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

Chapter 92: The Gold Hexperience

Four Years Ago…

Walking through the woods, the young Luz jumped from log to log while accompanied by the young Hunter.

"Are you sure your friends will… like me?" Hunter asked her.

"Of course they will, loser," Luz responded as she noticed a bug on a tree. She grabbed it and threw it into her mouth, eating it. "Told them to meet up at the usual spot… here!"

Hunter looked ahead and spotted the young Willow and Gus in a clearing. Willow was helping an ailing flower while Gus was just reading a comic book.

"Gus! Willow!" Luz waved to them.

"Luz!" the two replied as she ran up to them.

"How's the old Team Go issue, Gus?" Luz asked him.

"Oh man, the part where their sister is thinking of joining the dark side, I can't wait for the next issue!" Gus replied. "You said this was based on a true story, right?"

"That's what the comics say," Luz said with a shrug while turning to Willow. "Man, you're like a flower whisperer, Willow."

"Yeah, but my dads still want me to give Abominations a try this semester," Willow replied unsurely while noticing Hunter. "Is that him?"

"Yup," Luz said while Hunter caught up to her. "Meet Hunter, the fellow weirdo that I told ya about!"

"H-Hi… um… salutations," Hunter said while giving his best smile he could muster despite his nervousness.

"Oh yeah, you're the guy Luz almost clobbered with a golf club!" Gus pointed out.

"Y-Yeah," he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, I guess she also mentioned that I'm… a magicless witch."

"No, actually," Willow confirmed, which surprised Hunter.

"R-Really?" Hunter asked, turning to Luz.

"Mom said that I shouldn't tell other people about other people's business," Luz said. "She said that you should tell them when you're ready."

"Now they know!" Hunter told Luz.

"You're the one who told them!" Luz pointed out.

"I thought you would tell them anyway!" Hunter argued.

"Geez, you really need to have some faith in your friends more…" Luz pointed out while Willow spoke up.

"Okay, enough!" Willow split them up. "Look, why don't we start looking for some skincada shells. That is why we're here, right?"

"Yeah, I hear they're supposed to come out of hibernation every five years! Leaving their molted skin for us to find!" Gus declared.

"And to use for one of my mom's side businesses," Luz said as Willow pulled out some nets and boxes.

And so the group of four scouted through the forest with Hunter looking on edge. Willow took notice of this.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked.

"Oh, um… sorry," Hunter apologized. "It's um… you could say that… I'm a bit wary."

"Yeah, I've read that skincadas are infamous for their loud noises and aggressive behavior," Willow said, nodding.

"Y-Yeah, that," he said while looking down.

"So… what can you tell us about yourself, Hunter?" Gus asked him.

"I… don't know," Hunter said while avoiding their gaze.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Willow asked him.

"I… I'm not sure," he admitted. He didn't know what to say to them, not being used to interacting with kids his age. He also worried that since now they knew he was magicless they were gonna look down on him. Just like how others didn't think he could cut it in the Emperor's Coven. He was feeling really nervous…

"Hey," Willow patted his shoulder, getting him to look up to her as she pulled him aside. "There's nothing you should be nervous about, Hunter. If this is about you being magicless, I don't think any less of you because of it."

This surprised him. "R-Really?"

"Yeah, and I can relate, even if it's not quite the same thing," Willow said. "I may not be magicless, but I am considered a half-a-witch by my classmates, all because I have struggled with my magic."

"I… didn't know that," Hunter said while looking away. "But um, thanks."

Willow nodded while Gus walked over. "Hey, have any of you guys seen Luz?"

"RUN AWAY!"

The three turned to see Luz running toward them. "I found the skincadas and I've angered them! RUN!" she shouted as a swarm of buzzing insects made of dandruff and skin flew after her with their loud, screeching noise.

"AAAHHH!" Willow, Gus and Hunter screamed as they ran off.

Elsewhere, a young Amity was reading her Azura book while Ed and Em were in a store. She heard screaming in the distance and she looked up before shrugging and getting glued back to her book.

After escaping from the skincadas, the four kids took a moment to catch their breath from all that running. Hunter looked at Luz. "Are you nuts for angering a nest of skincadas?!" he exclaimed.

"Well I knew it was risky, but… at least we got their skin!" Luz rustled her hair, causing a bunch of the skincada molted skins to fall out.

"Way to go, Luz!" Gus said as he picked them up and placed them in the box.

"Yeah, this is all worth the running! I think," Willow said while looking at the molted skin.

"See that wasn't too bad, right Hunter?" Luz asked him.

Hunter sighed. "This is the second time I had to run for my life while being around you, Luz."

Luz laughed. "And it probably won't be the last!"

Yet despite that, Hunter would continue to hang out with them in the years to come…

"Hey Hunter!" the trio spoke as they saw Hunter while at Lake Lacuda.

"Hey guys!" Hunter waved as he went to hang out with them by the lake. "So what did I miss?" he asked after missing them for months.

"Yo, Hunter, you're here!" Luz said while hanging out at the Newt Burger with Willow, Gus and King, a year after they first met.

"Sorry I was late, I was… occupied," Hunter said, having to hide the fact that he snuck out during training.

Another year passed and Hunter and Gus were trading cards.

"What if I trade you this Apollus card for your Oso card?" Hunter asked Gus while looking at his Coven Head Cards.

"I don't know, owning an Apollus card could be problematic," Gus pointed out. "Why not throw in Olive Slick, and then we'll talk."

Hunter gave him a nod. "Deal!"

"Gus! Where are you?" Willow called out as she, Luz and Hunter searched for him. About another year had passed.

"He shouldn't be far," Hunter said while looking around. "He could be hiding under the gore tree or in the fields… what if he finds himself near a firebee nest?!"

"I see a light in the cave!" Luz pointed out, seeing a light in the cave ahead.

"You shouldn't have ran away, Gus," Luz said while they sat with Gus. "Your dad's worried sick."

"I know, it's just…" Gus looked down with his arms crossed. "I was afraid of getting grounded when he found out about the failed school project."

"Hey, you know your dad doesn't care if you failed once," Luz assured him.

"Yeah, Gus. It's okay to fail. I mean, look at me! I fail all the time!" Willow pointed out.

Gus chuckled. "Oh yeah? Like when?" The four suddenly heard an explosion in the distance, followed by the screams of Willow's dads.

"Like tonight! I forgot to chain up my Abomination homework!" Willow shouted.

"And how do you think I have to get healed from all the burns after trying to perfect my lightning glyphs?" Luz asked while showing her bandaged fingers. "As mom said, failure's a part of life, which is why you shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

Hearing this, Hunter thought of how back at the Emperor's Coven, failure wasn't an option. Failure was seen as a weakness… but to them, they saw it as a way to help improve themselves and they didn't think any less of each other for it.

But of course, they didn't have the Emperor himself as an uncle…

"You want to go see what Hexside is like?" Willow asked Hunter, having met up with him while she was on her way to school.

"Yeah," Hunter replied. "I just want to have a look at what a… public school is like. Given that I've been home schooled all my life by my uncle."

"But how will I sneak you in?" Willow asked while Hunter spotted the cauldron full of Abomination gunk.

"You said you've had some issues with your project, right?" Hunter asked and Willow nodded.

Soon at Hexside, Willow rolled her cauldron in while Hunter peeked out from inside, spotting Gus as he walked over to them.

"Willow, you would not believe humans," he said while reading a magazine. "Did you know that humans nail barbed wires into their teeth!" He showed her a picture of a human girl with braces. "But why?! Maybe… to make them magnetic…"

"Actually I asked Luz about that," Hunter's voice said from the cauldron, surprising Gus and making Willow nervous. "It's actually for storing treats!"

Gus looked at the cauldron in suspicion. "Is that…?"

Willow sighed. "Abomination, rise," she said as Hunter popped up from the cauldron.

"Hey Gus!" Hunter said while covered in purple goo.

"Hunter?!" Gus exclaimed as Willow shushed him. He whispered. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Look, don't worry, we've thought about it," Willow reassured him "I'm just gonna show him around the school while he pretends to be my Abomination."

"Yeah, and I can do a pretty good Abomination impersonation. So everything's going to be fine!" Hunter declared.

After school they met up with Luz, who listened to the sobbing of Hunter, Willow and Gus as they told her what happened.

"Bump found out!" Gus cried out.

"I got in trouble with my dads!" Willow wept as well.

"My uncle will get mad at me for this!" Hunter shouted as he rocked back and forth while in tears.

Luz just looked at them with a snicker. "Sorry, sorry it's just… what made you guys think that was a good idea?" She found it a hilarious moment.

"Say Hunter, I've been… meaning to ask," Gus said while he and Hunter waited for Luz and Willow, who were picking out something for Eda's birthday.

"What is it?" Hunter asked while eating a eyesicle.

"Where did you get your scars?" he asked, which made Hunter look nervous. "I've noticed some of them are new. Willow said that I shouldn't ask but I'm just a little curious."

"Um… oh you know, I'm a bit… reckless," he said. "Despite being magicless. Which I guess makes me like Luz!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Willow asked as she and Luz walked over with Eda's gift.

"Gossamer here asks me about my scars," Hunter pointed out.

"Gus…" Willow turned to Gus, who got nervous.

"Hey, it's cool, Flower Girl. I don't mind," Hunter replied. "He was just curious, that's all."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning that you've done a lot of reckless shit," Luz said while holding her then inanimate bat. "Just like me and my lightning glyphs!" She held up the lightning glyph, which caused electric static that frizzled up her hair. "Science…"

Hunter snickered before he heard Willow speak to him. "Where did you really get those scars?"

"Um… I told you before, didn't I?" Hunter asked, his eyes shifting to her.

Willow's glasses glinted in the light, hiding her eyes. "Did your uncle give them to you?"

Hunter looked pale and he backed away as he dropped his eyesicle. "Willow… what are you…?" He suddenly found himself alone in a dark void, alone except for Willow who shifted and transformed into a dark, oozing monster.

"Where did you get those scars, Hunter?" the monster asked as it took the shape… of Belos, who opened his jaw wide as he lunged at Hunter.

Hunter gasped, waking up from his sleep. Flapjack flew over to comfort him as he caught his breath.

"That was… just a dream…" Hunter said while looking at his own scars on his arm. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

Later, Hunter was having breakfast with Lilith, Gwen, and Dell.

"Lilith, is there something the matter?" Dell asked his daughter.

"I'm… fine, dad," Lilith replied while pinching the bridge in her nose.

"Are you sure you're feeling well, Sweet Flea?" Gwendolyn asked her with a worried tone. "You looked a little sick when you came home last night…"

"I think there must've been something in the food I had for lunch," Lilith said as she got up. "I should get to work."

"Are you sure?" Hunter asked her.

"I should be fine, but thank you, Hunter," Lilith replied to him while grabbing her staff. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Alright, see ya!" Hunter waved as she left. He then heard his scroll buzz and he pulled it out to see that Gavin had texted him.

'Hey man! Guess what? First day of being a Hexsidian! Going with Angmar and Boscha! Check out the new uniform!'

Seeing an image of Gavin in a Hexside uniform made Hunter smile as he texted them. "Good luck, you three. I promise to talk to you guys later." He sent the message.

"Was that one of your friends?" Dell asked him.

"Yeah, Gavin texted to me that he, Angmar, and Boscha have been transferred to Hexside and this is their first day," Hunter explained..

"Well, that's good for them," Gwendolyn replied. "But what about Ukla?"

"She's decided to be homeschooled for the time being," Hunter said while Flapjack chirped at him. "Um, excuse me," he said as he excused himself from the table.

He left the room while Flapjack continued to chirp at him, causing an argument.

"Hey, hey, I know, alright?" he told Flapjack who kept chirping. "Flapjack, enough! Okay, I know that I should've told Gavin… but I can't. Not until I'm sure." Flapjack still chirped "You don't know if that Abomination is him! We don't know what we saw in the woods!"

Hunter turned to look out the window and into the woods. "We don't know what we saw back at the raid…"

In the Emperor's Castle, Emily Tricks was in her coven scout uniform as she ate her breakfast in the mess hall with her fellow scouts. She couldn't help but overheard the commotion going on.

"You take that back!" shouted Clé as he along with his scoutmates were up in arms towards Joana, Thunder, and some of the others.

"That's what I'm hearing from Venoma," Joana said. "Steve defected from the Emperor's Coven and is now a wild witch."

"But Steve wouldn't defect without a reason!" Hugh argued.

"Yeah, we should at least hear his side of the story," Scarmaron said while Thunder slapped a wanted poster at him.

"A traitor's side of the story isn't worth hearing, shrimp!" Thunder shouted, the poster showing Steve's face. "He isn't like the first scout that betrayed us."

"Remember that bad boy scout, Judd? Got locked up after committing criminal activities during scout duty," Skrap mentioned.

"Steve's not like that delinquent!" one scout shouted. "Steve had a perfect record, unlike Ms. Cheater here!" He pointed to Emily, who clenched her fists and tried to ignore him.

"Hey, keep it down, you know that's Adrian's apprentice," Carter whispered. "My advice, don't get too close to her or else she could hypnotize us."

"Think she did that to the Emperor?" Joana asked as Emily stood up, startling the scouts.

"...I'm done here," Emily said as she left her table, leaving her food mostly untouched.

"Well if she doesn't want the rest of it, I call dibs!" Bowen said as he ate Emily's leftovers, disgusting the other scouts.

After walking out of the mess hall, Emily was slapped by a note to the face. She grunted as she grabbed the flying note and looked at it, seeing that it was for her.

Get in Costume

Emily, now donning the Golden Guard suit, marched over to the Emperor's throne room. As she approached the doors, they flew open and coming out were the Coven Heads. Passing her by are Hettie, Pawculus, Weevil, and Napoli, the latter bumping into her.

"Watch it! Gosh!" Napoli shouted as Emily moved aside to see Calypso and Hammers passing by along with Alador, who was being escorted by Terra. The Plant Coven Head glanced at Emily while smiling before turning her eyes back to Alador.

Counting the Coven Heads leaving, Emily realized that Adrian wasn't among them. Confused, she turned to enter the empty throne room. "Head Witch Graye? Are you still there?" she asked through the mask's disoriented voice. She heard footsteps and turned around to see someone else coming in… but it was not Adrian.

"What the…!" A second Golden Guard appeared, pointing at Emily. "What are you doing here?!"

"I should be asking that!" Emily pointed at them back. The two were pointing at each other. "Why are you here?"

"That's what I want to know!" the second Golden Guard declared.

"All will be explained," said a voice.

The two Golden Guards turned to see Adrian making his presence known.

"Head Witch Graye!" Emily and the second Golden Guard said together.

"Yes, now as for why you two are here… I have an important assignment." Graye told them. "Emily, you will be visiting St. Epiderm for a recruitment drive. Also you can both take your masks off. We are alone here."

Emily removed her masks, as did the second Golden Guard… revealing the face of Cross Drakescale.

"But why isn't Cross doing it like we originally planned?" Emily questioned.

"Well apparently since the Scarfish incident, one of his classmates has gotten suspicious, so we need you to go there instead so that Cross and the 'Golden Guard' can be seen together," Adrian pointed out.

