Through the Looking Glass Ruins
Another day at Hexside. Gus sat in front of his locker, concealing his face behind his knees. For whatever reason, he had bandages on his forehead and cheek. Luz, Bijou, and Jackie approached him in the empty hallway.
"Hey, Gus. You okay?" Luz inquired, concerned.
"I-I messed up bad, you guys," he said, opening his eyes. "Willow just needed help with this pixie problem right? So I thought, oh, that I'll just lure them away with an illusion. But then..."
"That angered the pixies, and they attacked Willow," Luz concluded for him. "We heard."
"We visited her in the infirmary," Bijou remarked sadly, putting a lock of her hair behind her ear. When she first met Gus, he reminded her of her brother Quinton, which made her very happy. So it was awful to see him distraught.
"I moved up two grades. What's the point of being good at this if I can't do anything good with it?" He sighed as he spoke.
"It was an honest mistake! Besides, Willow's tough as nails. I'm sure you'll both be feeling better tomorrow," Luz told him with a smile.
"Yeah," Jackie replied with a grin. "You and I have known Willow since we started studying here. You know she can pull through this."
He smiled at the three, appreciating their wisdom.
However, the next morning, he laid down on his bedroom floor, frowning. He grumbled, as he felt no better at all. The breeze blew through his open window, with his crystal ball nearby. He still felt bad about what he did to Willow...his crystal ball rang, and he turned away from it. A prepared message aired, including King and Hazel in the image.
"I'm not reading this!" King said with a frown.
"Come on, King," Gus urged. "Please?"
"We agreed to do this, so no backsies," Hazel stated in Gus's favor.
"Ugh, fine," King said, throwing the paper he was holding and clearing his throat. "Is that a six-footed pig or a floating appendage? Why, no. It's Gus the Illusion Master!" Gus stood next to him, dressed in a cloak.
"Please leave a message after the beep," Hazel said before ending the tape with confetti.
Willow emerged unexpectedly, wearing a cast on her arm and bandages on her face. "Hey, Gus." He whipped around to face the crystal ball, curious what she had to say. "Thanks for sending me all those 'get well soon' illusions." He smiled. "But, uh..."
"Willow!" An illusion of Gus appeared, and the real one scowled. "How are you feeling? Do you have a fever?"
Another illusion appeared, holding a guitar.
"Willow, do you want me to sing for you? Maybe I can get Bijou!" He began warming up his vocals.
The final one appeared on her head. "Willow, is this helping?"
"Can you please take them back?" Willow sweetly inquired as the call ended. Gus gasped, his hands covering his face. He waved his spell finger, and three illusions materialized in front of him.
"Where's Willow?"
"Why are we here?"
"Did we do bad?"
The three groaned as they slowly vanished. He heard a tap on the door and opened it to find Luz standing there, with Bijou behind her.
"Gustopher!" Luz pumped her fist. "Gusteban. Augustabeth! Any of those working for you?"
"You need my library card to visit Amity, don't you?" He inquired knowingly.
She giggled awkwardly, and Bijou moaned in frustration. They weren't allowed to get library cards because they lived in the Owl House, and Eda had a long history of not returning her books on time, so they couldn't borrow hers...
"I haven't been doing a good job of hiding that, huh?"
Gus and Bijou shook their heads 'No.'
"I need to start asking the twins for theirs," the older human girl mumbled in contemplation; it was becoming impolite to visit Gus merely to borrow his on Luz's behalf.
"Well, we were also hoping to do a little bit of..." Luz grabbed his collar and dragged him forward. "Research! Come on!"
She pulled him so hard that his bandages slipped off.
"Oh!"
"So, Eda's mom told us we're not the first humans to have lived in Bonesborough, and that Bijou's bangle was previously owned by an old enemy of the Emperor," Luz stated as they went to the library. Gus didn't seem startled; he was too preoccupied with how ineffective he was as an illusionist. "If that's true, there might be some info on how these humans got here and about the bangle's previous owner in the library."
"It's just weird on the first one, you know?" Bijou massaged her chin. "Because I always thought we were the first."
"Yeah, okay," Gus murmured and they raised an eyebrow at him. "Looking through old newspapers is about all I'm good for anyway."
The two came to a halt, and Luz stood in front of him, pointing a finger. "Spill it, Gustonimo. Are you okay?"
"I-I've just been thinking," he said, looking down as they settled in at the bridge. "What if it's time for me to explore different kinds of magic?"
"We're all for trying new things, but what's wrong with Illusions?" Luz inquired.
"Yeah, didn't you pick it out when you started studying at Hexside?" Bijou chimed in.
"Illusions are just so...you know-"
A loud snarl halted them, and they peered down to see a Slitherbeast confronting one of the monster hunters. It knocked him down and raced away...right into the path of Braxas!
"Yay!" he said as he sprinted down the path, holding a balloon.
And then he saw the Slitherbeast, which showed no signs of slowing down. Two children wearing different school uniforms jumped in front of him. The abominations summoned an abomination to cause the Slitherbeast to slide. The plant learner spun a magic circle, creating the appearance of a web made out of branches. The Slitherbeast collided with it and was flung back in the opposite direction. A female construction student vaulted over the Slitherbeast, slamming down her fist. She tucked it into a rock while straightening her hair and giving her buddies a thumbs up.
"Good work, guys!"
"Yeah!"
"Alright!"
