Raine called for help on their scroll, and before long the owl house was swarming with all kinds of people. Soldiers arrived to arrest the perpetrators still on the scene, while healers tended to the wounded. They were able to help Luz with the burns she received from the light magic, but no matter how hard they tried, they just could not calm her down. She was absolutely hysterical over what had just transpired, so the healers suggested moving her away from the scene, which everyone agreed with.

They decided to head down to Blight Manor for an emergency family meeting. Amity called her family and friends to let them know what happened, while Eda did the same for Lilith and Camila. The latter was almost as hysterical as her daughter was, but promised to call Vee and Masha so they could come too.

Within a couple hours, everyone was seated in the living room of Blight Manor. The Blights, the Nocedas, Eda, Hunter, everyone. Luz had quieted down by this point, but she was barely speaking to anyone, and even then she only gave one word responses. Nobody blamed her though. Anyone would be deeply distressed after what she had just gone through.

Amity was the first to speak. "I think we should put all plans we have for using this brew on hold for now. This is just too serious, and it needs our full attention. We need to make sure we can keep Luz safe."

"Agreed." Raine said. "I have people searching for Dysley and his people as we speak, but they have gone into hiding. And unfortunately, they seem to be good at covering their tracks. It seems Dysley's time serving the CATs is doing him well."

Hunter growled. "Dysley. I remember him. He always claimed that he wanted to do what was right, but was always convinced that he knew best. Never liked him for that reason."

Raine growled as well. "And based on my brief interaction with him, he hasn't changed a bit. All the more reason we need to find him, and I will do everything in my power to do so."

"Good." Camila said. "The sooner you can find that monstrous, the better. Until then, it might be best if Luz stayed in the Human Realm for a while. The Demon Realm just doesn't seem safe for her right now."

Eda frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea. We don't have a lot of our countermeasures for Luz's lycanthropy in the human realm, including the chamber."

Lilith put a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder. "Maybe not, but I don't think we'll need them for this. We have a great understanding of Luz's curse at this point, and know exactly how much medicine she needs to take at any given time to keep it at bay, including the full moon."

"Exactly." Emira said. "What happened before was a freak occurrence where she was prevented from taking her medicine, and those guys were idiots for doing that."

"You got that right!" Hooty said. "Unlike us, they weren't prepared at all! Those morons had no idea what they were doing!"

Luz gave a small weep, fresh tears forming in her eyes, and Camila rubbed her back and kissed her cheek.

"Shh. It's okay, Mija." She cooed before turning to Hooty. "Let's not bring that up right now, okay?"

The house demon looked with guilt. "Sorry..."

"It's okay, pal." Gus said, patting him on the head. "You were just trying to cheer her up."

Vee then spoke up. "Lilith is right though. As long as Luz has her medicine, we shouldn't have anything to worry about. Besides, I think it would be good for her if she stepped away from all of this for a while. You know, to mentally heal."

The human witch sniffed. "But w-what about…the brew?"

It was the first full sentence she has spoken in hours, but her mental anguish was still there in full force.

Masha shook their head. "Forget about that for now. I'm not just saying that cause me and Lilith haven't worked out a recipe for it yet. Confronting the werewolf in your mind will require a lot of mental strength, and you're in no condition to be doing that right now."

Willow nodded. "They're right, Luz. You'll only make things worse if you do it now, so take some time to heal and regain your composure. There's no rush to do it either. The brew isn't gonna go away or anything. It'll still be here when you get back."

The human witch hated that idea, putting all of the hard work she and her family were doing on hold, but what could she do? Pushing forward would only add to her problems, and she needed to be in the best state of mind possible to be able to confront her curse. She needed to recover first, and recovering takes time. This brought up another question though. How was she supposed to recover from this? This was not like anything she had experienced before. She had killed two people, and the weight of the guilt she felt was unbearable.

Amity frowned as she looked at her. She saw something that she rarely saw in her fiancé, and it was something that always worried her. It was a look of doubt and hopelessness.

She turned to look at her family and friends. "I think I'm gonna take Luz upstairs and put her to bed. She needs to rest right now."

"Good call." Gus said. "Just let us know if you need anything."

Amity nodded before she slowly helped Luz stand up and began to walk her away from the living room and towards the staircase. It was only after they ascended to the second floor and out of sight that Alador let out a sigh.

