Legends Rides Again

by Guyver54

Two years after Belos's end, something from the past returns to threaten this new peace. Now Luz Noceda must once again step up to save the place she came to love. But, among the chaos of fighting monsters and navigating school life, what secrets will be revealed? And can two certain witches handle things when their own unknown past emerges?

13. S1: FE: Goodnight, Kuuga

Legends Ride Again:

S1 FE: Goodnight, Kuuga

"...Take me into your large, gentle arms so you may deliver me on," Darius read, then frowned as he looked at the two in front of him. "That was the last entry Flora D'Splora wrote."

Lilith frowned as she thought over everything she heard. She held out her hand, and Darius understood what she was asking. The abomination witch handed over the journal he was holding.

Lilith began looking through her rival's findings, her face twisting through several different emotions. Eda watched her sister for a minute, then looked at Darius, her brow narrowing.

"So, goo-head," the ex-wild witch asked, trying to sound casual, "How's old puffy pants doing?"

Darius looked at Eda indifferently, then sighed after a second. He looked at the journal in the older Clawthorne's hands, scowling bitterly.

"She's in rough condition," Darius answered, "But she's expected to make a full recovery."

Darius's scowl turned rageful as he recalled the state he found the historian in. Flora was found to be severely starved and dehydrated. If they hadn't reached the historian when they did, Darius feared she would have been dead within a day.

Darius growled as he felt his frustration grow. He and a select few had begun searching for the whereabouts of this order of knights. These "Knight Seekers," as Steven called them, had spent a while searching for any clues on the knights' location and came up empty-handed.

When someone reported that their loved one, who had gone to explore a newly discovered island, hadn't returned, it clicked with Darius. The witch felt like making an abomination on the spot and having it kick him in the rear for not thinking about the island in the first place.

Darius let out another growl. He let those memories go into the back of his head and focused his attention on Eda.

"But it will be a lengthy recovery," he answered, then looked at Lilith. "This is why I came here today."

Everyone looked at Darius with different expressions. Lilith was confused, and Eda was suspicious. King, who had just entered the living room with a book in hand, needed clarification. Hooty…well, he was just staring out the window.

"Lilith Clawthorne," Darius said professionally, "I want to lead an exportation team back to the island we believe the knights came from and examine the island for clues about the knights themselves."

The room fell into such a shocked silence that a human-realm grasshopper could be heard, and Hooty began a frantic search for the insect. The shock didn't last long, and Eda glared at the former head witch suspiciously.

"I will do it," Lilith said, surprising everyone in the room.

Eda, King, and even Hooty looked at the historian with surprise. Even Darius seemed a little caught off guard, cocking an eyebrow at Lilith's answer.

"You sure, Lily?" Eda asked curiously.

Lilith nodded at her sister. She looked at the journal in her hands, then at the book King was holding. She returned her eyes to Eda, her brow narrowing with determination.

"Yes," the older Clawthorne said, "I could tell from Flora's notes that all she did was copy the mural she found. So, I like to believe that the island could house more secrets. Perhaps, with the information we discovered from the book we got from the library, we might be able to discover means to handle these knights so we don't have to rely so heavily on Luz."

"Book?" Darius asked, perplexed, "What book?"

Lilith's eyes snapped open, then narrowed into a glare as she looked at her younger sister. It wasn't long before Darius gave the younger Clawthorne a suspicious glare, and Eda couldn't help but laugh a little sheepishly.

"Now," Eda defended quickly, "In my defense, I was going to drop off the book, but a lot has been happening."

Lilith glared at her sister for a few seconds, then sighed. She looked at King and motioned for the book in the young titan's hands. The dog-like demon walked to his adopted aunt and handed the book over.

The historian looked at the book's cover and ran a finger over it before handing it over to Darius. The abomination witch took the book and cocked an eyebrow when he saw the book was called The Sorrow of the Burning Knight. He looked at the Sisters Clawthorne with an exasperated expression.

"Before you write that off as just some dorky kid story," Eda said, her tone serious. "Just read the first page."

Darius glared at the ex-wild witch for a few seconds, then sighed exasperatedly. He looked down at the book, eyeing its title with uncertainty. After a few seconds of staring, Darius opened the book and read the first passage out loud.

"As I walk through the lands, my heart is heavy," Darius gasped as he read the next part, tears welling up in his eyes. "For all around me are bodies of witches I had long known and long to know."

Darius's grip on the book tightened to the point that veins popped out of her arms, and he trembled. His heart was beating against his chest fiercely, and his breathing was shallow.

Darius couldn't hold his tears back as he read the next part of the page.

