I don't own Disney's The Owl House. I do, however own the OC known as Danielle Hopkins. Hope you all enjoy my story on this lovely show.
Chapter Thirty
Few days since Gilbert and Willow had officially moved into the house near the Owl House. Everything was going great, Willow was hanging out more over at the Owl House and Gilbert had caught Eda and Lilith up to date on what's been happening. Today though, certain secrets were about to be known again.
"I know I've seen things similar to glyphs back home but where," said Danielle, flipping through different sites on her phone.
"Hmmm..." said Luz, scribbling out a glyph.
"Luz! I need your help!" said King, jumping towards Luz before pointing at a pile of toys. "I think Francois is trying to start a rebellion."
"In a minute, King," said Luz, still scribbling. "I'm getting so close to figuring out this glyph combo."
"It's always glyphs and portals with you these days," said King, staring at Luz. "What about King?"
"Why don't you ask Lilith for help? She was in the Emperor's Coven," said Luz, pointing towards Lilith. "She has…"
"Oh my gosh, I think I found something," said Danielle, looking at a certain site on her cell phone. "No wonder certain parts of the glyphs looked familiar. They're alchemical symbols. See."
"Whoa," said Luz, staring at the site on Danielle's cell phone. "We could come up with so many more now."
"I'd actually be careful with that," said Aster, looking as well. "The only glyphs now are the Boiling Isles Titan. You have no idea what the other Titan's glyphs are."
"Point taken. I feel like Eda did something on Luz's run," said King, before shivering. "So cold."
"Well, I just finished a new glyph combo. Now you see me..." said Luz, activating the glyph. "Now you don't. Oh, I guess it only lasts as long as I hold my breath. Still pretty cool, huh?"
"Don't ever do that again!" said King, clinging to Luz.
"Do that again!" said Lilith, staring at Luz. "How ever did you accomplish it?"
"I got the invisibility spell from your history books, Lilith," replied Luz, shaking King off her leg.
"Anime and games have been my inspiration for techniques," said Danielle, leaning against the couch's armrest. "Maybe I can figure out Hyper Beam."
"Don't you dare!" said Luz, staring at Danielle. "Stick with Bubbles or Ember."
"Party pooper," said Danielle, in a low voice. "Judgment would be good."
"Fascinating!" said Lilith, staring at Luz. "As the lead historical scholar of the Emperor's Coven, my aid could be very helpful in…"
"An ambush! Men, defend your ruler!" shouted King, seeing Lilith tumble into his toy pile before throwing one at Lilith only for Hooty to take the hit.
"I'm done for, Lulu," said Hooty, falling in Lilith's arms.
"Hootsifer, this is make-believe," said Lilith, looking at Hooty.
"What's wrong with make-believe?" asked Aster, staring at Lilith. "It's fun."
"Ah, to die in your arms. Avenge me," said Hooty, pretending to be dead.
"The King of Demons yields to no one!" said King, throwing another toy at Lilith.
"Historically, demons have never been united under a single rule until Belos," said Lilith, looking at King. "There's no such thing as a "King of Demons"."
"Maybe not in this world," said Danielle, looking at Lilith. "But in other worlds there could be."
"You have a point," said Luz, looking at Danielle.
"Blasphemy! Clearly, you know nothing of my reign of terror. Allow me to tell you," said King, thinking back to when Eda told him such a thing. "I was once the mighty King of Demons. I was beloved almost as much as I was feared. But one dark day, an evil spell was cast... transforming me into this!"
"Uuh… not possible," said Aster, looking at King. "Not much can be done to you and…"
"Oh? What happened to your "crown of power"?" asked Hooty, staring at King.
"A trifle! That was just to test Eda, Luz and Danielle's dedication to me! They passed," said King, staring at Lilith and Hooty. "My real crown is still out there. But when I shrank, my memories got, uh... fuzzy."
"Could it be because this part of your horn is missing?" asked Danielle, pointing at King's horn. "Something must have struck you back then."
"Maybe," said King, staring at Danielle.
"How convenient," said Lilith, staring at King. "A hole in your memory for each hole in your story."
"Lilith, that was a bit much there," said Danielle, glaring at Lilith.
"Yeah," said Aster and Luz, agreeing with Danielle.
"Hey, I remember plenty!" said King, remembering back to those times. "I remember armies bowing before me, being served the greatest of feasts... and falling from a massive height as evil hex shrank me. One day, I'll return to my rightful place... and all shall fear me!"
"Do you really want to be feared?" asked Danielle, looking at King. "Wouldn't you rather be loved?"
