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If you were to hear the name Blight Industries, the first thing that would pop into your mind would be one of two things. One would be the name of a family that has been in power for years and is widely known throughout the Boiling Isles as one of the richest and most influential. The other would be a company that invented some of the most innovative inventions the Abomination Coven had seen. That's why so many people were coming to the main factory, as green smoke was seen coming out of the chimneys. Tonight was one of the company's private sales, and various hooded figures were seen entering the building. All of them were from various parts of the Isles, all wanting to keep their identities a secret.
Edric and Emira were at the door, with the twin brother putting a paper that said "HEX ME" on one of the hooded figure's backs. The twins giggled.
The visitors gathered inside the factory, which had a large stage inside it. The crowd of hooded figures gathered in front of it, as Skara's mother, Kimberly, stood on the stage. Dressed in a business suit and skirt, with her hair in a neat bun, Kimberly stood straight while holding a clipboard.
"Okay, benefactors, please be patient; the show will begin soon," she said to the crowd. Turning around, she went backstage and approached two hooded figures. "Everything is ready, Ma'am."
The green-haired woman chuckled a bit before she said, "Good, it's show time."
She and her partner walked out onstage, and a light shone on them.
"Welcome, valued investors, to our annual Blight Industries private sale!" Odalia Blight, the factory's CEO, announced as she pulled off her cloak and revealed herself to the crowd.
Behind her, her partner tried to take off his hood. But the cloak ended up getting caught, causing him to trip and faceplant. Picking himself back up, he pulled off the cloak and revealed himself to be Adador Blight, Odalia's husband and chief engineer of Blight Industries. He was a pale-skinned witch with a disheveled look, unkempt hair with sideburns, hairy arms, and stubble. Like his younger daughter, Amity, he had golden eyes and brown hair. Furthermore, he had an Abomination Coven sigil branded on his right arm. Most likely, due to him working a lot, he is always seen slumping.
With everyone here, Odalia started the show.
"If you're interested in reliable home security, we're here to help," she said with a sly smirk. "And, if you've got an enemy or two... Well, who are we to judge?"
The investors laughed before Odalia pointed at Alador.
"This is my husband, Alador Blight, the greatest abomination creator of the era," she said, to which her husband named. "My name is Odalia, and as an oracle, I predict you'll love what we've got in store for you tonight. We are proud to present... the first glimpse of our crowning achievement…The Abomaton Soldier!"
Both Odalia and Alador stepped aside, as Amity rose from the floor. Next to her was a strange abomination-like creature in armor.
Humiliation wasn't even close to what Amity felt as she presented the Abomaton Soldier with a dry expression, even as the investors clapped for the new invention. This wasn't even the first time she'd been put in this situation. Her mother used this tactic to get her daughter to fall back in line anytime she acted out, especially when her father had a new invention that needed to be presented to the public. Her job was to be the test dummy.
Luckily, the first part wasn't too bad, as the Abomaton poured tea for Amity.
"It will pour your tea!" Odalia said to the crowd.
The next, however, was the Abomaton doing her hair. It looked awful.
"Help you keep up with the latest trends," said her mother. "And best of all, it will defend you against any unwanted visitors!"
This was the part Amity was dreading. Taking a deep breath, Amity took her position a few meters away from the Abomaton and put up her fists. The Abomaton did the same.
Smirking, Odalia touched her necklace, which began to glow. This caused the jewel in Amity's necklace to glow as well, and she received a telepathic message from it.
"Mama to Mittens, remember our deal: Make this look good, and we'll forgive your recent lackluster performance in school."
Amity sighed and said, "Yes, Mom."
That was why she was in this predicament. Her school performance has been becoming lackluster, to say the least. She missed classes and had been getting into trouble. Her mother was especially pissed about her daughter not being Grom Queen, something Odalia always wanted one of her kids to be. Thus, she's now the test dummy.
The Abomaton tried to pound Amity but missed when the Blight girl jumped back. "Wow, it's so fast and strong. Order now," Amity said in a monotonic voice. She jumped back from it when the Abomaton tried to grab her.
The investors clapped and cheered, while Alador yawned. Odalia, on the other hand, looked very pleased. Looking behind her back, she saw the number of units being ordered rising.
The Abomaton grabbed Amity as the young witch pretended to be in danger. "Oh no, it's undefeatable. How will I ever escape," she asked like the world's borest damsel in distress.
However, a piece of paper fell from her right sleeve. Amity felt and saw it fall out and was surprised. It's the paper of her, Booker, Luz, Willow, and Gus from Grom Night. One of her most prized possessions.
And the Abomaton was about to step on the picture.
Amity gasped. "Oh no, you don't!"
She quickly drew a spell circle, easily ripping the arm holding her apart. Landing on the ground, she then used both hands to draw a larger circle that made the Abomaton fall apart.
The crowd gasped and murmured at Amity, destroying the very product they had wasted their time seeing.
"That's awful," yelled one investor. Amity didn't care. All she cared about was her photo.
Odalia, however, did care as she rushed out onto the stage and quickly went into damage control. "Oh, of course, w-well that was b-but a beta test," she said with a nervous smile. "We can't wait to see you all next week when we reveal the uh... the finished product in all its glory!"
However, no one cared. The night was ruined, and it was all because of her good-for-nothing daughter. Odalia turned towards Amity and angrily glared at her.
"Amity! I can't believe you did that! You just lost us a lot of money!" Odalia screamed at her daughter. "What's the hell is with you lately?!"
However, Amity didn't pay any attention to her. She only stared longingly at the picture. Odalia saw this, and she understood what was going on. It was because her daughter had made friends—friends that had been taking her focus away from her work and studies. And by the looks of it, she was friends with the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son—Malcolm Bridge's brat.
Ever since that hybrid and his human friend arrived in the world, Amity had changed. And if there's one thing that Odalia hated, it was change. More especially, she hated changes that affected her. Amity was changing because of that boy, who was affecting her once-obedient daughter. She's seen in her other daughter as well, leading her to suspect that Emira's disobedience was because of that bat-witch on her live-stream.
Amity ruined her presentation. She'd stepped out of line, and it was time to stop it. They had one more chance to make this sale, and Odalia wasn't going to let her daughter's crush ruin it for her.
"I see. It looks like our precious mittens have been getting... distracted," she said, her face covered in anger. She was determined to make an example of the boy.
{Play music: Into the Badlands theme}
The intro opens with Booker rising from a dark void and clapping his hands. His magic markings light up, and the eye of the portal opens behind him, with a fire burning inside. One by one, his friends appear in front of him. First is Luz, who plays with her cards and does her light spells. Next, Eda steps out of a portal and spins her staff, only for King to come out from behind her. This is followed by Willow summoning massive vines as her eyes glow, Gus holding an open book and conjuring illusion clones of himself, and Amity twirling into the frame and smirking as she brings down a wall of abomination goo.
A Boiling Isle mural is seen again, only this time, the nine symbols of the Covens are added on top, the Owl House is on the bottom left, and the Emperor's Castle is on the bottom right. Lilith, Hunter, and Kikimora appear in the frames, taking the place of Willow, Gus, and Amity. They then show the reverse side of their frames with Lilith sobbing, Hunter taking off his mask, revealing his face partially, and Kikimora enraged.
The scene is burnt away again, but this time, it is by Emperor Belos. Behind him was his castle as lightning strikes.
Now, as the sun set, Booker and Luz were on Eda's staff, with Luz riding up front like she was driving and Booker standing behind like he was surfing on a surfboard. They zoom down the Boiling Isles, past many friends and foes alike, until Eda and King join in on the ride... then they hang on for dear life as a massive, monstrous worm-like monster, mouth wide open, lunges at them. Everyone, minus Booker, screamed in horror. The latter looked brave and defiant towards the beast, and he pointed his sword towards it.
