The Emperor Strikes Back
Welcome to the Owl House
It was a bright and sunny morning in Gravesfield as Luz, King, Eda, and Vee were preparing for their trip back to the demon realm. Luz was packing her backpack with some of her clothes and personal belongings that she was planning to bring. Eda was loading a sack full of human garbage she collected that she could sell to people in Bonesborough. King gathered a few stuffed animals he wanted to take with him and put them in a sack that Vee was holding. They also put in some of Camila's Cosmic Frontier books that Luz was planning to give to Hunter and Gus, along with some other human items they thought they would like. When they all finished they went out to the front yard and prepared to leave while Camila stayed in the doorway and watched them. Vee was in her human form when she and Luz finished packing everything they wanted to bring with them.
King was riding on Eda's back as he waved at Camila and said, "Bye Camila. Thanks for the human snacks."
Camila held his skull gently as she happily said, "By King. I hope to see you again soon."
She kissed his skull as he shut his eyes happily, then Eda waved at Camila as she said, "See ya girl. Don't worry, we'll take care of Luz."
Camila smiled as she said, "Thank you Eda."
Luz and Vee both walked up t Camila and Luz sincerely asked, "Mom, are you sure you're okay with us going back to the demon realm?"
Vee smiled as she agreed and said, "Yeah, because we can still stay if you really want us to."
Camila smiled and caressed Vee's cheek as she kindly said, "I'll be fine girls. I stayed her by myself when you were in the demon realm and you were in summer camp. I can handle one week by myself, and I could use a little break from all this demon and witch business. Besides Vee, you can't stay here. It's time for you to face your fears and return to the demon realm."
Vee sighed as she looked down and said, "Yeah. You're right."
Luz and Vee both hugged Camila before they all flew away on Luz and Eda's staffs as they waved back at Camila. Vee rode on Eda's staff behind her while King rode on Luz's back as they both flew back to the flooded cemetery. They landed on the little island as they got off their staffs and smiled as they stared up at the arch where the old portal was.
Luz smiled as she held her left hand out toward Eda and said, "Eda, Titan blood."
Eda smiled as she reached into her hair and pulled out the vial of Titan Blood and handed it to Luz, who then flew up on her staff and broke it against the symbol on the arch. The Titan blood dripped down and then the portal opened up as the bright lights flashed and changed within it.
Vee looked nervous as she put her hands together and said, "Well, this is it."
Eda smiled reassuringly as she put her arm around Vee and said, "Relax kid. You're in good hands. If anyone gives you trouble I'll give them nightmares worse than death."
Luz smiled at them as she happily said, "You're the best Eda. Don't worry Vee. We'll stay by you no matter what."
Vee smiled at all of them and then took a deep breath as she said, "Thanks everyone. Well, here we go."
They all walked through the portal and disappeared through it; after they left Belos' ghost appeared as he stared at the portal.
He had a devious smile as he said, "Now that my quarry is going back I should inform my 'mistress' of the next phase of our plan."
He then vanished, meanwhile Luz and the others emerged from the portal on the other side as they returned to the demon realm. The portal closed behind them and Vee changed to her natural form as she glanced around and saw no one else nearby.
She continued to glance around as she curiously said, "Wow! I've been gone so long I actually missed the smell of the Boiling Isles. Where are we?"
Luz looked back at Vee as she answered, "Some old ruins near Eda's parents' house. She says this is where she found the old portal door years ago."
Vee was awestruck as she said, "Wow!"
Suddenly they all heard Raine's voice shout, "Eda!"
They all turned to see Raine smiling and waving at them all as they stood by some trees and then came running at them.
They hugged Eda and happily said, "Welcome back."
Eda smiled tenderly at Raine as she said, "Thanks Raine. It's good to be back."
Raine noticed all of their bags as they said, "I see you did some shopping."
Eda smiled as she said, "Oh yeah! We stocked up on a lot of human garbage."
They all heard loud footsteps and they turned to see the Stonesleeper walking toward them with Gwendolyn and Dell riding on his back.
