All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy this fic.

Chapter 79: The Long, The Witch, and The Ninja

Thirty Years Ago…

The Owl Beast continued to fly, trying to get as far away from Gatesfield as possible. She had been flying for a whole day with no rest. Her claw was still stained with blood, the blood of her friend.

Suddenly a large net entrapped the Owl Beast and electrocuted her. She screamed as she fell down to the ground, landing in the woods. The sound of motorcycles and ATVs were heard as a group of ninja-like hunters wearing maroon masked robes showed up. They also wore horned skull helmets and were holding weapons. They were known as the Huntsclan.

"We got it!" one Huntsclan soldier declared.

The Owl Beast screeched as she tried to fly away, only to get electrocuted again.

"Excellent work, boys." spoke the Huntsclan leader as they all surrounded the cursed beast. "Our benefactor will be pleased…"

Suddenly blue flames came down from above, scattering the Huntsmen. They shouted and looked up, spotting a swirling shape overhead.

"AAAH!"

"It's one of those accursed dragons!"

"Kill it!"

The Owl Beast's vision was blurry thanks to being electrocuted. As it listened to the sounds of the struggle around it, the Owl Beast gave in and started changing back to young Eda. The last thing she was able to see was a blue dragon fighting off against the Huntsclan.

After the dragon finished dealing with the Hunstclan, he released Eda from her net. When he saw that the Owl Beast was just a young, witchling girl, he donned a sympathetic look and knew that he had to take her away from here, to somewhere safe…

Later, Eda slowly opened her eyes. She groaned, not knowing how long she was out for. She looked around and realized that she was no longer outdoors. Someone had brought her inside She started to get up, but winced and looked down at the bandages on her.

"Look who's finally awake."

Hearing a voice, she turned to see the gray Shar Pei dog that had come in to check on her. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said as Eda wasn't phased at all by the talking dog, "The name's Fu Dog."

"Where… where am I?" Eda asked, her voice hoarse.

"Welcome to New York," Fu Dog told her. "You're in the home of the Chinese Dragon… Lao-Shi."

Present day.

New York City, the city that never sleeps. Filled with culture, entertainment, and secretly, magic. A certain group of Gatesfield teens were currently hiding out in an apartment building.

"We got some food!" Gus Gordon announced as he and his mom came in with pizza.

"Alright, did you find me the deep dish?" Rudo asked as Gus handed him the pizza.

"Sure did," Gus confirmed.

"Why would you want a deep dish when you could have New York style?" Dana asked.

"I just like it," Rudo answered.

"Rudo, I think it is time you should learn the truth," Masha said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Deep dish pizza is just lasagna. Calling it a pizza is just propaganda by the lazy cats in the deep state in order to sell more lasagna."

"Oh… that explains it," Rudo said as he took a bite of the deep dish pizza anyway.

On the balcony, Willow was admiring the view. She had never been in a city as large as this back in the Isles. Not even the Metropelvis was this large. But she couldn't focus on that. Instead, her thoughts returned to her friends and family and she wondered how worried sick they were about her. And she still didn't know where Gus and Amity were. Had they been stranded in the Human Realm, just like she had?

She was wearing a new outfit after one shopping trip with Clara and Masha, who gave her a yellow jacket with a dark green shirt, black pants, and black sneakers. They told her that it would help her blend in.

Joining her on the balcony was Clara. "Hey, Willow, they brought in some pizza. You want some?" she asked.

"Well, as long as it doesn't attack me," Willow responded. "But yes, I would."

Clara nodded. "So… how are you holding up?"

Willow looked down. "I came out here to think… but all I can think about is my family and friends. How worried they must be. We've been here for days, but we've found nothing. Just dead ends for anywhere magical."

Clara sighed. "Hey, we can't give up. There's gotta be something or someone here that can help us. Maybe like, I don't know, talking turtles or a rich guy who dresses up as a bat. But we won't stop until we find you a way home."

"Thank you," Willow said as she looked at Clara, a thought occurring to her. "Clara… I want to apologize for bringing you out here, away from your family."

"You don't have to apologize," Clara told her. "Honestly… I actually kinda like being away from home. Especially since I am around people I don't have to pretend to."

There was something familiar about Clara to Willow, something that reminded her of a friend. "Do you… ever miss your family?"

"Yeah, I do," Clara admitted. "But it's also nice to take a break from them. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but they're exhausting. My biggest concern is how I'll explain this to them after this is all over. Honestly, they are probably going to ground me for life."

The two laughed a little before going inside to some pizza. Willow took a bite of a slice and hummed.

"Mmmm, this is so good," Willow commented.

"Pizza is one of humanity's greatest creations," Masha declared, raising her slice up.

"So now what?" Gus G. asked. "We have been checking every occult store in New York City, but with no luck. Not even that occult bookstore on St Marks Place helped up. We even checked out a Hot Topic."

"Well… maybe you kids should take a break from searching," Nora suggested. "Go somewhere to recharge."

"That sounds like a good idea," Clara admitted. She turned to Willow. "Is there anywhere you would like to go, Willow?"

Willow considered her choice. "Honestly… I'd like to go to Central Park, just to be close to the plants again. All of this city is… overwhelming for me."

"Then it's settled," Masha said as she stood up. "To Central Park, the biggest park of all of Manhattan!"

Willow, the Gatesfield teens, and Nora walked around Central Park, the biggest park in Manhattan. Willow was in awe of all the trees, the butterflies, and bees.

"The plants in this realm are beautiful," Willow said as she took a whiff of some flowers. "I wish we had a place like this in the Isles."

"Looks like you're back on your element," Masha said while Willow walked around on the grass.

Noticing some more flowers, Willow smiled and used her magic to make the flowers dance for her. She was like a conductor, the flowers dancing and singing in harmony. After several days in the city, she needed this.

"Wow!" said an eleven year old girl who had witnessed what Willow had done. "That's a neat trick!"

Willow turned to the girl. Briefly she was worried that she had been seen. But when she saw the look in the little girl's eyes, she relaxed. "Oh, thank you," she replied kindly to the girl.

"Should we be worried?" Clara asked as they watched Willow talking to the little girl.

"I think it's just fine," Masha assured her. "Kids her age deserve some child-like magical experience once in a while."

"You know, my mom can do what you do, just with animals instead of plants," the girl revealed, surprising Willow.

"Oh, is she into beast-keeping?" Willow asked her.

"Well, more like beast befriending," the little girl replied. "Oh! Maybe I can show you my mom! I was gonna pick flowers for her, but I think she'd like to meet you!"

"Morgan!" called out a woman with a slender physique, fair skin, long wavy strawberry-blonde hair that reached below her back, and blue-green eyes. She wore a pink jacket with a blue blouse and long flowery skirt and blue sandals. She looked worried. "Morgan! Where are you?"

"I'm over here, mom!" spoke the little girl, Morgan, who brought Willow with her while Nora and the Gatesfield teens followed them.

"Oh, Morgan, you had me worried sick!" the woman said while coming over to her daughter. "You know better than to run off like that! We've talked about this. There are many strangers here and not every stranger is a new friend."

"Sorry, mom," Morgan apologized. "I was just looking for flowers for you, but instead I found someone I think you'd like to meet!"

"Hi, my name is Willow," Willow responded before gesturing to the group with her. "And these are my friends, Masha, Clara, Rudo, Dana, and the Gordons, Nora and her son Gus."

"Hey/Sup/How are you doing?" they all greeted.

"Hello, my name is Giselle!" the mother said, genuinely happy to meet them. "And you've already met my daughter, Morgan."

"Willow can make the plants sing and dance, mom," Morgan said, which surprised Giselle.

"Really? Can you show me, Willow?" Giselle asked. Willow hesitated briefly, since revealing her powers to a child did not have the same risk as revealing her powers to an adult. But ultimately she demonstrated her powers by bringing out a sunflower from the ground, which amazed Giselle. "Magical…"

"Your daughter said that you can do something similar with animals, since you're into beast befriending, as she put it." Willow mentioned..

"Oh, that I am," Giselle confirmed. "Let me show you… Ahh-a-a-ahhh, ah-a-a-ahhh!"

Suddenly, pigeons from every direction flew over to them, followed by squirrels and some rats. They all gathered around Giselle, which amazes Willow, but also weirded out the group.

"What… the… H?" Masha said in shock as she spotted cockroaches crawling past them.

"This… this is normal… right?" Nora asked, just as surprised.

"Yee!" Dana shrieked when a group of squirrels and rats passed her by.

"This is wonderful!" Willow said, amazed by Giselle's abilities. "Are you… some kind of witch of some kind?"

"Oh no," Giselle responded. "This is just a gift of mine."

"Oh, well I'm actually a witch," Willow revealed, shocking Giselle.

"You are?" Giselle asked. "You certainly don't look like a witch… no offense, where I'm from they're often mischievous and wicked."

"None taken, a lot of witches from where I am from are like that. But we're not all bad," Willow explained. "I'm from another world actually."

"Oh now that's interesting… because I'm also from another world as well!" Giselle admitted.

"You are?!" Willow's group asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'm from a world known as Andalasia, to be exact!" Giselle confirmed. "It is a land full of trolls, dragons, wizards, and singing animals! A place where all your dreams will come true!"

"She's from a fairy tale land," Morgan added.

"Wow, sounds wonderful!" Willow responded. "Where I'm from, it's… well, I live in the Demon Realm and my home sits on top of the carcass of a dead Titan."

"You mean… you live on a dead body?" Morgan asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, and it is home to witches, demons, vampires, lycans, goblins, trolls, and dragons," Willow explained. "We also have a magic system where we can only do one type of magic."

"One type of magic?" Giselle questioned. "My, now that sounds very restricted. Where I'm from, magic is everywhere and free to use."

"Well we do have an evil emperor that rules over what we do…" Willow mentioned.

"We had an evil queen once!" Giselle pointed out. "But I'm sure you'll settle things with that evil emperor of yours, just like our evil queen was dealt with!"

"Wait, wait, wait, time-out," Masha spoke up, walking towards Giselle. "If you're from another world, how'd you get here?"

"Yeah, how did you get here from Andalasia?" Willow asked her.

"Well, I was about to be wed to a prince named Edward, but I was led astray by the evil queen, Narissa, who disguised herself as an old hag to intercept me when I was on my way to my wedding. To prevent me from marrying her step-son, she pushed me down a well that sent me up here to New York through a sewer hole!"

"Can this sewer hole lead me to the Demon Realm?" Willow asked hopefully.

"That cannot be sanitary…" Nora muttered.

"I'm sorry, but it can only lead to Andalasia," Giselle revealed, much to Willow's disappointment.

"Oh…" Willow looked down sadly and sighed, which Giselle noticed.

"What's wrong, Willow?" Giselle asked in concern. "Are you… lost?"

"Yes," Willow replied. "I was stranded here against my will and I don't know how to get back to my realm. I came here with my new friends because we heard it was a supernatural hotspot, so we thought we could find someone or something that would help me get home. But so far we haven't had any luck. And my parents, my friends, and my girlfriend are all back home, probably worried sick about me…"

"Oh, you poor thing," Giselle said as she patted Willow's back, sympathizing with her. "I was once in your exact situation. Though it's not too bad."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked her.