Then, the scene changes back to the Owl House, where it's nighttime and stars twinkle in the sky. Only this time, the night sky is colored in a more vibrant purple, and the family of four can now see the Milky Way on the roof. Luz opens her hands to reveal a ball of light as Booker's hands glow, and a glyph-like symbol appears on the back of his hands.
He grinned and slammed his hands together, causing light magic to burst from his hands. That's when the title appeared.
The Seventh Son
Chapter Nineteen:
Blight's Bargain
Another beautiful morning started for the Owl House. Hooty smashed his face into a steel bucket three times. In front of the house, Luz and Booker stood in front of a covered chalkboard while activating some of their spells.
"Light in the darkness," Luz said with her infectious smile as she activated a light spell.
"A glittering bridge of ice," Booker said, smirking as he made a ball appear in his hand.
"The mightiest tree in the forest," said Luz as she activated two vine spells. "You can make all these and more with glyph magic!"
"Welcome to day three of Booker and Luz's magic boot camp!" Booker and Luz announced as they clapped their hands high over their heads. Two fire glyphs ignited on the ground. King, who was sleeping near one, screamed and ran away when it went off.
In front of the two best friends were their students, the Clawthrone sisters, sitting at school desks. Lilith cheered and clapped her hands while Eda carved something into the desk she was using.
"Booker, if you may," Luz asked her fellow teacher.
Booker nodded. "With pleasure," he said, pulling off the cover and revealing the chalkboard. On it were drawings of all of the glyphs that they'd discovered on their journey.
"Okay, we have covered every glyph Booker and I have learned up until now. So today, we'll learn something new," Luz explained to the two adults.
Lilith asked, "Are we about to encounter a never-before-seen glyph?"
"Unfortunately, no," Booker said, pointing at the glyphs on the board. "These are the seven primordial forms of magic. Meaning that there are no more glyphs in the world."
Lilith and Eda glanced at each other before Luz turned the board around. "In any case, today we're learning how to alter glyphs to do specific things," she said, sharing the drawings on the back.
Inspired by Booker, Luz thought of a new way to use her glyphs that she'd been wanting to try out: glyph combination. By combining two or more spells, Luz hoped to make a completely new spell. The Seventh Son had been wanting to do this with his powers, and testing it out with the glyphs would be a great way to do it.
Lilith raised her hand. "Teachers, did I do it right," she asked, enthusiastically holding up a diagram of ice glyphs.
"Yeah! That's really good!" Luz said, which had Lilith pumping her fist.
"Let's see how you're doing, Mom," Booker said as he walked up to the Owl Lady.
He looked down and saw that Eda had carved the fire and ice glyphs overlapping together on the table.
"You do realize that we have paper, right?"
"I know," Eda said, still concentrating on her craving.
"And you're not even going bother using it?"
"Nope," Eda said, finishing her craving.
Booker took a nervous step back and said, "Wait, Mom, don't!"
"Double glyph combo, go!" Eda yelled as she slapped on the glyphs. At first, neither of them activated until the fire and ice glyphs started flashing, and streams of magic lifted off the table's surface. Then, it let off a small explosion.
"Dammit!" Eda slammed her fists on the table. "I was hoping for more of an ice blast situation."
Booker sighed and shook his head, knowing that his adoptive mom had been growing increasingly impatient recently about trying to regain her powers. "Mom, I know you're impatient to regain your powers, but try to master the basics before you start experimenting," Booker said with a supportive smile.
Eda crossed her arms. "Ugh, I can't believe my own son's as boring as Lily," she said, with Lilith glaring at her.
That's when Hooty appeared. "Toot toot! The Hexside train is a-coming! Chugga-chugga!" he said as he wrapped his body around Booker and Luz.
"Uh, okay, uh, King's in charge while I'm gone. Bye!" Luz said as the house demon carried away her and her crush.
When he heard he was going to be in charge of the classroom, King cheered. "Hahah, power!"
Together, Booker and Luz walked up to the twin doors of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, both of them very nervous about what they'd see on the other side. Today was the first day of their return to school. It had been so long since they'd stepped foot in the school and had seen their friends.
"Okay, first day back after the petrification ceremony. Just be chill," Luz said.
Booker looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you telling that to me or yourself?"
"Both."
"Honestly, I'm happy to be back," Booker said, which felt like a weird thing to say for him. "After 2 weeks of odd jobs and training in the mountains, I'm glad to go back to being a normal kid again. Nothing bad happening, where we can hang out with our friends and just be happy together."
Hearing how Booker wanted to be happy with her filled Luz with joy as she grabbed his hand. "Well, let's go," she said, blushing with her best friend.
Together, they placed their free hand on the doors and pushed them open. Walking into the school, they saw their fellow students of all shapes and sizes walking around the halls. The two of them walked down the hallway until they came across the two people they were looking forward to seeing.
"Guys!" Booker called out, getting their attention. Willow and Gus turned around and saw their best friends, before running towards each other, screaming happily.
"Oh my gosh!" Luz cheered as all four of them hugged each other.
"Booker! Luz! You're okay!" said a noticeably deeper voice as they stopped hugging each other.
Upon gazing at them, Booker was shocked to learn that the voice had come from none other than Gus, who had undergone a dramatic transformation. The black witch had become taller than before, almost the same height as Luz and Willow. Additionally, Gus' facial features had become sharper and more angular, and his eyes now had visible pupils.
"Whoa, what the hell!?" Booker yelled, completely shocked. Before, Gus was shorter than he was, but now he was so close to being his height and in a very short period of time. "Gus, what happened to you?!"
Gus shrugged. "Witch puberty," he said. "Every witch shoots up when it hits."
Booker instantly knew that he must hit witch puberty as soon as he could, if that was even possible. Given his hybrid body.
Luz said, "I can't thank you guys enough for helping Eda and us at the conformatorium."
"That's cool. I just hope it helps Eda learn my name," Gus said, looking down in embarrassment. "She keeps calling me Goops."
The lizard-headed student walked by and waved at the black boy. "Hey, Goops!"
Realizing that his fate was set, Gus became dejected. "It's already spreading," he said as Willow patted him on the back.
"Hey, Booker, Luz," said a voice from behind.
Turning around, Booker and Luz smiled when they saw it was their other crush, Amity. The green-haired girl was walking towards the two best friends with her necklace out and a small pie in hand.
"Amity!" Luz cheerfully greeted her.
"In celebration of your return, I've brought you a homemade fairy pie," Amity said, holding up the small pie.
"Oh, wow! Thanks, Ams," Booker said with a big smile as he looked at the pie. "That sounds so—"
Booker stopped when he saw the fairy pie, which lived up to its name. The top crust was that of a normal pie, but it was filled with fairies who were all still alive. Their legs, arms, and wings stuck out of the top as they screamed in agony.
With a disgusted expression, Booker said, "...Good…"
The worst part was that it actually looked appetizing to Booker, with his stomach growling.
"The ingredients are... very fresh," Amity said, looking away, blushing.
"I can see that. Thank you." Not wanting to hurt his second crush's feelings, Booker took the pie. "You know, after everything that's happened, I'm just happy to return to some sense of normalcy."
Suddenly, sounds started coming through the school PA system as Principal Bump yelled at someone on the other end.
"You can't just barge in here!"
"Yes, we can. We are the Parent Creature Association!" Yelled back a woman of high class. A woman whose voice Amity knew all too well as she looked up at the nearest monstrous intercom speaker.
"Mom?!" Amity exclaimed.
"Booker Bridges, Luz Noceda, Warrick Riley, Willow Park, and Augustus Porter, report to Principal Bump's office now! And you too, Amity."
It was at that moment that Warrick walked over to the group of friends while holding Emira's hand. Edric was with them as well.
"Why does your mom want to see us," Warrick asked.
"I…" Amity paused. "I don't know."
"Trust me," Emira said with a frown. "It's nothing good when mom wants something."
A moment later, the five were in Principal Bump's office. Odalia and Alador flanked Principal Bump while the kids were sitting in front of them.