As they came Eda's parents both smiled and waved as they said, "Hello little witchlet!"
Vee was amazed as she pointed at them and said, "Is that a Stonesleeper?"
Luz kept smiling as she leaned closer to her and replied, "Yeah, he's their pet. It's a long story."
The Stonesleeper stopped in front of them and laid down as Eda's parents climbed off and Gwendolyn said, "We were wondering when you all would come back!"
They happily hugged Eda, Luz, and King before they pulled away and Dell happily said, "It's good to have the rest of my family back."
Eda was touched as she said, "Thanks dad."
Gwendolyn then noticed Vee and walked to her as she curiously asked, "Who's this?"
Vee immediately got nervous as she said, "I'm…"
She couldn't finish, so Luz put her right arm around Vee and smiled as she pointed her finger at her and said, "This is Vee! She's a friend of ours who was living with my mom in the human realm while I was here."
Vee smiled nervously as she nodded, Gwendolyn examined her and showed amazement as she said, "She's a basilisk! But I thought they were extinct!"
Raine joined them and stared at Vee as they said, "They were until the Emperor's Coven brought them back. Some of them escaped, but studying their powers is how Belos learned to do the draining spell."
Gwendolyn and Dell gasped in shock and Vee became afraid, but then Luz defensively said, "Vee's not bad! She helped me and my friends find our way back to the demon realm!"
King climbed on Vee's "butt" and sat on it as he said, "Yeah! She's really nice and lots of fun!"
Eda pointed her thumb at Vee as she said, "Trust me, she's harmless. She even helped us save King from this lunatic who wanted to kill us."
Their expressions softened and then Gwendolyn placed her finger in her chin as she smiled and said, "Well basilisks are beast types, so maybe I can use my beast keeping magic if she causes any trouble."
Luz smiled as she happily explained, "She's been hiding in the human realm so we talked her into coming back to live with us in the Owl House."
Dell smiled at Vee as he playfully said, "I guess that makes you a part of our family too now."
Gwendoyln smiled at him happily as she said, "I can think of so many fun things we can do with her."
Vee felt calmer but a little uncomfortable as she said, "Uh… Thanks."
Eda then smiled at Raine as she asked, "So how are things back home? Hooty still a mess?"
Raine smiled as they sat on their staff and excitedly said, "Come! I'll show you!"
They took flight while Eda and Luz got on their staffs with King and Vee riding with them as they followed Raine through the air.
As they flew Vee curiously looked around and said, "Wow! It looks a lot different from what I remember."
Luz frowned as she admitted, "Yeah, Belos and the Collector really did a number on it. We're still helping everyone rebuild."
Vee then saw the Titans arm raised in the air and stared in awe as she said, "Guau!"
Luz looked at the arm and nodded in agreement before they both turned ahead and flew on as they approached the Owl House.
They landed in front of the Owl house and got off the staffs as they looked at the outside and Eda said, "The place looks pretty good."
Raine happily smiled and said, "We did a lot of cleaning up while you were away."
They walked to the front door and Hooty happily stretched his body out as he exclaimed, "Eda! Luz! King!"
Luz raised her hand as she greeted, "Hi Hooty."
Hooty immediately stretched his body out and looped around the three of them to hug them as he said, "Hoot hoot!"
Eda then pulled him off of them as she said, "Okay Hooty, nice to see you too but that's enough."
Hooty then noticed Vee and moved his head closer to her as he asked, "And who's this little cutie."
Vee was surprised as she stared at him, then Luz held her arms out to each of them as she said, "Hooty, Vee. Vee, Hooty."
Vee smiled politely as she waved at him and said, "Hi."
Luz smiled at Hooty as she explained, "She's that basilisk I told you about. She's going to be staying here at the Owl House for a while."
Hooty happily stretched his body around Vee's back and rested his head on her left shoulder as he happily said, "A new friend! Hooray! And one who doesn't have legs! Just like me! We're gonna have so much fun together!"