The throng above clapped as they witnessed the entire event, with Gus particularly enthralled. He gasped, his eyes bright with adoration.
Just then, Jackie appeared, approaching her three pals.
"Hey, guys," she said.
"Hey Jackie," Gus greeted her back.
"Did I miss anything?"
"Not much. A slitherbeast had a small rampage but it was stopped by three witches," Bijou responded as they stared down below.
Braxas' father, Warden Wrath, scooped him up. "Son, are you okay?"
"Yes, Daddy. Thank you, mysterious heroes."
"Stay safe out there!" the girl grinned as she waved goodbye to her buddies.
"Wow!" exclaimed Gus as he appeared in front of the trio. "Just wow! Plants. Abomination. Construction. You guys took down that Slitherbeast like it was nothing!"
"Nah, it wasn't that easy," the girl admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, looked like you had a real hard time out there," the Abomination student remarked cynically, nudging her shoulder.
"You're Glandus students, right? I go to Hexside. Name's Gus," he introduced himself.
"Nice to meet ya. This is Angmar," she said, gesturing to the Plant student, who waved. "Gavin."
"Hey," Gavin said, winking at Gus and flashing him finger guns.
"And I'm-"
"Bria!" another voice said, interrupting her. Mattholomule came to a stop just close to Gus. He panted, hands on his knees and appeared weary. "I would've helped, but, like, there was this other baby in danger. Heh, you probably couldn't see."
"Mattholomule?" Gus asked, raising his eyebrow.
Mattholomule finally noticed his rival. "Augustus?! Back off, twerp. This operation is Glandus kids only."
"Hey, Matty, it's all cool," Bria held up her palms, trying to keep the peace. "Did you get the map?"
He retrieved a scroll from his clothing. "Yes! And I only had to endure 35 noogies from my older brother." He joined the group, and Gus wondered why Mattholomule was hanging out with pupils from his previous school since he was now at Hexside.
"Nice work," Bria said, opening it.
"Well, uh, I can see you guys are busy, so, uh-"
"Wait!" Bria said before he could leave. "Have you ever heard of the Galdorstones?" she asked, showing him the chart.
"They're powerful relics. Many witches and demons have sought them," Gavin continued.
"But they've all returned empty-handed, haunted by its guardian," Angmar said, lifting his finger. "Until us!"
"We heard some coven scouts talking about them, but it'll be rough going. You said you were a Hexside student, right? We could use the extra strength," Bria responded to him.
He sweated a little and rubbed the back of his head. "That sounds awesome, but I-I can't. I promised some friends I'd help them with something today."
Luz gasped as she became apparent from the invisibility spell.
"Whoa!" the five cried in astonishment, as Bijou and Jackie approached.
"Gus, you ran away so fast, but I didn't want to interrupt, so..."
"I got this," Bijou said, holding up a hand and offering her pal some water. Luz swallowed it down rapidly and sighed with relief. "You need to stop spying on people like that."
"Lesson learned! Anyway, I think you should go," she said, smiling encouragingly.
"Well, he can't!" Mattholomule remarked angrily. He didn't want Gus there. "Gus is just an illusionist. He'll only hold us back."
"Ugh, this again..." Jackie muttered to him, glaring. "Stop giving illusionists a bad name, Matt."
"Yeah," Bijou acknowledged with disgust, rolling her eyes. "It's really telling that you think that way when you have TWO Construction students in your team."
He grunted at her, but decided not to say anything for the benefit of the Glandus students. Gus laughed as he fist-bumped Bijou.
"Nice one."
Luz simply scoffed at him. "Shows what you know. Gus here is a regular super witch."
"Luz!" He reddened in embarrassment and pulled them both away. "I see what you're doing and it's really sweet, but I don't actually know any spells besides illusions."
"Well, that ends today," Bijou said, winking at him.
"Yeah. No problem," Luz said, handing him one glyph for each of the four she knew. He gazed around skeptically, not sure if he could truly convince them with the glyphs. "Come on, man. You know we're all about proving jerks wrong."
She winked, and Gus grinned at her.
"Ooh, do you have more of those for me?" Jackie inquired, as Luz handed her some as well. "I really wanted to up my magical skills, too."
"Jackie and I are coming with you, Gus. I don't think we need to get in the way of visiting Amity anyway," Bijou grinned, making Luz flush in embarrassment. Because she could tell from the look on Bijou's face that the girl knew something about her and Amity.
"Thanks," Gus responded to Bijou, stepping forward. "Alright, I'm in. And my friends here is gonna join us!"
"What?" Mattholomule objected. "They can't join us! I mean, Jacqueline, I can handle, but Bijou? She's not-"
"I've had more experience than you'll ever know, so whatever you're about to say, don't," Bijou told him, and he gasped.
"Okay," Bria said, waving her hands. "Oh, you're human!" She blinked, noticing the girl's ears.
"You can do magic?"
Mattholomule huffed to himself and crossed his arms. He discovered that Bijou was probably much less useful than Gus or Jackie, especially given that she was human.
"She's a Bard, Healing, and Oracle student at Hexside!" Gus said, indicating toward her. "She knows lots of spells!"
He then cleared his throat awkwardly while leaning in toward Bijou. "Y-You know how to heal broken bones now, right?"
"Yes," she replied in a whisper.
"It'll be so great to have two new members on the team, especially if one of them is a human!" Bria said excitedly. "What're your names?"
"I'm Bijou, and this is Jackie," Bijou said, gesturing at herself and Jackie.
