The Owl House of Amphibia

by Iron117Prime

Four human girls, so different and so alike, find themsleves thrown into new worlds of magic, danger, wonder, and horror. As they explore their new surroundings, they not only meet new friends and new enemies, but also discover more about themselves than what they felt before. All it took was a box and a door to change their lives, and the lives of all those around them, forever.

8. Exit One World, Enter Another

Hi everyone. Well, this is it. We're finally here! After this lengthy prologue arc, we've finally reached the point in the story that everyone has been waiting for! Where our girls embark on the journey that will change their lives forever.

Before we begin, for those of you who hadn't noticed, I'm sure you can see a pattern with the titles of my chapters, where the first letter of each title spells out a certain message? Much like what was done in the Owl House canon, there is a message spelled out by the first letter in each of the titles for each Season for my story. Keep an eye out for that as we move along.

With that out the way, let's get this chapter started!

Exit One World, Enter Another

A group of individuals ran through a forest late at night, and despite each of them appearing to be different sizes, all of them bore the exact same attire. They each wore dark grey long-sleeved shirts with brown gloves, a belt with a gold buckle, with black harem pants and brown boots. But what stood out the most was that they each had long white hooded cowls, and masks that covered their faces, masks that resembled those of medieval plague doctors. Two of them each had spears, and one appeared weaponless. The trio looked around for a brief moment before one spoke.

"There does not appear to be any sign of them."

"Let's regroup with the rest of the search party and report that this area has been cleared." A second individual said.

"They couldn't have gotten far. We'll catch those creatures soon. They cannot escape us." The third one stated before they left the area.

With all three of them gone, one large tree appeared to move on its own before its appearance changed to reveal that it was not a tree at all, but rather a large serpentine-like creature with indigo hair held up in a swirling bun. Its skin was pale yellow with green frog-like eyes, webbed ears, long arms with claws and an abnormally large mouth.

After taking a moment to make sure the coast was clear, the creature opened her mouth to let out four other creatures that looked almost exactly like her, only much smaller. One was slightly taller than the other three, but not nearly as tall as the larger one, and appeared to have pale blue skin with dark blue short hair and purple eyes. One had pale red skin with short darker red hair, longer ears, and green eyes. Another was the same size as the red one but had a brownish yellow skin tone with long brown hair and blue eyes. And the last one was the smallest of the group with pale greenish skin and had eyes that had an aqua sclera, yellow-gold pupils, and black irises, and navy-blue hair. The smallest one appeared to be the most scared of them all.

"Are they gone?" The shortest creature asked.

"They are gone, Number Five." The largest one confirmed.

"Not for long. Once they've cleared this area, they'll circle back." The red one spoke up.

"The Emperor's Coven knows that we are shapeshifters, so they'll probably have illusionists use their abilities to see through our disguises. Or have beasts sniff us out." The brownish-yellow one said.

"We need to find a ship." The blue creature suggested. "We can disguise ourselves as crew members and hitch a ride, leave the Isles and escape the Emperor's jurisdiction."

"That'll be the first thing they think of, Number Two!" The red one argued. "They probably already have scouts there! And what ship operates this late at night!"

"Do you have any better ideas, Three?!" The one identified as Number Two questioned. "Because I don't!"

"Um… maybe we should ask for help…?" The smallest one, known as Number Five, offered.

"Help? Who's gonna help us?!" The brownish-yellow one questioned. "We're Basilisks! We're supposed to be extinct!"

"Not if we change our forms, Four" Number Three countered.

"But we must feed off magic to survive, not just normal food like most witches or demons do!" Number Four argued. "They'll find out eventually! And who is so stupid enough to go against the Emperor's Coven?!"

"Um… The Owl Lady…?" Number Five answered meekly. "She's… been wanted for years… but they still haven't caught her…?"

"Hmm, and she is plenty powerful." The tallest and largest Basilisks thought for a moment. "Powerful enough that some of the scouts say rivals even the Emperor. If we were to absorb her magic, perhaps we might have the means to actually fight back against him! And take revenge for all that he's done to us!"

"B-But One… that's not…" Number Five stuttered before addressing her again. "I was only suggesting that we ask her for help. Maybe she can find a way for us to leave the Isles… we don't have to hurt or anyone…"

"Even if the Owl Lady agreed to hide us, how do we know she'll actually help us for our benefit?" Number Two questioned. "She might be against the Emperor, but that does not mean she's actually different from all these other witches or demons."

"I… I don't…" Number Five looked away as her brethren continued to argue, all except Number Three who looked out to a nearby clearing to check if the coast was clear. There had to be a way for them to escape this awful place. There just had to be. She could not be put back in that cage again. She just couldn't.

""Sssh, quiet!" Number Three told them all. "They're here!"

Becoming silent immediately, all five of the Basilisks used their ability to shapeshift to blend in with the rest of the foliage, while also moving a bit closer to see what was going on in that clearing. And all of them looked in horror at what they saw.

There were well over a dozen scouts, all dressed in the exact same attire. But there was one among them that stood out above the rest, one that stood on a nearby hilltop to overlook the entire area. He wore a large white and brown cape with a gold trim over a baggy grey tunic and black pants with golden armored gloves and brown boots. He wielded a staff that appeared to be mechanical and had a red orb at the top and a white-gold wing next to it. But what stood out the most was his mask, one that was vastly different from those of his followers. He wore a golden mask with two long upward facing horns and empty eye-sockets, almost like a mix between a plague mask and a deer's skull.

"Sire!" One scout approached and kneeled to him. "We've checked all over this forest. There is no sign of the specimens."

"Fool." The leader said. "We are dealing with shapeshifters. Of course they would escape your eyesight. Summon Gray and Ebberwolf. They're respective practices should draw them out."

"As you wish." The scout nodded before running off to fulfill his task.

The Basilisks sunk deeper into the wood to converse with each other. "Belos is here…" Number Five turned pale, and not just because of her shapeshifting ability.

Number One spat in disgust. "Of course he's here. Split up."

"Split up?!" Number Three questioned as they all looked in shock. "But…"

"We're too easy to be spotted as a large group. Split up and do whatever you feel you want, escape or hide if you wish. But I'm going to fuel up on as much magic power as I can get, so that I can get revenge." Number One swore as she slithered away into the forest.

"I'll go look for those boats." Number Two said. "They may notice a whole group of strangers, but not one." He slithered off into the other direction.

Number Five blinked in surprise. "They… they just left us… They…"

"Five, we don't have time to be in shock, right now." Number Three said. "Be honest, do you really think the Owl Lady could help us?"

"I… I just think… it's a good idea…" Number Five stuttered.

Three and Four looked to each other before the latter spoke. "Okay, we'll help you get to Bonesborough. We'll hide out there for the night and you try to find the Owl Lady's stall, she always sells whatever garbage she finds. You try talking with her."

"Me… what about… you?" Five questioned. "I don't wanna be alone…"

"It may be easier and less suspicious if it's just one." Three said. "You approach her and see if you can ask for help, we'll hide elsewhere in town. If you don't hear from us by sunset tomorrow, assume the worst."

"I… I don't…" Five continued to stutter. "We could all be together when we ask her…"

"We'll stand out. Their beasts will sniff us all at once. Trust me, it's better this way." Four said.

Despite feeling nervous, she decided to trust her brethren's judgement. "Okay."

"Let's go." Three took her gently by the shoulders and led her away with Four right beside them as they moved deeper into the forest.

---

Earth – Gravesfield

"Are you kidding me?!" Sasha exclaimed as she sat in the kitchen of her father's home, Joseph sitting across from his daughter at the kitchen table with his wife, Grace, Sasha's stepmother, sitting next to him. Grace was a rather attractive young woman with fair skin, black hair, and blue eyes. Her current attire was that from her work, which consisted of a black business blazer and a white undershirt, a black knee-length dress with black heels. "You're sending me to a military camp!?"

"It's not a military camp, Sasha! It's a camp… that acts like one… but isn't…" Joseph tried to explain gently, but when his daughter narrowed her eyes at him, he found himself shrinking somewhat before Grace spoke up.

"It's a camp that has one partake in physical activities as well has a strict schedule." The woman explained calmly and rationally. "Yes, it may act like a military school, but it doesn't have any connection to the military. It's just a camp that will help you teach some discipline."

"I'm plenty disciplined!" Sasha argued.

"Your principal, as well as your record for getting into trouble, disagree." Grace countered.

"Oh please, like you haven't gotten sent the principal's office once your in life." Sasha waved off.

"Sasha, this not about Grace, this is about you." Joseph spoke, taking a firmer stance. "Look, I know this is out of nowhere, but I really think you can have fun here. They even have paintball, and you love paintball. I know you do." He even pulled out his phone and showed a picture of a time where he took Sasha and Anne to a paintball place, and all three of them were smiling while covered in padding that was coated in paint and they all had paintball guns in their hands.

"I love playing paintball with my friends, not a bunch of random kids that I don't know who probably have 'issues' of your own." Sasha crossed her arms.

"We're not saying you have issues, Sasha." Grace said.

"Kinda sounds like it." Sasha glared. "So, whose brilliant idea was this anyways? Yours, Grace? Doesn't sound like something Dad would do."

"Lower your tone, young lady." The blonde turned to look in surprise to see none other than her mother enter the kitchen before pulling up a chair and sitting next to her ex-husband.

When Sasha got a good look at her mom's stance and saw how all three adults were looking at her, she was able to put two-and-two together. "Wait… you're all in on this?!"

"Your principal spoke with your father and I last week after your little 'dance party', and suggested the idea." Emma looked at Sasha with narrowed eyes that rivaled that of her daughter's. "We all talked it over, and I even spoke with Brad too, and we all agreed."

Sasha's eyes widened, completely caught off guard by this. They all agreed? Her mom and dad, who had been divorced for years, sat down with their respective partners and all talked about this? Without her?

"And… I don't even get a say in this?" She asked, still not over her surprise before getting more than a little angry. "I feel I should at least be included in a conversation like that since I'm apparently what you're all talking about!"

Joseph winced slightly. "In hindsight, maybe we should have done that, yeah." He admitted before getting serious. "But regardless, the fact is that you have been getting into more trouble than anyone your age should be."

"And you're getting your friends into trouble, too." Emma added. "And don't think I don't know how you and Stacy are constantly at each other's throats."

"That's why we have the damn Switzerland Agreement!" Sasha slammed her fists on the table.

"At home? Yes. But at school? That's another story." Emma said.

"Oh, so she's your favorite now? Is that it?!" Sasha argued.

"This isn't about favorites, Sasha. This is about you." Emma said seriously. "This is about you, stepping outside, trying new things and meeting new people, learning new skills that can help you as grow up…"

"I'm grown up!" Sasha yelled, standing up from her seat. "I've been grown up for a long time!"

"The fact that you're getting emotional like this suggests that you are not." Grace said calmly.

"Well, excuse me for not being calm!" Sasha yelled on.

"That's enough!" Joseph stood up and addressed his daughter directly. "Sasha, I'm sorry we didn't tell you this sooner, maybe we should have. But you are still a kid, and this experience could be good for you. But you're not even giving this a chance."

"This is happening, Sasha." Emma stood up as well in agreement with her ex-husband. "You are going. It's for your own good."

She couldn't believe this! Were they all teaming up against her like this!? Seriously!? She wanted to yell and scream as loud as she could! But what would be the point? They'd never hear her anyway. They didn't hear her when they were arguing when she was little, so why should this be any different?

With a deep sigh as she pressed her fingers on her forehead. "So, the one time you two agree on anything, and it's to send me a way."

That statement caused Joseph and Emma to wince before their expressions softened. "Sasha…" Emma tried to reach to her.

"Forget it. Might as well get packed up, now." She walked out of the kitchen and went to the stairs to go to her room. Though they heard a loud slam, causing all three adults to wince.

"Well, that could have gone better." Grace said.

"We really should have talked this with her first." Joseph said as well.

"Yes, maybe." Emma admitted. "But, she would probably talk her way out of it if we went that route."

"True." Grace granted. "Sometimes, there really is no smooth or easy way to handle a situation."

"I'm just hoping that she ends up enjoying this and learns from it." Joseph said with worry as she looked up to the ceiling, knowing his daughter's room was just above.

---

Ares, who had been curled up in Sasha's bed, perked up as the blonde sat down and put her hands on her face in an emotional exhaustion. God, this feels just like when the divorce happened. Just like back then, there was nothing she could do. But she was only a toddler back then. What can you expect a toddler to do in a situation like that? But now she was a teenager, one who could think and speak like an adult. One would think that she'd at least have some form of control in a manner such as this, especially since it directly involved her. But nope. Any and all possible control was usurped by her parents who were now suddenly agreeing for maybe the first time.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ares laid his head on Sasha's lap and gave a small whine. The German Sheppard could sense the girl's distress and tried to comfort her, causing Sasha to smile sadly as she patted his head before pulling out her phone to look at a picture of herself with all her friends, Anne, Marcy, and even Luz.

