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 82: Shaping Up or Nothing

Hunter laid in his bed, fast asleep. He felt Flapjack tapping his head, causing him to stir. It was then he heard a knock on the door.

"I'm up!" Hunter said as he rose up and looked around the room. "Oh… right." He remembered where he was. Not in his room in the Emperor's Castle. Instead, he was in the home of Lilith's parents.

"Hunter, are you alright?" Gwen's voice asked from the hall.

"Y-Yeah, I am!" Hunter responded as he headed to the door and opened it. "Um, is there a mission you wish for me to do?"

"Mission? I was just wondering if you'd be up for some breakfast," Gwen responded. "Lilith's downstairs getting ready for work, but Dell has whipped up something for everyone."

"Oh… okay, I guess I am kinda hungry," Hunter said while Flapjack chirped.

Heading to the table, Hunter saw Lilith who appeared to have dyed her hair back to its original red, though some white and black streaks still remained. With her was Dell who passed her some pancakes.

"Here you go, Lily," he said, the pancakes appearing to not be perfectly shaped. "By the way, love what you did to your hair."

"Thanks, Dad," Lilith responded, smiling. "And these pancakes, they smell wonderful."

Dell noticed Hunter was up. "Ah, good to see you, Hunter. Here for breakfast?"

"Y-Yes, sir," Hunter replied as he went to the table, sitting next to Lilith. Dell handed him some pancakes. Once he began eating, he turned to Lilith. "So um… you've changed your hair."

"Well, it was something that I felt needed. to be done," Lilith replied. "It was time for a change."

"Oh, I remember that you used to have your hair poof up at the end," Gwen recalled fondly. "Edalyn would lay on your hair like a pillow."

Dell chuckled. "We used to call her a little red cotton ball."

"Mom… Dad…" Lilith flustered in embarrassment.

Hunter continued to eat as everyone watched the crystal ball for the news.

"Yesterday the Tarot Guild was dismantled thanks to Eda the Owl Lady, who is responsible for slaying the Tarot Guild's ringleader, Grimhammer the Second. Emperor Belos had this to say."

Belos appeared on the crystal ball, making Hunter look away, as if he was afraid Belos would be able to see him. "This is as the Titan himself has foreseen it. What happened yesterday was the reason why the Titan has asked me to pardon Eda, so that she could find his missing children and dismantle the criminal organization that has undermined his will. But now the faithful who have been rewarded…"

"Eda's not gonna like this," Lilith said while watching the news.

"Can you believe this?!" Eda pointed to the crystal ball while with Raine. "That jackass is now taking credit to make everyone believe that everything's part of his grand plan! He is using me in his propaganda!"

"I would expect no less from him," Raine replied. "Belos will always find a way to twist something to his favor."

"Ugh, I am so going to egg his castle for this," Eda declared. "No, that would be too risky…"

"Or, you can just play it safe," Raine suggested. "Besides, couldn't there still be someone within the Emperor's Coven who was working with the Tarot Guild?"

"You're right," Eda said, stroking her chin. "I wonder how much it will blow in his face when Belos learns that he has a snake within his coven… oh well, he should be able to figure that out on his own. He is the 'all-seeing' Emperor."

Raine considered this. "If there is a snake within the Emperor's Coven, how would they have managed to avoid being discovered by Belos? He found ways to draw me out and have me sell out the BATTs. That means… this person may have found a blind spot."

Eda thought about this. "Now there's a frightening idea…"

After breakfast, Lilith prepared to leave for her job. But before she left, she handed Hunter something.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at the blue gemstone she handed him.

"A concealment stone," Lilith answered. "In case of emergencies, use this to disguise yourself if you don't wish to be recognized."

"Thank you," Hunter replied while looking at the stone. "So… what now?"

"My parents will take care of you," Lilith suggested. "I will see you later, but just… relax for now, okay? Take it easy."

"I… think I will," Hunter said as he saw her off.

Once Lilith was out of the house, she had Edgar turn into a staff. She heard rustling in the bushes, causing her to turn and become defensive. Popping out of a bush was a squirrel, which climbed up a tree.

She sighed. "Getting too paranoid for my own good," she said to herself before she flew away on her staff.

The squirrel watched her leave, the buses rustling once again after she was gone, for the squirrel was not the only thing watching her…

At the Media Coven, Felicity Fox was pacing back and forth in her office.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Felicity cursed under her teeth. "The biggest story in the Boiling Isles and I got nothing to show for it!"

"Hey, Felicity?"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, TODD!?" Felicity barked at the red biped fox demon wearing glasses, a blue suit and pants, holding coffee.

"Um… I got you the cappuccino you wanted…" he said nervously.

"Shut up about the cappuccino!" She swatted the drink at him.

"AAH! It's still hot!" he cried while summoning napkins to clean himself.

Felicity ignored his cries. "I'm not in a good mood for this. The other anchors and reporters are telling the story and selling it like hot cakes! I can't be left out on this, I need something to make sure that I stay on top!" She looked through her scroll at what was trending on social media. "There's gotta be something…"

"I need to go see a Healer," Todd said as he attempted to walk out.

"Should I interview that Row girl or John De Plume… wait, I know!" She found what she was looking for, Eda's Penstagram account, as she grabbed Todd and made him look. "I'll get an exclusive interview with the Owl Lady…"

"Um… that's cool and all, but can I go now? I'm starting to feel the scalds," Todd said while Felicity pushed him aside.

"Yeah, yeah, go eat a bagel or something. Get me one as well!" Felicity told him as Todd finally managed to escape.

At the Healing Coven, Swan Harwitch was being interrogated by Head Witch Cutburn.

"I'm telling you that I don't know what happened to Eberwolf," Swan said. "I was busy with my usuals, Mr. Scarab and Bump."

"And you weren't anywhere near Eberwolf's room?" Cutburn asked.

"No, Head Witch. I wasn't assigned to their room," Swan said. "When I heard the news, I was just as much of a shock as anyone else. Can I please go back to check up on my patients?"

"Just one more question," Cutburn said, leaning towards Swan. "Have you ever been suspicious of any of the staff here? Or have you seen or heard anything suspicious?"

"No," Swan answered. "The only one I am suspicious of is Frank, mainly because I am pretty sure he's been taking our lunches when we're not looking."

Cutburn sighed. "That'll be all Dr. Harwitch."

Swan exited the office, looking at the line of doctors and nurses waiting outside. As she passed them by, she spoke to a certain nurse. "Good luck, Frank," she said, leaving the nurse confused.

She made her way to Boscha's room. "I'm back!" she announced, seeing Boscha on her bed with a distant look in her eyes. "How are you feeling, Boscha?" Swan asked her, but Boscha didn't respond. Hogarth was still in Boscha's lap, but Boscha didn't even seem to notice. Swan sighed. "I know that you're still adjusting, since your paralysis has only just worn off, but I do have some questions about how you were paralyzed and who did this to you."

Boscha looked at her hands as she found her voice. "I… I don't know. I honestly had no idea who attacked me. I-It just happened so fast, that I wasn't able to get a good look at my attacker. I didn't know how they paralyzed me either. I just… suddenly froze up!" Tears ran from her eyes as Swan tried to calm her down. "W-What if they come back to do it again!?"

"Hey, it's alright, Boscha, you're safe here," Swan assured her and Boscha ended up hugging her, surprising the Healer woman as she heard the Hieron girl cry onto her shoulders. "There, there." she said, patting on her back. "Is there anything you wish for me to do right now?"

"I… I want to see my mom right now…" Boscha sniffed after letting go of Swan.

"I'll give Nicole a call-"

"I don't want to see Nicole!" she clarified. "I want to see Athena." This causes Swan to pause, looking at Boscha with a worried and sadden look. Boscha noticed this. "What… why are you looking like this?"

Swan sighed sadly. "Boscha… there's something you should know..."

Meanwhile, at Hexside, the hallway was cleared, the lights were dimmed. Marching down and chanting an indescribable language were the Hall Monitors, escorting two students down to a hooded man in front of them. Those students were Luz Clawthorne and Mattholomule Storms, and unhooding himself in front of them… was Principal Faust.

"Don't you think this whole thing's a little excessive?" Luz asked while Matt looked nervous. "I mean, outside of the dim lights that needs fixing-"

"Luz Clawthorne, and Mattholomule Storms," Faust spoke to them while holding a book "You two are charged with the offense of skipping school!"

"Hey man, if you have a problem with us for trying to find Bo, that's your issue. We can't just sit around and wait for the law to find her, right Matt?" Luz asked Matt.

"Do I get one phone call?" Matt asked nervously.

"For the violation of the school rules, you two shall be sentenced to Detention!" Faust declared while turning to Luz. "Let's see how you can escape from Detention now, Clawthorne."

"Trouble, trouble…" the Hall Monitors used their hooks to drag Luz and Matt to the Detention Hall.

Luz noticed the students watching from their classrooms and she raised her fist up. "Fight the power!" she declared while she and Matt were dragged in front of the Detention Hall.

"Any last words?" Faust asked her.

"Why would you ask that? We're not going to be dead," Luz questioned.

"I don't wanna die!" Matt cried out.

It was then the Detention Hall opened its jaws as Luz and Matt were pushed inside. "AAAAAH!" Matt cried out as he was grabbed by Luz's talons, activating her cambion form as her wings helped her slow their descent down.

"You okay?" she asked while they landed on the floor.

"I-It's no big," Matt replied while shivering as he got up. "Besides, it's not my first time being sent to Detention. I got in trouble a lot back in Glandus, and I know I can find my way out… of course, this place is less of a dungeon…"

They looked around and saw that all of the students here were just… floating up in the air, with tendrils wrapped around their legs like balloon strings. Their eyes were glowing as they muttered to themselves. "I promise to be a good student…"

"Wow, this looks more terrifying than the last Detention." Luz commented, a little creeped out. She then saw a tendril slithering towards her. "Oh no! Not going through that kind of shit!" she shouted while blasting a fireball at the tendril, causing it to retract. "Alright, we need to- Matt?" She saw that Mattholomule had already been caught and was floating up in the air. "Matt!"

"I promise to be a good student…" Mattholomule said while in a trance, his eyes glowing.

"Hang on, Matt!" Luz shouted while grabbing the tendril, setting it aflame. The tendril screeched as it let Matt go while Luz caught him. "You alright, bud?"

"Y-Yeah," Matt replied, while rubbing his own head. "Just… it put me into this trance…"

"Yeah, that's what Detention does to you," Luz responded while blasting another fireball. "This place doesn't really help students and for Titan's sake, this is why we have counseling!" She drew up a plant glyph, creating a large bush to cover for them and to keep the tendrils from reaching out to them.

"So what are we going to do?" Matt asked while summoning pillars to cover more ground. "I mean, do we stay here…"

"Nah, fuck school," Luz said. "We need to find a way out. Don't know how to destroy this thing's innards, so there has to be a way out."

"There's only two ways out of here," Matt suggested with a gulp.

"What do you mean…" Luz turned to him and saw Matt grimacing. "Oh… shit."

"Yeah…" Matt responded, looking down.

"… Once we're out, we'll never, ever speak of this again," Luz told him.

"You don't have to tell me twice," he agreed.

And so, the two had to find a way to escape Detention through unmentionable means. In order to save your sanity, we won't go into detail on how they exited Detention. But let's just say, thank Titan the lunch it had today was not good…

The two managed to step out a drainage pipe and fall into the non-scalding lake of Lake Lacuda. Luz took a deep breath of clean, fresh air. They had just climbed through five-hundred yards of pipe from the school. That's about five grudgeby fields.

Luz rushed out of the water, taking off her messy poncho. "YEAH! We did it!" she declared while Matt crawled out behind her. "Man, who knew that getting out of Detention led us here to Lake Lacuda? How oddly convenient is that?"

"I think I need a sanitary shower," Matt replied while looking at the sun. "The sun… so bright."

"Yup, good old Demon Realm sun," Luz replied as she and Matt walked out of the lake and onto the shore. "They should really do better cleaning up this place," she commented, looking around at the trash.

"So now what?" Matt asked her.

"Like I said before, fuck school. I really need to focus on building a portal door to get to Amity, Willow, and Gus anyway," Luz decided before getting an idea and turning to Matt. "Do you wanna help?"

Matt was surprised by this. "You want my help?"

"Yeah, man. With your illusions and construction magic, I think you could be a huge help," Luz said with her hand up. "Whadda say? Want to bring our friends back?"

Matt looked at her hand and smiled, grasping her hand and shaking it. "You don't need to beg me twice."

"Great!" Luz replied. "Now let's build that portal door!"

At St. Epiderm, Donna and her friends were now in detention… again.

"You guys ever wonder if this could affect our permanent record?" Beocrow asked while leaning in his chair.

"I've already got a mouthful from one of my dads," Tyrone states, looking upset. "He says I'm not allowed to cook for the week…"

"How is that punishment?" Veronica asked him.

"Have you tasted my dad's cooking? He can't cook to save his own life!" Tyrone commented.

"I remembered tasting your dad's cooking," Beocrow replied. "Almost saw the light… need more of that."

Veronica rolled her eyes while looking at Tina with Donna. "So are you making any progress?" she asked.

Tina was helping Donna look into her memories again. "What did he say to you?"

"He… called me a snack," Donna responded. "I… don't recall meeting him before, but… it sounded familiar to me."

"The mind sometimes hides and suppresses certain memories due to trauma," Tina said as she let go of Donna. "Remembering anything?"

Donna sighed. "No, I… only hear his voice… followed by the red eyes and a flash of teeth." Tears began to fall from her eyes, which her friends noticed.

"Donna… you're crying," Tyrone pointed out, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," she said while wiping her tears. "It's just… I don't know why but… looking into my memories just makes me sad. Maybe we should change topics." She took a moment to calm herself down. "Alright, so about what's next for us. I was thinking we should look into that Grim Goblin case."

"What do we know about this guy?" Tyrone asked.

"Well, his first appearance was when he attacked during the Coven Day Parade," Veronica explained. "Wish we could've been there, but I guess the Golden Guard saved us the trouble."

"Don't remind me," Beocrow said, rolling his eyes. "Lindsay couldn't stop talking non-stop about him. Did you know what she painted in art class? The Golden Guard riding on a unicorn. She even named one of the newborn griffins 'Goldy'."

"So do we ask the Golden Guard for an alliance?" Tina asked.

"Probably not," Donna said. "We'll just draw too much attention. Last thing we need is to be questioned by the Emperor's Coven. First rule of being a superhero: we're technically vigilantes."

"True, but sometimes heroes need to team up with another team," Beocrow said while leaning forward. "My cousin managed to get the Shadowy Secret Expozers to meet up with us after school. They want to solve this case before any of the other mystery teams do."

"Excellent," Donna said while Beck entered the detention room, causing the five to quickly summon their books and open them.

"I'm back, just got off a crow call and I have some good news!" Beck said as she got to her desk. "My cousin's paralysis has worn off, she's going to be making a full recovery!"