"Hello," Jackie waved to them.
"Where do we find these Galdorstones?" Gus inquired, beaming, knowing that with Bijou and Jackie by his side, he could accomplish this.
"We're journeying to..." The six stood on a tiny hill outside of town. "The Looking Glass Ruins in Forearm Forest."
In the distance, there was a misty, dark woodland.
"What's wrong, Augustus? Scared?" Mattholomule mocked, drawing glares from Gus, Jackie, and Bijou.
"We all are," Bria told him. "Who knows what awaits us out there? But we all got each other's backs, right?" She grinned and winked at Gus. He reddened at this.
"Yeah, um-" He adjusted his voice, which was breaking. "Yeah! Yeah, all right. Let's go!"
Everyone but Mattholomule and Bijou dashed down the hill.
"Whoo..." He grudgingly followed them, but Bijou stopped him.
"You can say whatever you want, but you won't get to Gus," she sneered at him. "Because once again, you're gonna be proven wrong, and we're not gonna fall for another innocent act."
"We both know he's gonna fail, and so will you," the boy said, gripping his shoulder and striding away. Bijou shook her head and followed them. She just prayed she could hold out long enough with this jerk...
At the library, Luz was researching the human with the crystal ball. Luz put in human, and one of the results was Eda selling ping-pong paddles, or attempting to do so. The customers that day were not impressed...
"Mystery vendor floods market with dangerous human goods. Oh, Eda," She scrolled and spotted a movie poster for Planet of Humans, which failed at the box office. Then she got to the end outcome. "Human resident donates personal diary to library."
She gave a quick gasp. "Yes! This must be it."
She began writing it down. She then looked over to the books about magical accessories through the history. Skimming through, she came through the article about the magical bangle Bijou found and took down some important details that her friend needs to know.
Luz then moved quietly over to the Kid's Corner. She looked in and found Amity leaning down to a child, while the others were reading books or playing with toys. Amity had her hand extended to a young girl, her hair down.
"Come on. Give it back," she said, chuckling at the girl.
"No!" she replied, shaking her head.
Amity sighed slightly. "If you give me back my hairband, I'll read you whatever book you want tomorrow."
The girl gave a quick gasp before smiling.
"Finally! I can learn how to summon the dark lord," she said as she handed Amity the hairband and fled away. Amity rose up and tied her hair back, and Luz blushed at her cuteness.
"Hey, Luz," Edric and Emira said as they snuck up behind her. She gasped, whirling around to find Edric piggybacking his sister.
"Hey, Ed. Hey, Em," she said, appearing a little uneasy after they spotted her staring. "Picking up Amity?"
"Nah, looks like you've got that covered," Emira mocked, as Luz glanced away with wide eyes. She jumped from her brother.
"I'm looking for skincare tips. I have a date tonight." The girl blinked in surprise, smiling pleasantly as she assumed he had finally asked Bijou out!
"Yeah, he needs all the help he can get, after he accidentally texted a poem to their mom!"
His eyes opened, and he stared at her pleadingly while she smiled amusingly. "Please don't tell people that."
"Wait..." She gradually realized they weren't talking about Bijou. "You're going on a date with someone else?"
Luz frowned in displeasure. "What about Bij?"
She could swear there was something going on between the two.
"I..." Edric scratched the back of his neck, as Emira appeared awkward. "I just...don't know if she's interested anymore, Luz. She's got her own stuff going on. We're better off just being friends, at least for the time being."
"Does she even know that?" Luz inquired, as Bijou had not mentioned anything to her, implying that her friend had not been informed of this yet. And his embarrassed expression just verified my theory. Luz groaned in despair, understanding Edric's need to take his mind off Bijou for a bit. She did not like it, but she understood why.
"Look, Ed...Bijou's the only family I've got here—technically. I don't wanna see her get hurt, you know? You oughta talk to her."
"I will. I promise I'll do it gently," He said, smiling faintly at her. "I don't wanna lose my mind or our friendship waiting for her to give me a straight answer."
"Are they bothering you again?" Amity abruptly said, and Luz flinched, spinning around to the girl.
"Oh..." Her cheeks flushed pink. "No, I just came here to see you, and, uh, here you are."
Amity's cheeks turned scarlet after she stated that.
"Heh..."
The twins looked at them and gasped as they realized what was going on.
"Edric, your face is exploding with horrific pustules," Emira gripped his cheeks.
"Oh, no!" he played along, but then he began to believe it slightly. "W-Wait. Is it really?"
"We have to fix it before your date, or you'll get dumped!" she pushed him a little.
"What?! I will?"
She sighed and started to tug him away. "Come on, Ed..."
"I was actually wondering if you could help me find this book?" Luz asked, showing Amity her notes. "Hundred years ago, there was a human named Philip Wittebane living in Bonesborough. And he donated his diary to this library!"
"And this might tell you how to travel between realms, right?" Amity asked.
"Yes! My mom probably thinks I'm missing right now and so is Bijou's family to her. We have to get back to them as soon as possible."
"Well, something this old would be kept in...the Forbidden Stacks," the two girls said, standing in front of the enormous doorway away from the most of the people. A small mouse with a skull for a head darted out of a hole near the door, dashing right by Luz's feet.
"Ugh!" she exclaimed, slightly unnerved.
"Only Malphas, the master librarian, is allowed in here," Amity said, and Luz looked despondent.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine, as my mother always said," she chuckled softly. "I'm sure I can find another way."
