After having her moment with her siblings, and reconciling the event of killing their mother, Amity flew to the Emperor's Palace. The place that Eda told her Willow was spending an unusual amount of time at. She hovered over the castle, glaring down at the symbol of oppression, the stronghold of the man who took everything from them. Amity had half a mind to burn the entire thing to the ground, but from what she was told, there was still a beating heart inside of it. The Titan's heart. If that was true, then she couldn't very well burn everything down. It might end up "killing" King's father, and she wasn't about to take that away from him.
"Amity?!"
The young witch teen turned her head in the direction of the voice, and that's when she spotted Skara and Gus flying towards her.
"Amity, it is you! Boscha said you came back," said Skara with a smile.
"Hey, Skara…Gus. I'm guessing we're all here for the same reason," Amity inquired.
Gus nodded. "Guess Eda told you about Willow coming here. We have no idea what she's doing here. But we don't know what she's doing exactly."
Amity didn't like that. "Have you tried to talk to her?"
"We both have, but every time we do she always says, 'I'm fine' and 'I'll make things better'," Skara answered.
Amity glanced back down at the palace and furrowed her brow. "Well, I'm here now. Whatever she's doing, we're going to find out what it is. Whether she wants us to or not."
"Thanks, Amity," said Gus.
"She's my friend. I wasn't there for her when we were little. I'm not making that same mistake twice in the same lifetime. Let's go."
All three witch teens pointed their staffs downwards and descended towards the palace. They landed at the large double doors of the palace where one of the doors had been cracked open. Amity, Gus, and Skara entered, finding the inside to be quite dark. No one had been inside the palace since the Day of Unity, allowing the interior to degrade with no one to provide maintenance. Also, without anyone to provide janitorial services, the inside was allowed to accumulate dust, and cobwebs. Amity reached into her other pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, when she did, Skara and Gus did the same.
Amity glanced at each of her friends and smiled. "We could just draw spell circles and cast a light spell."
"We could," Skara confirmed.
"But this way's more fun," Gus mused.
Together, the three witches tapped the pieces of paper in their hands. The papers began to crumble, curling in on themselves as the Light Glyph that was drawn on them began to create an orb of light that hovered close to each of them. For a moment, the three just looked at their individual light orbs, reminiscing about a certain human girl who first cast this ancient spell of the Titan. But that was for only a moment, they had another friend that needed their help.
Amity, Gus, and Skara began their journey through the palace. As they walked, they passed by several of the portraits of Belos. Each one was a complete lie, each one a falsehood created by a false king to serve his wicked purposes. In hindsight, it was quite foolish. "Wild Witches" and "Coven Witches," submitting yourself to only one line of magical practice when the other magics blend well when mixed. Some were obvious, others needed a more creative touch. But he stymied their potential. Abomination magic always appealed to Amity, but there were times when she wondered what would happen if she mixed in Illusion magic, or Plant magic. Jerbo's combining of the two intrigued her enough to try some of it while she was flying about the Isles. Not like she had much else to do to pass the time than practice her magic and Phantom powers.
"Surprised no one's come in here and ransacked the place," said Gus.
"It may be empty, but…even now…it almost feels like he's still here. Does that make sense?" Skara asked.
"No, it does. This place was the center of evil. It was from here that Belos did his wicked work. Because of that, it feels like his presence lingers here. A mixture of fear and death, like he could appear around the corner at any moment. And of course, these damn pictures don't help matters," Amity remarked.
"We really should just tear down this place, or renovate it into something useful," Gus suggested.
"One day, but we have too much work to do before that," Skara reminded.
"Where did you guys say Willow was?" Amity asked.
Skara and Gus stopped walking, glanced at each other, and then back to Amity.
"We thought you knew," the two said in unison.
"WHAT?!" Amity exclaimed. "I was just walking thinking we were going on the right path! Are you telling me you don't know where Willow is in this place?!"
"We've tried to look for her, but we never manage to find her," Skara informed.
"This place is so big, that, by the time we leave, she's already left and back in town," Gus explained. "We figured you might have an idea, so we were following you."
Amity facepalmed as she let out a frustrated growl. She calmed herself down after a moment, letting herself mull over their words. "It's fine. It was my fault for presuming you knew. In which case, we have to track her down another way. Ghost."
Her cat Palisman hopped off the staff, making the shaft disappear as she landed on the ground.
"Let's try that thing we've been practicing," said Amity.
Ghost meowed in confirmation.
"Step back you two."
Gus and Skara did as Amity instructed. When they did, golden flames surrounded Amity, transforming the witch teen into the form of Bast. Once she was in her Cat Phantom form, Amity drew a spell circle. The circle was purple in color, but also laced with a golden aura to show that her magical power as a Phantom was also mixed in. Amity knelt before Ghost and tapped her on the forehead. The Palisman's eyes shined gold for a moment, and so did Amity's.
"Link me if you spot anything," said Amity.
Ghost meowed again and ran off, her body became translucent, and in the next moment, she passed right through the wall. Needless to say, this amazed Gus and Skara.
"Whoa! Since when can Ghost do that?" Skara asked.
"I guess, as I've gotten stronger, so has Ghost." Amity gently placed her left hand against her chest. "I did model her after Bast. So, when I merged with Bast, our connection got stronger. Now, when I'm in this form, I can cast a spell that allows us to link to each other. We can share each other's senses. If she here's something, so will I, and if she sees something, I'll see it too. This way, we can cover more ground."
"Wow, guess being like this came with some advantages," said Gus.
"Some…yeah. Anyway, let's keep moving."
