A Lost Owl

by Marzek

AU: Luz was not able to save Eda from petrification. Or King. Or Lilith. During her fight with Belos, she was ripped from the Boiling Isles by an unknown force and brought to Amphibia, where she crashes Anne and Sasha's reunion party. Toad Tower later fails to be destroyed. The events following that, now unfold differently than previously anticipated... TW: Death, Violence & Trauma

42. Going Dark (Part 1)

"MITTENS!", Emira screams excitedly into her scroll, only moments after her sister's face appears, "I'm soo happy to see you. How are you? How's Luz?"

Amity blinks at her scroll several times in rapid succession as she tries to get the shrill ringing out of her ears. She shakes her head slightly before answering.

"For being so happy to see me, you've been taking ages to actually pick up my calls...", Amity complains in quite an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, I know. But you know, Edric and I have been really busy-"

"It's been THREE DAYS, EM!", a sudden silence emanates from the other side, "And you cannot tell me that you, of all people, were working..."

"Yeah, you got me.", Emira eventually admits, "So, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing special...", Amity starts off totally nonchalant, "Well, Hexside was attacked a few days ago, your girlfriend is terribly worried about you... you know, the usual. And what's going on with you guys?"

"Seriously? Hexside got attacked?", Edric, who had been staying in the background of the video call so far, suddenly speaks up with great interest, "What happened?"

"Well, the Head Witch of the Illusion Coven showed up at school a few days ago and tried to secretly cast coven sigils on all the students, disguised as illusions of sigils.", Amity recounts, "But we managed to chase them away successfully."

"And are you okay?", Emira asks, disturbed.

"How many got a sigil?", Edric asks, more excited than anything else.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and there's only one person who got a sigil: Boscha.", both of the twin's jaws drop to the floor as she mentions that name, "Yeah...", Amity continues at their reaction, "She actually made a deal with the Head Witch and got a sigil, only to betray the rest of the school by letting him know where we were hiding."

"Well, I knew she could be a bit of a bitch, but that was definitely beyond everything, really.", Emira comments, "And how do you feel about that? After all, you used to be friends..."

"Of course, I was still pretty angry and furious with her at first, but now... now I actually just feel pity towards her. She almost lost everything that day, and all because she wanted revenge. Bump expelled her from Hexside, she was responsible for the near-death of her only remaining friend, and she might forever have the sigil on her wrist that will always remind her of what she did."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait... Who almost died?", Edric asks.

"Cat. She's still in a healer's clinic. Luz and I visited her yesterday, since Hexside is closed for now."

"Understandable.", Emira says.

"I kind of wish we had been there, which is a strange thing to say.", Edric speaks up, "But at least we'll be home soon."

"Really?", Amity listens up. The twins nod.

"It took a while, but after all this time we finally got Mom to kick us out and send us back home.", Edric reports proudly.

"What exactly did you do?"

"You should rather ask what we didn't do...", Edric starts before Emira continues, "So in the first week we had all kinds of fixings undone, that is, screws and fire seams and things like that. We almost felt sorry for the workers who had to put everything back together. It took a while, but when production was due to start sometime later, all the parts from the warehouse were suddenly scattered all over the factory premises. And guess who it was.", Amity smiles at them, "At some point, all the factory workers stopped showing up, and guess who Mom assigned to work. That's right, us. Somehow, though, we hadn't managed to actually build a single one of those Abomatrons to this day."

"Wait, so you don't know anything about the evacuation?", Amity asks, at which point the twins look at each other questioningly.

"Viney had said something about an evacuation, but I thought she was just teasing...", Emira recalls, "Is it real? Do you know what exactly it's about?"

"I'm sorry, I don't.", Amity replies, "I just know that the whole knee was evacuated and that Viney is quite worried about you because you didn't take her seriously."

Emira pulls a guilty expression while Edric clicks his tongue dismissively.

"Great girlfriend you are..."

"Shut up, Ed.", Amity and Emira shout at him at the same time.

"Okay, geez.", he backs off, "If you need me, I'm going to take a shower."

"Don't take too long!", Emira calls after him, whereupon he gives her the middle finger before disappearing behind a door. Amity would never say it out loud to them, but after all this time, she has really come to miss them.

Before either of the sisters could continue talking, however, Amity hears a loud noise in the background that makes them both flinch.

"What was that?", Emira asks in slight concern and shock.

"Luz... probably. She and I have been at the Owl House for two days now. She's working on a new experimental spell."

"Oh, okay...", Emira replies, still not feeling much more comfortable.

"Um, anyway... When exactly are you planning to come back home? I'm thinking about maybe preparing something for you..."

"Awww, Mittens. Have you been missing us?", Amity blushes slightly at this question.

"What? No...", Amity lies and tries to talk her way out of it, "I just thought you and Mom might be happy about a halfway tidy house. You know Dad doesn't do much."

"Yeah, well, I don't think Mom's coming with us.", Emira states somewhat surprising Amity with that, "She's obsessed with that factory."

"Hmm... Can you at least tell her about the evacuation, in case she doesn't know about it yet?"

"Sure, I can do that.", Emira says, "Um, Ed and I are planning to leave in about an hour or two. We don't want to rush ourselves for no reason."

"Heh, I believe that. I'll see you guys... tomorrow?"

"Probably.", Emira replies, before another loud noise is heard from Amity's side, startling her again.

"Okay, sounds great. I'll see you then. Gotta go. Bye!", Amity says goodbye, ends the call, and runs straight out of the Owl House, where Luz, accompanied by Hooty, has drawn a huge glyph on the sandy floor, surrounded by many many open books.

---

"Luz! What happened? Are you hurt?", Amity calls out worriedly when she hasn't even passed the front door completely. Luz grins guiltily.

"Yeah, I figured you might have heard that."

"What exactly happened?", Amity repeats her first question.

"Well... I had overheard that you were finally able to reach your siblings, and I had wanted to get a book from upstairs to read to pass the time without disturbing you. So I thought, 'Hey, I might as well work on my teleportation accuracy'."

"Ou-kay...", Amity says, still not quite sure which way her story is going.

"So, I was trying to teleport to my room, but I ended up in a closet. And it wasn't one of the ones I recognized. I mean, it was full of pans..."

"Pans?", Amity asks, puzzled, to which Luz nods. At that, Hooty speaks up.

"Oh yes, I remember that well. Boi, that was a long night..."

"Yeah, sure.", Amity instantly dismisses Hooty's comment, "But back to topic: I heard noise twice..."

"Yea, the first time was when I landed in there. Then, when I was trying to find the exit, I knocked over a shelf full of pans. I instantly teleported back here."

"Okay...", Amity says, a little calmer by now, "And you're not injured?"

Luz is about to say no with a completely convinced tone, but stops herself and begins to check first her legs down her light gray jeans, then her arms up over the rolled-up sleeves of Eda's Grudgby jacket, and finally her torso and head in search of possible injuries.

"Nope, nothing.", she replies, causing her girlfriend to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Luz, I know this is all extremely important to you-", Amity says, gesturing at the large glyph around the two girls, "-but don't you think you should master regular teleportation first?"

"Yes, I'm sure I should. But it's just been way too long, and I just need to know how she's doing.", Luz replies in a sad voice, "But on a different note: How are Ed and Em? What did they say?"

"They... are on their way back home. Em said they'll be back sometime tomorrow."

"Aww, I'm glad to hear that.", Luz steps a little closer to Amity, holding her hands. The two girlfriends smile at each other.

"I'm glad too.", Hooty winds his way up between the two girls.

"Hooty!", Amity yells, backing off, "You know I like you, but you really need to work on not getting into people's personal comfort zones like that."

Luz giggles at that. "Amy, you know Hooty will never learn that."

"I'm perfect the way I am. HOOT!", he shouts before retreating back to the tripod on which Amity has mounted her scroll to record Luz's experiments. "Hooty is ready to continue the experiment at any time."

"Try again?", Amity asks.

"Yes, let's try it again.", Luz replies with a smile.

Amity leaves the glyph combo drawn on the ground, carefully trying not to step on any lines, and joins Hooty, ready to start the recording.

"You know-", Luz starts who's standing right in the middle of the huge glyph combo, "All of this would be so much easier if I could finally get a handle on illusions. Then I could just project my previous attempts onto the floor.", Luz exclaims, as she has many times today, "Okay. Start the recording!"

"Running."

"Okay. This is attempt number fourteen for cross-dimensional teleportation.", Luz speaks directly towards the scroll, "The last few attempts didn't exactly go... ideal. As you can see on the outside of the eleventh outer circle here, I had to mirror the arrangement of some glyphs to prevent things from teleporting here again as opposed to me teleporting away. I've also learned from my second to last attempt, and will no longer try to target specific coordinates, but focus solely on arriving in another world. As with previous attempts, the plan is not to stay on site for long, but to return immediately once I found out if the spell was successful. Maybe this time it will finally work out..."

Luz crouches down on the floor and holds her hands over the complex four-meter-wide super-glyph. "Here goes nothing."

With both hands pressed firmly to the ground, the lines and glyphs Luz has drawn begin to glow, and progressively faster and brighter.

At one point, Amity is forced to turn away from the recording and cover her eyes as well as Hooty's. It takes a good 10 seconds for this super-glyph to fully charge.

The painfully bright light disappears, and by the time Amity looks up again, Luz has vanished.

---

Luz herself has also squeezed her eyes shut tightly as her super-glyph began to glow brightly. All the while, she just crouched there fully expecting a sign from Amity that this attempt hadn't worked out either.

She is now all the more surprised to suddenly hears waves washing up on a shoreline. She opens her eyes in surprise.

"What?", she whispers, "It worked?"

