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 140: Change of Plans

In the aftermath of the Bonesborough Precinct explosion, Luz, Eda, and Lilith ran through the burning building. Luz used her ice spells to put out the flames on their path while Eda shielded Luz from the falling debris. Everything was in chaos as all around them were dead and injured scouts.

"What just happened?!" one scout cried out.

"Help…" a guard groaned while under a desk.

"How… how is this happening?!" Luz cried out while putting out the flames to save a scout and guard. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"We need to get out of here now!" Eda shouted, seeing Lilith carrying a few scouts. "Lily!"

"We can't just leave them here!" Lilith told her sister, using her talons to carry some guards. "Some are still alive!"

"She's right," Luz said as she grabbed the coughing guard from underneath the desk. "We gotta get anyone alive out of here!"

Eda looked at Luz and Lilith before sighing. She used her wings to blow some of the flames away, then grabbed a scout who was still alive. She grabbed another while they looked around to see if there was anyone left. But as the fire grew worse and worse, they knew they had to get out.

Eventually, they flew out of the precinct just as another explosion occurred behind them. The three Clawthorne women fell onto the streets with the surviving scouts laying on the ground.

Eda coughed as she looked around. "Is anyone alright?" she asked before hearing Luz's cries. "Luz?" she asked while seeing Luz crying.

"He's dead…" Luz cried while wiping away her tears, which flooded from her eyes. "Larry's dead!" she screamed as Eda went over to comfort her. Eda hugged Luz, who buried her face into her.

"I-I know, Luz," Eda said while patting her back. She was also in tears. "Larry… he's done a lot for us. He did not deserve this."

Lilith was still shaken and confused as she looked back at the flames coming from the precinct. She had no idea where those bombs came from or why were they in the precinct… unless…

"No…" Lilith gasped after putting things together. "Belos must've known that we were going to hit the precincts… But… that could mean…"

"FREEZE!"

They paused, turning around as they were hit by a spotlight. The Clawthornes saw a group of scouts, but they looked different from the normal scouts. Rather than the bird masks they usually wore, they had blue hoods with blue helmets with black visors. Their uniforms had blue capes with black body armor. Their outfits were traded from their usual medieval aesthetic to something that looked more… modernly militaristic. But what was more shocking was that they were equipped with SCORN weapons… which included Abomi-Shooters.

"You are all under arrest for the bombing of an official Emperor's Coven precinct!" a scout told the three as he aimed his Abomi-Shooter at them. "Get on your knees and put your hands where we see them!"

Eda's eye widened at the weapons, which looked all too familiar to her. Those weapons… they were guns. Somehow, the Emperor's Coven managed to make guns.

"Luz, Lily," Eda whispered to them. "We have to leave."

Luz and Lilith knew that already as they heard the scouts shout. "Hands up in the air, NOW!"

Luz then responded. "Alright…" She had her hands up… and then turned to the scouts to shoot an ice block to shield her and her mom and aunt from them.

"What the-?!" the scout shouted, seeing the ice block in front of them. "Shoot it down!" he shouted as the new uniformed scouts kept shooting at the ice block.

However, Luz then slapped an invisibility glyph on herself, her mom, and her aunt. "Hold your breath," she told them before they vanished.

"Wait, they're getting away!" one of the scouts realized when they saw that the three Clawthorne women were gone.

"Then don't just stand there, find them!" the leader of the scouts shouted as they spread out, looking for the Clawthornes.

In Latissa, the trio of Edric, Geist, and Bunker were running away from the burning precinct.

"Anyone know what just happened?!" Edric asked them.

"I don't know," Geist admitted. "There was no way your fireworks did that much damage!"

"That's because it didn't," Bunker said, his eyes widening. "There's… there's no way it would just explode unless…"

"We're being set up," Edric said before suddenly the trio found themselves under a spotlight as a bunch of the newly armored scouts dropped down from an airship.

"By the orders of the Emperor's Coven! Stay where you are!" the captain ordered.

At the Metropelvis precinct, Odalia's group had found themselves surrounded by the same kind of scouts with weapons.

"We've been set up!" Odalia shouted while holding her pendent. Emira summoned some illusions and Bela pulled out a sword.

"Something tells me these guys are prepared to put us down…" Emira said.

"All of you stand down before-"

The leader didn't get to finish thanks to Odalia summoning a ghost to knock him away in her attempts to protect the girls. Emira used her spells to put up duplicates to fool the scouts, Hikari used plant magic to send vines to some of the scouts, and Bela went in swinging. Despite being outnumbered, they were not going down that easily.

The original BATTs found themselves in the same predicament with the newly uniformed scouts. Boris punched one in the mask while Katya kicked another. Derwin and Amber attempted to use their instruments to fight off some of them, but one scout managed to use his Abomi-shooter to knock Derwin out in one clean hit.

"Derwin!" Amber shouted before she played her recorder to send out shock wave attacks to knock out the scouts.

"There's too many of them!" Boris shouted while grabbing an Abomi-Shooter away from a scout as he kicked him away. "What even are these things?!"

"Don't know, but we shouldn't mess with them," Katya said before she got hit by one of the scouts with their Abomi-Shooter. "GAAAH!"

"Katya!" Boris shouted. He and Amber continued fighting, but more scouts were showing up…

Geist and Bunker stood in front of Edric. "Ed, get behind me. Once we make a path, run!" Geist told him.

"I can't just leave you, uncle Geist!" Edric told him while pulling out potions.

"Stand down or we'll make you!" one of the scouts declared before Edric threw a potion at him, the vial bursting and covering the scout with blue slime. "GAH!"

"Run!" Edric shouted as the trio ran for an alleyway. Bunker used his construction magic to create constructs, protecting them as the scouts used their Abomi-shooters to fire at them. However, the scouts were already trying to cut them off.

Geist saw this and attempted to summon illusions of a dragon to try to scare them off, but then one of the scouts managed to get a hit on Geist with their Abomi-shooter, knocking him down. Several other scouts ran over to pin him down.

"Bunker! Take Ed and run!" Geist told him as he struggled with the scouts.

"Come on," Bunker said as he grabbed Edric's arm. They managed to run down an alleyway, but they only ended up ambushed by some more scouts. "They're coming out like zombies!"

Edric glared at them. "Then we'll just have to fight our way out!" he declared.

Strong words. But unfortunately for Edric, he ended up pinned down by a scout moments later.

Emira hit the floor as a scout tried to pin her down. As she managed to kick the scout off of her, she heard Hikari's cry. She turned to see Hikari restrained. "Hikari!" she shouted, only to then be shoved and pinned down to the ground with an Abomi-Shooter to her head.

"Emira!" Hikari shouted, drawing Odalia and Bela's attention after they took out some scouts.

"Surrender now, or she dies!" the leader declared while holding Emira down.

"No, stop!" Odalia shouted as she raised her hand up. "I surrender."

Bela looked at Odalia, then to Emira and Hikari. She knew there was nothing they could do right now. So she followed their example by putting her hands up, both surrendering.

Boris was the last man standing, since Derwin, Katya, and then Amber had fallen. He was determined to go down punching and kicking.

But then one of the scouts used his Abomi-shooter to trap Boris in a net. And while Boris was down, the scouts ganged up on him.

"YAAAH!" Boris shouted in anguish as he got electrocuted by the electric sticks.

"Stop!" Bunker shouted at them, seeing the scouts pinning down Edric. "Don't hurt him! Just… just I surrender. He's only a kid. Just… don't hurt him any more."

"Bunker…" Edric said while the scouts handcuffed him.

"Take them to the wagon," the leader ordered as the scouts escorted Bunker, Ed, and Geist to the coven wagon.

Ed looked over at his uncle, then at Bunker. He could only look down in defeat.

Emira looked down at the ground while being escorted into the wagon. She got thrown in there along with Odalia, Bela and Hikari.

"Not surprising that you'd involve your own daughter and these kids in this, Odalia," the leading scout quipped, smirking underneath his helmet. "Never change."

Odalia just looked down as the scout slammed the door of the wagon shut.

Boris was dragged with cuffs on his hands as he, Katya, Amber, and Derwin were tied up and dumped into a wagon, Boris groaning in the process.

"Where do we take the prisoners, captain?" a scout asked his captain.

Meanwhile, at the remains of the Healing Coven, smoke and fire was everywhere. There was a commotion outside the fire as well, witches gathering in horror as they wondered what was going on. Already rescue attempts were being made, but soon they would have to bring out the bodies as well as the survivors. Patients, healers, and scouts… all dead.

However, on a nearby rooftop, Darius had managed to teleport himself to safety seconds before the explosion went off. And he was not alone. With him were four individuals: Raine, Star, Eberwolf, and Tres.

Raine was on the floor of the roof, gasping for breath. "Is… is everyone alright?!"

"I'm good," Star said with a groan.

"Yeah, same," Tres said while turning to Darius, "Thanks for getting us out of there, Darius."

"Yes," Raine said while turning to Abomination-Man. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have… survived…" They turned and saw Eberwolf staring at the flames, the former Beast Head watching the burning Healing Coven in shocked horror. Raine suddenly realized that while they were lucky, others weren't. "No… all of these witches…"

"W-Why did this happen?!" Star asked. "How did this happen?"

"All of those witches… killed," Tres said with a glare, his fist tightening. "Belos…"

Raine's eyes widened in realization. "Belos… of course! That's why the Coven Heads weren't there! They must've realized we were heading down there and… oh no." They made another realization as they turned to the others. "We need to head back to base, NOW!"

At the CATT base, things have taken a turn. Hunter, Willow, Sunny and King were on the defense against Wolffe, Ulrich, and some Abomatons that had invaded the base.

"Surrender now, Hunter!" Wolffe shouted while shooting her spells at them. "The Emperor wishes to save you!"

"I don't need saving from that monster!" Hunter shouted while swinging his staff to deflect the spells. Willow used her plant magic to push back against the Abomatons while King uses his powerful 'weh'.

Sunny summoned her bird demons to take on the Abomatons, along with a demonic-looking reindeer with a skull face and spiky antlers. She turned to Ulrich, looking at him in disbelief. "Why are you doing this, Ulrich?! I thought you'd work with us! Not against us!"

"I'm sorry, Sunny," Ulrich declared while using his construction magic to deflect the large vines summoned by Willow, using a large ax to chop through them. "But I have no choice!"

"You do have a choice, you asshole!" King shouted as he shrieked, knocking an Abomaton away from him.

"Belos wants Hunter, Willow Park, and King Clawthorne to be brought to the castle! Make sure no serious harm comes to them!" Wolffe reminded Ulrich.

Meanwhile, Hail Whispers helped up Webstor and Ludo, who were being ignored by the battle.

"This is not looking great for us," Ludo said in a panic.

"Leave me behind," Webstor told them. "I'll just hold back…"

"No, we're not leaving you behind, Webstor," Hail said as she lifted him up on her back. "Twenty-years of cardio, don't fail me now!" she shouted while grabbing Ludo. Using her own strength, she made a run for it.

Back at the fight, Willow summoned more plants and trees, both to push the Abomatons back and block them. With the combined efforts of her, Hunter, Sunny, and King, they were actually doing decently well at holding off Ulrich, Wolffe, and the Abomatons… at least until one potion landed on Willow's plants, causing an explosion.

