You know what they say: It was so nice, I had to do it twice. Or, I guess thrice? Bah, whatever. We're pushing it in terms of chapters released in a month, but you know what? I'm on a roll. Whether or not I can keep up this streak before I tire out is entirely irrelevant. All that matters is that I, somehow, finish Season 2 before 2025. That was the goal I set out for myself, and I'll be damned if I don't do it.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get to it! Two more chapters before "It" happens. For those coming from the original, ya'll know what I mean (hopefully, because otherwise I'll disappointed).
Now, for real, time for the chapter!
[Opening Song: SPECIALZ – By: King Gnu]
*The scene opens with a disembodied voice singing "You are my special" as drums and the sound of a turn table synthesizer follow it. As that happens, it shows Luz, no longer dressed in a hero costume but rather in a black trenchcoat with various decals, a white shirt, a purple skirt held up by a black belt with a golden buckle, a pair of spotted cat-themed stockings that reach just below her knees, a pair of black shoes, and a black fedora, standing atop a building, looking over the town of Gravesfield, Connecticut. The disembodied voice once again says, "You are my special." Luz narrows her now crimson-red eyes, glaring down at the town with anger and nostalgia.*
*The drums pick up in volume and are joined by an electric guitar, while at the same time, the title, "The Owl House - All For Luz," appears, with the Japanese Kanji "フクロウの家 -すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in a smaller font. The large number 2 is still next to the title; however, instead of being the colour yellow, it is now a crimson red colour, as the final "You are my special" rings out.*
*As the opening begins in full, the scene cuts to Hunter sitting on a chair in a dark and empty room, a spotlight lampshading over him, his sword made of light plunged into the ground, his eyes narrowed, and his demeanour prepared for a battle, whilst dressed in his Golden Guard attire, minus the mask. The scene cuts to Millie Ravenclaw creating a small army of Abominations, and much like Hunter, her expression is one of determination, prepared for whatever battle was about to come as a disembodied voice sings*
"Come on, let's dance to the edge and tumble down again."
"The town stands tall, post up at the end."
*Mid verse, the scene shifts to Sophia coated in a massive amount of dark energy, like that of a blackened flame, her eyes filled with both bloodlust and anticipation, whilst Jonah slowly fades into existence behind her out of a purple cloud, looming over her, arms crossed, no longer wearing the gas mask with a large smirk on his face, as Charlie sits on his shoulders, arms resting on his head as the disembodied voice continues.*
"Let's struggle on to the edge of death 'til nothing is left."
"Dance wildly. The bold are those who claim their respect."
*The scene changes to Luz walking down the barren streets of an evacuated Gravesfield, the ends of her trenchcoat swaying back and forth in the wind, her hands in her coat pockets. As she walks down the road, red sparks dance over her body as she glares down a police blockade.*
*She outstretches her left hand, the red sparks leaping off her arm. A dark purple aura follows suit alongside the red sparks, mixed with golden sparks of energy and red. A smirk takes up her visage as a wave of yellow and black energy rushes forward, forcing a scene transition as the disembodied voice continues.*
"I love you, baby."
"Sing again 'till the morning comes…"
"No matter your sorry state…!"
"The childish games you play."
*As the scene transitions to something else, that being of a group of monsters with their brains exposed atop the roofs of buildings, one of which is on all fours like an animal, another is made of nothing but pure muscle, and another is more feminine appearing with a slender build with what appears to be vines coiling around their fingers. Each of them is on a separate building, and each of them are faced by Millie, Sophia, and Jonah, respectively.*
*Meanwhile, Luz is staring down Hunter as Luz takes off her fedora, revealing white hair rather than her usual brown hair. Not even a second later, the two charge at one another, Hunter with his sword drawn and ready to use and Luz with a manic gleam in her eyes and her right fist pulled back, ready to engage. All the while, as all of this is happening, the disembodied voice continues to sing*
"You burn through to my heart. Let me cherish you always!"
"Don't ever run 'cause you know too well, You Are My Special!"
*As the chorus begins to play alongside the action, the animal-like Nomu charges at Millie as she fires balls of flames toward it with increased fervour, eyes wide with panic behind them, as a group of abominations go to dogpile the beast. The muscle-bound Nomu engages in a fist clash with Sophia, shockwaves bounding out from their attacks meeting in the middle, each countering their attacks with another's attacks. Finally, the feminine-looking Nomu whips metal-infused vine whips toward Jonah, who keeps ducking and weaving as smoke. At the same time, the Nomu seemingly keeps predicting where Jonah seems to be appearing to avoid their attacks. All the while, the disembodied voice continues to sing.*
"Drive my heart in two, I feel it beating anew!"