"Well, look at the bright side. Until you find a way home, you get to be in New York City!" Giselle declared with her arms waving around as she started to sing. "Now it's always once upon a time, in New York City…"

"Is she singing?" Clara asked Masha in confusion.

"It's a big old, bad old, tough old town!" Giselle sang while bringing Willow up. "But beginnings are contagious there, they're always setting stages there, they're always turning pages there for you!"

She walked Willow through Central Park. "Ain't it great the way it all begins, in New York City? Right away you're making time and making friends!" She gestured to the Gatesfield teens, who were awkwardly watching Giselle's music number. "No one cares where you were yesterday, if they pick you out you're on your way, to a once upon a time that never ends!"

"So Willow, don't you cry," Giselle sang in assurance, "Get out there and go and try, believing that you're the girl they're dying to see, because a dream's no crime! Not once upon a time, once upon a time in New York City!"

They ended up underneath the trees, where they were covered by the shade. "It's always once upon a time, in New York City," Willow sang, which made Giselle smile. "Why does nightfall find you feeling so alone?" She recounted her time in the cell. "How could anyone stay starry-eyed, when it's raining cats and dogs outside, and the rain is saying, 'Now you're on your own'?"

"Oh great, now she's singing as well," Nora commented.

"I think this is normal for them, is it?" Gus asked.

"Yup," Morgan confirmed.

"So Willow, don't be scared," Giselle sang in reassurance. "Though yesterday no one cared, they're getting your place prepared, where you want to be, keep your dream alive!" Birds flew around her. "Dreaming is still how the strong survive, once upon a time in New York City!"

Masha just shrugged as she walked next to Willow, singing along. "So you gotta keep your dream alive."

"Dreaming is still how the strong survive!" Gus sang along as well.

"Once upon a time in New York City!" Rudo sang with a sudden baritone voice.

"So you gotta keep your dream alive!" Dana sang along.

"Dreaming is still how the strong survive!" Clara sang as well, while turning to Nora, who shrugged and went along with it.

"Once upon a time in New York City!" she sang wonderfully while turning to Giselle. "Am I doing this right?"

Giselle smiled as she and Willow sang together. "And it's always once upon a time, in New York City!"

Watching from a distance was a Caucasian girl of twenty years old with honey blond hair she kept in a french braid with a bang loose and hetero-chromatic eyes (one baby blue and the other dark blue). She was wearing a white tunic shirt with a purple skirt and black sandal shoes.

"Okay… that was weird," she said while walking away from the scene and getting out her phone. "Rose wouldn't believe what I just saw…"

"Feeling better?" Fu Dog asked while Eda sipped the tea he had given her.

"Y-Yes," Eda responded before she saw a Chinese man of short stature with jet black hair, black eyes, and a blue robe with a green patterned line come in.

"How is she, Fu Dog?" the man asked.

"She is recovering just fine," Fu Dog told him.

"Who… who are you?" Eda asked, creeping away from the man in a defensive position.

"Easy there, young one," Lao-Shi said, trying to ease her. "We do not wish to harm you. My name is Luong Lao-Shi and this is my magical animal guardian, Fu Dog."

"Sometimes I ruff, sometimes I talk, but you probably know the gist of it," Fu said.

"Why am I here?" Eda asked them.

"You were being hunted by the Huntsclan, an organization of humans who wish to get rid of all magical creatures by any means necessary," Lao-Shi explained. "Fortunately, we were tipped off by their latest hunt. I thought you were just another magical creature, so I was surprised to learn that there was more to you than I thought. So I took you in for your safety. You are a witch not of this world… am I right?"

Eda nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "My name is Eda Clawthorne. I'm from the Demon Realm. Where I'm from, witches and demons live on a giant carcass of a Titan called the Boiling Isles."

"You live on a dead body?" Fu Dog asked.

"My magic is a gift from the Titan," Eda explained. "I… I found a portal door while… running away and it led me to the human world. I ended up in a small town where I first met… Angel…" Suddenly memories of Angel flooded in her mind, including some of the Owl Beast's memories, which made her realize what she had done. "No… No!" she screamed as she fell to her knees, breaking down as she grabbed her own hair. "ANGEL! I'M SORRY!"

"Uh… what do we do about this?" Fu Dog asked while Eda broke down completely.

"Dad, Fu Dog, What's going on here?" asked a young teenage girl around Eda's age. She had short black hair and olive skin. She wore a blue shoulderless shirt, a black top underneath with a yellow skirt, black leggings, and pink sneakers. She came in and saw the witchling breaking down. "What happened?"

"She is having a breakdown," Lao-Shi said while noticing the feathers sprouting out from Eda. "If she keeps this up, she might transform again!"

"A-Angel… I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Eda's voice cracked, tears falling from her eyes.

The girl rushed over to Eda and embraced her. "Hey, there there," she said while hugging Eda closely. Eda was crying on her shoulder now, while the girl held onto her and patted her back. "Yīqiè dūhuì hǎo de," she spoke to her in Chinese.

Eda sniffed and after a while she started to calm down. Her feathers were retracted back. "What… what was that you said?" she asked her.

"I said, 'everything's going to be alright'," the girl said while letting Eda go. "My name is Susan, by the way. Are you feeling better?"

Eda shifted her eyes away. "Not really," she said while going into a fetal position.

"Is there anywhere you can go?" Susan asked her and Eda quickly shook her head. "Well… how about you stay with us, at least for now?"

Eda looked up at Susan, then at Fu Dog and Lao-Shi. "You… want me to stay?"

"Of course, if you are in need of help, we will provide it," Lao-Shi confirmed.

"Yeah, things are a little kooky around here," Fu Dog told her. "But you're safe among us magical beings."

Eda didn't know what to say at first and it took her a while to respond. "I appreciate it… I guess I can stay here for now."

Back to present day Central Park, the gang was following Giselle and Morgan.

"In the end, I chose to stay with Robert and Morgan, becoming part of their family!" Giselle was recounting. "But I am sure that your loved ones are doing everything they can to find you and that you will be back home with them before long!"

"Thanks, Giselle, I really needed to hear that," Willow responded.

"So… are we not just gonna talk about how we break into song?" Clara asked.

"I think it's best not to question it," Gus advised. "Besides, we're in the home of Broadway and theater kids."

As they walked, a blur rushed from the trees, which Rudo noticed.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked.

"See what?" Masha asked him.

"NINJA SMOKE BOMB!"

Suddenly a red cloud of smoke appeared in front of them. The gang was shocked to see someone leap from the trees and land in the smoke.

"I have come," he spoke dramatically. He appeared to be of a slim, black robed figure with a black mask that exposed his blue sapphire eyes. Red lines decorated his mask, his suit, gloves and boots. He also wore a red scarf and sash. "Have no fear, citizens, for I am-"

"HIYAH!" Willow punched him in the stomach, bringing him down to his knees.

"Take that, you mugger!" Willow shouted as she kept pounding the crap out of the masked ninja.

"Oh my, should we do something?" Giselle asked while covering Morgan's eyes.

"Kick him in the nads, Willow!" Dana shouted.

"Yo, stop, stop hitting him!" shouted a twenty year old Chinese-American man, who ran over to stop Willow. "You can stop now, he's harmless," he said as he separated Willow from the Ninja. The young man had spiky black hair with green highlights, black eyes with olive skin, and he was wearing a red flaming jacket that was zipped up, blue jeans, and black sneakers.

"Keep her away from me!" the Ninja cried out while hiding behind the newcomer. "I wasn't going to mug you!"

"To be honest, you did approach them unannounced while wearing a mask," he pointed out. "Not really the best first impression."

"Oh come on, they should have recognized me as the Ninja of Norrisville!" he declared while striking a heroic pose.

Willow and the gang looked mighty confused before Masha spoke up. "I'm sorry… who?"

The Ninja looked at them in disbelief. "Uh, the Ninja, hello? You know, the hero of Norrisville? The biggest urban legend in the state of Oklahoma? Well, a town in a county, but I'm like a big deal over there!"

"We… have never been to Oklahoma before," Clara admitted.

The Norrisville Ninja looked deflated while the newcomer walked up to Willow. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Jake Long, guardian of all things magic in the United States. Me and the Ninja wish to speak with you, since we know that you're not around here."

"Wait, how do we know you're not from the government or something?" Masha asked.

"She's right," Clara said as she stepped protectively toward Willow. "How can we trust you?"

"Well, I can do this," Jake said as his hand burst into flames, changing it into his dragon arm which amazed Willow and her friends.

"Whoa… are you a cambion?" Willow asked him.

"Cambion?" Jake asked in confusion. "No, I'm actually part-dragon, from my mom's side."

"Oh my Titan… you're exactly who I've been looking for!" Willow pointed out. "I've been trying to find a magical being like you for days!"

"Well, helping magical folks like you is my specialty," Jake replied. "We should talk in private, so follow us back to the shop."

"Come on, let's go!" Willow said as she turned to Giselle. "Thanks for everything, Giselle, Morgan!"

"Goodbye, and good luck, Willow!" Giselle shouted as she and Morgan waved at Willow and her friends.

Jake Long and the Ninja brought Willow and the gang to Canal Street Electronics, a shop located in Chinatown.

"An electronics store?" Nora questioned. "I honestly expected a temple or something."

"This place looks like it shouldn't still be in business," Gus commented, looking inside the windows.

"Well, our motto is 'We never had a customer, we never had a sale', after all," Jake told him.

"No sale?" Clara asked in confusion. "How are you still open then?"

"My gramps owns the place," Jake answered. "But he leaves me in charge when he's got duties as a member of the Dragon Council."

"Dragon Council? Sounds like something from an old cartoon I watched," Rudo recalled.

"You mean, Juniper Lee?" Masha asked.

"Yeah! That show!" Rudo said while Jake just rolled his eyes.

"Hey, is it really alright for you to go around dressed in that?" Dana asked the Ninja.

"Oh it's no sweat, people think I'm one of those costumed performers you take pictures with," he assured her.

Once they went inside they saw another young man around Jake's age. He had a green beanie hat over his rustled brown hair, freckles, and a blue hoodie with orange sleeves and gray rave pants and brown boots. "Yo, Jakester, you're back!"

"Yep, and I brought our guests with us, Spud," Jake said as others came from the back.

"Hey Jake, you wouldn't believe the mission I was just on!" said a Chinese-American teenage girl slightly older than Willow. She had black ponytails and wore a purple vest shirt with white sleeves, a blue flannel skirt with white knee socks, and black mary janes. "Oh, we have guests? Hi, I'm Haley, Jake's secondary deputy magical guardian."

"Substitute magical guardian," Jake clarified.

"I'm also the smart one," Haley added.

"Now Haley, it is not kosher to be prideful," said a Korean woman with black long hair and a dark-complexion. She wore a yellow bead necklace, a yellow long-sleeve shirt with pink patterns on the bottom of the shirt, a long, light-blue skirt that reached to her ankles, and gray boots. "While your intelligence is something to treasure, it is important that you-"

"Stay humble, I know Ms. Park," Haley replied.

"Huh, so your last name is Park as well?" Willow asked as Sun turned to her.

"It is nice to meet you, young witchling," Sun Park said. "Along with her human friends."