"Really? That's great news, Professor Saltstar!" Donna said.

At lunch, Lindsay had gotten her food and was going over to sit with her friends. As she walked over, she went over a wet floor, causing her to slip and throw her tray up.

"AHH!" Lindsay shouted as she was about to fall, before being caught by Cross.

"Are you alright, Lindsay?" Cross asked as his hand grabbed her tray and used it to catch her food.

"Um… yeah," Lindsay replied while looking at her tray. "Wow… nice reflexes."

"Thanks, I have been taking that self-defense class. Not that I don't know how to protect myself, but it's never bad to learn a new skill," Cross replied while helping Lindsay up.

Lindsay just stared into his eyes. "I uh… didn't know how much amber is in your eyes… I mean, they must've always have," she said nervously. "Um… thanks for saving me."

"It's no problem, I was just nearby," Cross said. "I heard what happened at the Coven Day parade, glad that the Golden Guard helped you out. Were you okay then?"

"Y-Yeah," Lindsay replied while flustered. "I'm fine, nothing broken."

"Well, see you around," Cross said as he walked back to his table, Lindsay looking at him from afar.

"Lindsay, are you alright?" Sarah asked as she along with Minerva and Kyle walked up to her.

"I'm fine, thanks to Cross," Lindsay replied. "Come to think of it though, I wonder where he was during the parade…"

"I heard that he doesn't like parades much," Kyle said with a shrug.

Sarah noticed how Lindsay was looking at Cross and she smiled. "You know, next to Beel, Drakescale's being eyed by the Emperor's Coven the most."

This surprised Lindsay. "Really?"

"Yeah, Danny once offered him a spot on the student council but he refused, so Beel took his place," Minerva explained.

"And the Emperor is apparently very interested in him," Sarah added while Lindsay looked at Cross.

'If the Emperor's Coven wishes to recruit him, but he wasn't at the parade at the time…' Lindsay thought while her eyes widened in wonder. 'Could it be…?' she thought, while thinking how the Golden Guard and Cross had both been there to rescue her in time. This made the cyclops girl wonder if those two were one in the same…

At the Supernatural Museum of History, Lilith was seen doing some research.

She looked through some old articles along with records from the Deadwardian Era. She found some old photos from before the time of the Coven system, but some were either worn out or censored.

"Nothing here," she said while she moved to the family archives, which were files stored away in cabinets.

"Clarice, Clawdeen…" she listed off while finding a specific file. "Clawthorne… bingo." She opened it up to see the old Clawthorne family tree.

She looked at it and went down to the Clawthornes of the Deadwardian Era. So far, no mentions of a Philip nor a William Clawthorne. Just Marilyn Clawthorne being the only surviving child of Damuel and Jocelyn Clawthorne.

Lilith sighed, this was a dead end. She was then called by a fellow employee. "Hey Lilith, can you help with the display of the Selkedomis?"

"I'm coming," Lilith said, getting up.

At the Selkedomis display, she helped move the statue of the Selkedomis to the 'Sea Beasts' exhibit which showed a variety of beasts from the Boiling Seas.

"Man, you know this reminds me of that one mission where the Emperor wanted us to find the Selkedomis," one scout said while he and his partner watched. "But for some reason, it never showed."

"Maybe someone scared it off," his partner replied before spotting someone. "Oh my… Jim, isn't that Li-"

"Quiet, Darryl, let's just go," Jim told his partner while escorting him out. "Don't want those sensitivity training classes to be in vain if you bother her, do you?"

"No…" Darryl said while walking along with his partner.

After helping out with the Sea Beast exhibit, Lilith helped out some of the museum guests.

"You can find the Spectral Exhibit down to your left next to the Fauna Exhibit," Lilith instructed Mr. Regal.

"Thanks, now I can complete my museum stamps and sticker book," Mr. Regal said while heading to the exhibit.

"Can you show me where the Premystic Era Beasts display would be?" asked one citizen.

"Upstairs," Lilith points up while turning to Tiny Nose. "What exhibit are you looking for?"

"Actually, I'm looking for the exit," Tiny Nose said while holding a big bag.

"Stop her! She didn't pay at the gift shop!" a security guard shouted.

"You'll never take me alive!" Tiny Nose ran off while the security guards chased after her.

Lilith sighed before she heard someone else. "Excuse me, are you Lilith Clawthorne?" asked a person behind her. She turned to see a blue-haired witch teen in a Hexside uniform with Healing Track sleeves.

"Yes… shouldn't you be in school?" Lilith questioned while the boy chuckled.

"I should be, if I was a student," the boy said as he revealed his true eyes to Lilith.

She realized who the boy was. "Tres…"

"Quiet, we need to talk privately," Tres told her while Lilith looked around and led him to an empty hallway.

"What are you doing here? I thought by now you would be far away from Belos's reach," Lilith told him.

"I couldn't leave… because Megan, aka Number One, is still alive," Tres revealed, which surprised Lilith.

"She… she is?" Lilith asked him.

"Yes, she's currently imprisoned in Hieron Labs, where they're torturing her info on the other Basilisks," he explained. "I'm gonna need your help in rescuing her."

"You… want my help?" Lilith asked him. "I mean, I do owe you both and I want to help her. But… you hate me, Tres. Why would you ask me?"

"Because you owe me," Tres told her, "Don't get me wrong, I could never forgive you for what you've done. But… you probably know that place better than I do, considering you have been there before. And you will help me, especially if you don't want the E.C.'s know about your house guest…"

Lilith's eyes widened. "You wouldn't…"

"Help me and I won't tell them you're harboring him," Tres told her.

Lilith shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Very well, but you don't need to resort to blackmail. I want to help."

"Then we have an understanding," Tres told her with a nod.

Some time ago…

An alchemist and a scout were in front of Basilisk Number One's cell.

"Change, Number One," the alchemist ordered as the scout shocked her with a stun baton. She was forced to change into the form of the witch whose photo she was shown. "Now change into this," the alchemist ordered again, forcing her to change into a different person.

"I think we've seen enough," the alchemist said while checking on his clipboard. "Now for Number Five…"

The scout nodded as he and the alchemist left Number One in her cell. However, a photo fell from the scout's cloak.

Number One noticed the dropped photo near her cell and reached between the bars of her cell to pick it up. Looking closely, she saw that it was the photo of a young witch girl with amber eyes, tan skin, and shoulder-length red hair. It was then the red Basilisk started to change shape to appear as the young witch girl like in the photo.

It was then the scout came back, realizing he dropped his photo. "Hey, who said that you-" He paused as he looked at Number One, who gasped and backed away in a panic. However, she was still in the form of the witch girl from the photo. "N-No…" the scout gasped as well, backing away as he dropped his stun baton.

A moment of tense silence passed between them. Number One prepared herself for the worst, but was surprised when the scout removed his mask. They both stared at each other and Number One looked into his eyes, which were full of grief and sorrow. As if he's seen a ghost…

He managed to whisper under his breath. "Megan…"

The school day was ending and while on her way out Donna spotted Cross Drakescale talking to Teri Oscorne. She smiled as she walked up to the two.

"Hey Cross, Teri," Donna waved to the two boys who turned to her. "Had a good school day?"

"It was alright," Cross said with a shrug.

"Whatever," Teri said in a monotone voice.

"Okay, so I've been thinking and I want to ask if you guys would be interested in joining a little after-school club that I am in with my friends," she suggested.

"Yeah, I, um, gonna have to turn you down on that," Cross told her. "I have plans."

"Me too, and in all honesty, Donna, your friends are trouble-makers," Teri admitted.

"Teri," Cross scolded his friend as he turned back to Donna. "It's not like that, Donna."

"Well, it is what my dad says," Teri continued. "He said that you've put yourself in the wrong crowd and I don't think he'd appreciate it if I joined a gang."

"I'm not part of any gang, Teri, really," Donna reassured him. "So what if I get a few detentions? Everyone gets a few detentions, right?"

"Come on, man, let's just go," Teri said to Cross as they started to walk away from her.

"Sorry, Donna," Cross said as he followed Teri.

Donna sighed. "Well that was a bust," she said to herself.

"Donna!" someone shouted, making the girl grimace as she heard Danny Dilburn, who marched over to her. "We need to talk about your attendance issues."

"Danny, I got it handled," Donna told her.

"Well, then get it handled, because this is not acceptable. Especially since you're a member of the Student Council," Danny told her. "Donna, you're the top student in Healing, and I don't want to see you heading down this road… are you feeling alright? Is there trouble going at home or are you going through some stuff?"

"I'm fine, Danny, really," she assured him while trying to walk away.

"You're not going back there, are you?" Danny said, making Donna pause. "I know I shouldn't have brought it up, but Veronica and Sarah vouched for you and you've been doing good for the past few semesters… why are you wasting it away now? So tell me, are you going back to that again?"

She turned to Danny with a glare. "Don't talk to me as if you're my therapist,"

"I'm talking to you as your friend," Danny told her before sighing. "And I have been talking with Roxy about being a hall monitor to make sure no one tries to skip out again."

"What?" Donna turned to him. "Are you serious?"

"Donna, I'm trying to help you," Danny told her. "I can't tolerate rule-breakers, but I also can't let a friend, especially you, just throw away their future. As president, it is my job to make sure all students represent the best of St. Epiderm, especially with the Emperor's Coven coming over soon."

"So that's what this is really about? You don't want St. Epiderm to fall from grace once the Emperor's Coven comes over and sees it has some unruly students?" Donna narrowed her eyes, startling Danny. "You care more about how you look to the Emperor's Coven than you do about actually helping your classmates!"

Danny was taken aback by her outburst as a crow flew towards Donna.

"Donna? Donna!" the crow cawed at her. "It's me, Felicia!"

"Felicia?" Donna was surprised to hear from an old friend as she grabbed the crow. "Hey, how have you been?"

"Doing good, now listen," Felicia spoke to her through the crowd. "I want to talk to you about your, um… extracurricular activities."

Donna's smile fell as she turned to Danny. "I gotta take this," she told him as she walked away.

"Donna, wait-!" Danny tried to reach out to her, but then felt his stomach hurting. "No, not now…" He winced and rushed in the opposite direction while grabbing something from his pocket…

Donna continued her talk to Felicia. "I'm really glad you called when you did, I just had a run in with the president."

"Dilburn, am I right?" Felicia asked as the two laughed. "Back to business, when you saved me during the school war, I recognized you and Tina. I never got to thank you, by the way."

"It's no problem, really," Donna replied. "Just doing what we felt was the right thing."

"Well, I still appreciate it. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me. However, after what happened yesterday at the Scal-Mart, I thought I would ask about getting an exclusive interview with you and your friends, to show the Boiling Isles who these mystery masked witches are."

"Ooh, sorry, Felicia, but we don't do interviews," Donna told her. "We're not doing it for fame, just that we do it because it's the right thing."

"Oh come on, help a fellow vixen out," Felicia begged Donna. "Please, it's just… I need to prove myself to my mom and, well, you could use the positive publicity. Show the Isles what you stand for, you know? I mean, the Owl Lady's getting the hero treatment, why not you guys?"

Donna thought about it for a moment before she gave Felicia a response. "I'll think about it."

"Things have been tough without Eve around."

Korn and the Cerberus Sisters were out at the Newt Burger hanging out with some old friends. "The whole team's really demoralized right now," Korn continued while drinking his shake. "Like, we haven't been able to solve a single mystery to solve with Eve gone, and our rivals have been snatching up cases from us."

"Oh, you poor things," said the soothing voice of a pale skinned vampire girl with dark long hair, red eyes and black lips with fangs sticking out. She wore a long black dress with a gray belt buckle with black boots. "We are so sorry to hear this."

"You said it, Drusilla" replied a tall witch girl with stitches all over her, a muscular build, a pure black eye with a yellow iris, and a large bolt in place of her left eye. She had spiky brown hair, a green tank top, baggy blue pants, and sandals. "It sounds like without Eve, your team is incomplete. Like you are missing a key component."

"That's pretty accurate, Helga," Blondie confirmed. "Our investigation into Eve's disappearances has also been taking up a lot of our time."

"So far, it hasn't gone anywhere!" Patty exclaimed while eating another newt burger. "We even asked Barcus and his oracle classmates for help, but nothing!"

"Grr-owl-raw!" snarled an orange furred demon girl with yellow eyes, fangs, and a red jacket with a blue shirt, brown shorts. She appeared to only speak through growling noises.

"Yes, we tried the Beast-Keepers too, Bela," Patti said while sadly eating her fries.

"But since we have had no luck in finding Eve, there is another case we are trying to figure out," Korn explained. "Ever since that Grim Goblin popped up, every team of teenage mystery solvers has been trying to be the first to learn who he really is."

"The Grim Goblin?" asked a ghost girl with teal long hair, gray eyes, and pale-blue skin. She wore a one-strap blue top and blue pants, with rave-style skull heel boots and a keyboard guitar on her back. "Isn't he some kind of myth?"

"We thought so too, Ester. According to Sioux's research, the Grim Goblin is supposed to be an old witch's tale," Blondie explained. "An embodiment of vengeance and evil. He used his flying gargoyle to reap the souls of goblins… at least, that's what the legend told."

"Some say he was the spirit of a vengeful goblin that died while mining for Titan's Blood," Cyndi added.

"This guy does sound like bad news," said a mummy girl with a blue bobcut, blue eyes, and a blue dress with yellow trims, while her whole body's covered in bandages.

"No kidding, Brenda," Helga agreed. "So what's your guy's game plan over this Grim Goblin, without Eve?"

"Well, we've decided to team up with a group of mystery masked witches that call themselves the League Of Witches That Helps," Cyndi explained. "And we've come to the logical conclusion that a substitute is needed. It's not ideal, but it's only temporary until Eve is found."

"None of us like replacing Eve, even if it is just for now," Blondie clarified.

"You just gotta do what you got to do," Drusilla said, nodding. "I have heard of these mystery masked witches before, they got style."

"Yeah! And they're leader's pretty flashy," Ester added.

"So what's your sub like?" Helga asked.

"Well, she's no Eve but she does share the same track as Sioux," Blondie explained. "She's also been going through something similar to us, but she agreed to help us fill in for Eve."

Bela snarled while Helga translated. "Yeah, Bela, I do hope that Eve will show up soon."

"Yeah," Korn said. "But you know, this is nice, meeting up here just like old times."

"Not quite like old times, since Gashley isn't here," Drusilla explained. "She unfortunately couldn't make it because she is still working at that bodega after school…" She paused for a moment, looking nostalgic. "We also aren't at Merlin Meadows now, though we still can't forget that it was thanks to your coaching that we became the best Flyer Derby team of the year."

"Yeah, we sure showed St. Epiderm back then," Ester said.

"So how are you ghouls doing?" Korn asked.

