Belos watched as an Abomaton soldier carried a large cable over to the reconstructed Portal Door. The Abomaton connected the cable to the apparatus around the door, and upon doing so, the gate started to glow brightly. The Portal Door's center eye shined even brighter, now fully powered up and ready to take Belos back to the Human Realm for which he so longed for. The key to the door dangled around his neck as he gazed upon the door longingly. His right hand clutched at the key, he could almost smell the fresh, untainted air of Earth, and see the lush green grass and leaves, and clear blue skies. Soon he would be rid of this filthy world, and back to where he belonged, amongst his fellow humans.
"Heheheheh-hahahahaha!"
His enjoyment of this moment was cut short as a child's laughter cut through his reminiscing. The shadow form of the Collector appeared behind Belos, his massive face grinning in an unnaturally wide smile as he looked down at the fake witch.
"You nervous?" the Collector asked. The shadow form shrunk down as he said, "You haven't been home in, like, how many hundreds of years? What if it all changed? What if you changed? I mean, you've gotten so used to eating Palismen, you can barely keep your human shape anymore."
Belos took offense to that, which showed as he morphed his left arm into its cursed monstrous form and struck the wall where the Collector's shadow was. The Collector swiftly dodged it as Belos' fist impacted. A trail of the decaying slime followed the path of his extended arm as it slithered back and reformed back into his normal arm.
"You needn't concern yourself with that, Collector. I've been keeping as up to date with my home as best I can. I know that technology has advanced, based on what washes up on the shores of this world. But I doubt the core beliefs of my people have changed that much," Belos retorted.
"Heheheheh! I can't wait to get outta this prison!" The Collector flew over to the Portal Door as he said, "There are so many games I wanna play. If we need a third player, we can make another Grimwalker!"
The Collector shifted his shadowy body to form a hand rising from the ground to illustrate his point.
"No, not until I've dealt with this one. It would be far too complicated to have two of him walking about," Belos stated.
"Oh, what about another of those monsters? They blew up your last one, and now you only have the other one left," the Collector pointed out.
The Oracle Super Phantom appeared from the shadows, and Belos waved off his concern.
"No worries, it served its purpose. Thanks to these two, the Isles see that Little False Witch and her partner in crime as menaces, untrustworthy. The damage has been done, and these gullible rubes can take care of the rest," said Belos. "Besides, I have plenty more where they came from if I need more."
The false Emperor of the Boiling Isles glanced at the remaining Super Phantom at his side and smirked at it.
"Go forth and do as you please. There's nothing left that I need from you. But do not disrupt the ritual," Belos warned.
The Super Oracle Phantom bowed its head and disappeared into the shadows, off to do whatever it wanted, so long as it didn't go against its master's wishes.
"Hmmm…fine! But when are you gonna let me out?!"
The Collector's patience was wearing a little thin as he stretched his shadow form in a spiral pattern around the room, creating multiple visages of his face.
"Just free me already! You prooooomiiiiiiiisssed!" he whined.
"A promise for a promise, Collector. I need to make sure the Draining Spell will work, just like you promised. And then, once it has, I will free you, like I promised," Belos retorted as he walked along.
"Humph, you need to have more faith in pinkie swears," the Collector scolded.
"Don't worry, Collector. Your patience will be rewarded very soon…"
Belos stood before a pair of familiar double doors, the room that he occupied was the ancient room hidden within the skull of the Titan, the place where used Luz and Lilith to obtain the disk that allowed him to contact the Collector and set all of this in motion. But now the time was nigh, the dominos were lined up, and everything was in place.
"The Day of Unity is about to begin…"
Miles away, at Blight Industries, shipments were still being sent out to the site of the ceremony. An airship was docked at the facility's private landing pad as the Abomaton soldiers worked tirelessly to load the ship while a small handful of Conven Scouts overlooked their progress. At the helm of the airship was none other than Kikimora, the former left hand of the Emperor was now forced into the mundane roll of a lowly freight delivery pilot for the Emperor's Coven. And as she stood at the helm, she was forced to listen to Odalia speak as the CEO of Blight Industries checked off items on her list.
"I was devastated to hear of your demotion, Kikimora," said Odalia.
"Please stop talking to me," Kikimora grumbled in annoyance.
"Personally, I liked you better than that turncloak Golden Guard. If only there was a way to show Belos your true worth," Odalia lamented as she disembarked from the ship.
Kikimora rolled her eyes. "'If only there was a way to show Belos your' – bah! Hey, let's get out of here!"
The Coven Scout drew a spell circle and closed the ramp to the airship. Meanwhile, across from the airship, Edric, Emira, and Amity were watching from afar.
"You really think this is a good idea?" Emira asked.
"Nope," Amity answered.
"But you're going to do it, anyway, aren't you?" Edric inquired.
"Yep," Amity confirmed.
Emira sighed. "Mittens, you know how Mom is. Even if you tell her what's really going on, she's not going to believe you."
"And in the worst case, she won't care. Not unless you're planning on revealing you're Heka, 'cause then…yeesh, that's going to get ugly," Edric added.
"I'd rather not, but if I have to, then so be it. Someone has to tell Mom about the Draining Spell. She's helping in the mass genocide of the entire Boiling Isles. And if we don't, she and Dad are going to end up dead too," Amity reasoned. The lavender haired witch spotted someone coming and hurriedly grabbed her siblings and told them, "Get down!"