Vee felt very uncomfortable while Eda then lost patience and said, "Alright Hooty, enough of your weirdness. Let us in."
Hooty pulled himself back into the front door and opened it while he happily said, "Okay."
Vee slithered closer to Eda, King, and Luz as she said, "He makes me uncomfortable."
Eda brushed it off as she said, "Join the club."
Raine then walked through the door while they followed them, and Hooty happily yelled, "Hunter, Lulu, they're back!"
The lights then came on and Luz, Eda, King, and Vee looked around in wonder as Raine said, "Welcome to the Owl House."
The Owl House now looked as it did before the Coven Scouts took everything from it, the furniture was back and so were the curtains and other decorations in the living room.
Vee smiled as she looked around and said, "Wow!"
Luz was amazed as she smiled at Raine and said, "This place looks great! Just like the first time I came here!"
Raine smiled as they explained, "While you were gone we finally managed to get back all of your stuff confiscated by the Emperor's Coven. We put everything back the way it was."
Hunter walked in and smiled proudly as he said, "But we did make a few personal changes of our own."
Vee smiled as she slithered toward Hunter with her arms out and happily said, "Hunter!"
She hugged him until he pushed her off and smiled as he said, "Hey Vee, good to see you too. Didn't expect you to come back to the demon realm so soon."
Vee smiled sheepishly as she said, "Things got a little complicated."
Hunter smiled kindly as he said, "Well, you're among friends."
Vee smiled tenderly as she said, "Thanks."
Lilith then walked in and smiled as she held her arms out toward Eda and happily said, "Edalyn!"
Eda and Lilith happily hugged each other while Vee watched and squinted her eyes as she examined Lilith.
They stopped hugging and Lilith smiled at Luz and King and said, "It's so good you both back."
Luz smiled as she said, "Thanks Lilly."
Vee then showed a mildly suspicious expression as she said, "Lilly?"
Lilith then noticed Vee and was surprised as she said, "Number 5?"
Vee's eyes widened as she finally recognized Lilith and had a brief flashback to her days in the Conformatorium, where Lilith looked at her with a cold expression.
Vee immediately became afraid as she hid behind Hunter and Luz while she screamed, "Ahh! Lilith!"
King looked at Vee as he realized why she was scared and said, "Oh right, you were a prisoner of the Emperor's Coven before Luz came here."
Lilith was confused as she asked, "What is a basilisk doing here?"
Luz smiled as she explained, "She's a friend of ours. She was living with my mom in the human realm. Oh, and her name is Vee."
Lilith was surprised as she looked at Vee, who looked at Hunter and Luz as she fearfully asked, "What's she doing here?!"
Eda smiled as she pointed her thumb at Lilith and said, "My sister moved back in with us after we stopped Belos."
Vee was shocked as she said, "Sister?! Wow, you have a mysterious past."
Luz smiled at Vee like a fangirl as she excitedly said, "I know, and there's so much more I still don't know!"
Vee was still afraid as Eda smiled and said, "Relax Vee. She's harmless."
Vee kept hiding behind Luz and Hunter while she pointed at Lilith and exclaimed, "Harmless?! She works for Belos! She tortured me and the other basilisks at the Conformatorium!"
Lilith looked away with guilt as she shamefully said, "I was a different person then."
King walked in front of Lilith and looked back at Vee as he said, "Yeah, Lilly's different now. She left the Emperor's Coven and helped us fight against Belos."
Hunter looked at Vee over his shoulder as he calmly said, "Trust me Vee, Lilith may have done bad things in the past but she's done some good things since then."
Hooty stretched his head over behind Lilith as he happily said, "That's right! Lulu is an angel with the heart of a slither beast!"
Lilith looked at Hooty with a flattered before sincerely turning to Vee while she said, "Hootsifer you're too kind. Number 5… I mean Vee, I've done things that I'm not proud of, but I am a different person now and I want to make up for my past mistakes."
Vee was still wary as she stayed behind Hunter and Luz and said, "You're still the same witch I met in the Conformatorium!"