"Put you under the spell, consume the future as well!"
"In that maze of you, we rendezvous…!"
"A daze that I never felt. You Are My Special!"
*The scene changes to Luz and Hunter exchanging attack after attack, blow after blow, dodging each other's punches, kicks, and beams of light and fire. Luz plants her hand on the floor as a wave of decay speeds toward Hunter, who turns into light and blips behind Luz, raising his weapon over his head to cut her in half, only for a barrier to be erected around her and for her to blast him with a wave of pure energy, knocking him back.*
*As Hunter lands, wings made of light sprout from his back, and his right arm becomes larger and larger until it matches the size and density of a massive cylinder. Luz does the same thing with flames; only her arm is covered by a million other tinier arms, and spikes appear out every little orifice of the arm as they can before the arm is bathed in a coil of flames.*
*The two charge at one another, both reeling their arms back and just before their fists collide, the scene zooms out to an overhead shot of the state of Connecticut; all the while, the Disembodied voice finishes the song as the beat fades out with a final guitar riff.*
"Dancing to your tune, the whole world spins out of hue!"
"No, no, no, don't relax, the demon's breaking its shell!"
"In that maze of you, we rendezvous!"
"No matter what they tell, You Are My Special!"
"We're Special!"
[Hero No More – Part 3]
[Three days until October 1st, the day of The Battle]
"One Whisky, please, and put it on my tab," a tired sounding Riley said as she sat across from the bartender at a bar located within one of the many rural towns dotted about Florida. Why was she in Florida? Because the further away she was from Connecticut, the better. She was dressed in a white sleeveless tank top, and a pair of dark brown shorts that stopped just above her knees.
With the money that she had made working for Tyler, which was just around 3.7 Million Dollars, half of which she threw into investing into Apple to grow passive income, with the other 1.4 Million, she purchased a home in Palm Beach. It wound up costing her 900,000 to purchase her new home outright, leaving her with half a million dollars left in her bank account.
Her hair was done up in a ponytail, and she had bought a new eyepatch with a cool new design. Rather than it being pitch black like before, this one had a red poppy flower design in the center of the now white eyepatch. As for why she chose that as the design it was simply because she wanted to.
"Here ya go," the bartender said, sliding her a shot glass with the desired contents within. Taking it and shooting it back, Riley sighed, letting the refreshing burn in the back of her throat ease the tension that had been in her shoulders. She always loved the aftertaste of Whisky. It was warm, and made her feel all fuzzy.
Having moved all the way from Connecticut to Florida had been a massive change. Most of it was to get away from Connecticut and to avoid Tyler's cult, and the other part of it was because she had always wanted to live in Florida. Even if it was a bit of a hellscape due to how unapologetically backwards it had been. But that was part of the fun. Florida had always been the strange little tumor that was permanently attached to The United States, but no one saw it as a bad thing.
Florida was… Florida. You could always rely on Florida to be strange, and that was why Riley wanted to be there. Besides, she felt in tune with the place. Maybe it was because she had always found it naturally cool, or maybe it was because she had always seen it as an awesome place to live. Either way, those were her main reasons for choosing to move to Florida.
That, and she had all but given up on trying to find Steven. When he ran away, he was only nine years old. The chances of him having died at some point were far higher than not. At least when she left home she was at least seventeen years old. By then, she had a good enough head on her shoulders and was old enough to work.
Still, a part of her hoped that one day, she'd find him. Or, at the very least, get closure on what happened to him.
"Say, do I know you?" The bartender asked, glancing over at her. Riley raised an eyebrow, looking the Bartender up and down. He had short black hair, tan skin, and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a white button up shirt with a black waist coat over top. He was also decked out in black and white striped pants, and a pair of white gloves.
Upon further observation, he did look familiar. And also quite young. Maybe around nineteen, so just barely old enough to work at a bar. A part of her wondered why someone so young would work here. Unless, he owned it, of course. In which case, if he owned the bar, that would be both impressive and also a little depressing.
"Maybe we've bumped into each other on the street?" Riley suggested, shrugging. She'd only been living in Florida for a little over a week now. Her neighbour was a stuck up old white lady. Incredibly racist. But stopped harassing her when Riley blew up her mailbox out of spite. Of course, she was made to pay for its replacement, but that was spare change for her.
Now that she thought about it, she had seen this guy walking the streets a few times handing out money to homeless people. It was good to see that the guy wasn't a total asshat. She had met a few people who would spit on the homeless people here. Although, there were times when he did as well, but they seemed to appreciate it.
Honestly, some people were weird. This guy too, apparently. But whatever the case was, she wasn't going to pry. She was just glad there was a place in town that sold alcoholic beverages. A part of her considered getting a job here. It might pay well, especially if it gave this guy enough money to hand out to the homeless.