If she really was being sent away, then she would miss them for sure, even Luz. Wait… Luz… If Sasha was gone… then Luz could end up usurping her role in the group and become the new leader. Hell, she might even convince Anne and Marcy to kick her out! Oh no! That was not going to happen! She already had her family be ripped in half before, she was not about to let the one thing she had control over be taken away! If she was going to be sent away, she'd at least make sure that maybe one of her friends would never forget her, or at least enough so that she knew who was still in charge.

Marcy was an obvious no. She and Luz were thick as thieves, so there was no way she was going to split them up without at least a month's worth of effort. But… Anne's birthday was only a few days away…

The blonde smirked as all the pieces were starting to come together.

---

Noceda Residence

Camilla walked towards her daughter's room as she looked at her phone, taking one last look at the information on the Azure Lake Camp's website to see if this was a good fit for Luz. A lot of the activities that she saw advertised seemed like things she'd be interested in, such as arts and crafts projects and even music. But she was still unsure about sending Luz to an unfamiliar environment with kids that she doesn't know. But at the same time, this camp has received genuinely positive reviews from what she's seen, so perhaps it would be good for her.

Coming to her room, Camilla noticed that despite the door being closed, there was light coming out from the cracks in the door like underneath. Double checking the time, she saw that it was well past eleven. Putting her phone away, Camilla knocked on the door.

"Luz? Can I come in?"

"Hang on! Just a sec!" She heard Luz yelp on the other side, likely tripping and slipping from her chair or something before coming to the door. "What's up?" She asked, trying to straighten herself out.

"It's almost midnight, Mija." Camilla told her. "It might not be a school night, but you still need…" However, she noticed how nearly all of Luz's fingers were bandaged up and became concerned immediately. "Luz, what happened?"

"What, this?" She showed her bandaged fingers before scoffing. "Just poked my fingers working on a little something." She opened her door more to reveal a little workstation she had set up at her own computer desk, one that had yarn, needle and thread, cotton, and other items one would find a in sewing kit. "I had to borrow some stuff from the basement because I'm making something."

"Making something?" Camilla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not finished yet but…" Luz went to her desk and pulled out a small, half-finished doll, one small enough to fit in her hand, and resembled a certain black and white cat. "This is Domino, or it will be when I'm finished."

"Domino? Isn't that the name of Anne's cat?" Camilla asked. She'd only seen the cat a few times, and been showed pictures from Oum and Bee.

"Yeah. Anne's birthday is next week, the last day of school in fact. This is her birthday present." Luz explained.

"And you made her a little stuffed animal version of her cat?" Camilla asked. "Why not buy her something?"

"Pttf." Luz waved off. "Well, anyone can buy someone something for their birthday." She looked down at her half-finished doll somewhat emotionally. "Anne and the others… they might as well be the first real friends that I've had and… I wanted to do something special. I know Anne loves Domino, so I think she'd love this."

Camilla couldn't help but smile. She always knew her daughter was artistic, and for her to apply those skills in such a heartwarming manner made her happy. "Alright, but now's the time to stop for tonight. It doesn't have to be finished right away, and it's time to sleep."

"Yeah, okay. Good night, Mom." Luz closed the door. The lights turned off a few seconds later before Camilla walked away.

Pulling up her phone one last time, Camilla looked at the Azure Lake Camp website and saw the sign-on button. Taking a look at the departure info, she saw that the date to arrive at the camp was a couple of days after the last day of school, Anne's birthday even. Might seem a little last minute, but she was certain Luz would enjoy this camp. She could give Anne her birthday gift and they could leave soon after. This could indeed be a way for Luz to make more friends. If she was already on such great terms with Anne and the others, then she could easily warm up to more kids like her.

Camilla pressed the sign-on button.

---

Three Days Later

Anne had just arrived at Gravesfield High School on her bike. Locking her bike onto the stand and pulling out something from her backpack, a certain bully approached her from behind.

"Hey Boobchuy, whatchya got there? A puke-bun?" Maggie mocked with a laugh.

"It's not a 'bun', Maggie. It's khao niew bean." Anne corrected irritably as she showed the snack. It was like a rice bun wrapped in lettuce. "A traditional Thai snack made up of rice and coconut milk. My mom made it for me because…" She smacked her lips with a smile. "It's my birthday."

"Huh, well happy birthday." Maggie said in a neutral tone before trying to steal the snack. "Give me that!"

"Hey!" Anne tried to take it back as they pulled on it back and forth. "Get your own Thai mom!"

"Yeah, back off Maggie!" Luz made her way from behind to defend Anne. "Go find your own cool cultural snack to eat on!"

Maggie then turned with a glare towards Luz. "Or else what?"

"Ahem!" Looking past Luz, Maggie saw Sasha looking at her with narrowed eyes and crossed arms, and Marcy was right behind her.

"Ugh, fine." She pushed the snack back into Anne before storming off.

"Thanks guys." Anne smiled.

"No worries." Sasha smiled. "But nevermind that. Happy birthday, girl!"

All four girls squealed as they all hugged Anne. "Yeah, happy B-Day, Anne! And it's on the last day of school too! How awesome is that?!" Marcy proclaimed.

"Really awesome!" Anne smiled. "Kicking off this summer with a bang!"

"Oh speaking of… I actually got…" Luz reached into her own bag, but she was unable to grasp onto what she was looking for, much to her confusion. "What the…?" She opened her bag to see for herself, only to find that what she was looking for wasn't there. "Aw what? Come on!"

"Uh, Luz?" Marcy asked.

"Sorry." The girl smiled apologetically. "I wanted to bring your birthday present, Anne. But I guess I got overly excited and left it at home." And she had just finished the Domino doll the previous night too. Talk about bad luck.

"You got me a gift? Awe, you didn't have to." Anne smiled.

"Well, I wanted to." Luz insisted but her smile faded. "But I guess I forgot, sorry."

"No worries, dude." Anne assured. "You can just give it to me later, after school. My parents have a party for me later, so you can swing by."

"Really?" Luz asked. "It's a family thing, so… I don't wanna impose."

"You ain't imposing." Anne replied. "My folks love you, so they wouldn't mind."

Luz smiled. "Okay, after school then. Text me the info, and I'll be there when the party starts."

"You got it. It starts at six." Anne already had her phone out and texted Luz the information, but as she did, nobody noticed the hard expression on Sasha's face. Luz was always punctual, and there was no way she would miss whatever lame kiddy party Anne's parents were throwing her. But… if Sasha were to have Anne all to herself for a time until then… A devious smile formed on the blonde's face just before the bell rang.

"Ugh, buzzkill." Sasha said.

"Welp, let's get this last day of school started." Marcy said. "The sooner we start, the sooner we get our summer on, whoo!"

As the girls all went into the school, Luz couldn't help but smile. This would be her first summer with her very first group of friends. There would be all kinds of fun things they'd all be able to do together. They could have more sleepovers, more of those fun scare dares, maybe some movie marathons. Yes, Anne and Sasha weren't into all those fantasy movies that she and Marcy were into. But she knew that they loved superhero movies and Galaxy Wars, so they could do that. Maybe they could even plan a beach trip to New England, that would be all kinds of fun too. Oh, she was just beaming with excitement just thinking about it all.

---

"Alright class. Today's your lucky day, cause your final assignment for my class is frog dissection!" The science teacher, Mrs. Virk announced.

Though while the teacher seemed enthusiastic, the rest of the students weren't as they all cringed and seemed really grossed out as they each looked at the trays in front of them that had the carcasses of frogs in front of them. Anne need only poke the carcass in front of her with a knife to be completely grossed out.

"Bleh! Frogs are the worst!" The Thai girl cringed.

"Right? Let's get out of here." Sasha whispered to Anne, sitting next to her, before putting on an act as she faked a cough. "Mrs. Virk! The sight of blood…! I'm gonna be sick…!" She said in an overly dramatic manner, putting her hand on her forehead like a classic damsel in distress.

"Oh dear." Mrs. Virk approached them, holding a frog's body in her gloved hands. "Anne, why don't you take Sasha to the sick room before she desecrates these beautiful frog bodies with her vomit?" She suggested, squeezing the body she held like a stuffed animal.

"Sure… Okay." Anne accepted.

"Thank you!" Mrs. Virk walked away while the girls shared knowing looks.

---

Two minutes later, the girls ran through the hallways laughing. They happened to pass the nurse's office, prompting Anne to stop.

"Yo, Sash! Sick room's over here!" She pointed up to the sign, causing Sasha to roll her eyes.

"Forget the sick room. Forget school. Let's get out of here and celebrate your birthday in style." She said with a grin.

"Wait… skip school?" Anne looked surprised and uneasy about that. Sasha's pulled a lot of pranks and stuff, but skipping a whole day of school? That was a bit much, even for her.

"Hey, it's our last day, there's nothing going on anyways." Sasha brushed off.

"But… our finals are pretty big… so…" Anne tried, rubbing the back of her head, the last thing she wanted was for Sasha to get into some serious trouble, but the blonde already interrupted her.

"Anne, this is your fourteenth birthday. You only get one of these." Sasha said as she approached Anne and put her hand on her shoulder. "So let's make it the best birthday, in the history of birthdays!"

"W-what… what about Marcy and Luz? I know Luz said she had a present…" Anne still seemed unsure.

"She said she'll give it to you later, and knowing our pair of nerds, they're probably in the zone already with their tests. No point in trying to pull them out." Sasha stated. "And it's been a while since the two of us had some quality time to ourselves, so let's make it count."

Despite seeming unsure, Anne decided to follow Sasha's lead. "Well… alright. But I gotta be back home by six, my parents got a party planned and they really want me to be there."

"Right, right, you got it." Sasha waved. "Now let's get this thing started!"

---

Anne rode her bike away from the school with Sasha riding behind her, standing on the rear cassette as she pumped her fist up and shouted. "Yes!"

Their first stop was the arcade, where the two played a round of Super Dance Fun Time Fusion. The two were in perfect sync, having played this game a number of times, and were able to get the high score with little issue.

"Whoo. Top score." Anne sat down to catch her breath and wipe the sweat from her brow. But she was surprised to see Sasha kick the game at the coin slot, causing all the quarters that were previously put in to fly out, which she was quick to collect with an eager grin. Anne gave a sheepish smile at that but looked away with uncertainty.

Next up, the girls were in an alleyway as Sasha was doing graffiti, spray painting her name while Anne kept watch, looking even more nervous than before. Sasha then offered Anne the spray bottle, to which Anne took somewhat reluctantly before spraying, but gave a startled yelp when they heard a siren, prompting the two to lean back against the wall and avoid a police car passing by on patrol.

Later, Anne was sitting in a grocery cart that Sasha was pushing down a sidewalk to gain momentum. They were nearing a downhill slope before Sasha got up to ride on the cart herself. "Whoo! Here we go!" She cheered just as they rode down the slope. "Outta the way, granny!" She told an elderly woman who was walking her dog, and they were able to avoid her, as well as a couple before riding in-between them as they were knocked down with Sasha cheering and Anne screaming as they continued to ride downhill.

---

Meanwhile, after their finals were complete, Luz and Marcy reconvened at the town's public library and were in the midst of reading a manga issue of 'Pocket Monsters'.

"Man, how does this series stay so fresh?" Marcy asked.

"Well, it's better than the anime." Luz began. "They use the same kid over and over, recycle all his character development, and he doesn't even age. They even get those annoying villains trying the exact same thing every episode!"

"Ugh, tell me about it." Marcy agreed. "The only difference is that they have a different for girl each series, who aren't that bad of characters in of themselves, and even some potential ships…"

"But again, it all goes out the window in the end and they just repeat the cycle for the next one." Luz continued. "This is why I prefer the manga, they at least got different characters and stories for each one so it's unique."

Marcy chuckled. "Girl, you know your stuff."

Luz then felt her phone vibrate and looked to see that she got a text from her mom that read. 'Got a surprise, Mija. Come on home.'

"Oh, Mom's calling." Luz got up from her chair, but as she did, she and Marcy saw an employee at the library pushing a cart of books where one in particular fell off and landed in front of them.

"Excuse me, ma'am!" Marcy tried to call to the employee as she picked up the book. "You dropped your… book…?" She got a good look at the title that drew her and Luz's attention.

"'Dr. P's Extraordinary Guide to Magic and Mystery.'" Luz read aloud. "Never seen this one before."

