Within a dark cave, Luz is holding a ball of light in one hand and carrying Owlbert in his staff form in the other. She stops when she sees a large shadow on the wall in front of her and hears a deep laugh. She gasps upon hearing it.
The owner of the laugh walks closer to her, "Foolish child! Leave this place before you meet your demise!"
Luz shakes her head towards the shadow, "Do not underestimate me, Garlog! For I am the good witch, Luz, hunter of monsters!" She perches the staff on her shoulder like a bazooka, "Now eat this sucka—" She stops upon seeing the deep voiced creature, "What?"
Garlog turns out to be a tiny creature casting a shadow standing in front of a lantern. Luz easily picks him up by the tail and he lets out a squeak while trying to escape.
Luz surrounds his tiny body with her fist, "You're Garlog?" She pulls out his wanted poster, depicting him being much larger and worth 4,000 snails, compares it to the real thing, "This is pathetic."
The creature folds his arms, "Small I may be, but you will soon know fear when I lay waste to all that you—"
The human quickly puts a jar over the tiny demon, "...You were saying?"
The creature grunted, striking the jar with his fist, "Hey! Cursed thing..." He hits his body against the glass dome, grumbling.
Luz shrugs her shoulders while still putting a cork in the bottle, "I just hope Esper and King are having better luck than I am..."
...
A small figure in a hood moves across the field... Searching for something while the skull wearing creature on her shoulder sniffed the air.
The girl frowns, "Did you find anything yet?"
The small demon folds his arms, "Not yet! Jeez, be a bit more patient!" He sniffs the air again, "Wait! Wait! I definitely got something!"
The dog looking creature suddenly pointed deeper into the forest, "They're down there! We got to get to them before they reach the cave!" His hood flew off to reveal King, his eyes narrowing towards the path.
The bigger figure took her hood off, revealing Esper, before spotting three figures on the path, "I'm going! I'm going! Didn't you just tell me to be patient?"
The duo rushes ahead into the clearing, barreling towards the three figures.
Esper forms a green magic circle with her finger, spawning various vines to latch onto the biggest member of the team. She begins to pull him, "Oh no you don't!"
The man with an iron jaw shouts while holding up a large bag, "Someone caught up to us! Quick! Cut the vines!"
One of the other men spawns a hacksaw made out of stone and starts to cut the plant, "Yes, boss!" Once he cut the vine, the slice recoiled and sent Esper to the ground.
The man with the metal chin began to laugh before running, "Oh it's just a brat, guys! Haha! Nice try, twerp!"
The large man following behind him frowned, "But what if she catches up to us, Ironjaw Joe?"
The older witch shrugged his shoulders while running, "Pffft, that twerp can't keep up with us! She's got little legs!"
Hearing this, the redhead summoned a few vines with her magic, keeping both her hands full. She wrapped the two ends around the trees on each side of the opening before tying the ends in her hands together into a knot. She began to walk backwards into the vines, making them strain the further she walked into them.
The demon on her shoulder raised an eyebrow, "Uh... Esper? What are you doing?"
"Just watch! And hold on tight!"
"Hold on what!"
All of a sudden, Esper jumped into the air, letting the vines propel her body forward... The velocity ruffled her hair while she practically flew.
King clutched onto the shoulder of her jacket tightly while they flew through the air. The redhead formed a fist with her not injured right hand and reared back...
With her fist colliding right with the side of the man's skull!
He falls onto the grass with a thud, dropping the bag of snails. Some of which spilled on the ground.
His colleagues froze at the sight of their leader is knocked out by the punch. One of them starts to back away from the sight, "Woah! I... Ironjaw Joe!" He turns his head to Esper when she landed, "You could have killed him! What kind of twerp does that?!"
The other started to tip toe away from the scene, making Esper form another plant circle.
The redhead wrapped the vine around the running man's wrist, digging her heels into the ground to keep him there. She glared at the one who spoke, "The Star Touched Witch kind!"
The demon on the girl's shoulder spoke up, "Yeah! Now are you guys gonna come quietly or will my friend here have to beat you guys up some more?"
This made the colleague not currently wrapped in a vine frown before he forms a brown circle in the air. He then launches a few spikes into the air towards the girl, made completely out of stone.
King looked up and pointed at the stone spikes, "Esper!"
"On it! Don't you worry!"
Keeping her one hand on the vines, Esper hops over the sharp weapons. This stabs them into the ground after missing her. She lands on her feet before unscrewing the lid on the glass bottle attached to her hip. Purple goo quickly flowed onto the ground below her before using her other hand to form a purple spell circle.
"Abomination, rise!"
The small, star shaped Abomination quickly rose in the air, only to be grabbed by it's creator. She throws it into the air and the Abomination spins around quickly before striking the one with Construction magic in the head. It flies back up when Esper makes another spell circle and flies back down. It hits the man in the head a few times before he finally falls down, knocked out.
The redhead pulls the one outlaw with both hands when he tries to run off again. She yanks the vines with all her might, her voice straining with effort.
Soon enough, she pulls enough that the man falls backwards and hits his hand on a rock on the ground. Truthfully, he is pretending to be knocked out.
Seeing the man stop moving, Esper releases the vine before forming another spell circle in the air, "Okay... Now to get these guys in. Come on, King!"
The young demon nods while she wraps several vines around the outlaws to keep them trapped.
After Esper and King walk out of the clearing, a tall man appears holding a microphone, he speaks into the camera in front of him, "Look! There she is now!" He then faces Esper with a smile, bending down slightly to be on her eye level, "Star Touched Witch, do you have anything to say after helping Eda the Owl Lady escape the Emperor? What are you doing hunting down criminals when you are the student of one? Oh and my son says hello!"
He shoves the microphone near the girl's face.
The freckled witch backs away from her friend's father, "Uh! I'd rather you call me 'Esper'! But I'm really sorry, Mr. Porter! I really have to go and take these guys in! I'll have to speak with you some other time! I promise!" She waves dramatically to the news anchor before running off, "Byeeeeeeee!"
