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 94: A Very Special Donna

Four years ago…

Little twelve-years-old Donna was in one of the rooms of the orphanage, healing a fellow orphan.

"Here you go," Donna told the young boy after healing his cut. "Now remember what I say about running with scissors?" The boy nodded and Donna turned to a pair of scissors. "Scissors!"

"Yeah?" asked the scissors with legs and eyes.

"What do we say?" Donna pointed to the boy, who she had given a band-aid.

"Sorry," the talking demon scissors said apologetically.

"Good," Donna nodded before a teenaged Ban came in.

"Donna! Guess what? There's a lovely couple who wishes to meet you!" Ban declared, which piqued Donna's interest.

"Really?" Donna asked, wondering who it was…

Donna was nervous while meeting the couple in question for a face-to-face, sitting across from the Masterskulls.

"Hello, Donna," Diana said.. "My name is Diana, and this is my wife, Gladys."

"Care to tell us about yourself, Donna?" Gladys asked her in a kind voice.

"Oh um, hi!" Donna said as she introduced herself. "My name is Donna, and I am twelve years old."

"So what can you tell us about yourself, Donna?" Gladys asked her.

"Well, I've been here in the orphanage all of my life," Donna answered. "I was just a baby when I was left here. I don't remember who my parents are or whoever left me here, though sometimes I think I remember having a brother…" She looked uncomfortable while explaining about her past.

"What are your interests?" Diana asked her, changing the subject for Donna.

"Well, I know that I've been raised to learn Bard magic, but I don't think it's for me," Donna admitted. "I'm more interested in Healing magic. What do you two do?"

Diana began to explain. "Well, I run a company called Skull Toys that makes many toys for all the children of the Isles!"

"Diana uses her illusions to visualize her ideas while I help build and construct the prototypes before they are mass produced," Gladys added. "I used to carve wooden figurines and build rocking chairs before I met Diana."

"And with her, we made an unstoppable team!" Diana said as she grabbed Glady's hand.

"So… what made you interested in adoption?" Donna asked honestly.

"Well, it's just that… we have been together for a while and we decided that we want kids," Diana explained.

"And after some time, we decided that instead of having a child of our own, we would open our home to a child in need of one," Gladys explained.

And so it went like that for a while with Donna and the Masterskulls asking each other more questions about themselves.

"So Donna, would you be interested in coming home with us?" Diana asked Donna at the end of the interview.

"I… um, not sure…" Donna replied honestly.

"Well, we're fine with that," Gladys told her. "Take your time to think it over. We're happy that we got to meet you today, nonetheless."

"And we do hope to see you again, Donna," Diana added.

After the interview ended, Donna watched the Masterskulls heading out as they told Ms. Hicky that they would come back if Donna reached a decision.

"They do seem like a nice couple, don't they?" Ban asked Donna.

"Yeah," Donna replied, not sure if she was ready to leave the orphanage.

"Well whatever you decide, I bet it'll be the right choice," Ban said to the young girl. "Like how I've decided to stay here and become an employee when I am old enough! I hope Scooter will consider me the son he never had!" he declared while Donna gave him a strange look. "Think I should change my name to Ban Crane?"

Donna headed over to her room. She looked down while thinking about the nice couple. As she made it to her room, she noticed that outside her window, a tail waved around. She knew who it was.

Opening up the window, she whispered out. "Psst, Nina!"

Sure enough, the head of the aforementioned werekitten popped up from the edge of the roof.

"Hey, Princess!" Nina said happily. "Wanna come up to the roof and join me?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded, reaching up and grabbing Nina's hand, letting herself be pulled up.

Donna had finished packing her stuff in her suitcase as she was getting ready to leave.

"Goodbye, guys, I'm going to miss you," she said to her fellow orphans.

"Take care, Donna!" spoke one orphan.

"Good luck with your new family!" Amber said while giving Donna a hug.

"Try not to be a stranger, kiddo," Derwin said while shaking Donna's hand.

"I won't!" Donna replied while looking up to a teary eyed Ban.

"I-I-I'm gonna miss you, Donna!" Ban said as they cried while Donna patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, Ban, I may be leaving, but it's not like it's forever," Donna told him, which made Ban feel a little better.

"They're ready for you, Donna," spoke one administrator as Donna carried her suitcase.

She has one final look at the orphanage, thinking of the memories she had in it. Some good, some not so good. But it had been her home, a place to stay in. A place where… Nina would come and visit.

She turned to Diana and Gladys, who were waiting for her in their limo-worm. Donna was now Donna Masterskull…

And this was the beginning of a new chapter for her.

Donna was amazed when she entered her new home, the Masterskull mansion.

"Welcome to your new home, Donna," Gladys said, letting the young girl take it in.

"Wow…" Donna replied, looking around at how big the place is. She then spotted a pink koala demon in a black suit.

"Greetings, you must be Donna," Auggie said while raising his hand up. "I am Auggie, the Masterskull's chief of security and their butler."

"Cool!" Donna replied, reaching down to shake his hand. "So what do you do for security?"

"Well I make sure that no one comes in without permission. No break-ins and no paparazzi. I've prided myself in keeping this mansion secure at all costs!" Auggie declared which excited Donna. "My security team is always on standby, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Awesome! I got a cute koala bodyguard!" Donna shouted.

"Hey," Auggie pointed up. "I don't do cute, okay? I'm a hardened edge guy,"

"Oh, sorry," Donna said before Auggie handed her a peppermint.

"But I'm not mean," he assured her as Donna received his gift. "Welcome to your new home, kid."

"Why don't we take you on a grand tour?" Diana offered as she and Gladys held Donna's hands, leading her around the mansion.

They showed her the kitchen where their food was being prepared by the finest chefs. They showed her the large backyard which included a large pool. They showed her the lobby room, the bathrooms, and their workshop. And finally they showed her to her new room, which they set up before her arrival.

"This place is really great!" Donna said excitedly. "I think… I'll love it here!"

"We're glad to have you here, Donna," Diana said happily. "Everything you need, we can give to you."

Donna smiled. "Thank you Diana, Gladys."

But during her first night, Donna couldn't sleep. She had everything could have ever wanted and needed here. A new home, new parents, all the toys she could play…

But that was until she was crying. She was crying not out of happiness… she was scared.

The orphanage was familiar to her, as she had been raised there. But now, she was in an unfamiliar bedroom and an unfamiliar house with people that were still strangers to her. So of course she was scared…

She was in uncharted territory.

On the first morning, Donna was still in her room when she heard Gladys knocking.

"Donna, we're gonna have breakfast!" Gladys announced. "Is there anything you'd like?"

Donna took a deep breath. "Um… anything is fine."

"Okay," Gladys replied and on the other side of the door she looked concerned. She wanted to make sure that Donna was happy in her new home, especially since this was her first day here.

At breakfast, the chef handed Donna a plate of food. "Griffin eggs omelet with rash brown, along with some fruit for the young witchling of the house," the chef declared.

"Thank you," Donna nodded as she took a bite out of her food. Her eyes widened, since it was like the food she had eaten was… made of magic itself.

She imagined herself flying in a rainbow sky with the griffins. Looking down she saw a garden of fruit with rash browns sprouting around.

"Wow! This is the best thing I've ever eaten!" Donna said excitedly as she ate her food. "This is good! You should pay whoever made this extra!"

Diana and Gladys smiled, seeing that Donna would definitely get used to being around here.

"So these are the kinds of toys you make?" Donna asked, seeing the rows of toys up on display in Diana's study.

"That's right," Diana replied while showing Donna around. "Me and Gladys have made these wonderful toys for all the good witchlings. SkullToysCo is responsible for the Constructionauts!" She showed a golem-like toy with hammers. "Sentient construction warriors that use their tools for many attacks!" She then brought out a witch doll. "Then there's the Witchypoo doll-line, where you can decorate your witches with fashionable wear!" She then brought out a black pony with bat-wings. "My Little War Horse, which after rebooting it a fourth time caused it to gain a lot more popularity thanks to the tie-in animated series by Lauri Frost. Who knew kids would be into seeing cute little war horses fighting for glory and taking over kingdoms…"

"That's so cool!" Donna replied, while looking at the toys including some coven scout action figures and some that resembled the Coven Heads. "Are these the Coven Heads?"

"Yes, the Emperor's Coven also wanted us to make toys for the scouts and heads. The Lilith toys are quite popular along with the Darius and Vitimir figures. Head Witch Snapdragon wanted hers to be intentionally unsafe, but we had to tell her that it wasn't possible, so these days we only make toys for eight of the nine Coven Heads."

"I make the prototypes here," Gladys explained as she showed Donna her workshop. "After I finish making the prototype, we send it to testing groups before we have them mass manufactured."

"Can I help test the toys out?" Donna asked her.

"Well, sure, you can help out if you like," Gladys replied, "What kind of toys do you like?"

"All kinds!" Donna said happily.

Later, Diana and Gladys decided to take Donna out on an outing. They showed her around Metropelvis, where they spotted a lot of people going about their business and even some teens roller skating down to the park.

"So this is Metropelvis…" Donna said in excitement, looking around the biggest city of the Isles.

"Yes, we live around here for the local businesses and the fun," Diana replied. "There are many places to go to, like the megahex theater that is showing all kinds of movies."

"And the best restaurants in the Isles," Gladys pointed out. "Would you like to see around?"

"Sure!" Donna replied.

They took her to the park, where they saw other kids playing ball with their parents and their pets. Some flying with their griffins. A frisbee was thrown near her and when she saw the other kids wanting it back, Donna gladly threw it back to them.

It inspired the two inexperienced mothers and Gladys made a frisbee for them all to play. The three passed around the frisbee from left to right, enjoying themselves. Afterward Donna along with Diana and Gladys stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant.

Later they stopped by a karaoke joint, where they have a little family karaoke.

Diana started to sing. "Now if you feel that you can't go on, because all of your hope is gone! And your life is filled with confusion, until happiness is just an illusion!" She spread sparkles around Donna. "And your world around is crumbling down, darlin'…."

"(Gladys: Reach out!) Come on, Donna, reach out for me!(Gladys: Reach out!) Reach out for me!"

Donna bopped her head as her new moms sang. "I'll~ be there! With the love that will shelter you! I'll be there! With a love that will see you through!"

Gladys sang the next verse. "When you feel lost and about to give up! Cause your best just ain't good enough! And you feel the world has grown cold, and you're drifting out all on your own, and you need a hand to hold, darlin'!" Gladys and Diana reach their hands toward Donna, who accepted.

"(Diana: Reach out!) Come on, Donna, reach out for me!(Diana: Reach out!) Reach out for me!"

"I'll~ be there! To love and comfort you! And I'll~ be there! To cherish and care for you! I'll be there, to always see you through! I'll be there, to love and comfort you!"

Donna sang the next verse. "You can tell the way I hang my head, things are always new, I'm just afraid, and through my tears I look around, but I think I've got a new home to find! I know what you're thinking – you're a loner, but you don't have to be alone, cause darlin-!"

"(Diana and Gladys: Reach out!) Come on, you two, reach out for me!(Diana and Gladys: Reach out!) Reach out, just look over your shoulder~!"

The trio sang together. "I'll~ be there! To give you all the love you need~! And I'll~ be there! You can always depend on me~!"

The audience clapped once the Masterskulls finished singing.

"I really had a fun day out!" Donna said to Diana and Gladys when they returned home.

"We're glad that you did, Donna," Diana replied as she and Gladys received a hug from Donna.

"Thank you, both of you!" Donna said happily as Diana and Gladys hugged her back.

Donna then headed up to her room and when she entered she noticed a tail at her window. Her eyes widened, knowing full well who it was.

Opening the window, Donna called out. "Nina?"

"Hey Princess!" Nina shouted, popping up. "Wanna climb up?"

"Actually, why don't you come in?" Donna offered as Nina climbed inside. "I am glad to see you."

"Same," Nina replied while looking around. "So um, I just stopped to see if you'd like me to take you away from here in case things don't work out."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Donna assured her.

"R-Really?" Nina asked her.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Donna replied. "I think… I'm gonna like it here. I mean, it is uncharted territory, but everyone around here is nice. Especially Diana and Gladys."

"Oh… so you really made yourself at home here, huh?" Nina asked her.

"Yeah, but thanks for checking up on me," Donna said while patting Nina's hand.

"Donna? Are you okay?" someone asked from the hallway.

Donna turned to the door, then back to Nina. "It's Auggie, hide!" she whispered as Nina crawled back out the window. After hearing some knocks, Donna walked up and opened the door. "Auggie, hey."

"I thought I heard someone in there, are you alright?" Auggie asked while checking the room.

"I'm fine, Auggie, I was just… talking out loud," Donna said while Auggie looked out the opened window. "I opened my window for fresh air."

"Well, okay then," Auggie told her as he looks around, "Just wanted to make sure there are no uninvited guests, since I've been trained in the harsh environment of the Kidney Hedges what to do to them."

"What… do you do to uninvited guests?" Donna asked curiously.

"Oh, I just flay their scalps, snap their necks, and there was that one time I mowed a paparazzi down," Auggie said which made Donna look a little pale at the cute koala biped who had a deadly streak. "Now then… do you need anything?"

"Um… no thanks, I'm good," Donna assured him as he walked out. "Thanks for checking up on me, Auggie!"

"Anytime!" Auggie replied as he left.

Donna turned to see Nina's head pop up, the werecat looking equally pale. "I should… go."

"I'll see you around, okay?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, see ya around, Princess," Nina replied as she ducked out of sight.

"We're having guests over?" Donna asked while walking down the stairs with Auggie.