"I get plenty from you, Luz and Eda," replied King, hugging Danielle's leg. "And Aster apparently."
"Aaw," said Danielle and Aster, bending down and hugging King.
"Aw, you're gonna be such a good tyrant!" said Luz, giving King belly rubs. "Who's the scariest demon king? Who is it?"
"Me! It's me!" said King, laughing.
"Your dedication to this farce would be charming if it wasn't so sad," said Lilith, staring at King.
"Don't blame me for your ignorance. I'm not a liar, and I can prove it," said King, running down a corridor in the house.
"He called me ignorant. Me!" said Lilith, gasping offended.
"Stop it, you guys," said Luz, picking up toys alongside Danielle. "This story is really important to him, so the least we can do is play along."
"You mean indulge his silly fantasy?" said Lilith, looking at Luz.
"Yeah! I'm a house of principles!" said Hooty, looking at Luz. "You're asking me to lie? Hootrageous!"
"So King is not playing make-believe," said Aster, looking at everyone. "I thought he was just playing and that his part was the King of Demons."
"Could you please just go with it?" asked Luz, looking at everyone. "For his sake?"
"Luz, while I had no problem with this at the beginning, I think this story is coming to a close," said Danielle, looking at Luz. "The truth will come to light eventually."
"… …" said Luz, really thinking and worried.
"All right, you two shall regret ever doubting me," said King, coming back with Eda and Lilith's staff. "We're going to my castle!"
"Ca-Castle?" said Danielle, staring at King, confusion on her face.
"Uh..." said Luz, unsure.
"What's wrong, Luz?" asked Hooty, staring at Luz. "I thought you said we should just "go with"…"
"Go with him! I said we should go with him, right?" said Luz, grabbing Eda's staff. "How could I forget what I just said?"
"But you did…" said Aster, only for Luz to cover his mouth. "Mmmm."
"My historical expertise is being questioned, and I will not allow it," said Lilith, grabbing her staff. "Hooty, would you like to accompany us?"
"I-I'll get ready!" said Hooty, gasping before unattaching himself from the front door and attaching himself to a birdhouse-shaped backpack. "Porta-Hooty, reporting for Hooty!"
"I think I finally got my answer from that day," said Danielle, green in the face as she leans her head against the couch's armrest.
"… … …" said Aster, hiding behind the couch in disgust. "That… was… disturbing… and awful."
After having mounted the staffs and leaving the Owl House, King points in the direction where his suppose castle was. Flying for quite a while, Danielle ends up practicing her control exercise. Unfortunately, Danielle, Luz, King and Aster started plummeting towards the Boiling Sea when the control exercise snapped and struck Luz.
"No control exercises while we're flying," said Luz, as Danielle rubbed her back.
"Sorry," said Danielle, apologizing.
"Are we still flying?" asked Hooty, bored out of his mind and complaining. "It's been hours."
"Should we call it a day? Or perhaps a night?" asked Lilith, before laughing. "Hooty, your sense of humor is infectious."
"There it is!" said King, pointing at an island covered by fog.
"This island shouldn't be here," said Lilith, as the fog clears away. "It's not on any of the maps."
"It's always been there when I looked for it," said King, as they land on the shore before walking into the jungle. "After I shrunk, I woke up here, in Eda's arms, and she carried me away. Like a wittle baby."
"Aaw," said Danielle, an image of a cartoon baby King appeared in her head. "Oy, Danny, keep those images…"
"Sorry but you gotta admit baby King is adorable."
"True," said Danielle, sighing.
"Look!" said Hooty, as the fog clears to reveal a dilapidated tower.
"Ah, home sweet home," said King, as they walk toward the tower.
"I see no tower," said Aster, seeing an empty space.
"It's there but…" said Danielle, seeing the tower fade in and out like it was between dimensions. "Okay, that hurts the eyes."
"That tower is certainly intriguing, but…Oh!" said Lilith, before tripping on a root only for Hooty to stabilize her fall. "Thank you, Hootsifer."
"My pleasure!" said Hooty, mumbled as he had extended his being into the tree.
"But couldn't we have landed a little closer?" asked Lilith, staring at King.
"It's too dense here," replied Danielle, looking at Lilith. "The only passage is by walking."
"Correct," said King, before parting some brush. "Plus, now I can dramatically do... this!"
"Ooh. A door fit for a tyrant," said Luz, staring at the tower.
"That's me! I'll find you guys another way in," said King, crawling into crevices in a rock pile that blocked the doorway. "Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle!"
"Huh. What a strange material," said Lilith, examining the tower wall. "And this symbol. I've never seen anything quite like this."