She sprints away with the demon on her shoulder, dragging the culprits with the vines around their bodies...
However, the girl then knocks into an old man with purple skin and long, white hair, "Oh! Um, I'm so sorry, sir." She picks up the book he had dropped onto the ground from their impact, "Here, let me help you with that..."
The old man took the book back with a smile, "My name is Osran, young witchling. But there is no need to apologize. I knew I would bump into you sooner or later, Star Touched Witch..." He was hunched over with four arms and pointy ears. His hair resembled two hands with claws, one of which acting like a ponytail. His eyes are blue, black sclera and he has a long, white mustache. In one hand was a long blue feather and his two middle hands held the glass orb that rested on a necklace, his other hand held the book. He was wearing long black robes that reached the ground.
The redhead rubbed the back of her neck, "Oh really? Uh... That's totally not creepy at all, Osran. Um, I need to..."
Osran nodded his head while pointing at her, "Get back to your friends? I knew you were going to say that too! Don't worry, I'll explain everything when we meet again... Buh bye now, dearie!" He waved her off, his smile looking both sweet but had a hint of... Something sinister...
...
Now at The Owl House... wind howls around it. Garlog sits in his bottle while Luz sets her phone against it.
She boops Garlog's nose on the other side of the glass, "Boop!" She turns on camera and starts speaking, "Hola, Mama! You haven't heard from me in a while... It's been a week and a half since the petrification ceremony. A week and a half since I destroyed the portal home. I had to. Emperor Belos was going to kill Eda if I didn't hand it over. And maybe even take Esper by force! But I couldn't let him use it so I blew it up with some magic fire..." She sighs to herself, "She's not gonna understand any of this... That's okay, Luz. Just keep moving forward." She speaks to the camera again, "This world is filled with inexplicable magical wonders, like this portal key!" She takes the key out of her pocket, "I don't know if it contains magic... But I'm gonna study all I can and find a way back to you. And Esper too! A-And look!" She lifts up her leg to show King holding onto it, "I have friends to help me and Esper out."
The young demon hugs her leg tightly, "I'm never letting you go! You're never returning to the human realm!"
Luz covers the camera, "He doesn't mean that."
King shouts though the camera remains covered, "Yes, I do!"
Now, Eda is in the kitchen, where she is trying to cast magic by pouring a cup of apple blood...
Luz narrates over her mentor's actions, "This is Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!" However, Eda's magic fails... The bottle explodes and covers Eda in apple blood, "Or at least she was until her curse overpowered her and weakened her magic. She's doing her best now."
Lilith is now wearing a new outfit and putting her old one away. She is wearing a long sleeved white shirt with a low battery symbol on it over her old dark blue dress.
The human narrates over her too, "Eda was cursed by her own sister, Lilith. And she spent her entire life looking for a way to undo it. It's still hard for everyone to trust each other but maybe with time we can all become friends!"
The Raven Lady stares out of the open window pensively, a small smile appearing on her face while Luz narrates. She jumps when Hooty appears in the window.
Hooty shrieks with a smile, "Hello!"
This makes Lilith scream in surprise and slam the window in Hooty's face.
Now outside the house, Eda is constructing something with the help of Esper.
Luz still narrates over her, "Even though Eda gets frustrated, she's found new ways to make up for her lost powers..."
The Owl Lady holds a weapon up proudly, "Check it, Esper! A new hunting weapon. I will call her the Stab-Catcher."
The redhead holds her fists up in excitement, "Woah! Who says you need Construction magic to make cool things! ...Still would like to learn a Construction spell though."
The human narrates over the two of them, "Without the portal, Eda has no human garbage to sell. So we've resorted to working odd jobs to keep food on the table."
The Owl Lady aims her new weapon at her youngest ward, "Hey, King, did you know that apple is a hat?"
The young demon innocently puts an apple on his head, not knowing he's standing in front of a target, "Really?"
Luz suddenly drops the camera, "King! Hey, no! King!" She rushes to get her friend out of harm's way. The Stab-Catcher, with Eda's detached hands still holding on, hits a bullseye. The human starts narrating again, "This week we're bounty hunters. Next week we could be anything. The whole bounty hunter thing seems to be working well for Esper, it's good practice for the spells she already knows. Then again, she's the only one of us who can use magic."
Luz sighs when she relaxes in her room, "So, Mom, please don't be scared. I'm growing more and more every day and I'm gonna do my best to become a full-fledged witch and get home to you safe and sound. And... Esper too, if she decides to live on Earth after this. Te quiero, Mama. Te lo prometo, regresaré a casa pronto."
Esper yells from the ground outside, "Luz!" This makes the girl look out the window.
Both older witches are waiting outside with the young one and the demon. The Owl Lady smiles, "Time to bring these bad boys to market!" The redhead grunts while lifting the rest of the criminals onto the back of the cart.
Lilith pats a few feathers off her new shirt while grunting, "Eda, do you own anything that isn't covered in feathers?"
The Owl Lady folds her arms, "I had to deal with a curse for 30 years so I think you can handle a few feathers!"
The redhead wipes the sweat off her brow before hopping onto the back of the cart, "Pfft yeah. Especially after being the one who cursed her, injuring my hand... Which is still bandaged by the way." She shows off the injured hand, which is still wrapped in a long white bandage.
Eda quickly looks at the youngster while her sister glares, "Esper, I said we'll make you a healing potion soon. We're just a little low on ingredients right now... So shhhhh."
The freckled witch rolled her eyes before relaxing her head back in the cart, "Fiiiiiine."
...
Now in Bonesborough, a statue of Emperor Belos has been placed in the middle of the town. Various Emperor's Coven guards are everywhere.
Luz looks at the guards from the cart, Wow, the Emperor is really taking over."
Esper peers around the town, relaxing her head in her hand, "Yeah..."
The woman with gray hair steers the cart through the crowd, "I see it too, Luz. And I'm trying to stay civil." She then kicks a demon decked out in Emperor's Coven apparel. The older woman directs Esper to place the three older criminals on a scale, which the shopkeeper checks.
