Luz Noceda, now 14, sat on her couch playing Pokémon on her Switch. Shiny hunting was such a drag, but she was so close to having a shiny living dex she could almost taste it. Her mother was at the vet clinic, so Luz had been alone all day. Well, not really alone. Her Orthrus, Elektra, was resting beside her, nearly the size of the couch. Luz knew that no matter what happened, Elektra would protect her from anything. Just as she spotted another shiny, a sudden massive headache came over her. She screamed out loud, falling to the floor. Elektra stood, growling, ready to defend her mistress. Luz hushed the twin-headed dog, as the pain began to fade. Something was...wrong, with the natural magic of the world. It was like a leech had attached itself to the world and was slowly draining it dry. Luz had to find out whatever was causing this...whatever it was!
"Elektra, stay here and watch the house. I'll be right back, girl. Don't destroy the house while I'm gone, ok?" The Orthrus huffed, going back to sleep.
Luz rushed out the door, following the strange feeling she was having. It led her into the woods and a small rundown cabin, really more of a shack. The door looked strange, with some kind of eye ornament on it. Suddenly she was knocked down by something slamming into her. She tumbled down, somersaulting to land on her feet. She glanced around and saw a tiny owl carrying a bag and...HER AZURA BOOK!
"Tiny trash thief!" Luz shouted, chasing the owl through the door. She stepped through and immediately felt...off. She stopped on the other side of the door, as she watched the owl hop away, "Stop adorably hopping away, you - Huh?" Luz stopped glancing around at her surroundings. She was definitely not in Kansas anymore. Or, well, Connecticut.
"Whoa. I thought I had a lot of weird stuff," she whispered, taking a creepy looking baby doll off the nearby shelf, "But this? This is impressive!"
"Finally, you're back! Now let's see what we've got here."
Luz snuck closer to the opening of the tent she now found herself in and peaked out. An older woman was sifting through the bag, with the little owl sitting on a perch watching her. First the woman pulled out a phone, "Garbage," then a diamond ring, "Garbage," the HOLY GRAIL, "Garbage," when suddenly she pulled out a pair of novelty glasses with springy eyeballs, "Now this is gonna make me rich! And this," she pulled out Luz's book, "Will make good kindling," she said, putting the book over her candle.
Luz let loose a bolt of magic power, knocking the older woman on her ass. Luz ran forward, "Oh my Goddess, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to stop you, that's my book and its very special to me! Sorry," she blurted out one more time before grabbing the book and running back towards the door.
Suddenly the door folded up, leaving Luz stranded here in this strange realm. Once the door was gone, Luz felt something she had never felt before, an emptiness that was so deep, it stopped her breathing. Luz realized, for the first time in her life, her mother Hecate wasn't watching her. A rising panic clutched at her throat, as she began to hyperventilate. She stepped back out of the tent, a high-pitched scream building in her throat. The older woman hurried to her, placing a calming hand on her shoulder
"Hey, calm down human! Take a deep breath, hold it for four seconds, breath out for four seconds, and just keep doing that, you'll be fine ok?"
Luz took the woman's advice, doing the square breathing exercise until she calmed down enough to speak, "W...where the hell am I? Am I in Tartarus? Are you gonna eat me!?"
"Why would I eat a potential customer! Eda the Owl Lady, purveyor of human ju- I mean, treasure! Anything and everything you see can be yours for the right snails!" Eda laughed, showing off her stand. Luz managed a shaky smile as she introduced herself.
Suddenly a burly guy in a plague doctor's mask showed up carrying a baton of some kind, "Eda the Owl Lady, you are under arrest for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!"
Luz's eyes sparkled a bit, "Whoa, witch criminal!" Maybe this place was gonna be fun after all? As the Guard came up to grab Eda, the older woman grabbed Luz and jumped onto her staff, taking off into the air.
"Whoa," Luz shouted, "Where are you taking me!? WHY ARE YOU TAKING ME!?"
"He spotted you kid, and trust me, those fascist pigs wouldn't hesitate to throw you into the Conformatorium just for being around me," Eda spat out, obviously no love lost between her and the guards, "As for where we're heading, you'll see in a bit. Before that though, welcome...to the Boiling Isles!"
They finally finished climbing through a cloud, and what Luz saw blew her mind. It was a giant carcass of some kind, and these people had built an entire civilization on it! It was like the Norse and their belief in Ymir the Frost Giant. "This is...really cool actually Eda. Thanks for showing me."