"I looked into the cold, lifeless face of a witch I had known since my youth, but all I could focus on were the ash gray webbing her the skin around her eyes."

At that point, Darius gasped, and he could read no more. He slammed the book closed and dropped it onto the ground. The abomination witch felt lightheaded and grabbed the head of the couch to support himself. He placed a hand over his chest, trying to calm his racing heart down.

It took nearly five minutes before Darius was calm enough to think rationally. Even then, he wasn't completely recovered and took a seat on the couch. He inhaled deeply, held it for a few seconds, and exhaled.

Darius looked at the Clawthorne sister with a slight glare.

"What in Titan's name was that?" he asked, his voice low.

Eda and Lilith exchanged looks before sighing.

"That, Goo-head," Eda replied, looking at Darius with a humorless smile, "Was the bite of a really old Oracle spell."

Lilith glared at her sister, then sighed. She bent down and picked up the book. She dusted it off lightly as she straightened up and looked at Darius, her expression serious.

"What my sister meant is," the historian clarified, "The first pages of this book had a spell on it that directly feeds the strong emotions of the writer into another living being."

Darius stared at his fellow ex-coven head, face indifferent, before he looked at the book in her hand. The male witch's face twisted as he pondered some things.

Being a former head witch of one of Emperor Belos's Covens, he had interaction with other Coven heads. Darius had also spied on the other heads as part of information gathering to assess which ones might be potential allies.

Darius frowned as he remembered the head of the Oracle Coven. When in public, Osran was a stoic figure who rarely talked, putting on an air of mystery that befitted an Oracle witch.

However, when Osran had some free time, he would spend it researching oracle spells from years past. Since Darius had spied the most on the oracle witch during these times, he was familiar with a lot of oracle spells, and he couldn't recall anything close to what the sisters were talking about.

Lilith noticed Darius's expression and could guess what the witch was thinking. After all, Darius himself had told Lilith that he had spied on the other Coven Heads at one point.

"Darius," Lilith said, getting the dark-skinned witch's attention. "This spell fell out of favor two hundred before Belos stepped foot onto the Isls. It took weeks of research to figure out there were spells on the book in the first place."

Darius was staring at the red-headed witch when her words sunk in. "...There's more than one spell on that book?" he asked, eyeing the item warily.

"Yes," Lilith replied, "But the second is just a basic spell protecting the book from the elements and time so it didn't wear down."

Darius stared at the book for a minute, thinking things over. However, before anything more could be said, the door to Owl House flew open, and Hunter, Willow, and Gus rushed into the house.

"Eda!" Hunter called with clear urgency in his voice. "One of the knights took Luz and Amity!"

"What?" Eda, Lilith, and Darius screamed, the male witch jumping to his feet.

"WEH!" King added.

The three teens began to speak all at once, firing question after question as they crowded the three adult witches. Thankfully, before things could get truly hectic, Darius summoned some abomination and gently pulled the teen off the adults.

"I know emotions are high now," Darius ordered in a firm but kind tone. "But we can't afford to panic anymore. That wouldn't help us here."

The three teens still looked worried out of their minds, but they took the older witch's words to heart. Eda saw this, gave the dark-skinned witch a smile, and then turned her attention to her surrogate kid's friends.

"Did Luz have her jacket on?" the ex-wild witch asked in a serious tone.

The three teenagers looked at Eda in confusion, but Hunter managed to nod. Eda smiled at this, though hollow, and began rummaging through her hair.

Eda walked up to the coffee table, taking two items from her hair. She laid a map on the table, and everyone gathered around. They were confused when they saw the map was one of the entire Boiling Isles.

"Eda?" King asked, looking at his mother figure in confusion. "What are you doing? We should be out there looking for Luz!"

The younger Clawthorne looked at her adopted son, offering him a smile as she held up the second item she took from her hair.

"And we are, King?" Eda assured King, "But we can't go all wally-nally here."

Lilith saw the item in her sister's hands and frowned as she looked at Eda. "What are you planning with that location stone, Edalyn?" she asked calmly.

The others looked at the stone the older witch was holdling. It was a purple crystal in the sphere of a directional arrow slightly embedded in a gray stone base.

Eda tore off the arrow from the base and threw it onto the map near the titan's head. The crystal bounced off the table, glowed, and hovered over the map. The arrow began to circling the map as it homed it on the other half of the spell.

"...After what happened with Willow," Eda explained, eyes not leaving the map, "My gut told me that these jerks would try to take Luz at some point."

Hunter heard a noise from Willow and looked at her. He noticed that the young witch's shoulder was hitched ever so slightly. So, he moved closer to her and gently took her hand.

