At the old cabin, the New Hexsquad (Willow, Hunter, Gus, Amity, Masha, Vee, Skara, Cat, and King) was cleaning the small cobwebs that had come in.
"Seems like yesterday that we were planning the portal in this place." Hunter said.
"Think the stuff if still in the basement?" Gus asked.
"Only one way to find out." Hunter said, teleport rushing downstairs.
"Hey! Wait up!" Gus said, briskly following.
Skara just shook her head, seeing them acting like children.
"So, Amity, what was it like all those years ago while the rest of us were playing dolls or trying to survive the apocalypse?" Skara asked.
"Ugh... please don't remind me of the whole puppet thing." Cat said, moving her normal hand to touch her facial scars. "I still have nightmares of it."
"I can only imagine how terrible it was for so long." Amity said as she turned to Skara. "And it wasn't that bad here, a bit boring at times but the human world is very nice."
"Is it true the rain doesn't boil?" Cat asked
"Nope. It's cold and refreshing if you catch it in your mouth. It can even turn into ice if it's cold enough, it's called hail and it's dangerous." Amity said.
"As dangerous as a hook for a hand?" Cat asked, holding up her hook hand.
"More so. Also, there are a lot of people in the human world with limbs like yours, Cat. If you want, we could find you some to take home." Amity said.
"I'm more accustomed to this." Cat said, waving her hook around. "More fun to slice people open with."
"That MIGHT not be welcome here unless it's in self defense. And Luz said most people with hooks for hands have them dull and round to not hurt anyone." Willow explained.
"Then why have a hook for a hand if it's not sharp?" Cat asked, pointing at Amity.
"Just for a new climb. Not everything here is as dangerous as the Boiling Isles." Amity said, walking to Cat and pushing the hook down.So... maybe find something else."
Cat just sighed and took her hook off.
"I'd much rather have this than have to look at this." Cat said, holding up her stump, "But fine, if it means blending in."
"Don't worry, baby. We'll find one quick." Skara said as she kissed Cat's cheek.
Just then, the front door was opened and Luz came in.
"Uh... anyone know where Willow is?" Luz asked, still holding Tracey.
"I'm here and why are you carrying a plant cube?" Willow asked.
"Hehehehe, funny thing……this is actually Tracey." Luz said, gesturing to the cube.
"Yeah, hi." Tracey said, her mouth no visible. "Ms Goddess here thought this would be a good way to end our little fight."
"A fight you initiated." Luz said.
"You tested an untrained spell on me… and then sat on me like a chair!" Tracey shouted.
"… Lucky bitch." Amity mumbled.
"Keep it in your pants, Ms. Paste!" Tracey shouted, hearing Amity.
"ABOMINATION GOO IS NOT PASTE!" Amity shouted, feeling very defense of the subject.
"If it holds things together when it's dries, it's glue or-!" Tracey was kneed in the "stomach" by Luz! "OW!"
"Sorry, my grip slipped." Luz said with a grin, lying to stop a potential argument before she placed Tracey on a coffee table. "Willow, if you'd please fix her."
"Mmm, let's have a look." Willow said, walking up to Tracey cube and looking her over. "Tell me more of what happened, during your battle if you don't mind."
"Tracey, somehow and amazingly, turned into this 9 foot tall, tree giant thing." Luz said, moving her hand above her head.
"Yeah, I'm awesome." Tracey said, somehow expelling a minty scent to represent her pride.
"And comfy." Luz said with a smug grin.
"If you want to sit on someone, sit on Amity!" Tracey shouted at Luz, her minty smell gone.
"You're just mad you lost." Luz said, still grinning.
"…Question, are you two friends or enemies?" Skara asked.
"Yes." Luz and Tracey said, "looking" at Skara.
"Awww, kind of like us before we smoothed things out." Amity said to Willow.
"Yep. Brings back memories." Willow said as she looked over Tracey. "Okay, I think I know how to fix her. First, need to put Tracey back in a humanoid shape."
"Yeah, you do that, uh... Amity, I... need you for something." Luz said, grabbing Amity's wrist and pulling her to another room.
"She's going to make an abomination chair, isn't she?" Tracey asked.
"Hey, if it keeps them out of the way." Willow said, holding up a spell circle.
"Is it just me or has our family/friend group gotten stranger since I've been gone?" Skara whispered to Cat.
"Yes. And you'll love it." Cat said as she glanced at King, who was napping in corner.
"It's not that we're stranger, we're older and experiencing hormonal changes." Willow said, gazing at the other couple. "More so "Lumity" than the rest of us... and as if you're one to talk, you left and came back as royalty, Ms. Lightning Queen."
"One. I didn't know I was royalty when I left. And two. I'm not just gonna throw it in anyone's face." Skara said, rolling her eyes.
"Ahem." Cat cleared her throat.
"I didn't "throw" it at you. I HANDED it to- Okay, that was unintentional and in poor taste." Skara said, correcting herself from the accidental joke.
"Yeah, don't bring up hands with me." Cat said, gesturing to her nub arm.
Too bad for Cat that a hand is what broke off from the wooden cube known as Tracey, slowly but surely followed by the rest of a humanoid body forming from the cube. Almost like folding out even.