The old man behind the counter places a bag full of snails on the table, "Ironjaw Joe! Nice to see you again!" He leads him and his underlings to the back before smiling at the girl, "Your reward. Enjoy it, young witch."
Eda ruffles the girl's hair with a smile, "Nice job kid! You got a real knack for hunting, don't you?" She then places a bag of captured smaller demons on a scale after the girl giggled. All three wait while a shopkeeper behind a booth reading BOUNTY reads the scale.
The shopkeeper puts a snail on the desk, "Tsk... Your payment."
The Owl Lady frowns at this, "A single snail? Are you kidding me?!"
The small shopkeeper laughs at her, "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't done yet." He then snaps snail in half.
Eda nearly jumps on the table but stops herself, "You can't do this to me! Do you know who I am?"
The shopkeeper folds his arms, "Yeah, you're Eda the Owl Lady. What are you gonna do? We all know you're powerless now."
The Owl Lady growls and tries to cast a spell but the circle disintegrates, "Ah! What the—"
Other towns people murmur while looking at the scene, "Ah, this is awkward..." "Uh-oh!"
The gray haired woman balls her fists, "I don't need your pity." She holds up her own wanted poster, "I was the most wanted criminal for years! You should fear me!"
A passing garbageman grabs her wanted poster and puts it in the trash cart he is pushing, "No magic? Not so wanted anymore."
Lilith laughs at her, "Don't worry, sister. At least my image still commands respect and fear." She poses in front of a Coven recruitment poster in which she is making the same pose. The poster is promptly torched by a garbageman holding a flamethrower.
Both Esper and King laugh while the demon points at her, "Haha! You're a traitor!"
The Raven Witch folds her arms while speaking towards the man putting up the posters, "What's going on? This is anarchy. Who told you to do this?"
Three new Coven recruitment posters of the Golden Guard fly onto the wall.
Luz grabs one, "The Golden Guard? Wait a minute, didn't you fight him, Esper?"
The redhead smirks, "Pffft yeah but he got called back by his uncle!" She folds her arms before looking at the older woman, "Did you know him in the Coven, Lilith?"
The dark haired woman grabs the poster from Luz, "Unfortunately, I did. He always got special treatment because he was the genius teen prodigy! But he's really just a brat! If he's in charge... Vomit!"
She crumples up the poster and throws it to a trashcan. It hovers right before entering and then flies back to her. It then adheres itself to Lilith's face. She tries to rip it off but gives up and stalks off.
The human side-hugs Eda, "Hey, I know! What we need is a confidence boost. Why don't we all take on the biggest bounty we can find? It'll be great!" She runs up to a bulletin board labeled 'Greg's List' and reads the posters there, "Hmm. Lost Cerberus, no. Witch cackling lessons?" She then chuckles, "Uh, but maybe not today. Aha!" She takes poster down and shows it off, "There's something called a 'Selkidomus' ravaging boats up and down the coast! We'll be on a high-seas adventure! Esper, you like pirates and stuff!"
The redhead nodded at her childhood friend, "That's true... I did hold the highest worldwide score on 'Blackbeard's Treasure Misadventures' for three years running..."
Eda quickly shakes her head, "Hmm... No. WE gotta keep a low profile while my powers are weakened. And we need fast cash. Esper can handle the bigger ones meanwhile we can..." She then gasps and gestures to the poster on the wall, "How about this guy?"
The human raises an eyebrow at the poster, "'The Abominable Cutie Pie'?"
The older woman shakes her head, "No, no, no. I hear it's very dangerous." She gasps, "And look, there he is!" She points to where the little demon is standing between two Hexside students with a lollipop in his hand.
The Abominable Cutie Pie giggles and runs off. It then climbs the statue of Emperor Belos, "You'll never catch me!"
The two girls shrug their shoulders at each other before Luz climbs the statue. She is quickly followed by her childhood friend.
The Abominable Cutie Pie frowns, "You did it! You caught me!" It then falls into Luz's hands which makes her groans while King climbs up to her. Esper follows her friends on the statues.
Back at the cart, Eda sighs, "Things aren't looking great, Lily. This bounty hunting stuff isn't putting food on the table." She holds up the bag of snails Esper was given earlier, "We need more than what Esper is getting us too... I can't believe we're relying on a child, she looks like she's running herself ragged." While she speaks, the mentioned redhead is shown with slight bags under her eyes.
Lilith speaks but is incredibly muffled under the poster.
The Owl Lady puts the bag in her pocket, "Oh, I'm sure Luz could handle bigger bounties but if we wanna eat we don't have the luxury to mess up even once."
Her sister responds again but is still sounds muffled under the poster.
Eda shakes her head, "No apple blood. I spent the money on griffin eggs for Luz. There's not a lot she can digest here so I make sure to have her favorites around. It's something Esper can eat too. Gotta make sure both kids are fed."
The two sisters start to slowly head off in the cart...
The Abominable Cutie Pie points at the human, while laughing, "That's rough, buddy!" The creature then screams when Esper shoves him to the ground.
The brunette lands on top of the Abominable Cutie Pie after jumping to the ground, "This is awful, Esper! Eda wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me. Maybe it would be better if I never came here. I can't change the past, but I can still change the future. I'm gonna help Eda and prove that I'm more than just a burden..."
Esper raised her eyebrows at her friend, "Woah, that was heavy. Come on, you're not a burden!" She stopped when she noticed her friend's face, "...Luz, what are you planning to do?"
The slightly older girl ruffled her friend's hair, "Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, Esper! You know what, why don't you head home?"
The freckled witch tilted her head, "Huh, really? Why?"
Luz squeezed the other girl in a very quick hug, "Because you've been running yourself ragged! You deserve to take a little break! King and I are going to find some more ways to get money. Completely safe ways! I promise."
Esper scratched her cheek with a smile, "Well... Okay if you say so!" She pumped her fist before she ran off, "You're right, I have earned myself a break! Hey Eda! Lilith! Wait up!"