The Blight siblings crawled on their hands and knees as they got to the edge of the crates they were hiding behind. From there, they spotted their father approaching the dock.
"I've got that little gremlin on the hook," Odalia mused. "She'll be a perfect test subject for a new product."
"Odalia, I'm starting to think supplying the Emperor's Coven with the Abomatons was not the correct course of action," said Alador.
"Pardon? And why would you think that?" Odalia asked with an annoyed tone.
"The increased security of at the Day of Unity for one."
Odalia scoffed. "Considering that those fugitives, Witch and Heka, are still on the loose, it makes all the sense in the world my dear. If they were going to attack, the Day of Unity would be the prime target for them. Everyone on the Isles will be there, the Emperor, plus the Coven Heads. If they wanted to secure control of the Boiling Isles, attacking there would be the most logical. Taking out all their opposition in one fell swoop. Extra security seems more than welcome."
"It's not just that, Odalia. Something has felt off about this from the beginning. Especially the supposed criminality of the two Kamen Riders. It all feels too…convenient, too orchestrated," Alador argued. "I think we need to reassess our involvement with the Emperor."
Odalia furrowed her brow as she glared at her husband indignantly. "Blights always uphold their end of the deal, dear. That's what you said to me not too long ago. If you had concerns, then you should've raised them months ago. And now you want to back out on the very day our products are needed most? Do you wish to see all that we have worked for get destroyed in an instant?"
"A blow to our reputation will be a small price to pay if it means we absolve ourselves of something potentially harmful to the public," Alador retorted.
Odalia smirked as she rubbed the crystal ball pendant between her right thumb and index finger. "Is that so? Perhaps it's time I reconsidered our deal then, Alador. It might be time for the kids to play a more active role in Blight Industries. I could start the paperwork right now."
Alador looked shocked for a moment and shifted his gaze to a glare. The two adults held their glares for a few seconds before Alador added, "Do you even care about our children, Odalia?"
That seemed to catch Odalia off guard. "Wha-What?"
"Do you care?" he repeated.
"What does that have to do with anything right now?" Odalia argued.
"Because that's why I said what I said. I feel as if something bad will befall them, so long as we continue this course. If you do care–"
"Oh, don't even!" Odalia interrupted as she took a step forward, causing her husband to take a step back. "We had an arrangement, Alador. I take care of the kids and the business, while you do your job and continue to invent newer items for us to sell. And all I asked of you is to agree with me when I needed you to. But now you're…I don't know what this is! Now you suddenly care about the children. Ha!"
Alador clenched his fists. It wasn't as if he could deny such claims. His presence in their lives until now had been absent at best, negligible at the least. "…You're right. I haven't exactly been there as much for the children. But I think that needs to change. I've taken steps towards that. So, yes, I do care. And I have yet to hear you give me an answer to my question, Odalia."
"I care, and what I do, I do for their future and our future," Odalia sniped. "I'm certainly doing more than you, considering how you've been allowing our daughter to run around with that dangerous piece of equipment, and letting her become partners with a criminal!"
Now Alador was completely shocked, and so were Edric, Emira, and Amity.
"What are you talking about?" Alador inquired.
"You don't think I don't know what goes on in my own home?" Odalia smirked. "I know about your little hidden lab. I just didn't know what you were creating down there, but when I saw the schematics for a device like Witch's, well…"
Amity's eyes widened as her mind was putting it altogether.
Hunter's Driver…Inquisitor's Driver…I was wondering how the Emperor got ahold of the method to create one, but I didn't think…
"It would seem he had some help, Kitten. In this case…your mother's," said Bast. "Wait…AMITY, BEHIND YOU!"
Amity quickly turned around and watched as an Abomaton quickly scooped up both Edric and Emira in its large goo hand, encasing them in the goo until only their head and necks were visible.
"ED! EM!" Amity cried out as she sprang to her feet.
Alador turned towards the noise and spotted his children, two of which were currently captured. "Edric! Emira! Amity!"
"They're fine, but in your case…"
Odalia concentrated as the crystal ball pendant began to glow. A ghostly apparition appeared from the pendant and attacked Alador. The ghost swept Alador's legs from under him, and slammed him onto the ground, pinning his hands so that he couldn't draw a spell circle, or reach for any of his devices.
"DAD!" Amity cried out as she prepared to cast a spell.
The Abomaton that had captured Edric and Emira used its free hand to shoot out two tendrils of goo, both of which latched around Amity's hands, preventing her from drawing any spell circles. Once Amity had been captured as well, the Abomaton lifted her so that she was hovering about two feet off the ground. The robotic slime creation marched towards were Odalia was and presented Amity to her mother.
"I've tolerated your rebellious nature too long. Obviously I should've been stricter with you. Now you've got yourself involved with that criminal Witch," Odalia sighed heavily before looking down at her husband. "And you. I can't believe you went and kept a device like that secret! Do you have any idea how much of a profit we could've made with that if we mass produced those things?! Forget the Abomatons, we could've had an army of Riders! Tch, we could've even made them different types with stronger upgrades! We could've made a killing!"
"Mom are you listening yourself right now?!" Amity shouted. "Do you realize what you've done?!"