"Well, Palm Beach is a small place, so there's a good chance we've bumped into each other at least once," The Bartender said, outstretching a hand to Riley. "Names Steven Quartz, but most people just call me Steve. Although, I used to go by Stewardson, but I don't like talking about it."
Riley's eyes damn near widened out of their sockets as she devolved into a sputtering mess. Steven raised an eyebrow, confusion taking up his visage as he retracted his hand. "Um… You okay?"
"S-Steve?" Riley said, her sole eye tearing up as Steve blinked, his confusion slowly giving way to recognization. His body shook, and his eyes began to water just as much as Riley's had.
"No shot… Riley?!" Steven exclaimed, before Riley, literally, leapt over the counter and tackle-hugged him as if her life depended on it. Steven laughed, as did Riley, one moreso out of joy and happiness and the other to stifle back the tears.
After a few moments of embracing her long lost brother, she finally got off him, rubbing the tears out of her eye, as Steven kept laughing, though those laughs were slowly turning into guttural sobs.
Riley sat next to Steven, letting him cry as much as he needed to. "This has to be a dream," Riley reasoned, pinching herself. She felt pain, and by all nine hells was she happy to feel it, because that meant that it was real. That Steven was here. That she wasn't making this up in her head. She had found him, and in Florida, no less!
After a few more minutes, Riley found herself back on the other side of the counter, whilst Steven cleaned up the small mess that she had made when she leapt over the counter. She was lucky that no one else was in the bar, otherwise there would've been a good shot that someone called the cops.
"So, how'd you find yourself in Palm Beach, of all places? There's no way you could've made it here by yourself," Riley said as Steven chuckled, scratching the back of his neck with an anxious gleam in his eyes.
"Y-yeah, well, you're not wrong. But, it's actually thanks to my foster father. He's a nice guy. His name's Gregory, but everyone in town calls him Greg. Him and his wife, Rose, took me in. They were on a road trip and, well, they found me. I was starving on the side of the road and out of the kindness of their hearts, took me in after I told them that I ran away from a pretty crappy situation," Steven said, before pulling up his left sleeve.
Underneath it, it revealed a massive tattoo. It had the name "Quartz" in all capitals scrawled on his arm with a dark pink background, along with vines wrapping around the lettering. "Greg and Rose have the same tattoo on the same arm, so I figured as a thanks for taking me in, I'd get the same tattoo as they did."
Riley smiled, a feeling of both happiness, and also slight jealousy at how her brother had a happier upbringing than her. Not that she would voice that opinion, but still. All that truly mattered though, was that he was happy, and not suffering like she had been.
"That's wonderful, Steven. I'm glad," Riley said as Steven chuckled, rolling the sleeve down to cover the tattoo again.
"I can take you to introduce yourself to them. Although, Sophie and Ruby might be over. They're both friend's of Greg and Rose, and they can be a little much. I try to stay over at my girlfriend's house when they're over," Steven said as Riley raised an eyebrow.
"Girlfriend?" Riley questioned as Steven once again rubbed the back of his neck in a bit of anxiety.
"Story for another time, 'kay?" Steven said as Riley smiled.
"Alright, alright, I'll leave it be. But still… I never would've imagined that I'd see you again, or alive for that matter. I was convinced you were…" Riley trailed off as Steven frowned, although his gaze had a sense of understanding lurking within.
"Yeah, that's reasonable. Honestly, I probably should've died, all things considered. It was a random stroke of luck that Greg and Rose found me when they did," Steven said, his tone somber as Riley's expression softened. Silence hung in the bar, until it was broken by the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the bar, alerting Riley and Steven to a new presence.
The moment Riley saw them, her eyes widened to the size of saucers, as the sound of boots hit the floor, spurs whirling on the back of the boots as Riley had to crane her neck to meet the gaze of someone who she had desperately wanted to get away from.
"Found ya," Jonah said, his voice dripping with both contempt and also a hint of surprise. Then again, Riley never wanted to see Jonah's rat bastard face ever again. Why the hell was he in Florida? How the hell did he get down here so quickly? She guessed he could've been keeping tabs on her, but that didn't explain why he was here right now!
"You… What the hell do you want?" Riley bit out as Steven raised an eyebrow, looking over to Riley, then to Jonah, then back to Riley with a concerned look on his face.
"Um… Riley? Who is that?" Steven asked as Jonah scoffed.
"You keep your pretty little face outta this, boy. This got nothin' to do with you," Jonah said with a dismissive wave. Steven was about to say something, only for Riley to shoot him a look that all but demanded his silence. Steven didn't say or do anything. He simply stood still, doing his best to try and fade into the background.