Hunter looked at Vee as he sincerely argued, "You thought the same thing about me when you first learned I was the Golden Guard."
Luz agreed as she said, "He's right."
Realizing her friends had a point, Vee reluctantly came out of hiding and scooted closer to Lilith as she said, "You do look different from the last time I saw you."
Lilith agreed as she said, "A lot has happened these past few months."
Vee then sniffed the air and was surprised as she said, "And your magic doesn't smell as strong as last time."
Lilith nodded as she looked down and said, "Yes, my power has been greatly diminished now that my sister and I share the curse."
Vee was surprised as she pointed at Eda and Lilith and said, "You share the curse?"
Eda smiled as she playfully elbowed Lilith and said, "Oh yeah! Thanks to that old pain sharing spell we used to do when we were girls."
Lilith smiled at Eda before turning to Vee as she honestly said, "So I am little if any threat to you."
Vee then calmed down a bit as she said, "Okay."
Eda smiled jokingly as she said, "She never was as threatening as I was."
She playfully hit Lilith in the back of her head and accidentally knocked her head off her body as it fell to the floor.
Vee, Hunter, and Luz all screamed in horror while Eda showed regret and said, "Oh sorry Lilly."
Lilith's head was on the floor while her headless body felt where head used to be while she said, "I'm fine. It's okay Edalyn. But I could use a little help."
Hooty smiled as he moved over to Lilith's head and happily said, "I've got you Lulu!"
He moved his head over hers and opened his mouth as wide as he could while she looked up at him nervously. Hooty then ate Lilith's head and swallowed it whole while everyone else looked horrified, then Hooty moved his head over Lilith's body. He gagged a bit before he vomited Lilith's head back on her body covered in saliva, but her head was now on backwards.
Lilith straightened her head with a disgusted expression as she said, "Thank you Hootsifer."
Raine chose to change the subject as they said, "Anyway, we got back all your stuff and we've made a few changes."
Luz became interested as she looked at Raine and said, "Like…"
Hunter then lead them all upstairs and showed them the room where Luz slept, it had many of the old things but it had a few changes. There were now two small beds on opposite sides of the room and there was a small throw rug in the middle of the floor.
Luz was surprised as she said, "Wow!"
Hunter smiled as he stepped inside and pointed at the bed on the left as he said, "Yeah, we decided it would be better if you had an actual bed and I decided to share the room with you. That bed is yours."
Luz smiled at Hunter with appreciation as she said, "Thanks Hunter."
King then went to the back left corner of the room and happily said, "Jean Luc!"
Lilith held her hand out as she said, "Yes, fortunately the Coven Scouts didn't throw that thing out so we brought it back here."
Raine smiled as they walked over to tank and said, "We also got back this little guy."
Luz recognized the Echo Mouse as she happily stared at it and said, "Echo Mouse! You're okay!"
The Echo Mouse smiled at her and then Luz said, "Now maybe I can build another portal door so we don't have to keep using that old one."
Eda looked a bit uneasy as she said, "Yeah. Great."
Luz then looked at the other side of the room and noticed some stuff she hadn't seen before as she said, "Now I know that's not mine."
Hunter smiled as he glanced around and explained, "Oh that's my stuff, Darius brought it over. It turns out, while the castle was destroyed some of my stuff from my old room survived, and Darius decided that I should have it."
Luz smiled as she said, "That's great!"
Vee looked around the room and then faced Hunter as she curiously asked, "So where do I sleep?"
Hunter's eyes widened as he bashfully said, "Oh, we weren't expecting you to come stay too."
Luz then glanced around and then noticed her old sleeping bag, which she put on the floor between the beds and then put a pillow down.
Luz smiled at Vee as she stood up and said, "Here, it's not much but it's better than nothing."
Vee slithered onto the sleeping bag and smiled at Luz as she said, "This will work. Thanks Luz."
Raine, Hunter, and Lilith then showed them the other changes they made to the Owl House; Lilith's room had some of her things and a larger bed. Eda's room looked mostly the same but Raine put a few pictures of them on the wall and Lilith hung a few family pictures of them and their parents as well.