Both Luz and King smile at each other while watching their friend rush to get home...
Now at the Bonesborough Dock, Salty, the captain of the ship sits behind a barrel. He relaxes in his chair before spotting the human with the demon on her shoulder run to the barrel he is sitting at.
Luz slams the Selkidomus's wanted poster onto a barrel, "The Selkidomus hunt. I want in!"
The ship's horn blows behind the captain when he looks at the wanted poster. Salty looks back up at the human, "You think you can handle this, squirt?"
The brunette nodded and pumped her fist, "I can handle anything!"
The captain lets Luz inside before nods at the Golden Guard, who closes the window of his private quarters bearing the Emperor's sigil.
...
Back at the Owl House, Esper walks through the door before laying down on the ground. Lilith pays no attention to her and holds her now burned recruitment poster with a frown. The younger sister sneaks up on her, wearing a bandolier of orange potions.
Eda shows off the potion holder, "Hey, Lily! How do I look?"
The Raven Witch raises an eyebrow at her, "Uh..."
Esper picked her head up from the ground but laid it back down without a response.
The Owl Lady flops onto the couch, "Getting scammed at the market was such a bummer but it gave me an idea on how to earn a little more cash! You wanna come? I may not be at full power but I can still make potions!" She dangles a potion over Lilith's head with a smile.
Lilith shakes her head, "I am quite fine. Thank you." She then pushes her sister away.
The redhead picks her head up again while raising her eyebrows, "Wait, you have enough to sell but don't have enough for making me a healing potion?"
The mentor rubs the back of her neck, "Ehhhh no... No, I do not..."
The freckled witch folds her arms before laying down, "Dang it. And I'm sure those would sell well too." She then suddenly jumps up and rushes to her mentor, "Oh! Wait a minute! Can you teach me how to make a potion now?"
Eda smiles at the younger witch before pointing at her, "That's actually a great idea! Come on, I'll show you how to make your own batch all by yourself!"
Lilith rises from her seat and walks towards the two, "I mean, I can assist in teaching the young one how to make potions while you're busy!"
The young redhead quickly shakes her head, "Ugh no thanks. I'd rather have Eda, you know my mentor, teach me."
The Owl Lady puts her hands on the young witch's shoulders to calm her down, "Aight! Settle down, firecracker." She pushes the girl out the door, "Lilith, why don't you just stay here for now? Have fun wallowing in self-pity and feeling bad for cursing me! Byeeeee!" She then leaves by slamming the door.
The Raven Lady rips the poster bits out of her hair and sighs, "I guess I deserve this. There's gotta be a way to make it up to her..." She sees a potions book and grabs it, "Edalyn isn't the only Clawthorne with a talent for potions!" She chuckles before opening the book to a page for a scrying potion, "Ooh. I bet she would love a peek inside the castle!"
She rips the page out and starts backing away, straight into Hooty.
The owl tube smiles, "New roomie check-in!"
The woman screams which makes her fall and drop the book and page.
Hooty smiles at her, "How's my bestie doing?" He notices page on his face, "A scrying potion!?" He gasps, "Lulu, you're trying to spy on your old buddies? I can help! We can find out their crushes." She rubs his face against Lilith's, "We can give them cute couple names!"
Lilith shoves Hooty away, "No!" She stands back up, "I can do this alone. Don't follow me!" She starts to leave before stopping in the doorway, "And don't call me Lulu!" She slams the door when she leaves.
The owl tube starts to speak to himself, "A good friend would respect her wishes, but a better friend would help no matter what!" He then moves after Lilith, closing the door when he goes.
...
Back to Salty's ship, it is sailing through the Boiling Sea... Luz stands on the side with King on her shoulder, "When we defeat the Selkidomus and get a boatload of snails, Eda won't have to worry about money for a long time! And Esper won't have to run herself ragged either!"
The young demon extends his arms towards her, "Hehe yeah! King want a cracker!"
Salty yells out to the crew, "All hands!"
The human joins the rest of the crew who are all lined up in front of Salty.
The captain looks around at his allies, "Alright, crew. The Selkidomus has been ravaging the coastline! It was last seen in the Simmering Shoals. You know the drill... 'Snag the quarry..." He drops large sack of snails onto the deck, "Get the money galore-y.' We all do the work, we all get a cut!"
All of the crew start to cheer, including Luz.
A singular sailor shouts with a smile, "I have many debts!"
Salty nods his head at the crew, "'Till then, keep everything shipshape. This ain't no pleasure cruise." He throws a broom at Luz, "Don't be a burden, sea squirt!"
Luz catches the broom with a nod, "Oh, you don't have to worry about me."
Salty offers Luz a scraper while pointing at the barnacles on the lower side of the ship. She gives King a look before using a plant glyph to lower the both of them down. The barnacles grunt at her. Luz hisses back at them, causing them to quiet down. Luz uses King's horn to scrape them off the ship.
Now, Salty shovels coal into the bellows of the ship. He then offers the shovel to Luz but she shakes her head and pushes it away. She activates three fire glyphs directly into the bellows and closes the door. The ship's horn blows while the ship speeds ahead. Salty nods in approval.
Back at the main deck, the crew is clapping in time with Luz dancing. She turns around to reveal a large bug on her back. She launches it over King, Who is holding a cracker and various birds, into the sea.
Salty approaches her with a nod, "Well, ye had me confront my own biases and I got nothing but respect for ya now, squirt. I mean, sailor."
The human nods back at him, "Thanks, Salty. You make me feel like a real part of the crew."
The captain smiles at her while elbowing her in the arm, "Well, that's because you arghhhh."
All of the crew cheers for the girl.
King waves his cracker in displeasure, "Boo!"
However, one of the birds tries to grab it from him.
The demon quickly tries to pull his cracker away, "Hey, that's mine, you feather duster!" Both King and the bird both tug at the cracker.
But then, the ship hits a large wave, which sends the demon tumbling into the captain's quarters. The doors close tightly behind him.