"Library probably just got a copy." Marcy thought as she opened the book and the two looked over some of the contents in it and got a good chuckle over what they read.

"Vampire and werewolf folklore… gargoyles… inter-dimensional demons…" Luz smiled. "This is some pretty cool stuff here."

Marcy turned one page and spotted something that really caught their attention. It was on two pages that showed the picture of a music box, one that was engraved with the images of frogs and trees, and three colored gems embedded in it. The name of the artifact was written in big bold letters at the top, with a brief description of the device's purpose on the page below the artifact.

"Whoa! 'Calamity Box'?" Marcy read aloud.

"'Travel to other worlds'?" Luz read aloud as well.

The two girls shared eye-contact before laughing. "Yeah right." Luz brushed off. "Probably just some mistranslations on Pandora's Box or something."

"Cool artwork though." Marcy said as she took a picture of the box on her phone. "It would be pretty awesome though, wouldn't it?" Traveling to other worlds?"

"What? You wanna visit Asgard or something?" Luz joked, causing the girls to laugh again. "But maybe we could write an Azura fanfic about this… her traveling across the multiverse… maybe even a science fiction world…?"

"Yeah, maybe." Marcy said, but she just then got a text from her dad that read 'Come home. We need to talk.', which left Marcy concerned. "Huh, wonder what this is all about."

"I better get home too, see what Mom's got going on." Anne said. "I also gotta get Anne's birthday present, so talk to you later?"

"Sure thing, Luzura. Later." Marcy said as the two left the library.

---

Noceda Residence

"Azure Lake Camp?" Luz questioned as she looked over the flyer that her mom had handed her and the two sat on the couch in the family room.

"Surprise, Mija!" Camilla announced in a somewhat dramatic tone for her sake. "A summer camp where you and a bunch of other kids get to spend three whole months doing what you love the most! Writing stories, drawing pictures, playing and listening to music…! And they even have a lake for you to swim in, so the Lake part is not just a metaphor." However, she noticed that Luz didn't look nearly as excited as she imagined. "Luz, this is the part where you get excited."

"Am I… the only one going?" Luz asked. "I mean, I kinda expect that Anne and Sasha wouldn't be into this stuff, but I know Marcy would love it."

"No, Luz. It's just you." Camilla said as her smile faded, especially as her daughter looked at her in surprise at that.

"I… I was hoping I'd be able to spend the summer with all of them." Luz said dejectedly as she pulled out her phone and looked at a picture of all of four of them hanging out and eating frozen yogurt. "My first summer with my first real friends…."

"But this is a chance for you to make some more friends, who are into the stuff that you love." Camilla offered with an encouraging smile.

"Marcy's just as much into this stuff as I am." Luz replied. "Sure maybe Anne and Sasha aren't fantasy geeks like us, but we still have fun! Didn't you try to encourage me to make friends with people who are different from me?"

"Yes, I did say that." Camilla acknowledged.

"And now that I have friends who are different from me, and that I get along with, they're… what… not good enough for you?" Luz questioned, much to Camilla's own surprise.

"No! No! No, of course not!" The mother raised her hands up defensively and assuredly. "This is just a chance for you to make some more friends."

"What's wrong with the friends that I have?" Luz questioned again.

"Nothing's wrong with them, per say…" Camilla tried to phrase this as gently as she could. "But, the four of you have been getting into trouble together…"

"Who doesn't? Name one teenager who hasn't gotten into trouble at least once!" Luz argued.

"I also know that… maybe you and Sasha in particular… don't always get along…" Camilla said that last part with as much delicacy as she could, hoping not to push any particular buttons.

Luz herself winced at that, remembering Sasha's controlling nature. But how did her mom find out about that? She didn't exactly say anything that was worth being concerned about. "We had only one big fight, and it's not like we don't wanna see each other again! And people who are close get into fights! I'm sure you and Dad did too!"

Camilla did not expect Luz to bring up her father like this, but answered regardless. "Yes, your father and I disagreed before. But this isn't about me. This is about you."

"Why? What's wrong?" Luz questioned. "You wanted me to have friends? I got friends! One of them shares all my interests, and the other two are different like you wanted! And even if one of them is difficult, it's not like she's bad! I have finally have friends who actually like me, now you want me to spend some time away from them just because of a few bumps in the road?! You're even sending me away from them?! From you!? Did… Did I do something wrong…? Was I not being a good friend?" She asked as she sounded hurt now.

"What? No… no… no, Luz. You didn't do anything." Camilla tried to assure her, and tried to put her hands on her shoulder for comfort, but Luz pulled away. Camilla wanted to reach out again, but stopped herself before speaking calmly. "I'm sorry, Mija. Maybe I shouldn't have surprised you with this. I just think that this is a place that you might actually love. A place where you can have fun, and meet other kids. Your friends are great, even if you do get into trouble, but they're not the only people in this world. And they're not the only friends you have to make. Times change, Luz. What about when you and the girls go to college? Or your careers? You could go in different directions in life and maybe even… never see them again." That caused Luz to stiffen as she still kept her back turned. "I'm hoping that you do, though. I truly do. But… life isn't always so kind, even if you play by the rules. I want you to broaden your horizons, and feel more comfortable in this world and not in your fantasy all the time."

Luz sighed, knowing she couldn't win an argument with her mom. Taking another look at the brochure, at some of the activities that the other kids were doing in the picture… Some of these did look kinda fun. But it felt like moving to Gravesfield all over again, getting dumped into a new place and being with people that she doesn't even know… but she also didn't want to upset her mom anymore than she's probably already done either. So, maybe she could give it a chance, for her anyway.

"When do I leave?"

Camilla didn't quite know how to feel about that response. On one hand, she was glad that Luz at least seemed willing to give it a chance, but it also sounded very reluctant. "There is a bus coming later. You'd have to ride overnight… or we could wait till tomorrow morning and I can drive you."

"That soon? What about packing?" Luz asked.

"I already packed your things, even your Azura book…" Camilla answered.

"Didn't even give me a chance to do that, huh?" Luz muttered, causing her mother to wince again before Luz turned to her. "Can I at least give Anne the birthday present I made her? I said I'd show up at the party at her place. Maybe… even tell her about this and say goodbye?"

"Of course, Mija." Camilla accepted. With a sigh, Luz got off the coach and went to the stairs. "I could drive you there, if you want." She offered.

"Nah, her place isn't that far, I'll just walk." The girl replied, not even turning around before resuming her trek up the stairs and to her room, leaving Camilla alone as she sat down with a deep sigh of her own.

This was not at all how she wanted things to go. Maybe she shouldn't have surprised her and talked about this with Luz beforehand. But this could still be good for her. As much as Camilla loved how close Luz has become with the other girls, she also can't just stay in her comfort zone with the four of them, especially when one of them always gets them into trouble. Regardless, the decision had been made, and now all Camilla could do was hope that it was the right one.

---

Meanwhile, at the Wu residence, Marcy was having a very similar conversation with her own parents, and it wasn't going well either. In fact, one could say that it was worse.

"Marcy, you have to understand…" Chai tried to calm his daughter down, but it was too late.

"No!" The girl bolted out the front door with tears in her eyes. "You guys aren't ruining my life!"

"Marcy, wait!" Lin called to her.

"Get back here, young lady!" Chai also called, but their girl was already running well down the street and into downtown Gravesfield. He then noticed his wife giving him the stink eye. "What?"

"This is why I suggested that we tell her about the possibility beforehand." Lin said.

"I didn't know for sure back then until recently." Chai argued.

"You still could have brought up the possibility to Marcy, that way she'd be better prepared and not just have it all thrown into her face." Lin countered. "Especially since you say we're moving in a month. I'm surprised you didn't bring this up right before moving day."

Chai put his hand on his forehead. "Too late now though. Marcy will come back when she calms down. Hopefully we can… better ease it to her." All Lin could do was shake her head in disappointment as she walked back inside.

---

Marcy really had no idea where she was running to, but she just couldn't stay in that house. The house that wouldn't even be her house very soon. They were having her move away! Out of state! Even if it was only a two hour long drive, the odds of her seeing any of the other girls again was very low.

Soon her physical exhaustion caught up to her and Marcy had to stop to catch her breath. She happened to stop at the Gravesfield Historical Society building, resting up against a window near the main door where she pressed her arm against it and her head against her arm as she continued to cry. Was this it? Was she really going to have to say goodbye to the girls? Anne and Sasha, whom she's known all her life since kindergarten, and Luz… Oh, Luz… She may have known her a shorter time than the others, but Marcy had formed such a strong connection to Luz… a girl who was very much like her, a true kindred spirit… and now she may very well have to say goodbye to her too.

As she looked up slightly, looking into the window of the building, she saw an open cardboard box that the words 'new items to put on display' written on the front. There was an assortment of old artifacts inside the box, but the one that stood out… the one at the very top… was none other than a music box with frog and tree engravings and three colorful gems at the top.

"That's weird… is that…?" Marcy pulled out her phone to look at her recent photo, the one that she took at the library with a picture of the Calamity Box. Looking between the picture and the item in question, she could see that they were identical. There was no way that was the real deal, right? Marcy found herself drawn again to the writing that was on the picture next to the box in her photo 'travel to other worlds.'"

A text message then appeared on her screen, from Luz. The message read 'Are you still going to Anne's party? I want to tell you and the others something.'

She honestly had no idea if this would work. Maybe it was her being desperate not to lose her best friends… but if there was a chance to still be with them… she was going to take it and fight for it.

"Luz, you are not gonna believe this." Marcy read her own text aloud as she typed and took a picture of the music box before sending both to Luz.

The response came only a few seconds later. 'Is that what I think it is?'

"You bet." Marcy said aloud as she typed her response. "Meet me and the other girls at this address. I think it'll make a great birthday gift for Anne." She sent the message, which also included the address of the building.

Luz responded soon after. 'See you soon.' There was even an emoji that had a smiling face with a tongue sticking out.

---

At the same time, Anne and Sasha were both hanging out at a café. Having spent the whole afternoon partying and enjoying themselves, the two sat back as they drank some fancy smoothies while kicking their feet up against the table as Anne wore a pair of starshaped sunglasses and Sasha had pink shutter shades.

Anne slurped her drink. "So that's what a unicorn tastes like: corn syrup." She said aloud before getting a text. It was from her mom, and it read 'Where are you? Party starts in fifteen minutes!'

"Oh, shoot! It's almost six o'clock! I gotta go, dude!" Anne stood up from her chair immediately, but Sasha just continued to casually slurp her smoothie.

"Family party, right? Lame. Let me guess? A clown? With balloon animals?" Sasha cracked, tipping her shades down with a teasing grin.

Anne blushed in embarrassment. "I know it's not the coolest, but this is important to them. And they said they had a cool gift for me. Plus, Luz is gonna be there too, and she said she wanted to give me her present."

Sasha groaned slightly at the mention of that one girl, but soon got a text of her own, and it seemed to be from Marcy. "Oh my gosh, Marcy says she found her birthday gift for you downtown." She texted her 'LOL' reply with a laughing emoji before showing the picture that was sent to her of that particular music box. "Ha! A frog music box for the frog lover. Huh, I wonder if those gems are real." She got up and began to push Anne out the door. "Come on, let's keep this party train rolling! Choo-choo!"

Anne, however, didn't seem all that eager. "Sorry, dude. You don't understand, I really gotta go." But that didn't sit well with Sasha one bit.

"Oh, I understand, Anne. You're a good little girl who's gotta go home to her mommy and daddy." She said in a more mocking sort of tone than teasing. "Come on, hang out with your friends that love you. As in, the real friends you've known since kindergarten."

"Sasha, I'd really like to, but…" Anne tried, only for Sasha to raise her hand up and interrupt her.

"Anne, this isn't cute anymore. We're meeting up with Marcy, right now. End. Of. Discussion." The blonde said in a low and dangerous tone with narrowed eyes.

Anne almost backed away on instinct. This was the same kind of tone that Sasha gave Luz back when they wrote their story, and now it was being aimed at her. Suddenly feeling so much smaller than before, Anne conceded.

"I… I guess it's okay if I'm a little bit late…" Anne winced with a semi-scared smile.

"Boom, I knew you'd change your mind." Sasha put on her friendly persona as she grabbed Anne's hand and led her out of the coffee shop.

"At least let me text my parents and Luz that I'll be late. I don't want them to be worried." The Thai girl requested.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go." The blonde waved of as she continued to lead Anne away.

---

"Got a text from Anne." Bee said as he looked at his phone and walked into the kitchen. "Said she met up with the girls, so she might be a bit late."

