Amity had tried to follow Luz, but no matter how much she tried to free herself she couldn't: the tentacles with which Kikimora's giant octopus was holding her were too strong and with her voice sealed she couldn't say any magical formula to evoke some powerful enough spell to free her. She could do nothing but watch helplessly as her girlfriend was dragged away by that monster.
"Psst! Girl!" Captain Salty whispered to her at one point. "I'm going to sting this beast with one of my claws! As soon as it makes a sound of surprise, you use your magic to..."
A mass of water wrapped around his hands and imprisoned them around him. "If you want to plan an escape, speak softer, idiot" Kikimora commented. "Maybe one thing isn't clear to you: as long as the emperor wants to be alone with the puppet, no one will move from here"
"And to you isn't clear that I don't intend to separate from my daughter!" Camila screamed furiously. She and Vee had been imprisoned in a mass of reddish algae that had enveloped them as soon as they became hard as rock, preventing them from moving, yet they continued to try to free themselves.
"Forget it, you're just wasting useless energy" Kikimora told her. "Even if you manage to get rid of me by a pure miracle, you will never reach the puppet. No one can open the door to the gut if the emperor doesn't want it, and even if he did, he probably has already brought your friend to his side by now"
"It's not true!" Vee protested. "Luz would never side with that monster!"
"Yeah! Luz will see through any lie he tells her!" Gus supported her.
"You mean like how she saw through the lies of the guy who just betrayed on you, and who was next to you all this time without anyone noticing anything?" Kikimora answered him rhetorically. Even though she still didn't change her expression, it almost seemed like she was smiling mockingly.
Gus narrowed his eyes; he wanted to reply, but he felt a strong pain in his heart. He couldn't believe that Hunter, the friend in whom he had placed so much trust, had always been a spy for Belos. How had he not noticed it? He wondered if Hunter had always pretended to be friends with him, with Luz, with everyone… with Willow. Was there any truth to it, or had he always pretended to be their friend, for the sole purpose of gaining their trust? Gus couldn't help but wonder if he really had been a complete idiot incapable of seeing reality or if Hunter really had felt friendship for them and love for Willow.
But… Gus had actually noticed when Hunter hadn't been totally honest with Willow, when he'd rejected her during their day at the beach. He had noticed the dark tinge in his eyes. He had lied to her by pretending that he had no feelings for her in order to protect her… from Belos, it was clear to him now. That time he had protected her from that monster... and even now he had protected her, by exchanging her for Luz. He had chosen to sacrifice them so he could at least save Willow.
Gus bit his lip. Hunter had betrayed them, and he felt a lot of anger and disappointment towards him; how could he not feel it after all? But at the same time, he understood him. Belos was a monster and one way or another he would have managed to capture Luz; Hunter knew this and had decided to save what little he could save by helping him.
Gus didn't know if that was how it happened... maybe he was wrong, maybe Hunter was just an asshole. But he didn't care. He wanted to believe that was how it happened. And it was precisely this belief that made him say: "I won't let you insult my friend!"
Kikimora looked at him contemptuously. "Huh? You defend him even now? Let me guess, you were the weak and bullied one in the group, right?"
"For your information, I have fought more than once, both in spider and human form!" Gus answered her. "And yes, I defend him even now! Because I know that your emperor forced him to do what he did!"
Kikimora laughed heartily. "Seriously, you're ridiculous"
"Well, better ridiculous and loyal to my friends than servant of a monster!" Gus answered her, and then he added: "Tell the truth, doesn't it burn you? At least he's free now, while you're still in chains!"
Kikimora immediately stopped laughing; her eyes arched menacingly. "You talk too much, little spider" she said, lifting her hair, with the clear intention of sealing his voice.
Gus swallowed, but suddenly he noticed something: something was moving along one side of the enormous stomach. He immediately became serious and tried to distract Kikimora in the hope that she hadn't noticed: "Okay, okay, I'll stop being arrogant!"