Willow looked at Hunter and noticed the red on his cheeks and eyes. She smiled and squeezed the boy's hand ever so slightly, a slight hint of red on her face.

"So when fixing up my old jacket," Eda continued, "I put the best tracking spell money could buy on one of the patches."

"Hmm," Lilith narrowed her eyes as she watched the arrow travel around the map.

The group saw the arrow moving down the Titan's corpse. Lilith watched the spell item for a second, then turned to her sister.

"Clever thinking, sister," the historian commented, "I'm surprised you haven't thought about this sooner, given Luz's habit of heading recklessly into danger."

Eda looked at her older sister, ready with a retort, only for the location stone to glow. The ex-wild witch knew the glow meant it had reached the spot on the map where the stone's other part was, and she looked at the map.

Eda's face erupted in fury, and she nearly screamed as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the Owl House, turning into her Harpy form. Lilith wordlessly followed after her sister as she also turned into her harpy form.

"I will be returning to the Knight seeker's base and gather a force," Darius informed the teen, groaning at the mention of his group's name.

Hunter looked at his guardian and nodded. Darius returned the gesture before he teleported away.

Hunter looked at the map, studying the spot the arrow was pointing at. After a moment, he sighed and looked at his friends. Hunter frowned when he saw them giving him perplexed expressions.

Hunter sighed faintly and looked at the map. He frowned as he stared at the location for a second, then looked back at Willow and Gus.

"That area is well known for many reasons," The grimwalker explained. "But a set of ruins in that area is often forgotten. A lot of historians debuted about the nature of the ruins."

Hunter scowled as he recalled a report he had once read. One witch thought the ruins were part of a site where a massive ritual happened to grant witches the power of the Titan itself.

Hunter had brushed off that report as just an overzealous historian wanting to be counted among the ranks of Lilith Clawthorne and Flora D'Splora.

The grimwalker sighed and looked back at the location the stone was pointing to. Hunter frowned as he stared at the Knee, growing concerned and worried for Luz and Amity.

(SC)

"Fascinating," Lady Blightthorne muttered, studying a vial in her hand. "In all my time researching witch's nature, I have never seen such a development before."

Amity noted the female knight's focus on her research and thought this was the perfect time to strike. She crunched low and slowly crept her way to Lady Blightthorne. She slowly got behind the female knight, careful to keep her steps as light as possible so not to alert her captor.

Once Amity was directly behind the female knight, Amity planned to use some of the combat moves Hunter taught while helping with Luz's training. She slowly straightened up and reached out to wrap her arms around the knight's neck when she suddenly began choking.

Amity fell to her knees, clawing at a collar that was glowing red around her neck. There were shackles on the inventor's wrists that were also glowing red, the glow extending to her hands.

Amity fiercely pulled against the collar, trying to force it off so she could breathe. But the collar would not let up, no matter how much she dug at it.

Lady Blighttorne heard the commotion going on behind her and sighed. She set the vial down and turned around, drawing a spell circle. She aimed her circle at her captive and sent out its spell.

A faint blood-red glow surrounded Amity, and the light from the collar and the shackles faded a few seconds later.

Amity fell forward, catching herself with her hands and gasping for air. She looked up at her captor, glaring a thousand deaths at the female knight. Lady Blightthorne wasn't impressed with the glare. Instead, she returned the gesture with a condescending glare of her own.

"I had hoped that you would have inherited the Blight's intellect alongside the Blight's fire," the female spoke condescendingly. "But I suppose youth is something that can't be tamed. Right, my heir."

Amity growled as her glare intensified. Once more, the female knight remained of her disowned mother; even the way she called Amity her "heir" remained the young witch of how her mother called her "mittens."

"How can you be sure I'm related to you?" Amity asked spitifully.

The female knight smiled condescendingly and grabbed a vial from her table. She walked over to Amity and kneeled in front of her. Lady Blighttorne held out the vial, and Amity could see a faint red-blue color.

"I put hairs belonging to you and me and confirmed you're related to me by blood," The female knight confirmed, then her face twisted in an angry scowl. "Or…You're my twin brother's heir."

Amity stared at her ancestor, seeing how things changed when Lady Blightthorne mentioned her brother. There was a barely contained rage in the knight's eyes, and the venom in her voice was so powerful that Amity could almost taste it.

The female knight's anger didn't last; Lady Blightthorne suddenly frowned curiously and stared at her captive. Amity quickly got weirded out as the female knight studiously stared at her.

"You're not a twin, are you?" Lady Blighttorne asked curiously.

That question caught Amity off guard, and she confusedly looked at the knight. She quickly shook off her shock and narrowed her eyes. She noticed a hunger in the female knight's eyes, like the one Amity used to see in her mother just before the yearly Blight private sales.