"I mean, we're already stand-ins for the original, so might as well be stand-ins for each other," Cross said with a shrug.

"Yes, don't forget that you two are meant to be fill-ins for various Golden Guard appearances under my direction," Adrian reminded them. "Nobody knows what happened to the original golden child, but that need not concern you. All you need to worry about is playing your part like good little actors and following the directions of your director." He turned to Emily, walking towards her. "As for you, this is your shot at redemption after your failure with the Palisman raid, Tricks. Put on a good show, find me recruits, and you will be forgiven. Understood?"

Emily gave him a nod. "I understand, sir. I'll do it."

"Of course you will," Adrian said, his lips curling into a smile as he placed his hand under her chin, lifting it up. "You're very good at doing exactly what you're told…"

Cross narrowed his eyes at Adrian, while Emily just stared at Adrian blankly. The Illusions Head then made his leave while turning to Cross. "Get ready to go to school, my boy. Gotta keep up appearances." He patted Cross's shoulder before walking out of the throne room.

Cross and Emily shared a look, Cross looking at her with pity while Emily just shifted her eyes away from him. Cross then left her alone and Emily looked down at her Golden Guard mask… staring at her reflection.

It was dawn in the forest where Willow was shown working out, doing sit-ups with Clover spotting her.

"After years of thinking I wasn't good enough, I finally found something I can be good at…"

She swung her vines, which were connected to a tree, up and down while flexing her muscles.

"Something I wanna be good at!"

She jumped the vine rope while counting, with Clover holding the vine as she swung it for Willow to jump up and down.

"Switching to the Plant Track was just the beginning, I'm on my way to becoming the witch I wanna be!"

At the Park household, Willow was talking to herself while looking in the mirror.

"I can do this… right?" Willow asked herself before glancing at a picture from a newspaper article, showing her dads and their Flyer Derby team from their youth after winning a game.

"Ready for the big day?" Gilbert asked.

Willow looked at her reflection and smiled when she saw her dads standing behind her. "Going to follow in the footsteps of your dads, huh Tulip?" Gilbert asked as Willow got up.

"Hey, I got the eye of the liger." Willow replied with a wink.

"Just remember that Flyer Derby isn't about how you win… it's how you soar!" Sully declared while patting Willow's shoulder. "We promise that we will go to every game when you get the school to approve your team."

"Thanks, dads!" Willow replied, hugging them. Once they left, she brought out the crystal ball while getting ready for school, contacting Skara.

"Hey girlfriend! Are you excited?!" Skara asked through the crystal ball. "Cause I am!"

"Me too!" Willow replied. "I already got the pamphlets made."

"And I got permission for us to set up a stand!" Skara replied.

"Yeah, the club fair is perfect to drum up interest!" Willow replied. "Oh, and if you can, maybe you could get Nina to help out if she wants to."

"Really? Okay, I'll ask her if she's interested," Skara said. "See ya later, my sunflower!"

Willow smiled. "See you too, my Ska-love!" After they both hung up, Willow walked over to Gus's room to make sure he was up.

She knocked on the door. "Gus! You in there?" When he didn't answer, she poked her head in and saw that Gus was still in bed. "Gus?"

Gus was laying on his bed in silence. He was awake, but unable to do anything except stare at the ceiling.

"Gus…" Willow said with a saddened expression. "Um, I don't know if you're still up for it, but today is when I start my Flyer Derby team. Maybe… you could join?" she suggested.

He turned his head to Willow. "You would still have me?" he asked her.

"Of course," Willow nodded, walking up to him. "I can't think of anyone else I would rather have. What do you say?"

Gus managed to smile as he got out of bed. "Alright, I think I'm up for it."

"That's good, Gus." Willow patted his shoulder. "And hey, you know you can always talk to me. Now get ready."

At the Owl House, Luz and Amity were getting ready for school.

"Alright, I'll be at the orphanage all day, so will you two be okay?" Eda asked them.

"Yeah, today's Club Day and me and Ams are thinking of starting an Azura book club," Luz replied.

"Yeah, something fun to take our mind off of things," Amity added as she smiled happily. "I can't wait to go back to school, especially since I haven't been to Hexside in two weeks! I am so glad that I am back in time for Club Day!"

"What's so exciting about a club day?" King asked while having Maurice on top of his skull. "Do you get to whack people?"

"No King, Club Day's when Hexside students get to show off their student clubs and try to get other people interested," Luz explained. "Me and Ams are going to open up an Azura Book Club for anyone who'd be interested in Azura. Though even if it just ends up being the two of us, I think we will still have fun."

Amity then saw Acorn fly up to her. "Hey, this school you go to… can I come? I've been cooped up in this house for so long, I'm willing to go out on an adventure with you!"

"Well… sure, just try not to get eaten, Acorn, or seen by Faust," Amity replied as she looked concerned. "Speaking of, I'm a bit worried about what Faust might do. Considering mine, Willow, Gus and Eve's absences…"

"Oh we can deal with him, Ams," Luz reassured her, patting her girlfriend's back. She looked around, noticing that someone was absent from the living room. "Say, where's Star?"

"Oh she's hanging out with Raine in the basement," Eda answered.

Star looked in awe at the map of the Boiling Isles that Raine showed her.

"We live on the right arm of the Titan," Raine explained. "Up here is the Titan's skull, which is considered sacred grounds to us witches."

"I have one question about this island," Star said, raising her hand up. "Is there something between the legs of the Titan?"

Before Amity and Luz left, Camila gave them both huge hugs. "Good luck on your first day back to school."

"Will do, mami," Luz replied as Amity hugged Kay.

"I'll be seeing you after school, Kay," Amity promised as she kissed Kay on the forehead, making the baby gillchild giggle as she handed her to Camila.

"So, want me to carry you to school?" Luz asked while her wings spread out.

"Actually, I'm thinking of using my staff to fly there," Amity replied, which made Luz pout in dismay.

"Oh, right… you don't need me…" Luz said while making the puppy noise.

"Oh, of course I do, Luz," Amity said as patted her girlfriend's back, finding it cute that she acted like this. "Maybe you can carry me some other time. Sounds good?"

Luz gave her a nod. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Amity had Ghost transform into her staff and checked to make sure Acorn secure before she and Luz set off for school, Eda flying in a different direction as she set off for the orphanage.

At the Saltstar home, Boscha prepared for school as Hogarth changed into her staff. She walked out of her room, meeting up with Simon.

"You ready, Boscha?" Simon asked her, holding his own staff.

"Yeah," she nodded, back in her old Hexside uniform. "Ready to fly out."

"Boscha," said a female voice.

The triclops witch turned to see Samwitch and Beck walking over to her with a look of concern.

"Are you sure that you are ready to go back to Hexside?" Beck asked her in worry.

Boscha nodded. "I've talked to Ms. Traveler and we both agree that… I am ready," she reassured them. "I don't want to be stuck indoors all day feeling bad for myself, because I actually want to try to keep moving forward with my life." She looks at herself in the mirror on the wall. "Despite all the pain Hexside caused me, I think… I'll be fine. Because I'll have my friends and I've buried the ax with Luz and her friends, not to mention Ms. Traveler is there. So I know that if anything were to happen, I have a support system that I can count on."

Beck turned to her father, seeing him look at Boscha. After a moment of a pause, Samwitch gave a nod. "Very well, you seem sure so… we'll trust you, Boscha."

Beck smiled as she nodded in agreement. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," Boscha said as she then ran up to hug them both. They hugged her back before she set off with Simon to Hexside.

Boscha and Simon landed near the entrance of Hexside, where Boscha saw that Gavin and Angmar were waiting for her.

"Gavin, Angmar!" Boscha waved, glad to see the two.

"Boscha, you made it!" Angmar said as he and Gavin waved back. They were now in Hexside uniforms. Angmar didn't wear his Glandus cap, rather he wore a cowl over his head.

"So… anyone else anxious about being here?" Gavin asked as he, Angmar, and Boscha looked toward the front of Hexside.

"It's been… a while since I've been here," Boscha said. "Well, as a student I mean." She noticed how Gavin and Angmar looked nervous, remembering what went down at the school last week.

"What is there to be anxious about?" Simon asked them, not reading the room.

As they came down to the school, Luz and Amity spotted Simon with Boscha, Gavin, and Angmar. They flew toward the quartet.

"Yo, Boscha! Simon!" Luz called out, causing the two witches to look up.

"Luz, Amity!" Boscha said as she saw them land in front of her.

"Welcome back, Boscha!" Amity said as Ghost landed on her shoulder.

"How have you been doing?" Luz asked her.

"Um, better," Boscha answered. "Me, Gavin, and Angmar managed to get ourselves transferred to Hexside, since Glandus is, well, still in ruins. So that's exciting."

Amity turned to Gavin. "Wow, looks like you'll be the only one to take purely Abominations in my class."

"Yeah… wait, purely?" Gavin questioned.

"Yeah, there was a… prank I pulled last semester, one thing led to another…" Luz said awkwardly.

"It's basically filled with students who are multi-tracking," Amity finished. "So you'll be the non-multi-tracker in the Abominations Track."

"Oh…" Gavin said in realization.

"Hey, don't worry, it'll be a nice change of pace to have someone just doing Abominations," Amity assured him.

Skara soon arrived with Willow and Gus, having flown there with their Palismen while Nina had rushed ahead using her cheetah-legs. The werecat spotted not only Luz, Amity, Simon, and some of her former Glandus classmates… but Boscha as well.

"Boscha! You're back!" Skara waved as she rushed over while Nina stayed behind, pulling her cowl over her head and deciding to go around the school to a different entrance just to avoid Boscha. Willow and Gus rushed past her.

"Luz, Amity!" Willow and Gus shouted.

"Hey, guys!" Luz and Amity cried out.

"Willow," Simon nodded as he and Willow clasped their hands together. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back, Simon," Willow replied with a nod.

"Boscha, welcome back!" Amelia and Cat said to the triclop witch as they arrived. Both girls rushed over to hug Boscha.

"So glad to see you!" Amelia said.

"You too, girls!" Boscha replied happily before she noticed something different about Cat. "Woah, look at your uniform."

"Whadda ya think?" Cat asked as she stepped back and showed off her uniform. She now wore a decorative headband around her head while her Hexside uniform now had navy and light blue leggings with her arm-sleeves had yellow and red on them. "Since I defeated Tito during the school war, I thought I would take up dancing and keyboarding in Bard, plus try out Potions and Illusions! I wanted to expand myself and explore different options, you know?"

"That's really good of you to do, Cat," Simon commented.

"Thanks, Sy," Cat nodded with a smile.

"Wait, you beat Tito?" Gavin asked in shock.

"The Top Bard at Glandus?!" Angmar exclaimed.

"Yeah, beat him at his own game," Cat replied with a smirk, impressing Gavin and Angmar.

"Honestly, I'm impressed," Luz said to Cat. "I remembered when I used to want to take every Track before I settled with just Bard and Beast-Keeping. And now here you are, taking four Tracks at once. You are putting me to shame."

"Don't sell yourself short, Luz," Cat said. "If it weren't for you, there'd be no multi-track options to allow students to explore different sides of themselves and their magic. So I have you to thank for this."

Luz smiled. "Well they better mention me when they write books about Hexside's history."

Gus then noticed someone else walking towards the school. "Eve?"

Everyone noticed how gloomy Eve looked as she approached. "Hey guys…"

"What's the matter with her…?" Boscha asked.

"Oh right… Eve's mystery solving team broke up last week," Amity said, having heard about it from Emira.

"Poor girl, it looks like she didn't walk here with her friends…" Luz noted as Eve walked past them.

"Actually, my alarm went off late," Eve said while looking down.

"So we… better hurry up to school then?" Willow suggested.

"Good idea!" Skara chimed.

Everyone headed to the entrance of the school, but before they could go inside a wall of flames flared up in front of them. Blocking their way was Principal Faust.

"And just where do you think you're going?!" Faust declared.

"Um, not the Knee, I guess?" Luz replied jokingly.

"We're just heading for class, sir," Simon said.

"Class…" Faust tilted his head, a cracking noise being heard. "So now you want to go to class? Ms. Clawthorne is guilty of skipping school twice and after all the absences the missing four have…"

Luz walked up to him. "Okay, hold that thought right there, Fausty!" she declared. "Look, I know that you have these school rules and policies to enforce, but let me remind you of how me and Eda saved your butt last week and helped stop the school from getting blown up!"

"That may be so," Faust said. "But-"

"Not to mention that in Hexside Rulebook Article Five, Section D, Paragraph Three clearly states that students who were absent for a certain period of time are allowed to have their absences dismissed if they have a justifiable reason for their absence… such as being kidnapped and held against their will," Amelia said while summoning the rulebook, opening to a certain page and showing it to Faust. "Not allowing Gus, Willow, Amity, and Eve back in would be breaking the rules, sir."

Faust blinked in shock. "Now see here-!"

"Principal Faust," spoke Julia Traveler, who showed up to defend the kids. "These students deserve their chance to have a normal school day again after what they've been through and they had a few days to recover. Could you just let go of your own pride for once?"

The reluctance and shock were shown on Faust's face as the demon principal sighed. "Very well… I can't do anything to Amity, Gus, Willow and Eve's grades… and I know that I can't throw Luz in Detention since she'll just escape again or become a martyr," he said as he moved aside, giving the students a path. "But as for you, Clawthorne, your grades will be affected in the long run though… I won't forget this…" he said as he walked into the school.

As he walked away, Luz turned to Julia. "Thanks, Ms. T, for defending us,"

Julia nodded. "It's no problem. You kids deserve to be back," she said. "Also, my office is always open if you ever wish to talk with me."

With nothing else to try and stop them, the kids burst into Hexside.

"Hello, Hexside!" Willow shouted as she walked in.

"Hello locker, hello water fountain!" Amity said as she twirled around. "Hello, Mr. Snope!" She patted Snope's back, waking him up.

"Morning, Amity…" Snope replied while keeping his balance.

Gus and Eve walked inside in silence. "It's too early to be excited, don't you think?" Eve asked him.

"Yeah…" Gus responded with a gloomy nod.

Angmar and Gavin were the last to enter as suddenly they felt a chill. "Did you feel that, Gavin?" Angmar asked.

"Since when did it get so cold?" Gavin asked as they both turned around, eyes widening as they saw Bo walking in. "O-O-Oh… hey, Bo…"

"Gavin… Angmar," Bo said with an icy tone as she looked at them with an even icier glare.

"Meep." Angmar hid behind Gavin, both boys looking scared as she walked past them, giving them the cold shoulder… not literally.

"Well… first days are always tough," Gavin said. "But we should be okay… right?"

"R-Right," Angmar replied as they headed to their classes.

As Amity made it to her locker, poking out from her cowl was a ball of light, revealed to be Acorn.

"Wow, so this is what a witch school looks like!" Acorn said in awe, looking at the variety of students. "Some look like humans, some look like animals… and demons…"

"Glad to hear you're excited, Acorn," Amity replied. "Must be good to get out of the house."