"Too late" the mermaid replied. "I hope you enjoy being mute for the rest of your useless life!"
"Hey, don't try to hurt Gus, you understand!?" Vee exclaimed coming to his defense.
"Yeah! If you go against him, you go against a lot of people!" Matt warned her.
Kikimora let out a deep snort. "You know, all of you are pretty annoying! I think I'm going to silence you all before..."
Just then a blast of reddish energy hit the mermaid straight in the back with the force of a boulder thrown from a catapult; Kikimora was thrown away as if she were made of rubber. Her two animals made guttural noises, clearly frightened for their owner's fate. Everyone looked at the spot where the mermaid had been, and they let out a sound of surprise when they saw a familiar white cloak. "Hunter!" Gus, King, Matt and Vee screamed in unison.
The blond boy nodded, without looking them in the eyes. "Sorry for leaving early, guys" he murmured in a whisper.
He didn't have time to say anything else: Kikimora's enormous sea dragon moved towards him with the clear intent of biting him, but suddenly huge vines formed around the creature, blocking any movement, and the same happened to the giant octopus that left Salty and Amity fall. Willow appeared next to them, revealing that she was wearing one of Alador's camouflage coats, clearly recovered from the airship. "These things are truly marvelous!"
"Willow!" Gus exclaimed when he saw her. "I am so happy to see you! How did you do it?"
"Hunter gave me some plant seeds, and with them I was able to use my powers here too. There is no soil, but luckily I can modify the plants enough to make them temporarily independent of it" Willow replied with a smile, but she quickly assumed a scared expression: "Hunter, watch out!"
At the last moment the boy noticed the water of the lake moving to form a spear, and destroyed it with a rapid movement of his staff. Kikimora had gotten up, and she was livid. "Traitor!" she hissed.
"I'm no longer employed by Belos. Technically it's not treason" Hunter replied, then he said: "Willow, this fight is mine. Think about Amity!"
"Yes!" Willow confirmed.
"Are you completely out of your mind, kid!?" Kikimora growled. "As soon as the emperor finds out..."
"For now Belos is focused on Luz. You know better than me that when he focuses on something he doesn't care about anything else" Hunter stopped her immediately. "As for what happens after he's done with Luz, that's my problem. Think about fighting now"
"Do you want to fight me!?" Kikimora said, and suddenly her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Fine. And this time I don't have to hold back!"
And suddenly the water overflowed from the lake and flooded the coast where they were; as soon as there was half a meter of water, Kikimora moved so quickly that she almost seemed to vanish from sight. Hunter intercepted her thanks to his reflexes, managing to parry her attack before she hit him, but she attacked more and more, forcing him to focus on her. But he was no fool: he knew that the real attack would come from behind. And in fact suddenly the water around him took the shape of chains with the clear intent of crushing him. He wasn't caught unprepared and hit the staff on the ground, generating a shock wave that swept away the nearby water, but Kikimora took advantage of this to hit him straight in the face and throw him away, causing him to fall directly into the lake.
Hunter found himself surrounded by water, and Kikimora threw herself in front of him; her feet gave way to a long fish tail, and she tore off her human dress that was far too big for her size, revealing that beneath it she wore a tunic made of woven seaweed and sea urchin; it was finally possible to see her neck and mouth, which turned out to be quite normal if it weren't for the protruding canines. Her face now that it was shown in its entirety wasn't even too bad, but the murderous expression on her face was enough to make her scary. "Do you really think you have a chance?" she hissed. "You're on my territory now, you idiot!"
Hunter felt the water around him tighten and increase in pressure with the clear intent to crush him, and he immediately summoned a boiling fireball from his staff that created a hollow cavity for a split second and generated a shock wave that it stirred the water like an underwater tsunami. Kikimora herself was thrown away a few meters, but immediately she returned to the attack and swimming so fast that she almost looked like a barracuda, she reached Hunter and tried to hit him with her claws, but the boy managed to block the attack with his staff.