"The hell?!" Hunter shouted before he heard maniacal laughter.

"Foolish, mortals!" declared a voice as someone revealed themselves. "As we are freed! None of you will stand a chance against… the League Of Chimeras That Harms!"

It was Weaseltaur and with him were Ruth, Goregon, Zephyr, and Brian.

"We didn't agree to that name, Weaselton," Goregon told him with a groan.

"Chimeras…?" Willow asked in confusion.

"They're Sonya Mera's former experiments, save for Goregon," Hunter said with a glare. "Raine said that they hoped to cure you of all of your appearances."

"Yeah, but we made a better deal!" Zephyr shouted as he pointed to Kiki and Pugsley, who made their appearance known.

"Kiki?!" Willow and Hunter shouted.

"Yes, it is I!" Kiki declared while on top of Pugsley's head. "And when we found these poor prisoners down here, we offered them to become part of our… special Chimera unit in the Emperor's Coven."

"I don't know, Kiki," Pugsley said. "Are you sure the Emperor will-"

"ZIP IT, PUGSLEY!" Kiki shouted as she swatted his head. "Now then… knock them out, everyone!"

"With pleasure," Goregon said as he formed his Abomination goo into his rhino-like Abomi-suit. Weaseltaur then summoned some roots while Ruth jumped down to shoot flame spells.

The heroes continued their fight against the intruders and the escaped prisoners, but the arrival of the latter quickly changed things. While Sunny was using her demon birds to distract Brian, who kept swatting at them, Zephyr managed to sting Sunny with his scorpion tail, the venom causing her to pass out.

"Sunny!" King shouted as he turned to screech at Zephyr. "WEH!" This knocked both him and Brian back while Weaseltaur and Ruth targeted Willow.

"Willow Park, prepare to face our wrath!" Weaseltaur declared as he summoned more plants while Ruth threw some potions and Goregon used his Abomi-goo to blast at them.

Willow attempted to shield everyone with a large bush she sprouted from the ground, but that bush was getting burned by some Abomatons with their flamethrowers. Willow, realizing how dire the situation was, turned to Hunter. "Take King and get out of here! I'll catch up!"

"We're not leaving you, Captain!" Hunter told her.

"Yeah, those guys want you too!" King pointed behind as they stayed behind with Willow, Hunter using glyph cards in a desperate attempt to slow down the Abomatons, using all sorts of weird combos. King sent out another screech of rage against the Chimeras, knocking them back. But that was then Kikimora showed up, riding on an Abomaton.

"I think that is enough of that!" Kiki declared as the Abomaton managed to bubble King, capturing him.

"Weh?" King asked in confusion.

"King!" Willow and Hunter shouted before Hunter flew up toward the Abomaton in anger. "Hunter, wait!"

"Let him go, Kiki!" Hunter shouted at her while holding up glyph cards to target her.

"Not today, turncoat!" Kikimora declared as she shot her spells at Hunter. He tapped onto the glyph with his robot hand… but a spell hit the glyph out of his hand, sparking an explosion that knocked him and his staff out.

"GAH!" Hunter shouted as he fell, his robotic arm blown off.

"Hunter!" Willow shouted as she summoned a large five-petaled flower for Hunter to land on safely. She sighed in relief before glaring at Kiki. "You could've killed him!"

"He's fine, it was just self-defense," Kikimora said. "Right, Wolffe?"

Wolffe sighed as she looked at Kiki before turning to Willow. "As long as the Emperor's nephew is secure, there's no problem," she said as she and Ulrich prepared to contain Willow.

"Please, just give this up, Ms. Parks," Ulrich told her.

Willow gave them a glare, then shut her eyes. When she reopened them, they were glowing green. "You all will PAY!" she shouted as she raised her hands up. Huge vines blasted out of the ground, grabbing everything in sight. Wolffe and Ulrich were forced to defend themselves while Abomatons fired at the plants, a few of them getting picked up and smashed together.

As Willow unleashed her powers, Abomatons were sent flying. This included Pugsley, who was unfortunate enough to get tangled by the vines.

"WAAAH!" Pugsley cried out as the former Glandus students saw this and decided to run off.

"Run!" Weaseltaur screamed as he, Ruth, Goregon, Zephyr, and Brian ran.

"She's going to be too powerful at this rate!" Wolffe realized.

"I'll keep her busy!" Ulrich declared as he attempted to contain Willow, surrounding her with walls. But Willow just used her strength to form large, grassy fists that she used to punch her way out. She saw more pillars sprang out, made by Ulrich to keep Willow busy as she kept punching her way through them.

But while she was focused on Ulrich, Wolffe and Kiki were using their controllers, ordering the Abomatons to surround Willow. Their new plan was to overwhelm Willow, which the girl realized too late. She used her vines to whip against the Abomatons, but they were already too close and they ended up dog-piling on her… literally.

"Willow!" King shouted while from his bubble he saw Willow getting dog-piled by the Abomatons. She tried to fight back, but there were too many of them and only one of her.

Eventually, even Willow reached her limit.

"Enough!" Ulrich shouted, turning to Wolffe and Kiki. "Call them off now!"

The Abomatons were ordered to move away from the buried Willow. Ulrich frowned when he didn't see her moving, so he went over to check her pulse. Her glasses were cracked now.

Ulrich sighed in relief. "She's still alive."

"Then let's take them in," Wolffe said as the Abomatons went to collect Sunny, Hunter, and Willow. King could only watch in despair.

"Oh no…" he said, looking miserable.

At the Abominations Coven, a fight had broken out as Amity flew into the hallway, dodging the venomous Abomi-Snake coming at her.

"You can't run forever, Amity!" Arthur declared as he along with Venoma kept chasing her.

"Yeah," Venoma said with a grin. "The Emperor will be happy to see that I've taken care of his Fae problem…"

Amity narrowed his eyes at them, glaring at Arthur in particular. "How in the hell are you still alive?!" she shouted while summoning Abomi-goo to blast at them.

Arthur looked at the goo coming toward him. He raised his skeletal and translucent hand, burning through the Abomination matter. "I don't know myself, to be honest," he admitted. "When I came out from the drainage, I found myself looking like this! My skin, my mustache, my appearance… gone! My Destiny… gone!"

"Hey, save the drama after we take care of this little punk," Venoma declared before she dodged some abomi-gunk from Amity.

"I could leave right now if I wanted to, but you two have something I want!" Amity told them while bringing out her Sword of Adam, which helped suit up in her Abomi-Armor. "You two will tell me where my dad is, NOW!"

Venoma smirked as she brought out a sword. "Make us."

Amity glared before deciding to use her shadow. "Sam, attack!"

Sam nodded and came from Amity's boots, attempting to intercept them… only for Venoma to slash at her with her iron sword. "AAH!"

"Sam!" Amity shouted before she saw Arthur also sporting himself some iron gloves.

"Luckily, Ms. Heathens provided me with some iron weapons that deflects my acidic touch," he declared. "I may not be able to die, but at least I'll be able to have my revenge and take you down!"

Amity backed away, holding her sword up. "Sam, are you alright?"

"Just need… to recover," Sam responded while holding her slashed shoulder.

Amity heard Venoma laugh mockingly and she turned to look at the cobra biped woman. "Talking to your shadow again? Now I think you've gone crazy."

"Not just that, did you know that she's incapable of making an Abomination?" Arthur asked as his iron gloves sprouted out blades. He charged at Amity, who teleported away, reappearing behind them.

"Really? Venoma asked. Amity saw her about to slash at her, but Amity held her sword to block her attack. The two fought back and forth. "Wow, come to think of it… I don't think I've ever seen you make a full-on Abomination! Not since the petrifaction ceremony, at least."

"How do you expect to be a witch if you can't make Abominations?" Arthur asked as he tried to slash at Amity, who also blocked his attack with her sword. "No wonder you kicked yourself out of the family! You're nothing but a disgrace to the Blights!"

Amity flew back as both villains swung at her. "Can you make Abominations, Arthur?"

Arthur could blink but couldn't due to the lack of eyes. "I… I don't need to answer to the likes of you!"

"That answers my question," she said as Ghost popped up from her shoulder, transforming into a staff. In one hand she held the Sword of Adam while in the other she held her own staff. "I don't need to be talked down to by some scout reject with bad breath and split-ends, and a nightmare who can't summon Abominations anymore."

This angered the two. "I too can summon more than you could!" Arthur shouted as he drew spell circles… only for them to break apart. "Huh?!"

Suddenly, Amity appeared behind him, using her staff to set his back on fire. Venoma summoned her Abomi-Snake at Amity, who dodged the attack

Arthur glared at Amity, bringing out more iron blades. "I wanted to join Destiny in death… but with my current condition, I'm not able to!" he shouted as he attempted to attack Amity, who teleported away to avoid the blades. Venoma ended up having to dodge the blades instead as they narrowly missed her.

"Hey! Watch it!" Venoma told him off.

"Do you know how hard it is to outlive the ones you love, you dirty Fae?!" Arthur shouted as he kept swinging around to hit Amity, ignoring his ally as Amity kept avoiding his attacks and using her sword to deflect them. "Without my Destiny, nothing matters! She has always stayed by my side, and without her, I-"

"Um, would you shut up?!" Amity cut him off. "Cause nobody gives a damn about your sob story."

Arthur roared as he shot purple liquids at Amity from his skeletal jaws. She dodged the liquids, which created a hole in the wall behind her. Amity flew in the hole, goading the villains to follow her into the office.

Venoma went in first. As she looked around, Amity appeared behind her and blasted her with her stuff. Venoma fell and hit her head on the desk. "Ow!"

"I've had enough of this, Fae!" Arthur declared as he grabbed a desk and threw it at Amity, who dodged it. He tried to grab onto her, but she teleported away. "You will realize how much pain I've felt! You don't know what it's like to not die! The Abomination matter this family uses… it's something-"

"Hey!" Amity shouted, getting Arthur's attention as she held her sword. "You wanna go be with your Destiny? Fine!" Amity shouted as she rammed her Sword of Adam through Arthur's chest, much to his shock. "You can join her in Hell!"

She then channeled her flame magic into the Sword of Adam, which heated up the blade. Arthur could feel the heat on his insides as his body started to bubble.

"Oh… WAAAH OH TITAN, THIS HURTS!" Arthur cried out as he tried to grab onto Amity with his bladed gloves… only for his hands to fall off.. "My… my hands!" he shouted as his body started to melt. "My body… what did you do?!"

"Putting you out of your misery." Amity told him as she pulled the sword out of him. "Rest in pieces…"

"NAAAWWW!" Arthur cried as he started to melt down. Eventually, nothing was left but his black bones and a few accessories around him. And later still it wasn't even that. Instead, it was nothing but a puddle.

Venoma, after having witnessed what just happened, looked at Amity. She was definitely frightened by what she just saw. But then, Amity turned to her, which made Venoma shiver in fear.

"U-Um, hey! Let's not go too crazy here!" Venoma shouted as she raised her hand in surrender, dropping her sword. "L-Look! Don't hurt me, alright! I'll tell you everything you need to know!"

Amity looked at Venoma before raising her sword up, pointing it at her. "Then tell me this… where is my father…?"