"What's it look like?" asked Aster, looking at Lilith.
"Like this," replied Danielle, drawing the symbol on the ground in separate parts. "Recognize it?"
"Yes," said Aster, recognizing the symbol. "It's to prevent my kind from…"
"Luz, Danielle, look! This predates any language I know," said Lilith, studying the symbols more. "King's story may be a fake, but these ruins are a history mystery."
"Eh?" said King, as he was able to collapse the rocks away. "What's a mystery?"
"These markings," replied Danielle, looking at King.
"It's Titanian, language of the Titans," said Aster, looking at everyone.
"A new language to decipher," said Luz, staring at the markings than King. "Maybe when we have the time…"
"Oh sure," said King, looking at Luz. "After I prove to Lilith and Hooty first."
"Yes," said Luz, excited.
"Come on in," said King, gesturing everyone inside.
"Ow ow ow-ow-ow," said Danielle, a barrier preventing her from truly getting in all the way. "Worse than molasses."
"I don't remember this," said King, grabbing Danielle alongside Lilith, Luz and Hooty and pulling her and Aster in. "There we go."
"Danielle!" said Lilith and Luz, checking on Danielle. "Are you…"
"Danielle is so not fine," said Aster, brushing away some electric currents. "And I wouldn't either if it wasn't for the Light Sparkles acting as a barrier for me."
"This… feels worse… than the… last ti-time," said Danielle, curling in on herself.
"Easy breaths here, easy breaths," said Lilith, rubbing Danielle's back. "Think you can stand?"
"Give me a… a bit," replied Danielle, calming her breaths before slowly standing up. "I should… I should be okay now."
"Take it slow," said Luz, standing beside Danielle for support.
"Thanks Luz," said Danielle, looking at Luz before losing her balance. "And the world kilters."
"Ah, Danielle!" said King, concerned for Danielle as she coughs up blood.
"I'll… be fine," said Danielle, walking forward. "I can…"
"Don't push yourself," said Lilith and Luz, steadying Danielle.
"Oh, I'm gonna be in so much trouble with Lady Asteria," thought Aster, panicking.
"I think there are some rocks over there Danielle can sit on," said King, gesturing to some nearby rocks.
"All right then," said Lilith and Luz, steadying Danielle towards the rocks. "Easy there… easy."
"I'll be fine guys," said Danielle, calming her breaths as she sat on the rocks.
"You sure?" asked King, hopping onto Danielle's lap.
"Yeah," replied Danielle, lightly petting King as he leaned into it.
"Oh look, the chamber where I would devour the hearts of my foes," said King, looking around the room they entered. "The taste was cold and bitter, but I bet yours would be sweet, Luz, Danielle."
"With all the sugar I eat, it better be," said Luz, winking at King.
"Actually, I think we need to watch our sugars some," said Danielle, her breaths calming. "As much as I have a sweet tooth, I don't want to become diabetic like grampa."
"I see your point," said Luz, before sighing.
"Can't believe your eyes, huh?" said King, gaining everyone's attention as they walk further in. "My castle does have that effect."
"Yeah, so much wonder," said Luz, sheepishly laughing. "Danielle, sit."
"…" said Danielle, groaning and mumbling.
"Are you seein' what I'm seein'?" asked Hooty, seeing a mural on a wall.
"These carvings, they're ancient," replied Lilith, staring at the mural as well.
"Wh-what does that mean?" asked Hooty, still staring at the mural.
"Well, if I've never heard about this ruin, let alone this entire island, who knows what other parts of history we scholars have missed?" replied Lilith, looking at Hooty.
"Are you saying..." said Hooty, staring at Lilith.
"That he may actually have been..." said Lilith, shocked alongside Hooty. "The King of Demons?!"
"Ah, my kingdom. I, uh..." said King, standing up on a pile of rocks as he wipes a tear away. "I got some bone dust in my eye."
"What was up there?" asked Luz, staring up at a caved in hole in the ceiling.
"I-I can't quite recall," said King, looking up as well. "I just remember a muffled roar, probably some minion praising my name."
"I think there is more to this tower than meets the eye," said Danielle, before Hooty pushed her into Luz "Whoa!"
"Your Majesty! It's me, faithful ol' Hooty," said Hooty, looking at King. "You know I was messin' around with you the whole time, right?"
""Your Majesty"?" said Danielle and Luz, looking at Hooty.
"It's clear these ruins are of immense historical value," said Lilith, lightly pushing Danielle and Luz to the side as well. "Perhaps you could tell me more about them."