Even though the battle was taking place underwater, from the shore the others could see the numerous shock waves shaking the lake. "We have to help him!" Gus exclaimed.
"Later. Don't worry, he assured me he can handle that chick for a while. I trust him" Willow said, and then opened her dress to reveal Flapjack hidden underneath it. The Palisman flew over Amity's head and emitted a yellow light, which enveloped the donkey as if it were a blanket, similar to what he had done with Katya. Amity didn't understand what he was doing, but she didn't move and let him carry out whatever plan they had in mind.
Willow had meanwhile thrown a rock at Matt. "Here! Use your powers to smash that cage, and then free everyone else!"
"Right away!" Matt confirmed, and using his powers he moved the stone as if it were a slingshot and hit the bars several times, until they broke with a sharp crack.
King picked him and Gus up on his shoulders and ran out of the cage, followed by Ghost with a meow. As soon as they were free, King puffed out his chest and emitted a powerful sound wave against the wall where the cages in which Eda and Lilith were imprisoned were located. The bars that kept them locked up shattered, finally freeing the two fairies who scampered out in their large bird-like bodies, and with them Alador, Hooty, Owlbert, Mike Socks, Derwin, Katya and Amber were also freed. Ghost instead jumped over Camila and Vee and with a swing of his claws he cut the algae that imprisoned them.
"Anf...why don't you help us?" King asked Willow, who had remained motionless the entire time.
She glared at him. "I'm holding two sea monsters, in case you hadn't noticed!" she grumbled, nodding at Princess and Abomatron, who despite being stuck by her plants were clearly trying to free themselves.
"Well, now you don't have to do that anymore!" Eda told her with a grin, and took off; as soon as she was high enough, she dropped straight onto Princess's head. The body of the Owl Beast, so large and full of feathers, protected her from the fall, but the same couldn't be said of the sea dragon, which fainted from the blow. Lilith did the same with Abomatron, and Willow was finally free to untie the enormous vines, which following her commands returned to being small seeds and placed themselves in her pocket.
"Good, now we're all free!" King exclaimed. "Can you tell us what your plan is?"
Just then Flapjack stopped emitting his warm glow. Amity still had the same asinine look, but as soon as she opened her mouth a bray came out of it: "Hey! I can talk again!"
"Yes, Flapjack apparently can heal physical wounds and partially magical ones. He dissolved the seal blocking your vocal chords" Willow explained to her. "Kikimora is not Belos and her magic is much inferior to him. We didn't know if Flapjack could counter her powers, but luckily he did. At least we won't have to waste a wish to give you your voice back"
"A wish...?" Amity murmured not understanding, but she comprehended everything when she saw Willow take Darius' lamp. She rubbed it and there was a flash of purple light, and finally the djinn emerged from it: "Urgh... I'm finally out... where are we...?"
"I'll explain later, Darius! Now grant my wish!" Willow told him. "I wish Amity would go back to normal... or at least have hands again!"
Darius clearly wanted to be updated on many things, but it wasn't difficult for him to read the situation and understand that it was better not to waste time, so he hastened to fulfill the wish; the lamp's magic flowed through him, empowering him, and clashed with the magic that kept Amity transformed into a donkey. Darius gritted his teeth; what he was fighting against was an enormous and very powerful magic, much more than his own. With extreme effort, he managed to make it retreat at least a little; as soon as this happened, Amity's body changed and returned to its normal form, with the difference that she remained with her donkey ears and tail. "I can't do more than that" Darius murmured with some fatigue in his voice. "And I can't keep her in this form for more than a few hours"
But Amity still seemed delighted. "Oh, finally! I missed you so much, upright posture!" she exclaimed, standing up, and despite the situation she couldn't suppress a broad smile.