"Well I've been mostly spending time with the folks mostly at the neck," Drusilla explained. "An old family friend was lost, but she left a lot to the vampire community." She sighed. "Rest in peace, Lady Clawdea…"

"I've been still in contact with my… creator," Helga said, hesitating slightly. "She's been doing fine, even if she's been busy. But you should see the new patio I'm hanging at."

"Can't wait to see that," Cyndi said, nodding.

"Oh, you guys should definitely listen to my solo demo," Ester floated up while holding her record. "I've been doing some mixing on the tracks, with my keys added in the mix."

"We'll do that," Korn replied while Bela just snarled.

"Bela, it's okay," Drusilla said, patting her friend's head. "Sorry, it's just that her pibling recently went missing from the Healing Coven."

"What? How's your family dealing?" Korn asked, concerned. "I didn't realize that you were in the same boat as us and the rest of the SSE…"

Bela snarled while Ester translated. "They're just as worried for them and hope that Eber is found soon."

Patty looked over at Brenda, who had been staying quiet. "Hey Brenda, you alright?"

"Oh, it's fine," Brenda responded. "Just that… I've been thinking of my older sister lately…"

"You have?" Drusilla asked in surprise.

Brenda nodded. "I know that she's still locked away, but I can't help but think… what if she gets out somehow? I did hear that the teachers at Glandus were former coven members that were kicked out for a variety of reasons, but somehow they found a job at Glandus. What if somehow Bangles escapes?"

"Hey, hey it's alright, Brenda," Ester assured her. "Bangles is not going to hurt you or anyone else."

"Yeah, there's no way she'll be released from the Conformatorium anytime soon," Drusilla told her.

"Yeah, it's not like they're releasing dangerous witches like her or Emily Tricks…" Cyndi added.

"I did hear that the last time she attacked that Amity girl at a party," Brenda recalled. "And now she is missing too. Even after today, there are still missing witches…"

"And they will be found," Korn said, trying to sound optimistic. "I mean, they have to be out there somewhere, right? We just have to look in the right place…"

At the Saltstar Estate, Cat was knocking on the door with its knocker. She was with Bo, Skara, and Amelia. Opening the door was Simon.

"Hey, glad to see you guys here," Simon said.

"We hear about Boscha!" Cat replied. "Where is she?"

"She's in the guest bedroom," Simon said as he let the girls in. "Your mom was kind enough to drop her off here."

"Has Boscha said anything?" Skara asked him.

"Well… she's mostly unresponsive," Simon said with a concerned look. "She has barely said a word since getting here."

Inside the guest room where Boscha was staying, she was staring blankly at the wall while sitting on her bed, Hogarth laying next to her. The news of Athena's arrest along with Tom's and the house being burned down was still fresh in her mind.

"Boscha?" Simon said as he came in. "Some people are here to see you."

Cat, Skara, Bo and Amelia entered the guest room, Cat waving to her. "Hey, Boscha, it's us," she said while carefully approaching her. Boscha was still unresponsive, not even acknowledging their presence.

"Boscha, can you hear us?" Skara asked her while Boscha just continued to be silent.

"I think we should give her some room," Bo advised as they heard her mutter.

"Boscha…?" Amelia asked, walking up to her. "Are you alright?"

Boscha continued to mutter while staring at nothing. "Boris… Athena… Tom… all of them, the people that cared about me the most… are now gone."

All looked concerned for Boscha as Bo whispered to Skara. "Boris?"

"Her brother," Skara answered. "He, um, left years ago…"

"Boscha, it's going to be alright," Amelia said.

"Yeah, I mean, we're all here because we care about you," Cat said, which only made Boscha's eyes widen as she let out a small gasp.

Her expression then changed as she suddenly began to shout. "GET OUT!"

"But Boscha-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Boscha yelled, not looking at them.

The four were frightened by the anger and tone of her voice, which made them walk out of the room. Simon looked at her. "Boscha, they were just-" But Boscha cast a spell that caused the door to slam in his face.

"Everything alright here?" asked Samwitch, who came up behind them.

"Yeah, Boscha is…" Simon didn't know how to put it into words.

"I know, but she has been through a very difficult ordeal," Samwitch told him. "We just need to be patient with her and be here for her when she is ready." He turned to the girls. "Thank you for being here. If you want to stay, you are welcome to join Boscha's friends."

"Boscha's friends?" Amelia asked.

"Her classmates from Glandus. They're in the courtyard out back. I told them they can stay as long as they like and that offer is extended to you girls as well. Hopefully Boscha will be more responsive later," Samwitch said with a sigh. "Poor girl…"

In Boscha's room, Boscha could only bury her face to her knees as she sat there on her bed. Hogarth tried to comfort her in vain as she wept while hearing a familiar voice in her head.

"This is just as I said," spoke the Inner Demon. "Those you care about will always end up leaving…"

Meanwhile in Bonesborough, Edric had met up with Mel.

"So I haven't seen you since the parade," Edric mentioned. "Where were you?"

"Sorry, I was gonna stick around but then I got a call from my dad," Mel responded with an annoyed look. "I had to get away from the noise and talk to him, but when that goblin creep showed up, I got caught in the panicking crowd. I was lucky to make it out of there alive."

"Okay," Edric said. "So… what was your call with your dad about?"

"Nothing worth talking about… I don't like talking about my parents much anyway," Mel responded, looking down with a blank stare.

"Oh, I get it," Edric responded. "I don't really like talking about my parents as well."

"Guess we both have parental issues," Mel commented.

"Yeah…" Edric said while Mel led him to a certain part of town where she spotted two other teens.

"I wanted us to hang out with some other friends of mine," Mel said as she called out. "Yo, Mugs! Cups!"

"Mel?" Mugs asked, looking toward the aforementioned girl.

"Hey, how ya been, Mel?" Cups replied as he and his brother noticed Edric. "So, uh, who's dimples over there?"

"This is Edric," Mel introduced as Ed waved to them. "Ed, meet Cups and Mugs, these two brothers know how to have some fun around here, don't ya?"

"Yeah! We're all in for some fun!" Mugs shouted.

"Though, I don't know if he's up for our kind of fun," Cups replied while narrowing his eyes at Ed.

"Hey, you have nothing to worry about," Edric told him. "In fact, you can call me an expert of fun and trouble making."

"Trouble making, eh?" Cups replied. "Let's see what kind of trouble you do then."

"Got a crow?" Edric asked.

A scout was patrolling as he heard a voice. "Hey, you!" the scout paused, looking around. "Up here!" He looked up to see the Belos statue.

"B-Belos? Are you… talking to me?" the scout asked.

"Yes, dear scout!" the statue said, while a crow was behind its head. "The Titan asks of you to deliver a thousand pizzas for your Emperor! Do it now, and the Titan shall bless you!"

"On it, sir!" the scout declared as he made his way to do what he was ordered.

Popping up from a stand, Edric, Mel, Cups and Mugs saw the scout run away, the four laughing while Edric held the crow.

"Hehe, oh man, now that was hilarious!" Cups said while he turned to Ed. "Not bad, Eddie."

Mel laughed while patting Edric's shoulder. "Come on, Ed, let's go have some more fun…"

And so, the four proceeded to have their own kind of fun around Bonesborough. Mel skipped along as she grabbed a free sample from a food stand and tasted it. "Mmm, so good. Think I can get more?"

"Sorry, only one sample per customer," the stand owner replied.

"Oh, but I think you wouldn't mind…" Mel said as her eyes glowed green and she caressed the owner's cheek, causing him to hand over the free samples.

She returned to the boys as they grabbed the free samples from her. "Gee, thanks, Mel!" Mugs said while taking them.

"It's no problem, I just put on the charm," Mel replied while looking at the other stands in the market. "We could use some free stuff…"

"I don't think they'll just give you free stuff," Edric said while Mel tapped his chin.

"Oh don't worry about it, Eddie," she said as she walked up to the stands. "Follow me, grab whatever you like!"

"Okay!" Cups and Mugs said while they followed Mel through the marketplace. Edric followed them as well, just shrugging and deciding to go along with it.

Edric, Cups, and Mugs went over to a bridge where Cups and Mugs held up some water balloons to target some passing witches. They threw some as it splashed on the denizens, which summoned tendrils that grabbed the witches and demons.

Mel later spray painted the first letter of her name on a wall and on some clothes, which Cups and Mugs grabbed after she had marked them. Edric grabbed some clothes as well. The shop owner noticed them taking his stuff.

"Hey, you need to pay for 'em!" the shop owner exclaimed while catching Edric.

"Uh…" Edric muttered as Mel walked up to the owner.

"Hey, do you know who that is?" Mel pointed to Ed. "This is Edric Blight and you do not want to mess with his family."

"Yeah!" Cups declared while Mugs nodded.

"B-Blight? Like Head Witch Blight?" the shop owner stammered while letting Edric go. "My apologies, take whatever you want!"

"Good," Mel said as she grabbed some purple clothes and items. "Come on," she told Ed as he along with Cups and Mugs followed. "Hope you don't mind using your name to save your pretty face."

"Actually, nice save," Edric said as they ran.

After the run, Mel wore a new outfit. A dark purple biker jacket, purple trousers with a black belt with a skull buckle. She wore combat boots with purple trims. She also wore black fingerless gloves with purple lines. She spotted two demons passing by and her eyes flashed red, causing their eyes to flash red as well as they bumped into each other.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" one shouted.

"You wanna fight over it?!" the other responded.

"Yeah! That's how we deal with the smallest problems!" he shouted as the two demons started to fight each other.

"Ooh look, Mugs, a fight!" Cups pointed at the two demons fighting each other.

"Wonder why they're fighting?" Mugs asked while Edric shrugged.

"Who knows?" Edric and Mel asked at the same time as the two turned to each other. "Did we just-!?" They pointed at each other and the two started laughing.

Edric was laughing until he saw a poster of the Golden Guard. He fell silent, causing Mel to notice the poster as well.

"Yeah, not a fan of authority as well I see," Mel said as she handed him her spray can. "Want to vandalize it? I mean, it's up to you, pretty face."

Edric looked at the spray can, then at the poster. Then he gripped the spray can tightly and began to spray on the poster.

Once he was done, Mel read his handiwork. "'Join the Emperor's Coven, to be a jerk.' Wow, you really don't like him that much, do you?"

"It's a long story," Edric said.

Next they pulled some pranks while they were behind a wall some citizens were setting against. Edric used his illusions to make it look like they've switched faces. The three citizens looked at each other, beginning to scream and point at each other.

"Our faces have been switched!" cried out a witch.

"What madness is this!?" another replied while Mal and her little squad laughed in secret.

It was then they spotted a wagon and Mel enchanted the driver to lend her the wagon. She whistled for the boys. "Hey guys, got a ride!"

Soon Mel was driving the wagon with the guys accompanying her. They all hollered in laughter while they enjoyed the joyride, riding around town and causing mischief. "Who wants to ride at Dead Man's Curve?"

Dead Man's Curve, an extremely zigzagged road held by bone columns that towered over a red hill. Their joy ride took them down the curve as Mel saw the road unfinished up ahead. The four jumped out before it went over as Cups and Mugs zapped their own shoes to make them fly before they gave Edric winged shoes as well. He managed to to fly down to catch Mel, who looked up to him.

"Thanks," Mel said with a smile.

"It's no problem," Edric replied while they flew down while the wagon exploded.

Afterward, Edric and Mel were hanging up on the rooftop, eating some not dogs. They watched as Cups and Mugs punched each other. Ed and Mel shared a laugh.

"Man, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!" Edric said while realizing what he just said.

"What do you mean? Don't you have friends to do this kind of stuff with?" Mel asked him.

Edric looked down and sighed. "Growing up, Emira was my only friend, which was kinda by design, since we scared off any kids that our parents tried to make us befriend because of their status. It worked, but it did leave us without any friends at school. I did have a boyfriend, but… I barely saw him and it didn't work out anyway. Some of my younger sister's friends took me on a guy's night out after the break-up, but we haven't hung out since. And Em spends a lot of time with her girlfriend now, which means it is no longer just the two of us like it used to be…" He then turned to Mel and managed to smile. "Thanks for showing me a good time, by the way."

"Hey, it's no problem, thank you for being so much fun to hang out with," Mel replied with a smile. She considered something. "But you know, if you really are lacking in friends… I think you would fit in with the rest of my gang."

"The rest of your gang?" Edric asked her.

"Sure, they'll be thrilled to meet you," she replied while patting his hand and leaning closer. "Because you're probably the most fun guy I've met in a long time."

"Well, I don't think I'm that fun-" Edric was cut off when Mel leaned closer to him, granting him a kiss. His eyes widened when she did this then they closed when he went to kiss her back. This made Mel smile through their kiss.

Once their kiss was done, Edric was initially at a loss. "W-Wow… that was…?"

"Did you like it?" Mel asked him.

"I didn't hate it," Edric admitted. "But… why did you do it?"

Mel just shrugged as she gave him a dangerous smirk. "Well… why not?"

Donna flew over to a small villa town called Lokitown. She passed by a statue of a horned figure who rode on a large wolf. The place has a Nordic feel and it was known to be named after a mysterious being that came and saved this village from disaster. This being was believed to be a witch with strong magic known as Loki the Wolf Whisperer, who was called such because he brought with him a giant wolf that he spoke to. It was rumored that this Loki was some kind of god, hence why his name was sometimes used in reverence. Many of the denizens of Lokitown treated Loki as a minor religious figure in addition to the Titan, which Belos did allow as long as they still joined covens…

Donna spotted her friends already there and she flew down to meet them.

"Sorry for running late," Donna apologizes. "Tried to recruit Cross and Teri, but I couldn't get them to be interested. Then I had a run-in with Dilburn and a crow call from an old friend."

"Well, at least we're all here now," Tyrone replied as they walked through the village, passing by fish stands, weapons stands, a viking-themed tavern, and of course, the most popular place for teenagers of this village, a Hot Toepic store, where you can get gothic clothing and decorative.

"You'd think they'd hang out here?" Veronica asked, pointing to the store.

"Nah, that place is for the niche," Beocrow said as he pointed to another store. "That's where we're heading."

The five went in front of a film memorabilia shop called 'Demon Reel', which they entered. Emo music was being played while a crystal ball played a movie. The shop was filled with items related to famous movies in the Isles like 'Scar Wars', 'Casketblanca', 'Pirates of the Scaribbean", 'Citiwitch Bane', and 'Rat Worm Driver'. They saw someone at the counter who spotted them.

"How can I help you?" asked a recognizable face.

"Say, aren't you…?" Donna asked.

"Vanessa Pierce, at your service," Vanessa said. "You may know me from-"

"Museum of Wax Abominations, Temple of Schnizzigah, and recently Dawn of the Deadites!" Tina pointed out exactly. "I've seen all of your movies, ma'am."

"Always nice to meet a fan," Vanessa said with a smile, feeling appreciated.

"So what's a celebrity doing working in this shop?" Beocrow asked.

"Oh it's one of the places I own," Vanessa explained. "A side gig for whenever I'm not doing any acting jobs, to share my love of films. Now what can I do for you kids?"

