Welcome back, everyone! It is I, SuperHeroTimeFan, now returning to you with a brand-new chapter for my best new story, the crossover with The Owl House and MegaMan NT Warrior, Owl House: NT Witch! So great to know that by the middle of the Season 1 events, my story has continued to become more popular. Thank you all for your continued support, especially Blackmetalzane22, Cloud4012 and as of recent, AlbazBrandedEternal. Each one of you have given great feedback that has helped me to keep going, and I just cannot thank you enough. Thank you once again. And thank you all too for liking the continued art to support the story on DeviantArt, as well as the additions to the TV Tropes page for the story. It really means a lot. Now, with all that out of the way, here is my brand-new chapter! Please be sure to review, rate, and as always, please be sure to enjoy!
Chapter 14: All My Secrets Away
Deep within a cave on the Boiling Isles, a large beast was resting, keeping watch over a younger creature of the same species. As it was looking out into the open snowy field, it suddenly sensed someone approaching and turned, ready to let out a roar, only to stop in apparent surprise at seeing the intruder.
"Easy, my old friend. I mean you no harm."
Approaching the beast was none other than Mr. Wily, his Palisman cane in his hand. He looked up and smiled, spreading out some food that the younger creature started to go after. The larger one growled in appreciation before moving aside, revealing a passage to a collection of several stones positioned randomly around each other, almost resembling a very rough depiction of Stonehenge, but with different Glyphs decorated on all of the stones.
Mr. Wily nodded in appreciation before walking forward to the structures. As he was, he looked out from the mountain he was on to the palace, narrowing his eyes as his miniature Titan Skull Palisman flew off his cane to hover around him.
"Why must you make so difficult for everyone, child?" Mr. Wily asked with disappointment before making his way to the center of the stone structures.
The large beast and her cub looked to the stones as Mr. Wily raised his arms into the air, his Palisman flying back onto the top of his cane.
"Reveal to my eyes the skies of…"
At the Owl House, Luz was in the base underneath the house, looking once again to the book of Mr. Wily. Azura watched over a diagnostic scan of Melody while Skara was sitting nearby in a simple gown, watching Luz herself read the passage out loud, pondering over it.
"Well, what's the rest?" Skara asked.
"That's the thing," Luz said. "When reading this passage in the fourteenth chapter of this book, it's encrypted in something that not even the library tomes can decipher. All I can make out is that, but what the rest could say could be anyone's best guess. I don't even know if Wily had some sort of connection to the Isles to write something like this."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Skara said before getting up, walking with Luz to Azura. "How's Melody coming along?"
"She was at the Darkloid Vale for a long time, and from what you told me that Lurerre said about being there, it's possible that she had too much exposure to the Dark Aura around there," Azura said. "Whatever happened during your last fight, you both seem to have been exposed to the Dark Aura. I'm running a Soul Cleanser program to get rid of any dark essence from her, which brings us to the reason you're here."
"I wanted to be by Melody's side for whatever you need to do to make her better," Skara said. "But I don't get what… this…" she said, gesturing to her gown. "Is for that can help."
"When MegaMan was damaged in battle, Dr. Hikari had Lan try and CrossFuse with him to heal any parts to complete the process," Luz explained. "It was also something that Lan and Chaud would go through as standard checkups, to see what the long-term effects of CrossFusion there were. I'm hoping that by putting you, like what I'm doing with Willow and Gus right now," she said, turning to Willow and Gus in X-Ray machines with similar attire on. "We can find a way to see what CrossFusion can do to Witches, and if we can create a successful way to stop Witches and Demons from getting corrupted by Dark Chips. They've gone through this with Amity a few times, but while I know things have been rough with you lately, I've held off with you and Melody. With any luck, this should cleanse your Navi of the dark energy effects, but for the time being, Melody will have to stay here with us to cure her. You're free to stay down here when she's ready to go."
"Thanks, Luz," Skara said before going to one of the beds. She took a breath and lay down, just as a button appeared near her hand. "I'm ready."
"Begin," Luz said before looking to Azura. "I'll be making my announcement upstairs if you need me. When I go to meet Amity at the market, you'll be pinged."
"You got it," Azura said with a nod as Luz went to the elevator. "Press the button whenever you feel any discomfort," she instructed Skara. "We'll stop if anything—"
"I won't be pressing it," Skara said. "As long as I'm helping Melody, I'm more than willing to do this."
Azura nodded again before getting Skara's bed to go into the machine. As soon as she was inside, diagrams of both Skara and Melody were pulled up as the procedure began.
"To the entire Demon Realm, I know the events of yesterday were a shock, but know that I had no knowledge that ShadeMan's new Dark Chips would not work on humans," Luz announced in a stream to everyone across the Demon Realm, with everyone watching. "I was ready to give my life to save my friends. But now that I know that these Dark Chips target Witches and Demons specifically, I will be working on a way to come up with immunity to the effects of the Soul of Darkness."
At Boscha's home, Boscha was on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees as she watched the announcement, still shaken by what she had seen. Still thinking back to what was revealed about Lurerre, she was unable to shake the fact that she was a clone of her full of nothing but sin.
"Luz, help me," Boscha said, watching the announcement go on. "Right now… I… I don't know who… or what… I am anymore."
"Things are looking rough at the moment for us all, but know that I am coming up with ways to make sure we are all safe," Luz went on as Amity watched at the market, with her siblings nearby, Emira in the sun and Edric sulking in the shadows. "To help with this, I have begun the process of creating special extra Navis for everyone known as Therapy Navis. They will not be for combat, but rather as someone to talk to and express how you are feeling to them. They act as real therapists, and will be able to help with anything that ails you. Five are already in development, with several more on the way, all for free in this time of need. Just know that no matter how dark the situation is, no one is ever truly alone."
"This I promise," Luz said back at the Owl House as Eda and King watched from the door before walking away. "I will always find a way to keep you all safe. You have my word."
"Kid's really going all out after yesterday," Eda said, walking to her room. "I still can't believe you haven't said a thing ever since Lily and I came back from the Backbone. You saw what happened."
"And trust me, I'm as shocked as you are," Owlette said as Eda sat down at her desk. "Look, none of us know exactly what was meant to happen, and I'm not sure we will for a long time. But until that time comes, we need to watch ourselves."
"And how do you recommend we do that without me trying not to kill Lilith for what I saw?" Eda asked sternly, looking into the mirror as the Navi Crest from her Scroll PET glowed in the reflection.
"For starters, I say you stay away from Lilith for the time being," Owlette suggested. "While I don't suggest we take advantage of what immunity we have from this truce with the Emperor's Coven, we don't want to risk breaking it either. We're in this together, Eda. And together, I'm sure we can get through what test Wily made for us."
