How would you all like it if I decided that this chapter was going to be more than what it was before? I mean, that's what all of these rewrites have been, but this one especially. Since this is now the halfway part, this will set up events in season 2. Or at least, begin to. Pay attention, because after this point, what you've all read before? Yeah, you might as well just throw it out the window.
And to any new readers who're confused, I'd suggest stopping here until I finish the rewrite I'm doing. Because otherwise, the rest of the fic will be too confusing. Come back in May, which is when the rewrite *should* be finished.
Anyway, onto the chapter!
[Opening Song – Kyouran Hey Kids! – By: The Oral Cigarettes]
*The sound of a guitar stringing in the background can be heard, along with drums. The scene zooms in on a man standing in a destroyed looking city, fires burning around him as he turns to look back at the camera, a smirk taking up his visage as a lone crimson red eye glows. Following along with the lyrics, he mouths the words*
"Tonight we honour the hero."
*A guitar and a set of drums begin to play wildly, alongside what sounds like a choir in the background matching the beat of the song, as a camera zooms up to a clear blue sky with white fluffy clouds, followed by the title "The Owl House - All For Luz" appears, with the Japanese Kanji " フクロウの家 - すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in smaller font.*
*The scene slams down to a forest, where in the centre of the woods, Luz stands, looking around, confused and concerned, taking a step back, bumping into a blond-haired girl wearing a white dress (Julia), who looks over at her, with a matching concerned gaze, golden eyes glimmering with worry. As they stare at one another, a large brown-skinned teen (Stanley) wraps both of his arms around them, smiling, catching both of them off guard, all the while a disembodied voice sings the lyrics to the song that's playing*
"No place for stubborn masks, broken by crazy kids"
"So full of lies and chaos are these days we live"
*The scene pans out to where Luz is looking at a large group of kids, who also look scared and confused. Luz breaks away from the hold she is in, before walking toward them, a weary smile on her face. She reaches out to them, but as she does, her hand and arm spark red, which causes her to recoil, stop what's she's doing, and look at her arms, confusion and annoyance taking up her expression. She stares at her hands, specifically the holes in the palms of her hands, before looking up at a military drone, staring at all of them, all the while the same disembodied voice sings*
"The scent of honey from the body in the air"
"So full of flavour, flavour, flavour…"
*The scene abruptly changes as the drums kick in, as does the metal guitar, to a man sitting in front of bunch of screens with a beard and slicked back hair as the lyrics "Just wanna hold your hands" can be heard in the scene, and with each time it's said, a new person takes their place along with a new location. The first time, it's a man dressed in a shirt with suspenders and black slacks, standing with his back facing the camera, the only thing noticeable being blond hair the same shade as the girls as he holds a martini. The second time, however, it changes to the man in the beginning of the opening, sitting in a throne surrounded by darkness.*
*The camera pans up to his face, red eyes gleaming as the guitar plays a little slower and suspenseful, as the man smirks, as he mouths along to the next set of lyrics "Hey people! Let's go back to zero!"*
*The Camera suddenly blasts into his eyes, as a fight scene breaks out between an orange haired boy and Luz, flames sparking off of the boys arm that barely miss her face. She ducks under a follow up punch. Anger flares in her eyes as she goes to punch the boy in the face. Just as the fist is about to connect, the scene shoots to the brown-skinned teen (Stanley) going blow for blow with a silver haired boy in a grey hoodie, who's throwing air slashes at him, that the other tanks as if they're nothing. Finally, it shows the blond girl (Julia) backed into a corner next to a cabin-like structure by another golden-haired guy, his hand having an ominous aura around it. As this entire scene is happening, the disembodied voice continues the song*
"Get crazy - Hey, Kids!"
"And ditch that ego that has held you back,"
"Why struggle pointlessly?"
"Get crazy - Hey, Kids!"
"The search for the place that you cannot return to Whoah, oh!"
*The scene abruptly changes to a solemn looking Camila, who's staring down at family photos, as the spectre of Manny lingers behind her, an almost disappointed look on his face. His spectre disappears in the wind as the front door to their house opens, revealing an old man dressed in priestly attire, looking at her with concern on his face. The scene shifts again to Luz staring out at something, a wooden wall surrounding her, a reflection of what looks to be fire and blood stains everywhere as her pupils dilate. Her brown eyes flickering from red back to brown constantly with the stringing of the guitar, and just as the rest of the scene, the disembodied voice continues the song*
"Get Crazy - Tell me"
"The times are changing as days go by,"
"Always uncomfortable!"
"Get Crazy - Hey Kids!"
"But nonetheless our future has begun to fade..!"
*The scene changes to a more frantic battle, this time between the blond-haired boy and Luz, only this time Luz has a more furious expression on her face, and her eyes are red. The blond haired boy slams the ground, creating spikes that Luz dodges, her hand sparks red, as a litany of faces belonging to several people appear behind her like ghosts, a small, venomous grin on her face, her hair raising with the red and black electricity, flames bursting across the forest, matching the same flames from the beginning of the opening, the disembodied voice continuing the song, which nears its end.*
"Get Crazy - Hey Kids!"
"And light up the doors that shut away the past"
"This urge with no release,"
"Get Crazy - Tell me,"
"Is that what you want? Then won't you call my name?"
*The opening ends with Luz, almost responding to the man in the beginning of the opening, mouthing the words "I swear, I respect the hero!" The opening ends with a final guitar riff, the camera flickering and glitching out, showing an empty forest, as it transitions to the start of the episode…*
[Search And Steal – Part 1]
Four days had passed since this whole game began, and if Maxwell would be honest with himself, he had half expected something to have happened by now. No one had ventured out from their bases, aside from that Judy Valetina girl, and even then, she didn't venture that far past The Alpha Squadron's headquarters.
Maxwell sighed, watching over the entire forest with his elaborate setup of hidden cameras and drones, boredom coating his features as his right fist rested on his cheek, slumping to the side as he glanced at one of the blank screens.
Everyone seemed peaceful. Too peaceful. Sure, there was interior drama within the teams, moreso with Foxtrot between Emelia Warstoch and another member, Hilbert. Kennedy was trying to rope in Cody and stop him from blowing a fuse. That Luz girl and Judy seemed to bump heads more often than not, with Stanley having to force Judy to "cool off" so to speak.
Oh, and Stanley and Judy were breaking one of the rules that he had set up. The whole "no diddling allowed" rule. They thought they were clever, but they weren't. Not that he cared. They were adults, basically. It was only a problem when the younger ones decided to try and get frisky—which none of them had, thank God. He did *not* want to see that. He knew he was a piece of shit, but he wasn't that much of a piece of shit to watch kids fuck each other's brains out and get off to it.