If Amity was honest with herself, the look the female knight gave her was unsettling.

"...No," Amity replied slowly.

She had older siblings who were twins, but Amity herself wasn't a twin. She decided to keep that little piece of information to herself, to keep her older siblings out of their ancestor's crosshairs.

"Pity," Lady Blightthorne muttered in disappointment. "That could have opened so much."

Amity watched as the female knight stood and casually tossed the vial away. Lady Blightthorne looked at Amity, sighed in disappointment, and returned to her work table.

Amity could feel her uneasiness gave way to confusion and curiosity. The sudden change in Lady Blighttorne's demeanor caught her off guard. But before Amity could react to the sudden change, Lady Blightthorne was again in front of her, her expression as cold as the knee.

"Now, child," the female knight said, holding the vial she was studying earlier in front of her descendant. "Tell me, how were you able to wound myself and my Blooburn."

Amity looked at the vial in the female knight's hand, frowning slightly as she recalled that it had her blood in it. She turned her attention to Lady Blightthorne, her face hardening.

"You really think that I will help you when you tried to kill my girlfriend right in of me?" the young inventor asked spitefully.

Lady Blightthorne growled and drew a spell circle. Amity wince as she felt the collar around her neck tightening. It wasn't enough to cut off her oxygen, but it was painful.

"Child," Lady Blightthorne ordered, "My patience is running thin. If you knew what was best for you, you would stop fighting me."

The female knight stopped her spell, and the collar on Amity loosened. The young inventor was panting slightly as she gave a weak glare at her ancestor.

"Now," the female knight commanded, "I will ask one more time; how did you injure me."

Amity growled as her breathing started to even out, and her glare intensified. Lady Blightthorne wasn't impressed and brought her hand out, magic sparking from her fingertip.

"...I don't know," Amity finally answered reluctantly.

The magic died from the female knight's finger, and she stared deeply into her descentant's eye. After a moment, Lady Blightthorne nodded and looked at the vial in her hand. She shook it, and Amity witched as the vial's contents shifted through the colors of the nine magic types.

The young inventor frowned as she watched her blood change to a pure white color and then to a color she couldn't identify. Amity looked at Lady Blightthorne when she heard the witch of a bygone era hum.

Amity noticed the thoughtful expression in her ancestor's eyes as the female knight as she studied Amity's blood. Before anyone could do anything more, Captain Braddock burst into the room, startling the two.

"You dolt!" Lady Blightthorne screamed fiercely. "I told you not to disturb me when I'm working!"

The knight captain ignored his commander's outburst and said, "The human witch has escaped!"

Lady Blightthorne and Amity's eyes snapped open at this news. The young witch smiled as she realized that Luz was safe and no doubt on her way here. She couldn't help but throw a smug girn her ancestor's way.

Lady Blightthorne recovered from her shock quickly and growled. The ancient witch tossed the vial to Amity, and the young inventor caught out of reflex. Lady Blightthorn stormed up to the knight captain, drawing a spell circle.

She summoned her axe and stuck the knight captain with the axe's side. Captain Braddock grunted and dropped to the ground. He moaned, held the side of his face, and looked up just as Lady Blightthorne pointed her axe at him.

"You released her, didn't you?" the female knight growled accusingly, "So you could finish your duel with her."

Captain Braddock was angered by the accusation and got to his feet, completely unphased by the weapons pointed at him. He looked at his superior, glaring.

"Woman, have you taken a leave of your senses?" the captain demanded. "I'm under oath not to approach the human witch. And if I could somehow bypass your orders, why would I have to come to you?"

Lady Blightthorne stared at the captain for a second, then growled. It made her skin crawl that she couldn't find fault with the captain's logic. But that left the question of how the human witch escaped in the first place.

Lady Blightthorne looked at Amity and growled when she saw the smug look the young witch was giving her.

"...I should have killed her instead of taking her for studying," the lady knight muttered, then looked at the captain. "Sent out a unit of Abomiburns. Make sure the exits are covered."

Captain Braddock's face twisted with scorn, but he turned on his heel and left the room.

Lady Blightthorne watched the Captain leave and let out an irritated sigh. She drew a spell circle and looked at Amity.

"I'm joining the search," the ancient witch informed her descent. "And you're joining me."

Amity growled at her ancestor, her collar and shackles growing faintly. She glared at the older witch and followed as Lady Blightthorne left the room.

"...Luz," Amity muttered longingly, "Be safe."

(SC)

Luz was going through her "henshin" hand motions, the Arcle already out. "Hen-ack!" the young human screamed as the collar and shackle glowed blue.