The light orbs remained close, but now with Amity's added flame illumination they were able to see much more of the hallway. They were still unsure where to look, so Amity asked where Skara and Gus had already looked. Process of elimination. Although, in a place as big as the palace, it was easy for either of them to miss something. Hopefully, Amity's keen eyes and senses could pick up on something that they missed. They searched through several areas that served as the barracks for the Coven Scouts. In doing so, the trio found Hunter's old room.
"So, this is where he lived," said Gus.
Amity sniffed the air for a moment and hummed. "Willow might not be here, but she definitely was here. Not too long ago either."
"Then she's still in the castle," Skara speculated.
"Safe to assume so. Hm?" Amity's head cocked to the right as if seeing something.
"What's wrong?" Gus asked.
"Ghost might've found something. Let's move."
The trio reached the throne room doors. Amity had switched back to her original form as she and the others entered. The beating heart of the Titan thumped rhythmically above the throne, showing that even in supposed "death" the Titan was still alive.
"You sure this is the right place?" Skara asked.
"When I picked up on Willow's scent back in Hunter's room, it alerted Ghost to the scent as well. She was able to track it into here. And from what she can smell, Willow's been in and out of here a lot," Amity explained.
"Well, it's not trashed, so it's not like she came here to vent or anything."
The sound of Ghost meowing caught their attention. All three witches saw the white cat Palisman walk from behind the throne itself, and then beckon for them to come over. All three rushed over and paused when they saw what was further behind the throne. It seemed as if there was an entryway, and it was open.
Amity knelt and gently stroked Ghost's head. "Good work, girl."
The cat Palisman meowed again before transforming into her staff form. Amity took hold of Ghost and held her staff close.
"We don't know what to expect. For now, let me take point. You two stay behind me," Amity stated.
Gus and Skara nodded.
Amity led the way as they walked through the entryway and down a flight of stairs. Further and further the teens descended, growing more anxious as they did. A strange glow emanated from the bottom of the stairs. Causing Amity to get on edge. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, all three witches gasped. There were several vats, and each one contained a Super Coven Phantom.
"What…What in Titan's name…?" Skara gasped.
"So…this is where Belos kept the Coven Phantoms. Right under the stinkin' palace," Gus growled.
"Shh!" Amity hissed. "I heard something…"
"Let's see…Stone Sleeper Lungs? Got that. Selkidomus scales? Uh…Uh…Yes! Palistrom wood, easy enough. Gladerstones? Well, considering the guardian of the Looking Glass Ruins is gone, that wasn't too hard."
Amity, Skara, and Gus glanced at each other and walked further into the underground facility. They could hear Willow's voice and kept moving in that direction. The vats of different Super Coven Phantoms started to give way to a clear area at the center of the facility, and once they arrived, all three gasped in shock, and a bit of horror.
Willow was standing in front of two vats. There were tables set up around them, each one had myriads of items strewn across them. They varied between flasks, scrolls, books, parts from different creatures, and other items. The collective gasps of the three alerted Willow to their presence, making her quickly turn around to see them. Willow's hair was disheveled, and she wore a white coat that had different colored stains on it. Her eyes were wide and possessed a crazed look about them. She appeared shocked to see her friends, but after a moment that shock gave way to a disturbing smile.
"Amity, Skara, Gus? Dang looks you found my secret project," said Willow in an innocent tone.
"Willow…W-Wha-What are you doing?!" Skara asked.
The Plant witch cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"What does she mean?! WILLOW, YOU HAVE HUNTER AND LUZ IN THERE!" Gus yelled.
Willow looked back at the two vats behind her. The one on her left possessed Hunter, floating in a green glowing liquid, he was devoid of any of his signature scars as if he had been born anew. The vat on the right possessed Luz. She possessed longer hair than the original, but there was no mistaking that it was an exact duplicate of the human girl they all missed.
"Oh, wait! Don't look! They're not decent!" Willow exclaimed as she tried to wave off her two friends. "I would've put clothes on them, but it's not really practical to do that while they're in the vats! So, if you guys could just – I mean, I don't think Luz would mind if you saw her, Amity. But I think we should preserve as much of their modesty as possible."
Amity just slowly walked towards her best friend and asked, "What have you done, Willow?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm bringing our friends back!" Willow proclaimed loudly and with pride. "It's taken me months, but I've finally managed to get them right! No, they're better than ever!"
Amity walked past Willow and up to the vat that contained Luz's clone. "What do you mean 'better'?"
"Weellll…" Willow walked up Hunter's vat and placed a hand against it. "Belos didn't make him into a full witch because he didn't to want give Hunter any edge against him. Not to mention he was trying to make him more like his dead brother, a human with no magic. But he couldn't very well make him into a human on the outside, it'd draw too much attention. But I changed that. Now, he has a proper Galderstone heart! One that will allow him to cast spells like a normal witch! He won't be a half-a-witch anymore!"
"Wait…What do you mean Belos made him that way?" Gus asked.
"Oh, right, you guys didn't know. Hunter was a Grimwalker, an artificial person. He was one of several Belos made. At least according to his notes. It was thanks to those I was able to get this far. Guess that evil bastard was good for something in the end!" Willow stated.
"A Grimwalker…I…I heard of those, but…I never thought anyone would actually try and make one," said Skara as she continued to gaze upon the two creations.
Amity furrowed her brow. "And what did you do to this one? What did you change for Luz?"