"Poor kid. Why can't she just get a break?"

Eda choked. "Yes, why? She was doing just fine. Her scars were finally healing, and she was starting to be happy again. Why did these bastards feel the need to rip them back open?!"

She started to sob, and Raine and Lilith enveloped her in a hug.

"I don't know, dear." The former said. "That's just the way some people are. No matter what you say or do, they are convinced that they know better. And if you factor in the fear involving lycanthropy, those kind of people will do anything to prove they're right…even if that means hurting others."

Emira growled. "You know what the worst part is? I think Dysley really does want things to be better just like us. But he wants to do it in his own sick way, and refuses to listen to any reason but his own. He's a lot like Belos, now that I think about it."

"You got that right." Edric said. "You'd think he would have thought of that before pulling what he did today, but no! He just had to be the hero, didn't he? Titan, I'm so sick of people like him!"

"I think we all are." Hunter said. "And we sure as hell aren't gonna let Dysley and his people destroy what we've built. We'll track them down and bring them to justice."

Willow shook her head and took his hand. "I agree. But remember, Luz's recovery is our main priority right now. We need to get her back on her feet."

"Precisely." Raine said. "Leave Dysley to me and my people. We'll let you know if we need any help, but right now, Luz needs you."

Vee nodded and cast a worried look at the staircase. "Yeah, she really does. Titan, I've…I've never seen her so vulnerable before."

Camila sniffed, but kept her composure as she walked over and put a reassuring arm around her daughter. "I know, baby. I'm scared too, but I also have faith in Luz. She's a Noceda after all, and we all know how stubborn us Nocedas are. She'll find her heart again. I just know it."

….

Amity was trying to share Camila's optimism as she guided Luz into one of the guest rooms and into bed, but still couldn't help but be worried sick. She recognized the signs of her fiancé beginning to doubt herself, but this was worse than anything she had ever seen, and that said a lot given everything the couple had been through. The purple haired witch knew it would only get worse over time, and that it was better to try and stop it right here and now.

So after she pulled the blankets over her fiancé, she knelt down and began to caress her cheek with her hand before speaking. "Listen to me. I know you're broken up over what happened today, and I don't blame you. I promise you though that it wasn't your fault. You were being threatened and acted in self defense. There's nothing wrong with that."

Luz choked. "There is something wrong with that, Amity! I killed them! I lost control and killed them with my own hands!"

"Again, you were being threatened. You tried to take your medicine, but those people prevented you from doing so. They were idiots to be screwing around with something they didn't understand, and their deaths were their own doing."

"That doesn't change what I did…"

"It does change it! You weren't killing innocent civilians unprovoked, not like an umbra lycanthrope would, you were protecting yourself from bad people."

"They weren't bad, they were afraid! Afraid of me, and they had every right to be! I really thought that this was avoidable, but I was stupid! I really was just a ticking time bomb who was always going to go off! Those people know what they say I am! I'm a m-"

"Don't say it!"

Amity's tone had surprised her, and she even flinched a bit. The purple haired witch now had a distressed look on her face, with tears pouring down her face.

"D-Don't…Don't ever call yourself that!" She sobbed. "There's a line between being afraid and being an awful person, and those people crossed it! You weren't posing a danger to any of them! You know that, and they still chose to threaten your life and that of your family! You get that?!"

Luz's look of anguish slowly returned as she looked down at her hands. They had been cleaned of all traces of blood, but she still felt they were stained. Even though her fiancé's words made sense, she just could not shake her anguish.

Amity grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at her. "Stop doing this to yourself! You can't blame yourself for someone else's actions! Why can't you understand that?!"

"It was my actions!" The human witch screeched. "It doesn't matter what they did! I still killed them! I…I'm a murderer now!"

Amity gasped. "Luz, how could you say that?! You're not that at all!"

"Yes I am! I killed two people in cold blood! How does that not make me a murderer? And don't say I wasn't in control! It doesn't matter if I was a werewolf or not! It was still me! I did all of that!"

Luz was starting to hyperventilate now. "What if this happens again? What if the next person I kill is…is… you?"