"Uh, good morning, students. I take it you're curious as to why you're here," Bump said, addressing the kids with a stressed expression.
"I'll be the one to explain it," Obalia said, cutting off the principal. "We are Amity's parent, Obalia and Alador, and we are representing the Parents Creature Association. It's come to our attention that several incidents have happened at this school that have blatantly put the student body in danger!"
She pointed at Booker, Warrick, Luz, Willow, and Gus.
"Incidents caused by these students!"
"What?!" They all gasped in shock.
Willow said, "That's insane!"
"You don't have proof!" Booker said, glaring at the woman.
"I'd watch you tongue if I were you, Mr Bridges. We have more than enough evidence," Odalia said as she counted each incident on her fingers. "The abomination situation, the destruction of detention, the rampage of Grom, the Holmes incident…"
"Wait a minute, that wasn't our fault!" Warrick exclaimed, while Willow and Gus looked worried. Luz looked confused. Booker continued to glare at the parents, and Amity angrily looked to the side, arms crossed. Holmes was responsible for that incident!"
"And he wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you," Odalia said, glaring at the boy her eldest daughter was affectionate towards. "These are but a few of the incidents that have endangered Hexside students, including our daughter. And that's not even to mention the dangerous fugitive who lost control of his magic is allowed to walk around the halls freely, especially when he attacked the Emperor and his Coven."
Amity shot her a deadly glare.
"So, the PCA has decided to…" Odalia stopped when she noticed Alador trying to touch the moving tail of Bump's mask. She cleared her throat.
"Oh, right," Alador said. "Um, these five are bad influences and must be executed.
"WHAT?!" Booker, Amity, Luz, Warrick, Willow, and Gus gasped. How could the sluggish man suggest a cruel fate?
"Ahem, I mean expelled," Alador said, rubbing the back of his head.
"What?!" The five getting expelled looked at Amity's mother in shock. Appalled that she would even do that.
Not even Amity could believe it. The young witch stared at her mother furiously. That's when her necklace started to glow. Smirking at her, Odalia spoke through Amity's necklace. "Take this as a lesson, Mittens. A Blight always upholds their end of the deal."
Amity gasped, then backed down with a dejected look.
"Bump, you can't really believe this bullshit!" Booker stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "You know us, man. You know those incidents have good explanations for them."
"I…I know, Booker, and I'm sorry, but this is out of my control," Bump said sadly as he looked at his students. "The PCA had threatened to go to the Emperor's Coven with their complaints, and if they do, it's over. The Coven will see track mixing, know that I'm harboring you, and then arrest me and replace me with the old principal, Faust. And believe me, he'll make life at this school a living hell on earth."
"And we can make it all happen with just a simple call," Odalia said with a smirk. "Just give me a reason. So, what's it going to be?"
"I…" Booker quieted down as he really thought about it. Bump wasn't a bad principal. He was a great one—the best he'd ever had. If he were removed from office and replaced with Faust, someone who didn't sound all that pleasant, Booker would be responsible for it because he and his friends didn't want to go. And worst of all, this woman was willing to make it all happen. He was powerless to stop her.
He looked at his friends. They, too, understood the stakes. This wasn't a time for them to be selfish. It was them or the school's wellbeing.
"We understand," Booker said, much to the complete shock of Amity, who looked at her two crushes with wide eyes.
"Then, sadly, Booker, Warrick, Luz, Willow, and Augustus, effective immediately, you are no longer students at Hexside," Bump said with finality.
Amity wanted to say something. She had to say something. But one look from Odalia's stare crushed any hopes of resistance. Amity looked down with a defeated expression as Odalia snapped her fingers. Summoning three Hexside Guards, who came bragging into the office. Together, they started dragging them to the door. One dragged away Willow and Gus, one had Warrick and Luz, and the last had Booker.
"Hey, I can walk, you know!" Booker yelled at the guard, but it fell on deaf ears.
He looked back at Amity. For a moment, the two locked eyes.
The young Blight girl stared at him with sadness and regret. That was put to an end when Odalia placed her hand on Amity's shoulder. The woman looked at the son of Malcolm with a smug look on her face, watching as the door closed behind the Seventh Son.
"Good. Now, you'll be taking double the classes to make up for lost time," Odalia said as her husband went back to poking at Bump's devil hat tail. "Actually, I'm appalled that you're not in class right now. What are you thinking?"
"Right, sorry," Amity said, nothing even bothering to argue with her mother that she was the one who called her.
Her mother had taken away her friends.
Now, she stands alone.
Booker may have been calm in the office, but that was only because he was thinking about the school's wellbeing. As he started up at the sky, he leaned back on the steps of the school, now bothered with how the edges were jabbing into his back and head. His anger started to grow. This all started because of some stoner and an uptight bitch who clearly didn't like her daughter being off her lease. And now, not only was he kicked out of school, but so were his friends.
And it wasn't just him that wasn't taking the news well.
"She did WHAT?!" Emira screamed in a mixture of fury and shock. "Oh, oh, this is so like her! Any time we have something she doesn't like, Mom has to take it away!"
"Whoa, sis, calm down," Edric said.
"I AM CALM! I just…" Emira looked at Warrick, who stood in front of her with a sad expression. She shared that same face, as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Warrick was ready for her when she ran into him and started sobbing into his chest. "Em, I promise. Everything's gonna be okay."
"How?!" she cried, looking up at him while sobbing. "You're a wild witch now! Not only that, but you're a student without a school. You and the others will be hunted down by not only the Emperor but also the truancy officers."
Luz, who was just as sad as Emira, looked at her friends with a confused expression while sitting on the stone rail. "Uh, what do you mean," she asked. "Don't truancy officers arrest you for being out of school?"
"It's more like they take you to their layer to slowly digest you!" Gus yelled in complete fear. He paced around, his hands running through his hair.
Luz started blankly into space. "Of course there's a horrible twist," she said with a sigh, slumping her shoulders.
"It finally happened! Our memorable adventures caught up to us. Oh, my dad can't find out about this!" Gus yelled. Looking down at the ground, he picked up one of the leaves. "I guess I'll have to start surviving off the land."
Gus attempted to lick the leaf. However, just when he was an inch away, he stopped and threw it to the ground. Unable to bring himself to do it.
"Ah! This is impossible!" He then ran away, crying.
Sitting up, Booker saw as he ran away before looking at Willow, who was hugging a tree.
"I guess this is goodbye. I'll water you one last time... with my tears!" Willow sobbed as she soiled the ground with her tears.
Booker sighed as Luz sat down next to him. "I always figured I'd be expelled from school one day," he said to her in a melancholic voice. "Just didn't think I'd ever find a school I'd actually want to stay at."
"I'm surprised that you didn't explode," Luz said with a smile as she leaned on her BFF's shoulder. "That's honestly the most surprising part."
"Yeah," Booker said, placing his hands under his chin. "But that bitch was right. I did cause a lot of problems for the school, and me staying here would only cause more problems for everyone. I just wish I didn't drag you all down with me."
"Hey, don't you go putting all that guilt on yourself again," Luz said as she looped her arm around Booker, side-hugging him as the Blight Twins and Warrick sat down around him. "If anything, I was not responsible for most of that stuff. Besides, Bump didn't want to expel us. It was all because of Amity's mom."
"Yeah, sorry about her, guys," Edric said. "Mom can be very, very, very…"
"Horrible," Emira asked with a smirk.
"I was going to say controlling, but yeah, she's horrible."
"Booker Bridges." The four friends turned around to see Alador and Odalia coming out of school and descending down the steps.
Luz hugged her BFF protectively, while Emira, Edric, and Warrick—the three older teenagers—stayed by the Seventh Son's side.
"Your name is Booker, right," Odalia asked, acting as if she hadn't said his name on the intercom. "I have to say, you have much of your father's face. Emira, Edric, please take your friends and give mommy and daddy some privacy with Malcolm's son."