"Heh-heh! Like I said, she's better than she was before too! You know how she had a hard time with how things were here in the Boiling Isles? Well, I worked extra hard on her. And now, she's a perfect hybrid of witch and human! She can eat human food and Boiling Isles food! She's stronger, more durable, and less likely to get eaten by something here on the Isles! Oh-Oh! And the best part!" Willow walked up to Amity as she took her friend's left hand into both of hers. "I gave her a Galderstone heart like Hunter! Now Luz can perform magic like us!"
Tears began to flow down Willow's cheeks as she continued to smile. The crazed look in her eyes hadn't left for a moment.
"Now she doesn't have to feel left out! She can still use glyphs, but now she can also cast spells like you and me! I gave her the one thing she's always wanted! I gave them both the things they wanted! And when they're done, we can all be together again! We can fix what Belos broke together! The six of us! Just like it was before! Aren't you happy, Amity?! You can be with Luz again! A-And it's not too late!"
Willow released Amity's hand as she rushed over to one of the tables.
"Actually, you being here now is great timing! They aren't done yet, so there's time to make final adjustments to their memories! Their bodies can still be adjusted, but at this point, it'd have to be relatively small, so we don't destabilize them," Willow informed.
Gus shook his head as he just stood there and watched his best friend in her manic state.
"But just tell me, and I'll do my best! I figured Luz might like longer hair, but if doesn't we could always cut it later. It'll grow back just like normal hair, so there's no worries." Willow grabbed a couple of scrolls and stood next to Amity. The Plant witch shifted her eyes back and forth and leaned forward to whisper. "If there's anything you want me to change that's on the private side, you can tell me. I can make her a little taller, or give her a different figure, if you want~"
"…What is wrong with you?"
"What…?"
Amity's eyes shifted to the cat-like slits as she rounded on Willow. "I SAID, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING?! DO YOU THINK HUNTER AND LUZ WOULD WANT THIS?! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!"
The snap from Amity seemed to snap Willow out of her happy manic disposition as she furrowed her brow at Amity. "What are you saying?! I'm bringing our friends back! Your girlfriend, Amity! She's right there, and in a few more days we'll have both of them back!"
"THESE AREN'T THEM! THEY'RE JUST…JUST…COPIES!" Amity argued.
"Hunter was a copy of a copy! The original was human! It's not like I'm doing anything different! At least I'm not crippling this Hunter like Belos did! I'm giving him what that monster never did! And Luz?! I'm giving her everything she wanted! She can be a witch! For real! While still being human!"
"This isn't my Luz! This isn't her and it will never be her!" Amity growled as she stared Willow in eyes.
"G-Guys, calm down, let's take a step back and talk this out," Gus suggested.
"Willow Park, I'm telling you, as your friend. Shut this all down, NOW!" Amity ordered.
"Or what, Blight?!" Willow retorted as she stared down Amity.
"Or I'll make you."
Willow took a step back as she began manically laughing, causing Gus and Skara to feel a twinge of fear.
"Do you think I'm scared of you, Blight?" Willow asked. "Just because you're part Phantom now? Do you think I'll cower? That I'll bend the knee and do whatever the hell you want? I thought I told you back when the Emperor's Coven raided Hexside. I'm not the same half-a-witch Willow from back then!"
Amity took a step back as well, widened her stance, and raised her staff in preparation for what was to come. "I don't want to fight you, Willow. You need help."
"Ha-ha! 'Help,' she says! Really? WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS?!" Willow barked as she slammed her palm against the glass of the vat. "I AM HELPING! BELOS TOOK WHAT WAS DEAR TO US IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE! BUT I'M GOING TO BRING THEM BACK! I'm not stopping, Amity! I can bring them all back! I can bring back my Dad and Papa, your dad, Gus' parents, Skara's parents, everyone's! The solution is right here in front of you! And you want to make me stop?!"
"Yes. Because they wouldn't be the people we lost. Just copies. Facsimiles. It will never erase the fact that they're all dead!" Amity remarked.
"Then let me have him at least?!" Willow bargained as she looked towards Hunter's vat. "He was already a Grimwalker to begin with! So, what's the difference?!"
"Just…No, Willow! No to all of this! In fact…"
[Driver On!]
Amity's MagiDriver appeared around her waist as she slipped on her transformation ring.
"I'm going to destroy this place. Every vat, every note, I'll get rid of it all so that no one tries to do something like this!"
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
Willow immediately drew a spell circle and thrusted her left hand through it. This confused everyone for a moment, but when she retracted her hand, it was covered by something.
Skara's eyes bulged as she said, "Wait, is that–?!"
"THE GREEN THUMB GAUNTLET!" Gus finished.
Willow quickly pointed the ancient relic in Amity's direction as wood dragon suddenly burst forth from the gauntlet. Its eyes shined bright green as its jaws opened and snatched up Amity between them. The Abomination witch coughed up some blood as she felt the sharp wooden teeth of the beast dig into her midsection, but it didn't stop there. The dragon carried Amity all the way towards the far wall of the underground facility, slamming her against it.
"Willow what are you doing?! You'll kill her!" Gus yelled.
"Please, it's going to take a lot more than that to kill her. She's also a Phantom now, so I have to use stronger magic if I want to keep up, and that also means I can't hold back," Willow informed. "Oh, before I forget."
Willow drew another spell circle, and off from one the tables, a witch's hat rose, covered in Willow's green magical aura. With a flick of her wrist, the hat flew straight towards her and landed on her head. However, upon looking at it closely, Gus and Skara recognized that it was yet another of the ancient magical relics, the Healing Hat.
"There we go, can't risk having you take me out that easily either," said Willow.
"Is that Healing Hat?!" Skara exclaimed.
"I thought Lilith destroyed that?!" Gus gasped.