"Hey, is Jake here?" someone asked from the back room.

"Yeah, I heard him just now," another voice confirmed.

Willow recognized the second voice and her eyes widened. "Amity!?" she shouted as she rushed past Haley and Sun. "Amity, are you here-!?"

"Who?" asked a human girl. She had long blond hair, astral blue eyes, pierced ears, a white v-neck, a blue flower necklace, pink long jeans, and brown sandals.

"Oh," Willow replied, looking disappointed. "Sorry, I thought you were… a friend of mine who recently went missing."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she responded.

"She's the girl from Central Park I saw," said the blond girl from the park, her twin sister.

"I'm Rose, and this is my twin sister Violet," Rose introduced herself while coming in was a black young woman of the same age as Jake, Spud, Rose, and Violet.

"Hey my magical crew, just got back delivering some stock for the leprechauns," she said. She had braided hair, dark brown eyes, and pink lips. She wore a purple short-sleeve hoodie with a panda, blue and white striped shirt, black jean shorts with gray leggings and black sneakers.

"Looks like everyone's here," Jake said as the others came into the back room. "Meet my crew, the Team Dragon if you will. My little sister Haley, and her mentor Sun Park. My best friends Spud and Trixie, my girlfriend Rose and her twin sister, Violet."

"Um, hello," Willow greeted. "I'm Willow Park. And these are my friends Masha, Clara, Rudo, Dana, Gus, and his mom, Nora."

They all exchanged friendly greetings.

"Wait," Clara realized, whispering to Masha. "Willow, Rose, Violet… we got a lot of girls with flower-themed names here."

"Great, now that we all know who each other are… Dragon Up!" Jake declared flames burst all over him. Willow and her friends watched in awe as Jake transformed into a red, slim Eastern Dragon with red scales, wings, a yellow under belly, muscular arms and hind-legs, and a long tail. He kept his hair from his human form.

"Whoa…" Willow said.

"Awesome!" Masha, Rudo, Gus, and Dana shouted while Clara looked just as shocked as Nora.

"You… you can turn… turn into… dragons are real." Nora said in shock, trying to process what she saw.

"I don't even know what's reality anymore…" Clara said while Nora tried to help out.

"Yes, yes, I know it can be a little much," Sun said as she offered them a couch to sit on.

"Call me the American Dragon," Jake told them..

"Well, Mr. Long, or Mr. Dragon," Willow said as she walked up to Jake. "I'm in need of your help. I'm looking for a way back home to the Demon Realm, specifically the Boiling Isles."

"Boiling Isles… I've actually heard of that place," Jake said, which surprised Willow.

"Really?!" Willow said in excitement. "Can you help get me home?"

"Don't worry, I promise to do everything I can to get you back home, Willow," Jake reassured her. "It is my responsibility and duty as the American Dragon."

Willow smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Long."

"Wait, I have a few questions," Masha said as she walked up. "Like, the whole being part human and part dragon thing, how does interspecies breeding work exactly?" She looked thrilled to know the answer.

"Oh, well that's a good question," Jake said, not noticing. "My ancestors were dragons from the Eastern parts of the world, but our shapeshifting abilities allow us to maintain a human form, which became necessary in order to hide our true nature from humans. Over the generations, dragons and humans began to interbreed. This resulted in dragons being born in their human disguises as a way to pass off as human before they gain their true dragon form when they get old enough."

"For our mom it skipped a generation though, meaning she was unable to gain her dragon form," Haley added. "It didn't skip us though."

"So like, are there more of you guys?" Masha asked them. "How many?"

"Every nation has a Dragon that helps to protect the magic there from all kinds of threats," Jake answered. "So… there are hundreds of us. There's even a Dragon of Atlantis."

"Atlantis… oh that is sweet!" Masha replied. "Oh, so what exactly do you do?"

"As a magic guardian, it is my duty to protect all the magical creatures that inhabit the US," Jake explained. "That includes other magical threats or human hunters."

"So you're like some sort of magical superhero," Gus realized.

"Guardian, superhero, same thing," Spud stated. "Jake's been doing this since he was about your age."

"That young?" Nora asked in concern. "All that responsibility must have been a huge burden…"

"Yeah, being chosen for the job is no easy picnic," Jake admitted. "It does come with hardships, but with the help of my friends and family, I've managed to find a balance."

"Question though," Clara said, raising her hand up. "If you're the guardian for all things magic, what about this guy?" She pointed to the Ninja.

"The Ninja of Norrisville's kind of a special case, an ally that protects his home town from a sorcerer," Jake explained.

"That's right!" the Ninja revealed. "You see, every four years, Norrisville gets a new Ninja to protect it from threats against its people. Like the Sorcerer, who used to turn people into monsters before I managed to defeat him," he explained. "Since then, I've been fighting villains-for-hire, evil robots, etc… but, the reason why I'm here is… dramatic pause." Everyone rolled their eyes as he paused. "I came here… because of my encounter with a witch!"

New York… 1986.

Strolling down the streets in roller skates, listening to 'Can't Hurry Love' on her walkman was a teenage Eda, now four years older. Her orange hair was more frizzled and she wore a blue scarf around her forehead to cover her ears. She was also wearing dark shades, popping bubblegum, and had a blue bow on her head along with a jean jacket, a Purple Rain t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, jean short-shorts, ripped fishnet leggings and pink and blue roller skates. She was holding Owlbert in her small little purple purse.

She rolled over to the high school that her friend Susan went to. She noticed a banned poster with her face on it. "Huh, I wonder who that's for?" Eda said while just rolling to the other side of the school, looking around to make sure the coast was clear as she went to a nearby window. She used her magic to open the window, which gave her an entrance to an empty classroom.

After she snuck in, she entered the hallway as the bell rang. Looking around, she spotted Susan walking down the hallway with other eighties students, passing by a banner for the passing of Halley's Comet.

"These finals are heinous to the max, for sure!" spoke one girl to her friend. "It's like, gag me with a spoon!"

"Wow, nuggets made of chicken," said one boy holding a box of chicken nuggets. "That is so rad!"

Eda spotted Susan and another guy, both holding hands. Susan was wearing a lime-green shirt with a purple strap top underneath, a blue striped large skirt with a blue large belt with a white buckle, purple leggings with pink leg warmers and white heels. Her hair had a blue dye streak and she was wearing hoop earrings, a purple choke collar and a purple and green beret.

The guy with her was a Caucasian teenage boy with brown hair covering his left eye. He was wearing a pink button shirt with roll up sleeves, white tie, a black vest covered with colorful buttons, zipper covered baggy jeans and red sneakers. The back of his hair had also been dyed purple.

"Yo, Susie, Johnny!" Eda waved, earning their attention.

"Marilyn?" Jonathan Long said, though he and Susan weren't surprised. "How'd you get past security?"

"I have my ways, Johnny," Eda, who was going by Marilyn, responded while leaning on the lockers.

"Well it's nice to see you, Marilyn," Susan said as she and Eda hugged. "How have you been?"

"Oh you know, I've been here, there, everywhere," Eda said dismissively. "So what are you two up to lately? Like, school must be totally boring, am I right?"

"Well, I was actually going to share with Susan a little something special I wanted to show her," Jonathan replied. "This is for you, Sue!" He moonwalked back as he cleared his throat and then he started to beatbox.

Susan watched happily, while Eda just stared at this questionably as Jonathan started break-dancing and spinning around on the floor, causing him to crash into an air vent. "Ahh!" he grunted, as the air inflated his baggy pants, making him crash into the lockers. "OOF!"

"Jonathan! Are you alright?" Susan asked while helping him up.

"It's my latest break-dance moves, Sweet Potato," Jonathan replied. "I call it my popalackin', electric-zappin', bugaloo-sluggin', fliptastic shovel! What do you think?"

"It's tubular, Jonathan, and so are you!" Susan responded happily. "I'll see you at the beach party tonight."

"Till then, sugar num-nums!" Jonathan moonwalked away, blowing a kiss to Susan while he made a turn, causing him to fall off the stairs. "AH! OH! EEK! AH! OH!" he yelled while an onlooker watched and winced at his fall. "I'm okay."

"I'll be surprised if he makes it to adulthood," Eda confessed.

"Yeah, isn't he perfect?" Susan replied dreamily.

"If you say so… so when will you tell him?" Eda asked her, making Susan nervous. "If you haven't already."

"Uh… tell him what?" Susan asked, playing dumb.

"Like, tell him about your family, doy." Eda flicked her forehead. "If you want to be serious with Johnny-Boy or have a future with him, you're gonna have to be honest, Suzy. Because he is bound to find out eventually and it is better for him to learn it from you."

"Well… I do have this letter I've written." Susan held up her letter, showing it to Eda. "But I'm not sure it would be a good idea to give it to him…"

"Just do it, just put it in his locker," Eda encouraged.

Susan looked at her letter and went to put it in his locker… but then she pulled it back and sighed. "I just can't…" she said as she hid it in her book. "See you later, Eda," she said as she walked the other way, unaware that her letter was magically grabbed by Eda.

"Sorry, Suzy, but… this is for your own good," Eda said while placing it in Jonathan's locker. "The deed is done."

"Hey!" spoke one hall monitor. "Like, you're not supposed to be here!"

"You'll never catch me alive, you coppers!" Eda declared while skating down the hall, staying away from the hall monitor.

"A witch?" Willow asked, curious.

"Well, it's not my first time encountering a magical villain," the Ninja explained. "Me and my friend once worked together to banish this sorceress to the Land of Shadows. But this witch was using her powers to steal from people. I confronted her, but she managed to escape. I used my Ninja Nomicom to seek for answers and it explained to me that this witch is not of this world. I tried to get answers from her, but she managed to give me the slip once again using her magic and potions. I felt like there was more at work than I realized, so I decided to meet with the American Dragon."

"I was given a letter to meet the Ninja at Norrisville and I brought him here in New York to give him information about witches. Believe it or not, there are actually all kinds of witches from different realms," Jake explained.

"Yeah, including ones from here on Earth," Trixie added. "Some are friendly, others are, well, grouches…"

"What did this witch look like exactly?" Willow asked.

Something glowed in the Ninja's sash belt. He dug out a back book with red lines. "The Ninja Nomicon will show you," he explained while opening the book, which quickly made a picture of a woman with dark skin, long black hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears.

Willow and the others looked at the image. "Wait a minute…" Her eyes squinted, but then they widened as she recognized it. "No… no way… it can't be!"

"Do you know her, Willow?" Clara asked.

"That's Gus's mom," Willow said, much to the confusion of Gus Gordon. "I meant Witch Gus, not Human Gus," she clarified. "She's from the Boiling Isles like I am… so this is where she's been all these years?" Her fists tightened.

"Something tells me you're not fond of her…" Masha said.

"How can I after what she's done?" Willow asked. "Jenny Porter not only abandoned her own son, left him home alone when he was little… but she was using love potions on his dad for years!"

Everyone looked shocked by the revelation. "My god," Jake whispered, looking pale.

"Love potion? You mean like, make a person fall in love?" Dana asked.

"Love potions are considered very illegal in the magic community due to their mind-controlling properties," Sun explained. "You can say they're the magic equivalent to roofies."