"If you think this is cool, kid, you ain't seen nothing yet!" They dove down through the clouds, pulling up to a house that, if Luz was completely honest with herself, was pretty run down. Eda glanced around, walking up towards the door, "Hooty, come on and open up!"
"Who's Hoo-" Luz was suddenly cut off as a long tube, for lack of a better word, got right up into her face.
"HELLO!" Luz screamed, punching the bird...tube...thing directly in its face. "That was rude!"
Eda growled, "Hooty, open the damn door! I have stuff to get for the heist tonight."
Hooty grumbled, but the door did open, and Luz and Eda walked in. As she stood in a freaking breathing room, she heard loud footsteps walking towards them. Luz got into a battle stance, drawing upon her own inner well of magic. A giant shadow loomed on the wall, and a loud voice boomed out, "WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I, THE KING OF DEMONS!" However, what rounded the corner was not something Luz expected. A small, furry black creature, with a skull cap and two horns, one of them broken sat atop his head, carrying a rubber ducky and towel wrapped around himself.
"Ay, que lindo!" She squealed, running over to the creature and hugging him tightly against herself.
"EDA, HELP!" The tiny thing shouted, trying to push away from Luz.
Eda came back, drinking some kind of beverage, "Oh, I see you met King. Good, this will make things a lot faster. King was once a mighty king of demons until his Crown of Power was stolen and he became," Eda gestured to the small furry black creature, "This."
"You mean this little bundle of Joy?" Luz smiled, hugging King tightly again.
"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you. If you help us retrieve his crown, we'll send you back to your realm. So whaddya say? Plus," Eda lifted up King by his cheeks, shaking him gently, "Who could say no to this cute face?"
Luz had to agree he was cute, but she figured it was time to come clean, "So uh, I may not be entirely helpful here. See, I'm only half-human. Technically I'm what's called a Demigod. My mothers are a human and the Goddess of Magic herself, Hecate."
If the name meant anything to Eda, she didn't show it, "Wait, are you telling me you're half God? Damn, I knew I should have gone harder on the sell in the market. Never mind that, this just got a whole lot easier! I'm sure a half-God will be much more helpful than some weak human! Ok, hop on everyone!"
Luz ran up to the staff, hopping on with King still in her arms. Soaring up in the clouds was amazing! As they flew towards their destination, a thought crossed Luz's mind. Was this view similar to what her mom saw every day? Looking down on the Earth from Olympus? It was both amazing and scary in equal measure. Suddenly they dove down towards a large, gray building. This must be the Conformatorium she had heard so much about. Even the name screamed evil.
"Ok, here's the plan kid. The vault containing King's crown is on the top floor. You guys are gonna head up there while I cause a distraction. Once you find it, get out as fast as possible. I can handle myself, but if I have to worry about you two brats, it might throw off my usual badassness."
Luz nodded, making her way into the building. The first room she came too was some kind of prison. A voice called out, "Hey girly, how'd you get out of your cell?" The voice belonged to a woman with catlike features and brown fur.
Luz looked around, "Oh, I'm not a criminal."
King laughed, "Not yet you're not."
The cat woman nodded, "Neither are we. The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. Like, I write fanfics of food falling in love," she smiled as she pulled out her writing book, "I like food, I like love... Just let me write about it."
"I'm here because I like eating my own eyes." Another prisoner spoke up, plopping one of said eyes into his mouth.
"Bewos is a fwaud! Twickewy is the twue Empewow of the Boiwing Iswes!" a creature that looked like some kind of bipedal nose spoke up from her cell.
"Yeah, she's big into conspiracy theories," the cat lady explained.
"The world is a simuwation! We awe but pwaythings for a higher being!"
"Wait. These aren't crimes. None of you actually did anything wrong. You're all just a bunch of weirdos. Like me." Luz clenched her fists in rage. Prisons were meant for evil doers, monsters, not people who didn't fit into some forced hierarchy!
Before Luz could even attempt to undo the cages though, the doors slammed open, and Eda's limp body was thrown into the room, followed soon after by...HER HEAD!? Luz screamed, running up to the decapitated body. She cradled the head of the woman she had just met close to her, tears streaming down her face.
"Hey, stop blubbering and kick this guy's ass Luz," Eda's severed head shouted at her. That caused even more screaming, as Luz threw the head into the air. It landed with a thunk, Eda cursing up a storm.