"Yeah, and I'm quite curious about your life, Amity," she said. "Say, what is this school like? What do you witches do and learn around here?"

"Well, we witches learn how to do stuff like performing spells, brewing potions, casting illusions, and making Abominations, the latter two being part of my Tracks," Amity explained to her.

"What's a Track?" Acorn asked her.

"Well, they are courses based on the nine main types of magic meant to help determine which coven you'll get into," Amity explained. "Of course, lately we've opened up multi-tracking options where students can learn more than one type of magic. Like Luz and Skara with Bard and Beast-Keeping, and me in Abominations and Illusions."

"Ooh," Acorn replied. "You know, Faes are good at creating Illusions, so you're really a shoe-in for that!"

"You think so?" Amity asked as Acorn nodded.

From a distance, some students spotted Amity.

"Hey, Amity's back," one student said, pointing to her.

"Yeah," Louis replied, looking confused. "Who is she talking to?"

"Poor girl, being locked up may have gotten her to become a little schizophrenic," another student said.

"Does anyone else hear bells ringing?" the first student asked, since Acorn's voice sounded like bells to them.

"Are those lockers alive?" Acorn pointed out.

"Yes," Amity replied while grabbing her books.

"What about that bell with teeth?" Acorn pointed up the bell.

"Of course," Amity replied.

"Is that alive as well?" Acorn pointed at the water fountain, which one student drank from.

"Sure," Amity replied, though not paying attention as she hung her bag inside.

Acorn looked at the student leaving after drinking from the water fountain. "Gross…" she said in disgust.

"Now remember to listen to your teacher and do what she says, Mai," Kitsuni told her little sister, Mai, who was in her Hexside uniform. "Ms. Webs is a very kind woman so please don't give her much trouble."

"Don't worry, sis, I'll be good," Mai responded.

"Make sure to play nice with the other kids, and please don't take apart anything," Kitsuni said before she knocked on the door to the Baby Class and it was answered by a spider biped demon woman.

"Ah, Kitsuni, they told me you'd be dropping by," Ms. Webs said before she knelt down to Mai. "And you must be Mai, I heard this is your first day. Welcome to Hexside!"

"Nice to meet you, ma'am!" Mai replied as she spotted Scabrina and Moose inside. She rushed into the classroom. "Hi Scabrina! Moose!"

"Mai!" Scabrina and Moose responded as they saw the fox Yokai flying up to them. They, along with their classmates, were coloring.

"Want to draw with us?" Scabrina asked.

"I'm drawing what the good old days were like." Moose held up his picture, which appeared to be of a dark-red void in crayon.

"Sweet! I've done some drawings myself," Mai replied as she picked up a paper and crayon. "Watch me draw a blueprint for a pixie dust powered giant golem!"

Watching Mai with her friends, Kitsuni turned to Ms. Webs. "Is she going to be okay here?"

"Of course, Kitsuni," Ms. Webs responded. "I promise that she will be taken care of."

"Thank you, Webs," Kitsuni said before a question popped into her mind. "Say, I gotta ask. Why is this place called a Baby Class when this is practically a Kindergarten?"

"It's what students kept calling it and we just… rolled with it," Ms. Webs said with a shrug.

Amity looked up at the door to the Abominations Track room.

"So this is the Abomination Class you go to?" Acorn asked.

"Yup," Amity replied with a smile as she entered the class.

"Welcome back, Amity!" everyone shouted.

Amity's eyes widened when she saw that her classmates had set up a little celebration for her. Abominations were holding up a 'Welcome Back, Amity' banner while Snope, Jerbo, Lambi, and Puffer had been waiting for her arrival.

"Oh my… you guys!" Amity said in awe.

"We've set this up for your return," Jerbo explained. "Welcome back!"

"The past two weeks have been a downer while you were gone, it just wasn't the same," Puffer added.

"Yeah, so we all wanted to let you know how happy we are to have you back safe and sound, Amity," Lambi said while her Abomination brought over the purple cake.

"Oh thanks guys, really!" Amity replied as she walked over to join them.

While everyone began helping themselves to the cake, Snope looked past Amity and spotted someone else. "And it looks like we have a new face here."

Gavin walked into the classroom and realized that there were only four other kids in the room. "I was expecting a bigger class…"

"For a time it was literally just me and Jerbo…" Amity admitted.

"Well then, why don't you introduce yourself?" Snope asked Gavin.

"Oh, right." Gavin cleared his throat. "Hey, my name is Gavin Nightshade, I was from Glandus but I didn't participate in the war! I, uh, hoped that attending here would be a fresh start, even if some are still affected by what happened." He rubbed his own arm, looking awkward.

"Hey, don't worry, all of us will be cool around you, Gavin," Amity assured him.

"Yeah, we're all friends here," Jerbo said. "I mean, Amity used to be the mean girl in class but not Boscha-level-"

"Jerbo, I think he gets it," Snope said while turning to Gavin. "And I do want to give you my condolences, Gavin. I knew your father, having worked with him at the Abominations Coven. He was a great witch and I am so sorry for your loss."

Gavin smiled at the teacher. "Thank you, Professor Snope."

"Wait, Nightshade…" Amity wondered out loud, her eyes widening as she put it together and looked at Gavin, remembering the photo she had once seen of Darius with a baby. "Hold up… you're Darius's son?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah…" Gavin replied awkwardly.

"I… I had no idea… of course, I knew he had a son but never thought it'd be you!" Amity said while still in shock. "Wait, how is it that you ended up in Glandus and not Hexside like your dad?"

"My folks were… divorced," Gavin admitted. "His work caused him and my mom to split up. And me and mom preferred to avoid too much attention, which is why I didn't really go around advertising who my father was."

"I get that," Amity said, nodding. "I'm kinda surprised that we weren't forced to be friends back then, though of course my father and Darius weren't on… good terms at the time."

"Yeah… and now your dad's the new Abomination Head," Gavin said and it was Amity's turn to look awkward. "Funny, isn't it?"

"Yeah, funny…" Amity admitted. "Though… I don't think we've ever talked since… before Glandus attacked Hexside."

Gavin frowned. "Man… I know that feeling too well. You haven't spoken to him since then? What about your siblings?"

"They haven't spoken to him either," Amity replied, looking down. "Look, uh, why don't we take our seats and have cake?"

Gavin nodded. "Yeah, cake's good," he said as he along with his classmates had their cake, celebrating not just Amity's return, but a new student as well.

"Alright, let us give a warm welcome to Angmar, everyone!" Ms. Pricklethorn declared with little fanfare from the Plant Track homeroom. Angmar looked around awkwardly.

He could immediately tell that not everyone was exactly thrilled to have another Glandus student here. If Bo's icy glare wasn't enough, he now has to handle some classmates who wouldn't be very welcoming. He sighed and went to find a seat.

"Angmar," spoke up Willow, who he turned to. "Look, I know everyone's a little on edge, but I'm willing to let bygones be bygones."

"You… are?" Angmar asked her.

"You saved Gus back at Glandus, so it's the least I can do. So… welcome to the Plant Track at Hexside," Willow said as she offered a handshake, which Angmar happily accepted.

"Thank you, Willow! I promise to not cause any trouble for you guys!" Angmar replied. "Say, is it true that you buried our coach?"

"No…" Willow replied in confusion. "I thought the Emperor's Coven got him."

Boscha's return to the old Potions Track homeroom was greeted with silence… which she was not surprised by.

"It's… wonderful that you're back, Boscha," Ms. Beaks said. "I mean, as my star student, well… that honor goes to Barcus these days… but you know what? Maybe-"

"Thanks, Ms. Beaks, but I can read the room," Boscha said as she walked past her quiet classmates, many of whom didn't even look at her. She then heard Cat calling for her to have her seat next to her.

"Hey girl, happy to be back?" Cat asked her.

Boscha sighed. "Not sure…"

"Well, I'm new to this class and, well, I thought you could help show me the ropes around here," Cat said as Boscha turned to her. "Since you were… always a good potionist, you know?"

Boscha smiled. "Sure, I'll be happy to help," she said.

At St. Epiderm, all the students were called into the auditorium assembly. Donna and her friends sat with each other as they watched Headmistress Midday over at the microphone.

"What's this about?" Veronica asked.

"I don't know, but…" Donna looked at some of the coven scouts who stood by the podium. "Might have to do with those guys."

"Oh Titan, we're caught, aren't we?" Tyrone asked in a panic, making Veronica shush him.

"Keep it down," she told him as their headmistress began to speak.

"Good morning, my students," Midday said. With her was Beck and some teachers along with some coven scouts. "We have an important speaker with us today," she said. "As some of you are aware, the Emperor's Coven has scheduled a visit today. And with them is none other than the Golden Guard himself, who has graced us with his appearance."

Lindsay looked confused, especially when she saw Cross sitting far from her. "What?"

"Glad Luz told us about who the Golden Guard is…" Beocrow whispered to Donna.

"Yeah," Donna said, feeling uneasy.

As Midday excused herself, appearing through a cloud of smoke was the Golden Guard, secretly Emily Tricks. "Greetings, St. Epiderm!" she declared with her distorted voice. "It is an honor to be welcomed here all the way up at the Knee… or, part of the thigh, but nevertheless, we are honored to be here!"

The Golden Guard used her staff to shoot out fireworks and make illusions of flying birds and eyeballs along with 'Go Dragons!' which caused the students to get riled up in excitement.

"As you can see, the Emperor has been watching your school and is very pleased by their recent performances!" she explained. "Which is why he wants to extend the students the chance to be inducted into the Emperor's Coven… early!"

This caused the students to react in surprise and shock. They whispered amongst themselves while Donna looked to her friends, concerned.

"Early recruitment?"

"But… I still have a lot to learn here?"

"Is this alright?"

"Now, now, I know all of you have your questions, but let me explain. You can expect to see recruiters in the school throughout the day. However, you have nothing to worry about! All they will do is watch you as they go about your day and you are allowed to go up to any one of them if you want to talk about your possible future with the Emperor's Coven. We will also be conducting interviews during the school day as well and you will likely see me at different points too," the Golden Guard elaborated. "Being the best-performing students in the Isles, the Emperor wanted to give you this opportunity in anticipation for the Day of Unity, where those favored by the Emperor will be rewarded most of all! This is your chance to serve the will of the Titan, be the best of the best, and bring honor to all of your families!"

The students clapped as they hollered at the Golden Guard. She waved to them before showing off with another illusion. She was about to head offstage, but then popping up in front of her was Danny who had climbed onto stage.

"Excuse me, Golden Guard," Danny said to her. "As student council president, I just wanted to personally welcome you to St. Epiderm!"

"Uh… thanks… I guess?" Emily wasn't sure what to make of this guy.

Danny then turned to the students. "Everyone! Remember what the Golden Guard did for us back at the beach!"

"Yeah!/You weren't there, Dilburn!/Go Gold!" The students clapped for the Golden Guard, Danny waving and smiling before being taken away by one of the teachers.

"Come now, let's get you back to your seat, Danny," the teacher told him while escorting Danny.

'Weirdo…' Emily thought before she turned to look at the students cheering for her… or the Golden Guard. But even if the students didn't know who was really behind that mask, their approval and praise felt… good. Emily waved at them, enjoying the attention.

After the assembly, the St. Epiderm students walked out of the auditorium.

"Man, I can't wait to join the Emperor's Coven! Gonna show them my moves!" one student declared.

"Learning all kinds of magic will be a stitch!" another replied.

Donna came out with Beocrow, Tina, Veronica, Tyrone, Sarah, Riley, Roxy, Minerva, and Lindsay. They all looked rather unenthusiastic.

"Well… that happened," Minerva said.

"Yeah, though it sounds a bit sketchy," Donna replied while Lindsay looked confused.

"If… that wasn't… Cross," Lindsay said, sounding unsure. "I thought for sure…"

Donna turned to Lindsay with a concerned look. She still hadn't figured out how to break the news to her about who the Golden Guard really was.

"So what do we do?" Riley asked.

"Let's just beat it," Beocrow said as the group started to walk down the hallway before they heard someone calling out to them.

"Hold it," spoke the Golden Guard. "I'm gonna have to stop you all right there…"

The moment became tense as everyone turned to the Golden Guard. Some looked uneasy, but Donna kept her cool as she saw the Golden Guard walk up close to them.

"Is… there a problem?" Donna asked.

"Well… I just want to say… thanks," the Golden Guard told them. "Again, back at the beach where you helped fight off that Scarfish."

"You're… welcome?" Tina replied.

"It was the least we can do, since we know how to defend ourselves given recent events," Donna said. "You know, the muggings that Glandus was involved in."

"I know, I get it," Emily spoke while looking at each of them. "The Emperor's Coven has seen how you handled yourselves in that situation and are interested in you guys in particular…"

"We're flattered…" Sarah had to stop herself from gritting her teeth.

"But we're just a bunch of regular witches that look out for our community and our classmates," Beocrow finished.

"Yes… why don't you all go to your classes and enjoy the rest of the day!" the Golden Guard encouraged.

"We'll do that, thank you," Donna replied as she and her friends walked away. Lindsay turned to glance at the Golden Guard, lost in her own thoughts.

'If that's not Cross… I thought he'd be him!' Lindsay thought while trying to make sense of it. 'How was I wrong?'

Back at Hexside, the Human Appreciation Society was having their first meeting in two weeks as Gus stood up next to Elliot.

"The H.A.S. has been put on hold since it isn't the same without our President!" Elliot announced as all the members looked happily toward Gus. "So now let us give a warm, welcome with human-style clapping for President Porter's return!"

Everyone clapped and cheered for Gus's return. "Man, it's good for both Gus and HAS to be back!" Matt shouted.

"Yeah," Bo replied while smiling at Matt. "Can't wait to learn about more human stuff with you…"

Matt blushed while smiling. "Well, I have read about what a 'phoone' is, I can help explain it to you."

"Hmm, perfect," Bo said as she clasped her hands under her chin, smiling affectionately at Matt.

Cat watched this before she turned to Simon. "So Simon, what do you think of my new headband?"

"Oh, it, uh, looks nice," Simon replied. "Are you going to train as well? I even brought my old one!" he replied while holding up a sweat-stained headband, which Cat looked at awkwardly.

"Come on, President, give us a speech!" Elliot demanded as Gus stepped in front of his club mates.

"Thank you guys for all of this, though you really did not have to put the club on hold due to my absence," Gus told them all, putting on as much of a smile as he could. "As happy as I am to be back here to learn about and show off the Human Realm's complex culture…" His face fell. "I'm saddened to say that as of now, I am stepping down as President."

This caused everyone to look shocked. "What?!" they all exclaimed.

"Look guys, I'm not leaving the club if that's what you're thinking," Gus reassured them. "It's just… I don't like being president anymore. So I've decided to appoint Matt as my successor."

All turned to Matt, who looked just as shocked. "Gus… um, are you sure?" he asked in concern.

Gus nodded. "I think it's for the best… plus you deserve it man," he said as the door opened, revealing Eve.

"Hey guys," Eve waved to them as she walked in. "Um… I'm interested in joining H.A.S. Am I too late for the meeting?"

"No, we're just starting," Gus told her.