"Hey, wait," Amity said, laughing slightly. "I never said I wasn't gonna help."
She stepped forward toward the doors.
"My staff card should be able to open those doors," she said, holding up her employee card. "But once we're inside, you have to listen to everything I say. If we're caught, I could lose my job."
"You won't lose your job!" Luz said, clasping her hands. "I promise."
Amity blushed at their hands, and they looked up at each other before quickly letting go.
"Well, let's not waste any time," she said, walking up to the door and inserting the card into the lock. The door gleamed briefly before opening. They exchanged glances before entering, and the doors closed behind them.
In Forearm Forest...
Bria led the group as she chopped through vines in her path with a machete. "This will be a breeze once we get the Galdorstones."
"What can the Galdorstones actually do?" Gus inquired.
"Yeah, why go after them anyway?" Bijou questioned.
"Are they important?" Jackie proceeded to probe.
"If you're holding one, any spell you cast gets a big power boost," Mattholomule explained to them.
"I can grow an entire forest and make my own butterfly sanctuary," Angmar exclaimed, his eyes gleaming as one of the butterflies landed on his finger.
"I could make the biggest abomination ever," Gavin remarked with determination. "I bet Dad will pay attention to that."
"Whoa," Gus said when he heard this.
"Now that you mention it, I could drum up an orchestra when I get one," Jackie went on to say.
"That's some serious firepower," Bijou stroked her chin in reflection. She already knew that if she obtained one for Luz, the Owl House wouldn't be standing by the end of the week...and her glyphs were already powerful enough from her prior training, so she was good to go.
"Sorry. Doesn't do squat for illusions," Mattholomule ridiculed the boy, shoving him slightly. "Can't enhance what's not actually there."
The two girls rolled their eyes at him.
"Pfft. I know that," Gus said to the shove. Mattholomule responded, leading to a slap battle.
"Hold up, guys," Bria said before Bijou could stop them. They peered ahead and saw a vast patch of thorny brambles.
"We've come to our first challenge."
Mattholomule thought this was the perfect opportunity for Gus to demonstrate his 'skills', i.e. shame him and send him home.
"Show us what you got, Augustus," he shoved Gus on the arm, causing the child to rub it in annoyance. "What did the humans call you? 'A super witch'?" He laughed, and Bijou crossed her arms, fuming.
"That's a great idea!" Bria said, clutching his hand. "Go on, Gus. I know you can do it."
He looked up at his buddies, and Jackie placed a hand on his shoulder to pull him away. "Don't worry! Bijou and I will be there to help if anything goes wrong."
Mattholomule walked forward, keeping a careful eye on the three of them. He felt it quite suspicious...
He paused in front of the pile and pulled out a fire glyph.
"Which one is this?" Unfortunately, he hadn't memorized the glyph symbols because he wasn't learning them and they weren't part of his human education. He then decided to go for it, drawing a large spell circle. "Fireball!"
He tapped the glyph, holding it in his hands, and fired a massive fireball at the brambles, clearing a passage for them.
Everyone except Mattholomule cheered as Gavin and Angmar raced past Gus. "Whoo-hoo!"
He looked up, surprised, to find Bria clutching his shoulders from behind. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you!"
He paused in front of the pile and pulled out a fire glyph.
"Which one is this?" Unfortunately, he hadn't memorized the glyph symbols because he wasn't learning them and they weren't part of his human education. He then decided to go for it, drawing a large spell circle. "Fireball!"
He tapped the glyph, holding it in his hands, and fired a massive fireball at the brambles, clearing a passage for them.
Everyone except Mattholomule cheered as Gavin and Angmar raced past Gus. "Whoo-hoo!"
He looked up, surprised, to find Bria clutching his shoulders from behind. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you!"
"You did it, Gus!" Bijou said as she and Jackie joined his side. "That was a great guess."
"Impressive firepower there, Gus!" Jackie cheered.
"Yeah..." He blushed (primarily thanks to Jackie's compliment) rubbed his neck awkwardly, as if it was all wishful thinking.
"I don't know what's going on, but I've got my eyes on you," Mattholomule warned.
"Back off, Mattholomule," Bijou said, narrowing her eyes and blowing a raspberry. "Ugh. Just make sure he doesn't see you with a glyph, okay? That means you, too, Jackie"
She pursued the group, Gus and Jackie following her.
In Forbidden Stacks...
As Luz and Amity continued walking, they noticed low illumination and frightening statues throughout the area.
"How much further do we have to go?" Luz inquired of the witch as she looked about.
"Actually...we're here," Amity drew to a halt, gazing down below. Luz joined her and noticed a hall of flying books.
"Whoa!" Hands formed of light organized the flying volumes, and there was also a large staircase. "Let's get lookin'!"
Amity gasped and pulled her down. "Wait!"
A huge guy wearing a cloak entered the room. It looked up but saw nothing before turning and departing. Amity and Luz turned to each other on the ground, and when they realized how near they were, they turned away with blushes.
"So, we'll be super sneaky and quiet. Got it."
"Malphas is actually the one who gave me my job and my own study room," Amity revealed to her. "He's usually nice, but if we're caught, he'd feed us to the book worms."
"I know here that probably means unholy, blood-sucking snake monster, but in the Human Realm, that's just a kid name for nerds."
"Huh," Amity said, glancing away with a slight blush and smile. "The human world sounds odd."