"Yeah, I'm sure we will," Eda conceded. "But don't expect me to be too happy with it, especially with everything else Wily did when he was here."
On the path to the market, Luz continued her broadcast, now taking out a blank Scroll PET. She detached the guard at the side and placed another handle on it, resembling a guarded handle.
"In the meantime, until such defensive measures can be made, I've sent these new Guard Grips to all Scroll PET owners," Luz said. "Behold."
Azura digitized in front of Luz as the camera moved to show her before sending a blast at her NetOp. Luz grinned and rotated the handle ninety degrees, now holding the Scroll PET as if it were a brass knuckle. Soon, a shield bearing a Navi Crest appeared from it and blocked the blast before she deactivated it.
"The Guard Grips are capable of defensive measures, creating a shield strong enough to block any attack," Luz explained as Azura digitized next to her now. "While the Battle Chip Gauntlets can summon weapons for offense, this will help you in defending yourself should you now know how to fight. They are not yet known to be able to withstand Dark Chips, but until I come up with a successful countermeasure immunity to those, these will be your next line of defense. All current owners of a Scroll PET will get these for free. Any who still have yet to get theirs, will get them along with a custom NetNavi for half the price of a custom Navi. Remember, your safety is our first priority. And me and my friends will do all we can to protect you."
"That seemed to go well," Azura said as the recording stopped, allowing for her to levitate the Progress PET back to Luz, who saw that several new Guard Grips were already received while requests for them were being made. She suddenly received an alert and closed her eyes, letting her visor appear from her helmet to see what was happening. "Guess that Mr. Tholomule created a whole ton more before we sent out that message. Good idea to hire Matt as our lead mass producer."
"I still can't believe we didn't know his full name was right there the whole time," Luz said. "I can imagine we'd be quite surprised if we had found out about it later."
"I think Gus would be ticked off by it the most if that happened," Azura said before they turned a corner, seeing Amity with Hecate down the path. "There they are."
Luz smiled and ran forward as Amity and Hecate waved at them as Azura digitized to get ahead. As she continued to run, she felt something and started to slide her feet out of her shoes. Backflipping forward, she kicked her shoes ahead, causing Edric and Emira to suddenly fall out of thin air as soon as the shoes hit them.
"Wow, you have quite the instincts to know where Ed and Em would have been hiding to get the jump on you," Amity said with a light laugh as she and Hecate walked forward, with Luz grabbing her shoes, rubbing the dirt on her soles off as she did before placing them back on. "Not that they ever could, especially since you used the same trick to expose them back at the library."
"We've apologized for that…" Emira said, getting up as she rubbed her head.
"We didn't even get to pull it off." Edric pointed out, getting Emira to roll her eyes.
"And looking back, we now regret trying it." Emira said in a sincere voice, though Edric seemed to be more put out.
"Right…" Luz said before she turned back to Amity. "So, you get a chance to read the book?" she asked.
"I did, and I reread it a bunch after the first time," Amity said, taking out the book that Luz loaned to her and handing it back. "Gotta say, it was fun looking into more of that. Reading the first four without the fifth just didn't feel right to me."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Luz said with a smile. "And I think you'll be glad to know that you're in my first class when I start teaching and learning at Hexside once the week starts back up too," she said. "You, Skara, Gus and Willow."
"That's great!" Amity exclaimed. "Wait, you plan to learn and teach?"
"Yeah," Luz replied. "Azura and I talked with Principal Bump about it during our first meeting. Gotta figure out the classes I'd take, but he said he could make it work."
"Well, with your Light Glyph and Fire Glyph in addition to your CrossFusion, I know you'll pass the entrance exams." Amity said.
"Ah, right. He mentioned that," Luz said. "What are they, exactly?"
"Well, you have to learn at least two spells in order to get into Hexside, and not into the Baby Track," Emira said. "I would agree with Mittens. You're all set with the two spells you've learned already."
"Oh, don't mention a bare minimum when it comes to Luz," Azura said as Hecate raised an eyebrow under her visor. "She's not the one to settle for the minimum or maximum. She likes to go above and beyond, and destroy all the expectations."
"I can relate with Amity," Hecate said, getting Amity to blush. "That's why we're using the rest of the weekend to train for her own exams. With our CrossFusion ability, we're planning to get one over Ed and Em."
"Yeah, like that will happen," Edric said. "Em and I have our own things planned for the coming semester, and my thing… is gonna blow everyone away."
"How's Skara, by the way?" Emira asked Luz, who was deep in thought after being told the entry requirements by Amity.
"She's staying with Melody until we know she's better from being at the Darkloid Palace," Luz replied. "Gus and Willow should be wrapping up their checkups and heading home, but Matt will be there to help with the rest," she said before placing her hand on Emira's shoulder. "She'll be alright, Em. You have my word."
Emira smiled softly. "Thank you." She said gratefully.
"So, Luz," Amity spoke up. "What are your and Azura's plans to really spice up the evaluation exams?"
"Gonna have to ask Eda if she can teach me anything new," Luz said. "I've been teaching her so much that she's had little time to teach me. I'm sure I could learn a few spells from her."
"Well, good luck," Amity bid as she and Emira walked to Edric, who was in an alley where some sparks were flying. He noticed them and walked to them as they made their way home. "I can't wait to have class together! We'll have a great time!"
Luz and Azura waved before the former placed her hand on her chin while turning around, with Azura making her way back into the Progress PET.
"What's on your mind now?" Azura asked.
"Just that passage from Wily's autobiography that we found," Luz said. "Plus, you and I aren't blind to the fact that Eda was looking suspicious whenever we mentioned Wily and his own activities."
"She's a lady of many mysteries, for sure," Azura admitted. "Maybe we can learn a bit from her."
"I know we can," Luz said, now on the path back to the Owl House. "And maybe more too."
At the Darkloid Palace, Lurerre knelt down before ShadeMan, with BubbleMan standing at the side of his throne.
"SaberMan informed me that you had a plan," ShadeMan said as Lurerre looked up. "One that involves access to the Titan's Knee, but may I advise you not to interfere with FeralMan's own plan there?" he suggested. "I did make it clear that there were to be no interfering with the plans of your colleagues."
"My lord, indeed you have," Lurerre said. "And we have been talking. It shall be a joint operation, allowing either one of us to come out on top. While he operates on the Left Knee, I shall be on the Right Knee, where I shall bring to the army a power to increase all of our skills. What FeralMan does in his own plan is his own business. I will be solely operating with what I have in store."