"This isn't hurting you, is it?" Willow asked.
'Oh immensely." Tracey said, "Thankfully, plants don't have nerves."
'Then how does she know it hurts?' Cat thought as Hunter and Gus came back from the basement.
"Look what we found!" Hunter said, excited.
The women turned to Hunter and Gus, who held up an old picture of their first Halloween from three years ago.
"Oh, I remember that picture! I was so cute dressed as a little devil girl." Willow said with a smile.
It was nice that they could look back and smile at that night... so much went wrong that night. From Hunter being possessed, Flapjack dying... Luz being stabbed by Belos... and Luz drinking Titan's Blood.
It was the worst/best night of their lives, to a certain extent.
"Who would've thought, that one night would result in such a massive change?" Hunter said asked, looking at the photo.
"You're telling me. I still can't believe Luz became a Titan, an entire species brought back because she drank the blood." Gus said, even subtly gesturing to the three other half Titans in the room.
"And she did it... while on the brink of death... literally a complete accident." Hunter said, being pessimistic again.
Gus jabbed him in the stomach to make him stop.
"Come on, dude! You grew out of that!" Gus whispered to him.
"Wow, you must be a riot at parties." Tracey said blankly.
"Hey, that's my boyfriend. Insult him again, and you'll stay a cube." Willow said.
"Fine." Tracey said, not wanting to stay a cube. "I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven." Willow said with a nod.
"Is that Tracey?" Gus asked in surprise.
"Yes, it is but that's not important right now." Skara said before hearing something in the next room. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Most likely." Willow said.
"Most likely what?" Hunter asked.
"Four words. Amity. Abomination. Luz. Chair." Cat said.
"Ah. I see." Hunter said as Gus nodded in agreement.
"Question, WHY?" Gus asked.
"Because there are a lot of weird kinks in the world, Gus." Tracey said as she got her legs unfolded.
"Yeah, we can worry about them later, right now we need to find a way back." Willow said.
"I could bring us back." Skara said, "But it wouldn't be easy."
"Wait, what?" Everyone said as they looked to Skara.
"Yeah, I can teleport with lightning... but to do a group of our size... I would need enough lightning to power the Isles... that kind of thing I don't have access to." Skara said, making red lightning spark between her fingers. "And if I only do it one at a time... they would easily send us back here before I could finish it."
"So the issue is you need to do it during a storm or maybe tap into a city electric grid." Tracey said as she regained her other arms. "Both of which are difficult in their own right."
"It would have to be the storm of the millenia." Skara said, "That much lightning isn't common in the Isles, let alone the Human Realm."
"Wouldn't normal electricity work?" Tracey asked.
"Nope. It has to be natural lightning, no human harnessed energy." Skara said but she wasn't entirely sure herself.
It's not like they had electricity in the Isles. They had pure magical energy to power their homes and other assorted things.
"So, we're basically stuck here, unless we're willing to make a completely new portal or try to open one in thin air to get back." Gus said with a groan.
"Now who's being pessimistic?" Hunter asked with a grin.
"No... I'm just a realist." Gus said.
"On Earth, we call that "bitching and meaning."" Tracey said as she stood up from the table and made herself human again, stretching and popping her joints a bit. "Who knew being a cube would cause your back to tense up so much?"
"Reminds me of when Luz was telling us about that weird lizard publisher guy." Vee said, rubbing her chin.
"Piniet Publishing?" Skara asked in surprise.
"That's the one. How'd you know?" Vee asked.
"A lot of my favorite author's went missing after they signed with him." Skara said, "What the hell happened with Luz?"
"Well…….kind of what she did to Tracey. Only smaller, like the size of a baseball." Vee explained gently.
Hearing this, Skara let out a deep growl.
"Well now I want to get back to the Isles because I have a lizard to fry." Skara said, her eyes glowing red. "So many good books I've been waiting YEARS for! Discontinued because of him! I am furious!"
"You? What about Amelia? Do you remember what you and her did for that one author?" Cat asked.
"……I do now." Skara said with a small blush, losing her glowing eyes. "I can't believe I was such a fan girl."
"Yeah, only I get to do that to you." Cat said, "Mostly because only having one real leg does result in me needing to rest a lot."
"So want to use me as a chair?" Skara asked with a grin.
"More like a medical crutch, it's easier to cuddle that way." Cat admitted.
"Oh you." Skara said, kissing Cat.
Tracey, being Aromantic, walked away. She had to go see her family and explain some things.
"Hey, Cous. Mind if I tag along?" Masha asked.
"Sure." Tracey said.
The human plant witch and human oracle witch, who gave a quick kiss to their basilisk girlfriend, walked out of the cabin, before summoning their staffs. They flew away, leaving the rest of the gang to sit in on the cabin in silence.
"So about what Luz and Amity are doing…" Hunter said, looking at Willow.
"Stop talking or your next." Willow comments/demands.
"... I don't know whether to be scared or excited." Hunter said.
"Good." Willow said with a grin as her eyes flashed green. "Be both."
Vee, Skara, and Cat giggled at Hunter's blush while Gus just leaned on his hand.
'Ugh, it's times like these I hate being the only single witch in the group.' Gus thought with a blank expression.