"Maybe it would be less odd if I showed you around someday." Amity flinched, her eyes wide. "But, uh, let's turn back. I don't wanna push you."
"We're getting that diary!" Amity grabbed Luz's arm and dashed away.
"According to the map, we should be getting close," Mattholomule led the way, which was great for Bijou and Jackie. They really hoped it would be over soon so they wouldn't have to speak to him again. Suddenly, a snake seized his ankle.
"Don't worry, Matty. We got ya," Gus replied as he and Jackie whirled around and smashed down two plant glyphs. Two enormous vines sprung from them.
"Hey, only Bria can call me-" The vine released him, and he dropped to the ground.
"Come on, dude," Gavin moaned as he and Angmar bent down to face him.
"I'm not surprised he couldn't handle Glandus," Angmar said as they carried the boy away.
"What did they mean by 'couldn't handle Glandus'?" Gus pondered as he, Jackie, and Bijou strolled alongside Bria.
"Things work...differently at Glandus," she said with a bashful look. "Weak students are...pushed around by the strong. But if I had a Galdorstone, I might be able to change things for the better!"
Gus and Jackie understood her as Bijou blinked in uncertainty, freezing a little. That explanation made it clear why Mattholomule was at Hexside...but she still didn't want him to start being friendlier.
"Hey! Over here," Angmar exclaimed, and they dashed over. Bria gasped as they stood in front of a massive stone gate labeled Looking Glass. There were also comic and tragic faces on the doors.
"Okay, Angmar, you're on lookout duty," Bria said, staring at him and peering at a butterfly. "Angmar~"
"Hmm?" He froze at her words.
"I said you're on watch." She tightened her fists and smiled. "And if I catch you playing with any more bugs, I'll make you eat them!"
Jackie arched an eyebrow at her ominous tone, and Bijou sweated uneasily after hearing it.
"Okay?"
He sobbed, remaining motionless as he let the butterfly fly straight by him.
"I believe in you!"
As they stepped inside, they saw a collection of hooded sculptures.
"I can't believe we found it," Mattholomule exclaimed with amazement.
"This is nuts," Gavin said to himself. Bria peered forward, and a sparkle caught her gaze. She climbed up to the statue and pulled the leaves away to reveal a blue stone in its hands. She then grabbed it, but some of the stone slid away.
"Oh, whoops."
She jumped and landed right in front of them.
"Well, we did it, everyone. The power of the Galdorstones is ours."
The stone gleamed in her grasp, and she slammed her hand against the soil, creating a pillar so large that it could be seen from almost anywhere in the Boiling Isles. She gasped and squealed.
"I can't believe it! The legends were true!"
She went off joyfully to try it again, while Gavin grabbed his own. Bijou and Jackie saw Gus wasn't receiving one, and they looked at him as he approached another statue.
"What's wrong, Gus?" Jackie approached him.
"Something's not right, girls..." he whispered, removing more leaves to show a nameplate. "Huh. The Phantom Bringer..." He dashed to another one, moving more leaves. "Aleth, the Vision Creator. Khari, the Mirage Maker. B-But these titles are for..." He gasped in surprise.
"Oh no."
"Ohh, this is bad," Bijou pinched her nose; just wait until Luz hears this...
"Are these...illusion witches?" Jackie asked, looking around.
"Stop!" Gus told the others. "These aren't ruins. This is an illusionist graveyard."
"Ew!" Mattholomule said, dropping his stone in disgust, but Bria simply chuckled, hand on her cheek.
"Aw, Gus, you're saying that as if it's a bad thing."
Bijou recoiled in surprise, horrified that Bria was saying this, especially in that manner.
"That's because it IS a bad thing! I don't know about you, but back where I come from, we don't rob graveyards!"
"These stones were theirs. We shouldn't take them."
"He's right, we can't do this," Jackie agreed.
"Even if these witches were alive, what would illusionists use Galdorstones for?" Bria said dismissively, which surprised Bijou because Bria had been gentler earlier. "High-def party tricks?"
She chuckled as she joined their cause.
"Come on, guys," she said, handing him the Galdorstone. "Don't you wanna power up those cool spells of yours?"
He squinted his gaze at his mirror. He could have been debating whether or not illusions were good for him, but he didn't want to go this low.
"No, this isn't right. We won't let you steal these!" He yanked the stone away from the girl. Jackie and Bijou stood in front of him, protecting him.
"I don't think you know what you're saying, guys," Bria warned.
"It's real!" Angmar burst in. "The guardian is real! And it's coming this way!"
A massive smoke cloud emerged in the graveyard, and everyone shouted and fled. Lightning struck as the cloud grew in size, generating a tornado. Blue eyes sparkled, and a massive dragon appeared.
"I heard it has the power to control the weather," Angmar remarked, terrified.
"And summon ghosts."
"Well, I wonder if it can handle a little fire!" Bria pushed Gus into the open.
The dragon flew onward, and Gus checked himself for glyphs, only to discover that he didn't have any.
"I'm out of glyphs!" The dragon roared, exuding a lot of energy. Gus gave a quick gasp.
"Jackie, hurry! Give him some of your glyphs!" Bijou said to her.
Jackie rummaged through her pockets, only to discover that she had no glyphs left.
"None!" she responded.
"Oh no..." Bijou exclaimed, her face becoming pale from fear.