For the second time that day, she let out all of her emotions at once, and she started bawling, and again Amity embraced her in a hug, breaking down herself. From there the couple just sat there, crying and clinging to each other like their lives depended on it, and in a way it did.

At some point, they felt two more pairs of arms join them in the hug, which were revealed to belong to Eda and Camila. They had heard everything, and immediately ran up after hearing the couple's cries. They all just sat there for what felt like hours, holding each other and giving as much love as possible. Family was more precious than anything else in the world, and it was times like this that proved it.

Eventually, Eda pulled away slightly and spoke. "Luz, listen to me. I know I said once that failure was a great teacher, but what happened today wasn't any failure of yours. You had everything you needed to keep your curse under control, and those people took it away from you. That was their screw up, and it had nothing to do with you. If they hadn't butted in, you wouldn't have transformed at all in the first place."

The human witch sniffed. "That's not true! Nothing is guaranteed! You know that! There will always be a chance that-"

"Luz, stop it!" Amity cried. "I…I can't stand seeing you hurt yourself like this! Don't think for a second that you would kill any of us! You know that's not true!"

"She's right, Mija." Camila said. "What happened today would never happen around us, and you know exactly why. We're prepared for the times you lose control, those idiots weren't. You saw it yourself. Even though she wasn't expecting it, Amity still managed to give you your medicine and get your curse under control, by herself no less."

She then tinted her daughter's chin up so she could face her. "And Eda's also right. Those people who threatened you had no idea what they were doing, and ultimately paid the price. You can't blame yourself for their mistakes."

Luz choked as her tears continued to stream down her face. "That still doesn't change what I did! This isn't like before where I hurt someone! I actually killed people, people who had families!"

Eda shook her head. "No, it doesn't change what happened, but do you remember something else I told you? You can't change things no matter how hard you try. So don't focus on that, and don't let it weigh you down. Focus on moving forward instead."

Luz was about to protest, but Amity covered her mouth and gave her an intense stare. Not threatening, but enough to get her to quiet down.

"Listen to me." The purple haired witch said, tears still falling down her face. "You're letting what Dysley said get to you, and you can't do that! Nothing he said was true, and you know that! You are not a monster! You are not a murderer! You are a very loving and caring person who was forced into a situation you wanted no part of, and you have no right to feel guilty about that! And you think that this undoes all the progress you've made? Well let me tell you, it doesn't! You're still doing an incredible job and controlling yourself and your curse, and I am so proud of you for that! You are so much better than you're giving yourself credit for!"

She then moved her hand away from Luz's mouth to allow her to speak. The human witch just sat there blinking for a moment, processing what she was just told. After all, she had never seen her fiancé look at her like that before, and she was taken aback quite a bit. At the same time though, it seemed to have done the trick in snapping her out of the mental state she was in.

Finally, after several seconds of silence, she spoke in a quiet voice. "Y-You really think so? You really think I'm doing okay?"

Camila nodded. "Not just okay, you're doing great. You're almost in full sync with your curse now with only one or two more steps to go. The only mishap we had was during your first full moon, but that was because we didn't have all the answers we needed. Now that we do however, we've had a pretty solid grip on it with no further incidents. What Dysley's guys did was throw a wrench in the whole thing. That's why things went as wrong as they did."

Eda smiled and ruffled her apprentice's hair. "Believe me, kiddo, we're all very proud of you for how far you've come. You can do all kinds of things with your powers now. In fact, let's focus on that for a moment. What are the things you like about your powers?"

"W-What?" Luz shuddered.

"Answer my question. What do you like about your curse?"

The human witch paused for another moment before speaking. "I…umm…I like that I can heal so fast. It feels like I can do all kinds of fun things without worrying about getting hurt."

"For the sake of me and your mom, please don't test that theory."

"I won't."

"Good to hear. Anything else you can think of?"

"Umm, well, I like my super senses. It was annoying at first, but now I like being able to hear and smell everything."

Camila smiled now. "That must make some things a lot easier for you. Not to mention, it must feel good to be able to smell breakfast as soon as you wake up."

To her joy, her daughter gave a small smile. "It does. That actually leads into another thing. I love the morning runs I go on. The wind in my face feels so good."

"And I'm sure it's exhilarating to be able to run so fast." Amity added. "I love how strong you are too. You're able to carry me to bed so easily now."