ShadeMan narrowed his eyes. "This is not the first time you have stated this and acted on your own agenda," he reminded. "And I know better than to allow you to act on your own free will. Why shouldn't I send BubbleMan to look after your actions?"
"I've got my eyes on you, blub-blub." BubbleMan said.
"I can assure you, I do not require any policing from your companion," Lurerre assured. "But I do need access to some Dark Glyphs to get the power needed to benefit us all."
"Ah, you paid attention to the lecture, blub," BubbleMan said. "Guess I am being shown respect after all!"
"Enough," ShadeMan said before several thick slips of paper with the Dark Glyphs on them appeared to Lurerre. "These should suffice for your operation."
Lurerre grinned as she absorbed the Dark Glyphs into her left Flask Cannon, getting up. "Trust me," she said. "When I'm done, there will be little to worry about when it comes to the meddling of Luz Noceda. Just you wait and see."
"Welcome, Apprentice, to the Titan's Knee!"
Later that day, Eda had taken Luz to the snowiest area on the Boiling Isles, the Titan's Knee. Due to the weather, she was now wearing a crimson skintight snowsuit with a brown coat, lined with dark grey faux-fur.
"Wow," Luz said in amazement. "I mean, I know BubbleMan operated his plan from here, but I didn't think I'd see it for myself."
"That hill would have to be on the left Knee, but I get how stunned you are," Eda said. "Now, Witches come here because the Right Knee is known to hold some pure magic that gives them the willingness to harness its energy. The perfect place where I can teach you some new magic after all you had done for me."
"Thanks, Eda," Luz said, looking around. She noticed some a stone structure nearby and tilted her head in curiosity. "What are those over there?" she asked, placing on her contacts to allow Azura to see as well.
"Where?" Eda asked before seeing where Luz was looking. "Oh, those? We call them the Standing Stones. All we know about them is that they've been propped like that for centuries. No one knows exactly who did them like that, or how they came to be. All that is known is that it's one of the best-known landmarks of the Knee."
"You ever been there?" Azura asked, coming out, now with a cape over her to protect her from the cold.
"Gotten close, but haven't seen it for myself," Eda replied. "Then again, hardly anyone has. No one lives up here, save for creatures like… that one over there," she pointed out, gesturing to a white-furred creature with a large mouth. "That there is known as the Slitherbeast. Bother it even a little, and it will tear you apart with full abandon. Just leave them alone, and they won't harm you at all."
"Good to know," Azura said before Eda walked ahead. She turned to Luz. "Any idea when you'll ask her?" she whispered.
"When we're ready," Luz said as she and her Navi Sister walked after Eda until they approached an outcropping. She looked around and noticed some ruins. "You sure no one lives up here?" she asked.
"Not that I know of," Eda said. "But moving on, this place should do just nicely for the lesson today."
"Wait," Luz said, feeling something approaching. Quickly, she took out her Slash Grip and placed it onto her PET, activating a blade. Placing the weapon in a reverse-grip in her right hand, she slashed forward, where she knocked to the side a ball of pink fire. "That was a close one."
"Sorry to whoever's there!"
"Amity?" Luz asked, walking over.
Running up the hill soon came Amity, wearing a fur coat with thick leggings. Her siblings ran over as well, with Alador Blight right behind them.
"Luz! I'm so sorry!" Amity apologized, setting down her Battle Chip Gauntlets, though these ones seemed different from what she had usually used, as they appeared to have a magenta hue to them and went up to her elbows, longer than the standard Battle Chip Gauntlets. "Dad created these to help me practice advanced magic, and I kinda got carried…" she started out before seeing what Luz was wearing. "Away…"
"Don't worry, it's okay," Luz said, putting her Slash Grip away. "Though that was one powerful fireball you sent right there."
"Thanks, I've been practicing ever since the Lunar Eclipse," Amity said, snapping out of her trance before her face could go red. "Good to see you're training here too."
"Ah, so you're Luz Noceda," Alador said, walking up as Azura kept a straight posture. He looked to her and nodded before holding his hand out. "Alador Blight, at your service."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Blight," Luz said, shaking his hand. "You have a very skilled daughter. You should be proud of Amity."
"Oh, I am, especially after I learned she could CrossFuse, and created so many Battle Chips," Alador said. "Despite how Odalia sees you as a rival, I for one am truly fascinated by what you have brought to the Demon Realm. You will find that I paid an extra price for not just my Scroll PET, but a Navi as well," he went on, creating a spell circle to show off his Scroll PET. "Of course, Odalia can't do anything about my ownership of this."
"She thinks I'm a rival? I didn't know that," Luz pondered before raising an eyebrow. "How is she anyway? After the whole fiasco with BubbleMan."
"Oh she's in complete solitude, and as of this morning, in the fetal position," Emira said. "She tried to go out a few times, but couldn't stand all of the laughter and the videos of her across Penstagram. She's locked herself in her office ever since."
"Don't worry about her starving to death, she took with her almost all of the cooked food and pristine drinks to last for days," Edric added on. "Though I wouldn't mind seeing her go mad for laughs."
"Edric!" Amity exclaimed before turning to Luz and Azura, who went wide-eyed at his statement. "Sorry, Ed's been sounding a bit dark lately. Making a lot of morbid comments, spending time with himself in the shadows… it's really unsettling when he and Em aren't on the same page."
"Well, as long as you don't bother us too much, I'm sure we won't mind sharing the same hill together," Eda said as Edric was pulled over by Emira. The Owl Lady then revealed she had come back with a basket full of snowballs. "And now, Apprentice, you shall learn how to connect with nature!"
Luz and Azura looked to the basket with eyebrows raised, with Hecate coming out of her Scroll PET to share the same sentiment.
"How?" Luz simply asked.
"Communing with the elements, of course," Eda said as she looked to a snowball. Raising an eyebrow herself, she took something out of her hair and dumped the snowball onto it, revealed to be a waffle cone to make it look like ice cream. "And what better way to test your senses with nature than by taste?" she suggested, handing it over. "Don't worry, the cone's clean. Same with the snow."
"Still unorthodox as ever." Alador said.
"So I learn to be one with nature… by eating a snowball… or… snow cone?" Luz asked, reluctantly taking the ice cream cone with the snowball on it.
"Hey, it's the results that matter in the end," Eda said. "My ways are a bit unusual, but you'll find that every witch has their methods. This is mine," she reassured. "You'll have a natural nature connection in no time."
Luz turned to Azura, who only shrugged. She shrugged back and took the cone, just as Eda was pulling some syrup and cherries out, only to be stopped from putting them on when Luz sent her a bemused look, getting her to sheepishly put the toppings away.
"Well, we'll just leave you be," Amity said. "I need to get these new Abomaton Gloves looked at before we meet up again, after all." She said, walking away.