"She did, but apparently Belos has copies of the relics. Guess he wanted to have them on hand just in case things didn't go his way."
Amity grunted and coughed up some blood as she glared in Willow's direction. "Willow, this is not going to end well for you. You realize that, right?"
"I will bring them back, Amity! You'll thank me when Luz is back in your arms!"
Willow broke off the first wood dragon and summoned two more that quickly rushed forth and grew bigger and bigger with each passing second. Amity didn't have time to counter before the two dragons slammed into the wall, but they didn't stop. They continued forward, busting through the stone wall of the facility as they moved in a helix pattern, digging through the dirt and rock as they carried Amity through it.
"Skara, Gus." The two witches froze as they watched Willow turned towards her. That crazed look from earlier was back but was somehow more terrifying than it was before. "Please don't touch the vats while I'm gone, I'll be back after I have a few words with Amity."
Willow ran towards the hole her wood dragons created before drawing a spell circle. Massive vines started to sprout from the hole she made, empowered by the Green Thumb Gauntlet. The vines wrapped around her and created a flower bulb before zooming up the hole.
Amity grunted and shouted from pain as the dirt and hard rock cut at her skin. Although her body was much more durable thanks to being a Phantom, that didn't mean it hurt any less. After an unknown amount of time, Amity burst forth as she was launched upwards into the sky. The teen witch coughed up some more blood as the twin dragons departed, leaving her to hover in the air. Amity opened her eyes and realized that she was now hovering over the chasm surrounding the palace. Thinking quickly, Amity released Ghost, allowing her Palisman to swiftly fly and catch her before she could fall too far.
Now that she was on Ghost, Amity saw that she had been blasted out from the stone block where the palace sat upon. The wounds that Amity suffered were already healing, and with a quick spell, Amity repaired her torn clothing. Amity stood on her staff, and watched as a mass of vines exited the hole that she had been thrown from. The vines parted and showed a bulb, from which it began to blossom into a flower where Willow stood on it, like a platform.
"You know, Willow, it just occurred to me that we never really had a proper witch's duel between us. Not even when you found your strength in Plant magic, you never challenged me once," Amity pointed out with a fanged grin.
"Heh-Heh, you know, you're right. Back then, I was still skittish and timid. I had just found my place, and I was afraid of losing it. But considering you had a Phantom inside of you, your magical power was way stronger than mine. So, it'd hardly be a fair fight. However…"
The chasm began to rumble as multiple plant monsters began to rise, some burst through the walls in the canyon, and surrounded the palace it.
"I'm not the same Willow as before."
"Clearly. So, I'll grant you fight that you never got. Willow Park…" Amity hopped off Ghost and grabbed the end of her staff as she began drawing a huge spell circle with hit.
Once the spell circle had been completed, a tremendous geyser of Abomination slime erupted from below, rising higher and higher. Some of the slime splintered off and formed a platform for Amity to stand on. The rest of the Abomination slime started to take shape, transforming itself into a nine-headed hydra. Amity took her staff into both hands as she twirled it around and struck a stance as she grinned at her friend.
"…I CHALLENGE YOU TO A WITCH'S DUEL!"
Willow's eyes glowed bright green as she widened her stance.
"I ACCEPT!"
The hydra and plant monsters roared as their battle began. One of the hydra heads extended itself straight towards Willow. But Willow directed one of her plant monsters to intercept, as the fang riddled flower snapped itself around the throat of the Abomination hydra head. However, that same head managed to sprout two more heads from the severed end and began snapping their jaws around the plant monster that had attacked it. The other hydra heads began attacking the other plant monsters. While that was going on, Amity willed the platform to shoot forward as her staff flared with power.
Willow summoned her staff, Clover, to her right hand. She twirled it around, charging it with magical energy. The Plant witch had her flower platform charge forth as well. The two witches leapt off their platforms and struck with their staffs, creating a powerful shockwave of magical energy to burst out through the chasm. Despite the seriousness of this battle, Willow and Amity were smiling at each other. Call it a twist of fate. But even to these two teens, they knew this battle was a long time coming. One way or another, they were going to clash. The saddest part about this is the circumstances upon which the two find themselves conducting this battle. If things didn't go the way they did on the Day of Unity, this would be a friendly duel, nothing at stake, just two friends battling to see who was the strongest. However, fate was not so kind to them, not here, not now.
The eruption of their power pushed back both witches, but they quickly recovered and came around for another strike, causing yet another shockwave of power to rattle the chasm. The Abomination hydra and plant monsters continued to fight, with the hydra continuously multiplying its heads in response to them getting severed or just growing more from the main body. Amity formed an Abomination gauntlet around her left arm, and Willow had the Green Thumb Gauntlet bulk up, adding on extra layers, along with sharp wooden spikes. The two girls threw their punches, causing yet another shockwave to rock the area. They held that position as their fists grinded against each other, trying to overpower each other.
"This would be fun on any other day!" Willow exclaimed.
"Agreed! But you know I can't let you go through with this Willow!" Amity remarked.
"I'm doing this for you and everyone! I want to see Luz again! I want Hunter back! Don't you want that Amity?! To have the person you love at your side!"
Amity faltered, and Willow took advantage of it. Willow batted away Amity's fist, twirled around, and delivered a punch with the gauntlet to Amity's gut. The spikes pierced her flesh, causing Amity to taste her own blood yet again. Willow wasn't done as she had the spike that impaled Amity extend forward, carrying the Phantom-witch away from her. The spike branch grew more spikes which zigzagged out and pierced Amity through her wrists and through the middle of her hands, making her drop Ghost. More branches sprouted, piercing through Amity's shoulders, legs, and lastly her throat. The long branch came to a stop when it impacted the chasm wall and broke off, leaving Amity impaled on the wall like a macabre butterfly display.