"I suppose I could, uh, regale you with some tales," said King, looking at Lilith and Hooty. "Am I using that word right? Regale?"
"Did you hear that?" asked Danielle, hearing a sound.
"Yeah," replied Luz, looking in the direction Danielle was.
"Yeah," replied Aster, looking in the direction before looking at the little figures on the floor. "Wait… hold on."
"Let's find out what it is," said Danielle, only for Luz to stop her.
"You're resting," said Luz, pushing Danielle to sit before walking towards the sounds. "I'll check it out."
"Has she completely forgotten about the buddy system here?" said Danielle, grumbling.
"We're in danger here," said Aster, confusing Danielle. "Those little figures on the ground that King probably made, they'll actually based on Sentinels. They're a danger to us. We have to…"
"Luz!" shouted Danielle, running down the corridor only to bump into Luz. "Oh, thank goodness."
"We have to go," said Luz, grabbing Danielle's hand.
"You saw a sentinel, didn't you," said Danielle, looking at Luz.
"Sentinel?!" said Luz, scared and confused.
"They're mostly a danger to me and Danielle here," said Aster, looking at Luz.
"All the more reason to leave," said Luz, running over to Lilith, Hooty and King. "Tour's over! We gotta go! Now!"
"But there's so much to learn," said Lilith, staring at Luz.
"This environment is not conducive to learning right now," said Luz, scared. "It's conducive to death!"
"Ah, you saw the horrifying monstrosity room," said King, looking at Luz. "Don't worry, they can't…"
"Get away from the princess!" shouted Aster, slicing at the Sentinel before him.
"That one can. Let's go!" said Luz, pulling Danielle away from the Sentinel as Lilith set off an Ice Glyph to spear the Sentinel. "Dang, girl, you've been practicing!"
"You may admire my progress when we get out of here alive!" said Lilith, rushing the girls towards the exit.
"… … …" said Danielle, before feeling a stone arrow pierce through her shoulder, a strange pulse reverberating throughout her whole body. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Danielle!" shouted Lilith, Luz, Hooty, Aster, and King, seeing Danielle falling to the ground in pain.
"Make it stop! Make it stop!" shouted Danielle, as the strange pulses worsened. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"How dare you harm my owlet!" shouted Eda, jumping into the corridor and blasting the Sentinel away. "Get Danielle out of here!"
"On it," said Lilith and Luz, picking up Danielle and running out with worried and scared King and Aster. "Gently, gently."
"Mom… dad…" said Danielle, crying as the strange pulses wrecked her body.
"Hold on, just stay still," said Lilith, gripping the stone arrow. "On three. One, two…"
"Aaaaah!" screamed Danielle, as Lilith pulled the stone arrow out before placing a piece of cloth against the wound.
"No way, Danielle's hair… and her markings" said Luz, noticing that Danielle's hair had gone back to looking mostly dark brown with the tips staying silvery white.
"Whatever magic that thing has is subduing Danielle's witch's heritage," said Lilith, pressing more firmly against the wound. "Meaning me and Edalyn…"
"Just me and Danielle," said Aster, looking at everyone. "It will only affect me and Danielle."
"Are you saying Danielle's not a witch," said King, looking at Aster. "That she's a member of your race."
"Yeah, I've been trying to say that for a long time now," said Aster, looking at everyone. "But I kept getting interrupted."
"How's Danielle?" asked Eda, coming out of the tower.
"Just passed out," replied Luz, seeing Danielle passed out in Lilith's arms.
"This little adventure is over," said Eda, looking at everyone.
"But I was just about to prove to…" said King, looking at Eda.
"I have something to tell you when we get back King," said Eda, looking at King than everyone else. "But we're leaving… now."
And so, after getting to the shore, everyone mounted the staffs and started heading back towards the Owl House. The flight back was met with silence. Eda steadied and kept hold of Danielle as Aster brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Once they got back, Eda had laid Danielle down and started to tend to Danielle's wound alongside Lilith and Luz's help. Aster, King, and Hooty watched from a distance, concerned for Danielle. After that was done, Eda finally got talking to King. The truth had finally been told and King had run upstairs.
"Hey, King," said Aster, seeing King sitting on the roof.
"This happened both times, didn't it," said King, sniffling. "I'm nobody."
"You are somebody," said Aster, sitting next to King. "You're like… one of my best friends. We all love you."
"But I was too caught up in the fantasy to realize it! I... I don't know what to do, Aster!" said King, sobbing. "I can't tell what's real and what's fake! And because of my decision Danielle is seriously hurt."
"Such is the biggest game," said Danielle, leaning against the doorframe.