"They're just as illegal in the Boiling Isles as well," Willow confirms. "Nobody knows where she disappeared to after it got out that she had been using love potions. But she hasn't been seen in the Isles for five years… but I guess this explains why… she's here in the Human Realm the whole time."

"Okay, now this is really heavy…" the Ninja said.

Willow turned to Jake. "Wait, regarding what you said earlier… how do you know about the Boiling Isles?"

"Oh, well that's easy to answer," Jake responded. "You see, my mom was friends with a witch from the Boiling Isles back in her teen years… I think her name was… Eda."

Willow gasped. "EDA!?"

After school, Eda rolled over to Susan's side with a smile. "So did you see the music video on MTV last night?" Susan asked.

"Oh yeah, that Michael Jackson's got some moves," Eda replied. "I wonder if he's really an alien like that David Bowie?"

"Susan!" Johnathan cried out, running towards them while waving a letter in the air, catching the two's attention. "Are you telling me that you're… you're… a monster!?" he exclaimed while throwing the letter down.

"What- but Jonathan, I- I don't know how that letter got in?" Susan stammered, trying to explain. "I mean, I can explain!"

"Ex-explain what!?" Jonathan looked freaked out. "My girlfriend is a groady-to-the-max, fire-breathing dragon!?"

"I told you, it skipped my generation!" Susan clarified.

"Look, Johnny, just calm down a bit…" Eda tried to reassure him.

"No! I don't want to hear it anymore! We are finished! Lalalalala!" He covered his ears and shut his eyes while moon-walking away from the two.

Susan picked up the letter, looking confused. "I totally don't understand how he got my letter?"

"Eheheheh…" Eda looked sheepish while Susan turned to her. "Alright, alright, I… may have snatched your letter and… put it in Jonathan's locker."

"You did what!?" Susan exclaimed, tears flooding from her eyes. "Why would you do that!?"

"I wanted to give you a push, okay?" Eda defended herself. "Come on, Suzie-Q, don't you think it's better for him to know sooner rather than later?"

"This is the most groady, worst day of my life!" Susan cried as she ran off in tears.

"Susan, wait!" Eda raised her hand to reach out to her, but Susan was long gone. "Ah, farts," she cursed, while kicking a rock.

"Say what?" Jake said as he was just as shocked. "Are you saying you know Eda?"

"Of course, she's the mother of one of my best friends, Luz," Willow explained.

Something clicked in the back of Clara's head. Willow hadn't really said too much about her family and friends back home, probably because it made her more homesick. Willow had still mentioned the name Luz a few times, but Clara hadn't figured out the connection… until now. "Wait… you said her name is Luz?"

Willow turned to her. "Uh yeah?"

Clara considered it for a second. "Nevermind. It is just an interesting name for a witch."

"Actually, she was born a human," Willow admitted. "Eda adopted her when she was a baby and raised her in the Demon Realm."

Clara fell dead silent. She was trying to piece something together. This had to be a coincidence, right? "She wouldn't… happen to be named, Luz Noceda, right?"

Willow tilted her head in confusion. "Wait… how do you know her last name?"

Clara gasped and looked down at the floor. "No… it can't be." She shook her head. "She isn't Dominican, right?"

"She is," Willow confirmed. "Clara, why are you asking this? What do you know?"

Clara felt everyone's eyes on her, which she didn't like at all. She quickly shook her head. "No, no! It can't be the same Luz, it can't!"

"Clara, what are you talking about?" Nora asked in concern. "Please breathe."

The girl took a deep breath like Nora suggested. "My mother was once friends with a woman. She had a baby daughter named Luz. The mother died, but the baby disappeared. Nobody ever found out what happened to the baby…"

"What was the name of the mother?" Willow asked, realizing where this was going.

"Camila…" Clara confirmed and the look in Willow's eyes confirmed that the name of her friend's mother was Camila as well. "Oh my god…" she whispered. "Luz is alive…"

Willow nodded. "Okay, now you should definitely meet her. You and your mom. What was your mom's name?"

"Abigail," Clara answered, which made Willow pause, her eyes widening.

"Abigail…" Willow realized. "Wait, what is your family's last name?"

"Gates…" Clara cautiously revealed, causing Willow to stand up quickly.

"You… your mother's Abigail Gates… your family are witch hunters!"

"I'm sorry, what?!" Trixie asked.

"Witch hunters?" Rose asked in curiosity.

"It's not like that!" Clara immediately told them. "Yeah, my ancestors did some… witch hunting back then, but they don't do it anymore! I mean, who does that these days?"

"Actually, there was an organization that used to do it," Rose pointed out, looking down. "They're gone now…"

"Luz told me and Gus about what your mother and her family did, how it resulted in Eda's friend's death!" Willow argued. "From what I've heard, your mother sounds dangerous!"

"No she isn't!" Clara argued back in anger. "My mom would never hurt anyone! Most days she can barely get out of bed!"

"I-I just…" Willow stepped back from Clara. "I-I'm not so sure… you guys found me in that facility back at Gatesfield, how do I know your mom isn't behind my capture… how do I know you're not working for your mother?"

"What? I'm not, I helped you escape!" Clara countered. "My mom doesn't even know that I'm out here, she's probably worried sick about me!"

"How can you be sure your mother isn't a witch hunter?" Willow questioned as she narrowed her eyes at Clara.

"Alright, calm down," Rose said, trying to intervene. "Look, can we just-"

But Clara was not listening. "MY MOM IS NOT A WITCH HUNTER!"

CRASH!

Everyone heard a crash and Nora looked toward the entrance of the shop. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

A mechanical winged-creature had crashed into the shop. This caused everyone to back away from it. "What is that?!" Masha screamed as Sun began trying to lead her, Gus, and Nora away from the creature.

"Get behind us," Jake said as he stepped forward along with the Ninja and Haley as she transformed into a purple biped dragon. Willow also stepped up to defend everyone.

The mechanical winged creature scanned the group, looking from Jake to Haley to Willow. But as soon as it saw the Ninja, its eyes glowed red.

"TARGET ACQUIRED! EXTERMINATE!"

"Everyone to the back!" Sun ordered while leading everyone to the back of the store.

The winged-creature charged at the Ninja, grabbing him and pinning him to a wall. "What the juice!? Why are you after me!?"

"Get it outside, up on the roof!" Jake told him while the Ninja threw down a smoke bomb.

"Ninja, smoke bomb!" he said as he made himself disappear, causing Jake, Willow and Haley to cough.

"Bleh! Why does it smell like crap?!" Willow exclaimed.

"You'll surprisingly get used to it!" The Ninja shouted from outside the store. The mechanical creature turned to the Ninja as he ran up the building wall, going to the rooftop while the creature chased after him.

"Alright, this way, y'all!" Trixie said as she led the humans toward the back entrance.

"Are we going to be safe?" Nora asked.

"Don't worry, we have a little protocol for things like this," Spud assured her while running along. "Like in the case of goblins, evil spirits, the Huntsclan…"

Clara stopped and turned around. "What about Willow?!"

"Come on, I think she'll be fine!" Masha said as she grabbed Clara's hand and they ran to somewhere safe.

The Ninja made it up to the roof, Jake flying up and landing beside him. "Yo, are you okay?" he asked.

"Honestly, a little Bruce about this. Not my first time being attacked by a robot," the Ninja responded. "Robots in general have it out for me."

"Wait… where is it?" Jake asked as he and the Ninja looked around.

"REEEEEE!"

The two jumped back as the creature reappeared, charging at them. Its wing manages to graze the Ninja's arm, making him wince. Its other wing grazed Jake's back.

"AAH!" Jake cried out as he looked at the cut on his back. "This thing's tough enough to cut my hide!"

"This is so not Bruce!" Ninja said as he threw his shurikens at the creature. "Ninja Rings!" he shouted but they only bounced back. The creature turned to the Ninja and fired laser beams at him, prompting the Ninja to dodge and deflect them with his sword. Jake swirled around as he breathed out flames at the winged creature, which had no effect.

The winged creature shot out a missile at the Ninja, who jumped up in the air and allowed Jake to grab his arms. The missile followed them until Jake fired a fire blast at the missile, causing it to explode. The Ninja climbed up to ride on Jake's back. "What's the game plan to beat this thing?" Jake asked him.

"I have no idea!" the Ninja responded. "Though the way it immediately went after me makes me think that McFist is behind this…"

"That robot-armed businessman that's been after the Ninja for years?" Jake asked him.

"Who else?" the Ninja said while jumping off of Jake. "Though, I'll admit this is different looking from his usual robots." He saw the winged creature trying to grab him, so the Ninja used his scarf to twist around the arm before twisting his body around which twisted the arm off. He then drew his sword and slashed across its chest plate, scratching it.

The creature screeched and while its focus was on the Ninja, Jake flew from behind, extending his dragon claws and grabbing its wings, pulling them under his arms. Using his dragon strength, he pulled them from behind its back. Sensing something grabbing it from behind, holes in the creature's back opened and fired beams at Jake, which bounced off him but still hurt. Jake continued to use his might to keep pulling on the wings until he managed to rip them out.

"RAAAAAAAHH!" it roared as the Ninja kicked its head sideways.

"NINJA KICK!" he shouted while holding up its arm, using it to swing it back at the creature. The creature looked at its missing arm and something sprung out from its stub: a buzzsaw. "Oh, come on!" the Ninja shouted as he dodged the buzzsaw and used his sword to block it.

Jake then stomped at the creature's back, flattening it against the roof. He noticed how the creature's face was dented. He swung the detached wing at it, knocking it over while the Ninja slash it across the back with his sword. The Ninja then brought out his hooks and chains to stab at the creature's face.

"Ninja Chain Sickle!" he declared while standing on the creature's shoulder to rip apart its face. He managed to tear off its head. "Target the core on its chest!" he told Jake.

"What?!" Jake asked him.

"To defeat this thing, target the glowing core on its chest!" he declared while holding up its head.

The headless, wingless creature then began firing lasers at random. "That thing just won't stay down!" Jake shouted as they dodged the lasers. The beams grazed Jake's tail which made him wince, while the Ninja threw his sword up. Jake grabbed the sword and flew straight at the creature, stabbing it through the chest.

The creature fell down as Jake sliced upward, cutting it apart. He backed away as he and the Ninja watched the creature fall apart.

They caught their breath, the Ninja adjusting his back. "Okay… that wasn't… too bad…"

"Robots," Jake said, shaking his head. "I think that's a new one for me." He winced while rubbing his arm. "Does McFist make these things to try to kill you on a daily basis?"

"You have no idea how many robots he has made to destroy me," the Ninja responded while looking at what was left of the winged creature. "Though… this is a lot different than what he sends after me. Sometimes a robo-gorilla, sometimes some Frankenstein-werewolf monstrosity. But this is definitely new."

"Well, at least it's over," Jake said. "And there was only one of them."

"RAAAAAAAAHH!"

The two were startled when a second winged creature jumped down between them. The two were shocked as the creature roared at them.

"ANOTHER ONE!?" the Ninja exclaimed. "HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS DID MCFIST MAKE!? DOES HE REALLY HAVE NO BETTER USE OF HIS TIME?!"

The winged creature looked at the Ninja, then at Jake. It screeched as it brought out a large sword, swinging it down near Jake who instantly dodged it.