"You didn't answer my question. What the fuck do you want?" Riley snarled as Jonah smirked. He wasn't wearing his gas mask, so she got to see that fuck-ugly smile of his. It sent shivers down her spine the likes of which only staring at a corpse could give.
"To give you a choice. You come back to The Witch Hunters Association, or, I do what I do best," Jonah said as Riley glared daggers at him. She rose to her feet faster than she had ever before, and swung at him, only for Jonah to catch the punch with his right hand, and shove, forcing Riley down to one knee as she grunted. "Not a wise choice, sweetie. Ya know darn well that I'm physically stronger than ya. What made ya think that was a good idea?"
"Leave my sister alone, asshole!" Steven shouted as Jonah smirked, shifting his gaze over to him, a devious gleam taking up his eyes. Steven shrunk into himself, taking a step back as all the colour drained from his face.
"Aw, protecting yer loved ones. That's just cute. Are you volunteering to be the first of the two of you I gut?" Jonah said, his voice carrying a sing-song edge to it was the alarm bells in the back of Riley's mind began to go on full blast.
Without a moment of hesitation, Riley used her free arm to punch Jonah in the knee, making him stumble backward and shift his weight off of her. Then, not even a second later, Riley sprung up and slapped him in the face before lunging backward, and putting her hand up in a charade of a detonator.
Steven yelped, backing away even further to join in standing next to Riley, as Jonah groaned, slowly standing up as he levelled a glare at Riley. "Oh, ya done it now, you bitch!" Jonah roared as Riley smirked, albeit her confidence was waning. She wouldn't lie to herself and say that she wasn't terrified. In fact, she was mortified.
"I hope this works," Riley pleaded mentally, sucking in a breath of air, calming her nerves before speaking. "Fuck off, Jonah, or I'll detonate the bomb I planted on you!" Riley shouted as Jonah tilted his head, rubbing his cheek as he snickered.
"You wouldn't. You don't have the balls to," Jonah taunted as Riley lowered her thumb closer to the edge of her hand. Jonah's expression didn't change. It was the same stone cold mask that it usually was when he got into tense situations. But she knew internally that he was freaking out. She could read him like a book.
"Wanna bet?" Riley said as Jonah spread his arms open wide, as if embracing the idea.
"Go ahead! Do it! I know you won't!" Jonah shouted, as Riley felt sweat began to develop on her forehead. Steven looked horrified at the exchange, not making a sound as he took a step behind Riley. For a split second, Riley glanced over shoulder at Steven, and the moment she took her eyes off Jonah, that was when he struck.
Jonah transformed into his gaseous state, and rushed toward Riley. Riley pressed down on her hand, detonating the bomb. As the explosion rippled out through the bar, the force of the explosion flung both Riley and Steven into the wall behind them, destroying the tables, shattering the windows, and catching parts of the wooden bar on fire.
Riley stared at the destruction caused by the explosion, before looking down at herself. Small gashes littered her legs and parts of her right arm, and she could feel half of face grown numb. All around, she was in pain, and it hurt to breath. She looked over to Steven, who looked slightly better than she had. He didn't have any burns on his body, but he did have a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises.
She had taken most of the blast, but… that should've killed Jonah. There was no way he could've survived that. Not even in a gaseous form, and especially as in such an enclosed place. At the very least, if he had survived, he'd be heavily injured. A small smirk took up her expression as she tried to stand up, only to fail miserably.
Riley hissed in pain, feeling every part of her body burn in agony. Her remaining eye squinted through the smoke that came from the fires, trying to find wherever it was that Jonah could've gone, assuming he was still alive. But there was nothing. Which was the problem. If he had died, there should be at least parts of his body somewhere in the room with them.
So where the hell did he go?
"Hehe… Hehehe…. Hahahaha!" A voice cackled beside Riley, as Steven slowly began to stand up, his right hand covering his face as Riley glanced over at him, confusion taking up her visage as Steven rose to his feet. "That was one hell of a gamble, but a gamble I was willin' to take!" Steven muttered as he looked over to Riley… his eyes now being a deep shade of purple. Riley's eyes widened to the size of saucers, a struggled gasp following suit as "Steven" laughed like a maniac.
"Ya know, I didn't think it was possible, but because my body is made of gas, technically, I can take the appearance of just about anyone. Maybe you should take a bit of a closer look, dear. Check the carnage around ya a little, since you were so sure of what ya did!" Jonah said, his form shifting from that of Steven's, to a gaseous state, then back to what he usually appeared as.