"I'm Donna and these are my friends, Tina, Beocrow, Tyrone and Veronica," Donna introduced. "We're here because we… left something in the backrooms."

"Oh, I see," Vanessa said, understanding what she meant. "Follow me." She led them to the back and LOWTH followed.

Vanessa knocked on a door and it opened to reveal Linkin. "They're here?"

"Yeah, they're here," Vanessa responded as Linkin saw LOWTH.

"Greetings, you must be LOWTH," Linkin said while shaking Donna's hand. "Linkin Days, dark leader of the SSE."

"Donna Masterskull, bright leader of LOWTH," Donna replied as Linkin invited them in.

"Hey, nice meeting ya, dudes," Korn greeted as he, Sioux and the Cerberus sisters were present along with their fill in.

"They're here already?" asked the girl who turned around, Donna's eyes widening when she recognized her.

"Emira Blight?" Donna asked.

"Donna Masterskull?" Emira asked, just as surprised. "What… whoa, I did not expect you here."

"You two know each other?" Sioux asked.

"Yeah, we've met…" Donna said awkwardly, while Emira looked just as awkward, "How you've been, Emira?"

"Fine, what about you?" Emira said while not looking at Donna.

"Doing great," Donna replied while Tina walked up to Emira.

"You must be Viney's girlfriend that I have heard about," Tina said while Emira turned to her. "I'm Tina, Viney's cousin from St. Epiderm."

"You're Viney's cousin? Nice to meet you," Emira greeted as she shook hands with her. "Viney has told me about you, says you're in Oracle."

"That's right," Tina confirmed. "I didn't know you're into mystery solving."

"Oh I'm just here to temporarily fill in for Eve," Emira explained. "I know what it's like to have someone you care for missing, so I asked Sioux and decided to help out. Something to get some stuff off of my mind."

"Hey, don't leave us out in the introductions!" Patty said as she cleared her throat. "I'm Patty, and my sisters are Blondie and Cyndi, and our brother here is Korn over there."

"Sup!" Korn waved.

"I'm Sioux Bansheeles, the team's smartest member and expert on the myths, legends, history of the Boiling Isles," Sioux introduced herself.

"Oh, well I'm Tyrone Ironwood, I'm from a blacksmith family and part of the Construction Track," Tyrone greeted.

"Veronica Rex, Plank Track and if you're looking for some natural organic clothing, I'm you girl," Veronica told them.

"Name's Beocrow Clawthorne, you may know my cousin," Beocrow said.

"Now that introductions are over, allow me to explain myself," Vanessa spoke up. "I am the Shadowy Secret Expozer's benefactor, helping them with some of their cases in exchange for them occasionally helping me out. Though that's not important right now. For now, let us get to business."

"Right, about the reason we're here," Donna spoke up. "The Grim Goblin case."

"Yeah, we've been looking at some of the evidence we found from when he attacked Bonesborough at Mange Street," Linkin explained. "We are hoping to solve this case before your school's teen mystery solving group, the Blood Water Gang, does."

"Yeah, they've turned down our offer for a team up," Donna explained. "But all they did was give us a record demo of their album."

"They were pretty smug about it," Veronica added.

"Oh tell me about it," Korn replied. "Those guys have been outcompeting us lately compared to the other mystery teams."

"Let's just say, our services have been down lately…" Blondie mentioned.

The SSE arrived too late and saw their rival gang, a ska-band group that consisted of a black haired witch tanned teenage boy wearing a blue bowling shirt, cargo jeans and blue sneakers, a pale witch girl with long blue hair, wearing a white tank top, and blue baggy pants and black boots, a blonde witch girl with a black dress with red leggings and black buckle boots, and an orange shirted clam-headed biped demon boy in red shorts and black boots. With them was a tall, indigo biped swordfish demon with sunglasses, a yellow button blazer suit jacket, green pants, and a large fin tail. They had caught a scuba-diver ghost and had already unmasked him.

"The ghost of Captain Gutler is actually Dan Dubo, who had been stealing all the crystal balls!" the goofy Swordfishman declared. "Ain't that right, Know Doubt?"

"That's right, Shashermouth!" the leader, Know Doubt, confirmed.

The SSE were too late again when they saw the Blood Waters Gang had caught a slime monster and unmasked him near the Bard Coven, which was basically a theater house.

"Bariss Hemmington was haunting the Bard Hall so she could take the instruments that used to be owned by late Bard players…" explained the blonde witch, June.

"Yo, SSE, more like SS-Stink!" shouted the clam-headed demon, Potshot, as he and Smashermouth laughed at their saddened emo rivals.

"Would you boys give it a rest?" asked the blue haired witch girl, Aqua.

The SSE were now used to it as they saw that the BWG had caught the Ghoul Mermaid who happened to be Old Man Shivers, who was trying to scare off the sea witches so he could buy the Aquarium.

"Oh come on, Old Man Shivers is from our rogues gallery!" Linkin threw his hands up.

"And I wouldn't have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling ska-band players," Old Man Shivers declared as he was escorted away, passing by the SSE. "Hey, where's Eve?"

"Old Man Shivers?" Beocrow asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Creepy old guy, tends to be the culprit in some of our cases," Sioux explained. "Like he was the Flying Fish Dutchman that tried to scare off the werecats from their reserves for his condo scheme."

"And the Bog Beast that scared off amusement park guests so he could steal the rides," Linkin added. "Come on, let's show you guys the evidence."

As the teams began to look into the evidence, Donna turned to Emira who avoided her gaze. Donna sighed, hoping they could catch up.

At the Smith house, Luz and Matt could be found inside an underground lab beneath the garage. It was filled with metal and parts that were too advanced even by the standards of the Boiling Isles. Luz had the schematics of Philip's portal door up while Mattholomule used his illusions to visualize the door. So far, they had the door half-way constructed.

"This will be all worth it when it's finished!" Luz states while molding the parts together with flame.

Matt hammered down the metal. "You sure no one would suspect what we're building here?" he asked.

"We should be good," Luz explained. "I don't think the Emperor's Coven even knows about the lab, since they missed it when they raided the house. Whatever you do though, don't touch the Meeseeks Boxes."

"Meeseeks Boxes?" Matt asked in confusion.

"They create this blue creature called a Meeseek that has to fulfill whatever request you give it or else they go crazy, since existence literally pains them and they won't cease existing until they complete your request," Luz explained while they continued on with their work. Showing up were Morty and Summer.

"Hey, just wanted to check on how you were doing," Morty said.

"Also your hot aunt's here, Luz," Summer added. "She's currently talking with our parents."

"Yeah, I got a text from her about helping her out with an errand," Luz mentioned. She turned to Matt. "Will you be okay without me?"

Matt gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, thanks to your notes I think I can take it from here…"

In the living room of the Smith home, Lilith was seated with Beth and Jerry.

"You know, it's so wonderful to have you here, Miss um, Head Witch Clawthorne," Jerry said nervously. "I uh, hope we're not in trouble or anything…"

"You do know that I'm not a Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven anymore," Lilith reminded him. "I work at the Museum of Supernatural History now."

"Right! Right… say, do you think the Emperor's interested in looking for more ads? The one I've done for Coven Aides may be my finest work," Jerry said while pointing at a display of one of his ads.

'Become a Coven Head, and You'll Get Aides!'

"I still don't get why Rick always laughs at it though," Jerry said.

"Hey, you know, even though you are no longer a Head Witch, you're still our guest and the aunt of one of my son's friends," Beth mentioned. "So we are happy to have you here, even though my dad has said some um… unsavory opinions about you during your time at the Emperor's Coven, especially when he was drunk…"

"Beth, she's practically a celebrity here…" Jerry reprimanded.

"I know what she is!" Beth shouted while Jerry winced. She turned to Lilith. "Sorry about that, by the way I love what you did with your hair."

"Thanks, and it's alright, I understand why Rick would have low opinions of me," Lilith said while looking down. "I don't like who I was back then either, which is why I dyed my hair back."

"You were a redhead originally?" Beth asked her.

"Yes," Lilith nodded. She then looked at a picture of Rick along with the family, having a fun time at a fair. "I'm… sorry about your father, Beth. He gave up his freedom for your family's safety… if only I was able to-"

"Hey, it's alright, Lilith," Beth told her with a sigh. "It's hard, but knowing him, he'll find a way out somehow, right?"

Jerry looked at his wife and sighed as well. "Yeah, despite our differences, I will admit that things are a lot less… interesting without him around."

Lilith nodded. "He was a good man, and I'm honored to have met him."

"Hey, Aunt Lilith," Luz said as she came into the room. "What is this errand you want my help with?"

"Come with me," Lilith said as she stood up and brought Luz out of the room, speaking in a whisper. "Okay, so this errand I need your help with… we're breaking into Hieron Labs."

Luz's eyes widened. "Wait, really? What for?"

"Tres, the Basilisk that I told you about, has returned and informed me that Megan, another Basilisk, is alive," Lilith replied while Luz looked surprised. "She's being held captive there and he asked for my help, though I'm not sure that the two of us will be enough…"

"Okay, but… why not ask mom to help out?" Luz asked her.

"Your mom's… unavailable right now," Lilith stated.

The Owl House was surrounded by press from the Media Coven. Cameras flashing while the news reporters and paparazzi scumbags tried to get an interview or picture. The Owl House was in total lockdown because of this.

"Too many people out here," Eda complained while closing the curtains. "Where are my rifles?"

"Eda, you can't shoot at them!" Camila scolded her in a panic.

"Are you sure?" Eda asked her..

"Eda!" Hooty's face was at the window. "I don't think I could handle them much longer! They're worse than the dograptors!"

Eda sighed, looking stressed out. "Sometimes I miss being infamous…"

Luz gave Lilith a nod. "Alright, I'll help you with this. Especially if it means screwing over Nicole and helping another Basilisk."

"Excellent," Lilith said. "Though we will have to play this carefully…"

The same coven scout from before was shown to be patrolling the cells, keeping a close eye on each of the Basilisks. When he passed by the cell of Number One, he heard the same Basilisk call out to him.

"Hey," said Number One, causing the scout to turn to her. "I just… want to apologize for what happened the other day. I've realized now that the picture of that witch girl wasn't like the other pictures I had been shown and that… I did something that I wasn't supposed to do."

Under his mask, he looked surprised that she was apologizing to him. Number One looked up to him, as she continued. "Back then, I… saw the pain in your face when you saw me in that… form," she said, looking down in guilt. "That pain wasn't something I wished to cause you, regardless of what you've done to me."

The scout didn't say anything at first. He started to walk away… but then he stopped himself. He lowered his head as he replied to her. "It wasn't your fault," he told her. "You just did what you thought you were supposed to do, and even though you're in your Basilisk form-" He turned to her, looking at her nice and hard behind his mask. "You still look like her."

The red Basilisk looked nervous. "If you don't mind me asking, who was this Megan to you?"

The scout was reluctant to answer. He didn't know what to say to the one who was basically property of Hieron Labs.

"Megan… was my daughter," the scout finally admitted. "She was taken away from me by the Red Death."

Number One looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing to me!" the scout shouted in frustration, raising his stun baton and making Number One wince. She expected him to shock her… but he didn't. She opened her eyes, saw him having stopped himself from doing it.

The scout looked at the stun baton, then at Number One. He turned around and quickly walked away, not even speaking another word.

Near the Hieron Labs building, Luz and Lilith slipped into an alleyway where they saw Tres in his disguise.

"Eda's kid? You brought her here?" Tres asked upon spotting them.

"She agrees to help out," Lilith told him. "Luz, this is Tres. Tres, meet Luz."

"Luz Clawthorne? Nice to finally meet you," Tres said. "I've heard a great deal about you."

"You're not the first Basilisk I've helped," Luz told him. "Me and mom actually helped Vee get somewhere safe. Don't worry, she's doing fine. No one's going to come after her."

Tres was surprised to hear this. "Number Five? She's safe? That's a relief…"

"So what's the plan, Clooney?" Luz asked him.

"Um… it's Tres," he replied in confusion, having no idea why Luz called him that. He shook his head and started to explain. "As for the plan… well every Ghoulsday afternoon, there's a scheduled tour…"

Back at the Owl House, Eda had managed to get the press off of her skin.

"Wow, can't believe Hooty had to do that to scare off the press," King said with a horrified look.

"Well, showing off Hooty's shed skin was the only way to drive them away," Eda said. "Either that or let the Slithy sic them."

They then heard a knock on the window. "Hey! Eda the Owl Lady!" Felicity cried out while knocking on the window.

"I think you've missed one," King said, pointing to the fox biped reporter.

Eda grimaced as she opened the window. "Listen, I don't like to be bothered so just leave me alone!"

"W-Wait!" Felicity stopped Eda from closing the window. "If you just hear me out!"

"And why should I listen to journalists?" Eda snarled. "You have ten seconds before I release the hounds…"

"You have… hounds?" Felicity asked nervously.

"Ten… nine… eight…"

"Okay, okay, wait! I want to get your side of the story!?" Felicity offered, making Eda stop. "I mean, the Boiling Isles have been calling you a hero and maybe we can hear your side of the story, rather than what the Emperor is trying to say is the story."

"Hmm… go on…" Eda said, intrigued.

Felicity gave a confused look. "I mean… that's about it. I hear your side of the story and get your words instead of the words others put in your mouth."

"Oh, well alright. I guess I could do that," Eda said while turning to King. "King, bring me my good coat jacket and tie, this mama's getting interviewed by a vampire… you are a vampire, right?"

"...No…" Felicity responded in confusion as she summoned her camera demon.

"Okay, but we're doing it outside, just let me get my sun chairs," Eda told her.

After getting her suit jacket and sun chairs set up, Felicity had her camera demon running. "Alright, here I am, Felicity Fox, with hardened criminal turned reformed local town hero Eda the Owl Lady for this exclusive interview! Now tell me, Eda, what made you want to take down the Tarot Guild?"

"Um… because they've been doing a lot of wrongful things and trafficking witches for one," Eda said. "Someone had to take them down."

"And is that why you killed Grimhammer?" Felicity asked her.

"I keep telling everyone that I didn't! He was already dead when I found him, it looked like something tore him apart," Eda corrected.

"Right…" Felicity said. "I guess it makes sense that you didn't kill him. After all, it must be a struggle for you to do things without magic. You can't levitate items to you or blast away your enemies…"

Eda gave Felicity a look. "I'm not exactly helpless. I've found ways around not being able to rely on my magic. I mean, I can still do potions, for one. You don't need a working bile sac for potions mixing."

"Yeah, good point," Felicity said with a shrug. "Oh, here's another question. Do you think that Raine Whispers is dead?"

"What?" Eda asked in surprise.

"You two do have some history together, correct? And they haven't shown themselves ever since they disappeared following that wild witch terrorist attack that resulted in former Head Witch Darius's death. Do you think Raine is dead as well and how do you feel about that?" Felicity asked.