"Yeah, as fun as this looks…" Emira started out before knocking a snowball out of Edric's hand as he was about to taste it, only for him to pick up a slightly larger one while she was not looking. "We'd better go too," she said, punching through the second snowball before Edric quickly formed a snowman with lipstick instead of coal for the mouth, preparing to quickly taste it. "See you around, cutie. Good luck with your training," she bid before glancing at her brother, now making out with the snowman. Her eyes widened as she turned back before grabbing him by the collar just as he prepared to reach for his belt. "Don't do that with the snow, Ed! Seriously, come on!"
Luz and Eda looked to Edric strangely as he clutched onto his snowman, still making out with it even as Emira prepared a fireball in her hand to melt it away.
"Yeah, I won't have you go that far with this," Eda said, finally breaking the silence after an awkward while. "Just go ahead and taste it. Trust me, everything I have will establish a connection with the Isles."
"And that's Eda for you!" Owlette teased.
"Yeah, and proud of it!" Eda replied, getting Owlette to audibly pout.
"Eda… your Navi has a voice now?" Luz asked, turning her head to Eda as she had half-finished the snowball cone.
"Ah, right, I forgot to tell you after Terrace Stadium," Eda said. "Turns out that explosion I made with the Synchro Chip brought out her voice, but not the rest of her body. We've been talking from time to time. Her name's Owlette, and she really likes that Apple Blood and Elixir mixture we made."
"That's good," Luz said as she went back to tasting the snowball. "Your ways are strange, Eda," she admitted, getting the Owl Lady to roll her eyes. "But as your said, every witch has their methods. Guess we get to see how yours goes."
Eda smiled and set down the basket, putting them in more cones. She walked off to set up the next exercise, and once she was out of Luz's sight, she reached into her hair, thinking back to earlier in the day.
Flashback…
"Weh?! Why can't I come too?!" King complained as he watched Luz get ready for the trip.
"Because I don't want her getting distracted by anything cute," Eda replied. "Besides, you should be thanking me for having the house to yourself and Hooty. Just don't make too big of a mess."
King sighed. "Oh alright," he said before spotting something on the table. "Wily's book!"
Eda noticed the book as well and walked over to it, seeing it still on the same passage that Luz was stuck on earlier. She narrowed her eyes at the cover and scowled.
"Why are you making me suffer, Albert?" Eda asked before putting the book away in her hair, just as Luz came down in her winter outfit.
"All set!" Luz called out. "Let's go!"
Present…
Eda took out the book she put away and looked to it, reading through the pages quickly while setting up. She looked to the cliff notes that Luz had left in each chapter she had gone through before coming across some old photos. As she was looking to his younger self from grad school, she prepared to turn the page until Owlette sounded off.
"Wait, Eda," Owlette said. "What's the date of that picture?"
Eda raised an eyebrow and turned back to check the date. "1918," she said before spotting a photo of Wily with Tadashi Hikari. However, the appearance of him startled her. "This is 1997," she said. "But he still looks the same… how?"
"You don't think that the Wily you know is the same one that Luz told us about, do you?" Owlette suggested.
"There's no way that could be… could it?" Eda asked, putting the book away once again, now with more on her mind than before.
At the Emperor's Palace, Lilith was looking through several files of residents on the Boiling Isles. After sorting through one box, she put it to the side, where one of her Maverick Hunters handed her another one.
"Lilith, what is—?" Kikimora asked, swinging the door open to the hall before seeing the board that was set up, as well as all of the boxes she had gone through. "What is all this?"
"I have a lead on collaborators with the Darkloids," Lilith explained. "Two witches, a male and a female. The male is unknown, but the woman was identified as Leona. I've been looking through files on everyone for Leona based on the shadow I saw of her, but… nothing is matching what I am looking for."
"What makes you think this Leona could be important to us?" Kikimora asked.
"If there are witches willingly working with ShadeMan, then it means that we are not as safe as we thought," Lilith explained. "I saw her physique and heard her voice, but I can't find anything on anyone named Leona. A few people with the name, but nothing to match what I saw and heard."
Kikimora looked to the board, and then to the files. She turned back to Lilith for a moment before one of the tendrils on her head lifted up, getting some of the files to float to her.
"If this is important as you say, I can help with identifying the voices with Head Witch Scooter Crane," Kikimora said, surprising Lilith at the gesture. "As for the shape, perhaps Osran and Alana can help you out. Her father is due to replace her in the next few days, so I suggest you get help from Ms. Graye while you can."
Lilith stood up. "You're helping me?" she asked. "Why?"
"Because you're not the only one who wants to be rid of the Darkloids," Kikimora said. "I may be ambitious, but I'm not blind."
Lilith nodded before she and her Maverick Hunters made their way out, with Kikimora making her way out the way she came in.
Soon, Lilith walked into a room where two figures were playing Hexes Hold 'Em. One was an elderly purple-skinned demon with four arms and a crystal ball while the other was a young woman who had black hair, a blue-trimmed top with the same colored trim on her pants, and a cloak around her, with the symbol of the Illusion Coven holding it together. She grinned and placed down her cards, causing the elderly demon to groan.
"Alana," Lilith said, getting Alana and Osran to turn to her. "If you don't mind, I could use some help. Both of your help."
"Five more days until my dad takes over," Alana said. "How can I help?"
"First, I need Osran to look for a certain person from my memory," Lilith explained. "As for you, I need you to materialize her so that my search for this person can come to an end."
"And the importance of this individual?" Osran asked.
"A collaborator with the Darkloids."
The very response made Alana and Osran go wide-eyed immediately. The two got up and got to work, the doors closing all around them.
Back on the Knee, Luz was feeling a pile of twigs with one hand while the other held a rock to her ear. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as Eda watched on.
"How do they feel?" Eda asked.
"These twigs are… smooth and soft… a much different texture than the others," Luz replied before her face seemed to scrunch. "And… the rocks… they're not exactly like seashells, so I don't hear a voice… but I do hear vibrations… not just from the Knee, but from other places as well. Places that I think we've never been to."
"See?" Eda asked, getting up with a smile. "My lessons do have merit to them! I can't believe I thought you had doubted me for a second!"
"Well, she had reason to," Azura said. "But she didn't."
"Eda, I got a paper crown for King, and learned that we weirdoes gotta stick together from it," Luz said. "When I dropped off your books, I learned about the Wailing Star and how it affects the Isles. And I couldn't have learned to take a break had it not been for your words and actions," she listed. "There is nothing that can make me doubt your teachings."