Riley looked out at the damage she had done to the building, and finally, she saw it. She saw Steven's body with a massive hole in his face, stomach, and shoulder, his eyes milky and lifeless as Jonah cackled like a mad man.
"No…" Riley muttered as Jonah loomed over her, before picking her up by her ponytail, lifting her a few feet off the ground as she struggled to move. Her arms were useless. She couldn't do anything against him, as tears fell from her face. She killed her brother. She had just found him, and he was dead!
"The second you were about to explode the bomb in my face, I turned into my gaseous form. Then, when ya detonated the bomb, I rushed toward that little twerp, and swapped places with 'em, takin' his appearance, and went along as if nothin' happened at all!" Jonah explained, before pulling out something from his back pocket.
It was a hunting knife. Large, with a serrated blade. Riley's eyes widened, she tried to move her hand, but there was nothing that she could do. She couldn't move, as if paralyzed by fear. Jonah's expression stretched into a wide, uncanny smile, his eyes gleaming with something. Riley couldn't tell, and nor did she want to know what kind of sick thoughts went on in his head.
"Like I said, Riley. If ya didn't agree to come back with me, I said I'd do what I'd do best~! Even if no one's here to witness it, I'm sure they'll be just as stumped as they always are. What was it the news was callin' me again? The Southern Ripper? Let's see here, you'll be victim number 61, if we're countin' that sad sack behind me," Jonah said, laughing as Riley felt a sharp pain burn in her abdomen.
Droplets of blood hit the floor as pain contorted on Riley's face while Jonah buried the blade in her stomach. Slowly, he tore a smile through her flesh as Riley screamed, all the while Jonah cackled like a mad man.
From the outside of the bar, no one could hear Riley's screams. Because everyone around the bar had collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth, all because of Jonah's poison smog.
Later that day, the police would arrive at the scene, only to find a most horrific crime scene. A woman's naked body, a smile carved into her stomach with her face cut off, alongside the mutilated remains of Steven Quartz. Above the woman's body was a number in Roman Numerals. That number being LXI, or 61.
The police knew exactly what happened here. There was no other explanation for it.
The Southern Ripper struck again.
[XXXX]
There was a gentle breeze in the air. Luz felt it first and foremost do to hovering in the sky, flaming wings occasionally flapping to keep her in the air. Her now naturally red eyes scanned the area around her, keeping a look out for people just in case her current hideout was found. One hand was in her pocket, while her other hand had a phone up to her ear—a burner phone, to be precise.
Shigaraki had recommended her to stay in contact with Dr. Rodriquez, as abandoning him would only make the effort that she put into maintaining a working relationship with him would be wasted. Luz couldn't help but agree, although it was complicated given the fact that she had to destroy her expensive iPhone 12 Pro Max. That piece of tech was just over $1,000. Now, it was gone.
Granted, $1,000 had been a drop in the bucket for her, but that still didn't mean that she wasn't upset about it. Now, she was reduced to a flip phone that could easily disposed of. Granted, all she had to do was take the sim card out of it every time she wasn't using it to stop people from tracking her. So at the very least she didn't have to buy a new phone every time she finished using it.
"Well, that's all well and good, madam, but how are we supposed to deliver the Nomu to you without being caught in transit?" Dr. Rodriquez asked, concern lacing his tone as Luz hummed. She hadn't thought of that. Although, the chips on their brainstem was the same chip that Shigaraki had used to put Hunter under his control. Of course, that was before Luz knew that had been why Shigaraki knew how to make them, but she digressed.
"You don't need to drop them off at my exact location. Just drive up to the border of Gravesfield, and unleash them there. The chips they have in their heads will automatically bring them to me. Oh, and thank you for bringing me Mr. Silent's brain. The collection process was a little… bizarre, but I got my powers back," Luz said as Dr. Rodriquez grunted on the other end.
"I suppose that works. Oh, speaking of The Nomu, they should be ready in three days, if not a little earlier than that. Our earliest estimations is that we can ship them to you starting at 12:00 AM on October 1st, and they'll get there by 2:00 AM. Oh, and you're welcome. Next time, though, it would be easier if you came back to the lab."
"I see…" Luz muttered, scratching her chin in thought with her free hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Luz could see her mother approaching from below. Luz frowned, before sighing. Over the last week, their relationship had fallen to pieces. She had seen it coming from a mile away, especially after what she did back in North Carolina.
Out of all the deaths she had caused, that was the line that shouldn't have been crossed. Not that Luz herself particularly cared. As far as she was concerned, they attacked her, and so she was within the right to defend herself how she saw fit. Hell, she even gave them a warning and an option to leave, which they foolishly chose not to take.