Meanwhile, Hunter and Kikimora continued to fight underwater. Hunter managed to parry all of the mermaid's attacks and counter her ability to manipulate water, but Kikimora was decidedly faster and more agile than him and unlike him she didn't need to resurface to breathe. Even though Hunter could hold his breath for a long time thanks to his excellent breathing ability, he still couldn't do it forever and Kikimora knew it. One of the advantages of having gills was that in an underwater fight she only had to hold her opponent down long enough for him to suffocate to win.
And indeed soon Kikimora began to notice a decrease in precision on Hunter's part; he was clearly starting to feel the effects of the lack of oxygen. "It's over for you!" she growled, swimming at full speed towards him, intending to hit him in the neck and break his spine. Hunter almost didn't seem to notice her, now almost completely unconscious...
But just as she was a few meters away, his eyes widened again and he moved suddenly, his staff pointing at her. "You were pretending!?" Kikimora exclaimed, furious at being fooled, but she still had a chance to escape him…
But suddenly something swam towards her and wrapped itself around her neck, distracting her. "Ugh! What the...?"
She didn't have time to say anything else: Hunter hit her square in the chest with the staff. Kikimora felt like her chest had just exploded and an electric current ran through her. She trembled as if shaken from the inside, and suddenly she stopped and fainted and slipped down into the depths of the lake.
Hunter wanted to chase her and give her the final blow, but by now he was really suffocating and feeling the effects of the pressure, so he swam towards the surface of the lake. Before surfacing he glanced at the creature that had wrapped itself around Kikimora's neck giving him a chance to strike, and what he saw was something similar to a snake vanishing into the water.
As soon as he was out, he took a deep breath and regained all the oxygen he had lost. He breathed several times, and then he swam towards the shore. There Willow welcomed him and took him by the hand to help him finally get out of the water. "Ugh. Thanks..."
As soon as he was on his feet a punch landed right on his gums, so hard that it knocked him to the ground. He looked up and saw that the one who had thrown it was Amity, who was glaring at him with fiery eyes. "I guess I deserved it" he admitted.
"To say the least" Amity hissed with more acidity in her voice than ever.
"Well, you can be mad at me all you want, I don't blame you" Hunter said as he stood up. "But now you have to..."
A second punch landed on his face, this time on the nose; it was weaker than the previous one and he managed to stand, although he staggered a little. This time it was Vee who gave it to him. "That's for being a total asshole!" the basilisk growled.
"Come on, girls" Willow tried to calm them down. "He went back to save you after all, now he's on our side..."
"Well, I don't care a damn!" Amity snapped, then she glared at Hunter. "Just know that as soon as we get out of here, I'll break your bones one by one!"
"And I'll give her a hand!" King added.
"Normally as a fairy I should stop the violence, but this time I say it is more than justified" Eda commented upon seeing that scene.
"For once I agree with you" Lilith told her with a little acidity in her voice.
Hunter let out a sigh. "Look, you can beat me up all you want when this is over, but we have to hurry now, don't waste time!" he said aloud. "I don't know how much longer Belos will stay focused on Luz... or how long she'll hold out. We need to act fast"
Darius appeared at his side, carrying Flapjack in his hands and handing the Palisman back to him. "I say you're right. So, what's the plan?"
The others were definitely angry, and only Willow and (very partially) Gus seemed intent on not slapping him, but in the end Amity asked: "Yeah... what's the plan? I doubt you gave me my voice back and asked to Darius to transform me back just out of friendship"
"No, in fact. We need you... and you need both your voice and your hands, because you have to perform a summoning ritual" Hunter told her. "We need you to summon your mother. For what I have in mind, we will need the Collector's help"
The battle between Hunter and Kikimora is a clear reference to the rivalry they have in canon since Kikimora literally tries to kill him, with the difference that here she tries to do it in person and with her hands since she too is not a pushover but she is actually very dangerous. Some of her moves are references to the canon, for example the fact that he imprisons Vee and Camila with seaweed, which is obviously a reference to when she imprisons Raine with artificial vines