Eda smiled before kneeling down and patting Luz on the forehead. "You taught me a great deal too," she said. "Too much to list off of the top of my head, but from what you've brought with you to the Isles, there's tons I've learnt that wouldn't make me into who I am today. We're teacher and student, we share the roles together. You're my finest student yet."
Luz smiled at this before getting back up. However, as soon as she and Eda were back on their feet, she noticed something coming from the Standing Stones.
"What's going on over there?" Luz asked, pointing in the direction.
Eda turned and narrowed her eyes at the Standing Stones, walking closer to get a better view.
"Someone's there," Eda said. "But… I can't see who it is."
At that moment, a wave spread out, knocking Luz, Eda and Azura back, all falling with a yelp.
"Edalyn?" Alador asked, hearing the yelp with Amity and Emira.
"Luz?" Amity asked before the wave spread, knocking them down too, just as Edric ran over.
"What's going on?" Edric asked before seeing everything start to get tainted dark navy-blue. "What in the—?"
"Where were you?" Emira asked. "Why show up just now?"
"Em, I can explain…"
"Didn't think I'd feel that again." Alador said.
"Wait, Dad," Amity said, watching her father get up before he helped her and her sister up. "How do you know what that is?"
"That power…" Eda said, getting Luz and Azura to look to each other with confusion. "Is it him?"
"Who?" Luz asked. "Eda, what aren't you telling us?"
"Luz, something's up," Amity said as she and her siblings ran over, with Alador running up to Eda behind them. "Dad somehow knows what caused that thing. This is the most talkative and expressive I've ever seen him."
"Eda knows this too," Luz said. "You know anything about this?"
"I remember it," Edric said. "From that old man we saw after the Wailing Star, Wily."
"Wily?" Alador whispered in surprise, turning back to Eda. "What does he have to do with this?"
"A lot, but with this very situation, I don't know," Eda whispered back as Luz ran up to them. "But he appeared to me the other day, and he said—"
"Eda?" Luz asked, getting Eda to stop before she and Alador turned to the Owl Lady's apprentice. "What do you mean when you said Wily appeared to you?"
"Kid, listen, there's something that happened at the Titan's Backbone, and I haven't felt real comfortable with talking about it lately," Eda replied, unaware of a tainted bronze magic circle appearing nearby. "I should've told you this before, he—"
"Ah, the unworthy scientist to that village idiot. And the Owl Lady too."
Amity, Edric and Emira ran up, with Azura and Hecate right behind them, just in time to see what was happening.
"You…" Amity said, narrowing her eyes.
Out from the magic circle digitized FeralMan, glaring daggers at the group as several Spikey Viruses appeared with him. However, instead of being blue, or at a normal size, they were all large, and each had a resemblance to the Slitherbeast, only more monstrous and with Dark Glyphs branded onto their foreheads.
"FeralMan!" Luz exclaimed, getting everyone into fighting positions. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question, human," FeralMan snarled. "My plan was to be without any interference from you and your squad, but with that energy surge you unleashed, I'm forced to improvise," he scowled. "But don't worry. You won't have to bear my presence for much longer." He remarked, letting his claws shine.
"Hold that thought." Amity said, holding up her Abomaton Gloves and sending out two fire blasts. FeralMan roared and slashed some of them apart before Alador leapt in, forming an Abomination blade from a rod in his hand. He slashed down at him, but FeralMan leapt to the side, allowing his Slitherbeast Viruses to fire on him.
"Look out!" Emira called, running forward and attaching the new Guard Grip onto her Scroll PET. Her Navi Crest formed as a shield immediately, holding off all the blasts before Eda created a large spell circle.
"This is for trying to kill my kids on the Conjuring!" Eda called, sending forth rapid streams of fire that FeralMan narrowly dodged. As he got out of the way of the last one, Edric dashed in behind him and tossed a bottle at him, causing him to sizzle violently.
"Whoa," Luz said as Azura and Hecate both slashed away more Viruses, "I didn't know Ed knew how to do Potions magic."
"Neither did we," Hecate said before noticing some surprise on Alador, Amity and Emira's faces. "Neither did they!"
"You'll pay for that, Blight Boy!" FeralMan growled before turning to the remaining new Viruses. "Slither Spikes, merge!"
All of the Slither Spikes roared before all getting drawn to one of them that had more of a shine than the others, was way bigger too. Everyone watched as they fused to it before reformatting its entire body, eventually becoming a Virus version of the Slitherbeast, with six heads, each with mouths that had serrated teeth.
"Well that escalated quickly!" Azura exclaimed. "Luz, quick! Let's load up!"
"Us too!" Hecate called out to Amity before digitizing back to their PETs, getting Luz and Amity to load up Battle Chips.
"You're coming with me!" FeralMan yelled, sending forth his claws, attached to cables, and lassoing Eda and Alador together.
"Dad!" Emira called out as Luz and Amity gasped.
"Eda, no!" Luz exclaimed.
Edric and Emira looked to each other and nodded, both forming half of a large spell circle to fire. Before they could even complete it, they were grabbed by the claw arm of the Slitherbeast Virus, which now took them away with FeralMan dragging Eda and Alador with them.
"Come on!" Amity called out, running on ahead.
"Right!" Luz called back as she ran after Amity. However, a wall suddenly erected itself in front of her before forming around her, now forming a force field covering her, but only from the front and back.
"Luz!" Amity exclaimed, stopping to see what had happened. She ran over and tried to punch the barrier, only for her glove to sizzle and fall off. "Ah! What the—?!"
"You okay?" Luz asked.
"Never mind me! What about you?!" Amity yelled.
"Well, I know I can't touch this, and it's so tall that I can't even jump out," Luz said before seeing the multiple colors flashing across the field. "I guess FeralMan isn't operating alone here. No way he could have made an advanced Dimensional Area field, one so small and dangerous too."
"I'll try to burst you out of there!" Amity called, preparing a Battle Chip Gauntlet to replace her destroyed Abomaton Glove. She was about to fire until she noticed the wall moving away from her and towards Luz. "What?"
"Good news, Amity. I'm not claustrophobic," Luz said, nervously backing away and thinning herself out as best as she could. "Bad news is, this thing could end me make me feel it soon!"
"Vulcan!" Amity called out, summoning a Vulcan arm over her Battle Chip Gauntlet, firing it with lightning blasts from her Abomaton Glove. However, as much as she fired, nothing could break the barrier.
"I'll find a way out, don't worry!" Luz called, wincing a little as she accidentally backed into the side, causing some of her coat to burn away and reveal her thigh. "Just get your dad, siblings and Eda! I'll catch up!"
Amity looked reluctant at first before nodding. "You'd better make it out!" she called before running off to follow the footprints that were left behind from the kidnapping.