The human witch gave a small laugh. She then looked down at the bite mark on her shoulder, the bite mark that symbolized her status as a werewolf. As she ran her fingers along the scars, she thought about everything her family had said to her, and it was then that their words finally began to sink in. She may not have been in full control of her curse yet, but the progress she had made was undeniable and nothing to scoff at. That was especially true when she remembered how difficult lycanthropy was to master. It was certainly something to be proud of, and not something for anyone to judge or ignore.

On top of that, her family really did have a great hold on everything involving her curse. Even during her first full moon, when they had to guess a few things, they still were able to get things under control, and things only got better from there. Since then, the human witch had been able to keep her curse at bay with no issues whatsoever. What happened today only happened because Dysley and his people thought they knew better, and ended up throwing everything off balance. It didn't prove their point at all. If anything, it was the other way around. Luz was finally beginning to see that.

"I…I tried to tell them." She said. "I begged them to listen to me, because I knew how much danger they were putting themselves in, and I didn't want them to get hurt. But they ignored me, and as a result…they paid for it."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I hate what I did today. I always will. That's just who I am, but I think I understand what you mean when you say it was justified. I may not have been in control at that moment, but I still was only protecting myself from someone who was trying to hurt me, and maybe even kill me as well. It was self defense, not murder. I need to keep telling myself that."

Amity smiled and kissed her cheek. "Exactly. The fact that you're being like this proves that Dysley is wrong. No matter what, you will always be Luz Noceda."

"So stop worrying about what those people think." Camila said. "Because in the end, you can't force them to believe anything. Whether or not they do is their choice. And if they choose not to, then it's their loss."

Luz nodded. "I just wish there was a way I could have them see the truth."

Eda frowned and patted her on the back. "I know it sucks, Kiddo, but that's just the way it is. All you can do is do your best and hope that people will understand. It's what I had to do with my curse, that's for sure."

The human witch nodded again. "Well, at least some people understand me, including Mayor Bump."

"Yes!" Amity said. "No matter what anyone says, there are a lot of people who support you, and want you to be happy. Just keep remembering that."

"Yeah…"

Luz let out a heavy sigh before looking at her mother. "You're right, Mom. I really do need some time away from all this. Maybe a break in the Human Realm will do the trick in helping me."

Camila nodded. "Absolutely. Luckily, the timing of this is in our favor. Thanksgiving is only a few days away."

The human witch's eyes widened. "It is? Oh, I…I completely lost track of what day of the month it was."

"Well, you were distracted by your classes to be fair. Either way, I think it will be the perfect way to cheer you up. It is one of your favorite holidays after all. In fact, why don't we all have Thanksgiving together? It might be hectic, but it will be lots of fun."

Amity nodded. "I love that Idea, Mrs. Noceda. It would be a great change of pace and scenery for all of us."

"Oh no. You can't call me that anymore. I'm going to be your mother in law soon, remember?"

The purple haired witch blushed and chuckled. "Oh yeah, hehe, I guess I forgot about that with all this drama going on."

Luz kissed her cheek. "I didn't. I can't wait to see what you'll look like in a wedding dress."

Eda chuckled. "That's another thing we can worry about later. For now, let's just focus on getting you back on your feet, starting with getting you something to eat. You haven't had anything all day."

As if on cue, the human witch's stomach growled fiercely, and she blushed. "Heh, yeah, I guess I am pretty hungry."

Amity smiled and helped her on her feet. "It's settled then. Let's all have a nice big brunch together as a family."

Luz smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a great idea."

She then took her fiancé's hand and slowly made her way out the door and back downstairs. When she did, everyone immediately shot to their feet with a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Luz?" Vee asked as she gave her a hug. "We heard you crying before and…"

Luz let out a sigh as she hugged back. "No, but I will be. It's just…going to take me a little while to process everything that happened today, and I realize I can't do it here. I agree with Mom in that I need to spend some time in the Human Realm, both to mentally recover and for my own safety."

Raine nodded. "I agree. That is the best course of action for the time being. In the meantime, I will continue to search for Dysley and his people. They're not going to get away with what they did today. Mark my words."

"Damn right!" King said. "Let me help you in your search! Those thugs deserve to feel my wrath for messing with my sister!"