"Are you just about done," Warden Wrath asked, "Because you are all under arrest! Now, let's try out these new minions the Emperor gave me." As he stepped aside, Luz knew that something more was going on with the Boiling Isles than just some despotic tyrant, because what came around the corner was certainly not from here. A group of risen corpses started shambling towards Luz, each of them carrying a bevy of weapons ranging from axes to shortswords. Their eyes glowed with an unearthly green light, and Luz knew exactly what these monstrosities were. Draugr, the Unhallowed Dead of Norse myth. Luz shivered, as she knew exactly how dangerous these monsters were.
"Ok, calm down Luz. It's just a group of undead monsters from one of the greatest warrior cultures of the ancient world. No big deal," she muttered to herself. She tried to reach out for her own inner magic, but soon realized the more time she had spent in this strange land, the more her power had been slowly draining. So, if she couldn't rely on her magic, she would have to rely on her training. She took a deep breath, and reached, for lack of a better term, into her own body. Luz counted herself lucky that her uncle Heracles had come down from Olympus for her last birthday and begun training her for battle. Then again, maybe it wasn't luck but the Moirai spinning their threads. Well, there was time enough to think about that later. There was a bright flash of light, blinding everyone in the room. As their vision returned, the occupants of the room saw Luz, ready for battle. On her back she wore a lion's skin like a cloak, with the mouth covering her own head, and she wielded a javelin that crackled like lightning in both her hands. A xiphos was tucked in a scabbard on her side and a large hoplon shield was strapped to her beck, with a sigil of an Orthrus in front of the night sky painted on it. Finally, instead of the cat hoody she had been wearing before, she was wearing a form fitting cuirass over her chest, and a short skirt freed her legs so nothing would get in the way of her footwork.
"I am Luz Noceda, daughter of Camilla, Manuel, and Hecate Noceda. Granddaugther of Zeus, Father of the Gods. Demigod of Twilight, and Warrior of peace," Luz glanced around and smiled as she hefted her javelin, "NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!" She roared, throwing her javelin directly at Warden Wrath. A loud peal of thunder shook the room as the javelin streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning, slamming into the Warden and knocking him clear across the hall and through the opposite wall. The Draugr looked back at their commander, then at Luz, and began lurching towards her. "Oh right, the dead guys."
Luz drew her xiphos and grabbed her hoplon off her back and got into a battle stance Heracles had taught her. The Draugr began picking up speed, their bloodlust for flesh and blood driving them onwards. Blocking the first axe shot with her shield, Luz began moving through the risen corpses like a hot knife through butter. "Μητέρα να με προσέχεις" she whispered, a prayer to her mother to watch over her. One of the Draugr ducked under her next sword swing, his axe coming down on her back. The heft broke on impact, with no visible damage on Luz.
"Oh, you like my uncle's gift? Since he is a God now, he figured he didn't need a Nemean Lion skin anymore and gave it to me for my 12th birthday. Pretty neat huh?"
The Draugr merely tilted its head, grabbing another axe off its belt and continuing its offensive. "Tough crowd," Luz huffed, her xiphos slicing the head of the Draugr clean off in one stroke. Focusing on the undead minions, she didn't notice Warden Wrath getting up, his hand transforming into a giant axe. He swung towards Luz, before a large blast of fire took him off his feet again. Luz turned around and saw Eda, her head reattached with a glowing circle in front of her.
"Alright kid, lets blow this pop sickle stand," Eda shouted, as she began pulling levers to release the other prisoners. They just sat there, doing nothing.
"Why are you guys just standing there? This is your chance to escape!" Luz shouted, finishing off the last Draugr.
"The Warden'll catch us. He always does," the eyeball eating prisoner sighed.
"We belong here," the cat girl prisoner said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape fwom," Tiny Nose said, turning away from Luz.
"So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome. Don't you see? Besides," Luz walked up to all three of the prisoners, giving them a giant hug, "Us weirdos have to stick together! Nobody," Luz shouted, as she picked up her javelin as Eda blew out one of the nearby walls to create an escape route, "Should be punished for who they are!" The other prisoners roared their approval, running out through the hole in the wall. Warden Wrath tried to get up, but he was far too injured to make it upright. Eda summoned her staff, and Luz jumped on as they flew away, King riding in Eda's hair.
