Hello! Hi! Welcome back to the glorious mindscape of GuardingGold! This chapter takes place when Luz and Amity part ways and continues in Amity's POV. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
(Also a quick shoutout to Hivemindtime, who realized the red flag about Gus' clone from the last chapter. Gus' clones are tangible copies of himself, so when Luz went to put her hand on his shoulder, it wouldn't have phased through him!)
As Luz sprinted towards the Grudgby field, Amity turned and ran in the opposite direction, her heart pounding in her chest. Panic threatened to take over, but she forced herself to stay focused. Willow needed help, and she had to get it quickly.
Racing through the halls of Hexside, Amity barely noticed the curious looks from her classmates. Her mind was laser-focused on finding Principal Bump or one of the professors. She rounded a corner and nearly collided with Professor Hermonculus.
"Amity Blight!" he exclaimed, steadying her. "What's the rush?"
"Professor Hermonculus, it's Willow!" Amity panted, trying to catch her breath. "She's hurt, badly. Gus sent a clone to get Luz and it told us to get help! We need to find Principal Bump and get help immediately."
Professor Hermonculus' face grew serious. "I'll come with you. Let's find the Principal."
Together, they hurried through the corridors, finally locating Principal Bump in the staff room. He looked up in surprise as they burst in.
"Principal Bump, we need your help!" Amity cried out. "Willow's hurt in the woods behind the Grudgby field. Gus found her and sent a clone to get help!"
Principal Bump stood up immediately, his expression turning grave. "Lead the way, Amity. Professor Hermonculus, alert the infirmary and have them prepare for an emergency."
Amity nodded and turned to lead Principal Bump through the school and towards the Grudgby field. The two of them moved swiftly, Principal Bump's imposing presence parting the sea of students like a ship through water.
As they neared the edge of the field, Amity's anxiety grew. She hoped Luz was okay and that they weren't too late to help Willow. When they reached the clearing, Amity saw no sign of Luz, Gus, or Willow. Her heart sank.
"Luz! Gus! Willow!" Amity called out, her voice echoing through the trees.
Principal Bump scanned the area, his eyes sharp. "This doesn't look good. We need to find them immediately."
Amity's mind raced. Where could they be? She looked around, trying to find any sign of her friends. All of a sudden she spotted something purple off to the side of the clearing. Slowly walking up to it, she gasped. It was Luz's backpack. There was also half of a glyph drawn into the ground next to it. Amity looked around frantically, trying to find anything else that could point her towards her friends. Amity felt a sense of panic taking over her mind and body. However, she was quickly consoled by a strong hand on her shoulder.
'Miss Blight, there is no need to panic just yet. Luz and her friends may still be close by." Principal Bump said, trying to calm Amity down.
Even though Amity could see the worry in his eyes, she decided to trust him. If something happened they couldn't have gone far. Amity used her abomination magic, creating as many abominations as she could.
"Search the area, we need to find Luz, Willow, and Gus." she commanded.
The abominations began to move in multiple different directions, starting their search for her friends. Principal Bump had even created his own abominations to help aid the others. Amity and Principal Bump also continued to scan the area, looking for any other sign of Luz, Willow, or Gus. Eventually, other students and staff who heard about the situation from Professor Hermonculus joined them. Hours and hours went by, the search expanding far into the woods, and even back towards Hexside, yet there was no sign of any of them. Amity just kept pushing, she couldn't think that something terrible had happened to her friends, she just couldn't. She would search the entirety of the Boiling Isles to find them if she had to. As she was about to push deeper into the woods, she saw a flare go up into the sky.
"They must have found them!" Amity thought, the constant sense of fear she had been pushing down, finally starting to reside.
She rushed back through the woods towards the flare. They had come from the Grudgby field itself.
"That's a little weird…" Amity thought to herself as she ran. She expected the flare to come from deeper in the woods.
She continued to run, eventually getting to the field. There was already a pretty big crowd huddled in the middle, and there were a few more students and staff still making their way towards the group from the woods. As Amity got closer the group began to part, leaving room for her to walk towards the center. Once she got there, she saw them. Willow and Gus! They were okay! The infirmary staff had them on stretchers, but they were sitting up, blankets wrapped around them. They were talking to Principal Bump and the other professors that had helped out on the search. As Amity went to approach them, the infirmary staff began to push Willow and Gus towards the school. Amity went to say something, but then she looked around, trying to see where Luz was. However, she couldn't find her. That sense of fear and panic began to rise in her mind again. Principal Bump noticed her, a grim look falling across his face.
He walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Miss Bl-... Amity. There is something we need to talk about. If you don't mind joining us in my office."
Amity was scared, but she nodded. As they walked back towards the school, Amity tried to ask questions about what had happened/what was happening. All Principal Bump would say however was; "It will be much better if we all talk about this together." That sense of panic and fear was eating away at Amity, but she kept pushing it down. She was sure everything was fine, she just had to wait a tiny bit to hear the whole story. As they got close to the school, Amity heard a whooshing sound behind her. Turning around she saw Eda and King approaching them.
"Hey Boots." She said, resting a hand on Amity's head. She turned to Bump, "I got your message, what happened."
"Let's all go inside and talk." Principal Bump responded.
Eda seemed as pissed off about that response as Amity was, but she nodded. They all continued through the hallways of Hexside. It was dark and quiet, the moon had cast a glow through the windows of the school. After a few minutes, they had finally arrived at Bump's office. Waiting there for them was Willow, Gus and Boscha.
Amity ran over to Willow and Gus, enveloping them in a hug. "Thank Titan, I'm glad you guys are okay." She pulled away, taking a look at Willow. "It seems like the infirmary healed you up quick, I thought your injuries would have been a lot worse? And also why is Boscha here?" She questioned.
Willow shared a glance with Gus, and then looked at Amity. "Well, actually I-."
Principal Bump interrupted, clearing his throat. "Eda, King, Amity, you all better have a seat. I want to start this off before Willow and Gus tell their stories."
They all took a seat, looking at Bump in concern, waiting for him to give them any piece of info about the situation.
Bump sighed. "Well, first things first. Willow was never actually harmed, and neither she nor Gus were in any danger. Boscha is here because she accidentally found them, they were knocked unconscious, hidden behind the bleachers at the Grudgby field, covered by an illusion spell."
"It must've been a weak spell if accidentally spilling some Grudgby balls on it broke it." Boscha scoffed.
"Yes. Thank you Boscha." Bump said. "Once we found them, the infirmary staff took over and made sure that they were not harmed. After that, the flare was set off and we all gathered at the Grudgby field."
"What does this have to do with Luz?" Eda and King asked at the same time, both sounding very concerned.
"Yeah, what does this have to do with Lu-..." Amity began to put the pieces together. "Wait, so if Willow and Gus were never there in the first place, then who did Luz chase into the woods?"
"That's what we are going to try and figure out now." Bump responded, sadness in his voice. "Willow and Gus, please, tell us what happened to you this morning."
Willow and Gus shared a look, then stared at the others and began to speak…
Helllooooooooo! So much angst! But we are so glad that Willow and Gus are okay! Thank you so much for reading this chapter! If you have any ideas of how I can improve this fic, just leave a comment! If you love it so far, leave a Kudos! Next chapter coming soon to a mindscape near you!