"That's right," Auggie responded. "A family friend of Diana and Gladys has come to meet you, kiddo. She even brought her sons with her. One of them's around your age."

This excited Donna as she couldn't wait to meet new friends. She rushed down the stairs, seeing her foster moms. "Are they here, yet?!"

"They should be here about…" Diana heard the doorbell scream as Auggie went to answer the door.

"Diana! Gladys!" spoke a pink-skinned witch woman with reddish fawcett-style hair and red eyes. She wore a pink and white striped long dress with red boots. "We heard that you have a child now!"

"Meet Donna," Diana introduced. "Donna, this is Denise Clawthorne, an old friend of ours. And these are her sons, Bailey and Felix Clawthorne."

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Donna!" Donna greeted.

"U-Uh I'm Felix," said a young witch boy with pinkish-skin, short red hair, green eyes, a purple shirt, blue pants, and yellow boots. "This is my big brother, Bailey."

Standing in silence was the young Bailey Clawthorne, who had short but spiky black hair, and wore a black jacket with an orange shirt, black pants, and black boots.

"Nice to meet you, Bailey!" Donna greets, only to be met with silence. "Uh… is he alive?" she asked in confusion.

"Oh he's like this all the time, sug," Denise explained. "He's not much of a talker, but he is enrolling at St. Epiderm."

"Oh, we've also been thinking of enrolling Donna at St. Epiderm," Gladys said while turning to Donna. "Say Donna, why don't you take them to the lobby?"

As the mothers talked, the kids went to the lobby where Felix played with his Abomination game while Donna tried to chat with Bailey.

"So I've only been here for a few days and it's a lot different from the orphanage, so I'm still trying to get adjusted to it all," Donna said to Bailey. "So what about you?" she asked him while Bailey just sat on the couch playing a small puzzle game. Donna felt awkward from the silence, so she turned to Felix "Say Felix, what does your brother like to do?"

"Praying to dead things," Felix responded, which weirded Donna out. "He's also into Beast-keeping and all that."

"Beast-Keeping?" Donna had and idea. "Wanna know a secret?" she whispered to him. "I got a best friend who's a werecat."

Bailey paused as he turned to her. "Seriously? Do your moms know?"

"Nope, just my little secret," Donna replied. "Now that you know my secret, what's yours?"

Bailey turned to his brother before looking back at Donna to whisper to her. "Well, me and my brother are halves."

"Halves?" Donna asked.

"You know, born from the same mama, but came from two different daddies," Bailey said, which surprised her. "Don't know what happened to them, nor do we care, but mama tells us not to mention them much."

"So… you don't have another parent?" Donna asked. "Your mom is raising you by herself?"

"My mom decided to not bother dating," Bailey said while he leaned back. "Also, you should hear about this auntie of ours that's been making headlines… you know the Owl Lady?"

Donna nodded. "Yeah, everyone has heard of her… she's your aunt that's a wild witch?"

"Yeah, though mama thinks that she's doing it all for attention. But I hear rumors that she has a human," he said.

"A human?" Donna asked, curious. "Is that some kind of pet?"

"I don't know, but I do know that Auntie Eda has been selling artifacts from another realm. I want to go check it out, but ma said that I shouldn't bother since, well, she's a wild witch."

"Oh," Donna said, her curiosity about Bailey's family growing…

Donna, now in her St. Epiderm uniform with Healing Track sleeves, looked at the students around her, nervous and shy. This was her first day.

"You okay?" Bailey asked while in uniform.

"Yeah." Donna nodded. "This is just… completely new for me. And you are the only person here that I know."

"I'll walk you to your class if you like," he offered. "I can even show you around the school."

"Thanks Bailey," Donna said as she walked alongside Bailey, staying close.

At lunch, Donna was going around looking for Bailey. She knew that he had the same lunch period as her and eventually she did spot him.

"Bailey, glad I found you-" Donna paused, seeing that he was with friends. "Oh… you're with friends… um, hi." She waved to them.

"Oh, you must be the new girl," Veronica said, greeting her. "Bailey mentioned you."

"He… did?" Donna asked nervously.

"You don't need to be nervous around us, a friend of Bail's is a friend of ours," Veronica said. "And sorry that he can be a little morbid sometimes… I'm Veronica Rex."

"I'm Donna Masterskull," Donna replied to the fawn-biped girl.

"And these are Tina Ryo and Tyrone Ironwood," Veronica introduced.

"Hello," Tina said in a whisper.

"Nice to meet you," Tyrone said.

"Why don't you tell us about yourself, Donna?" Veronica asked her.

Donna gave a small smile as she took a seat at the table and began to tell a bit about herself.

Some time later, Donna was brought back home after a visit from the Blights. She was in the living room, shaken up while covered in a blanket as Auggie handed her some hot cocoa.

"Here you go, love," Auggie told her.

"T-Thank you, Auggie," Donna replied while Diana paced back and forth, Gladys trying to calm her down.

"I can't believe Odalia's children," Diana said while looking angry. "Those twins of hers giving my Donna a panic attack like that!"

"Calm down, Di," Gladys said to her wife.

"How can I be calm about this!" Diana said, sounding upset. "I just… I don't want Donna to be put through something like this again… we're never going to take her back there."

"I agree, I don't think Donna should go back there," Gladys said while turning to their adopted daughter. "Donna, honey are you alright?" she asked while sitting beside Donna.

"I… I don't know what came over me," Donna admitted. "Even though Emira and Edric were just pulling a prank… I froze. Like… I was suddenly unable to do anything!" She looked down. "Sorry that you had to leave brunch for me…"

Gladys, and Diana looked at each other in concern. Diana walked up to Donna and sat down, patting her hand "Donna, what happened wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, Odalia's kids were just pulling a mean prank," Gladys assured her.

"I don't… I don't want to be scared like that again…" Donna said while wiping away her own tears.

"Tell you what, hon. How about we have Auggie teach you some self-defense?" Diana suggested. "That way, you don't have to worry about anyone hurting you again."

In a dojo, Donna was seen in a karate gi-outfit while being instructed by Auggie, her mothers watching.

"Alright, my student," Auggie spoke while marching back and forth with a staff. "You will follow my instructions to help you better yourself in self-defense. Now the first rule is always stay focused."

"Okay," Donna replied.

"Also, second rule, learn to discipline yourself." He used his staff to help straighten Donna's posture. "Chin up, back straightened, feet apart, broaden your shoulders, and take deep breaths," he said while Donna got in a fighting stance "Now… try to attack me."

Donna looked confused. "Are you sure…?"

"Come on, bring it on," Auggie said while Donna just shrugged and threw the first punch, only for Auggie to dodge her punch, grab her arm and swing her down onto the mat.

"Oof!" Donna said after being taken down.

"Third rule, never underestimate your enemy," he advised while helping Donna up. "You alright, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Donna said as she got back on her feet. "Just… surprised."

"Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I'm not skilled," Auggie said as he snapped his fingers and practice dummies were brought out. "Now then, let the true lessons begin."

And so, Donna spent some time training in the dojo, learning self-defense skills.

"Your healing magic can be helpful," Auggie told her. "You have access to ice spells along with sleep spells that healers use on their patients."

Donna looked at her hands as she gave a nod while drawing a spell circle to blast ice attacks at a training dummy. She saw another training dummy moving over to her. "Sleep spell!" she called out as she knocked the dummy down.

Outside, Donna and Auggie did some breathing exercises. The koala butler helped Donna to channel her magic to make her calm. Her hands glowed blue as she started to give off a blue aura. Her magic channeled throughout her body.

At sunset, Donna was shown doing practice kicks. She along with Auggie were doing stances while in front of the sunset.

And so she trained with Auggie for a while, with his lessons proving to be very useful to her later in life…

The young teenaged Donna was shopping at the mall, buying stuff for herself and classes. It was then she felt someone trying to reach into her pocket.

She acted by instinct. "Hiyah!" she shouted as she grabbed the pick-pocketer's arm and sucker punched him in the face, then swept him off his feet and onto the floor. "Stay down!"

"Eustace!" shouted the girl who came to the guy's aid. "What the hell were you doing to that girl?!"

"Nothing! I wasn't…" Eustace claimed as Donna turned to the girl.

"He tried to take something from my pocket," Donna told her.

The girl sighed. "Sorry, girl, Eustace here is a bit of a kleptomaniac," she apologized to Donna. "But thanks for knocking his ass out. You have no idea how many times I have wanted to do that to him."

"That hurt, real bad…" Eustace said, rubbing his nose. "But wow, those are some cool moves you have!"

"Oh um… thanks," Donna replied, not sure what to make of him.

"Name's Serpentina, and klepto here is Eustace Curry," the girl explained.

"But I prefer to be called… Deepbeard," Eustace declared, causing Serpentina to roll her eyes.

"Nice to meet you two," Donna replied politely. "My name is Donna."

"You know, the way you took Eugene out was pretty cool," Serpentina commented. "Do you want to hang out with us?"

"Oh… I don't know…" Donna hesitated.

Serpentina pats her back in reassurance. "Don't worry, I promise to keep Eustace in check…"

And so, when she made time, Donna started hanging out with these two cool kids whenever she was out.

"So you were a foster kid?" Serpentina asked Donna while hanging out with her.

"Yeah," Donna replied. "My new parents are very kind to me and try to tend to every one of my needs. Hence why I'm able to learn self-defense."

"Well, lucky you to have such a loving family," Eustace said. "I know where you are coming from, though. My folks were wild witches turned pirates and I was their cabin boy. Then one day a storm came a brewin and took them out along with their boat…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Eustace," Donna apologized.

"Aye, not to worry, D," Eustace assured her. "Though if it weren't for Serpy saving my life, I would've suffered more burns."

"Healed him up while he was a crisp," Serpentina explained as Donna looked confused.

"Wait, where were you?" Donna asked her.

"In the sea," Serpentina said, surprising Donna. "Yeah girl, I'm a sea-witch."

"No way… I've only heard of your kind and… how are you able to walk on the land?" Donna asked her.

"We sea-witches have our ways," Serpentina explained. "My mom's kind of a serpent herself…"

"So," Eustace said as he pulled down the ladder from a fire escape. "Who's up for some roof running?"

"Roof running?" Donna asked while Serpentina started to climb up.

"Yeah, come on, girl, let's go have a little rooftop chase!" Serpentina offered, while Donna looked nervous for the moment. But then she remembered all the times she and Nina would talk on the rooftop and she started to climb up after Eustace and Serpentina.

And so, the three started to run and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Donna did her best to keep up with them, even using her ice magic to slide between roofs. She laughed until she slipped and was about to fall off before Serpentina and Eustace grabbed her hands to save her from her fall.

The trio stopped by a lake, where they showed off their magic. Serpentina started swaying as she summoned water from the lake. She formed the shapes of the water into fish, which impressed Donna.

"Wow… your water magic's really good, Serpentina!" Donna told her.

"Think she's impressive, check this out!" Eustace started to snap his fingers as bursting from the ground behind him was a small explosive. "YEAH!" he cried out.

"I've never seen magic like that!" Donna commented.

"You can say that I'm a bit of a demolition devil," Eustace told her. "A special kind of fire magic that I've learned."

"That is so cool!" Donna replied excitedly.

Later, the three behind around a corner while watching Tiny Nose just walking along. Eustace snapped his fingers and a small explosion popped near Tiny Nose.

"Eep!" Tiny Nose said as she felt another pop nearby. "Wah! Everything's popping!" Tiny Nose ran off, the three teens laughing.

When it was Serpentina's turn, she used her water magic to take the liquid from the cup of an unsuspecting witch. He looked at his cup, finding it empty until he felt a splash on the back.

"Ahh! I'm wet and sticky!" he exclaimed while the trio laughed.

Donna decided to try a prank as well, climbing up on a rooftop and using her magic to make it snow. A civilian noticed the showy cloud over him.

"Snow? In the middle of Goone?" he cried. "Titan Warming is real!"

The trio just laughed.

"Come on, this way!" Eustace led the girls down to a building by the Metropelvis harbor.

"Ever been to a party before, Donna?" Serpentina asked her.

"N-No, I haven't," Donna replied. "This is… my first time being at a teenager party before."

"You're gonna love these parties, Eustace sure does," Serpentina replied while Eustace knocked on the door.

"What's the password?" the bouncer asked while looking through the hole.

"A witch pirate's life for me," Eustace whispered. "They're with me, mate." He pointed to Serpentina and Donna.

Opening the door, the bouncer let the three in. Donna hears loud music blaring up as she follows the two downstairs. She looked around in awe, seeing the colorful lights and a lot of teenage witches dancing… and drinking.

"Deepbeard is here!" Eustace announced as the crowd cheered for him. He burst open a barrel to have some apple blood in the mug he grabbed.

"Is that… apple blood?" Donna pointed out.

"Yeah girl, the alcoholic kind," Serpentina replied, taking some apple blood for herself and sipping it. "Wanna try some?"

"Oh… no thanks," Donna rejected politely. "I'm just gonna look around."

It was Donna's first party as she looked around at her peers. She saw them playing some weird games like pin the stake on the target. She also saw some witches dancing while… half-naked. She covered her eyes while blushing.

"Hey, you're new?" someone asked her.

"Oh, um… yeah, I was brought here by some friends," Donna admitted. "What are you guys doing?"

"Playing truth or scare," another teen answered. "Wanna play?"

"Oh sure, I have played this game before," Donna replied as she sat with the group.

"Okay new girl, truth or scare?" the girl asked her.

"Hmm, scare!" Donna picked, not wanting to choose truth.

"Well then, I scare you to have this." The girl handed Donna a drink of apple blood with some weird glowing crystals in it.