King attempts to open the doors by himself, "Oof. Hey, King want a cracker!" He gasps when he sees box of crackers on the desk, "Ooh!" He scrambles up the desk and grabs some crackers from the box.
He then notices a letter below the box, "Huh?" He picks up letter, "Is that the Emperor's sigil?"
The young demon turns up the brightness on the lamp next to him. The brighter light reveals that various parts of the room are covered in the Emperor's sigil.
King begins to back away from the sight of the sigil, "This ship belongs to the Emperor?! Oh, boy. I gotta tell Luz!"
Suddenly, the Golden Guard appears and stalks closer to the small demon, "Unfortunately, you won't have the chance!"
King then screams in horror while the Golden Guard's shadow looms over him.
...
Now with Eda and Esper at the stands, the older woman had set up a small tent with a wooden counter in the front and a small cauldron in the back. She leads the girl out to the forest in front of a few bushes, "Okay, Esper. Potion lesson number one! Gather your ingredients!" She starts to pick purple berries from the bush in front of them, "Come here and join me!"
The redhead nodded at her before joining in, "Sure thing!"
After a long while of picking fruit, a small blue deer walked towards the two. It hesitantly sniffed the berries before taking a bit off the branch. It then moves it's attention towards Esper, sniffing the girl's ear.
This made the redhead move back from the creature, "...Hey, Eda? What's this really tiny deer doing?"
The Owl Lady speaks softly while putting her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Oh Esper, that there is a spikadeer. It's spines are incredibly rare! And useful for making healing potions due the animal's herbivorous nature."
Esper reaches for the spear next to her, "Ooooh, I see! So... Do I just... Use the spear to stab it or?" She picks up her spear above the creature's head, ready to strike. However, it doesn't move.
Eda shakes her head before pushing the girl's hand down, "No! Put that down! You have to harvest things peacefully, Esper." She looks her student straight in the eyes, "Simply killing the creature and taking what you want... It's not right." She tickles the creature underneath it's chin before it released the spines from the top of it's head. The monster nodded it's head before running off to join it's family nearby.
The older woman smiles while holding the spikes, "See? It's that simple. There's no need to end it's life. It's spines naturally fall off and grow back anyway."
The freckled witch nods her head in understanding, "Oooooh! Okay, I see. Thank you, Eda." She stands up fully with her finger in the air, "Now let's make that potion!"
Eda dusts herself off before stretching, "Yeah! Come on, let's go!"
Soon enough, the mentor lead the girl to the travel sized cauldron behind the counter. The older woman begins to set their ingredients inside the boiling water, "See when the water comes to a boil, it means it's ready to extract and mix the magic of these items together."
Esper keeps her face close to the steam, "Wooooah! Cool!" She takes a peek at the book, "So we know it's ready when it turns dark blue?"
The Owl Lady clicks her tongue at her, "Yup, that's right!" Eventually, after a while of whisking away... Eda gestures to let the smaller girl stir the pot, "Would you like to do the honors?"
"Would I?!"
The redhead excitedly takes the spoon and stirs the contents within the cauldron.
The potion briefly glows white before turning into a dark blue color. This made the girl smile when she sees the color match the picture in the book, "I did it! I can make potions now! This is awesome! See, even without magic you can still teach us stuff!"
Eda rotates her hand, "Why don't you try it out?"
The redhead started to take the white bandages off her burnt hand, "Heck yes! This burn's been itching!"
Once she dipped her injured hand into the liquid, she felt a cooling sensation. After a minute or two, she takes her hand out of the mini cauldron and stares at it. Steam rises from her hand while the burn quickly heals.
The pink skin quickly turns back to it's normal brown color, like it was never burned in the first place.
Esper's eyes widened, "Woah! Hey, my burn is completely gone!"
Eda's eyes widened at the same time, "Woah is right... I've never seen a healing potion... Well heal that fast. That's impressive, Esper."
This made the younger girl jump excitedly, "Really? Oh this is so cool!" She quickly picks up a few potion bottles, "We better sell this quick then!"
The Owl Lady smiled at her, "Oh yeah, you better go do that! Makes those sales, kid!" She turned away from her, "That... Might not have been the potion. Potions never heal that fast. That's so... Strange..."
The redhead sighed when her mentor joined her at the stand, "I sure hope Luz and King are doing okay with whatever they're doing..."
A customer puts a few snails on the counter after taking a few ounces of Esper's healing potion, "Oh, you mean that human kid that was on the news? I saw her climb onto a ship a while ago with a little demon on her shoulder."
Esper raised her eyebrows, "Really?" Her eyes then widened in realization, "Wait a minute! Oh no. No, no no no! She didn't!"
The Owl Lady was already rubbing her eyebrows, "...It's Luz."
The redhead stomped her foot onto the ground, "YEAH! She totally did!" She was nearly ready to jump the counter, "Come on! Let's go!"
Eda tugs her back by grabbing her hood, "Wait! First, we need to suit up!"
The freckled witch raised her eyebrow at her, "Right now?"
The gray haired woman smirks at her, "Well if we're going on a pirate adventure..."
This made Esper fold her arms, "...Okay fine. But we gotta be quick!"
...
Back in the middle of the woods, Lilith is consulting the scrying potion recipe. She looks up from the paper, "Okay, next is fire bee honey."
Two giant fire bees fly past her and into a colony. Lilith tries to follow, but the moment her foot enters their territory, they swarm together and fly at her. She screams and draws a very shaky spell circle, which produces an average sized, sweating ice cube. The cube offers no defense against the swarm since it melts. She runs behind a tree where several fire bees plunge their stingers.
The older woman slides to the ground, "How can I get fire bee honey without ice magic or porcuspine quills without a sleeping spell? Who am I without magic! Without a Coven!" She buries her head in her knees...
Hooty's voice rings through the air, "Without friends?"
The Raven Lady looks up to see Hooty poking out of the ground next to her. She points at him accusingly, "I said-"
The owl tube stretches into her space, "You don't know how to get those fire bees but I can help!"