"Really?" Oum looked unimpressed as she set the table with all kinds of sweets with balloons and even a cake that read 'Happy Birthday' on it with two candles shaped like the numbers one and four. "She's always late, you'd think she'd be on time to her own birthday party." She slumped in disappointment as she sat down at the table.

"Hey, cut her some slack." Bee said in a more relaxed manner. "It's also the last day of school for her, I'm sure she's fine if she spends some time with her friends. And she said she'd be here soon." He sat down next to his wife and put his hand on her shoulder. "I also told her that she'd love the surprise we got for her." He pulled out three tickets from his pocket. "As in, the plane tickets to Galactic Studios. I got her a little bit excited for this before sending her off to school today, so I don't think she's gonna ditch out."

Oum sighed with a small smile. "You're right. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"So, um…?" Both parents looked to the clown who was standing in the corner of the kitchen. "Do you want balloon animals?" He asked awkwardly.

"Can you do a spider?" Bee asked with an excited smile.

---

Luz carried a pre-packed duffle bag filled with all her stuff as she made her way towards the address that Marcy had texted her. Double checking to make sure she had the completed Domino doll that she made for Anne and putting it into her pocket, she felt she could at least give Anne her birthday gift here and break the news to her friends that she won't be spending the summer with them. After this, she'd probably make the bus and head off to camp. Despite the offer from her mom in wanting to drive her the next day, Luz didn't feel like she wanted to talk to her mom right now.

She soon arrived at the building, Gravesfield Historical Society, where she spotted Sasha and Marcy looking into a window. "Guys!" She called to them as she ran up to join them.

Sasha rolled her eyes as she heard Luz's voice. Of course, Marcy invited her. "What's going on?" Luz asked as she met up with them. "And where's A...Mmp!" Sasha put her hand over her mouth to quiet her.

"Sssh." She hushed before pointing inside the window where Luz looked to see Anne tip-toeing near the front desk of the lobby, which had an elderly woman sleeping at it, towards the opened box that had the music box at the top.

'Whoa… It really is the box…' Luz recognized it from the book as she looked to Marcy who simply nodded with a strangely mysterious smile, the kind of smile that Luz had never seen on her face before. But… what was Anne doing?

'Alright Anne, you can do this…' The girl thought nervously, being careful not to speak and awaken the sleeping old lady, who was probably the current manager of the building. She took the music box in her hands, turned around to the window to see Marcy smiling with Sasha giving her a double thumbs up, but she also saw Luz who looked in confusion.

And that confusion turned into shock as she saw Anne open her backpack and stuff the music box into it before quickly making her way out of the building, where she bolted, with the other girls running after her.

After making enough distance on the sidewalk, the girls all stopped as Anne took a second to catch her breath. "I can't believe I just did that…"

"Anne… Did… did you just steal that?!" Luz exclaimed, causing Anne to wince.

"Oh, calm down, Luz. It's not like it was for sale or anything." Sasha brushed off.

"It's still stealing! That's wrong! We could get into serious trouble for that!" Luz proclaimed. "Marcy, help me out here!" However, after not getting any sort of response, Luz looked to Marcy, who only had a mysterious expression that said she was both excited and nervous. "Marcy…?"

"Well… we have it… might as well take a closer look?" Marcy said, much to Luz's own surprise.

Anne opened her backpack and took out the box again for all four girls to get a closer look. "Huh, those gems do look real." Sasha said, looking impressed. "Wonder how much they're worth."

Luz took the box into her own hands and got a good look at it herself, looking around without even opening it before being drawn to the three colored gems, the crystals that shined bright blue, pink, and green. However, for a brief moment, she saw a swirl of yellow energy inside the blue gem, before it moved into the pink and then the green, almost like something was moving inside the gems, before vanishing.

"What was that…?" Luz muttered.

"What was what?" Anne asked.

Luz looked at the gems again, even pressing her eyes against it, but didn't seem to see anything. "Nothing… probably just a light reflection or something."

"Alright so… what do we do with this anyway?" Anne asked.

"I think we can get a good few hundred bucks if we sold it on Amazon or something." Sasha suggested.

"Well, not before we see what's inside." Marcy suggested. "But not here. How about… we open it at that old house? Ya know? The one behind Luz's home?"

"Why there?" Luz herself asked in confusion.

"Cause it's got a dark and mysterious feel to it." Marcy explained. "And this box also feels dark and mysterious. I'd say it fits."

'Plus, if we get busted… maybe we can say it was all Luz's idea.' Sasha thought. 'She could get into trouble, maybe grounded for the rest of the summer, and I'd be in control again.' Though Sasha did feel somewhat bad about doing this to Luz, she was a nice girl and Sasha did like her… but sometimes, you need to give a little tough love to make sure everyone stays in line.

"Alright, let's do it." Sasha said as she and Marcy pulled onto Anne and Luz's hands respectively and led them away, all the while Anne and Luz looked to each other nervously, unsure about this little development.

---

Sometime later, the girls, making sure to sneak around Luz's house so her mother wouldn't notice, had managed to make it to the old house, not noticing a certain owl that has been frequently visiting this area was hiding within the trees, carrying a bag of stuff in its talons.

Though the owl noticed something fall out of one of the girl's pockets, and it looked like a little doll of an Earth-creature. The owl hopped a bit out in the open, not being noticed by the four human girls, to inspect the doll, picking it up with its beak. Perhaps its owner could find some use for it. It then turned its attention to the girls as they stood in front of the old house, the one with messy hair sitting on the steps that led up to the open doorway and pulling out an odd-looking box.

This could be a small problem. The doorway was open, and if any of them happened to stumble inside… Maybe if it just let them be, they would get done what they needed to get done here and walk away. But in the worst case, it could distract them and lead them away from the house before flying back in. Humans weren't flyers and the owl knew this human forest well enough to lose the girls if they decided to chase him. But for now, it was just going to observe, and it seemed like they didn't even notice him.

"Okay, let's open this dang thing!" Marcy encouraged.

"Eh, it's probably filled with dust or cobwebs or something…" Sasha brushed off.

"We won't know till we open it though." Marcy still encouraged, a bit more eagerly than before, while also feeling incredibly nervous too.

Anne looked ready to open the box. "Wait…!" Luz stopped her. "Before you do anything, there's something I want to…" Luz reached into her pocket to pull out Anne's gift, only to feel her pocket was empty. "Huh? Where is it? I know I had it…"

"Had what?" Anne asked.

"Your birthday gift! It was right here! I just…" Luz looked around on the ground, walking away from the girls before finally noticing the owl. "Wait… I know you…" She recognized that owl from their sleepover, but more importantly, it had the Domino Doll in its beak. "Hey! That's not yours!" She ran after the owl.

"Whoa, Luz! Wait!" Anne stood up, dropping the box, but as it landed on its back, the box had opened up in front of her, Sasha, and Marcy.

What happened next was something nobody expected. Luz and the owl's attention was drawn by a bright light that came from the box, which shined in front of the surprised Anne, Marcy, and Sasha… right before a flash of blue, pink, and green illuminated the whole area.

---

Number Five had finally made it to Bonesborough. It took a couple of days, but she, along with Three and Four, were able to sneak into the city and avoid detection from the Emperor's Coven. As per their plan, once they entered the city, they decided to split up so that Five could better locate the Owl Lady. She again hated to be on her own for this, but also knew that Three and Four were right in that they stood out as a group and would better blend in as individuals, even if they were shapeshifters.

Using her natural ability, Five shifted between various demon and witch forms while moving between buildings before she made her way to the market place where witches and demons would sell their stuff and make an earning.

Taking the form of a bi-pedal demon with red skin, Number Five had found a stand with a sign that read 'human collectibles'. Only the Owl Lady would sell stuff from the Human Realm. This was her stand, but where was she? Nobody appeared to be running it. She then spotted a small sign on the table that read 'In the can. Back in five.'

"Not here…? I guess I could wait inside…" Five muttered as she snuck into the tent that had all kinds of human stuff in it and finally dropped her disguise before sitting in-between some boxes.

---

Earth

Luz had covered her face from the blinding light, while the owl did the same with one of its wings. And when it all faded, Luz looked with a startled shock to see that all three of her friends, as well as the music box, had vanished completely.

"Guys…? Guys?!" Luz ran to the spot where they were standing at two minutes ago, and all she could see was a large scorch mark on the ground. Other than that, her friends were gone with no trace at all. "Marcy! Anne! Sasha!" She tried to call to them, but there was no response, much to her worry.

"Hoot."

Turning around, Luz was drawn to the owl once more as it put the Domino doll into a bag full of stuff before it hopped across the ground towards the old house.

"Hey! Get back here!" Luz ran after it, carrying her duffle bag full of her stuff. She had no idea if this owl was somehow involved in her friends disappearing, but something was screaming inside her to go after it. The owl hopped into the doorway with its bag of stuff, with Luz right behind.

But the second she entered the doorway, the door itself closed on its own, before a flash of golden light was seen inside.

---

Number Five's attention was caught by the sudden appearance of a tall doorway that had appeared to have folded into existence, one that was brown with a doorknob in the middle and a giant yellow eye with a black slit pupil at the top.

The door had opened as an owl with a bag had hopped into the tent, followed by… a human girl?!

"Stop adorably hoping away you…!" Luz stopped for a brief moment, looking around at the surrounding environment, prompting Five immediately to use her powers to change her appearance into that of a statue resembling natural self, right before Luz set her eyes on her, and continued to look around, thinking it was just a statue.

Despite being in a cage all of her life, Number Five had overheard some conversations between the guards about humans. Creatures that looked like witches, but with differently shaped ears, and unable to use any kind of magic power.

'A human? Here?' Five thought before looking at the doorway, being careful to remain absolutely still so this human would pass her of as a statue. 'So, this is how the Owl Lady gets all this human stuff. She travels to the Human Realm. Maybe that's also how she has managed to hide from the Emperor's Coven for so long. Maybe she spends most of her time in the Human Realm. Hmm, I wonder…' An idea was soon coming to the Basilisk.

Luz looked all over the tent in confusion. "This… this isn't the house I was in…" She picked up something that looked like a doll with a coat hanger attached to a baby's head, and a lizard body and a fork hand. "And Sasha said I had weird stuff…"

"Finally, you're back!" A voice called from outside. "And just when I got out of the can, too."

Gasping, Luz quietly made her way to the entrance to the tent and opened it up slightly to see what appeared to be a woman on the other side. Luz couldn't quite see her face, but she had long gray hair and ivory skin. The woman wore a sleeveless, two-toned maroon dress with a ripped hem, brown tights around her legs, and a pair of maroon high-heeled ankle boots, a gold spherical ring in her left hand, and a green headband tied over her hair to cover her ears.

"Alright, let's see what we got here." The woman addressed the owl as it set atop a wooden staff she was holding. The woman then twisted the owl onto her staff, before it looked like the owl actually became part of the staff, causing Luz to gasp in shock…

The girl didn't seem to notice Number Five had changed back to normal and quietly slithered behind her to look at the still-open portal with a contemplating expression.

The woman then began to look through the bag, pulling out a smartphone first. "Garbage." She thew it away before pulling out a diamond ring next. "Garbage." She threw that away too and pulled out what looked like the Holy Grail. "Garbage." That was thrown away as well, but the woman gasped at what else she found inside. "Now this…" She pulled out a pair of novelty gag glasses with springy-eyes, which she wore herself to reveal that she had golden eyes, and a small golden fang coming from the right side of her mouth. "This will make me rich!" She then reached into the bag to pull out the Domino doll. "And this? Eh, this will make good kindling." She put the doll near a candle, with smoke already coming from it.

Luz gave a horrified gasp as she ran out to snatch the doll back. "Scuse me! Sorry! That's mine! Thank you!" She ran back into the tent, much to the woman's shock. But as she did, she happened to literally bump into Number Five, causing her to fall to the ground while the Basilisk fell into the open portal. Luz tried to get up herself, only to watch the portal door fold in on itself and close up, taking the form of a suit case, while the gray-haired woman held a key of similar design with a golden eye at the base, apparently controlling the portal door.

"You're not going anywhere!" She said seriously, taking off the novelty glasses.

---

Number Five stumbled out of the doorway of the old house and onto the ground bellow. "Ow…" She muttered as she held her head and looked around at this new location. "What…?" This wasn't Boonesborough. Looking up around at the surrounding trees, despite the day ending and growing darker, she saw that the trees were green as opposed to red… Wait… was this the Human Realm? Did she get pushed into a whole new world?!

The Basilisk slithered back up to the doorway and looked inside to see not the tent she was just in, but the remains of an old house. The portal must have been closed behind her. But what about Three and Four?

"Luz?!" She heard someone call out. "Where are you?!"

