Luz was confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "Wait... you mean you're going to turn Gus and Willow into humans!?"

Eda shook her head. "It is not within my power to do so. But I can modify their form for a limited period of time. And since they have a great desire to experience what it feels like to be human... I have chosen to make their wish true" she said, opening her hand and showing two extremely small enamelled sapphires tied by a tiny rope. They looked like necklaces made especially for insects. "I present to you some very special amulets. They are called concealment stones"

Luz was amazed. It didn't take long for the pieces to connect. "Is this what you were doing yesterday?"

"Yes. Sorry we didn't tell you, we wanted it to be a surprise" Willow said flying onto Eda's hand with Gus.

"Yeah. Aren't you happy, Luz? Now we can go to school with you as if we were your classmates, we can play any game together without risking being crushed, and we can even hug each other!" Gus exclaimed. "We will be able to do all those things that have so far been denied to us!"

Luz was silent for a while, then a smile spread across her face so wide that for a moment it looked like her head was going to break. "That's wonderful! Oh, my, that's the greatest thing I've ever heard! Do it now!"

"As you wish. Hey, girls, get ready; you're about to witness the true magic of a fairy!" Eda exclaimed winking at Amity, Boscha and Skara, who immediately became super interested. Even if they had already been able to see her or Lilith doing some magic, it was mainly based on healing a wound or a bruise or on making some play of lights; they had never seen anything resembling actual magic. They couldn't wait to see the true power of a fairy. "I just need to stabilize the last link, and that's it"

Gus and Willow were extremely excited. "Fantastic!" Gus exclaimed, then he jokingly added: "And I assume the part where you risk to fry our brains is already over, right?"

Eda didn't answer; instead she looked in a completely random direction and asked: "So, which one of you wants to try first?"

Both Gus and Willow raised an eyebrow at the behavior, and weren't sure if they could fully trust the fairy, but they decided to risk it anyway. "I'll do it" Willow said without thinking twice, and put one of the necklaces around her neck. Eda grabbed Owlbert and moved him over the cricket, and a small blue light illuminated her for an instant. "That's it, you are now fully connected" the fairy said. "You just have to turn it to the right"

Willow did as she was told, and immediately her body was engulfed in what looked like a cross between colorful flames and spray of water, so much so that she could no longer see her; the vortex grew within a few seconds until it was more or less the size of Luz, who moved to avoid it hitting her. Under the stunned gaze of everyone but Eda, the vortex settled on the floor and then vanished in a puff of colored smoke, revealing a girl standing in front of them. She was a shorter than average girl, larger and stocky with fairly pale skin, olive green eyes and short, neat, dark blue hair with a few loose strands; he wore a pair of round gold-rimmed glasses and an outfit very similar to the typical Hexside student uniform, consisting of a gray tunic, a dark green shirt and trousers, a dark gray hood and belt with a gold pin, and gray-black short-heeled shoes.

Silence reigned in the room for a few moments. Eda observed the scene with her usual loving gaze and her cheeky smile, while on her hand Gus had the expression as if he had just seen a donkey fly. Amity, Skara, and Boscha had their mouths and eyes so wide open that a whole loaf of bread could have fit in them. Finally, Luz had eyes so bright that they seemed to sparkle. "Willow...? Is that you?"

The new girl nodded. "It's me, Luz! It's... URGH!"

The moment she tried to move her neck to nod, the movement made her lose her balance and she fell to the ground, and luckily Luz intervened in time to prevent her hitting her face. She tried to stand up a couple of times, but each time she fell to the ground because she ended up losing her balance as soon as she made too sudden a movement. "Damn, how do you humans are able to stand upright on two legs!?"