"I don't think it's after you this time!" Jake shouted while grabbing the Ninja, both of them dodging the creature's attack.

"Ninja Sickles!" The Ninja shot out his sickle at it, but the creature grabbed the sickle and pulled it away from the Ninja, crushing his weapon. "Ninja Rings!" He threw the rings, only for the creature to shoot lasers at it, turning it into dust. "Then how about my Ninja bo-staff-" It got zapped to dust as well. "It keeps zapping my weapons!"

Jake flew up to the creature while still holding the sword, about to stab it at its core. But the winged-creature grabbed the sword and shattered it. This shocked the two.

"Aww man!" Jake shouted while going for the wings, only for the creature to shoot out blades from its wings. Jake tried to dodge them, but still suffered a few cuts from them. "Ack! Yo, it's like learning!"

Watching the fight from below was Willow and Haley. "We have to help them!" Willow stated.

"But Jake said that we need to get to the safe house!" Haley told her.

"Well I can't just stand by while your brother and his friend are fighting this thing, especially if I have the power to help!" Willow declared.

Haley looked up to see her brother struggling against the winged creature, which set off an explosion. "Alright, I'll help fly up!" she said as she burst into flames, turning herself into a grown purple dragon. She got Willow to ride on her back as they flew toward the winged creature.

The Ninja was doing his best to dodge the creature's attacks, but one of blades from its wings managed to graze his shin, making him wince. "I'm hit! I'm hit!" he shouted. He tried to put some distance between himself and the creature, but the creature slammed itself into him, knocking the Ninja across the roof. Jake flew over to help him, but he was then pinned down by the winged creature. The creature was about to have Jake's head… until it was pulled back by some vines.

"Hey!" Willow shouted as she landed down after Haley dropped her off. "Pick on someone your own size," she said while glaring at the creature, which analyzed her.

EXTERMINATE! WITCH DETECTED!

It launched itself towards Willow, who drew a spell circle to shoot out gushes of water at it. The robot was unfazed, but Willow's eyes glowed green when she summoned large vines to attack the creature with. The vines pierced its wings, but that didn't stop it from attacking. It transformed its arms into cannons, firing laser blasts at her that she barely managed to block. Haley went over to her brother.

"Jake, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Jake responded. "You should get to safety!"

"Well, I couldn't let you two fight this thing by yourselves!" Haley responded while the Ninja got up.

"There has to be some way to defeat that thing!" the Ninja said while looking at how Willow fought by summoning large vines to attack the creature. He spotted a stand on the streets below. It was selling snacks, including… sunflower seeds.

The scribbles in his vision circled the seeds and pointed to Willow, while offering some advice: 'It's good to have a green thumb.'

"Of course! Wait, could it work?" the Ninja asked.

"What could work?" Jake asked as the Ninja leapt off the rooftop. He was back moments later.

"Got it!" he said as he raised up a bag of sunflower seeds. "Willow, use the seeds!" He threw the sunflower seeds for Willow to grab while he along with Jake and Haley joined Willow in her fight against the creature.

Willow took out some seeds while one of her large, thorny vines stabbed the creature in its cannon left arm and through its shoulder. The Ninja jumped up in the air.

"Ninja Air Fist!" he shouted as he shot down a compressed air fist to strike at the damaged arm. Willow managed to pull the arm away from the creature while it screeched in pain. The winged creature then flew up in the air and fired missiles.

Two of the missiles targeted Willow and the Ninja, Willow using her vines to shield them. However, the impact caused Willow to almost fall off the roof, but the Ninja used his scarf to pull her back. "Thanks," she said while adjusting her glasses.

"It's no swoop," he replied while he pulled out his sais.

Jake and Haley went up, leading two more missiles away from the buildings. They flew high up in the air, which caught the attention of a certain middle school principal who spotted the two dragons.

"I finally caught you, dragons!" Professor Rotwood declared while trying to pull out his camera.

But as Jake and Haley separated, they circled around and managed to lead the missiles straight at each other, before flying down as the missiles hit each other, leading to an explosion.

By the time Rotwood finally pulled out his camera, he saw that the dragons were gone. "Aw, schnitzel!" he sighed in defeat.

The creature's other arm changed into a buzzsaw to cut through the vines. It charged towards Willow and the Ninja but then Jake showed up to kick the creature away. This prompted Willow to shoot out another thorny vine, stabbing the creature through the left leg as it screamed. Its mouth opened and it fired another beam at them.

"Yeek! Watch the wings, pal!" Haley shouted at the creature while dodging.

"Yo, leave my sister out of this!" Jake said as he swung his tail at the creature's head, giving Willow the change to pull the left leg off.

The winged creature then launched itself into the sky and spread out its wings, raining down blades on the heroes. Willow quickly shielded them with her vines.

The winged creature turned its remaining leg into a drill to slice through the vines, only for more large vines to launch at it and stab it through its wings. The creature screeched as it tried to fly away, its buzzsaw arm cutting the vines stabbing its wings. It freed itself, but due to the holes it could barely fly. So it turns its last leg into a flamethrower, attempting to burn away the green wall that protected the heroes.

As the flames burned away the vines, Jake flew toward it at a high speed, slashing it across the side with his claws. Haley carried both Willow and the Ninja away from the flaming vines. "Ninja Water Fist!" the Ninja shouted as he used a watery fist to put out the fires.

Once they landed on another rooftop, the winged creature went over to them. It could barely stand, but it turned its arm into a cannon again, firing at them. They split up and dodged the attack while Willow threw her seeds towards the creature, managing to get some on it. The creature didn't notice, since its attention was on Haley.

The creature opened its mouth to shoot a large laser at Haley, but then a sunflower literally grew right out of its mouth, preventing the attack. The creature stumbled back as more sunflowers began to grow from its body, while Jake used this as a chance to fly behind and tear off the wings from its back.

Using her magic, Willow caused more sunflowers to sprout out of the creature and inside it, damaging the creature from within. As the flowers grew, the creature let out a hiss before it died, the red light leaving its eyes as it fell forward, covered in the sunflowers that had destroyed its circuitry.

"Is it… over?" Haley asked while flying by her brother's side.

Jake looked around. "I don't sense anymore coming. I think it was just the two of those guys."

Willow slumped down, tired from the fight. She saw the Ninja wince as he rubbed his arm. "You okay?" she asked him.

"Oh, don't worry about me," he waves it off. "This all comes with being the Ninja. It's no Bruce, no juice. I'm just glad that we beat that thing."

Jake and Haley transformed back into their human forms, joining Willow and the Ninja as they were also tired. "Ugh, out of all the weekends Fu Dog decided to be out of town," Haley complained.

Jake heard his cellphone ringing and he pulled it out. He checked it and sighed when he saw the names 'Kara and Sara' on the display screen. "Yo," he answered.

"Hi Jake!" spoke one chirpy voice.

"Let me guess, Sara, I'm about to have a battle against a mechanical winged creature?" he asked sarcastically while looking at the remains of his attacker. "Cause you're already too late."

"Oh no, it's not about that!" Sara responded. "Do you have a witch with you right now?"

Jake then turned to Willow. "Yeah…?"

"This is Lana the Love Lady. Jonathan from Fillmore High, how's your love life?"

In Jonathan's bedroom where he was looking at a photo album of Susan while calling a hotline.

"W-Well, terrible! We were supposed to go to this Halley's Comet party tonight at Jones Beach tonight but I just learned that my girlfriend's some kind of… of… dragon!"

In the operations room of the Huntscaln, Jonathan's call had been intercepted. When he mentioned his girlfriend being a dragon, this raised an alarm.

"Dragons!" they cried out.

"I've locked onto the line," one member said as he printed out the information. "Got it!"

He rushed out and ran through the training room, where the other huntsmen were practicing by using various weapons against the training standees representing various magical creatures.

The soldier rushed to one of the leaders of the Huntsclan. "Master!" he said as he handed him the paper, which the leader read.

"Young apprentices…" he spoke as he turned to two Huntsclan apprentices, one who was a scrawny teenage boy and one who was a teenage girl. "We have information of a possible dragon gathering."

"It is time for your first hunt!" the other master added.

"I will show no mercy and slay my first dragon!" the scrawny apprentice declared

"Dude, is his voice ever going to change?" mocked one apprentice as his fellow apprentices laughed at the scrawny, skinny apprentice who had a kick me sign on his back. Even the Masters were laughing at him. The only one who wasn't laughing was the female apprentice, who just shook her head in disapproval.

At Canal Street Electronics, Susan had told Lao-Shi about her break up. He wasn't shedding any tears over it.

"Trust me, Susan, it is for the best," Lao-Shi said while putting a box on a shelf. "You are better off with someone who walks forward. Someone with a hairstyle befitting to this planet, someone who's… wha… whoa!" Lao-Shi fell off the ladder, but was thankfully caught by Eda, who was riding on her staff. "Someone… magical at the very least. Thank you, Eda."

"No problem, Lao-shorts," Eda states while putting him down.

"Please, don't call me that," Lao-Shi reprimanded.

"But dad, I don't want to date someone magical, I want to date Jonathon!" Susan argued.

"Oh you will get over him eventually," Lao-Shi told her. "I'm sure Eda knows a few magical witches from the Boiling Isles who would happily court you."

"Dad…" Susan gritted her teeth and groaned before going to her room. "Ugh, whatever!"

Eda looked up in guilt. "Come on, Lao-Shi, there must be something we could do."

"A broken heart needs time to heal," he told her. "She has to get over it eventually. Besides, I'm sure there are suitors better than that clumsy mortal." He then walked away, leaving Eda alone.

"This is my fault, Owlbert," Eda said to her Palisman. "I'm the one responsible for the break up. But… maybe there's a way to get them back together…"

"Oh who needs a stupid beach party?" Jonathan asked while playing with his rubix-pyramid. "I got plenty of fun right here." He then completed the puzzle game. "Holy ham hocks… I did it! It took me three years, but I finally finished it!" As he celebrated, Owlbert flew in and snatched his puzzle away from him. "What the… hey!"

As Owlbert flew away, Jonathan chased him. "Give me back my puzzle, you adorable, grody, little owl!"

That evening, Eda had managed to get Susan out of the house and to the beach, where they were waiting for Jonathan at the beach party.

"I don't know, Eda," Susan said while looking unsure. "He probably isn't even going to show."

"Hey, don't give up yet," Eda told her. "I bet you can get him back if I share some of my good swimwear with you…"

"Nuh-uh, no way," Susan told her while getting flustered. "It's hopeless, Eda. He isn't coming! Jonathan's never gonna accept me for who I am!" She whistled for the taxi cab to drive up, then got in before it drove off.

"Susan, wait!" Eda cried out as she chased the cab, but it sped up. "Susan!" Just as Susan left, Owlbert showed up with the rubix-pyramid. "Owlbert, we're gonna need a new plan. She bailed."

"I… believe… that's… mine." Jonathan said while grabbing his puzzle game, before collapsing from running all the way to the beach.

Later, Eda threw water at Jonathan, waking him up. "What… what's going on here?!" he asked while turning to Eda. "Marilyn?"

"Yo, Sleeping Beauty," Marilyn said to him. "Look, I want to talk to you about Susan. I put her letter into your locker, and I want to patch your relationship up."