Gasping, Number Five changed her appearance into that of the human girl she just saw just as an unfamiliar human woman stepped out into the clearing.

"Luz?!" Camilla noticed the individual whom she thought was her daughter. "Oh, there you are. Back from Anne's party?"

"Eh… yeah." The disguised Number Five answered, turning around with a forced smile and speaking in Luz's voice. "All done with that super fun party, fellow human! Um… Skin's not shedding…" She pulled her on her skin for emphasis, trying to keep up the act.

"Huh, must have been some party." Camilla said as she approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I know I probably could have handled that surprise better, and I'm sorry. But, I did some looking and as it turns out, there's a Rainforest Hotel on way to the camp." Camilla pulled out her phone to show a map. "You always wanted to spend the night there when you were little. So, how about the two of us go there, have a nice time before we go to the camp on the next day." She offered her hand.

Number Five wasn't quite sure what half of that stuff meant, but this human seemed nice… way nicer than any demons or witches that she's met before. Though she was leaving Numbers Four and Three behind, they were prepared to go off without her if asking the Owl Lady for help didn't turn out the way she had hoped. And they were smart enough to handle themselves. Maybe this could be a safe place for her. With a smile, the disguised basilisk accepted the woman's hand.

---

Meanwhile, the real Luz stumbled out of the tent she was in with her duffle bag and made it outside. Stopping at the edge of a cliff, the young girl gasped at the city that laid out in front of her. The buildings and houses were all shaped abnormally, some even looked like they had body parts to them like large mouths or even hands, several even appeared to be even made out of giant bones. She happened to spot a giant flying dragon-like creature moving through the sky, which was a purplish red as opposed to blue like back home, and suddenly get yanked out by one of the giant arms she saw.

Looking down, the girl saw all the denizens of this strange city and they were just as strange themselves. Creatures of all shapes and sizes that went about the day like it was just an average Monday. Some looked humanoid but had extra arms, or eyes, or mouths on various parts of their bodies, some looked like giant bugs, and others looked like enormous monsters.

"Oh, no-no-no-no…! What's going on?!" Luz backed away in fright. She gave a startled gasp as what appeared to be a cute little fairy fly up to her. But it seemed cute enough for her to lower her guard slightly. "Oh, hello little fairy. Are you going to tell me that this is all just a fantastical dream?"

The fairy's mouth suddenly opened to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. "Give me your skin!"

With a scream, Luz slapped the fairy down. "Where am I? Did I die!? Am I in… the bad place…?"

She stiffened as the gray-haired woman's hand was firmly set on her shoulder. "You wish."

Luz was dropped onto the chair in front of the woman's stand as the girl curled up in fright. "I'm so sorry, I just wanted the birthday gift I made for a friend! If you're gonna eat my skin, just make it quick!" She offered her arm and looked away in a panic. "Just do it now!"

"Eat you?" The older woman questioned. "Why would I eat… A potential customer?" She asked enthusiastically, much to Luz's own surprise as she saw the woman pull out various objects. "Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes?" She held a single croc shoe. "A bar of green human candy?" She offered a stick of men's deodorant. "Oh? How about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" She showed an old television that looked like it was from the late eighties or early nineties.

Luz gave something of a relieved laugh. "That's not all it can do. Here, let me see it." She pressed the button to see if it worked, and when it didn't, she looked around for the battery case and saw that it had no batteries. Fortunately, she spotted a pair of batteries in a bowl filled with other objects that was labeled 'human candy! (?)'. She put the batteries in and pressed the power button, turning on the television to show an old workout video with music. "Viola!"

The music ended up drawing the attention of several other nearby demons.

"Huh?"

"Wait, what's that?"

"That sound… it's so alluring…"

Already they had a gathering of demons to see the source of the sound and were immediately invested in it.

"I'll pay forty snails for the screaming box!" One demon held out his money.

"I'll give you a hundred!" Another demon offered.

"Can I eat the tiny person inside?" A third demon asked.

The woman blinked in surprise as she saw crowd of demons that were offering up their money. She'd never have a crowd like this before. "What did you say your name was?" She asked the girl next to her.

"I'm Luz. Luz Noceda." She introduced herself.

"Well Luz, that was pretty clever… for a human." The woman said as she began collecting her customers' money.

"That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say." Luz commented.

"Oh, dear child, I'm not like you." The woman took off her headband to reveal a pair of sharp pointy ears with orange spherical earrings. "I'm Eda Clawthorne the Owl Lady!" She proclaimed as she stood up on her own table. "The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!"

"A witch…?" Luz looked in surprise and amazement. Did she hear that right? Was this lady a witch? A real-life witch?

"I am respected…! Feared…!" The witch named Eda continued.

"Busted!" A rather large and muscular individual clad in black and grey clothing, with pointed masks, and quipped with a sword arrived on the scene to smash the small television with his fist.

"It's a Coven Guard! Run!" One demon exclaimed in fear, causing the crowd to scatter, screaming while Luz fell on her back in surprise as Eda hopped from the table to confront the guard.

"Edalyn Clawthorne, also known as the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!" The Coven Guard showed a wanted poster of Eda along with a smaller creature by her side, and a rather large reward at the bottom.

Luz gasped slightly. "Whoa! Witch criminal!" She kept her head down but found herself thoroughly invested in this exchange.

"You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium!" The Guard grabbed Eda by her arm, but she quickly yanked it back.

"Would you guys quit following me around?! I haven't done squat!" She crossed her arms.

"And you're coming, too!" The Coven Guard picked up Luz by the hood. "For fraternizing with a criminal!"

"What?! I don't even know what's going on!" Luz tried to pull herself free, but the Guard held firmly.

Eda glared at that. Were they seriously gonna arrest this kid just for standing next to her? "Alright, alright, you win! Just let me get my stuff…" She looked like she was about to reach down and grab something, but quickly pulled out her owl staff and slammed it across the Coven Guard's face, knocking him down and causing him to drop Luz.

Spinning her staff, Eda slammed the end of it on the ground, causing an aura of golden magic to spread to all of her stuff at her stand. Luz picked herself up to watch all the objects that Eda was selling levitate. Was that magic? Actual magic?

'This… this lady really is a witch…!'

"Whoops. Can't forget this." Eda reached into her hair to pull out the key to the portal door, pressing on the eye like a button, which caused the portal, still in it's closed brief-case form, to join in with the rest of her supplies, before it was all wrapped up in a green sack and tied around her staff. "Follow me, human!" She told Luz as she ran, causing Luz to pick up her duffle bag and ran alongside Eda.

"This is crazy…! If I die here, my mom's gonna kill me!" Luz exclaimed.

"Ha, I won't let em hurt you." Eda said. "A human like you has much more value to me alive than dead."

"Wait… what's that supposed to mean…?" Luz didn't even get a response as Eda hooked her arm with Luz's and leapt up with a cheer, mounting on her staff with Luz as the owl at the front expanded its wings and they all took off to the sky.

"You won't get away with this, Owl Lady!" The Coven Guard called to her, but she and her new human companion were already long gone. "Yeah, alright. You did. You got away with it." He muttered. "She got away with it, everybody! Typical." He said before walking away.

---

Luz clung onto her own duffle bag for dear life, her eyes closed shut with tears coming out of them. "You can open your eyes now, human." Opening them up slowly, Luz looked in shock to see that she was actually flying, riding on the staff that this Eda-lady was controlling. She almost lost her balance, but was able to grab onto the staff with one hand and slung her bag over her shoulder before clutching onto the staff with her other hand.

"Flying staffs…. Crazy monsters… you're a witch… what is this place?!" Luz questioned as she looked around at the world she now dwelled in. The land below had red foliage as opposed to green and was decorated by giant bones, and she could see a vast ocean out in the distance.

"This is the Demon Realm, kiddo." Eda explained. "And right now, we're in the Boiling Isles: the skeleton of what was once a mighty titan, now the home of every kind of monster and witch you can think of. Every myth you humans have is caused by a little bit of our world leaking into yours."

Luz continued to look around as she saw various flying creatures fly alongside them, and one happened to be a very large creature that she recognized instantly from Greek mythology. "A Griffin!" She looked in amazement. The might creature opened its mouth to produce a swarm of spiders. "I knew it!"

"Yep, griffins, vampires, giraffes…" Eda listed off, but the last one left Luz confused.

"Wait, giraffes?" The girl asked as the witch directed her staff towards the ground.

"Yep. We banished those guys a long time ago. Bunch of freaks." Eda commented, and Luz shakily got off, the staff vanishing into the owl as it hooted to life again and flew to Eda's shoulder.

"Wow… wonder what Marcy would say about all this…?" Luz wondered aloud, but gasped with realization. "Marcy! Oh my god! I forgot! Eda-lady!" Luz pointed to her, getting her attention.

"It's just 'Eda', kid." The woman corrected

"You said that this world leaks into Earth, right?! Well, what about a magic music box?!" Luz asked in a panic.

"A music box...? What...?" Eda looked in confusion.

"Yeah, a box that can travel to other worlds!" Luz went on. "I thought it was just some myth, but apparently not cause myths are real! Magic is real! And my friends are gone! I got no idea where they are! Are they here in this world, or some other world!?" She gasped in horror. "What if they did end up in Asgard! The realm from the original myth is nothing like the comics! Or worse, they ended up in the bad place…!"

"Whoa, whoa, kid!" Eda grabbed Luz by the shoulders. "Take a breath." She said firmly before speaking more gently. "Now, take your time, and just start from the beginning, cause I got no clue what you're saying."

Taking a couple of seconds to calm herself down, Luz began to explain. "Okay. Back home, I've got three other friends. Marcy, Anne, and Sasha." Luz reached into her duffle bag and pulled out the BFF picture that was taken of all four girls when she first met them and handed it to Eda, who took it to get a good look at it herself. "Right before I came here, we found something called a Calamity Box. A book in a library back on Earth said it was a way to travel to other worlds, Marcy and I just thought it was some goofy folklore or something. But… when we opened it… there was a flash of light and my friends were gone… the box too."

"Hoot." The owl on Eda's shoulder surprising her as she heard his own account of the situation.

"You saw all that too?" The woman asked.

"Hoot." The owl replied.

"Wait… you can understand him?" Luz asked in surprise.

"Yep. Owlbert here is a Palisman." Eda explained. "Basically, a magical companion that a witch or demon can have, and also turns into a staff. And he just said that he saw the whole thing too with those friends of yours vanishing. So, what does this box thing look like?"

"Well, it vanished too, but I got a picture of it." Luz pulled up the picture of the music box that Marcy had texted to her and showed it Eda, who handed Luz back her photo to take the phone and get a closer look.

"Hmm…" The witch narrowing her eyes somewhat dramatically before giving her answer. "Nope, never seen it before."

"What?!" Luz exclaimed as she took her phone back. "But you just said this world 'leaks' into mine! And you got a way to go to Earth!"

"That doesn't mean I know every possible way to go to your world." Eda replied. "And you just said that this box-thing is a way to travel to different worlds, plural. And as far as I know, I don't know anything about any other worlds. So they could be somewhere else entirely."

Luz looked away in sadness, that did make sense. But this also meant that she had no idea where her friends were or what happened to them. She didn't even know if they were okay, and that terrified her.

Seeing her distress, Eda's expression softened somewhat. "But… maybe we can look into it." That got Luz's attention again. "Just because I don't know anything about it, doesn't mean there's no answers. Tell you what, you help me with a problem I've got going on, and I'll help you with your problem. Follow me." She waved her hand, causing her bag to levitate magically as she led Luz in a certain direction, with the girl cautiously following behind her with her own bag.

They soon appeared before a certain building which was in the structure of a two-story house made from white brick, built around an old castle tower. What stood out the most about this house was a large stained-glass window near the top that was shaped almost exactly like the eye on the portal door, with a wind-arrow at the roof alongside a wooden carving that resembled an owl.

Luz stopped to look at the house in amazement before catching up with Eda as she made her way to the front door.

"Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?" She asked.

"Nope. My house has a state-of-the-art defense system." Eda answered.

"Hoot, hoot." Said defense system spoke up, which was revealed to be a living owl face that was part of the front door, much to Luz's further surprise. "Password please. Ow!" He was poked in the eyes by Eda.

"We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in." Eda told him.

"Alright, alright, jeez!" The creature named Hooty replied irritably. "You never wanna have any fun. Ow. Hoot." Hooty opened his mouth so widely and so largely that it encompassed the whole door, allowing the two entrance as they stepped inside with their respective bags before Hooty closed his mouth, and the door by extension, followed by a burp.