'Okay Eda, don't say anything that would draw suspicion. Not even a don't know…' Eda thought as she took a deep breath. "I believe that… I hope that Raine is not dead. But if I know Rainestorm, they know how to take care of themselves, because they're a survivor."

"Well, I do share your sentiment," Felicity admitted. "When was the last time you spoke to former Head Witch Whispers, by the way?"

"I, uh, it's been years, unfortunately," Eda lied nervously. "After we broke up, I'm afraid that we fell out of touch."

"Hmm, well I can understand why, since if I am being perfectly honest, Raine's too good for a witch of your status," Felicity said, making Eda frown. "I mean, given that Raine's from a prestigious, well-off family that originally sent them St. Epiderm until they moved and graduated from Hexside. I mean, no offense but you're not exactly a hero despite what people are calling you right now. We can't forget that you are still technically a wild witch with a criminal history and a curse, and I wonder what Raine would say if they knew about the other stuff that has been rumored about you…"

Eda's body flinched as she glared at Felicity "Anything else?"

"Well, speaking of your curse, did you ever figure out who cursed you? Because I personally doubt the explanation that it was the Titan who cursed you," Felicity said, noticing how Eda avoided her gaze when she said this. This intrigued the fox. "Ooh, you do know, do you? Have you gotten your revenge against them? How long have you known? I'm surprised that you haven't exposed them yet…"

Eda narrowed her eyes at Felicity. "My curse is my own business. And I've already made peace with my curse, and the one who cursed me."

"Really? You're not gonna say who did it even though they ruined my life?" Felicity asked her.

"They didn't ruin my life," Eda said defiantly. "They may have helped make me who I am today, but I like who I am! And you know what, Fox?" She leaned towards her. "I AM a hero! And not because Belos pardoned me. Not because others label me as such. I am a hero because I choose to be!" She stood up, towering over Felicity which intimidated the fox biped. "I help save that kid because I didn't want her to get hurt just like I did, and if you have a problem with that, then you can kiss my ass! This interview is over! Hooty?"

"On it, Eda!" Hooty went behind Felicity and engulfed her.

"AAAH!" Felicity screamed as Hooty raised his neck up, pulled his head back, and spit out a large pellet into the sky. "WHAT ABOUT THE INTERVIEW!?" she cried out as she flew.

Back with the SSE and LOWTH, they had hit a rut.

"We've gone over this dozens of times," Donna said while Tina and Veronica were doing their homework, Tyrone and Beocrow just sat at the couch with Korn, while Linkin and Sioux were looking at the clues, the latter using a microscope. The Cerberus Sisters had been eating sandwiches. "But still nothing?"

"Who knew this team-up would be so, so boring!" Tyrone complained.

"Hey, if it means avoiding the Grim Goblin, that's fine by me," Korn replied while relaxing. "We could solve this mystery without confronting that maniac for once."

"But where's the fun in that?" Beocrow asked. "Sometimes a near-death experience can be healthy, helps you experience what true living is like…"

"We've gone over the clues," Sioux explained. "The pumpkin that the Goblin threw contained potions with flammable properties."

"And we have the mold of the shoe print from the Grim Goblin when he made that crack in the floor," Tina said, pointing at the mold.

"Don't forget the dirt near that crack we've been analyzing," Cyndi reminded them.

"So far, I haven't been able to get a match," Sioux explained. "I've checked every road in Bonesborough to see if it has the same dirt, but nothing."

"Maybe the Grim Goblin is a disgruntled Construction Coven worker, or a stuntman that went mad!" Emira suggested while they all turned to her. "I mean, how else do you explain the super strength?"

Sioux raised her head from the microscope. "Well, there's no way I could find-" She spotted something on Tyrone's boot, along with Beocrow's boots, and Tina's shoes. "Hang on a second, can any of you guys hand over one of your boots?"

"Um, okay," Tina said while the LOWTH members took each of their boots off.

"Scrape off the dirt from those boots," Sioux told Linkin.

Linkin summoned a scraper and scraped some stuff off from under the boots into a pan. He handed the pan full of dirt to Sioux, who looked at it through her microscope. "Bingo."

"You found something?" Korn asked.

"I couldn't find the dirt in Bonesborough, because it wasn't from Bonesborough," she said while turning to the members of LOWTH. "The dirt sample matches the dirt from your boots. The Grim Goblin may be from where you guys live…"

"You mean… Metropelvis?" Tyrone asked in shock.

"Alright, gangs, looks like we're about to move out to Metropelvis!" Linkin announced.

"Yes! Finally!" Veronica cheered.

"We're getting ready for some action!" Tyrone raises his hands up.

"Finally," Donna said in relief.

"...To collect more dirt samples!" Linkin finished, causing everyone in LOWTH to groan.

"Really?!" Veronica exclaimed.

"This is not what I expected this team-up to be like," Tyrone complained while turning to Donna.

Donna tried to wave it off. "All for the sake of justice…"

Back at the Clawthorne family home, Hunter was looking around the house with Flapjack. He looked at a wall covered with pictures of the Clawthorne family, including Eda and Lilith in their younger years. He then took notice of an opened door and curiously peeked inside.

"Looking for something?"

Hunter was startled. "Gah!" he yelped and turned to see Gwendolyn. "Oh, it's uh, I'm just… exploring the house…"

"Is everything alright, Hunter?" Gwen asked him.

"It's fine," Hunter replied, while turning to see a framed picture of Lilith. "So, um, when will Lilith be back?"

"Oh she said it's going to be a while," Gwen responded. "Something came up that requires her attention, so she may be getting back late."

"I see…" he said while Gwen noticed where he was standing.

"Oh, I see that you were checking out Dell's old workroom," Gwen pointed out.

"His workshop?" Hunter asked, looking back into the room. "You mean for Palisman carving?"

"Yes," Gwen answered with a sad sigh. "He was the best Palisman carver in the Clawthorne clan. But because of his accident and the overharvest of Palistrom wood, he hasn't made one in years."

Hunter looked down. "I'm… sorry to hear that…"

"Oh don't apologize, dear," Gwen assured him as she heard Hawksley caw to her. "Oh that must be my stories, watching Golden Ghouls, I'll leave you and Flapjack alone, unless you would like to join."

"I'm good," he said while watching Gwendolyn leave. He turned back to the door to the workshop. Hunter was intrigued, as he decided to step in to see what the workshop of the Palisman carver looked like.

He looked around the room. The walls were decorated with wooden carvings made from non-Palistrom wood. On a table were several wood-working tools and sketches of different Palismen. And in the corner was a large box. Curious, he went over and opened up the box, discovering it was stashed with unfinished Palismen. He and Flapjack looked at them as if they'd discovered the seventh wonder of the world.

"Find something that interests you?"

"GAH!" Hunter jumped, startled again for the second time as he turned to Dell with Waffles. "Oh, sorry for being jumpy, Mr. Clawthorne… and invading your workroom," he said shyly.

"Oh I don't mind, and just call me Dell," he assured him. "Do you have an interest in my work?"

Hunter looked at the box, then back to Dell. "I um… I have been more interested in Palismen ever since getting my own." He gestured to Flapjack, who was sitting on his shoulder.

"I see," Dell said while looking at the box Hunter opened. "Ah, you've discovered some of my unfinished works."

"Your unfinished works?" Hunter asked him.

"Yes, Palismen that I tried to make after my accident before I realized I would be unable to finish them, and ones that I started before the accident," he said while stroking his beard, looking at his unfinished works. "A shame that I never completed them."

"I don't know much about Palismen, honestly," Hunter admitted. "Considering that my… uncle didn't want me to have anything to do with wild magic."

"But that hasn't stopped you before," Dell correctly guessed.

Hunter nodded. "My uncle doesn't know about my use of glyphs."

Dell raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, glyphs?"

Getting some paper from a work table, Hunter decided to show Dell what he meant by drawing a light glyph. He tapped on the paper, causing it to crumble and turn into a ball of light.

"I've learned about them from Luz," he explained while Dell looked at the light ball in amazement. "She showed them to me and taught me how to make them."

"Intriguing," Dell commented. "While I don't know a thing about glyphs, I do know quite a bit about Palismens, even though I can't carve them anymore." He considered something for a moment. "Tell you what, how about I teach you how to treat your Palisman right and other tricks of the Palisman trade."

This offer surprised Hunter. He hesitated, since he knew what his uncle would say about him taking a lesson on wild magic.

But of course, his uncle wasn't here now…

Inside Hieron Labs, there was a group of tourists while an alchemist stood in front of them.

"Welcome to Hieron Labs, please stay together so you won't get lost as we're not responsible if you end up falling into a vat of dangerous potions!" the happy tour guide declared. "Follow me as we journey through the building, now owned by Head Witch Breathon!"

Among the tourists were Luz, Lilith, and Tres, the former two disguising themselves with cloaks. Luz and Lilith held onto their invisibility glyphs as they walked with the group.

"Hieron Labs was established at the beginning of Belos's rule! Before Nicole Hieron, the company was run by her father, Dmitri Hieron!" The tour guide pointed to a portrait of a three-eyed man with pinkish skin, a crimson beard, glowing yellow eyes, and a yellow cloak. He was holding flasks. "He used his resources in the Potions Coven to found this company, but after he mysteriously disappeared his daughter, Nicole, inherited his fortune and company!"

"Yeah, 'mysteriously' disappeared," Luz quoted in a whisper.

"Hieron Labs works closely with both the Healing Coven and the Emperor's Coven through our fine alchemists, who use everything from bat wool to nightshade to make the finest potions in the Boiling Isles!"

Luz looked around as Tres pointed to a hall. As she walked behind the group, she slapped the invisibility glyph on herself and snuck toward the hall.

Lilith did the same as once she was behind the group, slapping an invisibility glyph on her as Tres quickly went to hide and change himself into one of the alchemists. He felt Lilith holding his arm while invisible and he led her down to where the security room was.

Once he led her there, Lilith entered the room while Tres left. She became visible and looked around at the crystal balls that showed each every sector of the building, trying to figure out where they were keeping Megan.

"Where is she?" Lilith whispered, moving to touch one ball before someone grabbed her wrist.

while going to the keyboard panel until someone grabs her wrist.

"Looking for something?" asked Ruby Friday, Vitimir's aide, as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Um… I…" Lilith didn't know what to say, her cover was blown.

"Maybe I can help you find what you're looking for…" Ruby said while her glasses flashed in the light.

At Metropelvis, both the SSE and LOWTH were going around grabbing dirt samples from different parts of the town. Their current stop was a quarry. Linkin and Tyrone, both Construction trackers, analyzed the dirt.

"Found anything?" Linkin asked.

"Nothing but regular soil and minerals," Tyrone replied dryly.

"This is gonna take forever," Veronica mutters while next with the Cerberus Sisters.

"Ooh, here's one rock for my collection," Blondie said, picking up the rock with her mouth and placing it in their nap sack.

Donna turned to Emira who was digging up dirt. "You know, I never thought you would be one to get your fingernails dirty," Donna joked.

Emira looked up at Donna. "I guess if I'm gonna be a sub, do what the roaches do, they say."

The two were silent after that before Emira spoke up again. "I'm sorry."

Donna looked back at her. "Sorry for what?"

Emira sighed. "For how I drove you away back then. When our moms made us hang out with each other, what I did to you was wrong."

"Hey, it's alright, Emira," Donna assured her. "That was years ago…"

Donna, age thirteen, was with her moms as they visited Blight Manor.

"Diana, Gladys, it's so wonderful to see you two again," Odalia said while with her was a young Emira. Odalia looked at Donna. "And you must be the little sweet Donna I've been hearing about, why you're around the twins' age." She patted Emira who was forced to walk up to Donna. "This is Emira, she's incredible in the Illusions Track like her brother, if not top of her class. I hope you two will be good friends."

"Donna, what do you say to your new friend?" Diana asked while Donna walked up, clearing her throat.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Donna!" Donna replied kindly. "I've just started St. Epiderm and I'm in Healing."

Emira looked away as she responded. "Nice to meet you."

"Why don't we leave those two alone so we can chat," Odalia suggested as she and the Masterskulls walked away, leaving the two teen girls alone in the living room.

"So… wanna meet my twin brother?" Emira asked Donna.

"Oh, sure, I've never met twins before," Donna replied.

"Follow me," Emira said as she led Donna while hiding her smirk. She was used to this routine whenever her parents tried to force her and Ed to be friends with those of high status.

She led Donna upstairs as she called out for her brother. "Ed! There's a new friend I want you to meet!"

"Coming sis-AAH!" Edric screamed, followed by a crashing sound, which made Donna gasp.

"Is he okay?!" Donna asked in concern while Emira looked worried.

"Ed, are you alright?" Emira walked up to her and Edric's room, only for her hand to raise up. She pretended to gasp as a red-eyed demon showed up dragging Edric's motionless body as it snarled.

"Give me your flesh!" the creature roared.

"Oh no, a break in!" Emira cried out, while turning to Donna. "Donna, run away!" she shouted, but then she saw Donna frozen in place. "Donna?"

"B-Break in…" Donna muttered while she looked into the red eyes of the demon with widened eyes. She started to hyperventilate, falling back while getting into a fetal position.

"Donna!" Emira cried out while hearing the parents run upstairs.

"Is she okay?" Ed asked as he sat up, the demon illusion disappearing.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" Odalia screamed at Emira.

Donna's panic attack had caused her moms to rush to their daughter's aid and realize that what Emira and Edric did was a prank. They left soon after that and Odalia was not happy, especially at Emira.

"How would I know she would have a panic attack?" Emira muttered.

"Don't give me excuses, young lady!" Odalia shouted at her. "It's thanks to that little stunt you've pulled that now the Masterskulls will never come back here again! You've made me look bad in front of one of the wealthiest families of the Boiling Isles, and sabotaged my efforts in setting you up with friends!"

Emira could only look down, feeling sorry for what happened to Donna…

"I've realized that I went too far," Emira admitted to Donna. "I wasn't fair to you, and I didn't even try to be your friend."

Donna sighed. "Well, I appreciate you apologizing, even though you didn't have to." She patted Emira's back. "I forgive you and no hard feelings, okay?"

Emira looked at Donna, a small smile forming. "Okay," she said while she remembered something. "I know that we didn't keep in touch after that… but, I did hear about the incident at the party."

Donna's eyes widened, her nose twitched. "You… you have?"

"I did and… I was wondering if you'd-"

"Let's change subjects," Donna immediately said while wanting to avoid the topic about the incident. "How's your brother doing?"

"Oh, he's doing great," Emira replied, fine with changing the subject. "He's currently multi-tracking in Beast-Keeping and Potions in addition to Illusions."

"That's great," Donna said with a nod. "Honestly, I wish that St. Epiderm would have a multi-track option. I did remember a few Bard spells and I wouldn't mind re-learning Bard magic as long as I am still able to learn Healing magic. But-"

Donna was interrupted by someone laughing and the two girls looked up, Emira gasping while Donna got in a defensive position. The others looked up and spotted… the Grim Goblin, who was hovering over them. "Having a little digging around, are we?"