"This is apple blood… and that isn't ice…" Donna pointed out.

"Come on, do the scare," the other girl pushed her.

"Oh she's not gonna drink it!" Eustace said after spotting Donna with the other teens. "She's from St. Epiderm, after all!"

"Eustace!" Serpentina scolded him while the girl who gave Donna the drink scoffed.

"St. Epiderm? So you're from that high-prestige school?" The older girl laughed along with the rest of her friends. "You're nothing but some goody two-shoes!"

Donna felt embarrassed. Here she was at her first party and now her first impression to these older teens was that she was some kind of… baby from St. Epiderm.

She was not going to put up with this.

And so she drank and drank and drank… until the cup was empty.

The girl and the rest of the group gasped. "No one's ever drunk the whole thing before!"

"Well this girl just did!" Donna slammed the cup on the table while Serpentina and Eustace looked impressed.

As the party continued, Donna ended up dancing with her peers, including Serpentina and Eustace. Later, Serpentina shared something with Donna.

"What's this?" Donna asked, seeing the wrapped up joint.

"Weed." Serpentina offered. "Says it'll help you calm your nerves a little."

Donna looked at it before she took a huff on the joint. She coughed after the first try, smoke coming out from her mouth. "Crap, this stuff is strong!"

And so, whenever she felt stressed out from school, Donna went to any party she could find through Eustace and Serpentina.

While attending a party at a junkyard, Donna wore overall shorts with a pink shirt and brown boots as she opened a can of Bug Brew, which was a type of alcoholic beverage for adult witches. She chugged some down while the party goers cheered for her.

At school while a teacher was giving a lecture, Donna was trying to pay attention. But she looked so tired, which didn't go unnoticed by Tina, who sensed something was up about her…

In an empty warehouse, some teens were trying out the good stuff. Donna was in a tube top with a jacket and shorts and joined in as they gave her some gummies. Once she took a bite out of those gummies, she started to see things.

"Wow… look at the pretty colors…" Donna said.

"I know, aren't they cool?" Eustace asked while he and Donna waved their hands around the air. Serpentina just snickered at them.

Donna closed her locker, her hair a bit messy as she wiped her nose. She was met by Bailey and Veronica.

"Hey, are you alright, Donna?" Bailey asked her.

"Yeah, just… tired," Donna replied.

"You sure? I've tried calling you and you didn't answer your crow," Veronica told her.

"I've just been studying," Donna lied while hearing the bell scream. "Gotta get to class," she said while walking past them as they looked at her in concern.

Donna was sleeping on the couch, Diana having to wake her up.

"Donna, wake up!" Diana told her while Donna stirred.

"What time is it?" Donna asked.

"You've been sleeping since you came home from school," Diana said.

"Are you alright?" Gladys asked in concern.

"Fine, just… had a long day," Donna replied while rubbing her eyes.

Donna smiled and giggled while wearing a flowery dress and flat shoes. She was drinking some apple blood while partying in the woods at a campfire. Donna was handed some kind of small, green leech-like creature.

"What's this?" Donna asked.

"It's a Dilbaleech," Serpentina told her. "Have this bite your arm, and you'd want to party some more…"

Donna looked at the leech in question. "Well… I absolutely see no way this can go wrong," she said as she let the leech bite her arm. Her eyes started to dilate…

She soon started drinking some more while shooting some pixie dust into her nose. She was having the time of her life…

Then one Splatterday everything changed.

"This is it," Donna said while Serpentina and Eustace looked at the house in question.

"Partying with your St. Epidermites?" Serpentina questioned. "Let's see how they can party."

Donna rushed through the door. "Yeah! Party-Donna's in the house!" she declared as all of her classmates turned to her.

"Donna, you came!" Veronica rushed over to her and saw how she was dressed. "And you dressed… nicely…"

"You like?" Donna asked while wearing a red jacket with a short white top, red shorts. and grieves. "Thought I looked good for the party!"

"Yeah, um… this is more of a social-gathering," Veronica said as she took Donna to meet some of her classmates. "Donna, I'd like you to meet Sarah, Minerva, Riley, and Lindsay. Guys, this is Donna, she's from Healing and-"

"Hey is um, is there anything good around here?" Donna asked while scratching herself. "Like some snacks or something to drink?"

"We got some ghoul-aid at the punch bowl," Sarah said, pointing at the punch bowl.

"Yeah, but what about something good… you know what, forget it," Donna said as she walked away from them.

She looked around to find a good spot, but she then bumped into someone. "Hey, watch it!"

"Oh, um… sorry," Kyle replied nervously before he recognized her. "Say, you're Donna Masterskull, right?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Donna snapped at him.

"Well, it's just… we are in the same track together and we never talk, but-"

"Okay, hi, nice to meet you, goodbye," Donna dismissed, really needing to get her fix right now.

She spotted Serpentina and Eustace, who were looking around in boredom. She walked up to them. "Hey, hey guys," she whispered to them. "Do you guys have anything I can use right now?"

"You want the good stuff?" Serpentina asked and Donna nodded to them, causing Eustace to hold up a box of leeches.

"Well, we do have one Dilbaleech we thought of saving for-hey!" Eustace felt the leech snatched from him.

Donna immediately opened the box, grabbed the leech and she let it bite her. "Oooh… oh yeess," she said as her eye started to twitch. "This is… this is nice…"

She started twitching more. Her head was jerking… as her eyes rolled up and she fell.

Serpentina and Eugene were shocked. "Oh shit!" Eustace shouted which earned the attention of the party goers, who saw Donna shaking and having a stroke. The two rushed out of the house.

"Donna? Donna!" Veronica rushed over along with Sarah, Minerva, Riley and Lindsay. They gasped. "Donna! Oh my Titan." She knelt down. "Healer! I need a Healer!"

"Hang on," Kyle said as he rushed over to help Donna. "Someone call X-I-I," he said. "And I need help elevating her head, it'll promote blood flow."

"Okay," Veronica said as she and Lindsay helped Donna keep her head up while she was still shaking. "What… what do we do now?"

"Stay here with her until help arrives," Kyle told them.

"Yes, we have someone suffering from a stroke," Sarah said into her crow while looking at Donna worriedly…

Beep… beep… beep…

Donna groaned as she started to wake up. She found an IV hooked into her arm and a breathing tube up her nose. She looked around and realized she was in a hospital room.

"What…?" Donna stirred as a doctor with curly blond hair and a Healing Coven uniform came in with some nurses.

"Alright, as you can see here is another drugged-up-" He then realized Donna was awake. "Hey! Look who's awake!" He turned to one of the nurses. "Contact her parents."

"What… what happened?" Donna asked.

"Name's Dr. Pox, kid," he introduced himself. "My son, thankfully, helped you when you were having a stroke."

"W-What? Who?" Donna asked.

"Kyle, you two are in the Healing Track together. If it weren't for him, you'd have been another teenage victim of getting OD'ed. Recently we've had five victims with Dildeleeches in the veins of their arms. These little guys can damage your magic sack, so you got lucky."

"What?!" Donna exclaimed in shock, but then winced as she felt her head. "My head…"

"You just got over a stroke, kid. Do you know how stupid it was to get access to these kinds of things? Titan's crack, you're lucky that your liver and kidneys didn't shoot themselves from all the apple blood you've drank!" Dr. Pox told her. "If my son didn't help you, you'd be dead. And I'm not talking about oh-my-Titan-I-don't-have-a-dress-to-wear-for-Grom-tonight-dead, I mean you'd be dead-dead." He heard footsteps as he turned to see Diana and Gladys coming in.

"Donna!" the two moms shouted as they rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?" Gladys asked.

"Y-Yeah," Donna replied.

"Well, glad that the moms are here so that they can tell off their daughter about the dangers of drugs," Dr. Pox said as he turned to the door. "I'll be waiting out in the hallway, you two handle your almost dead daughter," he said before he left. Donna looked away in shame.

"Donna, look at us," Diana said as Donna slowly turned her head to look up to them. Gladys went to hug her.

"My baby girl!" Gladys cried as she hugged her daughter. "We thought… we thought we almost lost you!"

"I… I'm sorry that I worried you guys," Donna replied while in tears.

As Gladys let go, Diana leaned in closer. "Now… would you explain to us what's going on? For Titan's sake, what were you doing with Dildeleeches? Do you know what those doctors told us? Apparently you have been on snow crystals, apple blood… do you know how much damage that could've done to your body?! You're in the Healing Track, Donna, you should know about this!"

"I know, I'm sorry!" Donna cried as her voice cracked. "I… I met these kids, they're like, these cool kids and, well, we hung out and partied. I didn't want to do it but I did it just so I wouldn't look weak… I… I have a problem!" She started to break down. "I'm… I'm very sorry for worrying you guys like that."

Diana looked at her daughter and sighed. She was mad but at the same time worried and scared. She grabbed Donna's hand. "Hey, it's okay. We'll get you all the help you need."

"You… you will?" Donna asked them. "But… I wasn't a good daughter… you should kick me out-"

"No, no, Donna, we won't kick you, don't be silly," Gladys told her as she went to hug Donna again. "We love you too much to lose you."

"We promise to help you, Donna," Diana told her, hugging Donna. "But you're still getting punished."

Donna sniffed. "That's fair…"

Once she was discharged from the Healing Coven, Donna made it back home and was now in her room under surveillance. She sees the female servants clearing out the room for any drugs hidden.

"Alright, everything's clear," one spoke before they marched out.

"Is this necessary?" Donna asked while Auggie helped her to bed.

"Your moms just want to make sure that you don't have anything that could get you to relapse," Auggie assured her. "Now, for your scheduled rehabilitation."

The first night Donna couldn't sleep. She was scratching her bandaged arm from where she had her shot at getting her fix. The muscle in her arm was starting to ache...

She was suffering from the first signs of withdrawal.

"Hello, Donna," spoke a tutor that was meeting up with Donna. She was a skeleton woman. "I'm Ms. Fiber, and I'll be your private tutor to help you catch up with your school work."

Donna was rubbing her arm. "Nice to… meet you," she said.

Donna was sitting in the corner of her room, starting to feel the withdrawal again.

She… she needed her fix…

Bailey and Veronica stopped by to check in on Donna. They went to her room, only to not find her there.

"Where'd she go?" Veronica asked.

"Check around," Bail said as they looked around for Donna. They then hear the sound of something dropping. They headed down to the hall, following the sounds of Donna's cries.

They found her in her parents' bathroom, the cabinet open as she tried to open an elixir. "Donna! What are you doing?" Veronica asked while Donna backed away.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Donna shouted before she tripped into the bathtub. "Ow…" she groaned, feeling a bruise on her arm before the elixir was grabbed from her with a levitation spell from Veronica. "Hey, give it back!" she shouted while trying to grab it, but Bail held her back. "Let me go! I need it!"

"No, you don't!" Bail shouted at her, which was the first time she had heard him shout. "Look at yourself, Donna." He pulled her to the mirror. "I said look!" Donna looked at her own reflection, seeing the mess she was. "Is this what kind of witch you want to be? Someone who's out to look for a fix? You don't need this stuff to make you feel better. No leech, no apple blood, none of that stuff! You are better than the pathetic witch in that mirror, you know that?"

Donna kept looking at herself, her eyes were baggy as her skin looked more pale and her hair was unkempt. She stopped struggling, she just… looked at herself. She then started to cry.

"You were a little harsh, you know that?" Veronica pointed out to Bail, who just shrugged. She went to pat Donna's hand. "Donna, we're here for you. Do you want us to call your moms?"

Donna sniffed as she nodded.

Donna sat in her bed while surrounded by her friends. A bandage was wrapped around her arm.

"How are you feeling, Donna?" Tina asked.

"Shaken," Donna responded. "Thanks for coming here. I… I don't know if I deserve you guys. I've caused nothing but trouble."

"Oh will you stop that, girl," Tyrone told her. "You almost relapsed, but that's normal."

"Your moms have hired a counselor who will be coming to see you, so that should help," Bail said while Veronica came in with hot cocoa.

"That's good," Donna said as she looked down and sighed. "So… since I won't be in school for a while, anything I missed?"

"Well, you know Danny from my track?" Tina asked while Donna nodded. "Well, he's campaigning for student body president and his campaign's… not in his favor."

"Really?" Donna asked as Veronica handed her the drink. "Thank you," she said to her. "What happened?"

"Well he got Lindsay and Tabrella to copy and put up fliers around the school. He ordered a thousand copies, but the printer couldn't take it so he chased it around the school!" Tyrone revealed as the gang started to laugh.

"Seriously?" Donna laughed as she started to enjoy her friends' company. This was something she needed, to be surrounded by a group of friends that cared about her. She then looks outside the window, noticing a blur dash out of sight.

"Hey," Bail said to her. "You alright?"

"Oh, um… yeah," Donna replied while looking out the window. "I just thought I saw… someone."

Donna met up with her counselor at the lobby.

"It is nice meeting you, Donna," spoke a dark-skinned witch man with white swirled hair, glasses, a purple button shirt, black pants and boots. "I'm Dr. Kobe Midnight, I'm here to help you go through with your recovery. If you feel like you have anything to say, remember that we're in a safe space here."

Donna looked at her counselor and took a deep breath. "I was an idiot. I went to some parties with people I don't know and tried a lot of drugs that almost killed me." She gripped her nails into her arm. "I haven't seen Eustace and Serpentina since they… abandoned me." She looked down in anger. "I'm mad at them for that… but I'm also mad at myself. All this partying may have felt good, but it wasn't me."