Lilith shakes her head with a frown, "No!" She pushes him away, "I don't want your help! I told you not to follow me!"
Hooty frowns at her, "If I were you, I would-"
The Raven Lady shrugs her shoulders, "You would what?" She stands up and paces around, "Because it doesn't matter! You aren't me! You're just some kind of weird bird-worm!"
The owl tube appears hurt by these words with tears in his eyes.
Lilith folds her arms, "You have no idea what I'm going through! I have to do this alone because if I can't... What kind of witch am I?!"
Hooty sighs while lowering himself into the ground, "Sorry, Lulu... I mean, sorry, Lilith." He retreats into the ground...
The dark haired woman grabs a branch and looks at the colony, "Now, let's try this one more time!"
...
Back on Salty's ship, it enters darker waters... The captain takes out a telescope to look ahead, "We're here! The Simmering Shoals! Eyes peeled, mates!"
A burning ship sails past. Sailors take off their hats and pay respects. Luz simply puts her hand over her heart in respect.
Salty whispers under his breath, "She's close..."
The Selkidomus' tail thwacks against the side of the ship, nearly knocking it over.
Luz shouts while holding up her paper glyphs, "She's here!" She corners the Selkidomus with ice pillars and then wraps it in vines. She starts pulling it onto the ship.
Salty shouts while grabbing the vines, "Help her, boys! Put your backs into it!"
His words made the rest of the crew grab the vine in order to help the girl.
The human ties the vine onto the ship, "I did it!"
Suddenly, there is an explosion on the deck! Which causes Luz to fall down...
The Selkidomus suddenly breaks free from the vine and swims away. Luz turns her head to see a silhouette of someone carrying a bag of money.
Salty narrows his eyes at the stranger, "Is that a... A ghost pirate?"
The human shouts, "The money! We're being robbed!
The thief jumps off the ship onto a speedboat and heads to a nearby island. Luz summons a boat-shaped block of ice and hops onto it. She then propels herself with a fire spell after them.
The captain laughs while swimming, "Show that specter what for, Luz!"
Luz closes in on the shore, "There's another person on the ship! There's two thieves! Get back here!"
The ice ends up melting to the point of barely support her feet. She loses her balance and is sent flying, colliding into the thief who drops the money at the shore. It opens and it gets washed away.
The human stares at the thieves for a good minute. The thief's eyes are gold and gray. The other has fiery red hair. Luz walks over and knocks off the taller one's hat, revealing it's Eda. The older woman is wearing a black captain's hat with a dark red captain's jacket, black pants and black boots. She still wears her golden earrings with various potions attached to the belts on her chest and her hair is in a ponytail.
Esper is wearing a white shirt with pale yellow stripes, a black and gold vest, black pants and black boots. She is also wearing a blue belt and a long blue head sash.
The brunette folds her arms upon seeing them, "Eda! Esper!"
The Owl Lady starts sheepishly chuckling, "Hey..."
The redhead points while folding her arms, "Great plan to get her attention, Eda."
The human raises her arms, "Why are you guys robbing our ship?" She then points at her mentor, "And what happened to your legs?"
The redhead stands up and folds her arms, "I'm sorry, what do you mean by 'our ship'? What happened to 'safer ways to get money while you take a nap, Esper?'"
Eda smiles while her legs reattach to her upper body, "It's called 'disguising your tracks!'" She then stands, "Now, why were you on that ship to begin with? You coulda' gotten killed!"
Suddenly, the Golden Guard's voice is heard from the water, "That can still be arranged." A giant water fist rises from the sea. He lands holding a birdcage with steam pouring from his mask.
He walks closer to them, "Hello, criminals. What's about to happen should be relatively painless, if you just do what I say."
Esper smirks upon seeing the Golden Guard, "Oh hey, it's you again! What? You want to go for round two?" She raises her fists.
The teenager tilted his head at her, "Star Touched Girl! Can't say I didn't expect to see you here! The human's in danger and you show up eventually!"
The redhead folded her arms, "Pfft what? You wanted Luz in danger to draw me out? Salty that you lost to me the last time?"
This made the Golden Guard frown underneath his mask, "...Last time I checked, you human raised witch, is that we had a draw. Don't get cocky! Now do what I say and no one gets hurt!"
Luz puts her hands on her childhood friend's shoulders, "...And why would we do that?"
The Golden Guard folds his arms while still holding the birdcage, "Because none of you can use real magic."
Eda folds her arms back at him, "You don't know that!"
The freckled witch put her hands on her hips, "Also uh hello! I'm right here!"
The teenager rolls his hand that holds his staff, "Yes... I know you're here too. However, you're the only one who can use magic here. And I do know that the human and the old lady are standing on a plant that eats flesh."
Luz and Eda look down and notice the plant is steaming and quickly jumps off it. They freak out with the human jumping behind Esper.
The Golden Guard laughs while pointing at them, "Okay, the human will remain a sailor to repay all the money she lost! While the Owl Lady and the Star Touched Witch will be arrested, again, for attacking one of the Emperor's ships!"
The human raises an eyebrow at the woman, "'Emperor's ship'?"
Esper copied her childhood friend's actions, "Wait, 'again?'"
Eda folds her arms again, "What! They're the only ones worth robbing!" She points at the redhead, "And it was a few times years ago! Besides this time..." She then shouts at the Golden Guard, "Why are you guys hunting the Selkidomus? It's a peaceful creature and you're provoking it!"
The teenager rolled his shoulders, "The Emperor ordered me to slay one. I'm just following orders."
Eda glares at him, "Well, I'm just gonna smack you around a bit!" She rips her own arm off to use as a weapon and swings but misses. She ends up being blasted away by the boy.
Luz appears from behind him, and activates a fire glyph, "Leave Eda alone!" She then throws the orange fire ball at the boy...
Only for the Golden Guard to duck below the blast, "How about..." He powers up his staff, "I leave you dangling above the Boiling Sea?"
He manipulates the land with his glowing staff to move the two of them directly above the steaming waters.