"You really think we'll make it out?" Azura asked as Luz tried to bring her out, to no avail.
"I'm gonna make like Joan of Arc and burn if I don't," Luz nervously joked before looking around, only seeing a rock and a small stick in the prison holding her. She took a breath and laid down in a meditative way. "Come on, think of what Eda taught you," she said to herself as the field closed in slowly. She looked into the air, seeing the only way out as the snow fell. "CrossFusion can't work here, so I can't use AirShoes to fly out. But you're not just a CrossFuser. You're a witch in training," she said before noticing something in the sky, something she saw when Eda first turned into the Owl Beast. "Wait… is that the Light Glyph?" she asked before taking out a paper and pencil, preparing to draw it until a snowflake landed on her glove, revealing a new Glyph.
"Luz, do you see that?" Azura asked.
The new Glyph seemed to resemble a tall diamond with a smaller diamond below it, a horizontal line separating the two and another arcing in the back.
"Of course," Luz said, picking up the stick and snapping a small branch off of it, drawing the new Glyph. She pressed it, and a pillar of ice popped up. "Magic is a gift from the Isles, and it's everywhere around us!" she realized. Taking the rest of the stick, she started to draw out the new Glyph again, only bigger this time. Getting onto the rock, she readied her Synchro Chip. "Here we go!" she called out, jumping onto the Glyph. It soon activated, launching her to the top as it started to close. "Now!"
"Synchro Chip In! Download! Begin CrossFusion Now!"
Luz held out her PET at the field, CrossFusing as soon as she hit it. A surge of energy spread from it before she flew out the other side, the barrier shattering as she landed on the ground, now in CrossFusion.
"Okay, FeralMan," Luz said as she looked up, now seeing the new Ice Glyph spinning around on her visor. "Time to get yours!"
From the other Knee, watching what had happened was Lurerre, snarling at the outcome.
"So, all that only helped Noceda gain a new power. A minor setback," Lurerre said before turning to the side, where she had unearthed several tablets and scrolls, all with Dark Chip patterns engraved onto them. "I have what I came for. Time to call it a day. Hope you can handle the rest, FeralMan." She said with a smirk before digitizing away with her find.
"Lurerre, Logging Out."
Inside of the cave of the real Slitherbeast, said real source was fighting against the Virus Clone, clawing away at each other ferociously as Eda, Alador, Edric and Emira were stuck to the wall, restrained by chains.
"What does he plan to do with us?" Edric asked worryingly.
"Wow, concern coming from someone who is making all the dark remarks. What a surprise," Eda snarked, getting Emira to slowly loosen her shoe from her foot. "We're the main course for the Darkloids! What else were you thinking, Blight Boy?! Is your brain really as small as your d—"
Before Eda could finish, Emira kicked her shoe at her head, knocking it off. Alador's eyes widened with shock as Eda's head spun until it was standing straight, her eyes now spinning.
"Hey, he might not be bright, but he's still a good guy," Emira scolded while trying to reach for her shoe, which had landed just a bit away from her after being launched. "As someone who kept a secret for so long, I know that Ed has a good reason for disappearing on us. And he can tell us when he's ready, just like Skara and I told Luz, Amity and the others when we were ready."
"Hey, don't give me the sibling lecture," Eda snapped. "Not after what I got shown by—"
"The old man, Wily?" Edric asked. "Dad, you and Miss Eda know some stuff about him, don't you? What do you know that we and Luz don't?"
Alador sighed. "He was one of two humans who came here before Luz did," he explained. "They were curious, and promised not to do any harm to the Demon Realm. But one day, Wily was researching the Titan, and he wandered off into the Skull. All we know from that time, as kids still at Hexside, was that he came out with the Titan's Palisman, and started to do damage to anything that was making a mark against Wild Magic," he said. "But the crazy part is that based on what Edalyn told me, he not only is still active today, but looks the same as he did twenty-nine years ago."
"Wait, was it that long?" Eda asked in surprise. "From the book Luz found on the geezer, he looked the same as he did in 1918."
"A ninety-eight year gap and he still looks the same?" Emira asked. "There's no way anyone can be that old."
"Enough chatter!"
Everyone turned to see FeralMan approaching, with the two Slitherbeasts still battling outside.
"What have you done to my student, you savage?!" Eda yelled, her head almost jumping as her body tried to reach it.
"She's soon going to be put out of my misery, just like I'm about to put you out of yours!" FeralMan roared before pulling back his claw as he stopped right in front of Emira. "Starting with you!"
"Em, no!" Edric yelled.
"Do your worse!" Emira literally spat, spitting as much as she could onto FeralMan's face.
"Your funeral!" FeralMan snarled, bringing his claw forward, only to be knocked off-course by a familiar hair tie. "Who did that?!" he demanded, turning around.
Everyone turned to the entrance to the cave, seeing Amity standing there with a hand on her hip.
"Don't ever mess with my family," Amity demanded, stepping forward. "And don't think you'll get off easy with trying to murder my Luz."
"Mittens!" Edric exclaimed happily.
"So much for your plan!" Eda spat as her body finally picked up her head, only to be put back on backwards. "Eh, close enough." She said before snapping her wrist.
Everyone looked to Eda in surprise before she slipped out of the chain, summoning her staff to blast off the other one.
"Go get him, Boots." Eda said with a smirk before snapping her wrist back into place, much to the stunned silence of Alador, Edric and Emira.
"You ready, Amity?" Hecate asked.
"Yeah," Amity replied, holding out her Scroll PET while placing her Synchro Chip across her chest. "Synchro Chip In! Download!" she called out, placing it in before running forward.
"CrossFusion!"
Amity yelled as she thrust her arms out, sending forth her Navi Crest, which flew like a boomerang at FeralMan, knocking him back, before it flew at her.
Amity leapt forward and held her arms out, letting Hecate's Navi Crest pass through her, giving her a black bodysuit. As soon as it did, she thrust her right arm to the side while her left arm gained her Navi's gauntlet. The same happened for her other arm before letting Hecate's boots digitize over her feet. Raising both arms into the air, she brought them down, letting her helmet appear before the crescent moon chevron manifested itself. Spreading out her arms now, her Navi Crest flew onto her chest, followed by her hair being undone and coming out the back of her helmet as a ponytail, followed by her blue tailcoat falling around her legs. Spinning around, she ended her CrossFusion with both arms opened to the sides.
Holding her pose, Amity landed and kneed FeralMan back. As soon as she landed, she held her hand out to the side, summoning the LunaStriker.
"So, where is that human?" FeralMan asked, almost as if he were gloating at the same time.