"Yeah, and we are happy to have you, Eve," Amelia said, walking up to her. "I am surprised that you want to join."

"Well… my old gang broke up recently and they all have their different interests now," Eve explained. "Lately I have been more curious about the Human Realm and I do have some questions about it… like, what the heck a Scooby-Doo is?"

"Luckily for you, we are always open to more members," Bo commented.

"Yeah, so welcome to the club, Eve," Matt said as they all clapped and welcomed the goth oracle girl. "We're also setting up a booth at the Club Fair later, so if you want you can help set it up with us."

"My afternoon's clear so yeah, I can do that," Eve replied in agreement.

"Now, I guess as the newly appointed president, let's take a look at the items we bought today. Eileen?" Matt asked

Eileen walked up to show what she had found, a stop sign from the Human Realm. As she explained how she got it, Eve walked over to sit beside Gus.

"Hey Gus," Eve greeted him in a whisper. "I thought… that you were the president?"

"I stepped down," Gus responded, leaning back with a sigh. "Just wasn't feeling it."

"Yeah, I understand that," Eve replied while leaning on the table, her arms crossed. "Everything sucks now."

"Yeah…" Gus agreed, sharing the same, gothic tone as Eve.

And so later that day, Hexside's Club Fair had commenced, with many students having set up booths in an attempt to get the interest of their classmates.

"Join the Farming Club to learn how to grow your own food!" Korn said while he and some other students offered crop samples at their 'Farming Club' booth.

In front of another booth, a student had stepped on a rope and ended up being hung upside down. "Yah!"

"How do you like that?" Linkin asked as he handed her a brochure. "Perhaps you would be interested in joining the Trap Club, where you get to learn the wonders of setting up traps against unsuspecting monsters, or criminals, or that time with Mr. Lukeworm at shop class." He turned to the aforementioned rhino biped teacher who just glared at him while drinking coffee.

Eve sighed as she noticed her former gang mates with their stands. She was holding up a sign that said 'Join the Human Appreciation Society!' as she stood by a booth with Matt, Bo, Eileen, Amelia, and Cat.

"You want to learn the ways of humanity, join the club!" Cat declared while in her jean outfit she got from the Human Realm while Amelia was dressed in a black coat with a white blouse, ribbon bow, black pants, and boots while setting up a banner.

Meanwhile, Nina and Skara set up the brochures at their Club Fair booth while Willow put up a sign. "This should cover it," Willow declared.

"Thanks for the help, Nina," Skara told her.

"Yeah, it's no big," Nina replied before noticing a certain someone walking nearby. It was Boscha. Nina immediately got out of the booth. "Uh, excuse me, I'm going on a break," she said as she quickly ran off, leaving Skara and Willow confused.

Boscha looked around at the different clubs while keeping her hood over her head. She passed the booths for the Scrying Debate team and Hexes Hold'Em club before she noticed the booth that Luz and Amity had set up. "What…"

"Journey with us to a world of magic unlike any other!" Luz declared, giving a little showmanship. "Well, a bit like this world, except toned down for ages six to eleven… no one's interested."

Amity sighed. "I had a feeling that our Azura Book club would not be for everyone…"

"Luz?" Boscha asked, causing the two to turn to her. "I… had no idea you're into Azura…"

"Oh, well Amity got me into it. The writing is a little ornate, but I dig the art." Luz admitted as she picked up one of the books and looked at it, thinking how it was surprising that someone like McGucket was a children's book author, along with being some kind of super-scientist with Ford… which actually explained a lot of things.

"Me and Luz wanted to share our love of Azura for those that are interested," Amity said.

"Yeah… if I'm gonna be honest, you're probably aiming at the wrong demographic," Boscha replied. "It is fine that you two like this stuff… but it's not like I could get it in." Her third eye glanced at one of the book covers, which caused her to pause for the moment.

"Boscha?" Amity asked while Boscha just stood there, looking at the Azura cover.

Seeing the cover reminded the triclops about the copy she had… which was burned along with her other stuff… and her home. She had lost almost everything in that fire. Boscha could no longer hear or pay attention to her surroundings as her eyes got teary-eyed.

"Boscha," Luz said to her in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Boscha turned and saw Luz and Amity looking at her. "Wh-What?"

"You looked upset," Amity pointed out.

"Yeah, you've been staring at the book cover for a moment," Luz said, climbing out of the booth and patting Boscha's shoulder. "Is there something wrong?"

"I-I'm fine! Just that…" Boscha said while trying to continue her denial, but she couldn't contain it much longer. "No… I'm not alright, right now…" she said as she grabbed the book and looked down. "I… actually had a copy of this."

This admission shocked the two girls, especially Amity. "Wait… you're a-?!"

"Closeted Good Witch Azura fan?" Boscha said, wiping her tears. "I… am. Though I haven't read the entire series. I never even told my moms about it cause I felt embarrassed at the time… it was a guilty pleasure, but… seeing this book is just another reminder of the things I lost while I was paralyzed…"

Luz and Amity looked at each other, feeling sympathy for Boscha as they exchanged a silent communication before turning back to Boscha.

"How about we show you something after school?" Amity offered.

"Show me what?" Boscha asked them.

"Well, it's a surprise you'd like…" Luz told her.

Elsewhere in the Club Fair, Nina walked amongst the booths. She had been trying to avoid Boscha all day, since seeing Boscha only made her remember how she had maimed the girl at Glandus.

'Don't think about that,' Nina told herself. 'And don't think about the shapes.'

While distracted, Nina bumped into two people she didn't expect to run into. "Hey, watch where you're… Gavin? Angmar?"

"Nina!?" the two boys exclaimed, seeing the werecat.

"H-H-Hey, Nina… you're here too…" Gavin said, stammering.

"Uh, yeah…" Nina replied awkwardly, trying to be friendly with them. "Um… so, how are you guys… doing?"

"Pretty great!" Angmar replied immediately. "Um look, Gavin, there's that club we'd like to join!"

"Uh yeah!" Gavin replied as he and Angmar walked away. "Let's go join the… X-treme Sportz Klub."

"Yeah! Poor literacy is cool!" Angmar said as they immediately excused themselves away from Nina and headed to the booth.

The werecat sighed, but before she could give this interaction much thought her nose picked up a scent that smelled…. familiar. "What the…?" she asked as she began to follow the scent.

Nearby, a disguised Hunter was using his concealment stone to hide in plain sight. With his concealment stone his hair and skin looked darker, his eyes were blue, he had no scars, and his arm didn't appear to be mechanical. He wore the standard Hexside student uniform with Potions Track sleeves, Flapjack hiding under his cowl while chirping to him.

"Yeah, yeah I know," he said as he spotted Gavin and Angmar at a booth. "Found them!" But before he could approach them, he was suddenly pulled away causing Flapjack to fly up.

"Gah!" he exclaimed before he saw who grabbed him… Nina. "Um… hi?" he asked nervously, recognizing the werecat girl.

"Wait a minute." She grabbed the concealment stone from his chest, revealing his true identity as Hunter. "I knew that I smelled something familiar… you're the smelly scout from before! What are you doing here, Smelly?!"

"Uh… looking around…" Hunter nervously said.

"Who sent you? Are you one of those coven spies or something?" Nina demanded in suspicion.

"No, I'm not!" Hunter claimed.

"YOU!" someone shouted.

Hunter and Nina then turned to see another former Glandus student: Batters, who wore a Hexside Bard uniform.

"I knew that I recognized you, you liar!" he shouted.

"Batters? You attend here now?" Nina asked in confusion.

"Wait… Batters?" Hunter said in shock. "I'm… surprised to see you…"

"Surprised to see me? After how you flaked out on me by breaking your promise to vouch for me! And you know what happened?! I got grounded for going missing!" Batters declared, causing Hunter to wince.

"Oh… oh Titan…" Hunter said as Flapjack flew down to peck Nina's head.

"Ah! Ah! Quit it, you bird!" Nina swatted Flapjack, causing her to let go of Hunter and giving both boy and bird a chance to escape. "Hey, wait!"

Hunter made a run for it, but then he ended up stepping on Puddles's tail. "Oof!" he cried as Puddles turned to him, screeching at him. "GAH!"

"Puddles, Puddles it's alright! He didn't mean it!" Viney restrained her griffin, who gawked at Hunter hostilely, before she recognized the boy she was trying to stop Puddles from attacking. "Wait… Hunter?!"

"Uh…" Hunter let out a scream as Puddles jumped onto him.

At Willow's booth, she and Skara tried to raise awareness for their Flyer Derby team.

"Let out your inner flying freak! Once the Flyer Derby club is approved, we'll travel all across the Isles in rocking outfits and be part of the best team in the Demon Realm!" Willow declared.

"Yeah, teamwork makes the dream work!" Skara exclaimed while throwing down a pose.

"Now this is interesting," spoke Jane as she, along with Redback, showed up at the booth. "What do you hope to achieve with this club, Willow?" Jane asked after translating for Redback.

"Well, I hope to bring Flyer Derby to Hexside as another sport we Hexsidians can make a proud tradition like Grudgeby, Ringball, Rat-Racing, plus we're practically one of the few schools without one so we could compete against St. Epiderm's Flyer Derby in the future."

"Especially with Glandus being down, we can't have St. Epiderm be one-upping us with their Flyer Derby team, can we?" Skara pointed out.

Redback gave Jane a nod and Jane spoke for them both. "As overseers for this year's club fair, we will happily approve Hexside getting its own Flyer Derby team!"

Willow and Skara smiled happily as they squeed.

"Sweet!" Willow shouted as she and Skara hugged.

"We're gonna be the baddest team in Bonesborough!" Skara shouted.

"Yeah!" Willow replied excitedly. "Finally, a lucky break!"

She spoke too soon, as a column of flames sprouted between the girls and Jane and Redback. Showing up was Principal Faust.

"A Flyer Derby team?" Faust twitched his neck around. "I wonder if you do have what it takes… to lead your team to victory?"

"F-Faust, what brings you here?" Jane asked while Redback signed. "Redback thought that we were supposed to oversee approval of clubs this year…"

"I personally came to see these clubs for myself… and whether they meet my standards," he said while Willow and Skara looked past him and saw that other booths had been burned down.

"He even burned down the Debate Club booth!" Sioux cried out.

"Debates lead to arguments, and arguments lead to violence, which I don't approve of," Faust said while turning to Willow and Skara. "Hexside has not had a Flyer Derby team for a long while, not since our last five players were enslaved by some monsters who took them back to their amusement park dimension. If you can lead Hexside to victory during a school war, Ms. Parks, then I expect you to show me that a Flyer Derby is worth investing in and that you are capable of leading it! Or else I'll burn your stand as another example of my disapproval!"

Willow and Skara looked at each other before Willow looked up at Faust. "What will we have to do, sir?" she asked.

"Put together a team for a game of Flyer Derby after school," Faust told Willow. "Consider it… a trial by fire."

Willow nodded. "I won't let you down, sir!"

Faust huffed. "We'll see about that…" he said before teleporting away, leaving a scorch mark on the ground.

Jane and Redback looked down at the spot where Faust had been before they looked at the girls. "Good luck with Flyer Derby, girls," Jane said as they walked away to oversee the other booths.

Once they left, Willow just sighed. Skara patted her girlfriend on the back. "Hey, don't let Faust get to you, Willow. I know that you can do this."

"Yeah," Gus said as he walked over to them. "Besides, you already have us as your players, so you just need two more for your team."

"Thanks guys," Willow replied to the two. "Though with Luz and Amity busy, I wonder who else we could ask…"

"Calm down, you flea-magnet!" someone shouted overhead.

The trio looked up in surprise to see Hunter flying away on his staff from Puddles, who was chasing after him. The griffin flew up to and managed to bite Hunter's glove off, revealing his mechanical hand. "Hey!" he shouted at the griffin, who came straight at him. The blonde made a nosedive towards Puddles and managed to grab his glove out of the griffin's beak before he flew down past Willow's booth.

"Is that…?!" Skara exclaimed in shock.

"Hunter?!" Willow and Gus said as Willow summoned vines to entrap Puddles. She then used her vines to go grab Hunter.

His eyes widened when he saw the vines. "Oh Titan-YAH!" he shouted as he was pulled down to the ground. He looked up at Willow, Gus, and Skara, who wore expressions of surprise, suspicion, and judgment. "Hey… guys…"

"What are you doing here, Hunter?" Gus asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah… are you stalking around?" Skara questioned.

"No! No I just… wanted to check how my friends are doing on their first day at Hexside," Hunter explained. "Not you guys! I mean Gavin, Angmar, and Boscha. I thought I could maybe hang out with them after school. So, uh… how are you guys doing?"

"Hunter, you know full well that you shouldn't be here, especially in public!" Gus told him off, making Hunter wince.

"I say we catapult him away!" Skara suggested.

"Yeah, or slingshot him!" Gus agreed, making Hunter panic.

"No!" Hunter cried out, turning to Willow. "Please don't sling me out of here, Willow!"

Willow looked at Hunter and sighed, creating a spell circle so that her vines would let him go. "No, we won't," she said, just as Nina came back.

"I finally caught on to you, Smelly!" Nina pointed to Hunter while noticing he had met up with Willow, Gus, and Skara. "Oh good, you guys caught him. I think he may be some kind of scout spy…"

"He's not… well, anymore, or the time being," Gus said to Nina while narrowing his eyes at the nervous Hunter.

Nina looked at the three, then at Hunter, sensing something between them. "Wait… do you guys know him?"

"You could say, we used to be friends," Willow said while looking at Hunter, who turned away.

Nina looked to Willow and then to Hunter, sensing a history. "What, you two were exes?"

Both of their eyes widened. "No!" they shouted at the same time, denying the possibility.

"We were just friends, that's all," Hunter told her.

"Plus Hunter is gay," Willow added.

"Oh… sorry," Nina apologized.

"And even if they had dated, I bet he still would have planted a bug in her best friend's house so he could spy on her and her family," Skara said while narrowing her eyes at Hunter.

"Okay… what the fuck?" Nina said, while looking at Hunter weirdly.

"I am never going to live that down, am I?" he muttered.

"No," Gus, and Skara said at the same time.

Hunter sighed. "Fair enough," he said while looking at Willow's booth. "So uh, what are you up to, Willow?" he asked, grabbing a pamphlet.

"Well," Willow replied. "I'm starting a Flyer Derby team for Hexside, with me and Skara as co-captains." She then paused, considering something. "Do you think that would be something you would be interested in? I saw you outmaneuver Viney's griffin, so I think you would definitely have the moves for it."

"What?!" Gus said as he went up to Willow. "We can't ask Hunter to join, he'd bring too much attention and after all the things he's done!"

"I have to agree with Gus," Skara said, looking concerned. "He doesn't even attend Hexside."

"You two are right," Hunter sadly agreed with them. "It's… probably for the best if I don't get involved with your team, Willow. Too much bad blood." He handed her the pamphlet he was looking at before he turned around and started to walk away. "But I wish you luck."

As Hunter left, Nina took notice of his mechanical arm. "Wait… was his arm always mechanical?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Not… all the time," Willow replied awkwardly.