Meanwhile, in the Media Coven, Felicia was kneeling on the ground with the Alchemist and Ninja Supreme holding her down as Felicity paced back and forth. Felicia miserably looked over at her friends, who were now in cages.

"Seriously, Felicia, you should've seen this coming," Felicity told her daughter. "Did you really think that your friends' past wouldn't come back to haunt them? You really need to choose better allies. Take me, for example. When my new associates asked for my help, I was more than happy to do so. They told me all about your foolish friendship with those kappas from another world and how those kappas escaped them before. But now we both have what we wanted. I have you and my associates will have the Kappas back."

"Yeah, as their prisoners," Felicia muttered. "You do realize that those two were Tarot Guild members? Luz told me all about how they-"

"Oh please, you think I am unaware of that?" Felicity asked. "In fact, after you escaped, they actually came to me and I got them in contact with Belos. They admitted to being associated with Terra, but they agreed to leave this realm forever after they acquired the Kappas that also do not belong in the Isles. Belos saw it as a way to get rid of another potential problem. They also told me that the Kappas knew you, that it'd only be a matter of time before you brought them here, since you are dreadfully predictable. Belos will be happy to have the Kappas out of the picture, since, well, they're not really our kind, are they, Mr. Alchemist?"

"No, we are Yokai, far different from your mortal witches," the Alchemist declared.

"Yeah, we're pretty superior in a way," the Ninja Supreme declared.

"But… that would just make Belos guilty in associating with these Tarot Guild members!" Felicia shouted. "That means the Emperor's Coven is now working with traffickers!"

"Your point?" Felicity asked in annoyance. "The Tarot Guild's gone. Terra Snapdragon is dead. The Alchemist and his ninja assistant are no longer associates of Snapdragon. They are their own agents. And really, nobody is going to care about a few less Yokai in the Demon Realm…"

While they were busy talking, they don't know that Fuyuko, who had woken up, was working on picking the lock of the cage she was in by using a piece of wire on the lock that was connected to one of her gadgets.

"But they don't matter, let's talk about you and how this is all your own fault, Felicia," Felicity told her while kneeling down. "Let's face it, you've made a lot of bad choices. Such as withholding newsworthy information from me, especially about that Clawthorne girl. The Emperor isn't happy about that. And neither am I. If you had just done as you were told and stayed in your lane… then we wouldn't be here now, would we?" She sighed. "But instead, you always have to disappoint."

Felicia glared at her. "You're a terrible mother."

"Yeah, I am," Felicity admitted indifferently. "But I am one hell of a reporter."

"Oh?" Felicia asked. "Then who was the one who broke the story about Terra being a traitor? Not you, me. I spread one of the biggest stories in the Isles while you just-"

Felicity, suddenly angered, slapped Felicia in the face. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut," she hissed before composing herself. "I should have been harder on you."

Felicia looked up at her mom, defiant despite the slap to the face. "I deserve better than you. Todd deserves better than you."

"And where is he, hmm?" Felicity asked as she looked around. "Oh, that's right! He's not here to save you, is he? Face it, Felicia, you have no more friends and no more allies to help you!" She then sighed. "But I can't kill you here, so I'm gonna let those two deal with you." She looked up to the Alchemist and Ninja. "Feel free to have a new rug!"

"Should we?" the Ninja Supreme asked, looking at the Alchemist.

"She is of no interest to me," the Alchemist said. "Do what you want with her."

The Ninja Supreme grinned behind his mask as he raised his sword up. "With pleasure…" he said while Felicia looked up in fear, unable to take her eyes off the sword as it was about to be brought down on her…

"Wait!" the Alchemist shouted as he looked at the cages, causing the ninja to stop. "Where are those kappas?!"

Both Felicia and the Ninja Supreme looked back and saw that the cages were opened. A shuriken was suddenly thrown at the Ninja Supreme's hand, knocking his sword away.

"Gah!" he shouted before he felt a foot to his face courtesy of Jocho.

"Stay away from our friend, psycho!" Jocho told him as Fuyuko went to grab Felicia away from them.

"Alright, team," Kose said as he brought out his swords, his siblings taking a stand as Fuyuko and Felicia joined them. "Let's take them on!"

The Ninja Supreme got up. "We should've killed them when we had the chance!" the Ninja told the Alchemist.

"No!" the Alchemist shouted. "We can't kill them now either! They still have too much potential, their deaths would be a waste."

"Aw, he still believes in us so much," Koun said. "Too bad we gotta take him down."

"Kappas, let's go wild on them!" Kose declared as he and his brother and sisters jumped up with their weapons. They charged at Ninja Supreme and the Alchemist.

Fuyuko swung her staff at the Alchemist, who shielded himself with his arms. This gives Jocho a chance to attempt to take a slash at him, but the Ninja Supreme blocked his attempt. He held another sword to block his path, making Jocho bring out his sais.

Kose jumped in as he brought out his sword to take on the Ninja Supreme, managing to knock out of the Ninja's swords only for the Ninja Supreme to throw sand in his eyes from a pouch he had, blinding him.

"Gah!" Jocho shouted as he was kicked away by the Ninja while Koun charged in.

"Hang on, dudes!" Koun shouted, jumping in as she attempted to take on the Alchemist, who casually dodged her attacks while blocking Fuyuko's staff. Koun and Fuyuko continued to attack him, the Alchemist dodging or blocking their attacks before he grabbed Fuyuko and threw her into Koun, making the two crash into a table set.

"Hey! Watch the food table!" Felicity shouted before she noticed Felicia standing near her. "Oh, you want to fight me too?"

"Yeah," Felicia said as she held her oracle pendant, bringing out many ghosts. "I've put up with your abuse for years. Years of letting you use me as a prop to make yourself look good! Well no more, cause I'm going to tell the Isles who you really are!"

Kose and Jocho weren't fairing well against the Ninja Supreme, who kept using his underhanded tricks and dirty tactics against them. At one point, Jocho managed to disarm him of his other sword, but the Ninja Supreme just avoided his sais and hit Jocho in the back of the neck, followed by several more strikes. Jocho snarled and hit the Ninja Supreme back, managing to land a hit and making the Ninja stumble. But before Jocho could press his attack, the Alchemist slammed himself into Jocho, delivering several powerful hits that caused Jocho to slide across the ground. The Alchemist stood next to the Ninja as Kose and a recovered Fuyuko and Koun charged at the two.

Felicity snarled as she summoned her own spirits. "Is this really how you repay me after everything I've given you? I gave you life, I gave you a home, and I even produced your little show!" she shouted as her spirits attacked Felicia's. "Without me, you would have nothing!"

"No! You do not get any credit for doing the bare minimum! I don't owe you a thing! My show, my friends, my life! Not yours!" Felicia told her while shooting some spells at her mom, who dodged them. "But you're not just a terrible mom, you're also just a terrible witch! You don't care about anyone! You just see them as tools to advance your own career, including Todd! And you'd sell out witchkind for your own selfish needs! At least I have others who care about me!"

Felicity hid behind a table as she brought out something from underneath it. "Ugh, I am getting sick of your whining!" she shouted as she held up a t-shirt cannon and shot it at Felicia. "Always with the whining!"

The t-shirts rolled out, revealing they had eyes and jagged mouths. They ended up wrapping around Felicia, bounding her to the floor. Her ghosts tried to save her, but the distraction allowed Felicity's ghosts to deal with them, depriving Felicia of help.

"Good thing I kept one of these babies even though they were discontinued after the lawsuits," Felicity said as she patted the t-shirt cannon. "But hey, look at that, those t-shirts are more useful than you are, Felicia."

Felicia groaned before she saw Kose getting thrown to the wall. "Kose!" she shouted before she saw that the Alchemist was taking down the Kappas himself. The Kappas were really taking a pounding, despite trying to hit the Alchemist with everything they got. Jocho leapt up, only to get kicked in the stomach. The Alchemist then grabbed Fuyuko's staff before back-handing her. Fuyuko tried to get up, but was immediately slammed into the ground by the Alchemist, who wasn't giving her the chance. Koun tried to attack the Alchemist from behind, but unfortunately for them the Ninja Supreme saw this as the perfect chance to leap in and kick Koun into the wall.

"This is why I am the supreme ninja!" he declared.

"And to think, all of you could've won if you had just let me enhance your strengths," the Alchemist pointed out.

"Do you see that, Felicia?" Felicity asked. with a grin, "No matter what, I make sure to control the narrative."

Felicia didn't even hear her. Instead, she was too focused on watching in horror as her friends were beaten into submission by the Alchemist and the Ninja, neither villain letting the Kappas have a second to get their thoughts straight. The Alchemist especially was easily overpowering them, slamming the Kappas into the floor and across the room.

With each passing second, Felicia was looking more worried about the outcome of this fight.

Back to St. Epiderm, the battle continued. However, LOWTH had suffered a devastating loss, Beocrow's body laying on the ground.

"BEO!" Donna shouted as she blasts Draco away from his body. She tried to run up to him in the hopes that he was somehow still alive. "Beo, hang on, I'll-!" But suddenly she was punched in the side by Lupe, making her roll across the ground. She got up and saw the werewolf standing before her.

"Not so confident now?" Lupe asked her before his ears picked up something. He frowned. "Oh great, we got company."

"Donna, we're here!" Nina shouted as she along with Lindsay, Riley, Sarah, Gavin, Roxy, and the Saltstars arrived to provide back-up.

"We had to get everyone out of this wing," Beck said. "Andrew, Minerva, and Kyle are helping to keep civilians out of the battle."

"One of you get Beo, he's hurt!" Donna told them before she suddenly got grabbed by Lupe, who pinned her to the wall.

"Donna!" Nina and Lindsay shouted. Nina charged forward to get Donna, but then she felt a whip wrap around her and she was swung away from her friend and into a wall. Shaking it off, she looked up and saw the one with the whip was someone she knew. "Silas? Silas Hissenger?!"

"Hello, little kitten," Silas said as he cracked his own neck. "I got a score to settle with you!"

"I don't have time for you!" Nina shouted before transforming her arms into gorilla limbs, which she slammed into Silas, sending him crashing into a wall. "Take them down!"

Samwitch stomped on the ground, which sent a shockwave into the Septarians, knocking them down. The remaining Septarians attempted to rush them, but Simon, Beck, and Cain were more than capable of dealing with them.

Ghostina and Florella went to grab Beo's body, Florella using her vines to lift him up.

"Hang on, Beo, you're going to be okay…" Veronica said, her voice breaking a little when she looked at him. She was clearly in denial, while Tina had already accepted that Beo would not be okay…

Lindsay attempted to help Donna, but was then wrapped up by Coils.

"Ha! Finally managed to escape from that vine trap!" Coils declared.

"Let… me… GO!" Lindsay shouted before she then started to expand, changing into her Madstream. She pulled herself free of Coils and then began slamming him into the ground.

"Lupe, we got to go!" Draco shouted as he looked around, realizing that with these new reinforcements the battle was going to end quickly and not in their favor. "Get Donna and that keyblade of hers already!"

Lupe held onto Donna, who tried to shoot a spell on him. But he grabbed her left hand. "Not today, little snack," he said before he opened his jaws… and bit off Donna's hand.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" Donna screamed, which was heard by the others.

"DONNA!" they shouted.

Nina snarled and tried to charge at him, but a whip wrapped around her leg, making Nina fall on her face.