Back at the library, Amity and Luz entered the 'Donations: Deadwardian Era, 1600s.' As they began to search, two mice rushed by. Luz took a step back, closing her lips to avoid screaming, as a phantom hand returned a book to the shelf. Amity was going to read a book when it went extremely dusty, causing her to flinch.
Luz picked one and blew off the dust, gasping when she noticed Philip Wittebane's name in the upper right corner. She waved at Amity, and when she noticed it, the two discreetly celebrated. They kept quiet while Luz opened it, only to discover that one of the skull-mice had entirely chewed through the pages.
She gasped.
"You little rat!" Her voice boomed across the room, scaring the mice away. "Oh no..."
The same person as earlier loomed over them from behind, and they looked up nervously.
"Amity..."
Malphas wasn't particularly terrifying when he confronted the girls outside the library; he was just a bird-like demon. But that didn't mean he wasn't severe when talking to Amity.
"I'm just, like, super disappointed in you. Like, I can't even process these feelings right now. Gosh, it's so hard for me to say this, but...like, you're fired," He waved his finger and snatched Amity's staff card. He then returned inside, slamming the doors shut behind him.
The two girls remained there in quiet for a moment.
"Amity, I am so-"
"Not right now, Luz," Amity said, stiffening her hands. "Everything's changed since you and Bijou came here; being around you makes me do stupid things, and I wish it didn't." She began to cry, and when she looked at Luz, she noticed that she was also crying.
"It's okay. I, uh..." The girl sniffed, wiping away a tear. "I-I do stupid things around you too, Amity."
Amity gave a gasp.
"I...think I need to go home," she said as she walked slowly down the stairs, Luz weeping slightly. She closed her eyes and slicked her hair back before taking a big breath.
"Nada funcionara a menos que lo haga funcionar," she recited as she shed tears and turned around to face the library.
Jackie dashed over and yanked Gus out of the danger. They and Bijou crouched behind a pillar. When both Gus and Jackie noticed that they were holding hands, they started
"We need to get him off our backs so we can get outta here," Bijou said, returning her gaze briefly.
"Uh, it will just be an illusion, but maybe I can scare him away," he said, emerging from hiding and creating a spell circle. He produced the illusion of another dragon, and it vanished. Gus sweated nervously...and, strangely, the first dragon flickered and then vanished as well. Bijou and Jackie emerged from their hiding place, confused.
"Wait, that wasn't a real dragon?" Jackie inquired, puzzled.
The three looked up to see an elderly man wearing a broken symbol over his clothes.
"Oh-ho! I am the keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard, and it has been a very long time since I've had a visitor!" He hugged the three of them, and they all felt dismayed. "And to think it'd be more illusionists!"
He laughed and let them go. "Though I don't remember them being so small."
Bijou and Jackie winced as Gus narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
"Don't give me that face. An illusionist has always kept watch over the Galdorstones. We gain no powers from them, so we're the least likely to use them for evil. Probably."
"Well, we gotta get out of here. Now!" Gus insisted.
"We got some some bad company here today," Jackie added in.
"There's these kids from Glandus and-" Bijou continued before she got interrupted.
"So," Bria piped up, coming out of concealment. "The big bad guardian is just another useless illusionist."
She giggled as Gavin and Angmar joined in.
"Today just keeps getting better." The two spun their spell circles, and an abomination materialized between the four, grasping them. Bria smirked as they were ensnared by a big vine. Gus, Jackie, and Bijou glared at her. They could only stare as Bria took a Galdorstone.
"Got it. Whoop," she said, dropping the others as the boys grabbed them.
"Huh," Mattholomule muttered as he held one in his hand. Angmar seized it from him. "Hey!"
"We're playing by Glandus rules, Matty," Bria explained. "You can have anything you want...if you're strong enough to take it."
The others laughed, which reminded Mattholomule of why he had left Glandus in the first place. He turned back to his Hexside classmates and approached them.
"Hey..." he said, Bijou looking up, annoyed.
"What do you want, Mattholomule? You've already caused us enough trouble already."
"I-I didn't know she was gonna do this," he told them.
"Matty, we need you to hold our stuff!" Bria shouted out.
"This is exactly how it was at Glandus," said Mattholomule, crossing his arms. "Always Bria's stooge."
"Better a stooge than a clown," Gus said back. "Bria was right. Illusions are nothing but high-def party tricks."
"Gus...don't say that," Jackie's gaze softened towards him.
"Yeah...I used to think that too," Mattholomule said, holding a saw in his hands. "But then I met some dork who used his powers to save me from a man-eating detention pit."
He began cutting them free, and the vines fell off. Bijou glanced at him, surprised that he had done that.
"All I'm saying is, if a dumb illusion can save a jerk like me, maybe it's not as useless as you think."
Gus smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Mattholomule. It's time to teach those jerks a lesson!"
"Yeah! That's what I like to hear," Bijou pumped his fist.
"I agree!" the old man added. "I'll call the hounds."
"Whoa," Mattholomule said, slightly annoyed.
"Uhh, how about we try a less gory approach?" Jackie worried that they'd get into some real problems.
"With all due respect, sir," Gus smiled and crossed his arms. "I'd like to try something a little more...creative."
Bria and Gavin were throwing around a Galdorstone.
"Intercepted!" Angmar lunged in and snatched it, striking one of the statues. Then it broke off and landed nearby, everyone laughing. Then a butterfly flew directly past the plant student.
"Huh?"