The human witch tried to work through the pain and finish transforming into her Kuuga state. She gritted her teeth as the pain intensified. Luz's arms and legs shook as she tried to finish her motion. Suddenly, her restraints flashed, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Luz fell to her knees, panting and sweating. She looked at her shackles as the glow faded from them and growled. With a frustrated sigh, the human witch took a seat on the cell's floor and looked around.

The cell was typical, medieval style, with only one difference: instead of bars, there was a large stone slab with a few holes for airflow. There wasn't even a bed for her to sit on.

Luz growled as she grabbed her right shoulder. After being thrown into her cell, she tried to ram her body against the cell's door. The results were as expected, leaving Luz with a sore shoulder.

"...The others would have scolded me for that stunt," Luz muttered, a hollow grin spreading across her face.

The smile didn't last long as Luz thought of her girlfriend. She snarled and tightened her hold on her sore shoulder, ignoring the pain shooting through her.

Luz kept replaying the scene in her mind. She could remember the fear in Amity's eyes as the female knight pushed her into the portal. The human witch growled when she saw Lady Blightthorne drag Amity with her.

"Lo Juro por Dios," Luz said in Spanish, "If that Oni hurt my sweet potato…"

Luz didn't finish her thought as she heard a faint, familiar noise from behind her cell's door. She looked at the door curiously. The stone crumbled into dust a second later, pooling around the floor.

The human witch blinked at the sight before her: a bald child standing on all fours looked at her with a blank expression. No, Luz realized, there was something buried deep within the child's eyes.

Before the human witch could do anything, the child yelped and skittered off.

Awkwardly, Luz stood up and cautiously stepped into the archway. She cautiously poked her head through the opening, expecting something to attack her the second she tried to escape. The human witch frowned as she looked around and saw nothing, not even that kid who freed her.

Luz heard a faint hum and looked down at her wrists. She watched as her shackles glowed and flickered before the light went out completely. The shackles broke apart and fell to the ground, turning to dust the second they touched it.

A second later, Luz felt the weight on her neck lift and lightly ran a hand across her skin. She didn't bother to look down as she stepped out of her cell, keeping her eyes open for trouble.

"Well, Kiddo," Luz muttered, talking like Eda, "Even you can smell a trap this obvious."

Luz sighed and then got into position. Trap or not, she wasn't going to look a gift snorse in the mouth.

Luz went through her hand motions and, with a quick cry of "henshin," shifted into her Kuuga form.

With a quick breath to ready herself, Luz looked around. She noticed the path to her left was longer than the one to her right. She could also see the end of the hall on her right.

So, she headed left, figuring that would take her out of the dungeon.

What Luz didn't know was that her collar didn't crumble to dust when it hit the ground. Instead, when it hit the ground, the collar glowed red.

(SC)

"WOAH!" Luz screamed as she ducked a blow from an Abomiburn.

The human witch charged her left hand with some energy and sent a weak-powered "Kuuga Volcanic Knuckle," as she now called them, into the creature's chest.

The creature groaned as it exploded a second later, and Luz rushed through the fire. Panting slightly, the human witch looked over her shoulder, frowning.

Behind her, she could see signs of battle. Small fires lined the corridor she was traveling, the remains of Abomiburns that got in her way.

Luz frowned bitterly as she looked at the corridor some more. She quickly realized the place was a maze, with areas looking all the same to her. The constant fights added to the problem, making it hard for her to get her bearings.

And if Luz didn't know any better, it felt like the entire place was constantly changing.

Thankfully, Luz had one of Eda's old tricks to fall back on. She walked up to the wall on her right when she reached another turn and raised her left fist.

The human witch charged her fist, silently thanking Hunter for his suggestion about controlling her energy, and swung. With small sparks flying, a good chunk of the wall was removed, making a marker that told Luz this was an area she had already come through.

Luz turned the corner after her task was done and groaned.

"OH, C'MON!" she screeched, throwing her arms in the air. "Just many of things do these guys have?"

The corridor the human witch found herself in was littered with Abomiburns, making the narrow passage hard to get around. The third-rate Abomination knock-offs noticed Luz and, with a moan, shuffled toward her.

The young Latino groaned tiredly, then smashed her fists together. Her fists ignited in fiery energy, and she churched low. With a short grunt, Luz charged at the creatures.

She ducked a wide swing and delivered an uppercut to the creature's chin. Luz spun away the Abomiburn as it began sparking and delivered a double punch to the next Abomiburn.

She darted around the creature, slammed her fists together for a recharge, and turned to face another beast. Luz gasped when she saw the Abomiburn charge her and try to get her into a bear hug.