Luz finds herself on a white sandy beach. Directly in front of her, gentle waves wash over the sand as a sun begins to rise. To her right and left, she finds nothing but calm water as far as her eyes can see. But once she looks around, she sees nothing but an incredibly lush forest. As she looks a little closer at the trees, however, she notices something.

"Wait a second... Are those leaves red?", she wonders, before groaning in annoyance, "It didn't work..."

Disappointed, she pulls out her scroll and pulls up Amity's contact.

---

WITCHCHICK128

[L]: I'm still in the Demon Realm

[L]: Don't know exactly where I am yet. I'll have a quick look around...

[A]: Aw, that sucks.

[L]: But I'm surprised I can still write to you despite the distance... That wouldn't be possible in the human world.

[A]: Do you have a rough idea where you are?

[L]: All I know is that the sun has only just risen here. And I'm sure I haven't traveled through time...

[A]: Okay. Please be careful anyway

[L]: I will. After all, I've got Owlbert with me as well

[A]: We'll wait for you here

---

Luz rolls up her scroll again and retrieves Owlbert, who has been sleeping in his wooden form in a pocket of her jacket.

"Hey little buddy...", Luz whispers softly to him as she nuzzles his head, "Wake up. We're going on a little expedition."

"Hoot", he calls softly as he changes back to his owl-form.

"Yes, I'm afraid I don't know exactly where we are."

"Hoot?", he sounds concerned.

"Heh, no, don't worry. This time we're here voluntarily, and we can always go back.", Luz reassures him, "We'll just have a quick look around, and then we'll head straight back home."

"Hoot.", he sounds more calmly now before turning into his staff-form.

Luz sits down on her staff and pushes herself off the ground before heading about a hundred meters away from the beach towards the open sea.

"Huh, this seems to be an island...", she observes before also climbing in height. In the center of the island, she spots a cloud-high, damaged tower rising from the incredibly thick canopy of trees.

"Whoa...", she exclaims in amazement and surprise. She looks down the tower to the tree line, "Looks like we can't just fly there... "

"Hoot"

"What do you mean 'this looks familiar'?", Luz asks, confused.

"Hoot", Owlbert calls in an uncertain tone.

"But you do feel like you've been right here before, right?"

"Hoot.", he howls in a vaguely affirmative tone.

"All right. Maybe we'll find something in there...", Luz says before slowly flying back to the beach and landing at the forest entrance in front of a kind of path that leads into the eerily silent and dark forest.

Owlbert transforms back into his original form and lands on Luz's shoulder. Luz swallows hard.

"We are alone on this island. Nothing will happen to us.", Luz tries to encourage herself, "And if something does happen, we'll be gone faster than anyone can shout 'who's there'..."

And with that, the two of them take their first step down the path.

Luz steps through bushes, past dark trees, and over thick roots, straight ahead in the direction where she suspects the tower entrance is.

The further she ventures, however, the more the background noise gets on her nerves. Or rather, the lack of it. Her heart beats hard in her chest.

"I didn't think I would actually desire to hear some noise...", Luz whispers. Owlbert grips her shoulder a little tighter, but not so tightly that it would hurt her.

"Hoot.", he replies.

"But it's also strange. I mean, we're surrounded by a huge ocean and there's no wind? No rustling leaves?", Luz wonders as she steps further through some bushes.

"Hoot", Owlbert sounds anxious. Luz's gaze wanders downwards, where she steps over a thick dark root again, and suddenly realizes that she is no longer walking on forest floor, but on stone slabs.

"Whoa...", Luz exclaims in amazement as she lifts her head. Only dimly lit, but still quite recognizable, she discovers an eighteen-meter-tall keyhole in front of her, looking like the entrance to the tower. The only problem: the entrance seems to be completely blocked.

She climbs the stone steps up to the large boulders blocking the entrance. Her gaze wanders to the signs engraved in gold right next to it. In an attempt to improve her vision, she creates a few light orbs.

"That looks old...", she comments on the engravings. She pulls out her scroll and takes a few pictures for possible later documentation, "I'm sure Amity will want to see this later... But now the all-important question: Is there any way we can get into the tower, or has everything in there collapsed?"

Owlbert jumps off Luz's shoulder and into her hand. "Hoot?", he suggests.

"Oh, good idea. And when you're inside, I can just teleport to you if everything's clear.", Luz agrees to his suggestion with an excited smile before guiding her hand to one of the larger openings among the boulders so Owlbert can crawl in.

Luz has to wait about twenty seconds before Owlbert calls back with a howl.

"All right.", Luz replies. She summons her golden lightning and shortly afterwards finds herself inside the temple, right next to Owlbert.

"Whoa...", Luz marvels again. A fairly large but barely lit chamber presents itself directly in front of her. Luz once again creates a large number of light orbs and spreads them far and wide in the air directly in front of her with a single throwing motion.

"I'm getting really good at this.", Luz mutters proudly. Owlbert howls in confirmation before the two of them turn their attention back to the structure in front of them.

Ahead of them they find a very tall and long hall. Arranged in two parallel rows, there are dozens of ornate columns almost twenty-one meters tall, as well as golden ornaments on all the surrounding walls. Luz's attention, however, is focused a little further down, in the form of small stone statues on the floor.

"Aww... How cute... Someone has made themselves some little friends...", Luz grins as she observes one of the small sculptures, each consisting of three or four small stones stacked on top of each other. She also takes a few pictures of it with her scroll for Amity, before an extremely unpleasant thought very slowly enters her head. "Wait a minute... ... ... Could whoever built all these figures still be here?", she asks Owlbert, who is now bearing the same slightly anxious expression as Luz.

"Hoot?", he suggests bravely.

"Sure?", Luz asks, to which the little palisman nods, "Alright. But if there's anyone else here, we're gone."

---

The two of them get up again and head deeper down the hall. On the way, they encounter countless more of these small sculptures all along the floor, around every pillar, in every branching corridor... As time goes by, all these statues no longer appear cute, but gradually become more and more creepy.

As they approach the end of the hall, Luz widens her eyes. There is a drawing on the wall in front of her. A very large drawing.

"Do you see who I see?", Luz asks the little palisman on her shoulder.

"Hoot.", Owlbert calls out in disbelief.

"Yup. That's definitely King... With a beard, armor, and many times taller than he was during his... his-", Luz violently shakes her head in an attempt to block out thoughts of the state he's currently in, back in Bonesborough. It takes her a moment to regain her composure before she continues in a sad voice, "He had always called himself the 'King of Demons'. And by the looks of it, he might really have been correct. I mean, I don't think he really was the 'King of Demons', but I do think this place must be connected to him somehow. Maybe his ancestors came from- or lived here... But how did he end up at the Owl House? And why have I, or anyone else, never met another demon like him?"

"Hoot."

"You remember? Remember what exactly?"

"Hoot..."

"Eda was here as well? But wh-", she quickly interrupts herself as an epiphany hits her, "Ohhh... She was here and she kidnapped him, wasn't she?"

"Hoot.", Owlbert confirms. Despite her sadness, Luz lets out a slight chuckle.

"Of course she did... Wonder why Eda never said anything. Or King...", she sounds dejected. A feeling of having missed something very important fills her mind.

"Hoot.", he encourages her as he sits on her shoulder, snuggling against her face. Luz smiles at him and strokes his head.

"I know. But we'll probably never know what really happened...", Luz agrees, "Look, I'll take a few more pictures and then we'll head back home. Would you like to look around and see if you can find anything else of interest?"

Owlbert howls in confirmation, spreads his little wings, and flies off into the darkness. At the same time, Luz picks up her scroll and starts taking some pictures.

---

It doesn't take long before Owlbert calls Luz to him with a 'hoot' echoing through the hall. Instead of teleporting again, she saves her strength and runs quickly in the direction in which he has just flown.

After a short jog, she finds Owlbert sitting on a pile of debris that is about as high as Luz is tall. Her gaze wanders to the mural immediately behind him, where another King-like demon can be seen attacking a huge creature wielding a large spear. Luz immediately holds up her scroll to take a picture before turning her attention to Owlbert. He is trembling.

"Buddy, what's going on?", she asks concerned.

"Hoot.", he answers in a frightened voice.

"Watched? By whom?" Luz's gaze slowly wanders upwards where she notices two glowing blue dots in the darkness.

"Who's there?", she challenges whoever is there, "Show yourself!"

Whatever has been watching the two of them from the ceiling has just detached itself, falling rapidly towards her.

But instead of hitting the ground with a thud as expected, it lands gently on the floor as if the gravity didn't apply to it.

Luz immediately grabs Owlbert and takes a couple steps back as the menacing-looking creature gradually stands up. Its entire body is made up of individual large stones held together by a kind of petrified root mass. The head is vaguely reminiscent of a stone boomerang with two glowing eyes. The creature rises on two legs to almost twice the size of Luz.

Luz takes another step back, intimidated, her blood freezing in her veins as the creature slashes out three blade-shaped claws from each of its stony arms. It tilts its head before taking a step forward.

"OKAY, WE'RE OUT OF HERE!", Luz yells, quickly creating her teleport spell. Moments later, Luz and Owlbert find themselves back outside on the sandy beach. "THAT... was scary.", she says, catching her breath.

"Hoot...", Owlbert agrees.

"Then let's head back home.", Luz says. A moment later, she notices that her scroll is vibrating in the pocket of her jacket. She takes it out and frowns at it.

"Amity is calling me.", she states with slight confusion. After all, the two girlfriends were chatting not even fifteen minutes ago. Luz answers the call and the beautiful face of her girlfriend appears on her scroll. "Hey. Did something happen?", Luz wonders.

"Kinda, actually.", Amity replies, "You have to come back. We got an invitation for a meeting with the CATS."