"W-Why? If this is some kind of sick joke," Jonathan said while looking unsure. "Look, Marilyn, this has been the worst day of my life. First my girlfriend turns out to be a dragon, then an owl takes my puzzle game, and I can't get this collar to stay up to save my life!"

"Jeez, are you that stubborn?" Eda asked him. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm a witch."

"A… what now?" Jonathan asked as Eda performed a light spell, pushing the ball of light in front of him. "What… what!? This is… Marilyn, all this time-"

"Yes, I'm a witch. But not the evil kind, mind you," Eda said as Owlbert turned into her staff and she waved around a ring of light as it sparkled. "Eh? Wadda ya think?"

"...AAAAHHH!" Jonathan screamed, before he blabbered and fainted.

"...Well that could've been better," Eda said.

"It just did, witch!"

Hearing a voice that cracked, Eda turned to see the two Huntsclan apprentices, each holding their own weapons.

"Now tell us where the dragon is, witch!" the male apprentice demanded. Eda snickered and then burst into laughter. "What's so funny!?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… your voice!" Eda laughed as she pointed at him mockingly. "You sound like a bike horn that caught laryngitis!"

"No one makes fun of my voice!" he demanded.

"Focus, Jeff!" the Huntsgirl told him while charging first with her daggers. But when she got a closer look at Eda, her eyes widened and she was distracted long enough for Eda to use her staff to swipe her off her feet, knocking her on her back. "No… nononono… AAH!" she shrieked as she dropped her weapons and crawled away.

"I'm not afraid of you Huntsclan cronies anymore!" Eda declared while Jeff charged towards her, swinging a glowing spinning weapon that shot green fireballs. She dodged the attack as the fireballs hit the beach around her. She flew behind a table, where she grabbed some sunblock to shoot at Jeff, blinding him.

He continued to rush towards her, shooting at her with his weapon. Eda shot fireballs back at him, which he dodged. She then teleported behind him, kicking him into the sand before teleporting away, making him grunt.

"You can't handle this witchy woman." Eda declared while Jeff turned over and jumped to his feet.

"You will show me where the dragon is, witch!" Jeff declared.

"Dragons? Where?" Eda looked around and shrugged. "I don't see one," she said while firing a magic beam at him. Jeff dodged it and grabbed something from his pocket.

"Eat this!" Jeff threw an object at Eda, an explosive. She shot at it with a spell, but that just caused it to explode.

BOOM!

"WAH!" Eda cried out as the explosion sent her flying back, knocking the fight out of her.

Jeff was about to chase her, but then he heard approaching sirens. He turned to his partner, who had grabbed the unconscious Jonathan.

"We need to go!" she told him.

By the time Eda recovered, she saw the two apprentices making their leave in a Huntsclan sub. With them was Jonathan. "Crap!"

After the battle, Haley brought the Ninja to the safe house while Jake took Willow down to the subway. Willow looked around while hiding her ears with her hat, watching as the humans left when they reached their stop.

"Well, this is our stop," Jake said, still sitting down while covered in bandages.

"Should we… get out?" Willow asked, wondering why he wasn't getting up.

"No, no, not out," Jake said before the two got sucked into a vortex.

"WAAHH!" Willow cried out as she and an unfazed Jake landed on the ground. Once Willow got up, she saw that they were in a different location. "Whoa…"

"Welcome to the Magus Bazaar," Jake said, showing Willow around a large, mall-like area. She looked around in amazement, seeing other magical creatures with their own stores and shops.

"Eye of newts! Get yer eye of newts!"

"We got some perfectly good guano here!"

"Eafmuffs! Get yer earmuffs to hide yer pointy ears!"

"Wow… what kind of covens does this place run by?" Willow asked.

"Nah, no covens," Jake explained as he led the way. "This place is where everyone in the magic community can hang out and buy and sell stuff."

"Jake, looking for some more new threads?" asked a brown haired spider woman in a purple shirt, while her spider-half crawled on the wall.

"Maybe later, Veronica," Jake waved to the girl while spotting a green goblin with a lizard tail. "Herbert, remember your parole."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," grumbled Herbert the Goblin as he swept a nearby shop while being watched by two ogres.

"Whaddup, Generalissimo?" Jake asked as he walked past an elderly man with gray hair, mustache, dark shades, and a purple wizard robe.

"Still finishing up this story I'm working on, it's quite marvelous!" the Sage replied while writing on his scroll. "Excelsior!"

Willow looked at the shopkeepers and customers. She spotted some fairies flying by and even a werewolf woman with her pups. "No sigils, no coven system… Belos would probably label this wild magic…"

"Wild magic?" Jake questioned. "I've heard of dark magic but is wild magic even a thing?"

"Where I'm from, our Emperor has taught us that wild magic is dangerous, and we should learn how to use our magic properly," Willow explained. "It is pretty much anything that he labels as improper and it requires joining a coven or facing persecution."

"Alright, now that doesn't sound right," Jake pointed out. "Tell me more about this coven system."

"Well to sum it up, there are nine main covens where you can only use one type of magic. Plants, healing, potions, abominations, bard, beast-keeping, construction, illusions, and oracle. My friend, Luz, and her mom are against the system since it hinders a witch's magical potential and restricts their abilities. Though while it's not ideal to have the rest of your magic sealed away, the coven system does have its benefits. It just needs some major reforms."

Jake gave it some thought. "Wait, you said there are covens for plants and healing, right?"

"Yeah," Willow confirmed.

"But there are plants with healing properties. Heck, you can even use plants in potions. But witches in the Healing Coven and the Potions Coven can't use plant magic?" Jake asked.

"That is why the covens have to work together. The Plant Coven actually makes a lot of snails off selling their crops to both the Healing Coven and the Potions Coven, which gives them a lot of power and influence in the coven system. But you are right, it is inconvenient," Willow acknowledged.

"Yeah, since they could just grow their own material instead of outsourcing it to another coven," Jake agreed. "That actually sounds like a way to make witches more dependent if they have to rely on other covens for their careers instead of being self-reliant."

"You know, Eda once said something similar to that," Willow mentioned. "Well, it was more like a drunken rant after one too many appleblood."

"Eda… you know, my mom told me stories about her, she says the last time she saw her was when I was just a baby. I don't remember her, though my dad told me that she sounds like my Aunt Patchouli for some reason," he mentioned. "How is she doing? I heard that she had a curse."

"She's doing fine," Willow responded. "Well, for the most part. She lost her magic, but she can now transform into Harpy Eda. Maybe when I get the chance to find my way home, you could meet her."

"Sounds chill," Jake said. "So what can you tell me about this... Emperor of yours?"

Willow sighed. "Well, I guess I should tell you. Belos has been governing the Boiling Isles for over fifty years and... well, turns out he's a human."

This alarmed Jake. "Say what… there's a human ruling a magical realm right now?!" Willow nodded, while Jake looked concerned. "This is bad news..." he said while Willow spotted someone waving at them.

"Hi Jake, hi!" chirped a honey-blond girl with tanned skin, blue eyes, a pink sleeveless shirt with a purple jacket tied over it, a long blue and flowery skirt, and sandals. "I'm so happy to see you! And that you haven't broken your arm yet!"

"Glad to know, Sara…" Jake said while turning to the dark haired woman with pale skin, black eyes, purple lips, a dark brown overcoat with a black choker, t-shirt, long black skirt and black boots. "Any good fortunes for me, Kara?"

"Hmm, you'll finally ace film studies and Roman history next semester," Kara replied while rolling her eyes. "Whoop-de-freakin-do."

"Yes," Jake cheered while turning to Willow. "Willow, this is Sara and Kara, descendants of the Oracle of Delphi. Sara, the little miss sunshine here, can only see bad futures, but because of that even the slightest good thing makes her happy. Kara, tall, dark and gloom, sees the good stuff."

"And when you only see good things, nothing's special anymore. All the pleasant surprises are taken out of life," Kara complained.

"But on the bright side, it's nice to finally meet you, Willow!" Sara said as she shook Willow's hand.

"Oh, nice to meet you too," Willow responded. "So you were expecting me?"

"Yes!" Sara said happily. "Oh, would you like to know how you'll-"

"Sara, can we get to the point?" Jake asked. "You two saw a future and it involves Willow. She's looking for a way home."

"I can answer that," Kara said as she stepped in and turned to Willow. "You'll find your friends in a town in Oregon called Gravity Falls."

"My friends…?" Willow asked in shock. "Wait, does that mean I'll be able to see Luz? And Amity and Gus, do you know where they are?!"

"Yeah, you'll meet them there once your friend, Luz, manages to finish her portal door," Kara confirmed.

"They're… they're safe!" Willow said happily. "Thank Titan, they're safe!"

"Yeah, and you will make it back in time to set up your Flyer Derby team with your girlfriend or whatever," Kara said with a shrug.

"But after that, your Emperor will have dark plans for you and your friend Luz," Sara mentioned in her usual perky tone.

Willow's smile fell as she turned to Sara. "What… what do you mean?"

"All I know is that on the Day of Unity, his plans will involve both you and Luz. Also, one more thing… beware the beast with one yellow eye! It will set its sights on the Boiling Isles and all who call it home!" Sara added which only made Willow worried and Jake concerned.

Back at Canal Street Electronics, Eda was explaining how Jonathan had been taken by the Huntsclan apprentices.

"No, no!" Susan shouted, shaking her head. "This is all my fault! It's because of my letter!" She turned to her father who was cleaning a vase. "Dad, we have to save him!"

"There, there, we will do our best," he said nonchalantly. "Although, my daughter, there are still plenty of fish in the sea."

"Daddy!" Susan shouted at him, while Eda had enough.

"Alright, that's enough out of you!" Eda shouted at Lao-Shi, putting her foot down. "I am sick and tired of you, like, always disapproving of your daughter's choices in her boyfriend, all because he's a human! Do you really hate Jonathan so much to leave him in the hands of people that would persecute him just for hanging out with a magical creature?"

"Now, Eda-"

"No, no, you had this coming, old man," Eda told him off. "I appreciate what you have done for me over the years, but your bigotry towards humans has blinded you to how happy Susan is with Jonathan! Doesn't her happiness matter to you? And if anyone's at fault for putting Jonathan in danger it's me!" Tears leaked from her eyes, causing her mascara to leak. "So please, we have to save him… I don't want to lose another friend."

"Eda…" Susan looked to her friend, feeling bad.

"She's got a point, Lao-Shi," Fu Dog said. "We can't leave him at the hands of our enemies."

Lao-Shi sighed. "Well, I do have something that could help," he said while putting on some crystallized glasses, bringing out a glowing, golden compass globe. "I didn't want to show you this, but I have been using this enchanted compass to keep track of Jonathan on your dates."

"Daddy! How could you?" Susan called him out.

"My darling, I may possess all the magic and strength of a great dragon warrior, but I am also a single dad," he pointed out.

"Well come on, Jonathan doesn't have much time left!" Eda declared.

The Ninja stood up on the roof of the safehouse, keeping guard. His injuries had been bandaged up as he pulled off his mask, revealing the face of a teenage boy with tyrian purple hair, sapphire blue eyes, and cream skin. He pulled out his cellphone, calling someone. "Yo, Howie."