"Why did you ask if he was interested, Willow?" Skara asked her.

"Yeah, it's still too soon to trust him again," Gus added.

"I know, but… we were friends at one point," Willow pointed out. "I know that his actions were wrong, and I haven't forgotten about them. But I don't believe that our friendship was all a lie either. Maybe he hasn't earned another chance… but that doesn't mean that he can't be given one either."

Nina watched the three. Though she didn't have all of the context, her instincts told her that it was not any of her business. "Well… I don't know what's going on between you guys and Smelly, so… I'm just… gonna sit here," she said while sitting at the booth, reading her scroll.

It was then that Felicia showed up at the booth. "Hiya!" she declared, startling Nina and causing her to get shocked by her collar.

"YAH!" Nina cried out, falling down with a wince.

"Hi, Felicia Fox, head of the Hexside Daily, pleasure to see you back in school, Ms. Parks," Felicia greeted Willow. "Now I have some interest in your little Flyer Derby, I see a lot of potential here."

"You want to play?" Willow asked optimistically.

"Oh no, I'm not interested in playing, per se," Felicia clarified in a quick, talkative manner. She was speaking as if she just had coffee. "What I'm interested in is managing your team!"

"What…?" Skara asked as she and Willow looked confused.

"Um, elaborate?" Willow asked her.

"Let me ask you, how do you two expect to get some publicity and exposure for your new team?" Felicia asked them. "What you need is a social media presence, like, you need someone who can schedule your games and map your tours around the Isles! You're gonna need someone who can sell your merch! Like bobbleheads, flags, jerseys with your name and numbers on them, your own brand of shoes!"

As Nina struggled to get up, Felicia popped up next to her. "And that's where I come in!" she startled Nina which caused her collar to shock her again. "I can get you the views by filming your games and I can craft you a narrative! Willow, Gus, you two have been trending a lot on Penstagram thanks to your miraculous rescue!" She showed them her scroll, showing their names trending on Penstagram. "Ever since I covered your story, it got me a lot of hits and I want to replicate that success by following up on you two after the rescue!"

"Huh, we got a lot of likes," Willow noticed.

"Who knew we'd be spiked in this much popularity?" Gus asked.

"I know, right?" Felicia popped up between the two. "I can see it now! How Willow Park, hero of Hexside, refused to let her abduction get in the way of her pursuing her dreams of playing Flyer Derby! Your audience will eat this up, Willow!" she said towards the Plant Track girl, before jumping between Willow and Skara, pulling their heads close to her. "I can make your team huge, even make you two a more beloved couple than Lumity in the process!"

"Well we are cute…" Skara admitted.

"I don't know…" Willow said while Felicia stepped in front of the two.

"Look, if you two want to take this seriously, you need somebody who can help put your team's name out there," Felicia pointed out. "Someone who can work on your image."

Willow, Skara, and Gus looked unsure and they huddled up to walk it over.

"I don't know about her…" Gus pointed out.

"But she does have a point about getting exposure, which is her expertise," Skara pointed out.

Willow sighed. "Well, Luz mentioned that she has Fox on a leash, so it may not be too bad… we'll just have to keep our eyes on her."

Skara and Gus nodded to her before they turned to the fox biped. "Alright Felicia, you can help." Willow said.

"As long as we get our share of your profits," Skara added.

"And no shenanigans," Gus included.

"Great! I promise to not let you down!" Felicia said while Nina struggled to get back up.

"I really need a cat nap…" Nina complained.

At St. Epiderm, the students were trying to do their best to go about their day… even while under the watchful eye of coven scouts. Riley was making their way to class while covering their face from a scout observing them, while other students talked to the scouts and put their names on try-out sheets.

Emily as the Golden Guard was walking down a hallway when she stopped in front of a mural depicting previous and current Coven Heads that had attended the school: Delara Saltstar, Raine Whispers, Ulrich Hammers, Weevil Vitimir, Orsan Pawculus, a man who looked sickly dressed under the name Olive Slick, Scooter Crane, a middle-aged man with white wild hair, large forehead with goggles, a mustache and his tongue sticking out, under the name Staggertarius, etc. All of them were labeled as the 'St. Epiderm's Heads of Honor.'

"Oh I remember this," one scout pointed up. "This mural honors all of the Coven Heads who attended St. Epiderm. We set it up to help inspire students to do better."

"I see," the Golden Guard said, while turning her head and noticing Lindsay sticking her head around the corner. Before Emily could get a better look at her, Lindsay was gone. "Do you feel like someone's watching you?"

"Like ghosts?" the scout asked her, but Emily just shrugged.

'That girl…' Emily thought before she entered a classroom.

"So what do you wish you could do in the Emperor's Coven?" the Golden Guard asked while interviewing some students.

"Well, if it was up to me, I would give the coven a complete, new make-over," Peter Bloomhog declared. "I mean, look at your masks and suits, and your castle? So medieval, where's the abstract and uniqueness? Not to mention none of you have name tags."

Kyle answered the questions hopefully. "Well, I always wanted to be part of the Emperor's Coven to help people! Though my dad thinks that I should use my skills in the Healing Coven. He thinks I'd get too hurt in the Emperor's Coven… he may have a point. I did hear you guys lost some scouts lately. But for now the Healing Coven is my backup plan!"

Emily just nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes behind her mask. She doubted this weakling was Emperor's Coven material. She whispered to the coven scout with her before looking back at Kyle. "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Beocrow just looked at the Golden Guard with a dead look. "Not interested."

Emily raises her eyebrow under her mask. "Oh? Don't you want to make the Isles a better place?"

"I'm not interested in this whole coven crap," Beocrow said, which shocked her and the scouts. "I plan to be a Death God when I grow up, and even if that wasn't my plan, I don't think my cousin would want me to join."

This piqued Emily's curiosity. "And… what is your full name again?"

"Bailey Clawthorne," Beocrow replied, which made Emily fall silent. "Why so quiet? Is it because my aunt's famous and all?"

"Moving on…" Emily said as she hid the disgust in her tone, trying to not make a scene.

Later the Golden Guard spoke with Sarah. "Your dad worked with the Emperor's Coven, right? With a prodigy like you, it make sense that-"

"Not interested," Sarah shut her down, crossing her arms. "The Emperor's Coven has done enough to my father as it is, and he wouldn't like it if I was made into your ranks."

"Um… why?" Emily asked her.

"Ask Vitimir, he'd probably give the details," Sarah said.

Teri was also interviewed. "Well I guess I'd have to ask my dad about it. It does sound like a sweet opportunity and all, but then again I hear scouts die in the line of duty and, well, my dad couldn't afford losing me."

"We can assure you that you won't be in any danger, Mr. Oscorne," the Golden Guard said.

Teri hummed thoughtfully. "I'll think about it. But since we're still interviewing, I could share with you my poetry," he said while holding up a paper and clearing his throat as he spoke. "My arm bleeds the black ooze of doubt. The other part of me just wants to shout, the dreaded rain burns my skin, a wicked laugh echoes from within…" He looked up to Emily. "What do you think?"

The weirded out Golden Guard looked at Teri, not sure how to respond. "Um… good, I guess?"

Later Emily was interviewing Tina "Tina Ryu, we'd like to know if you'd be interested in the Emperor's Coven?"

"I'm… not interested," Tina replied, making Emily sigh.

"Look, you're not the first person I've spoken to who has shown disinterest," the Golden Guard responded. "What's your reason and what can we do to help… improve ourselves?"

"Well, you know the school war?" Tina asked her. "You guys only showed up when it was revealed that the Glandus staff was involved with some dealings with a criminal organization like the Tarot Guild. Honestly, the Emperor should've banned the school war a lot sooner. I have a cousin that attends at Hexside and she could've been hurt."

"And we're sorry for not looking into Glandus sooner. We at the Emperor's Coven want to make the Isles a better place, though the school war was a good way to find potential recruits amongst the strongest of each school," Emily pointed out.

"So I guess that probably doesn't include Emily then, since she got her ass kicked hard," Tina pointed out, which made Emily's eye twitch under her mask. "Honestly, Emily Tricks should seek out therapy for all her issues."

"I doubt you know what kind of… issues Emily Tricks is dealing with," Emily said.

Tina looked directly at the Golden Guard, who couldn't help but feel like she could be seen through her mask. "Well, clearly she has abandonment issues that she projects onto others," she explained. "She blames Eda and Luz because she feels like there has to be someone to blame for her parents abandoning her, someone to hurt and transfer her pain to. Especially since her parents are no longer around, meaning there is no catharsis or closure, so she needs someone else to place the blame on." Tina's face was stoic, which made it hard to read as she continued. "Emily Tricks is a control freak, trying to make up for the fact that what happened to her was an accident that she was unable to prevent. Instead, she has convinced herself that what Eda did to her ruined her life and if she can likewise ruin her life, then all of her problems and pain will go away and she will be happy. Her life will be perfect and she will have control over everything and everyone in it. And because of this, she can't accept the fact that it isn't Eda or Luz's fault that her parents abandoned her. It has to be their fault and she has to make them pay so she can feel like she can do something about what happened to her instead of accepting, since the alternative is accepting that she can't do anything about it, since it's in the past. She can only move on, but I don't think she knows how to do that."

The Golden Guard was silent, Emily's emotions unreadable due to the mask. "This interview is over," she said at last.

Finally, Donna found herself facing the Golden Guard. She kept her cool, even while being surrounded by some scouts.

"Donna Masterskull, you have shown quite some promise," the Golden Guard said. "Top of your Healing Track, a pro at Broomis, excellent grades… you have a bright future ahead of you, Ms. Maskerskull."

Donna gave a nod. "Thank you, Mr. Guard."

"So… what do you wish to do when you grow up?" Emily asked her.

"Well, I want to go into the business of helping people," Donna answered simply,

"Yes, like you did at Talibias Bay," the Golden Guard pointed out. "We are grateful for that. Have you ever considered lending your skills to the Emperor's Coven?"

"Yeah… not sure about that," Donna said.

"Not even if the Titan himself demands it?" Emily asked. "Do you not believe in the Titan's will?"

"I do, I do!" Donna replied. "It's just… I have thought about it, but I mean, is the Emperor's Coven really the only coven I can join to help people? Why not the Healing Coven, they have rescue workers and doctors that save lives! I don't want to force anyone into anything."

"Well, that is understandable… however, there is something else I want to talk to you about," Emily said.

"What is it?" Donna asked, curious.

"It is about Nina Fangs," Emily said, seeing Donna's eyes widen at the name. "We at the Emperor's Coven are aware of your… relationship with the werecat."

"Oh… uh, yeah, we were friends back when we were little," Donna admitted. "But we fell out of touch a while ago. Happens to most of us, honestly… why do you ask?"

"I'm sure you're aware of her arrest," the Golden Guard said, hiding the smile under her mask. "While she was in our custody, we looked into her history and learned of her friendship with you. We even learned that she follows you on Penstagram and has you listed as one of her contact on her scroll."

"That… that's just an invasion of privacy!" Donna told her.

"It was an investigation, Ms. Masterskull. We're supposed to do that. We had a warrant."

"Oh… right," Donna replied, feeling stupid. "What's this has to do with me?"

"Well, I don't mean to pry but… we're just worried for your safety, Donna. Being friends with a lycan, especially a werecat like her, could potentially compromise your future."

"Since when is it a crime to be friends with lycans?" Donna questioned her. "Just because I'm friends with a werecat, you don't think I could join the Emperor's Coven? It is not even my first choice."

"Well, it's not really a crime to know or be friends with a werecat, but Nina's a special case since she tends to go wild more than the other werecats," Emily pointed out, planting the seed of doubt in Donna's head. "I heard she even attacked her own sister once and you could do better than a bully like Nina, you know? I'm just warning you for your own good and stopping you from wrecking your future over one bad girl. Not that I judge you for being friends with her in the past. I'm sure a proper and ideal student like yourself is nowhere near as bad as Fangs."

Donna shifted uncomfortably in her seat with an anxious look, rubbing her arm anxiously. "Well, what if she wants to change? I hear that she accepted a parole-"

"Well, we doubt that she has changed. I wouldn't be surprised that she's accepted Head Witch Brooke's offer just to save her own skin," Emily continued. "But if you're unsure, let me tell you of all the bad things Nina Fangs has done…"

Once the interview was over, Donna walked out with a look of doubt as she went to meet up with her friends in an empty classroom.

"Hey, how was the interview?" Veronica asked her, before noticing how Donna looked. "Are you… alright, Donna?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I am." Donna nodded, getting out of her train of thoughts. "But… I think I can confirm what Luz has told us… the Golden Guard is Emily Tricks."

In the hall, the disguised Emily was wondering how long she had to keep this up as she was being bombarded with questions by Danny Dilburn.

"It says here that the Emperor's Coven offers scholarships that require its students to have strong magic, but what about other skills like accounting and scheduling… also, does this count as an inspection?"

"Yes, it does…" Emily replied with a bored tone.

"I'd also like to ask about-"

"No, the Emperor's Coven does not offer scholarships for non-magic based skills!" Emily told him. "Anything else you'd wish to ask?"

"Well I do have a concern," Danny said while adjusting his glasses. "About how Emily Tricks is allowed to roam free." This caused the Golden Guard to pause. "I heard about how she was let out of the Conformatorium to become a part of the Illusionist Coven and I do find it odd that she was released at all since she was likely connected to the Tarot Guild. I don't know if this is part of the Titan's plan, but if you ask me she got off completely scot free-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, looks like I'm being called by a scout for something!" the Golden Guard shouted at Danny, excusing herself. "Look, why don't you go do whatever you usually do and buzz off, cause I don't think the Emperor's Coven would accept ramblers," she said rudely while walking away.

"Ramblers?" Danny asked in confusion.

"Ugh… This place is full of weirdos, I should've targeted this place before Hexside," Emily muttered under her breath so no students would hear her as she walked.

CRASH!

Emily braced herself as a figure came crashing through the wall, trailing green smoke.

"Well, well, well…" spoke a familiar, wicked voice that Emily knew. "If it isn't my old nemesis… the Golden Guard!"

Emily took a step back, pulling out her staff.

"It's the Grim Goblin!" a student shouted.

"What are you doing here?!" Emily demanded as the villain stepped off of his glider.

"Settling a score with you!" the Grim Goblin declared as he saw the Golden Guard heading straight to him. He dodged her staff, then punched her in the stomach while taking her staff from her and kicking her away.

Emily looked at her adversary before turning to the nearby students. "Get out of here!" she shouted as the students quickly ran away. She got up and turned to see the Goblin raising her staff up.

"Now how does this work?" he asked before he jumped on his glider and swung the staff at the Golden Guard like a club. However, he just swung through an illusion. Grabbing the glider from below, the real Emily swung her up and kicked him in the back while grabbing her staff back. "Oof! Skilled as you are… but how's this!?" He swung blades at her, causing Emily to jump back but not before some cut her arm.

"AAH!" she winced as she activated her staff and began flying down the hallway.

"Come back here, you golden fraud!" the Goblin shouted as he chased after her on his glider.