"Danielle!" said King, running over and clinging to Danielle. "I'm sorry. You should be resting though."
"I had to go to the bathroom," said Danielle, looking at Aster and King. "Eda really should consider having another bathroom in the house."
"How are you doing?" asked Aster, checking Danielle over. "And what do you mean the biggest game?"
"I feel like I've been severely weakened, like a newborn kitten," replied Danielle, sitting down. "The biggest game is life, from the moment we're all conceived in the womb. No one knows what life has in store for them."
"Danielle is telling the truth," said Luz, walking in. "Our decisions effect everything in our lives. If I never made that decision to follow Owlbert that day, I would have never met all of you. And I'm actually glad I followed Owlbert."
"All we can do is try to live as best we can and hope our decisions leads us to a good future," said Danielle, pulling Aster and King into a hug. "There's gonna be ups and downs but that's part of it."
"Hey, Danielle," said Aster, looking up at Danielle. "Am I stuck in my own fantasy?"
"I think we all are," replied Danielle, leaning her head against Aster.
"King… about your race," said Aster, looking at King.
"Another time, Aster," said King, deeply sighing. "I don't think I can handle anymore today. Okay."
"Okay," said Aster, looking at King. "Another time."
Allusions
Pokémon- some of the moves Danielle and Luz mentioned at the beginning
Owl Pellet #56
"Luz! Danielle!" said Willow, walking into the room with a book. "I think you should…"
"Shhhh," said Aster, shushing Willow. "The princess is sleeping."
"What is it, Willow?" asked Luz, walking over.
"I found one of my mom's diaries," said Willow, opening to a specific page. "And look what I found."
"A glyph combo," said Luz, staring at the glyph combo. "Huh, forest frenzy."
"Mom mentioned that her people were more in tune with the world and could actually see the glyphs in their spell circles," said Willow, flipping to other glyphs. "But once certain Titans died so did the power of those glyphs. I bet we could use the Earth Glyph to recreate the Forest Frenzy one mom found."
"Wait, if the power of the glyphs die with the Titans, then that means…" said Luz, gasping. "The Boiling Isles Titan is not completely dead. The heart!"
"The heart?" said Willow, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"In the throne room at the Emperor's castle, there's a beating heart," said Luz, grabbing Willow's shoulders. "The Titan is not completely dead!"
"What?!" said Eda and Lilith, coming down the hall.
Owl Pellet #57
"Almost got it," said Luz, scribbling down on a piece of paper. "There, exact replica. Eh, close enough. I can't forge other people's handwriting."
"Right, now let's clean the back of these papers," said King, setting off a Cleaning Glyph. "There, and the other side is okay."
"I think Danielle is gonna like this," said Luz, staring at the drawings Danielle made that day they were regressed in age. "Now she can give these to Aster without him getting upset when seeing the info he gave to Belos."
"And we can keep these for whoever is rebelling against Belos," said King, grabbing the papers. "I wonder who else is on our side."
"Aah!" squeaked Aster, from upstairs.
"Let's go pry a sleeping kitten off Aster," said Luz, getting up and heading upstairs with the pictures.
Owl Pellet #58
"Charmander or Bulbasaur," said Aster, eyeing his game. "Or should I go Squirtle. I like all three."
"Playing a new game?" asked King, watching Aster.
"Yup," replied Aster, staring at his choices. "What you start off with? Or Luz and Danielle?"
"I actually started with Charmander," replied King, looking at Aster. "Who wouldn't want a fire spewing dragon at their beck and call. Danielle happens to like all three but tends to lean towards Squirtle. And Luz likes Bulbasaur cause it can be both plant and an animal."
"But I want all three," said Aster, before sighing. "Is there one where I can get them?"
"Yellow version," replied Danielle, walking into the room.
"Danielle," said Aster, as Danielle sat down. "That one has all three?"
"Yup, it follows more along the anime in a way," replied Danielle, looking at Aster. "You'll just start with Pikachu. Eda doesn't have it in her collection."
"…" said Aster, groaning.
"Which one stands out to you more?" asked Danielle, looking at Aster. "I mean really clicks with you."
"I think…" said Aster, really looking between the three starters. "Hmm… … I can't choose. They're all great."
"You'll figure it out eventually," said Danielle, kissing Aster on the top of his head.
"… … …" said Aster, blushing.
"Danielle, cake is ready," said Luz, from down in the kitchen.
"Coming," said Danielle, getting up and leaving the room.
"Aster, you there…" said King, before Aster faded out of the room. "Huh, so that's how his shadow form passes out. Meaning he's back in his prison."