"She's gonna live, but you barely will be when I'm done with you!" Amity remarked before running forward just as FeralMan readied his claws again. "Slasher and Abomination Shot, Battle Chips In!"
Amity's staff started to glow as she clashed with FeralMan. Soon, the Slasher Battle Chip took effect, and she AreaStole all around him, slashing with each teleportation made. As soon as she made six cuts across him, her right arm turned into a purple version of the Bubbler cannon and shot out Abomination Slime, strong enough to send FeralMan back.
"Is that all you've got?!" FeralMan snarled, getting back up. "I'll rip you apart for daring to strike me!"
"Then you'll have to go through me!"
"No!" FeralMan yelled once he heard the voice.
"YES!" Amity yelled, laughing happily as she looked up.
A blue light burst through the top of the cave, revealing Luz as she sent forth a ColdPunch at FeralMan. Once she landed, the Ice Glyph flew out in front of her before impacting onto her body.
"Not another one!" FeralMan exclaimed.
In front of Luz, the Ice Glyph spread across her body until it gave her crystallized gauntlets, the left arm with a shield and the right with a diamond blade, as well as blocky boots wit the Ice Glyph on the soles. A long elegant coat covered her top before looking up with a grin, two cannons appeared on her back, each one with a kaleidoscope-like pattern to them. Swinging down her bladed arm, she let our a triumphant yell as her transformation came to a close.
"Luz!" Amity exclaimed, looking to Luz with astonishment and awe as her cheeks started to turn red, which also caused the snow beneath her to melt. "You got a new spell!"
"Thanks to Eda, of course," Luz replied, turning around with a smile directed at her teacher, getting Eda to smile back. "Light and Fire first, and now, the Ice Glyph," she said before a visor came over her face. "Let me show you what Ice Launcher Style can do, FeralMan." She said before taking a single step forward. As soon as she made the step, she was launched by the Ice Glyph on her sole forward, where she used her shield to ram into FeralMan and send him flying back.
"Wow," Amity said as her armor started to turn red from the intense blushing on her face. "Step on me…"
"Amity, get your mind out of the gutter!" Hecate reprimanded. "Don't make me take control of your body for the rest of this fight!"
Amity shook her head, snapping out of the awestruck trance she was in. Readying her LunaStriker blade again, she ran forward, though with all the launching Luz was doing, found it hard to keep up with her pace.
"You think a new power will help you?!" FeralMan snapped as soon as he got some breathing room. "With the Dark Glyphs powering me, you don't stand a chance!" he exclaimed before slamming three Dark Glyphs, all of which started to empower him the moment they activated.
"Good thing I've got three Glyphs of my own then," Luz said before slashing forward twice, one strike with light and the other with fire. "And to even the odds…" she started before throwing her blade forward.
The blade soon spun around, taking on the shape of a boomerang. It hit FeralMan, who knocked it aside, before cutting through the chains holding Eda, Alador, Edric and Emira. As soon as they got loose, Edric placed his Battle Chip Gauntlets on and fired at FeralMan, just as the Slitherbeast behind him started to dig its claws into the Slither Spike Virus.
"I've got a Program Advance ready," Amity said, finally catching up to Luz. "You got something that can take down this guy?"
"I'll give you the word," Luz said as she held out her MagiBuster, now with a diamond as the orb at the end. "Go!"
Amity nodded and held out her staff, causing the blade to glow as FeralMan recovered.
"FireBlade, AquaBlade and ElectroBlade, Battle Chips In!" Amity called out, getting all three blades to flash before activating.
"Program Advance! LifeSword!"
Amity yelled as she ran forward, just as FeralMan slashed again. She grabbed his claws for an opening and slashed through him several times before spinning behind him to kick him into the air.
"Double Program Advance!" Luz and Azura called out as Luz launched herself off of the ground, her back cannons starting to glow as they aimed out, locking onto FeralMan.
"LaserBlast, HiCannon and MegaCannon times two: Double ZetaCannon!" Luz called out, causing one of the cannons to charge up just as the other one started to do the same. "Fire!" she yelled. "Eda, now!"
Eda nodded and formed a giant spell circle, sending it at FeralMan. The blast sent him right in the line of the Slither Spike Virus, where both of Luz's attacks hit the two of them at once. Immediately, the Slither Spike Virus was Deleted, and FeralMan was now sent crashing into the real Slitherbeast itself, missing both of his claws and one of his legs.
"This can't be happening!" FeralMan yelled before the Slitherbeast knocked him into a wall. "No…!"
"FeralMan, Deleted."
"So long," Luz said as she landed. As soon as she did, she saw the Beast Coven Dark Chip floating up before it flew over everyone. "What the—?"
Lurerre stood where everyone was once shackled, calling the Beast Coven Dark Chip into her Plant Claw hand. Clenching it quietly, she absorbed the power from it just as she did with the Plant and Illusion Coven Dark Chips, now gaining claws over her arms and a pauldron shaped like FeralMan's head. She simply scoffed at the group before digitizing away.
"Lurerre, Logging Out."
"She can take on other Dark Chips? That's not good," Luz said before the Slitherbeast approached, growling in appreciation. "Um, you're welcome?" she said with uncertainty.
"Yeah, she's thanking us," Amity said before she and Luz spread out their arms, ejecting from CrossFusion. "Slitherbeasts will do that from time to time."
Eda groaned a bit as she cracked her neck, getting everyone's attention. With both hands now free, she took off her head and put it on the right way, causing the book she had hidden in her hair to fall out.
"Wait, that's my book," Luz said as she picked up the book, just as Azura and Hecate came out. She looked up to her mentor. "Please tell me… what do you know about Wily?"
Eda looked to her student and sighed. "There's a lot I haven't been telling you, Luz," she said. "There's stuff we know about Wily… and what had happened when Lily and I—"
"Came back from the Backbone?" Luz asked, surprising her teacher. "I knew something was up from the look on your face when you came back, after we faced Lurerre at Hexside, Eda. And you weren't exactly all that discreet when you screamed the night that happened too."
"I'll tell you everything, I promise," Eda said. "But for what happened at the Backbone, I'd rather it just stay between us. King and Hooty know, and you're the only other one I can trust to tell."
Luz and Amity both nodded. "So what should we know?" the former asked.
Back at the Emperor's Palace, Alana had created an Illusion of the shadow Lilith had seen, while Osran used his Oracle powers to turn it from a silhouette into a witch, one that had black hair with a red streak, grey eye-shadow and lipstick, pale skin, brown eyes, and wore a dark suit that seemed to have crimson energy lines all across, as well as the Dark Glyphs branded onto her arms and spiked combat boots.