Willow had vines carry her to where she had pinned Amity and continued to glare at her best friend. "Why won't you understand?!"
"…You…You loved Hunter…didn't you…?" Amity questioned with a raspy voice.
Willow lowered her gaze. "I did…I loved him. I didn't realize it until after he was gone, but I was developing feelings for Hunter. I was hoping that the three of us, me, Skara, and Hunter, that we could be together…share each other's happiness. We could've had a bright future together…full of love. Hunter wouldn't be alone anymore, and all of us could've kept playing together across the Isles…BUT BELOS TOOK THAT FROM US! HE TOOK OUR FUTURES AWAY! MINE AND YOURS!"
The plant monsters all roared as if giving voice to Willow's pain and sorrow.
"But we don't have to feel that way anymore!" Willow offered her hand to Amity. "Just let me do this for you, Amity. For everyone. I can bring an end to so much pain and sorrow for everyone on the Isles. We'll have the people we love back. Belos left all his notes, you could take command of the Coven Phantoms! The Boiling Isles could be put back on the right track, made better! Don't you think Eda would want Luz back?! King too?!"
Amity took in a raspy breath as she answered, "They would…"
Suddenly, golden flames erupted around Amity's body, incinerating the branches that had kept her pinned to the wall. Willow hurriedly backed away, realizing that Amity had entered her Phantom form. However, that wasn't the end of it.
"Henshin…"
[Ready, Open!]
[Roar of the Heavens!]
[The Goddess Descends!]
The flames broke down into embers as Kamen Rider Heka now stood before Willow. Her body was outlined in a golden aura, with golden flames wisping from the corners of the helmet's eyes. Even in base form, Heka's power was greater thanks to her body now being part Phantom.
"I understand, Willow, I do. There's not a day that goes by that wish I didn't have Luz back in my arms," Heka stated.
"THEN–!"
"BUT THAT ISN'T THEM! DO YOU REALLY THINK LUZ WOULD WANT THIS?! ESPECIALLY HUNTER?!"
Heka twirled Lady Luck around as she vaulted herself off the canyon walls, deepening the crater she had made earlier, and struck Willow in the gut with a right hook. The Plant witch coughed some blood before being sent flying in the opposite direction. A flower quickly sprouted in the distance and caught her before she could hit the palace ahead. Willow clutched at her stomach, feeling that that one blow burst several of her internal organs. The Healing Hat glowed bright blue as its potent magic seeped into Willow's body. In a matter of seconds, the pain had gone away, and after a minute, Willow felt that the damage had been undone.
The golden Rider now stood on her Abomination hydra and pressed her left hand against its body.
"HUNTER'S ORIGINAL SELF DESERVES TO REST! BRINGING HIM BACK AGAIN IS JUST REPEATING THE CYCLE THAT BELOS STARTED!"
Golden flames ignited across the body of the hydra, coating each head in magical flames. The hydra heads all roared and began attacking the plant monsters around with greater ferocity. Now coated in gold fire, the hydra heads were able to not only snap their jaws through the plants, but upon contact, they set them ablaze, preventing the plants from regenerating from their attacks. Willow used the gauntlet's power to summon more plant monsters, she was going to overwhelm Amity, she was not about to lose this.
"I'M NOT GOING TO TREAT HIM LIKE A TOOL LIKE BELOS DID! DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO HIM!" Willow yelled.
Heka hopped off her hydra and scanned another ring.
[Ride the Sky!]
Heka's magic circle appeared, and out from it appeared the Solar Chaser. The golden Rider mounted her hover bike and sped towards Willow. Hundreds of vines rose from the chasm floor and launched themselves in Heka's direction. Heka jumped off the back of the hover bike and just as she did, the Solar Chaser passed through her magic circle, transforming into its mech form, the Solar Sentinel. The mech fired off its diamond missiles and began shooting mana blasts from its rotating barrel fingers. The missiles and beams collided with the vines and exploded, shredding right through them.
[Call to Arms: Scarab Saber!]
A streak of golden fire sped past the Solar Sentinel, and through the hole in the vines it had made. Another streak of golden flames appeared, this time slicing through the vines that held up the flower platform for Willow. The Plant witch was caught off guard as the platform began to fall, but just as quickly, she thrusted her left arm down and created a giant tree that she used to catch herself before she could fall any further. But the tree wasn't enough as Heka, with the speed boost from the Scarab Saber, began carving through the tree, setting it on fire with each stroke of her blade. Willow hurriedly mounted Clover and flew high into the sky just as Heka appeared on the branch she was just on.
"And what about Luz?! Do you honestly want her to be that different?! We cared about her because she was different! Not because she was like us! And there's no guarantee that these two Grimwalkers you created will be exactly like them!"
"IF THAT HAPPENS THEN I'LL–!"
"GET RID OF THEM AND MAKE ANOTHER?!"
Willow's eyes widened. She wasn't going to say that. Was she? No, she wouldn't, that's not what she was going to say, but…but…
The Solar Sentinel appeared behind Willow and backhanded her across the head. Willow was sent flying off Clover, and straight towards Heka. The golden Rider launched herself off the branch of the giant tree as she cocked back her left fist.
"LET THEM REESSSSSST!"
Heka appeared and struck Willow with a powerful straight punch. Willow was sent flying yet again, on a collision course for the wall of the palace. However, the Solar Sentinel grabbed Heka.