Willow had always kept at least four of her six legs anchored to the ground and therefore was used to having a solid base of support; furthermore, crickets had their bodies parallel to the ground, while humans had them vertical. Willow had no clue how to move and walk with that body. And it wasn't just that: now that she was bigger, all of her senses were greatly heightened, continually disorienting her. Only after a great effort on her part and several helps from Luz and the other girls she finally managed to find her balance and avoid falling to the ground every three seconds. "So… what am I like?" she asked when calm finally returned.

"You're super beautiful, Willow!" Luz exclaimed. "Damn... I don't know why, but this appearance absolutely suits you!"

Willow blushed at Luz's words, then with much difficulty she dragged herself in front of a mirror and admired herself. In fact she didn't mind her new body at all, and she felt quite comfortable in it. In reality, it was as if she felt that body belonged to her. "It's strange... it's like it's familiar to me"

"It is because I created that body based on the characteristics of your previous body and your spirit. It is exactly what you would have if you were born human" Eda explained, then she pointed to the concealment stone that she wore around her neck, which had now become large as much as a punch. "To return to normal, simply turn it to the left. Remember, in total it can't transform you for more than six hours a day, so be careful"

Six hours a day meant she couldn't remain human for more than a quarter of the day; Willow didn't like that limitation, but it was better than nothing. She was about to say something else when Gus jumped and exclaimed: "My turn!" and with that she grabbed his concealment stone and put it around his neck and twisted it like Willow had done. Just as had happened with his friend, his body was enveloped by that strange vortex which after a few seconds vanished revealing a rather short boy, with brown skin and dark brown hair with lighter shades; his upper lip was curved, similar to Luz's, and his eyes were dark blue. He wore a gray tunic with a dark gray belt, hood and boots, and a light blue shirt and leggings. Just like Willow the first thing he did was fall to the floor, completely off balance after being stripped of six of his eight legs, but despite that he didn't surrender and crawled across the floor until he reached the mirror to look at himself. "Hey! Why am I short!?" was the first thing he said upon seeing himself, as Willow, Luz, Amity, Boscha, and Skara were visibly taller than him.

"I told you, your current body reflects your spirit. I didn't choose it" Eda explained, then she leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Don't worry, I put the centimeters you didn't have in height somewhere else that is definitely more useful!"

Gus didn't understand what Eda meant, but he was pretty sure it was something strange or even vulgar, so he preferred not to investigate. Rather, as soon as he was able to keep his balance he put on the most magnetic smile he could manage and asked the girls: "So? What do you think of this magnificent boy who just appeared in front of you?"

"Sorry, who would the magnificent boy be?" Boscha teased him.

"Yeah, I don't see it" Skara added.

"Maybe he's referring to that awesome guy that is Hooty. He's actually not bad" Willow said in turn, visibly giggling.

"Mh. I don't know, I have to admit there's something... but I prefer tall people" Amity finally concluded.

Gus lowered his head in defeat. He knew the girls were just teasing him, but they tore him down anyway. He was heartened, however, when Luz grabbed his arm and said: "Gus, you're not my type at all, but you're still very beautiful to look at! You too, Willow! You're both beautiful!" And with that she grabbed Willow too and pulled her towards her, and hugged them both tightly. A smile appeared on the faces of the two ex-arthropods and they returned the hug; it was the first time in their lives that they could really hug Luz, and it was a wonderful feeling.

"Ah, Luz, you're the only one here who gives me satisfaction! However, I still have a chance!" Gus exclaimed as soon as they broke the embrace, and he ran (or at least, wobbled and bounced) to Mattholomule's terrarium and knocked on the glass. "Matt! Hey, Matt! Come out, and tell me if I'm not an awesome guy!"

The crab emerged from his hole and looked at him in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked, and his voice became inquisitive. "I feel like I've seen you before somewhere... do we know each other?"

"It's me, buddy! I'm Gus!" the boy replied. "What do you think?"

Matt's eyes widened in surprise and amazement. "Gus? But how... no, never mind, it's obvious that there is some magic is involved. So... are you human now?"

"Only for six hours a day, but yes, I'm human! Isn't that great?" Gus replied.