"Oh, yeah, Liwin said it could happen soon.", Luz comments, "When is it supposed to happen?"

"Now.", Amity replies, holding up the business card that Liwin had given her and Luz. As always, an address is written on it, as well as the time. And indeed, it simply says 'Now'. Luz looks at her in confusion.

"Okay, that's weird.", she states, "Um, Owlbert and I were on our way back anyway. We got a bit spooked, but nothing really happened. We'll be back at the Owl House in a few minutes."

"In a few minutes?", Amity asks, confused.

"It would take too long to draw the super glyph, so I'm using my regular teleport spell. And depending on where exactly I end up, I'll need two or three more jumps.", Luz says.

"That's right, I remember. Higher deviation with greater distance...", she recounts at which Luz nods, "Okay, umm, do you happen to know where the Book Nook is?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"It's in the same plaza as the Covention Center. Maybe I should have said that, but whatever. Let's meet there. The meeting place is close by.", Amity explains.

"All right, see you there.", Luz says goodbye and ends the call.

---

"Aww, do you really have to leave again?", Amity hears Hooty talking sorrowfully from behind her back as she makes her scrolls disappear. She turns to him, only to find him with tears in his eyes.

"Oh Hooty, don't worry, but I'll be back. With Luz.", she tries to comfort him.

"But something bad is going to happen when you leave...", he cries.

"You say that every time I leave."

"But I can feel it in my toes."

"Hooty, you don't have any toes,", Amity argues, "Come on, when I'm back I'll bring you a snack."

Hooty's eyes start to light up, "With the berries?"

"Just for you."

"Okay, okay. You can go.", Hooty says brightly as he retreats into the door of the Owl House. Amity takes out her staff and immediately sets off towards Bonesborough.

She is not far from the Owl House when she pulls out the business card with the address on it again.

---

Address: Centra-Plaza 195 - yellow

Time: NOW!

---

'What does she mean by yellow?', she wonders. The first houses on the outskirts of Bonesborough gradually come into view, and Amity flies swiftly past them. 'Well, I'll see when I get there.', she puts the business card away again so that she can fully focus on flying.

With the wind swirling through her hair, she flies over all the people going about their daily lives below her. She can see people going for a walk, shopping, or simply relaxing outside. It's days like today when Bonesborough seems particularly full of life.

It's not long before she catches sight of the Covention Center and gradually descends to land. Her gaze wanders to the Book Nook, where she already recognizes a few of the people standing right in front of it. Amity decides to approach as silently as possible from behind.

---

"But I'm telling you Willow, there is no such thing as an 'Impractical Illusions Coven'."

"And I'm telling you, Augustus, that there's an exhibition of that very coven announced for tomorrow on that big display board right there. Or are you telling me that sign is lying?"

"I can read.", Gus pouts, "But the very idea of it is ridiculous. I mean, when exactly is an illusion considered so impractical that a separate coven has to be founded for it?"

"How about mirrored snails? Or a mirrored mirror? Or the illusion of a scroll when you already have a real one?", Willow lists every stupid or impractical use she can think of. Right behind the two friends, Amity hovers in place with her staff, smirking diabolically.

"Or an illusion of your pet that has suddenly learned to talk.", Amity interjects.

"WHOA!", Gus cries out, startled, and almost tripping over his own feet. Amity starts laughing out loud, and Willow can't help but giggle too.

"Hahaha...", Amity doubles over with laughter and gasps for air. Meanwhile, Willow helps Gus up, who also feels infected by her laughter. Amity begins to cough and Willow pats her back reassuringly.

"Heh, are you okay, girl?", she asks Amity, who is gradually beginning to catch her breath.

"I'm good.", she replies in an unusually high voice before trying to take a breath. "I'm sorry, Gus. I... actually wanted to scare you both...", she explains between giggles and gasps. But Gus' own heartbeat is still off the scale.

"I'd say it wasn't funny, but that would be such a lie...", he comments.

"Luz is a really bad influence on you.", Willow, who was the first to calm down, speaks up.

"Hehe, I know.", Amity agrees, "And I love her for it... But don't tell her!"

"Speaking of Luz-", Gus starts, "Where is she anyway?"

"She said she'd only be a few minutes...", Amity recounts, just before she feels a slight static electricity in the air around her, "I think she's just arriving right now."

And as if on cue, a bright flash of light appears right next to the three of them, with a visibly shaken Luz appearing in its position. Her hair is all messed up and wet, while her pants look quite soaked.

"Oh my Titan... Luz! What happened?", Amity rushed towards her. Her gaze scans her girlfriend from top to bottom.

"Well... As it turns out, I must have been hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers away, since the deviation of my teleport was enormous. Like, I wanted to teleport to the center of the city and ended up in a swamp instead. I didn't even know there was such a thing here on the Boiling Isles."

"Sounds like you were between the toes...", Amity guesses as she attempts to fix Luz's hair as she continues talking.

"Probably. Anyway, I landed head first in mud.", Luz reports, "Then, with my second jump, I landed directly in Bonesborough, but in some kind of fancy fountain. Luckily there wasn't too much water in it..."

"Oh, Luz...", Willow feels sorry for her, but Luz is still not finished talking yet.

"Luckily there was no one there to chase me away, so I washed my face and well... Here I am now.", Luz finishes her story before taking her staff and putting Owlbert in his wooden form back in her jacket pocket. Willow and Gus look slightly amused. "So, where's the meeting place?"

"Don't you want to dry off properly first?", Amity asks, slightly perturbed.

"Nah.", Luz replies without a second thought, "I can dry off during the meeting. So where is it?"

Amity doesn't seem satisfied with Luz's answer, but doesn't comment further. But at that, Gus holds out his own business card and speaks up.

"So the address is right there.", He points to the building several meters down from the Book Nook. "But what exactly they mean by 'yellow'... I have no idea."

"Let's go in then.", Luz suggests, starting off before a sudden thought occurs to her, forcing her to stop. "By the way, have you heard anything about Skara?"

All eyes turn to Willow.

"Uhhh... Good question. I last heard from her half an hour ago. She said she was on her way somewhere.", she reports.

"Oh, okay.", Luz says, "I guess we can tell her about it later then."

And with that, the small group sets off to the specified address, which is apparently just a vacant store that is not directly connected to any other building. The four of them are standing right in front of a rounded display window that points sharply at the top in the middle. On the front of the roof, the outline of the word 'café' can still be seen.

"I think there used to be a pet shop or something in here.", Gus remarks, before Willow taps him on the shoulder and points to the lettering above them, "Or a pet cafe or something like that."

Through the shop window, the four of them catch sight of a completely run-down dump. There are still a few scraps of bright pink wallpaper on the walls and a few pieces of completely destroyed furniture that only give a rudimentary idea of what the previous owners used them for. Amity is the first to go towards the front door, first pulling, then pushing, which then opens it inwards. She gestures to the others to follow her.

They enter the abandoned store and find that the inside is full of colorful graffiti that they initially couldn't see from the outside.

"Wait, what?", Amity speaks up, "They weren't here a moment ago..."

"Must be Liwin's security measures.", Luz remarks, before Gus steps past her, removes his latest loupe-shaped accessory from his ear, and draws a large magic circle. The graffities flicker briefly.

"Yup. Illusions.", Gus concludes, "Pretty powerful ones at that."

"Okay guys, look for anything yellow.", Luz calls out to them, whereupon the four of them swarm out, examining all the different graffities.

---

Willow is the first to find something. She traced her fingers along a piece of yellow lettering until she noticed a small opening just beyond it and reached in until a mechanical whirring sound could be heard, and part of the wall next to her began to shimmer.

"Guys, I've found something.", she calls out. The others turn their gaze to her and see Willow's hand halfway within the wall.

"Great, you found the entrance.", Luz praises her, "Just go through."

As she is told, Willow steps through the illusion with the others following directly behind her. A narrow staircase descends in front of her. She turns back to the illusion, realizing that these stairs, or this hole in general, were definitely not part of the store. Whoever created it first destroyed the wall and then dug the steps down.

The group climbs down the stairs, in which it is impossible for two or more people to go down side by side. This hiding place was definitely dug in a hurry.

At the bottom of the stairs there is a short but much taller and wider corridor with two adjoining rooms, one of which is closed off by a door. With Luz leading the way, the group enters the open room, where a few people are already waiting.

"HUMAN!", a deep, female voice exclaims unexpectedly and cheerfully. Moments later the four of them notice a witch about two and a half meters tall walking towards Luz, her shoulders broader than many doors.

"Ruby!", Luz greets the half-giantess before she pulls Luz, but also Amity, into the air and briefly hugs her tightly. She quickly drops them both again when one of them makes a not too healthy cracking sound.

"Sorry, sorry.", Ruby apologizes. Luz and Amity don't look hurt, "Anyway, good to see you."

Once the two girlfriends have solid ground beneath their feet again, Amity speaks up. "You seem a lot friendlier today than last time...", she remarks.

"Of course. After all, I was locked up and violently robbed of my magic. Can you blame me if 'being friendly' isn't necessarily the first thing that comes to mind?", Ruby asks with a sarcastic tone. Amity just shakes her head.

During this interaction, they are joined by the other two witches present in the room, Katya and Derwin. Luz speaks up.

"Okay guys, I want you to meet someone. This is Willow and Gus. Willow is a powerful plant witch, and Gus is the best of all illusionists.", she introduces her friends, followed by warm greetings from everyone.

"We're glad you could join us.", Derwin explains after the first set of handshakes have finished. Luz looks proudly at her friends until she notices that Willow doesn't seem quite herself. Her gaze seems to be completely focused on Ruby's upper arms. She also has a certain admiring twinkle in her eye. Ruby herself notices this and addresses Willow directly.