"Hey!" Silas shouted. "We're not done yet!"

Gavin and Roxy attempted to take on Lupe as well, but they were so focused on him that they left themselves open to an attack by Draco, who blasted them with his staff and knocked them away from Lupe.

Donna whimpered in pain as she looked at the bleeding stub of her hand before looking at Lupe, who grinned at her cruelly.

"Mmm, tasty. You're lucky that we need you alive," Lupe said while grabbing Donna and her keyblade. He started to carry them both toward the hole that he and the others had come out of.

"Someone, stop them!" Minos shouted as they tried to save Donna, but the Septarians and Snake-Men got in their way. The desperate heroes made short work of the goons, blasting their way through. Sarah used her potions gun, Riley used their illusions to confuse them, Simon and Cain used their Construction magic to beat their way through, and Madstream… well, Madstream was still using Coils as a stress toy. But even the seconds they spent fighting the goons were seconds wasted.

Draco turned to follow Lupe as Minos came down with his hammer, only for Draco to neatly side-step the hammer as it slammed into the ground instead. He then turned around and Minos found himself looking at the end of Draco's staff.

"Hi," Draco said before blasting Minos with his staff, knocking him back.

"You're not going anywhere!" Cain declared as he tried to intercept Draco, but Draco just blasted him with his staff, hitting him in the stomach. Despite the hit, Cain was still standing… until he took a second hit to the head, which made Cain spit blood.

"Hmm, you're very good at hitting things," Draco commented. "But you're not so good at dodging things, I see."

"Cain!" Samwitch cried as he went to attack Draco, who just pointed his staff at the ceiling and blasted it, causing rubble to fall down and land on top of Samwitch.

"The school!" Minos shouted as he and Simon tried to use their magic to reinforce the ceiling to prevent it from falling down on top of them.

Draco, meanwhile, joined Lupe. They were in one of the classrooms in the school and in the center of the room was a large glyph circle. It was with this glyph circle they had gotten into the school… and it was with this glyph circle they were planning on getting out.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome, Lupe," Draco said while looking at Donna, who seemed to have gone into shock. "You know Belos wanted her alive."

"She is alive!" Lupe pointed out. "He didn't say intact! She can still use a keyblade with only one hand, can't she?"

As Draco, Lupe, and Donna stepped into the glyph circle, the glyph combo started to glow. Nina, who was still struggling against Silas, spotted this. As did Madstream.

"DONNA!" they shouted. After slamming Silas and Coils into each other, Nina and Madstream rushed over to Draco and Lupe, trying to stop them. But seconds before they could reach them, there was a bright flash of light before Draco, Lupe, and Donna… disappeared. They ended up crashing to the ground instead.

"Donna? Donna!" Nina shouted, looking around in a panic.

"Hey! Did Draco leave us behind?!" one Septarian asked.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Silas shouted before suddenly a large wall blocked their escape. The Snake-Men were then attacked by the full fury of LOWTH and the Saltstars.

"You're not going anywhere!" Simon shouted as he was joined by Roxy, Minos, and Madstream as they brutally took down the Septarians. Riley punched one Septarian while Sarah kicked another. Gavin uses his Abomination goo to make a full body version of himself, slamming and beating Coils into the ground while Beck sent shockwave palm-strikes to defeat Viperion, Medusan, and Rattleton.

The battle was over in moments.

Silas looked around, shocked that his comrades had been taken down so easily and so brutally. He saw this as his cue to try to escape, but he was then slammed to the wall by Nina. She twisted his arm, now in her beastly werecat look.

"Ow! Ow!" Silas cried out before Nina's hand slammed him to the ground.

"Where's Donna?!" Nina demanded in anger as she dug her claws to his face.

After their escape, Luz, Eda and Lilith flew over to the CATTs base, where they saw it in ruins. The huge plants sticking out of the rubble was clear evidence that Willow had gotten into a fight and that she went down fighting.

"No…" Luz said as she flew down there.

They were soon joined by Amity and Raine's group.

"Titan…" Raine said in shock while Star shouted around.

"Ludo! Hunter!" Star shouted.

"King! Willow!" Luz also shouted around.

"Guys, look," Amity said as she lifted up some rubble, showing that underneath it Maurice was hiding along with Flapjack and Clover. She took a moment to listen to Maurice. "Maurice, Flapjack, and Clover are here. Maurice said it was very sudden, that the Abomatons and Emperor's Coven broke in… Ulrich was working with them. They took King, Willow, Hunter, and Sunny."

"No… Hunter…" Lilith said, looking down in concern.

"Ulrich… we trusted him…" Raine's hands shook as they lowered their head.

"That traitorous bastard!" Tres snarled.

"What about Ludo? And Webstor?" Star asked.

"Maurice said that Dr. Whispers took them to safety," Amity mentioned as Ghost meowed to her. "Ghost said that according to Flapjack and Clover, the prisoners were freed by Kikimora."

"No… nononono," Luz said as she ran her hands through her hair. "This can't be fucking happening!"

"Hold on, everyone!" Eda shouted, looking around them. "Look, we need to figure out what just happened. Because we just lost Larry."

"Larry?" Raine asked her before realizing what Eda meant. "No…"

"There were bombs placed in the precinct," Luz explained. "We don't even know where they came from, but Larry was killed in the explosion."

"Something similar happened when we were in the Healing Coven," Tres brought up. "The Coven Heads weren't there and the building just… exploded."

"The Healing Coven?!" Lilith asked in shock. "Were there…"

"Yes," Raine said while looking down. "There were still witches in there."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they thought about that huge loss of life.

"I… was thinking Belos was responsible for this," Lilith admitted. "I wonder if Ulrich knew…"

"Dad wasn't at the Abominations Coven," Amity revealed, changing the subject. "Venoma was there and I made her tell me where he was."

"Venoma? I thought she was locked up!" Luz asked.

"Yeah, apparently not," Amity explained. "But after beating her, she said that dad along with the other Heads were relocated to a safe location. She doesn't know where though."

"But… what about the other rebels?" Star asked, horror sinking in. "Steve, Le'Belle, and Cross, they're heading to the castle… who knows if they're expecting us there."

"Ed, Em, and Boris's groups weren't heard back from yet," Amity pointed out with a look of fear in her face as the horror truly sank in. "Which means… my family… Boscha's brother…"

"Let's not assume things right now," Luz said, trying to point out a bright side. "Those scouts that attacked us, wanted me, mom and Aunt Lily alive."

"Yeah, so maybe the others could be alive," Eda suggested as Darius and Eberwolf walked up to them.

"Guys," Darius said as he pointed to Eberwolf holding a note. "Eber found this."

Raine grabbed the letter. After reading it, their eyes widened before they showed Eda, Luz, and Amity what the letter said…

'BRING THE KEY'

Their eyes widened after they read it.

"Oh shit…!" Luz cursed. "He knows… he now fucking knows!"

"How did he…?" Eda asked while looking very worried.

"Does it matter? Belos now knows that we had a portal door this entire time!" Luz said while freaking out.

"Wait," Amity realized. "Belos may know we had the key, but if he's asking for it, that means he hasn't realized that we don't have the portal door and key anymore. As far as he knows, we still have it."

"She's right," Lilith agreed. "Which could be why Belos is using our family and friends as a bargaining chip."

Raine finally completely collapsed, kneeling on the ground as it truly hit them how dire the situation was. "No… nono… this is my fault. It happened again!"

"Raine…" Eda said as she knelt down, patting their back.

"My plans were completely compromised and I don't even know what to do anymore," Raine pointed out. "I got everyone hurt again…"

"Raine, it's not your fault," Lilith reassured them ."If anything, I was the one who suggested Ulrich to be part of our rebellion. I told him who Belos was.."

"Sounds like this is definitely Ulrich's fault," Tres hissed in anger. "Even when he knew who Belos was, he still goes along and decides to betray us."

As Eda comforted Raine, she also had a thought. "What about St. Epiderm? Do you think they got hit?"

"I mean, I'm sure Donna and her friends can handle whatever happens up there," Luz said before frowning. "Right?"

"Gavin… Sheila…" Darius said while looking worried.

Amity, who had been watching all of this, decided that she had enough.

"Guys, listen," Amity spoke up as all turned to them. "Can't you see this is what Belos wants? Make us feel like he's got the upper hand? Make us think that he is invincible? Well, he isn't. And let's think about it. Our friends and family were probably captured, right? And Belos would want to have them brought to the castle to be used as bargaining chips, right? And they would have to be transported by them. If we move fast enough, then we might actually be able to intercept the wagons before they get there."

"Yeah," Luz agreed while landing next to Amity. "And hey, maybe we could even use the wagons to get inside the castle so we can rescue King!"

"Okay, but how are we even going to find out where the wagons are so we can intercept them?" Raine asked while getting up.

"Well… I can ask someone for a favor," Amity suggested…

Back in the Media Coven, Felicia struggled against her t-shirt restraints while the kappas laid down in defeat.

"You see this, Felicia, you and your friends aren't heroes, you're fools!" Felicity shouted while holding up a 'Golden Isles' trophy. "History is always written by the real heroes, and that's me, the one who's about to continue making the Clawthornes and Raine's little rebellion look bad. When Belos wins, he'll remember who helped him. And you? Please, you don't even be a footnote in the history books." She looked at her trophy, then just shrugged "Okay, I'm tired of my speech now. I'm just going to finish off what I started!"

She walked over to Felicia, who looked up in fear as she saw her mother raise the trophy up and prepare to bring it down on her…

Only for Felicity to be suddenly stopped. She tried to bring the trophy down, but she couldn't. "What the-?" Her hand was still in the air, like something was grabbing her… and then her arm got bent unnaturally, bone sticking out. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"WHAT?!" the Alchemist and Ninja Supreme asked in shock. Felicia was surprised by this as well while Felicity continued to scream in agony.

"That would be enough, Fauxworm," said a voice as Felicity turned around, only to be met with a suddenly visible fist that punched her in the snout, breaking her muzzle and sending teeth bouncing off the studio desk.

"AAAAAH!" Felicity screamed in pain. "My snout… my… fuuucck!" she shouted as more teeth fell out of her mouth. She glared at her attacker. "Look what you've done to my beautiful face!"

"I think it's an improvement," Kitsuni said as she kicked Felicity away.

"Kitsuni?!" the Ninja Supreme asked in shock. "We thought you wouldn't be here!"

"No matter," the Alchemist declared as he prepared to fight. "She can't defeat us by herself."

"That… is where you are mistaken," Kitsuni declared as she summoned something into her hand. The Alchemist and Ninja looked at what she was materializing… and reacted in shock, even backing away slightly.

"Is that…?" Felicia asked in shock upon seeing the familiar object Kitsuni had.

"It is," Kitsuni said as she gave Felicia a reassuring smile… and a wink from Todd.

In her hands she held a keyblade.

"I bring out… my Fox Temple!" Kitsuni declared as she held her keyblade. Its blade was large, with red blazing patterns up to the teeth, which in place was formed into a Japanese temple, with the teeth in the shape of the Japanese temple gate. The hand guard she held was shaped like tails on each side, with a golden handle she held. The keychain it connected to was shaped like an white autumn leaf.

"We thought you had given up your keyblade, Kitsuni!" the Alchemist shouted in shock.