"Amity, please, I'm already not in the mood for it." Odalia complained.
The matriarch of the Blight family walked up to Amity and reached into her pockets. Amity struggled, but it was no use, her mother managed to take out all her rings, her Arms rings, transformation rings, and her Driver ring. Odalia held the rings in her left hand and gazed upon the ring that bared Heka's face for a moment.
"Until the Day of Unity is over, you and your siblings are grounded. And I'll hang onto these to ensure you don't get any ideas."
"Mom, you need to listen to me! The Day of Unity is not what you think! And neither is Belos! He's – HUMPH!" Amity was suddenly silenced as some goo wrapped around her mouth.
"Enough! Now then…" Odalia placed the rings in her left pocket as she reached into her right pocket with her right hand. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but it seems you've left me no choice."
Odalia took out a crystal ball pendant that reminded Amity of the one she crushed way back when. The matriarch of the Blight family knelt next to her husband and slipped the pendant around Alador's neck. Once it was on, Odalia pinched the pendant she had and made it glow. As soon as it did, Alador's pendant glowed at the same time. The pendant glowed brighter as Alador struggled a bit, but after a moment, his struggling stopped. Alador slowly rose to his feet, but when he turned to face his children, the inventor's eyes were now glowing the same color as the pendant.
"DAD!" the Emira and Edric exclaimed.
"Don't fret, he's alright. He's just more compliant. Things will be this way until the Day of Unity is complete and we're living in paradise."
Odalia reached into Amity's other pocket and pulled out the device that Luz had given Amity to communicate.
"That human gave you this tacky little bobble didn't she? Tch." Odalia dropped the device on the ground and stepped on it as it gave a loud crunching sound.
Amity's eyes widened with anger and panic. That was the only other way for her to contact Luz, and her mother just destroyed it.
"Now take them back to the mansion and relay the order to the rest of the Abomatons that they are not to leave the grounds!" Odalia ordered.
The Abomaton's eyes glowed after receiving the order. The machine turned around and began walking away with Amity and twins. Amity glanced over her shoulder, seeing the glowing blank eyes of her father and the cold, calculating eyes of their mother as she and him walked off to do more work.
Luz…I'm sorry…Belos' power…it's all my fault.
Meanwhile, back at the CATs headquarters, everyone at hard work making preparations for their plan to stop the Day of Unity and bring down Belos. Luz was sitting on her bunk with La Lechuza perched on her right knee. Luz had to change her clothes as her hoody and leggings had taken a beating during her little tussle with Eda. She now sported baggy beige pants, brown boots, and a light-purple shirt under Eda's letterman jacket. At this point, the Owl Lady pretty much gave it to Luz. Her hair had grown out some, making it necessary to tie it into a wolf-tail. As she sat, Luz took out the Tamagotchi device that she used to send messages to Amity. Unfortunately, her girlfriend hadn't seen any new messages. Luz scrolled through her previous received messages, with the last one coming to her this morning.
[Going to talk to Mom. Need to try and stop Day of Unity. Talk soon.]
Eda walked from around the corner and peered down at the little emojis that made up the letters of Luz and Amity's messages. She tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What kind of language is that?"
"Uh, the language of love," Luz informed.
"If it makes you feel any better, it took me a while to decipher all of that myself," La Lechuza admitted.
"Well, glad I'm not the only one," Eda replied with relief.
"Special delivery!" King announced as he brought a small crate filled with Coven Scout masks. "Ta-da!"
"Ooh! Disguises! Yes!" Lilith giddily exclaimed. "A milestone of malfeasance in my new life of crime!"
"This is just a trick to get me to wear clothes! Well, it won't work!" Hooty protested.
Eda rolled her eyes while Luz chuckled at Hooty's antics.
"Anything else I can do? Grab some tea? Defeat some baddies? Create sentient life? I am a Ti–"
Eda hurriedly got down on one knee and placed a hand over King's snout to stop him from finishing that sentence. "Totally frightened? Ha! Yeah, me too, pal." The Owl Lady glanced about, making sure no one heard King say he was a Titan. "I know you wanna help, but we gotta keep this stuff a secret between us five for now."
"But we told the others that Luz is Witch," King retorted.
"Yes, we did. But Luz has been fighting Phantoms and other things for the past few months. And besides, you may be a Titan, but you're still a little guy. For now, keep it a secret between us," Eda urged.
King sighed and nodded in his head. He hated that he couldn't do more to help the others. What good was learning that he was a living god if he couldn't use that to help the people he cared most about? Although, he did see Eda's point, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He had his Titan Cry, but other than that, he didn't have any other godly powers to speak of. It would probably take years before he could unlock all of his Titan powers, but unfortunately, they didn't have years. Sometimes being young had its disadvantages.
"Alright, let's get this briefing over with," Darius announced.
Everyone gathered to the table where a map of the ceremonial grounds for the Day of Unity was to be held. Steve was dressed up in his Coven Scout uniform, acting as their inside man. While he had renounced his allegiance to Belos, he hadn't quit the Coven. Which made him perfect for gathering intel on what was happening on the ground and would help grant them access to other areas if need be. Once everyone was assembled, the briefing began.
"Okay, we have twenty-four hours until the Day of Unity begins, and Belos activates the Draining Spell," Raine informed.