"Maybe we can sell the smaller ones to the Emperor's Coven and keep the rest for ourselves," Bria said sinisterly. "Angmar, start collecting!"
However, he did not react, and she looked behind her.
"Angmar?" She noticed him chasing the butterfly. "Hey! Get back here!"
The butterfly chuckled as it turned around. "Wink." It soared directly into the smoke, and he fell for it.
"Wait! Come back. What species are you?"
"Ugh, whatever," Bria replied with contempt. "I never really liked him anyway. Looks like you're my second-in-command, Gav."
She winked at him, but he was preoccupied with something else, or someone.
"D-Dad?!" Gavin exclaimed, noticing his father hidden in the smoke.
"Gavin, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you! Now, how about we grab some ice cream, son?"
He gasped and dashed up to him. "That sounds great, Pops. Wait, when did you grow a mustache?"
"Hey, don't blow this chance!"
Bria narrowed her eyes as the two walked away, knowing exactly what was going on.
"Come out, illusionist! I'm not dumb enough to fall for these tricks." Suddenly, she was in utter darkness, with a shadow rushing by her. She was about to attack when another shadow rushed by. She slammed down her hand, producing a pillar that caused everything around her to return to normal.
"That's right. Who's strong now? I never needed those losers anyway," she said, packing a Galdorstone in a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "More for me."
She was preparing to go when the fog came in.
She looked behind her and saw that all of the statues had begun to bleed from the eyes and lips. One of them began creeping over to her, and she dropped the bag, laughing it off.
"Cute," she said, pointing to a spell circle, which vanished completely. "Huh?"
She tried again and nothing happened.
"Why isn't my magic working?" She yelled as she noticed her hands turning into stone. Bria appeared horrified as the rocks crumbled away. The statue reached out to her, and she took a step back.
"What's going on? No. No. This is all just an illusion. Heh. It can't actually hurt me. It can't even touch me."
Nevertheless, the statue gripped her leg, causing her to gasp. She looked up to discover that the face was in her likeness, and it was beginning to bleed. She yelled, regaining control of her leg and failing to see that her hands were still fine. She dashed towards the exit.
"Cursed! This place is cursed!" she exclaimed, disappearing into the smoke as the statue that had caught her returned to normal, revealing Bijou.
"Man, that took a lot of concentration," Gus muttered tiredly, as the graveyard returned to its original state. As Bijou stood up, a lone piece of a pillar broke off, and the others joined in. She took up one of the Galdorstones.
"That was so much fun!" she said, smiling at him. "You gotta show Luz how to do that."
"Good job, Gus. That feat really takes the cake," Jackie said.
"Laying an illusion over the entire graveyard to make it appear that the stones were not working—very clever," the keeper said, smiling. "Keep honing your powers of observation, child, and there's no limit to what you'll be able to do."
"There are...some limits," Gus said, glancing aside. "I wish I could repair all the damage they did."
"Umm...maybe I could help," Mattholomule said with a genuine smile.
He was able to repair them, albeit some of them appeared to be out of place, but the keeper didn't seem to care. "Thank you for defending the Looking Glass Graveyard, witchlings. Perhaps it's time I hid this place for good," He stroked his chin in concentration.
"But...there's so much history here," Gus frowned as he motioned to the statues.
"And people will come here again once they hear about those stones," Bijou said, crossing her arms.
"What if we came back on the weekend to help build your defenses?" Mattholomule asked the keeper.
"I could provide audio tours for new visitors," Jackie chimed in.
"I would like that very much; you're all welcome to return whenever you want!" he said, waving to the four as he went.
"He is definitely a ghost," Mattholomule told them.
"So does this mean we're, like, friends now?" Gus wondered, the Construction student flinching.
"...I don't know," he said as he began to walk away, leaving the other two to exchange glances.
"Well, it could be a good start, you know," Jackie said as Bijou nodded and they followed him.
"Yeah. Squirt," he said, shoving Gus slightly, who laughed.
"Jerk," he returned the shove, Bijou smiled as she and Jackie followed behind them. She wouldn't be surprised if Mattholomule finally replied 'yes' to Gus' question.
At the library...
Bijou went there to pick up Luz at the library after Jackie, Gus, and Mattholomule had returned home. To her surprise, Luz appeared to be in disarray. She groaned knowingly when she noticed Luz seated on the steps and bowing down in front of her.
"You got in trouble again, didn't you?"
"You wouldn't know the half of it..." Luz said sadly, and Bijou sat next to her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she said, as her friend began to tell her the entire scenario.
At the Blight manor...
Emira was brushing Amity's hair as Edric looked in the mirror before his date. "Hm? Hm."
"Ever since Luz and Bij came here, things have just gotten confusing," Amity chimed in. "I'm thinking things I've never thought before. I'm feeling things I never used to feel!"
"Is that so bad?" Emira questioned her. "You weren't happy before. Ed, don't pick. You'll make it worse."
"Too late!" he exclaimed, Amity sighing.
"Hey, your roots are growing out," Emira said, patting the top of her head, which is now brown. "Do you want to dye your hair again?"
She held up a green potion. But Amity had other plans...
"So...how's it look?" Amity said of her siblings after they had dyed it, Emira clutching a pair of scissors.
"It looks like you're about to get in big trouble with Mom," Edric joked, and Emira slapped his arm. "Ow."
"I think it looks great. But, yeah, maybe don't tell her I helped," his sister said shyly, concealing the scissors behind her.