It was obviously too late now for her to decry that she "didn't mean to" when, in reality, she knew exactly what she was doing. She had gone far past the point of caring what she did to her enemies. Her philosophy was simple, really. Step to her in any hostile way, and one should expect to be cut down.
Pushing that thought aside for now, Luz sighed. "I'll talk to you later. Just remember the plan."
"Understood, madam," and then, Dr. Rodriquez hung up. Luz immediately took to removing the sim card from phone, and as soon as she did, she stuffed it into her trenchcoat pocket, before gracefully lowering herself to the ground. As soon as she did, she turned to look at her mother, who had a neutral expression on her face.
"Talking to that doctor of yours again?" Camila questioned, though it sounded more like an accusation.
"Yeah, I was. You got a problem with that?" Luz replied, to which Camila said nothing in response. Luz huffed, walking past her with both of her hands in her pockets. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel the glare that Camila was shooting her way. Not that Luz particularly cared about what her mother was feeling at the moment.
Whatever attempt there had been to mend their broken relationship fell flat after what was now being called the North Carolina Massacre. To call it a massacre was a bit of a stretch in Luz's opinion. Slaughter? Maybe. But massacre? The death toll wasn't even in the four digits. Though, she guessed she was being pedantic at that point.
"You're hiding something," Camila pointed out, to which Luz rolled her eyes.
"I'm always hiding something, so frankly I don't see your point," Luz replied as Camila's expression soured. As they walked back down the path in the woods, Luz looked over her shoulder, her eyes slightly narrowed. "I don't understand why you're still here. You could be out helping Vee trying to find what their looking for. Instead, you stayed back here. Why?"
"Because I want to know something. It's important," Camila said as Luz stopped walking, before fully turning around to face Camila with her arms crossed. Camila stood across from Luz, about three feet apart. Luz stared at Camila, her expression one of annoyance.
"Well, what is it?"
"I want to know what happened," Camila said, earning her a raised eyebrow from Luz.
"What do you mean?" Luz asked as Camila shifted to one side, her expression mirroring Luz's annoyed expression from before.
"You know exactly what I mean. I want to know what happened to my daughter. Because the person who I'm looking at certainly isn't her," Camila stated bluntly, as Luz blinked. To say she was caught off guard was an understatement. Not that Luz hadn't expected something like this to happen at some point, but why now?
Well, that was a stupid question. She knew why. North Carolina had been a trigger for a lot of things. From Vee not wanting to so much as be in the same room as her, to Camila giving her the cold shoulder on just about everything. Luz knew that Vee was afraid of her—always had been, to an extent. That was something that Luz had clued into the moment she started working with them.
But her mother? Well, given everything that she had done, and knowing full well that their relationship had been in the gutter, she wasn't shocked that things ended up this way. But now she was asking a really, really stupid question. It was very insult shaped in nature, and while Luz could take an insult, that rubbed her the wrong way.
"What do you mean," Luz said, though it wasn't so much a question as it was a demand. Camila lifted her head just a little bit to meet her gaze.
"My daughter. She never would've done even half of what you have. The criminals, at least for a little while, I could excuse—hell, I could even excuse what happened in Waterbury regarding The Order. If there truly was a nuclear bomb underneath the city, then what you did was smart. But everything else? The death? The ignoring of the law on several occasions? What you did in North Carolina? If we really want to bring everything you've done into question, what happened to Amber! My Luz would never have done any of that! So what the hell did you do with her?!" Camila ranted, her eyes gaining a sharp edge to them, her body language all but demanding Luz to answer.
In response, Luz scowled. Did she really have to put up with this right now? No. No she didn't. In fact, she could just turn around and leave. Completely ignore what Camila was talking about, and move on with her life. Luz didn't owe her anything, let alone an answer to a very obvious question.
But, at the same time, with this, she could set the record straight. She doubted Camila would see things from her point of view, and never likely would. She wasn't the delusional to believe that could ever happen. For all of Camila's faults, she wasn't as warped as Luz knew herself to be.
Deep down, ever since she was young, Luz knew that there was something wrong with her. Ever since Dad died that had been the case. Seeing her father in the state that he had been after the car crash… seeing his mangled body…. Seeing all of that blood at such a young age—such a traumatic thing for any child to see, it warped her.
Her perception of things changed drastically. Sure, she could still be happy, and sure she could still have what some might consider an a good childhood, but her nightmares were constantly plagued with what happened. To make matters worse, her mother had been pretty much catatonic when Dad died.
Camila buried herself in her job, booze, and more work to distract herself from what happened. She kept food in the cupboards and a roof over their head, but she was never there for her. Any extended family had distanced themselves after seeing Camila spiral, so it was all up to Luz to deal with her problems.