"And everyone on the Boiling Isles is taken out in one fell swoop," Darius added as he used his arm to clear the table of the pawn pieces.
"Well, not everyone. The spell only targets those with Coven Sigils, using the nine types of magic as ingredients for the spell itself." Raine pointed to the center of the map, showing nine circles each colored to represent the nine magic types. "It's channeled through each of the Coven Heads during the duration of the eclipse."
"So, what's the plan? Do we hide one of you?" Lilith inquired.
Raine shook their head. "We can't count on that after my stunt with the BATs."
"Belos made sure we all have replacements," said Darius.
"Then, what if we disrupt the ceremony?" Luz asked. "The Draining Spell can only work during the eclipse, right?"
"So far as we know, yes," said Raine.
"Then…" Luz sighed. "I'll play the bad guy here."
"What are you saying?" Eda asked.
"Look, after what Belos did, everyone sees me as the bad guy. So, it wouldn't be out of the question if Witch showed up to stop the entire thing," Luz explained. "I'll swoop in, blow some things up, make the Coven Heads scatter, and then Belos can't complete the spell."
"Wait," Darius spoke up, "Didn't you tell us that Belos also has Rider powers? Do you think you can beat him?"
"At that point, it's not a question of if I can beat him. It's a matter of stalling him. The longer I can drag out the fight, the less time he'll have to complete the spell. Once the eclipse is over, he won't be able to do the Draining Spell again. We can focus on defeating Belos after that," Luz stated.
Eda sighed as she said, "Kid, while that does sound good in theory, there's something you're not taking into account."
Luz tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What?"
"Belos has been working towards this for hundreds of years. This is everything his plotting and scheming led up to. Just because you're human like he was, doesn't mean he'll hesitate to end you. Belos will take the kill shot if he thinks it'll get the Day of Unity back on track," Eda warned.
"Then I'll–!"
"Do what?" Eda interrupted.
Luz hesitated. She was going to say "defeat Belos", but "defeating" wasn't the same as killing. Eda was right, Belos has killed people before. And while Luz has destroyed several monsters up till now, she's never had to kill someone. Her mind flashed back to Oscura, the scarred embodiment of herself when she went too far. Even though Luz was not in possession of a Philosopher's Stone, her current Rider powers alone could end the lives of several people if she took that one step over the line.
"You're not a killer, Luz, and that's why, even if you do all you can, Belos is going to kill you while you're focused more on stalling. He won't be playing around this time," Eda warned.
La Lechuza looked up at Luz and added, "I agree with Eda. You needn't sully your hands with his blood, and the last thing I want is to see you harmed."
Luz sighed as she sat down. "I understand."
"If that's the case, then we have to go with our original plan," said Darius. "If we can't stall or prevent the spell from happening, then we can at least corrupt it. That's where the Owl Lady comes in."
"Say what now?" Eda asked with a raised brow.
Darius groaned. "The curse, Eda."
The Owl Lady recalled the time when she and Raine were cornered by Darius and Eberwolf. At the time she didn't know they were allies, and because of that she and Raine feared it would be their last stand. So, the two of them played a song, using their magic in a duet. This caused Eda's curse to corrupt the spell song and created a degenerating force that corroded and destroyed everything around and spread out from there.
"That's right! My curse warps magic!" Eda exclaimed. "Huh? Did quite a number on you two, if I remember correctly."
Darius crossed his arms as he stated, "You remember incorrectly. I was completely unfazed."
Eberwolf appeared on his right side and hissed at him. Wordlessly chastising him for his apparent lie.
"Anyway…Eda would have to sneak into the tower, and here's how."
Darius drew a spell circle and created Abomination replicas on the map.
"I'll control a pair of Abominations to release Eberwolf's flesh-eating beetles into the crowd. It will create a distraction so big we can get Eda up with the Coven Heads. The spell will halt when it comes into contact with the curse, and the day will be saved. No problem."
The replicas played out Darius' plan, with the Abomination bystander replicas panicking over the flesh-eating beetles. Which then exploded as Abomination goo splattered in all directions, hitting the Owl House crew and everyone else in a gruesome display. Needless to say, everyone gave Darius a disapproving glare.
"What? Only a few people would get eaten. Even then, just the small ones," Darius added.
Raine shook their head and provided an alternative. "If we must do this, the safest bet is to have Eda tap into the spell by taking someone's place as a Coven Head." The Bard Head Witch raised their right arm and showed their Coven Sigil. "My place. Sigil and all."
This was understandably shocking. If this worked, Eda would be branded with a sigil, and unable to use any kind of magic. Not that she had access to it due to the curse, but this would be a further restriction, and a permanent one.
"As Head Bard, you'd also be flanked by me and Eber, where we can keep an eye on the others," Darius informed.
Lilith couldn't take it anymore and stood up. "Why are we acting like Edalyn's the only one with a curse here? Please, let me do this as a–"
"No," Eda interrupted. "You haven't had your curse that long. You don't know how it would react. But I do. And how can I say no to sticking it to Belos one final time?! Not only that, but I got the Raine Whispers watching out for me. Not to mention…"
Eda brought Luz into a headlock and gave her apprentice a noogie.
"I got the most powerful witch on the Isles ready to step in and kick some butt," Eda added.
"Ah! Eda! C'mon!" Luz half-heartedly complained.