"The Grim Goblin!?" Korn cried out in shock and panic.

"Finally, some action!" Tyrone declared as he along with LOWTH drew spell circles to jump through, changing into their hero outfits.

"LOWTH, let's take him on!" Donna as Wonder Witch declared while bringing out her keyblade.

"Playing hero?" the Grim Goblin mocked as he flew around with his gargoyle, spreading around his pumpkins. Florella threw seeds up as they bloomed into large mushrooms, bouncing the pumpkins away as they exploded. The Grim Goblin laughed as he saw a murder of crows coming at him, forming into Crowbar who tried to get the jump on him. The Grim Goblin just shoved him aside, sending him down. "None of you are worthy to fight me!"

Crowbar fell until Milos caught him as Wonder Witch jumped up to swing her keyblade at the Grim Goblin. The Grim Goblin ducked down and she flew over him, landing on a large leaf summoned by Florella. He then threw a pumpkin towards her, sending her to the ground with an explosion after she hit the pumpkin away with her keyblade.

"Donna!" Emira cried out as she ran to her, but was then grabbed by the Grim Goblin. "Hey! Let me go!"

"So you're the Shadowy Secret Expozer's little replacement girl?" the Grim Goblin asked as he held her by the collar, ignoring her struggles.

"Let her go!" Ghostina flew up but the Grim Goblin had his gargoyle shoot out flames at her. "AAH!" Ghostina cried out as she fell back, causing Crowbar to catch her. He would then throw Emira down, but fortunately Donna cast a spell to soften her landing with snow.

"Are you alright?" she asked Emira, going over to her.

"Just rattled," Emira responded.

Linkin and Sioux drew spell circles as Linkin shot out bricks at the Grim Goblin while Sioux shot light beams. The Grim Goblin laughed as he circles around the two, avoiding their attacks. "This is the great Shadowy Secret Expozers? What a joke!" He spread around his arms, bats appearing to surround them.

"Linkin! Sioux!" Patty cried out as the Cerberus sisters ran up along with Korn, but the Grim Goblin spread fireballs and threw them at them. Korn picked up the Cerberus sisters as he ran away to avoid the fireballs.

"Korny and the Cerberus sisters, a quartet of useless curs!" the Grim Goblin ranted. "Cowards, all of you would rather run from danger rather than face it! You black-clad teenagers in dark make-up are nothing! Especially without your little Eve!"

"How does he know Eve?" Florella questioned while shooting out vines to try to grab him, but he avoided them as he shot out more flames.

"I know all that goes on in the Isles!" the Grim Goblin declared while shooting out flames all around him, forcing everyone to seek cover. "For I am your punishment, Shadowy Secret Expozers! Eve Slipknot's disappearance is your fault! She disappeared because of your mystery solving ways! Linkin Days, the so-called leader, always leading his team head-first into danger! Sioux Basheeles, who prides herself on her intelligence but can't even solve Eve's disappearance! Korn, who is just a high as hell goth boy! And the three-headed mutt is a joke! You even replaced your own member with some Blight floozy while going on about business as usual while Eve is still missing and could even be in danger! Such bad, terrible friends!" he declared while throwing out more pumpkins as they exploded into colorful clouds.

Once the bats disappeared, Linkin and Sioux saw the Grim Goblin flying up to them again. Sioux shot a beam at him, which he dodged. However, Emira jumped in and tried to blind him with a mini-blizzard.

"Leave them alone! And who are you calling floozy, you creep!" Emira shouted while the Grim Goblin just laughed as one pumpkin was thrown behind them.

Seeing this, Crowbar ran up to grab the three of them with his murder of crows. "Look out!" he shouted as the pumpkin exploded on impact. He felt a hit on his back, making him wince.

"Crow!" Ghostina shouted as she, Wonder Witch, Florella, and Milos all grouped together to take on the Grim Goblin.

"You wanna play? Let's play!" he shouted as he shot out beams at them as they dodged. Florella shot up vines to grab the gargoyle, making her fly up. Milos punches the ground for Wonder Witch to be launched up in front of the Goblin as she swung her keyblade at him. He dodged but then she kicked him off from the gargoyle. The Grim Goblin tumbled to the ground, but quickly got up.

Wonder Witch jumped down in front of him and grabbed him by the collar. "What is your endgame here? Why did you attacked the Coven Day Parade?"

"To let the Isles know that their judgment is at hand!" The Grim Goblin declared as he punched her in the stomach, sending her flying across the quarry. Florella managed to grab her with her vine rope while Milos charged after the villain.

However, the gargoyle flew up for the Grim Goblin to grab on before Milos could touch him. "Gotta run! See you heroes next time, and so long SS-Stink!" he cackled as he flew away from the quarry, before leaving one pumpkin that exploded in a flash.

The heroes covered their eyes to protect themselves from the flash. When the flash died down, they looked around and saw that the Grim Goblin was gone.

"Is everyone alright?" Donna asked.

"Hey!" Emira calls out, as she was with the rest of the Shadowy Secret Expozers while helping up Beocrow. "He was hurt from an explosion while saving us."

"Are you alright, Crow?" Korn asked.

"That impact looked like it hurt," Tyrone commented.

Beocrow winced. "Just need to lie down."

"Come on, we know a safe house we can go to," Donna said while looking at the saddened members of the SSE, seeing them completely demoralized.

Luz met up with Tres as they walked down a hallway, Tres taking the lead.

"Alright, this is Pitt to Damon," Luz whispered into her walkie-talkie. "Me and Clooney are en route to the holding cells."

"I think this goes to where they were keeping us originally," Tres said while leading Luz. Luz looked around, seeing tubes of orange liquid in the walls.

"This place is super eerie," Luz commented. "Mad scientist eerie…"

"I thought this was it," Tres said, now uncertain while Luz tried to contact Lilith again.

"Pitt to Damon, do you read me?" Luz asked but got no response. "Lilith, you're Damon, remember?"

"Hey!" shouted an alchemist and Luz turned to see a dozen of alchemists down the hall. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Tres, what do we do-" Luz turned around and saw that Tres was gone. "Tres?! Shit!" she said while turning to the alchemists. "Um… I got lost during the tour…"

"Well then you're coming with us," the alchemist said while reaching out to Luz, who stepped back.

"Whoa, I don't know where those hands have been," Luz said while shifting into her cambion arms. "Tell you what, you just let me be and I don't give you nerds a good old fashion noogie."

They respond by bringing out their stun batons.

"Yeah, noogies it is." Luz smirked as she spread out her wings while the alchemists charged at her. She jumped up as her feet turned into talons, kicking one alchemist back while her wings swung to knock a couple over. She felt a shock from one and she turned to glare at one. "You want a piece of me, bitch!?" She grabbed the alchemist, swinging him towards the others while throwing a fireball at some more.

Four more came in, trying to contain Luz using the potions they had to throw. But Luz spun around with her wings out, creating a gust of wind to knock the potions back. It resulted in the potions splashing and freezing the alchemists.

More came in as Luz looked from behind. She grabbed two stun batons, clanging them together. "Let's get dangerous," she said as she flew up to shock two alchemists. One tried to stop her, but was kicked by her talon. "Here's an equivalent exchange for ya!" she declared while shocking another. She then dug ice glyphs out of her pocket and slammed them on the floor, creating ice spikes that got the alchemists to move aside, but some got caught by the spikes and were lifted in the air. "I'm the Full-Magical Alchemist, y'all!" she declared as she flew up, shooting light beams at the other alchemists.

One by one, each alchemist fell while trying to stop Luz until the hall was filled with a lot of injured, frozen, and pinned alchemists with a little fire on the floor. Luz put out the fire with her ice glyph mixed with her flame magic, putting it out with water.

"Okay, that was kinda fun," Luz said while looking around. She was about to continue on her way, but then a potion was rolled under her feet. It exploded, creating an orange wall that blocked her exit. "What the hell!?" she shouted, trying to punch through with no luck.

"There's no way out of here, little bat," said the tall hatted, long-nosed witch man that revealed himself. "Allow me to introduce myself… Head Witch of the Potions Coven, Weevil Vitimir Breathton."

"Almost mistook you for the Scarecrow for a second…" Luz said while getting into a defensive stance. "So you're gonna try to waste me or something?"

Vitimir chuckled. "Lucky for you, I'm not like that idiot Snapdragon. What do you think you're doing here in my building?"

"Oh, you know, I got separated from the tour group," Luz lied while still on the defensive. "Do you guys do internships here? I've been thinking about exploring my options in which coven to join."

"That's hard to believe, considering whose kid you are," Vitimir said, not buying it while opening a dresser drawer from his backpack, grabbing a flask. "I'll give you one last chance to be honest with me before I have to restrain you!"

'First Eberwolf, then Snapdragon, now him… am I going to have to fight every Coven Head at some point?' Luz thought while preparing herself for whatever this guy would launch at her.

It was then that a shadow emerged from the ceiling, slithering down like a snake to strike at Luz. However, Vitimir spotted it and threw his flask at the shadow, causing a bright flash that made the shadow hiss. Luz covered her eyes while she ducked, shooting a light spell at Vitimir to knock him back.

The shadow fell to the floor, landing between Luz and Vitimir. The shadow stood up, revealing a familiar, yellow-hooded figure to both of them.

"Nicole!?" Luz and Vitimir said simultaneously.

"Grr… you will both pay for this," she declared while rubbing her arm. She turned to Luz. "Starting with you, brat! How dare you trespass here, as if you Clawthornes haven't ruined the reputation of the Hieron family enough!" She spread out her shadows to target Luz, who used light spells to push them back.

"Looks like mom wasn't kidding of you having shadow magic!" Luz shouted while side-stepping out of the way. "And for the record, you don't need my family's help to ruin your own rep!" She used a plant glyph to grab an unconscious alchemist and throw him at Nicole, who dipped down to the floor as her shadow slithered down behind Luz, pinning her to the wall. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"

"Doing what should've been done a long time ago, human!" Nicole spat, while raising her hand that formed into a shadowy claw. But then she was shocked by a stun baton held up by Vitimir. "AAAAHHH!"

"What in the Titan's name are you doing, you idiot!?" Vitimir asked Nicole.

"What the Emperor should have done when he had the chance!" Nicole shouted while unleashing shadowy whips, striking Vitimir.

"You imbecile! Belos does not want her hurt!" Vitimir shouted.

"Why!? I deserve justice!" Nicole demanded.

"Because she's important, that's why!" Vitimir declared. "Stop with this petty squabble you have with that child this instant! That is an order from your Coven Head!"

Nicole glared at Vitimir. "This is my lab… my livelihood…" She then pointed to Vitimir. "And your title should be mine as well!" she shouted as her eyes glowed. "I've followed the rules, I did as I was ordered, I should've been Head after Staggitarius! Not you!"

"No offense, but you lack the maturity and the talent for the job!" Vitimir declared, causing Nicole to scream and unleash her shadows on him. Vitimir dove out of the way and quickly grabbed two flasks and poured them into his dry mouth, causing him to spit out flames towards her that Nicole had to dodge.

Clouds of orange and yellow smoke exploded while Luz watched the two fighting witches. "Okay, I'll just… leave you two to deal with your clashing egos." She started to fly away while Nicole turned to Luz.

"Oh no you don't!" Nicole tried to grab Luz, but was intercepted by Vitimir who slammed her down with his large hand. "Stay out of this, Vitimir!"

"Stags always said you were too unhinged," Vitimir commented while Nicole wrapped a shadow around his arm and flung him away.

"Then I'll show you how unhinged I can get!" Nicole declared, trying to slash at him with a shadowy sickle. He ducked down, the blade going through his large hat.

"That hat was made by my mother, you ignoramus!" he shouted as he threw another potion at her.

In the security room, Lilith was surprised that when she was cornered by Ruby, the aide gave her a note filled with instructions on where they were keeping Megan and how to bypass the security, along with a key.

"This is… incredible," Lilith said while looking up at her. "I don't know what to say, but… why should I trust you?"

Ruby adjusted her glasses. "A logical question, but I should point out that you don't really have a choice. If I intended to betray you, I would have already done so."

"That is correct…" Lilith agreed with her, though she was still slightly suspicious.

"Just consider me a neutral party," Ruby told her. "Right now is the perfect time to rescue that Basilisk you came here for, especially since both Vitimir and Nicole are preoccupied with their… little debate."

Lilith nodded. "Thank you," she told her while exiting the room, Ruby giving Lilith a nod while her back was turned.

"Anything to help a fellow potions tracker," Ruby said while turning around, smirking to herself.

Lilith used her invisible glyph on herself to travel through the facility. There were several doors with mechanic locks, but she used the information Ruby gave her to unlock the doors. She also noticed that several other security measures seemed to have been deactivated.

She eventually found herself in a brightly lit lab with a table in the center. Strapped to the table was a crying Megan.

"Megan," Lilith whispered, making herself visible as the red Basilisk looked over to her.

"Lilith?" Megan responded in shock.

"Hang on," Lilith rushed over to unlock the clamps that were holding Megan down. "Are you alright-" To Lilith's shock, Megan leapt up embrace her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Megan cried while she kept hugging Lilith.

Lilith hugged the Basilisk back. "It's okay, you're safe," she hushed, patting the crying Basilisk. "You're safe, Megan. They will never hurt you again…"

It was then that Lilith's walkie-talkie buzzed and she heard Luz's voice. "Pitt to Damon, come in!"

Lilith picked it up, responding. "Damon to Pitt, I got the Red Flower."

"Great, right now I'm looking for Clooney," Luz responded.

"...Clooney?" Megan asked in confusion.

After escaping from Vitimir and Nicole, Luz flew around the facility as she looked for either Tres or Megan. She then spotted a certain brown-haired Basilisk in front of a door. "Tres? Tres!" she shouted, flying towards him. "What the hell? You just left me to deal with those alchemists and that Head Witch, not to mention Nicole…" She then noticed he was in tears, staring at the door that was left opened.

She walked up to the door, wondering what was in there. Then she gasped while covering her mouth as she saw something she wished she didn't…

Inside the cold room were the carcasses of two Basilisks. One of them she recognized was the Greater Basilisk. The other was a dead yellow Basilisk… both were in the middle of being dissected. But their bodies weren't the only ones inside…

Luz backed away, turning to Tres, noticing the blood stains on his hands. She realized what had happened. "I'm so sorry…" she told him.

Tres sniffed. "I hate them for what they've done to us… our kind. We didn't ask to be revived…" He felt Luz's hand on his shoulder and he turned to her, seeing her sympathetic look.

"I understand why you did it, and honestly I would've done the same," she assured him. "We have to move, but… do you wish for the bodies to be cremated?"

Tres nodded. "They deserve to be put to rest."