'I have to get him away from the students!' Emily thought while leading the Goblin through the school. 'Wait… the gym should be empty during this period!'

Emily flew into the gym, which she thought would be big enough to give her some space to fight the Goblin. But as she entered, an explosion occurred that caused her to fall off her staff.

"AAH!" She rolled onto the floor. Once she got up, she saw daggers flying toward her, forcing her to duck. "Shit!" she cried out as she began to be pelted by balls from ball shooters.

The gym was full of traps. She set off more of the Grim Goblin's pumpkin bombs as they exploded followed by echoes of laughter. She coughed and saw one bomb bouncing towards her. It exploded in her face, causing her to launch back and crash into the bleachers.

She struggled to get up, but managed to stand. She climbed out of the bleachers, only to set off another trap. Looking up, a net full of balls with teeth fell down on top of her, along with pumpkin bombs.

"Fuck!" she cried as she ran while it rained down teeth balls and exploding pumpkin bombs. She tried to make it to the exit, but got hit and pelted by more balls. An explosion launched her back and sent her crashing through a wall to the changing room.

As she got up, she heard a voice. "Misery, misery, misery, that's what you've chosen for yourself," the Grim Goblin said as he showed up in the room, marching towards her. He punched her across the mask, making her fall back. He then kicked her in the stomach and grabbed her face by throwing her into the locker.

Emily tried to summon her staff to her and use it to zap the Grim Goblin, but he went behind her and pulled her cape over her head before kicking her in the back. She then felt him kick her in the side and punch her in the mask. Even after she got the cape off of her, the Grim Goblin continued to wail on her with punches until he grabbed her by the cowl and threw her to the floor.

She grunted from each of his beatings. Emily tried to get up but the Grim Goblin kept mercilessly beating on her. When Emily tried to fight back, she was sent crashing into a shower stall.

Emily coughed weakly while trying to get up again. She felt hurt all over. The Grim Goblin lunged at her and she was suddenly punched in her mask again, this time actually cracking it and exposing her eye. She hit the wall while being held up by the neck. The Grim Goblin punched in her stomach and threw her across the stalls, damaging them enough for water to start to spill around them.

Emily groaned again in pain, but was unable to get up in time before the Grim Goblin managed to pin her down and hold her arms behind her back.

"How's being the hero doing for you lately?" he asked, leaning over her. "Though you don't appear to be the type, if I am being honest. I think we both know that it is just part of your parole."

Emily's eyes widened as the Grim Goblin chuckled and continued. "That's right. We all wear masks, Goldy. But which one is real? The one that hides your face or the one that is your face?"

He turned her over while grabbing her by the neck. "Do you know how the people of the Isles will react if they learn who you really are? Despite everything you've done for them, they'll turn on you. Why even bother, Tricks?" He grinned as he saw the fear in Emily's eye. "It's true, Goldy! I know everything…"

His creepy tone reminded Emily of Adrian. She struggled in his grip, but he couldn't break his hold on her. "And like a kid who sneaks in to look into their Krampmus present, I have to say… it's sadly anti-climatic. Behind the golden garb and tricked-out staff, you're just a little girl playing pretend, crying for mommy and daddy who left you, so you just take it out on everyone else… how pathetic."

He pulled his arm back. "Sometimes the people love their heroes." Popping out from his sleeve gauntlet was a blade. "And sometimes, they love to see their heroes fall…!"

Emily was in a panic as she saw him hovering the knife towards her. But before he could do the deed, his arm was grabbed and pulled away by a vine, getting him off of her.

"Oof!" he shouted before he saw the interloper. "You! What do you think you're doing, boy?!"

"Heard the commotion and thought I would check it out," Cross said while his hands burst into flames. "And just in the nick of time!" He shoots out his fireballs at the Grim Goblin, sending him back. He quickly hurried over to Emily. "Hey, you alright?"

She didn't say anything as Cross helped her up. She then saw something. "Get down!" she shouted, warning him of blades thrown at them by the Grim Goblin. The two teens dodged the blades and Cross retaliated by shooting flames out of his mouth, which the Grim Goblin dodged as he grabbed the door to a stall and swung it at Cross. The Plant Track student summoned roots from the ground, grabbing the door. But the villain simply jumped over the door and launched a fist at Cross who grabbed the fist.

"You shouldn't have come here!" the Grim Goblin declared. "Why couldn't you just let her die!"

"Nobody is dying!" Cross shouted as he kicked the Grim Goblin back. He then uses the water from the broken shower to hose the Grim Goblin down. The Grim Goblin threw out a potion to freeze the water but then he was met with a kick from Cross's boot, which he blocked with his arms. However, this was part of Cross's strategy, as a vine wrapped around the Grim Goblin's waist and slammed him through the wall, sending him into a hallway.

Cross and Emily rushed into the hallway and saw the Grim Goblin rubbing his own shoulder. "You think you two can stand against me?!"

"How about three!"

He turned around and was met with two boots kicking him in the chest, launching him across the hall. Cross and Emily recognized that Donna had been the one to deliver the kick as she now stood in a fighting pose.

"Things are looking pretty grim for you now, huh?" Donna asked while the Grim Goblin growled in rage and threw daggers at her. Donna shielded herself from the daggers with a protective spell while the Grim Goblin tried to launch himself at her, but he was intercepted by Cross who pinned him to the wall.

The Grim Goblin fought back, kicking him aside while Donna blasted him with an ice block. He held his left arm, injured by the attack. He then saw Emily launching her fist at him, which he dodged before kicking her aside. "Well isn't this interesting," he said, looking at the three. "All working together to take down a common threat."

"You have put people's lives in danger!" Donna pointed out while drawing a spell circle to cast another ice spell. "Now it's time for you to pay for your crimes!"

The Grim Goblin dodged the ice spell, but was met with another punch from Cross. Emily had grabbed a pipe from the other room and she used it to hit the Grim Goblin on the back, making him grunt. When she swung it again, he grabbed it, but Donna kicked him in the stomach.

"Enough!" the Grim Goblin shouted as he shoved the three back. He tried to distance himself from them but he slipped on some ice that covered the floor thanks to Donna.

"You won't escape this time!" Donna declared as Cross and the Golden Guard stood over him.

Footsteps were heard and the Goblin realized that reinforcements were coming. "Looks like I'll have to make my exit!" The Goblin tapped on his gauntlet and his gargoyle showed up as it shot flames at the teens. The three dodged the flames while he jumped on the gargoyle glider and flew it through the hole in the wall leading to the shower stalls.

The three chased after him through the hole in the wall, but when they had gotten to the shower stalls… he had already vanished.

"What the… how did he do that?!" Donna exclaimed, looking around. "Nothing explosion, no crash… he couldn't have just vanished!"

Cross looked around. "Whoever he is, he was one nasty son of a witch."

Emily, however, stayed silent.

At the Hexside sports field, Willow, Gus, and Skara had managed to get both Viney and Jerbo to agree to be part of their team. They had been practicing some maneuvers with their staffs while watching from the benches were Nina and Felicia, who was filming everything.

"So tell me, Ms. Fangs," Felicia said to her. "Do you have any interests in Flyer Derby? I saw you at the booth helping Willow and Skara out."

"Huh, oh that," Nina said. "Honestly, I am more of a grudgeby girl, even played some at Glandus. But then I stopped playing for two reasons: I was too rough with the other kids, and I hated that rusty smidge rule. It's a dumb rule that makes the entire game pointless." She leaned back. "I'm not really looking into getting back into sports."

"I see," Felicia replied. "So then what are you doing here?"

"Skara asked if I could help out," Nina responded. "So I'm here to support Skara and her team as their cheerleader and water girl." She grabbed a water bottle to drink from.

"And you want to support her?" Felicia asked.

"I mean, sure. Skara can be annoying at times, but I don't exactly have a lot of friend options at the moment. So, I'm okay with hanging out and spending time with her, and helping her with her things." She shrugged. "I mean, it's not like I have anywhere better to be right now anyway." She glanced at Felicia, noticing the ghost camera. "What the… were you filming me?!"

"The viewers do like to see a good villain redemption story," Felicia pointed out. "Showing your softer side will attract a lot of ladies…"

"Why you little-AAAH!" Nina was zapped by her collar after getting pissed off. She fell from the bench as a result.

"Alright, looks like this team's in good shape!" Willow pointed out while seeing her teammates train.

"Yeah, and thanks to the practicing maneuvers I looked up, I think we can easily show Faust that we have what it takes!" Skara replied.

"AAAHH!"

The sound of Jerbo's scream was heard and they turned to see that he had fallen off from his staff and injured his leg.

"Jerbo, are you alright?!" Willow asked as they hurried over to the spot where he fell.

"I think I busted my shin!" Jerbo exclaimed as Viney checked his injuries. "How inconvenient!"

"Viney?" Skara asked as Viney turned to them and shook her head.

"He's going to be out of commission for a while at least," Viney told them.

"I'm so sorry, guys." Jerbo apologized as Viney helped him up. "I hate to let you down like this."

"It's alright, Jerbo," Willow assured him.

"But if we don't figure out who can fill in for him before Faust comes, there's no way we could get approved," Gus pointed out.

"Where do we find another player under short notice?" Skara asked.

"I did reach out to Simon earlier, but he's busy," Willow mentioned with a sigh. She then thought of something and looked up at them hopefully. "Maybe… we could see if Hunter is still around and ask him to join."

"What?!" they all said as Skara went up to her. "Willow, we can't ask him! Why don't we ask Amelia or Cat instead?"

"Skara, we need to win in order for our team to be approved by Faust, and we could use his flying abilities," Willow said to her girlfriend. "I know how everyone feels, Skara, I do. But as captains we have to make tough calls and I feel like this is the right call to make… so can you trust me?"

Skara looked at Willow before she took a deep breath. She couldn't say no to that face. "Alright, we'll go talk to Hunter."

And so, Willow and Skara walk around the Hexside grounds, looking for Hunter. They then spotted him by an outdoor table. He was with Gavin and Angmar, playing Hexes Hold'em with Barcus, Celine, and Tyler. Despite Hunter wearing his concealment stone, they knew that it was him because Flapjack was on top of his head.

"Okay, how about… this!" Hunter slapped one card down and it stood up, showing teeth.

Barcus coughed up another card, a wild card that took down Hunter's card with ease.

"Ooh, looks like you got wild carded, brah!" Tyler shouted.

"Oh man!" Hunter smacked his own forehead. "A wild card, how did I not see that coming?!"

"Don't worry, you'll get a win next time," Gavin assured him.

"Hunter!"

Hearing his name called, Hunter turned to see Willow and Skara. "Uh… who's Hunter? It's um… Jasper!" he claimed.

"We can see Flapjack on your head," Willow said, pointing to the red cardinal Palisman, who chirped.

"Oh… crap." Hunter said with a sigh. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we… need your assistance," Skara said hesitantly.

"One of our players, Jerbo, is out of commission so… we thought you could help us out," Willow replied. "With your help, we could get our Flyer Derby approved!"

"What?" Hunter asked in surprise. "But… but I…. I don't know…"

"Maybe you should, man," Gavin encouraged.

"Yeah! You can't be any worse at Flyer Derby than you are at Hexes Hold'em!" Angmar added.

Flapjack chirped to Hunter, who looked unsure. "I… I don't know if I should. I mean, after what I've done…"

Willow looked at Hunter and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Look Hunter, if I'm gonna be honest… I'm still hurt by your actions, by what you did to Luz and her family. I haven't forgotten that. But you do want to make things right, correct?"

Hunter looked down. "I… do. I really do. But I don't know if I can. I've made so many bad decisions… what if I mess up again?"

"Failure is a part of life," Willow reminded him. "So rather than beat yourself up over your mistakes, how about you make an effort to actually start fixing them? I mean, even Barcus doesn't mind you around."

"Ruff(His aura was friendly enough)," Barcus said.

"What… do I have to do to prove myself?" Hunter asked, looking up at Willow and Skara.

"Well, you're gonna have to respect mine and Skara's authority as captains of the team," Willow told him.

"And what we say, goes!" Skara added.

Hunter looked at them before making a decision. "Of course… my captains." he said as he stood up, Flapjack changing into a staff. This brought a smile to Willow and Skara's faces, they had found their fill-in.

Willow and Skara led Hunter back to the grudgeby field, where they met up with the rest of the team. Gus recognized it was Hunter due to his Palisman.

"Alright, if anyone asks, his name's Jasper," Willow told the group in a huddle. "We know Nina can tell it's him."

"But we can't let Felicia know," Gus said with a nod.

"So um… what does this team do?" Hunter asked.

"Well Gus is a natural speed demon, Skara's the best strategy wizard, and Viney's the best healer in school," Willow explained. "And with your flying, we're going to show that we have what it takes."

"So, you're in?" Skara asked him.

Hunter looked at Flapjack, then turned to them and nodded. "I won't let you down!"

"Good, cause let's get our face painting on!" Willow declared while she and Skara put their face paint on themselves.

"Alright, let's get you painted up," Viney told Hunter as she and Gus put paint on Hunter's face.

"Ah, hey! You got some in my eye!" Hunter cried out while his face was painted.

Meanwhile, Luz and Amity had brought Boscha to the Bonesborough library, where they had to stop by the kids section where Amity was greeted by the children there.

"We missed you, Amity!" Braxus declared while the kids surrounded her.

"I missed you all too," Amity replied while the children hugged her. "Hope you all have been doing good while I was gone."

"Gary has been taking your place reading to them," Luz explained to her. "Though, his way of reading comes off a little… scary for kids."

Ghost was being hugged and petted by the kids. "Okay, that's enough," she said while the snot-nosed kid got close to her. "This one's got snot! This one's got snot!" she cried while Acorn just hovered up near the ceiling, laughing at the cat Palisman.

"Can your new friend read to us?" one little girl asked, pointing to Boscha, who felt awkward about being here.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Boscha responded.

"Oh come on, just read them a story," Luz encouraged. "A lot of famous sports athletes have volunteered to read books to kids. Like Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson- okay, that last one's a bad example."

"Yeah, maybe you should give it a go," Amity said to Boscha.

Boscha looked at the kids, who held up a book. She sighed and took the book, about to start. "Wait-wait-wait!" one of the kids cried out and Boscha looked up to see that the kids had gathered a seated Luz and Amity, one of them laying their head against Luz and Amity. "Okay!"

The triclops cleared her throat as she began to read. "'In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthens… one stood. Burn by the arms of armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of hell and tainted beyond ascension!'"

Luz and Amity looked at each other in concern, but the kids looked to be enjoying themselves.

"'He chose the path of perpetual torment!" she continued as her voice turned dark ."In his ravenous hatred, he found no peace, and with his boiling blood, he scoured the umbral plains, seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him!" Luz and Amity had never felt so chilled and horrified from a book reading. "He wore the crowns of the night sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword! They named him… the Doom Slayer!"

The kids gasped… and then they fell asleep, while Luz and Amity looked like their souls had almost escaped their bodies. Ghost and Acorn both looked shaken from the reading.

Boscha looked at the kids sleeping. "Aw, look at those little monsters." she said affectionately.

Once they let the kids have their little nap time, they left the kids section. "Was that really in the book?" Amity asked Boscha.