"Excuse me?!" Booker yelled as he stood up against the parents. "How dare you think that you have a right to speak to me! You can do whatever you want to me, but when you mess with my friends' lives, there will be hell! What the fuck have we ever done to you?"
"Please, this isn't personal. I actually appreciate your tenacity," Odalia said. "We're just trying to teach our daughter a valuable lesson in business."
"How does this teach anything? We're still gonna be friends with her," Luz said. "I'm calling applesauce on this business baloney!"
Odalia raised an eyebrow. "Your human language is hard to understand."
"Then let me put it in words you'll understand," Booker growled as he reached back and grabbed his sword.
"Now, now, let's not resort to violence," Odalia said, brushing off the Seventh Son's threat. She continued to talk condescendingly to Booker, while Alador looked at Warrick's gauntlets, much to the discomfort of the young man. "If you're interested in talking things through, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement."
The young man raised an eyebrow as she handed Booker a Blight Industry business card. Before Booker could even consider the offer, Luz grabbed the card from him.
"Nope! Not happening," she exclaimed. At the same time, Willow and Gus walked back over, both glaring at Odalia. "Come on, Booker. We can figure this out on our own."
"That's right, we'll survive or die trying," Gus said.
"No one's dying," Willow said, before a crow phone flew to the group and landed on the witch's head. Willow instantly became worried as she looked up at the bird. "Oh no…"
From the crow-phone's opened mouth, the voice of one of her dads yelled, "Willow Park, did you get expelled?!"
The group of friends looked worried before another crow-phone landed atop Gus's head. From the phone came Perry's voice. "This is Perry Porter with breaking news. In light of recent events, Augustus Porter will be grounded for no less than a year," he said as the crow-phone grabbed Gus by his collar and started flying up, showing off just how powerful it was.
"Help, guys! Let me go! No, please, no!" Gus pleaded as Warrick ran after him.
"Just one? Willow's grounded for three at least!" Harvey said as Willow's crow pulled her up and flew away.
"No, ah! Help, Luz! Help, Luz!" the young witch pleaded as the Dominican girl ran after her.
Booker watched as the two crow phones carried Willow and Gus away while his crush and Warrick tried to stop them. Odalia chuckled. "Yes, well, when that doesn't work, you know where to find us," she said, giving Booker another card, before pushing Alador as they walked away together.
As he looked at the card, Booker's mind became conflicted about what to do. He and the others left the school out of their own free will and did it for the school, but that didn't make it all the easier for Booker. And he knew it would be hard on the others, especially if they couldn't get into another school. If they could, they'd likely be separated. If they couldn't, they'd be hunted down as wild witches, like Eda was.
"I know what you're thinking," said Amity from behind Booker and her older twin siblings. Booker turned around and saw her struggling to carry a large bundle of books.
When she accidentally dropped one of her books, Booker clapped his hands and reached out with a hard-light arm. Grabbing the book, he used another arm to take all of the books she held and set them in a pile. Booker then clapped his hands again, creating a vine that tied all the books together in a book belt.
"There," Booker said, smiling at Amity as he picked up the belt and gave it to her.
"I'm uh... I'm sorry, I was a coward in there," Amity said, looking down in shame. "But my mom—"
"Hey, I get it. You're scared of her," Booker said. "We left the school out of our free will, just so no one else had to suffer."
Amity blushed and smiled at Booker's thoughtfulness.
"But you're still thinking about taking up her offer," Edric said.
"Not for me, but for the others," Booker said. "Willow, Gus, Warrick, even Luz doesn't deserve this treatment. Your mom seemed open to talking things through, and if it means getting my friends back into the school, then it's a case I need to take."
"Booker, I want Warrick back at school, but this is different," Emira said, walking up to Booker and placing her hands on his shoulders. "My mom is a petty woman, and a complete control freak. If there's one person you don't want to cross, it's her."
"Look, I know it's risky, but come on, I've fought Belos and won," Booker said with confidence.
"You barely got away," Amity said.
"Still counts. What can your mother do that Belos can't?"
"Force you into a deal that you cannot escape from," Edric said. "How else do you think she's gotten to where she is now?"
Booker sighed. "I don't really have an option here, and you know that," he said. "I don't care about myself, but I want Luz, Willow, Gus, and Warrick to be happy. This school is the place where they're the happiest. I don't want them to lose that."
The Blights looked at one another.
"Just…promise me you wouldn't agree to any deal that will put you in harm's way," Amity said.
"I wouldn't," Booker said, turning around and walking away. He looked at the business card and the address.
The last time Booker laid eyes on the Blight manor, he was with his friend, and Hooty was possessed by them. They were going to use his house body to make Amity and her friends pay for all the shit they put Willow through. They didn't get the chance to do it, being attacked by hunters. The building still resembled an English castle.
He took a deep breath and then walked up to the door. Frowning, he reached up and knocked on the purple wood. However, instead of the master of the house or something like an Abomination, he was surprised to see Kimberly answering the door.
"How may I help—" Booker's cousin looked up from the clipboard her eyes had been glued to for the past couple of hours. Only to see that Booker was on the porch.
"Kimberly?" Booker asked with a surprised look.
"Booker," Kimberly exclaimed, looking at the Seventh Son in shock and fear. "W-What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Booker countered. "I thought this was the Blight's home."
"I... I work for Odalia as her advisor, and assistant. ...mostly the assistant part."
"KIMBERLY!" Odalia shouted from inside the house. "I'm still waiting for that tea!"
"Uh, coming, Mrs. Blight!" Kimberly said nervously. She then turned to a bitter expression and turned to Booker. "Come in. You'll find her and Alador in the basement."
The overworked and underappreciated assistant led Luz into the very fancy living room, where she picked up a tray with a teacup and teapot on it.
"This place smells a lot better than the Owl House," Booker said, looking up at the family portrait hanging over the fireplace. "It's the perfect house for a breaking family."
"You have no idea," Kimberly said, opening a door with her free hand. "Just be on your best behavior."
The oldest of his cousins walked him down a spiral staircase, and together, they entered the basement.
"Ma'am? My apologies, but a visitor was at the door—" That was all she was able to say before a severed abomination hand was thrown into her face, splattering purple goo on her.
"Whoa!" Booker exclaimed, shocked, before looking to where it came from.
As it turned out, the Blight's basement was a laboratory, and Alador was hard at work in some kind of new Abomination experiment. Either that or he was performing surgery and was being very rough with the gooey patient.
"Uh…"
"Oh, don't mind him, dear. He's getting ready for our big demonstration tonight. It's looking good, hon!" Odalia said as her husband grunted and tore something off. Odalia then snapped her finger at her assistant. "Excuse me, I am sitting here with no tea in my hand."
Kimberly, with a grumpy expression, wiped the goo off her face and walked over to the woman. Setting the tray on the table, she dutifully poured the tea into the cup, placed the teapot down, and handed it to Odalia. Kimberly's boss took the drink and took a sip of it, before shooing her away. Kimberly nodded and walked up the stairs, leaving Booker with Amity's parents.
"Right, so I'm here," Booker told Odalia, crossing his arms and holding a stern expression.
"Indeed, so let's get to the deal," she said, professionally. "We have a rather important presentation tonight showing off some new products."
Booker raised his eyebrow and looked at Alador, who was still working. "Like, abominations," he asked, turning back to Odalia.
"Something like that," she said, stirring the tea with a spoon. "Normally, Amity helps us with these things, but she's busy catching up on schoolwork."
The look the mother gave him was enough to give Booker the deal being given to him. "I get it. You want me to help you show off your weird abomination gunk," he stated.
Odalia smirked. "Ain't you the smart one," she said, pinching his cheeks. "Mal would be so proud."
Booker batted her hand away from him. "Hands off!"
"And just as tenacious."