"Yeah, me too," Kitsuni admitted before she suddenly appeared behind him, slashing at his back. The Kitsuni that was in front of them was a clone, which disappeared after the true Kitsuni attacked the Alchemist.

"Gah!" the Alchemist shouted as he fell over. He quickly rolled away from Kitsuni and her keyblade before he got back up, seeing her powering up her keyblade. "Stop her!"

The Ninja Supreme brought out his own sword. "You're going down, fox!" he shouted as he swung his sword to take a slash at her, but it was blocked by her keyblade. Her Fox Temple then burst into flames, which caused the Ninja's sword to melt. The shocked Ninja threw it away and tried to bring out his other weapons, but Kitsuni didn't give him the chance, delivering a series of quick kicks to his mask, sending him back to crash into a set.

The Alchemist used his tendrils to target at Kitsuni, but she slashed these tendrils, burning and incinerating them with her Fox Temple. Kitsuni simply glared at the Alchemist and moved closer to him, avoiding his attacks before getting close enough to blast him with a large amount of fire magic, causing him to fall back and hit a wall, posters and awards falling off the wall and hitting the ground, breaking. He looked up at her with a look of awe. Though whether it was in awe of her or her keyblade she couldn't tell.

"I got her!" the Ninja Supreme declared while pulling out his sickles. Kitsuni turned around and delivered a flaming slash at him, but the Ninja Supreme back-flipped over it before he shot out a ball and chain to try to intercept her, but Kitsuni disappeared.

Kitsuni appeared behind the Ninja, hitting him in the center of his back, followed by hitting a nerve point to his leg. The Ninja cried out and fell onto one of his knees, throwing his elbow back to hit Kitsuni. He then managed to grab her head and toss her over his shoulder, pulling out a dagger and attempting to stab her while she was on her back. Kitsuni rolled away to avoid the dagger and flipped onto her feet again, delivering several quick kicks at the Ninja, who to his credit managed to block them despite his hurt leg.

The Ninja forced himself back onto his feet and swung at her with his dagger, Kitsuni dodging the swipes until she grabbed his arm and twisted the knife out of it. With his free hand, the Ninja punched Kitsuni in the face several times before kneeing her, but then Kitsuni targeted the leg she had already hit, delivering a kick that caused the Ninja to let out a pained cry. Then Kitsuni pointed her keyblade at the Ninja's chest and blasted him back, the Ninja staying down this time.

Kitsuni turned and saw the Alchemist approach her, forming his arms into bladed arm-guards. He swiped at Kitsuni who swiped back with her keyblade. The two kept clashing blades until Kitsuni used her tail to swipe at his leg. The Alchemist leapt over the tail, then managed to catch her keyblade in his hand before turning his other hand into tentacles that he attempted to shove into her ears and nostrils.

"Aah!" Kitsuni screamed before her eyes turned blank.

"You really shouldn't have come back, Kitsuni," the Alchemist told Kitsuni. "And I'm still surprised you decided to pick up your keyblade again. Especially after what happened to your old friends…"

However, Kitsuni managed to resist him, using her foot to kick him back before bringing her keyblade on the tendrils, slicing and burning through them. She swung her keyblade at him, knocking the Alchemist across the studio.

As Felicity watched this, she became worried about what the outcome would be. She spotted the nearest exit and started to make her way over to it…

The Alchemist telekinetically lifted the different awards in the studio, throwing them at Kitsuni, who swung her keyblade at the projectiles, slashing and melting them. She jumped up and shot fire arrows at him, which he blocked with a shield he summoned. However, that was just a way to distract him since as soon as the shield was away she appeared in front of him, using her keyblade to draw a burning slash on his chest.

"Gah!" the Alchemist cried out as he looked down, feeling his injury. He looked back up at Kitsuni, his curiosity quickly turning to genuine anger as he glared at her. "You should have stayed out of this, Kitsuni. This matter was none of your concern!" he declared while shooting more what tendrils he had left from his hand.

Kitsuni remained calm as she dodged his tendril attacks in a graceful movement before she rushed to the side and swung her keyblade at him. The Alchemist suddenly froze in place. For a moment, he just stood there. But then sparks appeared around him and he fell down to the floor.

Kitsuni stood up as the Alchemist exploded behind her. It was a small explosion, the flames not damaging the room too much. But the Alchemist was down for good, groaning in pain as he laid on the ground in defeat.

"That's where you're wrong," Kitsuni told him as she glanced at Felicia, who had watched the battle in awe. "As far as we are concerned, she is our business."

"Ah," the Alchemist said with a small smile, as if finally understanding. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tweed."

And with that, the Alchemist passed out. He wasn't going to get back up.

The kappas had managed to wake up by the time Kitsuni defeated her opponents. Koun looked over at the Ninja Supreme, who was starting to wake up. "Not today!" she shouted before she body slammed him, driving her elbow into his head, knocking him back out.

"Thanks for the save, Kitsuni," Kose said as he and Fuyuko held onto Felicia and unwrapped the t-shirt creatures off of her.

"Yeah, thank you," Felicia said to Kitsuni.

"Hey!" Jocho shouted as he looked around. "Where the hell is Felicity?!"

"She escaped!" Fuyuko realized.

"Don't worry," Kitsuni told them. "I don't think she'll run far…"

"Shit, shit, shit!" Felicity cursed as she held her bent arm while running through her studio. It was strangely empty. "Gotta get the Emperor's Coven! Someone hel-" Suddenly, an arrow shot through her leg. "GAAAH!" she screamed as she fell.

"Hello, Felicity."

The fox woman's eyes widened when she heard that familiar voice. She looked up and from the shadows appeared the last witch she expected to see.

"C-Calypso?!" Felicity said in shock, seeing Calypso appearing before her. She looked… different. "You're… you're awake!"

"And I've been dying to see you again," Calypso declared, her hair having black streaks now. She was also holding a crossbow. "Say… do you remember what I told you before? About my one regret from my time as the Red Hood Huntress?"

Felicity's eyes widened when she saw Calypso's dark smile. "You… you can't be serious! I… I'm Head of Media! You can't do this to me! Belos needs me!"

"I'm sure you can be replaced," Calypso said as she smirked, showing her fangs. Felicity turned pale and started to panic as she realized what Calypso was. Forcing herself back up, she started to run, causing Calypso to chuckle.

"They always run," Calypso said while licking her lips. She then began following Felicity, a huntress once again.

Felicity desperately ran through the hallways, looking for a way out. She looked around in animal-like panic before she spotted another exit. She struggled to get to the door, limping at this point. When she turned back, she saw that Calypso was gone. But this didn't make Felicity feel any safer. In fact, being unable to tell where Calypso was made her feel even more unsafe, since she knew that Calypso was just playing with her food…

"I… I can't die like this!" Felicity shouted as she pulled out the arrow from her leg, holding it up. She tried her best to keep a brave face and maintain some dignity. "I'm supposed to be Belos's gospel! I will not allow my media empire to crumble! You hear me, Brooke?! I am not-"

"Would you shut up?" Calypso asked as she appeared behind her before she grabbed Felicity. She bared her fangs. "Because I'm hungry…"

"NOOOOOO!" Felicity screamed in horror, her last bits of bravery leaving her as she dropped the arrow and was dragged into the shadows. She continued to scream even as she felt fangs bite into her neck, her screams now joined by the sound of slurping. Eventually, Felicity's screams faded out and only the slurping noises echoed in the empty hall…

The knocked out Alchemist and Ninja Supreme were now chained up, their armor and weapons taken away from them. Kitsuni and Kose placed tags with Japanese writing on their foreheads.

"Will these tags do anything to them?" Felicia asked.

"Oh yeah, these paper talismans are known as 'ofuda', used to seal off powers of the Yokai," Fuyuko said. "Humans use them to exorcize spirits and demons."

"That's interesting," Felicia said, taking note of that.

"Are you alright, Felicia?" Kitsuni said, kneeling down as Felicia turned to the fox yokai. Kitsuni frowned when she saw that Felicia's arm was still in a sling. "Your arm…"

"I… I'm fine, I'm just… shocked to see you here," Felicia replied as the fox woman checked up on her. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I tracked your aura," Kitsuni explained. "Although I did not come here alone."

"Sorry I was late," Calypso said as she came into the room. In one hand, she held a bloody knife. In the other, she held what looked to be the fur pelt of some animal… with blood stains on it.

"Calypso!" Felicia shouted. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, and I was immediately almost overtaken by my new vampire side," Calypso admitted. "I was starving and I wanted Felicity to be my first meal, so before I lost control of my hunger, I broke out and came down here."

"I don't think we need to ask where the fur coat came from…" Koun whispered to Jocho, who nodded in agreement.

"So… Felicity's gone then?" Felicia asked her, glancing at the fur pelt.

"Yes," Calypso replied while looking at Felicia. "I want to apologiz-"

"No, you did a good thing," Felicia told her while turning her eyes away from the fur pelt. "My… mother was a rotten fox and this is what she deserves." She sighed. "I… just wish I could see Todd right now."

Kitsuni looked at her before she gave a nod. "That can be arranged," she said as she then shifted herself into Todd. "Hey, kid."

"Todd…?" Felicia asked in shock.

"Yeah, long story, but… come here," Todd said as he raised his arms up, Felicia immediately running up to embrace him. He hugged her back and heard her start to cry. "Hey, it's alright. It's going to be alright, Felicia."

"I know… dad," Felicia told him.

"Dad?" Todd asked in surprise as she looked up to him.

"Yeah…" Felicia revealed to him. "Felicity told me and I… thought you deserved to know."

"Wait, that means… that night…" Todd then put two and two together, looked back down at Felicia… and started to cry. "Oh my baby girl!" Todd brawled as he hugged Felicia, who hugged him back.

The kappas smiled as they watched this. Jocho was a little teary eyed, which Fuyuko noticed. "Are you crying?"

"Nah… just an… eyelash," he claimed while wiping away his tears.

In the wagon Odalia's group was in, she along with Emira, Hikari, and Bela were in cuffs and chains. Everyone was in silence, looking down while processing the situation. Odalia looked up to Emira, who was staring at the floor of the wagon. After letting out a sigh, the former Blight began to speak.

"This… this is my fault," Odalia admitted in defeat. "I tried to do good by you kids, but I ended up involving you and Ed into this mess. I know how much you hate me right now, but I don't blame you. I know I'm a bad mother. I… I just hope Belos will spare you all."

Emira looked up at Odalia, but she didn't glare at her like usual. Instead she looked more… empathetic than usual.

"This is not your fault," Emira told her, which surprised Odalia. "You may have made a lot of bad choices, but you didn't choose to drag me and Ed into this. We both chose to help out to take out the Emperor's Coven. It was my choice to get involved in this, so you didn't make it for me, alright? I'm perfectly capable of ruining my own life all by myself… like with Firebees."

Odalia looked confused about this. "What do you mean by that?"