"I just read what's in it," Boscha responded with a shrug. "The whole dark voice thing was a way to spice things up."

"What kind of children's book is this?" Luz looked at the book. "Oh," she said when she saw the title and author's name: 'Doom Slayer, by Luci F. Morningstar'.

Amity and Luz led Boscha into the romance section, where Amity pulled on one book while Luz kept a lookout. The shelves moved aside, showing Amity's secret room.

"What is this…?" Boscha asked, looking around.

"My safe space," Amity responded. "Malphas let me have this room to myself. I used it whenever I needed to be alone, whether to study or read…"

"You're one of the few people that know about this, myself included," Luz added while Boscha noticed a row of books.

"Is that… your Azura Collection?" Boscha asked, seeing all the Azura books.

"Yeah," Amity replied. "You can borrow them if you like, that way you'd be caught up."

"I… I don't know what to say, you guys…" Boscha was surprised and touched. "Thank you,"

"It's no problem," Luz replied as Boscha looked through one of the books.

"You know, I have always wondered why Featherwhyle decided to write about a sugarcoated version of the Boiling Isles," Boscha wondered out loud.

"Well, thing is, the books were actually written by a human," Luz revealed, shocking Boscha.

"What?!" Boscha exclaimed. "But… Featherwhyle's ears are pointy!" She pointed to the picture of the author on the back.

"Yeah, because someone changed the original picture," Amity said as she showed the picture on the copy that Luz got her in the Human Realm. "But even that is just a stock image. The real author looks nothing like that."

"So all this time, the author of the Azura books was a human?!" Boscha exclaimed, looking at the book. "That… honestly explains much…"

"Yeah, as for how Azura got to the Boiling Isles, I figured that someone must have found them when they washed ashore years ago after leaking into our water, and they tried to pass off the books as their own by changing the photo on the back. I can definitely recognize a scam when I see one, though I honestly didn't care enough to investigate who set it up."

Boscha nodded while looking back down at the book in her hands, amazed by the kindness they were showing her.

"So Boscha… do you think you would be interested in joining the Azura Book Club with us?" Amity asked.

"R-Really?" Boscha asked, looking up at them.

"Hey, you're a fellow Azura fan," Luz pointed out. "Plus that way it wouldn't just be a thing between me and Ams thing, since you can definitely spice things up."

Boscha smiled. "Then yes, I will join this club."

"Great!" Amity replied. "Maybe this room can be used as our meeting place, to escape the outside world and just talk about Azura."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Boscha nodded before Acorn suddenly flew up in front of her. "What the… is that a pixie?"

"Yeah," Amity said with a nod. "Meet Acorn, she's just being friendly."

"Oh… she's quite different from other pixies," Boscha replied, which made Acorn look offended and start to rant, her voice ringing. "H-Hey, it's a compliment!" she insisted and Acorn relaxed, flying around the triclops while giving Amity a nod. "What? What is she saying?"

"She says that she likes you," Amity confirmed.

"Wow, well I like you too, Acorn," Boscha told the pixie, who then hovered over her and sprinkled her pixie dust around Boscha. "Whoa… what… what's she doing- ah!" Boscha found herself hovering up in the air. "Ha… haha, my Titan, I'm flying!" She actually smiled as she floated up to the ceiling and pushed herself off of it. "This is actually pretty cool!"

While Luz and Amity watched Boscha enjoying herself, Ghost walked underneath Amity's desk. "Don't mind me," she said while stretching out and taking a cat nap.

The green streak on Hunter's face made it evident that he had a place on the team as he wore a green sleeveless jersey shirt with his yellow shirt, brown pants, and black boots. The rest of the team also wore their outfits. Willow wore a green lime and forest striped sleeveless shirt with green shorts, brown leggings, and yellow knee pads with black arm gloves and shoes, while her face was painted with green stripes. Skara wore a green headband, had a green star on her left eye, and was wearing a red sleeved black shirt with a green star, green shorts, black boots, and one fishnet on her left leg. Viney had the top half of her face painted green while wearing a green and black t-shirt with brown shorts and black and green striped leggings with black shoes. And as for Gus…

He had a green skull painted on his face, around his eyes and nose. He wore a green tank top with black sleeved fitting shirt, blue shorts with green knee pads, and blue and black striped socks with black shoes.

"Wow, Gus, that's… a nice face painting look you got," Hunter commented.

"Yeah, thanks." Gus replied with a nod as the team walked up to meet up with their opponents. Jerbo sat on the bench next to Nina, who cheered for Willow and her friends along with Emira and Barcus. Felicia had her ghost cameras set up to catch every angle, while Jane and Redback stood at the side of the field. Nina looked over at the opposing team, one member in particular catching her eye.

"Alright, Willow and Skara's team, I'd like to let you meet your opponents," Faust declared, showing off a team in purple uniforms with Puffer in brown sleeves and purple leggings and his sloth staff, Lambi with her navy-blue sleeves and purple leggings and her sheep staff, Batters who held a hamster staff while having red sleeves and leggings, Sioux who held a tanuki staff while having her light-blue leggings and sleeves, and a blue-skinned witch with dark blue hair who wore a purple jersey over her Construction uniform and had a winged fish Palisman for her staff. "Puffington Harvester, Mary Lambada, Batters Scorch, Sioux Banshees, and… Bob."

"Yo," Bob waved.

"Wait, Lambi's in Healing?" Nina asked in shock.

"Yeah, she's in my class," Emira replied while extending her hand to Nina. "You must be Nina. I'm Emira Blight, by the way."

"Oh, I know you…" Nina turned to her with a smirk. "Here to support your girlfriend?"

"Uh…" Emira said while Jerbo cheered.

"Go guys! You can beat them!" Jerbo cheered while Nina waved her flag.

"Go team…" Nina said halfheartedly.

Soon, both teams get on their staffs as they faced each other. "Remember, fly high and snag some flags, just like we practiced!" Willow declared while her teammates nodded. Each of the team's staffs had flags at the end.

Batters glared at Hunter, seeing through his Jasper disguise. It was then that Faust blew the whistle, starting the game.

Sending out the first attack was Batters, who shot a flaming song note that targeted Jasper. However Viney flew up and created a shield, blocking the attack. Eventually, all players scattered around the field as they tried to grab flags from their opposing team. Hunter used his teleporting ability to get behind Sioux, grabbing her flag from her staff as he flew around next to Gus, handing the flag off to him and letting Gus hang it on their pole, earning them a point.

"Whoo-hoo! Atta boy, Gus!" Jerbo cheered.

"Block them, Viney!" Emira waved to them.

"Yeah, way to go, Gus!" Hunter cheered as Gus smiled at his team.

Lambi summoned up an abomi-goo ball and threw it at her opponents, sending it toward Gus and Nina. Gus managed to avoid it, but Skara wasn't lucky and it exploded, causing her to stick to the walls of the bleachers and being knocked out of the game, since Puffer took her flag from her while she was stuck.

"You alright, Skara?" Nina asked as she helped Skara free herself from the Abomination goo.

"Yeah, didn't expect that!" Skara said as she got down while holding her staff. "Thanks, Nina."

"So do you need to go back or…?" Nina asked before Sioux cut in.

"Actually, if one team member's flag is taken and placed on the pole, they're out of commission," Sioux explained. "The point of the game is for each team to try to take each other's flags, and if all five flags are placed on a team's pole, that team wins."

"Looks like Skara is out of commission, leaving both teams four-to-four!" Felicia commentated with her scroll. "Looks like it's going to be an all-out for both teams! Jasper and Augustus are flying in circles, looking for their next target. Uh-oh, looks like Viney's going beast mode!"

"YAAAAHHH!" Viney shouted as she chased after Batters, who tried to zap her away but she dodged his spell.

"Ba-ha-waah!" Batters cried out in a panic, but eventually Viney grabbed his flag when he tripped out. She gave the flag to Hunter, who flew up high while dodging Bob's water fists. Viney once again flew up to Hunter's defense, trying to shield him from the water fists before she was knocked out and Bob grabbed her flag. But while Bob was distracted, her flag was snatched by Gus, who sped by

Puffer and Lambi used their Abomination attacks while Puffer also used his Construction magic, summoning pillars to try to hit Willow, and Hunter. They dodged and Willow summoned her vines and directed them at Lambi, who gasped and raised her arms over her face to protect herself from getting hit… only for the vines to grab her and Puffer's flags instead.

"Hey, they're doing it, they're going to win!" Nina exclaimed, standing up in excitement. "Come on, come on…"

Bob, Lambi, and Puffer chased Hunter as Gus and Willow handed the flags to him. The disguised Hunter flew for the pole while Puffer and Lambi tried to stop him, but he was too fast. He managed to make it to the pole, where he placed the flags of the opposing team.

"And there it is! Looks like the Greens have won the game!" Felicia declared as Jerbo, Barcus, Emira, and Nina cheered.

"YAY!" they declared as they cheered for Willow's team. When Hunter landed, Skara and Viney helped to dunk some Ghoul-Aid over Hunter's head, startling him.

"That was great!" Willow declared as she and Gus landed.

"Yeah, we did it!" Skara cheered.

"Well, after seeing your performance, I must admit that you do have what it takes," Faust said while nodding to Jane and Redback. "Congratulations, Flyer Derby is now an official Hexside sport."

"Now what about your name?" Jane asked.

"Oh shoot, didn't think of a name," Willow whispered.

"The… Emerald Entrails!" Hunter suggested as a whim, causing his teammates to turn to him. "You know… because… we're green, and there's… more to us… than you think?"

"...Entrails! Entrails! Entrails!" they all cheered.

"Hexside's Emerald Entrails, sounds good!" Jane wrote it down. "Congratulations, your team's official."

As the newly named Entrails cheered, Hunter spotted Batters picking up his staff. Feeling bad, he excused himself from the teammates.

"Where are you going, Jasper?" Gus asked him.

"I need to fix something," Hunter responded while walking over Batters. "Hey, Batters… how are you feeling?"

"Just fine," Batters muttered.

"Listen… I'm very sorry for not covering for you like I said I would," Hunter apologized. "So much was happening that day and I just forgot about you and… it was my bad."

Batters looked at Hunter long and hard… before his expression softened and he broke into a smile. "Okay!"

This caught Hunter by surprise. "O-okay?"

Batters shrugged. "I mean, I had this whole revenge scheme planned against you… but you apologized, so we're good. Thanks for the apology."

Hunter nodded. "Y-yeah, you're welcome," he said, still taken aback by how easy that was.

As Lambi finished talking with Puffer and Sioux, Nina cleared her throat and caused Lambi to turn to her. "Oh, hey Nina."

"Hey, Lambi. Great game out there," Nina responded, rubbing the back of her neck "You know, I… didn't know that you were also in the Healing Track."

"Yeah, turns out I have a skill for it," Lambi replied, smiling. "But why does it matter that I'm on the Healing Track...?"

Nina immediately averted her gaze. "N-No reason!"

Felicia walked up to the team. "Alright, now for a group photo to commemorate the birth of the Emerald Entrails!" she said, holding her scroll. "Here's your team tagline: We go for the Green!"

"Go for the Green!" they shouted as Felicia took the selfie. It showed her in front while behind her was a disguised Hunter with Viney, Gus, Skara, and Willow surrounding him, while Jerbo and Nina ended up in the back of the photo.

"Hey, Hexside!" someone shouted

The Entrails turned to see a group of certain ghoul witches that Sioux recognized. "Hey, you're Korn's friends from Merlin Meadows!"

"Indeed we are," Drusilla confirmed. "I'm Drusilla, and these are Helga, Cyndi, Bela, Brenda, and Gnashley."

"We heard that Hexside has a new Flyer Derby team," spoke the indigo-haired witch girl with a ponytail, brown-skin, black eyes, and a blue scarf covering her mouth as she wore a black ninja-like outfit.

"And we're wondering if you Emerald Entrails would be interested in playing with us?" Helga asked.

The Entrails looked at each other and smiled in agreement.

"Of course! But don't expect us to go easy on you!" Willow told them.

Bela snarled and growled, which Brenda translated. "Bela's right, we won't go easy on you either!"

"Let's rock on!" Ester declared as she cheered for her team.

"Another round doesn't sound too bad, this will be fun," Skara told her friends.

"Yeah," Willow said with a smile. "Let's go, Entrails!" she declared while the teams set up a new match.

St. Epiderm had been fully evacuated, the students and teachers waiting outside of the school after the Grim Goblin attack. Scouts were inside conducting a thorough investigation.

"This is… weird," Carter said while looking around the gym, seeing all the damage caused by the traps. "Like this guy somehow set up these traps ahead of time without anyone spotting him. And he still came out of nowhere and vanished just as suddenly."

"There's no sign of him anywhere," Scarmeron added. "And no sign of him blowing his way in or out. But someone would have had to have seen him come and go, right?"

"We found his weapons though," Hugh said as he held up a bag filled with broken potions and knives. "Where's the Golden Guard?"

"Still recovering, but they said that he'll be fine," Carter responded.

In the school's healing ward, Emily was getting treated and healed while scouts stood outside, guarding the entrance.

Emily was laying on her cot, nursing a black eye while being covered in bandages and healing patches for her bruises and burns. Her fight against the Grim Goblin was still fresh in her mind. The way he tricked and brutally wailed on her… it actually scared her.

"Still alive, I see," joked Adrian as he walked into the room with Cross.

Emily looked up at him and sat up. "Head Witch…"

"I've been keeping tabs on you throughout the day, and I must say that I'm… disappointed," Adrian told her. "You let the Grim Goblin get away, again. Makes me think you're not cut out for this job and I should just give it to Cross full-side." He paused, letting the failure sink in. "However, you were still able to get some students interested in the Emperor's Coven and we have a list of names… so it all balances out."

Emily tried to say something. "It's no-"

"But in your current state, you're too beat up to make anymore public appearances today, so Cross will take your role as the Golden Guard until you finish your recovery," Adrian told her before he turned to Cross. "Get in your uniform, Drakescale." He patted his shoulder before walking out, which left the two alone.

Cross turned to Emily. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"What does it look like?" Emily snapped at him, which prompted Cross to back away. "You have your duty, right? Go do it." She watched as Cross started to leave, but then she had second thoughts. "Wait," she said, getting him to stop. He looked back at her and Emily took a deep breath. "…thank you, for saving my life."

Cross looked at Emily and nodded. "Don't mention it. Whether we like it or not, we're in this together… since neither of us have much of a choice in the matter," he said before he walked out of the healing ward.

And so Emily was left alone with just her thoughts. She stared at the floor, her feelings… conflicted.

Outside of the school, the students were still waiting around as they talked among themselves.

"This has been a disaster," Danny states while with his council members. "All the damage that the Goblin did might result in some student budget cuts. Lindsay, make a note to Midday on the school's budget. Peter, that art show you've been pushing for? It's now a charity art show."

"Finally, time to display my minimalist-abstract to show," Peter said.