Luz ducked to avoid the grab, delivering a double-palm thrust to the creature's stomach. She screamed as she pushed the Abomiburn back, pushing it into another creature. The human witch gave one final push, and the two creatures fell into a heap.

Luz leaped over the Abomiburns and looked down the corridor. She saw she was near the end, and only one more Abomiburn was in her way.

Luz thrust her hands out of front of her, her left hand out, index and middle fingers out, and her right hand near her waist. She thrust her arms out to her side and ran at the Abomiburn, the stone on her left ankle flashing.

With a cry, Luz launched herself at abomination creation, her left foot bursting into flames. She flipped forward and thrust her foot out, kicking the Abomiburn in the face. The creature was thrown back, the mark of Kuuga appearing on the Abomiburn's face.

Luz landed and didn't even wait for the explosion from her attacks as she hurried out of the corridor, leaving her mark as she made a hard right.

A second later, she heard the explosions. Luz finally stopped to catch her breath. She leaned against a wall, trying to get her breathing under control.

She wanted to wipe her brow, feeling the sweat running down her face. But she didn't dare end her transformed state, fearing that doing so would endanger her.

"Man, could I go for a Griffin egg sandwich right about now," Luz muttered, rubbing her stomach.

Luz heard a noise in the distance and figured she had wasted enough time. She pushed off the wall and ran down the hall, keeping her pace so she didn't tire herself out too quickly.

Luz rounded a corner and was about to leave a marker when a portal opened right in front of her. She got into a fighting stance, preparing herself for another round with the knight's foot soldiers.

"Human Witch Kuuga!"

Luz tensed as Lady Blightthorne stepped through the portal, Amity by her side. The human witch growled when she looked at her girlfriend. Amity had a collar and shackles, just like Luz did.

But it wasn't the restraints that were boiling Luz's blood. No, it was the tendril sticking out of the young witch's neck, leading to the female knight making Luz mad.

Luz moved to attack the female knight, and Lady Blightthorne saw this.

"We have been through this before, Human Witch," the female knight said coldly. "And I doubt, in your current state, you would be able to reach me before I drain your lover completely."

Luz growled but didn't move to get closer to Lady Blightthorne. She didn't like that the female knight was right; she hadn't fully recovered from the earlier fight with the Blooburn. And with all the fighting she had been doing, she was in no shape to take on one of the high-ranking members of the order.

Amity saw her girlfriend's hesitation and did the only thing she could do in such a situation.

"Luz!" the young witch called, "Don't worry about me. Just figh-AAAH!"

Luz gasped when she saw the tendril begin to suck Amity's of her essence, her skin quickly blackening. Luz's fist clenched so tightly she would have drawn blood if she wasn't transformed.

"Hold your tongue, insolent child," Lady Blightthorne commanded coldly.

Amity mustered enough strength to give her ancestor a weak glare. Lady Blightthorne scoffed at the gesture, stopped extracting her descentant's bodily fluid, and looked at Luz.

"What would you do now, human witch? The female knight asked coldly, "Would you allow the death of your lover to be on your head?"

Luz looked at Amity, and the young witch shook her head weakly, trying to encourage her to continue the fight. Luz wanted nothing more than to take her girlfriend's encouragement, but memories from the Belos incident suddenly flooded her head.

"...Sorry, sweet potato," Luz muttered weakly.

The human witch relaxed her body and undid her transformation. Lady Blightthorne grinned and walked up to the human witch, dragging Amity. She drew a spell circle and threw it behind Luz. A portal opened, and the female knight pushed Luz through with her.

(SC)

Luz stumbled a bit through the portal into the female knight's lab but managed to avoid a nasty meeting with the floor. She glared at the female knight as she stepped through the portal.

Lady Blightthorne ignored the gesture and removed her tendril from Amity's neck. She made a spell circle, and magical chains flew from the ground. The chains linked with Amity's shackles and the abomination witch grunted as she was forced to the ground.

"Amity!" Luz screamed.

Before she could rush to her girlfriend's side, Lady Blightthorne got in front of Luz. The human witch glared at the knight, and Lady Blightthorne ignored the look.

"Don't test me further, child," the female knight said coldly. "Now, on the table!"

The female knight pointed behind Luz, and she looked over her shoulder. Luz noticed the table but didn't move towards it. Instead, she looked back at the female knight and glared defiantly.

Lady Blightthorne growled at this defiance and made a spell circle.

Luz heard Amity scream and looked over the female knight. She gasped when she saw the collar around her girlfriend's neck glowing and choking Amity. Luz tried to move to Amity's side, but Lady Blightthorne grabbed her by the arm.

Luz tried to pull her arm free, but the female knight was stronger than she looked.