Emira started to explain to her. "About two weeks ago, me and Viney fought him while trying to stop him from committing more arson around Bonesborough. Viney was hunting him down because he was responsible for her dad's death. Viney was going to put him down but I convinced her to not do it. Firebees was arrested… only to appear again and burn the Torsa Villa down. And it's all my fault, okay?" She looked down, eyes stained with tears. "I made a bad call and now all those werecats are dead. Viney hates herself and probably me. And honestly? I hate myself as well…"

"Oh, Emira…" Odalia said in shock, realizing what her daughter had gone through. "Emira, what happened is neither you nor Viney's fault. If anything, the Emperor's Coven should've petrified him when they had the chance," she said as she looked over at her daughter, Hikari and Bela watching the conversation. "Look, Em, you were just trying to do right by Viney, and neither of you knew what was going to happen. I mean, how could any of you have known? And I'm not speaking from an oracle output, even we can't predict the unpredictable." Emira looked up at her. "Look, I don't want you to think that you should define yourself by all the mistakes you've made. Best you can do is learn from them."

Emira sniffed, thinking about it. "Talking from experience?" she asked.

"Well, I did once go through a Charles Dickens situation," Odalia commented while Hikari gave a small smile as she walked the two.

"Who?" Emira asked in confusion before the wagon suddenly stopped. "Why did we stop?"

"Are we at the castle?" Hikari asked.

"Wait, listen," Odalia said as everyone fell quiet.

"I don't hear anything," Emira pointed out.

"Exactly, it's too quiet," Odalia pointed out.

When the doors to the wagon were thrown open, everyone was prepared for the worst. But instead, they saw that the one who opened the doors… was Amity.

"Hi guys," Amity greets them.

"Amity!" Emira and Odalia said in surprise.

"How did you find us?" Odalia asked.

"Oh, I got a little help from a friend," Amity said as the familiar figure of Wrath popped up.

"Hello, folks," Wrath said with a wave.

Meanwhile, at the castle, Belos was in his throne room when he saw Ulrich bringing Hunter, Willow, and King before him.

"Here they are, sir," Ulrich told them, the three having Abomi-cuffs on them while King also had a clamp on his mouth to keep him from using his abilities.

"Thank you, Ulrich," Belos said while looking at the three. "I'm glad that I know where your loyalties are. And I'm so glad that you three are here," he said as he stood up, walking towards them. "Hunter, I am so relieved that you're back, safe and sound."

"I don't care," Hunter said as he looked down, glaring at the floor and refusing to make eye contact with Belos, much to his surprise.

Belos sighed sadly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll come around eventually, Hunter."

"I doubt it," Hunter told him with a hostile tone. "I want to make this clear to you, 'uncle'. I want nothing to do with you and your genocidal plans."

Belos was taken aback by this, but decided to leave Hunter be. "I'll have to deal with your… teenage rebellion later," he said before turning to Willow. "As for you, Ms. Willow Park. I must say, I was quite impressed by your demonstration of your abilities last weekend."

Willow put on a brave face, hiding how nervous she was as Belos stared down at her.

"The way you overpowered Terra, not to mention what you've done with the Forest of Fear, yes you would make a great replacement for Terra, just what I need for the Day of Unity," Belos said. "It is a shame that I can't make you an official Coven Head. I know that you're young, but so was the original Bard Head, Scarmedeus. Of course, his harmonic songs were… secretly juvenile, but he was a prodigy."

He then walked over to King, giving him an indifferent look while King looked nervous. "And of course, King Clawthorne. I've met your mother and sister, and now we finally meet in person. How's being Edalyn's 'son' going for you?"

"Um… good," King answered. "But she's going to be saving us, you know."

"I know, I don't doubt that," Belos said before he frowned. "But I will admit, I'm not quite sure how to feel about you, King. Especially with your heritage… as a Titan."

The eyes of the three captives widened, King looking scared while Willow and Hunter looked scared for him. They all suddenly realized that Belos now knew… that King is a Titan.

"Don't try to deny it," Belos told him. "I know all about that little island Eda found you on."

"Belos, you better not hurt King!" Hunter told him off.

"Yeah, besides you're nothing but a fraud!" Willow shouted while glaring at him.

"Hush, child," Ulrich tried to silence her, but Willow wouldn't have it.

"You think you're a hero? Because right now you're not!" Willow told him off. "I've learned what you're going to do to the Isles! I mean, draining our people's magic so you can play God? At this point, you don't care about the Isles, you just care about your own glory!" She looked down to her own cuffed hands. "And I believe that it is my responsibility to clean up the mess you created over your rule of the Isles, but I'm not doing it for glory. I'm doing it because I have the power to actually help."

Belos looked down at her, almost seeming bored by her. He then noticed the doors to the throne room open up. "Oh, you're back."

King, Hunter, and Willow turned around to see Draco and Lupe show up. All three were shocked to see Lupe dragging in a bruised up Donna, with her left hand missing and bandages now covering her stump. "Donna!" they cried out.

"We ran into some trouble, but we delivered," Draco said.

"Yeah, here's the girl and her key," Lupe said as he threw Donna across the floor in front of Belos. Her clothes were tattered, her mask was missing, and next to her was her keyblade.

"Oh yes, Wonder Witch and her keyblade," Belos said as Donna looked up in shock.

"Y-you… w-wanted me?" Donna asked him.

"Of course," Belos replied. "I learned from Venoma and Draco that you were in possession of a keyblade. And well, that is something that I could use as a backup plan."

"And the arrangements?" Draco brought up.

"Yes, I remember," Belos said with a nod. "Once Ms. Masterskull has fulfilled her duties as my backup, well, you can do whatever you want with her, Mr. Lupe."

"Hehe, nice," Lupe said as he licked his lips. "And I don't plan on making it quick either…." he said while Donna looked up at him in fear. From the look of his eyes, she realized that he was not just going to eat her…

Donna looked up at Belos. "You can't be serious about this! Don't you know what these guys have done?!"

"I couldn't care less," Belos told her. "After all, you did ruin his face and your vigilantism will not be tolerated. The Isles only need one hero to rely on." He looked over at everyone. "You're all dismissed. Except for King, he stays here."

Ulrich nodded and took Willow and Hunter away, both of the teens looking worried for both King and Donna. As for Donna, Lupe dragged her out of the throne room by her hair. And King was helpless to do anything as he watched his friends leave the throne room.

"Guys…" King said as he started to tear up while the doors closed.

Meanwhile, in another room in the castle, there were two people, one of them beating another who was bound in chains. The one who was chained up was Steve. The other who was beating him up was, of course, an anger-induced Leonte.

"You no good son of a bitch!" Leonte shouted as he slammed his fist into Steve before kicking him in the stomach. "After everything I've done for you! I've been nothing like a father to you, Steve!" he shouted while punching him again. "You were supposed to be one of the greatest scouts I ever trained! And instead, you became my greatest failure! My biggest shame! A traitorous turncoat!"

Steve spat blood as he looked up to Leonte. His face was swollen and it became even more swollen as Leonte sent another fist at him.

"All of this and for what? Some covenless dropout?!" Leonte ranted as he punched Steve some more, making sure that he hurt. "And now thanks to you, all of those witches, fellow scouts that you dragged down with you, are going to die. And I want you to remember their names. Bindell, Le'Belle, Cross, Sunny… all of them will die and you have no one but yourself to blame for what's going to happen to them!"

Steve groaned as he looked up to Leonte. "No… I had nothing to do with their choices…"

"Bullshit, I don't believe you!" Leonte screamed as he punched Steve again. "You corrupted them! There was no way someone like Bindell, Le'Belle, or Sunny would turn against the Emperor's Coven! And Cross… he had promise, just like you did, and you had him turned against us! Someone so young and you dragged him down to your level, traitor!"

"Is that what you want to keep telling yourself?" Steve asked him, before getting punched in the nose. Leonte then stopped himself from punching Steve more. "Look, if you want to kill me-"

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, Steve," Leonte told him as he grabbed Steve's chin. "At least… not yet. You see, I'm going to make you an example to the other scouts. And I want to make sure that you suffer…"

Back at St. Epiderm, everyone was in the gym, waiting for news. Eventually, Dr. Pox, Swan, Zebra, and Aries came out of the infirmary, sharing saddened looks. Pox looked over at the Clawthornes while walking up to Denise in particular.

"We… we did everything we could to… revive him, but…" Dr. Pox said as he looked at Denise, "I'm sorry ma'am. Your son has… passed."

Denise's eyes widened. "No… nonononono!" she cried. She nearly collapsed, but was caught by her brother and father, who she held onto. Both Dennis and Brolin comforted her as she couldn't stop crying.

Felix cried as well, Lulu and Hooty going over to comfort him. Lulu too cried over the loss of her nephew.

Tina couldn't control herself either and she was crying while Veronica hugged her. Tyrone just sat down, removing his mask and crying his eyes out over the loss of his best friend.

Everyone was affected by the news, especially those that knew Beocrow personally. From Lindsay, who was crying over the loss of her trackmate while being comforted by her friends, to Danny, who was also crying his eyes out while his sister comforts him. Another student and friend of his was gone.

As Nina watched everyone mourn, she made a decision. Without saying a word, she snuck out of the gym, which was only noticed by a few other witches. Most of the witches were too busy recoiling from Beo's death to pay her much attention.

One of those witches was Tyrone, who did not have a shoulder to cry into… but he did have a shoulder for someone to sit on.

"This is my fault," Tyrone said. "I… I should have been stronger. Beo is dead, Donna was taken… because I wasn't strong enough. I should have been fighting Donna's uncle, not Beo. Maybe… maybe I would have just been killed instead, but that would have been better than this."

Acorn did her best to offer words of comfort, telling him that he shouldn't blame himself and that he isn't thinking clearly. Of course, Tyrone couldn't understand her. The words, at least. But he seemed to understand their meaning… and it did make him feel a little better.

"Thanks," he told Acorn. "I just… need someone to talk to right now. And you're a good listener."

Acorn nodded. She could see the loss affecting him and the rest of his friends, so this was the least she could do. She didn't know Beo, but she knew pain. She knew loss. And she knew what that pain could do to someone.

"I still can't shake the feeling that I could have done something different," Tyrone said as he looked down at Acorn. "Do you know what that is like?"

Acorn just nodded sadly.

Meanwhile, Nina went back into the classroom where she had last seen Donna. She studied the teleportation glyph circle on the floor, trying to figure out how it worked.

"Nina?" Lambi asked, revealing herself to Nina. "What are you doing?"

"I don't do well with death," Nina admitted. "Even if it is something I am too familiar with these days…"

"Is… that why you stepped out?" Lambi asked her.

"That, and this," Nina said as she pointed to the teleportation circle. "This is how Silas and the others got into the school, past our defenses. With this circle. They used it to get in and Big Bad and his staff-holding friend used it to take Donna away. And according to Silas, they're taking her to the Emperor's Castle… which is where I'm going if I want to save her."

"Alone?" Lambi questioned, worried. "Isn't that a little risky?"

"I know, but I don't want anyone else to risk themselves," Nina told her while looking down. "Donna already lost one of her friends today and I'm not going to allow anyone else to die. Besides, I'm the most resilient." She looked back up at Lambi, noting her worry. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. As soon as I get Donna, I'll come back here by then. Just don't let the others follow."

Lambi looked a bit reluctant, but then she went to grab Nina's hand. "Okay… I trust you. This is something you have to do, right?"

Nina nodded. "It's Donna," she pointed out.

Lambi nodded back. "Just come back to me, okay?" she asked as she and Nina shared a kiss.