For a moment, Booker considered the situation as his cousin walked back into the basement with her clipboard. "I do the presentation. You drop the case, and you let me and my friends back into school," he summarized, not knowing that Kimberly had gasped in shock but trying to keep her composure. "Gotta say that I'm not really seeing the downside here—if you keep your promise."
"Booker, when a Blight makes a deal, they always uphold their end of the deal," Odalia said, crossing an X on her left breast with her finger.
"And that means that you wouldn't do anything against us," Booker said. "You'll not retaliate against me, my friends, or my family in any way."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
"No. It will happen. There's no arranging. You'll say that you wouldn't retaliate, and keep that promise."
Odalia's eyes twitched. "I wouldn't retaliate."
Booker nodded. "Alright, I'll give them a good show."
"Splendid! Now, you might want to get ready, because we have a long night ahead of us. Kimberly will cook you a meal for tonight before we go."
Booker nodded and turned away, walking past Kimberly, who looked at her cousin with a worried expression.
"Oh, and Booker," said Odalia. When the Seventh Son turned to her, he was confused when the woman walked up and handed him a glass of a glowing pink liquid. "Drink this as a token of my gratitude."
Kimberly's worry increased as she watched Booker take the drink and look at it with a raised eyebrow. "What is it," he asked.
"A family recipe," Odalia simply said. However, her chuckle and mischievous smirk were enough for Skara's mom to know something was very wrong with this. But there was nothing that she could do. Not when Booker took it all down in one gulp.
"Booker, you don't have to do this," Kimberly said as she walked with Booker. After a quick bathroom break and something to eat at the Blight Manor, the Blights had their assistant take Booker to the large factory that was set up just a mile or so away from the manor. Odalia and Alador were waiting for them there.
"It's the only way to get my friends back into school," Booker said.
"Didn't you leave school out of your own free will," Kimberly asked as they walked past the sign. "Why risk your life to reserve that?"
"Because we didn't have a choice," Booker said. "If we fought back, Odalia would have brought hell down on the school. This way, we have a chance."
Kimberly rushed in front of Booker, grabbing her cousin before pulling him aside. She hid him from the guests who were walking to the factory's entrance. "Booker, that drink Odalia gave you dulls your magic. It's only for three hours, but…"
"Huh, I would have thought it would have been longer."
Kim was in disbelief.
"You knew?"
"I'm not an idiot, Kim. Of course, I know she dulled my magic. Eda showed me some potions. And I knew she wouldn't right out kill me, but needed to cripple me enough to put on a good show," Booker said, brushing her hand away.
"This is idiotic, Booker! You have no idea what she's capable of!"
"Yeah, well, you clearly do!" Booker exclaimed. "You work for her."
"You think I want to work for that woman!?" Kimberly looked at her young cousin with an appalled expression. "Odalia is a psychopath, but I need this job. When we lost everything, she was the one who helped my family. She gave me a position at her company, paid me, and gave Skara a friend, but most of all, she didn't turn me into the Emperor's Coven. If I so much as think about quitting…"
"She'll turn you all in," Booker said, looking at his cousin in shock and sadness. The gravity of his cousin's situation hit him. "I'm sorry, Kimberly."
"We lost so much, Booker," Kimberly said, shedding a tear. "If I lose this job, everything I've worked so hard to keep, so hard to save…but I don't want you to get hurt…"
"I know, but you also know why I have to do this," Booker said with a smile. "For the people we love."
Kimberly looked at her cousin with wide eyes. For someone so young, he spoke with so much maturity.
"Just try not to get yourself too hurt," she said.
"No promises."
"Welcome back to Blight Industries!" Odalia announced to the crowd as they cheered and applauded. Booker stood in the middle of the stage with Alador and many other Blight Industries products behind him. Kimberly stood off-stage, holding her clipboard tightly to her chest as she watched the demonstration. "We've got a long night ahead of us, folks. But first, we have a special guest joining us on stage today. Volunteering out of his own free will, I'd like to introduce the Seventh Son himself, Booker Clawthorne Bridges!"
The Crowd applauded and cheered again as Booker had a light shine on him. Booker chuckled nervously. "Yeah, so… I heard a lot of good stuff about Blight Industries, and just had to see it for myself," he said with a nervous smile, still wearing his uniform. Was there even a point to hiding where he went to school anymore?
"You heard him, folks. Mr. Bridges' here for a taste of our products," Odalia said as she walked off stage.
Turning to Amity's father, Booker said, "So, Alador, what kind of products does Blight Industries specialize in?
"We make a variety of abomination-based accessories for home security," Alador said.
"Huh, that's actually pretty cool," Booker said, looking at the man with an impressed smile. "So what? You guys got security cameras, lasers, and alarms?"
"Weapons," the man said before he and the abominations holding the products walked away.
"Wait, what?"
"You might want to duck."
"Huh?" Booker asked, his head turned to his left. He didn't even see the lump of abomination goop until it hit him. Sending him flying back and pinning her to the wall. The crowd cheered and applauded as Booker spat out the stuff that got in his mouth. "Aw, gross, my mouth was open!"
Standing on stage, Odalia was the one who shot the goo from a small hand-held cannon with an Abomination head at the end of the barrel. "Yes, our sticky launcher can peacefully subdue any foe!" the woman said to the crowd before throwing the switch near the barrel forward. "And, if peaceful isn't your thing…"
When Odalia pulled the trigger again, the sticky launcher unleashed a massive column of green flames. The crowd cheered and applauded while Booker gulped.
Amity was beyond exhausted. Not only did she have to do more work, but it also meant having to stay until the sun started to go down. When she was finally let out of school, her older siblings were waiting for her to get done with her classes. "Titan damnit, I've never been more exhausted in my life," she said, rubbing her face.
When the trio reached the gate of their manor, they stopped and looked at it with confusion. Luz was there, trying to climb over the fence with a rope. Grunting and moaning, the Dominican girl tried with all her might to climb the fence before giving up and falling to the ground. She wasn't even a foot off it.
Laying on the ground, Luz panted for a moment. Amity walked up to her and looked down at her girl crush. "Luz?"
Luz blinked. "Oh, yeah, Amity."
"Dude, what're you doing?"
"Oh, you know. I was just trying to sneak into your house to rescue Booker," Luz said, pulling out the business card she had taken from her lifelong friend. "I think he did something really stupid!"
That would be putting it mildly, Amity thought as she rolled her eyes.
"Luz, Booker's trying to convince my mom to let you and the others go back to school," Amity said, helping Luz stand up again.
"What?! B-But why didn't he tell me?" Luz asked, looking hurt. "He shouldn't have to do it alone."
"Well, some guys choose to take on all that responsibility themselves," Edric said, looking down with a sad expression and his arms crossed. "They would rather suffer in silence than let the people they love else suffer with them."
Amity looked at her brother out of the corner of her eyes with a tinge of sadness. He was undoubtedly thinking about Roswell. Edric still didn't know that the boy he held great feelings for was a rebel. All he knew was that Roswell was taking on so much responsibility that it pulled him away from Edric. If only Edric could know how much it hurt Roswell. Not to let himself fully embrace her brother, whom she knew he loved, with everything that he is. And all to protect him from the life he lived.
"Come on, maybe Booker did convince Mom to let you go back to school," Amity said with a smile as she unlocked the gate.
Luz asked, "Do you really think he can convince your mom?"
"Oh, fuck no," she said, swinging open the gates. "But let's just hope that she doesn't do something that'll cause him too much trouble."
A moment later, the Blight kids invited the human girl inside the manor's living room. Amity walked in, removing her cowl. "Mom? I'm ready for the show tonight!" Amity called out to her mother.
"Booker!" Luz called out to the blonde boy.
Emira and Edric also removed their cowls. However, on the tea table, the Blight son saw the same vial that Booker drank. Walking up to it, he grabbed it and gave it a sniff. "Dulling potion?" He asked, looking at the vial in surprise.
That's when the eldest daughter noticed a note nailed to the fireplace. Taking it down, Emira read it aloud. "'Found a replacement—Mom?'" Emira turned around and asked her sister. "Do you know what this means?"