Luz cast a flame spell with her hands, filling the cold room with fire and setting the carcasses aflame. She knew that setting the room on fire would trigger the fire arms, so she got Tres to move, the Basilisk managing to change back to his witch form.

"Alright, move it, you cretins!"

The coven scouts and the alchemists force Number One, Tres and Vee out of their cells. They were being led out in chains, while the scouts kept a close eye on them. As they slithered past the cell of the Greater Basilisk, Tres gave her a nod and she nodded back in silent agreement. The scout shoved Tres forward.

"Move it!" the scout told him.

The three Basilisks were moved into a hallway and Tres glared at the scout as he used a stun baton on Number One, while another scout poked at Vee with his baton for fun. Waiting for the right moment, Tres used his tail to knock the scout and take his stun baton.

"Hey!" the other scout shouted while being struck by Number One's tail. Grabbing the stun batons, both Tres and One used them to free themselves from their shackles, while One freed Vee. It was then the alarm screamed, due to another escape attempt being made by the Greater Basilisk and Number Six at the same time.

"What's going on?" Vee asked fearfully.

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine," Number One reassured her.

"Grab her and let's go!" Tres shouted as he led the way.

Coven scouts grabbed their crossbows to hunt down the Basilisks.

"Spread out! They couldn't have gotten far!" were Nicole's orders as the scouts and alchemists searched the building. "I want those Basilisks back here immediately!"

One scout found himself alone when he heard slithering noises. He turned around and saw the trio with Tres getting into a defensive position.

"Do your worst, coven scum!" Tres snarled at him, while One held Vee protectively.

The scout said nothing as he spotted Number One. He lowered his crossbow. "Easy, I'm not here to hurt you," he said as he began to remove his mask, showing a scarred face with tanned skin and brunette hair.

Number One gasped, recognizing the scout's face.

"And why should we trust you?" Tres demanded.

"You have no reason," he admitted. "But I do know a way out."

The sound of screaming scouts was heard in the distance, followed by an explosion. "Come on!" someone shouted.

Number One picked up Vee as she slithered toward the scout.

"What are you doing?" Tres asked.

"We can trust him!" One insisted.

The scout led the trio into the depths of the lab and to a drainage pipe that had a locked gate, which he unlocked with a key. Tres gave him a suspicious look.

"No traps, no tricks… what's your motive? Why are you helping us?" he asked the scout.

The scout looked down, while turning to the group. "I know that I can't justify what is being done to you all, not anymore. I know it is wrong and I'm sorry. I can't reverse what has been done to you, but I can help now!"

One gave him a smile, but Tres just glared at him. "You aren't forgiven, you know."

"I know," the scout responded. "But I'm ready to face whatever consequences or judgment awaits me."

Tres still doesn't buy it as he turns to his fellow Basilisks. "Can we really trust this guy?"

Vee was quiet for a moment before speaking. "I mean… he's gotten us this far, right?"

One looked at the scout. "I trust him," she said while slithering to the scout. "What's your name?"

"Derick Faraday," the scout answered.

Number One smiled before they heard footsteps approaching. "We have to go!" Tres grabbed Vee as the Basilisks slithered toward their way out.

"Go, I'll cover for you!" Derick shouted as he stood between them and the approaching scouts, using his magic to blast them away.

"You… you let them escape!" Nicole cries out while with the scouts and alchemist.

"Yeah, I did the right thing for once," Derick admitted while they began firing arrows at him and he summoned a wall of flames to hold them back.

While they escaped, Number One looked back at Derrick. "Come on, we have to leave!" Tres shouted while Number One hesitated, but she knew that Derick was buying them time.

Derick continued to hold up the wall of flames, wincing in pain as he felt an arrow cut his leg. He looked back at the Basilisks one last time and he gave Number One, a reassuring smile.

"Come on!" Tres shouted, pulling Number One with him and Vee. They fled from the facility, while Derick kept the scouts and alchemists back as long as he could.

Eventually, the flames died down and dozens of arrows shot out of the tunnel. Everything else was quiet after…

At the same location, the tunnel was now sealed. Bursting through was Luz in her cambion form.

"Better than getting out of detention at least," Luz said with a grimace while Tres followed her.

"This is… all too familiar," Tres commented while getting out of the tunnel.

Hieron Labs was in the middle of an evacuation due to the fire. As employees and tourists were hurried out, amongst the tourists were the cloaked figures of Lilith and Megan, the latter in her witch form. Once out, the two used invisibility glyphs to sneak away.

Once they were in the clear, they found themselves in the woods. They heard a rustle, prompting them to get defensive until they saw Luz and Tres popping out.

"Megan…" Tres said, tears leaking from his eyes.

"Tres!" Megan ran up to hug her fellow Basilisk, both of them shifting into their default forms. "Thank Titan, you're alright!"

"I would say the same thing to you!" Tres responded, holding Megan tightly. "Did they hurt you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Megan said while in tears. "The important thing is, we're safe now…"

Luz and Lilith smiled. "Glad we rescued her," Luz said.

"Me too," Lilith agreed.

"But what now?" Megan asked in a worried tone. "I mean, the Emperor's Coven isn't just going to let us go free. They will be coming after us and they won't stop. Is there anywhere we could go where they won't find us?"

Lilith considered this and remembered something. "Actually," she spoke up. "I think I have an idea…"

In a safe house, LOWTH and the SSE nabaged to recuperate as Donna bandaged up Korn, while Emira healed Beocrow's back. Emira was focused on what was on Beocrow's back.

"Titan, that Goblin hurt you real bad from that explosion," Emira noted.

"Oh, you mean that?" he asked, as his back had a large scar across it, which looked more faded than the newer burns. "That scar I got way back."

"What!?" Emira asked in shock.

"Most wicked near-death experience I've had…" he replied proudly, disturbing Emira.

"Okay, that may have not gone great, but it doesn't mean we should give up," Donna said. "We were fighting on his terms back there, so maybe-"

"Um, actually Donna," Linkin spoke as he stood up. "I've been thinking and-" He sighs while Korn, Sioux, Emira, and the Cerberus Sisters turn to him. "I've decided that the Shadowy Secret Expozers should be disbanded."

This shocked his teammates, as well as LOWTH, "What?!" Sioux stood up. "What… why would you decide that?! We still haven't even discuss-"

"Look at us, Sioux!" Linkin told her. "We haven't been able to solve a case since Eve vanished, not even the case of her disappearance! We even tried to replace her with Emira and almost got her killed."

"Hey, it's alright, not the first time I have been almost killed," Emira reassured him.

"Still, that Grim Goblin may be the most dangerous villain we've ever faced. We were way over our heads, and I almost got my team and LOWTH seriously hurt, including Beocrow." He looked down and held up a locket, squeezing it tightly. "Luz was right. Eve's disappearance is our fault, mine especially, and without her… it's best for us to split up for good." He started to walk out of the safe house.

"Linkin, wait," Donna said, rushing up to him. "You can't just leave and disband your team…"

"Sorry, Donna," Linkin apologized. "But this team-up is over. And so are the Shadowy Secret Expozers."

"Linkin, you can't!" Sioux shouted, but he was gone. She turned to Korn and the Cerberus sisters. "Guys, do something!"

"Even if we wanted to, he's got a point, Sioux," Korn said as he stood up. "That Grim Goblin is bad news, we thought that we could take him on…"

"But he is way too dangerous, more so than any of the other villains we've faced," Blondie said.

"Maybe this is for the best," Cyndi added while Patti cries.

"We really are the worst friends!" Patti cried while they, along with Korn, decided to leave as well. This caused Sioux to look down in sorrow and defeat, Veronica and Tina going up to comfort her.

Emira couldn't help but feel bad for the SSE. She had wanted to help them and even though she knew she couldn't replace Eve, it was still sad to see the team drifting away like this.

"I can't believe that just happened," Donna said while looking down, sighing as she sat on the couch.

Emira looked at Donna, amazed at how much she had changed. Or perhaps she never changed and this was always what Donna was like, but Em just never took the opportunity to get to know her better.

"Hey Donna," Emira said as she walked up and sat beside her. "I think it is amazing how you and your friends have decided to become these costumed heroes to help people. So, since my sub-job didn't work out… I was wondering if LOWTH had an opening."

Donna turned to her. "Really? You want to join?"

Emira nodded. "Back then, I wasn't just a bad friend, I was a bad sister. Because of how my mom chose my friends for me and forced me to watch over my siblings… I resented the kids that had no choice in hanging out with me either and my little sister that had no control over how things were at home. And I… I don't like being the witch I once was. I want to be like you. And maybe… maybe this time we could be actual friends."

Donna smiled, patting Emira on the back. "I think I would like that as well. Welcome to the team, Emira. Oh, and I didn't say this earlier, but I'm sorry about your sister. I hope she gets found soon, in addition to Eve."

"I appreciate it," Emira said with a nod. "But I know my sister. She's tough, so I know she's alive. But…" She looked down. "I still worry about her."

"Hey," Sioux said as she walked up to them. "Do you have room for more? I don't know if it's too soon for me to jump to another team after mine disbanded… but I want to unmask the Grim Goblin so that none of this is in vain."

"Of course you are welcome," Donna said as she stood up. "The Grim Goblin may have gotten away this time, but this isn't over. Far from it."

"This does bring up a question," Tina mentioned. "The Grim Goblin was targeting the Shadowy Secret Expozers specifically. This wasn't like what happened at the Coven Day parade attack."

"Maybe he was trying to scare us off," Tyrone suggested.

"Well, whatever the reason, we can at least confirm that he's lurking somewhere in the city," Veronica said.

"Oof… how did I get here?"

Waking up on his couch was Gibson Oscorne. He finds himself in the living room of his home, the Oscorne estate in Metropelvis. He felt his head aching as he slowly stood up from the couch. He looked around, trying to remember what happened as he stepped on something. He looked down and saw a broken picture frame on the floor. He picked it up and saw that it was a picture of a dark-purple haired witch girl, both as young kids. He remembered that young girl fondly…

"Dad?" asked Teri as he came up to the living room, saw his dad up and the living room a mess. "What happened here?"

"Where have you been, son?" Gibson asked him, avoiding the question.

"I was hanging out with Cross," Teri responded while noticing the picture. "Hey, is that…?"

"Yeah, a picture of you and Eve. They… still haven't found her yet, have they?" Gibson asked.

"No," Teri said with a saddened look. "I hope they find her, dad."

"Me too, Terrorance," Gibson said while patting his son's shoulder. "Honestly, I never liked those friends of hers, I always knew they would get her into trouble…"

"Hey, it's not their fault," Teri insisted. "They're just as worried about Eve, they're her friends."

"Yeah, the kind of friends that put her in danger," Gibson said with a serious look. He sighed while turning to his son. "You have your mother's heart. Sometimes you are too much like her. Why don't you go do your homework or something?"

"Okay," Teri said as he started to walk out, but then he stopped and turned toward his father. "Hey dad, um there's a poetry slam down at the Bard Hall this weekend and I was wondering if you'd like to come?"

"I'll see if I'm not busy," he told his son as Teri left his father alone. Gibson then looked down as he pulled out something from his coat… a vial of green liquid. He looked at the liquid, his lips curling as he unbottled the vial and began to drink…

Outside of Hieron Labs, a Healing Coven wagon had shown up to treat the injured alchemists. Ruby was looking around until she saw her Head Witch with the healers on a stretcher. She rushed over to him.

"Head Witch Breathton, are you alright?" Ruby asked him.

Vitimir groaned. "I'll be fine," he said with his usual raspy tone. "Nicole really has gone too far this time. Defying orders, and attacking a Head Witch! I'll make an example out of her… put out a notice for the arrest of Nicole Hieron, she is now kicked out of the Potions Coven, and deemed a threat to the Emperor's Coven and the Day of Unity!"

Ruby nodded. "I'll get right to it, sir. Also, I should inform you that Number One has escaped, and the fire… it started where the other Basilisk corpses were being refrigerated."

"What!?" Vitimir shouted as he banged on the stretcher before wincing. "Dammit! Belos is not going to like this… I suspect this may be the Clawthorne girl's doing…"

"And she escaped, but there were no witnesses to who freed Number One or burned the corpses… we could blame it on Nicole to cover our tracks. After all, she's a traitor."

"Yes… I like what you're thinking, Ruby," Vitimir said while thinking to himself. 'I have a reputation to uphold, after all. Can't have a punk teenager escape embarrassing me.'

Of course, Vitimir didn't know it, but Ruby knew more than she was letting on…

Lilith and Luz flew Tres and Megan over to King's island where he had been born. There, they landed the shores.

"This place is not on any of the Emperor's Coven maps," Lilith explained. "The fog helps to keep it hidden."

"There are also some temples you could move into," Luz added. "You can consider this your new, rent-free home… for now, at least."

Megan went up to Lilith. "I just want to say… thank you, Lilith, for helping us. Right, Tres?" she turned to Tres, who just looked away.

Reluctantly, he managed to look at Lilith and sigh. "Yeah… thank you for helping us. But it doesn't mean I've forgiven you, nor do I think I ever will."

"That is fair," Lilith admitted. "I know that I can't take back the things I've done in the past, especially for what happened to you two. But it doesn't mean that I can't do the right thing now."

Megan smiled, Lilith reminding her of someone. She went to hug Lilith again. "Again, thanks for everything. We promise to keep in touch with you guys to let you know how we're doing."

"That's great, and once I finish up my portal door, I can let Vee know that you two are doing okay. Plus when we find Ivy, we can send him down here."

"Vee and Ivy are alive? That's great!" Megan said happily, while Tres looked relieved to hear that Ivy was fine.

Luz spread out her wings while Lilith got on her staff. "Well, see you guys around. If there's trouble, you know who to call," Luz said as they flew away.

"Bye!" Megan waved while Tres just turned around to slither away, Megan noticing him going into the jungle. "Tres?"

Once they were back in the Isles, Luz and Lilith prepared to go their separate ways.

"Thank you for your help, Luz," Lilith said to her. "I appreciate it."

"Well, chances are this may result in me getting into trouble with Belos, which is nothing new, but it was worth it to save Megan," Luz replied. "So… how's Hunter doing?"

"He's doing fine. He was pretty shaken up and he didn't take the news about the new Golden Guard well, but he should be fine with mom and dad," Lilith answered. "Me and Eda agree that we should probably keep you away from him for now."

Luz looked down at her hands and sighed. "Honestly, that is the right call."

Lilith nodded. "I should really get going. Good night, and good luck with your portal door, Luz," she said, patting Luz affectionately on the shoulder before flying away back to her home.

"Yeah, thanks," Luz said as she started to head back to the Owl House when she heard a voice.

"Hello again, Luz."

She paused, recognizing the familiar voice. Turning around, she saw a man stepping from behind a tree… and she knew him as someone she had seen once before on Pleasure Island.

"You!" Luz pointed to him. "You're Baron Samedi, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am, Ma chauve-souris rebelle." He tipped his hat to her while taking a bow. "I just wanted to say that I find it interesting how much you trusted Lilith, despite knowing what she's done to your poor, dear mothers."