"Eh, I am still not convinced that this whole thing wasn't a false-flag operation," Beel admitted. "I mean, how do we know that the Emperor's Coven didn't create this Grim Goblin so we would have someone to be scared of? Maybe this was just their way of clearing out the building so they could have it to themselves for a few hours. Who knows what they are really doing in there…"

Lindsay then noticed the Golden Guard showing up. "It's him," she said to Donna, who turned to see him.

"Attention, students of St. Epiderm!" he announced, causing everyone to turn to him. "After what happened today, it is for the best that you all should go home. The Emperor's Coven promises that we will track down the lunatic responsible for this. But until the Grim Goblin is caught, we recommend you stay together and watch out for yourselves."

The students began to disperse. One of the groups that left together consisted of Donna, Beocrow, Tyrone, Tina, Veronica, Minerva, Roxy and Sarah.

"Well this day could've turned out better," Tyrone said.

"Let's get over what just happened, how did the Grim Goblin even get into the school?" Donna asked.

"I managed to check the security feed with my crystal ball," Sarah mentioned "None of them show how he got in or got out. But some of the balls were blacked out in the gym."

"It is strange that he managed to set up traps for the Golden Guard ahead of time and that he vanished without a trace," Veronica noted. "The only way he could pull this off was if he knew our school better than even we do."

"And don't forget that we tracked him down to Metropelvis the other day," Tina pointed out.

"And if he's familiar with St. Epiderm…" Minerva mentioned while everyone realized the implication.

"I think it's safe to say that… the Grim Goblin is connected to St. Epiderm," Beocrow said, all of them reluctant to accept that fact.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Roxy said while Donna just sighed.

"And that means," Donna said while looking at the students and teachers, particularly Danny and Riley. "The Grim Goblin is either a student, a teacher… or a member of the PCA."

At the Oscorne estate, Teri arrived home. As he laid his backpack down and stuck his hands in his pockets, he heard his father's voice.

"Where have you been?" Gibson demanded as his son looked at him. "I expected you to be here earlier."

"Sorry, dad, I was just hanging out with my friends after the school was evacuated," Teri told him.

"That's unacceptable," Gibson scolded. "Especially since there was another Grim Goblin attack today… at your school."

"It's fine, dad, really," Teri reassured his dad.

"It's definitely not fine!" Gibson snapped, startling his son. Gibson realized this and he took a deep breath, regaining his composure. "Look, you could have gotten hurt or worse, and today has proven to me that you're not even safe at St. Epiderm! Which is a serious concern to me. So until this Grim Goblin is caught, I'm pulling you out of St. Epiderm." This shocked Teri, but his father continued. "You will be kept at home where I can protect you."

"You… you can't do this!" Teri shouted, shoving his father aside.

"It is for your own good, Terrorance," Gibson told him, but Teri didn't listen as he walked upstairs in anger. "Terrorance!" he shouted before he heard his son slam the door to his bedroom. Gibson looked at the stairs for a moment before he sighed and pulled out a photo. It was the same photo that Eve had given to Teri, showing Teri's mother and her old friends. He stared at the photo for a long while, focusing on the image of his deceased wife in particular. Eventually he reached a decision, throwing the photo into the fire

'Ehehehehe….'

Gibson looked around. "Who's there?" he asked, hearing the creepy laughter echoing around his home. "Teri?" He got no answer and he saw only his collection of masks staring at him… like they were judging him.

He rushed down to the basement, where he opened a hidden door that led to a secret room…

And in said room was the Grim Goblin's costume, along with his gear.

Gibson just stared at the Grim Goblin mask, which seemed to be looking right back at him mockingly. Angered, Gibson picked up the mask and threw it to the ground.

This had to stop, for the sake of his son… but he didn't know if he could make it stop.

"That was a great game, you guys. Thanks for letting us play," Gnashley said.

"It's no problem, you can play with us anytime," Willow replied.

"Well, we hope to play against you in an official game in the future!" Helga suggested as the Ghoul Girls got ready to go home.

As the Ghoul Girls flew off, they passed by Luz, Amity and Boscha who were returning to Hexisde. Brenda noticed Amity in particular as she flew on her sphinx staff, a look of guilt evident on her face.

Back on the field, Hunter walked up to Willow and Gus while still in his Jasper disguise. "Hey um, guys," Hunter said. "I just want to say… thanks for letting me be a part of your team, even if it's not going to be a regular thing."

Willow and Gus looked at each other before they returned to Hunter.

"Hunter, I don't think things will ever go back to how they used to be," Willow admitted.

"Yeah, like today doesn't mean that we're friends again or and that we have forgiven you yet, since that will take more time," Gus said while Hunter looked away. "But… this is a start."

"Yeah, a good start and maybe we will keep you in mind as a back-up player in the future," Willow told him as Hunter looked back at them. She smiled. "Thanks for helping us. We appreciate it."

Hunter smiled back. "Thanks guys, I… I think I can accept that," he said.

Luz and Amity soon landed on the field with Boscha, spotting the Entrails. "Hey, how's the team building going, Will O'Wisp?" Luz waved to her, before she noticed Hunter who had taken off his concealment stone when Felicia left.

"Hunter?!" Luz and Amity were surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Amity asked while Hunter turned away.

"It's okay, everything's cool," Willow reassured them.

"Yeah, thanks to him, the Emerald Entrails are now the official Flyer Derby team of Hexside!" Gus revealed.

Hunter noticed Boscha and perked up. "Boscha! I'm glad to see you're okay!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Hunter!" Boscha replied happily, the two walking over to each other and clasping their hands.

"So how was your first day back at Hexside? I've been wondering what you have been up to today," he told her.

"I actually had a really great day," Boscha replied, turning to smile at Amity and Luz, who were complimenting the Entrails.

"You guys look great, by the way. Love the face paint," Luz told her friends.

"Boscha!" Angmar and Gavin shouted, causing Boscha to turn to them as they rushed over.

"Hey, how are you guys' day?" she asked them.

"Not bad, and the club fair was pretty good," Gavin admitted.

"Yeah! Turns out there is a community service club devoted to projects that help the community. I mentioned my butterfly sanctuary idea to them and they seemed interested!" Angmar revealed.

"That sounds cool!" Boscha told him.

"And how was Flyer Derby, Hunter?" Gavin asked him.

"Pretty great! I actually had a lot of fun!" Hunter told him.

As Boscha and Hunter began to walk off with their friends, Boscha looked back at Luz and Amity, waving at them. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya!" Luz replied as she and Amity waved at Boscha

Hunter looked back at Willow and Gus one more time while the Entrails prepared to head home. He awkwardly waved at them, Willow and Gus waving at them back

"See you at school tomorrow Luz, Amity!" Viney declared as she set off on Puddles, who had just woken up from his nap. Luz and Amity turned to Skara.

"Are you heading out as well?" Amity asked her, not noticing Luz as she snuck up behind her.

"Just waiting for Nina," Skara replied before Luz scooped Amity off the ground, her wings spreading out.

"Luz!" Amity chuckled before Luz started to fly off with her girlfriend in her arms, Ghost inside Amity's bag while Acorn could barely be seen following them. "We'll see you later, Skara!"

Skara waved to them before Nina came out from behind the bleachers.

"Is she gone?" Nina asked Skara.

"Yeah, Boscha left," Skara replied while looking at the werecat. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… I'm not ready to face her again," Nina replied while Skara patted her shoulder.

"I get it," Skara said while she offered Nina a ride. "Wanna ride back?"

"… Eh, I'm curious what flying with a staff is like," Nina said as she got behind Skara, who immediately took off and startled Nina. "RAAH!"

Back at the Owl House, Amity and Luz returned home, where they were welcomed back by Camila and King.

"Hey, how's your first day back?" Camila asked as she hugged her daughter.

"It was pretty great!" Luz replied. "No drama, no stakes… it was like the universe wanted to give us a break."

"Plus, we got one member to join the Azura book club," Amity said while Acorn flew up. "What do you think of Hexside, Acorn?"

"Well, all I can say is that your school is more… alive than I was expecting," Acorn said "Is everything alive on this island?"

Luz heard her scroll buzz and she pulled it out. "Hey, I just got a text from Donna."

"Is it urgent?" King and Amity asked

"She said that there was a recruitment drive at St. Epiderm, and she had an encounter with Emily as the Golden Guard," Luz responded.

"Is Donna okay?" Amity asked, concerned.

Luz texted back and read Donna's response. "Yeah, everything was fine until the Grim Goblin appeared and their school was evacuated."

"Sounds like you lucked out by avoiding that drama," King said.

"Yeah…" Luz replied before she saw Eda come in. "Whoa, mom, you okay?"

"Just… exhausted," Eda responded. Her hair was a mess along with her dress. "Dealing with two babies was one thing, but a bunch of them…" She walked over to the couch and collapsed, dead tired.

"Hey, at least it's for the children," King said while Eda just groaned.

"Where's my apple blood?" she asked.

"See ya, guys!" Hunter waved to his friends after he finished catching up with them.

"See you around too, Hunter!" Gavin waved back as he, Boscha, and Angmar flew away on their staffs.

Hunter looked at Flapjack and smiled. "You know what, Flapjack? Today turned out to actually be a pretty good day," he said while pulling out his scroll after he got a text from Lilith.

Lilith: Where are you?

Hunter: Don't worry, was with friends. I'll be back home soon.

After sending the text, he had Flapjack turn into a staff and he was about to take off when…

"There you are, Hunter," said a familiar voice.

Hunter's eyes widened and he turned around to see Abel standing there.

"A-A-Abel!" Hunter almost fell back, shocked and terrified.

"We have been worried about you, my boy," Abel said.

"Y-You're not here to force me back to the Emperor's Coven, are you?" Hunter demanded to know, holding up his staff defensively.

"No, nothing like that," Abel reassured him. "I am just here to deliver a message."

Hunter narrowed his eyes. "What… what kind of message?"

"That Belos is relieved to hear that you're alive and safe," Abel said, which made Hunter tense up. "But he also understands that you may not be ready to return to the castle and that the pressure he placed upon you is a big reason for that. So he's fine with you staying with Lilith Clawthorne for the moment and is very grateful to Lilith for taking care of you. But he does want you to remember that there will always be a place for you at the castle when you are indeed ready to come back. Belos just wants what is best for you, and he understands that right now that may mean giving you some space."

"I… I don't know about…" Hunter hesitated.

"He was very worried for you, Hunter," Abel pointed out. "For almost two weeks he feared that you were dead." He shook his head sadly. "You should have seen him, Hunter. He believed that he had lost the last member of his family he had left and it broke his heart. But as much as he wants to have his only family back, he knows that if you haven't come back, there is a reason for it so he won't force you. However, he does want you to know that he is willing to hear you out when you do decide to return. Whatever issues you have, he believes that the two of you can work them out together. There will be no punishment and he'll instead welcome you back with open arms." He looked at Hunter, giving him a warm smile. "Your uncle loves you, Hunter. I hope you know that. We can help you… but only if you let us." He paused for a moment, nodding. "I wish you well," he said before he walked away.

As Abel left, Hunter looked down at his staff, feeling… conflicted.

So that was a golden experience we have in this chapter, huh? This went like a… golden wind…

So a lot of you must be shocked that there are two Golden Guards… Emily Tricks, and Cross Drakescale.

Think back to the canon episode "Any Sport Is A Storm" where it's revealed that Hunter wasn't the only Golden Guard to take up the mantle. In Luz Clawthorne's version of the same scene, it's revealed that Emily isn't the only Golden Guard, as she shares it with him. This chapter is also unique in that it really puts Emily in the center role as the chapter's protagonist for the first time.

Though, our original plan for the new Golden Guard did changed a bit. Initially, Emily was just going to be the new Golden Guard, as we've never considered Cross as a candidate until Crosshot openly wondered about it. So then, we've decided to set up Cross as a potential red herring, but it was while we were writing the beach chapter and we've decided that the Golden Guard could appear that way. Our idea for the Golden Guard to appear on the beach is actually Cross. So in a way, Crosshot unintentionally completely changed the Golden Guard plotline.

This chapter is also basically meant to set up the new status quo at Hexside now that Amity, Eve, Gus and Willow are back. Which is why this chapter we see that Mai is now attending, Boscha's back with Angmar and Gavin also attending, and Cat officially a multi-tracker. Looks like you'll have to do her a new redesign, Crosshot…

It's funny how now there's drama around St. Epiderm rather than Hexside.

And this chapter mentions a scout named Judd… you probably figured who he's an expy of, even not seen…

Trivia:

-Hunter's disguise is a reference to a fan-edit of Hunter resembling Zeno Robinson.

-"The Gold Hexperience" title is a reference to Prince's album "The Gold Experience", which is also a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, or as the English calls it, "Golden Wind".

-Hunter declaring that he's gay is probably a reminder that in the LC universe, while Hunter and Willow has a sort of friendship, they're not really together. Me and Buck do support the Huntlow ship, but we were pretty too late on it when we've make Skarlow one of the main ships.

-Faust mentioning why there hasn't been a Flyer Derby team is a straight up reference to Space Jam, if it had a bleak ending…

-Yeah, we mixed more of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man film with lines from Return of the Joker.

-Why yes, Bob is an expy of Lapis from Steven Universe… because of course.

-And yeah, Gnashley here is a expy of Enid from OK KO, as a nod to Enid being part of the Ghoul School Girls.

For the reviews:

61394: Well Eda's still magicless, and doesn't want to upset Madam Mim. So she's playing nice with Magica, just don't give her a reason to hate her more.

Deadpoollover: Well, plans change over time. We didn't consider it, but then after writing, we've decided to give it a go.

Crosshot: Candy and Grenda are probably watching the Duck Detective finale, while Pacifica's… missing Mabel. Everyone's probably missing Mabel during all of this. We added in Waddles along with editing a lot in this chapter. We have Clara being a Big Time Rush fan cause well, it's the only band I could think of that was popular around the early 2010s. I only selected Maine as Nora's old home was, well, it was the only state I could figure where'd she lives and Maine is a hot spot for scary stuff. As for the thing with Della, well, you'll find out how different Della is…

Matteso: 1) There is a high difference between an Expy and a carbon copy. Trini while being based off of Evie by basics of appearance, not by character. Mel's gang are a lot more meaner than the characters from Descendants. Plus she's part-succubi, so morality is thrown straight out the window for her, as the beach chapter shows how inappropriate is she was to Lindsay. 2) Fixed that mistake. 3) You'll see soon. 4) No spoilers.

Shuffollower: Stay tuned.

EenE Scammer: Guess we can confirm that yes, Gus Gordon was told about what happened to his father by his mom.

Ultimate-drax: Synthetic Titan's blood will come into play soon…

Raikage Neji: You're probably right.

RJWritingInk: Review 1- There was in no way this was Luz's fault. Gabriel would've betrayed Philip the first time they've met. Luz didn't cement Gabriel's hatred of witches, it was his own goals to hunt down witches and Philip gave him the ticket that sparks the Archangels today. As for Adam… he's an Abomination given a soul and body to resemble a witch. Review 2- Yeah, I'm award of Sean Kelly, but as of now we'll just have to settle with Cusack. However if we'll use Morty in the future, well let's just sit back and see.

Thanks for reading, and of course, the next chapter will be a Nina chapter…