"My patience had run out with the both of you," the female knight said coldly. "Now. On. The. Table!"

The female knight led the human witch to the table and threw her against it. Luz glared at the knight for a second, then at Amity. She saw the collar had stopped glowing, and Amity was catching her breath.

The human witch glared at Lady Blighthtorne again, then climbed onto the table. Clamps clamped down on Luz's wrists and ankles the second she was flat on the table.

"Now," Lady Blightthorne said, looming over the human witch. "Make that belt of yours appear."

Luz growled at the female knight but did as she was instructed. She concentrated, and the Arcle appeared a second later.

Lady Blightthorne looked at the artifact, studying for a moment. She reached for it but pulled her hand away when a bolt of golden lightning snapped at her. She rubbed the spot where the lightning hit and noticed a small burnt mark on the back of her hand.

The female knight glared at the human witch, and Luz couldn't help but defiantly grin.

"Shocking, right?" the human witch asked with smug defiance.

Lady Blightthorne growled at the human and thrust her right hand out at her side. She drew a spell circle as long as her body.

The spell moved toward its caster as the female knight spoke to the human scornfully.

"Child, It's like I told you before…everything has a breaking point. And I fully intend to reach yours."

The spell circle passed over the female knight and, in a burst of blue fire, turned into her monster form, minus her exe. Lady Blightthorne held out both hands.

She drew a spell circle with each hand, pulled back, and created two more. The female knight repeated this process one more time, creating one final set of spell circles.

Lady Blightthorne thrust her arms through the circles, and they settled around her arms.

From her spot, Amity couldn't help but gasp at the display. She recognized that as a triple-layer spell, a subject currently being studied in her magic application classes.

If she remembered right, that method of spell would allow a witch to use three different spells at once. Amity also remembered that this method of spell casting was very texting on a witch's body, and only experienced witches like the former Coven Heads should attempt to use it.

Dread started to fill Amity as she struggled to break free from her restraints as her ancestor looked at Luz's Arcle.

Lady Blightthorne repositioned herself so she was closer to Luz's waist and firmly grabbed the human's belt. The stone on the Arcle glowed gold, and lightning began to fly out of it. Bolts snapped against Lady Blightthorne's arms, but she ignored them thanks to her lightning ward spell.

The female knight pulled on the belt, and Luz screamed as she felt her skin painfully stretched. She threw her head back as Lady Blightthorne pulled harder, and her screams turned blood-cuddling.

The belt's output increased, and lightning bolts began striking around the room. When hit, walls were burnt black, vials shattered as lightning zapped through them, and one caught fire from the chemical it housed igniting.

One bolt licked against Amity's face, drawing blood. She didn't care about that; her entire focus was on her girlfriend, watching Luz begin to thrust about as Lady Blightthorne pulled even harder. The young witch slowly shook her head, tears running down her face.

"Stop!" Amity screamed. "Please stop!"

Amity's pleas fell on deaf ears as Lady Blightthorne was too engrossed to hear anything else but the rush of her blood. She pulled harder, allowing the strength-boosting spells to work their magic. She grinned viciously as she felt the belt loosen its hold on the human and tightened her hold on the item.

However, the Arcle wasn't done with the fight as the lightning increased again, nearly filling the room. The light it was shining shifted from gold to red, then blue, green, and purple before settling on a light whitish tan color.

Luz's screams continued as tears ran down her face. It felt like a part of her was being ripped from within her. The pain had gotten she could barely hear or see things. Yet, through the pain, she thought she saw three figures approaching her.

Amity was sobbing as each new scream that reached her ears made her feel like something was taking a red-hot knife and purging it into her heart repeatedly. Adding to her pain was the fact that this was happening to Luz because of her!

Amity's ancestor had used their love against the human, and every new pained cry Amity heard made this fact clear. She looked at the female knight, and her guilt only worsened when she noticed Lady Blightthorne's grin.

"I BEGGING YOU!" Amity screamed desperately. "STOP BEFORE YOU KILL HER!"

But Amity's pleas went unheard as the female knight couldn't hear much over the rush of her own blood and the sound of the lightning.

Lady Blightthorne's grin turned into a wild smile as she felt the belt about to give and pulled with all her might. The Arcle came free with a sickening, wet snap, a bright light exploding from the item.

"LUUUZZZZZZ!" Amity screamed as the light engulfed her.

(SC)

Lady Blightthorne dropped the ruin, smoldering Arcle to the ground, panting heavily. She reverted to her witch form and looked at the human witch. The female knight frowned when she saw Luz's chest rising and falling.

Before she can investigate this, Captain Braddock runs into the room.