"That's because I've chosen to forgive her," Luz said while narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh I know," he remarked. "But your forgiveness towards your aunt isn't enough to save her soul. Sooner or later, she will have to answer for all of her actions, both good and bad."

"What?!" Luz exclaimed. "What gave you that right?!"

"I am a death loa, I have every right," he said, moving his cane up to point at Luz. "And your auntie still owes me."

"Owes you?" Luz was getting angry and she spat at him, "Lilith has suffered enough as it is! What's it going to take for you to leave my aunt for good!?"

The Baron smirked while swinging his cane. "Well, if you're that determined to get me off of your aunt's back, maybe you can help settle her debt. A soul for a soul. But not your soul…"

Luz still glared at him. "What kind of soul?"

"There's a specific soul I want, and for it I am willing to cut you a deal," the Baron said.

Luz nodded. "I'm listening…"

"Tres? Where are you?" Megan asked while she slithered onto the shore. "Tres?"

"Over here," Tres said, reappearing.

"Tres, where have you…" She noticed several boats flying through the mist toward them. "What… what's going on?!"

"Now, don't panic, they're with me!" Tres reassured her as the flying boats landed on the shore.

"Hello, Tres," Draco said as he disembarked along with Seth and his Separtians. Included in the group… was Ivy.

"Tres, Megan!" Ivy waved to them.

"Ivy!" Megan exclaimed as they were joyfully reunited. "Luz mentioned that you were alright!"

"Yeah, where have you been?" Tres asked him.

"I was captured by this group called the Tarot Guild," Ivy explained. "I was used as a pet, a monster to feed on unfortunate witches that they gave me. It was not a great experience for me, so I've decided to be a vegetarian from now on."

"But now he is safe from the horrors of witchkind," Draco mentioned.

"We're glad that you're alright, Ivy," Megan said while turning to Draco and Seth. "So… who are you guys?"

"Megan, meet Draco, and Seth of Septaris," Tres introduced them to her. "Draco, this is Megan, the Basilisk that I've mentioned."

"Yes, nice to meet you too," Draco said with a shrug as he focused his attention on Tres, "Now then, let's see our new home."

Draco made his way to the King's Tower and went inside with Tres, Megan, Ivy, Seth and his army. He went over to one of the walls and studied it, his hand brushing against the symbols on the wall. "I don't believe it," Tres said before he turned to the Basilisks. "Tres, do you have it?"

"Have what?" Megan asked before Tres coughed out a tube.

"Had to swipe them while my associates were distracting the alchemists," Tres said while Draco grabbed the tube and opened it, looking at the papers they contained.

"What? Tres… what's in those papers?" Megan asked.

Underneath his hood, Draco smiled. "These are notes and instructions that show how Hieron Labs was able to revive you and your fellow Basilisks in the first place," he explains to her. "With this information, I would be able to resurrect more Basilisks… a whole army of them!"

"An army?" Megan asked while Draco held his staff up, lighting up the entire castle tower. This revealed a painting on the ceiling that King and the others had not seen during their last visit. This painting showed the Titan fighting against a horned figure… the Horned King.

"You see this?" Draco asked while showing everyone the painting. "Today, the witches of the Boiling Isles believe that the Basilisks were just born from the Titan's carcass like they were… but what if I were to tell you that we were not born from the Titan, but we were originally born from the Horned King?"

"Who's… the Horned King?" Ivy asked.

Draco pointed to another painting that showed a meteor. "A forgotten being who fell from the sky and landed in the Demon Realm," Draco answered. "We were his creations, but he abandoned us and left us to fend for ourselves, allowing the children of the Horned King to be hunted down by the wicked children of the Titan! But now, at long last, we will have our revenge on witchkind and this, a monument to the Titan, will be the perfect base!"

He then removed his hood, showing his pale, ocean-colored Basilisk skin with fins, dark blue hair, yellow eyes, and green fangs. He looked like a hybrid between a Basilisk and a witch.

"I am the son of the last Basilisks and soon I shall be the King of the Basilisks!" he declared. "Join me and you will never be hunted again!"

The Septarian army cheered at this.

"If it means taking down the Emperor's Coven, I'm on board," Tres said.

Megan, meanwhile, looks less thrilled at the idea. She wasn't sure if she was up for this kind of thing...

After flying back home, Lilith found Hunter with Dell. "I'm back," she announced.

"Ah, Lily, welcome," Dell said while with Hunter. "I was just teaching Hunter a few fun facts about Palismen. The boy's shown quite the interest."

"Really?" Lilith turned to Hunter, who just rubbed the back of his head.

"I've um… had an interest in Palismen since meeting Flapjack," Hunter said as Flapjack chirped at him, making him smile.

For some reason, this made Lilith smile too as she decided to join them. "Well, if you are interested in learning about Palismen, I can help with that."

He turned to Lilith. "Really?"

Lilith nodded. "Of course, I've learned from the best." She turned to her father, who smiled at her. "So what do you like to know?"

Back at the Saltstar estate, Boscha continued to stare blankly at the wall of her bedroom.

Unknown to Boscha, the shadow under her bed starts to emerge, forming into Nicole. "Boscha, my dear."

Boscha turned and was shocked to see her mother. "Mo-"

"Shh, listen," Nicole hushed her. "It's good to see that you are better," she told her daughter, reaching out to her while Boscha backed away. "Don't be alarmed… look, I got into some trouble and we need to leave right now. I need you to come with me so we can-"

"No." Boscha told her, shaking as her face became filled with anger. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she shouted, shocking Nicole.

"But Pink-Eyes-"

"NO! YOU HAVE HURT ME FOR THE LAST TIME!" Boscha declared as she stood up, waking up her Palisman who jumped up in alarm. "You ruined my life! I've been put through hell all because of your damn pettiness! I AM DONE LISTENING TO YOU AND I NEVER, EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FUCKING FACE AGAIN!" she shouted at her while her pinkish skin turned red from anger.

This shocked Nicole, who had never seen Boscha like this. She then heard someone approaching.

"Boscha? Boscha are you alright?" Opening the door was Beck along with Simon, Samwitch, Skara, Bo, Cat, Amelia, Gavin, Ukla, and Angmar. However, Nicole was already gone and they just saw Boscha standing on her bed. "Boscha?"

"Who… were you screaming at?" Gavin asked, while Boscha just remained silent as she stared at the floor.

Luz flew back to the Owl House, seeing her family as she stepped inside.

"Hey, how's building the portal door?" Eda asked Luz while feeding Kay while King laid beside her.

"I made a lot of progress, but then I had to run an errand with Aunt Lily," Luz replied. "Where's Mami?"

"In the kitchen," Eda responded while Luz sat beside her and Kay.

"So how was dealing with the press?" Luz asked her.

"Oh it was hectic, then that Fox woman showed up to interview me, I showed her up, and then made a little video statement on my Penstagran," Eda responded. "I've been getting a lot more followers."

"You should've seen it, Luz," King said. "Mom had Hooty shoot Felicity Fox out like a cannon!"

"Honestly, I still think this whole thing will blow over in a week," Eda admitted. "Now tell me how did that little errand with Lily go?"

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Camila was trying to find something to make Luz for dinner.

"Camila…"

She heard a voice calling for her. The voice sounded familiar as she went to look outside the window. She spotted something standing at the edge of the woods. But that something was someone. Her eyes widened when that someone turned his head to her.

She gasped. "M-Manny?" she said while seeing Manny gestured for her to come to him.

She rushed out of the kitchen and headed into the woods, too overcome with emotion to think clearly. Tears were flooding from her eyes as she went to embrace Manny. "Manny! Oh, estoy tan contenta de verte, mi esposo!" she cried, happy to see him again.

"Hey, it's alright, Camila," Manny said, patting her back as he embraced her. "I just came back for you…"

"Oh Manny, I…" Camila noticed something was off about him. "But… how are you here? What happened back at Department A? This doesn't make sense-"

"Hey, it doesn't have to," he assured her. "Just be glad that I'm alright, my love."

It was then Camila noticed that Manny was wearing his casual clothes rather than his work uniform, which was how he looked the last time she saw him. "But… how did you get here?"

"Same way you were brought back," Manny replied and Camila realized that he didn't have a shadow, just like her.

"Well, why don't you come and see Luz! She just got back and-" But Camila was stopped as Manny kept holding her hand tightly. "Manny?"

"Luz can wait, I just want to see you, my dear.," he said, which alarmed Camila.

"You… you're not Manny…" She glared as she began to struggle and punch 'Manny' away from her. She then started to run back to the Owl House and was about to shout, only to not hear anything come out. 'My voice!' she thought while covering her mouth, 'What happened to my voice-' Her train of thought was paused as she became frozen in place.

Manny chuckled. "You're probably wondering why we're doing this?" he asked, his voice now belonging to the Inner Demon. "You see… he wants his shadow back…"

Camila's eyes widened as she was forced to walk towards 'Manny' against her will and she saw 'Manny' change into a hooded figure, the Shapeshifter, who grinned at her. Camila was in tears as she herself started to change. Her body had begun to fade…

Suddenly, a cane was shot up to hit the Shapeshifter, knocking him away. The Shapeshifter glared at the one who attacked him: the Baron.

"You leave her alone, Demon!" the Baron said, pointing to the Shapeshifter. "Camila Noceda is under my protection!"

"So you're the one who brought her back!" The Shapeshifter's face turned into the Inner Demon's as he launched himself toward the Baron while summoning a dagger, which the Baron used his cane to block.

Back at the Owl House, Luz walked into the kitchen. "Hey Mami, how's-" She noticed her birth mother was gone. "Mami?" She looked around and noticed the back door was open. "Mami?" She rushed out and turned to Hooty. "Hooty, where's Camila?!"

"Oh, I don't know, but I did hear her running into the woods," Hooty replied.

"And you didn't stop her!?" she chastised the bird worm. "Titan's crack, Hooty!"

"I assumed you guys knew!" Hooty responded, now worried as Luz ran into the woods.

"Mami? Mami, where are you!?" Luz called out. "Camila Noceda?!"

"AAAH!"

She heard a scream and became more worried as she followed the sound of the scream. "MAMI!?" she shouted, only to find a hooded figure crouched over the Baron, who now had a dagger in his heart. Luz gasped.

"The deal… still stands, kid," the Baron winced as his eyes and mouth glowed green. The loa spirit was driven out of the body, leaving it to decompose due to age. The body of Dr. Facilier became died up as the bones turned to dust.

"What the…" Luz backed away before looking at the hooded figure. "You… who the hell are you!?" she demanded while holding her glyph cards.

The Shapeshifter didn't say a word as he stood up, his back turned to Luz as he reached up and unhooded himself, revealing his pointed ears, his messy brown hair… and his horns.

He turned around and Luz dropped her cards in shock.

"No…" she said.

"Hello, Luz, it's been a while, hasn't it?" asked the Shapeshifter, also known as Puck Goodfellow…

Alright, looks like we've slam-blam shang-a-lang BLAST YOUR MINDS with the biggest reveals of Luz Clawthorne… that Witch Jerry was responsible for advertisements for the Emperor's Coven!...kind of.

Okay, in all seriousness, yes that is truly, really is, Puck Goodfellow himself! How is that possible, you asked? Well, remember back when after the Coachman was killed, he woke up inside a grave before being dragged to the loa realm. Then after Meteora was killed, she woke up in a temple. And Maleficent was killed in Sleeping Beauty, yet she is alive in the present day. As you see here, this was meant to hint that death can be temporary for a Fae, though in this case for Puck, he came back wrong.

Also as a reassurance, just because the Baron has lost a host, doesn't mean the deal he made with Nicole along with owning hers and Lilith's souls were null and void. He still owns them, he's just a spirit that is just inhabiting a body, so he could just go out and find a new one, or return to the loa realm.

Now as a reminder, Vanessa Pierce has appeared in the first LC Sidetrack, the Skarlow Date one, as stated she's a expy for Vincent Van Ghoul. And of course to introduce the new OC that are the stand-in expies of the Ghoul School girls from the Scooby-Doo Franchise.

-Drusilla is a expy of Sibella, the daughter of Dracula.

-Helga, being an obvious Elsa parody.

-Belawolf is an expy of Winry, who's name is a pun of Bela Lugosi. She's also the niece of Eberwolf, who is her pibling(a gender-neutral meaning parents' sibling).

-Ester is a parody of Phantasma, as her design is based off of Ember McClain from Danny Phantom.

-Brenda, who's a parody of Tanis, as her name is a homage to Brendan Fraser who starred in The Mummy series.

-The Blood Water Gang with their funny swordfishman are a parody of Jabberjaw and the Neptunes, based more on from the CN Groovies where they reimagined Jabberjaw and the Neptunes as a ska band, performed by Pain. Their names are puns from ska rock and punk bands such as Smashermouth being named after Smash Mouth and his appearanced based off of Arlong from One Piece. There's also the leader, Know Doubt, named after No Doubt. The Clamhead expy is named after another Ska band, Potshot. Aqua is named after The Aquabats, and June who's named after… June.

Then there's Todd Treed, another fox biped demon cause, well, they're common. Todd is actually based off of Todd from Fox and the Hound, and he's unfortunately, Felicity Fox's assistant.

As for Draco, well he is another expy. Like, if Donna's an expy of Adora, and Nina is an expy of Catra, than Draco is an expy of Keldor and King Hiss from the Masters of the Universe franchise.

Megan's backstory is based off of a Smallville Continuity comic as well as a Moringmark comic, "Escape the Castle." Where we've based Megan's appearance off of the human form of Megan Morse, aka Miss Martian of DC Comics and how you know her from, Young Justice. In the Continuity, she was raised and studied by King Faraday and Checkmate. Megan reminds Faraday of his own daughter, which cause the two to grow a bond before Faraday's death.

Emira knowing Donna was meant as from the "Blighted by the Light" chapter from Book One, Ed and Em mentions that they've been forced to make friends with the high class status. Donna being one of those forced friends. And we've decided it would be interesting if Emira joins LOWTH, considering that she really needs to hang out with friends her age, along with getting more positive influences in her life, while her brother is about to fall into the bad crowd with Mel, Cups and Mugs. As for Mel, well she was meant to be a red herring, for she has nothing to do with the Shapeshifter.

Nothing much to say, so here are the reviews:

Crosshot: Scandalyn's whereabouts are still unknown…

Ultimate-drax: You should see the last Family Guy Christmas episode…

Matteso585: 1) There's no need to fill him in on that, he probably already knows. 2) Yeah, definitely the start of her character development. 3) Merry Christmas and a Happy 2023.

Franco Almiron: Thanks

Darraq: We'll see.

Shuffollower: The same way most grave robbers do, and probably not. And yeah, it's the start of Nina's character development.

Happy holidays, 2023, stay safe and check in on your mental health. In the meantime, welcome 2023, we'll be ready for whatever you have for us...