He wasn't like Tyler, who was a walking blackhole for morality. Don't get him wrong, Tyler was his friend, that was true, but Tyler was also a fucking creep. Hell, he had tried to marry his daughter off to an older man! Like, 20 years older! Honestly, maybe her dying here was better than going back to that fucking nutcase.
Not that he was going to spare any of them. This place would get carpet-bombed regardless of what the result of this little game was. Though, how he'd explain that to the public, he didn't know. Texas was smart by having theirs by their border, so they could get away with it being a defensive maneuver against Mexican invaders.
And even then, Greg was dragged out from his house and lynched for doing that and was replaced by some other shmuck that he hadn't bothered to remember the name of. Besides, he only cared about the part where Greg was brutally killed like Ceaser. He watched the whole thing live on TV, smiling the whole time.
That bastard deserved it. Stole 100,000 from him and called it "claiming what he owed from a bet" which was bullshit because he had already paid that asshole, but he digressed.
He wanted something to happen, damnit. Staring at the screens, watching basically nothing happened over the course of the last 120 hours was really killing the mood. The first time he and his benefactor set this whole thing up, said benefactor being Tyler, everyone went straight for each other's throats. The winner of the ordeal was a special case, too.
They had tried to end him via a carpet bomb, but the bastard lived. When that didn't work, they tried shooting him with a firing squad, and the bastard responded by turning into some funky purple smoke. Then, instead of trying to do what he suggested next, that being containing him in a gas canister and dumping him in a lake, Tyler decided to hire him as a personal assassin. Then he got the idea to make an entire special forces unit out of any super freak he could get his hands on that wasn't a child or inexperienced in killing.
Tyler kept mentioning how useful those with powers were. How they made detractors disappear quickly when paid enough to do it. Personally, Maxwell didn't think that way. He found them to be nothing by eyesores and blights. But, if Tyler said they were useful, then he wasn't going to knock him for his opinion.
Though now, it made him wonder why Tyler would want to team up with him for a second time after what he had said. If he had seen the usefulness in them, or the lack thereof in his opinion, then why would he want to exterminate a new generation with him? Maybe there was something else to it that he wasn't understanding, but it wasn't like he cared.
The only thing that Maxwell cared about was making sure that his state was safe from the heathens that were invading it. The only problem was that, unlike last time, well over 10,000 of them showed up. He had only thought a handful would crop up like last time, but that turned out to be a lie. What was worse was that, if he didn't get this over with soon, he knew that The Federal Government would be on his ass.
It was only a matter of time before someone noticed a whole sect of the Military was taken away from their posted position. If he was found out, then his political career would be in shambles. Scratch that, it would be done for, and he'd probably spend the rest of his waking life confided in a cell. And that was assuming Tyler didn't just outright kill him after it was all said and done.
The true mastermind behind this, the one who planned for and gathered everything that they needed to start this game again was Tyler. It made sense. After all, he was the head of the Witch Hunter Association. And while it had been limited to only him and his assassins, seeing as everyone was coming out of the woodworks with superpowers now, it was only a matter of time before the number of people who joined the WHA exploded.
Although, that made him wonder what would happen to those whom he cared about who woke up with superpowers. Which was hypocritical, he knew. But still, it was a genuine concern of his.
Hell, even his three-year-old son, according to his wife, woke up with the ability to sprout claws from his knuckles, like Wolverine. Oh, and his niece in New York, who had the ability to fire lasers from her eyes. She was just six years old. If something bad happened to her…
"Damnit, don't get cold feet now," Maxwell thought, setting his jaw as he sat up straight. He had already sunk time and money into this. To pull out of the operation now would surely get him killed. Regardless of what he said to Tyler. And that was assuming Tyler would be the one who did it.
Times were changing, he knew that. But he didn't like those changes. Humanity wasn't meant to sprout wings from their backs. They weren't meant to blast fire from their palms. They weren't meant to turn into smoke and slip through doors and cracks in walls.
"What the hell is happening to the world…" Maxwell thought, slumping in his chair. If someone were to have told him 20ish years ago that those with superpowers would become commonplace, past him would tell you that he had already wiped out the "super freaks" with his first run of this death game he created.
And while there were some exceptions he made, that smoke guy being one of them, and that one girl who he only remembered as "Thatcher" it wasn't like he was going to see them again. One was with Tyler, and the other was in some backwater town in his state, probably smoking crack or something. Well, when she wasn't harassing him with emails.
He never read them, so he had never really planned to interact with that slut. Although, a week ago, when he saw the name "Thatcher" he nearly spat out his drink, because that was just a bit too much of a coincidence. Namely because last week he made a joke about how he would've found it funny if he ruined the life of another person in the cunts life.
At first, he thought it was just a fluke, but then he saw her and realized that she was related to the same Thatcher that he had almost killed all those years ago. He had only spared her because she was pregnant back then. But now, he had the offspring of that woman in the palm of his hands, and he couldn't help but smile.
Oh, how irony was bittersweet sometimes. Like mother like daughter, he supposed. Though, maybe he wouldn't copy the whole rigamarol. He was already doing the most with the whole death game thing. So he saw it as enough.
And hey! Maybe it would finally get that bitch of a woman to shut up if her daughter was dead. The child wasn't his daughter anyhow. No matter how much that bitch whined and cried about it. It wasn't his fault he was tempted by her outfit. She shouldn't have been wearing those booty shorts at the time. If she didn't want to be treated like a slut and fucked like one then she shouldn't have dressed like it back then.
Besides, what was the term again? When you're a prisoner, you're at the whims of the prison master. Yeah, that was the saying. And she was his prisoner. So it stood to reason that he could do whatever he wanted back then.
Though, looking back at it, he kind of regretted it. That was a little much, even for him.
Oh well, he would be able to rid of her and forget about that stupid thing he did. Though, speaking of stupid things….
Maxwell looked down at the stack of papers on his desk, a small smile taking up his visage. It was a court summons, and frankly, he found it laughable. The fact that they would try and sue him was funny. At least, it was, until he realized that they were planning to sue him in Washington, and he had no control over there.
He, and Tyler, to be exact.
At least, it was a problem, until he told Tyler. Tyler said he'd deal with it personally, which was good. The less detractors, the better. Although, it was kind of funny. Out of all of the signatures on the piece of paper, he would've expected to see all of the parents have signed on to it. But after double and triple-checking, there was one missing.