"Are you all right, kid?", she asks. Willow opens her mouth, but can't get a sound out at first.

"I- You- I-I- Th-", she stammers, unable to look Ruby in the face for more than a few moments before her gaze wanders back to her biceps. Ruby smirks knowingly and begins to tense her muscles for effect.

"H-H-How?", Willow stutters after a while. Ruby takes the plant witch a little to the side.

"A lot of this actually comes from my parents.", Ruby explains, gesturing with her hand around her body in general, "But if you're interested, I'd be willing to take you for a few training sessions."

"YES!", Willow exclaims excitedly.

---

Luz, Amity, and Gus stand with the others, watching the conversation between Willow and Ruby with amusement.

"I think someone's found a training partner.", Gus remarks.

"I didn't know she was looking for one.", Amity admits.

"Well, admittedly, none of us are particularly athletic, or know much about sports...", Gus states.

"Fair point.", Luz agrees, "Although I have to admit that exercising more would do me some good in terms of building up my muscles... On the other hand, the brain is a muscle too, and I exercise that quite often... Well, another thing: Is there no one else here apart from us? Where are Liwin and Alsa?"

"Liwin and the other one are in the other room, still working on something.", Ruby explains after she and a beaming Willow join the others, "Alsa seems to be busy with some family problems."

Luz, Amity, Gus and Willow exchange glances before Luz speaks up. "Yeah, I figured she'd have more pressing matters to deal with after the attack on Hexside."

Before any of those present could respond to what was still news to some of them, at least Ruby and Derwin, and ask for explanations, Liwin appears at the entrance to the room, accompanied by Skara.

"Skara?", Willow asks in surprise, "Didn't you say you were on your way somewhere?"

"Yes, I was. To here. Well, not quite. To her.", the bard witch explains, pointing to the Chief Healer.

"Okay, everyone.", the older healer witch speaks up, catching everyone's attention, "First of all, thank you Ruby for being able to construct our meeting rooms so quickly and filling in for Alsa. Any word on Amber, Gwen, Kate, and Doug?"

Some head shaking from the others in response.

"Well, okay. If they're not here now, we'll have to start today without them because we actually don't have much time.", Liwin states, "To make a long story short: We found out where Raine Whispers is being held. And we're going to get them out of there."

"And why do you think we don't have much time? Does that depend on anything?", Derwin wonders. Skara chimes in.

"I met up with Diane yesterday already because I really wanted to be there when we were making plans. Mx. Whispers has been held at the Emperor's Castle since their capture. And we can assume that they're quite heavily guarded.", she reports, "My father, who has contacts in the city administration, said that Emperor Belos will be making a public announcement in... about thirty minutes which will be seen throughout every city center and on every crystal ball."

"That announcement is news to me.", Katya states, "Any idea what it's going to be about?"

"Unfortunately, no.", Liwin states firmly, "But it is likely to be connected to the upcoming Day of Unity. After all, it's only a couple of days away."

Luz raises her hand. "What exactly is this Day of Unity?"

"Unfortunately, our information on it is minimal, though hopefully we'll find out more about it today.", Liwin replies, "So, here's the plan we've worked out for today. As there are seven- eight- nine of us, we'll split into three teams. Ruby and Derwin, you two get us a recording of Belos' speech so we can review it later. Katya, Willow, Skara, Gus, and I are going to rescue Raine Whispers. Luz and Amity, you two sneak into Emperor Belos' private chambers and try to find out as much as you can about the Day of Unity."

"WHAT?", Luz and Amity shout out.

"You can't be serious!", Katya accuses them incredulously.

"This is suicide!", Ruby notes sternly, "No one has ever even dared to break in there. Sorry Diane, but that's going too far."

"Your comments are noted, but listen to me.", Liwin begins, "I've seen for myself that Luz is completely immune to any form of external magic. Had my treatment room torn to shreds in my clinic. If anyone can do the job, it's her."

"And what about me?", Amity asks as Luz wants to sink into the floor in shame.

"As if you would let Luz do this all by herself.", Skara remarks.

"Fair point. I'm with you. Luz?", Amity agrees and now looks at Luz, who is definitely not so convinced by the plan.

"I don't know... I mean, I've already fought Belos once-", Luz says, which earns her a few impressed looks. Amity interrupts her, however.

"We don't have to fight anyone. And besides, Skara's right: I wouldn't let you fight Belos alone again. I'll stay right by your side."

"Okay, fine.", Luz finally gives in, "We'll break into Belos' private chambers."

"Good.", Liwin agrees, "For the extraction team, I'll share the exact plan later. But what's important for everyone to know is that this is a stealth operation. If anyone encounters guards and you can't hide and avoid them, take them out quietly. Gus, as an illusionist, it would be great if you can give us disguises or make us invisible. For this mission, we have two advantages that we absolutely have to exploit: During Belos' speech, many if not all of the guards will be distracted, and also, no one will be expecting someone to break into the castle.", she explains, "Any questions?"

"How do we get in without anyone noticing us?", Katya asks, "Doesn't the castle have one of those retractable bridges?"

"I've instructed our contact inside the castle to send the guards at the entrance away and extend the bridge for us.", Liwin explains. Luz raises her hand.

"What about the Golden Guard, or Kikimora, or the Coven Heads?", she wonders.

"We'll just have to be lucky and hope that we're fast, quiet and agile enough that they won't be a problem.", Liwin answers again, "Any more questions?"

"Where are the Emperor's private chambers?", Amity asks.

"No one knows exactly. However, it is assumed that his rooms are adjacent to his throne room.", Katya replies this time. At that, Luz speaks up.

"Oh, I know where that is.", Luz exclaims, "But while we're in the palace, wouldn't that be a possible opportunity to get to Belos himself and take him out?"

"I don't know.", Liwin replies, "Do you think you would be able to do that?"

Luz falls silent.

"Look, as much as I appreciate your commitment, firstly, I don't think you're capable of killing anyone or anything, and secondly, we don't know whether Belos has any contingency plans that could put everyone and everything in danger. We need to know what he's up to before we can stop him.", Katya explains to Luz, who merely nods. Liwin takes the floor again.

"Okay, if there are no other questions, I'll transport us all as close to the Emperor's Castle as possible. As soon as the bridge is extended, we'll sneak in and split up. We should arrive just before Belos' announcement begins. This is going to be a very difficult and quite dangerous mission. Watch your backs, and most importantly, watch out for each other. We only have this one chance... Let's go!"

Just as she does after every meeting, Liwin creates a large green magic circle, enveloping everyone present in tight leaf cocoons, and drags them down into the ground.

---

For more than five minutes, all of them find themselves confined in a completely opaque leaf cocoon. No room for any movement whatsoever. No perceptible noises. For those who are practically trapped, they can merely sense where up and down are. They are all the more pleased once they realize that they are back in an upright position and the cocoon begins to decay.

"Thank Titan... Oh how I hate that...", Skara exclaims shortly after stepping out of her cocoon.

"You'll get used to it.", Willow, who stepped out of her own cocoon right next to her at the same time, chuckles.

"You can control it yourself, you know. I can't!", Skara shoots back playfully.

Surrounding the two witches, everyone else gradually emerges from the ground and out of their cocoons into the fresh air. It's not long before Katya, Gus, Luz and Amity join them in the open. Liwin was the first to arrive at their destination and is currently lightly ahead of them, scouting the situation.

The group finds itself in a tree-covered part of the perimeter in which the castle is located, secured by extremely high walls. As some of them look up, they notice the gray sky, obscured by very high gray clouds, and the curved, pointed bones that protect the entire area like a partial protective barrier. The group feels increasingly nervous. Liwin returns to them.

"Okay, our contact is in position and ready to deploy the bridge for us as we approach.", she explains, "Extraction team: Once we're inside, we need to hurry down to the dungeons two floors beneith the entrance. Everyone ready?"

In fact, the honest answer to this question for many is rather 'no', due to the plan having so many flaws that it would be a true miracle if it really all worked flawlessly. Only Luz, Willow, and Gus have first-hand experience not only of what it looks like inside the castle, but also of stealing from Belos. For Amity, Katya, and Skara, on the other hand, the prospect of breaking into the most heavily guarded place in the Boiling Isles with a half-baked plan seems suicidal. But despite their doubts, they eventually agree to go ahead, given their important objective.

"I'm ready.", Skara is the last to respond, before Liwin instructs Gus to make everyone in the group appear like scouts. Within moments, each of the resistance members is dressed in the standard white robe over the dark gray long-sleeved jerkins and black harem pants usually worn by the scouts, along with the silver beak-shaped mask covering their faces.

And with Liwin leading the way, the group sets off. Carefully, they step out of the forest and as inconspicuously as possible onto the cobbled square that leads directly to the entrance to the castle. They reach a point between two tall square pillars, on which seething flames emit black smoke into the air. They step towards the edge, which leads into the pit filled with countless spikes and the expectation of certain death.

"You know-", Luz begins, "last time I was here, I was right down there when Lilith tried to kill me...", she tells, as if this is nothing but a funny anecdote. A single glance at Amity is enough to know that she definitely does not find it funny and is probably starting to boil with rage under her mask.

"Bad timing, Luz.", Willow whispers to her.

On the opposite side of the pit, right in front of the absolutely gigantic gate that leads into the castle, stands a single guard. Liwin waves to the figure, gesticulating grandly. Moments later, the large bridge begins to extend.

The seven of them stand on it as it arrives and the bridge retracts, bringing them directly to the entrance.

---

Arriving at the entrance, the guard comes straight towards them.