"THROW ME!"
The mech did as she asked, spun around, and threw its mistress in Willow's direction.
[Call to Arms: Sphinx Shield!]
The two of them were about to hit the wall, but Heka managed to wrap her right arm around Willow just as she raised her shield. A thunderous BOOM echoed through the canyon as both Willow and Heka crashed through the stone block that the palace sat on. Deeper and deeper they went until, eventually, both witches ended up busting through the other side and into the canyon wall on the opposite side. A huge concave crater formed in the canyon wall, big enough for the two of them to move around in.
Heka dismissed her shield and pinned Willow to the ground. The Healing Hat was glowing as it began undoing the damage Heka had caused her friend. After a minute and a half, the hat stopped glowing. Before Willow could fully regain her bearings, the golden Rider removed the Green Thumb Gauntlet from Willow's arm, and once she was sure the hat had completed its work, she removed that as well, tossing both out of reach from Willow. As soon as she removed them, all the plants that Willow had created began to wither and die, no longer able to sustain themselves without the power of the gauntlet or Willow's mental command. Heka surmised Willow could've tried to keep them around, but she would exhaust her magic just maintaining them.
Once that was done, Heka reverted to her civilian form. She grabbed fistfuls of Willow's coat as she hoisted her up, glared, and began to cry.
"Just let them rest…Willow. Please…they don't need to be brought back to this…just let them rest…"
Willow started to sniffle, which devolved into full on sobs as the cavernous crater carried her wails outside, which were then magnified by the canyon walls.
"I…I'm sorry…I missed them…so much…Amity! I miss them so much it hurts…!" Willow wailed.
Amity lowered herself until both their foreheads were touching. "I know…I know…"
Gus and Skara waited, both completely wracked with worry. Even more so when the sounds of battle finally stopped. Just then, Amity's Solar Chaser flew out of the hole. Amity was driving, and Willow was riding on the back. Her hands were bound by Abomination slime in the form of cuffs to prevent her from casting any spells. The Plant witch looked utterly drained, the crazed look in her eyes had faded and made way for sorrow. The Solar Chaser landed near the center, where Gus and Skara ran to meet them.
"Willow!" Skara exclaimed as she hugged her girlfriend tightly. "I'm sorry. I should've…I should've done more, I…I knew you were hurting. I just didn't know how much…"
A weak smile formed on Willow's lips. "It…It's not your fault. I've kept my feelings hidden…I…I tried to be strong…but…I'm still weak…"
Gus came up and gave Willow a hug as well. "It's okay to be weak Willow, that's why we're here. Your friends, your girlfriend. We're here for you. You don't have to carry this sadness alone…we feel it too."
Amity sighed heavily, she tried to resist crying again, but she was having a tough time doing so. She dismounted the Solar Chaser and helped Willow off it. Once she had, the Abomination witch dismissed her hover bike and began walking towards the center.
"Gus, Skara, take Willow out of here. I'm burning this all to the ground," Amity stated.
Willow looked up with wide eyes. "Amity, wait–!"
"This place is a temptation, Willow. For you…for me. For everyone who feels the same way you do. These Phantoms need to be destroyed. Along with any information on how to make more, along with the Grimwalkers. And after we're done. I'm taking you to Miss Eda, and we're going to extract the memories of the notes and destroy those too."
Willow paused. "You're…You're not going to erase my memories of what I did?"
"No, you need to remember this. Our fight, what you did. Because I don't want you making this mistake a second time."
"Hold on! Before you do, please…can I at least say goodbye?"
Amity said nothing, she only nodded.
Willow was escorted to the vats that held Hunter and Luz. The three witches looked upon the floating bodies of their two friends. The scars over their hearts burned with sadness and sorrow, seeing them so close, and yet so far. Willow continued to stare at them. And now that she had, Willow understood. The dead should rest. They didn't need to be brought back to this dystopian world. There was going to be a lot of hardship down the road for the Boiling Isles. And all she'd be doing was bringing them into that same hardship after all they did.
"Luz…Hunter…goodbye," said Willow.
After giving her parting words, Gus and Skara summoned their staffs, mounted them, and flew out with Willow. Leaving Amity alone in the facility. The golden eyed witch walked up to the vat that contained the love of her life. She gently placed her hand against the vat and stared at the floating form of the girl she loved so dearly. Amity finally released her tears as she fell to her knees and wept. There was a part of her that so desperately wanted this. As much as she lectured Willow moments ago, she couldn't deny that there was a part of her heart that was desperately begging her to let Willow continue. Luz was right there; she could come back. Amity could continue Willow's work without any of them knowing.
No…
Amity stood up, turned around, and thrusted her left hand forward as she released a torrent of golden flames in that direction. She quickly transformed into her Phantom form and unleashed a greater deluge of the flames in all directions. The entire facility was now on fire as the golden flames wrapped around the vats that contained the Super Coven Phantoms. One by one the flames engulfed the vats, heating the liquid inside until the glass burst apart, and the Phantoms inside were burned into ash. Golden flames surrounded the perimeter, with only Amity's area free from the fires. She turned around and faced both vats. There was a chance that they could wake up and feel the pain of being burned alive. They may be Grimwalkers, but Amity wasn't about to make them suffer. There was no way she could take seeing or hearing either of them in agony. Amity concentrated her flames, building them up around herself as they grew in intensity. The Cat Phantom placed her left hand against the vat that Luz was in and pressed her forehead against it.