Eda liked the changes as she smiled at the others and said, "Nice job nerds. This place is starting to feel like home again."
Raine smiled at Eda before they pointed their thumb behind them and said, "Happy to help Eda. Now we'll let you all get settled. I'm supposed to meet Darius and Eberwolf to discuss important issues. Bye."
They all waved at Raine as they left, then Hunter and Lilith walked away and Luz smiled at Vee and asked, "So Vee, what do you think?"
Vee looked around at the Owl House and smiled as she said, "I think I'm going to like it here."
Meanwhile at Odalia's shack
Odalia was working on something as she drew plans on a piece of paper when suddenly Belos' spirit appeared behind her.
She heard him enter and smiled evilly as she said, "Good, you're back. I was starting to worry you forgot about our deal."
Belos smiled evilly as he said, "Of course not. A deal is a deal. Have you been working hard while I was away?"
Odalia smiled deviously as she held up a remote then moved aside to show him his throne while she said, "Of course. I managed to get a hold of some Abomatons, despite my ex-husband's interference. I also managed to steal the throne without anyone knowing."
Belos was pleased as he ambitiously said, "Excellent."
Odalia smiled as she sat in the throne and comfortably said, "I could get used to this. I can't wait to see everyone's faces when I become the new ruler of the Boiling Isles."
Belos smiled evilly as he lied through his teeth and said, "Of course Odalia. Everyone who ever rejected you will bow to you."
Odalia smiled as she asked, "Did you get what you needed from Luz?"
Belos smiled as he pulled out the vial of Luz's blood and then pointed at Odalia as he said, "I obtained what I could, but there's still something we need from her. It requires strong Oracle magic, and that's where you come in."
Odalia smiled evilly as she was listening to Belos' plan and was eager to get her revenge on Luz and claim her power.
Back at the Owl House
Eda was sitting on the couch drinking some apple blood while Vee and King sat next to her; Vee had her tail curved behind King while he rested her tail over his legs. They were watching TV on the crystal ball while Luz was talking with Hunter and Lilith was in another room.
Suddenly the front door shot open as Hooty happily said, "Ding dong! We have company!"
Amity, Gus, and Willow entered the Owl House as they smiled and Luz happily said, "Guys!"
She and Amity ran to each other and hugged before sharing a short kiss, while Willow and Gus greeted Hunter.
Vee smiled as she slithered off the couch with King riding on her "butt" as she happily said, "Willow! Gus! Amity! Hi!"
The three of them smiled at her as Willow happily said, "Hi Vee. Good to see you."
Gus went up to Vee and pointed at her with a sly smile as he said, "Yeah, I missed your scary face."
She showed a flattered smile as she said, "Thanks guys."
Amity smiled as she turned from Vee to Luz while she said, "Hunter texted us on Penstagram and told us you guys were back so we wanted to welcome you."
Luz showed a touched smile as she said, "Aww, thanks guys. I should tell you, I can only stay for a week because my mom doesn't want me to miss too much school."
Eda spoke up and said, "Yeah, big party pooper."
Amity smiled at Luz as she said, "That's okay, you can still come visit us after school, since we have a way to get there and back."
Luz smiled in agreement as she said, "Yeah, thanks for coming again guys."
Willow smiled at Vee she supportively said, "We also wanted to help you Vee. We know coming back to the demon realm wasn't easy for you, so we decided to help you feel more welcome."
Gus smiled proudly as he pointed both fingers at Vee and said, "Yeah girl! If anyone tries to mess with you they'll have to deal with us!"
He, Willow, and Amity both posed proudly to look powerful and heroic, prompting Vee to say, "Thanks guys. That means a lot."
She looked at King on her "butt" when he said, "And if you need to hide you can stay with the rest of us in the Owl House."
Vee smiled sweetly at the baby Titan as she said, "You're sweet King."
She then moved her tail and affectionately rubbed the end of it on King's skull as he shut his eyes and giggled happily.