"Diane?", the guard asks looking back and forth between everyone in disguise, whereupon the Chief Healer nods, "It looks good so far. Belos' announcement is about to begin, and the vast majority of the guards are in the break rooms to watch the broadcast. So you shouldn't have too much trouble getting into the dungeons. Inside, however..."

"Yes?", Liwin asks impatiently.

"The last time I was down there, Head Witch Cutburn was with them. She could still be there."

"Thank you, Steve. As always, your support here is invaluable.", Liwin thanks him, but is interrupted by Steve.

"Diane, I can't stay here any longer. When you're finished here, I'll come with you.", Steve states. Liwin opens her mouth to insist that his services at the castle have always been extremely helpful and that he is in the best hands there, but she holds back.

"If you stayed here, the breakout would be traced back to you...", Liwin states. Steve nods. "Okay. Head to my clinic in Bonesborough. I'll join you as soon as we're done here."

"Thank you very much."

And with that, Steve opens the gates into the inside of the castle, whereupon all of them enter. All except Steve, who extends the bridge for himself and sets off.

---

Once inside, the seven of them are greeted by fairly empty and spacious halls facing every direction. All the walls are decorated with golden ornaments, there are banners with the sigil of the Emperor's Covens on many walls, there are statues or busts on pedestals depicting Belos, as well as paintings on the walls showing the people's worship of him and the history of his rise to power.

"Okay-", Liwin takes the floor in a whisper after checking the time, "Okay, Belos' announcement is scheduled for two minutes from now. Luz, Amity, you know your mission. The rest will follow Skara! Act like you belong here. That way we won't attract any unwanted attention to ourselves."

A collective nod runs through the group. Luz and Amity split off from the group, and the rest make their way towards the second sub-level with the young bard witch leading the way. Earlier in the hideout, Liwin had had Skara study maps of the castle that she had received from Steve some time ago.

The five of them are bristling throughout the corridors of the castle with determination and all of them are trying not to let their nervousness and rising anxiety show. Fortunately, the corridors are largely empty, but they don't necessarily see it as luck, but rather as strange and unsettling.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that this is a trap?", Gus whispers as they arrive at the first wide staircase leading down to the first sub-level. However, as they step onto the first steps and hurry down, they notice a small squad of real Guards heading towards them on their way up.

'Shit!', Liwin thinks, "Act natural!", she whispers to the others without moving her head.

As the two groups approach each other, some of the Resistance members begin to sweat nervously.

The two groups close in about halfway up the stairs. Suddenly the real guards stop, their eyes fixed on the other group of five. One of the real scouts speaks up.

"Hey! Aren't you guys going to watch the big announcement? The break room is up there.", The scout indicates towards the top of the stairs. Liwin is the first and only one who dares to speak up when everyone else freezes.

"Oh, yes, we'll catch up. Kikimora has ordered us to take the prisoner Whispers to Belos immediately, before his speech begins.", Liwin lies.

"So what are you standing here for? Go go go!", the scout shouts, shaking his head as he and his companions walk on.

A feeling of instant relief washes over them before they continue down the stairs. Once at the bottom, there is an incredibly tense atmosphere within the group due to the constant fear of being discovered, despite the fact that the whole mission is only designed to last a few minutes.

At the bottom of the staircase, the group can already see the second one, which saves them a lot of walking.

As they're moving, they notice that this floor is considerably less decorated with golden ornaments, and that the gold already looks rather faded. There are also far fewer banners, paintings, or statues on the walls.

As they climb down the second flight of stairs, the tension increases with every step. On top of that, the fact that the walls are increasingly less golden and more of a stony brown, and the air becoming cooler and heavier, doesn't really help.

Once at the bottom, the corridors are no longer lit by chandeliers hanging from tall ceilings, but merely by torches attached to the walls. The walls themselves are no longer as high, and despite the torches, the entire floor feels utterly cold.

Right next to the steps they have just descended, there is another staircase that leads even further down into the castle. It only takes a single glance to realize that there is definitely no light at the end of this tunnel.

The five of them, with a more than tense Skara leading the way, enter what looks like an ancient dungeon, full of copper pipes and exposed tiles sticking out of the walls.

They walk along one of the corridors, iron doors with thick bars on either side as the only way to see into the individual cells. With just a single glance inside, most of the cells they pass appear empty, though each one seems more like a place where people are sent to die and forget, judging by the smells of death and rot in the air.

"0-18-15... 0-18-17... 0-18-19... There it is. 0-18-23.", Skara quietly reads out the cell numbers on a plate attached to each cell door. They are heading straight towards their destination, the only cell so far in front of which stands a guard.

Having already noticed the group, the guard looks at them.

"Stop!", the guard calls out to them, "State your business!"

Liwin steps forward. "We have orders to escort the prisoner to Emperor Belos immediately, in time for the announcement."

There is a moment of skeptical silence between them before he turns to the door and pulls out a thick bunch of keys, unlocking the hefty door.

The group enters a rather smelly, stuffy cell, measuring less than three by four meters. A few moss-covered bones lie in one corner, along with some dried blood on the walls. The cell has no window. It has no light sources of its own apart from the torch that shines in the corridor. In another corner of the cell, there is a hole in the floor about the width of a head, and right next to the cell door there is a kind of stretcher on which a slightly malnourished-looking Raine Whispers is sitting. They look up with a curious yet questioning gaze as the group enters their cell.

Before anyone can say anything, however, they hear the lock fall back into the door behind them. With a questioning look, Gus steps back to the door, trying to open it, but...

"Locked.", he simply says to the others before turning back to the door, "What the heck, dude?"

Instead of answering, however, the guard turns to the side.

"It worked, Head Witch."

Stunned, no one dares to speak up, only the sound of a squeaky door opening, and footsteps approaching them. Seconds later, the two-meter-tall Head Witch of the Healing Coven, Hettie Cutburn, appears directly in front of the door.

"Heh... I didn't think this would be soo easy.", she chuckles, "When the Emperor told me that your ridiculous movement would attempt a prison break, here and now... I thought you'd at least have some sort of halfway intelligent plan, given your leader. Right, Diane?"

A surprised gasp escapes some. And given their situation, Gus decides to drop his illusions at the same time. Liwin approaches the door with a serious look, while the others look at the Chief Healer in surprise. But Liwin says nothing.

"Oh, how the great ones have fallen.", the Head Witch continues, "I looked up to you once, Diane. You used to be my idol... And now look where your choices have gotten you...", Liwin remains silent, which the Head Witch doesn't seem to like. "Don't you have anything to say?"

Instead of answering, Liwin merely turns his back to her, leaving the others confused, and the Coven Head annoyed.

"Fine!", the Coven Head exclaims angrily, "Then you can rot here until all eternity! You will get something to eat... when I feel like it."

With angry steps, she and the guard leave. Only moments later there is complete silence in the room again, and only now does anyone dare to speak.

"Um, hi everyone.", Raine speaks up before they notice something, "Wait... Katya? Is that you?"

With a relieved smile on her face, she walks over to Raine and sits down next to them, hugging them from the side. "Oh, it's so good to see you alive. "

"Heh, same.", they answer, returning the hug. A few moments pass before Raine's gaze eventually lands on Liwin. "So... you wanted to rescue me? Who are you?"

Instead of Liwin, Katya takes over answering as she stands up again.

"We are... the CATS.", she announces happily, before Liwin continues., though not as cheerfully.

"To make a long story short: It was many, many months ago when I had first heard of the BATS, and what you had done. Or at least what you wanted to do. After learning that you had all been captured, I felt compelled to continue your important mission. I began to be able to recruit some valuable people to the cause, and after we were able to rescue other members of the BATS from the Conformatorium, we immediately set out to find you."

"The Conformatorium is completely destroyed, by the way.", Katya adds, beaming.

"... wow.", Raine replies, genuinely impressed. They try to stand up, but their legs are slightly shaky. Willow and Katya rush over to support them. "Thank you. My name is Raine, by the way."

"You can call me Diane. I'm a healer. And this is Willow, plant witch, Gus, illusionist, and Skara, also a Bard.", she introduces everyone.

"Just out of curiosity, how old are you three?", Raine asks. Before anyone can answer, Liwin interjects.

"Can we talk about this later? I'd like to get out of here first...", Liwin remarks.

"Well, that will take time.", Raine notes, "The walls are magically blocked off. As long as this door is closed, it's not possible to work magic in here. I know that, I've tried."

A depressing mood spreads among the six of them. But at the same time, none of them is really ready to accept this quite likely truth.

"Cheer up, guys!", Skara remarks, trying to lighten the mood, "Luz and Amity are still out there. When they realize we didn't show up at the meeting point, they'll definitely come looking for us."

But before anyone is able to respond, a violent jolt whirls through them all. The walls and floors are shaking, all of them fall to the floor, and some heavy stones come loose from the walls, tearing down the cell door.

They all look up with wide eyes, and as the dust settles, they notice their escape route.

"What did you just say?", Liwin speaks amusedly to Raine, who merely smiles at her. "Gus, disguises!"

With the magic lock broken, Gus easily manages to make everyone look like simple coven scouts again. Katya and Willow continue to support Raine, and as quickly as they can, they disappear from their cell and back into the hallway.

About halfway to the stairs, Skara speaks up.

"What do you think caused this quake?", she asks.

"We might be able see that when we get outside.", Liwin replies. Skara is not particularly satisfied with this answer, but understands that she definitely cannot know the answer yet. At the same time, she makes a mental note to ask again later about what was going on earlier with Liwin and the Head Witch.

---

Earlier…

"- Luz, Amity, you know your mission. The rest will follow Skara! Act like you belong here. That way we won't draw any unwanted attention to ourselves.", Liwin explains the plan, at which everyone nods slightly before everyone sets themselves in motion.