That one, the one who didn't sign, was smart. That one most likely understood that it was a bad idea to go directly after them. If he ever got to meet her in person, he would probably give her props. After all, it takes a lot to push one's own feelings regarding their children to not sue the people who kidnapped them.
Either that, or she didn't believe that nosey pastor. Or, the more nefarious idea, which was that she just didn't care. And if that was the case, that meant he was doing her a favour. And that would be oh-so-funny.
"All's well that ends well," Maxwell thought as he leaned back in his chair, kicking up his feet on the desk he sat in front of, before reaching over to press a big red button labelled "Launch". It was the button that launched the drone that sent down the care package for the week. A smirk took up his visage as he watched the drone fly into one of the screens holding a massive package with military-grade rope. "That'll surely get something going… and if it doesn't, then I'll have to do something of my own."
As he thought that, he glanced over at the monitor that was focused on Luz Noceda and frowned. The information he had overheard regarding her was troubling. The fact of the matter was that she was the most dangerous one there, despite appearances. She needed to die, and soon. She was probably the only one that, if pushed too far, would have the chance to actually do something.
After all, he had looked into every one of the people who he had decided to capture. And Luz? She was terrifying. If her criminal record was to be believed, she was the only one here who truly had the spine to kill, aside from Judy. While most people here had petty theft somewhere on there, and while some had mental health issues like Emelia and her psychopathy, and Kennedy with his Bipolar disorder, Luz was the only one that he genuinely believed was a true threat to everyone who agreed to chip in with the Death Game idea.
After all, you don't just walk away unconvicted from an attempted murder charge and not be a little fucked in the head.
If he was remembering correctly, the victim of the attack was a girl by the name of Amber Stirwell. He didn't know the exact details, but it was three months ago, and the judge had given her a warning, and sentenced her to a month of house arrest. On top of that, the judge fined the mother $50,000 for negligence. It almost got her thrown out of her school, too. Fortunately, The Principal of that school, Mr. Walkers, had come up with a way to keep her in the school.
And that was, for some reason or another, sending her to Reality Check Summer Camp. How a number-crunching camp would fix that was something even he couldn't put together. Either way, because of that, she was his problem now, and he had the responsibility to do away with her.
And after hearing about the power that she had, this "All For One" or whatever, from the security cameras, and after overhearing what it did, Maxwell knew that something needed to be done about it. If she was allowed to start acquiring power, and too much of it, then they would all be in big shit. Especially if she snapped.
Especially if she snapped.
It was appropriate to say that she was like a walking, talking, living, breathing, ticking time bomb that could blow at even a single hint of pressure. And if she was allowed to blow up, then it would cause nothing but trouble for not only him but all of Gravesfield.
Call it a gut feeling, but he believed that if Luz Noceda was allowed to live any longer, then all of Gravesfield would pay for it.
The only question was, how? How to kill her without making it look personal? He glanced over to a monitor, where a red-haired boy dressed in a red shirt and brown cargo shorts was practicing doing something. If he had remembered his name, he was Cody Johnson. He was shadow-boxing over in the corner of The Heaven's Devil's base, and was using his, uh, what was it, Pyrokensis powers? He was doing kickflips, strong jabs and punches, all of which ended in trails of flame….
Flame….
Burning flesh….
Fire burns the flesh, and leaves nothing behind….
Maxwell smiled. Yeah, that would work. He deployed a drone, and activated its microphone and camera, before flying it over to the base of The Heaven's Devils. It didn't take long to make it to the specific area where Cody was training, and as soon as it got close, Maxwell turned on his microphone and cleared his throat. Once he got Cody's attention, Maxwell spoke.
"Cody Johnson, I have a job for you. If you complete it, I'll give you and a person of your choosing immunity to the rest of the game, and let you go home early."
[XXXX]
Luz couldn't sleep.
Well, it wasn't that she couldn't sleep, but it was more like she didn't want to sleep. If she slept, it would mean she'd have to talk to him again. And yes, she was aware that she looked like a zombie, and had passed out a few times standing up, but the last thing she wanted to do was see him again.
To put it simply, Shigaraki terrified her. The more she thought about what he said, she couldn't help but realize that he was right. Not only was he right, but he was hauntingly, and horrifyingly correct. Thinking about his words made her realize that she wanted to strip power from those she believed didn't deserve it.
She truly wanted to make those who wronged her suffer. After all, anyone would want that, right? She wasn't crazy for thinking that way, was she? A little revenge never hurt anyone, right? But, then again, that wasn't how her mother raised her.
Her mother didn't raise a monster.
She didn't.
She didn't.
But then, if that was the case, then why did she do that one thing a few months ago?
She and Mama never talked about it. It was what had caused them to be extremely strapped for cash. The fine for it came out of her college fund, and that was when Mama's drinking problem got even worse than it had been. It had been that one incident that caused all of this. Of course, there was the trouble she was causing at the school with her antics, but it was that incident that put Amber in the hospital for weeks and caused her Mama to send her here.
Well, not here per se, but to Reality Check Summer Camp.
Maybe the lack of sleep was causing her to think irrationally. Which was why she had been lying down in her bed in the cabin, staring up at the bottom of the mattress above her. She was wearing a different set of clothing, that being a purple shirt with a wide collar and a pair of black baggy pants. Oh, and a pair of rainbow-themed socks, for added measure.
She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. She was tired, but not really. And every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face. It had gotten to the point that she had been genuinely afraid to fall asleep. Because if she did, she'd run into him.
There was no doubting the fact that he was evil, vile, and manipulative. To say he wasn't was to say that Kim Jong Un wasn't a dictator, which was a blatant and obvious lie. And what made this whole thing worse was that he was in her head, or, better put, in her dreams—like Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street.
Luz sat up, resting a hand on her forehead, frowning as she did. Her eyes were heavier than a bag of bricks, but there was nothing she could do to sleep. Counting sheep? Nuh uh, wouldn't work. Singing a lullaby in her head? It just got her excited and made her think of a different song. Nothing worked, so, instead of continuing to do the impossible, she turned to face the wall of the cabin, and the other beds.
It was nighttime, and most of, if not everyone else who was a part of The Alpha Squadron, was asleep, split up between the two cabins. She shared a cabin with the girls, the sole exception being Stanely. He slept at the back, though, so it didn't matter. And besides, he didn't snore, so that was good. If he did, she would've preferred to sleep outside. But, that was irrelevant to right now.