"Teens your age can easily fall into a bad crowd, Donna," Dr. Midnight told her. "You're not an idiot, you were just impressionable and did what seemed to be fun at the time without realizing the consequences of how it could affect you. These things do happen to young witchlings, but it doesn't mean you can't move beyond it."

Donna nodded. "You know, I am grateful for all the people around me that are helping me right now. My actual friends and family. Not Eugene and Serpentina, wherever they are…"

After some time, Donna was welcomed back to St. Epiderm. She entered her Healing Track class, seeing a 'Welcome Back' banner up while the students had cake for her.

"Welcome back, Donna!" they declared.

"Aw, thanks guys," Donna said, now looking well.

"How are you feeling now, Donna?" asked one Healer student.

"I feel great, thanks," Donna replied while noticing Kyle, who handed her cake.

"I asked Lindsay to get one of her friends from Hexside to make a cake for you," Kyle told her.

"I should thank her for that, and…" Donna looked at Kyle awkwardly. "I want to thank you for saving my life back there. Even though I acted like a…"

"Oh it's no problem. And sorry that my dad was a bit harsh on you," Kyle responded. "He doesn't do bedside manner and, well, prefers brutal honesty, but he's just looking out for your best interest."

"I won't hold it against you for it," Donna told him. "But what your dad said… I kinda needed that."

Donna had her lunch with her friends, glad to be back.

"How's your first day back?" Bail asked her.

"Pretty great, so far," Donna replied. "And Dr. Midnight said that I should try out some extra-curricular activities."

"You know, the fashion club could use some members," Veronica suggested.

"The spirit hotline could use some more to help contact the spirit world," Tina added.

"Come on, let Donna choose and find something that interests her," Tyrone encouraged.

Donna shifted her eyes, noticing some sign up papers for tryouts.

"We're always happy to have another Skinnis player on the team, darling," spoke a purple haired witch girl with purple eyes, tanned skin, and a Skinnis uniform that was a white blouse and skirt with black shorts, white shoes, and a brown headband.

"Thank you for accepting me in, Tabrella," Donna responded while wearing the same uniform with a blue headband. "So how do you play?"

"Easy, darling." Tabrella held up a ball made out of skin. "You throw the skin ball up, and hit it over the net with the broom!"

Later, Donna was in the indoor gym, wearing a black leotard like the rest of the participants. She made a running start before jumping over a post, doing a flip, and making the landing. She gets a lot of clapping from her performance.

"Wow, now that is a splendid flip!" spoke Felicia who ran up to her. "And you looked good while doing it now."

"Um, thanks," Donna replied. "I, uh, don't think we've met."

"Felicia Fox," Felicia responded, shaking Donna's hand. "I work for the school newspaper, and have my own Penstagram show. It'd be an honor to do an interview with you."

"Uh, I'll take a rain check on that, but it's nice meeting you," Donna responded as she moved away to meet up with Sarah and Lindsay.

Donna was outside on the balcony of her home, enjoying the view.

"Donna," spoke Diana, causing her to turn to her moms. "We got a little surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Donna asked as Gladys held up something. "Is that…?"

"Palistrom wood," Gladys responded. "Would you believe that I found this while looking for some wood for the toys?"

"It appears that the Emperor's Coven hasn't harvested it all," Diana said. "I suggested we sell it or keep it to show off… but, then we thought of you and, well, we decided to give it to you."

"Really?" Donna asked her as Gladys handed her the Palistrom. "I… I don't know what to say… thank you, moms. But do I… really deserve this?"

"Absolutely," Gladys told her while patting her shoulder. "And we can help you carve your Palisman if you want."

Donna smiled. "Yeah… I'd like that."

And so Donna, with the help of her moms, carved the Palistrom wood into a Palisman. With Gladys helping Donna carve the wood and Diana providing suggestions and ideas.

After she finished carving it, Donna spoke to the Palisman. "So many people have helped me out, especially when I was at my lowest. I got a loving family, friends that'll stick with me, and I appreciated everything they have done to me. Now, I wish to help… everyone. My greatest desire… is to help those in need."

It was then that the Alicorn Palisman came to life and went up to Donna.

"So, you thought of a name?" Diana asked her.

"His name… is Whirlwind," Donna replied while her Palisman, Whirlwind, flew around her and nudged her face, making her laugh as her moms smiled.

A few years later, Donna was hanging with her friends in the lounge, but one of them was missing.

"Tina should be here, she's gonna miss game night!" Tyrone declared.

"She said she's running late," Beocrow responded as they saw Tina coming in… with a scared look.

"Tina, are you alright?" Donna jumped up in worry, seeing the girl shaken.

"I… I-I ran as fast as I could." Tina was short of breath while Veronica noticed the cut on her arm.

"Tina, you're bleeding!" Veronica helped escort her to the chair.

Donna rushed over and started healing the cut. "Tina, what happened?"

"I… I was walking my usual route here when there were these guys in black," Tina said as she wiped her own tears away. "They… they wanted my money but I couldn't give it to them. So they tried to take me somewhere, but I managed to phase out of there… though not before one had a knife and cut me…"

Donna checked her arm. "You don't have a deep cut, luckily, so it's treatable," Donna said while healing her arm.

"Where are they? I want to give those bastards a good piece of my mind!" Beocrow snarled but Tyrone stopped him.

"You can't chase them down," Tyrone advised. "Look, Tina needs us right now so the best we can do is to notify the scouts about this."

Beocrow calmed down, knowing that Tyrone was right. He walked over to comfort Tina. "Are you alright, Tina?"

"I'm… safe with you guys," Tina replied while Donna gave a worried look for Tina.

While hanging out at the mall, Tyrone explained what he had found out. "My brother, Cle, works in the Emperor's Coven. He said that everyone's too busy hunting down wild witches. And since Beocrow's aunt isn't Head of the Emperor's Coven anymore, things are a bit disorganized."

"So are they really not doing anything about the muggings?" Beocrow asked.

"Doesn't look like it," Tina responded while looking down.

"This is unacceptable," Donna said while standing up. "The Emperor's Coven is spending too much time trying to get people into covens while there's reports of kidnappings and muggings going on. We need to do something."

"But what can we do? We're just a bunch of teenagers," Veronica pointed out.

Donna began a speech. "We may be teenagers, but we're not helpless! Like, we all have our own unique talents and magical abilities that we can draw from! If the scouts aren't able to help, who will? It's up to us to not just help ourselves but others as well." She raised her fist up. "We literally have the power to defend those who can't fend for themselves. We can't just wait until we grow older, for we have the power to help those in need right now!"

"Yeah!" cried out a passing yellow beaked demon.

"So… what do you suggest?" Tina asked.

Donna smiled, an idea popping up in her mind. "We'll need masks…"

Donna and Beocrow nodded while they wore masks to hide their identities. They wait from the rooftops as they scouted around. They then saw a thief stealing a purse from an old lady, prompting them to chase after the thief.

When the thief turned around the corner, he was pecked by crows before he slipped on some ice. The crows grabbed the purse and handed it back to the old lady before going back to form into Bail's hand, while Donna had her ice.

Meanwhile, Veronica was sketching out designs for suits, showing suggestions to Tyrone and Tina, both gave some mixed thoughts on them.

Donna channeled her magic as she held up her key. She used the key to shoot out beams of light at several targets. She succeeded as Whirlwind gave her a score.

The five begin making and designing their costumes, Donna spray painting her leotard. She felt a tap on her shoulders and she turned to see Veronica hand her a new mask.

Some muggers were trying to escape from the havoc they created when they were stopped by the Wonder Witch.

"Who… who are you?" one asked. backing away.

"Do you wonder? Cause I wonder!" Donna declared while the muggers held their wands up, attempting to blast her. But then she dodged them before their wands were taken by vines while Donna jumped up and kicked one with her boot. The other mugger tried to fight back, but was then punched by the fist of Tyrone, aka Minos, as he joined up with Florella.

Meanwhile a couple of crooks were running until they got stopped by Ghostina phasing up in front of them, followed by a rain of crows coming down on them.

"AAAHHH!" they cried out.

Later, the coven scouts would find the muggers and crooks hanging up from a lamp post. Said scouts were confused and wondered how they got there in the first place…

Standing on the rooftop, the silhouettes of the masked teenage heroes with their staffs watched the scene going on down below.. "Alright League Of Witches That Helps, let's fly out!" Donna declared as she pointed up to the sky, ready to take on another mission.

This was… the birth of LOWTH.

"Nina? Nina!"

She had just flown out of the Glandus building before it crumbled down. While getting out of the way, she held Nina as she landed safely. She had to find shelter to avoid the dragon that just popped up, Luz and Amity now busy fighting it.

"Nina, you're safe now!" Donna told her as she looked at her old friend. "Listen, you're going to be okay-" She looked at her gloved hand and saw the blood.

"D-Donna…" Nina spoke, while looking at Donna with weak eyes.

"Nina? Nina, you're going to be okay, hang in there!" Donna held her hand up, trying to heal her wound.

"Not… going to… work…" Nina said weakly while looking up to her. "I'm just… glad to see you one more time…"

"No, no, don't say that! Don't fucking say that!" Donna told as she saw some coven scouts running up. "Help! Someone help her!" she cried out, earning their attention.

Donna flew home, landing in the back and throwing open the door. She was still shaken from seeing Nina covered in blood like that. It scared her.

"Donna?"

She paused and tried to get out of view but then she slipped. "Ow!"

"Donna!" Gladys cried out as she and Diana came over. "We just got a call from school that you've disappeared and-" Gladys paused as she and Diana saw what she was wearing… and what she was covered in.

"Hey… moms…" Donna said nervously while still covered in blood stains.

"Oh my Titan, is that blood?!" Gladys asked in shock.

"Donna Masterskull… explain now!" Diana demanded sternly.

Donna knew she couldn't lie to them. She was exposed. As Whirlwind helped her up, she sighed "There's… something I should've told you guys about sooner…"

After giving an explanation to her moms, Donna finished. "And then I had to get out of there and I made sure that I wasn't followed. I'm sorry that I lied, but I just couldn't stand there helpless to do anything to aid Hexside!" she said while in tears. "I wanted to help Hexside and I wanted to help Nina, I just…"

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Diana asked her.

"I… I didn't want to worry you guys," Donna told her while fidgeting with her key. "You worry about me enough as it is." She looked down. "I understand if you guys want me to stop," she said while taking her jacket and mask off.

"Wait," Gladys said as she stopped what Donna was doing. The girl looked up to her moms. "Donna, I know you want to help people with your abilities and I don't want to discourage you."

"R-Really?" Donna asked while turning to Diana.

Diana reluctantly nodded. "You are a good witch, Donna. And we appreciate you trying to do more, so we'll help support you in any way, as long as you promise to be careful."

Donna smiled and went up to hug them "Thank you…" she said as they hugged her back.

"Now, about your… school absence," Diana pointed out, changing the subject…

Donna was in the lobby with Dr. Kobe Midnight, her counselor. She had fallen silent.

"…I saw Eustace and Serpentina again," Donna finally admitted while fidgeting her thumbs. "I spotted Eustace pick-pocketing everyone at the beach, and Serpentina showed up with him… bringing up my past. I planned on telling a lifeguard or teacher about them… but then the Scarfish happened. After that, they ran off. Like always…"

"Do you want to go after Eustace and Serpentina?" Midnight asked her.

"I… I don't know," Donna said while looking down. "I also recently learned that Amber and Derwin, old friends from the orphanage, are in the Conformatorium now. I feel so helpless to do anything to help them. Since their arrest wasn't public, I can't make bail."

"I'm sorry to hear that about your old friends," Midnight apologized. "Can you appeal to the Emperor's Coven?"

"I don't know," Donna replied, shaking her head. "But I doubt it."

"Has anything else happened recently?" Midnight asked her.

"Well, there's Emira," Donna mentioned. "I haven't seen her in years, but last week we saw each other again. She apologized for the prank she pulled, I forgave her, and we decided to give being friends another shot…"

Emira was looking nervous while standing outside the front porch of the Masterskull estate.

"Okay, don't be nervous," Emira said to herself. "First time visiting here, so I'm sure that all is forgiven… right?" She paused. "Man, I wish Ed is here right now…"

She rang the doorbell and answering it was Auggie who let her in. "Thank you," she told him as she entered, spotting Gladys and Diana.

"Emira, it's so nice to see you!" Gladys greeted her with a smile. "When Donna said that you'd be coming here, we were thrilled to hear that you two had patched up!"

Emira smiled. "It's no big, Mrs. Masterskull, and I'm really, really sorry for what I did and I know my brother is apologetic over the prank-"

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about," Gladys reassured her. "Bygones be bygones, right Di?"

Diana, who was reading the newspaper while sitting on the couch, glanced at Emira with a sharp glare. This made the Blight twin look pale in fear. Her glare cut through Emira like she was made of butter…

"H-Hi, Mrs. Masterskull…" Emira waved nervously

"Just don't start any trouble," Diana responded sharply before looking back at her newspaper.

In Donna's room, Donna was helping out Emira trying out different costumes, showing her many pictures for references.

"How's this one?" Donna showed a picture as Emira used her illusions.

"Hmm, no," Emira said as Donna showed her the next one. "Not in this season,"

"Come on, Veronica's helping Sioux out with her costume along with Minerva, Sarah and Roxy. You should at least try to find one that suits you," Donna told her.

"Well none of them represents me," Emira said as she sighed. "Sorry that I'm a bit picky. Just that, if I'm going to become Ms. Chievious, I want to show off, like be here to help in a graceful but playful manner."

"Hmm, what do you suggest then?" Donna asked her.