Amity smiled at them as she said, "Looks like you and King have become close."
Vee happily picked King up and hugged him as she shut her eyes and said, "I love him!"
Willow smiled adoringly as she held her cheeks and said, "Aww!"
Eda smiled as she watched them all and said, "You crazy kids."
Luz smiled at her friends as she curiously asked, "So, did anything happen while we were away?"
Amity folded her arms and blankly said, "My mom visited us yesterday."
Luz's eyes widened as she said, "Ooh."
Amity brushed it off and smiled while she said, "Yeah, it was pretty tense for all of us, but Ed's finally back to his full health."
Luz smiled as she happily said, "That's great!"
Gus smiled as he walked to Hunter and said, "The HAS also had one meeting, I introduced them to Hunter and we told them a little bit about our time in the human realm."
Hunter showed a bit of relief as he said, "And we told none of them about me being a Grimwalker."
Luz smiled as she said, "Cool."
Willow then walked to Luz and smiled as she said, "I've been meaning to ask you. We still need a fifth player for our Flyer Derby game this week, would you be willing to join us?"
Stringbean slithered onto Luz's left shoulder and chirped before Luz smiled competitively and said, "We're in! Go Emerald Entrails!"
Willow smiled enthusiastically before turning to Vee while she said, "Yes! This is gonna be great! Hey Vee, do you want to come watch our game?"
Vee smiled politely as she reluctantly said, "Uh… Maybe."
Gus then smiled at Vee as he said, "Oh hey, I just got a cool idea. You're a demon who's lived in the human realm, why don't you come visit the Human Appreciation Society at school."
Hunter smiled as he said, "Hey yeah, you know a lot about the human realm. You could help teach the members about it and show them cool stuff."
Vee put King down and became nervous as she said, "I don't know guys. I'm not sure I'm ready to meet a bunch of witches and demons yet."
Luz smiled as she supportively said, "Come on Vee. You went to school when you were filling in for me back home."
Vee put her two fingers together as she said, "Yeah but when I did that nobody knew what I really was. I don't know how people would react if they saw what I really am."
Willow smiled as she encouraged, "It'll be okay Vee. We'll make sure everyone knows you're not to be feared."
Gus smiled optimistically as he said, "Yeah, and the HAS would love to hear more about the human realm from someone who's lived there longer. Me and Hunter told them about our time there and they really like it, they'll love hearing about it from an expert."
Hunter agreed as he said, "Yeah, and we already told them about you, so they won't be that surprised when you show up."
Vee was uncertain until King placed his hand on her for support, then she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll give it a shot!"
Willow, Gus, Hunter, Luz, and Amity all happily cheered, "Yeah!"
Eda smiled as she sassily said, "It's your funeral kid."
Amity then pointed her thumb and said, "Well, we should get going."
Luz stopped her when she said, "Wait, before you go, we brought presents."
She reached into the sack of things she brought from the human realm and handed books to Gus and Hunter as she said, "We brought some of mom's old Cosmic Frontier books."
Hunter and Gus excitedly snatched them and Hunter happily said, "Yes! Beam us up!"
Gus smiled at Hunter as he happily said, "The HAS will love these!"
Luz then handed Amity a few Azura toys as she happily said, "And hermosa, I brought some of my old Azura toys."
Amity happily took them and said, "Yes, thanks so much Luz!"
She kissed her on the cheek and then Luz gave Willow a book about plans and said, "And Willow, mom had this old botany book that she thought you would like."
Willow was very interested as she took the book and said, "Ooh I wonder if I can grow any of these here in the demon realm."
Luz smiled before seriously pointing her finger as she said, "Maybe, just be sure to keep them out of boiling rain."
Willow understood as she nodded and then said, "Thanks Luz."
Luz smiled proudly as she said, "Just sharing the wealth with all of my friends."
Later that night
Luz was having dinner with the rest of the residents of the Owl House, when Raine finally returned from their day out.
Eda smiled at them as she said, "Hey Raine, come get your dinner before it gets cold."