Right now, she was staring down the empty bed that Julia usually slept in. Luz had caught what she looked like sleeping before, and she didn't know how to describe it. The best she could do was as if she was staring down an angel peacefully resting.
But right now, she wasn't there. Maybe she was out on a walk? That was possible.
Luz looked down at her hands, and frowned, staring at the holes in her palms yet again. She regarded them with disdain. She hated her power, now more than ever. Each passing day, now that she had been made aware of it, she resented looking down at her hands. It was a reminder that she was cursed with a power that wasn't a true match for her.
No matter what the old fart living in her head told her, All For One did not, nor would it ever match her.
"Or does it?" Luz thought, cringing slightly. The fact that there was any doubt in her mind at all regarding All For One upset her greatly. Because while what Shigaraki said struck a chord with her, it wasn't enough for her to fully agree with him.
She wanted to make those who wronged her pay. She wanted those with power who didn't deserve it to suffer. All of that was true, and anyone who said that she wouldn't hurt a fly either didn't truly know her or had a wishy-washy basic understanding of her. The only thing that she didn't do was that she didn't act out her fantasies.
At least, most of the time, she hadn't. The only time she had… she nearly killed the person who had been her target. The person who had made her snap.
Luz remembered it clearly. As if it had happened the other day. She remembered every detail, every word said, every action committed. Burned into her mind for her to forever remember until she died. To remind her what would happen if she had ever let herself get out of control.
It was a Friday afternoon. She had been walking home from school that day, and the rumours that something was between herself and Mr. Jones began at the beginning of that week. She had been non-stop harassed, despite the staff's best efforts. The worst part was that she had known that it was because she and Mr. Jones had been caught hanging out at lunch.
And by whom?
Amber Stirwell. The same girl who had insulted her dead dad. The same girl who had been relentlessly teasing her and bullying her for the last few months, borderlining on a year. The same girl that hated her for no reason other than "just because."
And Luz had started to have had enough of it. But it hadn't gotten to the point where she felt like she had to do something about it. Besides, while the rumour was awful, it wasn't something she couldn't disprove. It was very simple—if she had done what the rumours had said, then why hadn't he been arrested?
For as much as she had iffy opinions of her mother, she would've known almost immediately if something like that was happening. So, if something like that had truly been happening, her mother would've called the cops so quickly, that it wasn't even funny.
No. It wasn't that that had set her off. Nor was it the comment she had made about her Dad months prior.
It was what she had tried to pull earlier in the morning. Or, more like, what she did do. You see, Luz had recently gotten herself the first installment of the sequel series of The Good Witch Azura, that being Azura and The Foul Moon. It was supposed to take twenty years after the events of the first series, and she had been excited for it to come out.
It was a birthday present from her mother. Something that she had jumped for joy about. If her father was still around, he would've been all over that book and then some. After all, it was he who had gotten her into the series, and her mother did say that he was really into the series.
So, when she got it, she brought it to school to read at lunch. And then along came Amber. She took one good look at what Luz was doing, she decided to do something that had broken the proverbial camel's back.
She took the book and used a lighter that she used to smoke to burn it at the back of the school, with her other lackies holding her down while she did. But, instead of crying or sobbing about it, she simply got angry. And not the explosive kind of anger, but the silent kind of anger. The kind of anger one would have when something had pissed them off so badly that they couldn't vocalize it.
So, the next day, she did something that she grew to regret. Not because of what she had done to Amber, but because of everything else regarding the situation. She had brought the butcher knife to school again. This time, however, she had done so on purpose. She waited until the end of the day, till school broke out, knowing that Amber had cheerleader practice.
She followed Amber, making sure not to be seen. Prior to coming to school that day, she had stayed up a little bit past her bedtime, and when her mother was asleep, she had sharpened the butcher knife, that way it was extra sharp. She had doubts of her own when she had prepared to do it. Thinking if it was worth it.
She decided that it was.
When Amber got to the changing rooms, Luz followed her in. She remembered the look of disgust on Amber's face.
And how quickly it went from one of admonishment to one of fear as she lunged at her with the knife.
She still remembered, with full clarity, just how loud Amber's screams were when she plunged the knife into her stomach and repeatedly stabbed her multiple times. She still remembered the coldness she felt as she made direct eye contact with her the whole time, not saying a single word to her. She still remembered how the clawing at her wrists felt, not that it mattered.
She remembered the smell of her blood. How sickly sweet it was. Some had splashed on her clothes, which annoyed her. She had heard how hard it had been to clean blood out of clothing.
The final thing that she had remembered about the confrontation she had with Amber was how she went slack after a while. She was fairly certain she had been there for a whole minute, plunging the blade into her.
80 times. She had stabbed Amber 80 times.
It was a miracle that she had survived. And extremely unfortunate.
To say that Luz had been fully committed to killing her when she had attacked was an understatement. The only thing that stopped her merciless attack was when the Janitor pulled her off of Amber and restrained her after calling the police and an ambulance. Had it not been for him, Amber would've been dead, and Luz would've been in a prison cell for the rest of her life.
The only reason why she hadn't gone to jail was for a few reasons.
1. The attack, while premeditated, was able to be twisted into a self-defence attack because not only were the cameras off for repairs in the changing rooms where the attack happened, making it ambiguous on who struck first. Furthermore, Amber had been provoking her and tempting fate for nearly a year, so even if Luz had been the one who attacked Amber, then it was after months and months of constant abuse, meaning that her state-appointed lawyer had been able to twist it in Luz's favour.
2. While the attack wounds on Amber were still proof of the attack happening, no one had said they had seen Luz enter the changing rooms with Amber, and while the Janitor did testify, he was drunk, having been drinking on the job when he had both made the call to the police and said that he had seen Luz being the one who had attacked Amber, so that meant that his testimony could be shaky at best. Something the Jury agreed with, having thrown it out.
3. Her age. Luz was still a minor, and couldn't be tried as an adult until she turned 16 years old. So that came in clutch to avoid what would've been a surefire life sentence in prison. Furthermore, it was argued that due to her young age, the constant stress and abuse put on her by Amber, and the lack of help the staff provided in order to prevent this tragedy from happening, by technicality, the real people who were to blame would be the school itself.
And finally, 4. Amber was still alive. She didn't die, meaning that, while her appointed Defence attorney said that Attempted Murder was good enough, combined with everything that he had provided to the judge and jury, he believed that Luz was, for the most part, innocent in what she had supposedly done.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, felt the opposite. Deeming her a danger to society due to her willingness to jump to violence. The prosecutor did everything in his power to tear down the defence attorney's arguments, but the DA had a solid case, built on evidence. All the prosecutor had was conjecture and flimsy alibis and testimonies.