"Randy? How's the whole biz in New York while I'm not beating your high score."

Randy rolled his eyes. "Swell, I just met another witch. How's covering for me going?"

"Well, I told Teresa that you're at polka camp," Howard replied.

"Polka camp? Seriously?" Randy asked.

"Had to make up something, when are you coming back home?"

Randy looked off into the distance. "Honestly, Howard… I don't know. I just got attacked by two robots. I thought that maybe McFist had sent them, but… I'm not sure. I have this feeling… a feeling that this may be a lot bigger than I thought…"

Inside the safehouse, everyone was hanging out. Clara was sitting along with Masha. Rudo and Dana were talking with Spud, Trixie, and Violet. Rose and Haley kept guard while Nora sat by the couch with Gus.

"So do you guys also have magical powers like Jake?" Dana asked them.

"Nah, me and Trixie still find ways to help him out a lot, and when Violet joined Team Dragon she became a big help in dealing with magical threats on a weekly basis." Spud explained.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Violet responded shyly. "I'm just glad to be in my sister's life again. I was on my own before Jake and Rose found me… but that is a long story and one probably worthy of a TV special."

"You should've been there to see the reunion between the two sisters," Trixie said. "It made me tear up that day."

On the couch, Nora was handed some herbal tea by Sun. "Here, something to help ease tension surrounding your aura."

"Um, thanks Sun," Nora replied, drinking her tea.

"How are you feeling?" Sun asked her.

Nora sighed. "Well, with everyone from Willow to the singing lady at Central Park to dragons, ninjas, and whatever crashed into the shop… it's still a lot to accept."

"Understandable," Sun responded. "Believe me, even I still get surprised occasionally. But you do get used to it eventually. And I did hear that you've met Giselle."

"Yeah, she mentioned she was from another… dimension?" Nora asked.

"It's a… long story…" Sun said while sipping her own tea. "But we have been keeping an eye on her for a while now…"

Masha looked at Clara, who had been silent since they had arrived. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, just… worried for Willow," Clara responded. "Even though she accused my mom of being a witch hunter… which is still completely ridiculous."

"Are you sure about that?" Gus questioned while joining their conversation and narrowing his eyes. "No offense, Clara, but there are a lot of questions about Gatesfield that are still unanswered and they involve your family. I mean, don't you find it a bit odd that your mom has a key card which gave us access to the secret prison where we found Willow?"

"What are you saying, Gordon?" Clara asked as she stood up with a glare.

"I'm saying that your mom had to have known what was going on. She may have even been the one who had ordered Willow to be imprisoned underneath the G.H.S. building? I mean, your family was in charge of Department A fourteen years ago, whatever Department A really is and whatever their true goals are. Why shouldn't your family still be in charge of Department A now? Maybe you don't know your mom as well as you think-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Clara argued.

"Gus, you are not helping!" Masha told him while holding Clara back.

"Hey, whether she likes it or not, her family owns the town and warped it into some kind of Big Brother community!" Gus countered. "They have to be behind this whole thing, even if Clara doesn't want to admit that her parents lied to her!"

"Alright, enough!" Nora stood up, getting in between them. "Look, there is no sense in arguing about this or making accusations! Gus, please cut Clara a break? Okay?" She saw her son shift his eyes, looking down.

Nora sighed before she heard Masha speak. "What do you know about Clara's mom, Ms. Gordon? I mean, do you think she could be a…"

"Well… as long as I've known her, Abigail has always had her… own problems, no offense, Clara," Nora said. "But I'm gonna be honest, I don't really see her going around witch hunting. She helped get me my job as superintendent, but she always kept to herself. Not in a way that made it seem like she was hiding something. Instead, she always seemed… disinterested in everything and detached from reality." She looked at Clara and shook her head. "I did notice that there was something wrong with her, that she needed help. But… I didn't try to help her. And if I had tried, maybe she wouldn't have almost… I'm sorry Clara, I really am."

Clara nodded while looking down. She felt someone grab her hand and squeeze it gently, causing her to look up. To her surprise, it was Masha holding her hand. The girl nodded quietly at Clara, who squeezed back gratefully.

Jake and Willow soon came back. "Yo, we're back."

"How did it go?" Haley asked.

"Well, we now know where to send Willow," Jake responded as Randy came in to join them.

Willow looked over at Clara, who quickly turned away. Rose noticed their tension and she sighed, knowing what to do.

"Alright, we need to talk," Rose spoke up. "Remember when I mentioned the Huntsclan? Well… I was one of them."

Now this surprised the teens and Nora as Willow looked over to Rose. "You… used to hunt magical beings?"

"Yes, and I am not proud of it," Rose explained. "The Huntsclan indoctrinated me from birth, took me away from my family, even put my sister into the foster system and made them forget about us. I was raised into believing their mission until I met Jake. When I learned that he was a dragon, the one that I was tasked with hunting and slaying… my worldview changed. When the Huntsclan tried to use Aztec Skulls to wipe out the magical community, I instead used those Aztec Skulls to destroy the Huntsclan, which would've also included destroying me. But thanks to a wish Jake made with those Skulls, I ended up reunited with my parents and then after a lot of searching, I found my sister Violet. I just thought that you could use a new perspective…."

Clara looked at Rose, then down at her shoes. "I don't believe that my mom would ever be involved with a group like the Huntsclan…"

In the Huntsclan underground base, Jonathan was being held captive and interrogated by the Huntsmaster.

"For the last time, if you value your life, you will tell me everything you know!" he ordered.

"I will tell you nothing!" Jonathan declared.

"Very well," the Huntsmaster said while activating a platform to open up a display of instruments of torture for Jonathan to see. A trap door also opened on the floor and inside a screeching monster was heard.

"A-Alright, I'll tell you!" Jonathan cried out. "In the tenth grade, I filled my teacher's trunk with the three-bean salad! In the seventh grade, I drove our lawnmower over my sister's inflatable pool and blamed it on the rats! In sixth grade, I took the money I made for the less fortunate and spent it at the arcade!"

Eda, Susan, Lao-Shi and Fu Dog, who had snuck in, overheard Jonathan's confession.

The Huntsmasters jumped over to Jonathan. "Tell us everything you know about the dragons!"

"Why put yourself in harm's way just to protect some hideous monsters?" the other demanded.

Jonathan was taken aback and he suddenly remembered his time with Susan from their time at Fillmore High, including one school dance, and the fair… and her visiting the hospital after one break dance gone wrong. He started to remember why he loved her in the first place and that she was still a person that he cared about, not some monster…

He glared at the Huntsmasters. "The only monsters I see here are you!"

Eda smiled, turning to the others. "You know how to pick 'em, Suzy."

"He's so brave!" Susan said happily.

Lao-Shi looked at Jonathan, then back at his daughter. "My daughter, if an ordinary human is destined to be your true love, then I suppose that you could do worse," he said, which made Susan hug him.

"Thanks, daddy," Susan told him.

"Very well, we shall begin," a Huntsmaster said while activating the green buzzsaws, which made Jonathan flinch.

"Yo, Huntsdorks!"

They turned to see Eda standing on top of a box of crates. "You boys think you're bad? Well you ain't nothing!" she declared while drawing a spell circle that shot out balls of light at the Huntsmasters.

She jumped down while spinning her staff before dodging a kick from Jeff.

"You're going down, witch!" the Huntsboy declared.

"Oh hey, Squeaky!" Eda said as she was surrounded by the Huntsclan soldiers and apprentices, including the same Huntsgirl from before. They all drew their weapons against her. She flew up with her staff and sliced through a rope, dropping a crate full of explosives on top of them, causing them to jump down into the water of the submarine way to avoid the explosion. The Huntsgirl dodged while turning to Eda who glared at her. But the Huntsgirl simply screamed and ran away, unable to face the witch.

"Scaredy-cat," Eda scoffed as she looked over to Jonathan. "Hang on, Johnny-Boy!" she said as she went over to him, but she was intercepted by a green rope and was thrown into some crates.

Jonathan looked at the buzzsaws in a panic, but then Lao-Shi showed up in front of the recovering Huntsmasters. "Looking for me?" Lao-Shi asked while turning into his blue dragon form that still had his black thick eyebrows, mustache, and beard, along with his yellow underbelly and light blue fin. He attacked the two masters, grabbing one to throw them down in the pit.

"AAAH!" the master screamed while the sound of him getting mauled was heard.

While the Hunstclan was distracted, Susan and Fu Dog snuck over to where Jonathan was, Fu Dog biting down on a lever to stop the buzzsaws from harming Jonathan. They proceeded to free him.

The remaining Huntsmaster was using his scepter to shoot out green energy blasts towards Lao-Shi, who dodged the attacks. He ended up hitting the ceiling of the base, which starts to crumble.

Jonathan saw some debris falling towards Susan. "Look out, sweet potato!" He break danced to get her out of harm's way, successfully saving her. Once he stood back up, he was hit in the head by another piece of debris, causing him to fall down. Susan and Fu Dog were forced to carry him to safety.

Lao-Shi pushed the Huntsmaster into the water while Eda and Jeff were still fighting each other.

"This is the end for you, witch!" Jeff declared as he used the rope to shock her.

"I don't think so!" Eda responded while using a fire spell at the rope, incinerating it.

"Huh?" Jeff asked in confusion before Eda kicked him, sending him into the same pit that one of the Huntsmasters had fallen into. "AAAH!" Jeff screamed as he was mauled.

"Oof, that's gotta hurt with the clawing and the pinching and the ooh-ie," Fu Dog winced.

"Come on, dudes, let's blow this popsicle stand!" Eda said while grabbing Fu Dog and Susan on her staff, while Lao-Shi carried Jonathan as they got out of the Huntsclan base.

After they left, Jeff was thrown out of the pit by the creature, making him roll over and land in front of the other apprentices.

"Oh, please tell me we caught that on the surveillance cameras?" one bully apprentice asked. "We gotta get somebody to get the tape!"

"Dude, did you hear him?" He was all like, 'this is the end for you, witch.' and he was all, 'No! Help me! It hurts! Ow!'" another mocked Jeff's voice as the trio laughed.

"Dragons… witches, I will slay each and every one of them!" declared Jeff, whose voice had now deepened. "If it takes until the end of time!" he declared while raising his fist to shout his angry yell. His hecklers actually looked up to him in fear.

One day Jeff would become known as the Huntsman and would become one of the greatest threats that the magical community had ever known… but in the present day his story was already concluded.

The same could not be said for the Huntsgirl, who was hiding behind a pile of crates. She was hyperventilating, unable to breathe through her mask. So she took her mask off, revealing the face of a familiar teenage girl. She was in tears.

"I… I just can't…" said the young Abigail Gates. She looked broken, having been unable to face Eda.

Clara was silent for a moment before she continued. "...but I will admit that it's unlikely that she's oblivious to what was really going on in Gatesfield. I do wonder if that had to do something about her suicide attempt?"

This shocked everyone in the room. It was Violet who spoke up. "Why… did she try to do it? Um, if you don't mind telling us…"

"I… I wish I knew," Clara answered while looking down. "I think it was probably because of a combination of different things. Her brother's death definitely played a part in it, I know that for sure. But I… I also think that it could have something to do with a traumatic experience my mom had three decades ago. Something to do with a wild animal…"

"Wild animal… do you mean the Gatesfield Beast?" Masha asked her.