"Well, I have a history of tricks and mischief," Emira said. "A friend of mine who's a human expert once mentioned that there are humans called magicians who perform magic of their own, though he says they are called parlor tricks. I'll have to ask Luz about it though, or maybe Eda. "

"Alright, just show me what a magician looks like and we'll make you a suit," Donna said while taking notes.

"Great!" Emira replied while sitting on a chair. "You know, this is a neat room you have here."

"Thanks," Donna replied while Emira noticed something.

"You sure have a lot of stuffed animals here," Emira said. "And I don't mean the cute, cotton cartoony ones…"

Said stuffed animals that Emira noticed were made through taxidermy.

"Oh these?" Donna asked while looking flustered. "They're from a… special friend of mine."

"Oh? Who?" Emira asked, perking up with interest.

"Well… you may know her…" Donna mentioned "She goes to your school…"

"Um… okay, who?" Emira asked her.

"Nina Fangs," Donna replied, which surprised Emira.

"Wait, what?!" Emira almost fell out of her chair. "Wait… you and Nina are…?!"

"It's complicated, okay?!" Donna told her.

"Wow… I didn't know you and Nina knew each other, considering that she's from Glandus," Emira said.

"We're actually childhood friends," Donna replied while sitting on her bed. "We lost touch a few years ago and I ended up having to save her when Glandus fell. Right now… I don't know where my feelings for her stand." She sighed.

"Well, then we are in the same boat, since I don't really know where I stand with Nina either," Emira replied awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked her.

"I… don't want to go into detail," Emira responded.

"So what happened with Nina?" Dr. Midnight asked Donna.

Donna sighed. "It's… complicated. She was an old friend that was always there for me back at the orphanage. She was not an orphan herself, but she snuck in to visit a lot. Even after I found a home, she would sometimes manage to sneak in and visit. When she started coming to Glandus, she would come see me while covered in bruises and injuries that I would heal. I was always worried that she would hurt or worse… but then she just… stopped visiting." She looked down with a saddened look. "I saw her again right before the war and during the war, she sent me a text telling me that she loves me. I… didn't know how to feel about that, so for a while I avoided seeing her again. But then recently I heard about the… bad things she's done at that school."

"Bad things?" Midnight inquired.

"She was involved with assaults, beatings, clawings, and she even kidnapped Gus Porter during the school war," Donna said while looking down. "She enabled Emily's tyranny at that school and was basically her top lackey. Of course, I wanted to try to look past that cause maybe, just maybe that there's a sliver of Nina in there, the Nina I knew as a child… but after what I was told about her history, I didn't want it to get to my head, but at the same time I… I was afraid of making the same mistake as I did with Eustace and Serpentina, especially if Nina really was that bad."

"I see," Midnight said. "And because Nina was once very special to you, you were afraid that your judgment was being clouded."

Donna nodded. "But then, earlier this week, I was contacted by Skara, you know the Head Witch's daughter?" Midnight nodded. "She said that Nina wanted to see me. I wasn't sure if I could face her again, even though I knew it was inevitable. So I asked my friends…"

"Alright team, listen up, this is very important," Donna told her friends after gathering the members of LOWTH, including the new ones, in their headquarters. "This is a matter of life and death, so I have to ask you this… what do I do when I face Nina!?" she cried to them.

Everyone fell silent.

"Oh, so you called us here to help with your relationship problems…" Roxy said.

"I thought this was about the Grim Goblin!" Sioux exclaimed.

"Wait… Nina as in… Nina Fangs?" Gavin asked.

"Who's Nina?" Kyle asked.

"Oh yeah, I remember, that werecat that came to our school," Riley mentioned. "I had to stop Danny from confronting the Glandus students so he wouldn't get hurt."

"Look, I know that this meeting is a little mundane to you guys, but I have been dreading this meeting for a while, and for those who don't know, she's an old friend that I have known, like, since childhood and she is apparently in love with me," Donna revealed. "So I just need to know how to handle Nina." She turned to Beocrow. "Bail, my man, you were the first one I told about Nina, what do I do?"

Beocrow looked down. "Um… make out with her?"

Donna's face fell. "You're no help." She turned to Sarah. "Sarah, got any pointers?"

"Sorry, Donna, but I don't know much about dating werecats," Sarah replied. "Not that I have a dating life at all…"

"Why don't you ask someone who's been to the same school as Nina," Minerva suggested, turning to Gavin.

"Oh, right, yeah, me and Nina used to go to Glandus together… and now we are at Hexside together, though I have been trying to keep my distance from her," Gavin mentioned nervously.

"Why's that?" Donna asked him.

Gavin looked at Donna and sighed. "Look, no one at Glandus was a saint, okay? Well, except maybe Ukla. But not me and especially not Nina. She was a bully. About as messed up as Emily, Cain, and Tito. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, but… there was this time where she helped gang up on Boscha and… messed her up real bad, during her first day there just because Boscha refused to beat up my best friend Angmar."

Donna's eyes widened and her heart sank. "She… she did that?"

"I'm sorry, Donna, but there is a reason why we try to steer clear of her," Gavin said while looking down. "And I would suggest you do the same."

"My Titan…" Veronica said in shock, turning to Donna. "How are you feeling, Donna?"

"I… maybe she was forced to do it!" Donna tried to find a reason. "Maybe she didn't mean to and Emily forced her into it and what Emily told me is a load of bull-"

"Donna, she wasn't forced," Gavin told her. "If anything she enjoyed hurting others. I'm sorry, but Nina Fangs is a bully."

Donna looked at Gavin, thinking about what he said as she tried to think of a solution…

At home, Donna went to her moms for advice.

"So, Nina was my friend… but I don't think that she's the same girl I knew as a child anymore," Donna mentioned while looking down at her tea. "I know that she's done a lot of… bad things at Glandus, but maybe I could change her…"

"Donna, that's not really a good idea," Diana told her. "That's pretty much the justification people use when they're trapped in a toxic relationship."

"She's right, hon," Gladys replied. "We know that you want to help people, but it is not your obligation to help Nina."

Donna looked down. "I know that she wants us to be more than friends…"

"But what do you want, Donna?" Gladys asked, patting her daughter's hand. "Tell us, honestly.."

Donna thought about it and took a deep breath, sighing as she responded. "I… I don't want to be more than friends with Nina and I don't even know if we're still friends…"

Later, Donna went to meet up with Nina, spotting her with Skara. She took a deep breath as she walked over towards them, clearing her throat.

Nina turned to her. "Donna!"

"Nina…" she responded to the werecat, who scooted over so she could sit next to her.

"Donna, glad that you can make it!" Skara responded as she looked at Nina, giving her a thumbs up. "I'll just… look for a not dog stand if you guys are hungry, be right back!"

The bard girl left, leaving Nina and Donna alone.

"It's… been a while, you know?" Nina asked Donna with a smile. "Look… about what I've texted to you before… during the school war… I meant it," she admitted honestly. "I have loved you for years, but I was never brave enough to say it. I know that we're no longer as close as we're used to, and I know that things have been awkward between us since the war… but I still want you." She placed her hand over Donna's, holding it. "I want to be with you…"

Nina gave a hopeful expression, looking at Donna's hand and then to her… only for Donna to pull away her hand from the werecat's.

"No," Donna told her while turning away from the werecat and looking at the ground.

Nina was shocked by the rejection. "No… but why?"

"I'll tell you why," Donna told her, standing up. "Because of all the awful things you've done over the years, all the people you've hurt. The assaults, the beatings, the clawings, which includes hurting your own sister, not to mention how you kidnapped Gus Porter and enabled Emily's tyranny at Glandus! Please tell me that I'm wrong! Please tell me that all of these terrible things that I have heard about you aren't true!"

Nina looked down. "They're not…"

Donna shook her head. "I had no idea you were this bad… you are not the girl that I was friends with and I just don't feel that way for you!"

The declaration shattered Nina's heart to pieces. It was like she was hit by a sledgehammer.

"So… you don't… feel the same way?" Nina asked her.

"I don't," Donna hissed at her with a glare. "I don't know what made you think I'd ever go out with a bully like you."

"Then why did you even bother to save me then?" Nina demanded, trying to keep herself from breaking in front of her.

"It's because of the little girl that I once made a promise to," Donna told her while turning away, her arms crossed. "I'm sorry, Nina… and goodbye." She left the spot, leaving Nina at the bench in silence.

Donna walked away, not stopping as she walked through Bonesborough. She didn't want someone to see her like this… she didn't want someone to see… though a hooded figure did see her and he whistled to himself as he watched her.

Tears streamed out from her eyes as Donna cried silently. Despite believing that it had to be done, she still felt terrible…

"I was… uncomfortable associating with Nina after what I had learned," Donna said while looking down. "Cutting ties with her was the hardest thing to do, but I feel like it was necessary. Nina was not the little girl I remembered and I couldn't be what she wanted me to be."

"What did you do afterwards?" Midnight asked her.

"I ran," she said while looking down. "I was crying and running and not thinking until I ended up somewhere I didn't even mean to go to…"

Donna looked up at the Scooter Crane Orphanage, her old home. She walked up the steps slowly, passing by some kids playing with their toys as they looked up to her. She stopped at the door and Jak spotted her from inside.

"Hey Owl Lady! The volunteer is here!" Jak called out as Eda walked over.

"Donna?" Eda said in surprise, opening the door and noticed she had been crying. "You're crying… are you okay?" When Donna gave no response, Eda decided to pull her aside.

In another room, Eda led Donna to somewhere private. "Okay, what's the matter? Do you need something to drink or…?"

"No, I'm… I'm fine." Donna wiped away her tears. "I-It's just… let me explain…"

Donna began to explain to Eda about her situation and her complicated relationship with Nina. Eda gave an understanding look.

"Oh I'm so sorry, kiddo," Eda said, offering her sympathy. "I know that it was a difficult thing for you to do."

"It was," Donna said with a sniff. "I thought… I was doing the right thing. But why does it hurt so much?"

Eda sighed. "Hey, I know that feeling too well, kid. I have to deal with exes and admirers all the time… like Warden Wrath for example."

"Warden Wrath?" Donna asked her.

"Guy's entitled as hell," Eda mentioned. "He thinks that he could ask me out on a date just because I escaped from him. Me and Luz gave him a good lesson."

Donna gave a little laugh. "You must've shown him."

"Yeah," Eda said with a nod. "That Nina girl… you know, I think Luz once fought her before, about two weeks ago."

Donna looked surprised. "They… they did? Is Luz alright?"

"Yeah, no sweat. I had to pick her up from the healing ward afterwards though," Eda mentioned. "That match ended with a tie, both tired out. Since then, she and Nina have had some kind of truce."

"Oh, that's… good," Donna replied while looking down. "Did I… do the right thing?"

"Well, if you didn't see Nina that way, it had to be done," Eda pointed out, lifting Donna's chin up. "Now, what you're feeling now is guilt, Silver. But it will get better over time. Trust me, I have experience with this."

Donna sniffed. "Thank you, Eda."

"Now, do you need someone to take you home?" Eda asked her.

"...Actually," Donna said, rubbing her own hands. "Maybe I would just like to stay here for a while…"

Donna leaned back "Honestly, I'm not really looking to date anytime soon. It's just… there's just too much going on in my life right now." She then gave a look. "But then… something weird has been happening to me lately…"

Donna opened her locker, only to find it full of flowers.

Then at her class when she opened her desk, she found it filled with love letters.

Then even when she went to Skinnis practice, she found the nets with a lot of flowers tied up to them. All under her name…

"I know for a fact that Nina isn't behind this, since it is not her style… but I think I have some kind of secret admirer," Donna revealed.

"A secret admirer?" Dr. Midnight questioned. "How are you handling this?"

"Well, I talked to my friends about…"

Donna told her friends about the secret admirer as they looked at the letters and flowers.

"I don't know what to do with this," Donna said with a sigh. "These keep popping up everywhere, including my doorstep."

"Looks like someone's taken a liking to you," Veronica said.

"At least… too much of a liking," Tina added.

"Maybe you have a stalker," Beocrow suggested and everyone turned to him. "I mean, whoever it is, has it pretty hard for you, Donna. Especially sending you this many love letters and gifts."

"Well, whoever is sending these needs to stop." Donna replied. "Honestly, I'm not really looking for a relationship right now anyway."

"Have you tried talking to your moms about this?" Tyrone asked her.

"I don't… want to worry them anymore than they already are," Donna replied. "But I'll make sure to handle this guy."

Tina looked at Donna, sensing that she was bothered by something. "Do you wish to talk about your previous admirer, Nina?"

Donna brushed her off. "No."

"Then while I was shopping at the marketplace, I ran into someone…"

Donna was looking around at the stands, seeing what books were available. When she reached for one, her hand touched the gloved hand of another.

"Oh, sorry," Donna told the person… Jackson.

"Hey, it's no worry, cheri," Jackson said as he eyed Donna. "Hey, have I seen you somewhere? At the beach, perhaps?"

Donna looked at him before she recognized the guy she saved at the beach. "Yeah, I remember you! You were running from the mind-controlled victims of the Scarfish!"

"Yes! I must thank you again for the save," Jackson replied with a bow.

"It's no problem, that's what I like to do, help people in need," Donna told him. "Do you live around here? I don't think I've seen you around here before until recently."

"Oh let's just say I came through the holes," Jackson declared.

"Is… that a saying?" Donna asked in confusion.

"Where I'm from, it is," Jackson replied, as he flipped up a card and handed it to Donna. "Jackson Hearts is my name."

"Oh, thanks," Donna replied, looking at the Jack of Hearts card. "My name is Donna."