But, by the time it was all said and done, Luz was still found guilty of attempted murder. Although, luckily for Luz, the judge was surprisingly lenient, and let her off with a warning, her mother a fine for negligence. Furthermore, he also made it so that, rather than having to spend any time in a cell, she was put on a house arrest order for a month, the only time she was allowed to exit the house was when she went to school.
The final thing he forced to happen, which had been much to her annoyance and something that she had completely forgotten about, was for her to be sent somewhere to deal with her problems, and recommended a strict summer camp. He never specified, what camp she was to be sent to, hence why she was sent to Reality Check and not somewhere else. Why he didn't recommend a therapist, Luz would never understand, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter. It was the judge's choice, not hers.
Her house arrest period had been up for two months now, though it made no difference to how she lived her life. It was kind of ironic, really. It was supposed to be a punishment, but it turned out to be just more of the same. And while she was imprisoned here, she was technically a free woman, despite her horrible crime.
Sure, she probably wouldn't be able to get a traditional job, but she didn't care. She had well over 10,000 subscribers on YouTube and had gotten onto the payment program. Her AMVs constantly got around 53k views and made well over $500 a video. And while she didn't upload frequently, any money was good money.
One would expect her to feel guilt for what she did. After all, she had almost ended the life of another living, breathing person. And if not for that, then for how it financially ruined them. But, she didn't. She felt zero remorse for what she had done. Amber deserved worse in her opinion. But, what was done was done. There was nothing that could be done about it. There was a restraining order placed on her, and Amber had skipped town after what came out had come out about her.
Ironically, she had been the one sleeping with a teacher. Mr. Morgan, if she had remembered correctly. So, it was a little bit of self-projection in the end, wasn't it? On the bright side, at least she would never have to see her repugnant face again.
So, frankly, at the end of the day, it didn't matter. It was a win-win in her books as far as she was concerned. Her mother? Not so much, but then again, as of late, she hadn't really cared about what her mother thought. Or what she would think. Or anything she did, really.
That being said, while she didn't feel guilty about what she had done to Amber, she had felt guilty about the whole situation surrounding it. Despite her current feelings on the woman, she felt guilty for dragging her mother into the mess and making her alcohol problem worse. And while that didn't excuse what she had said before she left for camp, she could only imagine how much worse of a time her Mama was having right about now.
That aside, she wondered if that moment—that crime she had committed—contributed to awakening the power that she had now. To awaken All For One. Objectively speaking, she had committed an evil act. Evil begets evil, so to speak. So, the fact that she was willing to do horrible things like that could have been one of the key factors to awakening it.
Luz sighed, standing up from her bed as she did. She knew that, for the longest time, she needed to be checked into a therapist for all of the bullshit stirring around in her mind, but after recalling all of that nonsense, she knew now more than ever that it was needed. Maybe, if she survived, and after she distanced herself from her mother, she'd do that.
After all, this was partially her mother's fault. If she hadn't been so hellbent to send her to this place, she wouldn't be in this situation, now would she? If she had just let her stay home, then she wouldn't have been in danger of dying.
She looked over to the others, peacefully sleeping, or, as peacefully as they could. Her eyes landed on Arla, who had been curled up into a ball. Earlier, she had been crying, most likely because she was scared. Not that Luz blamed her, but right now, she was too tired to emote.
Her eyes lingered on Arla, and for a brief second, she thought about using All For One. While she had said that it was an awful power, her curiosity was palpable, to say the very least. And while she found the whole concept of ripping away something so personal from someone to be disgusting, for all she knew, it might not have been as bad as she had imagined.
However, again, there was the problem of figuring out how to use it. How was she going to use it without coming across as a horrible person? She couldn't just walk up to someone, place her hand on their head, and drain them of their power because she was "testing it out" and then not expect to get beat up.
It was wrong.
It was gross.
It might as well have been a form of rape.
And yet, for some strange reason, the urge she had to do it was almost unbearable. It had been mounting up for the last few days—and maybe it was because she hadn't slept, but she felt like a damn about to burst. The sweat trailing down the side of her face was a testament to that.
But even so… it was wrong. And while she had done a bad thing before, that didn't mean she wanted to do another, equally as bad thing again. Looking away from Arla, Luz frowned. "All For One…." Luz murmured, looking down at her hands again, for the second time in the hour, before frowning. "A power of The Chosen One…" Her frown transformed into a scowl before she scoffed. "Yeah, if they're a villain…." Luz grumbled. And with that, she stepped outside of the cabin, stopped just before the campfire pit, and looked up into the night sky.
When she first saw the stars in the sky, she thought them to be beautiful, majestic even. But now? She didn't really care. Probably because she was tired. They lost their spectacle and became just another thing for her tired eyes to distract herself with. She walked over to the put-out campfire, and sat down on one of the logs, draping her arms over her legs as she leaned forward.
A wave of various emotions came over her. Anger, sadness, frustration, and worst of all, stress. Nothing had happened in the last four days, which was weirding her out. No contact had been made with the other two teams, no one wanted to leave the confines of the base, and no one had mentioned anything about seeing anyone nearby. All of it was causing her paranoia to skyrocket.
What were they planning? Were they planning to invade one another? Wipe each other out? Were they planning to team up and attack them? She didn't know, and it was freaking her out. Moreso due to the fact that, again, she wasn't thinking straight, which she knew.
Luz groaned, looking down at the ground with a frown on her face. How was she supposed to be a leader while she was sleep-deprived and unable to function properly without bugging out? She had hardly any confidence in herself from the get-go, and to make matters worse, she couldn't keep a coherent thought together for longer than a few seconds before her brain began to shut down from tiredness.
Luz was annoyed. That much was obvious. Everyone here was, but there was something else boiling within her that had been allowed to seep out ever-so-slightly.
Her anger.
The last time her anger exploded was when the thing with Amber happened. And now, she could feel it happen again. There was one person whose fault this really was. Her stress, her lack of sleep, the fact that she was here now instead of at the place she was supposed to be at.
Governor Rodger Maxwell.
For some, unknown, stupid reason, a smile began to take up her face. It spread from one side of her face to the other, the corners of her mouth upturned in a predatory, downright manic smile. Her eyes gleamed with the same calm, cold rage that a serial killer would inhabit.
And there was only one thought bouncing around in her head.
One of revenge.
"Once this is over… Maxwell is going to pay for this with his life."