Amity took the note and read it over.
She then looked at the potion.
It took her a few seconds to realize the gravity of the situation, and she immediately began fearful.
"Oh no," she gasped, dropping the note.
"What's wrong," Luz said.
"I'm an idiot. This was all a setup. Booker's in trouble!" Amity grabbed her cowl again and ran to the door.
"What?!" Luz exclaimed as she and the twins followed Amity out of the house. "What do you mean?"
"This is all my fault," Amity said as she ran at the front of the group. They ran down a path that went around the house and led them to the factory. "I messed up the demonstration yesterday, and now Mom's trying to get rid of everything that caused me to lash out."
"So, what?" Edric said. "She'll just use the same one that you broke. What's the big deal?
"Edric, when has Dad ever settled for an invention that broke?" Amity yelled, knowing that her father had already made modifications. "This was all part of Mom's plan—that vial of dulling potion would have brought down Booker's magic levels."
"But how? Booker's the Seventh Son," Luz asked.
"I don't know," she said, and that's what scared Amity the most. With her mother's money and resources, Odalia was capable of anything. She could have found a dulling potion with the capability to erase his magic, but for only a very, very short period of time. A trade-off for a potion like that.
Soon, they made it to the Blight Industries factory. From the outside, the crowds could be heard cheering and applauding, while Booker's terrified screaming could also be heard.
"We have to help Booker, now!" Luz shouted as she and Amity tried rushing to the entrance. However, they were stopped when Emira and Edric pulled on the back of their hoods.
"Whoa there," the brother said. "Don't go going in without a plan."
"We don't have time for a plan," Amity yelled at him. "We need to sneak in and…"
"What about a plan to just go through the front," Emira asked, as she and her brother drew spell circles and summoned a pair of cloaks. Surprising Luz and Amity as they were given the cloaks.
When Luz and Amity ran inside the factory with their cloaks, they saw the excited crowd cheering and clapping while watching the show unfold onstage. And that was onstage that they saw the boy they loved.
Booker was having a hard time not being able to use all of his powers. With his school uniform cut and dirtied, he tried to stay alive while being used as a human target. The crowd cheered for Odalia and the Abomination creation that was shooting at him with a hi-tech crossbow.
"Whoa! Hey!" Booker yelled as he dodged another shot made at him.
Even with his powers depleted, he pulled out his family's sword. With Dragon's Bite, Booker shot fireballs back at the Abomination. However, Abomination was faster than most and dodged her attacks. The crowd loved the firefight between the two opponents.
Before long, the crossbow abomination shot three arrows at Booker. The Seventh Son quickly dodged the bolts of energy by leaning to the left, and right, and even leaned far back as one ALMOST hit him in the face. Straightening himself, he stabbed his sword on the stage, creating an ice shield to stop another one.
"And people say I should use this thing less," Booker said.
Suddenly, a large abomination fist came out of the ground and punched him into the air as the crowd cheered. Amity and Luz gasped in horror.
In the air, as he started falling to earth, Booker looked down and saw the fist opening to catch. But Booker wasn't having any of it. He threw the sword down and hit the hand, making it explode into a puddle of goo.
Landing on the ground, grabbing his sword, and sliding across the floor, Booker got under the arm of the Abomination and cut its arm clean off. Sending the crossbow in the air before Booker grabbed it.
With the Blight's weapon now in his hand, he aimed it at the Abomination and fired, destroying the creature as it melted to the floor.
Booker panted as the crowd began to cheer again. "Thank you, thank you. And they say said we couldn't make crossbows more fun!" Odalia said as she walked out onto the stage.
"Enough!" The Seventh Son threw the crossbow down. He glared at the woman and pointed at her. "I did what you asked. Now let my friends back into school."
"Now, now, dear boy," she said with a hint of disdain at the mention of the man's name—the same boy who stood up to her bullying when they were young and whose family hers had to place second fidel to. She then turned to the crowd and held up her arms. "Next, we are happy to show you all our last products from this line."
"Thank goodness, only one more to go," Luz said.
Amity shook her head. "No. This is the worst part."
"My husband has been toiling away to bring you his latest masterpiece," Odalia said as she stepped aside.
Booker raised an eyebrow, wondering just what was the bitch's last product. They used everything. However, that notion was crushed when the stage flood opened up behind him. Turning around, he was shocked to see what it was.
Just like the first Abomaton soldier, it looked like a normal Abomination, with saddened green eyes, bronze-colored armor, including a chest plate, shoulder pads, rings around its wrists and legs, and short boots with a pink glowing core in its torso. However, this Abomaton was larger, with a deformed face, a bigger chest plate around the core in its torso, bigger shoulder pads, big armlets, and small boots on its legs.
"The Abomaton 2.0!" Odalia announced to the crowd as the Abomaton powered itself on. The crowd gasped in shock, as did Amity and Luz as they took off their hoods. "It's bigger! It's better! The Abomaton 2.0 is the perfect soldier. It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!" Odalia said with a sinister smirk as the crowd oohed, and a few of them clapped.
Booker looked at her with wide eyes, then back at the Abomaton as it turned to face him.
"Uh, she does mean that metaphorically, right," he asked. "This is just a demonstration, after all."
The Abomaton's hands turned into a mace and a set of sharp blades.
"Right," Booker said, quickly jumping back when the Abomaton started attacking him. He quickly dodged the mace from crushing him, then got out of the way of the blades from cutting him to pieces.
Landing on the ground, Booker twirled Dragon's Bite.
"Alright, let's do this ugly way," he said.
Booker rushed at the Abomination creation. The Abomaton launched its hands at him, but Booker was able to cut them down with ease. He then rushed past the machine and cut it across its side. Just like how Booker was able to beat all of Amity's Abominations, the Abomaton started to come down.
However, it reformed just before the damage could spread, pulling its sides back together before turning around to face Booker.
Booker gritted his teeth before running at the Abomaton again. The machine tried to grab him, but Booker ducked down, and baseball slid between the Abomaton's legs. Stopping a few meters away from it, the Seventh Son quickly got up as the Abomaton rushed at him.
With two swift slashes, Booker cut off its arms when it tried to swing at him.
Then, Booker stabbed the Abomaton in the chest, right in the center of the glowing glass.
For a moment, they just stood there. Neither of them moved. What Booker didn't know was that while he was stabbing into the Abomaton, it had moved its goo away from the blade the moment it pierced through.
The Abomaton looked at Booker and laughed creepily and mechanically, sending a chill up the young man's spine.
Booker's head was suddenly turned to the side the moment the first punch landed on his face. But it didn't stop there, as more and more punches made him let go of Dragon's Bite. The Abomaton then unleashed a barrage on his chest, before punching him hard enough to send the Seventh Son flying towards the side of the stage, where Odalia, Alador, and Kimberly were standing.
Not needing to look at the meter to know that the Abomaton sales were increasing drastically, Kimberly's only concern was her cousin. "Ma'am, with all due respect, but this has gone on long enough," she said to Odalia with respect. "The crowd loves the Abomaton."
Alador looked at the younger woman before turning to his wife. "She has a point, Odalia," he said. "There's no need to drag this out."
Odalia, however, smirked. "Didn't you hear me? It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"
Kimberly and Booker gasped at the same time. "But you made a deal with Booker," the oldest cousin of the Bridges yelled.
"Yes, well, that deal can only be upheld if he lives," Odalia said, smirking.
Kimberly's heart sank.
"Oh, don't look so surprised, Kimberly. You have other cousins," Odalia said with a smirk before looking at her assistant with a stern glare. "And don't forget what I can do if you interfere."
Booker glared at the woman with hate-filled eyes. This was all a setup. She never wanted to help him. She just wanted to kill him. The urge to wipe the smug look off her face was only interrupted when the Abomaton started walking towards him.