She closed her eyes, and all at once, Amity unleashed the flames in the form of a mighty explosion that instantly engulfed both vats and vaporized them immediately. No pain, no agony, no screaming. A swift and painless end. A powerful explosion rocked the entire underground facility, with the flames raging through the hole and headed up the stairs towards the throne room. However, Amity raised her left hand and drew a spell circle that was yellow and purple. The explosive flames that were raging outwards suddenly began getting pulled back. With each second, the flames were sucked into the form of a condensed orb of golden light above Amity. Once all the flames had been gathered, Amity took the orb into her hand and clenched her fist around it, snuffing out the flames.
When she was done, Amity surveyed the area. Nothing but charred ruins were spread out before her. Every note on Grimwalkers and the Coven Phantoms was destroyed. All the vats that contained the monsters were obliterated, along with the monsters inside. As for the ones that contained the Grimwalkers of Luz and Hunter. Their vats were no longer there, having been instantly destroyed thanks to being so close to Amity's explosion wave. Amity's body shifted back to her normal state, and then she fell to her knees and let out another painful cry into the air.
(Later…)
"…And that's what happened."
Eda sunk in her chair as she pressed a hand against her forehead. "I didn't think she was feeling that way. That she was…Titan…I…"
"I know."
Eda got out of her chair and looked out towards the town, at all the kids who were trying to rebuild what was left of their lives. Hooty stretched out towards Eda and nuzzled the side of her head, making Eda smile at his attempt to comfort her as he patted him on the head.
"You did the right thing, Amity. For everyone's sake. I…if it wasn't Willow, then someone else would've found that place and try to do the same thing."
"Someone like you?" Amity questioned as she leaned against the wall.
"Yeah…Although, I'm pretty sure you're counted too," Eda remarked.
"I won't deny it."
Eda walked from behind her desk as she said, "I'll take care of Willow and start her memory wipe personally. I'll make sure she doesn't remember how to make Grimwalkers or Coven Phantoms."
Amity nodded. "Thank you. Tell me when you're planning on doing it. I'll use my flames to ensure that they're destroyed."
"Will do, but I think you should take some time off, just rest. You've been through a lot today," Hooty suggested.
Amity waved off Hooty's concern. "Thanks, but I'm–"
"Don't say you're fine!" Eda interrupted, causing Amity and Hooty to flinch. "Not after what you had to do, there's no way you're 'fine'! Just…" The Owl Lady dragged her left hand down her face. "Just go home, talk to your brother and sister. The last thing you need is to be alone right now."
Amity said nothing to the Owl Lady and Hooty, instead she turned around and left the office. Once outside, she walked down the street. Willow's breakdown, the Grimwalkers of Hunter and Luz, the fight, and what she did…she…
Suddenly, Amity walked into someone, making her stumble backwards a couple of steps.
"Hey! Watch where you're – Amity?"
The Abomination witch blinked and noticed the person she bumped into was Boscha.
"What's wrong? You kinda look like shit, no offense," Boscha commented.
Amity smiled a little, reached out, and grabbed Boscha's hand. "Follow me."
"What? Why?" Boscha questioned.
"Just do it, Barbtalone."
Boscha decided to see where this was going and allowed Amity to lead her. The two of them crossed through a couple of allies, the sounds of the other kids growing further and further away. Amity glanced about the area until her eyes settled on a random house. She walked up to the front door and kicked it open, letting the door slam on the wall upon impact. Once inside, Amity used her magic to shut the door and added on some Abomination reinforcement to keep anyone from doing what she just did.
"Uh, Amity, why are we in some random house?" Boscha asked.
"Shh, just keep following me, Boscha. I promise you won't be disappointed."
Keeping a firm grip on her wrist, Amity led Boscha up the stairs. She investigated each room until she found the house's main bedroom. Once there, she had Boscha go inside first. The door to the room closed behind them, making the triclops jump around in surprise.
"O-Okay, Blight, what's going on?"
"What do you think is going on?" Amity inquired with a cattish grin.
Boscha started to back up as Amity advanced on her. There was a kind of predatory look in her eyes that not only scared Boscha a little, but it also made her excited.
"I…I can make a lot of assumptions based on where we are, but I'm not about to indulge in my fantasies," she remarked with a nervous chuckle.
Amity continued to get closer until was about a foot away from her friend. "Well…today you can."
Suddenly, Amity pushed Boscha forward, making her fall onto the bed. In the same moment, Amity pounced on Boscha, pinning the triclops to the bed as Boscha's face burned crimson red.
"Whoa-Whoa! Amity, w-what are you doing?!" Boscha stammered.
"Poor choice of words, Bosch."
Without warning, Amity leaned down and pressed her lips against Boscha's. The triclops struggled for a few moments, grunting in protest the entire time. But that stopped as she started to moan. She couldn't believe this was happening, it was almost like a dream. Boscha squeaked in shock when she felt Amity's tongue enter her mouth, but it was a welcome surprise as Boscha reciprocated the action. The demon-witch wrapped her arms around her former best friend, and held Amity's body close to hers.
I…I can't believe it…did…did she finally choose me? Boscha thought.
The marooned haired witch slowly opened her third eye, wanting to catch a glimpse of her crush's face. However, when she did, her third eye flew wide open. Suddenly, Boscha released her hold, placed her hands on Amity's shoulders, and pushed the Phantom-witch off, breaking the kiss in the process.
"W-What are you doing?!" Amity questioned incredulously.
"We're not doing this," Boscha stated.
Amity chuckled dryly. "Are you kidding me? All this time you've pined for me, and the moment I throw myself at you, you get cold feet?! Isn't this what you wanted?!"
"Yes, but when I imagined this, you weren't crying!"