"Hell yes, Owl Lady!" Kataya exclaimed.
The other members of the CATs rose to their feet and clapped their hands as they cheered. And while Raine did as well, their expression was anything but joyful about the idea of putting the person they cared about so close to danger.
While the adults were fine tuning the plan, Luz was outside with King and La Lechuza. They watched as several airships flew through the skies, all of them heading for The Head, to the ceremonial grounds where the Draining Spell would be enacted. Each one was filled with dozens of witches and demons, none of them realizing they were being shuttled to their deaths. Luz wished she could stop them, but right now she had to believe in the plan that Eda, Raine, and the others came up with. But that wasn't her only worry. Luz once again looked at her Tamagotchi device, there were still no new messages from Amity. She had gone silent. It was worrying. With everything going on, Luz wished she knew that Amity was alright. While she did want Amity to be safe, she also knew that their chances of success would go up if she and Amity teamed up to fight against Belos. It would be great if Hunter joined in, but she wasn't sure if the traumatized teen could do it after everything he learned about himself and Belos' origins.
"There you are," Eda called out.
Luz, La Lechuza, and King turned around to see Eda walking towards them. She was carrying something covered by Luz's witch's cloak. Once she was closer, Eda removed her right hand from the cloak and revealed a glossy wooden egg. It had swirling patterns on it, and blue-green hues that were brighter at the top and got darker at the bottom.
"The coat's finally dry," said the Owl Lady as she handed the wooden egg over to Luz.
Luz held the egg in her hands and smiled fondly at it. This was what she carved with Eda's guidance.
La Lechuza hopped onto Luz's shoulder as she gazed upon the finished product. "Your craftsmanship is on point, Niña."
"Of course, it is. She was under my watchful eye. But that being said, why an egg? I thought you'd carve something cute like a tarantula," said Eda.
Luz smiled as she answered, "I got to decide what my future looked like when I chose to be a witch, and I want them to have that option too. Until then, I'm willing to wait."
Eda smiled when she heard that answer. Truthfully, this was first, as far as Eda knew, that someone carved an egg and gave the Palisman the choice of what it wanted to be. There was no telling what the Palisman could become, and at the same time, how powerful it would be. There was a theory that said a Palisman's power was defined by its form, while it could get stronger over time, there was a limit. However, if a Palisman was given the choice to define its form, it could result in a Palisman that with a higher limit of magical power than others. But only time would tell.
Eda ruffled her apprentice's hair as she said, "Play it music sometimes. They can hear you."
"I love you already," Luz gushed as she gave her unhatched Palisman a kiss.
Luz placed her Palisman egg into her backpack and as the four stood at the railing they stared out into the horizon. The skies somehow added to the ominous nature of what was to come.
"Can you believe I gotta pretend to be a Coven Head? Ha! Never saw myself as the type, but, eh," Eda commented.
Luz took out her device again and sighed as she still saw no new messages from Amity.
"Eda…are you sure you want to do this?" Luz asked.
"Well, of course, I don't," Eda answered. "You know, even before the curse, I couldn't stand Covens. Only a select few can learn about different types of magic." Eda scoffed. "It made no sense."
"Indeed."
"But, if it's the only way to stop this, then I'm gonna do it." Eda saw that Luz was still staring at her Tamagotchi device. A smirk formed on her lips, knowing where her adopted daughter's mind was. "But as exciting as saving the world sounds, it not nearly as romantic as going on a rescue mission to save your girlfriend."
Luz's eyes widened as she immediately turned to Eda. "I never said I was gonna–!"
"Ooh, but you wanna," Eda teased. "It's written all over your face."
La Lechuza hopped onto Luz's head as she said, "Face it, Niña, you're open book when it comes to Amity."
Luz grumbled. "Of course, I want to! But I also wanna be there for you! When Belos finds out something is wrong, you'll need me to stop him."
"Hey, us adults can handle ourselves until you get there. Tell Bossy Boots I said, 'Yo,'" said Eda.
King didn't like the way Eda was phrasing that and grabbed ahold of Eda's face. "Stop talking like that! This isn't goodbye! I command it!"
Eda chuckled as she reached out and brought King, Luz, and even La Lechuza in for a hug. "Don't worry, we'll see each other after the Day of Unity."
"If we succeed," Luz muttered.
"When we succeed," Eda corrected. "We have the advantage after all. We've got King the Titan, Luz, Kamen Rider Witch! And the wise and powerful La Lechuza! Legends in the making!"
"Don't forget Eda the Owl Lady!" Luz cheered.
"Already a legend, and the most horrifying one of them all!" King announced.
"Heh, the last thing I'd ever hear a Phantom be called is a 'hero'," La Lechuza commented.
"Better get used to it, Lala. You're one of the family now," Eda replied.
"Guess I'll just have to grin and bear it then," the silver owl half-heartedly groaned.
They got into another group hug, with La Lechuza hovering overhead. Eda glanced up and said, "Get in here, Lal."
"If I must."
The Owl Phantom landed on Luz's head again and rested her head against Eda's as she joined in the hug. After a couple of moments, they broke the hug, and Eda draped King in Luz's witch's cloak.
"So, you three protect each other, and we'll be back together before you know it," said Eda as she smiled at her two children, and their resident Phantom.
The door to the balcony opened as Raine appeared. "Eda, let's get moving."
