity."
"I'm afraid I don't understand?" Lilith said, frowning.
Luz sighed, pushed herself back into a sitting position, and looked Lilith right in the eyes. The historian was a little surprised to see how heavy their sort of niece's eyes were.
"When we fought Belos, and I saw Hunter suffering because of the draining spell, I was like, "This is happening to others," and I can't do anything to stop it," Luz explained sadly. "This is happening because of-"
"NO!" Lilith screamed, hugging Luz with all her might. "Don't finish that thought!"
Luz was caught off guard by Lilith's sudden show of affection. She hesitantly returned the hug as the shock wore off. The two stayed like that for a moment before they separated.
Lilith looked at the human warmly and said, "What happened that day wasn't and never will be your fault."
Luz sighed and then smiled weakly. "I know that," she said somberly. "But I can't help but think if I had done something more, more lives could have been spared the pain of losing loved ones like I went through."
"Oh, Luz," Lilith moaned and hugged Luz again. "I can't truly understand what that day brought back for you."
She gently pulled away from Luz, still holding her shoulders, and smiled supportively.
"But know this," Lilith said kindly, "Though you may have powers that only you have, you're not alone in this fight. You can rely on my sister, friends, girlfriend, and hopefully, me."
Luz couldn't help but smile, feeling the warmth coming off of the witch she considered an aunt, and, this time, hugged her. Lilith returned the gesture greatly.
Luz pulled away from Lilith, smiling warmly. "Thank you, Li-"
"Please," Lilith interrupted gently, "Call me Lily. And if you ever need anything, I'm here for you."
"Thank you, Lily," Luz said gratefully.
She then put on a thinking face as she recalled the last vision about her latest powers. She looked at Lilith hopefully.
"Actually, do you think you can get me something from the Owl House?"
(SC)
"Found anything yet?" Hunter asked Gus as he landed beside him.
The young illusionist shook his head as his palisman animated and crawled up his shoulder. Hunter growled and slammed the bottom of his fist against a wall.
"Titan!" he exclaimed angrily. "That thing was limping after King hit it center! So why can't we find it after so long?"
"Hey, man," Gus said in a calming manner, "You got to remember that things can do magic."
Hunter looked at his best friend and let out an irritated sigh.
"That's another thing bothering me," the grimwalker said angrily. "This is the first time one of those creatures used magic, and I can't help but think what that means."
Gus frowned as he looked at Hunter. He can't deny feeling something similar to what Hunter was experiencing; if these Blooburns have magic, why haven't they used it before? This new development just brought up more questions, and still no answers.
Gus sighed and looked around, trying to find something to distract him from his thoughts. He gasped when he saw a shimmer of blue light and quickly got to work.
. He grabbed his magic mirror from his ear and drew a spell circle. He pointed the mirror at the circle, and a wave of energy pushed out from the spell circle, bathing the area in a blue light.
Hunter gasped when he saw the Blooburn, oblivious that it was spotted, limping away.
"Good work, Gus," He complimented his friend in a whisper, taking out his scroll.
(SC)
"So," Luz said, examining Amity's bike, "This is the change you made?"
Amity, smiling proudly, nodded and looked back at her creation. The two were outside the library, waiting for updates from the others.
"Yeah," Amity replied, looking at the open compartment on her bike, "I figure this way you don't have to stumble around looking for something to make your weapons."
Luz smiled at her girlfriend and then looked back at the bike. The compartment was under the bike's seat and had a rod and a handle so that Luz could use her staff and sword at any time. She looked at the head of the bike and slightly frowned when she noticed the space under the steering column.
"And what that?" Luz asked, pointing at the space.
Amity looked where Luz was pointing and then looked at her girlfriend with a catty smile.
"Oh, that's a seat that palismen can ride in," Amity replied, "I figure you want to take Stringbean on rides since I am giving the LightChaser to you permanently."
Luz was looking at the Palisman seat when Amity's words took hold. She slowly looked at her girlfriend's still smiling face. Before anyone could say a thing, Amity's scroll dinged.
The budding inventor grumbled under her breath as she took out her scroll. She read the message she got, and her eyes widened.
"Luz!" She called urgently. "That's was Hunter! He and Gus just found the Blooburn! It's a block and a half away from here!"
Luz gasped but quickly got ready. She closed the lid on the storage compartment, hopped on her bike, and started it up.
"Luz?" Amity asked as Luz slipped on her helmet. "What are you going to do if that thing uses magic again?"
"Don't worry, Sweet Potato," Luz replied with a wink, then closed the visor. "I have a way of hitting my mark!"
Luz then sped off at full speed. Amity couldn't help but sigh lovingly as she watched her girlfriend disappear around a corner.
"She's a dork, but that's what I love about her," the young inventor mused to herself as she summoned her staff to give chase.
(SC)
Luz raced down the streets of Bonesborough and, with a cry of 'henshin,' changed into her Kuuga form. She soon arrived at the area and stopped. She dismounted and began looking around.
"Luz," she heard Hunter whisper close by. "The blooburn is to your left. Gus is going to see if he could dispel the illusion around it."
Luz nodded her understanding and got ready. A few seconds later, the Blank Blooburn appeared in front of the human, looking slightly confused.
The human witch took this opening and rushed the Blooburn, trying to land a punch on the creature's face. The blooburn blocked the punch and countered by punching Luz in the stomach. She grunted from the blow but shook it off and twisted her arm around her opponent's to trap him in place.