---

"Welcome to the Owl House!" Eda snapped her fingers, causing all the candles in the room to light up, as well as the fire place, followed by a nearby broom to sweep up and a cauldron to stir its contents, automatically via magic. And even a carving of a flying demon glowed to further illuminate the living room which was decorated with various demonic and human relics, along with a red-lined couch and a coffee table in front. "Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life. Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends." She laughed at that last part.

Luz looked around in awe and amazement and awe. This wasn't exactly like any wizard's chambers that she read about in her books, but it was still amazing none the less. "This place is beautiful… Marcy would definitely love it. Do you live here all alone?"

Suddenly there was an ominous stomp from a nearby room that was inching ever closer. "Actually, I have a roommate." Eda said with lowered eye-lids as Luz anxiously turned to the entrance way of a nearby hall where the source of the stomps drew ever closer.

"Who dares intrude upon I… the King of Demons!" The source was none other than a tiny little creature with black and dark grey fur, little claws on his hands and feet and a furry tail, and a skull for a face with large red eyes with yellow sclerae. Currently he wore a red collar with a gold tag, along with a towel at his lower body and over his skull head, having just gotten out of the bath, and had a rubber ducky in his hands, which he squeaked.

Luz gave an audible gasp as her eyes widened her cheeks blushed. "¡Ay, que lindo!" She immediately ran up and scooped the little creature, the towels coming off to reveal his pointy horn on the right side of his skull-head, while the left one was broken off near the base. "Eda, he is so cute!" She nuzzled him with her face before looking at him with cutesy eyes. "Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?" She hugged him tightly.

"No! I don't know who your little guy is!" King exclaimed in a panic as he struggled to escape Luz's hug. "Eda! Who is this monster?!"

"Oh this is Luz, the human." Eda answered as she pulled Luz away, who kept trying to reach for the adorable little critter. "She's here to help us with our… situation."

"Oh, hooray." King said elatedly.

"Wait, what situation exactly?" Luz asked with concern, not liking the sound of it. "I kinda got my own situation going on, remember?"

"Alright, let me explain." Eda began as she spun her hands around, generating a magic circle that showed still-moving images to illustrate the story she would tell. "King here was once a mighty king of demons." The still-image showed a giant monstrous version of King that had a crown on his head. "Until his crown of power was stolen, and he became… this." She gestured to his tiny form.

"You mean this little bundle of joy?" Luz gushed as she picked up King again, much to his dismay.

"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath." Eda continued, the still-image showing said crown being held by a very large and very imposing individual before moving down to reveal a glowing barrier with a single person standing in front of it. "And locked away by a special forcefield that prevents any and all magical creatures from entering. But as a human…" She pointed to Luz. "You don't have any internal magic power, so you should be able to pass through the barrier with no issue." The magic circle vanished. "If you help us retrieve King's crown, we'll help you find your friends and learn more about that box-thing. So, what do you say? Plus, who could say no to this cute face?" She picked up King and showed his face for emphasis.

"No! Please don't encourage her!" King squealed before Eda put him down.

Luz thought for a moment, wondering what the others would think right now. Sasha would probably turn her down unless something valuable was offered in return, Anne might be more cautious about it, and Marcy would jump in without hesitation. But Luz had no idea where any of them were, and it's not like anybody on Earth would believe her if she told them what happened with the music box. But here, in this world of magic, maybe she could find out more about the box and what happened to her friends, and it's not like she had any other options.

"Okay, I'm in." Luz nodded.

"That's the spirit." Eda grinned before picking up Luz and carrying her over her shoulder. "Now come on, there's no time to lose."

King then picked up his rubber duck. "Soon, Mr. Ducky! We shall drink the fear of those who mocked us!" He said before following them.

"Where are we going?" Luz asked as she was carried outside.

"Somewhere super fun!" Eda answered.

---

Sometime later, the group arrived at their destination, a tall and imposing fortress complete with a thunderclap in the sky.

"The Conformatorium." Eda explained to Luz, who looked freaked out as she, Eda, and King were around the corner of an adjacent building. "A place for those considered 'unsuitable' for society." She said, looking away in disgust.

Luz noticed yet another wanted poster of Eda on the wall next to her and got a good look at it, and the very high reward on the bottom. "Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you."

"Yep." Eda said with pride. "But we were never caught because we're too slippery."

"Try to catch me while I'm covered in grease. I'm a squirmy little fella." King said, sitting atop of Luz's head before slipping off and fell to the ground. "Weh!" He exclaimed upon landing, but got up quickly enough. "You and I will sneak up to the top of the tower where they're holding my crown."

"And I'm gonna make sure the warden's distracted." Eda added.

Luz gasped with excitement. "Will I need a disguise?"

"Um…?" Eda didn't quite have an answer for that. On one hand, it would benefit them if Wrath and his goons didn't suspect a magicless human was with them, but she didn't exactly bring anything with them for Luz to wear as a disguise.

"Anne and Marcy always loved this." Luz pulled up her cat hood. "Meow, meow!" She said as she flicked the cat ears up.

"It's hideous." King said bluntly.

"Oh, you'll blend right in." Eda grinned as she slammed the bottom of her staff on the ground, creating a golden circular magic platform underneath Luz and King, right before it levitated straight upwards. "Hang on tight." She told the two as she sat on her staff and flew up herself.

Eda directed the magic platform as close to the top of the tower as she could and brought it right to a window, allowing Luz to leap forward and grab the edge while King held onto her legs.

"Meet you kids inside." Eda said as she flew into the prison.

King climbed up Luz's body and into the window right before Luz climbed in herself, but slipped on the way in and landed face-first on the floor.

"Ha, ha! Cats don't do that!" King laughed.

Luz pushed herself up and looked around at the massive inside of the prison. The inside of the structure appeared to have several levels of circular floors where cells lined all across the round walls, and nearly all of them appeared to be filled with a large number of demons and witches.

"Hey, cat lady!" Turning around, Luz spotted a witch that looked almost completely human, save for the fangs and ears. She had dark skin with black hair tied back in a ponytail with a few tuffs sticking out from the front, as well as hazel-colored eyes. Her attire consisted of an indigo-colored dress and black calf-length, heel-high boots. "How'd you get out of your cell?"

"I was never in a cell." Luz took off her hood to reveal her human ears, much to the woman's surprise. "Name's Luz, and I'm not a criminal."

"Not yet you're not." King told her, hanging onto Luz's shoulder.

"Katya." The witch introduced herself. "And we're not criminals, either! The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. Like, I write fanfics of food falling in love." She pulled out a book and opened it to reveal pictures of food dancing and being in love with one another even as they boil in a cooking pot. "I like food, I like love, just let me write about it!"

The cell on her right contained a large, white-skinned demon with several holes in his face, and half of them were filled with eyes. "I'm here, cause I like eating my own eyes." He pulled out one of his eyeballs and swallowed it whole.

"But aren't you hurting yourself?" Luz questioned.

"Nope. They just pop back in." The eyeball demon said as the same eyeball he swallowed appeared in the same hole he pulled it out of. "It doesn't hurt me or anybody else."

"We are agents of fwee expwession!" They will never siwence us!" A tiny demon spoke from the cell on Katya's left. She was rather tiny, so much so that her body consisted only of her head with arms and legs, as well as a large nose and two buck teeth. She had white skin, orange hair, and blue eyes with yellow sclera.

"Yeah, Tiny Nose over there is really big into conspiracy theories." Katya summed up and rolled her eyes.

"The world is a simulation! We are but playthings for a higher being!" Tiny Nose went on.

"Wait… has… anyone here committed any actual crimes?!" Luz questioned, gesturing to the whole prison.

"Some, probably. The rest of us… not so much." Katya answered.

"Are you kidding me…?!" Luz exclaimed. "Even in a magic world people hate others just because they're different?!" This was just the same back on Earth, people hating other people because they were different. She reached into her pocket to pull out not only the wanted poster of Eda, but also the BFF photograph of herself and all her friends. They were all weird… all different… like her.

The sounds of large stomps were heard from the other side of a door and it only grew closer by the second.

"It's Warden Wrath!" Katya warned. "Hide!"

Accidentally dropping both pictures, Luz ran into a nearby empty cell with King still riding on her and quickly pulled the barred gate down while also hiding around the corner to avoid being seen just as Warden Wrath entered the room.

He was a very large and muscular individual. His skin appeared to be purple, evident by his visible and enormous arms. He wore a dark grey cowl, a white sleeveless tunic, black trousers and dark purple shoes. But his most unsettling piece of clothing was his mask, which resembled that of a plague doctor with yellow button-like lenses, that made it resemble something of a mosquito's face.

"I can hear you." The large demon said in a deep voice as he stomped his way closer, causing Luz to hold King tightly as she kept herself as deep in the shadows of her spot as she could, careful not to make a single sound. "Just what are you fools whispering about?" Looking down he noticed the wanted poster of Eda, as well as the BFF picture. "Hmm, the Owl Lady." He picked up both in his hand, looking curiously at the picture of the four children he didn't recognize before putting it away. He then clenched the wanted poster tightly in his hand, which morphed into a mallet that he slammed into the gate of the cell Luz hid in, bending the bars, much to her own horror. "I'll get my hands on her, soon enough."

"Fight against the oppwessor!" Tiny Nose called out as Warden Wrath walked closer to her cell. "We will wesist! We will conquer! We will never be afwaid of you, you old cweep!"

Warden Wrath pulled up on the lever on the side, causing the cell door to open.

"Hooway! I'm fwee!" Tiny Nose celebrated, only to squeal as Wrath grabbed her tightly with one hand, covering her mouth in the process.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you!" Wrath pointed to the other prisoners. "You are all different. Abnormal. You will never fit into this perfect society that our Emperor has created." He said before stomping his way out, carrying Tiny Nose with him and slammed the door shut.

Once she made sure he was gone, Luz pulled up on her cell door and left, with King riding on the back of her head as she went straight for the level at Katya's cell. "Don't worry. I'll get you out." She tried pulling up on the lever, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on…! Move…!"

"Don't waste your time, kid." Katya told her dejectedly. "Only someone as strong as Wrath can lift that. Get out before he sees you."

"What about you guys?" Luz questioned with worry.

"You heard him, there's no place in the world for people like us. Just go." Katya replied as she sat at the back of her cell and hung in defeat. Luz then looked to the Eyeball demon and saw that he was in the same position, huddled in the corner and eating his own eyeballs. Looking around, she saw that all the other demons and witches that were imprisoned here also had defeated expressions on their faces.

And with a defeated sigh of her own, Luz left the cellblock as King climbed off of her and walked alongside her.

As the two entered a hallway, Eda rode in on her staff and got off. "Hey, I just checked, the warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."

Luz said nothing as she walked past Eda, much to the older woman's confusion as the girl cane before a large door that had the word 'contraband' written on it in bold letters.

"My crown! It's close! I can sense its power!" King ran to the door and scratched his claws on it like a puppy dog before leaping up to the doorknob and curled around it to try and pull it open, all while looking rather adorable.

"Awe, he gets so cute when he's thirsting for power." Eda gushed.

"It's the same thing here…" Luz muttered, getting Eda's attention. "People hating other people just because they're different or do different things… What's so wrong with being different?"

Before Eda could even provide an answer, King was able to wrench the doorknob off, much to King's elation as he laughed and chirped excitedly, pushing the door open and ran right in.

"Come on, before he hurts himself." Eda led Luz inside.

"Ow!" They heard King grunt followed by a shocking noise as the two entered a large chamber where a giant circular glowing barrier stood in the middle of the room. King rubbed his head briefly before charging at it once again. He tried to ram his head into the barrier, only to get pushed back away by a repulsive force. He sat up with a pout.

"That's why we have the human, remember?" Eda reminded.

"Oh, yeah." King recalled.

Taking a deep sigh to calm her nerves, Luz walked to the barrier and tried to put her hand against it, testing it to see if it would hurt her, but her hand passed right through like it was thin air. Luz then walked directly into the field and came upon a large pile of contraband, ranging from magical tools that she didn't recognize, pieces of armor, artifacts, and even demonic skulls. But something at the top had caught her attention, something on top of an open cardboard box.

"Wait a second… is that a…?"

Luz had stepped outside, bringing out a box full of useless items, which just so happened to include a paper Burger Queen crown that is given as part of kids' meals back on Earth, much to the girl's disappointment.

"My crown!" King cheered as he took it back and put onto his head. "Yes… Yes! I can feel my powers returning! You there, nightmare critter!" He pointed to a stuffed toy rabbit with one button eye and picked it up. "I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness! Ha, ha!"

"That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?" Luz asked Eda rhetorically.

"Uh, no." She confirmed.

"And you can go to Earth anytime you want?" Luz asked again.