Then there came a knock on the door. Amity went to open it and saw Luz standing there with her sister. Bijou blinked in amazement as Luz handed her Amity's staff card.
"I'm sorry for everything; I understand if you never want to see me again. Uh-" She flinched as she noticed Amity's hair was suddenly violet with brown on the sides, and it was out instead of her typical manner. "It's...different."
"Oh, yeah. Mom always liked it green. I thought I could use a change," She flushed and returned her card. Bijou then felt awkward since she felt she was disrupting something.
"Uh, how'd you get this back? And what happened?" she asked, gesturing to Luz.
"Well, to convince Malphas to hire you again, I had to go through some trials, and categorize some man-eating books, and tame something called a paper dragon; that guy was not fun. Oh, hey, guys," she waved to the twins, who were waving back from the hall.
"Mm?" They observed Bijou and understood they needed to be alone, and the older girl felt as if she had nowhere to go.
"Bij!" Emira lunged forward, seizing her arm. "Edric needs your help with his pustules!"
"Will you stop telling people that?" he whined at her, and Bijou looked back.
"Um, I'll be outside in a mi-" Emira drew her into the hall and out of sight. Amity sighed and shut the door. She observed a mouse hanging on Luz's leg.
"Well, looks like you made a new friend."
Luz looked down and screamed. "You're the one who ate the diary!" She dove after it after the mouse jumped, landing on the ground with it. "I hate you..."
"Wait," Amity chuckled, assisting her up. "This is an Echo Mouse. It consumes knowledge through writing and can play back anything it eats. We dealt with them a lot at work. Watch," She nuzzled it on the head, and it shone, casting a bright light on the door like a projector.
"My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today, I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st...I think. My name is Phillip Wittebane. And I have found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have. But perhaps they shall, for the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today, I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm."
The projection ended there. "Thank you, little mouse," Luz smiled as Amity handed it to her. "I hope you and I can become good friends." She briefly brushed its nose with her own. Amity took out her ID card and smiled. It was burned, yet she still valued it.
"Don't worry. You always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts," she said, kissing Luz on the cheek! Luz's eyes widened in horror as she turned to face Amity.
"Aww!" Bijou exclaimed, beaming as she and the twins watched out the window.
"Bold move, sister," Edric said, crossing his arms and nodding in agreement.
Luz gasped at Amity, who blushed and gasped upon realizing what she had done. "Uh, okay. Good to see you. Farewell forever," she ran to the door, mumbling to herself. "Why did I do that? Why'd I do that? Why'd I do that?" She closed the door, sending Luz to her knees in surprise.
"Now we just need you to get ready for your date—oh," Emira blinked, Edric winced. Bijou turned to face him, surprised.
"You're going on a date? Oh…" Her eyes sank in despair. She didn't expect him to do that, because she assumed he was going to ask him out for real. She felt a strong connection with him...
"W-Well…you see...I know I haven't asked you out and possibly won't be for now, so maybe we should just stay friends for the time being...if that's okay with you," he scratched the back of his neck, looking away. He knew he wasn't making a mistake, but his heart told him not to do it. But it was for the better, perhaps...hopefully.
"Um…I mean, sure. We can be friends," she said sadly, her heart cracking slightly. Emira cast a glance between the two of them. She suddenly remembered Edric telling her that, in addition to being a good artist, Bijou was also a talented singer and instrumentalist, and she had seen Bijou leave Bard class several times.
"Recalling what I asked after Grom, your dad didn't want you drawing clothes, is that right?"
"Yeah, Ed," Bijou replied. "He knew from the start that I have a gift in drawing. It's just that he didn't want me to waste my time and skills on silly doodles and focus my drawing on more conventional means."
"You mean he-"
"Focuses on what he wants and not what I want, then that is what he usually does. I wanted to become a fashion designer, but my dad told me that such a career wouldn't be contributing to society so he wanted me to be an engineer."
"Engineer? Like our dad?"
"Yes but more of the machinery kind rather than abominations. He wanted me to succeed in life but he always dismissed my happiness. And it's not just my dad. Kids at my old school also thought that my dream career is unconventional."
"I see," Edric couldn't help but feel terrible about Bijou had been going through.
"So, what does your mom think?" Emira inquired, sitting down.
"My mom is more open-minded and supportive of me and my dreams. She told me to just stay true to myself and never lose sight of what I stand for."
"I'm sure your dad will be more open to it someday," Emira sought to reassure her.
As Luz and Bijou return to the Owl House, the former told the latter that she found some info about the magic bangle. She showed the notes she wrote down and even though they weren't enough, this could be a hint to more secrets about the bangle.
In her and Hazel's room, Bijou's crystal ball rang and she answered, the caller revealing to be Gus.
"Hey, Bij," Gus said. "Thanks for helping me today. I needed a friend or two today, you know?"
"No problem," she said, smiling at him. "By the way, I noticed the way you blush at Jackie. You have a crush on her, right?"
Gus cringed in embarrassment, "How did you know?"
"Let's just say I have intuition. But know this, Gus. Try taking things slowly if you want to confess to Jackie about your feelings for her. Give her the time. You know, baby steps."
"I will. Thanks, Bijou," Gus responded as he ended the conversation. Bijou then stared out the window, contemplating the possibility of Edric dating someone else before he had an opportunity to confess to her, and vice versa. She's not going to hold this up against him but maybe...just maybe... Edric will finally confess to her and she will do the same.