"Luz?" And just then, she was broken out of her thoughts, causing her to look in the direction of where the voice had come from, and it was none other than….
[XXXX]
The Wittebane family. A family that was known for two things: The founding of Gravesfield, and owning the largest Mega Church in all of America. It was more right to call it a castle, because not only did the Wittebane family live in it, it also acted as a Church.
Julia Scotsman Wittebane, until recently, was the youngest member of the family, and compared to her father, she was a saint. She treated everyone as if they were a person, even the "dirty poor's" as her father would say. She cared not for how a person looked. As long as they didn't commit horrible crimes, she viewed everyone as a person.
That was the major difference between her and Tyler Kirkman Wittebane. Whereas he viewed anyone who wasn't him, his wife, and his lineage as nothing but dirty, pathetic, wastes of air, Julia saw them as the opposite.
Julia was embarrassed by her family's past. After all, in the 1600s through the 1800s they hunted anything that wasn't white, believed in the Christian God, and God-Forbid you happened to be a former slave…. From the 1850s to the early 1900s, they were staunch believers in segregation and even went as far as to believe the Nazis were good, even after the reveal of the Genocide they committed.
Of course, there were a few good apples sprinkled about. There was Gary Wittebane, who lived from 1670 to 1720 and donated most of his wealth to orphanages across the country. There was Jackie Wittebane, who lived from 1844 to 1901 and opened several soup kitchens across southern America for the homeless. Then there was Stan Wittebane, who was the shortest-lived and happened to be Tyler's Grandfather, who lived from 1922 to 1943 and was one of the people who discovered and reported back about the Jewish Concentration Camps. He died shortly after that, being killed on the D-Day Siege.
But, out of very few descendants that had been good people, most of them were not. And no matter how much good those few people did, it did not wash away the stains that had been left on their family name. She never viewed her family as the heroes they proclaimed themselves to be. Some days, she was ashamed of being a Wittebane, but even then, she had to try.
She was going to be the good one, she decided. She wasn't going to be like what her father wanted, even if it got her kicked from their family home. Though, that didn't mean she wouldn't do as he asked. After all, just because she wanted to be better, it didn't mean she had to forgo her religion. It wasn't the religion that made her father as bad as he was. She simply believed that he was born evil, and used God to justify his cruelty.
So, every Sunday she went to Church. When she was asked to, she knocked on doors to spread the word of her God and the Lord Jesus Christ. She always donated when asked, and it wasn't small amounts. It was large sums, and it was entirely to Children's hospitals and smaller churches. She even often chipped in around the town, constantly going out and protesting bills that were seen as awful by the wider public, like that one bill that mentioned something about trying to ban Abortions for the eighth time that decade.
But, aside from that, Julia lived a rather sheltered life. Her family had a few rules: no Television, for it was sinful. No non-Christian Media, especially books related to magic and witchcraft, and absolutely no LGBTQ discussions, for it was "disgusting" and "immoral." Which proved to be a problem when Julia discovered that she found girls attractive.
Like, a massive problem.
Like, to the point where, when she was found out by her father, it was when she was caught kissing a girl at her Girls only school. Stacy was her name. They had a secret relationship, and one day, at the back of the school, when they thought they were alone one thing led to another, and they had begun making out.
And then, she guessed her father was looking for her, and Tyler found her doing "ungodly things" with Stacy. And when they were found out, Stacy's parents also found out. Julia was removed from the school, and the last she had heard, Stacy had committed suicide after being verbally and physically abused by her father.
And it wasn't much better for her, either. She was locked in her room and was forced to be home-schooled. Her mother tried to fight it, but Tyler was a far more dominant man. And, well… she suddenly listened to everything that Tyler said. Leaving Julia with no one. Well, no one but the butlers. They were still nice.
There were days when Tyler would read bible passages to her about how it was wrong to be with the same sex. Beat her whenever he felt like she is "giving into her sinful ways" and when he found her secret stash of comics and books consisting of the X-Men, Harry Potter, and The Dresden Files, she was forced to burn them.
It devastated her. Especially when she had to burn the X-Men comics. Those were the last things that she had to remember Stacy by since she had been the one to have purchased them. She had cried herself to sleep that night, but at least, she had thought, that her life couldn't have gotten any worse.
Until last week.
The final straw was her Super Power awakening. Her vines. She hated them with a burning passion. Because of them, her mother and father disowned her completely and kicked her out of the house the day before she was sent to this place. All of her friends, including the ones that she had thought would have never abandoned her, did just that.
The only place she had left to go was St Peter's Liturgical Church, and even then, she felt wrong for being there. Not because of any unjust looks or glances, but because it just felt wrong. It felt wrong to be in a house of God when those who had been so intrinsically tied to it left her to die. At first, she thought it was figurative, but now, it had become literal.
It was funny. She found herself in a similar situation to all those people that her father laughed at, calling them beneath her and her family. She was without a home, with only a suitcase, a few changes of clothes, a couple of snacks, and her phone with a charger. Sure, it was more than what some people could claim to have, but going from living in luxury to living on the streets with nothing but a handful of things to her name was a shock to the system.
Her only saving grace was a nun at St Peter's letting her inside to sleep in one of the backrooms so that she didn't get soaked by the rain that had been projected to come down that night. It would've been awful otherwise. But, in a sea of nothing but despair, one splash of hope meant a whole lot of nothing. Especially when she was still homeless.
At least she had RCSC to look forward to, which she was originally opposed to going to. But now, considering she was homeless and without proper shelter or people to rely on, she had been excited. At least, all until she had been hit in the back of the head with the butt of a gun.
And now, it turned into some stupid death game. A death game that, should they not comply by the end of the summer and do what the Governor wanted, i.e. kill each other, they would've been carpet-bombed and killed anyway. It was a lose-lose situation, and it had left her drained.
And when all hope seemed lost, when she was left with nothing, there was one beacon of light left in her life. And it came in the form of a brown-skinned angel with a name that quite literally translated into the word "Light".
Luz Noceda was, by far, one of the only good things to come from this nightmare scenario. She was kind, if not a little rough around the edges due to random mood shifts that caused her to do silly things. She was excitable, and she was as cute as a button. In a lot of ways, she remembered Julia of Stacy, just without the obvious ADHD.
But, it wasn't like that had detracted from anything. If anything, it made her even more adorable. But, that was a conversation for another time. Her crush on her leader had nothing to do with this conversation. Because while that was one of the many upsides of knowing Luz, there was another upside.
An upside that could possibly save her.