"I will," Nina responded after the kiss.

"Nina!"

Nina and Lambi turned around and saw Slasher and Skara coming into the room. "You guys…"

"You were getting ready to go after Donna, weren't you?" Slasher asked.

"And without us!" Skara pointed out.

Nina sighed. "Look, you two, I know you want to get involved with this, but I can't endanger you guys," she told them.

"Oh no, I'm not sitting out on this one, Nina," Slasher said. "Because if Lupe's involved, I get involved too. It's personal between us."

"Yeah, plus," Skara said as she walked over, patting Nina's arm. "We're a family, and family sticks together."

Nina was silent for a moment as she looked at the two, then she let out a sigh. "Of course, there's no way to convince you two otherwise," she said. "Alright, follow me."

Nina, Skara and Slasher stepped onto the transportation circle. "Is this… one of Luz's glyphs?" Skara asked.

"Looks like it, yeah," Nina said as she bent down, studying the markings. "And I think I can get this to work…" She pressed a hand on one of the markings and they were suddenly engulfed in a flash of light. Lambi anxiously watched them as they teleported away.

"Be careful, guys," Lambi whispered as she saw them disappear.

Meanwhile, at the Media Coven, in Felicity's studio the doors are barricaded. The kappas and Todd had everything set up while Felicia sat on the news chair as the desk was set up by Jocho.

"Got the doors barricaded so no one will stop us!" Koun declared.

"Camera demons are ready to go," Fuyuko said as the camera demons were up.

"We'll be live soon!" Kose announced.

Felicia looked nervous as she held her papers, which Todd noticed. "Hey, you okay, kid?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Felicia responded with a sigh. "This is just… very different from using the scroll. I… hope I can do this." She then looked super nervous. "Oh, who am I kidding? I don't look good at all, maybe I should get some make-up-"

"Hey, hey, Felicia, it's okay," Todd said as he held her shoulders and looked at her, calming her down. "I know you're nervous, but I'm here if you need me. If it's too overwhelming, I could do it for you… but this moment should be yours, Felicia."

"He's right," Jocho said. "And we believe you got this, Felicia."

"Yeah! No one can tell it like it is than you," Koun declared.

"With your charm and charisma you can sway any audience," Fuyuko said before covering her mouth while blushing nervously.

"We're here for you if you need us," Kose reassured her. "After all, you are our friend."

As Felicia looked around at everyone, she realized how lucky she was to be surrounded by friends… and, in Todd's case, family. And then she remembered Beel. How brave he had been. How he had trusted her to make sure that his death was not in vain. And Felicia realized… Beel was here with her. Not in body, but certainly in spirit.

Felicia took a deep breath and then all of her nervousness was gone. "I'm doing this," she said in a determined tone as she looked around at everyone. "Get the cameras rolling. Time to spread the word."

As everyone got ready, Kose spoke up, "We are now live in five… four… three…" He waved his hand to signal as Koun and Fuyuko focused the camera on Felicia.

"Attention everyone in the Isles, we have a special report from our leading news caster for tonight!" Felicia spoke up as the lights came on, showing her. "Hi, I'm Felicia Fox and I got the most important scoop for the entire Isles to hear."

Back at St. Epiderm, the remaining Ghoul Girls were looking at their scrolls in shock.

"Hey everyone!" Helga announced, getting their attention. "Look at your scrolls!"

Everyone pulled out their scrolls and saw Felicia on the screen.

"Is that… Felicia?!" Riley asked in shock.

"What's she doing there?" Tracy asked.

"Everyone in the Boiling Isles, this is something you must hear," Felicia announced. "The Day of Unity is not about bringing the Isles together, it is not about the purification of magic. The Day of Unity is a lie!"

"Guys!" Jerbo shouted as he charged into the room where his friends were. "You gotta turn on your Crystal ball or scrolls or anything! You have to see this!"

The Bad Girls Coven members held up their scrolls and saw Felicia making an announcement.

"Felicia?" Bo asked.

"What's she doing in the Media Coven?" Cat asked.

"Listen," Matt pointed out as they all fell silent so they could listen.

"I'm here to tell you all the truth, the truth that Belos has been keeping you all," Felicia announced. "The sigils you all have on your wrists…"

"They're meant to drain us of our magic!"

Boils, along with Snowpaws, watched the broadcast on the crystal ball. Snowpaws handed him a drink as she held her own.

"Heh, looks like things just got interesting," Boils commented.

"Belos plans to use the sigils to drain everyone's magic, except for a select few that know about his plans. Particularly, his most loyal followers."

Watching his mirror in his study was Staggertarius Atos… and a few others in the shadows.

"Draining spell… that's even worse than I feared," Staggertarius said.

"While Belos claims to have everyone's best interests at heart, in reality the Day of Unity is just his way to take power for himself, to rob us of our magic. And his loyalists are complicit in this conspiracy, including my own mother, Felicity, who attempted to murder me when I found out," Felicia revealed as she looked up. "The footage I'm about to play, straight from my memories, will be graphic, so those who have children at home may want to close their eyes… play the footage."

Using memory photos taken from Felicia, footage of Felicity talking to Abel about the plan was projected by Fuyuko. The footage played just as Felicia remembered it.

"Yes, everything will be in order for the Day of Unity, sir..."

All the witches across the Isles watching this gasped as they listened to Felicity and Abel's talk about the draining spell. They then saw Felicity spotting her daughter, who walked up to her.

"What's this… draining spell? What's going to happen on the Day of Unity?" Felicia asked in the footage.

"Well, what do you think it is? It's what's going to drain everyone's magic during the eclipse, well everyone except for those loyal to Belos, that is. I'm one of the few loyal witches that knows about it. After all, I am the Head of the Media, so I have to know what's really going on in order to create a narrative that distracts the viewers from the truth…"

"Draining spell?!" Tibbles exclaimed while laying next to his girlfriend in bed as they both watched the crystal ball.

"That sounds awful! I don't want my magic drained, dear!" Jeanie shouted.

"Oh please, Felicia, I thought you'd know a thing or two about journalistic integrity," Felicity noted before she groaned. "Titan's crack, this is going to be exhausting to do…"

"Do what?" Felicia asked, backing away.

"Well, since you know…" Felicity said as she reached out to Felicia's face… and then smacked her onto the floor. "I'm going to have to kill you."

Every parent in the Isles felt their heart sink when they witnessed Felicia getting beaten by her own mother. Many averted the eyes of their children.

"This is just… shameful!" Beck said in shock while covering her mouth. "Felicia…"

"I do agree, that is disturbing," Thumbstone said with a grim look. "To think Belos accommodates these kinds of witches."

Pam hugged the twins, covering their eyes and ears as everyone watched the footage play out.

"Leonte!" a scout shouted as they rushed into the room, making Leonte pause while he was beating Steve. "We have a situation! We need you to deal with this!"

Leonte narrowed his eyes at the scout. "What kind of situation?"

"I'm sorry you had to see this, folks," Felicia said. "I may have survived that, but I'm also taking a huge risk in telling you all of this. This is the reason why the Emperor's Coven was visiting the different schools to brand students with sigils. He wasn't purifying magic, he's taking it!"

Watching from home, Raw and Henry looked in the mirror as Henry shouted. "Hey gramps! Can we start up a revolution against the covens?"

"Only if you have a ride!" their grandfather shouted.

"Aw yeah!" Raw shouted as he stood up, bringing out his daggers. "Time for a revolution!"

"The slandering of the Clawthornes is also just a tactic to distract us from what's really going on," Felicia mentioned while giving a serious look. "I know this is a lot to process for most of you, but it's time for everyone to open your eyes, and see the truth around you. It's time… to rebel!"

Watching the broadcast from his throne room, Belos gave a frown. He was happy about this… not at all.

"Woo-hoo! In your face, Belos!" King told him off before Belos silenced him with a glare.

Meanwhile, in another room, the tied up Bindell, Cross, and Le'Belle were being kept. Keeping the door guarded were some scouts.

"Sorry guys," Bindell said as she struggled with her chains. "I let my guard down when Flora found me…"

"It's alright, Bindell," Le'Belle reassured her while looking down. "I just hope the others are alright."

"Yeah," Cross replied, looking down as well. "Titan, I just wanted to save my sister…"

"We know, Cross. And we're sorry that we couldn't do that," Le'Belle said while looking down.

"What do you think they'll do to us?" Bindell asked.

"Probably petrify us," Cross said before hearing a voice outside the room.

"Gentlemen, I'll take it from here," said a voice he recognized. "You're excused."

"Leonte," Cross whispered while looking down.

The door opened and Leonte came in, marching up in front of them. He gave them all glares, which made them uneasy.

"You three are some of the most… sorry excuses for Emperor's Coven members I've ever seen!" Leonte declared. "Although not as sorry as me! After all, I'm just a little angry man-bitch who sucks Belo's toes every Toesday, wacka-wacka!" he said with a dumb expression, which confused the three.

"Um… Leonte?" Le'Belle asked. "Are you okay, sir?"

"Either you're having a stroke, or…" Cross indicated as Leonte blew raspberries. Cross then realized what was going on and he smiled. "Hello, Emily."

"Yep," Emily declared as she dropped the Leonte disguise. She took a small bow. "Just your friendly neighborhood illusionist."

"Emily!" Cross and Le'Belle shouted in excitement.

"Emily?" Bindell asked, looking at her in confusion.

"Come on, let me free you guys," Emily said as she went to free them. "Did you like my performance?"

Once Emily freed them, she received hugs from Cross and Le'Belle. "We're so glad to see you, Emily!" Le'Belle declared.

"Yeah! Glad that you're okay," Cross said, sounding relieved.

Emily hugged them back, managing to smile as she embraced the witches she cared about. But then she remembered herself and she pulled away, clearing her throat. "Okay, we have to act fast. I know where they're keeping Steve, and Leonte is distracted at the moment. So this is the perfect chance for you guys."

"But what about Zee?" Cross asked her.

"Don't worry, I know here she is," Emily confirmed while showing who was keeping on her person. "And I managed to save her Palisman."

"Aqua!" Cross shouted as Aqua jumped into Cross's hands. "You're okay! Thanks Emily!"

"Come on, we gotta move fast," Bindell told them.

Emily nodded as they headed out of the room. "You two can go save Steve," she told Le'Belle and Bindell. "Me and Cross will go save Zee…"

Later, in the dungeon that Zee, Barb, and Gidget were being kept in, they heard footsteps coming over to them. However, they didn't see anyone when they heard the footsteps. Almost as if the witches making it were…

"Zee?" Cross asked as he became visible.

"Cross!" Zee and Barb shouted as they got up from the floors of their cells.

"I'm so glad to see you, bro!" Zee shouted.

"Me too, but I'm not alone," Cross said as Emily made herself visible, shocking the others.

"Emily!" Zee exclaimed.

"Emily? You're here to bust us out?" Barb asked in surprise.

"Yep," Emily said as she unlocked Zee's cell before she and Cross went to help unlock Zee's chains. "We also brought Aqua."

"Aqua?" Zee gasped when she saw Aqua appearing on Cross's shoulder. The Palisman jumped onto her lap. Once Zee's hands were released, she held onto Aqua. "Oh thank Titan you're safe! Thank you, Cross!"