The group of five turns left at the first corner, while Luz and Amity go straight ahead as Luz quietly recalls the general route towards the throne room. Without saying anything, they find themselves wandering through the corridors, hearing soft voices from time to time.

Amity glances over at Luz from time to time, who is behaving uncharacteristically odd. When the two of them broke into the Conformatorium a while ago, the situation was no less dangerous or threatening, but Luz seemed a lot braver than she is at the moment. Amity speaks up as they reach a staircase to the second floor.

"What's bothering you?", Amity whispers questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"Heh, I think I know you well enough by now to know when something's troubling you.", Amity explains, "Even if I can't see your pretty face."

It's more than obvious that Luz is blushing beneath her illusion.

"How can you be so calm?", Luz replies eventually.

"I'm less calm than you think. But what's the point of letting this fear get to me?", Amity replies quietly. Luz doesn't answer that. "So, what's bothering you?"

Luz sighs. "The last time I faced him, I was ripped from this world... I know it doesn't make sense, but what if it happens again when I face him?"

"Then I'll stand by you.", her girlfriend replies firmly, "Even if it means we're both teleported to another world. Together we'll always find a way back."

The two stopped in the middle of the corridor, Luz's hands in her own, completely forgetting about the mission.

"HEY!", the two of them suddenly hear someone yelling in their direction, startling both of them. Within a second, their heads snap to the right, where they recognize Belos' assistant and administrator of the castle, Kikimora. And she's pretty upset.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?", she yells directly at them. The two girlfriends just stare back in silence. Fortunately, Kikimora doesn't bother waiting for an answer. "IF I SEE YOU HOLDING HANDS EVER AGAIN, YOU'LL BE CLEANING CANTEENS FOR A WHOLE MONTH! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?", Luz and Amity nod frantically. "Good!", Kikimora exclaims, still angry but not as loud, "Now get out of my sight!"

Luz and Amity immediately pick up their legs and head away from Kikimora just fast enough that it doesn't look like they're going to run away from her just yet. After more than half a minute of almost-running through empty corridors, they arrive at a dead end with a barred window to the outside. As they stop, they find their illusion disguises vanishing into thin air.

The two girls share a brief look of surprise before they both burst into suppressed sniggering and giggling, violently trying not to make any loud noises.

"She was soo mad...", Luz whispers straining to suppress her laughter while holding her belly. Amity just nods frantically.

"I was so scared that she would see us...", Amity giggles wildly, holding her hands in front of her mouth.

"Me too...", Luz replies as she gradually begins to calm down. So does Amity.

"Do you feel a little better after this?", Amity wonders a couple moments later, still giggling slightly. Luz takes a deep breath before nodding.

"Shall we continue? Belos' speech has probably started already.", Luz asks.

"Without Gus' disguises?"

"I think we might be outside of his range.", Luz surmises, "We're actually close, though... Take my hand. If we see anyone, I'll turn invisible quickly."

As asked, Amity grabs Luz's hand and together they sneak back to one of the main corridors.

Cautiously, they peek around a corner into an adjacent hallway and Luz quickly spots their destination. The huge dark gray steel door that leads into the throne room. And the corridor directly in front of it is fortunately empty.

With their hearts pounding heavily against their chests, they tiptoe towards the large door. As they approach the closed entrance, Luz crouches down and peers through the keyhole into the throne room. Luz's gaze immediately falls on the beating heart above the throne, which itself sits empty. She looks around to the right and left as far as the keyhole allows, and is not able to make out any guards. What she does see inside, however, is an illusion of the entire Boiling Isles projected onto the floor, as well as a yellow light shining into the throne room from the back right side.

"Empty.", Luz reports in a whisper.

"Belos?", Amity asks, just as quietly.

"Not there.", Luz answers, at which Amity shakes her head.

"I mean, if he's not here, where is he broadcasting his speech from?", Amity asks in a critical tone.

"But he's not here right now.", Luz argues, "We'll sneak in, I'll make us invisible. We'll simply sneak along the wall to his private chambers."

"Hmm...", Amity thinks about it for a moment, "Alright."

"Good. To remain invisible, you must either close your eyes or hold your breath. But for now, we hold our breath. When we reach the outer wall, we'll continue walking blind.", Luz explains, at which Amity nods firmly.

Luz prepares her spell and Amity takes her hand. She feels a slight tingling sensation on her skin as the golden lightning passes from Luz's to her own arms. They both take a very deep breath before Luz opens one of the two thick doors.

A not-so-silent shrill creaking noise from the door hinges reveals their presence.

'Shut up, shut up, shut up!', Luz thinks to herself, squeezing through the narrow opening with Amity before quickly closing it again behind her, again with a shrill creaking sound. The two of them quickly sneak to the outer wall to the right of the entrance, which is partially covered by a couple of thick copper pipes.

The two of them feel the urge to exhale as they suddenly hear footsteps. Their heads snap towards the side door, from which a maskless Emperor Belos steps out. The two girls keep their eyes fixed on him as he lets his gaze glide critically around the room.

'That is...? Huh...', Luz thinks to herself. This is actually the first time she has seen him without his mask. After her first encounter with him, she had rather expected some kind of disfigured monster under his mask, and not an old man with long ash-blonde hair.

With his powerful mechanical staff in his hand and his long white cape trailing behind his feet on the ground, he steps closer to the projection of the Boiling Isles. Luz and Amity, meanwhile, have closed their eyes and are now creeping quietly step by step along the far wall to their destination as they listen to his speech.

They hear him tap the floor with his staff. What they don't see is Belos getting into position, and on the projection in front of him many small, but also a few large purple dots light up, representing each city on the Isles, in which a hologram of him lights up so large that it can be seen and heard by everyone everywhere.

---

A warm smile graces his face as he begins to speak.

"Hello, everyone. There are only a few days left until the tide will be at its lowest, and the moon obscures the sun, and together we create a utopia free of wild magic and oppression. For this joyous occasion, we will receive a distinguished visitor to celebrate the Day of Unity with us. Someone whose own world has been divided for a very long time, with foreign powers preventing his people from living in peace and tranquility."

At that, Luz opens her eyes, breaking her invisibility spell. As Luz releases Amity's hand, her eyes snap open too, and she watches in horror as her girlfriend approaches the side of one of the pipes to get a better look at Belos. Fortunately, they are standing there behind his back, which means he can't see them. It is also at this time that Luz senses a slight static electricity in the air. She looks at Amity with worry in her eyes. Belos continues.

"I urge everyone to welcome our friends from another world the moment they arrive... Welcome, King Andrias Leviathan, first of his name."

"WHAT?", Luz yells loudly, before Amity immediately covers Luz's mouth with her hand as they're hiding behind one of the thicker pipes. They now have revealed their position to him. The girlfriends hold each other close in fear, knowing that the greatest punishment of all now awaits them.

However, nothing happens. The static electricity disappears and Belos continues to talk as if nothing had happened.

"Welcome to the Boiling Isles. I am very much looking forward to our meeting."

The broadcast ends. The purple dots on the projection of the Boiling Isles disappear, leaving only a single red dot floating in the unpopulated space between Bonesborough and the Emperor's Castle, a couple of hundred meters above the ground.

"You don't need to hide any longer. I've known you were here for a long time.", Belos speaks, but with a sternness rather than friendliness in his voice. Luz looks to Amity for help, who nods hesitantly. Luz steps out from behind the pipe, Amity right behind her.

"So, so... we meet again, human. But I think you've gotten lost. My private chambers are not in this place.", a malicious, knowing smile forms.

"You knew we were coming. How?", Luz demands to know.

"I see everything, I know everything."

"Bullshit!", Luz exclaims.

"I know that your friends just fell into a trap while trying to free Raine Whispers.", Belos reports.

"I don't believe a single word out of your mouth!"

"Fine by me...", Belos rolls his eyes. "I know you two are here to gather information for your so-called resistance. Therefore, I'll allow you to ask me two questions."

Luz and Amity exchange skeptical glances. However, assuming that for some reason Belos has not yet made any moves against the two girls, Luz is ready to take this chance.

"If you knew we were coming, why didn't you stop us?", Luz demands to know. Belos sighs.

"And I was hoping you'd ask something intelligent... It is the will of the Titan that you should witness what is about to happen. You would never have managed to even get near me if I had not allowed it. Besides, your time in life is sorely limited, Luz."

"What is the Day of Unity?", Luz asks her second question, dismissing his last sentence as an empty threat. Belos smiles at that.

"The Day of Unity was a plan I had been working on for quite some time. But that's no longer relevant. After today, nothing is relevant anymore."

"But-"

"You had your questions.", he interrupts her before pulling out his mask and placing it on his face. "And now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to show up to. I suggest you attend it as well."

Belos raises his staff, the tip of which flares red, and he disappears into the ground.

"What- just happened?", Amity asks, her whole body trembling. Her gaze lingers on Luz, who stares wide-eyed into the emptiness before her.

"This is bad. This is bad. This is very bad...", she babbles to herself. Amity stands worriedly right in front of her.

"Luz. Please talk to me. What is bad?"

Luz shakes her head violently before grabbing Amity's arm. Luz activates a teleport spell and within the blink of an eye, the two girlfriends find themselves near the top of the castle, on a balcony that leads all the way around.

Not far from their position, the two girls spot a flying castle, which is suspended high in the air by four powerful engines. It is surrounded by at least a dozen smaller, likewise flying structures.

"If Andrias is here, that means he has the Music Box...", Luz speaks with a very serious tone, "And that also means Anne doesn't have it anymore... We have to get up there!", Luz speaks filled with fear and dread.

---

Earlier, somewhere in Amphibia…

Andrias and Darcy find themselves on the balcony of the palace, which hovers hundreds of meters above the ground. With a pleased expression, they look down at the results of all their recent achievements.