"Donna… what a… beautiful name," Jackson said in awe. "You know, I do want to know more about my savior…"

The two found an outdoor table to sit at as they chatted.

"So what brings you to Metropelvis?" Donna asked him.

"Well, I was sent out by my mother," Jackson explained. "She's kind of a perfectionist and has a temper that would rival a wild unicorn. She, um… doesn't see eye to eye with me on a lot of things."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Donna said to him.

"Are your parents like that?" he asked her.

"Luckily, no," Donna replied "They're more understanding."

"I see," he replied. "What can you tell me about yourself, my savior?"

Donna chuckled. "Well, Mr. Damsel, I am a student at St. Epiderm, on the Healing Track, and part of the student council. I've done some gymnastics, skinnis, and am at the top of my class."

"Oh, very impressive," Jackson commented with a clap. "I do envy you, since I'm privately tutored."

"Really? In what field are you studying for?" Donna asked him.

"Well… not a specific track, but I'm thinking of going into… the rose business," he said.

"Oh, like the Plant Coven then," she indicated.

"Bingo," he pointed out as he leaned back. "Man, I'm new around here, do you know any hot spots around? Like, say… do you know where the good parties are usually thrown?"

This caused Donna to pause, her arms shaking at the mentions of parties. "Um… I wouldn't know. I don't go to parties."

"Oh, such a shame then," he replied with a sigh. "Because you seem like the partying type."

"Look, I think I should go now, my moms are probably worried sick," Donna said as she got up.

"I understand," Jackson replied as he got up as well. "And I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, madame. But I hope we'll meet again…"

As she watched Jackson leave, Donna turned around and paused when she heard someone whistling. She turned toward the whistling and she briefly saw a hooded man standing on the other side of a nearby road. Then a vehicle passed in front of him and he was gone…

"That guy had a weird accent," Donna said. "But it was nice to get to know someone you saved. Gives you a good feeling." She sighed. "Soon after that, I decided to take up Felicia's offer that she gave me last week, which was a chance to reconnect…"

Donna in her Wonder Witch costume was sitting across Felicia who was using her camera ghost to film her interview.

"Alright, Wonder Witch," Felicia began. "Tell us, what is LOWTH about?"

"Well, LOWTH stands for 'League Of Witches That Helps' and our purpose is to just help our community in any way we can, in ways that we were unable to before or on our own."

"Yes, and your relations with the Owl Lady?" Felicia asked her.

"She is our ally who helps us when needed. We teamed up with her along with two other civilian heroes, Buzz and Stinger, when putting an end to the Tarot Guild," Donna explained. "We thank them for the team-up."

"Have you ever thought of doing merchandising?" Felicia asked her.

"Um… not really, we don't do it for that kind of stuff," Donna clarified.

"Oh come on, you should definitely do merchandising. You are passing out on a golden opportunity. And besides, how else are you gonna spread your brand? Especially since your team's codenames aren't even common knowledge, so you've been called all sorts of things."

Donna looked curious. "What are they called?"

"For Ghostina she's been called Phantom Girl, Spooky, Dead Girl, and the Spirit of Sally Vae. Florella has been called Plant Girl, Poison Ivy, Leafeon, and… Lilymon? Minos is just called Bull Guy, and Crowbar, well with a scary name and appearance like that, he's often called Scary Dude or The Crow."

"What about me?" Donna asked.

"Wonder Girl, Power Princess, sometimes Princess of Power, and my personal favorite is the Burlesque Savior," Felicia states, causing Donna's jaw to drop.

"BURLESQUE SAVIOR?!" Donna exclaimed. "I am not… look, this is a superhero outfit, okay? A lot of heroes wear it for practical reasons!"

"I mean, would it bother you to wear, like, a skirt around it?" Felicia suggested, causing Donna to pause.

"...No comment," Donna said.

"Well, since LOWTH has gained quite a following on the Maginet and Penstagram, some are saying that you might have some competition soon," Felicia told her. "Like I heard there have been sightings of a new group of vigilantes who are teenage demon reptile ninjas…"

"I wouldn't call them competition. I mean, I have no issue if there are others who wish to help the Isles…" Donna said.

"Even if it's from the Emperor's Coven?" Felicia asked "That's right, folks, this interview is also sponsored by B.I.G., the Boiling Isles Guardians, led by the Golden Guard himself!" she revealed while holding up a canteen with the B.I.G. logo over the Emperor's Coven sigil in front of the camera.

Now Donna looked confused. "Wait, what sponsor-

buzz-cut

In the Emperor's Coven, an actor playing Emperor Belos was shouting. "Golden Guard! There is wild magic afoot! Bring forth seven young scouts with attitude!"

"Of course, my liege!" The Golden Guard raised their staff. "Calling forth… Boiling Isles Guardians!" Lightning flashed in the background.

Appearing was a scout in a red version of his cloak and suit with gold trims around him. He was wearing a red vulture mask. "The Flames of the Magic, Red Vulture Scout!"

Pink ooze rose as a female scout with a pink version of her scout uniform and wearing a pink cobra mask appeared. "The Abominable Beauty, Pink Viper Scout!"

Rising from the Boiling Seas was a blue scout wearing a shark-shaped mask. "Rise from the Boiling Seas, Blue Shark Scout!"

Marching through the forest was a muscular female scout in an orange uniform with a bear-shaped mask. "Protector of the Forest, Orange Bear Scout!"

Going at the speed of lightning was a muscular yellow suited scout with a yellow tiger mask "Fast as lightning, the Yellow Tiger Scout!"

Jumping from tree to tree, was a female scout with a green version of her suit and a cricket mask. "Jumper from the Plants, Green Cricket Scout!"

Lastly, rolling over from the stones was a scrawny scout in a brown suit uniform wearing a hamster mask. "The Smartest of the Constructors… the… Brown Hamster Scout? Wait, how does that make sens-"

"For we are!" The Golden Guard struck a pose as their seven teammates appeared behind them. "The Boiling Isles Guardians!"

(BUY OUR MERCH!)

Commercial Ends

"What… did I just… watch?!" Donna exclaimed, her jaw having dropped.

"Oh yeah, B.I.G. is already ahead of the game when it comes to merch," Felicia said while holding boxes of figurines. "They even gave me free Junko Pops."

"I forget how Felicia can be like sometimes…" Donna said while laying on the couch, holding her pillow. "Though that interview could've gone better, it's out there and the Isles know who LOWTH is."

"What's happened because of that?" Midnight asked her.

"Well, we didn't make any merch, but the fans keep posting fanart on Penstagram," Donna states while giving a haunted look. "I'm never going to look into those again… anyway, after that me, Bail and Lindsay decided to drop by the Owl House. Eda wanted to get a… certain guard dog back to his home…"

"Great, you made it," Eda said while seeing Donna and Beocrow on the front steps of the Owl House. She noticed Lindsay. "And who are you, flowerhead?"

"I'm Lindsay Shystream, you must be Eda!" Lindsay waved to her. "I'm also here for the Slitherbeast."

"Great, he's still out back," Eda said while Beocrow and Lindsay walked around the house. Eda then turned to Donna. "How are you doing, young silver?"

"Doing great, Eda," Donna replied. "How's everyone in the house?"

"Come and look, Luz and Amity are on the couch," Eda said, inviting Donna in.

Once she was led inside, she spotted Luz and Amity… covered in bandages and healing patches while playing video games from the couch together.

"Luz, Amity, what happened to you two?!" Donna exclaimed.

"The Grim Goblin," Luz groaned.

"What she said," Amity said while focusing on the game.

"This does look serious," Donna said while spotting Camila. "Oh, good afternoon, Ms. Noceda."

"Oh, hello Donna, it's been a while," Camila said to her. "How have you been doing lately?"

"Fine, to say the least," Donna replied while spotting Acorn flying up to Amity while holding a chip for Amity to eat. "Huh, I didn't know you had a pet pixie."

"Pet?!" Acorn explained, turning to Donna. But her anger quickly vanished when she spotted a key hanging around Donna's neck. "Is that a…?!" Acorn asked in shock.

"Oh, this is Acorn, she is a friend actually," Amity explained while Acorn flew up to Donna.

Donna watched as Acorn flew around her. "Um… nice to meet you, Acorn."

"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet ya, too," Acorn responded. "Why do you have a keyblade?"

"Keyblade…?" Donna held up her key, looking at it. "What's a keyblade?"

Acorn blinked in surprise. "Wait, you can understand me?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. And what do you mean what's a keyblade? You've been carrying that key around and don't even know it is?" She put her hands on her hips. "Witches, I tell ya. What you're holding is a weapon against evil, a tool with the ability to unlock and lock anything! Doors, chests, even links to other worlds! I've read about these things before books…"

"Link to worlds?" Donna asked while looking at her key in shock.

"It can do that?" Amity asked after overhearing Acorn.

"Wait, what did I just miss?" Luz asked while pausing the game.

"Apparently, Donna's casually carrying around one of the most powerful objects in existence." Amity said.

"It's not just the one of the most powerful, it's-" Before Acorn could finish what she was saying, Ghost jumped up and caught her in her mouth. "AAH! Fucking cat!"

"Is she going to be alright?" Donna asked after witnessing Ghost run off with the pixie in her mouth.

Amity shrugged. "Eh, she'll come out… eventually," she replied.

"So Cousin Broody and his friend are taking the Slitherbeast back to the Knee?" Luz asked while Donna sat with them.

"Yeah, we're here to pick up Slithy, though I also wanted to check up on you two," Donna replied. "So… what have you two been doing?"

"Well while we have been recovering, Luz and I have been playing this game about jumping plumbers going to rescue a princess from a turtle-dragon," Amity explained. "I still don't get the story though. Like the princess constantly gets kidnapped by the villain because she had like, crappy security apparently. Why does this keep happening to her?"

"If you asks me, she's into that shit," Luz replied, which made Donna look nervous. "Like, think about it, the princess allows security to go off so the villain could kidnap her, who's in on it to help her satisfy her kink."

"So she must really be into being kidnapped…" Donna said with a nervous sweat drop. She decided to change the subject. "Oh, you know you two should meet? Lindsay!"

Donna led the girls outside, where they saw that Lindsay had tamed the Slitherbeast… who was whimpering while she comforted him.

"There, there, I know you will miss staying here," Lindsay said, patting the Sliterbeast. "But you must go back to the Knee, where you belong, okay, Slithy?" The Slitherbeast licked her face while she giggled.

"Wow, I have never seen someone tame a Slitherbeast before," King commented, coming outside while having Maurice on his shoulder.

"That's Lindsay for ya, she's not Top of Beast-Keeping for nothing," Beocrow commented before noticing Luz and Amity. "Hey, cuz and her girlfriend."

"Hey, you must be Beocrow," Amity greeted. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Beocrow responded.

"And that's Lindsay, right?" Luz asked, pointing to the cyclops girl.

"Hi, you must be Luz and Amity, it's nice to meet you!" Lindsay waved to them.

Donna turned to whisper to Luz and Amity. "Okay, here's the thing. Lindsay's… got a crush on the Golden Guard."

"What?!" the two asked in shock.

"Yeah, she still doesn't know that Emily is the Golden Guard, so I figured you two could break it down to her. I don't have the heart to do it, not even Bail does."

Luz gave Donna a nod. "Let me tell her gently," she said as she walked over to Lindsay. "Yo, Lindsay, how much do you know about the Golden Guard?"

"Um… well, I thought he was this one person I know, but then it turns out he's not. I thought for sure that it was him, but now I'm not sure who is the Golden Guard now? Though, Donna and her friends may know…" Lindsay said while looking at them.

"The Golden Guard is Emily Tricks," Luz said, which shocked Lindsay.

"E-Emily Tricks?!" Lindsay asked. "But… she saved me that time…"

"Yeah, just for appearances," Luz told her. "If you're a smart girl, listen to my advice: stay away from her. Emily Tricks is an opportunist bitch who used to work for a trafficking ring. She ruled over Glandus like a tyrant, not to mention she abuses everyone under her, including her own girlfriend. She got one of our friends who attended there almost killed. She won't even hesitate to stab you in the back if you prove to her that you've outlived your usefulness."

"She's… she's that bad?" Lindsay asked in concern.

"She dropped one of my best friends off a rooftop in an attempt to kill him!" Luz told her. "Not to mention she stabbed me with a sword during the Glandus War! If you don't believe me, go ask Boscha, Gavin, Angmar, Nina, Stella, or any former Glandus student that put up with her abuse! They'd be happy to share you stories of what a bitch she is!"

Lindsay fell silent after hearing Luz's words while Beocrow hopped up on the Slitherbeast's back. "Hey Lindsay, you want to ride back?" he offered.

Lindsay turned to him. "Yeah," she said as she climbed up onto the Sliterbeast's back. "Are you coming, Donna?"

"Actually, I think I'll stay and hang out here," Donna said while seeing them off, the Slitherbeast rushing into the forest and heading for the Knee.

"Well, at least that's one chapter closed," Eda declares while turning to Donna. "So you wish to stay here for a while?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded.

"You wanna hang out in our room?" Luz offered her and Donna nodded.

Amity was feeding Kay as she and Luz sat in their bedroom with Donna, hanging out.

"Man, it… must be really cool having your girlfriend living with you," Donna commented while sitting on a chair. "So… how did you two get together?"

"Well… it all started with how we first met, kind of a meet cute," Luz explained..

"I don't know if faking King's death just to con me out of my money is considered a meet cute," Amity teased.

"Wait, what?" Donna asked.

"Oh that's nothing, when I came to Hexside, I was just your little hellraiser," Luz told Amity.

"Oh, and I was just Little Ms. Perfect, top of my class, a teacher pleaser," Amity said as she raised Kay up and down.