"Hmm. I did say to leave the tracking him to me, but with you I'll make an exception. I'm sure together we can come up with some creative torture methods for them."

"Now you're talking!"

"Count me in too!" Hooty said. "I didn't get to give them their special treatment of pain, and it would be a shame if they got left out!"

Hunter laughed. "Well in that case, count me in too. I myself have a few torture methods in mind."

Eda snorted. "Oh, I can imagine the things you all have planned for them now, and it makes me proud."

She then formed a more serious face before continuing. "As much as I would love to join in on that though, I'm gonna head to the human realm with Luz. I just can't leave her side right now. Plus, I have some training exercises in mind for her when she gets better."

Masha nodded. "Sounds like a plan. In the meantime, Lilith and I will continue to work out a recipe for the brew. We'll let you know when we find something."

"That works for me." Camila said. "I also have a proposition for you all. Given how hard things have been for Luz, I think she deserves not just a break, but a special day with her family. So why don't we all get together at the Noceda house for Thanksgiving? We've never done it with all of us present, and I think it's about time we do."

Willow's face lit up. "That's a great idea, Mrs. Noceda! I'd be more than happy to help you with preparations, and I'm sure my dads will be too!"

Edric spoke up. "Emira and I can bring some food over too. Anything to help lighten the load."

"Oh, that would be wonderful." Camila replied. "Thank you so much."

"No problem!" Emira said. "I love Thanksgiving! It makes me wish the demon realm had a similar holiday."

Alador frowned. "I like this idea, but how are we going to do this with King? He'll stand out like a sore thumb, and he can't easily hide away like Hooty can."

Gus spoke up. "That won't be a problem! It's not like he's gonna go out in public or anything. He's just gonna walk from the portal door to the Noceda house. All I have to do is cast an illusion spell to help him blend in for that short time! It'll be easy!"

"Yeah!" King added. "Just don't make me look ugly."

"Ha! No promises."

"Why, you…!"

Everyone laughed, and Alador gave a smile. "Well in that case, let's do it then!"

Yeah!" Vee said. "It's gonna be so much fun! Then again, any time I spend with my family is a good time! Right, sis?"

Luz nodded as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "Yeah, it really is."

She then took a breath before continuing. "Speaking of food, I haven't eaten at all yet today. Can we have some brunch together?"

King perked up. "Yes! I've been waiting for an excuse to try my new baking skills! One moment, Luz! I'll make you something that'll make your tastebuds soar in the heavens!"

He then shot towards the kitchen, leaving the human witch with a confused look on her face. "Wait, King can bake?"

Eda chuckled and nodded. "While you've been doing your classes, he started taking baking lessons from Harvey and Gilbert, cause he really wants to make your wedding cake."

Amity smiled and put her hand over her heart. "Oh, that's so sweet of him. He didn't have to do that."

"Nope!" King shouted from the kitchen. "This is yours and Luz's special day we're talking about, and I'll be damned if I didn't play my part!"

Luz then smiled and began to walk towards the kitchen herself. "Well in that case, show me your skills, chef King."

"Oh, you won't be disappointed!"

Camila sighed and formed a smile of her own before turning to Amity. "Ay dios mío. What a day, huh?"

The purple haired witch chuckled. "You could say that again, and it's not even noon yet, but at least Luz is smiling again."

"Yes, but I can tell that what happened today is tearing her apart on the inside. I can see it in her eyes."

Eda nodded. "I don't blame her at all. These kinds of things can mess around with your head in all sorts of ways. That's one of the main reasons I'm coming with you guys. She needs a reminder that she's not alone."

Amity nodded back. "Thank titan for that too. If you hadn't been cursed yourself, this would have been a lot harder for all of us to deal with."

"I know, right? It's crazy to think that something so bad could turn into something so good."

Camila smiled. "That is the Luz way, turning your greatest weakness into your greatest strength. She gets that from her father."

Amity smiled as well. "That must make you really proud."

Her future mother in law sniffed. "Yes, it does, and I know Manny would be proud of her too."

Eda put her hand on her shoulder. "Alright mama bear, there's been enough tears for one day. Let's go and see what King is whipping up. I'm pretty hungry myself."

Camila wiped her eyes and nodded. "I do like the sound of that."