"Yep, no problem for me. I even got my own human alias over there." Eda replied.

"Then why go to all this trouble? You can just swing by any Burger Queen and get him a new crown." Luz pointed out. "Should be way easier."

"He'd know the difference. King's way more observant than you'd think." The Owl Lady said before giving a small sigh. "Look at us, Luz. King and I aren't like other witches and demons here on the Isles, and because of that we don't have much… we only have each other. So, if that little paper crown is important to him, then it's important to me." She said genuinely. "Besides, us weirdos have to stick together, ya know?" She winked.

Luz couldn't help but smile and blush at that. She really did understand how that felt, to be different and made an outsider by others. She didn't feel all that whole until she had met Marcy, Anne, and Sasha. Despite any issues they've had, they were each different in their own way too, much like her. Now she felt like she was a part of something, something that mad her happy, much like what Eda and King seemed to have right now.

"Well, you held your end, now let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head." Eda said, not noticing that Warden Wrath was walking up directly behind her.

"Too late." Wrath's hand transformed into a cleaver-blade, which he swung to completely behead Eda.

Luz screamed as she caught Eda's head, looking in terror at what she thought was Eda's deceased head…

"Ow!" Eda exclaimed, still completely alive despite her head being cut off. "Crap! I hate it when that happens!"

Luz screamed even louder than before, just as a pair of guards entered the chamber right behind Warden Wrath.

"Eda?! What…?! How…?! How are you even alive?!" Luz questioned in a panic.

"Eh, don't worry about it." The head of Eda said, being more annoyed by the situation than anything else. "This just happens when you get older."

"Does it?!" Luz questioned.

"Finally." Warden Wrath's hand turned back to normal. "I have you cornered, Edalyn Clawthorne, the infamous Owl Lady." He also yanked the Burger Queen crown from King's head.

"Weh!?" He felt his own crown being removed before trying to jump up and retrieve it, even as Wrath kept it out of his reach while also looming over Luz and Eda, all the while Eda's headless body crawled on the ground on its own.

"My guards could never catch you." Wrath went on. "But I knew that if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running." He crushed the paper crown in his grip without any sort of mercy.

"No!" King cried in horror. "My power…!" He sobbed as he fell to his knees by Luz who only glared with Eda at the overgrown bully.

"What the hell do you want with me?!" Eda demanded. "I haven't actually broken any of your stupid laws! In front of you!"

"I want you… to go out with me!" Wrath said as he kneeled and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.

"Wha...?" Eda looked in confusion.

"What?" Luz was just as confused herself.

"Go, boss!" One of the guards encouraged as the other provided two thumbs up.

Wrath gave his subordinate a thumbs up of his own before speaking to Eda. "You've always illuded our capture, you've always been the one who got away, I found that alluring."

"I literally hate everything you're saying right now." Luz cringed, but was immediately ensnared by Wrath's right hand, transforming into a set of tentacles, and forcing her to drop Eda's head. Likewise, King was seized by one of the guards.

"You're a human." Wrath observed the struggling Luz. "But are you the only one here?"

"What are you talking about?" The girl questioned, only for Wrath to show the confiscated BFF picture of herself and all her friends. "That's mine!"

"So, there are more of you here." Wrath said. "Has this whole thing been a distraction so that these three can lay eggs somewhere in my own prison?"

"What?! Ew!" Luz cringed. "First off, Humans are mammals, and mammals don't lay eggs! And second, no they're not here! I'm the only human in this stupid prison and I got no idea where they are!"

"I'm not sure I believe you." Wrath responded. "But I can always torture the truth out of you." His free hand briefly converted into a saw blade, much to Luz's horror before it turned back to normal, and he picked up Eda's head. "But we'll work on that later." He turned back to Eda. "So, how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple in the Demon Realm. I'll even throw in a good word for you to the Emperor so that he can pardon all of your past crimes. I mean, it's not like you can say no, right now."

Eda briefly looked around to see King squirming in the grip of one of the two guards, and Luz still entangled in Wrath's own grip before she appeared to give a defeated sigh.

"Alright, Warden. You win. I'd just like to say something first. Come closer." Wrath brought her head forward upon her request. "No, just a little bit closer…" Their faces were just inches away from each other now. "Yeah, that's good." Eda said before blowing raspberries at him, causing the spit to sink into his mask, much to his disgust.

"Eugh!" He was forced to let Luz go and wiped his masked face while Eda laughed. "Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth?! Ugh!"

"Get over it!" Eda glared. "You had your guards stalk me, you stole the little guy's crown, you beheaded me, and now you just threatened to torture a titan damn kid! I am not going out with you!"

"If you don't accept, then I'll have no choice but to…"

*CLANG!*

Wrath was interrupted as Luz had slammed Eda's staff atop of his head, knocking him face-first to the ground as he dropped Eda's head.

"Nice." The lady grinned, impressed with Luz just as the two guards, one still holding King, came to her, only for Eda's headless body to appear behind the two and pull their hoods down, disorienting them.

"Okay, we're going now!" Luz picked up Eda's head and pulled away Eda's body, which had just retrieved King from the guard's grasp. They got on the staff as Owlbert on the end extended his wings. "Uh… Expecto… Flying… Magicus…Escapicus!" She tried to recite some kind of spell to make it fly, but it didn't seem to work.

Eda saw Wrath picking himself up with an angry groan. "Gun it, Owlbert!" Eda commanded her Palisman, causing the staff to fly away with everyone onboard as they flew out the doorway.

"Owl Lady… I won't let you get away again…!" Wrath growled as he transformed his arms into a set of enlarged tentacles and used them to traverse quickly through the hallway in hot pursuit of the witch and her charges.

As they made it back to the cellblock, Luz got an idea as she spotted the lever that controlled the cell doors. "Eda! Lend me a hand!" Eda's body put her own hand behind Luz's as they sped past all the cells on this level and pushed up on all the levers, freeing Tiny Nose, Katya, and the Eyeball demon, much to their own surprise.

The doors that led to the courtyard were slammed open, slamming into the two guards that were standing by as they all flew outside and down to the courtyard below, but Warden Wrath was still hot on their tail. He extended the tentacles on his right arm and shot forward, striking the group and causing them all to fall off the staff and get knocked across the ground.

"Ow! My bones!" King cried out as Warden Wrath landed, his arms converting into axe-blades.

Eda was quick to reattach her head to her body. "Luz, you and King get back to the house!" She told her as she ran to engage Warden Wrath directly.

"But what about you?" Luz asked with worry.

"Don't worry, this guy's got nothing on her last boyfriend!" King told her.

"Not my boyfriend!" Eda replied as she ducked under Wrath's swings before blasting a fireball at his chest to push him back. She ran back to Luz, picked her up and back on Owlbert's staff form. "Go! Go! Go!" She said as King hoped on as well.

"B-but…" Luz didn't even get a chance to protest as Eda smacked the side of her staff. A hoot came from Owlbert before he took to the skies with Luz and King riding on, leaving Eda to face Wrath alone.

The warden took off his mask to reveal his own demonic face, right before his enormous mouth opened up to unleash a deadly stream of fire. Eda retaliated by drawing a magic circle in the air with her finger to absorb the flames and quickly drew another one to redirect those flames back at Wrath, sending him crashing into the wall of his own prison.

"Shapeshifting and fire breath. That's really all you got going for you, isn't it?" Eda grinned. "Yow!" She ducked underneath a lightning bolt that was shot in her direction, all from one of the dozen of guards that had entered the courtyard.

"That, and my own security team of highly trained Coven Guards." Wrath chuckled. "Get her!" He commanded as several other guards shot magical blasts at Eda, who swiftly dodged them all to retaliate by thrusting her fingers to send bolts of her own magic to knock down a few guards before the rest drew their swords and joined Wrath to engage Eda in close combat.

Meanwhile, Luz struggled to maintain balance on Owlbert with King holding onto her back for dear life. "Come on! Hold it steady! Who taught you how to fly!?"

"I never flew on a stick before, okay!?" Luz exclaimed. Fortunately, she was able to straighten herself out enough so that she and King could hover, leading the two to look down and see Eda fighting back against Wrath and all his guards, raising a wall from the ground to block one sword strike before thrusting her hands forward to explode the wall and send chunks of rock to knock back that one guard and the others behind him, only to be shot in the back by a lightning bolt from another.

"She's in trouble… We gotta help!" Luz said.

"How? You don't have magic! What can you do?" King questioned.

Luz looked around, hoping to find some kind of answer, but she seemed to have found one with the hole that was made from when Wrath crashed into the prison wall, where she saw Katya and the other prisoners standing there.

The girl re-directed the borrowed staff toward the hole where she and King set off before she spoke to them. "Why are you guys just standing there? This is your chance to escape!"

"The warden will catch us. He always does." The Eyeball demon said, looking down.

"We belong here." Katya added.

"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape fwom." Tiny Nose also said, revealing a black and swollen eye on her face, causing Luz to wince before she got serious.

"So, you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you!" She began. "You might be 'weird' to guys like Wrath, but that also makes you special! If you give up now, then bullies like him win in the end!"

"Why are you helping us?" Katya asked. "You don't even know us."

"You're right, I don't." Luz admitted before smiling as she pulled her hood back up. "But I'm a weirdo just like all of you. And us weirdos have to stick together, because we're stronger together! And nobody should be punished for who they are!"

The three prisoners all cheered for her as Luz raised her fist, with King climbing up on her shoulder. "Great speech, but we still got an army of guards between us and out, and I don't think Eda's gonna last much longer." He said as he turned back to the figth with Eda struggling against Wrath and all his guards.

"Then let's get an army of our own." Luz smirked as she ran back into the prison with Katya and the others right behind her. Working together, the five of them pulled up on each of the levers, freeing as many of the prisoners as they could, leading to those prisoners opening the other cells and freeing even more people.

Eda was knocked to the ground as Wrath and his guards all surrounded her, yet she glared at them defiantly.

"No more running away, Owl Lady. Today, I capture you once and for… Ugh!" A magic blast struck him in the back, causing him to turn around. "What the…?!"

"Get em!" Luz rode Owlbert with King as they lead the charge of all the liberated prisoners who quickly attacked all the guards. In that instant, the entire courtyard became a chaotic battlefield as the prisoners and guards shot magic at each other, clashed weapons and exchanged punches, kicks, and headbuts. Even Warden Wrath ended up being tackled by Katya, Tiny Nose, and the Eyeball demon.

Eda only blinked in surprise, even more so as the smiling Luz approached her with King on her shoulder and offered her a hand, which she took with an impressed smile.

"Huh, well aren't you a little agent of chaos?" She teased.

"And I'm not done yet." Luz said. "You got anything explosive on you, Eda?" The witch only grinned in response.

"I eat my own eyes!" The Eyeball demon shouted as he pressed his strength against Wrath, pushing him back.

"I think the world is a triangle!" Tiny Nose positioned herself behind Wrath and used her own stature to trip him up, causing him to land flat on his back, where Katya pounced on him.

"And I practice the ancient art of fanfiction!" She said as she, Tiny Nose, and the Eyeball demon proceeded to tie Wrath's arms together with his own tentacles. He was then flipped over on his back to see all his guards be overwhelmed by the escaped prisoners, with Luz appearing directly in front of him to reach into his tunic and took back her BFF picture.

"This is mine!" Luz said aggressively as she put the photo away.

"You! Who do you think you are?!" He exclaimed with flames in his mouth.

"Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath!" Luz proclaimed like her fantasy witch idol. "For I am Luz, the human! Warrior of peace! Now eat this, sucka!" She took out the bundle of firecrackers that Eda had given her and used Owlbert's staff form to bat them right into Wrath's flaming mouth.

Immediately, all the fireworks went off as Wrath and his defeated guards retreated back into the Conformatorium while all the liberated prisoners cheered.

"Okay, that's enough celebrating." Eda got everyone's attention as she shot a magic beam at the surrounding wall to blast a hole that led outside the perimeter. "Everyone get out of here before more goons show up!"

"Wahoo!" One freed prisoner cheered with his fellow escapees as they all ran through the hole.

"Freedom!" The Eyeball demon cheered. "Eye buffet, here I come!"

"We are victorious!" Tiny Nose cheered as well.

Katya appeared to be the last one. But she stopped for a second and turned around to look at Luz with a hopeful smile. "Thanks, Luz." She said before running out herself.

Luz couldn't help but smile herself. Not just at being thanked, but for actually helping all these people. All these weirdos like her who were being punished just for being themselves, but she helped them. She honestly never felt prouder of herself. She really wished that Marcy, Anne, and Sasha were here to see this, pretty sure they would have joined in on the action too.