"And I was the Queen of the Detention Track!" Luz declared, while Donna just looked at the two in confusion.

"Wait… you two didn't get along at first?" Donna questioned.

Luz and Amity shared awkward looks. "Well," Luz began. "We weren't the best of witches…"

"Yeah, some of our past actions to each other and others weren't our finest moments," Amity admitted.

"Like when I put a ghost ball in Amity's cauldron and caused the entire Abomination Track to become infested by ghosts," Luz explained. "And I… tricked Boscha into pepper-spraying herself."

"My Titan, you did?!" Donna asked in shock.

Luz looked down. "Yeah, not proud of myself for that…"

"Once Luz got in trouble for that, Principal Bump told her she needed to do better in order to remain at Hexside," Amity explained. "And I was picked to tutor her."

"We didn't like the idea at first… but over time, we grew comfortable around each other," Luz replied while Amity patted her hand. "And we reached an understanding."

"I helped out Luz and she helped me out in turn," Amity replied. "Like there was this party I was attending and I was getting assaulted by these muggers I had encountered once before. Luz saved me just in time before things got any worse…"

"Oh Titan," Donna said as she looked at Amity with sympathy. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I know the feeling too well about parties."

"Were you… assaulted during one too?" Amity asked her while hugging Kay.

Donna shifted her eyes away. "Not exactly," she muttered. "So… what happened then? After the party, I mean."

Luz continued the story. "Well, I want to give Amity a change of scenery, so we went on our first date to a town I sometimes visit."

"And even though it became another adventure, I had a good time," Amity said. "And when she took me home, we shared our first kiss together. Not long after that, we became official."

"We've had our fair share of drama after many life-threatening situations, even temporarily breaking up before getting back together," Luz explained. "But hey, love is just like the friends you make along the way."

"Yeah, and now we're basically live-in girlfriends raising a kid together." Amity joked while raising Kay up.

Donna laughed a little. "You two really do make a good couple… it makes me envious."

"Hey, I'm sure that you'll get lucky with someone someday," Luz encouraged. "And I'm sure they'll love a girl who wears mostly leotards."

"You'll never live that down, will you?" Donna asked.

"You really gave out a weird impression when we first met, so no," Luz replied.

Donna looked down with a sigh. "I'm honestly envious that Amity and Luz just seem to have it all figured out already." She shook her head. "You know, I do remember someone that Luz kinda reminds me of. A girl from St. Epiderm. Her name was Luzine. She was really into testing out human products and… I attended her funeral." She sighed. "Anyway, the next day, I was dragged by Lindsay to Hexside, so that she could hear from some of Emily's old classmates. Including you-know-who…"

"I can't believe you dragged me all the way here to Hexside, Lindsay," Donna said in a deadpan tone, not wanting to be here…

"I just need to be sure," Lindsay responded. "Luz said to ask any of Glandus's former students and who better to ask but the ones who were closest to her. And since we don't know where Stella Northstar lives, her other closest friend is…"

Donna wanted to groan, this was very awkward for her since it was just not so long ago she rejected Nina's confession. But she knew that Lindsay was still struggling with the idea that the same Golden Guard who saved her and her friends was Emily Tricks.

After talking to some students, they found out where Nina would be at… the cheer squad meet-up, much to Donna's surprise. They headed over there, spotting the Banshees meeting up and practicing cheers. One of them, Andrea Pinkjoy, spotted Lindsay.

"Lindsay!" Andrea jumped in joy and ran over to hug Lindsay, embarrassing the cyclops girl. "It's so wonderful to see you again!"

Lindsay laughed as she hugged back. "You too, Lindsay!"

"How's Tabrella doing? Still diamond hunting?" Andrea asked her.

"Yes, and Jackie from the farm wants to let you know that you can expect her next apple shipment before your next bake sale," Lindsay told her.

"Swell!" Andrea shouted. "So what brings you and your friend here?"

"Well, I'm here to see Nina Fangs and ask her about something," Lindsay replied while Donna was hiding her face.

"Oh, well you're just in time to see her audition!" Andrea revealed as Lindsay and Donna saw Nina doing flips.

Donna's eyes widened in awe when she saw Nina doing flips in her blue and yellow cheerleader uniform. The way she flipped, the way the skirt went up and down while her tail moved around…

It made Donna's heart skip a beat.

Once Nina made her landing, she let out a shout. "We are the Banshees, here us scream!" She raised her fists up and let out a roar.

The cheer squad members clapped as a boy with blue hair and green eyes, Roger, spoke up. "Well done! You are a shoe-in for the squad!"

"You'd strike fear into the hearts of our rivals!" Gina, a biped flamingo demon with black long hair, said while clapping.

Everyone turned to Tamme, who cleared her throat. "I expect more of that gumption in our next meet-up. Got it, Fangs?"

Nina nodded. "Yes, captain," she said before she saw Andrea jump in front of her. "Yah!" she shrieked, earning her a shock. "Pinkjoy, please stop jumping…"

"Sorry, but my good friend is here with her other friend and they want to talk to you!" Andrea shouted while pointing to Lindsay and Donna.

When Nina saw Donna, she frowned while Donna avoided her gaze. "Donna."

"Hey… Nina," Donna responded, trying to avoid looking Nina in the eye. "Listen, this is just… an emergency visit."

"Really?" Nina asked dryly, looking at Lindsay. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Oh no, I'm just a friend from school," Lindsay responded. "My name is Lindsay and I must say those are some nice moves you did."

"Thanks, much appreciated," Nina replied while Donna just turned away.

"Hey, are those two St. Epiderm?" Tamme demanded to know. "They're not here to steal our moves, are they?!"

"No, we're just asking questions about someone!" Lindsay defended herself.

"It's alright, Tamme, I know them!" Andrea assured them, though Tamme still looked suspicious.

"Sorry about Tamme, they can be… intense," Nina said while turning to the two. "So what brought you two here?"

Donna spoke up. "Lindsay wants to ask you about… Emily Tricks."

"Oh really?" Nina said with a happy smile. "You wanna know what kind of a $^%# Emily is?" Lindsay was shocked by the colorful language Nina chose. "Now why would you want to know about her?"

"Well… she saved my life once, and saved my friends…" Lindsay mentioned.

"Oh she did now?" Nina asked in a sarcastic manner. "Emily is very good at that. She saved Stella and she saved me, but that's how she traps you." She had to keep her anger in check as she continued. "We used to be friends and I felt that I owed my life to her back then. But as soon as things don't go her way… she goes crazy. Lashing out, beating people… she was a tyrant in Glandus and I played a part in her schemes." She looked down at the ground. "Do you know what she does to people who don't follow her orders?"

Lindsay shook her head and Nina pulled up her cheer squad shirt to show her the scar on her lower stomach. Donna looked at the scar, which caused her to flashback to when Nina was bleeding there… causing her to cover her mouth.

"I'm infertile because of her," Nina explained as she pulled her shirt down. "If you know what's best for you, stay away from Emily Tricks. All she does is hurt…"

"Oh my… I didn't know…" Lindsay said in shock while looking at Nina in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just um… a little upset, that's all," Nina said while wiping her nose and walking away to sit on a bench.

Donna was shocked to hear that Nina was now infertile because of Emily. She couldn't help but think about Nina covered in blood and the blood stains on herself. She walked up to Nina. "Nina… do you want to talk-"

"Why are you still here, Donna?" Nina asked., not even looking at her. "You got what you wanted, just… go."

Donna's face fell as she looked down. "Okay," she whispered before turning to Lindsay "Come on, Lindsay, let's go."

Donna fell silent, looking down. "I hate Emily now," she said while bringing her knees to her chest. "Even though Nina did those horrible things, what Emily did to her… she robbed her. I know what Nina's feeling right now and I don't know how to help her." Her eyes became filled with anger as she looked up. "Emily knows how to ruin lives and I've promised myself to make sure Lindsay stays away from her."

"I'm sorry about Nina," Midnight said sympathetically. "I know that even she doesn't deserve that."

Donna looked back down. "While taking Lindsay home… something happened."

Donna and Lindsay were walking through Bonesborough together, Lindsay looking at Donna.

"Are you okay, Donna?" Lindsay asked her.

"Y-Yeah, I am," Donna replied while her eyes shifted away a bit. She heard whistling and she turned her head, spotting the hooded man that she saw in the marketplace she saw the other day. He gave her a smirk and Donna gasped, recognizing him. He then turned around and started to run away.

"What is it?" Lindsay asked, seeing the man as well. "Who is he?"

"Call Eda." Donna gave Lindsay Eda's contact information before she summoned her staff and flew away.

"Donna, wait!" Lindsay shouted, only to fall on deaf ears.

Donna used her staff to chase down the man, following him through the woods. 'It was him… it has to be!' She knew who this man was… Lupe, the same man from the Tarot Guild's headquarters under the Scal-Mart.

She tried to catch up to him, but he was too fast. It was unnatural how fast he was, but Donna continued to follow him.. She's not going to let him get away… not again.

She did lose sight of him by the time she spotted an old cabin in the woods. It looked abandoned, but she saw the door opened.

Transforming into her Wonder Witch outfit, she brought out her keyblade and entered the cabin. Once she entered, she took a look around, seeing how the place was all dusty and moldy. She didn't know why, but the place felt… familiar to her.

She was confused as she walked further into the house, trying to find Lupe in. Eventually she heard a whistle and when she turned around, she saw a pair of red eyes in the darkness.

"I see you…" Lupe said as he charged out of the darkness and threw the first punch. She dodged and punched him in the stomach, but he didn't even feel it as he grabbed her and threw her across the table, breaking it. She got back up and saw Lupe charging at her again but she blocked him with her keyblade and kicked him away from him. Then she swung her keyblade to knock him to the floor.

"It's over, you're going down…" Donna told him before she heard him chuckle. "What?!"

"Nothing, it's just… I thought you smelled… familiar," Lupe said..

Donna looked confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh you know, this isn't really the first time that we were in this building together." He started to get up, Donna still holding her keyblade at him while backing away.

"What?" Donna questioned before noticing a trinket of blood dropped from the cut on her head. She felt the blood… she was bleeding.

Lupe smelled her blood. "Ah yes, there it is," he said before he gestured around him. "This was where the old nursery is." He then pointed to the spot where Donna was. "And this is where it began. Oh I remembered how they tried to protect their children from me. How I grabbed the mother first and bit a chunk of her shoulder out, ripped it like a slab of meat. The father, oh he put up a good fight… I ended up carving out his heart while making him watch as his wife got mutilated by my old partner, who's… dead." He chuckled. "Hearing the screams, the cries, their begging… music to my ears." He gave Donna a smile. "Your parents were quite delicious."

Donna gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "W-What…?!"

"Let's jog that little memory of yours." Lupe started to transform. His skin grew fur, his snout grew, and the black fur took over as he bared his fangs. Donna froze up as Lupe looked at the fear in her eyes. "Recognize me, little snack?"

"Y-Y-You!" Donna dropped her keyblade. "Y-Y-You're the monster!"

"I prefer to be called the Big Bad Wolf," he declared while looking down on the fearful Donna. "Oh, aren't you cute when you're afraid? I love it when my prey freezes up. And you call yourself a hero…"

Donna was too frozen in fear while facing the monster that killed her parents… it was starting to get too much of her. He got closer and she felt his hand stroking her hair…

"Such a lovely little snack, aren't you?" Lupe asked, his hot breath making contact with Donna's face while his hand caressed her neck, licking the blood from her face before he grabbed her jacket, pulling it down. "I'm really glad that you're here, you know." He threw her down to the floor. Donna tried to crawl, but he stopped her by pressing his paw on her back, pulling her leotard as she tried to struggle, only to rip the back of her leotard which left her back and left shoulder bare. He pressed his paw on her stomach.

She tried to fight back, but he grabbed her arms. She even tried to kick him but he was too strong. "I've been following you all week, watching as you lived out your pathetic little life…" he said while licking his chomps. Donna couldn't move, realizing her fate was sealed. "And now I'm going to finish what I started all those years ago…"

Donna wanted to cry, her life flashing before her eyes…

"LET HER GO, YOU BASTARD!"

Kicking him off of her, Harpy Eda crashed inside the house, Donna looking up at her. She pulled Donna off the ground and to the side, turning to her. "Are you alright, kiddo?"

Donna shook her head and then gasped. "Look out!"

Eda felt a chair slammed against her back, causing her and Donna to roll away from each other. Eda turned to Lupe, her eye widening. "You… I know you…"

Lupe smiled in amusement. "I'm glad that you do!" he roared as Eda grabbed the broken table to hit Big Bad with it. But he punched through it and bit her arm. Eda screeched as she clawed at him. She kicked him off of her as she charged to slash at him with her claws. But Big Bad brought his fists up and hit her across the face, leading her to crash out of the cabin.

Eda rolled over, but managed to stop herself as she looked up at Lupe, who jumped out from the cabin. "I'm glad that you're here." He saw Eda launch herself at him, but he quickly grabbed her by the face and kneed her in the stomach. He slammed her back into the cabin as he jumped in and kicked her across the stomach, making her cough out blood. As Eda felt her stomach, she was grabbed by the leg and was slammed to the wall, crashing into the nursery. "I'm gonna enjoy beating you for robbing my snack!"

Hearing Eda's cries as Lupe beat her down, Donna managed to snap herself out of her daze. She struggled to get up, looking at her keyblade. Quickly, she grabbed it and ran toward Lupe, who was beating Eda mercilessly. Eda was looking like a bloody pulp.

Wasting no time, Donna swung her keyblade, stabbing him in the back. "YAAAH!" Lupe screamed as he felt the keyblade pierced his back.