Amity looked surprised by that. She reached up and touched her face, and realized her eyes were wet with tears. The Abomination witch shook her head and said, "It's nothing!"
"The hell it isn't! What happened?" Boscha insisted.
Amity pushed Boscha's arms out of the way, grabbed her wrists, and pinned Boscha to the bed.
"What do you care?! You used a potion to control me months ago! You tried to break up Luz and me! And now, after all this time, I'm finally willing to go this far with you, and you suddenly develop a moral code?!" Amity shouted.
"Because if I did that now, I'd lose to Noceda!"
Amity blinked and went wide eyed.
"What…What did you say…?"
"I promised that human that I would convince you that I was the better choice! Do you think that promise died when she did?! Even now, even though Luz is dead, I'm still competing against her! It may take a long time before we manage to fix everything that's broken, but when we do, I'm going to put my all into making you acknowledge me as your new girlfriend! I promised her no more tricks, no more schemes! I'm not about to lose to her by taking advantage of you when you're clearly not right in the head right now!" Boscha explained.
Amity's grip loosened as she just stared down at Boscha, still in shock. The triclops' expression softened as she looked upon Amity with concern.
"I don't know what brought this on…and you don't have to tell me. You…we all have been through too much. If this is what you need…then…go ahead…I won't hold it against you, but neither am I counting whatever happens in here as part of my competition. But ask yourself one thing before you go further…what would Noceda say if she saw this?"
Amity's wet eyes began to glisten as more tears started to form. Eventually, she couldn't hold it anymore. Amity released a sobbing wail into the room as she pressed her hands against her face. She rolled off Boscha and curled into a fetal position on the bed. Boscha watched, her heart aching as she saw Amity cry. The triclops scooted closer and brought Amity into a hug, and softly caressed her former friend's hair as she held her tight.
The two witches held that position a long while, to the point that Boscha lost track of time. Eventually, Amity's sobbing finally ceased and the two of them now sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm…I'm sorry, Boscha," said Amity.
Boscha shrugged. "Wasn't too bad. I got to make out with you for a little bit."
Amity chuckled, but her remorseful expression hadn't changed.
"You don't have to tell me what happened, but…"
"Willow snapped."
"Wait, Park did?!" Bosche exclaimed. "Did you…Did she…?"
Amity shook her head. "She didn't kill herself, and I didn't kill her. It's like this…"
Boscha listened as Amity told her story of today's events. To say this shocked Boscha would be an understatement, but nevertheless she remained silent and allowed Amity to finish her tale. When it was over, Boscha struck her right fist against her thigh.
"Dammit…I knew…I knew I should've kept a closer eye on Park. She seemed too…together. I should've followed her to the palace, I should've–!"
"It's not your fault. Gus, Skara, Eda, and even me. We all missed the signs. And for her part, Willow made sure not to show that she was affected. Besides, you were busy. Acting as Search Party leader, and Patrolman," said Amity.
"Same for you. We've all been busy. There's…a shit ton of work that still needs to be done. A lot of different kids trying to carve out territory around the Isles for themselves. Park just…slipped through, and it was even worse since she actively hid her feelings from us," Boscha remarked.
Amity leaned forward and pressed her left hand against her head. "I wanted to do it…Boscha. Part of me wanted to just let Willow be and let her bring back Hunter and Luz. That same part is screaming and berating me for what I did, for losing the chance to have the girl I love back. And for denying everyone the chance to have their loved ones come back…"
Boscha sighed. "Would they really be back? Grimwalkers…I mean…Willow was using Belos' notes. Who's to say that Luz and Hunter would've come out like themselves? If she missed something or messed something up, she could've ended up creating monsters. And then you would've had to end up destroying them with your own hands. Only then they'd be alive."
Amity nodded her head in agreement. If there was even one thing wrong with the creation process, the Grimwalkers could have turned out evil, or have the complete opposite personality of the people they loved.
"And you did the right thing by burning that place to the ground. From all the raids and searches I've conducted, a can tell you, there are few groups out there that would love to have their own Grimwalker or Coven Phantom soldiers. Heck, there are some here who would say yes to using the Grimwalkers to bring back our dead parents and everyone else. But then what?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean if we did that. Bringing everyone back as Grimwalkers. We'd have to erase the memories of everyone on the island. Get rid of the graves and bodies. We'd essentially pretend that none of it happened. But we need to remember it happened." Boscha got up and turned towards Amity. "This was the price we paid for listening to a madman. We cannot let this happen to us again. Erasing memories and using Grimwalkers is just running away from the problems and shitting on the sacrifices that were made by those who tried to stop it."
Boscha knelt before Amity and gently placed her hands on her crush's knees.
"As hard it was for you. As fucked up as it was. Destroying that lab was the right thing to do. No one here needs that kind of temptation, not you, not me, not anyone," Boscha concluded.
Amity sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Since when did you start spouting wisdom and being the sensible one?"
Boscha stood up and smirked at her crush. "I'm full of surprises, Blight. When the work is done, I'd be happy to show you all my secrets."
Amity and Boscha chuckled, enjoying the banter remembering old times.
"Could I ask you a favor?" Amity inquired.
"What?"
"Can you…stay with me a little longer?"
Boscha crossed her arms and let a suggestive grin spread across her lips. "Hmm? Is that an invitation to get in your pants?"
"Boscha," Amity groaned.
"Sorry, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood a little." Boscha sat back down next to Amity and smiled genuinely. "I'll stay with you as long you need me."
Amity leaned to her left and rested her head on Boscha's left shoulder.
"Thank you, Boscha…"
"…Anytime, Amity."