Except, she didn't know what outlets she could have for that. The only thing that she had to help her cope with her father's death was that copy of The Good Witch Azura that her father got her for her fourth birthday. That book meant the world to her. It was her anchor. Having it was like having a piece of Dad in her life.
So when Amber destroyed it…. It was there. That was where she could pinpoint her change. When Amber destroyed the one thing that she cared about. The one thing that she loved more than anything else.
That was it.
"You really wanna know?" Luz asked, glancing at Camila, who's expression didn't change from the anger that bristled behind her eyes, to the frown she wore on her face. Luz once again sighed, and for but a moment, her expression grew uncomfortable. "If you want to pinpoint the moment where I changed, it was when Amber burned The Good Witch Azura in front of me."
"That's it?" Camila said, taken aback by what Luz said, her face going red with anger. "A book? A stupid book caused this!?" Camila shouted, to which Luz reacted immediately by grabbing Camila by the collar of her shirt, and lifting her off the floor. That scared Camila, as Luz scowled.
"That book was the last thing I had to remember my Dad, because you threw out all the pictures of him when he died. You gave his belongings to his family, who burned them! I had nothing to remember him by aside from that book, and Amber burned it! It felt like I lost my Dad for the second time! I watched, as they burned what I had left of my father! I watched my father die again!" Luz shouted, before throwing Camila to the dirt path.
Camila grunted as she hit the ground, tumbling to her side as Luz loomed over her. "I had nothing, and no one, after that. Because all you were was a drunken, useless twat. You barely even acknowledged my presence on the best of days, and on the worst, you cursed me like I was an unwanted child! So when I lost the only thing that gave me comfort—the only thing that gave me a semblance of peace to some worthless bitch, I saw red."
Luz crouched down, making sure to sit next to where Camila's ear was so that she wouldn't mishear a single thing that she'd say next. "And if given the chance, mom, I'd do it all over again. Everything. Down to the last, minute detail. Nothing would change. I would not change a damn thing."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Camila's ankle was broken, and that she was crying in pain from the injury. Luz felt no sympathy, felt no remorse. She insulted Father. She deserved this. No one insulted Father and got away with it.
Luz stood up, and walked away. But as she did, she overheard Camila say something that, once again, made Luz's blood boil. It was barely above a whisper, but Luz still heard it, even if Camila hadn't intended her to hear it, she did regardless.
"You're father would be ashamed to call you his daughter."
Luz spun around faster than she ever had before, put both her index and ring finger together, and prepared to use Cleave, but stopped short of actually using it when she froze in place. As if something physically grabbed her and forced her to stay still.
"It's not worth it, Luz. Don't waste your time on someone like her. Walk away. Even if you hate her with every fibre of your being, I will not stand by and let you kill your mother. She does not deserve death."
As Shigaraki's voice petered out, Luz put her hands back into her pockets, before turning around and walking away. But not before saying her peace. "Leave. Heal yourself, and never come back. If you do, for any reason, heedless of anyone's intervention, I will behead you. No one disrespects Father, and gets away with it. Not even you."
Without another word, Luz left, leaving Camila behind to wallow in pain. As she left, however, she failed to notice someone standing in the trees. Silver eyes gleamed in the shade of the forest. Dressed in a white cloak held together by a triangular pin, the figure jumped down and landed in front of Camila.
The two stared at one another, as Camila slowly reached for her ankle to heal it. Before she could, the figure's hand glowed blue, and put their hand next to her ankle, healing it in less than a second. Camila's eyes widened in shock, before looking back up at the silver-eyed individual.
Pointed ears, red hair, silver eyes with black sclera, and two horns poking out of the top of her head. A smirk took up their visage as they lifted Camila up to her feet, before handing her a blade—specifically, her blade from back at the cabin. Camila was confused, but before she could ask any questions, the individual spoke.
"You wanna avenge the death of your niece?"
"W-Wha—"
"Riley Stewardson. My Ex. She's dead. I know who killed her and where they are right now. I've heard you're good with a blade. I've already grabbed the Basilisk that you've been housing, and have them in a cage so that they can't escape. I've already fed them magic so they can preform at their best. I want the bastard dead, and it seems your daughter had done away with you. You have nowhere to go, and no one to turn to. But that can change. I can put your skills to use, and pay you handsomely for doing this. Either that, or I kill you. Your choice."
Camila stared down at the small woman. They were right. Luz—no. That wasn't Luz. That was someone who used Luz's face and name, but regardless of whoever she had been, did away with her. Camila didn't want to die, and this random lady healed her.
She was having a hard time processing the fact that Riley was dead, but… if this woman knew her killer, and was giving her a chance to right the wrong that was done to her family…. So be it. "Take the lead."