Factories are being built all over the continent, natural resources are being mined, and every resource they can get their hands on is being exploited. They observe the fourteen troop carriers hovering in a circular formation around the palace, a fifteenth just arriving.

"Andrias, status report!"

"Troop carrier fifteen is fully loaded and lining up into the formation. We currently have an estimated fifteen thousand-two hundred combat-ready Frobots spread across all transports, as well as within the palace. We will reach full combat effectiveness in about a week."

"What about the production facilities?", Darcy demanded to know.

"All mines, extraction sites, factories, and processing plants are operating at almost one hundred percent efficiency.", Andrias reports proudly. Darcy raises a hand, interrupting him.

"'Almost' is unacceptable!", they speak with dissatisfaction in their voices. Andrias swallows hard. He continues.

"The rebellion from Frog Valley that we thought we had eliminated seems to have survived somewhere somehow. And the survivors keep attacking our facilities.", he reports, "Burning down Frog Valley doesn't seem to have been nearly enough, my lord."

In annoyance, Darcy closes their eyes, sighing in frustration at Andrias' incompetence.

"Negligible.", they eventually decide, "Proceed."

"General Yunan has been located. She had tried to communicate with the captured Grime, and has also been confined.", he reports, "Lady Olivia has not yet been located."

"She poses no threat to our plans. Nevertheless, have the guards continue to search every room, the entire palace.", they order, at which Andrias nods in confirmation, "Are our laboratories prepared?"

"Yes, my lord. A number of fully equipped dissection tables are ready for you to use. Also, up to twenty additional individual cells and five group cells are ready and waiting for your test subjects."

"Excellent.", Darcy says, turning, and strutting towards the throne, "In that case, we have decided to reschedule our departure."

"Oh, of course, my lord.", Andrias agrees, excitement in his voice at finally being able to continue the work of his ancestors and fulfill his destiny, "And how far forward would you like to move the date?"

The two of them walk past all the Frobots posted at every single pillar, as well as every window. Darcy climbs the newly constructed steps at the side to their throne, Andrias waiting just in front of it. With a grin on their face, Darcy speaks up.

"To now."

"Now?", Andrias asks in surprise, Darcy's expressions darkening immediately as he continues, "But we've only reached seventy-five percent of our teleport capacity. If we wait just a little longer, we could certainly be able to take the remaining five troop transporters with us."

"Andrias, your nagging and questioning of our instructions is getting on our nerves!", they state dimly, "Besides, we have the element of surprise on our side. No one will know we're coming... Speaking of which: What's the current status on Earth?"

Andrias clears his throat. "Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, and Luz Noceda are still under surveillance. Our cloak bots have not been detected, and there seems to be no sign of them attempting to return to Amphibia."

"Very good... Initiate teleport sequence!", Darcy orders. Andrias turns to the music box, deactivating the shield surrounding it. Andrias enters the coordinates by pressing several buttons, each of which producing a musical tone.

The music box lights up and, not far from the flying palace, a shimmering white portal almost a hundred meters across is created. After pressing another button, the entire fleet begins to move. Andrias looks at Darcy, whose body goes completely limp as they reach the event horizon.

---

As soon as they pass through, however, Darcy's systems power up again, and within seconds they are back. They speak up.

"As useful as wireless technology may be in terms of freedom of movement, it is far from perfection.", they complain. Andrias nods to them before a loud noise from outside not only catches his attention, but also Darcy's.

"-the moment they arrive...", they hear a loud voice echoing through the air. They look out of one of the windows and catch sight of a truly gigantic projection of an old man looking directly in their direction. "Welcome, King Andrias Leviathan, first of his name... Welcome to the Boiling Isles. I am very much looking forward to our meeting."

A moment of surprised silence envelops both Andrias and Darcy as the projection disappears.

"Impossible!", Andrias yells.

"Shields up! Now!", Darcy yells at him. Andrias immediately jumps into action, pressing a button on the side of the music box pedestal, and within seconds a light-distorting shield forms around the entire fleet. Andrias, as he would never openly admit, feels completely clueless for once. Darcy, on the other hand, is completely out of their mind.

"HOW CAN THESE PRIMITIVES KNOW ABOUT US? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?", they yell with all their might. They snap with their fingers, causing all the Frobots to point their laser guns at him, "HOW COULD YOU RUIN OUR PLAN BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED?"

Andrias, at nine meters tall, is currently feeling about as small as an ordinary Newt.

"I-I-I swear my lord, it is impossible that anyone could have known of our arrival beforehand. We- we had taken every precaution to exclude and monitor anyone who might have known.", he argues nervously.

"ARGH!", Darcy yells in frustration, before snapping again, causing the Frobots to lower their weapons again. Relief flows over Andrias, though they are still glaring daggers at him. Andrias steps closer to the throne.

"Shall we proceed as planned, my lord?"

Suddenly a third voice speaks up.

"There is something I would like to discuss with you first...", the voice speaks up from behind Andrias' back. He turns around quickly and discovers a mysterious figure standing halfway between Andrias and the still closed entrance door to the throne room, wearing a white robe that covers his entire body and a golden mask from which two horns emerge.

"An intruder! Frobots, ATTACK!", Andrias bellows. The armed robots aim their laser weapons and missiles at the intruder, who makes no pretense of wanting to defend himself or fight back.

As the deadly weapons reach the intruder, however, they do not hit him, but fly through him as if he were nothing but air. Some of the weapons hit other attacking Frobots, resulting in a number of them damaged and exploding.

Andrias reaches for his flaming sword as the intruder pulls out a staff of some kind, the tip of which begins to glow a menacing red. Before he can even react, a similar red aura engulfs all the Frobots. Confused, Andrias looks back and forth, noticing that all the Frobots have stopped firing. In bewilderment, he looks at the intruder, readying his fiery sword as mechanical creaks and cracks echo through the halls. Moments later, the lights go out in the first Frobots, and parts of its metallic hull begin to bend and deform.

One by one, they drop dead and brokem to the ground. Andrias runs towards the intruder with his flaming sword before he raises his staff again. Something grabs Andrias' legs, causing him to plummet to the ground, dropping his sword.

Grunting at him, Andrias tries to break free, but more and more things grab his legs, as well as his arms, rendering him completely immobilized.

"What is this-", Andrias exclaims as he struggles to free himself.

"This is no behavior for a king...", the intruder stands directly in front of his head, raising his staff yet again, which turns the flaming sword's fire to water, "I suggest starting from the beginning. Do you agree?"

"We found this demonstration highly amusing.", Darcy calls into the room, "Let him speak. We want to know what he has to say."

The intruder removes the shackles pinning Andrias to the floor. The nine-meter-tall king grimly grabs the remains of his sword and walks back to the throne, where he positions himself directly in front of it. With an annoyed and ashamed look, his gaze glides over all the damage, all the destroyed Frobots.

"So, who are you and what do you want from me?"

"I am Emperor Belos, ruler of the people and lands beneath us, and a humble messenger of the Titan's will.", he introduces himself, "And about what I want... Well, I'll explain that as soon as one more person has joined us."

"Someone else?", Andrias wonders, a hint of worry in his voice.

---

The two tyrants are silent for a moment, when suddenly the electric energy in the air builds up and discharges in such a bright flash of light that Andrias, as well as Belos, shield their eyes with their arms. As soon as Andrias lowers his arm again to risk a glance, he can't believe his eyes when his gaze falls on one of the two new unexpected figures standing in his throne room.

"YOU? THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!", Andrias yells in shock as his eyes meet Luz's, "You can't be here. It's not possible!"

"I always knew that your peaceful explorer bullshit was a lie from the beginning!", Luz yells at the giant king in a rage. However, he himself detects something else in her voice. Fear. Luz's gaze falls on the music box. "How did you get the box?", she demands to know.

"Of course, a certain degree of deception was necessary in order to accomplish my goals and lead my people back to true glory... And I assure you that any sacrifice has been necessary for the greater good.", Andrias' gaze wanders over Luz's shoulder to Amity, who is standing directly behind her, a silent observer of the unfolding chaos. He smirks with diabolical intent, "And it seems you've brought me another one... How thoughtful of you."

His words fuel Luz's rage as golden flashes appear on her arms, quickly traveling to her hands. A huge fireball appears, headed directly towards Andrias' head. He barely manages to duck to the side before the fireball would have hit him. Instead, it sets fire to some of his hair before crashing past him into the back wall of the throne room, leaving a huge hole.

"IF YOU EVEN BEND EVEN A SINGLE HAIR ON HER HEAD, I WILL PERSONALLY BLOW YOUR FLEET OUT OF THE SKY!", Luz roars with all her might, surprising even the giant king. He takes a moment to collect himself, but Luz is the first to speak. "So, one more time: How did you get the box?"

"It's mine.", Andrias replies, a chilling grin on his face, "Always has been."

"LIAR!", Luz yells again, which this time even slightly scares Amity, who still hides behind her, "The music box is Anne's! Where is she? What have you done to her?"

"Anne? Which Anne?", Andrias feigns ignorance, which only spurs Luz to throw yet another fireball at him, "Oh right, your friend... She put up quite a fight, I must admit. All of them fought quite well... But in the end, though, it was all in vain when I took the music box from her dead hands.", he explains proudly.

Andrias's admission hangs heavy in the air, shattering Luz's entire world. Tears form heavily in her eyes. "You-you killed her?"

"They are all gone.", Andrias grins diabolically, "As I said, every sacrifice serves a higher purpose."

"You- you're lying!", Luz accuses him through angry tears.

"Oh, am I?", he asks, before taking a step to the side, revealing a grinning Darcy on the tall throne. Luz's face turns pale.