Esper creates a green spell circle in order to spawn various brown vines in an attempt to drag the piece of land back to shore, "Oh no you don't! Get back here!"
However, the vines start to slowly disintegrate from the steam!
The Golden Guard smirks at her from under his mask, "Around these parts, just the steam is enough to cause third-degree burns!" He brings them back to land, "But I don't have to be that mean! No one will have to be a sailor or get arrested or hurt! If one of you follows those Selkidomus tracks and slays the beast. Here! I'll help!"
He materializes a sword in her hand with his staff. Which makes Luz whine.
The teenager folds his arms towards her, "Ugh, you're making this difficult... Go or I drown the bird." He then lifts up the birdcage and pulls the shade aside, revealing King. The young demon looks around, "Weh?"
The Golden Guard drops the shade back down over the birdcage. his made the young demon tired, "Ah, it's dark now." He quickly falls asleep within the darkness and begins snoring.
Esper raises her hands up in worry, "Woah woah! Hey, that's not fair! Leave King out of this!"
The teenager puts his hands on his hips, "Life's not fair!"
Luz stares at the sword before walking inside the cave, "Fine. I'll do it!"
The redhead rushes after her childhood friend, "Huh?!"
Eda runs after the two girls, "Luz, wait! Luz!"
...
Lilith is now encircled by a ring of fire bees... She backs away before holding up the branch, "I am not one to be trifled with, bees. I am a witch... Unhinged!" She swings at the bees with a stick, making battle cries.
She pulls the stick away and realizes it's burnt, "What? No, no, no, no, no!"
The older woman falls to the ground with the ring of bees closing in, "I can't do this alone. I need help!"
Hooty suddenly emerges out of the ground, "I'm here for you, Lulu. No witch is an island. Now face my wrath!"
Lilith starts clapping while watching the carnage, "Oohohoho!"
...
Back to the team inside the cave, Esper blocks her friend's path so she couldn't walk any further...
Eda speaks up from behind the human, "Luz, don't hurt the Selkidomus. We can find another way out of this..."
Luz shakes her head at her mentor, "You heard what he said, Eda! If you, Esper and King want to be free... Then I have to do this alone!" She turns to try to walk around her friend...
...However, the redhead stepped in front of her yet again, "Luz, come on. I'm not going to let you kill this creature! Especially not for him! We've been there for each other, thick and thin. You know?"
The Owl Lady tries to put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Yeah! What's this 'alone' business? Don't you remember? Us weirdos have to—"
Luz rolls her shoulder away from her mentor, "What? Stick together? Because you stuck with me, you lost your magic! You almost got turned to stone and now you can't even afford your apple blood because you're worried about what I need to eat!" Eda's eyes widen, instantly realizing that Luz overheard what she said to Lilith earlier in the day...
The human continues when she hears no response, "If it was just Esper... You wouldn't have that problem!" She turns her head towards her childhood friend, "Heck, Esper, we don't even know if we'll find your parents! And I destroyed the only way to get back to your human ones! It's my fault all this happened. That's why I've got to do this alone. I'll make it all up to you guys... Eda the Owl Lady and Esper the Star Touched Witch. I promise!"
But then Luz falls backwards. She ends up falling down into the Selkidomus' den!
Both witches shout, "Luz!"
The human falls right onto the Selkidomus' head. This makes the large creature stir and roar at her once it spots her.
The brunette jumps backwards, "Whoa!" She dodges a Selkidomus attack and holds up a glyph in defense, "All right, let's do this!"
Luz summons an ice pillar but Eda swings on a vine summoned by Esper and grabs Luz in mid-air. She tackles the girl into cover while the redhead swung into the safe space after them.
The older woman stands in front of her student, "You think throwing your life away is gonna help me? Well, it won't. You helped me find King's crown when you barely knew me! You saved me from turning to stone and you even got me talking to my sister again! So unfortunately for you, my life is pretty great! Because I'm friends with Luz the human." She brushes a hair out of the girl's face, "You think I would have ever been able to teach Esper anything without you? Do you think she would have even discovered that she was a witch?"
Luz's childhood friend hugs her from behind, "Yeah! You may be the reason I'm stuck here but I made the choice to follow you! Luz, you're the one who always made me feel... Well, human! Back in the Human Realm when I felt like no one understood me, you were always there to make me feel like a person! Sure, you're stubborn and you charge into danger... And trust me, I am so going to punch you for tricking me earlier. But I know you always do something for a good reason!" She releases her friend with a teary smile, "That's one of the reasons I admire you so much, you always try to do the right thing! That good heart of yours never knows when to quit!"
Luz's lip begins to tremble while she tears up but stops when Eda grabs her cheeks.
The older woman speaks right in front of her face, "Now, your guilt-ridden brain is clouding your judgment!"
Esper punches her childhood friend on the arm, "Come on, Luz, we're all in this together! There's gotta be a way out of this! Where no one has to get hurt!"
Behind them, a baby Selkidomus cries out.
Luz gasps when she hears the noise, "Eda, do you want to learn your first glyph?" She rubs the back of her neck, "And uh, Esper's second?"
...
Above them, the Golden Guard is playing with King's birdcage. He lifts the shade. King wakes up and spins around, "Weh?"
He drops the shade, which makes King sigh in relief. The Golden Guard lifts the shade again. Once again, the demon wakes up and spins around, "Weh?"
The teenager repeats the action with glee. King wakes up and spins around, "Weh?"
He drops the shade once again with a smile under his mask. King sighs in relief one last time...
The Golden Guard starts to laugh, "You're actually weirdly endearing!"
King yawns from the cage, "No, I'm not!" He then begins to snore...
The Golden Guard looks up and sees shadows on the wall of the trio fighting the Selkidomus. Luz slays the mother and begins dragging her head into the Golden Guard's view.
The teenager gags before taking a step back, "Oh, that thing smells awful! Why are you touching it with your bare hands? Gross!"
The human shakes her head at him, "You're gross! Now give me King!"