Matt looked a little disappointed. "Well… yeah, yeah, that's great" he said, but he didn't sound sure of his words. "Well... I guess you'll be spending a lot of time with other humans now... and I won't see you as often as before... well, at least I'll be able to sleep well a little more and..."

His words were cut off by a thud; he turned and saw that Eda had dropped a concealment stone next to him too. "Here. Your friend asked me to prepare one for you too" he said. "It wasn't difficult, since you're always in your terrarium and sleeping all the time. You were practically my guinea pig and you didn't even notice. I finished that concealment stone two days ago, but I wanted to wait until all you three had one"

The crab's eyes shone for a moment, then he looked at Gus who smiled back at him. Although it was difficult to tell due to his red and brown carapace, Matt seemed to blush for a moment, then let out a grumble: "I'm not saying that I'm interested in becoming human or that I'm grateful for this gift... I'm saying that it would be a waste not to use this thing now that it's ready" he said, putting the concealment stone around his neck, and then turning it over following Gus's instructions. The usual vortex appeared and carried him to the floor, then it vanished to reveal a boy who was about as short as Gus, thin, with beige skin, dark brown eyes and straight brown hair shaved at the sides, and who was wearing a light blue shirt and leggings brown covered by a gray tunic with a small dark gray-blue hood.

"Yay! Now I'm no longer the shortest, there's someone who's my equal!" Gus exclaimed elatedly when he saw him.

Matt glared at him and pulled his hood over his head, clearly embarrassed, then he asked: "Were you really the one who asked the fairy to make me this jewelry?"

"Of course! So you too can come and have fun with us!" Gus replied. "Come on, you must be tired of spending your days sleeping and doing nothing! We're friends, right?"

Matt didn't answer him. He wasn't quite sure what he and Gus were, but he gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder anyway.

Luz was clearly over the moon. "Oh, it's so beautiful to see you all in this form! Now I can finally touch you without being afraid of crushing you!" she exclaimed. "What do we do first? Oh, there are so many things we couldn't do before! Let's play ball? Or dance together? Or maybe give each other a high-five? Or..."

"Hey, hey, Luz, calm down" Amity stopped her. "Be patient for a moment. This is a new situation for them anyway, they have to get used to..."

But despite her good intentions, Willow exclaimed: "Get used to it? I've been waiting for this for weeks, and I don't want to wait!" she exclaimed, jumping for joy. Too bad as soon as she did so she jumped up to the ceiling and hit her head on it, and she came back to the floor with a thud.

"Willow!" Luz and Gus exclaimed in unison, running to help their friend, who was clearly seeing stars from the blow.

"Damn... what happened?" Amity murmured in amazement. "How did she jump so high?"

A cough from Eda caught their attention: "Um, yes... I should have told you. As I told you, you are not human now, you have only changed form. Which means that your internal structure is still that of a cricket, a spider and a crab... with the difference that now your muscles are much bigger and therefore much stronger. So, Willow... I would avoid jumping into closed spaces if I were you"

"Urgh... and you're telling me this now?" Willow murmured, rubbing her head, then a doubt struck her: "Wait... how high can I jump now?"

"We need to check this out now!" Boscha, suddenly very interested, grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house, and there she said to her: "Come on, take a leap!"

Willow thought Boscha seemed strangely excited, but still she decided not to ask questions and do as she asked, so she bent her legs as far as she could and took a leap. She rose from the ground for about ten meters, then she stopped and came back down; she had some small problems landing, but still managed to sustain the impact well. Boscha watched all this with extreme interest. "Mh. Crickets on average can jump four or five times their length... but you definitely broke all records" she said. "You're stronger than the average members of your species, right?"

"Well, I've been training a lot" Willow confessed. In fact, if crickets on average jumped at most five times their own length, then she, who at the time was just one and half meters tall, should not have exceeded seven and a half meters in height; the fact that she had reached ten meters was probably due to all the physical effort and training she had done during her adventures with Luz.