"Get away from her, you bitch!" Donna shouted at him.

"You little-" Lupe was then kicked aside, making him crash into the wall while Donna took her keyblade back, causing him to howl in pain.

"Are you alright?" Donna pulled Eda aside.

"Not my first fist fight," Eda responded while being helped up. "Kick his ass?"

"Straight to the balls," Donna nodded. The two were side by side, Eda raising her fists up while Donna held her keyblade up.

Lupe looked at them, growling. "You two are dead!" he growled as he launched at them. Donna used a spell to shoot ice shards at him. "AAH!" he shouted Eda jumped up to flip upside down, delivering a spinning kick to his snout multiple times.

He crashed down into the other room. As he got back up with a growl he tried to get up and he sniffed her as he looked around for them, sniffing for them. His head was kicked down by a surprise attack from Eda who used an invisible glyph card. She slammed a lightning card at his back before he took a swipe at her, only for him to feel an electrical surge travel around his body.

"AAAH!" he screamed while Donna jumped to kick him in the face. She swung her keyblade down on his chest. "OOF!" he shouted as Donna channeled her ice magic on the keyblade, shooting an ice blast spell towards him. She then launched herself towards him as she swung her keyblade at him, knocking his snout up while cutting an X-mark on his chest before shooting him with another ice blast spell, launching him through the walls.

Lupe was trying to get his hand straight when he saw a fist launched at him by Eda. He grabbed her fist. "Do you think that would work?"

"Don't need it to," Eda said with a smirk while Lupe felt a glowing paper in his hand.

Suddenly, a burst of flames shot Lupe out of the cabin, leaving him with some third-degree burns and some burned off fur. "AAAHH!" he cried out in horror as he rolled over the ground to get the flames out. He then felt fireballs shot out at him. He shouted as he turned around, seeing Eda holding up fire glyphs while Donna held up her ice charged keyblade. "This isn't over!" he shouted as he ran into the forest, disappearing from view.

Eda sighed, relieved that he was gone. He then heard Donna sniff and she turned to her. "Donna… are you alright?" she asked as Donna fell to her knees, her keyblade changing to normal.

"WAAAHHH!" she cried, as Eda went to comfort her.

"There, there, it's okay. You're safe," Eda reassured her, hugging the girl.

"Mah… my parents," she mumbled. "My birth parents… they died here, did they?" She looked up to Eda, whose eyes widened.

Eda looked at her sadly. "Yes, they did…"

"So you… were here?" Donna asked her.

"Donna I… I didn't know how to tell you or if you're better off but… you deserve to know now," Eda said as she looked at the damaged home. "I was the Owl Beast at the time. When I showed up… your parents were already dead. But then I heard a baby's cry… you, and that bastard was going to eat you but I got you out of there!" She looked down. "I was hit by something and I ended up dropping you off at the orphanage. Once I regained consciousness, I didn't even remember any of this until a while ago when the Owl Beast and I bonded." She heard Donna stop crying. "I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you, I didn't know how you'd respond and…"

Donna was unresponsive for a moment as she looked at the ground. "Just… take me back home…"

Donna was in tears while Midnight kept handing her tissue boxes.

"Are you okay, Donna?" he asked her.

"I-It's just…" She sniffed while blowing her nose. "For years, I had hoped that my birth parents were still alive… but now I know that they're dead. And even though I never knew them… I'm still sad." She wiped her own tears away. "Can I miss people I never knew?" She shook her head. "I didn't know how to respond to learning that Eda had saved me as a baby. I just… needed time to process it. I'm grateful, of course," she clarified. "But it's still… just a lot to process…"

"What you're feeling right now is okay. Have you talked to your parents about this?" Midnight asked her.

Donna shook her head. "I told them about the wolf that attacked me, but not about my bio parents or Eda saving me. That was something I needed to work through myself." She looked down, falling silent for a movement. "You know, part of the reason why I had hoped that my birth parents would still be alive was because I had hoped they would be able to give me answers about where I'm really from. I love my life, I really do… but sometimes I can't help but feel like there is a part of my identity that's missing. Like I don't really belong here, that my life isn't really mine." She gripped her own hair. "And now that my own parents are dead… I will never get that closure. There will always be a part of my past that remains a mystery to me."

"How long have you felt this way?" Midnight asked her in concern.

Donna looked down. "I don't know, probably since the orphanage… I've been constantly trying to find my place in this realm. It's why I… partially took up partying with Eustace and Serpentina, and partially why I decided to become a superhero. Because secretly, I think I'm insecure about my place in the world and I'm worried that it's not enough… that just being me is not enough, that being a star student isn't enough…" She looked at her key. "Sometimes I don't... feel like I belong here…"

"And where do you think you belong?" Midnight asked.

"I… I don't know," she admitted. "But… I hope to find that place some day."

"Well, Donna, I suggest that you tell your family and friends about this, because they will understand and they will help you through this. What you're going through is perfectly normal for your age. Many teens have felt this way when they're trying to figure stuff out about themselves. But you don't have to go through this alone," Midnight suggested.

"I understand," Donna nodded.

"And while your birth parents are gone, don't forget that you still have a support system and they are not going anywhere," he reminded her as Donna looked at him with a nod. "And so reach out to them, please."

And so, once Dr. Midnight left, Donna went to her parents and told them everything. They embraced her, hugging her as she hugged her back. Donna knew that she was so lucky to have moms like them.

"Do you need anything, hon?" Gladys asked her.

"Anything at all?" Diana added.

"I'm fine, moms," Donna replied while walking upstairs, heading to her room.

She closed the door to her room and gave a sigh while looking around. Whirlwind flew up to her and she petted her Palisman. "I'm fine now, Whirlwind, really." She looked around her room, noticing the stuffed animals given to her by Nina were still there. She shook her head.

"I have often dreamed," she sang while walking up to the window. "Of a far off place. Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me…" She looked up to the sky, then looked down sadly. "Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face, and a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be…"

Whirlwind watched as she climbed out the window before he flew up with her.

"I'll be there someday… I can go the distance," she sang while sitting on the roof. "I will find my way, if I can be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while…" Whirlwind sat on her shoulder and she smiled at him. "When I go the distance I'll be right where I belong…" She reached her hand up toward the sky.

"Down an unknown road to embrace my fate." She looked out at the rest of the Isles, spotting Metropelvis. "Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you." She shook her head, not even sure who she was referring to. "And a thousand years would be worth the wait, it might take a lifetime but somehow I'll see it through!"

She looked determined. "And I won't look back, I can go the distance!" she declared. "And I'll stay on track, no I won't accept defeat! It's an uphill slope!" She turned to Whirlwind, who flew up in agreement. "But I won't lose hope, til I go the distance and my journey is complete!"

"But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part!" She grabbed her Palisman, turning him into a staff while spreading her rainbow around. "For a hero's strength is measured by her heart!" She used her magic to strum her staff like a guitar, making a guitar riff as she floated up. She could feel the Bard magic around her as she kept riffing her staff like an air guitar.

"Oh yeah!" she cried as she shot out a rainbow light, making an aura borealis in the sky.

"Like a shooting star, I will go the distance!" she cried out. "I will search the world, I will face its harms! I don't care how far, I can go the distance! Until I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms!" She looked in the sky, while Whirlwind changed back and joined her.

In another part of the world, on the remains of another Titan, a silver haired boy looked up at the sky. He had platinum skin, blue eyes, and was wearing a gray tunic with gray sleeves, black pants, and boots. He sat up on the roof, accompanying him was a green cat.

"I will search the world, I will face its harms," he sang. "Until I find my hero's welcome waiting in… your arms~!" He finished singing while he petted his green cat.

Someday he hoped to find his twin sister. Someday…

Somewhere in the Isles, after patching himself up, Lupe went to meet with someone in the woods. He looked around until he saw a witch in a cloak.

"Were you followed?" the witch asked him.

"No," Lupe said, shaking his head. "I come with some… news that I thought you might want to hear."

"Oh?" The witch tilted their head. "What kind of news?"

"Well… the girl is still alive," he reported.

"Is she now?" The witch grinned under his cloak. "Thank you for the information, Lupe."

"Should we do something about her?" Lupe asked.

"No, leave her alone for now," the witch decided. "After all… she might want to meet her Uncle Draco someday."

At the orphanage, Eda was trying to calm the kids down.

"Alright, alright calm down!" Eda told them while feeling a bite. "Ow! Timmy!" She got Timmy to stop biting her ankle while having him sit on the couch. As she turned around, she noticed Donna was here. "Donna…"

Donna looked down in silence before she managed to look up to Eda. She then went to hug her, surprising the Owl Lady. But despite this, Eda hugged her back.

"How have you been, kid?" Eda asked after they let go.

"I've… been working through some things," Donna replied with a shy look. "And I… wanted to thank you for saving my life, back before… and now. I owe you everything."

Eda smiled. "Eh, you don't owe me a thing, Silvy," she said. "You know, we were about to watch the Bonesborough Brawl. If you want, you can join me and the kids as we watch it on the CB."

Donna smiled. "That would be nice," she said as she and Eda went to sit together, along with the orphans and Ban. "Eda, you ever wonder what it would be like… if you had taken me in after rescuing me?"

"I guess… you'd be Luz's big sister and King's young sibling," Eda indicated. Though she did give it some thought, she'd rather focus on watching the Brawl than thinking what ifs.

As of right now, this is where Donna needed to be. Right here… right now.

Okay, so firstly and just to get this out of the way, Tamme's pronouns are she/her/they, something that we lacked to mentioned from the previous chapter.

What you just see here is the secret origins of Donna Masterskull, who looks for a sense of belonging in a world she doesn't feel like she belonged. And like Nina, Donna has made the jump to the main cast as well. Originally Donna was just going to be this minor character, as Nina's crush. A nice girl with a few… secret kinks but not much else. Then we had the idea she and her friends would help during the Glandus War and we developed her further, including some ideas in what eventually lead to something interesting. Such as making her and her group of friends as vigilantes, given the inspiration from watching She-Ra, Stargirl, and admittedly Young Justice.

Donna's drug use was pretty much set up for a while. It has been hinted at and especially in the Beach chapter when Eustace and Serpentina brought up her partying days, and the way she rub her arm nervously when interviewed by the Golden Guard(Emily). In all honesty, it just occurred how in common Donna has with Roy Harper, heroes who have been drug addicts. It also explains how she knew Eustace and Serpentina, as they had a role in her drug use and partying, which can be a natural phase in a teenager's life, especially rich teenagers. And her seizure from it is how what got Donna to realized she needed to quit.

As for Donna's meet up with Jackson, well remember back in his introduction along with Mel's gang where he stated he has found a girl of his dreams… yeah, he's referring to Donna. So yeah, be worried…

We get to learn some new OCs, such as a full appearance of one of the cheer squad characters, Roger, who's pretty much a James expy from Pokemon, and Gina who's another member but nothing to talk much about.

Another OC that's part of the chapter's framing device is Dr. Kobe Midnight, who I've taken the liberties to base him around as Dr. Midnight of DC Comics, his name Kobe as a shout out to the late Kobe Bryant, and his appearance is based off of Jacob from Camp Camp, as he plays a prominent role as Donna's counselor.

Dr. Pox, Kyle's dad, is a direct reference to Dr. Cox from Scrubs, including using similar lines he used from the show.

Also the new OC, Tabrella, is a expy of Rarity. The mentions of Jackie is an obvious reference to Applejack.

Beocrow helping Donna to look at herself in her reflection is a reference to a scene from the 1994 film The Crow.

Lupe stalking Donna around while wearing a hood is a direct reference to the Wolf in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, who reminds us of Lupe. Which includes how the blood scene with Donna went out.

The songs used for the chapter:

-"Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops is used for the family karaoke scene.

-"Go To Distance" the Michael Bolton version from Hercules is also used as Donna's song.

Now for the reviews:

BlueKnight-X2: Thing is, that is how most have grown up when in a religion household that ass-deep.

Crosshot: Well you don't have to wory about that after Nina's quote. Besides, this isn't like in those animes where the characters forgive their abusive shithole parents. You kinda see why Donna had to break ties from Nina, not that you could blame her due to her past experience.

Ultimate-drax: Hope this Donna chapter peals some layers.

Guest1: 1) Eventually, but not right now. 2) No spoilers. 3) Maybe.

Matteso585: 1) Yes, we've mentioned that. 2) Okay. 3) Well Nina's reputation has spread around, word travels fast and all. 4) For all Nina knows, Bria is either dead or she ran away to the Forest of Fear. There was no way she would realized that Bria was trafficked since she probably thinks Bria went to the Forest of Fear, which is common in Glandus. 5) Yeah.

Moheart7: Thanks, wonder if you plan on making fanart, which is much appreciated.

Frano Almiron: It will.

Shuffollower: Well given that Nina was 9 so about that long ago when she realizes she's an athiest, and around those periods of time she attends Glandus at 14, and then grow into the ranks of being Top Beast Head. How Ms. Traveler procure Tugs... it's a mystery. Silas dropped out after getting beaten by Nina, and as for Mr. Fierce... Meteora had him eaten to take his place. Glandus publicly "got rid" of the Illusions Track as Emily changed to Construction, which is how she knew Cain and was able to make him part of her inner circle. Sunny is bummed about Steve, and as for Nina's siblings, yeah you could say that they hate their parents now and maybe resent Cally.

RJWritingInk: Yeah, I remember Camp Camp. Great show, at least it didn't leave off on a cliffhanger.

Next chapter, where we'll unveil some mysteries and connections... with the return of the Grim Goblin...