"Alright, you wanna show? I'll give you a show you'll never forget!" Booker yelled as he called Dragon's Bite back to his hand. Stabbing it into the ground, he clapped his hands together and activated the power spell, which granted him a partial amount of his powers back. "I'm gonna rip you into pieces!"
The Abomaton charged at Booker with its enlarged right hand. It tried to punch him, but Booker dodged the attack and cut into the right side. As it tried to reform, Booker sheathed Dragon's Bite and then clapped his hands together, creating a fireball that he launched at the Abomaton, sending it back a few feet.
Booker then pulled out Dragon's Bite again. When the Abomaton's right arm reformed into multiple whips, it lashed out at him. Raised his sword and formed a light barrier over him that blocked the attack.
Once the attack was over, Booker clapped his hands again and slammed them on the ground. "Your ass is grass, motherfucker!" he yelled as large vines exploded from the floor and wrapped around the body of the arms and body of the Abomaton. Booker lifted the machine into the air and started to crush it.
However, the Abomaton turned itself into a cannon. Under the vines, the cannon glowed as it powered up. Then it fired, cutting the plants that bind it. Dropping to the floor, the Abomaton turned that weapon onto Booker and fired, making him duck and dodge each blast.
Luz and Amity could only watch Booker trying to survive the machine, all while everyone around them cheered. They didn't care about Booker's survival. They only wanted to see the full potential of the Abomaton's destructive powers.
And they were going to see it through to the end, now that the Abomaton whipped out a tentacle and grabbed Booker's leg. They watched with growing anticipation as Booker was sent flying up into the ceiling.
"Oh shit!" Booker yelled before landing on a beaming. "Okay, at least it can't get me up here…"
The Abomaton jumped up and landed behind Booker.
"Booker, you fool!" he yelled before turning around and blocking the Abomaton's sword hand.
"Amity, this is crazy," Luz yelled over the cheering crowd as they watched Booker swordfight the magical robot. "We've got to stop this!"
Amity agreed with her girl-crush. This had gone out of control, and she glared at the people responsible for it. Her parents did a lot of things to her on stage, but this was wrong.
"Luz, let's go help him!" Amity said in a serious tone.
Luz didn't know why, but seeing her friend so serious was hot as hell. "Dios, eso es tan caliente," she said.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Luz blushed in a panic. "Let's go!"
Back at the fight, Booker used a powerful blast of wind to blow the Abomaton off the beam. Its body came crashing down on the ground with tremendous force, destroying the stage and sending the secret buyers fleeing. The Seventh Son then used his wind magic to land gently on the ground.
"Enough, it's over!" Booker yelled at Odalia as he pointed Dragon's Bite at her. "Call off the Abomaton, or else I will destroy it!"
Odalia smirked and pulled out the goo-blaster. "No, I don't think I will," she said, firing three gunk shots at the Seventh Son.
Booker cut one shot, but the next two hit him in the chest, sending him to the ground and making him unable to move. "What happened to our bargain?" he yelled with disdain for the woman.
"I now alter the bargain."
Booker looked shocked. "How can you change one side of a bargain?"
"When there is no other side," she said. "You have missed the whole point of this demonstration."
"You mean the part where you wanted to make money? Or the part where you wanted to get rid of me?"
Odalia smirked as she walked up to him. "Did you really think I was going to let you make demands of me, in my own home? My little Mittens has become quite rebellious, and I don't like that. That's why once you're gone, I'll work on the others," she said, enjoying the dread on his face. "Because, after all, with you gone, the bargain cannot be upheld."
The woman then turned around and walked away, before snapping her fingers.
The Adomaton stood up and walked up to Booker, its arm turning into a big ax. Booker struggled to get out of the goo. However, with the power spell wearing off and Dragon's Bite out of his hand, he was helpless.
The Abomination stood over him and raised its ax hand. Booker closed his eyes, waiting for inevitable death. The ax came down on him, but something stopped the Abomaton.
"Huh?" Booker let out in confusion.
That's when, out of nowhere, Luz came rushing in and cut the ax hand off the Abomaton, causing it to stubble back and fall on its back. Amity then ran over and used her magic to pull the Abomination goo off Booker.
Together, they stood in front of Booker and removed their hoods.
Luz started with, "Stay away…"
"…from our Booker!" Amity finished it.
Booker looked at the girls he loved with wide eyes that filled with wonder.
But at the same time, Odalia looked at her daughter with fury. Using her Oracle necklace, she tried to scold her daughter. "Amity Blight, you are in so much troub—"
Tired of her mother's control and manipulations, Amity took off and crushed her necklace with her bare hand. Odalia gasped and watched in shock as the broken pieces fell to the ground.
"Booker, are you okay?" Amity asked as she and Luz turned back to him.
Booker looked at them with an amazed expression, blushing. "Uh-huh," Booker said in shock. "What are you girls doing here?!"
"Saving you, what does it look like?" Luz said, looking at him with an upset look. "What were you thinking coming here?!"
"I was thinking that I could get us back into Hexside by making a deal with Amity's bitch of a mom!" Booker said as he stood up again. "Turns out she double-crossed me and now wants to kill me!"
"Of course she does," Amity asked.
"I'm sorry. I thought that—LOOK OUT!" Booker got in front of the girls and clapped his hands, forming a light shield that blocked a punch from the Abomaton.
"Hey! We were having a conversation!" Luz yelled, throwing multiple glyphs at the Abomaton. They landed at the feet of the machine, before freezing the lower half of its body.
The Abomaton lashed out again with more whips, but Amity held it back with all her might with her spell circles. The Abomaton's hands started melting.
"Amity! Get away from the human and hybrid!" Odalia yelled, infuriated that her daughter was ruining her chance to get rid of Mal's son and the human.
"No, you're gonna listen to me for once," Amity yelled, pouring on the coal and increasing her powers to push the Abomaton back. It was time her mother saw just how powerful she really was. "Booker, Luz, Willow, and Gus are my friends! Warrick makes Emira, your daughter, happy. She loves him, and you're taking him away from her! My friends are nice to each other, and they listen to each other. They make me think about the kind of person I really want to be!"
Amity forced the Abomaton on its knees.
Odalia growled and snapped her fingers. Two Abomination guards came running over to stop her daughter. However, Booker called back Dragon's Bite to his hand and cut down one of them. Luz then took care of the second one by using her fire glyphs to shoot a ball through it.
The two BFFs ran towards Amity, and they stood together back-to-back. They accidentally glanced at each other and immediately looked away, blushing awkwardly.
Odalia looked at the sales meter angrily, while Alador appeared intrigued by the turn of events. The sales were going down rapidly as the crowd booed.
"Ugh! What do you want?!" Odalia yelled.
"You want me to stop?" Amity asked with a smirk. She had her mother right where she wanted her to be. "Let my friends back into Hexside, or else your precious investors will watch me rip this thing apart. Bit by bit."
Luz whispered, "Can you actually do that?"
"Shhh!"
The demand made Odalia fume, but what choice did she have? The investors were booing, and she looked at the "units ordered" meter in frustration. It was dangerously low, and if she didn't do something, there was going to be no profits made. She grabbed at her head, contemplating what to do, but there was only one choice to be made.
"Fine! It's a deal! Just stop with the theatrics!" Odalia yelled as her husband continued to look at Amity and her crushes with interest.
Amity smirked and stopped controlling the Abomaton, allowing it to move itself again. "All right, I have a plan," she told her crushes.
"Oh no, I'm not done with this," Booker said as he glared at the Abomaton.
"Booker, all we gotta do is just play dead."
"You already completed your bargain with your mom, Amity. But not me. The original bargain was to give the people a show," Booker said, smirking at a now frightened Odalia. "Well, I think it's time I have held up my end."
The Abomaton raised its arms to attack again, this time turning into a large hammer. When it swung down, Booker was ready and stabbed it with Dragon's Bite, making the hammer explode into a puddle of goo. Booker then used the sword to fire a beam of ice that froze the Abomaton until nothing but the head was left.