Boscha continued to circle her as if she were a predator studying its prey. "You're definitely strong. Let's try to test your grip!" and with that she grabbed a rock and threw it at her, and Willow grabbed it with such force that it cracked slightly. "You're perfect! Hey, you two! Crab, spider! Come out!"

Confused, Matt and Gus complied and left. Boscha subjected them to several tests, discovering that Matt had retained the enormous strength of his claws and that Gus still had the extraordinary speed and flexibility he possessed when he still had eight limbs. The other guests in the house began to find this behavior strange. "Boscha, what are you doing?" Amity asked her.

Boscha turned and stared at her with shining eyes. "Isn't it obvious, Amity? Let's recruit them for the rugby team immediately! They are living phenomena!"

Amity's eyelids fluttered open as she realized what Boscha had in mind. In fact it wasn't a bad idea at all: with similar skills those three would have been an excellent addition to the team.

Luz's voice distracted her from her thoughts: "Um... sorry, what is rugby?"

"Oh, it's a sport recently born in this region. It doesn't have any real rules, but despite that Hexside often organizes tournaments. Boscha loves it, and I'm the captain of the team" Amity explained. That last part didn't even need to be specified: she was always the team captain in any team game. "Do you want to try playing too, Luz? You have fast legs and are quite agile, you would be fine"

She didn't even need to finish the sentence. "Very willingly!" the puppet exclaimed, then she looked at Willow, Gus and Matt. "Guys, are you okay with this?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know what rugby is, but it doesn't hurt to try"

"Yeah. We're human now, we might as well try human things! Just... let's make sure the games last under six hours" Gus replied, then he looked at Matt. The latter said nothing, but then he let out a snort and nodded.

"Splendid!" Boscha looked like she had just found a treasure; Luz couldn't remember ever seeing her so enthusiastic. "So, rugby has various versions depending on the country where you are, but here at Hexside we play twelve. So, it's me, Amity, Skara, the puppet, the spider, the cricket, the crab, Amelia, Cat, the Blight twins... in total they make eleven. We only need one player and then we will have completed the team!"

"Well, if one player is missing..." Luz said in a strange winking voice as she put her arm around Willow's neck.

The ex-cricket looked at her confused. "Why are you looking at me? I'm already on the team"

"Oh, I know you're already on the team. But you can contribute a little more by inviting a certain someone to play... a mysterious individual who walks around with a magical staff and a red cardinal-shaped Palisman..." Luz told her.

Willow turned so red that a tomato would have looked pale in comparison. "Wait... you mean..."

"Obvious that!" Luz exclaimed. "We certainly can't let Hunter not see you in this form!"

Author: "Now the arthropod friends are human!"

Luz: TRIGGERED

Author: "And they are very strong and can play in any team game..."

Boscha: TRIGGERED

Author: "Oh, and now Willow can date Hunter too"

Everyone: TRIGGERED

Just to specify: the invention of rugby dates back to 1823, while Collodi wrote his novel in 1881, so rugby already existed at the time. However, rugby hasn't had any real set rules for a long time; in the first versions of the game it was just an alternative version of football (according to the legend, William Webb Ellis during a football match grabbed the ball and started running with it in his hand, giving rise to the game), and therefore the teams were made up of about eleven or twelve players, just like in football. It would take a long time before rugby was actually recognized as a sport and got official regulations that made it totally different from football. In this AU, given that it is set quite far back in time, I imagined that rugby had just been invented and therefore had various versions depending on the town, and that the version played at Hexside had twelve players, so as to allow all the protagonists to play it. Yes, it would have been easier for me to simply fall back on football, but Boscha wouldn't be Boscha if wouldn't be obsessed with a game where she can fight and use the ball to hit her opponents.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, Willow, Gus, and Matt's designs are from their first appearances in season one.