The Golden Guard nods his head at her, "Actually, he smells pretty bad too. Take him!" He tosses her King's birdcage, which lands on the ground, "Thank you for your service, human. You can find your own way home. And try to stay out of trouble." His voice deepens to a sinister, "The Emperor is not a merciful man. Your 'Star Touched Witch' will soon know that." He then waves with his voice raising in pitch, "Byeeeee!"
The teenager gets on his staff and vanishes in a flash of red light.
Luz picks up King's birdcage and blows a raspberry after the teenage boy leaves. Beside the corpse of the Selkidomus falls apart, revealing to actually be made entirely out of plant magic.
Eda is drawing light glyphs and casting them, "My first glyph! Did I do good?"
Esper smiles while holding up a plant glyph, "How were my plants? They weren't too dead looking, were they?"
Luz walks up to her with a smile, "Nope! It convinced him! Hey, you both did great!"
Suddenly, the Selkidomus crawls up to the trio with a smile, her baby follows close behind her.
The mother rubs her head against Esper's face with a small growl. The redhead hugs the head of the creature, "Aw! You're welcome, Mom. Anything to keep you and your baby safe."
The baby comes up to Luz and hugs her. It's face rubbing against her legs.
Luz smiles before lifting the baby to hug it back, "Baby! Awww..."
King's eyes widen when he steps out of the birdcage, "Wait, what is that?!"
Eda rubs the demon's skull with a smile, "Don't worry, King. Once the mother saw we weren't a threat to her baby, she calmed down." She looks up at the mother, "This area is very dangerous now. You need to move further out into the sea."
The Selkidomus nods then regurgitates a pile of golden sludge from her mouth in front of the group.
Esper takes a step back, "Woah! At least it wasn't on me!"
The old witch's eyes widen upon seeing the sludge, "Hot dang! It gave you the treasure of the sea!"
The human tilts her head towards the sludge, "Gold? Tuna?"
The redhead folds her arms, "...Tuna? This is not what tuna looks like."
Eda picks up a handful of the gold, "Yeah! She's right! It's selkigris! Ah, people pay big money for it at the Night Market. We're rich! Ah, feel that money, Luz." She starts to lather a handful of Selkigris onto Luz's face.
The girl begins to gag, "No, Eda! Stop!"
Esper raises her arms with a smile, "Hahaha! Victory! At least it's not me this time!"
The older woman continues to lather the girl's face, "Luxuriate in it! What? You don't like to luxuriate? There's a whole pile of luxury right in here!" She then picks her student up.
The human waves her arms around when she is picked up, "No, no, no, no, no."
Eda throws Luz into the Selkigris with a big smile on her face.
The younger redhead points to her friend while laughing, "Ahaha! That's what you get!" She stops laughing when she feels herself be picked up, "Wait wait wait! Eda no!"
She gags when she lands in the golden sludge. She balls her fist while the goop falls off her, "Ah! Son of a pickle!"
The Owl Lady backs away from the pile, "Move over!"
She then jumps in, flattening the pile with the two younglings in it.
Both girls shake their heads, "Eda!"
But then they all start to laugh...
...
Back to Lilith at the Owl House... She is putting ointment on Hooty's fire bee stings, "I'm sorry for sending you away before. It's always hard for me to ask for help."
The owl tube smiles at her, "It's okay! I'm sorry for being all nosy-nosy... But hey, Lulu, every friendship comes with its ups and downs. Right, best friend?"
The woman looks away from him, "I'm not commenting on that..." But she then smiles at him, "Hootsifer..."
Hooty smiles widely, "A nickname?!" He then starts laughing, "Hoot."
The cauldron with the scrying spell finally finishes brewing. It glows and bubbles in front of the two.
Lilith gasps, "The scrying potion! It's ready!
Suddenly, a tired Eda, Luz, Esper and King walk through the door together...
The Owl Lady takes a step forward, "We're home." She then trips over Hooty.
Lilith waves her sister closer, "Eda, come here. I have a gift for you. To prove that I'm trustworthy, I'm giving you a peek inside the Emperor's Castle!"
Her cauldron shows a corridor at the Emperor's Castle that splits into two paths... Four distracted guards at each side are doing nothing.
A guard on the left turns to the guard on the right, "'Sup?"
The guard on the right shrugs his shoulders, "'Sup?"
Back to the Owl House living room, Luz raises an eyebrow at the grown witch, "What are we supposed to do with this?"
Esper scratches her chin, "Yeah? What is it? Like some sort of spy camera?"
Lilith smiles at the two girls, "Well you can do whatever you want! Don't you see? These troops don't know what to do with themselves. So go crazy! Pull whatever pranks your heart desires! They're clueless without me!"
Eda rubs her hands together, "Oh, Lily, you couldn't have been more right!" She puts her hands on her hips, "And that Golden Guard... What a chump."
The younger redhead copies her motion, "I'll agree with you on that!"
The Owl Lady rubs her hands together yet again, "Oh, I'm in a good mood. Who wants to get takeout and draw faces on Hooty?"
Hooty shakes his head, "No..."
Esper, King and Luz all speak simultaneously with smiles, "Yay! Me, me, me! I do! Yeah! I'm in!"
Lilith hugs Hooty's face, "I'll protect you, Hootsifer!"
Everyone continues their conversation while the potion delves further into the Emperor's castle...
The Owl Lady folds her arms, "Alright, what do we wanna eat?"
The human speaks up, "Anything but seafood!"
The redhead sticks out her tongue, "Ditto! I don't think I can ever have venison after today either! How about something vegetarian for tonight?"
The young demon jumps onto Esper's shoulders, "Oh! Oh! What about crackers?"
Eda shakes her head, "We're not ordering crackers."
The owl tube smiles, "Bees!"
Lilith smiles while shrugging her shoulders, "I'm fine with whatever. Things are starting to feel right again..."
The potion's spell zooms in through a wall to where Emperor Belos is piecing together his own portal door... He puts his mask on before he turns around, "Knock, knock, children..."