Originally, from what Luz had told Julia, was that she could see who had powers, and she had tiny holes in the palms of her hands, and people with powers had strings attached to their heads. She didn't know what that meant, and neither did Luz. But, power-wise, Julia had completely disregarded Luz. Not that she needed power, mind you. All she needed was to be nice and lead them to victory.
Sure, there were a few bumps in the road, one of these bumps being named Judy. But, aside from that, things had been moving pretty smoothly.
But then, Luz explained what her power was. All For One. The power to take other's powers from them and make them hers.
A power perfect for curing Julia of her curse.
If Luz could take away her stupid vines, and while she had no intention of returning to her family, at least then, she could go back to being the person she was. Maybe, at the very least, her old friends would take her back. Would be with her again.
Maybe, just maybe, if she survived this, she could take over The Mega Church from her father, remove him from the family, completely and utterly, and free her mother and potential sibling from him and his manipulative ways.
And maybe, just maybe, she didn't have to be alone either.
Of course, she knew things probably wouldn't have been that simple, but at least she could try! At least then she could have a chance.
The only thing that had stopped her on the first day of finding out that Luz had the power to strip powers from others was a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that it was a stupid idea. After all, she was in a Death Game surrounded by others with superpowers. She would become fodder rather easily and god-forbid that she was caught by anyone outside of her team. She would be killed faster than she could defend herself.
And besides, there were times when her power had come in handy. Such as when that tree had nearly fallen on the cabin that Luz was sleeping in. But, at what point did the positives outweigh the negatives?
Sure, it came in handy, but when it was one of the reasons that she was now homeless, at what point did one keep to that power? She had a way to get rid of it, so why not? All she had to do was approach Luz and ask. It was just that simple, right?
So then why, oh why, was she so nervous about it?
Sitting atop the rear wall of The Alpha Squadron base wall, staring out into the wilderness, as the wind blew back her hair, Julia couldn't help but feel more than a little nervous about what Luz would say. What if she said no? Would she just continuously beg her?
Then came the fact that Luz was incredibly sleep-deprived, and hadn't slept in days. What if she said the wrong thing and upset her? After all, people who haven't slept in a while are prone to snapping more easily.
But even so, she needed to try.
If Luz could cure her of her suffering, then she would get on her hands and knees if she had to. She didn't care if it embarrassed her, she would do it anyway. And so, getting down from the wall, she began to walk back to the cabins to see if Luz was still in there, because she had been trying to get some sleep, no less thanks to her chewing her out for it.
As she walked around to the front of the base, she couldn't help but get flustered. What if she said yes right off the bat? What if she was all for it and she was just worried? Or, what if the opposite was true? What if she got mad at her for even suggesting the idea? What if her worrying was justified? Julia didn't know what to think, but whatever the outcome was, she just hoped that it didn't hinder their friendship.
Once she reached the front of the base, she spotted Luz sitting at the campfire, slouched and looking at the floor. Had she passed out sitting at the campfire? Or was she still awake? Nervously, Julia called out to her, keeping her voice down so that she didn't wake the others. "Luz?"
As soon as she had spoken out her name, Luz perked up immediately, before looking over her shoulder. When their eyes met, Julia could tell that hers were bloodshot and red from the lack of sleep. She looked like someone who had just smoked a half-a-pound of crack, at least, when it came to the bloodshotness in her eyes.
She really needed to sleep.
"Julia?" Luz asked, standing up as she did. "I was wondering where you were."
"I was sitting on the edge of the southern wall, watching the forest. I'm sorry if I worried you," Julia began as Luz smiled softly, as if relaxed.
"It's alright, I'm just glad you're okay," Luz responded as Julia nodded. She approached Luz, stopping just a few feet in front of her. This was the moment of truth. If she was going to ask, she would do so now.
"Luz… I know this is going to sound weird. But… can you take away my Vines?"
As if erased by a chalkboard eraser, Luz lost all emotion on her face, her expression becoming blank, and her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly. As if she was insulted by the very notion of her suggestion. It caused Julia to flinch at the sudden shift. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I-I-I wanted to know if you—"
"No, I heard you," Luz replied, crossing her arms, frowning. "Why? You do realize that you could get killed easily if I do this, right?"
Julia blinked. That was true, but she thought that she was mad because of the idea as a whole. Not for her safety…. "I thought you were mad at the whole idea…. Is that all you're worried about?"
"Is that all I'm worried about? Are you seriously asking that?" Luz asked, incredulously with a raised eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, I'm curious to see what would happen. It would be my first time doing it. But that's not the issue. The issue is the situation we're in. Did you even think of that?"
"Yes, I did. I know the risks. I understand that it could get me in trouble. But…" Julia paused, looking away from Luz's gaze for a moment. Luz shifted her weight to one leg, tilting her head to the side in a questioning gaze as if she were trying to analyze her.
"But what?"
"My power is the sole reason for ruining my life," Julia said, as Luz's expression softened.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly that. My family hates me because of it, my friends abandoned me, and my Church kicked me out. The only place I felt safe after that was St Peter's, and even then I felt so far out of place there, it wasn't even funny," Julia explained as Luz uncrossed her arms, and stood straight, her frown shifting from annoyance to sadness.
But Julia wasn't finished. "Luz, I beg of you, please… please remove this curse from me. It's done me nothing but harm to myself. I know it's a lot to ask for, but please, I beg of you!" Julia all but exclaimed, even getting down on her knees in the process. She was begging, and it looked ridiculous. Her hands were clasped together as she looked up at Luz, a sprinkle of hope in her eyes.
For a moment, Luz's hand twitched, as if tempted. And for just a moment, Julia could've sworn that her left eye flashed red. Maybe it was a trick of the eye, or maybe it was because of the angle, but her whole pupil turned from a shade of golden brown to a deep, crimson red, before returning to normal.
There was a long, agonizing, drawn-out silence that caused Julia to lose hope. Of course, she wouldn't do it. It was stupid of her to ask, she should've just—
"Fine."
And then, without any hesitation, Luz placed her hand on Julia's forehead. Her fingers grasped against the top of her head, her palm lying flat against her forehead, as Luz took in a deep breath, exhaling, and then speaking. "I don't know what will happen when I do this. For all I know, this could be the most painful thing in the whole world. But just know, you asked for this. If you get hurt because of this, this will not be my fault, do you understand?"
Julia hummed in affirmation. And as soon as she did, Luz's arm began to spark red. Red, crackling electricity began to bounce up and down her arm, as if she was amping herself up. She inhaled, then exhaled, and as soon as she did, the red sparks of electricity began to surge, and travel toward the palm of her hand, which was directly touching Julia's forehead.