King clung to Eda's shoulder as she made her way back inside. As Luz came up behind Eda, she stopped and tugged at Raine's sleeve, making the Bard Head Witch look down at her.
"Promise me you'll protect her," Luz pressed.
"I promise, Luz." With that assurance, Luz followed Raine back inside. "Well, the next twenty-four hours are going to be rough. But everyone knows their part, and I'm confident we'll succeed. Because we are the Covens Against the Throne!"
"Wait! Can we please not make this our battle cry?!" Darius begged.
"AKA, THE CATS!"
Everyone hissed in unison, except for Darius who had put his face into his right hand and groaned, "Oh, Titan, help us."
"…I'll do my best," King whispered.
Everything was in motion, Eda, Raine, and the rest of the CATs were already on an airship and heading for The Head. Meanwhile, Katya was flying Luz and King to a secret location on her staff. After they had flown for a couple of hours, Katya descended into the middle of a clearing.
"Why are we stopping here?" Luz asked.
"To meet your security escort," Katya answered as she gave Luz a light shove off her staff. "Darius insisted. See ya!"
Luz watched as Katya flew up and away, leaving her and King in the woods. "What?! I don't need a security escort!"
"Did you heart that, Gus?"
Luz paused and slowly turned around to see both Gus and Willow standing next to a tree. They were sporting different attire, and Gus now had the amplifier Illusionist mirror hanging around his neck.
"Yeah, no, I guess we'll have to go home," Gus replied. "Well, it's been fun. See you around, Luz the Human."
Luz laughed as tears filled her eyes. Without a moment's hesitation she ran to her friends as she said, "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Of course, I want you around! I'm so happy to see you guys!"
The three friends shared in a group hug, with King running and hopping onto Gus' back to join in.
"And confused. I thought you were all hiding after what happened at Hexside. And where's Skara?" Luz asked.
"Oh, they were, but then they heard Darius ordered me to protect you."
Luz turned in the direction of another familiar voice and was surprised to see Hunter and Flapjack.
"More like he begged us to come because he's terrified of getting recognized," Gus clarified.
Hunter groaned and then rolled his eyes.
"As for Skara, she decided to stay behind and help protect the school," Willow answered. "She also says, 'Rider Kick Belos' butt, Luz'."
Luz laughed. She was glad to see her friends safe, and even more glad to hear that the Skara and the others at school were doing okay. However, there was one person among the group she was more worried about.
"Hunter, are you really up for this?" Luz asked. "You must be dealing with a lot after learning–"
"That Belos is evil?!" Hunter interrupted as he began to laugh nervously. "Don't worry! I'm A-OK!"
Hunter and Gus began going into some elaborate handshake.
"What the…"
Willow placed her hand Luz's shoulder as she said, "This is what happens when you go missing for a week."
After going through their little handshake, Hunter broke away and stepped closer to Luz. He quickly turned her around so that their backs were facing Gus and Willow.
"Don't you dare mention that thing around them," Hunter pleaded.
"What thing? That you're a Grimwalker?"
"Shhhh!" Hunter hissed. "Listen, I don't know if I'm a witch or a human. All I know is that I'm a copy of someone Belos killed."
Luz glanced over her shoulder at Willow, Gus, and King and said to Hunter, "I don't know what you guys went through, but they seem to like you."
"So, I shouldn't worry how they'd react, right? If that's the case, have you told them about helping Philip?" Hunter questioned.
Luz went quiet. Hunter had a point; she hadn't told her friends yet about what happened. Although Lilith, King, and Eda were aware, she had not yet divulged that information to Amity or her friends. And part of her wondered if she should even do so. Even if King, Lilith, Hooty, and Eda understood, there was still a part of Luz that was afraid that her girlfriend and friends would see these events as being all her fault. And if, Titan forbid, they failed, they would see her as the reason for all their loved ones' demise.
"So, I think you can understand why I don't want you telling them. The same reason why I know you don't want them knowing about Philip. So, please don't," Hunter pleaded.
Luz understood what Hunter was asking and nodded her head in agreement.
"So, what's the plan, Luz?" Gus asked.
Luz and Hunter turned around as the former answered, "We're heading to Amity's house. I haven't heard from her at all. So, depending on what we find, we'll get Amity, and head to, well, The Head. And together, we'll take down Belos and stop the Day of Unity!"
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," said Willow.
"The Hexsquad on the move!" Gus exclaimed.
"Hexsquad?" Hunter questioned.
"Yeah, I came up with it yesterday."
"I like it," said Willow.
Luz turned to Hunter and said, "I won't ask you to fight, Hunter. But I wouldn't mind the extra Rider power."
Hunter furrowed his brow and clenched his fist. "No…I…I need to do it. I have to fight Belos and help end this nightmare. No matter what."
"Thank you," said Luz.
"We're not too far from Amity's house. We can get there on foot and scope out what we're dealing with," Willow informed.
"Good. Alright, Hexsquad, let's move out!"
Luz, Hunter, Willow, Gus, and King ran through the woods and managed to arrive at the perimeter of Blight Manor. So far, they couldn't see anything. No Abomatons or anything of that sort. Luz was about to step out from the tree line, but Gus stopped her before she could get too far.