"That was amazing, kid! What the hell kind of javelin was that anyway, and where can I get one?" Eda questioned, as they flew back towards the Owl House.
"Sorry, one of a kind Eda. My Grandpa Zeus wanted me to have some divine protection, so he forged me my own javelin out of one of his own thunderbolts. I call it Thunderstruck!" Luz replied, smiling at the adventure she had just gone on.
However, as they touched down, Luz could tell something was different. The emptiness in her chest that had been there ever since the door had disappeared was gone, which meant...
The door to the Owl House was blasted open, as Hecate, Goddess of Magic stood there in all her terrible glory, "Edalyn Clawthorn, why in my uncle's name do you have my daughter, and why is she in full battle regalia!?"
Eda glanced down at Luz, then back up to the Goddess, "Oh, hey Hecate, long time no see."
Hecate growled, "Yes, the last time I saw you, you were sneaking out of my bedroom with one of my spell books."
Eda's smile faltered, but only for a second, "That was yours? I'm so sorry, I was confused. We did just have some of the most mind blowing se-"
"Not in front of my daughter, Edalyn," Hecate hissed, her face turning bright red. 'So, Mom can actually blush, huh? Cute' Luz thought to herself.
"Oh, right, sorry. Anyway, Luz here was just helping me with a...a quest! That's right, a quest. You Gods love sending your kids on quests, right?"
Hecate glanced down at Luz, then at Eda, and sighed, "Why do I even try? Ok, fine, she did a quest, but now its time to go home Luz!"
Luz didn't budge looking back in the direction of the Conformatorium, thinking about the new friends she had made with the prisoners inside, "No, Mom, not yet. I think...I think the Moirai wanted me to come here. I can...feel the threads of destiny being spun! There was Draugr, mother! Here, in a land I know they aren't supposed to be. More than that, this land is suffering under the yoke of a tyrant! 'The only thing Evil needs to succeed is for Good men to do nothing'. You taught me that, remember!? I have been called to adventure, just like my cousins and uncles! There are people here suffering, and I can save them. Please, Mom. Let me stay."
Hecate huffed, "Camilla is gonna kill me if I let you stay. What about your summer camp?"
Just then a small voice spoke up, "Uh...I think I can help with that." A small boulder transformed into a snakelike creature. Eda raised her staff slightly, but seeing the creature didn't mean any harm, she lowered it slowly. Hecate walked up to the creature, smiling, "A basilisk, if I'm not mistaken? I thought your kind was extinct?"
The creature shook her head, tears slowly forming at the corner of her eyes, "Not anymore. We were created by the Emperor. He...did experiments on us, forced us to drain magic out of small, helpless creatures so he could study us. He hurt us if we didn't do exactly what he said."
Luz dropped her weapons, running up to the basilisk, and giving her a giant hug, "I'm so sorry that happened to you. What did you mean you could help us?"
The basilisk hugged Luz back softly, the first kind touch she had ever felt in her life, "Uh, I can shapeshift so long as I have a source of magic to feed on. You can stay here, and I can go back home in your place. I...I can't go back to the Emperor. I would rather die. Please?"
Luz couldn't handle the poor creature begging. She started crying, hugging the basilisk tighter, "Yes, of course. My name is Luz Noceda, what's yours?"
"Number fiv...Vee. You can call me Vee," she smiled, hugging Luz back. She transformed into a perfect copy of Luz, which was very trippy for the real Luz since she was now hugging herself. Or maybe...
"Ok, hermanita, you're a Noceda now! I always wanted a sister, and it looks like I got a twin!"
Hecate shook her head. She loved her daughter, but she did drive her crazy sometime. "Ok, come along Vee. However, Eda, if my daughter gets hurt, a curse will be the last of your worries. Luz, your inner magic will be weakened here in the Demon Realm, at least until your body acclimates to the tides of magic of this land. Listen to the Titan. He will show you the way. I love you, Little Light."
Luz ran up, giving her mother a big hug, "Love you too, Mom. Vee, look after mami, ok? I'm sure she'll love you."
Author's Notes: Chapter 2 done and dusted! Don't expect daily updates, but I will keep writing like this until I run out of ideas, and I will let you all know when I will start slowing down. So this will probably be one of the few scene for scene episode recreations in the story, as next chapter things are gonna start changing from canon, but not too drastically...yet. Stay tuned for Chapter 3!