And as soon as the two connected, Luz's grip on her head increased, her eyes narrowed, as if focusing, and then, a moment later, a surge-like feeling washed over Julia, causing her pupils to dilate, and for her body to feel like it was on fire.
Her muscles locked in place, her bones ground to a halt, and all she could do was sit there and take it. In the darkness, there was only Luz, the red light given off by All For One working its magic, and the light of the moon, casting a shadow over them.
The way the shadows washed over Luz, it completely covered her eyes, and slowly, a smile spread across her face. One that intimidated rather than relaxed. That, mixed with the pain that she was feeling, only one thing came from it.
Fear.
And when someone was afraid, and in pain, what was something that they did?
They screamed.
Julia screamed, and it was shrill and filled with pain and fear. But not once did Luz flinch. Not once did she stop or pull away, she kept going, and it got worse. It was agonizing as if she was being ripped open and splayed apart of the world to see. Like someone was taking a knife to her and carving her open. It was horrible, and it only got worse with every passing micro-second.
Time seemed to slow, and it got to the point where Julia was starting to drool from her body being essentially fried. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and just as it came to a crescendo, it stopped.
Julia crumpled to the ground, her breathing heavy as sweat and tears fell from her face as she looked up at Luz, who now had vines growing from her fingertips, her arm still sparking with red electricity. Her face had a smile on it, staring at the vines, before glancing down at Julia. The smile disappeared, as did the vines, as she got down to Julia's level, reaching out to her.
For some reason, Julia flinched, inching away, afraid. Luz stopped, backing away slightly. "Julia? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah… I-I…" She paused, her eyes still stinging with tears. "I-I… that hurt… it hurt a lot…."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would hurt that badly," Luz said, before reaching out to her again. This time, Julia accepted the hand, as Luz helped her stand up. She glanced back at the cabins, but no one had come outside.
Had they even woken up? Were they still asleep? If so, then that was—
Suddenly, a weight was put on Julia, and when she looked back, Luz had practically fallen into her chest, eyes closed and breathing softly. She had passed out. Julia quickly corrected how Luz had fallen, lifting her up before scooping her up into her arms, holding her bridal style. She was a little heavier than Julia had expected, but that didn't matter.
All that mattered was that now, finally, Luz was asleep. And more than that, she had done what she had asked. She had stripped her from the curse that she had been burdened with. She walked her back into the cabin, before slowly laying her down on her bed. The way she curled into herself made her look far too vulnerable.
Julia brushed her hand across the side of Luz's face, before turning away and walking over to her bed. As she sat down, just for good measure, she tried to bring forth her vines, only for nothing to happen. Good. That meant that they were gone for good.
And so, with nothing else to do, Julia laid down on her side, closed her eyes, then went to sleep. Now, she could finally be happy, and maybe, just maybe, things would start to get better for her.
Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, however. The next two days were going to be a living hell. And there was nothing that anyone could've done to stop it. No amount of planning, no amount of foresight, and certainly no amount of power could've stopped what would happen in the coming days.
An event so tragic.
An event so twisted.
An event so horrible.
An event so barbaric, that it would plunge the small town of Gravesfield into darkness.
And that event would later be written down in history as….
The Massacre Of Fools.
[-To Be Continued-]
[Ending Song: Life – By: Rude-a]
*The ending opens up with Luz sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring up at the sky with a twinkle in her eyes, all the while the sound of a guitar strumming peacefully, followed by drums matching the tempo, like a serene melody, as a disembodied voice begins to sing.*
"Lately I don't know to do"
"Hurry up, my mind is one the moon"
"Flying up to where the wind blew"
*The scene stays the same, as wind blows through Luz's hair, still staring up at the sky, before looking down at the palm of her hands, a curious gleam to her eyes. Suddenly, a hand places itself on Luz's shoulder, as she looks over it to see Julia, smiling, before she sits next to Luz. This is followed by Stanley, who sits on the other side of her. Luz smiles, as more people around her age start pooling around her, sitting, staring out at the sky above as the clouds rolls past. All the while the disembodied voice continues*
"Overflowin' in the palm of my hand, passion to be who I am"
"Spent my days all just wandering this world"
"But then there's only you who's shining and pure"
"A rusty knife'll never cut a thing now; I am burning like a fire gone wild."
*The scene changes slightly, as a total of 33 people stand around and sit next to Luz, staring up at the sky, pointing out things that look to be strange. Julia has an arm wrapped around Luz's shoulder, whereas Stanley is ruffling her hair. Kennedy looms behind both of them, smirking, as if pleased with himself as the disembodied voice continues.*
"Like in the moment that my heart began to open"
"And it had the chance to scream, loud and unbroken"
"Everything was different from that moment on, if I don't try, I'll never know."
*The scene begins to change, the subtle strum of an electric guitar, signifying something. The wind blows harder, as if trying to push them away. The clouds darken as the sun begins to set, and as it does, people begin to disappear, starting with a few people in the back. One or two people vanish, but that's all. Luz, however, looks upset, closing her eyes, her expression changing to a solemn one as the disembodied voice continues*
"I wonder why the flowers are blooming."
"Your voice still echoes out in my heart."
*More people begin to disappear, but this time more rapidly. They're not walking away. They're simply disappearing. Vanishing from sight. Leaving Luz all alone. It gets worse as it comes down to only three people. Kennedy, Julia, and Stanley. First, it's Julia, who gets up from where she's sitting, and wanders off into the forest. It makes Luz's eyes widen, her solemnness turning into Despair. Then it's Stanley, which makes her look to her left. He waves to her, before going into the forest. Then, it's Kennedy, who stuffs his hands in his pockets and leaves. Luz's eyes water, and she looks away, before looking back up at the sky, the moon taking the place of the sun. All the while the disembodied voice continues*
"Tell me why I just shouted to the sky?"
"But you are no, no longer here, that's right."
"Remembering the adventure we went on called life!"
"Just a fleeting moment…!"
"Call it just a dream, 'cause I don't mind it."
"I'll save you from the present, the one so torn and riddled with scars."
*As Luz is left alone on the cliff, tears in her eyes, the guitar strums a solemn tone. Her tears are wiped away by an older man–All For One–who puts a hand on her shoulder. Julia sits back down next to Luz, holding her hand, which makes her smile. Now it's All For One looming behind her, his expression one of pride. The ending finishes with a few more strums of the guitar, and near the end, All For One's eyes glow a deep shade of red.*