Gus removed the magic amplifier from his neck and drew a spell circle with it. The circle acted as a window, allowing them to see that the vacant yard of Blight Manor was anything but vacant. There were Abomaton soldiers and a few Coven Scouts, with one of them using an Illusion spell to cloak their position. There was something else that was revealed by Gus' spell. There was a layered barrier around the entire mansion as well. It too was invisible, but for what reason there was a barrier set up in the first place was a mystery. Nevertheless, they needed to take out the Abomatons and the Scouts. The group decided to circle the house to see if there were any more adversaries, and to see if they could find the person or thing that was maintaining the barrier.
After a quick recon of the grounds, they identified that there were at least two Abomaton soldiers acting as shield generators. And at least five Coven Scouts, with one of them responsible for the creation of the illusion field.
"We'll need to take out the Abomatons out fast, or they could summon more," said Hunter.
"First let's deal with the Illusion caster," Gus suggested.
Willow stepped up, cracked her knuckles, and said, "Leave that to me."
"And leave the stealth to me," said Luz as she slipped on a spell ring.
[Invisible, Please.]
Luz waved her hand over her friends, and within seconds all five of them turned invisible. While everyone else would see nothing, they could still see each other. This was characterized by a faint yellow aura, which indicated to all them who was still invisible and who wasn't. Now that they were in stealth mode, Willow drew a spell circle and summoned forth several vines that slithered underground before bursting forth from the dirt around the illusion casting Coven Scout. The Scout was quickly wrapped up by the vines, with one of the vines wrapping around the Scout's mouth to prevent them from yelling out a warning. Once he was taken down, the illusion field over the mansion disappeared, revealing the Abomatons and the four remaining Coven Scouts.
Gus drew another spell circle with the amplifier and waved it through the circle, releasing a wave of energy across the entire manor. The Coven Scouts were hidden, while the Abomatons only saw Illusion copies of the Scouts that were near them. Now hidden, the kids went to work. Hunter summoned his staff and dashed towards one of the Scouts, and struck him upside the head, knocking the Scout out. To which Hunter apologized, considering that they were, at one point, his subordinates.
Willow took out the third with another vine attack. Luz and Gus worked together, with Gus creating an illusion of a monster, while Luz came up from behind him and struck the Scout with a light construct staff. With the fourth one down, Luz and Hunter converged on the fifth, striking the Scout in unison with their staffs and knocking them out.
Now all that was left was the Abomatons. Luz decided to handle them. She used a combination of the Ice and Plant Glyphs. After funneling some mana into them, Luz thrusted her right arm forward. Multiple vines sprouted and weaved together, acting as a spear that pierced into the side of the Abomaton. Still under the effects of Gus' Illusion spell, and the Invisible ring's cloaking, the Abomaton had no idea what hit it. Once Luz was sure the vine spear had made its way deep into the Abomaton, she retracted the vines. A moment later, the Abomaton's body was completely encased in ice, frozen solid. Willow and Hunter took on the last one, with Willow using her vines to restrain the mechanized goo creation. The top of its head released a red siren light, preparing to call for backup. However, Hunter dashed in at the last second and swiped his staff through its head, knocking off the siren before it could sound. With its alarm disabled, Willow used her vines to drag the Abomaton straight down through the rock and dirt, using the vines underground to crush and mangle the machine.
Now that their opposition had been dealt with, Luz spotted the silhouette of her lover at her window. The Latina blushed and as she dismissed her Invisible spell and used a Plant Glyph to create flowery vines that raised her to the balcony where her lover awaited. Once she was on the balcony, she looked inside and listened as Amity spoke to her siblings.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE MOM DID THIS!" Amity yelled. "I need to get a message to Luz! She needs to know what's going on!"
"Mom broke your little device thing," Edric pointed out.
"And now we have those Abomatons creating a barrier around the house," Emira added. "Mom's really making sure we don't get out…I still can't believe that she gave the designs for your Driver to Belos. And all for money in the end."
"UGH!" Amity fumed as she began pacing her room. "I can't believe all this is happening! The world is ending, no one will listen to us, Dad is…mind-controlled, and I just…I just want to know that Luz is safe!"
Edric and Emira saw their little sister cry as the weight of everything was coming down on her. Luz and Amity had a large burden on their shoulders, they were probably the only other people on the Boiling Isles who had a chance of defeating Belos and stopping Draining Spell. But their mother just took away not only Amity's only means of communication with Luz, but also the items that Amity needed to fight back. She was feeling helpless.
Bast could feel Amity's sadness, but before she could offer any comforting words, she felt something. A familiar presence. From within Amity's Underworld, Bast could sense La Lechuza's mana outside this room, which meant that Luz was here as well. When the cat opened her senses, she saw that her Owl Phantom friend and her ward were right outside the balcony.
"What do you think Luz would say to you right now?" Emira asked.
Amity sniffled for a moment before answering. "Probably something dorky…but also sweet." The youngest Blight child wiped her eyes as a small smile graced her lips. "Like how I shouldn't give up, and that, with hope, anything is possible. Or she'd say that I might be scared now, but to not let that stop me, because…because every problem has a solution."
While Amity was going on, Emira spotted a certain someone on the balcony. She silently motioned for Edric to look in the direction she was, and both twins came to a silent, simultaneous idea. While Amity was going on, the twins quietly left the room, gave a wink to that certain someone on the balcony as they closed the door behind them.