"Yeah," Clara admitted in embarrassment.

"What are you thinking about, Masha?" Rudo asked, recognizing the look on Masha's face.

"Well… I have a theory," Masha said. "I actually don't think that Mrs. Gates is actively helping the people that were keeping Willow prisoner, especially based on what Clara and Nora said about her. But, she is aware of their activities. She has to be. And this is connected to what happened thirty years ago, since back then she did claim that she saw a witch, though the details were always vague, like they were covering something up."

Clara's eyes widened in realization and turned to Willow. "Willow, you somehow knew my mom's name. Is it because she encountered a witch from your world thirty years ago?"

"I… don't know, since I only heard about her from Luz," Willow confessed. "She just told me that she learned she had a witch-hunting godmother. She didn't tell me anything else. And…" She sighed. "I'm sorry for making assumptions about her. I don't know your mom and it was wrong for me to jump to conclusions."

Clara sighed. "It's fine," she told Willow. "Honestly, I probably don't know her or my family as well as I thought I did. I still don't think she is a witch hunter… but she clearly hasn't told me everything. Though maybe this could be my chance to learn more about her, including why she almost… almost killed herself." She looked down. "Maybe after this I will be able to help her."

Jonathan slowly opened his eyes. He was back on the beach. Standing above him were Lao-Shi, Eda, and Susan.

"Yo, Johnny-Boy, you awake?" Eda asked him.

"Marilyn? Mr. Luong?" Jonathan asked as he got up. "What… what happened?"

"A rock hit you on the head after we saved you from those Huntsclan," Susan told him.

"Hunts… clan?" Jonathan asked. "You mean those freakos who were torturing me?"

"Johnathan, I should've told you before," Susan said, deciding to come clean. "Yes, my family are dragons. My dad was once the Chinese Dragon, but it skipped my generation. I didn't tell you before out of fear of how you'd react. And while you didn't take it well at first… you stood up for us in the end and I really appreciate that."

Jonathan looked up at her. "Susan I… I'll admit, I'm still not sure what to think about all of this and I don't know what happens now… but, I do know that I still care about you and, I'm sorry for how I reacted at first."

"And I'm sorry for keeping it a secret from you," Susan said.

"Well, at least I know now instead of like, after we're married and have kids," Jonathan joked, causing them all to laugh.

"Haha, of course… but don't get any ideas just yet," Lao-Shi told Jonathan, his fatherly instincts kicking in.

"Well, looks like everything worked out in the end," Fu Dog told a relieved Eda.

Eda watched Susan and Jonathan looking into a telescope. "Yup, it sure did," she said as she walked out, leaving the couple in peace.

"Susan, look, it's Halley's Comet!" Jonathan said.

"I always thought it was called Haley's Comet," Susan admitted as she checked it out, but then a thought occurred to her. "Haley… I've always liked that name."

As Eda left them alone, Lao-Shi called for her. "Edalyn," he spoke to her and she turned around. "About what you said earlier… you were right," he admitted while looking down. "For years, I wanted what was best for my daughter after we moved here from China. But I have had a hard time trusting humans and I wasn't fair to Jonathan, my own prejudices getting in the way. Though now I really need to explain things to the Dragon Council…"

Eda nodded. "Well, good luck on that. And I do get where you are coming from. Trust is… trust is hard." She looked back over at Jonathan and Susan. "But in the end, I think it is worth it."

Lao-Shi nodded. "I think so too."

Suddenly, the door to the safe house flew open and a voice called out. "Jake! Haley! Oh are you two alright!?" spoke out Jonathan Long, who now as an adult with his brown hair having some gray streaks. He wore glasses, a brown coat with a white collar shirt and green tie, brown pants, and slacks.

"Sun called us to say that the shop was attacked and we wanted to make sure you're alright," said Susan Long, who was now an adult woman with a bob cut, teal earrings and necklace, a purple sweater and cyan jeans with black Mary Jane shoes.

"We're fine, mom and dad!" Haley confirmed as their parents checked up on them.

"Nothing that magic healing ointment couldn't fix," Jake explained. "Also we have guests here, they'll probably have to stay here in the safe house for a while, while I help Willow get back to her home realm."

"Willow?" Susan turned to the witchling who stepped forward.

"Hi, you must be Jake and Haley's parents," Willow told them. "I heard you knew Eda."

"Eda…? Why does that name sound familiar…" Jonathon asked.

"She means Marilyn, Jon," Susan reminded him.

"Oh yeah, she's the reason me and Suzy are together!" Jon revealed.

"Really?" Willow asked as Susan nodded.

"Yeah, it's been years since I've last heard from her, but I could never forget her," Susan confirmed.

"Yeah, we fell out of touch sometime after Jake was born," Jonathan recalled. "Why I remembered she had a skullcap cat with her when she last visited us."

"Sounds like King, who was recently officially adopted by her," Willow explained. "She also adopted a human daughter named Luz, she's around the same age as me and Haley."

"So she is doing well?" Susan asked and Willow nodded. "That's great! And I'm happy that she now has a family of her own."

Clara then pulled Willow aside while Jonathan and Susan talked to their kids. "Hey, can you… tell me more about Luz? It is just that, if things had been different I think we could have been sisters and I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a sister. So… could you tell me what she is like and what she has been up to?"

Willow smiled. "Of course."

Jonathan noticed Susan smiling at her. "What?"

Susan shook her head. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how grateful I am that Eda slipped my letter into your locker. She was right. About me telling you."

Jonathan nodded. "It has been better for all of us," he said as the two held hands.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CAMILA WAS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD?!" Clara exclaimed as she listened to Willow telling her about Luz.

Elsewhere in Manhattan…

"We're home!" Giselle announced.

A man with graying hair looked up to see his wife and daughter coming in. "Hey, how was Central Park?"

"It was wonderful, Robert! We even met a very nice witch!" Giselle told her husband.

"She can make the plants dance, daddy!" Morgan told him. "And we sang along with her!"

"Of course you did," Robert said, not even surprised. Perhaps he once would have been. But not after five years with Giselle. "So is anyone up for Luigi's Pizza?"

Eda had made it back to the Boiling Isles, thinking about how her advice had brought Susan and Jonathan together. She stood in front of a house that had the name 'Whispers' on the front door.

'Alright, you can do this,' Eda thought. 'You can tell them everything about my curse, and they will accept you. Rainestorm's not gonna freak out over it, right?'

She thought of bailing out, but she stopped herself from running. She didn't want to come out here for nothing. Turning around, she walked back to knock on the door.

Opening it was Raine's mother, a light-skinned brown woman with mint-green hair, blue eyes, rectangular framed glasses, and some pigment on her skin. She wore a red tunic and blue gown with a Healing Sigil on her wrist. "Eda? I haven't seen you around for some time," she said, both kindly and in a surprised tone.

"Hey, Mrs. Whispers…" Eda waved to the woman nervously.

"Oh, Raine is home right now, I'll get them for you," she said as she turned to call for Raine. "Raine! Eda is here to see you!" When she turned back, she saw that Eda was gone. "Eda…?"

"And when I tried to follow my own advice, I chickened out," Eda said while finishing up her story. "I guess in the end, I couldn't muster up the courage to tell you about my curse right then and there. And you know how that turned out. At least Suzy and Jon got together and they have two kids now. Last I heard, their son is now a guardian for the Magic Community. Lao-Shi says it's a big thing."

"Sounds like we could use one of those," Raine said with a sigh. "But hey, even if you weren't able to tell me then… you certainly aren't afraid to open up to me now. And I really appreciate that you are willing to tell me these stories about your past."

Eda nodded. "Yeah, well honestly this just reminded me that I really need to go see Susan and her family again after we finish building a new portal. A reunion is long, long overdue." She sighed as well. "But thanks for listening, Rainestorm. It did help me take my mind off things."

Then the two sat beside each other, feeling closer together than before.

Alright, now that we've settled in New York, let's share in the author's notes:

Generalissimo is based off of Stan Lee, who is an OC by RJWritingInk who recommend using him as a cameo for this chapter in honor of what could have been, Stan Lee's 100th Birthday.

Thank you Shuffollower for the suggestion of Violet in the chapter. Violet is Rose's long-lost sister who never showed up for the rest of season 2 for some reason. So we throw in an explanation that she was in the foster-system. It really would make a special episode in some way… hmm…

"Once Upon a Time in New York City" by Huey Lewis is used for Giselle's musical number. The song originated from Oliver and Company. We look for a song about New York, and we consider it fitting.

So firstly, let's talk about the flashbacks in this universe. Me and Buck have decided to adapt the Jake Long episode "Hero of the Hourglass", ironically that's two chapters about time travel this week. The reason why we adapted it is because we both agreed that Jonathon not knowing the family's dragon secret is the most awful part of the show. It's pretty awful that Susan never told her husband about her secret for years, especially after marriage and have kids, and it literally gets in the way of Jake's duties. "Hero of the Hourglass" actually supports the idea of Jonathon should know, but instead they double down on keeping him in the dark.

I've read that the creators of American Dragon did this due to trying to make the whole Jake getting grounded gag funny, which honestly it isn't funny, it's much more frustrating. Danny Phantom and even Jake Long's CN counterpart Juniper Lee does this better, where having both parents not knowing their kid is out there fighting the forces of evil just works better. At least in DP, Danny Fenton has a good excuse to not tell his parents who are unhinged ghost hunters, and it made sense to why he's scared in telling them. It doesn't make sense in to why doesn't Jon should know already that his wife's side of the family are dragons.

So we've decided that in Jake's place in the events of the episode, we have Eda who after meeting the Luongs. Like Willow, Eda had also concludes the same thing when she learned about the Magic Community.

We also included Randy from Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja in the chapter, to follow up the explanation about why he's meeting up with Jake Long in New York after an encounter with Jenny Porter, as a reminder to the readers that she's in the human realm and that she was last seen in Norrisville.

The inclusion of Giselle, Morgan and Robert from Enchanted has made it into the final draft after some consideration. And we've seen it's sequel, Disenchanted, which is really fun to watch.

Now for the reviews:

Wolf of howl street: Yes.

JTK: Even Odalia knew that it would have dire consequences in doing so.

Crosshot: Funny enough, it was a choice between the Harold or Trent expies, but we finally settled with the Harold expy. And yes, Bindell is an expy of Jasmine.

Ultimate-drax: Hope you like this one…

OMAC001: Only partially. Philip was already believing in destiny through his visions, and after Luz beats him up for telling her about it, he never told about his visions again to anyone. But there's a lot more for his reasons in how he became the way he is.

Matteso585: 1) Nope, it was Luz. 2) Now you see. 3) Possibly, 4) Probably not Sunday.

61394: It was more of a last-minute in picking the new Head of the Bard Coven. Also you would not believe how actually legal it is for foster kids to be at risk into being in juvenile hall detention centers.

Shuffollower: The Collector is still somewhere in the Titan's Skull.

Deadpoollover77: You'll see.

Guest: No.

Franco Almiron: This chapter should answer for ya.

AM-PM: Probably not.

The OC contest is coming along the way, as for the next chapter, will be the story's 80th chapter...