"Don't thank me, Emily is the one who rescued her," Cross said as she pointed to Emily. Zee turned to Emily, looking grateful.

"Really? Well, thank you, Mily," Zee said as she went to hug her. "For saving both of us."

Emily's face became flustered at Zee's hug, but she managed to clear her throat. "Um, yes. L-Let's free the others, shall we?" she suggested.

After freeing Zee, they went to free Barb and Gidget. They went to Barb's cell first. Once she was released, Barb got up and stretched out. Next they went to do the same for Gidget.

"Wait, I'm confused," Gidget admitted as they freed her. "Why is Emily Tricks helping us?"

"Honestly, I'm only interested in helping Zee," Emily admitted. "I'm helping you as well because I'm in a generous mood. I wouldn't question it if I was you."

Cross sighed. "Don't mind her. She's… complicated." He then turned to Barb. "How did you even end up here?"

"Osran," Barb said with a growl. "I got put in here because he thought that I might betray the Emperor's Coven."

"And he gave me this," Zee admitted as she sadly showed her sigil to Emily and Cross, shocking them.

"Oh no, Zee…" Emily said, sympathizing with her.

However, Cross was taking it even worse. "No," he said before scales started to appear on his body. "That. BASTARD!" he shouted as he punched one of the metal cell bars, bending it. "I can't let them take your magic, Zee!"

"Hey, it'll be okay," Zee said as she held her brother's shoulders, trying to calm him down. "I'll be okay. I mean… I'll just have to learn how to use only Beast-Keeping magic now. It can't be that bad, right?"

However, Emily could see the pain in Zee's expression. She knew that it had to hurt Zee, being cut off from the rest of her magic. Now having the choice of what she wants to be forcibly stripped from her.

Cross turned to Emily. "Do you know where Osran is?" he asked, murderous intent in his eyes.

And when Emily saw that, she hesitated. "Forget him," she said. "We need to focus on getting Zee out of here. Especially since she still has that." She pointed to the shock collar that was around Zee's neck.

"Is that-?" Cross asked.

"Preventing me from using my dragon form?" Zee asked with a sad nod. "Yes, I'm afraid it is."

Cross's desire for revenge against Osran vanished, replaced by concern for his sister. "Yeah, we need to get you out of here." She turned to Barb and Gidget. "What about you two?"

"Oh, we got some scores to settle," Barb said, cracking her knuckles.

"Yeah, me too," Gidget said. "I was sent here by Leonte because I refused to brand the kids at St. Epiderm. I could use a little payback…"

"H-Hey… don't forget about me…"

The five paused when they heard the voice, turning around and seeing another cell in the distance. The hand waved from between the bars. "Over here…"

"Who is that?" Cross asked.

"I don't know, the scouts dumped him here yesterday," Gidget explained. "This is the first time he's spoken."

They decided to take a look at the new prisoner. They gasped, seeing the sickly state this prisoner was in. "Should we… release him?" Barb asked.

"I'm not sure…" Emily said as Cross noticed something about the prisoner.

"Wait… his ears…" Cross said as he looked at the prisoner closely.

"Get me… out of here…" Jacob Hopkins said with a weak cough.

A little bit later, Emily led the Drakescale siblings through the tunnels beneath the castle. She led them to a part of the wall. Behind it was the entrance of a service tunnel.

"Alright, we're here," she said while searching the wall for a switch. "You two can use this to get out of here while everything above us is chaotic."

"Thanks for leading us here, Mily," Zee said with a smile.

Emily returned the smile as she found the switch. The wall pulled away, revealing the service tunnels. However, when Emily looked into the tunnels, her smile vanished. There was something waiting on the other side of the wall. That someone… was Bloody Mary and Grimhilde.

"Finally," Bloody Mary said as she and Grimhilde entered inside. She looked at Cross. "I was beginning to think that you had all been caught and killed."

"Cross… who is that?" Zee asked as she and Emily tensed up slightly.

"Bloody Mary…" Cross muttered under his breath as he stood in front of a shocked Zee and Emily, trying to place himself between them and the witch hunter.

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Zee exclaimed as she and Emily backed away.

"Cross, what the fuck?" Emily asked Cross as Bloody Mary looked them over.

"Hmm, you know, I don't need you anymore," Bloody Mary pointed out as she raised her hand, turning it into a monstrous claw. "I could just kill you and the other two right now. That would be three less witches…"

Cross said nothing as he glared at Bloody Mary. He was prepared to fight her to protect both Zee and Emily… but fortunately, he wouldn't have to.

"Mary, stop!" Grimhilde shouted, making Mary stop herself. "We didn't come here for needless slaughter, especially towards these kids. We are here for Belos, remember?"

Bloody Mary turned to look at Grimhilde, then looked back at Cross and the two girls. After a moment, she lowered her hand. "You're right," she decided. "I should save myself for him…"

Grimhilde sighed before looking at Cross. "My apologies, Cross."

"It's… alright," Cross said, though he didn't take his eyes off Bloody Mary. "I know that we were supposed to let you in a while ago, but we hit a snag. Sorry for the delay, but I must warn you, it's pretty chaotic above us."

"That's no problem for us," Grimhilde said as she turned to Mary. "Come now, Mary, we have an Emperor to take out."

"Hmm, yes," Mary smiled as the two rushed out down passage and out of sight.

"Uh, baby bro," Zee said as she stepped in front of Cross. "Was that really-?"

"Yes, that was the Bloody Mary," Cross said with a sigh, shocking them both.

"But, isn't Bloody… M, a serial killer from the mirrors?!" Emily asked.

"Yeah, and she is going to be a problem, but hopefully she and Belos will take each other out," Cross explained, though that did little to reassure the girls.

"Cross, just what have you been up to?" Emily asked, concerned.

Cross just sighed. "It's a long story…"

"A story you'll have to explain to us later," Zee said as she and Cross went into the service tunnel. She looked back at Emily. "Hey Mily, are you coming with us?"

Emily looked at them, her mind having already been made up. "No."

The two looked at her, surprised. "What? What… what do you mean, 'no'?" Cross asked her.

"I'm sorry, but I still have some unfinished business here in the castle," Emily explained to them. "I'm a Coven Head now and… I have a role to play in the Day of Unity. I just needed to make sure that you two were out of harm's way. Cross, take Zee and go to your family, and make sure that they're all safe."

Cross narrowed his eyes at Emily. "I don't like this, you should come with us. Belos is using you, Emily."

"I know," Emily said as she walked over to him. "But if it isn't me, it will be someone else and… I have a plan. Cross, you'll have to trust me," she told him as she patted his shoulder. "I need you to trust me on this. I'm going to be okay."

Cross looked at Emily with a mixed expression as he thought about everything they had been through. He remembered seeing her suffering under Graye's thumb, he remembered saving Emily from the Underworld, and he remembered them using her plan to rescue Lindsay from the Grim Goblin. When they first met, he didn't like her. And he certainly didn't trust her. But now…

Now he saw someone that he considered a friend and because of that he couldn't help but be worried for her. But he also knew her well enough at this point to come to a conclusion.

"Alright," he said with a nod. "I trust you."

"Thank you," Emily said, smiling at him. "Now go."

Cross and Zee turned around and were about to head out of the castle. But Zee paused then turned around and walked back over to Emily.

"Before we go, I don't want to wait until later to do this," Zee said while pressing her hand onto Emily's face as she brought her face closer…

And gave her a kiss.

Emily's eyes widened while Zee's eyes were closed. But after a moment, Emily shut her eyes and kissed back, Cross having a small smile as he turned away to give them privacy. Eventually, Zee pulled away and let go of Emily, although she didn't want to. "Stay alive for me, Mily."

Emily just stared at her at first, looking flustered. Then she gave her a nod. "Y-Yes, I promise I will see you again soon, Zee."

Zee smiled and went back to her brother, seeing her give him a look. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Cross said. "I just think I'm going to have fun with this…" He looked over at Emily and gave her a nod. "Good luck."

Emily nodded back and closed the passageway. Once they could see Emily no more, the Drakescale siblings turned around and began to escape.

Meanwhile, three wagons had arrived in the Emperor's Castle. Once they had crossed the bridge and come to a stop, they found a group of special suited scouts along with Gibson were waiting just for them.

"All the wagons are here, sir," one of the blue scouts informed him.

"Excellent," Gibson declared with a grin. "I'm just so eager to see Alador's ex and his kids again…"

The special scouts driving stepped down, as Gibson walked over. "Thank you for bringing them here, now we can take it from here," he told them.

"Wait a second, Gibby," spoke the scout, who looked rather short. "Not without clearance, first?"

"Clearance? Wait, 'Gibby'?" Gibson asked.

"Yeah, we need…" A puff of smoke revealed that the scout was Luz in disguise. "Clearance."

The other drivers poofed away their disguises, revealing themselves to be Amity, Eda and Lilith. Gibson backed away, shocked to see them all here. "You… you all-?!"

"Surprised to see us?" Lilith asked with a smirk.

"Alright, time to get out, guys!" Eda declared as the wagons opened up, the CATTs members bursting out.

"Spoiler alert: this isn't going to end well for you," Luz promised as she stood with Eda, Lilith, Amity, Raine, Darius, Eberwolf, Star, Tres, Amber, Boris, Derwin, Katya, Bela, Emira, Hikari, Odalia, Bunker, Edric, and Geist.

"CATTs, let's storm the castle!" Raine declared as the CATTS charged at the special scouts.

Hey there. So… there's been a change of plans.

You see, this chapter and the next one were originally going to be the same. But after some consideration, we've decided to split it in half to make the chapters more digestible for readers. Since a lot happens, there are tones of characters, and we thought the big moments here would more impact if we split the chapter in two. Since it gives you guys more time to process those big moments.

Some notes such as Kitsuni's keyblade is called the Fox Temple. As you can see, it's a fire based keyblade of my own creation. I was originally thinking of naming it 'Kyuubi's Temple', but Fox Temple sounds simple enough.

And yeah, the fact about Scarmadeus Keys's harmonic songs were secretly juvenile, is based off of how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's songs were very vulgar. Like, so vulgar, he was the original Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Just goes to show that the best geniuses have a sense of humor.

And I'm pretty sure you're glad to see Arthur, Felicity, the Alchemist and Ninja Supreme are caught. Cause we know how much you guys are annoyed by these guys getting away. We figured that this would help concluding their roles, well we've planned Felicity's death for a while, cause really, it's satisfying to have Calypso fulfill her promise in making a coat out of her. Stay tuned for the next chapter…

Review Section:

Crash X Fusion: Well, Belos doesn't take kindly to those who don't agree with his vision and plans. Eclipsa should be considered lucky that she didn't ended up like William. Felicity isn't, but the Emperor's Coven loyalists even going so far as to collab with former members of the Guild would say something. Even if they're free agents.

Matteso585: 1) To clarify, Belos uses his sons as hostages. 2) Not really, it's just a narrative choice. 3) No spoilers. 4) That's the point. Raises the stakes.

Franco Almiron: Just to be clear, Ulrich's sons are hostages.

Guest: No spoilers.

Alamout: 1) Treasure hunting, I guess? 2) Probably not. 3) No. 4) Maybe. 5) I'm pretty sure Luz has already told them. 6) Maybe. 7) No. Abel most likely helped them out recovering from isolation.