Then, he jumped up high in the air, landing on the shoulders of the Abomaton, and cut off the Abomaton's head. Booker then stabbed Dragon's Bite's glowing blade into its neck.
The crowd watched as the Abomaton's arms broke free of the ice, and it reached up to grab and crush Booker. However, just as it was about to grab him, the Abomaton's goo started to bulge, inflate, and become extremely deformed. As if something massive was growing inside of it. And it wanted out.
Luz, Amity, and everyone near the Abomaton quickly turned and ran away as it continued to be inflated until, finally, it couldn't hold it together. The massive amount of air being compressed in the machine's body was finally let out in a massive explosion of goo splattering everywhere all at once. Booker, covered in the purple stuff, landed on the ground and panted.
As he stood there and caught his breath, the two girls ran over to the boy. "Booker! Are you OK," Luz asked, looking at him with concern.
"I'm fine," Booker said, smirking at the goo he spread all across the factory. "Seems I've created quite the mess now, haven't I?"
He then turned to the crowd as they stood back up. All of their hooded faces couldn't hide the shock.
"Well, there you have it, folks. The Abomaton!" Booker said, trying to act like a showman. With a twirl of his sword and resting it on his shoulder, the Seventh Son continued talking. "The best autonomous soldier money can buy. It was so tough that even I, the most powerful witch on the boiling Isles, had a lot of trouble taking him down. If I had trouble with it, imagine the guys who you want dead. Get yours today, because they're gonna sell out fast!"
Booker's blade started glowing again.
"And I suggest you buy more than one," he said with an edge in his voice.
The crowd looked at one another, unsure of what to do. After what they saw, they would have never bought another item from Blight Industries. However, the Seventh Son brought up good points. There was no way that Abomaton could beat him, but a normal witch would be crushed with ease. And the last thing they wanted was to feel his wrath.
"Ah, man, I wanted to destroy the Seventh Son," said one investor.
The one next to him said, "Then buy as many as you can to kill him."
"Oh, right."
With that, they all started placing their orders. So many were being ordered that the "units ordered" meter went up so high it exploded. The crowd then left the warehouse, leaving only the Blights, Booker, and Luz.
Once everyone had left, Edric and Emira peered inside, shocked by all the destruction caused by the Seventh Son. "Whoa, what happened here," Edric asked as he and Emira walked over to their sister and her friends.
Booker was about to happily explain, but was interrupted by the bitch walking over, seething. "Oh, I'll tell you what happened," she growled, having watched her plans to kill the Seventh Son ruined, her project getting destroyed, and her daughter defying her. "This little brat ruined everything!"
"Hey, Booker did as you said!" Amity said, glaring at her mother. "You were the one that tried to kill him and go back on your word."
"Amity, be quiet!"
"Hey!" Booker snapped. "The way I see it, I've upheld my end of the bargain. I gave the people a demonstration of your Abomaton, gave them a good show, and they got to buying. Your daughter did as you asked, meaning her end of the deal is done. The only one who hasn't fulfilled their promises is you."
Odalia growled furiously. "After the embarrassment that you caused me, you honestly think I'd actually let you and your friends go back to Hexside, you freak!?"
"That was the deal! You would let us go back, and you would not take any retaliation against me, my friends, or my family," Booker said.
"I don't care! I will call every authority I know! I'll turn you and your family in! I'll make sure they can't—"
"Odalia, that is enough!" yelled Alador, cutting her off. Shocked, Odalia turned and looked towards Alador, who wasn't pleased. "You made a deal with your daughter and her friend, and a Blight always upholds their end of the deal. And they are right. They honored their deal, and we will do the same."
"That's right. You will," said Kimberly as she walked up to her boss—her former boss, as she made it clear the moment she snapped the clipboard in two. "And as of today, I quit. I'll expect my last check in the mail."
Odalia watched in absolute shock and disbelief as her assistant walked away with Booker, Luz, Amity, and the twins. "You're really just going to let this happen?!" she yelled at her husband.
"Yes, I am," he said, watching his daughter laugh and smile as she talked with Mal's boy and the human girl. "Ever since those two started going to her school, she's become so much stronger. They are making her stronger—strong enough to become a coven head someday."
Hearing this, Odalia realized the benefits of Amity's little rebellious phase. Her new friends were a thorn in her side, but the potential they brought out in Amity would prove to be greatly beneficial, especially to her. "Wise words, dear," she said with a grin. "We have to focus on what's best for the family—"
Odalia turned around and noticed Alador was gone. Glancing to her left, she saw Alador chasing a butterfly.
"ALADOR!"
After receiving confirmation that they were back in Hexside and telling their friends they were back in, Booker and Luz bid goodnight to Kimberly, Amity, and her siblings. After a long day of trying to fix problems and almost getting killed, the Seventh Son was tired and ready for the longest sleep he could ask for.
"Man, I just want to sleep for two days straight," he said with a yawn.
"I bet," Luz said. "And…Booker?" Booker turned his head to face her. Only to receive a kiss on the cheek. When Luz pulled away, she looked at him with a big blush on her cheeks. "Thanks for trying to help out."
Booker smiled at her. "Always," he said, as they reached the Owl House.
Opening the door, he and Luz gave Hooty a small hello and entered the house. "Hey, guys!" Luz said, giggling as she wiped off the abomination gunk from Booker's hair.
"Hey, kids! We actually learned something new!" Eda said as she sat on the floor with Lilith at the tea. They had a bunch of papers and pens out. Most of the papers were crumbled up, and the rest had glyphs on them. King was there, too, with a blanket wrapped around her head.
"Sorry, Mom, can it wait 'till morning," Booker said with a tired expression. "I need to lie down."
Lilith, however, raised her hand and said, "Wait, teachers!"
Booker's new aunt turned to her left and then turned back. Now, she was holding an ice sculpture. The sculpture showed her kneeling before Luz and Booker, both of whom were depicted as wise scholars holding scrolls and stars.
"Do I get extra credit?"
Booker and Luz looked at the ice sculpture in amazement. "Oh, my gosh," said the human girl.
Eda scoffed with a jealous stare. "I can do it, too," she said, slapping on a paper with an ice glyph drawn on it. Predictably, the glyph turned into an ice cube and rolled off the table. The witch then looked expectantly at her adopted son and Luz and gestured towards the ice cube.
"Wow, uh, yeah!" Booker said with a smile. "Great job, Mom and Aunt Lily."
"Yeah! Extra credit for everyone!" Luz said, throwing two pieces of star-shaped paper to Lilith and Eda. She then grabbed Booker's hand, and the two of them walked away. Lilith caught one and held it to her face gratefully, while Eda and King just stared at her.
Meanwhile, back inside the Blight Industries warehouse, the abomination servants were sweeping the floor. Odalia walked towards Alador, who was picking up the pieces of his destroyed invention.
"Oh, despite the spectacle, this was quite a successful sale!" she said, smiling at her husband, who smiled back at her. "Excellent job on the 2.0, dear."
"Yes!" said a new voice. Surprised, the Blights looked towards the open doors of the warehouse, only to see the Golden Guard walking into the building. Along with two coven scouts. "Your Abomatons are quite extraordinary. Too bad no one will be receiving them."
Upon seeing the Emperor's most trusted scout, Odalia immediately knelt down, then made Alador do the same.
Golden Guard told the couple, "The emperor will be buying every one of your Abomatons, and will personally fund research into making them stronger."
This shocking development had Odalia look up to give him a nervous yet grateful smile. "Th—That's great news! We are honored to have—"
"You should be. Emperor Belos doesn't take kindly to citizens making a... private army."
The Golden Guard turned and walked away, along with his troops. With him gone, Alador and Odalia stood up and looked at each other with worried expressions.
Just today, they were close to losing their profits. Just how close were they to losing their lives?
Stay tuned for another exciting chapter, as the journey continues.