"This is the one," Lilith said. "Leona. Last name unknown."
"I've never seen her before," Osran said. "Perhaps her name is a false alias to cover her true identity?"
"Wait, I've seen this suit before," Alana said. "Bonne lines, forbidden energy that can put the power the Emperor has to shame. Only a few has them."
"Who are the others?" Lilith asked before Kikimora entered with some of the files she had taken.
"You are looking for a witch named Leona Tyranus, known as Saktira from an underground criminal ring known as the Nightmare Battalion," Kikimora said. "Scooter Crane identified the voice from your memory, and gave me the last name of Leona."
"The Nightmare Battalion?!" Osran exclaimed. "Head Witch Lilith, you must not go after Leona if she is affiliated with those forces! It's a suicide mission!" he protested before turning to Kikimora. "Why would you even help her in such a thing?!"
"Because just like her, I recognize the Darkloids as a legitimate threat," Kikimora replied. "And this was done with no favors. It is to help take them down no matter what."
"Thank you, Kiki," Lilith said, getting up. "Where can I find her?"
"The Nightmare Battalion don't allow themselves to be found," Alana said. "I know their work, they take down anyone who knows their location, wipe them out as if they never even existed," she explained. "Belos had us track some down with a former Golden Guard, only for nearly all of our forces to be exterminated in the retreat. Me and that Guard were the only lucky ones to escape. The others were either placed in a mental institute or killed by her partner, Pranara Dion, who's as deadly as Saktira."
"Well, there's a first time for everything," Lilith said. "Any leads as to how I can find either one?"
"Only an address," Kikimora said as one of the tendrils on her head lifted, causing a slip of paper to levitate itself to Lilith, who opened it to see what was on it. "Take a small group to go with you. The Nightmare Battalion never goes down without a fight."
"Then I shall leave immediately," Lilith said before turning to her two guards. "Gather a small force," she ordered. "We leave for Latissa."
Back at the Titan's Knee, Luz and Amity stood in shock at what Eda and Alador had just told them. Now knowing what Wily did when he was on the Isles with Tadashi Hikari was one thing, but now knowing that he had a long history shrouded by enigmatic age only added to the complete mystery of Mr. Wily that had already existed.
"When we saw that book, it brought back memories of what he did for all of us," Eda said. "Lily, Alador, several others and I all knew about Wily personally, and when we did meet to talk about his potential return, we didn't know how to act. The only relief we had was from what you told us, that he's now cleaning up around the Human Realm."
"Well, this certainly adds to what is already unknown about Mr. Wily," Luz said. "And the fact that he was the exact same age nearly a century apart really makes me wonder about the time he had on his…"
Luz stopped herself and looked to the book. She opened it to the passage she was stuck on and narrowed her eyes carefully.
"You don't think…?" Azura started out, matching Luz's realization.
"Luz?" Amity asked. "What is it?"
"Is there a problem?" Hecate asked.
"Nothing big, I think," Luz said. She looked to Amity and smiled. "Listen, you did great out there. I saw half of the battle before I arrived, and I can tell you're gonna be great when I start my class by the time the semester starts."
"She's right, Mittens," Alador said. "I've never seen CrossFusion in action for myself before. Now that I have, Luz was right to give you that Synchro Chip."
"Just don't drive Mom more insane than she's close to becoming." Emira suggested.
"How about you guys head on home?" Luz suggested. "I still need to talk with Eda about something."
"See you in school, Luz!" Amity called out as she and her family walked off back to the manor.
Luz waved before turning back to Eda. "What happened down there at the Backbone?" she asked.
Eda sighed. "I didn't talk to Lily after we came back, at all," she started. "Wily appeared to me, saying I was to pass a test of his. He had some door take me back, back to the night I was cursed."
"And what did you see?"
"Not what… who," Eda said. "It was Lily, Luz. She was the one who cursed me, and it's driving me nuts just to think of why she could have done it!" she ranted, leading Luz to the Standing Stones. "Each time I imagine being with her, I think of tearing her apart! I can't believe she did this to me, made me suffer for all this time!"
"Time…" Luz said, looking to the book again. "Maybe that's the missing word."
"What do you mean?" Eda asked, still thinking about that time when she and Lilith were kids, before the curse happened.
"I found this passage, 'Reveal to my eyes the skies of…', and I couldn't figure out the rest," Luz said, showing Eda the passage in the book. "Maybe it's time?"
"So… reveal to our eyes the skies of time?"
Suddenly, a large surge of light went off from all of the stones, surprising Luz and Eda. Azura found herself getting pulled back into the PET before the light cleared away, revealing the Knee now without any snow. Around them, they no longer even saw the footprints of the Blight family, nor their own. What surprised them even more was that even the cave they came out from was gone, and there was now a single stone pillar compared to the fifteen surrounding them before.
"What was that?" Luz asked.
"I… don't know," Eda said. "Boots! Alador, where are you?" she called out, only to get no response.
"Okay, Titan's five humors…"
"Who's there?" Luz asked before Azura came out again.
"Something really weird is going on here…" Azura said.
"Wait…" Eda said, turning a corner. Looking to a street in Bonesborough, she gasped to see her younger self quizzing a younger Lilith. "Could it really be…?"
"You hear that?" the younger Eda asked, both young Clawthorne sisters turning to the side just as Eda pulled back. "Might just be Old Man Wily pulling tricks on us like he always does."
"Eda, is time magic a thing?!" Luz asked incredulously as Eda came back.
"I didn't think it was before, but now? I think it is," Eda said. "Maybe this is why Wily looked the same in the 1800s and the modern day. He used the Standing Stones, which sent him through time!"
"But why here?" Luz asked. "Wait, what were you thinking of before we were sent here?"
"Why Lily could've cursed me."
Luz's face widened into a smile. "I think I know how we can get through Wily's test for you," she said. "Quick, think of a day before you were cursed, a time with you and Lilith. I'll explain when we get there."
"I think I see where this is going. You got it, Teach." Eda said before turning to the pillar with her eyes closed. Opening again, she turned to Luz, who smiled at her encouragingly, before turning back.
"Reveal to my eyes the skies of Time."
Back in the present, Lilith and her Maverick Hunters arrived at a mansion with gargoyles at the gates, and different areas in ruin.
"We checked the place," Severine said, approaching Lilith. "They left not too long ago."
"You and the Darkloids won't get away."
Author's Notes: Well, I hope that everyone liked my newest chapter. It took a while to plan out, but I got it in the end, and I hope you like what I had. The next chapter is to be around the Fourth of July. Please review, rate, and if you can, PM me for anything on the story. For now, this is SuperHeroTimeFan signing off. Have a great week! See you soon!