"Blight!" the knight captain said urgently. "The Human witch's followers had found this location! They're close to this room!"

Lady Blightthorne looked at the captain, a grin forming on her lap. She suddenly gasped and fell to her knees, hacking her head off. Braddock looked at his superior, watching as the marking on her cheek spread across her face and down her neck.

"G-Get me out of this place," Lady Blightthorne ordered.

The knight captain growled in defiance but moved to his superior's side. Captain Braddock grabbed Lady Blightthorne under her arm and lifted her to her feet. He drew a spell circle and opened a portal, dragging his superior to it.

"I'll kill you!" the two knights heard someone say.

Curious, Braddock looked at the only other person in the room and saw Amity giving Lady Blightthorne a death-filled glare.

"Next time I see you," Amity swore in a low voice, "I will kill you with my own hands."

Braddock stared at the young witch for a second, then turned to his superior. He noticed the look Lady Blightthorne was giving Amity but said nothing. Instead, he just shuffled her through the portal.

Amity's eyes were on the retreating form of her ancestor as she disappeared into the portal. The passage closed a second later, and after that, the shackles and collar on Amity came off, the chain disappearing before the restraints hit the floor.

It took a second for Amity to realize she was free, and she tried to stand up. Her leg didn't have the strength to support her, and she fell back to the ground. Still, she was determined and began pulling herself towards the table where her girlfriend lay.

"...Luz," she moaned sorrowfully, "I'm sorry."

She reached the table and, grabbing the edge, hoisted herself up. Amity looked at Luz, tears falling again as she looked at her girlfriend.

Luz had lost color, and her face was twisted in a pained expression. Amity screamed/sobbed as she threw herself onto Luz and hugged her tight.

"I'M SORRRRYYY!" Amity screamed at the top of her lungs as the Clawthorne sisters and Darius's forces burst into the room.

Everyone fell into silence at the sight and realized they were too late. All they could do was look as the heartbroken girl cried over the lifeless body of the girl she loved.

(SC)

Braddock stepped into the common area of the Order's main base and dragged Lady Blightthorne to their store of Bile. The female knight grabbed three vials from the shelf and tore the tops off. Lady Blightthorne downed all three vials simultaneously, bile running down her jaw.

Captain Braddock looked at his superior's markings as they began to recede. The knight captain frowned as he noticed Lady Blightthorne's markings didn't recede to their original size.

Instead, the ash markings now covered most of Lady Blightthorne's cheek and started creeping up behind the female knight's eye.

Lady Blightthorne took a deep breath and let out slowly. After doing this two more times, she pushed off the knight captain. She felt her cheek, noting how far her ash markings spread.

"What do we do now, Blight?" Braddock asked pointedly. "We lost one of our strongholds to the enemy?"

Lady Blightthorne chuckled and looked at the knight captain with a triumphant grin. "Why fret over one lost stronghold, Dear Captain?" she asked arrogantly. "After all, with their champion, their Human Witch Kuuga, no more, who on the Isle could possibly stand against us?"

(Two Days Later…The Human Realm)

A Japanese man stepped out of the exit of an LAX airport. He was dressed plainly: blue jeans, high tops, and a blue sweater under an orange jacket.

The man frowned as he looked around the exit. He noticed a young girl with a two-tone hairstyle nervously approaching him, and he offered an assuring smile to her.

"Are you Shoichi Tsugami?" the girl asked nervously.

"Yes," Shoichi answered politely, "And who are you, if I may ask?"

The teen seemed a bit more nervous about the question, but she quickly calmed down and replied, "I'm Vee Noceda."

Shoichi's eyes opened wide for a second, and he smiled softly. He gently studied Vee and could see a little of his dear friends in her, especially Camilia. The Japanese chef frowned at that thought and looked around.

He looked back at Vee, curious.

"Where's Camila-San?" Shoichi asked curiously. "I thought she was meeting me here?"

Vee looked at the Japanese man, and Shoichi noticed the teen's sorrowful eyes. Shoichi could feel a pit in his stomach forming as he anxiously waited for the teen to say something.

"She was going to," Vee answered sadly, sighing. "But something happened to Luz before you arrived, so I was asked to come in her place."

Shoichi's eyes snapped open as he processed this information. His shock didn't last long, and he determinedly narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me," Shoichi said in a serious tone, "What has been happening with my friend's daughter?"

(G Corner)

Thus, this concludes season 1, which I now call the "Kuuga Return" arc. But don't worry—Luz isn't dead! She would, however, be taking a back seat for most of season two as we focus on Amity's Rider Journey.

So, look forward to Season Two, the Agito Returns/Rebirth arc!