"Not bad, kid." Eda congratulated as she stepped up and put a hand on Luz's shoulder. "Not bad at all."

Luz smiled back at her. "Why again do you have firecrackers in your hair?" She asked.

"Cause you never know when you're gonna need a flashy escape." Eda answered. "Like right now. Seriously, let's get out of here before anyone else falls in love with me."

"Yeah, and that was actually one of Eda's better breakups." King joked as they all mounted Owlbert's staff form.

"Not a breakup." Eda groaned as they all flew away.

---

The trio regrouped at the Owl House as Eda sat back in the couch in the living room. "Well, that was more adventurous than I thought. But there's nothing I love more than sticking it to the man." She chuckled.

Luz laughed a bit herself, but she noticed how King was looking down, no doubt upset over his lost 'crown'. Feeling pity for the poor little guy, Luz went to her duffle bag and pulled out her Azura doll. "Hey." She walked over to King. "I know it's not the same but… A king shouldn't be without his crown." She took the tiny crown from her doll's head and handed it to King.

The little demon looked with happy eyes before he put the tiny crown on his own head. "This shall suffice. You there, plant!" He pointed to a nearby potted plant. "You are now under my command!"

Eda grinned at that and looked to Luz again. "And don't think I forgot our deal. You helped me, so I'm gonna help you find your friends."

"Thanks, really." Luz smiled as she pulled out her picture, as well as the Domino doll that she still had. "This is actually supposed to be Anne's birthday present, I made it for her."

"Wait… you made that?" Eda asked in surprise as she walked to Luz.

"Yeah, made it myself." She handed it to Eda to get a closer look.

"Wow… this is good." The witch said, looking impressed, causing Luz to look at her in surprise. "Can't believe I tried to burn this…"

"You think it's good…?" Luz asked. The only ones who ever really complemented anything she did, aside from her mom, were her friends; mostly Marcy when it came to any artwork or writing. But to hear it from a complete stranger that she only just met… a fellow weirdo like her… it was something that made her smile emotionally.

"Yeah, you're pretty good with your hands." Eda complemented as she handed Luz back the doll. "And that's supposed to be your friend's birthday present?"

"Well… I wanted to do something special." Luz looked away. "Before I met them… I didn't have any friends. I don't fit in on Earth. Everyone thinks I'm too weird and either try to stay away from me, or make fun of me. But Marcy, Sasha, Anne…" She looked at her picture again. "They welcomed me into their group, made me feel like I was wanted… and… now they're gone."

"Hey, I told you I was gonna help you find them." Eda stated firmly, trying to establish some hope in this girl. "And I don't go back on my word."

"I know, and I'm glad for it… but… I also want you to teach me." Luz said.

"Excuse me?" Eda asked in confusion.

"I know that you got your head cut off, and we started a prison riot… but I was actually able to help people." Luz continued. "I don't just want to find my friends, I want to be able to continue stuff like this, where I can help people who need it. I don't fit in where I'm from, and you guys don't fit in where you're from, so maybe we can all not fit in together. I wanna be a witch like you, or Azura!" She pulled out her favorite book for emphasis.

"Whoa, whoa, reign that dragon in for a second." Eda lightly pushed the book away to look at Luz directly and seriously. "Humans can't do magic."

"Maybe because they never tried." Luz said with an encouraging grin.

"It's not about trying, kid." Eda explained. "Humans literally can't do magic, because their bodies are incapable."

"Well then I can just use magic tools instead." Luz replied. "I mean, I rode around your staff like you."

"Hmm, true." Eda admitted. "But why? Why do you want to learn magic so badly?"

"Because I want to be someone that other people can rely on." Luz answered. "And not someone who needs to be saved and rescued all the time. My friends are always sticking up for me and pulling me out of trouble, now it's my turn to return the favor. I want to find and help them. If you teach me how to do magic, I will do anything you want me too."

"Let her stay!" King pulled on Eda's dress. "She can make us snacks!" He whispered to her.

Eda thought for a moment. She did promise to help Luz find her friends and had no intention of backing out on that promise, but teaching her magic? Was there ever a guarantee that would work? She was human, and she knew humans didn't have any internal magic power. But at least, it would be nice to have somebody else in this house besides herself and King.

"Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboard." Eda picked King up. "Alright, I can't make any promises about you actually doing magic, but I will teach you all I know about it. In return, you have to do some work for me. Deal?" She offered her hand.

But rather than shake her hand, Luz walked up and wrapped her arms around Eda and King in the form of a hug, much to their surprise and confusion.

"What's going on?" Eda questioned with a twitching eye.

"Too tight! Too tight!" King squirmed.

"Okay, okay." Eda pulled out of the hug before sitting down on the couch again seriously. "First, tell me everything you know about that music box. I might not have heard of it, but I've got some old books in this house, and I can do some research."

"Alright." Luz sat down next to her with King and pulled out her phone again to pull out the pictures of the box itself, and the page from the book in the library.

---

After telling Eda what she knew, Luz brought her duffle bag up to a small room that only had a single window. It didn't seem like much, but it would suffice. She unpacked her sleeping bag and got dressed in her pajamas before lying down on it.

Luz took out a few things from her bag, which included a framed picture of herself and her mother and set her BFF photo up against it. She then noticed another piece of paper sticking out of the bag and took it out. It was the brochure to Azure Lake Camp, the camp that her mother wanted to send her too.

Taking a brief look at it again, Luz crumbled the picture in her hand before throwing it away. 'Sorry Mom, but I'm not abandoning my friends.'

"Ahem." Her attention was taken by King as he appeared in the semi-open doorway, with his new stuffed animal, Francois, in his arms. "You're… sleep cocoon looks fluffy…" he said while looking away.

Smiling, Luz patted the edge of her sleeping bag, allowing King to come on in and snuggle up in it like a puppy dog with his stuffed animal. He saw Luz's BFF picture.

"So, are your friends like you?"

"Well, not quite." Luz said as she took the picture again. "Marcy's a fantasy geek like me sure, but she's also a genius. Seriously, she's the smartest person I know, but she's also a bit clumsy." She chuckled somewhat. "Sasha is… well… she's got a bit of a temper." Luz said gently. "And can be a bit controlling… but she's a natural rebel and she's got a heart underneath all that. And Anne…" Luz smiled. "She's a bit lazy, but whenever one of is in trouble, she always steps up and is there for us. Now it's my turn to be there for her, and the rest of them. I can't wait for you guys to meet them." Luz turned to King only to see that he was already fast asleep.

Luz smiled as she put the picture back and went into her sleeping bag. 'I will find you guys. I promise.' She vowed to herself before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---

"And that is all I have to report, my Emperor." Warden Wrath was now in a throne room, kneeling before a certain mask-wearing ruler as he sat in a golden throne with two large torches at his sides and an enormous beating heart hanging above him.

"So, not only has the Owl Lady evaded your clutches yet again, but you even allowed all the other prisoners to escape and flee into the wild." Emperor Belos, the current ruler of the Boiling Isles mused in a disappointed yet unsurprised tone.

"Y-yes…" Wrath shook in his spot somewhat. "H-however, my guards have reported that they've managed to catch Basilisks numbers Three and Four!" He quickly reported. "They're currently restrained in their carriages until the damages to the Conformatorium can be repaired, with some help from the Construction Coven, of course."

"Only two?" Belos sounded unimpressed. "And what of the other three?"

"N-no sign… my lord." Wrath looked away.

Belos let out a loud sigh as he placed his armored hand on his mask. "Have the two you've already captured be brought to the castle, my scouts will detain them until the conformatorium is repaired. In the meantime, I want your guards to discontinue any attempts to capture the Owl Lady and change their priorities into hunting down the remaining three Basilisks."

"A-as you wish, but… I can still…" Wrath tried to plead.

"You have failed numerous times to detain the Owl Lady, so much so that I've lost count." Belos interrupted as he stood up from his throne and approached Wrath, who simply bowed his head as the masked emperor loomed over him menacingly. "It is clear that you are incapable of this task, if she not only escaped you again, but orchestrated the riot that led to your entire facility's compromise. So, I will assign it to someone more adept."

Despite speaking in a calm manner, every word felt like a dagger that had cut deep into Wrath's ego and pride, so much so that he shook in genuine fear, not just of Belos himself, but fear of being useless to him.

"But it was not just the Owl Lady, my emperor! She had help!" Wrath tried, still keeping his head down.

"Oh? And who pray tell, provided enough assistance that the most dangerous criminal in the Isles was able to escape your grasp?" Belos questioned as his glowing blue eyes narrowed on the trembling warden.

"A human! A human helped her!" It then became silent for a moment, so much so that Wrath was somewhat confused by his emperor's initial lack of response. He slowly craned his head up to see that Belos had backed away only slightly. "My… My lord…?"

"A human?" The emperor asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Y-yes…" Wrath confirmed with a nod.

"Describe this human." Belos ordered.

"A female, young, a child… an adolescent… I believe." Wrath replied. "And perhaps there are more with her?"

"How many?" Belos questioned.

"Including this one, potentially four, all young females." Wrath answered. "Though I've only seen the one, and she said the others were not with her, but I believe she was lying."

"And where is this human, now?" Belos asked.

"Still… with the Owl Lady, I believe…" Wrath replied.

"I see." The emperor then walked back to his throne to sit down. "Proceed as instructed. I will have the Construction Coven repair your facility while you hunt down the remaining Basilisks. Make no more moves against the Owl Lady or this human unless I say otherwise. Understood?"

"Understood, my lord." Wrath bowed.

"Good, you are now dismissed." Belos waved his hand, prompting Wrath to stand back up as he turned around to leave the throne room. But just before he left… "Oh, one more thing, Wrath." He got his attention again. "If you fail with even this task, I may have to consider a replacement for your position. So you would do well not to fail me, and be stripped of your position and denounced as a wild witch. You know what happens to wild witches, do you not? I'd hate for your son to grow up as an orphan."

Wrath was drenched in a cold sweat at that remark and bowed once more. "I understand, Emperor Belos. I will not fail you again."

"Excellent. Go, now." Belos ordered, to which Wrath left, leaving the masked emperor alone in his throne room, the only sounds being the burning flames at his sides, and the massive heart that continued to beat above him.

"A human… maybe more… in this realm once more…" He mused to himself. "How long has it been…? Four centuries…?" Considering how he heard that the Owl Lady was selling items from the human world, having a portal that led to that realm, he honestly shouldn't have been surprised. In hindsight, he should have seen it coming. "And children, no less…" He continued to muse. "Children… how so easily swayed, and corruptible…" That witch may have a hold on the human child (or potentially children) for now, but he will persuade them in time to leave this god forsaken place and return to the light before their souls are lost.

Reaching into his robe, Belos pulled out an old book, a bible, and placed his hand on the cover, as if doing so was a form of comfort and assurance for him.

"Lord, give me strength to do your holy work." He said aloud. "Hello Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen."

Done.

And thus our journey has begun.

While Anne, Sasha, and Marcy have been zapped away by the Calamity Box, Luz ended up going through the portal door and has now met our favorite witch and surrogate mother, Eda the Owl Lady!

We also got to meet Number Five (AKA Vee) and learned how she got to Earth and replaced Luz, as well as all the other Basilisks. There was a lot of potential we had with Vee, but sadly in canon, it was never explored due to Disney shortening the series. But don't worry, I plan to expand more on her character later on, as well as that of the other Basilisks. I've got plans for all of them later down the road.

I know that most of this seemed almost the same as the first canon episode of "The Owl House", albeit some minor changes and mentions of the impact that the other girls have had on Luz, as well as another reasoning for her wanting to become a witch so that she can find her friends and help when they need it, but I didn't really see any need for any huge changes here when the canon episode was plenty great already.

Next chapter, the first one of the first season saga, we finally get to meet our favorite frog family and boy, do I have plans for all of them.

Of course, we also got a glimpse of one of our major antagonists, the self-righteous, delusional, and genocidal psychopath known as Belos. I also added a bible here, as well as him reciting a certain verse from it, because it appeals to the more religious side of the witch hunters. In fact, witch hunters were all about religion, justifying their murders and actions as services in the name of God. Though we never see any big Christian elements in the canon show, or even the use of the word 'God', mainly because Disney probably didn't want to piss off any overly evangelical Christians, but I'm not as gentle. So, expect a few more religious references here.

Note: but I mean no offense to anyone who reads this story and is particularly religious. I respect the idea of religion, Christianity being among them, I just don't like how people use that as a means to an end to justify their unacceptable behavior, with Belos representing the absolute worst of that.

Okay, the next chapter will be up soon, after all my other updates of course, and I'm very excited to write it as we learn more about what happened to our other girls. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.

Love you guys.