Luz then delivered a solid punch to the Blooburn's face, then a second and a third. As she was going for a fourth hit, the Blooburn core glowed blue, and a spell circle jumped from it. Luz screamed when a bright light blinked her, and she let go of the creature.
The human witch stumbled backward as she covered her eyes. The Blank Blooburn used this opening to create another spell circle. It then disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
Luz's sight came back after a few seconds, and she looked around. She growled when she saw her opponent had disappeared.
"GUS!" she called to her friend. "Can you take off the spell again?"
"No!" Hunter replied from behind Luz.
She turned around and gasped when she saw the state her friend was in. Hunter was holding Gus, who clutched his head, eyes flickering blue. Before Luz asked what happened, she was hit from behind, staggering slightly.
Luz spun around on her heel and tried to find the creature. She was suddenly hit from the side and fell to the ground. She rolled to her left before anything could happen and jumped to her feet, getting into a fighting stance.
"LUZ!"
Luz looked up and saw Lilith and Amity coming toward her. The historian threw something when she was close enough, and Luz caught Eda's paintball gun. The human witch faced forward, gun held by her side.
"Chou Heshin!"
With that cry, Luz changed into her Kuuga green form. She held the gun in front of her chest, and it changed into a bowgun, its bow opening. She lowered the gun to her waist and pulled back on the lever, causing air to concentrate on the bowgun's tip.
She blocked everything out except the sound of footsteps and soon heard them coming from her right. She spun her heel, snapped the gun up, and let the lever go, pressing the trigger at the same time.
A bolt of compressed air fired from the gun and hit its target, causing the Blooburn to become visible. The creature was convulsing, but Luz saw she missed the Blooburn's core by a hair. So, she quickly reloaded her gun and took two more shots in rapid succession.
The two hit their mark and pieced the Blooburn's core. The creature's convulsing worsened as its core cracked and its blood veins flashed. The Blooburn exploded a second later.
Luz breathed out as she turned back to her usual self. She turned around, smiled, and gave a thumbs-up as Amity and Lilith landed. The young inventor ran up to her girlfriend and hugged her as Lilith went to check on Gus.
(A few days later)
"The sorrow of the Burning Knights," Eda said with a cocked eyebrow, then looked at her sister. "Lily, this is a kid's book."
Lilith sighed and took the book from her sister. She looked at the book's cover, which had a knight on it holding a flame in his hands.
"I know how this looked, Edalyn," Lilith replied, placing the book on the coffee table. "But Malphas said he had also been looking into the knights since he had heard about them."
"And this is all he found?" Eda retorted, pointing at the book.
"Yes," Lilith replied reluctantly. "But I feel there's more to this book than a mare children's tale."
Eda gave her sister a skeptical look, and Lilith sighed. She grabbed the book and stood up. She walked over to a stand and grabbed a candle. She looked back at Eda, held the candle out, and held the book over it.
Eda's eyes went wild as she watched the flames of the candle sniffed out. It didn't take long for Eda to figure out what was going on with the book.
"Whoa," was the only thing she could think to say.
"Yes," Lilith replied, "This book has a spell on it that not only protects it from the elements but time as well. But… it goes deeper than that still."
Lilith put the candle down and walked back to her sister. She opened the book to the first page and held it out for her sister to see.
"Read," was all the ex-coven head said.
Eda scowled at her sister, but she took the book and began to read. It didn't take long for the witch's eyes to widen, and her expression twisted in shock. She looked at her sister, at a loss for words.
"Yes, Edalyn," Lilith replied grimly. "From the way the author describes things, it's like he lived the story instead of merely writing it."
Eda looked down at the book, clearly still shocked by this new information. She slowly closed the book and placed it on the table.
"So, Lilith," Eda said thoughtfully, "What do you make of all of this?"
Lilith sighed and took a seat on the couch. "Honestly," she replied uncertainly. "I can't say. I was trying to read the book while Luz was recovering, but like you, I was shaken by what I read."
She looked at the book like it was a hungry beast, charging recklessly for its next meal. Lilith sighed faintly and looked at her sister.
"But…I know this. The book, the only copy in existence, was kept in a highly restricted area in the library, and it's over two thousand years old. It may not give us much, but it's the only lead we have at the moment."
Eda scowled at her sister for a second, sighed, and looked at the book. She reached out and grabbed the book. She opened it and looked at Lilith.
"Then.." she said seriously, "Let's get cracking."
(From the Research Notes of Flora D'espora)
I have learned more about this mysterious event the Order's founders had witnessed; it turns out it was two godly beings fighting.
However, if I'm deciphering this moral correctly, the battle between these beings, one light, the other dark, was happening in another realm! The only realm I could think of at this time is the human realm! Titan, if that was true, then that meant these beings were powerful enough to break the walls between realms without even realizing it. I could only assume the "seed" the knights found was created from this fight.
The more I learn about these knights, the more questions I have. However, one question is burning brighter than any other. How…How were these knights even aware of godly beings battling in another realm?
I feel like I am missing some simple connection, but with my rations growing thinner with each passing day, my sharp mind isn't working like it normally would. Still, I plan to press on! Until my body gives out on me, I will learn all I can about this order and their story!
(G Corner)
And we now have all of Luz's base forms. And if you're wondering, the events of this chapter happen a few hours after the events of the last chapter.