The figure smirked. "Good. Now, follow me."
[-To Be Continued-]
*The ending begins with Luz dressed in her hero costume, floating in the darkness of the void, eyes closed as she drifts about in the emptiness of nothingness, only to be grabbed by blackened tendrils formed out of the void and pulled down in the abyss. On the other side of the void, she's thrown to the ground, her hair white and her eyes open and blazing red. As she stands up, strings are attached to her shoulders, and she begins to move on her own toward the edge of what is revealed to be building; all the while, a disembodied voice sings in the background.*
"Simply put, all purity was hung away on that day, see."
"My curiosity had gotten the best of me."
"Was sweeter than a cake, but it wasn't filling."
"Like dancing with a puppet, so cold and empty."
*It continues as Luz falls down what seems to be an endless amount of distance toward the ground, her strings still attached to her body as she frantically starts to pull them off. Each string represents figures in her life, staring with her past principal, then the judge who sentenced her to that camp, Adrian Rogers, and finally her mother*
*Once the final string is pulled, flaming wings spread from her back just before she lands on the ground below, breaking her fall. As her flaming wings come out, her hero outfit burns away and is replaced by the black trenchcoat adorned with several patches and a bi-sexual flag pin, a pink shirt, a purple skirt with a fluffy white hem at the bottom, held up by a black belt with a golden buckle, and a pair of black ankle boots. When she lands on her feet, she dusts herself off, turning to face the street before her as the voice continues to sing.*
"Closet doors shut behind us."
"Huddling, our bodies hidden in the darkness."
"We'll sleep the night off and change when light comes."
"Or so I like to say."
*Across the street is Luz before she changed into what she is now, smiling and hanging out with her mother. Luz turns away, ignoring their presence, but when she turns, she sees another scene of her and her mother playing at the playground, having fun. Luz scowls before turning around and running down the street, trying to ignore her past and everything tied to it.*
*But as she runs down the street, she comes across the car crash that she was in when she was a child; as the younger her crawls out from the wreckage, staring at the crushed body of her father, bloodied, mangled, and broken. As all of this is happening, the voice keeps singing.*
"I'm just a child; I can't help it!"
"Don't go please, oh please, I'm begging."
"I'm so pathetic, a life built on selfish cries."
*Mid-verse, Luz turns to look away, only for her to be surrounded by a literal horde of small versions of her, all pointing at her as she looks up to see her father staring down at her, disappointment on his face as she begins to fall down a hole that opens up in the floor beneath her. She reaches up toward the hole before it's covered, and she's locked away in darkness, falling down once again, tears in her eyes as she keeps falling deeper and deeper as the voice continues.*
"All the toys were put away."
"I swear I'll change this time!"
"Still, I crawl for when I wore innocence like before."
"(Ah, ah, ah, ah!)"
*As the beat drops, the darkness around her turns to a bright yellow mixed with rainbow spirals. She falls past stuffed toys, trains, and books of various types, along with photos of her childhood and photos of her and Julia. She finally lands on the ground, surrounded by her childhood, showing her all the positive things she remembers being around.*
*However, when she narrows her eyes, they all go up in flames, replaced with her recent memories. Tragedy, loss, and death and suddenly, she's no longer tense. Instead, she's relaxed as the surrounding walls return to a drab black mixed with gray. A statement that she's more comfortable with this kind of stuff than all of the happy go-lucky things she used to be surrounded by. While all of this happened, the disembodied voice continued to sing.*
"Love's a high, sober up, you'll throw it all away."
"I've laid to waste all those feelings just to stay safe."
"But see this low-life now, still stuck in her ways."
"I wonder if there's a summer where I'll really change?"
*The ending begins to end as Luz walks down a hallway filled with memories of the recent past, of all the death and destruction both caused and not caused by her. The deeper she walks, the more of a smile takes up her visage as she finally reaches a door. When she opens it, she steps out onto a grassy field, except this grass is orange, and the skies are yellow with purple clouds. She's finally made it to The Boiling Isles; all the voice in the background keeps saying "Yellow" before eventually the beat fades out as the ending concludes.*
Luz is officially entering her Villain Era. I did say that was going to happen, right? Why else would this arc be called Hero No More? Anyway, Riley's dead. Victim of Jonah. I mean, it's fitting—not because Jonah did it, but because Riley and Jonah were at odds with one another, and Jonah did plan to kill the Noceda family, and by technicality he's kinda doing that here.
In the next chapter, we get to see a fight between Jonah, Vee, Camila, and Millie! Who comes out on top? The psychopathic murderer, or The Trio of very pissed women and a non-binary snake slug thing? Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ball Z—I mean, All For Luz.
Till next time folks. Buh bye!