"And everything's been so crazy, we've barely been able to spend time together. I mean, the first date we had ended up with Boscha crashing it, and then she turned into a Hybrid Phantom that nearly enslaved the entire island! I was just trying to have a nice beach resort date with my girlfriend, but as Titan as my witness, I will NOT let the world end before we've had a proper, monster free, date!" Amity declared.
"Whoa, you're right!"
Amity paused for a moment and quickly turned her head in the direction of the balcony. There, standing at the opening, with flower-ridden vines creating a beautiful frame, was Luz.
"I would say something like that," Luz confirmed.
"LUZ!" Amity cried out.
"Sweet Potato!" Luz shouted happily.
Luz held out her arms as Amity practically leaped into them. The Latina held her girlfriend close as she twirled them around before bringing them to a stop and held their embrace in joy having been finally reunited after everything that has happened.
"Been a while, Laly. What took you so long? Kitten here was about to start pulling her hair out," said Bast.
"Oh, believe me when I say, it's a long story," La Lechuza assured.
The Owl Phantom could sense how strong Luz's love was for Amity, and the same could be said for Bast.
"Shall we?" La Lechuza asked.
"Let's give them some privacy," Bast agreed.
The two Phantoms retreated into a nexus space that would give their hosts some privacy, while still allowing them to see what was going on. Luz and Amity silently thanked them for allowing them to have this moment between them.
"Amity, I swear to you, when this is all over, our next date will be plain. No monsters, no mysteries, no deadly duels, no multiversal threats. It's going to be the most mundane, slice-of-life date ever," Luz promised as she semi-broke the hug. "And it'll be awesome."
"I know."
Amity reached up with her hands, catching Luz off guard as the lavender haired teen placed those hands gently against Luz's face. Without a moment's hesitation, Amity leaned forward and kissed Luz on the lips. Luz's eyes flew wide open in brief shock before the shock completely vanished. The young teen closed her eyes and as she pushed back with her lips against Amity's. The two shared their first kiss, and the world disappeared around them. The fears that plagued them both, the looming disaster on the horizon, all of it faded away, and there was only the two of them in this moment. Their hearts swelled with love for one another, after all the gestures, the winks, the hand holding, this was what it was leading up to. The moment where they could show their love to each other in a physical way. Seconds felt like hours, but that's all it was, mere seconds.
Amity pulled back from Luz as the weight of her actions finally registered in the witch's head as she saw Luz's blushing face, her own feeling incredibly hot to the touch right now.
"Oh…crikey," Luz uttered, dumbfounded.
"I can't believe I just did that," Amity gasped.
"I can't believe I just said that!" Luz lamented, realizing what she just said the moment after having been kissed by her girlfriend. "'Oh, crikey'? How did I even think that? C'mon, Luz be cool next time!"
Meanwhile…
"AHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH! Oh, how I love this!"
"Yet another bold move from you, Kitten. I can see who's going to wear the 'pants' in this relationship, or so you mortals say. Hehehehehehe-hahahahaha!"
The two teens blushed even harder upon hearing the banter of their individual Phantoms. In Amity's case, she blushed even more as Bast had pointed out that this was not the first time that she had taken the initiative. The first was during the confession, another time was whisking Luz away to an island resort date, and now…well…she just kissed her. As much as she wanted to continue on this subject, Amity knew there something she needed to tell her lover.
"Luz…I'm so sorry," Amity apologized.
The Latina raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What are you sorry for? The kiss? I-I didn't hate it!"
"No! No…" Amity sighed. "Luz, I found out that my Mom was responsible for helping Belos figure out how to create a Driver."
"Wait, what?!" Lzu exclaimed. "How?"
"Apparently, she found out about my dad's secret lab, and she stole the designs for the MagiDriver. She gave them to the Emperor for money, and now because of her, Belos was able to create what he needed to become Inquisitor," Amity explained.
"You know about – Oh, right, Hunter said he told you guys about him," Luz remembered.
"That's why I'm sorry…My Mom gave Belos a powerful tool to help him become even more powerful…"
Luz reached out and hugged Amity. "It's okay. And it's not your fault. You didn't know she did that. I'm just glad she hasn't made the connection that I'm Witch. But that's a moot point."
"It gets worse…"
Luz broke the hug and looked at Amity with concern.
"Not only did she take my rings. But she used her magic to control my dad's mind. He tried to push back against her, and then…ugh! I can't believe she'd go this far! And after what I saw in her Underworld!" Amity complained.
Luz, with a determined expression, gently took Amity's hands into her own. "Amity, tell me, something. What do you want to do?"
Amity gently squeezed Luz's hands and with her own determined look she said, "I want to save my dad, tear the factory down to the ground, and tell off my Mom!"
"Okay, then let's do it!" Luz stated.
"B-But, what about–?"
"Your Dad's important to you, and it's because of him that you can fight by my side. And quite frankly, no one deserves to be mind-controlled! Plus, if we're going to take down Belos, then I want to do it with my Sweet Potato at my side! We'll do it, all of us, together!"
"Wait, 'all of us'?"
Luz smiled as she pulled Amity along to the balcony. When she looked down, the lavender haired witch saw Willow, Gus, Hunter, and King waiting for them.
"Like I said, all of us."