"M-Marcy?", she stutters in shock. Darcy grins, savoring her sorrow.

"Marcy is dead.", they announce in their slightly distorted voice, "Her body now serves as our host."

"No- no, that can't be true...", Luz's legs give way and she falls to the floor, crying. Amity kneels down behind her, trying to comfort her.

---

"Now that we're all here, we can get started.", Belos speaks up again, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. With a piercing gaze, Andrias shoots a look of superiority as the tiny human weeps pathetically on the floor. Belos continues, "I know about your plans. And I am willing to help you."

Andrias raises a skeptical yet curious eyebrow. Darcy, right next to him, looks at him with intrigue.

"You have come to this world to exploit its natural resources and minerals. You want to abduct the creatures of this world, take them apart, and study them to discover the secrets of magic so that you can use them for yourself."

"You want to betray your own people?", Andrias asks incredulously.

"It is the Titan's will.", Belos replies coldly, " And you have said yourself that sacrifices are necessary to achieve a higher goal."

"Whatever you want to offer us: No. We don't need your help.", Andrias decides. Belos doesn't like that.

"I don't think you have a say in this matter.", he snaps back, "After all, you're nothing but a... puppet."

Andrias feels a strong urge to attack him again, but before he can act on it, Darcy's mocking laughter fills the echoing halls. Luz's watery eyes watch as they descend the steps from their throne.

"We are impressed. We had initially assumed that our early discovery was the result of... incompetence, but we know now that wasn't the case. Tell us about your offer and your price."

Humiliated, Andrias steps aside and leaves the negotiations to Darcy.

"I have known of your arrival for a long time and preparations have been made.", Belos explains, "At this very moment, the inhabitants of this world are convinced that you're coming here in peace. There will be no resistance. You can take whatever and whomever you want. And all that without me interfering."

Darcy seems quite unimpressed. "And what do you expect from us in return?"

Instead of answering directly, Belos pulls out his staff and points directly at the music box. "One of the three gems.", he explains, "As a loan, for research."

"NO!", Luz suddenly yells, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Her cries and pleas fall on deaf ears, however, as Darcy actually considers his offer for a fraction of a moment.

"Your offer is completely of no value to us, and your person poses no threat to our plans.", they reject his offer, "You are in no position to stop us."

"What a shame... And I had assumed that you were intelligent enough not to refuse such a gift.", Belos shakes his head, his voice darkening, "And it seems to me that you still don't know who you're dealing with."

He raises his staff high into the air before ramming it against the ground so hard that the floors and walls all begin to shake.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", Andrias yells.

"Taking control.", Belos states in a low voice, "Take a look out the window."

They all take a look out of the partially destroyed window to the south, where the lower half of the gigantic corpse stretches far and wide. They notice energy being drawn from the music box and channeled up to the giant weapon on the roof of the palace. A clearly visible, narrow beam of blue light focuses on the knee, which rises high into the clouds.

The weapon at the top of the palace triggers and seconds later, an unprecedentedly large blue explosion adorns the sky where the knee just has been, followed by a tremor the likes of which the world has never seen before. The blue smoke disappears, and so has the knee. They can only watch as the shin and thigh both slam into the ocean.

"You... You killed your own people!", Andrias exclaims in genuine horror.

"Oh no-", Luz hears Amity whimper behind her and turns to her, "Ed and Em."

Luz's eyes snap open, and without saying a word, she grabs their arms, immediately teleporting the two girls away. The others don't seem to care, or haven't noticed.

"There are two being in this world that can stop you, one of whom is me. I took over your palace without lifting a finger. Do you really think you can stand up to me?"

"Give him the gem!", Darcy exclaims after a while.

"But my lord-"

"DO IT!", they yell again.

Andrias hesitantly approaches the music box to remove the green gem from it, which he immediately hands over to Belos.

"A wise choice.", Belos clasps the gem in his hand and disappears into the ground within moments.

"Prepare the troops. We will not let this betrayal go unpunished!", Darcy orders with a scowl.

"Yes, my lord."

---

It's been less than a second since Luz and Amity were on board of Andrias' palace, and are now in surrounded by snow and absolute chaos and destruction. Luz has teleported the two of them to the western hip, from where people have always climbed their way up to the knee.

All that's left of it are a few remnants of the blue explosion cloud in the air.

"It's really gone...", Luz mutters as she realizes that what she remembers as a steep climb is now a flat landscape in front of her. She remembers the densely overgrown forests, not a single tree of which is still standing. There is no trace of the paths as they now lie buried under destroyed rocks and broken trees.

"EDRIC! EMIRA!", Amity shouts forward with all her might. Her whole body shakes with fear, even with Luz holding her. Tears are streaming down not only her face, but Luz's as well.

When nothing but an uncomfortable silence echoes back from the sight of the thigh, Amity pulls out her staff. Luz sits with her and the two of them fly off, only now able to get a clearer picture of the actual destruction. The knee, and everything that was directly on it, is gone. The shin has fallen onto the thigh, the upper end of which has sunk into the ocean.

"EDRIC! EMIRA!", Amity exclaims again as she and Luz fly over the devastation, desperately hoping that the twins were not in the blast radius. "Th-they- they made it out, didn't they?"

"They have to.", Luz tries to cheer her up, but she also finds herself with a lump in her throat.

For a solid ten minutes, the two girlfriends fly south in search of any movement or sound. So far they have discovered the dead bodies of some bigger wild beasts, but still no signs of life from the twins.

"Wait! I hear something!", Luz notices after a while. "Screaming. from that direction." Luz points to the east, and Amity almost breaks the sound barrier after she turns her staff.

The closer they get to the source, the clearer it becomes. "It's Emira!"

They continue to approach and land not far from her. The glimmer of hope that her siblings were merely calling for help vanishes quickly. It rapidly becomes clear that she is not calling for help, or calling for anything in general... they are screams of grief.

They land hard on snow-covered ground, and from there immediately run between broken and fallen trees towards Emira.

"EMIRA!", Amity tries to counter her sister's cries, but to no avail. The two of them enter a clearing as they are met with a blood-freezing sight. Emira, badly injured and bleeding, crouching on all fours with her head buried in the snow and screaming tears, right in front of a broken tree trunk on which her brother's body has been impaled in several different points by the tree.

"No-"

Huge tears well up in the eyes of both girls at the sight, their breathing stops.

The two girls take their legs in their hands and run as fast as their legs allow towards Emira.

"EM!", Amity shouts through her tears before dropping to the ground next to her sister. She grabs her face, the older Blight completely beside herself.

"NO!", Emira yells between tears, "WH-H-HY?"

Luz and Amity hug Emira tightly despite her obvious injuries, sharing her tears.

Luz is the first to dare to break out of the embrace and take a look at him and his body, which dangles about a meter in the air. Motionless. The tree is stained red from his blood.

"Amity.", Luz grabs her girlfriend by the shoulder, "We have to get him down. Maybe I can get him back...", she speaks in a shaky, yet cautiously optimistic voice.

"What?", Emira speaks up. Amity knows what Luz is planning. She immediately jumps up and creates an abomination, carefully pulling the lifeless body of the Blight brother out of the tree, and placing it directly in front of Luz.

What opens up before her is not a pretty sight. Five fist-sized holes in his chest, three smaller ones on his upper arm, and a medium-sized hole from his neck up through his teeth and out his cheek. His eyes are wide open, facing the sky.

The blood is still pouring out of his body.

Luz kneels down next to his upper body in the blood-soaked snow. She places one hand on his head and the other over one of the holes where his navel must have been. She begins to gather her focus.

"What's she doing there? What is she doing to him?", Emira asks frantically.

"She can heal him...", Amity replies with hope in her voice, "She's done it before."

"But-"

Emira cuts herself off as she notices that golden lightning bolts appear all over Luz's body, dancing across her skin and clothes, getting faster, bigger, and longer by every passing second. Luz takes deep, long breaths before the lightning bolts all slide into Luz's hands and into Edric's body.

Where Luz touches him, his body begins to glow gold. The two sisters watch as the tissue of his skin begins to regenerate where the golden glow has already reached it. They can watch as the holes that previously pierced and killed him begin to shrink and, after a few minutes, disappear completely.

A few more minutes later, Luz falls over backwards from exhaustion.

"LUZ!", Amity exclaims, rushing to her side.

"That- was a lot...", Luz explains out of breath, "I gave it everything I had..."

Emira, meanwhile, crawled in pain to Edric's side, taking his bloodied hand in hers.

"Ed, can you hear me?", she speaks to him in a soft tone, "It's me. E-Emira..."

No response. She holds his hand closer to her body.

"E-Ed?", Her voice begins to tremble again as her brother continues to lie there, motionless. Her gaze snaps to Amity, who until a few seconds ago had also been quite optimistic. "ED! Wake up!", Emira starts to get frantic again.

At this point, Luz and Amity are also getting a little teary-eyed again. Filled with incomprehension, Amity looks first at Luz and then at her brother.

"He's not breathing.", Amity remarks. She takes his other arm and checks for a pulse, "No heartbeat!"

Panic slowly takes hold of Amity again, while Luz receives an ugly realization.

Amity bends over his chest, her hands flat directly over his heart. She presses with all her body strength.

And again.

And again.

And again.

She feels for a pulse again. Nothing.

She thrusts again.

And again.

And again.

And again, and all this while the tears gradually drip from her face onto his clothes.

"You cannot go!"

Push

"I won't allow it!"

Push

"We need you."

Push

"I need you."

Push

Push

Push

"Amity...", Luz holds out a hand to her.

"YOU SAID YOU COULD BRING HIM BACK!", Amity snaps at Luz, the grief completely overwhelming her, "You said you could bring my brother back..."