Raine joined them at the table with a troubled expression and Luz curiously asked, "Raine, is something wrong."
They all looked at Raine as they said, "I'm not sure but there is something I'm worried about. Darius told me that someone took Belos' old throne last night."
The others became curious as Vee asked, "Who?"
Raine glanced around as they answered, "We're not sure. We don't know who took it or where it is."
Eda was surprised as she asked, "Who would want that stupid chair?"
Lilith stared into space with a troubled expression as she said, "I can think of a few people."
Luz then showed concern as she asked, "Raine, should we be worried?"
Raine glanced around as they honestly said, "I don't know, but I do think we should all keep our eyes open for anything suspicious."
Eda smiled as she brushed it off and said, "Eh, whoever took it is probably some amateur trying to make it big. Let's just relax and enjoy ourselves."
They all went back to eating dinner; later that night, when they were all asleep, Odalia approached the Owl House with Belos' spirit next to her.
Odalia stared at Hooty sleeping and looked at Belos as she tensely asked, "How am I supposed to get in there without that house demon waking up?"
Belos put his hands on her and smiled evilly as he said, "Allow me."
He then grabbed her and made a portal appear before he took flight and carried her through the air, then they flew through the portal and appeared in Luz's room. They quietly landed and saw Luz, Vee, and Hunter sound asleep, and King was sleeping with Luz on her bed.
Odalia looked at all of them with disdain as she softly whispered, "Inferior brats!"
Belos glared at her as he pointed at Luz and whispered, "Quiet! Do it now!"
Odalia showed an annoyed expression as she quietly crept toward Luz and leaned closer to her while holding her amulet. It glowed while Luz's body was surrounded by a purple aura and then a light came from Luz's mouth and flew into Odalia's palm. A bright purple orb was formed in her hand as she smiled evilly, and then Belos created another portal that transported him and Odalia back outside without making a sound.
Odalia smiled as she held the orb in front of Belos and said, "I did it! I copied her mental aura. This is everything that bothersome human is! Her memories, her personality, her potential, everything!"
Belos smiled evilly as he held up his left finger and said, "Good, now we just need to make one adjustment."
He pointed his finger at the orb and shot a magic red light from his fingertip at the orb, then the orb changed to a dark red color.
Belos smiled evilly as he said, "It is time."
He then moved his hand and telepathically lifted Odalia into the air and then they both flew to the Titan's skull. Odalia was unsettled as she saw the bones and masks of all the previous Golden Guards and when Belos opened a secret door.
Belos flew into the secret lair where he cloned his previous Grimwalkers and set Odalia down as he said, "We have work to do."
Odalia looked at the failed Grimwalkers with a nervous expression while Belos got to work, he pumped all the ingredients he needed into an empty bed of dirt. Then he poured Luz's blood into it and watched it be absorbed, then he took the red orb from Odalia and pushed it into the dirt bed and watched it sink. They waited for a while as the ingredients continued to pump into the dirt bead through several tubes while they watched. Odalia soon became bored as they kept waiting for something to happen when the ingredients finally stopped pumping. They heard a noise and Odalia watched with curiosity, then a hand rose out of the dirt as something climbed out. Belos smiled evilly while Odalia watched in shock as their creation pulled itself out of the dirt bed and let out a loud scream while casting a shadow over them.
Belos smiled evilly as he stared at his creation and said, "Finally! An apprentice who won't betray me or let me down!"
Author's note: Things are shaping up. Vee is starting to become more confident as she plans on having fun with her friends in the demon realm. And while some things are back to the way they were there are still some changes. I wanted to change Luz's room a bit so it would fit Vee and Hunter as well, and I wanted to give them beds. I also hinted at the possibility of Gus and Vee possibly becoming a couple, which I think could actually be canon. I hinted at Gus possibly having feelings for Vee, though she doesn't notice yet. Also we see Vee interact with more witches and she meets the rest of Eda's family. But all is not well as Belos and Odalia have created a new Grimwalker, this one is different from the others. Please review.
